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Show RAYNER ON ROOSEVELT Maryland Senator Fears For the Country, If Roosevelt Is Elected Washington. Fob. 27. Reversal of Judicial decisions by popular vote, as proposed by ex-President Roosevelt In his Columbus address last week, was denounced in the senate today by Senator Rayner of Maryland as tho most dangerous doctrine ever brought forward by any one who has tho slightest regard for the stability of our Institutions and whoso opinion Is entitled to nny wolght or respect." Senator Rayner declared that. In discussing the ex-President, who, again Is a candidate for the Republican Republic-an nomination for President, he did not speak as a partisan, because he believed tho Republicans could nominate nom-inate no man who would be easier to defeat "What I desire to call attention to today," said tho senator, "Is a unique and original conception which ho advanced ad-vanced upon this occasion, and which I Qte literally as follows: " 'The decision of a state court on a constitutional question should be subjected to revision by tho people of tho state. '' 'If any considerable number ot the people foel that the decision is In defiance of Justice, they should be given the tight br petition to bring before the voters at some subsequent election, special or otherwise, as might be decided, and, after the fullest full-est opportunity for deliberation and dobate, the question whethoror not the Judge's Interpretation of tho constitution con-stitution is to bo sustained. If It Is sustained, well and good. In not. then tho popular verdict is to bo accepted as final, the decision, is to be treated as reversed, and tho construction of the constitution definitely decided subject only to action by the supreme court of the United States ' "Mr. President, If a proposition of this sort had been advanced by an or. dinary agitator, or by an anarchist, no attontlon would be paid to it and it would Involve no actual dangor to the republic. We must realize, however, how-ever, that this Is the utterance of a political leader who occupies today as prominent a place before tho public as any one in the country. "People who regard thlsnerely as a flippant and Impulsive utterance of a candidate for public office are making mak-ing a great mistake In my Judgment the ex-President haB been reflecting over this proposition for years. Ho has always been hostile to tho decisions" decis-ions" of tho courts whenever they conflicted con-flicted with his own views "During the whole of his administration adminis-tration he had an idea lingering In hlB mind that.lt was the duty of the courts to carry out tho policy of the exocutlve branch of the government, and this belief was connected with apother idea nnd that was that, so far as executive functions wero concerned, con-cerned, he was ahsolutoly supreme, unlimited by the specifications of tho Instrument that created thorn. "Now, what is the present situation? situa-tion? Mr. Roosevelt is a candidate for Prosldent of tho United States. There was no need of any persuasion whatever to induce him to enter the field. There was no dragging of Clnclnnatus from the plow. ''I hoped that outbreaks like this were over when Mr Roosevelt abdicated abdi-cated his place a few yoars ago and started upon his restful and harmless harm-less expedition to the Jungle of Africa. Afri-ca. I do not know what Wo will do with our friend Would it be pos- I slblo, if he consents to tonder him to tho new republic of China, In tho ovont of hln defeat and I am satisfied satis-fied that, even if nomlnatod, ho would do easny noieaicar "I believe that there Is a largo number of Mr Roosevelt's followers in this cpuntrv who would today favor fa-vor vesting In him autocratic power Our Institutions underwent a radical change undor his administration. Ho Inaugurated a new ora of constitutional constitu-tional thought "Ho Is possessed with a rarad fancy that this Is and ought to be an exo-cutlvo exo-cutlvo government, that tho powers of the executive ought to ovcr-rido those of tho legislative and Judicial branch-es branch-es of the public service. "By all the patronage and all tho power that he can command, ho practically prac-tically would force upon tho country an interpretation of our organic law that will level its distinctions and obliterate ob-literate Us chocks and balances. He will then, in the pursuit of his own insatiable amhltion, possess u 'degree 'de-gree of autocratic power that no President--of theso United States has over attained or would have ever dared to exorcise, except at the risk of impeachment. "If we are to pass again under his yoko, with his outstretched nrm, under un-der his latest utterance, hanging over the seat of Justice, the rofugee's bulwark bul-wark of our institutions, ready to strike it down, then It would " havo been better If tho constitution never had boon framed." |