The Advocate and news., 1899-04-05

tile and tranquil mind, finds himself and his
life's opportunity drifting into the snow
banks of the committee rooms, never TO be
reported, or adversely if at all. If he be
obdurate and insist upon his reform meas
ures, he is marked for sacrifice by the sub
sidized press, referred back to committees,
amended hamlessly by the ever present
friend of the measure, who wants it passed
in legal phraseOlogy something that will
stand the test of the supreme court-there
was time when the legislative branch of
our government prescribed the duties and
limited the scope of courts-and he is finally
lost in a cOngested calendar. / have seen
members of no meagTe abilities, so thorough
ly demoralized and Chagrined by the smart
parliamentarian," that his aggressive eff
cheney was entirely destroyed for the ses.
sion. Three to five dollars day, limited to
fifty or sixty days, is not sufficient induce
ment to attract enough men of honesty and
ability in bodies of one hundred to two hun
dred, to bear down such opposition; the
exception is feebly sustained either as leg
islatOr or by his constituency, and when the
session is nearly over, with but few meas.
ures really digested and disposed Of, and
when the revision of the calendar is resorted
to for railroading or omnibussing the
schemes of the few, the courts have easy
work in protecting the "laisse faire," under
the broad skirts of the constitution.
In short, at the end Of fifty days the new
member has just learned "where he's at"
and who the friends and enemies of reform
really are. But he is too late to make new
combinations, and just in time to save his
party under the lash" by being pressed
into line for measures that will assist the
member from this or that county to nomi.
nation for Congress, or "pOse" the governor
for reelection; he returns home, failure
in the eyes of his constituency, who have
been prepared by the exaggerated and false
reports circulated. So fond are the Amer-
can people of being humbugged that with
out the ability Of Lorrequer to impose
upon the sick man, or the incomprehensive
ness of OFlaherty to deal with hero wor.
shipper, like Burke-sO cleverly portrayed by
LeveT-one can scarcely see how matters
will be altered except by common ca
lamity.
Fourth. The complexity of system de-
strOys its efficiency
If a people are capable of self-govern-
ment at all, then every impediment thrown
in their way is an indication that they are
apt to govern too we'll for themselves and
with too little advantage for the few. In
the retrospect of our affairs it seems almost
impossible that three generations have come
and gone since the days of Thomas jefferson
and Patrick Henry, and that we have prog
ressed during that time in arts and sciences
beyond anything known to the world, vet
still cling to our antiquated machinery of
government, one that requires every spoke,
fellow and hub to be of ash before it will
revOlve upon an axle made OF ash; if either
part be made OF hickory or pine, of better or
worse material than all or any of the Others,
the machine clogs, and millions of people
stand around grumbling and awaiting an
other two or four years for an opportunity
to change the part. Why, the thought Of
consigning the old machine TO the scrap pile
and putting in an improved one, stored
daily with new energy by the people with
such force as will meet varied conditions, is
an anomaly. Maybell says: 1--WE possess
as much liberty as we comprehend" Then
if we cannot comprehend, the two houses
of legislature are an impediment to the rule
of the people, that any division of the leg.
islative branch of government, being out
of harmony, will and does, for political pur.
poses, defeat any good results, we are not
much deserving.
II IL
who listen to political bombast), upon hav-
ing the most liberal form of government in
the world, when, in fact, we have about the
worst. If in England or France the heads
of government proposed any measure and
then failed to receive the support Of ma,
jOrity of representatives of the people they
at once resign and allow that ma
jority to form its own cabinet, il they can
not agree in reasonable time, they are dis
solved and the people decide at new elec-