The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1918-12-07

December I, 1918.
Tis the last rose of summer, -.
Left blooming alone;
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone;
No flower of her kindred,
No rosebud is nigh, =
To reflect back her bushes
Or give sigh for sigh.
Justice Christensen is the rose of
the court, the last of the old line
judges-the, last of the Mohicans.
Well may he sing: ~
1 feel like one who treads alone
Some banquet hall deserted, a.
Whose lights are sped, whose banner
fled e
And all but he departed.
All his lovely companions are faded
and gone and their places are filled
by good Nonpartisan judges. And,
though comparisons be odious, ven
ture to predict that the Nonpartisan
court will be in efficiency and fair
ness far surpass any former court OF
the state; that they will not be- slaves
I'd any erroneous or rotten decisions
called precedents-andt that In future
no person will be deprived of life, lib
erty or property without due process
Of law
Our new member, Judge Bronson, is
pure-bred-a good worker and a think
err with large bump Of justice and
clear perception of the difference be-
tween right and wrong. Our justice
Grace: He is Of the right pedigree, a
worker, and jurist of luminous
mind. Our Judge Birdzell, he may be
rated as a good half breed; while the
old liners made him law professor at
the y and tax commissioner, Bishop
Lemke virtually made him judge
ChristiansOn is our new chief justice
He is a jurist Of capacity and a real
gentleman. When left to his own good
impulses he IS sure to stand for the
cause Of right and justice. Yet we are
all creatures of environment. and Sc
it is on many occasions our present
chieftain has fallen into error by put
ting too much trust in his former
companions.
You will remember the famous
horse killing suit, when the ex-chlel
Justice steadfastly maintained tha'
the live stock board had absolute pow
err to order the killing of certain gooo
work horses and that our court was
powerless to prevent 1t. The judges
stood three to two in favor OF an an
solute power to kill horses. 1t was
the same as holding that the stocf
board might go on and kill all tne
horses in the state, and the courts
were powerless to interfere. But or
this matter we had several confer
ences and animated discussions and
at the third conference light seemed
to shine around the intellect OF Judge
Christianson as It shown around Pau
on his way to Damascus to persecute
| the Christians. He veered to the min
ority side. and the good horses were
saved. We did not have to write
funeral dirge.
Once upon tipie a justice OF the
| peace of Morton county assumed the
role OF car by making decree FOL
the destruction Of property wortf
| So, 900. The owners brought suit u
protect their rights and on an appea
! from an order sustaining demurrer
to the complaint, the majority OF the
court held that the justice Of the
peace had jurisdiction. In severa
such suits the present and the pas
chief justice always stood as pair
They said: 1t is true that in civl
action or in criminal action justice
OF the peace can have no jurisdiction
when the amount in controversy Is
greater than 5000, but-a suit to dc
stroy property worth $4,000 is Meth
err a civil nor criminal action-tha'
Il Ia a quasi-civil and criminal proceed