CHAPTER IXTHE RECALL
What has been said of the initiative and the referendum is almost precisely applicable to the recall.
The movement for the recall began just as soon as it was generally perceived that our system of frequent elections to fill a large number of offices did not prevent the extra-legal government from placing in office men loyal to it. The movement for the recall is the frankest admission that this system of elections has been a failure. The real cause for this failure was the fact that too much voting had overloaded the voter and his resulting political ignorance had delivered him into the hands of an organization which in effect cast his ballot for him. Again, however, this was entirely neglected, and the superficial and obvious remedy was put forward of having a new election whenever it was discovered that an officeholder was objectionable because of hissubservience to an extra-legal government. The statutes, however, do not undertake to submit to the electorate the question whether the officers subject to the recall elections have been too subservient to the extra-legal government and that alone. Instead, the voters may cast their votes for the recall of an officer on any ground they please.
If there is an organized and effectively led revolt against extra-legal government, then obviously the weapon of the recall may be of great service. It will enable the attacking party to sweep out of office adherents of the extra-legal government who would otherwise have held until the next election, when the tide of popular sentiment in favor of the attack might have begun to ebb. But revolts are not at all frequent. There has always been an opportunity at regular elections for such movements through independent nominations by petition. A revolt of any consequence would have undertaken to use this method. In spite, however, of the opportunity thus afforded, the general revolt against extra-legal government inlocal districts is the occurrence of a decade, if not of a generation.
It is the effect of the recall under normal circumstances, when no revolt against extra-legal government is in progress, that must principally concern us. At such times the recall is more valuable to the extra-legal government than it is to the electorate at large. The recall is as available to the extra-legal government as it is to the electorate at large. In fact, the extra-legal government must of necessity become familiar with its use. Every officer of the dummy legal government must, therefore, at all times act with the knowledge that the extra-legal government may start a recall election against him. Imagine what this means to the host of subordinate officers that were put in apparently by the electorate, but of whom the electorate never had any knowledge whatever. They have no popular following. They have no money with which to advise and instruct the voters of the character of the fight that is being made against them. What possible chance would such officeholders stand against the permanentorganization of advisers and directors to the ignorant voter which the extra-legal government controls? The recall under normal, everyday conditions would place the majority of officeholders even more completely in the control of the extra-legal government than they are now.
The recall, if applied to the judiciary, would in usual and normal times operate to give the extra-legal government the same power over the judges that it would have over other officeholders.[8]A judge is one of the most helpless of all elective officers. He can run on no platform; he can have no political program. He cannot point dramatically to any achievements on behalf of the people. Whether he is a good judge or not is a matter of expert opinion that only a comparatively few persons are competent to pass upon. His reputation can be easily blasted by the circulation of false statements. He may even be hurt by the performance of his duty in a particular case. His retention in office at elections is in a great number of instances purely amatter of accident. If he is up at a fall presidential election, his retention in office will practically depend upon the success of the national party in whose column his name happens to be. It will make little difference whether he has been one of the best judges that the county or state has ever had, or one of the worst. Elections place the judge very largely at the mercy of the extra-legal government. That government may not be able to return him to office, but the judge knows that without its support his re-election will become practically impossible. To give the extra-legal government the opportunity to use the recall upon a judge is to hold above the judge’s head at all times the threat of an extra election which he is in no wise prepared to undergo. Nothing could more clearly increase the power of the extra-legal government over the judiciary. If the recall of judges be advocated on the ground that they have become subservient to the politocrats, the conditions which have caused them to become so will have been greatly increased bythe very device which is advocated as a means of ridding us of that subserviency.
We may conclude, therefore, that there is no more danger to extra-legal government in the recall than there is in frequent elections and independent nominations by petition. On the other hand, the free use, or freely threatened use, of the recall by the extra-legal government will give it a power over officeholders and judges greater than that which it now has.
FOOTNOTES:[8]Seepost,chap.xvii.
[8]Seepost,chap.xvii.
[8]Seepost,chap.xvii.