Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1912-03-26
BURNING

That there have been corrupt judges
in our country will not be denied by
any sane and sincere person who has
taken notice of current events. De-
cisions have been made which stretched
law to sustain the contentious of liti-
gants who had too much influence with
certain tribunals. Such perversions of
justice have occurred among men since
the days of Solomon and before then.
We read in the Proverbs, "A wicked
man taketh a gift out of the bosom to
pervert the ways of judgment" prov
cribs Xvii:23). The history of the
courts of the English-speaking nations
the purest and best courts in the world,
contain the records Of bad judges and
perverse judgments
1t is also true that occasionally
judgments are rendered in perfect con-
formity to law that work hardship be-
cause of the imperfections of the law
which the court is called upon to inter
pref and enforce. This fact is doubt
less the source of pain to upright and
incorruptible judges who are sworn to
decide. not what the law should be, but
what it really is. The number of such
cases of the miscarriage of justice,
Notwithstanding the uprightness of the
judges, is not large when compared
with the whole number of cases adjudi-
Gated: but when such case occurs IL
most naturally offends the moral sense
of the people, and all the more because
such a case is uncommon.
Actual experience discovers the inn
PROJECTIONS of the law and the develop
ment of the complex system of modern
industry calls for new laws to protect
the rights of individuals and to defend
society from wrong and injury. By
consequence our legislative bodies are
required to meet often in order to re-
peal bad laws, amend imperfect stat
utes, and make now enactments. 1t
would be saying too much If one affirm
ed that no sinister influences ever af-
fected legislators and coloured legisla-
ton. Brides have been offered and &C
cepted for the purpose of corrupting
municipal, state, and national egrs'a
ton on many occasions. Tariff bills
have been dictated by what are called
1.-THE interests" with view to enriching
a few persons or classes at the expense
of all the people. Corporations, being
legal persons and having many natural
persons combined in their legal person
alities, have often eXerted power over
legislation which was most vicious and
Injurious
on account of bad decisions of GER
tain courts and bad legislation by GER
up discontentment and restlessness
among large bodies of the people; dis
trust of the forms of representative
government, a type of civil organization
which we have enjoyed so long and
from which unspeakable benefits
have come has sprung up.
Demagogues are seeking to take
advantage of this state Of
unrest to advance their own interests
and crafty their selfish ambition; and
they are coming forward with all sorts
of revolutionary proposals to overthrow
representative government. They pro-
pose such devices as the referendum
the initiative, and worst of all the re-
call of judges, to remedy the evils OF
which the people complain. They you'd
unsettle all orderly government IN Or
der to correct some incidental wrongs,
and the methods they propose would
not cure the evils which they denounce
so bitterly.
If we were to agree to accept all their
extreme statements of the prevalence
of the evils of which they complain,
and to multiply the sum of the alleged
evils three times over. the facts would
not justify the adoption of the eXpedl-
ents which they propose. Let all these
evils be as great as is claimed, and ten
fold greater than is claimed, the RENE
DIV for them is not the destruction OF