But the courts in those States have been composed of men who know
nothing whatever of the vital needs of the great bulk of their
fellow Americans, and who, unlike your courts in Massachusetts, have
endeavored to impose their own outworn philosophy of life upon the
millions of their fellow citizens.
Now, I want to give you certain examples, concrete cases of just what
I mean, because I have always found that a concrete case explains my
position better than a general statement.
Almost as soon as I left Harvard I went into the New York Legislature.
And my education began. [Laughter.] Now, I did not come to my present
position as a result of study in the library, in the closet.
I came to my present position as the result of living in a world of
men. It is because I have associated with them, I have worked with
them, and I know my fellow Americans in many a different part of this
Union and in all grades of life. [Applause.] I have worked with them.
[Applause.]