The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1912-01-06
ROOSEVELT URGES
RESPECT FOR OUR
SUPREME COURT
Attitude Of People Should NOT be
One Of Servility, He
Declares
BELIEVES POWER WELL GIVEN
Thinks That All Public Servants
Should be Willing to Abide by
Consciences
BELIEVES POWER WELL GIVEN

New York, Jan. Theodore
Roosevelt discusses Judges and
Progressive" in an editorial appear
ing In the current issue of the Out
look He says in part:
Let me, at the outset, put SO clear
ly that only wilful misinterpretation
can deceive people, just what my
position as to the courts is. | have
the very highest regard, the highest
respect and admiration, for the jU-
dietary. AS whole, | think that
our judicial officers stand pm q
higher level than any other body of
public servants. or, for the matter
of that, of private citizens. | could
name cffhand at this moment, a
number of judges now on the bench
who render to the people more sub
stantial service of more far-reach-
ing value than is rendered by any
other men in public or private life
land all of these judges substau-
TALLY agree with the position here
in taken, which, indeed lis largely
derived from them. I believe the
courts have rendered our people in
calculable services. hold that the
attitude OF our people towards them
should be one of appreciation and
respect; but not of servility,
- most emphatically believe that
we. have been wise in giving great
power to judges, including this
power of judicial Interpretation OF
statutes to see whether they con-
form with the fundamental law of
the land. But / also most firmly be-
lieve that, like any other power
this power can be abused, and that
it is a power with which the people
have merely temporarily parted, and
not one which they have permanent
" alienated Used cautiously ana
moderately and only in the clearest
leases, as it has been used by our
}greatest judges from the days of
gMarshall to the present time. as it
lis defended by writer's such as Mr..
'Thayer, it is fraught with the ut
lnost good to the body polite. Used
Tecklessly, wantonly, and foolishly,
where the case is so doubtful that
the judges themselves may be diyid-
ed nearly equally on the two sides
Tin the bakeshop decision, first and
last twelve judges held the law con-
stitutional and only ten including,
however, unfortunately, five of the
nine Supreme Court, judges. held 1t
unConstitutional1 as it has again
and again been used in recent years,
ii results in very great evil .
Not Ordinary Function.
am not speaking of the judges
performance of the ordinary judicial
function as performed by Judges in
all lands, the function. of the type
which people all over the world have
in mind when they speak of the up
rightness Of the judge, of the inde-
pendence Of the judiciary. ] am
speaking of the peculiar function of
the American Judge, the function of
no other Judge in the world, the
function of declaring whether or not
the people have the right to make
laws. for themselves on matters
which they deem of vital concern. !
am not speaking of the Judge in his
attitude of judge between one in
diyidual and another, or one individ-
ual and the state; ] am speaking OF
the judge when, by virtue, of his
position, he declares that the people
as a whole have, or have not the
right to carry out given policy
power which may give one man or
three men or Ave men the right to
nullify the wishes of the enormous
majority of their ninety million fell
low citizens, a power which has been
exercised reneatedly, sometimes
wisely. sometimes very unwisely,
Bear in mind that am not at this
time even referring to decisions
dealing with the question of the re-
spective spheres Of action Of Ma
Concluded on Seventh Page,