Milford chronicle., 1930-02-14
Milford, Friday, February IA, 1880
TWO FAMOUS MEN

TWO FAMOUS MEN
The resignation of Chief Justice
Taft from the U. S. Supreme Court,
and the succession to that place of
Charles E. Hughes, means that one
very famous man succeeds another.
The retiring Chief Justice will be
remembered for his humanitarian
ideals, his very keen sense of JUS
tice, his genial spirit, and the good
natured way in which he took a
crushing defeat for the presidency
in 1912.
Since he became Chief Justice, he
has added to his laurels as one of
the most eminent of our jurists. He
has taken a leading part in the
movement to make legal procedure
more prompt and effective.
Mr.. Hughes very penetrating leg
al mind makes him eminently fit for
service at the head of this tribunal.
He has rendered very great services
to the country, in the promotion OF
friendly relations with foreign ma
tions.
The future development of the
country is very much in the hands
of this great court, on which is laid
the supreme task of interpreting our
constitution. It is its duty to hold
the lawmakers in check when they
enact statutes contrary to the fun
damental principles of the govern
ment. Yet too liberal interpreta-
ton of these principles would make
progress slow. Some allowance has
to be made for the fact that the men
who framed our constitution, never
dreamed of the modern conditions it
would have to regulate.
SeS
POWER IN POLITICS
The politicaI lines are forming for
the battle between advocates OF pub
licly-owned and operated electric
utilities and supporters of our pres
emf system of private ownership OF
such properties. This issue will prop
ablv he prominent in the Congress
sional elections next November ana
the presidential election of 1882.
It is an indisputable truth that
electric service is the best IN our
history. that rates are lower and
steadily decreasing and that expan-
sion of electric facilities progresses
on an unprecedented scale. Amerl-
can citizens and workers use more
electricity and apply it to more tasks
than do the citizens of any other
country.
It is a notable fact that electric
development has been slowest IN
those European countries where utll-
tiles are politically-owned and op-
Grated.
II will be up to advocates of po-
litical ownership of this industry 10
convince the American people that
even if the government could sell
tax-free electricity a few cents
cheaper per family per annum than
nrivate enterprises supposltlon
which has never been clearly proven
that it would be in the best inter-
est of the people of this nation to
give I'D our basic principles OF gov
ernment which recognize individual
rights to do business, in order to try
a socialistic theory.
1t is certainly logical to believe
that once government goes into one
business it will go into other as fast
as politicians can pass the necessary
bills.
Do we want our sons and daugh-
ters to ultimately become mere cogs
in a big political machine or do we
want them to remain free agents.
able to develop, their own businesses
and industries free from needless
po1itical domination and dictation?
We must maintain government by
the people" instead of too much gov
ernment "of the people"