New-York tribune., 1912-02-22

than the courts in the way they have APP
preached and dealt with such vital quIhs
lions OF our day as those concerning 'ne
proper control OF big corporations anu VI
securing their rights to industridl "orh'i''
Dealing with Facts, Not Theories.
Here / am not dealing with theories
am dealing with actual tdcts. IN Nv
York I'm Illinois. I'm Connecticut, IsHento
HE IN INJUSTICE has been perpetuated, otten
for many years. by decisions OF the state
courts refusing TO permit the people OF t'le
states to exercise their right as Tree peo-
pie, TO do their duty as a consclehtio,usS
people in removing grave wrong ana socia
Injustice These foolish ana lnlqultous w, W
cisions have almost always been IenueIIIu
AT tho expense of the weak: they nave az
most always been the means of putting
stop 10 the effort to remove burdens lroIn
wage workers, to secure TO men VINO toii
on the farm and 'n tne rnd,ticyne raWaiy OF NJ Ia boT
and Of Iife often the judges who nave
rendered these decisions have been enurely
well-meanins men. VINO. s nomeEe' ,sW and Iiu who Who
chamDioned some outworn pohucai phlius-
oDhy which they assumed to .mbose on tne
people Their associations anu st.to,, suIlouutu
of the cruelty and wrong their decisions
caused and perpetuated. Their prime con.
Germ was with the empty ceremonial Oh
perfunctory legalism, ana not wi'n tne ,,iss
ne decision rendered but a few months ago
bv the Court of Appeals OF my own sta.e'
the State of New YORK, declaring uncGn
stitutional the woTkmens compehsatioI
act In their decision the judges admitted
tho wrong and the suffering caused Dy ue
practices against which the law was dlineu.
They admitted that other civillzed nations Sticas
nod ahcliahed these wrongs ana practlCes'
put they took the ground that the Consu-
tuition of the United States, lnstead OF De,
ing an instrument to secure justice, ndu
heen terenjously devised absolutely to pre-
,,ont iustlce They insisted that the clause
In the Constitution which forbade the tak-
ing of property without due process OF IaM
forbade the effort which had Deen nlaue III
The law TO distribute among all the part
nera in AN enterprise the effects or tne
Injuries 10 life or limb or wage woTkel'
In other words. they insisted that the Coh-
stitution had permanently cursed our peggp,SS
utth ImpUtence to right wrong ana hau
perpetuated a cruel iniquity; for cruel IN
iGuity is not too harsh term TO use ~
describing the law which In the event oI
such an accident binds the whole ourden
of crinplinR disaster on the shoulders least
able to bear 1.-THE shoulders OF the cIIP,
Piled man himself or Of the dead man
helpless wife and children No anarchlsl
orator raving against the Constitution ever
framed an Indictment OF IL so severe as
these worthy and well-meanlng yuossS
must he held 10 have framed II onen rpat.
tor of fact their reasoning was unsounu'
and was as repuguant to every sounu Sc
fender OF the Constitution as 70 every "
Iieyer I'm Justice and righteousness IN eI-
feet their decision was that we could not
remedy these wrongs unless we ainenuen
the Constitution mot the consututlon ol
the state, but the Constitution OF the Ha
tIon) by saying that properly couu ue
taken without due process OF law; ~ seeihs
Incredible that any one should ne Wlilins
10 take such a position. 1t is posltiom
that has been condemned over ana over
egain nv the wisest and most farseetng
courts In it's essence II was reversed py
the decisions OF state courts In states IKE
Washington and Iowa and by the suprvu.e
Court OF the nation In case out ie"
weeks old.
Recalls Liability Law Decision
call this decision to the attention OF
those who shake their heads at the pro
posal to trust the people TO decl1e toI
policy shall he In these matters. ! Know oI
no popular vote by any state OF INC eriohh h
more hagrant in It's deilance OF rlsht ~, anu
Justice. more shortsighted in it's inaDllty
10 face the changed needs OF our clvlilZa.
ton, than this decision py thc nlenesss
court o. the state OF New YORK. Mans ~ "a
the judges of that court know personala'
and for them / have profound fesSIu;
Even for as nagrant a decision as tnls
would not vote for their recall; for naNe
no doubt the decision was rendered III AZ a.
cordance with their ideas OF duty but
most emphatically ] 10 wish that NV nv
people should have the right 10 recali ule
decision itself. and authoritativeiy 10 stdinp
with dlsapproval what cannot but seem 10
the ordinary plain citizen monstrous ms
const truction OF the Constitution, mon
strous perversion OF the Constitution INTO
an instrument for the perpetuauon OF
social and industrial wrong and Tor tno tno
of the weak and helpless NO
ordinary amendment TO the Constitutloh
would meet this type OF case; snd lhtoieIad
bic delay and injustice woulu pe causS ssNt
by the effort TO get such amendmentInot
10 mention the fact that the very JUDGES
who are at fault would proceed 10 con
strue the amendment. In such a case the
fault Is not with the Constitution' the isul rnnl
Ia I'm the Judges construction OF the Con
and what Is required is power iuI
the people to reverse this false and wrong
.
what these decisions agalns'
which | so vehemently protest realIy rep,
resent of suffering and injustice Visit l
had the power TO bring before you the man
maimed or dead, the woman and children
left to struggle against bitter poverty oe-
cause the breadwnner has gone. am no'
thinking of the terminology or the decision,
nor OF what seem to me the halr
and metlculous arguments elaborately
worked out TO justify great ana leII-
BILE miscarriage of justice. Moreover, am
not thinking only OF the Yiuerers IN anS
given case, but of the tens OF thousands
OF others who suffer because OF the way
this case Is decided. In the New YORK case
the railway employe who was injured Wa
admins that by every moral consideration
he was entitled to recover as his due the
money that the law intended 10 give nun Nun.
Yet the court by its decision forces thas
man TO stagger through life MANNED, ana
keeps the money that should pc MS III
the treasury of the company IN whose ser
vice as an incident OF his regular enploy
ment and in the endurance OF ORDINARY
risks, he lost the ability 10 earn ms own |
livelihood There are thousands OF lVeses
In this country: thousands of eases sucn as
this come up every year; ana wmie tnls
Is true, while the courts deny essenual anu
elementary Justice to these men ana Fne, Ft, 70
them and the people in exchange Tor lustlce
a technical and empty formula, IL Is idle 10
ask me not to criticise them. AS long as
Injustice IA kept thus intrenched ny any !
court | will protest as strongly as ~ me
lies against such action. Remember, When !
am asking the people themselves In the
last resort to interpret the law wmch they
Themselves haYs made, that, alter an.
am only asking that they step IN ana au-
rcconclle the cofnictlns ~
the Judges and courts nave deched every
which way, and II Is foollsn 10 talk OF lns
sanctity OF Judge made law winch halt
of the Judges strongly dcnounce. II there
,t,,.t no 'decisiou IN a close majority, then
let the pcople step IN and let II be their
maioritN that decides. According to one
Of the highest judges then ana now on the |
Supreme Court of the nation, We had nyed
for a hundred years under d Constitution !
which nermitted a national income tax, |
mill suddenly by one vote the supreme |
Court reversed its previous decisions ior |
a century and said that for century we I
had heen living under wrong interpreta- /
ton of The constitution chat is, under a /
wrong constitution. and therefore In effect I
ests hlished A new Constitution which we 1
are now laboriously trying TO amend so as /
TO get II back to be the constitution ina.
for n hundred years everybody, including |
H., e,,nrapnc Court thought IL TO be.