The broad ax. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1895-19??, 1915-03-06
THE SUPREME COURT OF ILL.
NoIS.

&NO4ls
Of the seven judges Of the Supreme
Court of Illinois i've are to be elected
on the first Monday of June Of this
year. The nine year terms Of Judges
Orrin N. Carter Seventh DISTRICT,
James Il. Cartwright Sixth Distriet),
William n. Farmer Second Distriet),
and Frank Z. Dunn (Third District)
expire and the vacancy caused by the
death of AlOnzo K Yickers First
Distriet) must be filed.
A serious situation eonfronts the
State of Illinois. Who, for the next
nine years, are to be the final arbiters
in its great Judicial Department. Are
new ana untried men to be elect
or is the state to avail itself of the
service and experience of four Of the
present incumbentsl
Surely this question ought not to be
controlled by any political or partisan
consideration. OF the six elected judges
now on the Supreme bench Cartwright,
Carter and Dunn are republicans ana
Farmer, Cooke ana Craig are demo
Gratis. The decisions of the court have
shown no political bias. II the judges
whose terms are about to expire
three republicans and one democrat
have served the state faithfully and
well and have interpreted the law with
an eye single to their sworn duty as
Judges, there is every reason why they
should be reelected
1t has been said that the remarkable
achievements of the American bench in
the constructive period Of our history,
prior to 1850, was in 3 large measure
dne to the fact that the judges were
appointed for life and in this manner
the service Of strong men, the perma-
neDey of whose tenure insured their
independence, could be secured. In
this state we have an elective system
to deal with. If we are to overcome
one Of the great weaknesses Of this
system the upright fearless, and ca
pable judge must be assured Of his re-
election by the people.
Judicial experience is one Of the
most valuable qualifications of Judge.
Familiarity with the method Of dealing
with cases from the point of view of
the bench, practice and readiness in
the work, acquisition Of the impartial
Judicial frame Of mind, are acquired
only through actual service on the
bench, requiring Of the individual
judge the most painstaking labor and
the aecustoming Of ones self to the
perusal day after day Of printed rec
Ords and briefs
Of the four retiring judges, Cart
wright Of Oregon has sat on the Su-
preme bench for twenty years, while
Judges Garter Of Chicago, Farmer Of
Vandalia, and Dunn of Charleston are
Just finishing their first terms Of nine
years. An Of these men have developed
and grown bigger on the bench. An
# them have assiduOusly applied them
selves to the arduo1s task for which
hey were elected. An Of them have
worker IN harmonious cooperation and
have striven te DO the work intrusted
10 them with credit to the state
These -four judges themselves repre-.
,ent a variety Of qualities, the com
1ination Of which tends to maRe .
Itrong bench. cartwrieht's ability and !
vigOr, carter's industry, 80
Der Judgment, and open mindedness,
Farmsrss hard sense, fairness and en-
.isnsy, Dunn's lsvel-headsdness and |
strength are wen known.
M Of these judges brought previous
uaieiai szpsrissce to their work on
he statsss highest tribunal They are
NED public servants. They deserve
s-slsstioa- Not only do they merit II,
ut thers Is always danger IN expert
nsntine with . ven established. en-
.isnt crrnnizstion.-The Chicago Tn
me, aEareh s 1915