The Big Stone post. (Big Stone Gap, Va.) 1890-1892, 1891-07-10
Friday, July 10, 1891.
Kentucky's paternalism.

NGOvQCkyS ESSSS5f
Ex-senator Ingalls, lectured the other
night, aud in the course Of his remarks
he gave usterance 10 this sound demo-
cratic doctrine:
There is growing sentiment in favor OF pa
ternalsYn in this country; OF the G0vernmens
doing everything and the people doing nothing:
This is diametrically opposed to the idea Of
individualism, upon which this Government
has been built, and TO the good Anglo Saxon
doctrine Of root, hog, or die. 1t has always
happened in every community that the weak
were more numerous than the strong, that the
number of those who failed outnumbered those
who succeeded, and that the wise, the inteiii-
gent, and the thoughtful were in the minority.
We have now new school of political philoso-
ply that is repudiating the Declaration OF In
dependence and is endeay0ring to overthrow
the maxims of democracy"
Herein lies our chief objection to the
new Kentucky Constitution. 1t treats
adults as infants, and enumerates con-
tracts which they shall not make at any
agc-contracts that are not bad in them
selves, nor contra 6onos m0reS, but bad
merely because they are made with cor
porations. Itwon't let u man judge Tor
himself. Itwon't let the citizen do what
he has been doing-and doing very sue
cessfully-since the foundation OF the
government, decide what is best for his
own business-a matter with which he is
far more familiar and with which he is
more competent to deal than the entire
constitutional convention Or all the other
people of Kentucky put together.
The fact that large number of alleged
democrats, and even those who have been
nominated tor the highest Offices in the
State by democratic convention, declare
1t is not party issue-that no democratic
principle is involved in it-shows how
little they know of what democratic prn-
ciples are and how little they care for
democratic principles when they fancy
popular sentiment sets the other way, and
when the Offices accompany popular sem
timent.
Democracy, be hanged! What does the
average politician and place hunter care
for democracy beyond its power to give
him nm Office? If the party has distnc-
tive principle that is clearly pronounced
and may be regarded fundamental, it is
this very principle Of opposition to paren-
tai government. Yet when popular senti-
ment in Kentucky takes shoot i'll that
direction, the simon pure, the anointed,
the Kentucky democrat, hy-Gad-sir.,
springs up every where and declares
it is not party question:
There is about as much democracy in
such democrats as there was in the Cour-i
Ter Journal when it pledged itself to sup
port Grant for third term in the event
of his nomination by the Chicago con-
vention.
Now truly do not intelligent people see
the hypocricy and fraud of all this clap
trap and partisan rot that we hear from
public speakers and newspapers? Here
is State that is supposed TO be demo-
cratic to the core. Nothing short of 49,.
600 majority satisfies its partisan pride
and narrow provincialism. Yet in obedi-
ence to popular clamor against corpora
tions, its politicians, little and big, throw
the most cherished doctrine of the party
to the dogs, go in for the swag, and have
Che effrontcry to declare cit is not party
question.