The Irish standard., 1912-03-09
ROOSEVELT GIVES
GAGE OF BATTLE
DEFINES HIS STAND IN PREslDEN.
TlAL CAMPAIGN AGAINST
TAFT.
DECLARES ISSUE ISSIMPLE
In Editorial in Outlook Under Caption
do You Believe in the Rule Of
the People," He Answers Criti-
cism Of Columbus Speech

New York, March e.-under the cap
ton do You Believe in the Rule of
the People," Colonel Roosevelt laid
down the gage Of battle and defined
the stand he will take in the cam
paign against President Taft for the
Republican nomination in an edto-
rial which appears in the current issue
pf THE Outlook"
Colonel Roosevelt's chief argument
Is directed against the criticism of his
policy in regard to the recall of Judges
az declared In his platform speech"
before the Ohio constitutional conven-
ton
"Thcrc has been much effort made"
he said, ito fog the issue raised in my
Columbus speech. In reality. the is
sue is perfectly simple. DO you be-
Iievc in tho r,,lc of the people? 1t
you do. YOU are with us. Ii you do
not. YOU arc against us.
Those who stand for the cause OF
social and Industrial Justice TO E@ OBJ
tanned through the genuine rule of the
people. arc but carrying forward the
work which dropped from Abraham
I.ncoln's hands when The patient,
tired, kindly eyes We're closed forever.
He strovc against intrcnrhcd wrong,
against privilege in the most hateful
form Of his day, We, IN our DIZZY.
strive against hateful forms OF in
trcncllcd wrong and pri,il"g"
Servants Not Masters.
"Abraham Lincoln respected the
Judges. But he regarded them us the
servants and not the mast ors of the
people, and he believed that the peo-
pie had the right to decide for them
selves the great fundamental uues-
tons of public policy, upon the proper
solution OF which II depends VIE her
there shall or shall not he true social
justice in the land.
"Thcrcfore we hold that, as regards
these questions of public pole,
courts. like executives and i"GisiH-
lures, must bow to the sober and We'll
thought-out Judgment OF the people.
Let me repeat once nor" Nh"t
have so often said that arl net low
speaking of ordinary cases Of justice
between man and man, such rs n.s'st
be decided by Judges hero in A!Aeyea
rs they are decided by Judges IN all
! other lands. am speaking oi the ar
ton of the court when II declare hat
law passed in the collective il: c5t
Of The whole community is ,n;;Dns'ti-
tutiOnal; and have especially il I'nT
the laws affecting human rights ,:o!n
a most vital stnnN I.oin, tho laws az
rccting the terms and conditions Of
life and employment among he w.Se.
workers.
Let the People Decide.
IF in any state the constitution 80
clearly defined the power Of the !: sis-
lnture to act for the general wc'fuTc
as to prohibit tho courts from mnlify-
Ing any law that is c0rsonant with
; morality and public policy as under
| stood by a majority Of the p"aiiic. and
If in actual practice the courts re-
spcctcd such constitutional rrnhibi-
ton, then there would be no need fOrs
what ] propose; because in such case
there would he full recognition Of the
absolute right of the people to decide
The policy Of their representatives.
legislative and judicial, in these mat
Lers--and this is all for which con-
tend.
But in actual practice | know no
state where such conditions prevail.
Therefore | hold that provision should
be made in the constitutions of the
several states which, in the event Of
clash between the legislature and the
court as to the cOnstit,ltiOnalty of
such legislation as | have spoken Of
4. should permit the people themselves
to decide what TIE true Interpretation
Of the constitution is.
ut is not merely untruthful but silly
to say that such process would leave
us at the mercy of the mob Such
q process as advocate would take at
the very least two years time. II in
two years the people cannot come to
sober and deliberate judgment,
then It is impossible that they should
ever so come.
Restore Power to People.
Il do not propose to give the people
any new power. l propose to restore
to them the power out of which they
have been defrauded. the power which
1t is their right and their duty to exer-
else. ! propose to provide better
and more effective method for the ex-
ercise of the power reserved and in
herent in the people to make or I'M
make their constitution or construe
the constitution in accordance with
, their we'll considered needs.