Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1923-06-08
HOW CORPORATE
POWER RULES
THE COUNTRY
Il, JOHN Il. FORD.

1ast'tEs new OK state supreme
Court
This noNious tree which has grown
70 such dimensions as 20 obscure the
hgat Of liberty was planted when We
took over the judicial system al Eng
land together with the common Law.
Win them Ne also accepted the
superstition Of 8 the divine right Of
judges Is deputies Of the English
kings. Despite the Declaration Of
Independence and the establishment
OF a government that was the mega
ton OF the divine moht of any man
OF set OF men 10 rule, that old super
stitiou has persisted.
As the King ana his Judges were
immune from popular criticism In the
Old days, so We have clothed our
Judges With like prerogatives Of roy
ATTY The robes We wear are bat a
relic OF the trappingS Of monarchy.
While IN England the process Of
growth toward democracy has fe-
suited IN largely stripping the Judges
of their original powers and preroga-
uNes, In this country the old coneep-
uon OF divine right has remained
From this springs our doctrine of
contempt of court carried TO such ex-
tremeS that We have seen the Comp
troller of our City sentenced 10 a
term of Imprisonment in New Jersey
for daring to criticize a subordinate
Federal judge who was attempting To
play ducks and brakes with our trans
portauen facilities and the vital pub
nc interests involved in them.
In England no court or judge dare
declare a law of parliament invalid.
The chief justice of the court that
tried II for the last time was hanged
and his colleagues eNiled from the
county. Even in Canada. our next
doc rneighbor, there is no such power
IN the judiciary. Ours is the only
civilized country in the world where
that sovereign power is vested in the
judges.
As a result of superstitious rever-
ence paid to judges, the people have
shown reluctance to assert their
right to criticise these public ser
wants. Also they have unfortunately
left the selection of judges, even in
States like our own where they are
elected by popular vote, to the law.
yers on the presumption that they
qualified. The lawyers in turn are
che employees of wealthy men and
large corporations. The bar associa-
ton of this city New York; pre-
sumo to tell the people who should
and who should not be their judges.
That association, like every similar
organization, is controlled by a hand
full of its members, the so-called lead
ers of the bar. Who are those lead
ers of the bar? Without exception
they are men who are retained by the
great corporations to protect them in
their special privileges and power 10
exact tribute from the "ublic. Indeed
the very fact of his employment by
one of the great corporations makes a
lawyer a leader Of the bar in the est
nation of his fellows. They seldom
or never appear in court but spend
their time deyising ways and meaus
for their wealthy clients to crcum-
vent the laws passed in the public
interest, or to have them declared I'M
constitutional by the judges whom
they help to select and place in power.
Is it any wonder that judges en-
dorsed by sucn men are disposed to
declare laws unconstitutional and
grant eX parte injunctions against
labor organizations The people
themselves must take the matter of
selecting judges wholly into their own
hands so far as possible and freely
cuticise and punish at the polls
whenever possible those of them who
demonstrate a hostile attitude to-
ward popular rights.