New-York tribune., 1912-01-23

OVERFLOW MEETING HELD
Advocates Restricted Recall OF
Judges, Referring Particular
ly to Those Who Usurp
Legislative Functions.

/
was unable to hold the mass of people
who came to listen TO him, and when he
learned that a large number of people
had TO be refused admittance he left the
hall and addressed the six or seven hum
dred people who were gathered in 5Ith
street. using the chauffeurs seat OF an
automobile as his rostrum.
The overflow meeting caused some de-
| Law. and il was after Q o'clock Wheh
! Senator La Toilette was introduced from
the platform of Carnegie Hall by Giiford
Pinchot. He was received with hearty
applause, and his long speech was ire
| quently interrupted by applause ana
cries OF approval.
| Explaining the platform OF the FRO
gressives and declaring 1t the one Win
which ne was in fullest accord, Senator
La Toilette said that he was for the re-
call extended to the judiciary and Tor
woman suffrage. He had described the
recall as applied to all elected officials
and had paused when voice IN the
auditorium rang out; How about
judges
'T was Just waiting for you to say
that" was the Senator's answer. i am
in favor of extending the recall TO the
| judiciary. l don't defy the bench, ana
when a court forgets that its function
is To administer laws as written by the
| legislative department and goes INTO
lneisIatine there's enough reason to APP
ply the recall.
i am not going to say anything mere
and veil It, l mean the Supreme Court
Of the United States, which undertook
to put words into the Sherman act which
the legislators who passed it never in
tended to have there.
Would Restrict Recall Of Judges.
Il am for a restricted and safeguarded
recall of the judiciary. You deny to the
people Of this country this right and
YOU confirm their suspicious against the
judiciary"
The Serator came from his open air
speech with much impaired voice, as
he was suffering frcrl a cold But he
laughingly declared that this would i'm
prove by speaking, and II he could talk
until morning his voice would be clear.
| His first words were praise for Clifford
Pinchot as the man who had made the
| conservation movement the greatest
movement OF the world
| For the occasion Of his first appear
ance before a New York audience Mr..
La Toilette said ne had been admonished
that the audience would be gathered for
the most part from curiosity, and when
a man called out that 1t meant business
the Senator said he meant business. too,
and that he had come to talk about the
country.
Starting from the premise that he was
regarded as very dangerous man and
that his own testimony might be ques-
toned. he quoted various authorities to
| show the decline of true democracy in
! this country and the need for the re-
medal measures advocated by the Pro-
gressives He first quoted from de
/ TocqueviIle's work, in which the writer
/ said seventy years ago that he had never
/ found a man in the United States using
wealth to corrupt his felOwmen.
Contrast OF Fifty Years.
He then turned TO Bryce's American
Commonwealth" published fifty years
later in which the great corporations
were described as being everywhere the
| hane Of state politics as well as actively
engaged in lobbying at Washington. jus
| tice Brewer and Justice Brown, both Of
| the Supreme Court, were quoted by SEN
ator La Toilette as having pointed out in
public speeches in 1904 and 1905 the
corruptirg influence of corporations upon
| legislative bodies.
The Senator said he would not be
afraid Of the corruptive influence Of the
wealth of the whole country if it were
not insidious, but would march in the
open with ITS banner flying.
I'VE have permitted this thing to come
| into this generation Of ours. and are we
going to leave it to the coming genera
| ton to mend'" he asked, amid applause.
! From every state Of the Union comes
cheering news of the Progressive move
ment even from darkest New England,
where they are beginning to see hat our
doctrine is the same as the one preached
! in the Old South Church.
The ballot is not sufficient any longe:
and we have to have weapons besides
not guns, not dynamite-but weapons
which will make the ballot truly repre-
sentative"
rect primaries. Presidential preferences,
initiative, referendum and recall and
being reminded of II. the direct election
OF United States Senators. All this
could lie safely intrustcd to the people
he said, and there need not be fear OF
the American public. who. IL taking time
to consider it ,coolly. was the best Judge
in the world.
They say am the most dangerous
man in the country, but | am here to
tell you that am the safest man in this
country. I had sense enough to know.
after years of agitation. that to reform
the conditions which existed we needed
the most thorough and searching inves-
ugation before enacting legislative
measures"
Clifford pinchot. before Introducing
Senator La Toilette, spoke about the
conservation movement and the Pro-
gressive movement. which ne said were
the two great parallel movements which
to-day were in possession Of the public
mind. Each OF them he said. was so
-I---..l. 10 .nnrad nnd en nnri q In 10 ,rr1