The enterprise. [volume] (Harlem, Mont.) 1899-1926, 1911-04-20
MINNESOTA LEGISLATURE AID
VSED AS TO ITS DUTY ON
DREADED TOPICS.
PENDING LEGISLATION HIT HARD
FORMER President Addresses Join;
Bodies Of Assembly on Issues
Conservative Progressive
Stand Taken.

ooseve1t' former president of the
united States, advised the Minnesota
legislature as to it's duty. Addressing
the joint bodies of the assembly and
speaking with the clear enunciatfon
which is his custom, and talking with.
out notes or manuscript, the forme,
president discussed pending legtsla.
tlon' preached his doctrine of duty. .
discussed the duty of representative
ana urged cleanliness in politics.
He declared for the direct election
OF United States senators. but nv IN.
ference, though without saying so. in.
t1mated that the arrangement of such
plan might be left to the national
congress.
He approved the progressive legisla.
ton OF the Minnesota legislature. but
aligned himself with the more conser.
vat1ve progressives of the state rather
than with the radical element.
Favors Initiative and Referendum.
He declared for the initiative and
referendum, but decried the low per-
centages which would have been at.
tachd to the bill as was urged by the
more radical members Of the Mime.
sofa house. BY inference, he approved
the bill as it was finally passed by the
house with high percentage. He
would see the percentages governing
the invoking of either the initiative OF
referendum so high that it could not
be lightly or frivolously used.
a foi1o1 -
ing the recall, although by inference
he did approve it, but specifically in.
sisted 1t should not apply to the judi.
ciary. He qualified this also by say.
ing that judges should be in touch
with the needs of the times, that a
Judge was public servant and that
some measure of recall or of ending
judges service should be evolved,
and recommended that plan should
be evolved which would make it pos.
sible for a majority of the legislature
to remove Judge from office.
He declared himself in favor of
direct primary, but insisted it should
be accompanied by stringent cor.
rupt practices act, because without
such an accompanying act, he said, ii
would encourage the lavish expendi
ture of money.
Speaking of the duty of a represen
tative, he insisted representative
should represent the sentiment Of his
constituency, but qualified this, also,
by saying that he owed higher duty
to his conscience, and if he thought a
measure was wrong he should oppose
it, even if his constituency demanded
it. He urged that constituency owed
a duty to it's representative.
It was enthusiastically Roose-
veltian address. 1t abounded in senti.
ments of high ideals in politics, ex-
pressed at times with daring and orig.
inality and at other times clothed in
the language of platitude and --LATEST
truism.
Occasion a Notable One.
The occasion for the address was as
notable as the address itself. The
former president was the guest Of the
state of Minnesota. He had been in.
vited to stop off on his way home
from the West, to address both houses
of the legislature. Arriving in St.
Paul he was at once escorted to the
Saint Paul hotel by the committee
which had been appointed from both
houses and which included Governor
Eberhart and Hugh T. Halbert of the
st. Paul Roosevelt club.
The address was staged in the
house chamber. The speakers desk
was empowered in flowers and every
seat in the chamber and in the gal.
leries were filled, while every bit OF
available space was used for extra
chairs.
Members All Present.
Practically all of the members OF
the house and senate were present,
although Speaker Dunn was notably
absent.
Colonel Roosevelt spoke for nearly
an hour and afterwards was taken to
his train, stopping first at the Saint
Paul hotel for an informal reception.