The Whitefish pilot. [volume] (Whitefish, Mont.) 1904-current, 1912-03-28
Let PEOPLE RULE
SAYS ROOSEVELT
Opposes Presidents Altitude on
Popular Government.
PEOPLES VOICE MUST PREVAIL

chsered Tor Speech In Opening Active
Campaign for Nomination-Quote
Taft ~ Opposed to the Majority
Stands squareIy on His columbu.
CO., Address.
The salient passages In Colonel
Roosevelt's forceful campaign speech
delivered In Carnegie Hxil. New York
Wednesday evening. are given below /:
The great fundamental issue now
before the Republican party and be.
fore our people can be stated briefly.
1t is, are the American people fit to
govern themselves. to rule themselves.
to control themselves?
believe they are. My opponents do
not. l believe in the right of the peo-
pie to rule. believe that the majority
Of the plain people Of the United
States will and do. day in day out,
make fewer mistakes in governing
themselves than any similar class or
Body OF men, no matter what their
training, will make in trying to gov
ern them. believe the American PEG.
pie as whole are capabla of self con
troll and Of learning by mistakes. Our
opponents pay lip loyalty to this doc
trine, but they show their real beliefs
by the way in which they champion
every device to make the nominal
rule of the people sham.
l have scant patience with this talk
OF the tyranny of the majority When
ever there is tyranny of the majority
] shall protest against it with all my
heart and soul. But we are today suf-
fering from the tyranny of the minor.
tiles. 1t is small minority that is
grabbing our coal deposits. our water
powers and our harbor fronts. A small
minority is fattening on the sale OF
adulterated foods and drugs. It is a
small minority that lies behind
monopolies and trusts It is a small
minority that stands behind the pres
ent law OF master and servant. the
sweatshops and the whole calendar of
social and industrial injustice. It is
small minority that is today using
our convention system to defeat the
will of q majority of the people in the
choice of delegates to the Chicago con-
vention.
My opponents charge that two
things in my program are wrong be-
cause they intrude into the sanctuary
OF the Judiciary.
The first is the recall Of 1udges and
the second the review, by the people
Of judicial decisions on certain excep-
tional questions. have said again
and again that do not advocate the
recall OF judges in all states and in
all communities. The integrity OF our
Judges, from Chief Justice Marshall
to White and Holmes-and to Cullen
and many others int our state-is a
fine page Of American history. But
say 1t soberly-democracy has
right to approach the sanctuary Of
the courts where "a special interest
has corruptly found sanctuary to, and
this Is exactly what has happened in
some of the states where the recall Of
the Judges IL living issue. Is it not
equally plain that the question wheth-
or given policy is for the public
good is not Of a judicial nature, hut
should be settled by the legislature or,
in the final instance. by the people
themselves?
The president Of the United States,
Mr.. Taft. devoted most Of a recent
speech to criticism OF this proposition.
He says that 1T ts utterly without
merit or utility and. instead Of being
IN the interest Of all the people and
OF the stability OF popular government,
10 sowing the seeds Of confusion and
tyranny" BY this he OF course meant
the tyranny Of the majority-that is
the tyranny OF the American people
as whole. He also says that my
proposal (Which. as he rightly sees 1t,
IL merely proposal to give the people
q real instead of only a nominal
chance to construe and amend legis-
lation with reasonable rapidity). would
make such amendment and interpreta.
tion depend on the feverish, uncer.
tain and unstable determination of
successive votes on different laws by
TEN porary and changing majorities,"
and that 1T lays the axe at the foot
ct the tree of we'll ordered freedom
and subjects the guarantees OF life.
liberty and property without remedy
to the fitful impulse of a temporary
majority CT an electorate"
This criticism is really less a criti-
-cism Of my proposal than criticism
OF all popular government. It is
wholly unfounded, unless it is found.
ed on the belief that the people are
fundamentally untrustworthy. This il
tie question that propose to submit
to the people. How can the prevail
ing morality or preponderance opin.
ion be better and more exactly ascer
tanned than by vote of the peop!e?
The people must know better than
the court what their own morality ana
their own opinion is. l ask that Won
here. you and others like you, you thu
people. be given the chance to state
your own views of justice and public