The herald., 1896-05-31

gated by private interests and to pro-
mote local or individual projects. their
allowance cannot fail to stimulate vi
cious paternal system and encourage
sentiment among our people, already
too prevalent, that their attachment to
our government may properly rest upon
the hope and expectation of especial ia
vors. and that the extent to which they
are realized may furnish an estimate Of
the value of governmental care. 1 be-
lieve no greater danger confronts us as
a nation than the unhappy decadence
among our people Of genuine and trust
worthy love and affection for our gov
eminent as the embodiment of the high
est and best aspirations of humanity"
Here is the very Quintessence Of the
doctrine of genuine Democracy, a doc
trine that rests upon the principle of the
Declaration of Independence, that all
men are equally entitled to the enjoy
ment of the natural inalienable rights
of life. liberty and the pursuit of happi-
ness, and that governments are insti-
tuted among men to protect them in the
enjoyment Of these rights. The pro-
vince of true Democratic government
is to protect men in the enjoyment of
these natural, inali"nable rights. Here
the duty of government begins and ends.
A government that goes beyond this
point nourishes the paternalism of So
cialism, wealth accumulates and men
decay" The aggregate wealth Of the
nation is not increased but is inequita-
bly, distributed, accumulates in the
hands of the few, manhood is corroded
and the virtue of the nation is corrupt
ed. Then it is that the Lam holier-than-
thou beneficiaries of vicious paternal-
ism, with SNUG and pharisaical hy-
pocrisy try to distract suspicion from
their own venality by the advocacy of
blue laws and sumptuary regulations.
which, interfering with the natural
rights of their fellowmen do not strike
at their own legislatively-cr rights
Of legallzed robbery. The regulation of
the liquor business is made an excuse
for the robbery of the liquor dealer. and
officials grow fat on the extortions
wrung from those who are compelled to
pay for the privilege of engaging in a
business not in itself unrighteous. This
unjustifiable outlawry of whole class
Of citizens leads to the formation OF
self-defense leagues to protect the rights
of freemen. But, unfortunately. such
leagues are in themselves a menace.
They constitute a convenient machine
for designing and ambitious scoundrels.
The league is soon perverted from its
original plan of protecting Its members
against unjust and oppressive regula-
lions, and is used to further the designs
of powerful monopolists. 1t joins hands
with a railroad or other monopoly and.
in turn assists to deprive of their inalien-
able rights the very people who had or
iginally denied to the liquor dealer his
natural right of doing business so long
as he conducted the same In an or
derby manner. and thus this very sump-
tuary legislation eventuates in rough
kind of poetic justice.
Let us hope the day Is not far off when
the liberty loving sons of America will
set their faces against all governmental
interference with natural rights, and
stand for the dictum of Herbert Spen-
Ger, that every man has the right to do
Whatever he pleases, provided he does
not infringe upon the equal right of
every other man." 1t is the duty of
governments to protect men against all
aggressions upon their natural. inalien-
able rights, not to protect them
against their own follies.