The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1912-02-26

vide for their safety While at work,
and to prevent oyerwork or work UNI
der unhygienic or unsafe conditions.
See to it that no restrictions are
placed upon legislative powers that
viii prevent the enactment Of laws
under which your people can promote
the general welfare, the common
good.
81 believe in providing for direct
by the people, including
therein direct preferential primaries
for the slsonon OF delegates to the
national nominating cenrenHone. II
believe In the election Of United
States senators by direct vote. l
believe In the initiative and the refer
endum, which should be used not to
destroy representative government
but to correct 1t whenever IL becomes
misrepresentation.
81 believe that the initiative and
referendum should be used, not as
substitutes for representative govern
ment, but as methods of making such
government really representative. Ac-
ton by the initiative or referendum
ought not to be the normal way OF
legislation, but the power to take 1t
should be provided in the constitu-
ton, so that If the representatives
fail truly to represent the people on
some matter of sufficient importance
to rouse popular interest, then the
people shall have in their hands the
facilities to make good the failure.
CAS- to the recall, | do not believe
that there is any great necessity for
1t as regards short-term elective Off
GERS. There remains the question Of
the recall Of judges.
IAN independent and upright judic-
larry which fearlessly stands for the
right, even against popular clamor,
but which also understands and SYM
pathizes with popular needs, is a
great asset Of popular government.
Keep clearly in mind the distinction
between the end and the means to
attain that end. Our aim is to get
the type of judge that | have describ-
ed, to keep him on the bench as long
as possible, and to keep off the bench
the wrong type of Judge The ques-
ton of applying the recall in any
shape is one of expediency merely
Each community has right to try
the experiment for itself in whatever
shape it pleases
Il do not believe in adopting the
recall save as last resort, when il
has become clearly evident that nc
other course will achieve the desir
ed result. But either the recall will
have 10 be adopted or else it will
have to be made much easier than II
now is to get rid, not merely of Q
bad judge but of a judge who, how
ever virtuous, has grown so out oil
touch with social needs and facts
that he is unfit longer to render COCO
service on the bench. 1t is nonsense
to say that impeachment meets the
! difficulty In actual practice We
have found that Impeachment doe.
not work, that unfit judges stay OF
the bench in spite of II, and indeed
because Of the fact that Impeachment
is the only remedy that can be uset
against them.
"A quicker a more summary. rem
edy is needed; some remedy at leas
as summary and as drastic as tina
embodied in the Massachusetts con
stltution. And whenever IL be fount
IN actual practice that such remed,
does not give the needed results
would mhesitatingly adopt the re
call.
! But there is one kind of recall II
which ! very earnestly believe anf
the immediate adoption of which
urge. When Judge decides a consti
tutional question, when he decide,
what the people as a whole can OF
can not do, the people should hay,
the right to recall that decision /
they think II wrong. We should hol,
the judiciary In all respect, but IL h
both absurd and degrading to make (
fetish OF a Judge or OF any one else.
! "A typical case was the decision
rendered but a few months ago b,
the court OF appeals OF my own state
the state OF New York, declaring un
constitutional the Workmen's Com
pensation act. The judges admitted
that other civilized nations had abol
ished those wrongs and practices
But they took the ground that tn,
constitution Of the United States. In
stead OF being an instrument to Sc
cure justice. had been ingeniously de
vised absolutely TO prevent Justice
they insisted that the constitution
had permanently cursed our peopl,
with impotence to right wrong an,
had perpetuated cruel iniquity.
NO Anarchist orator. ravin,
against the constitution, ever frame,
an indictment Of IL so severe as thes,
worthy and well meaning judges mus
be held to have framed II their rea
soning be accepted as true. In IL
essence Il was reversed by the decis
ion OF the state courts In states Xix,
Washington and Iowa, and by the su
preme court OF the nation In cas-,
but a few weeks old
Il know Of no popular vote by an,
state OF the union more fragrant Ii
its reliance OF right and justice, NOR,
short-sighted In it's inability TO fac,
the changed needs OF our civilization
than this decision by the highes
court OF the state OF New York. Man,
of the judges Of that court know
personally. and for them ! have
profound regard. Even for as flag
rant decision as this would no
vote for their recall, for have n,
doubt the decision was rendered II
accordance with their ideas OF duty
But most emphatically do wish tina
the people should have the right L
recall the decision itself, and authorl
tatively TO stamp with dlsapprova
what cannot but seem to the ordin
airy plain citizen a monstrous miscon
struction OF the constitution, a mon
\ strous perverslon OF the constitution
into an instrument for the perpetual
ton of social and industrial wronl
and for the oppression OF the veal