Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-08-08

should 30 appointed to an American consul
ate who is not well instructed in the history
and resources of his own country, and in the
requirements and language of IN
the country to which he is sent. The same
rule should be applied even more rigidly 70
service: The people have the rlgnl 70 tne
most efficient agents in the discharge or pup,
lie business, and the appointing power should
regard this as the prior and Interior conslo~
alton.
THE MORMON QUESTION.
Religious liberty is the right OF every ctte-
zen OF the Republic. Congress 1s forbidden
by the Constitution to make any law respect
ing the establishment of religion, or prohibit
ing the free exercise thereof, to ord q c cen5nTS'
jew and Gentlc. have worshiped God
according to the dictates OF conscience.
vcrted to the iustitica,io ion of otfenses against
the law. A religious sect, strongly lntrenched
in one of tho Territories of the I'm on, and
spreading rapidly into four other Territories.
claims the rigb' to destroy the great safe
guard and imminent of social order, ana to
practice as a religious privilege that which is
II crime punished with severe penaltyin , every
| State of the Union. The sacredncsS and unity
of the family must he preserved as the foun:.
dation of all ciyiEgovernmcnt, as.the source o.
orderly administration, as the sllrcSt grarap-
The Claim Of The sMormons that they are Di-
should no more NJ" be admitted than the claim Of
certain heather tribes, IL they should come
a1nonguS, to continue the rite of human sac
ritice. The law does not interfere with what
a man believes; it takes co"niznnce only Of
| what he does. As citizens, the Morlnons are
entitled to the same civi. rights as otiters, and
to these they must he confined. POlygamy
can never receive national sanction or toler;s'
ton 10y admitting the community that upholdS
it as a State in the Union. Like others: the
individual ceases where the rights OF society
begin.
| The DoOnin of tho United States, though
often urged and tempted, have never serious
ly contemplated the recognition Of any other
directly convertible into them. They have
notdone so, they will not do so under any Ts.
ccssity less pressing than that OF desperate
war. The one special requisite for the corn.
pletion of our monetary system is the tiXingo
the relative values of silver and gold. The
large use Of silver as the money of account
among ASiatic Nations, taken in connection
with the increasing commerce of the world,
gives the weightiest reasons for an lnterna'
tional agreement in the premises. Our Gov.
, ernmeut should not cease to urge this meas
nro until q common standard or value shall be
reached and established "a standard that shall
enable The United States to use the silver
from it's mines us an auxiliary to gold in
settling the balances OF commercial eX-
change.
THE PUBLIC LANDS.
The strength Of the Republic is increased by
the multiplication of Mndholders. Our laws;
should look to the jndicions encouragement OF
should henceforth be held as a sacred nusx
for the benefit of those seeking homes. The
tendency to CONSOLIDATE large tracts OF land
in the ownership OF individuals or corpora.
ed rights, be discoura red. One hundred
thousand acres OF land in the hands of one
man is far less profitable 10 the Nation in CIV:
cry way than when its ownership is divided
among one thousand men. The evil of per-
hitting large tracts OF the National domain to
against the many is enhanced when the per-
sons controlling it are a liens. 1t is but fair
that the public land should be disposed Of cnly
to actual settlers and to those who are citizens
OF the Republic, or wi Ang to become so.
OUR SHIPPING INTERESTS.
Among our National interests one anguish
cs-tEe foreign carrying trade. IL was very
seriously crippled in our civil war, and anoth-
CT blow was given to 1t in the general substi.
tuition OF steam for sail in ocean traffic. With
a frontage on the two great oceans, With a
restore. our navigation. Yet the, Gov
ih.rI'"'A small Hi,ars'' of 't the eu.,u ms
nsemcnt given by the Government to rail.
ways and to manufactures. and Il small share
Of the capital and the zeal given by our citi.
zens to those enterprises. would have carried
our ships to every SEA- and to every port. "A
law just enacted removes some of the bar
that this great interest may ut last receive tts
due share of attention. All efforts in this III.
rectiOn should receive announcement.
sA%Cf;EDNESs OF THE BALLOT.
This survey of our condition as a Nation re-
minds us that material prosperity is but a
mockery if it does not tend to preserve the
liberty Of the people. A free ballot is the
safeguard of Republican institutions, without
which no National welfare is assured. "A
popular. election, honestly conducted, EN-
bodies the very majesty OF true government.
Ten millions of voters desire to take part in
the pending contest. The safety OF the
Republic rests upon the integrity of
the ballot, upon the security of suf-
frage to the citizen. To deposit "
fraudulent vote is no worse d crime against
constitutional liberty than to obstruct the de-
post of an honest vote. He who corruptS
suffrage strikes at the very root of free gov
eminent. He is the aTch-enemy OF the Re
public. He forgcts that in tralnpling upon
The rights of others he fatally IMPORTS his
own rights. 'lti is a good land which the Lord
our God doth give u.s. but we can maintain
our heritage only by guarding with vigilance
the source of popular power. ! am. with great
respect, your obedient servant,
JAMES 6. BLAINE.