The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1896-04-16

and yet, when, in democratic America,
the laity of America said to themselves
and began 20 say to one another, 1--WE
have right to send our children to the
public school" and some priests or bish-
ops said, lyon shall not; II you do,
you shall be anathema," the pope Of
Rome, one of the great statesmen Of our
age, sent Satolli across the water to say
to the Roman Catholic church that the
father and the mother have right to
send their child to the public school, and
the right shall be respected. In oil our
churches there is to be larger liberty /;
for liberty and life are one, and the
public discussion Of religious questions
is to 20 ON more and more In the church
Of Christ.
Diffusion of Political Power.
Similarly, there is coming to be,
more and more, a wider diffusion Of po-
hticsl power. We have gotten rid Of the
king and of the aristocracy, Of the lord
and the nobility, and we are going to
get rid of the boss and the machine.
They are essentially uudemocratio. They
are simply q new form Of the con-
centration of political power in the
hands of few. We shall find our way
to a primary that will represent, not
the slatemakers, but the people. We have
a good deal of work TO do yet, but we
are working in the right direction. We
have q ballot that makes corruption
harder than it used to be; a ballot that
puzzles the traders and the purchasers
of votes. II few citizens want to in
sure good nomination, they still have
TO become independents and put up an
independent ticket, and then leave the
rest to vote between fairly good candi-
dates that have been forced upon our
parties in spite Of the machine. But it
will not always be so, and the time will
come, and it is not far distant, when the
sources Of political power, the nominat-
ing conventions, themselves will be real
ly and truly, as they are in pretense to-
day, in the hands of the common people.
We are coming to greater diffusion
Of intelligence. Our public school system
cannot think, in spite of croakers, is
in any danger. The American people
never will suffer it to be taken away.
Do you consider what an enormous ex-
tension Of it has taken place within the
last quarter century, Do you consider
that quarter Of century ago, or lit
tie more than that, there was not free
school in any state south of Mason and
Dixon's line, and now there is not any
state south of Mason and Dixon's line in.
which there is not free school? Do you
consider that little over quarter Of
century ago it was forbidden to teach
the negro to read, that now in every
southern state school buildings are erect
ed out of the public funds, and school
teachers are paid out of the public funds,
who are carrying ON the education of the
negro racer Do you consider what de-
velopment of public education has been
made in that one direction? Do you con-
slider, again, what development of pub
lie education has been made in opening
the higher institutions to women?
Did you ever consider what is the
cause of hard times? Did you ever hear
man tell you it is overproduction with
out laughing in his face? Overproduc.
tion Too many shoes-therefor men
go barefoot. Too much coal-therefore
we freeze, Too many houses-therefore
we are shelterless Too much woolen
goods - therefore men are uDolothed.
What non sequitur 1t is not oyerpro-
duotion, it is upderdemand. Take an
Irish village, with one wealthy family
possessing 100000 and "a peasant
population with no money at all, and you
have one family that want shoes and all
the rest shoeless. What has the shoe
maker to do? TakeJa New England vii.
lage in which eyeyy family has adequate
means Of livelihood, and the shoemaker
is busy all the day long. When every
woman in America can have as many
silk dresses as she wants, silk mills will
not have to stand idle. Mol Diffusion Of
wealth gives diffusion Of industry. The
more wealth is diffused, the more pros
perOas the nation.
The message of Christianity is not for
kings or priests, for aristocrats or plu-
tocrats, but for men. 1 cannot think
that DR.. Heron is right, that it has one
message for men Of wealth and another
message for men of poverty. 1t has one
for men, and its message ia this
You are all brethren, and there is one
Father over all, and by love ye are bound
together. You are to serve one another.
You are not to stand on your neighbours
shoulders that you may climb higher,
but to reach down your hand and help
your neighbor up. For Christianity
means humanity. 1t means that men are
the sons of God and all men are breth-
rem; it means religion for every man,
intelligence for every man, political
power for every man and sufficient meas
ure Of wealth to secure reasonable leisure
and reasonable comfort and reasonable
livelihood for every honest. industrious
man.