The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1911-12-20
AGAINST DIRECT FORM
OF GOVERNMENT
Said Representative Underwood Of Ala
bama, in an Address Last Night
Before the Catholic Club
at New York.

New York, Dec. Representative
Oscar w. Underwood Of Alabama chair
man of the House committee on ways
and means, was guest OF honor at Il
dinner of members of the Catholic club
here last night and as principal speaker
he delivered an address declaring his OPP
position to movements toward a more
direct form of government.
IF there are evils in our government
as il exists to-day he said, lit is not
in its organic form. II is due TO the
failure Of those in office to honestly, fair
~ and Justly perform the duties inn
posed upon them"
He pointed to the failures Of direct
democracies and drew the contrast be-
tween them and the successes OF a repre-.
sentative democracy responsible to the
will Of majority, but checked by the
constitution from exercising a brutal
force which might destroy the liberty
and property rights of the individual.
The proposal to abandon in part this
scheme of the revolutionary fathers, with
tendency to place the power Of law
making in the hands of all the people.
would place constitutional guarantees Of
Individual liberty subseryient to the will
of the majority through political compul-
sion, he said
These who urge a change, he argued,
do not reflect that at times they may
msiudge real public sentiment, that the
representative who acts as the instru
ment of the government is at fault and
not the basic principle of the government
itself.
"My experience as a legislator" he
continued, '1eads me to believe that the
Congress of the United States will ulti-
mately respond to the enlightened and
matuTed sentiment of the people" He
pointed to instances wherein it had done
so-in railroad-rate legislation, pure.food
laws, campaign fund publicity, national
quarantine. irrigation of the arid West,
and the building Of the isthmian canal
"The response may not be rapid he
said, "but it is probably more permanent
and there is certainly not as much dam
ger Of enacting hasty, ill-considered OF
bad legislation
Cannot a committee Of the Congress,
composed of representative men, initiate
legislation, within the limitations Of the
constitution. guard against eyeesses and
abuses. protect the rights of the minor
ity. voice the wishes of the majority, rs
well or better than the partisan friends
of measure who in order that they
may accomplish one result are tempted
to reach SO far that they leave a wake
of destruction as to collateral matters
the measure TOUGHEST
eff there are evils in our government
ms it exists to-day, it is not in its organic
form. 1t is due to the failure Of those
in Office to honestly, fairly and Justly
perform the duties imposed upon them.
The remedy is plain and the way is clear
The people should drive from the places
of power and responsibility the unfaith-
full servant and elect those who will be
faithful and true to the trust imposed
upon them.
"You tell me the people cannot elect
honest and faithful servants. / tell you
that the masses of the people are far
better Judges of men than they are of
measures, and are far more likely to
select an honest man than an honest
measure.
'Let us elect honest men to public Of
fee, men who have the courage to stand
for the true interest of the constitution
they represent, regardless of what effect
it may have on their personal fortunes
There then viii be no demand for n
change of the fundamental principles OF
our government"