Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1914-07-10
A Gard from Judge MccoOf

Court District Of the State Of Mis-
sissippi: :.
l am a candidate for the Office ]
now hold and have held by
appointment OF Governors
Longino, Vardaman and Noel In
succession and confirmed by their
three State Senates on Endorsements
by nine-tenths OF the lawyers, ON
GERS, representatives, senator's and in
| fluentiaf citizens of the District as
competent and worthy. During this
year / have had similar Endorsements
by the lawyers, officers. senator's and
representatives and others of our Dis
trict, but the Constitution having been
changed so as to make Judges elective,
this last Endorsement is premature,
but my uniform Endorsements as above
mentioned for twelve years shows my
capacity, merit and popularity. Al
though l have been appointed every
time have asked for it, have all the
time been an advocate of an elective
judiciary. | am the only Judge in Mis-
sissippi who wrote, over his own sig
nature, letter just prior to the cleo
tion of 1910, advising the people OF
Mississippi to ratify and adopt the
present amendment to elect Judges,
and my letter was published in all OF
the papers of our District and in many
other prominent papers Of our State.
During all my manhood days I have
advocated an election of Judges as a
sound Democratic principle and gov
ernmental policy. l have done more
than any man in Mississippi to bring
about this change in our Constitution
so that the people may vote for Judg-
es. While l do not expect always to
hold the Office, the doctrine of rota-
ton in office has never been applied
by the states and nation to Judges.
Under the Federal Constitution, the
Judges hold for life or during good be-
havior. In many states and in several
instances in our own State the Judges |
have held twenty to thirty years, and
finally they voluntarily retired. The
rotation doctrine is applied by the
people to the County Officers, but
never to the Judges. This is the first
time have ever asked the people to |
elect me Judge, and as | have been
faithful in securing this right of theirs
to elect the Judges, they assure me.
they will stand by me and elect me.
Under our law the Chancellor is
authorized to do ninety per cent of his
work in vacation and while this makes
his terms of Court short, he is required
to keep his office open daily for the
performance. Of his varied officiall
duties / give the same proper and II
pr aunbt.s sssfnntioa tes vacation TefkI /
that i do to the Court work and this! !!
makes the terms of Court short and
when the work of the Court is done
the Court is adjourned, to stop the
expenses of the Court to the taxpay-
ers and then / return home promptly II
to resume nv vacation work which is
perpetual. There is no end to it;
therefore I will be unable to make a
canvass unless to attend an occasion
al picnic which I will try to do, because
Of this vacation work requiring my
daily attention, unless should have
the Governor to appoint Special
Chancellor to do the work while |
made the canvass but the people would
not approve of that, as they think I II
ought to do the work myself. There
IS not more than half as much made
out of the Office as the salary amounts
to, since there is enormous costs to be
met. consisting of railroad fare, hotel
bills, livery stable expenses, station
Try, Office rent, and charity demands.
about one-half of the sal
Try. If money were the only thing to
De gained, then | could make more by
oracticing law and looking after my
private interest, but it is a compli-
nent to me in my profession to hold
he office and ! enjoy the work for
which many years of practice and ex-
,erience qualify me. All the promi-
lent County Officers make much more
,ut Of their Office than | do out of
nine. All my property consists of
eal estate and is on the tax list.
commit some mistakes, but it is hu-
nan to err and divine to forgive. /
|ispose of about twenty-five hundred
ases annually, and less than one-half
# one per cent of them are appealed
rom my Court to the Supreme Court,l
nd | am affirmed in most of these
ascs and the ninety-nine and one
alf per cent of cases, disposed of by
ne are acquieseed in by the people and
y their attorneys at home. The Su-
RENE Court sometimes reverses itself
nd the Supreme Courts of the vari-
us states often differ in their con-
truction of the law. | have been abb :