The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1912-03-28

The salient passages in Colonel
Roosevelt's forceful campaign speech
delivered in Carnegie Hall, New York,
Wednesday evening, is given below
The great fundamental issue now
before the republican party and be-
fore our people can be stated briefly.
1t is, are the American people fit to
govern themselves, to rule them
selves, to control themselves?
I believe they are. My opponents
do not. l believe in the right of the
people to rule. l believe that the ma
jority Of the plain people in the Unit
ed States will, do, day in and day
out, maze fewer mistakes in govern
ing themselves than any similar class
or body of men, no matter what their
training, will make in trying to govern
them. | believe again that the Amer
lean people as a whole, are capable of
self control and of learning by their
mistakes. Our opponents pay lip 10y
atty 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
i shall protest against it with all my
heart and soul. But we are today
suffering from the tyranny of the mi
norities. 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 small minority that lies behind
monopolies and trusts. 1t is small
minority that stands behind the pres
ent law of master and servant, the
sweatshops and the whole calendar of
social and industrial injustice. 1t is |
a small minority that is today using |
our convention system to defeat the |
will of a majority of the people in the |
choice of delegates to the Chicago |
convention.
My opponents charge that two
things in my program are wrong be-
cause they intrude into the sanctuary
of the judiciary.
The first is the recall of judges and
the second the review by the people
of judicial decisions on certain excep-
tional questions. l 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 9TH
ers in our state-is a fine page of
American history. Butt say it so
ho- rirrI,+ e.
proach the sanctuary of the courts
when a special interest has corruptly
found sanctuary, 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 a CIV
en- social policy is for the public good
is not of judicial nature, but should
be settled by the legislature or in the
final instance, by the people them
selves?
The president Of the United States,
Mr.. Taft, devoted most of a recent
speech to criticise some of this prop
osition. He says that lit is utterly
without merit or utility and, instead
of being in the interest of all the peo- l
pie and of the stability of popular
government, is sowing the seeds of
confusion and tyranny" By this he y
of course meant the tyranny of the Il
majority-that is the tyranny of the O
American people as a whole. y
He also says that my proposal, p
(Which as he rightly sees it, is merely n
a proposal to give the people a real Il
instead of only nominal chance to p
,onstrue and amend state legislation II
with reasonable rapidity) would make o
such amendment and Interpretation u
depend on the feverish, uncertain IL
md unstable determinations OF sue Il
,essiye votes on different laws by a.
temporary and changing majorities," el
md that sit lays the axe at the foot e'
# the tree of well ordered freedom u
md subjects the guarantees of lite, az
liberty and prosperity without remedy, IN
o the fitful impulse Of temporary lie
of an electorate"
This criticism is really less a crit re
,ism of my proposal than a criticism al
f all popular government. 1t is who'll Is
' unfounded, unless it is founded on IN
he belief that the people are funda- III
lentally untrustworthy. This is the an
uestion that l propose to submit to ca
ne people. How can the prevailing IL
,orality or a preponderant opinion 10
g better and more exactly ascer- IN
lined than by vote Of the people? JUL
The people must know better than ln'
,e court what their own morality and IN
leir own opinion is. l ask that you I'M
ere. you and others like you, you, the req
sople, be given the chance to state me
our own views of justice and public sn
orality and not sit meekly by and Uni
ave your views announced for you the
, well meaning adherents Of outworn ma
who e1alt the pedantry Una
formulas above the vital needs of IN
imam life. la'
Mr., Tafts position is the position is
at has been held from the beginning col
our government, although not al lon
avs SO openly held, by large num- OIL
~ reputable and honorable mea SOC