The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1900-10-19

declaration of independence a been
the ideal Of u life, and We have striv-
len to make ii more and more real. Now.
government by force is the very anti
Ipodes Of this, and to Introduce govern
ment by force over any portion Of the
nation is to start the second quarter
Iof the second century Of our life upon
principles which are the xac opposite
of those upon which We have hitherto
lived"
The test Of government Is moi in the
outward mechanical display of order,
but in the capacity to develop the best
men, and we have lived in the faith
that government by the Consent Of tht
governed develops the best men. We
the learned the unl+n led. the rich the
poor, but we have appealed always to
1.-THE plain people as the ones in whose
Judgment to rely and upon whose
shoulders should rest the burden Of
government. Ideals are. after all, the
eternal force. Human life and destiny
are controlled by them. They may seem
today Of little significance, out around
them gather material interests, and to-
their power is disclosed"
Government by consent and govern
|ment by force, no matter how well the
government may be administered, are
two essentially a~ntagonistic. Now the
great economic problem in this coun-
try is not how a a few make more
money and pile up larger fortunes"
but how can the great body of the
make a fair and comforta
living?' The right TO work is again
and again insisted upon as more impor-
tant than the right to vote, and the cry
Of the right to work is supplemented by
the cry that the state furnish work to
all who cannot obtain it elsewhere.
Are we likely to aid in solving this
problem by bringing INTO u national
life 10, 900, 900 or II, 000, 900 of unskilled
Malay laborers? We nav shut the
doors against the Chinese. Are they
any worse than the Malay? Shall We
introduce in this nation more cheap Ia
bor?"
But they say there is money in it.
And, after all, this is really the most po-
tent factor in the proposed reaching out
after the islands of the orient. The
wealth of Ormus and of Ind is today.
as in the days of Milton, the expecta-
ton and the dream of many. Posses
sion Of the orient, with it's accumulated
wealth of centuries. dazzles the i'm
agination and confuses the judgment.
The haze of mystery hangs over that
vast domain"
The Caesars saw the spear of their
victorious legions flash in the sunlight
of every known land, and in their tr
umphant return they brought with
them the accumulated wealth of all
the nations they had subdued. The
splendor of imperial Rome outshone
the world, but the wealth thus obtain
ed without value given undermined the
lempire, and the glory of Rome is sim
lply a memory"
The problem we have sought to
work out in this nation is that of gov
ernment Of and by and for the people.
IA great nation upon that principle
seems possible only under a federal
system, a system which regulates all
matters of local interest to the several
states and exercises through the ma
ltional government only those powers
and functions which make for the gen
leral welfare. We have wonderfully
prospered in administering such system
lin a compact, continental territory.
leach part of which has been possessed
and controlled by a race capable of self
government"
This makes a long extract, but it is
valuable and thoughtful and appeals t.
our understanding and consciences
The words of a wise man may be al
ways pondered with benefit by those
who love the right and the truth.