The Adair County news. [volume] (Columbia, Ky.) 1897-1987, 1914-07-29
ROTATION In OFFICE DEMOCRATIC
SAYS HOBSON'S OPPONENT
Judge RoIn Hurt OF Affair." Makes Strong Argument for Support
in August Primary
The Constitution is Againsts Life Tenure
Hardin County Man Has Been Appellate Bench Sixteen Years
and Has Drawn $4,000 in Salary.

the holding of this office for sixteen
years past. If you would follow this
argument to its logical conclusion,
then no one else could ever hold this
Office as long as Judge Hobson lives,
because at the end of another eight
years term his experience in holding
| the Office would be so much greater
than any other person possesses, that
, no one else but he could be consider
ed If merely having held the Office
is so valuable prerequisite to being
eligible to it again and again, then at
his death there will be a calamity
sure enough because there would then
be no one fit for il, as there would
be no one living to succeed him, who
had ever had any experience in hold
ing it.
LET OTHERS GET EXPERIENCE
81 have, however, had some exper-
fence my self in matters of the law.
have been a regular practicing attor-
ney for thirty years past, and every
one knows that the lawyer who is con-
tinually engaged in the courts has as
much experience as the judge of the
court. When Judge HobSon was elect
ed sixteen years ago he had never had
any experience in being a Judge. He
was elected over two men who had
large judicial experience, and yet l
have never heard that Judge Hobson
at that time conceded that either of
his opponents was in any wise better
fitted or better qualified for the Office
than himself. To carry his argument
further means that he believes that
when a man is elected to fill an office.
then elections for that Office should
cease until the man dies. | have OBJ
served that when a man holds a good
office for long time and does not
want to give it up, that he becomes
profoundly impressed with the value
of his experience in the Office
CONSTITUTION AGAINST IT.
"This doctrine of never changing
the judges is barking back to the
time, when the people were rot per-
mitted to select their judges Prev
iouS to 1850 the judges were appoint
ed and held their Office during life
This system became no nauseating to
the people and so unsatisfactory that
when they made the constitution of
1850 they destroyed that old remnant
of monarchy and provided that from
that time the Judges of the Court of
Appeals should be elected for term
Of eight years. Since that time forty
six different persons have been judges
of the Court of Appeals Only one OF
these worthy. and learned men was
ever elected to more than TWO full
terms in this office. Only three Of
them ever held it for as much as six
teen years. and only two for more
than sixteen years
'Do you not think that it Will be
better to stick to the old Democratic
doctrine of rotation in office? Judge
Hobson illustrates his desire to hold
on to office by stating that a man
having a good team of horses which
work we'll together, would not ex-
change one of them for an untried
horse, which under some circum-
stances is true, but if one of his team
was a sixteen year old horse, a man of
judgment would not hesitate to ex-
change him for well broken and well
trained horse eight years of age