The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1912-08-23
justified in more than one or two Of

the cases.
Every many other charges were
made in the petition mentioned by the
same writer, utterly wanting in sin.
cerity. After reciting large num-
Der of these, he says, councilman re-
ports that an agent of the corpora
ton threatened to circulate recall
petition against him with the aid of
many employees of the company, un-
less he dropped certain legislation
hostile to the interests of the COM
pany.
"All of this and much more col
lected by the writer mentioned, who
said in opening that the final crown
ing act to complete the temple of
popular government here, was the
adoption of the recall, speaks "a sten-
torian tones against the system
which calls upon a successful candi-
date to go through campaign again
and again, because of the luminosity
of one or, a few men, who. have been
unable to successfully use him.
Recall in ,Mankato.
"And lin my own city of Mankato
the only recall movement as yet in.
stituted, was ;. begun against the
whole council, but was unsuccess-
fully prosecuted. the true reason for
the recall being. that an unsatisfac.
, tory employe was discharged, he
being the principal person who cir.
culated the petition, but aided by a
man to whom the council refused to
give several loads Of dirt to fill his
! lot. ;ma sar nar...
1.-THE writer from whom l have
quoted in speaking of judicial recall
says, In the very nature of things
| it is as the confusion of languages
at the Tower of Babel for an cleo
torate of laymen to attempt deter
mination Of whether Judge is right
or wrong on a legal question.
at is said by the same writer thai
in Oregon the petitions are circulat
ed by paid circulators or interested
persons, that the voter has the petit
ton showed into his hand with the
| sign here from a five-cents-a-name
getter, and that at the election the
accused officer must at the same
time justify his official conduct, com
pete with the political ambitions Of
the other candidates and face any
personal opposition.
And one case was cited where
there were several candidates agains
the officers about to be deposed, the
successful candidate receiving 1,18E
out of the total 4,237 votes, only
twenty-five more than were received
by the deposed official.
Talk Made BY Debbs.
''In the recall campaign last fall
for the recall of judges in California
;, Eugene V. Debbs said Under the
provisions of the recall amendment
the judges of the supreme court OF
! California can be retired. These are
), the men who will decide the fate O
!, the kidnapped workers. Don't you
see what it means comrade, to have
/, in the hands of an intelligent, milit
ant working class the power to re
. call the present capitalist judges
and put on the bench our own men.
This man, the spokesman o
many thousands of his kind, here in
vokes the recall for what? To Sc
cure the acquittal of the McNamar;
brothers.
! eff at the trial of Jesus of Nazar
eth 1000 years ago, the so-called pro
;, gressive doctrine of judicial recall
had prevailed, there would surel!
j have been a successful recall, hat
not the presiding magistrate heed
ed the popular clamor cruelty him.
i "And in our own state under ou
own plan of the election of the judi
ciary, We came full near enough tt
the popular recall, when three of tn,
most pure, eminent and high-mindet
men who have adorned our suprem,
;! bench, were called away by vot,
of the people because of the yer,
able, fearless, and righteous deci
sions of the court. in Chauncy VS.
i Wass, in which the court correctly
construed a law somewhat impatient
ly enacted by the people to attain
much desired end, but with a yer.
unexpected result.
| My brothers, if | may make sug
i gestion to my superiors, | would sa,
let us not let our heads be turned
too readily. Let us pause to DELHI
crate before we participate in tearin,
down or permit to be torn down b,
an element of people impatient o.
legal restraint, that wing of our con
stitutional structure which our law
making and law abiding people, ant
without the support of which tn
:, whole structure must ultimatel,
Icrumble and fall
| When Cool Heads Prevailed.
i eff at the time the federal con
! stitution was under consideration
had been insisted that the courts O
this country should be made sub
servient to a wearing and evel
J changing popular will, as is advocat
ed today, then, i think, If a fedora
compact had been entered into a
all, which may well be doubted, /
would have been done against tn,
earnest protest of the best, the wis
Jest, and the most patriotic men o
the times. Cool heads then pre-
vailed