The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1912-03-26

| sanctuary there. and this is exactly
what has happened In some or the
states where the recall of judges is a
living issue. Is it not equally plain
! that the question whether a given
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
themselves?
The president of the United States.
Mr. Taft. devoted most of a recent
speech to criticism of this PROPOSE
ton He says that 1t Is utterly with
our merit OF urTllty, ano lnsreau or
being in the interest of all the people
and of the stability. of popular gov
eminent, is sowing the seeds of con-
fusion and tyranny (By this he. of
course. means the tyranny or the ma
Jortty, that is. the tyranny of the
American people as a whoIe.) He
also says that my proposal (which, as
he rightly sees, is merely proposal
to give the PEOPLE real instead of
only q nominal chance to construe
and amend state constitution with
reasonable rapidity( would make such
amendment and Interpretation de-
pend on the feverish, uncertain and
unstable determination of successive
votes on different laws by temporary
and changing majorities,' and that 1t
lays the ak at the foot of the tree of
well ordered freedom and subjects
the guarantees of life, liberty and
property without remedy to the fitful
impulse of temporary majority of an
electorate
10 Wholly Unfounded.
This criticism is really less a crftf-
cfsm. OF my proposal than a criticism
OF all popular government. It is
wholly unfounded, unless it is found
ed on the belief that the people are
fundamentally untrustworthy. This
Is the question that propose to sub
nit to the people. How can the pre-
vailing morality or a preponderance
OF opinion be better and more exactly
ascertained than by vote of the peo-
pie? The people must know better
than the court what their own moral
ity and their own opinion is. ask
tnat you, here, you and others like
you, you, the people, be given the
chance to state your own views Of
Justice and public morality and not sit
meekly and have your views an
nounced for you by well-meaning adj
herents of outworn philosophers, WHO
axalt the pendantry of formulas above
The real needs of human life
Mr.. Taft's r..A..cn is the position
that has been he'd from the beginning
Of our government, although not al
ways so openly held by large num-
Der of reputable and honorable men,
who, down at bottom, distrust popu-
lar government, and when they must
accept it, accept 1t with reluctance
and hedge around 1t with every spe
cies of restriction and check and bal
ance SO as to make the power of the
people as limited and as ineffective as
possible Mr.. Taft fairly defines the
Issue when he says that our govern
ment Is and should be government
of all the people by a representative
part of the people. This is an excel
lent and moderate description of an
oligarchy. 1t defines our government
as government of all Of the people
by few Of the people.
II am not speaking jokingly nor do
/ mean to be unjust, for | repeat that
many honorable and well-meaning
men of high character take this view
and have taken 1t from the time OF
the formation of the nation. Essen
TALLY this view is that the constitu-
ton is straight-jacket to be used
for the control of an unruly patient
the people. Now, hold that this
view is not only false, but mischiev-
Gus, that our constitutions are instru-
ments designed to secure justice by
securing the deliberate but effective
GUS misconceptions of the American
political situation. The real trouble
with us Is that some classes have had
too much voice. One of the most i'm
portant of all the lessons to be taught
and to be learned is that a man
should vote not as representative of
class. but merely as a good citizen.
"Mr. Taft again and again, In quo
tations l have given and elsewhere
through his speech. expresses his dis
belief In the people when they vote at
the polls. In one sentence he says that
the proposition gives powerful effect
to the momentary impulse Of a major
ity of an electorate and prepares the
way for the possible exercise of the
grossest tyranny Elsewhere he
speaks Of the feverish uncertainty
and unstable determination of the
| laws by temporary and changing ma.
| jorities. and again he says that the
! system propose would result in sus.
pension or application of constitution
al guarantees according to popular
whim,' which would destroy, all pos
sible consistency In constitutional in.
| depreciation. I should much like to
! know the exact distinction that is to
be made between what Mr.. Taft calls
the fitful impulse of temporary ma
/ jority,' when applied to a question