Show THE presidents POLICY TM THE now new york times of june particulars of the re raoyal of judge sandford because course in utah did not correspond with the policy of the president Fas ident the ahnes is a beadi leading ng republican Publio paper and though leaning strongly in the direction of wields a powerful influence in inthe the country as its ability ia marked and it is widely read and its opinions are am valued by prominent people of both parties it gives the substance of the correspondence between the tee attorney general and the judge explains the situation correctly and after clearly stating tho the facts makes the following corn com liento which will produce a profound impression in legal and judicial circles and will not be without effect in the political arena qt t Is 18 disclosed in by this correspondence that in the opinion or of the president a judge may with propriety eriety carry out antho in the discharge of his Is duties on the bench a policy yf defined by the head of the executive branch of the govern by that head regarded as proper to be pursued that if a judge does not carry out that policy whatever it may be the president can with propriety E biety remove him and aad appoint in bis lm place a judge who will make the c loucy liev lie u V his own it seems to us that a t this mis is a new and rather startling doctrine as to the duty of a judge Jud geland and the powers of a president it has commonly been held that the duty of a j adge is to interpret the law and dim dispense pense justice in accordance with its provi slona kond A policy may be embodied in new legislation but it Is ie of a judge to pur policy that is not set forth in the jaws that be finds to be in force and with respect to which he be acts we weare are not informed as to the nature natum of toe the complaints against judge sandford Saud ford that have been sent to washington v possibly they are to the effect that in certain mormon 4 cases he has not exacted the maximum realty penalty permitted by the laws it will wil the be noticed however that he i was not removed on account of these complaints but because the president has become satisfied without reference to them that his administration was not in harmony with a policy licy defined at t the white zuse house this correspondence will be b carefully considered conW ered by the senate when it is asked to confirm the nomination of judge zane the new york post pod also makes some caustic remarks on this matter after stating the particulars of the case the post pod says editorially concerning the attorney generals Gene raPs letter to judge sandford this is an extraordinary letter to come from froin such a source in the first place it contains a reflection upon the judges judged judicial character which either ought not to have been made at all or ought to have been stated more specifically in fact it is do no BO sooner stated than it is abandoned as not being the real cause for removal and that caust is then said to be that the judges judge Is administration was I 1 not in harmony with the policy which the president wishes to have pursued in utah the judge was quick to see ee the weak s spot t I 1 in this statement and used it with wit IT telling force as follows J judge adge Sand fords fordIs reply is then theil given and the post pod adds if the attorneys attorney general cannot do better than this when he is pressed fox for an excuse for making a removal without cause he will be much wiser to attempt no excuse whatever but say simply what was obviously the truth in this instance that the removal was ordered because the president desired the place for somebody else the chicago times is another leading journal that discusses this question fram fr m the standpoint of the naked facts which it briefly but pointedly relates and then remarks the right of the president to a appoint PW lut judges with the design of using judicial power to further an executive policy will be challenged it does not exist the attempt to employ it is a gross usurpation of executive power judge Sand fords reply was unanswerable this his probably Is the first instance in inthe the history of the united states that the executive has intimated a right to color and control the action of df a federal judge its impropriety impropriety and illegality are too glaring glaringly fy y obvious to require particular comment the omaha herald of the lust liast is 18 another of the influential papers that animadvert on the removal of judge sandford and the pecullar peculiar manner of it the herald has for some time been strongly antl anti tc mormon 11 even bitter in its attacks on the majority of people therefore it cannot be said that the com comments menta which it ft makes on this matter are through any leaning to our side of the question the herald gives full particulars of the correspondence between judge sandford and the attorney general and says the remarkable character of this correspondence is sufficient apology for reproducing it here at length it is remarkable in that it claims for the president a utah policy to which the judiciary of the territory must be subservient this astounding assertion boldly put forth must give good citizens pause it is the true theory that the judge on the bench is there to administer the law above the coercion or dictation of any policy if the holding of a seat on the bench is to be made conditional to the political manipulations of the president then the courts are no longer a safeguard to the people the constitution of the united states makes the judiciary a distinct and independent arm of the government president harrison in trenching drenching tren ching u upon n its prerogatives irim has au subjected b ejected himself self to impeachment of cou course arse there is not the slightest babi lity of any action such as the omaha herald suggests but its remarks concerning the constitutional independence of the judiciary are am beyond refutation the following sharp editorial paragraph appears in that very verb conservative serva tive journal the philadelphia ledger mr president either your at torney general has made a mistake or you have been led into nto error if the published correspondence between the department of justice and justice sandford of utah be true the judge comes out of that ca correspondence with far the better credit so that if there is apy anything thing behind of a nature to help tho the executive it had better be brought promptly to the front 1 I the wilmington toia Delp kurnal of the lust last also re relates the facts in the ewe case and remarks the question is what particular policy should the president have concerning utah to which a justice of the supreme court must comply to hold his position if there vere were any charges affecting the honor of judge sandford they should have been published if there were none ho should not have been dismissed this is certainly a novel idea introduced du ced by mr mr harridon Harr Har teon ripon 11 and the boston herald of the same date has the following editorial headed A poor excuse which needs no comment of ours it is only natural that the letter of attorney 4 general miller in removing movi I 1 chief justice sandford of utah efrom from his position on the supreme bench of that territory should occasion adverse comm comment exit mr miller said the president has become satisfied that your administration of the office ww WAS not inhar in har mony with the policy he deemed proper to be pursued with reference to utah affairs alra irs and for this reason he desired to make a change this was not a discreet remark and it was unfortunate fortunate uD both for mr miller and the administration with which he is connected that discretion is not one of his strong characteristics the bunc fb notions of a judge are not to have a policy or to assist in carrying out a policy but to fearlessly and impartially arti ally administer the law if judge N sandford Saud ford has been derelict in his duty his resignation should not have been demanded but he should have been peremptorily discharged and that too not on a question of policy but because of the necessities of good government there are some excuses that are worse than confessions and this one made by attorney general miller may be classed in that category |