The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1911-12-28

i'll laws and the money trust the reason
for their being.
at any time within the last ten or
fifteen years whenever voice has been
raised in protest, il has been silenced
or discredited as an attack upon business
and prosperity" he said. Honest, UNI
selfish, patriotic effort to awaken the
public TO an appreciation Of the dangers
threatened by this great power, has been
denounced as the work of the dema
gogue and self seeker. Whoever has
been conspicuous in any movement, mu.
nicipal, state or national, that man has
been marked and proclaimed dangerous,
and wherever such a leader has been
thorough going and effective in his work
through controlled press, and upon
the highest business authority every
such man has been especially charac-
terized and the public particularly
warned against him. But finally, the
time seems to have arrived when even
the most conservative citizen admits
the gravity of the problem confronting
the American peopleW
Restore Government to People.
The progressive movement, Mr. La
Toilette declared, has as its aim the
restoration Of the government to the
people. "The real cure for the ills o.
democracy is more democracy was one
OF his epigrams.
"That is what the struggle in Wiscon-
sin, in California, in Ohio, and Pennsyl-
yania, New Hampshire and Kansas, and
in every other state in this union,
means that government shall be brought
over legislatures, over government, over
presidents, over constitutions, over
courts he asserted.
Senator La Toilette castigated the SUI.
preme court by asserting that It had
arrogated to itself far greater power
than had been conferred upon II in the
original contemplation Of the eonsttu-
ton.
THE recent decisions OF the supreme
and federal courts have brought about a.
revolution in the position of the trusts
and a more profound revolution in the
position of the, courts" he said with
ont an act of Congress, the court, by
its rule of reason and its weapon, the
injunction, has all at once created ITSELF
into a legislature, an interstate commerc
commission, and a supreme court, com
bined in one The rule of reason gives
it legislative power-the power to de-
termine, according to its own opinion.
that some restraints of trade are lawful
and other restraints unlawful The
power TO carry out the dissolution and
reorganization Of the trusts and to worl;
out the details. to impose conditions and
to supervise their execution is just OK
aetly the kind Of administrative power
that legislature turns over to a com
mission in order to carry out the lcgis-
lative intent. And, finally, punishment
for contempt is the courts substitute
for the criminal penalty that the legis-
lature attaches to the violation OF its
statutes"
The senator pointed to the record of
legislative and administrative achieve
ment in Wisconsin on the so-called pro-
gressive principle as proof OF his theory
that better government can be given the
people by restoring that function to
them,
"The very backbone Of true repre-
sentative government is the direct par.
tieipation in the affairs OF government
by the people through direct primaries
for the nomination of candidates" he
said. lie declared that the old machine
politicians had lost control in Wisconsin
through this law He rlso favored the
presidential primary system. OF this he
said:
"If there is one thing more than an
other that has been put to the front in
this campaign by the progressiyes, it Is
the demand for the election of delegates
to the national convention by popular
primary elections, and provision by
which electors may directly express their
choice for presidential candidates upon
their party ticket This proposition has
been opposed by the national Republican
and by machine politicians
everywhere. They dread to give mp that
peculiar power that caucuses and con
ventions give them. They fear the Sc
cret ballot that enables men to vote
their convictions and Judgment, without
intimation or espionage
The senator's speech dealt with the re-
cent action of the Republican national
committee in leaving it to the governing
of the party to direct the
manner of selecting delegates. "The
national Republican committee is almost
wholly composed of men opposed to the
primary principle" he asserted "At its
recent meeting in Washington, this com
mittee went on record, not only as OPP
posing voluntary primary election in
states where there is no law providing
for them but by failing TO directly rec
ognize the law in those states that have
provided for the election of delegates to
The national convention in primary elec.
ton
"Thus this reactionary committee
sets at naught the will Of the
people of these great states that have
-epudiated the caucus and convention
system. Such a policy win not tend to
strengthen the party with the people,
We are fighting this thing and will con-
.inue to fight it until in every state
primaries win be provided by law, which |
will give to every voter the means of
lirectly expressing his choice of candi-
lates to go upon his party ticket, from
PRESIDENT to coroner"