The Daily Alaska empire., 1932-03-02
An Ideal Choice.
(New York Herald Tribune.


 President Hoovers naming of Judge Cardozo to the Supreme Court is of those ideal selections for public offices which all too uncommon. One simple for their nfrequency is that ideally equipped men tragically
 There was but one respect in which the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals did not precisely meet the situation created at Washington by the resignation of Justice Holmes. That due to accidents of geography. Judge Cardozo comes from la State which has already furnished two members lof the present court-Chef Justice Hughes and Jus tice Stone Justice Roberts, of Pennsylvania halls from the same general region. In contrast the Pacific Coast is without representative, and are the Southern and Southwestern districts
 But this greatest of courts was not founded upon any theory of local representation any more than it was founded upon partisanship Other things being lequal a President will naturally give weight to lquestions of geography Similarly, some degree of political balance is desirable. But the vital points are ability and character In the present situation the pre-emnence of Judge Cardozos essential quail fcations became palmer, in our judgment the more the available material was studied. We rejoice that MT Hoover, after due deliberation has reached the same conclusion and has ignored the lesser con- alterations for the tranScending ones.
 It is seldom that a justice ascends the Supreme Court bench amid such unanimous applause greets Judge Cardozo The is not far to seek He has been lifelong laborer for humane and Iadvancing jurisprudence. Yet he has never been tempted to join those tangential minds which would
  orderly development of the law. Learned in the case books and the treatses a philosopher Of law and government, Judge Cardozo has again and again been able to bridge the gap between radical and conservative minds and unite them in common cause. To that the maintenance of law as a living and growing body rather than list of dead rules points the way though it leaves much undefned Judge Cardozo himself after expoundins in general terms his philosophical approach to the law, said:
 I know this is all distressngly vague.
 With the years of crowded thought have
 given to the subject I cannot make it more
 precise. The Judicial process is of
 compromise, compromise between para
 doxes, between certainty and uncertainty,
 between the liberalism that is the exalta-
 tion of the written word and the nhiliSm
 that is destructive of regularity and order | Here is outlok for which, plainly no shop worn tag like "liberal is adequate The diverse minds which unite in praise of Judge Cardozo point Ito a fundamental quality than can be con- tained in any single theory of society For it the only words such od-fashioned terms purity of spirit and nobility of mind Before such absorp- tion in task such devotion to the truth the dis Iputes of politics seem absurdly irrelevant. coun- try with enough citizens like Judge Cardozo would not know what partisanship meant
 J The loss to this State is great but it is gladly to be borne for the sake of the gain to the Federal IState of which New York is so large part We congratulate the President his admirable deci- sion and we tender heartfelt good wishes to Judge Cardozo in his new seat of learning and the law