The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-09-08
ONE REASON FOR 1T.

| ONE RGASON tOR IL,
| 1t is curious TO see how mischief
makers forget the mischief that they
have wrought, and ignore tho pleadings
that they have made in favor of the
mischief they have done. Here is the
Smoot organ, for instance, out in an
| editorial wondering why IT is that
"men feel more assured of Justice in
| Federal than in State courts; why
attorneys representing unimportant cit
izens in suits against great corpora
| tions choose the United States court
as their theater Of adjudication, if it
can be managed; why offenders will
hurriedly plead guilty to infractions
| of State law if involved in an Of
Tense where a National statute might
be operated against them, And 1T
proceeds in homily trying to account
on indefinite and vague grounds for
the allegations il so makes.
The plea by the organ is a reminder
Of the fact that mischief makers a
well as liars ought to have good memo
ries. No longer ago than April oil
last year, the Smoot organ was out
in wild and ferocious political yell
that such a thing as a nonpartisan
judiciary might he desirable, but is
unattainable and that Republicans only
should be elected for District Judges.
It stated that 1.-The nonpartisan Judge
does not exist; every American is a
nT t1,a
great political parties, for obviously
he must have beliefs upon the great
issues of the day. and these impel him
to affiliate with the party which ad-
vocates them, This will continue to
he the case until members of the iu-
dietary are actually endowed with the
godlike attributes which many Of them
arrogautlv assume TO themselves, an
attitude encouraged by the sIayish
fear of the judiciary felt by members
of the bar generally
This doctrine, specifically applied to
the judicial branch of the government,
led the organ to observe: 1.-The Judge
Off the bench is a citizen. with all his
rights and privileges as such, prop
crly a member of q political party
and justified in aiding his party so
long as he does injustice to no man
and does not permit his political preiu-
dices and affiliations to affect his con.
duct on the bench, or his judicial acts. |
And it is a right which every Judge |
exercises. consciously or nnconsciouslv:
lo li,{a
vor of the political party of which |
he is member It is no discredit |
to him that he does so unless he per.
mits his political affiliations TO affect |
the discharge of his duties. The hy- |
pocrltical attitude Of such as The Salt |
Lake Tribune cannot change or affect
this truth and ii furnishes an excel
lent reason wbv the Republicans of
the Third Judicial District should in
their wisdom next Tuesday nominate
to judicial positions only those men
of whose party loyalty there can be
no question.
This is plain proposition that
Judges on the bench must be party
men, that they must radiate con
slant influence in favor OF the political
party of which they are members
That is, it is right and proper, in the
view Of the organ, TO have definitely
and distinctively political judiciary.
and to have these Judges radiate ga
constant influence IN favor of their
party. How they are TO do this con
stant party service and still keep DO.
Gtical preiudices and affiliations off
the bench and out of their judicial
acts. is one Of those possibilities
which theorists so much delight 10 in
dulge In.
The man who is nominated especially
as a partisan, and is expected to ra.
diate a constant influence in favor of
his party. is, and must necessarily be
a political Judge. But it is not sur.
prisiug that people who have large
interests, personal and monetary. that
come into litigation, should seek TO
get away from courts whose Judges
are expected TO radiate a constant in
fluence in favor Of their political par
ty. Why should il be surprising that
litigants distrust Judges who are tied
up in party obligations, and who arc
nominated not so much because of
their judicial knowledge and power on
the bench as because Of their un6werv,
ing party LOYALTY and their amcna blitv
to party influence, For an organ to