The Ellensburg dawn. [volume] (Ellensburg, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1912-03-21
OPPOSES PRESIDENTS ATTITUDE
ON POPULAR GOVERNMENT.
PEOPLES Voice Must Prevail
cheered for Speech in Opening Active
Campaign for Observation-Disclosures
Taft as Opposed to the Majority.
Stands SquareIy on His Columbus,
Ohio, Address.

The salient passages in Colonel
Roosevelt's forceful campaign speech.
delivered in Carnegie Hall, New York,
Wednesday evening, is 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 them
selves, to control themselves?
believe they arc My opponents
do not | believe III the right of the
people to rule. believe that the ma
jority of the plain people in the Unit
ed States will, do, day in and day
out, MAKE fewer mistakes in govern
ing themselves than any similar class
or body OF men, no matter what their
training, will make in trying. to govern
them. | believe again that the Amer
lean people as a whole, are capable of
self control and OF learning by their
mistakes. Our opponents pay lip 10y
atty to this doctrine, but they show
their real beliefs by the way in which
they champion every device to make
the nominal rule of the people a sham.
have scant patience with this talk
of the tyranny of the majority. When
ever there is tyranny of the majority
l shall protest against it with all my
heart and soul. But we are today
suffering from the tyranny of the mi.
norities 1t is a 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.
1t is small minority that lies behind
monopolies and trusts 1t 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. 1t is
a small minority that is today using
our convepfion system to defeat the
will of majority of the people in the
choice of delegates to the Chicago
convention.
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 judges and
the second the review by the people
of judicial decisions on certain excep-
tional questions. I have said again
and again that l do not advocate the
recall of judges in all states and in all
communities The integrity of our
judges, from Marshall to White and
Holmes-and to Cullen and many 9th
ers in our state--is fine page OF
American history. But say it so
berly-democracy has a. right to APP
proach the sanctuary of the courts
when a special interest has corruptly
found sanctuary, and this is exactly
what has happened in some of the
states where the recall OF the judges
is a living issue. Is it not equally
plain that the question whether a CAV
en- social policy is for the public good
is cot of judicial nature. but should
be settled by the legislature or in the
final instance, by the people them.
selves? =. = :. ...;
The president of the United States,
Mr.. Taft, devoted most of recent
speech to criticise some of this prop
osition. He says that ut 'is utterly
without merit or utility and,' instead
OF being in the interest of all the peo-
pie and of the stability of popular
government. is sowing the seeds of
confusion and tyranny" BY this he