Today -100: March 31, 1912: Of conservative people, government by a representative part of the people, and women lawyers

Pres. Taft says “The American people are the most conservative people in the world.”

Roosevelt attacks the Senate’s decision to exonerate Sen. William Lorimer (R) of bribery in his election by the Illinois Legislature. He says it illustrates the working “in actual practice of the president’s theory of government of the people by what he calls a representative part of the people,” because the senators who voted to uphold Lorimer’s election were going against the wishes of their constituents. This proves the need for direct election of senators.

Headline of the Day -100: “Woman Lawyer for a Negro.” A Miss Lucille Pugh now represents some black dude accused of shooting some white dude over a game of craps (nothing of any special interest in itself). The NYT naturally describes Miss Pugh’s clothing in detail and for no particular reason I’ll repeat that description: “a black tailor-made suit with modified waistcoat and a high starched collar, such as men wear. A white carnation was stuck in the lapel of her coat, and a dainty white lace handkerchief peeped from her coat pocket. She wore a vivid red tie containing a scarab scarfpin. Her heavy brown hair was piled up under a stiff black derby hat of the latest model.”