The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-10-07

ed law with every temporary wave
OF popular opinion.
There was, it is true, a time when
the conscience OF court of equity
was presumed to be the personal
conscience of the judge. and when
there We're no established rules, and
there was no such thing as res judi
cata or stare decisis This time has
long since passed. It's death knell
was perhaps rung when Selden in his
Table Talk, in referring to the law as
SO administered, said:
Equity is a roguish thing. For
law we have a measure, and know
what to trust to. Equity is accord
ing to the conscience OF him that is
chancellor; and, as that is larger or
narrower. SO is equity. IT'S all one,
as If they could make his foot the
standard for the measure we. call
lChancellor's Foot. What an uncer-
tain measure would this be! One
chancellor has a long foot; another a
| short foot, a third an Indifferent
foot. tbs the same thing in the
chancellor's conscience
II may perhaps be justified in US
ing as my own the language of the
Tgreat English chancellor, Lord Eldon.
when in 1918 and in the case of Gee
versus Pritchard, he said:
Nothing would ir1flict on me
greater pain in quitting this place
than the recollection that have done
anything to justify the reproach that
the equity of this court varies like
the chancellor's foot
For the reason above advanced. 1
am of the opinion that the writ
should issue and that the prayer of
S6 Io eyp I
do not believe that the constitution
al provision is self-executing. ex-
press no opinion upon the question
whether the amendment itself was
legally adopted, as do not consider
that the decision of this point is
necessary at this time"
Chief Justice Bruceis opinion, in
which Associate Justice A M.
Christianson concurs, is rendered in
an action brought by Treadwell
Twichel, for many years a member OF
the house of representatives, to pre-
vent Secretary Of State Hall from
spreading on the ballot for the gem
eral election ten amendments in
itiated by the Nonpartisan league.
These amendments include the vital
features Of House Bill A, by which
the league sought in the general as
VI 1910 " ISS ISldlD d IiSW
constitution for North Dakota. The
amendments provide for single tax;
take the limit of the states bonded
Indebtedness, which now cannot ex-
coed 100000; omit from the con-
stitution the clause decreeing that
taxes shall be levied for public pur-
poses only; provide that the state
may embark in any business which
is open to a private individual or
corporation and that it may guaran-
tee bonds in such enterprises up 70
the amount Of $10,000000 for 100 per
cent of the value Of the investment;
exempt personal property Of a1isgde-
scriptions' from taxation and greatly
decreased the number OF signatures
required on initiative, referendum
and recall petitions
The supreme court two years ago
in an unanimous decision OF the New
Rockford capital removal case held
that the initiative amendment to the
constitution, adopted in 1918, was not
self executing and that the issue of
capital removal, raised by the city OF
New Rockford could not go on the
ballot. This decision was made an
issue by the Nonpartisan league in
the judiciary campaign two years
ago, and was largely responsible for