The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1912-03-14
FOR RECALL BYLAW
President Taft Takes Issue
with Roosevelt in Speech
at Toledo.
GIVES OBJECTIONS TO PLAN
Declares Methods Proposed Are With
out Merit, Are Reactionary, and
Wou'a Sow Seeds OF confu.
sion ard tyranny.

Toledo. On an address on The
Judiciary and Progress" President
| Taft took Issue with ex.President
Roosevelt in his stand on the recall
Of judges and their decisions as ex-
pressed in his recent Columbus speech,
by declaring that the proposed meth
/ oil OF reversing decisions would lay
an AK at the foot OF the tree OF we'll
ordered freedom and subject the
guarantees of life. liberty and prop
erty without remedy TO the impulse Of
Il temporary majority Of an elector.
ate"
President Taft declared that while
the present Judiciary system was not
perfect, and that 1t could be bcttered,
he proposed the remedy through the
enactment Of law by which judges
might be removed Along this line
he said:
In tho remedy by judicial recall It
Is proposed to provide by law that
whenever a Judge has so discharged
his duties as to- induce certain per
centagc OF the electorate to deem 1t
wise To remove him and that percent.
age sign petition asking his recall.
an election shall take place In which
the incumbent shall stand against
other candidates: and II he does not
secure a plurality Of votes. he is ipso
facto removed. have pointed out that
under our form OF government and
constitution many of the issues arts
ing before our courts are In effect Is.
sues between the state and the ind.
yidual between the majority aud the
interest might be greatly excited to
secure a favorable judgment BY this
system the question whether the Judge
Is to be removed or not is 10 be left
to that majority that may be greatly
aroused to secure from him judg
ment favorable to them. Could sys.
TEN be devised. better adapted to de,
priyc the judiciary Of that independ.
ence without which the liberty and
other rights Of the individual can not
and the majority"
As n remedy for the present cum
bersome method OF impeaChing
judges. the president suggested: Gre.
judges for cause. Give them an op-
portunity to be heard and by an i'm.
partial tribunal; but do not create
system by which. in the heat of dis.
appointment over lost cause. tho de.
feated litigants are to decide without
further hearing or knowledge whether
the Judge who decided against them Is
to continue In Office, 1t would be hard
to devise more unjust and inafYec.
live method Of purifying the Judiciary
or one less likely to promote courage
OF honest conviction"
The suggestion for the recall OF de.
cisions was the most remarkable, and
so contrary TO anything ever before
proposed. the speaker declared, that
II was hard to give 1t proper consider
alton "A most serious objection to
the recall Of decisions" he declared.
is that 1t destroys all probable.
tty of consistency IN constitutional
Interpretation. The majority which
majority that comes to consider an.
other, and the obligation of CON
slstency or. popular decision is enc
which would 81 most lightly on eash
occurring electorate. and the operation
Of the system would result In Buspcn-
sion or application Of constitutional
guarantees according to popular within.
Wo would then have system of sus.
pending the constitution to meet spe.
eial cases. The greatest Of all dcspot.
Isms is a government Of special In
stances"
The argument that If the people
were competent to establish a consti-
tuition they were competent TO Inter.
pref 1t, he eaid, was clearly ialla.
2ious one, because the adoption and
approval of general principles In
constitution aud the Interpretation OF
4 statute and the consideration of its
probable operation we're greatly dit.
Ierent things.
President Taft closed with the state
ment that such n proposal as this 10
utterly without merit or utility and,
instead of being progressive. Is reac-
tionary. instead of being In the inter.
est OF all the people and OF tho sta.
bllity Of popular government. is SOW.
ing the seeds Of confusion and
granny.
81 do not hesitate to say that l. lays
the Ak at the foot OF the tree OF we'll.
ordered freedom and subjects the
guarantee OF life. liberty, and prop
erty without remedy TO the ftful i'm.
pulse of temporary majority of an
electorate"