The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1912-02-23

on given policy they must have prt,
lie servants who will carry out tha
policy.
Impeachment a Failure.
| Keep clearly in mind the distinct.o.
between the end and the means to at
tain that end. Our aim Is to got ttt
type Of judge that have described. u
keep him on the bench as long al pos
sible and to keep off the bench anu.
necessary, take off the bench lid
wrong type OF judge. Under the con
dltions set forth In the extract fro--
the letter given above | would pcr
sonally have favored the recall Of tho
| judges both in California and In Mis-
souri,, for no damage that could havd
been done by the recall would have
equaled the damage done to the cor,
munlty by judges whose conduct h.
revolted not only the spirit Of justice
but the spirit of common sense. I'd
not believe In adopting the recall save
as a last resort, when 1t has become
clearly evident that no other col-
will achieve the desired result. T.
either the recall will have to be adau'
much easier than 1t now Is to get r.
not merely Of bad judge, but o'
| judge who, however virtuouS, n
grown 80 out Of touch with soc'a
needs and facts that he Is unfit lon
! TO render good service on the bench
1t i5 nonsense to say that impel"h
ment meets the difficulty In actra
practice we have found that impeach
ment does not work; that unfit jud e
| stay on the bench In spite Of 1t. InY1
| parchment as q remedy for the Ills oil
which the people justly complain Is y
complete failure A quicker, a more
summary, remedy Is needed
But there is one kind Of recall il
which I very earnestly believe and tho
immediate adoption of which l urge
| There are sound reasons for being eau
tious about the recall of a good judge
who has rendered an unwise and im1
proper decision. Every public servant
no matter how valuable, and not omit
! ting Washington or Lincoln or Mari
| shall, at times makes mistakes: there
fore we should be cautious about re-
calling the judge and we should bd
! cautious about interfering in any way
with the judge in decisions which nd
makes in the ordinary course as be
tween individuals. But when a judd
ides a constitutional question. wheT
%. decides what the people as a who.
can or cannot do, the people Shout
have the right to recall that decision
! If they think it wrong We should hold
the judiciary in all respect, but it is
both absurd and degrading to make
fetish Of judge or of any one else
! Abraham Lincoln said in his first inau
gural: "If the policy of the government
upon vital questions affecting the whoc
people is to be irrevocably fixed by de-
cisions Of the supreme court
the people will have ceased to be then
| own rulers, having to that extent prac
tically resigned their government Int
the hands Of that eminent tribunal
Nor is there in this view any asSau,
upon the courts or the judges" LIN
coin actually applied in successful fl D
ion the principle Of the recall in tho
Dred Scott case.
Trust the People.
Many eminent lawyers who more on
less frankly disbelieve in our entire
American system of government for
by and Of the people violently antago
nize this proposal. They believe and
sometimes assert that the American
people are not fitted for popular gov
ernment and that 1t is necessary toI
keep the judiciary independent of tn I
majority or Of all the people, that
there must be no appeal to the people,
! from the decision Of a court in anyI
! case and that therefore the judges cr,
! to be established as sovereign rue.
over the people. take absolute isS"eI
| with all those who hold such 70 il
ton. l regard 1t as a complete mega
| ton of our whole system of govern
ment, and If 1t became the dominant
position in this country 1t would meanI
| the absolute upsetting of both tn Il
rights and the rule Of the people. Il
the American people are not fit forj
popular government and If they shou u
OF right be the servants and not ~ Il
masters OF the men whom they tEe4'
selves put in office, then Lincoln's wo" Il
was wasted and the whole system
government upon which this Cro
democratic republic rests IS a failure
believe, on the contrary, with al
heart that the American people are f.
for complete self government and th
in spite OF all our failings and sh1r i
comings we Of this republic have more1
nearly realized than any other peo 1
on earth the ideal Of justice attaiaclI
through genuine popular rule. II t.
courts have the final say so on al l2"
islative acts and If no appeal can II
from them to the people, then they alS1
the irresponsible masters Of the peon'e.
The only tenable excuse for such \
position Is the frank avowal that = 4
people lack sufficient intelligence IN
morality to be fit TO govern themselves.
In other words, those who take th 4
position hold that the people h''
enough intelligence to frame and M i
! hut