The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1898-01-30

mouths. against the president, bis
cabinet or any member of congress.
Mr.. Jefferson was then living on his
farm at Monticello. He made an ap-
peal to the people. He denounced
the United States bank law as uncon-
stitutional and a swindle on the peo-
pie, and clear usurpation of power.
He denounced the alien and sedition
laws as tyranny of the worst kind,
without warrant in the constitution
and repugnant to the first principles
of freedom and the plainest teach
ings of justice. He took the position
that without free speech free gov
ernment could not be maintained.
He said if the people did not keep a
constant and watchful eye upon their
officials, and crlticise their actions
freely and fearlessly, that the presi-
dent. his cabinet, members of con-
gress and United States judges one
and all would become no better than
s0 many ravenous and devouring
wolves. He said that Virtue need
never shun a conflict with error be-
fore a free and intelligent people,
when allowed an equal opportunity
to defend ITSELF" The most of the
politicians and newspapers were on
the side of money and power then,
as they are now. They abused Mr..
Jefferson most shamefully. No cpl
thet was too vile to be applied to
him. He was denounced as an agi-
tator, a demagogue, a maniac, a
Jacobin and traitor. But the people
were with Jefferson. They knew that
he was abused because the favored
classes feared him and could not
answer his arguments. The people
as a rule are fair and just. They
know that abuse is a weapon of
weakness and an acknowledgment
of defeat. Jealousy and abuse are
the tributes which mediocrity, failure
and rascality always pay to ability,
honesty and success. 1t was so then;
it is SO today. If any man dares to
speak a word for humanity, he is
| anu 1CAOAuCC0 do JOuCE6On
was. The people, under the leader
ship of Jefferson, defeated and drove
from power the men who advocated
the rule of favored classes. The
obnoxious laws we're repealed. But
the fight didinot end there. The par
ties who were attempting to create
political aristocracy among us
changed their tactics, but not their
purposes.
Wealth hates poverty and is al
ways trying to Oppress- and crush it.
The advocates of the rule of favored
classes found that they could not
succeed unless they concealed their
purposes. So they changed their
policy and attempted to acquire by
stratagem what they could not cap
ture by open assault. They took the
name Protection for home indus
tries" as a cloak for their dishonest
plans, and lately they are talking
about confidence" and an honest
dollar" to further mislead, deceive
and imPoverish the people. In a
former article it was shown that as
the people do not pay their United
States taxes directly into the treas
urY, and therefore do not see and
know exactly what they are paying,
they become careless and Indifferent
to the expenditure of public money
by congress, and that this results in
extravaganza and corruption at
Washington. In former articles it
has also been shown how the princi-
pie of the protective tariff has di-
verted the stream of wealth produced
by honest labor from its rightful
channel and has built up a financial
a-lstocracy among us, which has
been fortified by the gold standard,
the national bank law and many
other forms of monopoly legislation.
These things will be more fully ex-
planned in subsequent articles.
But there is another way in which
this so-called protective tariff hurts
the people in its direct effect upon
the government. 1t Is to explain
this that the present article is writ
ten. Every kind of business which
is protected by the tariff keeps an
agent, known as lobbyist, at Wash
ington. He is a man of fine address
and great ability. His only business
is to watch everything done by con-
gress and see that his employers get
the largest possible amount of pro-
lection. This is one of the worst
features of the entire business.
These lobbyists are more numerous
than the members of both houses Of
congress. They have unlimited |
money and influence behind and
backing them. If a member of con-
gress is not well posted they will try
to mislead him; they will hatter and |