The great West., 1892-01-08
PATERNALI6M.
There Are No Statutes That Are Not
Paternal or Class.

PATERN AIl6 M
There Are No Statutes That Are Not
Paternal or Class.
The very word defines itself. Pater.
nal parent-like directing and caring
for as would a parent. Therefore
when legislation is OF a paternal ma
ture it is that species of legislation
which causes the government to as
sumo the oversight as would father
There is but two species of legisla-
ton, says the Toiler. One is where
the government grants its service. and
the other is where it forces obedience
1t may force obedience where it grants
its service, or may grant its service
where it forces obedience These two
elements enter into all legislation.
The government grants its service and
compels obedience in our postal sys-
tenn. 1t grants it's service in the life
saving system along our coast. What
can be more paternal than the systems
named? Take our protective tariff sys-
tenn. in it. the policy of our govern
ment is to force obedience; this species
is class and yet paternal; it is class
because the paternal power is
not extended to all the people. 1t is
paternal because the governments
service is extended to certain bene-
ficiaries. At this moment we do not
think of any legislation that is not
paternal in its relation to the people,
except the laying and collecting of
revenues. Even our penal system is
paternal in its nature to the public
which it seeks to protect There are
no statutes but what are paternal or
class in their application, and some are
both. We challenge a contradiction
of this assertion which has been de-
Quoted from The reasoning just given.
Of the two classes. which Is prefer
able? Paternalism. when unadulter-
ated with class preferment, has always
dealt out justice and never monopolies.
Class legislation has never failed to
father combines. 1t is paternal for
our government to issue money. 1t is
class to make preferred receivers of
this governments service, but it is not
always possible to receive the benefits
of the governments service without
system which in it's nature would
seem class. For instance, suppose the
bogus protective tariff argument was
true that it was best for the whole
country that a bounty be paid manu-
facturers, then the system would be
paternal in its nature but class in it's
application. Glass legislation is never
safe unless it is to carry out a paternal
policy which applies alike to all. The
tariff system does not do this. The
national banking plan does not do it,
and they were both intended to extend
a paternal hand to the whole country
The trouble lies in the fact that class
preferment was given too much prom
inence in the two policies cited above.
If the reader has carefully caught the
deductions above, he is ready for this
affirmation. There has never been a
law repealed since ours has been a
government because OF it's paternal
nature. Sometimes laws of a paternal
nature have been repealed because of
the special privilege granted in the
application-as in the case of the old
United States bank.
1t is entirely too late in the day to
begin insisting that the monetary re-
form asked for by the Alliance is
paternal 1t has always been
paternal duty of the government to
issue money, The paternal feature
cannot be complained at if So where
do you propose to have our money
come from? 1t is paternal and our
constitution provides for paternalsm
because it gives our government abso-
Lutte control OF our money.
The Alliance idea is to secure this
paternal service by a method as void
of class preferment as possible. We
insist that one great argument in favor
system is that ours will bring so many
thousands-yes millions-in close
touch with the government while the
present system brings only hundreds
The difference is. that hundreds can
combine for selfish purposes while
millions cannot. A combine always
distracts the parental effort of our leg
islation. We object to the present
banking system on the same grounds
that Andrew jackson vetoed the re-
chartering bill for the old United
States bank, viz: that it puts the cir
culating medium in the hands of
selfish com bine, Or in other words. the
paternal feature is defacedby the class
application.