The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1912-02-21

elect directly to a highly important
and responsible position. The profess
sfonal politician and the professional
lobbyist thrive most rankIy under a
system which provides a multitude of
elective officers, Of such divided re-
sponsibility and of such ~obscurity
that the public knows, and can know.
but little as to their duties and the
way they perform them.
1.-THE people have nothing whatever
to fear from giving n public servant
power, so long as they retain their
own power to hold him accountable for
his use OF the power they have dele
gated to him. You will get best erv
ice where you elect only a few men,
and where each man has his definite
duties and responsibilities, and is
obliged to work in the open so that the
people know who he is and what he is
doing, and have the information that
will enable them to hold him to ac-
count for his stewardship.
81 believe in providing for direct
nominations by the people, including
therein direct preferential primaries
for the election of delegates to the
national nominating conventions. /
believe in the election of United States
senators by direct vote. i believe in
the initiative and the referendum,
which should be used not to destroy
representative government, but to cor
rect it whenever it becomes misrepre-
sentative.
II believe that the initiative and re-
ferendum should be used, not as sub
- ;A,,%1, %1., commemorative urnrrarnvnnNt
but as methods Of making such gov
eminent really representative. Action
by the initiative or referendum ought
not to be the normal way Of legisla-
ton, but the power to take it should
be provided in the constitution, so that
If the representatives fail truly to
represent the people on some matter or
sufficient Importance to rouse popular
interest, then the people shall have in
their hands the facilities to make good
the failure.
And / urge you not to try to put
constitutional letters on the legisla-
ture, as so many constitution makers
have recently done. Such action on
your part would invite the courts to
render nugatory every legislative act
to better social conditions. Give the
legislature an entirely free hand; and
then provide by the initiative and
referendum that the people shall have
work of the legislature should it ever
become necessary.
Enent the Recall.
CAS- to the recall, L do not believe
that there is any great necessity for
it as regards short-term elective Of
hcers. There remains the question Of
the recall of judges.
"An independent and upright judiei-
airy which fearlessly stands for the
right, even against popular clamor.
but which also understands and SYM
pathizes with popular moods, is a
great asset OF popular government. /
believe in the necessity for the courts
Interpretation of the law as law with
out the power to change h law or
to substitute some other thing thar
law for it. But / agree with every
great iurist, from Marshall down
wards, when l say that every judge
is bound to consider two separate eie-
ments in his decision of a case, one
the terms of the law, and the other the
conditions Of actual life to which the
law is to be applied. Only by taking
both of these elements into ccoun is
it possible to apply the law as its
spirit and intent demand that it be
applied.
Moreover, never forget that the
judge is just as much the servant of
the people as any other official. OF
oo,Yroa he ,a,,S+ aof Observation-Disclosures
He must not do anything wrong be-
ause there is popular clamor for it.
any more than under similar circum-
stances a governor or a legislator or
a public utilities commissioner should
do wrong, But in their turn the peo-
pie must follow their consciences, and
when they have definitely decided on a
given policy they must have public
servants who will carry out that
policy.
Keep clearly in mind the distinc-
ton between the end and the means
to attain that end, Our aim is to get
the type Of judge that l have de-
scribed, to keep him on the bench as
long as possible, and to keep of the
bench and, if necessary, take off the
bench the wrong type of Judge. The
question OF applying the recall in N
shape Is one of expediency merely.
Each community has a right to try
the experiment for itself in whatever
shape 1t pieases.
Recall Last Resort.
81 do not believe in adopting the re-
call save as a last resort, when 1t has
hoanuaa oloorlxv axi,7ant kba4 -. L.