The weekly Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1911-1922, 1912-02-29
Col. ROOSEVELT
OUTLINES VIEWS
On LEGISLATION
CONTINUED from Page 81

NO@<e-A4Oo L4Ok<A = es5V W
judges are to be established as sover-
eign rulers over the people. I take
absolute issue with all those who hold
such position. 1regard II as COM
plete negation Of our whole system
Of government; and II 1t became the
dominant position in this country. it
would mean the absolute upsetting of
both the rights and the rule of the
people. If the American people are
not fit for popular government. and
II they should Of right be the servants
and not the masters Of the men whom
they themselves put in Office, then
Lincoln's work was wasted and the
whole system Of government upon
which this great democratic republic
rests Is failure. I believe, on the
contrary, with all my heart that the
American people are fit for complete
self-government, and that in spite of
all our failings and shortcomings. we
Of this republic have more nearly real
lied than any other people on earth
the ideal of Justice attained through
genuine popular rule.
People Fundamentally Right.
/ do not say that the people are in
fallfble. But do say that our whole
history shows that the American peo-
pie are more often sound in their de.
cisions than is the case with any OF
the governmental bodies to whom. for
their convenience, they have dele
gated portions of their power. If this
is not so, then there is no Justification
Tor the existence of our government:
and II 1t is so, then there Is no justi-
ncation for refusing to give the peo-
pae the real, not merely the nominal.
ultimate decision on questions Of con-
'stitutional law.
A decision rendered but a few
months ago by the court Of appeals
Of my own state. the state of New
York, declared unconstitutional the
workmenb compensation act. In their
decision the judges admitted the
wrong and the suffering caused by the
practices against which the law was
aimed. They admitted that other CIV
tlized nations had abolished these
WIOn6S dAQ PIdCllCcS- Out InCy tOoh
the ground that the Constitution OF
the United States, instead of being an
instrument to secure justice, had been
fngeniously devised absolutely to pre-
vent justice. They insisted that the
clause in the Constitution which for
babe the taking of property without
due process of law forbade the effort
Dhlnh ha1 H. To-, n. lou
distribute among all the partners in
an enterprise the effects of the in
turies to life or limb of a wagework-
or. In other words. they insisted that
the Constitution had permanently
cursed our people with impotence to
right wrong, and had perpetuated a
cruel fnfQuity; for cruel iniQuity Is not
too harsh a term TO use in describing
the law which, In the event of such an
accident, binds the whole burden of
Gripping disaster on the shou- ders
least able to bear 1.-THE shoulders OF
the crippled man himself. or the dead
mans helpless wife and children NO
anarchist orator. raving against the
Constitution, ever framed an indict-
ment to 1t so severe as these worthy
and well-meaning judges must be held
to have framed If their reasoning be
accepted as true. But, as matter
OF fact their reasoning was unsound.
and was as repugnant 10 every sound
defender Of the Constitution as to
every believer in justice and right
eousness. In effect, their decision
was that we could not remedy these
wrongs unless We amended the Con-
stitution (not the constitution of the
state, but the Constitution of the ma
tom by saying that property could be
taken without due process of law. 1t
seems incredible that any one should
be willing to take such a position. IL
is a position that has been condemned
over and over again by the wisest and
most far-seeing courts. In its essence
it was reversed by the decision OF
state courts in states like Washington
and Iowa, and by the Supreme court
of the nation in q case but Few
weeks old
According to one Of the highest
Judges then and now on the Supreme
court of the nation, we had lived for. a
hundred years under Constitution
which permitted a national income
tax. until suddenly by one vote the
Supreme court reversed its previous
decisions for a century, and said that
for a century we had been living under
n wrong Interpretation Of the Con. itu
ton that IL, uncer wrong Const'iu
tion). and therefore in effect estab
Iished a new Constitution which We
are now laboriously trying to amend
40 as to- get 1t back to the Constita
tiou that for hundred years every
body, including the Supreme court
thought it to be. When / was presi
dent. we passed a National Workmen'l
Compensation act Under it a rail
way man named Howard, l think. wa'
killed in Tennessee, and his widow
sued for damages. Congress hat
done all 1t could to provide the right
but the court stepped in and decreet
that congress had failed. Three OF TIT
iudses took the extreme position tina
there was no way in which congress
could secure the helpless widow an'
children against sdffering. and tina
the mans blood and the blood of al
similar men when spilled should fol-
ever cry aloud in vain for justice
This seems a strong statement. bu
II Is far less strong than the actua
facts: and | have difficulty in making