The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1888-05-15
MORAL AND POLITICAL NEEDS.
The Congregational Club Hears the
Answers to Its Question,
National Reforms: Were You Die
tator Which Would You Enforce?
The Views of congressmen, Law
yers and Educators.

yers and Educators.
The usual May meeting of the Congrega-
tional Club took place at the Preble House
last evening at 7.3O o'clock. Supper was de-
layed little on account Of an unusual rush
of guests at the hotel. At eight O'Clock about
one hundred and fifty ladies and gentlemen
sat down to beautifully spread table in the
grand dining hall and after the usual grace
partook of a most excellent supper served in
the usual frst-class manner Of the Preble.
After supper President Daniels called the
meeting to order. The reading Of the min
utes was omitted. Deacon I. b. Percy Of
the Second Parish church was elected mem
ber Of the club.
Rev. Mr.. HallOck made few remarks on
the death of Mr.. G. S. ID. Griffin, which fol-
low:
MR.. HALLocK's REMARKS.
Mr.. President.
/ rise to ask that we tarry moment in the
festivities of this hour, to speak word Of
tender and atfectionate remembrance in view
Of the sorrowful vacancy Of which we to-
night are so keenly aware. The quiet, mod
est man who faithfully served as Treasurer
OF this Club, and whose worth was so highly
appreciated as IL was unObtrusive, has been
called Unexpectedly to the more satisfying
fellowship of Heaven.
therefore move the passage of the fol
lowing resolution:
Resotged, That in the death of Mr.. G. S. ID. Grit
I'M n1t oniy tnis OiuD D9L tne community mas
good man and true, however much may be his
gain can only be unto us sore bereavement We
would express TO the sorrOwful family at once our
appreciation and sympathy, commending them to
the God of all comfort in this their hour Of trial
Mr.. President. move the passage of the
above resolution and that the vote be taken
by the club rising, and standing moment in
silence, thus testifying our respect and es-
TEEN.
The resolutions we're adopted in the man
ner suggested by Mr.. Hallock.
President Daniels next introduced the sub
ject Of the evening discussion; National
reforms; were you now Dictator which
would you enforce?"
President Daniels then read letter from
WIN. L. PUTNAM.
Hon. w. L. Putnam regreting his enforced
absence but sent the following letter:
AS view the natural operation of moral
causes, this question taken literally implies
an impOssibility, which may refer to again
but | will respond to it according to its in
tent and substance as L understand them.
MY duoWcI necessarily Will uOb D6 NtEy lOuks
but am sure that win not be a ground Of
objection to it; l must write it hurriedly, yet
every person ought to have matured views
which can be called out promptly by ques-
tions OF this character; and much OF what
VIII say will OF course be trite.
am not certain whether the word 'Na-
tionap' as used in this question has refer
ence to the political or moral side Of reform !;
and therefore take the liberty Of writing
alternately.
In every nation except the Republic, there
Is supposed to be somewhere limited class
OF individuals, who hold the power and who,
either in themselves or their servants, COM
bine the knowledge Of principles and of de-
talis necessary 70 the exercise OF that power;
and as these persons either set themselves
aside or are set asidefor ithe exclusive pur-
pose OF Studyingand operating the machinery
Of the.goyernment, 1t may be Of little import
ance to the community at large, whether that
machinery is complex or not.
But to republic the first essentials are,
that its methods shall be sufficiently simple
to enable the mass OF men of ordinary in
telligence, with the reasonable amount Of
care and time which they can withdraw for
public purposes from the personal affairs of
themselves and their families, to have a
sound, practical, general understanding of
them; and that the instruments Of its opera
| tion shall be so Immediately in the hands Of
the people at large as to permit each OF those
| same persons, with such opportunity and at
tenti0n as have already described, to ex-
ments.
OF course there remains the maxim, that
eternal vigilance is the price of liberty"
and there are exceptional times when this
maxim comes into full force, and when the
machinery OF government must be driven
with such velocity, that 1t becomes impossi-
pie Tor the ordinary citizen to follow closely
It's movements without largely abandoning
his ordinary pursuits, and on such occasions
patriotism may justly call on him to turn
aside from them wholly.
But this should not be the rule; 1t should
be the exception. A Republican form Of
government ceases to be truly Republican,
when by reason of its complex nature, or Of
m0nopoliZati0n by body of interested per-
sons, 1t passes in its principal relations be-
y0nd the ordinary understanding OF the pro-
fessional man, the merchant, the mechanic
or the farmer, or is shielded from the just in
tuence which citizens in the ordinary walks
OF life ought properly to WELD.
IL does not necessarily follow, that the
people of a republic will Immediately per-
ceive decadence in prosperity, or indeed
In good government, because of failure in
these respects. On the other hand it may
well be assumed, that the few who are pos
sessed OF peculiar adaptation for operating
the machinery of public affairs and who get
control Of 1t, may, indeed very likely will
for the time rule better than the masses of
the people. This is a fact which often ap-
pears In favor of government by the few,
MHCbuCI ItpItoc0Ltu uQQcT Luc lOIilS Oh
| monarchies or aristocracies, as against
| government by the many; and the true ques-
ti0n Is not, whether our country shall tenn
| porarily prosper and be well ordered, but
whether this generation shall faithfully
| perform its great obligations and transmit
| to those who come after us the fundamental
| principles we received from our fathers.
The inevitable tendencies of people grow
| ing in wealth, population and business, are
to increase the complications of its political
80 81
bor,which is found in every other field as the
| country advances and competition increases,
| tends to withdraw the citizen from practical
| interests in public affairs, and to infect him
| with the notion, that in this, as in every
| thing else, there must be persons especially
| skilled and devoted to the work, TO whom he
can turn over the performance OF his politi-
| cal obligations.
These tendencies it is the duty of every
kOod citizen to stand against. With possible
resistance, their development will not be too
much restrained.
The results are even now to be observed.
The federal government draws to itself new
interests and new duties at first only as in
cidental, but 1t finally accepts them as per-
manent and fills them out into great depart
ments. l need not detail what you can
count on almost every finger of both hands
new bureaus of administration with great
and powerful organizations, which were un-
known to the last generation.
Congress itself, especially the House Of
Representatives, lies prostrate under the
weight of ten thousand to fifteen thousand
bills piled up on it at every session.
The President and all his principal officers
are burdened and the time which they should
give to public interests is largely absorbed,
in considering the changes and distribution
of the more than one hundred thousand
minor offices scattered over the country.
The two most noticeable incidents Of this
drift towards the separation Of the citizen
from the administration of public affairs are
first, the protective tariff, and second, the
spols system, as each is ordinarily styled.
The former has so complicated our taxing
systems as to put them and their far-reach-
| ing consequences beyond comprehension Of
| the ordinary citizen, and has so bound up
| the rules governing our public revenues and
expenditures which ought to be among the
| most simple, with great manufacturing, COM
| mercial and other business interests that,
| when it is proposed to change the one, large
| portions of the country look on in alarm and
| with fear that the other may be oyerthrown
| thereby. No citizen, unless expert in the
| special occupation which is thought 20 be
| thus endangered, or unless he has given
| wears of the best part of his life TO the study
| of economics, is capable of forming satisfac-
| tory conclusions as to the effect upon partl-
| cular interests Of proposed amendments to
| our tariff system.
One thing is certain. We have the extraor-
| dinary contrast, that while reductions of
municipal or State taxation, when found at