Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1912-02-22

. Small slnsss-lntsrssts Of
Wass- Worker Must Be Looked
Astsr-Fer Genuine Equality Of
opportunlty-Riohts Of Man Of
Mers Importance Than the Rights
% Property-oIreet Nominations
BY the People Advocated.
Columbus. Ohio. Feb. 21.-ln his
address before the Ohio constitutional
convention. in session here, ex-Presi-
dent Roosevelt, spoke substantially
- follows:
Mr.. President, and Members Of the
Ohio Constitutional Convention:
am profoundly sensible Of the
honor you have dope me in asking
mo to address you. You are engaged
In the fundamental work Of self-gov-
eminent: you are engaged in framing
a constitution under and in accord
ance with which the people are to get
and to do justice and absolutely to
rule themselves. No representative
body can have higher task. To
carry 1t through successfully there ts
need to combine practical common
sense of most hard-headed kind with
4 spirit Of lofty idealism. Without
tdealism your work will be but sor-
did makeshift; and without the hard
headed common sense the idealism
WIFI be- either wasted or worse than
wasted.
shall not try to speak to you Of
matters Of detail. cannot touch
upon them all; the subject Is too vast
and tho time too limited; II any one
of you cares to know my views Of
these matters which I do not today
discuss. will gladly send him
copy Of the Apeeches made In 1910,
which think cover most Of the
ground.
believe in pure democracy. With
Lincoln, hold that this country,
with its institutions, belongs to the
people who inhabit 1t. Whenever they
shall grow weary Of the existing
government. they can exercise their
constitutional right Of amending It."
We progressives believe that the peo-
Ile have the right, the power, and the
duty to protect themselves and their
own welfare: that human rights are
snpsSfne over all other rights: that
wealth should be the servant, not the
master, Of the people. We believe
that unless representative govern
ment does absolutely represent the
reople 1t is not representative govern
rent at all. We test the worth Of
Til men and all measures by asking
low they contribute to the welfare
Of the men, women and children Of
whom this nation is composed. We
are engaged in one Of the great bat
ties of the age-long contest waged
against privilege on behalf of the
common welfare. We hold 1t prime
duty Of the people to free our gov
eminent from the control Of money
In politics. For this purpose we ad-
vocate, not as ends In themselves, but
as weapons in the hands of the PEG.
PIE. all governmental devices which
will make the representatives Of the
people more easily and certainly re-
sponsible to the peoples will.
Constitution and the People.
am emphatically believer in
constitutionalism, and because of this
fact no less emphatically protest
against any theory that would make
Of the Constitution means of thwart.
ing instead of securing the absolute
right Of the people to rule themselves
and to provide for their own social
and Industrial well-being. All consti-
tutions. those of the states no less
than that Of the nation, are designed.
and must be interpreted and admin
istered, so as to at human rights.
Lincoln 80 interpreted and admins.
tered the national Constitution. Blu
chanar tempted to reverse. attempt.
ed to fit human rights to, and limit
them BY, the Constitution. 1t was
Buchanan who treated the courts as a
fetish. who protested against and con.
demned all criticism of the judges
for unjust and unrighteous decisions,
and upheld the Constitution as an in.
strument for the protection Of PRIV
ilege and Of vested wrong. 1t was
Lincoln who appealed to the people
against the Judges when the judges
went wrong, who advocated and Sc
cured what was practically the recall
Of the bred Scott decision, and tho
treated the Constitution as a living
force for righteousness. We stand
for applying the Constitution to the
issues Of today as Lincoln applied II
to the issues of his day.
&. Duty Of Public Servants.
:. hold 1t to be the duty Of every
public servant. and Of every man who
In public or in private life holds a
position of leadership in thought or
action. to endeavor honestly and fear
lessly to guide his fellow-country-
men to right decisions: but l emphat.
tcally dissent from the view that it Is
sithsr wise or necessary to try to de.
Do YOU know that more real