The St. Johns herald., 1893-06-01
MeBaclng Socialism in the Western
 States.


 ton has been its tendency toward absorbing it's extraneous functions. More and more has government ta- ken into it's care of affairs formerly controlled by private corporations and companies; more and more have the people been taught to look to the government for assistance, for support, for punishment upon their enemies, for the fighting of individual wrongs. Consciously or unconsciously, our Government has grown to constitate itself source of maintenance for our people. In other words, during the last thirty years this country has been hasten ing toward paternalism. This has been the outgrowth of measures necessary and incidental to the war, but continued into the present with out the first necessity and in plain violation of the principles of their being. From the day of the assault upon Fort Sumter, the Government sprang into overshadowing and masterful prominence it became force and supreme power which it had not been before. Military rule extended to many cities, the war came on with its processions of sol diers and commanders, and the idea of the supremacy of the Govern ment sank deeply into the minds of the entire people. A high tariff was levied to raise the necessary enormous revenues and incidentally to stimulate languishing American industries. And so Government for the first time became not merely a creation of the people to execute their will, as our forefathers intend ed. but an active, powerful force, superior to the people, thing to appeal to, to be relied upon, to be regarded as a father. Here first arose the idea of paternalism in American government.
 At the close of the war, the Amer ican people found a host of new offices created by the exigencies of the war, the race and reconstruction questions, ,and clamoring multitudes of Idle men. Thisis the point where enlightened patriotism would have dictated the closest National econ omy and an immediate halt in the progress toward paternalism by a repeal of the war measures. But the policy adopted served only to hasten the propagation of socialis- tic ideas. The war taxes were con tinued and the offices were shame fully increased. The impression prevails that a Government posi- ton and Government funds are things in the securing and enjoy nent of which the common ideas of honesty may be conveniently eliminated. Each Congress has been more lavish and reckless in dollng out the millions to feed the people by the erection of useless public buildings, by the creation of sinecures, by river and harbor wastefulness and by other schemes, every one of which has been an in- stant, distinct and direct preacher of the doctrines of socialism. And | yet the Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court said to the writer only two years ago that in his judg- 1 ment the United States Government ought to engage in more public works, improve the roads, build ca nals, and thus furnish employment to the thousands of idlers in this country and put q stop to this mur- mur of discontent. Think of such l an astonishing socialistic statement from such a source! The broad | and general discontent now preva- lent is simply the consequence of the policy of paternalism pursued i by the Government, and the cries of idle men are only demands by those who have been fed for more food | from the same source. Having gone so far, the Government is command cd to go farther.