The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-31
Colonel Roosevelt Does Not Like Action of LOrimer
 Committee
MIR. TAFT DENIES
 HE'S REACTIONARY
Saws He Is Progressive-Will Not Interfere in the Coal Strike. Roosevelt Denounces
 the Rate Bill

,,.+~rt+ March ao.-lThe issue between s-beo3ore Roosevelt and the present na- ktonal administration was emphasized by IA speech which the former President de- .Iivered here tonight. The railroad rate Ia,l1 nassed by the present Congress and sthe I.orirner case furnished the themes for his speech. With his visit to Detroit (which he reached after an all day ride from The west, Colonel Roosevelt's cam tipaign tour of the central states virtually same to an end, as he expects to make Ec stop on the return trip to New York.
 Rate Bill Improper
 Colonel Roosevelt said the railroad rate sbill as submitted to Congress by the ad- smiDistration was "a thoroughly mischiev- ous and improper measure" The pro gresslve senators, he said, reconstl uoted the bill "against the violent opposition of the reacttonaries who supported the ao- smnistration," retaining as the one essen tial feature of the original bill the pro- vision for a commerce court. This court, he said, has worked badly.
 Passing to the Lorimer case, Colonel Roosevelt declared the vote of the Senate committee this week recommending that the Illinois senator be allowed to retain his seat illustrated the working fin actual practice of the Presidents theory Of gov ernment of the people by what he calls "a representative part of the people,"
 Crowds Attend Meeting
 The Roosevelt meeting here tonight took place in the light guard armory, which was crowded. On the trip from Chicago this afternon the colonel made a number 70 ,4l,1t tgslf in ha which gathered at the railway stations as he passed through Michigan were the j largest that have assembled to hear the colonel's two minute talks from the rear platform during the present trip. In these speeches he discussed the presidential p1inlss
 At Ann Arboi- the students at the Uni vefsity of Michigan were on hand and gave the colonel an uproarious greeting.
 Colonel Roosevelt went from the mass meeting to the train for the trip to New York. He expects to reach home late to- morrow for short rest before starting II on his southern tour next week.
 Roosevelt Speaks
 In his speech tonight Colonel Roosevelt said in part:
 'The one great bit of progressive leg lslation in the last Congress was the rail- road rate bill. As submitted for action by the administration this was thor 0ughlY fniSCnleNDuS ana Improper meas ure, which would have meant the undo- ing of most of the work that had been done in the last 20 years, for it legazed monopoly without furnishing any addi- tional safeguards in the way of control. This was doing the exact reverse of what the progressives have always stood for, for we have insisted upon the most thor ough going and far reaching control of monopoly where a practical matter it proves unwise or impossible to break it up.
 .The administration plan was recon structed upon the floor of the Senate, but one of the essential features of the origi- Ial bill was left. This was the provision for a commerce court. As a matter If fact, this is the only provision of the bill that in practice has worked badly, But the rest of the bill for which the progress sive senators alone are entitled to the credit has represented a real and great improvement
 Lorimer Case Is Example
 'T wish to call your attention to The last instance of the working in actual practice of the Presidents the pry of government of the people by what he calls a representative part of the people. The immediate illus tration of this fact Is afforded by what the Senate committee has done in the Lorimer case. The reactionary mem- bers of both. parties, or the committee, have stood by MT. Lorimer and against the protest of the minority, have recommended that he be allowed to continue in his place.
 100 you think that the representa- tives who have acted in this way real ly represent the people,? I don't. Do you think that this specimen of gov ernment of the people by representa- tive part of the people, o-called-that is really by a representative part of the people represents an improve 4 ment on government by the people? I don't For instance, one of the gen. tlemen who signed the report on be- half of MT. Lorimer was Senator Dil- lingham of Vermont. I do not for one moment believe that if the people of Vermont could vote on this issue they would vote to retain MT. Lorimer in the Senate It seems to me that this Lorimer case, so far from being an !, argument in favor of the Presidents s position that we should have govern ment of the people by part or the people, is a strong argument for more direct election of United States sen ators by the people
 About Impulsiveness
 We have also heard a good deal of talk recently by our opponents, headed, l am sorry to say. by the President him self, against what they have called tine impulsive judgment of the people, Now, or course, as d matter of fact in noth- ing that we have proposed have we asked tor impulsive judgment In any event # l Sotld great deal rather trust the m- Ix pulsive judgment of the people in a ease SY like the Loriner case than the excess M sively deliberate judgment of the so- IW called representative part of the people s*s which has been going on for the last # two years. If the deliberate judgment by the Representative part of the peo- p.s over a period of two yeaEs results as it has resulted in the case of the Senate committee, then infinitely pre- fer the impulsive judgment of the people themselves
 Touches All South
 But l would like to point out an amusing incident of our opponents in consistency. Most of the southern states ' are under the dominion of the office holders, and wherever this was the case our opponents. took good care to secure an exceedingly impusive judgment by these patronage controlled southern states long in advance of the action of the states where there is real republican tl party. Indeed. it was ultra impulsive,
 lcONTINUED ON FACE 15.)