The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-02-25
JUDGE AnIDON
GAVE ADDRESS
TALKED ON MATTERS or THE
JUDICIARY AND LAW TO A
WELL ATTENDED MEETING OF
THE COMMONS CLUB AT THE
ANNEX LAST EVENING.

The Division of Powers in Our Cow
eminent, was the subject of the ex-
cellent address that was delivered
last evening at the regular meeting
of the Commons club by Hon. C. f.
Amidon, Judge If the United States
district court for North Dakota and
1t was an address that was listened
to with the closest attention.
The meeting was held in the private
dining room of the Annex hotel after
an excellent dinner had been served
to which all did justice, and there was
a large attendance of club members.
President Weeks of the club in a
pleasant manner introduced the speak
er Of the evening and Judge Amidon
in opening his address said that the
present was rather an uncomfortable
time for those who did not believe in
a change. He said that the Develop
ments of the past ten years had been
little short of the marvellous, and
things that ten years ago looked i'm
possible have since come to pass. He
said that twelve years g a number
of men in the national congress had
announced their determination to
stand pat and such great personages
as Penrose, Aldrich, Smooth and
Cannon were down n out and had
been lost in the general shuttle Of
time. They are standing pat 10 far
behind he times that they have vir-
tually reached oblivion. Stand pat is
no longer a battle cry said the
speaker, 1T a become an epitaph for
those who attempt to stand in front
of the wagon of prosperity and stop
the wheels of progress"
The judge then took up his sub
jeCt and told of the beginning of gov
eminent, of the different forms of gov
eminent. He said that the theory Of
M~onteSquieu upon which our govern
ment was formed has been tried in
France, Norway and even in South
America and that it had been aband-
oned in every country in which it had
been tried excepting America. We
have w~orshiped the constitution of
the United States until we came to
believe until a few years ago that it
must be amended only when necessi-
ties of the graVest kind should arise.
The founders of the constitution
sought to form a government which
would insure their political rights;
agency for social betterment had no
place in their thoughts, for it was UNI
known to them in their day.
The judge then took up the work.
ings of the different forms og gov
eminent and compared them with
that of the United States. He paid a
high compliment to Senator .LaFol-
lette for the splendid work he had
done in Wisconsin: to Roosevelt for
his insistent demand for good laws
and national decency and to Presi-
dent-elect Wilson for what he had
done in New Jersey and he was given
much applause at the mention of each
name. In speaking of the recall he
said that he believed that nothing
that had ever been talked of had done
so much good to the judiciary as the
agitation for the recall, for it had
given the judges an idea that the peo-
pie were interested in their work.
DR.. KnoWlton of Fargo college talk
ed in a brief manner of the principal
points brought out in the address of
Judge Amidon and following his talk
a rising vite of thanks was given to
the judge for the splendid effort. 1t
was one of the best meetings the club
has ever had.