The herald., 1896-11-02
EVE OF ELECTION THOUGHTS

A moral revolution is raging all over
the United States, and it will culminate
tomorrow, but how? The answer to that
question is in the hearts and minds of
the people, and tomorrow they will give
public expression of their wish and will
Under form of government like ours,
whatever the majority of the people de-
clare shall be the policy which shall
guide in the administration of the public
affairs of all the people is the law-the
higher law of the land-until the people
themselves repeal it by and through the
same form which they employed to
enact it. That they can always be re-
| lied upon to do.
The people repudiate the idea of their
infallibility by reversing their own de-
cisiors from time to time. Thus are
they experimenting all the time with the
forms of their government but they do
not experiment with the principles Of
their government, for they stand for all
that is right. just and true. 1t is in how
best to apply the principles of govern
ment in the daily conduct of the public
affairs of the commonwealth that the
people differ and no people in the world
are as quick nor as willing to admit and
correct political mistakes as the voters
in the United States. The people are
mighty in their honesty of purpose.
All political contests in this country
are revolutions for they are waged to
overthrow one theory of applying the
principles of government and establish
another, but the ultimate purpose of all
concerned, that is, the masses, is the
peoples best and highest good. There
fore, when men talk about the destruc-
tion of the government and the depriva-
ton of the people of their liberty by the
elevation of this, that or the other party
to power they only prove that their pro-
testations of loyalty to the underlying
principles of the government are mera
masks that hide the deep damnation of
their purpose, which is to rule or ruin.
From the influence of such may the land
be delivered always.
The revolution which is now raging
over the land involves the maintenance
of one of the underlying principles of
government. though in an indirect way.
The revolution which was inaugurated
in 1861 was wholly sectional in character
| and it involved the stability of the union
as a united political force, but the end
| ing was such as to place the nation upon
| broader and stronger lines of union of
| states. The struggle which is now en-
! gaging the attention of the people is the
legitimate fruit of the struggle for the
n nj 70 he
| coura cement of the people in their social
and business life.
The war between the states gave op-
portunity to build up class who es-
I tablshed money as the standard by
which to measure political and socia
rights, and the law making power OF the
nation was invoked to fortify this class
of ''separatists" in the position of su-
perority and favoritism which they had
assumed. The next step was to lay
| hands upon the larger agencies of pro.
| duction and transportation to finally
| become investors of money. When they
had reached that point of personal ex-
cellence as compared with the masses
very naturally they concluded that i,
would be to their interest to keep the
nations volume of money under their
control to the end that they might not
only arbitrarily fix the conditions under
which money should enter the channels
of business, but reduce the prices of all
articles of consumption which they
would need. They succeeded in all OF
these things.
The present revolution is the result of
desire on the part of the masses to re-
turn to those broad. liberal and encour-
aging conditions which prevailed before
the favored class had established them
selves under the especial care and pro-
lection of the government. Had not the
right to go in pursuit of happiness and
wealth been abrogated in effect by this
favored class, in circumscribing the
bounds of the peoples privilege under
the constitution of having a sufficiency
of money in the ways Of business and
trade operation, there would be no such
revolution as is now raging. TheNob-
jective point of the masses is, then the
conditions which existed before this
class of favorites entrenched themselves
behind the defense of their assumed
privileges. which the demonetization Of