The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1912-03-29
LET PEOPLE RULE,
SAYS ROOSEVELT
Opposes Presidents Attitude on
Popular Government.
PEOPLES VOICE MUST PREVAIL

Chsersd For Speech In Opening Active
Campaign For Nomination - Quotes
Taft as Opposed to the Majority
Stands squareIy on His Columbus
CO., Address.
The salient passages in Colonel
Roosevelt's forceful campaign speech.
delivered in Carnegie hall. New York,
"Wednesday evening. are given below:
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? ! believe they are
My opponents do not. ! believe In the
right Of the people to rule. l believe
that the ma jority Of the plain people
OF the United States will. day in and
day out, make fewer mistakes in gov
erning themselves than any smaller
class or body of men. no matter what
their training. will make in trying to
govern them. believe again that the
BILE of self control and Of learning by
their mistakes. Our opponents pay lip
loyalty to this doctrine, but they show
their real beliefs by the way in which
they champion every device to make
the nominal rule Of the people a sham.
have scant patience with this talk
of the tyranny Of the majority. When
ever there is tyranny Of the majority
shall protest against 1t with all my
heart and soul. But we are today suf-
fering from the tyranny of the minor
tiles. 1t is a small minority that is
grabbing our coal deposits. our water
powers and our harbor fronts. A small
minority is fattening on the sale Of
adulterated foods and drugs. 1t is a
small minority that lies behind monop-
olies and trusts. 1t Is small minority
that stands behind the present law Of
master and servant. the sweatshOps
and the whole calendar of social and
Industrial injustice. 1t is a small mi.
nOrity that is today using our conven-
ton system to defeat the will Of ma
jOrity Of the people in the choice of
delegates to the Chicago convention.
Not For Recall Everywhere.
My opponents charge that two things
in my program are wrong because they
intrude into the sanctuary of the judi
riary. The first is the recall Of judges
and the second the review by the peO-
pie Of judicial decisions on certain con-
stitutional questions. have said again
and again that l do not advocate the
recall of judges in all states and in all
communities. The integrity of our
judges, from Marshall to White and
Holmes-and to Cullen and many others
in our own state-is a fine page of
American history. Butt say it sober
iy-democracy has a right to approach
the sanctuary Of the courts when a
special interest has corruptly found
sanctuary there. and this is exactly
what has happened in some of the
states where the recall Of the judges is
living issue. Is it not equally plain
that the question whether q given So
cial policy is for the public good is not
Of judicial nature. but should be set
tied by the legislature or in the final
Instance by the people themselves?
The president of the United States, |
Mr.. Taft, devoted most Of a recent
speech to criticism of this proposition. |
lie says that it "is utterly without |
merit or utility, and instead of being |
in the interest Of all the peO-
pie and Of the stability Of popular gov
eminent, Is sowing the seeds of cOnfu-
sion and tyranny" (By this he. Of
course. means the tyranny Of the ma
!ority-that is, the tyranny Of the
American people as a whOle.) He also
says that my proposal (Which. as he
rightly sees, is merely proposal to
nominal chance to construe and amend
a state constitution with reasonable
rapidity) would make such amendment
and Interpretation depend on the fe-
yerish. uncertain and unstable deter
mination Of successive votes on differ
ent laws by temporary and changing
and that lit lays the AK at
the foot Of the tree Of well ordered
freedom and subjects the guarantees Of
life. liberty and property without rem
ady to the fitful impulse of a tempo
'ary majority Of an electorate"
This criticism is really less criti-
ism Of my proposal than criticism
II all popular government. 1t Is
wholly unfounded. unless 1t Is founded
IN the belief that the people are fund
mentally untrustworthy. This is the
question that i propose to submit to
he people. How can the prevailing
or a preponderant opinion be
,etter and more exactly ascertained
han by a vote of the people? The
,eople must know better than the
curt what their own morality and
heir own opinion Is. ! ask that you.
Iere. you and others like you. you the
'eople, be given the chance to state
our own views of justice and public
morality and not sit meekly by and
ave your views announced for you by
veil meaning adherents Of outworn
who exalt the pedantry
{ formulas above the vital needs Of
uman life.