Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1893-04-12
VOL. MEDICINE LODGE, KANSAS, WEDNESDAY,

government implies not only parental,
or fatherly care and affection, but also
parental, or fatherly authority and con-
/ troll. 1t implies implicit obedience and
passive submission on the part of its
subjects, the people. Such a govern
ment was the theocracy of the Jews, in
which God was both Father and ruler.
Such government is that of Russia, at
this time, in which the czar is an abso-
lutte plutocrat Under a democratic
form of government, of, by and for the
people, paternalism, or paternal gov
ernment is impossible, because the peo-
pie, each and all, are the government,
so that the people rule each other and
themselves. Such a government ''de-
rives its just powers from the consent
of the governed and reflects in it's laws
the stage of civilization and moral de-
velopment obtained by its people. 1t is
possible for such government to adopt
the golden rule as it's guide, and, with
the universal brotherhood of man as its
faith, establish, not a paternal, but
fraternal rule, under which equal op-
portunities, exact justice, perfect free
dom and brotherly love, aid and assist
ance should be guaranteed to all its
people, while no individual would be
granted special privileges or unjust ad-
vantages
Under purely democratic form of
government the people rule. Under
| such government, ali laws are directly
enacted by majority of the people, SO
that each law literally express the senti-
ment, voice and will of the lawful ma
Jority. The United States government
IS not such government as l have
described. 1t is representative and
| not democratic form of government
Under a democratic form of govern
ment all contemplated laws are sub
mitted to direct vote of the people,
and each voter, each and every one for
himself, votes for or against it, so that
if enacted such law reflects the will
of the majority. At present. one man
| called a congressman casts the vote
| of $4,000 voters and generally
casts his vote in utter disre-
gard and defiance of the will of a ma
| jority of the voters whose votes he casts
by proxy. We thus present the anoma-
ly of free government, under which
the people are supposed to make their
own laws for their self-government;
the laws of which do not correctly re-
fleet or represent the economic views
or moral conceptions of a vast majority
of its people. This would seem to be
unavoidable in form of government
under which the people govern them
selves, not directly, but by proxy. Not
only do the peoples proxies or repre-
sentatives set up their own individual
whlms, opinions and personal caprices
in opposition to the will of the voters
they represent, but selfishness, special
interests and avaricious greed maintain
powerful lobbieS at our national capi-
tai, with the result that corruption
taints our national legislative body and
bribery, in its various forms, secures the
enactment of laws which trample under
foot the rights of the people and make
it appear that the citizenship of the
United States is devoid of any of the
great underlying principles of morality,
justice and equity. The net result is a
paternal government administered by
an autocratic, mythical father in whom
are combined all the most malignant
types of evil and the basest passions of
our common humanity.
Such a result would be impossible un-
der a purely democratic form of direct
legislation. Let us contrast the two
modes of government The United
States, under its system of independ-
ent municipal and state autonomy,
recognizes the divine law of labor and
maintains that all men should-work?
No. but that all men should be self
supporting-able to prove means of self
support. Disgracing the name of civil
ization with the infamous legislation
known as vagrancy laws, we &C
count the well dressed and well
fed scoundrel, gentleman and
useful member of society,
but the ragged and starving unfortu-
nate, who is unable to get work to OBJ
tain an honest living, we call vagrant
and slap into Jail, and confiscating his
labor for a scanty jail diet, we turn him
out at the end of his term of service
ten fold worse man than we found him,
and misanthropic enemy of society.
The cruel disgrace of the whole matter
is, we as an organized community or
government, punish an innocent, unof-
Tending member of the body polite for
our own social and political sins In
stead of treating an unemployed, de-
spondent man as the innocent victim of
cruel and idiotic social system, sus-
tanned by ourselves, we treat him as a
criminal and an outcast The query:
'Am my brothers keeper" we answer
by securely keeping him-in Jail Does
anyone SO estimate the plane of morali-
ty upon which we exist as to believe
that our vagrancy laws would be al
lowed To could fhoxy no
TO direct vote of the people?
Look at the other mode. Over in the
little republic of Switzerland they have
the most purely democratic form of gov
ernment upon the face of the earth
Under the operation of the Initiative"
there has very recently received the re-
quisite 10000 signatures, a proposed
amendment to the national constitu-
ton, reading thus: The right to suffi-
GENTLY remunerative employment is
guaranteed to all Swiss citizens by the
state Under the operation of the
referendum" such amendment will
soon be submitted to vote of the whole
people and will undou btedly be adopt
ed. Thus will be presented to the world
an illustration of the manner in which,
through the initiative and referendum
tdlrect legis!ation) a people can give
expression and force to the fraterpal
spirit eDgendered by sincere belief in
the universal brotherhood of man 1
hazard the assertion that could the
same amendment be submitted to di-
rect vote OF the people of the United
States, 1T would be adopted The idea
that the nation should syuarantep tn ALI
citizens work to perform at fair wages
does not necessarily imply any addi.
tional taxation No, indeed. If we
would cease to bow in superstitious
idolatry before the altar of the golden
calf and abandon our idiotic fallacy
called "metallism' or specie basis" all
we need do is to issue full legal tender
paper money, receivable for all dues.