The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-03-18
In q Speech Before General
Court of Massachusetts.
NOT THE "SOAP BOX" KIND
But an Election With Proper
Legal Safeguards.
Discusses the Cry of ssLet the
People Rule"

Boston, March 1S.-President Taft
today declared himself in favor Of
preferential primaries surrounded by
certain conditions for the coming cam
paign.
| Wherever full and fair notice of
the election can be given, wherever
adequate election safeguards can be
thrown around to protect preferen-
tlal primary for the presidency,
| wherever the constitution of the state
permits its being made applicable to
| the present election, 1 favor IL and
welcome it,
This was the presidents statement
today before the general court of
Massachusetts. 1t was his first per-
sonal reply to the challenge to prefer
entail primaries issued sometime ago
Dy senator Joseph NJ. Dixon, Colonel
Roosevelt's manager. President Taft
did not refer to the challenge, how
ever. The president made a rather
pointed reference to the proposition
| let the people rule" and had some
thing to say about the recall of the
judiciary and the recall Of judicial de-
cisions.
irresponsible assaults upon either
in intemperate language, on baseless
assumptions of corruption or bias or
1ncompetency made by those whose
statements have influence with any
part of our people are a serious men
ace to enduring government" said the
president. His address in part follows:
The Presidents Address.
You recently have passed what IS
called a presidential primary law for
the election of delegates to the Ma
t1onal convention upon which will fall
the duty of selecting the presidential
nominees of the respective parties.
have not had opportunity critically to
examine the new law, but L am sure
it makes proper provision to meet the
obvious requirements.
Il am glad you have done this. The
question of how delegates are to be
selected to any political convention or
how nominees are to be selected by
party, originally was a matter mere
ly of voluntary and party adjustment,
but so important to the public at large
did the character of the candidates
to be selected by each party become.
that the state properly has interfered
so as to throw safeguards around the
exercise by all those who belong to a
party of their privilege to have a voice
in the choice of their party candi-
dates
Il am not going to discuss in detail
the question of direct primary cleo
tions-their uses and abuses. 1 think
every one will admit in order that they
may accomplish the good they are in
tended to accomplish they should be
safeguarded by effective provisions as
to the party eligibility of voters who
participate in them. and by penal pro-
visions. securing conformity to rules
of such eligibility and the honest cast
Soap BOX Primaries
''I do not hesitate to say that in my
judgment a voluntary primary outside
the law, known by its informal char
acter as soap box primary is worse
than none, for it gives full opportun-
ity to the ineligible electors of the
other party to cast unfair votes and
without the sanction and safeguard of
penal provisions in respect to casting
and counting the ballots is an open
avenue for fraud and violence.
''It is eminently appropriate that in
every election and in the discussion OF
all issues that affect the republic. we
should discuss and hear much of the
popular will and of the rights of the
people. This is a government based
on popular control
1--WE all concede that the operation
of elections and the operations OF
government are not perfect and some
times are subject to corrupt influ-
ences and control, and that IL is the
part of patriotism to remove as far
as possible the obstacles which pre-
vent honest primaries, honest elections
and the honest administration of the
government in the interest of the peo-
''But the continued iteration and re-
iteration of the proposition let the
people rule If it has any Significance
at 'all and is intended otherwise than
to hatter the people is intended to be
n reflection on the government that
we have had down to the present time.
NOW In spite OF all the corruption
in spite of all the machine politics. in
spite of every defect in the operation
Of our government that can be point
ed out. I do. not hesitate to say that
the history of the last 1876 years show
that the people have ruled.
Subterranean Methods.
''They may have been defeated at
times by corrupt and corrupting in
huences; congresses and legislatures
may have been halted by subterranean
methods in carrying out what the peo-
pie desire but in the end under our
present constitution and our present
laws we have had a really popular
government
81 don't mean to say that we can
hot make II better. I don't mean to
say that we may not remove some OBJ
stacles by which corruption or ma
chine methods NAV be minimized. but
what I do say is that the cry that the
people do not rule and are not in con-
troll or an intimation to that effect
does not do justice to the American
people or their history Certainly
there is nothing in the growth of this
from the adoption of the con-
until now or within the last
twenty or thirty years that justifies
any attack upon our structure of gov
or sapping of the foundations
that have stood so firmly and upon
which our whole popular civilization
has been reared.
the attack on our judiciary and the
proposal by judicial recall, or recall of
judicial decisions to destroy its fnde-
pendence, and thus to take away from
the arch of government the keystone.
ct dAnv that there is in the decf-