Los Angeles herald., 1910-08-30
ROOSEVELT URGES
REVISION OF LAWS
Former President Vigorously Up
holds Conservation Policy
in Denver Speech
RESPONSIBILITY OF COURTS
Nation and State, He Says, Must
Work Together for the
Peoples Welfare
RESPONSIBILITY OF COURTS
ASSOCIATED Press)

(ABSOClate0 EFe5SJ
DENVER, Aug. 29.-SpealSing before
the Colorado legislature today of the
matters between the state and national
governments, Colonel Roosevelt said:
II am anxious that the nation and
the state shall each exercise its leg
itimate powers to the fullest degree.
Where necessary they should work to-
gether, but above all they should not
leave a neutral ground in which neith-
er state nor nation can exercise Au-
thority, and which would become a
place of refuge for men who wish to
act criminally, and especially for the
very rich men who wish to act against
the interests of the community as q
whole.
Let me illustrate what moan by
a reference to two concrete cases:
The first is the Knight sugar trust
case. In that, the supreme court of
the United States, under cover of what
q man whose interest is chiefly in sane
constructive stewardship can cniy call
a highly technical legal subtlety, hand
ed down a decision which rendered 1t
exceedingly difficult for the nation ef-
fectively to control the use OF masses
of corporate capital In interstate bus1-
ness, as the nation obviously was the
sole power that could exercise this
control (for 1t was quite beyond the
power of any one state).
"This was really a decision render
ing it exceedingly difficult for the peo-
pie to devise any method of controlling
and regulating the business use of
great capital in interstate commerce.
1t was a decision nominally against
national rights, but really against pop
ular rights.
NEW YORK BAKEsHOP CASE
"The second case is the so-called New
York bake shop case. In New York
city, as in most large cities, the bak-
ing business is likely to be carried on
under unhygienic conditions-condi-
tions which tell against the welfare OF
the workers, and therefore against the
welfare Of the general public. The New
York legislature passed, and the New
York governor signed a bill remedying
these improper conditions. New York
state was the only body that could deal
with them: the nation had no power
whatever In the matter
Acting on information which TO
them seemed ample and sufficient;
acting in the interest of the public
and in accordance with the demand OF
the public, the only governmental au-
thority having affirmative power In
the matter, the governor, and the leg
islature of New York took the action
which they deemed necessary, after
what inquiry and study was needed,
to satisfy them as to the conditions
and as to the remedy. The governor
and the legislature alone had the af-
firmative power to remedy the abuse.
But the supreme court of the United
States possessed, and unfortunately ex-
ercised, the negative power of not per
mitting the abuse to be remedied. BY
a to vote, they declared the action
of the state of New York unconsti-
tutional, because, forsooth, that men
must not be deprived of their liberty
to work under unhyg1enic conditions
ATTACK ON POPULAR RIGHTS
"They were, of course, themselves,
poWerless to make the remoteSt at
tempt to provide a remedy for the
wrong which undoubtedly existed. and
their refusal to permit action by the
state did not confer any power upon
the nation to act. In effect, 1t reduced
to impotence the only body which did
have power so that in this case, the
decision, although nominally against
state rights, was really against popu-
lar rights, against the democratic prin-
ciple of government by the people un-
der the forms of law.
''If such decisions as these two in
dicated the courts permanent attitude,
there would be real and grave cause
for alarm; for such decisions, If con-
sistently followed up, would upset our
whole system of popular government.
/ am however, convinced, both from
the inconsistency of these decisions
with the tenor of other decisions and
Furthermore from the very fact that
they are In such fragrant and direct
contradiction to the spirit and needs
of the times, that sooner or later, they
will be explicitly or implicitly reversed.
II mention these merely to illustrate
the need of having a truly national
system of government under which the
people can deal effectively with all
problems, meeting those that affect the
people as a whole by affirmative fed
eral action, and those that affect mere
ly the people of one locality by af-
earnest and convinced believer in ex-
ercising the power of the nation where
that power alone can be really effec-
tive, yet 1 am no less a convinced
believer in seeing that the power of
the state be made effective where 1t
affords the best means of affirming
popular rights. Above all, there
should be no neutral ground where,
owing to a conflicting series of de-
cisions, it shall appear that neither
the state nor the nation has power
and where In consequence, able and
unscrupulous individuals are left free
to riot at will, without the possibility
of checking or controlling thcm in the
interest of public welfare"