The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-08-01

destroys the handspring of human ac- ton that has carried the world on and upward for 2,0O0 years.
 I do not say that the two gentlemen who now lead, one the Democratic party and the other the former Repub- licans who have left their party, in their attacks upon existing conditions and in their attempt to satisfy the pop ular unrest by promises of remedies. are consciously embracing socialism. The truth is that they do not offer any definite legislation or policy by which the happy conditions they promise are to be brought about, but if their prom. ises mean anything they lead directly toward the appropriation of what be- longs to one man to another.
 Don't Know Where They Are Going.
 The truth is, my friends, both those who have left the Republican party under the inspiration of their present leader and our old opponents, the Democrats, under their candidate, are going in direction they do not def initely know, toward an end they can- not definitely describe, with but one chief and clear object, and that is of acquiring power for their party by popular support through the promise of a change for the better. What they clamor for is change. They ask for change in government so that the government may be restored to the people, as if this had not been a peoples government since the begin ming of the constitution.
 These gentlemen propose to reform the government, whose present de- fects, if any, are due to the failure of the people to devote as much time as is necessary to their political duties by requiring a political activity by the people three times that which thus far the people have been willing to as- sume. and thus they propose reme- dies which. instead of exciting the people to further interest and activity in the government, will tire them into such an indifference as still further to remand control of public affairs to a minority.
 But after we have changed all the governmental machinery so as to per init instantaneous expression of the people in eonstitr tional amendments, in statutes and fin recall of public agents, what then? Votes are not bread, constitutional amendments are not work. referendums do not pay rent or furnish houses, recalls do not fur nish clothing, initiatives do not supply employment or relieve inequalities of condition or of opportunity. We still ought to have set before use the def mite plans to bring on complete equal ity of opportunity and to abolish hard ship and evil for humanity. We listen for them in vain.
 Instead of giving us the benefit of any specific remedies for the hardships and evils of society they point out, they follow their urgent appeals for closer association of the people In legislation by an attempt to cultivate the hostility of the people to the courts and to repre- sent that they are in some form up holding injustice and are obstructing the popular will Attempts are made to take away all those safeguards for maintaining the independence of the judiciary which are so carefully framed Tn our constitution,
 Hestility to the Courts. These attempts find expression in the policy. on the one hand, of the recall of judges,sa system under which judge whose decision in one case may tempo rarily displease the electorate is to be deprived at once of his office by popu- lar vote, pernicious system embodied in the Arizona constitution and which the Democrats Of the house and senate refused to condemn as the initial policy of a new state. The same spirit mani fested itself in the vote by Democratic senators on the proposition, first, to abolish the commerce court and, sec. ond, to abolish judges by mere act of repeal, although under the constitution their terms are for life, on no ground except that they did not like some of the courts recent decistons.
 Another form of hostility to the judic- iary is shown in the grotesqua propo. sition by the leader of former Repub- licans who have left their party for a recall of decisions, so that a decision on point of constitutional law, hay r aug 0sEA 1T@&4GAG& QL k0E 4AAA6cL S00Ak capable of rendering 1t, ehall then be submitted to popular vote to determine whether it ought to ha sustained. Again, the Democratic party in con. gress and convention shows it's desire to weaken the courts by forbidding the use of the writ of injunction to protect lawful business against the destruc. tive effect of secondary boycott and by interposing jury. in contempt pro.
 ceedings brought to enforce it's order and decrees.
 These provisions are really class leg. islation designed to secure immunity
 for lawlesspess in labor disputes on the part of the iahorers, but operating much more widely to paralyze the arm 1 of the court in cases which do not in- ! volve labor disputes at all. The hostil. 1 ity to the Judiciary and the measures to take away it's power and it's inde- pendence constitute the chief definite
 policy that can be fairly attributed to
 that class of statesmen and refnrmera
 whose absorption and control the Re-
 publican party escaped at Chicago and
 the Democratic party yielded to at Bal 1 dnore.
 Record ef Administration.
 A The normal and logical question ] which ought te be asked and answered | in determining whether an adninistra-