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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 15, 1906)
11 (FISCAL YEAR CLOSES MAY 10th, 1907) Shipments for First Seven Months of Ninth Year- THE MORNING OREGONIAN, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15, lUUtt. 0.4f ?5 . , fli, 18 lit Cii MU5 FDR MEN Mow eparmlin si 1 specialty fac tories MM each at St. Charles, Mo.. Hannibal, Mo., and Jerseyvflla, XU. tad thna in St. Louis employ, fa nearly S.M shoemakers. These Otx bis; factories oannot supply th nml demand. OFFERS A REMEDY Lawyer Tells How Supreme Court Can Be Helped. RELIES ON CONSTITUTION bays Circuit . Judges Are Xow as Much Justices'' of the Higher Tribunal as They Ever Were. SALEM. Or.. Dec. 13. To the Editor.) Inasmuch as considerable discussion Is being had as to the necessity of provid ing additional help for the Supreme Court. I write this letter to suggest a solution of the difficulty, which appears plainly provided by the constitution of Oregon. It is - surely a misconstruction of that article to suppose that when the state acquired 200,000 population the Supreme Court was reduced from five to three Justices without power to Increase the number, and that a constitutional amend ment is necessary to secure a sufficient number of Judges. It is not fair to pre sume that men who were able to pre pare so good a constitution as ours should not have foreseen that Oregon would at some time equal at least the states from wliWi they came and require an extensive court system. Before Oregon . acquired . 200.000 popula tion the Judges elected from the respec tive districts, under Section 2 of Article VII, of the constitution, acted both as Circuit and' Supreme Judges, and I be lieve from an unbiased construction of the constitution the Circuit Judges are now as much Justices of the Supreme Court as they were then. There is noth ing in the constitution making any . change in their duties or oaths of office; hence. Circuit Judges are now, as then, Associate Justices of the Supreme Court. Ip construing a constitution it is ele mentary that all sections bearing upon a given point must be construed together so that if possible all may stand as a perfect whole. . Again it is said it must not be inter preted .on narrow or technical principles, and if two constitutions are possible the one which gives a meaning to every word and clause should be adopted. Sections to Be Read Together. Upon reading the constitution of Ore Kon in the light of these rules It will be found that Sections 2. 6. 8. 10 and 21 of Article VII, must be read together and so construed that all may stand in har mony. Section 2 provides : The Supreme Court shall consist of four Justices, to be chosen Ip district! by the electors thereof, who shall be citizens of the United States. and who hall have resided In the state at least three years nut preceding their election, and after their election, to preside In their respective dustrlcts. The number of Justices and districts may be (Increased, but ehall not exceed five, vatu tba white population of the stats ahaii Gain ofl Remember This Record is for Only Seven Months and ' We Are Not Yet Nine Years Old. FOR SALE IN PORTLAND amount to 100.000, and ehall never exceed seven. . Section 10 provides: When the white population of the state amounts to 200,000, the Legislative As sembly may provide for the election of Supreme and Circuit Judges in distinct classes, one of which classes shall con sist of three Justices of the Supreme Court, who shall not perform Circuit duty, and the other class shall consist of the nec essary number of Circuit Judges, who shall hold full terms without abutment, and who shall take the same oath as the Supreme Judges. "... Section 21 reads in part: Every Judge of the Supreme Court shall take the following oath: "That I will faith fully and impartially discharge the duties of a Judge of the Supreme and Circuit Courts of said state. Thinks Construction Untenable. " I have recently perused carefully an opinion of an eminent jurist wherein he attempts to construe Sections 2 and 10 together and arrives at a conclusion that the Supreme Court may have not less than three nor more than seven Justices; but I think such conclusion Is surely un tenable, because the argument seems to omit from consideration Sections 6, 8 and 21, as well as the latter part of Section 10, which provides for the oath of office. Section 6 provides: The Supreme Court shall have jurisdiction only to revise the final decisions of thf Cir cuit Courts; and every cause shall be tried, and every decision shall be made by those Judges only, or a majority of them .who did not try the cause or make the decision in the Circuit Court. Section 8 provides: The Circuit Court shall be held twice at least In each year. In each county organ ized for judicial purposes, by one of the Jus tices of the Supreme Court, at times to be appointed by law; and at such other times as may be appointed by the Judges severally, in pursuance of law. According to all rules of construction these sections now stand in the constitu tion and are still enforcible, unless there is something to indicate that some of them should not apply after the popula tion reaches 200.000. However, no such construction can be placed upon any sec tion as will eliminate Sections 6 and 8. By reading Sections 10, "that Circuit Judges shall take the same oath after the state has 200,000 as they took before," and Section 21, providing that they shall swear to do both "Supreme and Circuit Court work," the plain inference follows that Section 8, providing that the Circuit Court shall be held by one of the Justices of the Supreme Court, and Section 6, pro viding that "the Supreme Court decision shall be made by the Judges who did not try the case," still stand in the constitu tion. . The whole constitution is one instru ment in Intendment and time, and should not be construed like conflicting legisla tive acts passed at different times. If any sections were to be wiped out upon the happening of a given event, such would have been expressed in the section taking the place of those to be eliminated. Section 10 cannot be construed to elim inate sections 6 and 8, because by re maining, they are in perfect harmony with it. Provisions of Section Ten. Section 10 provides that the three Su preme Judges elected in one class shall not do circuit duty, but does not say that the Circuit Judges shall not do Supreme Court duty. It then provides that the Circuit Judges shall take the same oath, which means the oath provided in sec tion 21, that they will discharge the duties of Judges of the Supreme and Circuit Courts. Section 8 then provides that the Circuit Court shall be held by a "Justice of the Supreme Court." and section 6 pro vides that while acting as Supreme Just ices the decision shall be made bv those. in Shipments fox- FMi-st Seven (COMPARED WITH SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR ) fiior Shoe House Shipments this year have shown an average monthly gain of $200,000.00. This indicates a gain for the year of $2,400,000.00. Gains made in seven months indicate that shipments for ninth fiscal year will be auwiTmuiitmiMiinimTimiiitNwnuiiuaiiiiuiiUHaiummjimitiJiMiimiitmmiiiHuiaHiHUij who did not try the case in the Circuit Court. There is no provision for the holding of the Circuit Court by any other than a Justice of the Supreme Court, who has taken the oath to do both supreme and circuit duty. The provision in section 10, that the three Judges shall not do circuit duty, modifies the oath to be taken by them, but there is nothing to modify the oath provided by section 21 as to the Cir cuit Judges; and it will be noted that the oath provided is for Supreme Judges only. Why should the Circuit Judge be re quired to take an oath to do Supreme Court duty unless he were a Supreme Judge? Why should we wipe from the constitution sections 6 and 8, without any reason therefor, either express, or im plied by the wording of other sections? Is it not more reasonable to suppose that after the state should acquire 200,000 population it would become necessary to have the Supreme Court in session all the time, and for this reason three Justices were provided for who should not do Cir cuit Court duty, at the same time leaving the Circuit Judges to act as associate Supreme Justices, when leisure permits, or necessity requires? In Harmony With Constitution. Such is certainly in perfect harmony with any and every section of the con stitution, which distinction I think no other construction can claim. It also credits the constitutional convention with uniform wisdom and foresight. It is in harmony with our present method of electing the three Supreme Justices at large, and the other Judges, who are to do supreme and circuit duty by districts, as provided in section 2. It cannot be said that it is at variance with our present judicial system more than other constructions which have been heretofore advanced. For instance, ques tion has arisen in the past as to the prop er construction of section 2, some claim ing that we cannot lawfully elect more than seven Circuit Judges; and others that we cannot create more than seven judicial districts. It appears, however, that the legislative construction is not wholly correct. We have now IS Circuit Judges, which may be construed as constitutional, be cause section 10 provides that after the state shall have acquired 200,000 we may elect the necessary number of Circuit Judges, thus modifying section 2 In that respect. However, no such construction could be applied to the number of dis tricts now organized, for section 2 ex pressly provides the number of districts shall never exceed seven, and there is nothing In the constitution to modify this positive restriction. We have violated section 2 of article 7 by creating more than seven judicial dis tricts in the state, and this might be rem edied by a constitutional amendment le galizing such districts. ' Possibly most people would vote for such an amend ment, as we have been increasing the number of districts, and no fault is found by the public. Added Districts Xof Needed. Nevertheless, is there any necessity for more than seven judicial districts? With the right to elect the necessary number of Circuit Judges in any district, as is done in Multnomah and elsewhere; and with our present system of deputies to assist the District Attorneys, it is doubt ful If there is a necessity for more than seven districts. ,The districting of the state only divides the territory at election times, and the Circuit Judges often ex change work, and hold court in other districts than the one from which elected. Then why not make less districts, and keep within our constitution. The com ing Legislature could relieve all difficulty by reducing the number of judicial dis tricts to seven, and providing for the nec essary number of Circuit Judges in each, and thus bring the state back within the letter and spirit of the organic law. The Circuit Judges, by complying with their oaths, would assist the three Supreme Justice whan leisure permits, or ouu. in the World Ever lade Such sion requires, thus avoiding the necessity of any commission to assist the court, or any constitutional amendment to increase the number of Justices. We do not need constitutional amend ment so much as the enforcement of the present one. M. E. POGUE. HEARINGS ON FREE SEEDS Hope That Graft May Be Killed at This Session. WASHINGTON, Dec. 13. (Special.) While it is not expected that the Housa of Representatives will devote a week to discussing the question of whether the Government should continue distributing pumpkin and squash seeds, as it did last session, the matter will no doubt again come before that body when the agricul tural appropriation bill is considered. Last session the House committee on ag riculture reached the conclusion that the farmers had been well educated as to the characteristics of the seeds sent out and it was a waste of money to spend $242,000 annually in distributing such common va rieties. The committee also recognized that the distribution of the seeds entails a burden on the Postofflce Department, estimated at from 150,000 to $260,000 per annum. The committee omitted the item from the bill, but it was reinserted by the House by a vote of 153 to 83. One of the strongest objections to the omission of the item was that the com mitee had acted without any one appear ing before it to object to the distribution. A large delegation appeared' before the Senate committee and it reported that a distinct majority was opposd to free seed distribution and hoped at this session to be able to make a satisfactory change. In order that those opposed to free seeds shall have an opportunity to present their case to the House committee, that com mittee has granted a hearing at which the entire matter will be very carefully gone into. The anti-free seed movement has the support of the National Grange, National Farmers" Congress and other National, state and local organizations of farmers, together with the horticultural societies, both state and local, and the faculties of many, if not all, of the' state experiment stations, and agricultural colleges. The American Seed Trade Association, the Wholesale Seedsmen's League and all associations interested in the seed trade are also opposed to this distribution. When the West Was Unknown. Putnam's Monthly. "Between the Missouri and the Pacific," said a member of Congress, "save a strip of culturable prairie not above 300 miles wide, the - region is waste and sterile, no better than the Desert of Sahara and quite as dangerous to cross." The author off these words was Edward Bates, of Missouri, whom Horace Greeley long afterward boomed for the Presidency in the New 'York Tribune and in the Chicago Republican convention in 1860, and who became Attorney-General in Lincoln's Cabinet. This was in the ses sion of Congress of 1829. As late as 1843 McDuffle, of South Carolina, in a speech in the Senate which was applauded by many persons in and out of that cham ber, declared that for agricultural pur poses he would "not give a pinch of snuff for the whole territory west of the itocky Mountains."' Mllwaukie Country Club. Eastern and California races. Take Sellwood or Oregon City car, starting' from First and Alder streets. Months BY THE CHICAGO GRAND OPENING, SATURDAY, DEC. 15 NEW STORE- -NEW GOODS FOR Extra Special Worth $7 at $3.95 This large and comfortable Rocker, made in quartered 'golden and weathered oak, polish finish. SOUVENIR TO EVERY VISITOR We take great pleasure to announce to the public that we have just opened our new store with a complete line of household goods, and are now in a position to furnish your home from top to 1 bottom for cash or credit. Our motto will be, "The House of Quality," honesty and courtesy. Dependable goods at reasonable prices. We heartily invite you to visit our store and inspect our goods. - In golden and weathered oak, mahogany finish and birdseye maple, from: 95c Up ARTIN M Society ZJr shoe fbr wmtai Gains Ths increased demand for Bta Brand Gooes mitn two , mora factories nscsssarr and work oa them will batfn at eras, Oaa ad Wsshtnttsn. Mo.; ona at Cap Girardeau. Mo. Zally msaufas ttrrtax capacity wlil then be aVMt pairs. ' 1 MARTIN FURNITURE Satisfaction Guaranteed or Money Refunded SOUVENIRS GIVEN AWAY In golden ash, white maple or imitation mahog any, for: $16 CO ' FURNITURE GO. 166-168 FIRST STREET CASH OR CREDIT 4.4 .','i'flij;.Mawsii-. A $14 Rocker For $7.95 In quarter-sawed golden oak, polish finish, upholstered in Span ish leather and very strong. Extension Table Like Cut For $21.00 A mission design, made of quarter-sawed golden or weathered oak, polished with a 4S-inch top. - j 4 f Lff 11