e law provides
that if you pass a law through congress and the senate and it is
signed by the president, to change the Constitution, you may submit it
to the people and if three-fourths of all the states in the Union
consent to it, why you can change it. What do you think of that?

Do you suppose there is any power on earth that ever could get a law
through congress and the senate, approved by the senate, and then get
three-fourths of the individual states in the Union to approve it? You
and your children and your children's children would die while you are
doing it.

The best proof of that is the fact that we have had a constitution for
one hundred and twenty-five years, and the Lord knows it needs
patching. It needs something worse: It needs abolishing worse than
anything else. (Applause).

If anybody does want to tinker with voting the first thing necessary
is to get rid of the constitution. We have had one for a hundred and
twenty-five years with a provision for changing it. It has needed
change. It needs it all the while, and yet it has never been changed
but once. They passed several amendments all in a heap. What were
those? Those were amendments growing out of the Civil War, and they
didn't permit any of the Southern States to vote. They just ran them
over their heads, and they were all amendments protecting the negroes
after enfranchisement. And those are the only amendments we have had
in one hundred and twenty-five years, and it took a war to get
those--considerable direct action.

Why, if a body of ingenious men had gotten together to make the frame
work of a government to absolutely take from the people all the power
they possibly could, they could not have contrived anything more
mischievous and complete than our American form of government.
(Applause).

Russia is easy and simple compared with this. If you did happen to get
a progressive, kindly, sympathetic, humane Czar, which you probably
won't, but if you did you could change all the laws of Russia and you
could change them right away and get something. But if you got the
wisest and kindest and most sympathetic man on earth at the head of
our government he could not do anything; or if you filled congress
with them they could not do anything, or the senate they could not,
and the Supreme Court could not. You would have to fill them all at
once, and then they would have to override all the precedents of a
hundred and twenty-five years to accomplish