The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1899-10-24
Political Differences.


enterprise and private concerns, has
long puzzled the heads of the wisest
statesmen. The state, in which the
government controls the affairs of the
individual to the largest extent, would
be a state OF socialism, the state where
in the government would exercise no
control over the individual, would be
one of anarchy. To strike the happy
mean between these two extremes has
been the task of governments and law
makers since the world began.
The accepted theory has been that
the liberty of the individual should not
Abe infringed upon, except in such cases.
where the liberty of the individual i'm
posed on the rights and liberties of an
other.
Any man can conduct his own affairs
as he may think best. For instance a
man may give his money away to whom
he pleases, providing that by so doing
he does no injury to ther rights of others,
but if it it be proven that the gift was
made in order to avoid the payment of
debt, the law steps in and interferes
with his personal liberty to the extent
OF declaring the gift void and of turn.
ing the money over to his creditors.
For many years the populst party
has stood as the political organization
most filled with socialistic tendencies.
They have advocated government own
ership of many things, they have wished
the government to run the RAILROADS,
the banks, the telegraph, to loan money.
to store wheat and to do many other
things.
The democratic party has been until
recently che champion of the least pos
sible government. They have de.
nounced the policy of protection as a
form of 'paternalismn and have stated
that the business of government was to
+ let everv man alone to work out his
life problem for himself-and the devil
take the hindmost.
The republican party has stood be.
TWEEN two. L has claimed, that there
were people, who needed the protecting
arm OF the government, and that it was
the business of government to provide
Tor them, while not interfering any
more than possible with the laws of
trade.
The greatest change, which has come
TO American politics of recent years is
the absorption of democracy by popu.
ism, and HE consequent change in the
SO called democratic party from it's
standpoint of the "least government
possible" 10 the standpoint of populism.
which asks for a more sociallstic gov
eminent than we now possess.
Recent years have seen the develop
ment of the spirit of concentration in
industries of all kinds. Whereas in
former years one went into one store
for his hat, another for his coat, another
for linen and still another for his shoes.
1t is now an every day occurrer e. tor
one store under one management to
sell all thee things and many more. |
The same process has taken plae., in
manufactures and railroads and in !
nearly every branch OF trade.
The reason for all this, not only in
the United States but in other coun-
tries, is that it is more economical to
manage one large store than ten small
ones, and no matter how we may legis-
late, the most economical is the one
bound to survive. The small concern
has some advantages, but none, which
cannot be overcome by the large con-
Germ. We have seen this process in the
farms of Crawford county. Years ago |
the county was held largely by land
spectators, then it was sold in small |
lots to individual settlers, after this
the wedding out process. as it may be
called. began, and it is going on to day.
The unsuccessful farmer has sold his
land piece by piece to the successful
farmer. The man, who made his
quarter section pay, bought of the man
who did not make his quarter section
pay. aud thus we see that by natural
and inevitable laws the country is being
divided into larger and still larger
uOlQlngS.
So far this has not developed to such
a degree as to in any way become
detriment to the people. Now let us
suppose that in any one township there
are half dozen farmers who succeed
better than any of their neighbors. let
us suppose, that these six men finally
become owners of six sections of land
q piece. Now let us further suppose,
that these six men get together and
talk over the situation and one man
says: ''Just look at us fellows, we have
Six thresbing machines, where one
would do the work, wehave any amount
of machinery that is unnecessarily du-
plicated. In our anxiety to sell we
some times underbid each other. Now
propose that we form a company. that
we each sell our farm to the company
each one of us would own just as much