The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-05-09
A NoNPARTIsAN JUDICIARY.

= this city on Tuesday of last week, Apr
30th. adopted no formal platform, SAVE
Only a resolution calling upon thu
| Judges TO decide eases before them a'
quickly as possible. IL is fair TO as
: the party organ of two days before
was the real platform upon which the
Judges make their appeal TO the pco
pie for re election. That editorial was
headed partisan judiciary De
sirable but UDattainablc; Select Re
publicans Only Gnasmuch as ii is
liable to embrace the point upon which
the judicial election, will turn, and to
be referred to often in the campa On,
we reproduce that editorial plat form
as follows
II is agreed we believe that the jus
tices OF the supreme court of the United
| states. appointed Tor life at salary
which makes them independent and free.
lperinit politics to interfere with their
duties and their conduct tho bench
perhaps less than any other public offl~
GERS In the nation. The person who would
charge that any one of them allowed
his attitude upon a certain constitutional
question In specific case To be inHu-
enoed by his political affilia tions would
| All classes of citizens would resent IL.
Yet there are cases on record in dues-
tons which had TO do altogether with
national politics, upon which tho highest
court In the nation divided absolutely up
on party lines.
| The electoral commission in 1876 was
| q case In point. the Judges dividing ac-
cording 10 their political affiliations: when
the income tax case was before the su
preme court OF the United states, the
| Democratic justices inclined TO the view
L In1l h,. H., l,,,x ,,,f
| pubicans embraced the opposite; when
The insuar cases were under consdera-
| ton. the Republican judges held with the
views OF the Republican, party and the
justices of the opposite political faith
were diametrcally opposed thereto. IT
is. therefore not matter OF theory of
what we believe they might do should
not do: IL is matter Of record as TO
what they have done.
The cases cited tend to show that the
nonpartisan judge does not exist every
American is member of one or the other
OF the great political parties for obviously
he must have beliefs upon the great is
sues Of the day, and these impel him TO
affiliate with the party which advocates
them. This will continue to be the case
until members of the judiciary are ac-
tualy endowed with those godlike at
tributes which many of them arrogantly
assume to themselves. an attitude en-
courased by the slavish fear of the jII-
dietary felt by members of the bar gen
orally
Moses, the great lawgiver OF the Jews
led by the Almighty and in constant COM
munion with him. snned so greatly that
ne was denied more than a glimpse OF
the promised land. TO which he had so
ably led his people. and went. while with
IN sight of that acme Of earthly delights.
Ito grave that no man shall know"
May we expect twentieth century man
kind, with all its inherent weaknesses
fly upward, to be less susceptible to
temptation and TO the influences which
compass him about. than was Moses
who walked with Cod
The judge off the bench Is a citizen
with all his rights and privileges AS such
properly ii member Of a political party
and justified In aiding his party so long
as he does injustice TO no man and does
not permit his political prcjudices and
affiliations TO affect his conduct on the
bench. or his judicial acts, And II is
right which every judge exercises, con-
scously or upconsCiously. he radiates
constant influence in favor OF the polit-
cal party of which he is a member. IL
Is no discredlt 10 him that he does so
unless he permits his political affiliations
to affect the discharge OF his duties.
The hypocriticaI attitude OF such as the
salt Lake Tribune cannot change or af-
feet This truth and IL furnishes an ex-
the Third judicial district should in their
Wisdom next Tuesday nominate to ju-
dicial positions only those men of whose
party loyalty there can be no question.
The argument is. plain on the face
of the above, that inasmuch as in
stances of partisan action by Judges
can be cited, therefore partisan action
by judges is inevitable and that it is
desirable to have partisan Judges IN
this district who will decide questions
upon party issues and in favor of the
party to which they belong. The ref
crences, to be sure, are faulty in
most cases, and the article is a foolish
lumble; but the argument plainly
is that judges will and do decide ac-
cording to their political bias, that
there is no such thing as a nonpartisan
Judge, and that the Republican bosses
in this district want judges who, in
all cases, will stand by their party.
1t is proper, therefore, the argument
necessarily goes, that we should recog-
nize this and conform to the party
need by frankly nominating partisan
judges who can be depended upon TO
do partisan work. The citation of
Moses AS great sinner, and who went
Ito a grave that no man shall know -
is faulty enough, TO be sure, but still
the tendency Of the argument all
through is that even though Judge
may sin, he must be partisan in his
SHINING.
Not only must he be partisan in his
SHINING and in his capacity as citizen
off the bench, he must exercise parti.
san influence consciously or uncon-
scionsly, but also she radiates a con
stant Influence in favor of the polit-
zeal party Of which he is a member -
To say that he should not be influenced
by this constant radiation Of political
afflliation in the course Of his duties,
is to call for an impossibility; for it
is impossible that man shall, con
sciously or unconsciouly, radiate con-
stant influence in favor Of the political
ari,r ,f -