New-York tribune., 1912-02-22

a given pCllCN tntN DlhNl -
wants who will carry out that ponttic,n bo
Keep clearly in mind the distinction s,, pc
tween the end and the means W ,na 81
that end. Our aim Is 70 es' ~ w keep him
Judge that ! have described 70 ~ ia IN
on the bench IA long as possiple. aht t,,o
keep of tho bench and. II necessa, s',jsa y, In
off the bench the wrong type oI Juue ,,ori,
Some communities one method ma g. nnf
veil which In other communities does no. no
work well, and each community SuU ILL.,,
adopt and preserve or relecl .o-Iing
method according TO it's practcal tbe re.
Therefore the question OF appi!lls dionc,,
cali I'm any shape is one. OF eNpeprl,,ttso -
merely Each community mas e.,.ar
Try the experiment for itself IN ,,a,e Wnase so,
shane Il peases Under the condltiohs, ~, ae.
forth in the extract from the letter sared s1red
above. I would personally have iaNoIS iIu ~
tho recall OF the Judges. both III Iati o,id mid
and in Missouri for no damage tnaL IUu,a hn,ra
have been done BY the recall WOuu nav
enualled the damage done to tht
rnts,ity by Judges whose conduct nap ~
voIted not only the spirit of justice, puI
fhe spirit OF common sense. do NOT pc
Iieve i'm adopting the recall save as iaSt
resort when IL has become clearly SN"Jn'
that no other course VIII dchleFc tme w, III
sired result But either me Tecan ,,o "to 70
bavc to be adopted or else Ii will have 70
Lo made much easier than II now ls 10 set
rid. not merely OF bad ludge: Dut oi q
indigo who however Vlrtuous, mas EIoMu
co ont Of touch with social needs ana factS
that he is unfit longer to render good ser
,ica on the bench. II is nonsense 10 say
that impeachment meets the dlif1cut!' ~
actual practice we nave tound tnat iIl m
neachment does not work. that unit JUDGES
stav ON the bench in spite OF IT, ana IN
deed because OF the feet that Impeachment
IS the only remedy that can DC i useI
against them. Nnete sun - l,c @ f % t%a
case Impeachment as remedy tor tne
ills OF which the people justly cornpiaIll
Is complete failure. a quicker, more
summary remedy is needed; some remedy
at Ieast as summary and as drastic as
thst embodied i'm the Massachusetts consu-
tution And whenever IT be found I'm actual
practice that such remedy does not give ,t, lhe
needed results. Woulu uH'e9i'a'"oi'
adopt the recall.
One Kind OF Recall Favored.
Rut there IS one kind of recall in which
! ! vcrv earnestly believe, and the imme-
diate adoption Of which urge lheae ar ar
scuud reasons for being cautious about the
recall OF a good judge who has rendered
am unwise and improper decision Every
publlc servant. no matter how VaIuaDle. anu
moi omittIng Washington or Lincoln or
Marshall. AT times makes mistakes There
! fore we should be cautious about recaillns
the Judge. and We should pe cautious aOout
! Interfering I'm any way with the Judge IN
decisiors which he makes In the ordinary
course as between individuals. But when
nudge decides "A constitutional question.
when he decides what the people as . wno,e ,,e
can or cannot do. the people should have
,ba tight TO recall that decision II they
! link II wrong. We should hold the JUDI,
ciarv i'm all respect; but II Is both absurd
and degrading TO make fetch of a judge
| or Of anv one else. Abraham Lincoln SAID
In his nrst Inaugural: IF the policy OF the
government upon vital questions af1ecting
the whole people is To be lrreyocaDIy nNed
bv decisions of the Supreme Court.
! ,be neople will have ceased TO be their own
! rulers. having TO That extent pracucaIy re-
! signed their government into the nands .n o.
that eminent tribunal. Nor Is there In this
view any assault upon the courts or the
! Judges" Lincoln actually applied IN sue
ccssful fashion the principle OF the Tecal
I'm the Dred Scott case He denounced me
| Sunremr Court for that iniquitous decision
! In language much stronger than ] nave
ever used I'm criticising any court ana APP
pealed 10 the people TO recall the decision
The word recall" I'm this connection was
not then known, but the phrase exactly de-
scribes what he advocated. he was sue
cessful. the people took ms J De%' ana bes tne
came a dead letter without the need OF any
constitutional amendment. In any conteest
to-day where the people stand Tor justice
and the courts do not. the man VINO sup
ports the courts against the people lS @ un-
true TO the memory Of Lincoln, ana SHOWS
that he Is the spiritual heir: not OF the nlci,
who followed and supported Lincoln, put OF
Tho Cotton Wings who supported Chiet
Justice Tanoy and denounced Llncon Io'
attacking the courts and the Consutu'lon'
State Courts Sometimes Obstruct justice
Under our federal system the remedy TOR
a wrong sucn as Abraham Lincoln ue
scribed IS difficult But the remedy Is hot
difficult ia a STATE. what the oupLItnd.
Court Of the nation decides 10 be law o,nus o,S
both the national and the state court, "I,e ,.e
all the people within the BOUNDARIES ol W, ~,
nation BAT the decision or stats Cous
ON a constitutional question should DC SUI
iect 10 revision by the people OF the sta.e,
Again and again i'm the past justice nao a
been srandaiously obstructed BY state
courts declaring state laws In conflict Win
the federal Constitution. atnougn the AZ
preme Court OF the nation mao never ,,or, 20
cided or had even decided In contrary
sense When the Supreme court OF tne
state declares a given statute uncohsttur
tIonal berause In conflict with the state -,
the national Constitution us opinion snouIu
he subject 10 revision by the people thenl-
selves Such an opinion ought always W
he treated with great respect oy the Peul.,r,
and unauestionably In the maori 80, 0i ,heyp
would he accepted and followed oy thsin
E,t,- actual experience has shown the VITA
need of tho people reserVlng 10 thense'TT,
the right to pass upon such oPIlliOn ,ooi
any considerable number or the people leeI
that tho decision is in defiance OF Jusuce
thew should be given the right oy pellIlon
TO bring before the voters AT soiIle suoses
queIt election spe"lal o. ~ f,,Il,.st on
rortunity for delibcraton and DEBATE. ln'
question whether or not the luuses Ne
pretation of the Constitution ~ 10 pe pes'S snS
iaincd II Il is plistained. w@U ana koou1
~ not. then the popular verdict Is 10 w
'ccen,ed as flnaI' the decision is TO he
treated as reversed and the constIucti1pu ~
the Constitution definitely decideu-suS9J,yh
onIy 10 action by the Supreme Court OF the
United states.
Has Faith in the People.
Many eminent lawyers who more or less
frankly disbelieve In our entire AmerlCah
system OF government for, by. and oI w, tls
people violently antagonize this proPosai. -.
They believe and sometimes assert, , .nal
the American people arc not ttted Tor pop
ular government and that II IL neCessei ~
keep the judiciary 'indcpendent ot the me, me-
iority or OF all the people; that there must
he no appeal 10 the people from the deels-
ion OF court In any case. and that tnere
fore the Judges arc TO De estaDhsneu a'
sovereign rulers over the people. take az
soIute is ,lIe with all those who hold such
n nositio1 | regard II as complete mega
ton of our whole system or goVernneht,
and n II became the dominant posluoil III
this country IL would mean the apsoIute
upsetting of both the rights and the rule
OF the people. II the American people are
not nt for popular government, and III they
should OF right be the servants and not tne
masters OF the men whom they themselves
put in office, then Llncons Work was
wasted and the whole system OF govern
ment upon which this great democratic re-
public rests Is failure. | believe, on the
contrary, with all my heart that the Amer
lean people are flt for complete selt-goveFh-
ment, and that, in spite OF all our taihngs
and shortcomings. we OF this republic have
more nearly realized than any other people
on earth the ideal OF justice attained
through genuine popular rule. The position
which these eminent lawyers take ana APP
Dlaud is of necessity condemnation Oh
Lincoln's whole life: for his great public
career began and was throughout condi-
toned by. his lnsistence. in the Dred scott
case. upon the fact that the American
people were the masters and not the ser
wants of even the highest court i'm the land,