Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1900-08-28
WHAT JEFFERSON WOULD DO.
An Address by Hon. John P. Altgeld on Problems
Now Confronting the Democratic Party. De-
livered Before the Albany Bimetallic
League of Albany N Y, April Is. 1900


the Colony of Virginia, and instead OF
following ease and opulence, he de-
voted his energies to secure the aboll-
ton of the law of primogeniture and
entail, which formed the foundation OF
a landed aristocracy, but was hostile
to free institutions.
He succeeded in the great work and
brought on his head the abuse and
bitter hostility of the most powerful
influences of the country. Every cpl
tibet was applied to him, but he never
faltered.
Virginia had an established religion,
and the clergy were in great force.
Men who dissented were not only
prosecuted, but prosecuted. The church
controlled the circles of wealth, fash
ion and intelligence.
Jefferson broke down this medieval
system and established freedom of re-
ligion so that every man could worship
God according to the dictates of his
own conscience.
How Jefferson Was Denounced.
Curses loud and curses black were
| hurled at him. He was denounced as
destroyer of society, an emissary of
the devil and an enemy of God.
The word anarchist had not yet been
coined into weapon for towards to
use in behalf of established wrong, but
every epithet that the vocabulary OF
the age afforded was applied to him.
III; ~f cd
him and stupid responsibility held up
its hands in horror. Every argument,
every influence, every inducement was
used to dissuade him.
A weak man would have yielded a
timid one would never have begun; a
selfish man would have compromised.
But Jefferson kept his eye fixed on Tie
star of eternal right and wu!d not
turn aside for momen:.
Education in re colony of Virginia
was largely ali the hands of the clergy
and vas source of profit and of pow
CT. Only the well-to-do could afford
to educate their children.
Jefferson established free public
schools, to be supported by taxation.
So comprehensive and thorough was
his system that it became the model
generally followed in America. This
great achievement was not only op-
posed by the church, but it arrayed
nearly all wealth against him.
The idea of compelling one man to
help pay for the education of his
neighbors' children was denounced as
unjust, uncorsritutional and dema-
gogical. 1t was atheism, socialism,
robbery.
1t required conscience, courage and
| character to face such opposition, but
Jefferson had all three. Had he done
nothing except to establish the three
great reforms l have named he would
have been entitled to the everlasting
gratitude of mankind.
In time, Virginia adopted new con-
stitution which he helped to frame.
Into this he sought to incorporate the
system which today is called the Ref
erendum,' the principle of direct leg
islation by the people. He proposed
that the acts of the legislature should
to the people for their approval or re-
lection. He was overruled in this II
is claimed that the ever watchful slave
interests feared such measure anC
defeated it, But the fact that he ia,
yored it shows the wonderful insight
and foreknowledge of the man.
J.Fersnn's Wise Foresight.
We feel that he had an inspired Wis
ion of conditions that We're to com,
century later.
Here is the key to Jefferson's mind
here is the corner stone of his politica
; fabric. and the tombstone of his poll
teal philosophy.
Leave everything to the people
submit all important matters to tn
people; the people can be trusted the,
may err, but they will right them
: selves
He saw then what a century's eX
perience has taught us, namely, tina
r representative government is not gov
e eminent by the people.
True, the people elect their represen
4 tatives, but they cannot control ther
t and cannot even protect themselve
1 against betrayal or robbery by thei
, own representatives
I The bride giver could not corrupt a
1 of the people, or even half of the pee
I pie, but he could bride half hundred
and even the full hundred, and whe
he does the people are helpless.
I Had the principle of direct legisla
ton. as proposed by Jefferson, bee
incorporated into the constitutions c
America, federal, state and municipal
:. so that the people could have checke
y their representatives. there woul
Il have been no inducement to bride
a legislature or debauch a city council
u Consequently, we would not ha,
had forty years carnival of d.
bauchery and dishonor, carniv
= whose history can only be written
II shame on the pages of infamy.
Had the principles of direct legisl
y ton been in force throughout the Ian
l. we would not today be confrontt
with questions that alarm our peopl
! and free institutions would not ha,
been brought to the precipice of d
/ struction by a Mckinley administr
> ton.
Some Of jeff rrson's Achievements.
- can only refer to the prodigio
. labor Jefferson performed as me1
w Der of the committee on correspon
70 ence which brought the different &C