El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-05-15

a s THE head or the american ia
"a diciaI system, possessed Of pow
= ers which enable it to pass on
the constitutionality OF the acts Of the
president. congress and the states. ana
invested with a permanency when
makes it independent OF changing puD
lie opinion, the supreme court Is IN
many respects the most powertul Idc-
tor in the American political syslell
and the greatest judicial organization
in the world.
Receiving appointment from the
president upon confirmation by the
senate the justices of the supreme
court pass beyond the power OF either
except under a process OF Impeachment
in which the house must act as grant
jury and the senate as the c9u II %
trial The judiciary Of England Is re-
garded a S the best example OF the su-
premacy Of justice in Europe, but the
highest English occupant OF the OeHCu
must be removed by the king upon the
request of parliament a justice or the
supreme court of the United States
can be removed for no other cause tnan
high crimes and misdemeanors'
which have never been charged against
anv Justice except Samuel Chase, VINO
was impeached in 1904, but who was
acquitted by the senate His impeach-
ment grew out of political opinions
held and expressed by him, ana ala
not involve the integrity OF the man
"A
supreme court may continue IN power
even after the whole country mas
turned its back upon him, Is afIorOeu
by the experience of CHIEF justice
Roger B. fancy. who handed down the
bred Scott decision, which IN e1Iecl
nationalized slavery fancy continued
to act as chief justice, even through
the administration OF president LIN
coin. although he was disliked py me
northern people as only man can De
when he holds opinions against Wnlch
a people are fighting bitter war As
long as Charles Sumner continued IN
the senate of the United states bust
of fancy was refused It's appropriate
place in the supreme court room
Integrity is Never Questioned
Although the people have frequently
complained Of decisions made Dy the
supreme court. and have called into
question its Judgment its wisdom. and
its partisan bias. and although matters
of such moment that their ultimate I'M
pOrtance could never be measured n
dollars and cents have been decided
by a margin of one vote, no one ever
vet has called into question the IN
tegrity of the men who constitute the
supreme court. Members Of the court
IN discussing the lack Of unanlmlty
which sometimes characterizes its De
cisions assert that IL cannot be eN-
pected that where popular and protes-
sional opinion is so nearly divided upon
the questions involved, the justices Sc
LeCLe0 from QlLLEEE4L pa ties anu 4-----
remote sections Of the union ana snaf-
ing all of the infirmities and preJu-
dices common to their fellow citizens
should be unanimous in their views
upon constitutional questions
The supreme court holds its annual
sessions from October TO June. with
| recesses at Christmas and at Easter,
and at such other times as the consid-
Grafton Of cases which have been heard
] requires it. When the court IS IN ses-
eli the can1rOL
/ every day in the week except sunday
| Five days are devoted 10 the handing
down Of opinions and the hearings OF
/ ca ses. Saturday being set aside as a
consultation day. Opinions are handed
down on Mondays. The court cOnTeneS
at u o'clock noon. Its quarters are IN
the capitol building, the court room
being across the hall from the rObing
and consultation rooms, and IS the
room which was formerly the senate
chamber Of the United States Promptly
upon the stroke of y a passageWay
across the corridor which leads from
the house to the senate is rOped or
with silken cords. and the court headed
by the chief justice, and followed by
I the others in the order of their ap-
/ DOintmenr. marches out OF the roDlnS
I rooms, across the corridor ana INTO
| the court room Here everybody arises
! while the marshal announces the court
and the clerk calls out his familiar
! "Oyez." Oyer" and announces that the
/ court is now IN session and all persons
( having business before II viii draw
near and give attention. The justices
/ sit at a high desk, the chief justice
I in the middle. and the others TO MS
/ right and left in the order Of their
/ apDointrneut Their robes hang in the
thew march in, and they sit around the
consultation table in their chambers IN
the same way.
Wear Gowns of Black SILK.
Fnaz vu-r1z rnf Ia q oil
silk or like material When the court
was organized. the question arose as
to how its members should be dressed
| Some thought they should wear the
| mortar board cap of a scholar. some
the garb of a Roman senator, some the
attire Of a priest and others the wig
and the gown Of the English Jurists.
When Thomas jefferson expressed his
/ For heavens sake discard the mon
! strous wig which makes the English
Judges look like rats peeping through
| punches of Oakum-
May Retire at 20.
/ Under the law the justices Of the
/ supreme court may retire at 20. How
| ever. unless overtaken BY infirmities
| which prevent them from rendering
efficient service any longer, they pre-
fer to work on. For instance. justice
Harlan was eligible to retire the first
/ OF June, 1908 But he has preferred TO
I work on, and although the duties of a
/ supreme court justice are arduous and
I trying. he was still in harness In 1911,
] and had "a years of honorable service
on the bench of the supreme court be-
hind him. He has taken part in some
OF the most important decisions Of the
court in its entire history. His %
years OF service is more than double
the average service of member OF
the court. There have been few Occa-
sions when the membership of the SUI
preme court has changed so Eapidly as
at the present time. Today there are
only three members Of the bench who
/ We're there 10 years ago. This has
come about largely through the nu-
merous deaths that have occurred Jus
tice Shiras and justice Brown retired
| iusticas Rrer--e- nd peckham and CHIEF