The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1897-11-12

| II
nerves free. Address,
| DIR. MILES MEDICAL Co. Elkhart. Ind.
the court by Injunction takes fr"'
your oflicers-the county commission
ers-the right to contract with an es-
tablished paper Of large circulation
one eminently acceptable to the peo-
ple-for your county printing and or
| ders them to give il TO another that
had no claim, either by reason of
party service done or extent of circu-
latiOn. You not only submit to the
courts usurpatiOn of the functions of
your commissioners, but you are
ready to censure an able and indie
pendent citizen if he dares to criti-
else the decision of the learned Judge
aud are surprised that the court does
not confine him in Jail for contempt.
"What food do these our judicial
Caesars feed upon that they have
grown so create" When did our
judges cease TO be public servants?
When did they become sovereigns
above responsibility and above criti-
cism? If we would preserve our lib
critics we need to make haste to get
back to the old Jeffersnnian doctrine
that sovereignty resides in the people
alone, and that all officers from lresi-
dent and Judge down to constable are
public servants to be 10th criticised
ard commended by the sovereign peo-
piA----The danger is greater and more
imminent than the people seem to
think. The vulture is always tearing
at the vitals of the chained Prone
thens. The power that seeks to
change your government never rests
or sleeps, but is ever advancing with
| a step as relentless as fate towards the
| goal OF its ambition. They already
own every department of your gov
eminent, and there is now absolutely
nothing to prevent the courts setting
aside the will of the people at the next
national election. They have en-
| joined state from interfering with
a corporation of its own creation.
Why may they not enjoin your re-
| turning boards from consolidating and
declining. your vote, and your secre-
tary of state from issuing certificates
to the men of your choice, and usurp-
ing these functions themselves. They
will not want for precedents when the
necessity arrives, and there is no re-
straining power anywhere to say:
"Thus far shalt thou go and no far
ther.n They are absolute judges of the
law-the ultimate authority. Beyond
is no "ultima thule" for they are
greater than your legislatures, greater
than your congress, greater than your
president who appoints them for life,
greater than the people, greater than
your generals and armies, greater
| than everything in this fair land, ex-
cept the corporations that own them
and the grim monster, death, who
sometimes musters up courage enough
to dare approach their august pres
ence and hail them away to meet an
other master in a warmer cline. And,
alas alas. there is no independent
press, for, almost without exception,
the same men who own the courts and
legislatures own the press. OF how
vital importance is it then that we
sustain every independent paper like
the Banner. If the Entertainments of
courts and corporations are to be sue
cessfully resisted it must be by the aid
of just such papers, edited by just such
able and fearless men as F. K. Harris.
Give him then your words of encour-
agement, your hearty sympathy and
active support; let him feel that he
has the great people back of him, and
he will not only stand as sentinel on
the watch tower to warn you of dan
| ger, but will do yeoman's service in
the cause of liberty.
Liberty is never destroyed by sin
gle stroke. Philip of Macedon first
corrupted Greece, and Alexander only
brushed away the shadow after the
substance was gone. Caesar was not
responsible for the destruction of
Roman liberty. The spirit of freedom
had already been destroyed by the
monied aristocracy that controlled the
courts and senate of Rome. Marius
and Sylla, Crassus and Lucullus, "et
id omne genus" had gained control of
all the wealth of the country. Own
ing the land and the houses and the
money, they had reduced the free cit
izen land owners, who had made
Rome great, to abject poverty and had
already corrupted the people and de-
stroyed the spirit of independence. 1t
twas needful that Rome should have q
master, for the people had become too
corrupt to be patriotic, too debased to
love liberty, and too poor to care who
| ruled, so they were fed from the pub
lie stores of corn. And so our own
loved land "to Fastening ills prey, is
moving with rapid strides to the fate
of Rome" We have the same con-
centration of wealth in the hands of
a few, the same impoverishment of
the people, and the same determined
encroachments of q moneyed aris-
tocracy on the rights and liberties of
the people that preceded the fall of
Roman liberty.
If then the lessons of the past are
worth alything-and the wise tell us
we can only Judge the future by the
passive are rapidly approaching that
condition that shall furnish another
illustration OF the futility of all at
tempts at self government. The peo-
pie have fallen into a condition of
hopeless indifference and are always
ready to say ''eui bonon, only another
| calamity howl, and go on, caring for
noae-Qf these things that make their
peace and happiness, trusting every
thing to their political bosses, and
only reading and believing the papers
that wear corporation collars. They
are no longer drifting, but with all
sails set, favored by wind and tide,
| are swiftly Safling to that form of gov
eminent favored by Hamilton and
Adams, strong centralized govern
ment ruled by aristocracy of wealth.
"76.n