Evening star., 1916-04-13
Justice Hughes and the Presidency.

Justice Hughes and the Presidency.
It is easy to understand why any
Roosevelt advocate should desire renun.
ciatory statement from Justice Hughes
as to the Chicago nomination. He and
his associates believe that, with the jus
tice entirely out Of the equation-placed
beyond the possibility of draft-their
favorite would have walkaway for the
nomination. They see nobody else in
the way. As they appraise the situation,
it is Roosevelt or Hughes; and they
would have the latter make the formers
success certainty by announcing that
under no circumstances would he ac-
cept the nomination.
It is equally easy to understand why
a democrat should desire such an an
nouncement. For, of course, it would
be hailed and used as a confession of
the invincibility of Mr.. Wilson. "See!"
the party managers would c1claim.
although on the bench, Justice Hughes
is not without knowledge of what is
going on in the political world, and hav-
ing once been in politics knows the
value of every move there. He is too
wise to dispute the way with the loco
motive. He could have accepted with
propriety the leadership of the oppo-
sition, but not with safety. Safety
Grst."
These two positions are clear enough.
But why anybody else should desire JUS
tiee Hughes to decline something that
has not yet been offered, something he
is not seeking, and is not suspected
of wishing, and to put himself above
the possible and unsolicited command
of his party to perform great national
service, is by no means clear.
The proposition that political party
should not go to the bench for candi-
date has some relationship to the propo
sition that the appointing power should
not go to the political world for
Judge. There are those who hold that
appointments to judicial places should
be made exclusively from the legal
world; that men who have been active
in politics and become leaders there
have disqualified themselves for the best
judicial service.
As we all know, some Of the ablest
and most eminent members of the Su-
preme Court of the United States, tax
ing the record from the beginning, have
been chosen from the political world,
and were in the public eye at the time
because of demonstrated leadership
there. With all Difference, the case Of
the honored Chief Justice of the court
today may be cited. He was chosen a
senator from Louisiana partly because
Of reputation made on the bench, and
then chosen an associate justice of
the Supreme Court partly because of
reputation made in the Senate. That is
to say, President Cleveland, needing a
strong man to fill Supreme Court va
eaney, turned to one who had been
strong man on the bench before reach
ing the Senate, and had proved strong
man in the Senate And the unchal-
lenged opinion is that he chose the
right man.
The republican party needs strong
man to carry its standard this year-the
strongest it can secure. Many of its
members see in Justice Hughes the man
for the emergency. They are urging
him of their own accord. Their calcu-
lation is that, as he was a strong man
when in politics-leading his party sue
cessfully in the greatest state in the
Tnion-and has proved a strong man
on the bench, he would prove his
strength again if called back to politics
The persistence among the people of
this sentiment concerning Justice
Hughes in spite of all diseouragements
is fine tribute of popular regard for
him and seems to involve no disrespect
toward or injury of the Supreme Court
or its ideals.