Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1912-03-15
TAFT SPEAKS IN
HIS HOME STATE
PRESIDENT DELIVERS ADDRESS
ON THE JUDICIARY AND PROG
REss AT TOLEDO, o.
DISCUSSES RECALL OF JUDGES
Nations Executive Says If construc
ton of Constitution Is Wrong II
Could be Riehted by consti-
tutional Amendment.

Toledo, O.-President Taft spoke
on "The Judiciary and Progress" be-
fore the chamber of commerce in this
city.
Following is the presidents speech,
In part;
"ln the last year or two we have
heard much of radical methods of
changing the judiciary system. II we
would properly consider these propos-
ais and stand on solid and safe
ground we must re-examine the fun
damental principles OF stable popular
government. The history Of the world
seems to show that our form Of gov
ernment is more enduring and salts
factory than any other. We began as
small Union of 13 states, strung
along the Atlantic coast, of 3,000,0 900
of people, and under the same con-
stltution we have enlarged to be a
world power of 4S sovereign states,
bound into one, Of more than 90,-
o00,000000 OF people. and with hui
name guardianship of 10,000000 more
L
Atlantic, We have fought, beginning
with the Revolution, four foreign
wars, and we have survived a Civil
war of the greatest proportions re-
corded in history, and have united
the battling sections by an indissolu-
BILE tie. From our body polite we
have excised the cancer of slavery,
nv fhn
stitution which was inconsistent with
that liberty, the preservation Of which
was the main purpose of establish
ing the Union. We have increased
our business and productive activities
In every direction; we have expanded
the development OF our natural re-
sources to be continent wide, and all
the time we have maintained sacred
those inalienable rights of man, the
right of liberty, the right of private
property, and the right to the pursuit
of happiness.
Popular Government.
. For these reasons, we believe in
popular government. Government is
a human instrumentality to secure
the greatest good to the greatest
number. and the greatest happiness
to the individual. Experience, and
especially the growth of popular gov
eminent in our own history has
shown. that in the long run every
class of the people, and by that
mean those similarly situated, are
better able to secure attention to
their welfare than any other class,
however altruistic the latter class
may be. OF course this assumes that
the members of the class have reason
able intelligence and capacity for
knowing their own rights and inter
est, Hence it follows that the best
government. In the sense of the gov
ernment most certain to provide for
and protect the rights and govern
mental needs of every class, is that
one in which every class has voice
: In recognition Of this, the tendency
.ifrom earliest times in our history has
been the enlargement of the electo.
rate to include In the ultimate source
fiof governmental power as many as
possible of those governed. But even
today the electorate is not more In
number than one-fourth of the total
number OF those who are citizens oi
the nation and are the people fol
whom the government is maintained
and whose rights and happiness the
government is intended to secure
More than this, government by unani
NOUS vote Of the electorate is impos
sible, and therefore the majority Of
the electorate must rule. We find
therefore, that government by the
people is, under our present system
government by majority Of one
fourth of those whose rights and hap
piness are to be affected by the
course and conduct of the govern
ment, This Is the nearest to gov
ernment by the whole people we have
ever had. Woman's suffrage will
change this, and 1t is doubtless com
ing as soon as the electorate can be
certain that most women desire 1t anC
will assume its burden and RESPONSE
bility. But even then the electorate
will only be part of the whole people
In other words, the electorate is {
representative governing body for the
whole people for which the govern
ment was established and the con
trolling majority of the electorate il
a body still less numerous. 1t Is thus
apparent that ours is a government
of all the people by representative
part of the people. Now, the objec
of government is not only to secure
the greatest good to the greatest mum
Der, but also to do this as near a!
may be by securing the rights of eact
individual in his liberty, property