Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-03-27
THE INTEREST OF CAPITAL IN GOOD
GOVERNMENT.

Capital like labor, is liable to miss the
perception of its truest interests. some
times, and if indeed there is any serious
leaning ON the part of capital in this coun-
try towards that state of things compre-
hended in the phrase &c a strong govern
ment," it must be concluded that there
is here a fresh illustration of this kind of
error. The genesis of such mistake IS
doubtless simple enough. Capital needs
peace and external order, and when it does
not stop to think it is apt to suppose that
the shortest way out of the troubles which
democratic society suffers from, is also the
best. But the proposition will not bear
analysis, and it is one which is no more
compatible with an intelligent defense of
the real interests of Capital than war
upon property is compatible with an intel
ligent defense of the real interests of
Labor. For Capital stands in need, not of
the order which follows the repression of
freedom, but of the order which springs
out of the guarded enjoyment of it. 1t
is not strong government which is neces-
sary to its well-beipg, but good govern
gous To define what is meant in these days
by the term strong" government, we
should have to trace back the history of
the civil war, and to show how the con-
tempt for the decorum which belongs to
peace, inseparable from intestine or other
wars, had been carried forward into the
politics of the post-rebellion period, and
had engendered vague belief in kind OF
constitutional government liable at any
crisis to be transformed into military
despotism. For it will be perceived on
reflection that the whole significance of the
term " strong" as so applied, has relation
to the assumed readiness of such gov
eminent to go outside of the Constitution
the moment that instrument becomes en-
barrassingly restrictive. And though prob
ably very few of those who talk about a
strong government have ever endeav-
ored seriously to realize what they meant,
it is quite evident that the distinction i'm
piled IN the term is in fact an acknowledge
ment that what is wanted is something
different from constitutional government.
For it is very clear that if all govern
ments are to be conducted in strict
oooordoooo Nth +ba Copctitut;op ~ 10 IN,
possible that one should be stronger than
another, in any practical sense : should be.
that is to say, able to do more than an
other in protecting one class against an
other, in REFRESHING dangerous tendencies,
in exercising the powers of the government
for any purpose. And this is inevitably
so because the Constitution is not elastic,
because it defines and limits the powers of
the Executive, because it so orders things
that no Administration can do more than
its predecessors in any direction, without
overstepping its jurisdiction. But while
really be stronger than any other Admins
tration, in the sense intended nowadays, it
is capable of demonstration that the at
tempt to persuade capital into approval of
this strong man hypothesis, is full of
danger for it, and that all its truest inter-
ests point to an entirely different course
And as the interests of Capital are, strictly
speaking, the interests of the whole COM
munity, it is worth while to examine this
statement with some care.