The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1912-01-06
Col. Roosevelt Tells Just What
His Position as to the
Judiciary Is
HAS HIGH REGARD FOR COURTS
But Believes They Should Consider
Peoples Rights
Declares, However, There Are Times
When Will OF People Should
BE Resisted.

New York, Jan. G.--Theodore Roose-
welt discusses Judges and Progress
sive" In an editorial appearing in the
current issue OF the Outlook He says
Ia part
Let me. at the outset put so clear
~ that only wllful misinterpretation
can deceive people. just what my posi-
ton as to the court is. have the very
highest regard, the highest respect and
admiration, for the Judiciary. AS a
whole, think that our judicial officers
stand on a higher level than any 9TH
er body of public servants, or, for the
matter OF that. ofsprivate citizens.
could name offhand at this moment.
number OF judges now on the bench
who render TO the people more sub
stantial service of more far reaching
value than is rendered by any other
men in public or private life-and all
of these judges substantially agree
with the position herein taken which.
indeed, is largely derived from them.
l believe the courts have rendered our
people incalculable service. hold
that the attitude of our people towards
them should be one of appreciation
and respect; but not OF servility.
80 Go | most emphatlcally believe
that we have been wise in giving great
power to our judges. including this
power of judicial Interpretation of
statutes to see whether they conform
with the fundamental law of the land
But | also most firmly believe that,
like any other power this power can
be abused, and that IL is a power with
which the people have merely tempor-
arily parted. and not one which they
have permanently nllenated Used eau
tiousy and moderately and only In the
clearest cases. as Il has been used by
our greatest judges from the days of
Marshall to the present time. as Il Is
defended by writer's such as Mr.
1hayer. IL IL fraught with the utmost
good to the body polite. Used reck-
lessly, Wantonly. and foolishly, where
the case is so doubtful that the judges
themselves may be divided nearly
equally on the two sides (ln the bake
shop decision, first and last, twelve
judges held the law constitutional and
only ten including, however. unfortun-
ately, five of the nine Supreme Court
judges, held it unconstitutiona), as IL
has again and again been used in re-
cent years, Il results in very great
evil.
"S - ] am not speaking of the
judges performance of the ordinary
judicial function as performed by
Judges i'm all lands, the function of the
type which people all over the world
have in mind when they speak on the
uprightness of the judge. OF the inde-
pendence of the judiciary. am speak
ing OF the peculiar function of the Am
erican Judge the function of 20 other
Judge i'm the world. the function of de-
claring whether or not tho people have
the right to make laws fQr themselves
on matters which they Dom of vital
concern. am not speaking of the
Judge in his attitude of judge between
one individual and another or one in
dividual 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, a power
which may give one man or three men
or. five men the right to nullify the
wishes of the enormous majority of
their ninety million fellow citizens, a
power which has. been exercised re
rcatedly, sometimes wisely, sometimes
very unwisely. Bear In mind that I
am not at this time even referring to
decisions dealing with the question OF
the respective sphares OF action OF
cisions that declare the people have
no power to- act. through either the
national or the state government.
1T is, rbelieve, an advantage TO
have fixed in the Court the power TO
state that a legislative action is uncon- |
stitutional: but only provided that the
power Is exercised with the greatest
continue to use II with the reckless
ness that has too often been shown i'm
the past. IL is almost inevitable that
efforts will be made to amend or abol- |
ish II; I know. for instance. that. as
far as l. am personally concerned, /
earnestly hope to see In the next New
York state Constitutional convention
provisions Incorporated in the Consti-
tuition which will enable the people
to- decide for themselves. by popular
ballot after due deliberation. finally
and without appeal, what the law of
the land snail be I'm case such as those
have mentioned. where the courts OF
the state have refused To allow the
people to establish justice and equity.
I ann sure that ultimately
our people must. and will come to the
view that the nation and the states