Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1888-12-14
PRES DENTS MESSAGE.

10 THE CONGRESS OF TEE UNITED STATES
AS you assemble for the discharge of the
dat .s you have assumed asSthe representa-.
ttves of free and generous people. your
meeting is marked by an interesting and i'm
pressivc inciient. With the expiration Of
the present session OF congress the first
century Of our constitutional existence as q
nation will be completed.
Our survival for one hundred years Is moi
sufficient to assure lis that We no longer have
dangers to fcar in the matntainance with all
Its promised blessings Of a government
founded upon the freedom of the people. The
time rather admonishes us to eobriety and to
inquire whether in the past We have always
closely kept in the course OF sarety and
whether we have before US a way plain and
clear, which leads to happiness and prosper
lily. The citizens of our republic in it's carly
days rgidly united upon full compliance with
the letter Of this bond, and saw stretching
out before him clear field for Individual
en'teavor His tribute to the support of his
government was measured by the costs OF IT.
When the experiment of our government was
undertaken the chart adopted Tor our guidance
WIS u constitutional departure from the lines
lait down in failure 1t is only by strict adj
hcrence to the direction then indicated and
by restraint within the limitations they liked
thai We can furnish preot to the world of the
fitness of American people for eelf- govern-
mcnt, the equal aud exact justice Of which
we boast as the underlying principles of our
institutions should not be confined to the re-
lat;ons OF our citizens to each other. The
government itself is under bond to the Amer
lean people that In the exercise of it's func-
OF our citizens in manner scrupulOusly hon
est and fair and absolutely just. 1t has agreed
that American citizenship shall be the only
credential necessary to justify the claim of
equality before the law and that no condition
in life, life shall give rise to dis;
the people by this government
Inthose days the frugaity of the people was
stamped upon their government, and was en-
forced by tree, thoughtful and Intelligent suf-
frage Of citizens. Monopoites and aggrega-
tons Of capital were either avoided or sternly
regulated and sustained The pomp and
glitter of governments less free offered no
temptation and presented no dclusion to the
plain people who, side by side in friendly
competition wrought for the eunoblcmenta and
dignity of man, for the solution of the
probl IN of free government, and for the
achievement of the grand destiny awaiting the
land which God had given them. A century
has passed. Our cities are the abiding places
OF wealth and luxury. Our manufactures
yield fortunes never dreamed of by the fathers
of our republic. Our business men are
madly striving in the race for riches aud Inn
mense a. gregations Of capital outrun imagin-
alton in The magnitude OF their undertakings.
We view with pride and satisfaction this
bright picture Of our country's growth and
prosperity, while only closer scrutiny devel-
ops sumbre shading. Upon more careful
inspection we find tho wealth and luxury of
our cities mingled with poverty and wretch
ednsss and unremunerative toll. A crowded
and constantly increasing population suggests
the impoverishment of rural sections and dis
content with agricultural pursuits. The
farmers con, not satisfied with his fathers
simple and laborlous life, joins the eager
cover that the fortunes realized by our manu-
facturers are no longer solely the reward of
sturdy industry and enlightened competition,
but that they result from the discriminating
favor OF the government and are largely built
upon undue exactton from the masses of our
people. The gulf between employers and
employed is constantly widening and classes
are rapidly forming, one comprising the very
rich aud powerful. while in another are found
the toiling poor.
AS We view the achievement of aggregated
capital we discover the existence Of trusts,
combinations and monopolies, while the citi-
zen IS struggling far in the rear or trampled
to death beneath an iron rod. Corporations
which should be the carefully restrained crea-
lures of the law aud the servants of the peo-
pie are fast becoming the peoples masters
Sill congratulating ourselves upon the
wealth aud prosperity of our country and
complaceutly contemplating every incident of
change instperabie from these conditions, it
is our duty as patriotic citizens to inquire at
the present stage of our progress how the
bond OF the government made with the pco-
pic has been kept and performed. Instead of
limiting the tribute drawn from our citizens
to the necessities of its economical admnistra-
tion, the government persists in exacting
from the substance of the3peoplc millions,
which unapplied aud useless tie dormant ia
the treasury. The fragrant injustice of this
breach OF ia tn and obligation add to the cx-
sion of the currency of the country
from the legitimate channels of business.
Under the same laws 10y which these results
are pro ICED the government permits many
millions more to be added to the cost of the
living OF our people aud to be taken from our
consumers which unreasonably swell the pro-
fits Of the small but powerful! manority. The
people must still be taxed for the support of
the government under the operation of tariff
laws, but to the extent that the mass of our
citizens are Unfortunately burdened beyond
useful public purpose AMI for the benefit OF
favored law. The government, under prctext
of an exercise of it's tax,ng power, enters
.gratuitously into partnership with these favor
ttes TO thrir advantage and to the injury of
vast majority of our people. This is not
equality before the law. The existing Sttua-
ton is Injurious to the health of our entire
body poliItc. 1t stiles in those all patriotic
10 e Of country and substitutes In it's place
selfish greed and grasping avarice. De-
votion to American citizenship for it's own
sake and for what 1t should accomplish as
q motive to our nations advancement, and
the happiness of all our people is displaced
by thu assumption that the government, in
stead of being the embodiment Of equality, is
but an fundamentally through which es-
pecial and Individual advantages are to be
gained.
4 The arrogance of this assumption fs un-
concealed. 1t appears iu the sordid disre-
gard of all but personal interest in the re-
fusal to abate for the benefit of others. One
iota of selfish advantage, and in combination
to pcrpetuate such advantages through efforts
to control legislation and Improperly control
the spffrase Of the pe6ple.
-Thc grievance Of those not included within
the circle of these bene6ciaries, when fully
realized, viii surely arouse Irritation and dis
content Our farmers, long suffering and
patient, ruggling in the race Of life with
the hardest and most unremitting toll, will
not fa,l to see, in spite OF misrepr6senta tions
and misleading fallacies, that they are Obliged
to accept such prices for their products as are
1vai In FIR airn m uhorn <hou oovono<o