Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1912-02-24

OF the legislature whenever the repre-
sentatives Of the people feel that the
needs Of the people require such re
moval. New York has the right to
have a long term elective judiciary.
Ohio has the right to have a short term
elective judiciary without the recall.
California, Oregon and Arizona have
each and every one Of them the right
to have a short term elective judiciary
with the recall. Personally Of the four
systems / prefer the Massachusetts,
one IL addition be made to 1t as / here
matter indicate.
In the first place, / believe in the
short ballot. You cannot get good serv-
ice from the public servant IL you can
not see him, and there is no more ef-
fective way Of hiding him than by mix
ing him up with multitude Of others
SO that they are none Of them impor-
tant enough to catch the eye Of the
average workaday citizen. The crook
in public life is not ordinarily the man
whom the people themselves elect dl-
rectly to a highly important and re
sponsible position. The type of boss
who has made the name Of politician
odious rarely himself runs for high elee
tive Office, and If he does and is elected
the people have only themselves to
blame. The professional politician and
I the professional lobbyist thrive most
rankly under system which provides
a multitude of elective officers, Of such
divided responsibility and of such OBJ
security that the public knows and can
know but little as to their duties and
the way they perform them.
Direct Nominations.
! believe in providing for direct nomi-
nations by the people, including there
in direct preferential primaries for the
election Of delegates to the national
nominating conventions. Not as mat
ter Of theory, but as a matter Of plain
aud proved experience we find that the
convention system, while 1t often re
cords the popular WILL Is also often
used by adroit politicians as method
of thwarting the popular will. In other
words, the existing machinery for nom
nations is eumbrous and is not de-
signed to secure the real expression of
:he popular desire.
4 / believe In the election of United
States senators by direct vote. Juer
as actual experience convinced our
people that presidents should be elect
ed (as they now are in practice, al
though not in theory by direct vote
of the people instead of by indirect
vote through an untrammeled electoral
/ college, so actual experience has con-
+ WINGED us that senators should be elect
ed by direct vote of the people instead
of indirectly through the various legis-
latures
believe In the initiative and the ref
erendum, which should be used not to
destroy representative government, but
I to correct it whenever 1t becomes mis-
representative. Here again l am con-
/ cerned not with theories, but with ac-
! tual facts. If In any state the people
are themselves satisfied with their
present representative system then it
Is, of course, their right to keep that
system unchanged, and 1t is nobody's
4
! practice 1t has been found in very
many states that legislative bodies
have not been responsive to the popular
will; therefore l believe that the state
should provide for the possibility of di-
rect popular action in order to make
! good such legislative failure
Recall of Judges.
As to the recall, do not believe that
there Is any great necessity for 1t as
regards short term elective officers. On
abstract grounds / was originally in
/ clined to be hostile to it. I know of
one case where it was actually used
with mischievous results. On the 9th
er hand, in three cases In municipal
ties on the Pacific coast which have
come to my knowledge 1t was used
with excellent results. l believe it
should be generally provided, but with
such restrictions as will make 1t avail
able only when there is a widespread
and genuine public feeling among a
majority of the voters.
There remains the question of the re-
call of judges. One of the ablest ju-
rists in the United States, veteran In
service to the people, recently wrote
me as follows on this subject:
"There are two causes of the agita-
ton for the recall as applied to
judges. First, the administration of
justice has withdrawn from life and
become artificial and technical. The
recall is not SO much recall Of judges
from office as it is a recall of the ad-
ministration of justice back to life, 50
that it shall become, as it ought to be,
the most efficient Of all agencies for
making this earth better place to live
In. Judges have set their rules above
life. Like the Pharisees of old, they
have said, The people be accursed;
they know not the law that Is, our
'rule0. Courts have repeatedly defeat
ed the aroused moral sentiment of Il
whole commonwealth. Take the ex-
ample of the st. Louis boodlers. Their
guilt was plain and in the main con