The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1912-04-05
ter fifth, Influenced by political en-
vironment, and social conditions,

Dakota judge who was drunk in
open court and who therefore was
not qualified to sit on the bench.
Both Roosevelt and President Taft,
he said, have stated that impeach-
ment was an incumbrance and so
there should be some other means
of recall The recent unearthing of
numerous scandals showed conclu-
sively that the present system was
not right, he said.
Does any business man hire an
employee for a position for fixed
term regardless of his fitness for the
position? Why then should the peo-
pie elect judge for fixed term
without the power of removing him,
in case he proved unequal to the
task The recall is a natural de-
velopment of democratic principles.
speaker for the negative. He stated
that the recall of judges would be
unwise and gave a few results OF
the recall: First, it would decrease
the dignity Of the judiciary; second,
good judges would be included in
the recall; third, people would be
borne away by newspaper reports
rather than the decision of the
Judge.
The judiciary branch of the gov
eminent should not conform to the
majority of people, but should make
their decisions according to the tes-
timOny and the law rather than the
wishes of the multitude They are
servants of the law rather than serv-
ants OF the people. If the recall
We're instituted, the decisions of the
Judge might be made to conform to
the wishes of the people rather
than justice. They would have their
ear to the ground to see what was
the sentiment of the people.
"The recall of a Judge would brand
| him as unfit and he would be dis
graced. Had the recall been in force
when John Marshall was Judge, he
would have been recalled, but his
tory justified him, and the same
would have happened to Abraham
Lincoln. This would destroy the
necessary independence of the
judges"
James Balm made the closing ar
gument for the affirmative. He said
that the judges were not beyond the
| influence of the special interests and
cited a case that was tried for dam
ages against the Great Northern rail-
road company, and after the case
had been decided against the com.
pany, it was tried again and the
Judge was bought. The recall by the
people themselves was the. only al
| tentative. From the beginning OF
the nation, the people had the right
to make and amend their home laws
Now, however, the people are at the
mercy of a judge who may be a
mere tool of the corporations.
Moreover, after judge has been
chosen and taken office, he may be-
come demented or incapacitate him.
self. There is no remedy for his
removal under the present condi-
lions. The recall is simply the eff
cient means of bringing about the
, rights of the people. The judges
are under the people, not above
them.
Weed Made Closing Argument.
Arthur Weed closed the main ar
guments for the negative in which
I, hot
principle of our government that
any person was entitled to a fair
trial. A person should not be tried
before the newspapers, who were
moulders of public opinion, but be-
| fore a good jury of twelve men.
The recall might result in the use
of lynching, but now the courts are
the defense of the weak. The courts
are the cornerstones of good gov
eminent upon which not only voters
but also non-voters have rights. If
| the recall is adopted the constitution
must be revised. 1t would mean that
the majority would take direct con-
troll of these rights.
1.-The government that will not
protect you although you stand alone,
without neighbors or friends, is a
despotic government. Give the pow
er to the few and they will Cypress
the many and give the power to the
many and they will Cypress the few,
was one of his quotations. Both
these are extreme.
The rebuttal speeches were given
| in five minutes each, while the main
arguments were given ten minutes.
Ray Hughes lead in the rebuttal for
the negative, followed by Edward
Wise of the affirmative. Randall
spoke next, followed by James Balm.
Weed closed the negative side OF the
debate and Nelson closed for the
affirmative. The rebuttal is generally
the proof of the manner in which
the debaters have their subject in
hand, and last night all the speak
ers showed that they had studied
the subject thoroughly.
When the judges handed in their
decisions, Professor Mcconnell fig
ured up the points and found that
Weed secured three, Wise one and
Nelson one, for the best language
used, while the negative side was