at duty is supreme.

That the supremacy of the law, the preservation of the Government itself
by the maintenance of order, should be the issue of this campaign was
entirely due to circumstances beyond my control. That any one should
dare to put in jeopardy the stability of our Government for the purpose
of securing office was to me inconceivable. That any one should attempt
to substitute the will of any outside organization for the authority
conferred by law upon the representatives of the people had never
occurred to me. But the issue arose by action of some of the police of
Boston and it was my duty to meet it. I shall continue to administer the
law of all the people.

I should have been pleased to make this campaign on the record of the
past year. I should have been pleased to show what the march of progress
had been under the people's government, what action had been taken for
the relief of those who toil with their hands as well as their
heads,--and the record was never more alluring,--what has been done to
advance the business and commercial interests of this great industrial
Commonwealth, what has promoted public health, what has assisted in
agricultural development, the progress made in providing transportation,
the increased opportunity given our youth for education. In particular I
should have desired to point out the great pride Massachusetts has in
her war record and the abundant way she has shown her gratitude for her
service men and women, surpassing every other State. All this is a
record not of promises, but of achievement. It is one in which the
voters of the Commonwealth may well take a deep satisfaction. It is
there, it stands, it cannot be argued away. No deception can pervert it.
It endures.

All these are the result of ordered liberty--the result of living under
the law. It is the great desire of Massachusetts to continue such
legislation of progress and humanity. Those who are attempting to wrench
the scepter of authority from the representatives of the people, to
subvert the jurisdiction of her laws, are the enemies not only of
progress, but of all present achievement, not only of what we hope for,
but of what we have.

This is the cause of all the people, especially of the weak and
defenseless. Their only refuge is the protection of the law. The people
have come to understand this. They are taking the deciding of this
election into their own hands regardless of party. If the people win who