Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1897-01-15

You against the dangers of factiona
controversy, for when once this has
been aroused earnest cndralor and
high patriotic resolve perish III tn,
fierce heat cngcndcrcd by the struggle
ior place. That YOU are thus to ht
tested is plain To- all. In addition t,
the patent fact that differences o
opinion exist among You Is the fur
thcr, and, at this critical JunctlIre, de
plorablc fact, that an election is short
" to be held here which will place il
the Senate OF tn, United States citi.
zen OF this State for the ensuing siN
years. For this coveted position each
faction has its candidate or candidates
for whose success some of the fac
tlonlsts may he ready to imperil the
future existence of the political COM
pact by means of which their election
was secured, and which, ii rightly
guided and honestly managed, will
finally and securely lodge in the hands
OF the great plain people of this State
those rights, powers and privileges
with which as American citizens they
are inalienably endowed. If, by Il
miSchancc, disruption and disintegra-
tion of hitherto allied forces shall at
this time cnsuc and the ardent hope
which has arisen in the hearts of
earnest men that there had been
formed an organization devoted solely
t. the advancement of pure politics
and just rules of political action, only
to be destroyed by the strife of poll
ticians eager for prefcrmcnt, if this
shall be the result, | do not hesitate
here and now to place the blame for
the vile surrender of Il great trust
upon the heads of ofiice-seekers and
their friends. If the hope of the peo-
pie Is thus to perish, greed for office
will end it and the quarrels of fac
tlonlsts, each more eager for spoil
than for the success of a great cause,
| will prove the men before me unfit for
the grave and weighty responsibilities
of free government. Men of Wash
lngton, / adjure you by the love YOU
bear the sacred cause of human lib
erty, let not these dismal forebodings
become the true history of wretched
past. Repcl them; repel any insin-
uatlOn upon your honor as men and
your fidelity to the cause of humanity.
That tempetation will arise, must in
deed come, from the rivalrics of candi-
dates, is clear to all. But we are here
not as the agents of this or that man,
or this or that political faction; but
rather as the representatives of II
people united in their demand for
relief and earnestly desirous of obtain
ing it Ill the only way it can be OBJ
tanned, by consistent, unseltish and
united political action. He who pre-
vents this united action, is STUN
bling block in the pathway of reform.
At the battle of the pyramids in
Egypt, Nepoleon inspired his soldiers
to deeds of heroic valor by shouting to
them: SOLDIERS! from yonder pyra-
mids forty centuries look down upon
you" So, today, seventy millions of
people are looking anxiously to Wash
ington with hope and fear, with hope
that we may prove equal to the emer
gency, and that, inspired by the high
resolve which ever attends the patriot,
we may spurn the promptings of fac
tion and prove to the world that the
men of our day and time are capable
OF as full and free conservation to
great cause as ever were men in any
age of the world.
These are the conditions: The
great plain people. the average busi-
ness man, the farmer, the mechanic
and the professional man, are to unite
against the organized agressions of the
privileged few, or they are to become
the helpless servants of a poorly con-
cealed plutocracy. Men of varied in
terests and of no interest are to stand
together, or, divided, they are to fall
prey to the oncOming forces of despot-
ism. If they are to stand together,
they must agree, and they can only
agree by means of mutual concessions
and conciliation. The future is in
your hands; you can make it what you
will. But if you fail to agree, if by
lack of agreement you render the sue
cess of the peoples cause impossible,
do not forget that the men of this
State will call you to account as un-
worthy and incapable servants and de-
prive you of future stewardship.
A vast opportunity is before us.
We are to prove ourselves worthy the
trust imposed upon us; we are to show
our ability to construct new policies as
well rs destroy the old.
rtII, DyrI INf, ppwrD
1t should, and must be, remembered
that law, to be respected and obeyed,
must follow and not precede public
opinion. In fact, just law is first the
product of that instructive apprehen-
sion of justice which finds universal
Judgement in the heart of man. 1t
must first exist in the heart; after
ward, its being placed upon the statute
book is the mere formal ratification of
what had previously existed. Lacking
this essential requisite, enactmcnts of
the legislative authority will prove
mere temporary expedlents. Public
opinion in all civilized countries is the
power behind the throne, greater than
the throne itself. And public opinion
is the product of that general concen
sus of prevailing though which must
come, and does come, not from the
minds even of the educated and the
well informed, but rather from the
general average judgment of society
embracing all classes and conditions of
men; and because of the fact that in
this general average judgment all
grades of intelligence and all kinds of
people are included, the resulting
product Is truer statement of matters
affecting all the people than could be
the case were only few or certain
class of minds consulted This is the
true foundation of democratic govern
ment among men, and with this un-
derstanding, "The voice of the people
Is the voice of God" But no class, no
part OF society, however intelligent or
influential, is qualified or able to speak
with this authority. 1t must needs
be declaration of substantial unani
NIFTY coming from that very large
majority which includes, practically,