The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1914-09-10
MR.. PRouTYs STATEMENT.

AS you know, was nominated as
one OF the candidates for supreme
Judge at the non-partiSan primary in
June. | OF course was pleased with
that nomination as | believe thor
oughly in non-partisan judiciary. Bu'
the election ought to be non faCtiOnal
as we'll as non partisan. In the pri-
mary no organization or special in
terest promoted my candidacy and, so
far as know, no organization or
special interest opposed it. To be
nominated under such conditions was
gratifying to me. But | must confess
that ! am not pleased with the angle
that the contest for election is tax.
ing as shown by the newspaper clip
pings, reaching me. This contest Is
becoming not only partisan but Ob
jeCtiOnally faCtiOnal. Organizations
are trying to secure the election of
judges that they think have at least
a bias in favor of their cause or in
terest This, think, is more Objec
tionable than partisan elections. The
newspapers bring the report that ~
Antisaloon league of the State has
endorsed and is working for certain
candidates evidently because it thinks
their decisions have or will show q
leaning toward their cause. The same
papers bring the news that the liquor
interests have endorsed and arc
working for certain candidates, evi
IDENTIFY actuated by the desire and
purpose of securing some one on the
bench that would be friendly to their
cause or interests This is drawing
the judiciary into quagmire that IT
has never entered before in Iowa, and
say frankly that | am not willing to
become party to it. ! do not desire
to be supreme judge if | would be
compelled to feel that my election was
due to either organization with the
implied bias one way or the othel
that this support would pretend
While | have been a temperance man
and an abStainer all my life, | am
unwilling to be considered a candi,
date of the AntisaloOn League, or
similar organizations, for supreme
judge with it's implied obligations OF
judicial bias. II any of the members
of these organizations deem me wor
thy and qualified | should be pleased
to have their support, but not as a
means of instrument for promoting
their cause. While | have always felt
that the liquor interests should have
tho same legal rights in court as
other litigants, ! should not want to
be considered as the candidate of
those interests with its implied obi
CATION of bias or favoritism. If | &C
on the supreme bench / desire to go
free from any such implied bias OF
prejudice, and il / can not go in that
stra - Il M Nn of al
not desire to go there as the repre-
sentative Of any interest, sentiment
or cause. Under our form of govern
ment judicial Office is entirely diff
ferent from a representative office
A representative properly represents
the politics OF the majority that Ell
ects him. But Judge should repre-
sent nobody, no policy, no class, nc
cause, no interest. IL is his duty &c
declare the law as II is, impartia1y
without bias, whether il hurts a
friend or helps a foe. Few men have
been found big enough to disregard
the influence tn which they owe their
election. and d. do not claim that j
would dbeURorl this reason do not
want to- feel that my election Is due
to either OF these organizations. !
therefore wish to publicly announce
that I do not want the active assist
ance OF either of them. | do not want
to be considered as the candidate o,
either.
! | have made bold to confess to the
people of Iowa that have long cher
ished an ambition TO sit on the su.
preme bench, but have greater
ambition and that Is to be true to my
ideals. And II ! can not go on the
bench under circumstances that J
would feel that | could be absolutely
impartial to every man and TO every