Daily Yellowstone journal., 1888-01-25
A PATERNAL GOVERNMENT.


Asa red flag Haunted in the face of
o bull will excite him to frenzy and
cause him to manifest in the highest
degree all the symptoms Of bovine
wrath, so the bare mention ofthe phrase
- paternal government" swakes In
the minds Of q certain class Of Amer.
loans an amount Of ferocious fury, Of
the intensity OF which the pawings
and bellowings OF amad bull would
be o very poor exponent or measure.
But n the frenzy Of the bull Is q very
unreasoning and generally very i'm
potent manifestation Of rage. so is the
hot anger ofthis class OF Americans "at
paternal governments" both unnec.
essary and uncalled for. Ii Is not based
on reason and il not warranted by fact
~ has no elements whatever Of COM
mon sense about it,snd is not to be dis.
tinguisbed In the slightest degree Of
character from red rag inspired fury Of
the bull, or the hunger aroused feroci.
ty OF the tiger. 1t 10 purely an animal
instinct, q survival OF the brute lust
for power that prevailed when man
was governed by the law Of the strong
and the moral character of an action
was determined only by the power OF
the ir dividual to do it.
A "paternh government" is one
which controls the strength Of the
vicious and protects the weakness Of
the yirtuous. In a paternal govern.
ment the outrageous 'trusts" and
CORNERS" In food and other necessar.
les Of life, so common ia this cou ntry,
are impossible. A "psternsl govern.
msnt" Is based upon family, and as
far as lies in weak human instrument
talities sees that equal and exact JUS
tice is done TO all. The majority OF
men are weak and unable 10 cope with
the strong. A majority of the strong
are interruptions, grasping and brutal,
aud unless restrained prey upon the
weak as the Bengal tiger preys upon
the lambs neal his lair, with rs much
ferocity and with BIS little compunct.
Ion. The object of the government is
10 whip the tiger in man to proper
subsection. The lamb lacks both the
strength aud the courage OF the tiger,
but no man will say he is not infinite.
ly more,useful and valuable in the
economy OF nature and In the develop
men. OF civilization than all the cat
kind that the jungles Of Bengal ever
produced.
Man gives up certain natural rights
to government in return for protec-
ton by that government. If the lat
terdoes not protect him from the super
Tor craftiness, cruelty aud inhumanity
OF his neighbor, then 1t does not live
mp to It's contract. 1t 10 a failure. 1t
10 not = "piternsl:government.n fit
allows the strong to prey upon the
weak, IL IL permits combinations Of
capitalists to injure and oppress, the
workingman. or combinations OF the
workingmen to injure aud Cypress the
capitalist, then II is not q "paternal
government" IL 10 no government ct
all. II 10 merely q piraticsl s~ssocia-
tion OF the strong bound together by
the conference OF q common wish to
plumber and devour the weak.
The fact Of the case 1, the men who
rail at paternal governments are either
Ignorant or hypocritical. If the former
they don't know what they are talk
ing about. II the latter then they
are animated by hostility to the
agency that al check their unscru-
pulous and grasping course. All
honest, intelligent men must natur-
ally favor q "pa'ernal government"
There was q "paternal government"
In heaven against which Satan and
his fends rebelled. Satan himself
was intelligent enough, but thor.
dishonest. Most of the poor
devils that followed him were honest
enough but wholly lacking In intelli-
gence. They got as a result of their
efforts against q ~"paternal govern
ment' what all men eventually will
get who oppose 1t here-hell. While
those who were both honest and intel.
ligent. stuck 10 their c%olors, upheld
their ''paternal government" and
reaped the reward Of their honesty
and sagscity by remaining ID posses
sion Of heaven Washington Gazette.