The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1911-10-21
PIN A BADGE ON ROOSEVELT
hit SCFFRAGISTS GET NO
CHANCE TO QtI/ HIN.
ed House at Carnesie Hall Hears
the Colonel on Protecting children
and stirring ~ the judiciary. which
l. Upright. but Heated. tie says.

tne NOIOneI on fTOteVu"S N"""
and stirring ~ the judiciary. Which
u Upright. but Bciated. TIE says.
Col. Theodore Roosevelt came in from
OYSTER BAY last night TO address under
the Joint auspices Of the Civic Forum
and the Child Welfare League packed
audience at Carnegie Hall upon the an
no,inced subject. The Conservation OF
Womanhood and Childhood. About two
thirds Of his address was devoted 10 the
of childhood. After saying
little about the same precaution in regard
to womanhood he devoted the remaining
one-thrd TO a defence and exposition OF
his attitude upon the judiciary.
Practically all of the most militan'
and restless suffragettes in the CITY were
among the audience. and the 'oion"'
had been forewarned of their presence
and their determination 10 bait nm on
the subject OF equal suffrage If they had
half a chance. 80 il was noticeable that
in his speech he steered far from debafaDie
borders. Though il was announced ne
fore he began his address that at me ehu
he would answer questions II they were
submitted on paper. Col. Rooseve' sa'
still only FOR about two minutes after he
had finished, and while a score OF sufIra-
ge,te pencils were racing madly over
paper he suddenly rose and announced
tina. he guessed there were not any uies-
,ions TO be asked and that he would he
going.
The best that the suffragettes could do
under the circumstances was TO corral
him hastily in a corner Of the stage and
min a Votes for Women" button upon his
unresis,ing lapel.
After having been introduced by Elgin
r l.. Gould, the chairman Col. Roosevelt
said that he was one who believed that
there was no sireall foi all the social
problems OF the day and that the best we
could do was to seize upon even partial
alienation Of the evils OF labor in pro-
ductive industries and push IT to cure
Conditions in certain portions OF emma
whore the exploitation OF labor by capi-
talists does not exist and vet where the
condition Of the laborer is the lowest
possible show. said he. that 'the favorite
remedy advocated by the socialists is a
quack remedy.
"lask for Government action when such
action will prevail against the evils either
of capitalism or OF individualism. said
the Colonel. but the evils OF the present
day industrial system are too compli-
ca ted to be attributed to any one tendency
or set of tendencies in the economic and
industrial world"
After referring to the unsuccessful
, efforts he had made five years ago to Sc
cure the passage OF national legislation
establishing a children's bureau in the
Federal Government. the speaker said
that in no place better than in New York
State had the consistent opposition OF
those who profit by the labor of women
and children 10 restrictive legislation been
demonstrated.
"One OF the crying abuses OF child labor
in this State he continued. lis the en-
ployment Of children. some even years
old, in the can neries. Their work hasl
been held by the courts to he agricultural
agricultural when they stand up eight
and ten hours q day in sheds Of the fruit
and vege, able Gamers at hard manu- al
labor. The effect OF this decision is 10
I give the Gamers special privileges under
the law Yet in the cotton mills OF the
South the crimes against childh ood are
even more fragrant"
/ In mentioning this decision relative to
I he work of children in the canneries
/ Col. Roosevelt warned his audience that
he would return to that point later and he
did 50. Having finished what he had to
sny about child labor he began his defence
of his we'll known opinions about the
judiciary
Let me anticipate the criticism that
know will come to me, he said. Il hold
that the judiciary of this country as a
whole stands on a higher plane than any
other collective body Of citizens And
I hold that the attitude of the people toward
the judiciary should be one Of respect bu,
not Of servility | criticise the judiciary
only by adopting as my own the lanSua &.
used 10y the greatest jurists.
Here Col. Roosevelt digressed 10 invite
the audience to compare what he had sale
about the courts and what Abraham
Lincoln said in his first inaugural address.
/ Then he continued.
Il firmly believ. that the power o,
| iudcial Interpretation can be and ha,
been on occasions abused. and tnat II II
! a power which the people have only TEN
porariiy aIi-nat.d from themselves sn6
not yerinaneutlv relinqIlshed. Durint
the last twenty five. wears tn" courts %
New York State have by their decisions
put almost insurmonntable stumbling
blocks in IN. way of economic reform
SuCn a. We tTt 'hpc'' XII
| insist that the people have the righ
TO try these sociological and lndus'ria
experiments il they want to But th
Judges, some Of them, though thoroughl'
upright men persona ly. employ in dealing
with modern social conditions anclen
precepts such as would be comparable L
a fintlock musket against the moder
rife"
The Colonel closed thus:
3 What | advocate is not revolution
, not even radicalism 1t is the highes
and wiseet kind Of conservatism.
Then il was that in moving hastil
I from the platform he was waylaid b
1 Mrs A. Arthur Alfred Brooks, presider
of the Gotham Club, who with swii
and sure gesture pinned the surrag
a button on his coat before he had r.
n covered from his surprise. The militar
1 sutrragettes on the platform raised
= treble cheer at the success OF this tactici
! assault