Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1891-12-25

necrs but little government was re-
.Iulred, for the very nature OF theil
lives made il imperative with them tC
du unto others as they would like
Oth,rs to do unto them. They saw
from the tenor OF their lives that every
man had a right to produce by his own
Labor from the soil what would supply
ln- wants and the wants of those who
might he dependent upon him. Sc
when the question of government
arose amongst them, the only objects
Tor which such men would consider a
government LcCessary would be to re.
strain unjust or dishonest men from
interfering with or misappropriating
the fruits oi honest labor. Could such
"a purpose he stated more clearly, more
exclusively or more forcible than tie
Declaration of Independence docs.
The most intelligent pioneer in his
cabin could not have given stronger
definition of his ideas, than al hold
these truths to be sel!.evidcnt, that all
men are created equal" that is, that
they all have an equal right to obtain
the means of existence through their
own Labor; that they are endowed
with certain inaelinable rights, among
which are life, liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness" and that the only use
OF human government is to secure TO
every individual the possession and
enjoyment of these rights. The main
tainencc of these principles required
either direct action on the part Of
go.ernment or such condition of
circumstances rs would enable every
man through his own efforts to obtain
the means Of Il comfortable existence.
This Declaration was made over n
century ago. During this period the
United States has advanced from al
most nothing to be the greatest nation
on earth, and had our moral develop
mcnt kept pace with our intellectual
development, the human race would
now have reached II stage but little
lower than the angels. At the begin
ming OF that century the population o!
the United States was about four mil
lions of people, and the greater part OF
n continent was open to them, for
their Use and benefit. To-day the
population OF the United States is
about seventy millions, and nearly all
of our soil fit for supporting man is
occupied. The principles of the
theory Uf our government have never
been carried into practice. Instead of
the government taking steps to secure
tn every individual the possession OF
the rights his Creator endowed him
with, the government has left every
individual to secure then for himself
the best way he could. This was n
blunder on the part of our government,
and it has always been difficult mat.
ter TO rcctify political blunders. II
We CO lsidcr that the earth will furnish
sufficient of the necessaries of sup
porting life for all who inllabit, and if
some of these inhabitants can obtain
possession and exclusive control of a
Thousand times more of these necessa-
rics than he has any use for, it must
follow that many OF them will be un-
able to obtain enough. No reasonable
man will deny that the right to life
carries with it the right to honestly
obtain the means of preserving life
Hence il the duty OF government is to
secure all in the possession of that
right, the inference is plain that that
duty is to restrain all men from the
abuse Of these rights, as well as to Sc
cure them in the use Of them. Had
the policy of our government been to
carry our theory into practice how dif-
ferent would have been our present
condition, how different would have
have been our moral perception! At
the formation OF our government.
the incentive of our statesmen
was to do something for the welfare of
his country, something for the benefit
Of his countrymen, of humanity at
large. and now after the lapse of over
century, the word statesman has
degen,ratcd into the term politician,
and instead of being animated by the
noble impulse OF laboring for the ben
eiit Of his country, or his fellow men,
the ruling incentive of the average
present day politician is to labor for
the benefit Of himself. Look around
on every side, of all our public Off
cials both ei,c'ive and appointive. the
great majority obtain their Office by
purchase instead of by the free and
spontaneous choice of the people
What service can bc expected from a
public officer who pays out more
money TO secure his election, than the
honest lawful remuneration of that Of
flee comes to! Will the rights and the
welfare OF the great mass of the people
be safe in his hands? Most undoubted
ly not. II is even acknowledged, in
common parlance, that nova day {
man only seeks an Office for what III
can make out of it, and the more h,
can make out OF it without landin,
himself in the penitentiary, is locke,
upon as n meritoIious qualification
What must be the inevitable result O
{ such a course'
, The means of maintaining the indie
: pendance OF the masses has now passe,
; beyond their reach. So long as III
p acres Of land was within the reach G
1 every one. no hiSh-spirited or inde
= pendent-minded NAV need become tn
r servant of another, but the rocen
u scenes in Oklahama is proof tina
J. the day Of free farms i'm the Unite
+. States has passed. What will be th
Y result? To-day there are millions {
e people i'll the United States who d,