THE CHAKLOTtE JNlEWS, DECEMBER 13, 1914.
13
til
xon Favors Moie
Elective and Fewer
Appointive Offices
I if I ii ii nun
or intermediate courts
?,ictipp and the supeiior
l-pntlv taken a per-
. ,rT "ft" '
inanem
t' place in the civil and criminal
"... . fhp state.
Constitutional Court Prov.s.ons
rZ constitution provides tor, (1)
r; " fc-r the trial of nnpeach
(Senate.) (2) "a supreme
w: .,. -.noririr court." (4)
:;i superior
co""- ; :..f.o nf thf ueace." and
nthrr courts inferior to the
, -,- CO'.UT mo..' v.i.
TOt!!'1
fllpre
iiv la
npci
ir.ear.ocs
1. $0(
il'nniil. Art. 4, oeu. i.j auv
L Ha! -ourts for the trial of misde-
;:i cities ana towns, wueic
-nay be necessary," (Art.
1 i)
Old Circuit Court.
r.-n'-i- thf last two sections ot
, ror,r';runon that mayor's, record
,.0ike and other inferior courts
f,!?' Vi'.'ui'd. The old circuit crim
' court ovpi- which Judge Mears
'n';.j(i.Ni for so' long was established
ndV ihi-s fame section. It. will be
in'td that Geo. E. Wilson and
r;.' lat; col. John E. Brown were
both !
t ' Ron.nson and the late W. W
niVtVr wr; clerks of this court. I am
," 'fiver a court -here now tor
'L coh'hv of Mecklenburg similar to
oi'i circuit court in dignity ana
iiirisjict'on. with a civil jurisdiction
-dded sav up to $500, as Rutherford
lounty liak or even more. In the days
the tlci circuit court the officers
thereof 'vtre of equal dignity as the
regular superior court officers of the
,;ate Mecklenburg alone has more
jflal 'business than the entire circuit
nyer which Judge Mears presided so
;oDS and so efficiently.
Officers Appointed.
Xhp old circuit court in which
iePr-. Cansler, McCall, Bell, -fharr
ind other lawyers of this section
aade rt putaiions existed prior to the
"riaeliire amendment when the jus
tices, judges of the inferior courts
rd 'circuits courts, and many other
Seers were appointed by the legis
lature or some other democratic agen
:v so as to protect the eastern coun
ties" from negro domination, as we
iemocrats alleged, and which was
true iu most cases. From 1876 to
1S9J such appointments were maae
ail over the state, even in the west
ern counties, at times; and during
iil this time the democrats were be
sieaned by the republicans for deny
ing the people of the state a proper
voice in the government thereof by
depriving them of the right to elect
their judicial and other officers.
Defense of Democrats and Promises.
The only defense that the demo
crats from Vance on down to the
cross roads orator ever made to this
. (large was that such laws were
enacted for the benefit of the east
em counties where the negro was in
tie ma ority and could elect colored
or white officers as they chose. This
to? the text of our democratic and
tepublican orators from 187$ to 18i)6.
When our party decided to eliminate
the race issues from North Carolina
'politics by the franchise amendment
many republicans who had become
tied of such political warfare as
tad been conducted for more than
two decades in the state joined hanas
fitU the democrats and, under mu
tial promises and agreements of local
teh-government and the election ot
(csrs by the people, the largest ma
jority ever given a proposition in the
?ia s was rolled up for the franchise
ac'endiuent. Jud Albright and all oth
er leading republicans of that day
vail ivmember the agreements and
the votes and the mutual good fool
rigs that existed on that memorable
election in the state, especially in
be western counties between the r-lublicai-s
and the democrats. Every
tedv was glad that the people were
doming back to their own election
j their own officers.
People's Pacts Not Preserved.
These pacts of the parties have
teen kept in the main. The people
the state now elect their magis
trates, recorders, police justices and
fther officers that at one time were
appointed by partisan agencies. But,
-range to say, here in Mecklenburg
county, the banner county of democ
racy for the franchise amendment
Sd ever since for every other demo
cratic man or measure coming before
Mr people for their votes, still there
ire more officers appointed than
elected by the people in this coun
ty. A few of the officers who are not
fleeted by the people are, recorder,
distant recorder, clerk of record
er's court, prosecuting officer, of the
recorder's court, water commissioners,
Esrk and tree commissioners, city
tox collector, city treasurer, chiefs
of fire and police departments (not
under civil .service,) city attorney,
Purity attorney, drainage commission
to, county auditor, two assistant
register of deeds, two assistant
toks of court, and still more offl
tera proposed by the charter com
mittee for appointment. It is almost
Government here by appointment In-!
stead of government by the people.
new official creations have been
Qe appointive, with but one .or
o exceptions, in the case of tax
lectors for the county. It seems to
J16 that our county, has not kept its
wet of local self government as fully
aome others.
Voters Disfranchised.
tnep romise was made to the peo
the state that no ' white man
01jia be disfranchised; yet, to. say
t at! officer shall preside over me
M m give me the right to cast my
w v.-0r llim is a species of dis
"ncnisf --merit if v,, n nn,iB nv
oflicer, then why not ; say it o
T " J'"-; as well disfranchise the
tice n lhe election of judge or jus
eor governor or president, and 'in
i oetter, than to disfranchise him
his lotion as to who shall be
to vntPorder- Is it right to allpw me
o.e for a judge who rules over
fuse t ilCe in fifteen years ani re
la th allow me the same privilege
over I f't01.ce o the man who rules
is th ! daily? Home self government
VSSserice of local self gv'
acj lt every county and' city
tove-n Ehip in the state nas good
to the"'1!! at home u matters little
of the It 'f they tave for governor
t-nite.i S 0r even President of the
states. Every great principle
of good government begins at home
and radiates therefrom. A democrat
without local self government is a
misnomer.
City Manager.
To instance, it is proposed by the
sub-committee of the charter com
mittee in their draft of charter" for
this city to have a city" manager
who will have more power than any
one man has had in the history of tbe
city of Charlotte or probably of any
other town in North Carolina ; and
this draft proposes to have this man
ager appointed, and not elected by the
people. As a democrat I want to pro
test against any more officers being
appointed to rule over me in this
I county ' of my adoption, having been
! here 21 years and being of age in
political and other affairs in city and
eountj. I want to state publicly that
I do not propose to be bound by any
proposed city charter or other docu
ment that takes from the people the
right to elect their rulers, whether
it be a justice, city manager, gover
nor or other officer of the state or
nation, .All officers are supposed to
be servants of the people; but they
are simply servants of those who ap
point, when the people- are not allow
ed to choose them. It is but a short
step from the appointment to office to
the inheritance of office. Between 'the
two, I am not sure but that democ
racy would prefer divine right to in
dividual appointment.
People Elect Recorders.
A large majority of the recorders
of the state of North Carolina are
elected by the people. In Anson, Sen
ator McRea's old county, the recor
der is "elected by the people." The
, county commissioners elect the pros
! ecutingf attorney. Jhis county has a
jury and from a reading of the act
appears to be a real court. (This ar
ticle is no reflection on Ham Jones,
whom I will support for any office.)
In Pamlico, Haywood, Davie, Cra
ven, Durham, Richmond, Vance,
Johnston, New Hanover, Washing
ton, Rockingham, Rutherford, Cleve
. land, Guilford, Beaufort, Transylvania.
ocuuana, union, nowan, Washington,
the recorder is elected by the peo
ple. The prosecuting attorney and
clerk and also auditor are usually
elected by the people where the re
corder is so elected. Wilmington, Dur
ham, Raleigh, Reidsville, Salisbury,
and other large towns of the state
elect their recorders by a vote or the
people.
in Stanley the recorder is elected
by a joint meeting of the town and
; county commissioners, as the cotton
weigher for Charlotte used to be
elected. In Madison the county com
missioners elect the recorder. In
Brunswick the justices of the county
elect the recorder. In Denton, Char
lotte, and a few small towns in the
state the town commissioners still
elect the recorders.
; Civil and Criminal Jurisdiction.
.! Civil and criminal jurisdiction is
conferred oh the recorders' courts
in many counties, such as Rutherford,
New Hanover, Edgecombe and oth
ers. -These acts show much thought
and in some cases the civil jurisdic
tion is up to' $500; process, procedure,
jury systems, seals, permanent re
cords and all things pertaining to tbe
court of record are carefully thought
out and provided for.
. Uniformity in Courts and Procedure.
! There are about 75 acts . of the
general assembly dealing with record
ers' courts taking up something like
500 pages of law book space. These
acts will average from four to ten
pages closely printed law book print,
small type. Instead of all this the
general assembly should digest, or
have it done, these general acts and
provide a form for recorder's court
which will make the course of justioe
in the recorder's court as near uni
form as possible. In order for a law-
I j'er to be - able to practice in the
: courts of the state it is necessary for
him to search through six volumes
of statutes and read about five hun
dred pages scattered over these vol
umes to get a general idea of the
recorder's court law of the state.
Each court is a law unto itself. There
should be uniformity, especially for
towns like Charlotte, Wilmington,
Raleigh, Durham, Winston, and oth
ers approximating their size. All the
recorder's court acts of the state
; could be digested into one act of a
dozen pages, instead of 500 pages as
it now is.
j ; Model Mecklenburg Court.
' - Our court should not be curtailed
in any of its powers, but enlarged.
We should have a court that would
be a model for the other counties ot
the state. We should have both crim-
-inal-and civil jurisdiction, a jury, a
clerk ranking with the clerk of our
old :.- criminal court, and the court
should be one of record ' ami dignity.
-All civil matters,-say up to $500, like
in .Rutherford county, could be dis
posed of ' in this court; and this
would, relieve the ; congested condi
tion of our superior court docket for
all time. If we are afraid of the
criminals 6f the town in our election
of recorder or any other officers we
might provide that they should not be
re-elected to succeed themselves; and
in ;,this way they .would be inde
pendent.' It is not the criminal ele
ment I fear in city government, but
J good people who are negligent of
their, duties.
Some Special Provisions.
In many counties, such as .Catawba,
Transylvania, Camden, Harnett, John-
- ston, Wayne and Durham, the clerk
of. the superior court is also clerk ot
the recorder's court by virtue of his
office, the recorder's or police or spec
ial court being held in the county
court house. "
: In some Instances the recorder is
required to be auditor, a lawyer of
good standing in the community, and
the "permanent docket" must be kept
by him, as- at ' Shelby. It is ' usually
provided that the recorder, if a law
yer, may practice, his profession as
well as hold court. If Charlotte had a
court of . the 'dignity she deserves,
however, it would require all the time
of the, judge of the court to dis
charge his duties. There are hundreds
and hundreds of small cases . that
would never reach the superior court
at all if we had a court with a jury
and challenge and orderly procedure
. such as other towns of our size in the
AVE DELAY.
ESS55iS!S?JSy?li.iV tinmm iiuii.. in -r 1 1 innc nim n i him i mummi
The $7,000,000 -pre : at Edison -Factory
May Affect Uur noliday; '
i PLACE YOUR ORDERS EARLY AND S
I ' :
33
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TOMORROW
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My Croony Melody Goetz and Goodwin, Billy
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Lu Lu Fado For dancing. Band.
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Hungarian Dance No; 7, Brahms, Joachim.
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Whn the Angelus Is Ringing Special Bell
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27
Tryoii Street.
state have. The act however must
contemplate a real court and not sim
ply a justice's jurisdiction. We should
have a court something like our; old
criminal circuit court with a civil
jurisdiction added, and all the offi-
cers thereof elected by the peo
ple. . .- ....
Criminals in Elections.
It has been suggested that the re
corder should not be elected . by the
people because there , might perchance
be "a man of influence who could
command, votes" in the community
and at the same time a violator ot
law, and that it - would therefore be
"practically impossible for a recorder
to do his duty justly by all men if he
knew his election were at stake.". All
violators : of law are opposed to all
recorders and all other judges - who
execute the law impartially; but the
great mass ' of the people are not
criminal. The people expect the crimi
nals to oppose their choice,; and this
makes the great honest, citizenship
of the state and county and.city more
alert to select men whom the crimi
nals cannot control. For the crimi
nate to"; unite on a candidate in. tb:s
and other communities would insure
his defeat. The "criminal's friend
might evade the" scrutiny of
board of aldermen, but the great
Under our franchise laws as we have
them today it is the rarest exception
that the. name of the violator of law
can be found on the registration
books; and to even intimate that the
electorate of ' this county is corrupt
to the degree that it is dangerous to
leave it to a vote of the people to
elect a recorder or other officer is slan
derous to say the least. The united
wisdom of the whole people can be
trusted better than that of six or
seven men. - -
Robeson, that famous county on
which the democracy of state was de
pendent at one time, has the best
provisions for the selection of re
corder, prosecuting officer and clerk.
Her special court act provides not
only for the election by the people
but also for the nomination by tne
people of the three officers of their
court. This is genuine demorcary put
in practice.
Politics. .
It is contended that the appoint
ment of recorder and other officers
keeps these offices out of politics.
This statement is not borne out by
the., facts if democratic as opposed
to. republican politics is meant. Mr.
F. , M. Shannonhouse, the first record
er for Charlotte, was secretary ot
the democratic party of the county
searchlight of the people will discov- and was appointed to office bv Mr.
er him. before he gets into office, orjj. r. McCall, chairman of the party,
even gets nominated for office. It is j and also . mayor of the citv at the
the pride of the ' people to . elect the
one who fearlessly executes the law.
The criminal usually - avoids the
time. General T. R. Robinson was
clerk of the old circuit court and also
chairman of the. democratic party
payment of poll and other taxes and .for the county. H. C Jones, the ures
is therefore not a qualified voter in ! ent recorder, is chairman of the dein
the language of our suffrage laws; jocratic party of the county. It is the
nor does the violator of law retain; rule that the politician is appointed
his home at one place long enough to! to office instead of being elected by
be entitled to vote for recorder or the people. Dr. Jim Mott was the
other public officer. The violator of greatest republican politician the
law avoids the publicity of &n state has ever known, and he and all
election or a caiuyaisii auu icuo ccu ms revenue assistants, were apj
to attempt to sneak through a vote, pointees to office, and "at the same
time leading republicans of the state.
From Col. A. D. Watts and J. H.
Weddington; on ' down to the janitors
of the federal buildings all the fed
eral appointees to office are politic
ians of note ' in the state. I. would
probably vote for every man whom
the democrats have put In office by
appointment if he were running for
that office; but I, together with
every democrat and republican in
the state, who does not want office
of any kind, would like to say
through the ballot box whom we will
have for our servants or rulers. I
believe - that such men as J. D. Mc
Call and W. C. Dowd, and Hamilton
Jones, and F. M. Shannonhouse and
J: A Bell, and A. B. Justice, and R. S.
Hutchison, all of whom have been
prominent : in the party and given
their time and' talents to its success
should be rewarded. I believe that the
khorses that pull 'the plow should have
the fodder; but we plain people love
to have the pleasure of feeding the
fodder ourselves. It is not always the
fear that the politicians will get the
offices, but the apprehension . that
they might not get them, that
prompts us to advocate appointments
to office instead of election. But the
people are generous and just; and the
man who deserves the votes of the
people, either for his labors or his
achievements for the party or for
his eminent fitness for office, usually
gets them. Anyway, if the .people
make a mistake In ' choosing their
agents it is their own mistake; and
they can blame nobody but the peo
ple; and they always have the remedy
in their own hands, to wit, the bal
lot, by which to correct their mis
takes. The people as a whole are
more often right than the individual
or the set of -individuals on both peo- .
pie and measure. The whole people are
wiser than any set of people.
" BREVARD NIXION. 1
HOUSE BLESSING
T mm
1
TERESTIWG
Special to The News.
Hendersonville, Dec. . 1. When Fas
sif ern school commenced its work in
Hendersonville in October of this
year it was not possible to have a
formal opening, as. there was still
' much to be done in the way of work
upon the -buildings, so on Pecember
10th the friends and patrons of the
school joined with the faculty and
students in the service of blessing con
ducted by Rev. R. N. Wilcox, rector of
St. James' church.
To the inspiring music of the pro
cessional; "The Son of God Goes
Forth to War," . the students moved
into the school room, followed by Mr.
Wilcox, who, after a short and beauti
ful service . of prayer and praise, in
voked the Divine blessing upon the
school and its work.
After the hymn, "Spirit of Trust,
We Call On Thee This House to
Bless," the rector spoke from the text,
"What is this that thou hast done?"
God's question to Eve. - -
Mr. Wilcox talked most beautifully
and feelingly to the young, girls of
the duties and possibilities of . thei
lives. The service concluded with
the hymn, "O Little Town of Beth
lehem," after which Mr. Wilcox, hav
ing laid aside his priestly robes, re
turned to the 'assembly hall, and
speaking as a citizen of Henderson
ville and friend of Fassifern, intro
duced to the audience the man whom
he described as the "best known and
best loved man in Henderson county,
Hon. W. A. Smith, wjao has from the
start, been . a; most- -enthusiastic ' and
efficient worker in the interests of
the SehOOl. , - ,--v:
Mr. Smith, in graceful and well
chosen words congratulated -all con
cerned upon the successful opening of
the school; the completion of the
buildings, and the good . fortune that
has so far attended the efforts of pro
moters and teachers. ' , .
! The exercises closed with the sing
ing of the school song, "Fassifern,"
composed and set to music by Miss
Pixley, musical director. v
' Afterwards a social hour was spent
by the guestswho" moved through the
two houses thrown Apen for their in
spection. Halls, parlors, dining room,
etc., had been beautified by the lavish
use of holly and leucothoe.'so plenti
jful in this favored mountain country,
and the Christmas green and scarlet
formed a rich back ground , for the
white robed girls who. moved about en
tertaining the visitors whom all de
lighted to honor.
Fassifern, with, a capacity for sixty
boarding pupils, has enrolled the full
number this year, the student body
representing nine states. There are
also quite a number of. day pupils and
special students of music and art.
COUNTING THEM.
"Are youf son's running expenses
with his' auto much?"
"Well, with running up a bill for sup
plies and. running, down pedestrians
and getting run in by . the cops they
do run some." Baltimore American.
i .art
' 4
i