Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1873-12-18
Dangers to be Avoided.

Governments are usually classified
into three kinas-Monarchy, Aristoc-
racy and Democracy. A monarchy is
government in which the supreme
power is vested in single person. An
aristocracy is a government in which the
supreme power is vested in compare
lively small number of persons. A de-
mocracy is government in which the
supreme power is vested in the people
at large. It is undoubtedly true that
oppression is practicable and often prac-
ticed under monarchies and aristocra-
cies. Many persons believe that this
cannot be said of democracies. Their
principal reason for this belief is, as
| they say, because the people will not
Cypress themselves. But of late the
Righteousness of such belief is fast be-
coming evident to many persons who
heretofore believed in it, and it is sur
prising that it should impose upon any
person. The action of the people is
practically the action of the majority,
and it is more than fallacious to say,
much less believe, that the majority may
not oppiess the minority. Government,
| whatever its form, in the exercise of its
authority, operates only on individuals,
and it is useless to say that oppression
and tyranny change their nature because
they are the work of millions, instead of
being the work of one, or only of few
men. Such a manifest truth is worth
considering, and such truths are par
ticularly worth considering by the AmerE
can people at this time. 1t is a matter
for the people to consider, if from the
organized effort that capital is making
to assume control of the Government,
there is not an effort to change our Gov
eminent from democracy to that of an
aristocracy. We believe that to be the
tendency of things at this time. The
money power is one of the evils that is
inherent in democracy, and it is one
that the people must keep under guard.
| We don't mean that it should be made q
prisoner of, but we mean that the people
must not be idle or careless to any at
tempt that it might make to encroach
upon other rights. Aristotle says about
the evils that are inherent in a democ-
IS to play s6
monarch, because it is not ruled by law,
and so it becomes depotic. These fiat
terers are in high favor. Such democ-
racy is the parallel of an absolute mon
archy. Both governments are of the
same nature both trample on good
men; the popular DEGREES. are counter
parts of the royal ordinances the dema-
gogue and the courtier are identical;
the courtier is all-powerful with the
tyrant the demagogue with the peo-
pie. And why are the peoples oc-
casional DEGREES predominant over the
laws? Because the demagogues bring
back all things to the people The dema-
gogues are great and powerful in pro-
portion as the people are lords and mas
tiers of the State, and as the demagogues
are lords and masters of the peoples re-
solves"
That language of the old philosopher
so accurately describes the state of
things in which we are placed, that it
might naturally be supposed to be in
tended, by anticipation, to be descrip-
ton of the United States, instead of
being a description of human nature.
With us it is too much the case that the
people are the masters of the law, and
the demagogues are masters of the peo-
pie. But in this we must not despair.
The popular despot is generally no worse
than the monarch despot.
Every form of government has certain
evils inherent in itself, and the efforts of
all ought to be directed toward the
abatement of those evils instead of being
engaged in magnifying them. Let not
the people be deceived by demagogues,
either from the rostrum or the press, and
let the people look to it that they do not
lose their liberties by the subversion of
the Government through the influences
of an established moneyed aristocracy.
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