128 State Papers and Addresses

Association submitted recommendations for appointments to the Magistrates,
Traffic and Peoples Court in the City. The majority of my appointments came
from that list. Mr. Robert France, the President of this Association, although
not an applicant for the position accepted my urgent request that he become
the Chief Justice of the Traffic Court. Three other members of this Associa-
tion were chosen to be associated with him.

The incoming President, Mr. Frederick W. Brune, accepted appointment,
at my request, on the Commission of Inferior Courts and, with other attorneys
and public-spirited citizens, made a valuable contribution toward the solution
of that perplexing question.

Considerable progress has been made this year to remove politics as far
as possible from the functioning of courts of every description. Our citizens
are mindful of the fact that Maryland enjoys a judicial system of which the
State can well be proud. No effort should command your support more than
that which has as its object the maintenance of the majesty and dignity of the
law.

It is to be hoped that renewed effort will be made whereby the election of
judges will not be enmeshed with the highly controversial questions pertaining
to so many unrelated offices at a busy election period. While one suggested
method, sponsored by this organization, was not adopted by the Legislature at
its last session, despite our earnest efforts in its behalf, we must keep on until
this fight is won.

In this connection, there is much room for encouragement in the experience
in New York of the Association of the Bar and of the New York County
Lawyers Association during the past several months. In order to obtain
independent and capable judges, these Bar groups publicly called upon political
leaders of the two major parties to agree on candidates to be nominated and
thus avoid needless political contest. The effort was successful and, instead
of the Bar being asked to ratify or reject names already decided upon, their
request was followed with the result that political leaders agreed upon the
candidates acceptable to the Bar.

I sincerely trust that, in accordance with my request, a way will be found
by the Maryland State Bar Association to have available judicial material in
the counties of the State for appointment when and as vacancies may occur
on the Court of Appeal and in the nisi prius courts. It is my earnest desire
to leave nothing undone to maintain the standards of the judiciary on the
highest possible level. It is a matter of profound satisfaction that of the
various branches of the government, the judiciary has established the best
record. Throughout successive steps in American history the courts have
stood the test remarkably well and have deserved and are receiving from the
citizenry acclaim for independence and integrity.

A most interesting comment was made by Dean Emeritus Roscoe Pound
at the American Bar Association Convention last July. He stated that of the
three coordinate branches of government the judiciary was not equipped to
compete with the other departments of government. He explained that it
necessarily operates under handicaps of tradition and precepts and is markedly
restricted, whereas the freedom of the executive and legislative branches is
far greater because these branches are not bound down by the same traditions
and requirements. But one important aspect of the situation emphasized by
Dean Pound requires constant attention. He said that the executive and