Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1912-02-22
ROOSEVELT FAVORS RECALL OF JUDGES
Continued from page ,

OOhNihuSh AASAh P"SN
as actual experience convinced our
people that presidents should be elect
ed Cas they now are i'm practice. al
though not in theory by direct vote
of the people instead Of by indirect
vote through an untrammeled electoral
college. so actual experience has con
viaced rs that senators should be elect
ed 10y direct vote of the people instead
of indirectly through the various leeis-
latures
| believe in the initiative and the ref
erendum. which should be used not to
destroy representative government, but
TO correct ii whenever II becomes mrs
representative. Here again | am con
cerned not with theories, but with ac-
tual facts. If in any state the people
are themselves satisfied with their
present representative system then il
Is. Of course, their right to keep that
system unchanged, and it Is nobody's
business but theirs. But in actual
practice II has been found in very
many states that legislative bodies
have not been responsive to the popular
viii: therefore ! belie5e that the state
should provide for the possibility OF di-
rect popular action in order TO make
good such legislative failure.
Recall of Judges.
AS to the recall | do not believe that
there is any great necessity for 1t as
regards short term elective officers. On
abstract grounds l was originally In
clined TO be hostile to il. | know Of
one case where 1t was actually used
with mischievOus results. On the OH
D. hand, i'm three cases in municipal
ties on the Pacific coast which have
come to my knowledge 1t was used
With excellent results. | believe i
should he generally provided, but with
such restrictions as will make it avail
able only when there is a widespread
and. genuine public feeling among
majority of the voters.
There remains the question Of the re
call OF judges. one Of the ablest ju-
rists in the United States veteran in
service to the people. recently wrote
me as follows on this subject:
There are two causes of the agita-
ton for the recall as applied TO
Judges. First. the administration Of
Justice has withdrawn from life ANA
become artificial and technical The
recall is not so much a recall Of judges
from Office as it IS n recall Of the adj
minlstratiOn Of justice back to life, 50
that ii shall become, as II ought TO be.
the most efficient of all agencies for
making this earth a better place to live
I'm. Judges have set their rules above
life. Like the Pharisees Of old. they
have said. The people he uccufS'a;
they know not the law Ghat i. .
'rule0. Courts have repeatedly GgfoJ
ed the aroused moral SeutilNcU
whole commonwealth. Take IT,
ample Of the ST. Louis bOot crS.
guilt was plain and in the l''.
feSsed The whole state vs.
and outraged. By "a inst.3 .'
10 the very foundation of Tl 81,
order they demanded that to 81.
punished The boOdIers wee rsg|
ed. hut the supreme court Of N"S'r
never questioning thcir guilt. 81
conviction aside urou purely tc"'n'."
grounds The same thing oc.g-"e
California. Nero. fdding over aa.A'
Rome. was a patriot and a statesman
in comparison with judges VIII y
trihe with and Illustrate the aroused
moral sentiment Of great pear.e.
that sentiment il pOiit icaily The Vs..
breath of botn state and nation. IT l.
10 recall the administration Of jGSrce
back from such practices that tie re-
cent agitation has arisen.
Second. by the abuse OF the powef
to declare laws unconstitutional tG2
courts have become Il lawmaking in
stead OF Il law enforcing agency. Here
again the settled will of society to cor
rect confessed evils has been set ut
naught by those who place metaphys-
les above life. 1t is the courts, not the
constitutions that are at fault. 1t il
only 10y the process which James Rus
sell Lowell when answering the critics
of Lincoln called pettifogging the con
stitution that institutions which were
designed 90 protect society can thus be
mate to &c Eat the common good Here
again thr recall is Il recall Of the ad-
miniStra1ion OF justice back from aca-
demical r,nnCmCnts TO social service"
An independent and upright judiciary
which fearlc>Sly stands for the right,
even agdinS. popular clamor, but which
also understands and sympathiZes with
popular needs, il Il great asset of pOpu-
lar government There is no public
servant AMI ~ private man whom |
place above judge of the best type
and very few whom | rank beside him.
beliCy in the cumulative value of the
law and in its value as an impersonal,
disihterested basis of control. | be-
lievc j.. thc necessity for the courts
Interpretation Of the law as law with
out The power TO change the law or to
substitute some other thing than law
FOR il. Fat agree with every great
jurist. from Marshall downward, when
SLY that every Judge is bound to con-
sidcr two separate elements In his de-
cision of case one the terms Of the
law and the other the conditions of ac