Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-11-21
ACCUSES ROOSEVELT. \ tHfs4t
Justice Brewer Says President ! Plays Hide and Seek.
PRAISES GOVERNOR HUGHES.

 l Declares That In the Light of History 1t Would Have Been Better to Have
 Made Term of Office of President i Seven Years.
 New York, Nov. 21.-The Civic Flo. rum, organized at the peace confer. ence in this city last spring for the nonpartisan discussion of public ques- tions, held an open meeting in Carne- gie hall and listened to an address by Justice David J. Brewer of the United States supreme court on Public Office In Relation to Public Opinion'' and one by Governor Hughes on Public Office"
 Justice Brewer made his principal point when he announced that in his opinion the best thing for the country today would be the original plan of the first constitutional convention placing the term of office of president at seven years, with a prohibition against re- election.
 At the last moment. just before the convention adjourned, this scheme was changed without apparent reason," said he, Ito the present system of four years term, with the possibility of reelection. In the judgment of many, of whom I am one, this change was mistake.
 Raps Roosevelt.
 Tn the light of history this has been shown to be true. Were it in force to- day we should not now have the spec tacle of our strenuous president play ing game of hide and seek with the American people"
 This was only one of the many ref erences he made to President Roose- welt. Another was when elaborating on the contention that our public office holders are rulers as much as the kings of Europe he took occasion to contrast Governor Hughes and the president thus:
 We choose the man to be for that term a ruler. ruling of course in ac- cordance with constitutional provi- sions. He may be impulsve, enthusi- astic, strenuous, exhibiting dramatic and spectacular life, or calm and self poised in administration, but no one doubts that President Roosevelt or Governor Hughes is a ruler Neither one is absolute. Each is subject to limitations. The range of his power is prescribed. Yet within that range each : is most emphaticaly a ruler. True there is no divinity that hedges one of our rulers; he is simply one of us tenn porarily made ruler"
 AIIudes to Hughes. After series of pointed remarks. as Brief terms of office are one of the safeguards of democracy and "Hasty legislation is often if not always a 1. step backward" Justice Brewer again . referred to Governor Hughes, saying: Let it be ever remembered that jus { tice is essential, but constant shifting from one plan to another in search of ideal justice often defeats itself in purpose. Justice is never secure while order and stability are destroyed. The , mob puts civilization back; lynching is a step toward barbarism. Many q bill needs executive veto. and in New : York state it gets 1t. If the legisla- ton was always wise. then the consti- tuition is mistake, for that attempts to confine legislation within certain limits and not infrequently prevents that from being done which present existing public opinion calls for. Takes a Fling at "SimpIifed Spelling" "This country is full of constitution al lawyers just now. Words and phrases are given more elasticity than rubber and so stretched to include ev- erything which an excitable people . clamOr for. Chief Justice Marshall's truthful words too often are forgot ten. He said that men whose inten-
 tiOns require no cOncealment generally
 employ words which most directly and aptly express the idea which they in-
 tend to convey. The intelligent men
 who framed our constitution and the
 people who adopted it must have un-
 derstood and employed words in their
 natural sense and to have intended
 what was said.
 He raised a hearty laugh by another
 reference to the president when he
 said: "A ruler should always listen to
 the wishes of his people, but there
 are things that he should not discuss
 with them. It seems foolish. for in-
 stance, for him to quarrel with them , A hnnIt simnIIfind smelling"