The Labor enquirer., 1886-07-24
Looking Back Over ITO Years
of Life Under the
Declaration.
Where Are the "InaIienable and
Self-Eyident Rights" of
the People!
View Of the Moeking Misery Of
Americas Cons Taken From
Fourth Of July Platform.

From Unknown Knight Qincoln, Nebr.l
The following speech was delivered on
the evening of July 6, at Government
square. by J. R. Buchanan, editor of THE
LABOR ENQUIRER, of Denver. AS great
deal of comment has been made on it
and a number of our citizens failed to
hear it, we give it entire:
Are we race of hypocrites or only
foolish children, who shout aud dance
at an empty pYrotechnic exhibition? /?
Are we crafty asses disguised in lions
skins? or are we only enraptured urchins
following the band wagon?
One hundred and ten years ago, band
Of noble and brave men wrote, signed
and issued to the world, document, the
like of which had never before been
known a document which immortalized
the names of its makers and made the
thrones of the world tremble as with an
earthquake-tremble as they had never
trembled before.
To-day we celebrate the anniversary
of that act. Do we celebrate it with
the spirit and the understanding Have
we so honored the deed of the men of
. '76; have we so guarded the legacy the7
have left Us, that we can with honest
tongues sing their praises to-day ? What
have we done with the talelts they left
US? Let US see:
From thousand platforms was read
Yesterday that document, written by
Thomas Jefferson, and signed by the
representatives of the United States, on
july 4. 1776-the Declaration of Inde-
pendence. 1t was applauded and songs
were sung in its praise. 1t is important
that we know what this wonderful man
ifesto, that so concerns the people, con-
tains. What says 1t? What are its
declarations and propositions Its fun
damental proposition is as follows:
1--WE hold these truths to be selfevi-
dent: That ALL MEN are created EQUAL !;
Stha. tts.ss sassez endowed uS Shsrr creator
with certain inalienable rights, that
among these are LIFE, LIBERTY and the
PURSUIT of HAPPINESS. That to secure
these rights governments are instituted
among men, deriving their Just powers
from the consent of the governed that
when any government becomes destruct-
i've of these ends, it is the right and duty
Of the people to alter or abo lish it.D
That is the gist of the declarat ion. Itis
Justice ReasonT Truth Itis the logic
OF intelligent existence! Now, let us
see what 1t means.
1t means that so clear-so plain
so absolutely undeniable are the prlnci-
Piles recorded that they are self-eyident.
Mark the language of the document :
1--WE hold these truths to be self-eyi-
dent" That Is to say thev need no ar
gument to establish their verify no
man will dare question them no man
will argue against them.
The first of these self-evident truths
is,-"That ALL men are created equal" !"
That is, that the creator endowed all
with an equal right to the inheritance
of the earth and all the materia! re-
sources of the earth, to all the adyan-
tages of invention, and civilization.
That no lord, king, capitalist, banker,
broker, lawyer, or his child, has any
higher right than the poorest man or
his offspring to these natural bounties
or the accumulated knowledge Of past
ages. If all men are created with equal
rights then no man has the right to en-
dow his children with wealth wrung from
the people. flour Institutions permit one
child to be born amid wealth and lux
ury while another is ushered into life
midst poverty and misery; if one re-
ceives without any effort upon his part,
all the advantages of civilization and
culture, while another is condemned to,
begin life's struggle surrounded by ig-
norance and aqualors if one babe be
sent supperless to bed while another
spews on silk, then all men are not born
equal, and we are hourly giving the lie
to the sentiment of the declaration we
pretend to be so proud Of. If we fully
believe the sentiment then we must
honestly recognize that logically there
can be no Just title to wealth, save that
bestowed by the fact that 1t has been
honestly earned by its possessor.
The second truth contained in the
document is that God endowed all men
at their birth with certain lnalienable
lights, Remember that it declares that
these rights are inallenabIe; that is, that
they cannot be taken away, not even by
the owners consent or will they are a
byrthright which cannot be sold, because
no one has a right to purchase them.
they are attached to every man; they
are the result of his condition, and nc
law, no king, no thief can take them
from him. You may say this is absurd
;hatit DESTROYS the individuality oi
man :" that it interferes with the right
Of man to do what ne pIeases with his
own. You argue from the hypotn sis
easily overthrown when you presqne
that anything is Ibis own" Man brig
nothing into the world when he CONF