The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1915-03-20
lawful ways lest they get tangled in
his web>of Judge made law


! his web>of Judge made Law.
But this was prevented by that COM
promise between those old English
Judges The Z compromise left the
Chancellors, with their Kings con-
: science. to deal with quarrels between
property claimants over peculiar
questions Of property rights; but ques-
> tons OF human liberty. and OF all
other human rights except property
rights outside Of, crime, were given up
by the Chancellors. D.
Americas Downfall" =.
This iy important to Americans. For
our country was originally a ,collec-
ton Of British colonies, governed by
the laws OF England and when they
seeded from the mother country in
It's, they retained the British laws
at that time in force among them
So we had chancery courts, and law
courts apart from chancery courts,
with different groups Of judges in
each, and our :chancery courts were
not allowed to manufacture judge
made law affecting human liberty or
freedom of speech or of the press, nor
trying cases of contempt of court:
If we had continued this separation
, of chancery and law courts, it is prob
able that: no Chancellor In our country
would ever have ventured to grant In
:! functions, either creating crimes or
forbidding those the law created. The
Judges OF the other courts would have
seen to that; for Judges are pretty
!. Jealous Of their powers, and this
| would have encroached upon the
powers Of the law judges.
/ But in course of time the distinc-
! ton between chancery courts and law
courts was abolished with us; not in
| form everywhere, but In fact, for the
same men came to sit as judges in
both courts. 1t was as If the Kings
conscience had been turned over, to
the law judges, so that IL ready-made
law wouldn't fit a particular case they
could peer into their chancery powers
and construct judge-made law for that
case. After this there were no law
judges to- be jealous of chancellors,
| for they were themselves both chan
cellors and law. judges; and TN due
course the chancellor in them usurped
good deal Of their authority: as;2law
Judges, without any protest. So Judge
| made law for particular cases >: en-
croached upon the regular law, for all
| cases. " =: @,:v:*:~'f> rs.
=. Judges Arc Fallibltes. > ; ~ &" :
:. Many people approve this, because
they think that justice il only a ques-
ton ct doing the right thing in, each
cass. 1t might be- ii judges were in
fallible., But judges are mere men,
and, like all the rest OF us, they have
their" hearts chock full. OF, all kinds of
devils, as Mr.. Chest efton says. *:'The
only way, then to do. Justice in part1cu-
lar cases is to apply the general rules
This may make misfits ometlmes
but never with the -danserous .conse-
:quences Of judge-n1ade claw: Foz
isn't it plain that business association
! personal friendship and ,c1a5A pretu.
dice are powerful influences; "a courts
where 5udge-made law flourishes7,
1t certainly has been 60 lnSthis coun-
try since the distinctions between
Ischancellors and law judteH saaB abol.
| tshed: ~ None Of the judges ORE intar-
ested. now In holding any other set; 81
judges in check, and we have"gov.
T ernment by. injunction. '%s It's benefi-
Charles are business men when labor
strikes are on. and it's. victim IL or
ganized labor.
Through injunctions ferbidding law.
less acts by labor strikers, judge,
usurp the power to try strikers fo1
crime, without witnesses or tt1ries and
to punish them at wiil-ilot~ for tht
! crime, indeed, buts Tor ccontempt d
court in having committed the crime
And through injunctions forbiddini
lawful acts that are repuknant to ths
kings conscfence,> which 10 the BIZ
Business conscience now; these Judges
fget not only the power to act as ;jurie.
in: the trial Of criminal. cases, ao1l
also the power to act 10 legislature
In making criminal laws >:~'z.': ~: ' :, !
Court Made Law. =: 80
Please observe that there is no oh;
lection; to Furnishing scrimes,:by .or.
gan1zed labor, nor to preventing then
II you can. The objection is tina,
judges forbid acts that are crimes ant
also acts that are not crimes, tanf
then. try; OUT the question Of gull
OF innocence in their own way, ~ittao,i
those safeguards which the experianc,
OF centuries has proved to be neces
saryfor the protection Of innocence.
This makes our judges dictators
Now dictator on a Judges bench /.
just as bad as one. on a monarch,
throne, and that is the moral Of thi.
story about organized labor and judge
made law.-In Life and Labor. :
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