Perth Amboy evening news., 1912-03-19
PRIMARY
ADMITS FRAUD
President Taft Denounces
the Roosevelt Policies.

Boston, Mareh~19.-President Taft In
an address to fS1 Massachusetts legis-
lature made public his reasons for op-
posing the primary system of election
of delegates to the national convention.
denouncing the soap box presidential
primary as ian open avenue for fraud
and violence unless properly safe
guarded by legal regulations.
He was given an extraordinary ova-
ton when he appeared ON the floor.
In discussing the agitation for the re-
call of judges and the recall of judi
cial decisions, the president declared
that it Is impossible for all the people
to take a direct part in all the func-
tons of government. He said the con-
stitution founded a government "of the
people for the people by a representa-
tive part Of the people" He denied the
proposition that whatever is right is
constitutional"
Many read a direct attack on Colonel
Roosevelt into the concluding state
ment of the president when, after de-
ploring the agitation oyer the courts
and the constitution, he said:
"Irresponsibility, either in intemper-
ate language or on baseless assump-
tons of corruption or bias, or incompe-
teney, made by those whose statements
have influence with any part of the
people, are a serious menace to endur-
ing government"
The president said in part:
81 can really discover q tendency la
modern politics to exalt above the writ
ten law and above the written constf-
tuition what is called popular will, as If
1t were a higher law to which we must
all admit allegiance, and by obeying 1t
Ignore or transgress statutory and con-
stitutional limitations.
.""This heresy Is not stated exactly In
the form OF an assertion that judges
and others are to ignore statutes and
constitutions because of a conflicting
popular will, but 1t is In the mere In
sidious proposition that plain eonstruc-
tion of the statute or OF the eonstitu-
tian Is to be defeated and a strained
and otherwise impossible construction
put on the language OF the statute or
constitution in Difference to what IL
supposed to be the popular will.
There Is no rule for ascertaining
what this popular will is, except the
observation and imagination of the per
son who is appealing to 1t.
1.-THE continued r~elteration Of the
proposition, Let the people rule IL IL
has any significance at all and Is In
tended otherwise than to 1atter the
people, is intended to be a reelection on
the government that we have had
down to the present time. Now. In
spite of all the corruption, in spite of
all the machine politics, in spite of
every defect in operation of our govern
ment that a be pointed out, 1 do not
hesitate to say that the history of the
last 1876 years shows that the people
have ruled.
'The occasion for these remarks is
the attack upon our judiciary and the
proposal by judicial recall, or recall of
judicial decisions, to destroy its indie
pendence and thus take away from the
arch Of government the keystone. l
deny that there is in the decisions OF
the courts or the character Of the
judges or the result of litigation that
which Justifies such a radical innoya-
ton.
Il do not hesitate to say that In my
Judgment a voluntary primary outside
the law, known by its informal charae-
ter as a soap box primary, is worse
than none, for 1t gives full opportunity
to the ineligibls electors of the other
party to cast unfair votes and without
the sanction and safeguard of penal
provisions In respect to casting and
counting the ballots is an open avenue
for fraud and violence. Wherever full
and fair notice of the election can
be given, wherever adequate election
safeguards a be thrown around TO
protect a preferential primary for the
presidency, I favor # and welcome 1t.
"Thia Is a government based on pop-
ular control. But It Is impossible for
all the people to take direct part In all
governmental functions. They must
be represented by competent persons
~ N0AAJ Jul tASAk SCucIdI VIII. In
other words, cur government is a gov
eminent of the people, for the people.
by a representative part of the peonie
under a fundamental compact which
has indicated its wisdom, it's equity
and its utility in the growth of our
country under It's benefcent provisions
from a struggling 100000 ON the At
lantic coast to a nation q continent
wide of 90,0O0,000.n
Oyster Bay. N. Y, March ewhea
Colonel Roosevelt was asked IL he had
any reply to President Taft1s Rostof.
speech attacking HIS preferential presk
Dental primary ideas as soap box pri-
maries which open the avenue TO vio-
lence" he replied that he had received
a telegram from Senator Dixon asking
him to make an Immediate reply. He
said that he would reply later.
49,