The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1873-10-18


AuA,rfEA A>p ENHAu ouvE Dist :
-IcN laE rE>pF>,IF> oF the TINES NNp
rHE Possibilities M rHf FUTURE
rHE EtiDN wy LAWLE>~NES>
"A dviaul.ug Iuymaster and gambler Who
STOLE rrou Ola, Treasury some four hundred
Aud sINt, thousand dollars. and wa> SEN
tyucyd tua service of ten years ia the
UzultvutAry. u the next fayorltv of the
Executive. " ! am NOT mistaken. some
uardlueI tur-rrs come next. while his res
.ur from th- gillow, " the murderer
% Brtu is an utter uucAgry uf criminal
yustIg.. aui au atrucIous tamperns With
murIrr itself lu granting a pardon With
out cause. pr uu Insufficient grounds. the
President violates the oath which snlemuly
rud9 Atu W. -'tlAg care that the laws are
faithfully executed. and becomes himself
..u offender against society hy interfering
Nth the operations w law ID the interest
..t its Nlplat,r,, instead If enforcing its
mandates II uur government j. one "
AR. and uot oi force aud If the Well be-
u- nj society cam only US maintained BY
steadtastly uphpldlug the Anglo-SaNon
principle NJ the sucredness of law, then
tht tiiuv hls come for the people. the foun-
tain ot ltN 10 make their voices heard by
tae Executive Nor has Congress escaped
Tile ceututHliug influences "a which | have
referred Instead ~ rebuking. il has ap-
prov1l. thr conduct of the President. 1t
has been NJ all times his ready and faithful
ally The authority conferred pa him to
suspend the WITT of haheas corpus az his
own pleasure armed HIM with powers of
au su-oyat II vas a PLAN violation Of
tile Constitution. since neither invasion
nur rebellion Justified H. and no better
Plea oould ~ made i'll its support than
that tLe enJ Justified the means The en-
f,rc-meut acts NJ Congress eiubody provi-
-flu- at var with the very principle II mu-
ucluaI government, and which can only
br defended on tn. tyrant's plea that the
central pov VI can administer the affairs of
a locality better than the people can do 1t
themselves. The same spirit has occasion
ally cropped ont III the Judicial DEPARTMENT
II the government Il uniformly leans to
the side Of power. In controversies be
tween the citizen and the government, the
-4pryme Court Of the Upited States for
uzag years rsst has ua.uasiir nably favor
ed tie strong lsi 'e acs. ana las
thus shown its-L -Le ta.-rtl guardians
# tie government, instead Of administer
ing impartial Justice. 1h.- centralizing
tendency, independent ~ the particular
causes to which have referred, seems to
be a marked feature Of the age. Accord
ny "a the high authority last quoted it
constitutes the chief danger of
EVERY PEOPLE IN Ell RoFE,
and Is at the same time, the special danger
of our democratic institutions They had
their birth and first trial IN the town
meeting the towu-h,p, the county and tie
state Without this schooling ii local self
government, the development If nation
would have been Imp. ssihlc The people
must he trained tu freedom III small con
Germs before they San be trusted with great
ones The end If good government,
,Bys Deloc4uevllle, lis TO insure the vel
fare " people, and not merely to estab-
18Th order III the midst az its misery" He
shows that the very principle Of equality
works ia favor oi Capitalization, since the
love OF equality Is strong than the loye
NJ liberty, and the General hatred Of priv /
lleged classes nltds satisfaction in the /
strength VI q common government under /
which the rights Of all are equal. Demo |
crazy has failed IN France because il has /
discarded provincial government, trusting /
ln the dogma Of equality, without the sup |
port III democratic institutions in detail |
The French people have lost sight Of the /
danger Of a centralized tyranny, IN the de
sire 'fOr an equal chance to everybody Of l
tyranuizing. American democracy may /
taii .-t- the same fatal mistake, and has /
q 3Ant resa-al IN rurneniber IFS old max
IL. ahst Plssr y CyeI Atealing from the |
many T. the few Decentralization, in |
; pired by slavery, struck at the nation
Vie tut il hes buried in the grave Of
JASON The real danger Of which now
~&ronts us Is the insiduous approach Of
imperial power, the blight and paralysis Of
paternal government. This is not only
evident ii the light Of what have said,
hut Is still further illustrated in the efforts
Of the Government to secure the control of
the telegraph, IN stupendOus projects Of
internal Improvement which it evidently
favors, its disgraceful interference with
State politics, in the late nefarious attempt,
inspired in Washington, to
crush out the freedom of the press, and in
schemes Of territorial annex
alton which, if eonsummated, would bring
new perils to our institutions, and mould
them into still closer resemblance to those
Of European despotisms.
THE DECLINE or POLITICAL MORALITY.
The last trial of democracy which !
shall notice is the rapid decline Of political
morality throughout the country. This is
the most alarming evil of the times, because
it underIies and aggravates every other
Political corruption is great canker at
the heart Of the Republic 1t is the dry
rot which threatens to undermine the
v hole fabric of our government. In the
sphere of politics the divine command,
Thou shalt not steal, is rapidly becom-
INC obsolete !; and it is inevitable that this
political absolution from moral obligations
must seriously infect the whoI6community.
II a public man may steal. il necessarily
weakdns the standard Of integrity by
wbich men reguIate their aifairs n private
lie The lapse from hphesty of trusted
politician is public naisfortune because it
ksconoes a conspicuous and mischieyous en-
smpIe One public rascal g haA been well
~a I'd becomes the fether Of ! mnlti.
t,,Ss Of private ones. IT. member Of
Congress, on the plea that hs Is INSULT