The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1912-03-21
THOUSANDS HEAR
TAFT SCORED BY
. COL. ROOSEVELT
Former President Addresses
Monster Meeting In
New York.
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Continued from First Page)
prepared speech to the extent of saying
that he was pleased to be present to
explain what he had said at Columbus,
for which utterances "alone 1 would
crave or receive support" 1t mattered
little, he continued, what the fate of
one man may be-" providing the eternal
principles for which he strove endured.
Shall the People Rule?
Mr.. Roosevelt said, in part:
The great fundamental issue now be-
fore the Republican party and before
our people can be stated briefly. 1t is:
Are the American people fit to govern
themselves, to rule themselves, to con-
troll themselves? 1 believe they are. My
opponents do not. If you abandon Lin
coins formula, which is government for,
of, and by the people, and take one for
the people, of the people by a small
representative class, l can tell you now
who will be the chief opponents of that
on our side of the fence. They will be
Brothers Barnes and Woodruff. / be-
neve In the right Of the people to rule
! Our opponents pay lip loyalty to this
doctrine; but they, show their real be-
liefs by the way in which they cham
pion every device to make the nominal
rule of the people a sham.
II have scant patience with this talk
/ of the tyranny OF the majority. When
, ever Lnere Is tyranny Oh the majority, L
shall protest against it with all my
heart and soul But we are today suf-
fering from the tyranny of minorities
1t is small minority that is grabbing
and our harbor fronts. A small minor
.ity is fattening on the sale of adulter-
lated foods and drugs. It is small
minority that lies behind monopolies
! and trusts. 1t is small minority that
stands behind the present law of mas
| ter and servant, the sweatshops and the
whole calendar of social and industrial
injustice. 1t is small minority that is
today using our convention system to
| defeat the will of a majority of the
I people in the choice of delegates to the
. Chicago, convention. The only tyrannies
from which men, women and children
| are suffering in real life are the tyran-
MES Of minorities.
{ Vested Rights of Privilege.
: mo sane man who has been familiar
with the Government of this country
for the last twenty years will complain
| that we have had too much Of the rule
/ of the majority. The trouble has been
"a far different one-that at many
| times and in many localities, there
have held public office in the States
and in the nation men who have. In
fact, served not the whole people but
some special class or special interest;
am not thinking only of those special
interests which by grosser methods. by
|
people 1 am thinking as much of their
| respectable allies and figureheads. who
have ruled and legislated and decided
as II in some way the vested rights OF
whole United States. while the rights of
Erall the people were merely an unse-
outed., debt Am overstattng the
There has sprung up, he continued.
o feeling among the people as dis
tinguished from the POLITICIANS and
heneficiaries of special privilege, that
fact as well as in theory, the serv
ants of the people would respond to
them more quickly; 1t was to reach
tRs Sa sId hSt hS
new checks and balances" to be APP
piled to special interests and their
allies. He mentioned first, the initi-
atiVe and referendum, and said:
mo man would say that 1t was best
to conduct all legislation by direct
vote of the people-it would mean
consideration-but, on the other hand,
no one whose mental arteries have
not long since hardened can doubt
that the proposed changes are need
ed when. the Legislatures refuse to
carry out the will of the people. The
proposal Is a method to reach an
undeniable evil"
Recalling Public Officials. 1
Next he spoke of the recall of officials
other than judges He said:
81 have heard no argument advanced
against the proposition, save that it will
ways currylng favor with the mob. That
argument means that you can fool ali
the people all the time, and is an
be true-and ! believe it is motif is
less important than to stop those public
ofhcers from currying favor with the
interests. Certain States may need the
n NAFh hA
of elective office is short it may be quite
needless; but there are occasions when
It meets real evil, and provides a
special interests"
THE real direct primary not the New
York one" the colonel said. was wholly
, good for every State. The system OF
party government he declared vital
and essential part of government, but
the leaders should serve and carry out
The will Of the party. This theory. he
Mas no need of rehearsing 1.-THE vulgar
thieVlng partnerships of the corpora
tions and the bosses or to show that
real government lies often In the hands
of the boss, who Is protected from re-
Nenge OF the voter. The facts that
bosses are entrenched and hard to over
cal system"
Next the colonel took up the recall
OF Judges. He said:
Il have said again and again that |
90 not advocate the recall of Judges
In all States and in all communities
In my own State / do not advocate
II or believe IT to he needed, for in
TINS state our trouble lies not with
corruption on the bench, but with
the effort by the honest but wrong
head judges to thwart the people in
their struggle for social Justice and
tair-dealing. The integrity of mr.
Judges from Marshall to White and
Holmes-and to Cullen and many
others in our own State-is' a fine
page of American history But sev
II soberly-democracy has a right TO
aLproaCh the sanctuary of the courts
when a special interest has corruptly
round sanctuary there: and this is
exactly what has happened in SOME Of
the States where the recall Of the
Judges Is living issue. I would
Tar more willingly trust the whole
people to Judge such a case than some
special tribunal-perhaps appointed
by the same mower that chose the
tudge-if that tribunal Is not itself
really responsible TO the peoDIe and ia
hampered and ClOgged by the tech
ntcaldties of impeachment proceed
"Undue Process" Clause.
The undue process clause Of State
constitutions, he continued, had often