The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-09-30
TAFT ON THE MAIN ISSUE.

TAFT ON THE MAIN ISSUE.
President Taft broke his rule of s-
lcnce in this political campaign by de.
| livering a powerful speech at his sum
mer home in Beverly, Massachusetts,
on Saturday. He was addressing the
Republican clubs of Essex county. resi-.
dents of that neighborhood, and be had
a very great audience Immediately un-
der his voice, while ultimately his au-
dience' is the whole people of the
United States.
The keynote of that address was the
preservation of the republic. The ar
gument was directed TO the point that
the constitutional form Of government
as we have had hitherto in this country
is directly threatened by the Roosevelt
movement. On this point he held that
this campaign is OF even move fuuda-
mental and permanent Importance TO
the Government and the people than
the tariff and prosperity. The preser-
walton of the institutions of civil lib
erty 'as they were handed down 10 lis
of the United States. and in the State
cons titutions which were modelled after
it, - is the direct issue before the peo-
pie IN this campaign, The Roosevelt
party expressly makes complaint that
the constitution is too hard 10 amend
and they wish the liberty OF changing
it by direct and immediate vote. Need
less to say, constitution that would
be subject to the temporary spasms Of
popular sentiment would not be much
of a constitution; it would presently he
recognizable. and in such tangle
that no one could understand what it
meant or trace its bearings And when
we add to this the proposition that the
people are to have the right of over
turning judicial decisions by vote, thus
changing the constitution Of anv State
at the popular whim or excitement Of
the moment, it is at once seen that
chaos is threatened We would have
under those conditions no stable form
Of government, and no possible basis
whereby the constitutions of the sew
eral States might be made TO CORE.
spopd, or TO guarantee or protect the
rights and liberties OF the people. The
constitution OF one State might be fair
and good, that of another altogether
going. from one State into the other
would be virtually passing into for
eign country. When the standards are
beaten down. all sorts of false weights
and measures come into use.
President Taft does well to make
prominent and insist upon the plain
fact that the issue this year, as the
Roosevelt party presents it TO the peo
pie, is fundamental. The question is
whether the republic shall endure as
we have had it or whether we shall
have A new sort of a republic, which
will present no definite safeguards TO
the people and will offer the opportu
nifty to the majority to break down
in any year, through popular clamor,
through misapprehension, or through
vague unrest, the fundamental guar
antees which assure to every citi-
zen his right to life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness.
Nothing could be more important
than this issue Nothing could possibly
appeal more powerfully and more dl-
rectly to every Gberty-loying voter
than this issue as thus presented. Pres
idcnt Taft is in favor Of preserving the
republic as we received it from the
fathers, Col. Roosevelt is in favor of
changing the republic so as to make
the executive arm dominant in control,
subiecting the Legislative and the iu'
dicial arm of the Government to the
force Of the executive, which is always
the ruin of popular rule. the end OF
freedom Once we break loose from
the old moorines and disregard the
constitutional guarantees of liberty and
human rights, we embark upon dan
gerous sea, aud the wreck of our ship
of state is Just rs certain as the wrecks
that have ensucd from other embarka-
tions of the same sort in the history
Of mankind.