The Greeley tribune., 1912-02-29

how they fooled the people with
that word revise without thinking
of a man whose wife called him a
model husband. He felt SO stuck
nm that he went around and told
his neighbors about it. Finally one
of the neighbors said. that is no
compliment. If you go to the die
tionary you will not be 80 proud OF
IT." He consulted the dictionary
and found that the word model
was defined as "a small imitation
of the real thing" cloud ap-
plause.) Yes l am feeling good. and
when they ask my why l am not go
ing to be candidate again l give
several reasons, there are number
of good ones, but here is one: With
one republican president taking a
part of my platform and another
republican president taking another
part, If l were to run again 1t would
be Just like the republicans to raise
a third term issue against me and
say | had had two terms already
(applause), and why should want
all the care and worry and bother
OF being president when can get
men to do the work for me and
isave me without the worry.
have occupied more time than
ought, vet l have just come to the
application of this thought In q
local way. have first tried to show
you how intelligence is growing,
lnen how morals are improving.
then how the ideals of popular gov
ernment are spreading, and l have
come down to our own country and
shown you what important ques-
tions the people have been coming
together upon until today we recog-
nize as accepted principles what
were a few years ago disputed par
tisan tenets. But my friends this
is a great big subject. in fact my
great difficulty has been since
have been using this subject. to
compress what l wanted to say into
any reasonable space of time. and l
now have talked as long as l ought.
but there are three things l think
| should bring to your attention H.
Illustrating the growth OF these ideas
OF popular government in our state.
/ have spoken on national tri-
umph for the democratic idea, now
let me show you how when you
have put q great principle before
the people you may not set limits to
its application. No truth once ut
tered can ever be recalled. nor can
a man who gives 1t utterance define
its Limitation, and II is not unnat-
ural thta when the people conclude
to take control of their federal
government that they will also con-
clude to take control OF their state
government. and SO during the last
fifteen years We find discussion OF
three great revolutionary changes.
and all of them founded upon fun
dament,l democratic principles.
refer to the initiative, the referen-
dunn and the recall.
remember about sixteen years
ago when We put this plank in our
platform for the first time, people
made fun of 1t. But since that time
something like a dozen states have
endorsed the initiative and the ref
erendum and we find that CONVEX
sion is going on SO rapidly today
that we are afraid to criticise a man
for opposing the initiative and ref
erdum for fear we will have to
apologize to him tomorrow when he
comes over to this side.
Let me give you a few illustra-
tions of conversion. A few years
ago Wilson. governor Of New Jer-
sey. went down to Chattanooga and
spoke to the people and told them
that for thirty years he had taught
the students at Princeton that the
initiative and referendum were
wrong, but he had found that he
was wr ing and the initiative and
referendum was right
Four years ago last fall Mr..
Roosevelt, then president NJ tho
United States, sent Mr. Taft to
Oklahoma to tell the people of Okla
homa that their constitution was
bad. to object to the initiative and
referendum and to advise the peo-
pie there to reject their constitu-
ton and to delay their long sought
statehood until they could get rid
Of the initiative and referendum
Well. the people listened to Mr.
Taft and then they ratified thei,
constitution by over one hundred
thousand majority and sent IT to
Washington and said. "Mr. Presi