The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1911-02-12
FORMER PRESIDENT URGES
ADOPTION DIRECT VOTE
PLAN IN SPEECH AT LIN
COLIN DINNER.
ALSO IN FAVOR Of
RECIPROCITY TREATY
Laues Lincoln az Progressive Repub-
Lean in His Time-Declares
ciores Electoral College
Could Be Abolished
to Advantage.

Grand Rapids, Mich, Feb 1.-THE
election Of United States senators by
direct vote Of the people is favored
by Former President Theodore Roose.
welt.
He believes the constitution should
be amended to provide for this popa-
lar election. In Lincoln day speech
here tonight Col. Roosevelt came out
squarely in favor of the movement.
"One Of the progressive policies
upon which think the great majority
of progressives are agreed is that
United States senators should be
elected by popu ar vote" said Col
Roosevelt "The constitution, in my
Judgment, should be so amended as
to provide for this
Relic Of Old Times.
Asserting that the present method
of electing senators was a relic OF
old times and should be remediei
the colonel also declared himself in
favor of abolishing the electoral col
lege in the election of president.
"Yet," he said while he believed in
the election of senators by direct vote
he did not favor any policy (which
would take away from the fedora
government one partical of the con
troll which is now has as regards the
election of senator's"
Col. Roosevelt came here from
New York to be the Chief speaker at
the Lincoln anniversary celebration
of the 'ncoln Club. His subject was
Lincoln and Progressive Republi
canism." The banquet hall, seating
more than 1000, was crowded. The
cheering which greeted the former
presidents appearance was continu
alton of the an ovation which began
on his arrival in the afternoon when
the crowds greeting him with the
cries of Teddy for president in
1927"
Others at the speakers table were
Hannis T.ylor. former United States
ambassador to Spain; Senator VIM.
O. Bradley, of Kentucky; Governor
Chase Osborn, of Michigan; Senator
VIM. Alden Smith, of Michigan; Rep
resentative julius Kahn, OF California
and Add dison Proctor, who was dele
gate to the Republican national con-
vention in 1860
Favors Reciprocity.
Roosevelt, in his address, lso urged
the adoption Of the proposed reel.
procity treaty with Canada.
Col. Roosevelt said
"In this rceion or Michigan AMI
the immediate surrounding territory
am at the birthplace of the Republi-
can party. It is eminently fitting
that | should come here to ask the
Republican party to be true to the
principals which it found and pro
fessed. They could only be true to
those principals by applying them to
the new issues of the present day.
instead of applauding the fact that
their fathers applied them TO the
dead issues Of the past days.
The Republican party must be pro-
gressive. Otherwise it has no war
rant for existing at all. 1t must show
that 1T is the heir OF Abraham Lin
coin and not the heir OF the Cotton
Wings, who feared and denounced
what they called his radicalism. But
1t is equally essential 10 remember
Abraham Lincolns cool and temper
ate wisdom as well as his fiery zeal
FOR Righteousness.
Progress Must Be Wise.
"Theer can be no real progress un-
less II is wise progress. In other
words, the Republican party must not
only be progressive but sane. Abra-
ham Lincoln won his place in history
because he needed the forces which
overthrew the kind of conservatism
which was typihed by the followers
of Buchanan and Fillmore. -
But he was able to overthrow
these men because he declined to be
led aside from the path of healthy
progress and follow the extremists
of the John Brown and Wendell Ph:l-
lips type. These two men rendered
at times good service. But If Abra-
ham Lincoln had followed in their
steps the result would have been
death to the nation
we must net be misled by mere
names. As compared to Buchanan
and fillmore, Lincoln was radical