Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1912-04-04

anu sought 10 make them, TO arouse
them SO that they should make theil
will felt. rApplause.)
never dictated In any shape OIL
way except in so far as you choose
to call 1t dictation, to say that
placed my case before the American
people as clearly as | was able to
place 1t and then let them If they
chose, bring pressure to bear upon
their representatives to have their
will carried out. Now that ia all
(Applause.) l never had an ounce
or power except what came to me In
90 far as | was able to convince the
American people that the plans
proposed were for their benefit. Oc-
casionally l would take a step, not
because the people were already
aroused, but because | was confident
that the step would arouse them.
The Panama Canal.
Il give you just one sample Of 1t.
and that was the Panama Canal.
| (Applause.) Now for four hundred
years people had talked about build
ing that canal. There had, been four
centuries OF conversation on the sub
ject. Uaughter) and every prospect
| Of the conversation continuing for
another century.
"And l thought the time had come
to stop 1t. Accordingly, having clear
ed the ground by treaty with outside
powers, | endeavored TO get the re-
public of Colombia to permit us TO
pay her heavily for doing a piece of
work which, if she had been compe-
tent to do, she would have already
done herself Mind you that is all We
asked We asked her permission to
let us pay her heavily to do a piece
of work which was greatly in her
interest, and which she ought to have
done. At first she said she would, and
then they made up their minds
am translating into homely language
the attitude they took-they made up
their minds they could blackmail eth
er Us Or the French company and
! probably seize the French company S
whole outfit, the whole plant there on
the isthmus.
I'VE could not afford TO have that
done. II they had done that, France
would have interfered, and instead of
Colombia on the sthmus we would
| have had France, we would have had a
| European power You cannot play
| dog in the Manager You have got
to do job like that yourself, or get
out of the way and let somebody
that can do it, do it; and | didn' t
intend to have Uncle Sam get out
of the way and say he could not do
it; and let somebody else-that was
a strong man-d0 it. So | had two
alternatives: C0lcnba mad rejected
the treaty; the isthmus Wa ore,hr'r
with revolution, ready 10 ~ Ike
that any moment t5napI'a- f,e'.
"If | had chosen 10 d.
/ chosen to act in PUci2r3' I
of a Lincoln manner ! wCri '"v"
submitted an able report tc cJrare IS
and congress would have debated it..
and large number Of o5le speeches
would have been made On the sub.
ject (applause); and the debate would
be going on now, and the canal would
be 10 years in the future and I made
! up my mind that instead OF having
them debate the canal and the 18TH
mus, would take the sthmus, start
the canal, and then turned to the
people to see whether the people
would or would not ratfy what
had done-and they ratified it Zap
plause); and the canal is within "a
year or two of completion (applause)
and the debate about me is still 60
ing on at intervals, and shows no
signs OF coming to an end until long
after the canal has been built; and
as long as the canal is going on
do not care II they debate me until
the end Of their lives.
Nov, friends, that is an exact IT,
lustration of what these worthy elder
ly women Of my sex, OF what thcv
call my dictatorial habits. All | did
was to do your work efficiently in.
stead Of talking about it, and then
turn my action over to you for ap-
proval. and I had not the means Of
influencing you or making you do
anything that you didn't wish to do
All | could do was to put my case
fairly before you, and then to abide
the result OF your Judgment CAP.
plause.)
Real Rule of the People.
Now, friends, talking to you, 1t is
little difficult for me not to go on
Indefinitely, but there is just one
point that | want still to speak of to
you, and that is the point | have
made-the proposition | have made
in connection with making the rule of
the people real, making it a genuine
thing and not a sham, to the extent
In whatever state it becomes neces-
sary OF giving the people the right
themselves to say what they meant
when they made a constitution, II in
a certain set Of constitutional cases
the courts decided the people have
not the poweS to do social justice.
One of my difficulties in this matter
is that so many good people read not
what have said, but what the head
lines Of the newspapers that speak
for the interests, say I have said
(Applause).
"Now right across the river Is On
tario, the province of Ontario, the
Dominion of Canada In Ontario. in
Canada, the legislature is supreme on
all constitutional questions. The court
has no power to declare an act of
the legislature unconstitutional
Neither has 1t in England, nor In
France, nor in Germany, practically
in no other country but ours. So, you
can say all OF those countries are
very radical II you wish. (Applause).
Now we have adopted, and think
H1 ~ - ,ix, % A.