Birmingham state herald., 1896-09-08

who would betray their fellows. You have
 found everywhere, in every stage of so-
 ciety, the character of Judas. In any
 class are to be found those ready to be-
 tray their brother. Yet in spite of this
 the common people have been the great
 and telling force that has lifted
 Civilization to & Higher Ground.
 There are three forms of government
 best known among men. There is the
 monarchy, where the king rules by right
 divine. There is the aristocracy, where
 a few control, and there is the dsmoc-
 racy, which means the rule of the people
 themselves. Why is it that the strength
 of demecracy-I do not use the term in a
 party sense, but in the broader sense
 why is it that the strength of democracy
 has always been found among the com
 mon people? It is simple enough. If
 man has high position or great wealth
 he may be able to stand and keep on the
 good side of the king; if he has great in-
 fiuence he may be one of the ruling
 classes in the aristocracy, but you are
 not willing to leave any form of govern
 ment to your children except democ-
 racy, in which each citizen is protected
 in the enjoyment of life and the pursuit
 of happiness. The great common people
 believe in a democratic form of govern
 ment because it is only in the democratic
 form of government that they are able
 to protect their rights and defend their
 interests, so far as government can de-
 fend mans interests.
 Let me dwell for moment upon the
 object of government in this land Our
 government derives it's powers from the
 consent of the governed. What kind or
 government will people consent to? Only
 that kind of government that protects
 all and which knows no favoritism-a
 government in which every citizen
 stands on the same plane without regard
 to position in society and without regard to
 A government which knows equal
 rights to all and confers special privi-
 leges on none-that is the kind of gov- ernment that appeals to the
 Affections of the Common People. There are two things to be considered in government. The first is that in the enactment of legislation you should be careful to give no advantage to one per son over another person if that advan- tage can be prevented. It is the duty of the government to protect all, If possible, without injustice to anyone. Again, gov ernment mustTestrain men from injuring one another. That is one of the important duties of governmental prevent from in turing one another and the government that fails to restrain the strongest from injuring the weakest is government which fails to do its whole duty.
 I was passing through Iowa some months ago and I got an idea from some hogs Gaughter) An idea is the most important thing that a person can get into his head, and we gather our ideas from every source. Riding along in the cars I noticed a number of hogs roofing in field and tearing up the ground The first thought that came to me was that they were destroying good deal of prop erty, and that carried me back to the time when lived on the farm and I re- membered that we had rings in the noses of our hogs And why? Not to keep the hoo frnyr exatt ti,op a interested in their getting fat than they were. Gaughter) The sooner they got for the sooner we killed them, and the longer they were in getting fat the longer they lived. But why were rings put in the noses of these hogs? So that while they were getting fat they would not de-
 stroy more property than they were worth. And as I thought of that this came to me: That one of the duties of the goverment-one of the important du-
 ties of the government-is to put rings In the Noses of the Hogs.
 Now, my friends, don't consider this reflection on your neighbors. daughter and cries of Hanna is already fat.') It is possible under our form of government to have justice and to govern as the peo- pie deserve Ours is the best form of government because 1t is possible for the people to make 1t, built on the best intelligence, the highest virtue and the patriotism of all the people. But let me warn you against confusing government with the abuses of government. Andrew Jackson said that there were no neces- sary evils in government; that evils exist ed only in its abuses. He was right, my friends. (Cheers)
 There are no necessary evils in govern ment, and no man who understands the advantage of government will raise his voice against it. It Is the abuses of gov ernment against which we have right fr laip !, denounce one criticising such abuses and call him distruber.
 A distruber is one who breeds discon- tent. want to say to you that discon- tent lies at the foundation of all progress. So long as you are satisfied you never go forward. It is only when you are dis satisfied with your conditions that you try to improve them.
 There is this difference between our form of government and the monarchial form: If you are discontented under a monarchial form you can petition for re- lief, but your petition may be disregard ed. Discomfort under a monarchy may end in despair. or 1t may end in revolu- tion; discomfort under our form of gov ernment ends in reformation through the peaceful means of the ballot. am not going to violate the proprie- | ties of this occa sion by entering into the | discussion of partisan questions; but I desire to call your attention to certain | broad questions which cannot be confined | by party lines. The ballot is the means l by which the people of this country must right every wrong, and if the people have not the independence-if they have not 1 the intelligence-to right their wrongs aS | the ballot box, they have not the courage l to r..
 | Secure Their Rights in Another Way. But my friends, conditions arise in | this country which make it impossible to use the ballots which they have. Through certain things so strong, so powerful, men | were afraid to exercise freely and upon | their own conscience the political rights given them under our institutions. What | did they do? I honor the laboring man | of this country, and organized labor standing at the head of the laboring men. because they secured for the people of this country an Australian ballot. (Great applause.) That ballot did not come down to you from above. That ballof is a result of your own demand. It Is the result of your own influence. The labor ing man today enjoys the advantages of the Australian ballot because the labor ing men of this country compelled the adoption of the Australian ballot. (Cheers)
 Now, my friends, among all the agen- ces which for the past few years nave