The Ellensburg dawn. [volume] (Ellensburg, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1912-03-21

81 course mean. the tyranny Of tnt
ma e)rity-that is the tyranny of the
American people as "A whole.
lie also says that my proposal,
(Which as ne rightly sees it, is merely
proposal to give the people real
instead OF only nominal chance to
construe and amend state legislation
with reasonable rapidity) would make
such amendment and Interpretation
depend on the feverish, uncertain
and unstable determinations Of sue
cessive votes on different laws by
temporary and changing majorities,'
and that ut lays the axe at the foot
of the tree of well ordered freedom
and subjects the guarantees OF lite,
liberty and prosperity without remedy,
to the ftful impulse OF temporary
ma jority of an electorate"
This criticism is really less crit
icsm of my proposal than criticism
of all popular government 1t is Who'll
" unfounded, unless il is founded on
the belief that the people are funda-
mentally untrustworthy. This is the
question that | propose to submit to
the people. How can the prevailing
morality or a preponderant opinion
be better and more exactly ascer
tanned than by vote Of the people?
The people must know better than
the court what their own morality and
their own opinion is. ! ask that you
here, you and others like you, you, the
people. be given the chance to state
,,F f,.., r,nbIi,l
morality and not sit mcehly by and
have your views announced for yod
by well meaning adhcrents Of outworn
PHILOSOPHERS, who eNalt the pedantry
of formulas above the vital needs of
human life
Mr. Taft's position is the position
that has been held from the beginning
of our government, although not al
ways so openly held, by large mum
her of reputable aud honorable ne
Nho down at the bottom distrus' pop
ular government and when they must
accept it. accept it with reluc -ance
and hedge around it with every spe-
lieS of restriction and check and bal
anc. so as to make the power of the
people as limited and ineffective as
possible. Mr.. Taft fairly defines the
issue when he says that our govern
ment is and should be a government
of all the people by republican part
of the people. This is an excellent
and moderate description of an dig
a;chy. 1t defines our government as
a government for a few of the people.
| am not speaking critically nor do
l mean to be unkind, for believe that
many honorable and well meaning
men of high character take this view
and have taken it from the time of
the formation of the nation. Essen
TALLY this view is that the constitu
ton is a strait jacket to be used for
the control of an unruy patent-the
people Now l hold that this view is
not only false, but mischieyous, that
our constitutions are instruments de-
signed to secure justice by securing
the deliberate but effective expression
Of the popular will, that the checks
and balances are valuable as far and
only SO far as they accomplish that
elaboration and that it is a warped
and unworthy and improper construc-
ton of our form of government to see
In it only a means Of thwarting the
popular will and of preventing justice.
Mr.. Taft says that every class"
should have voice" in the govern.
ment. That seems to me a very SER
ious misconception of the American
political situation. The real trouble
with us is that some classes have had
too much voice. One of the most i'm
portant of all the lessons to be taught
and to be learned is that man should
vote not as a representative of a class,
but mercy as good citizen, whose
prime interests are the same as those :
of all other good citizens., -. . >.
Taft's "Disbelief in sne Pcople.". :.
Mr.. Taft again and again in quota.
tions l have given and elsewhere in
this speech expresses his disbelief in:
the people when they vote at the polls.
|, In one sentence he says" that the
E.propOsitiOn gives POWERFUL effect to-
the momentary impulse of a ma jority
of an electorate and prepares the way
for the positive exercise of the gross
est tyranny" Elsewhere. he speaks.
Of the ':feverish uncertainty. and ."un-
stable determination of laws. by tenn
porary and changing majorities, and
again he says that the system pro-
pose, would result in suspension or
application of constitutional guaran-
tees according to popular whim,"
which would destroy "all possible con-
sistency' in constitutional interpreter
ton. l should much like to know
the exact distinction that is to be
made between what Mr. Taft calls
the fitful impulse of temporary
majority" when applied to a question