The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-09-29
WHAT GOOD.

The platform of the Peoples party,
where it does no. voice utter folly or pub
lie fraud, speaks in approval of armed re-
sistance to law and order and in denunci-
alton of lawful government seeking
through its legal machinery to uphold the
laws OF the land. In plain English the
Peoples party stands upon platform OF
crazy. impracticable state paternalism,
dishonest finance and disorganizins an
archism whether it speaks in New York
state or the state of Washington.
Suppose Washington had Peoples
party governor and legislature today in
this state. what could they possibly do for
the workingman that would improve his
condition? Are they crazy enough to sup
pose that such state government could
overturn the existing state of things and
establish the naturalization Of industry
and property? There are only two ways
in which such q revolution could be
accomplished-by purchase of private
property rights or by confscation. An at
tempt to enforce confscation would be in-
stantly resisted and civil war would ensue,
come and very undesirable change Of our
government to one of standing armies in
stead of citizen soldiery rs at present.
It would never come 10 this, of course, be-
cause any party that avowed confiscation
as part of its platform would be found in
hopeless minority, as no man, who owned
any property, however small. could afford
to help the party of conhscation.
If the Peoples party. on the other
hand, declined to possess themselves Of
the railroads, teiegraphs. lighting plants,
etc., by a tyrannical act OF confiscation
then they could only buy them and tax
the people into the earth to pay for them,
as United States Senator Carlisle pointed
out last year to the chuckle-headed "re-
formers" who consulted him.
How could a Peoples party government
help the workingman to a larger return
of the joint products of capital and
labor? Suppose the state took possession
of all business and attempted to run it for
the benefit of all, it would still be subject
to the conditions Of competition,
and the laws of trade represented
by the hours of labor and the re-
quirements Of capital. If the Peoples
party legislature undertook as Kearney-
ism did in California TO impose heavy
burdens on capital, why then capital
would do in Washington what it did in
California, take to fight and leave labor
staring vacantly in the direction of the
disappearing geese that laid the golden
eggs.
The Springfield Republican puts this ar
gument We have sketched above vigorously
home to the Peoples party and concludes
with the following bit of choice common
sense:
Today and here we are governed by the aver
age public sentiment Of the country. Taken AZ
whole, the men we send to make our laws
fairly represent the people who send them. The
laws they make, aud which our executives
enforce, are good as the people as q whole
will OBEY. Taking a broad survey of this coun-
try NJ a whole, every one must admit that thess
statements arc true. This settled, our point Is
this: Socialism could not change this state of
affairs, nor nationalisrn, nor any form of
government wherein the majority of the
people rule An ideal government can be
imagined wherein the peoples wisest men
would make the laws, and the vicious and in
competent be robbed Of power. This 10 part OF
the nationaiistic scheme, and an essential part,
too, for nationalism coulc not endure for a year
IL its form of government was pure democracy.
But why not approach that ideal now? What
obstacle IL there in the way of our sending our
wisest and best to make cur laws that cannot be
overcome, save that We do not care to?