The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-21
ROOSEVELT SAYS PUBLIC SHOULD CONTROL JUDGES Ex-President Makes Long Speech Before the Civic
 Forum
HE DISCUSSES THE
 CHILD LABOR LAWS
Advocates Enactment by Congress of Bill Providing for Children's Bureau to Gather Informa-
 tion on the Subject

 within the control and answerable to
 the well thought out judgment of the people in the. opinion of Theodore
 Roosevelt, who spoke tonight on The
 Conservation of Womanhood and Child hood" before the Civic Forum. This control in Mir. Roosevelts judg ment should be exercised more eau tiously and in dieffrent fashions over the legislator but the control must be had
 The control of judges was but half MT. Roosevelt's idea. although by far the more important part of programme which should be carried out for proper conservation of manhood womanhood and childhood. The first half of the programme, he said, consisted in plac- ing upon the statute books of nation and state Legislation to remedy exist ing defects. The former President spoke at length of what he termed crying abuses connected with child la bor.
 MT. Roosevelt advocated enactment | by Congress of the bill providing for bureau to be known as the children's
 bureau, and to gather, classify and dis tribute accurate information on all sub- | jects relating to the welfare of chill dren
 l He urged working women to organ l ize as working men are now organ | ized and declared that New York should | put a stop to manufacturing in tene | ment houses.
 | Experience in the last 25 years, the 1 speaker declared. has shown that while | the people may be aroused to sound and high thinking, and their legisla- | tive and executive officers try to car | ry out their purposes, yet the whole movement for good may come to naught because certain judges, cer- tain courts and certain other avenues are steeped In some outworn political 1 or social pltiloaophs and totally mis- aDprehend sfgsir reations to tie peo | pie and tt the public needs. He continued:
 l "I am entirely aware, no matter how carefully I guard what I have to say, no matter how cautiously and exactly I state the bald facts and through this l that we shall all recognize that what say will assuredly be misrepresened ! by certain persons with 8 deliberate purpose of misleading honest and con seryative citizens into the belief tha [
 
 revolutionary and destructive of our 1 governmental system and that I am
 making an attack upon the judges. But I feel that it is my highest duty | to speak plainly on this subject so vital I to our welfare.
 | "I have the very highest regard, the 1 highest respect and admiration for the jul | dietary. I believe the courts have rem dered our people incalculable service. I I oriticise the decision of judges only by | adopting as my own the language used a Eout these same decisions by the high est judges in the land-by, for instance. l tho present chief justice of the United | States, MT. Justice White; by MT. Justice | Holmes; by that great and upright ser | want Of the people, the lamented Justice | Harlan; by the supreme court of the state of Iowa and the supreme court of the state of Washington
 .I have never taken a position in, 1 advance of that taken by Abraham Lin 1 coin.
 T most emphatically believe that we 1 have been wise in giving great power | to our judges. But I also most firm l ly believe that like any other power | this power can be abused and it is a power for which the people have merely 1 temporarily parted and not one which | they have permanently alienated" 1 In the last 25 years, Colonel Roosevelt | said the courts of New York once or l twice have thrown up what proved well l nigh unsurmountable obstacles to needed social reforms He cited as instance de- ] cisions in the workmen's compensation law case, the so called bakeshop case | and another ruling, a decision that he | said made the eight hour closing law
 non -enforcible and in effect forced wom- eli workers to toll unlimited hours. | These decisions Mr. Roosevelt said. proved the devotion of upright and well meaning jucges to a system of economic | philosophy, not merely outworn but to 1 tEe last degree mischievious. l q for one hold that if a majority 1 of tbe people, after due deliberation, come | to champion social and economic re- | forms,' said he. they have the right to | see them enacted ipto law and become | a part of Our settled governmental pol | icy, and I shall never abandon the eff | fort to see this view triumph. I am
 asking you to declare unequivocally that | it is for the people themselves to say whether or not this policy shall be adopt ed and that no body of officials, no mat | ter how well meaning or otherwise per- 1 sonay honest, no matter whether they be legislators, judges or executives. have any right to say that we the people 1 shall not make laws to protect women 1 and children, to protect men in haz-
 ardous industry, to protect men, women 1 and children from working under un- | healthy conditions or for manifestly eN- | cessye hours and to prevent conditions Of life in tenement houses from bocom-
 ing intolerable.
 | 'It is. believe, an advantage to have 1 fixed in the court the power to state 1 that a legislative act is unconstitutional, but only provided that the power is ex- 1 ercised with the greatest wisdom and | self restraint. If the courts continue | to use 1t with the recklessness that has | too often been shown in the past, it is
 almost inevitable that efforts will be
 made to amend it.
 | q believe that the only ultimate safety 1 for our people is in self control, not in
 oontro from the outside. I do not be- 1 l,eve in snop iudsre ents; l do not be- l ieve in permitting the determination of 1 moment to be transmitted into a per I manent policy; but l do believe that
 serious, sober well thought out judgment
 of the people must be given effect, do i believe that this people must ultimate | y control it's own destnies and cannot
 surrender the right of ultimate control | te judge any more than to a legislator | or an executive.
 "One word in closing What have | advocated is not revolution. It is not l wild radicalism. It is the highest and ' l-in .,f cor