| Show SMALL WORK FOR FOB A GREAT BODY tun TUB delay in the action of the united states senate on OB the nomination of Mel iville W faller tor for chief justice does not look well on the part of the republicans it shows that they are an not very eager to put in practice t that hat civil service reform about which aich they talk so glibly to gentlemen on the other side of the chamber they have had such a monopoly of the offices for a quarter of a century that they seem to grudge any important position to their political adversaries the opposition to lamar was sufficiently ungenerous but the aou course r se taken in regard to fuller threatens to be conducted in still worse taste senator edmunds has added nothing to his public reputation by his opposition to mr fuller and in the he recent rec en correspondence between them the 1 senator does not shine by contrast with the judge it appears that the judiciary committee of which mr edmunds is chairman received a communication from some enemy of mr fullers alleging that he be had been connected with 1 a scheme to make the west chicago park board pay tor for a piece of and for which the owner was willing 0 take and that either or of this went into the hands of either mr fuller fidler or one of the clerks in his bis office as a tee fee also that as jury commissioner he managed to so arrange matters in a cue case against the south park commissioners as to have the jury so influenced that they returned an improper verdict and f further ar that when the record in another case was being made up tor for the circuit court be endeavored to have the fact suppressed that he was acting as jury com commissioner at the time the aall jury ury was drawn y all this was set forit loran in a letter from senator edmunds to judge Fuller with the remark that any statement he be should think proper to make would be gladly received by the committee but no name was given as authority for these vague accusations and mr edmunds declined to give alyas any as the senate rules did not permit the disclosure mr fuller very briefly and very properly declined to t notice anonymous aspersions and informed the senator that publication would dispose of these fabrications without subjecting him to the humility of having to notice them he thereupon gave the correspondence to the press it has since been shown that the property spoken of in the first cha charge ir was U not purchased bythe park no board aier but was ss acquired by condemnation under the law of eminent domain that the case was fully tested before a jury that mr fuller did not appear pear in connection with the m matter X ter and had nothing to te do with the tr transaction ob action this is testified to b by the judge who tried the case ana and who t though M ough a political opponent of mr fa fuller or d declares I 1 ares that in his judgment IBO 0 more fit person could coal d have been birned by the president deat lor for the posto of chief alef justice other gent gentlemen leen thoroughly familiar with the whole matter have corroborated the statement R of the judge while mr fuller himself has maintained a di dignified ed silence and the other c charges g have been refuted as and d com completely plemely as the first it t t is g s rather our so dieni dignified a person as the icare iceberg from vermont h expect mu judge rage fuller to defend himself from anon anonymous Y M 0 19 a and nd unsupported before a body that cannot be called a court and it if the senate has a rule role forbidding the disclosure of the names of persons preferring charges against prominent persons persona that body can caa scarcely expect those who are thus accused to pay much respect to such peculiar investigations the constitutional tut tat ional provision provision vision that accused persons sha shall Fro I 1 have the right to be confronted with the witnesses against them ought to prevail in an investigation as ag to the character ot of a nominee for office as much as in a criminal prosecution such exhibitions ot of partisanship as are made before the country by pome of its highest officials is very humiliating it is admitted almost universally that the choice of the president for chief justice is a good one and nobody pretends that anything stands la in the way of his confirmation by a republican senate but the tact fact that he is a democrat a insinuations as to the danger of democratic interpretations of the law are simply absurd for they form the chief part of the jurisprudence laris prudence of theroun try and it will be found on investigation that for several vears past the supreme court of the united stated though so largely competed of republicans has tended in its decisions towards sound democratic doctrine and nd the principles enunciated jy the eminent ailment democratic jurists who formerly composed the majority of the court it if the ap approaching ro aching presidential election shaw shall continue in power the present administration it Is quite quile probable that in a few years the political complexion of the supreme court will be changed and that a majority of Demos democrats rats will again sit upon the bench this to is one of the contingencies of the campaign and one that enters largely into the calculations lot I 1 the most thoughtful tf al men of either party arty but whatever may be the anticipations or forebodings on OB this question any factious actions opposition to the conA Gation of mr fuller appears to be very ungracious if not dot disgraceful and should the vote of the senate be postponed until next session in kopes hopes that a republican will be elected to the presidency and the ap polut ment can be pushed off until a republican chief justice can be nominated the party engaged jn in such a reprehensible scheme will rive give much political tal to its opponents to use durl luring the struggle for or power the thelt wt bisett and most respectable thing for the senate vate to do will be to confirm mr foller falter without any further exhibitions ut u party pettiness and any mare attempts to cast unjust reflections upon achar a character that appears to be able |
