El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-11-20

Tor Gn0G purpose, snail not leglSl8Lo
finally, nor shall their acts become
proval. This would take US about as
far from representative governme Mt
and about as close to actual mobOcr acy
Is we could we'll get. Democratic
trend so far is in that direction; repub-
lican thought and action are immovsb-
ly against it. Which is the nearest to
Jefferson's idea of political faith?
2. Again, how stand the parties in
the matter of equal and exact justice
to all men? What Is meant by this?
That all men (citizens) shall stand
equal before the law with the same
privileges and fmmunities, with per-
fect freedom to make contracts, to buy
and sell, to combine their capital, skill
and personal services for mutual profit
and advantage, to pursue upon equal
terms their own happiness, to exercise
equally their civil rights and to be SUBJ
ject to the came laws. Does the dem
stand for this principle? The statutes
of the state reply in the negative in
most emphatic tones. Under the laws
of Texas the farmer can com bine with
his fellow farmers to restrict trade,
form trust and raise prices, but If the
shoemakers attempt similar comblna-
tion for an identical purpose, they are
guilty of felony. The cattle raisers are
privileged to combine together and
the butchers and green grocers at
tempt to do so they will land in the
penitentiary. The laborers are pri-
vileeed to com bine in order to raise
wages, but If the contractors
and builders and lawyers,
merchants and other classes
make an attempt to do so, they would
wear convict stripes. Is this equality
before the law? Is this ''equal and ex-
act justice to all men of whatever state
or persussion?" Similar laws are upon
the statute books of many of the states
under democratic control; and the
constitutions of Texas and many other
democratic states expressly sanction
the imposition of an occupation tax up
on lawyers, physicians. merchants,
etc., and at the same lime expressly
exempt farmers and mechanics. Is
this Jeffersonisn? The rich farmer is
more able to pay his taxes than the
struggling young lawyer, and many
mechanics earn greatly more than the
Juggling young doctor. Does the
republican party favor these discrimin-
ations between citizens? Undoubtedly.
Does the republican party advocate
these inequalities? No. Then which
party stands the closer to Jefferson's
idea OF equal and exact justice to all
men OF whatever state or persuasion,
religious or political?
3. How stand the parties as to the
N maintenance OF the state governments
in all their rights? Mr.. Jefferson eaid
this twas the surest bulwark against
anti-republican tendencies Have
these latser-dsy democrats kept the
faith? Toe record seemingly ia
against them, even upon this most
cardinal doctrine.
OF course, we hear much mounting
over the rights of the states; but &c
tions speak louder than words, aad the
acts of party must speak in attesta-
ton of actual party faith. We can
influence and action in congress moro
than twelve years ago, when the party
assisted in the burial of stete rights by
visalizinR provision of the federal
constitution which had remained dor
msnt for more than 100 years, and I
need not mention the interstate COM
merce law, which constituted q greater
advance toward centralism than did
Grants victory at Appomattox. Nor
need reference be had further back TO
the acts aud doiugs of the electoral
com mission of 1877, in the deliberation
of which the democrats commended for
q right upon the part of the national
government to go behind state action
and Overturn state authority, while
the republican held fast to the Jeffer-
sonian doctrine that the states we're
supreme in casting their votes for pre-
sident, and that the national govern
ment had no Jurisdiction in any of tie
to question state action
even in that most vital proceeding.
BRYAN'S HERESY.
These incidents, although most sig
nificant in showing the trend of parties
may be discarded as ancient history
The relative position of the parties as
to Jefferson's doctrine is demonstrated
by current events. Mr.. Bryan is the
anointed leader:of the party, and his
ukaee is the law unto his party. No
democrat who marched under his
banner in 1916 dares question or COM
bat any principle declared by him as
orthodox. Surely no mistake can be
made as to democratic trend or posi-
ton. If we take Mr.. Bryan's word for
it. He has come to the front on the
trust question, and has passed the
word down the line. His remedy Is
among other things to increase the
power of the general government over
the state in the matter of internal
trade and commerce, to give the gen.
eral government the power to design
ate, through some bureau or official,
what commercial concerns shall or
shall not do business in this or that
state, and to say what goods or COM
shall be sold in the states
This 1s q confession that
aamilton's theory of govern
nent was correct, and Jefferson's
vas erroneous. The excuse may be
hat commercial conditions have SO
changed since Jefferson's day that
lew remedies for public grievances
must be resorted to. This involves,
necessarily, the concession that Col |
hamilton was more sag acious and