The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-09-06

ances 1t labor is given a place in the
president official household, the man
selected will necessarily be a worthy
and trusted representative of the peo-
pie for whom he speaks and his pres
ence at cabinet meetings will give to
those who toll for their daily bread as
suranoe that their interests will be
properly guarded
MIR Gompers the chief executive Of
the federation Of labor. has, in his cor
respondence with the secretary of the
treasury, so ably presented the labor
ing mems reasons for opposing a gold
standard and national bank currency
that 1t is not necessary 10 discuss those
questions al this time.
The laboring man has abundant rea-
son 10 fear the trusts Mr. Charles R.
Flint, in speech delivered in Boston
more than year ago in defense of the
trusts. frankly asserts that one of the
advantages of these combinations is
that in case Of local strikes or fires
the work goes on elsewhere, thus pre-
venting serious loss Is it possible
that any wage-earner can fail 10 see
how completely he trnst places en-.
ploye at the mercy OF the employer?
The resolutions adopted by various
labor organizations in condemnation
OF militarism and imperialism mstify
me in making brief reference 10 those
questions. No class contributes more
than the labor class IN proportion TO
its members 10 the tank and file of
the army: no class contributes more in
proportion TO its numbers 10 the ex-
pense Of the army. and no class is
more menaeed by the existence of a
~ MOrt ~E l. 49,.
Europe which maintain large military
establishments collect an income tax
which adjusts The burden of the gov.
eminent 10 the income OF The citizen.
Here our federal taxes are largely COL
lected upon consumption. and while
1hey are income taxes in The sense that
OF the people. yet the exactlons are not
proportionate to the incomes The
taxes upon consumption bear heaviest
upon the poor and lightest upon the
rich and are. in fact. graded income
taxes. the per cent collected decreasing
as the income Increases
IT this nation adheres TO the doctrine
that governments derive their just
powers from the consent of the gov
erned. and the people have an easy
and ready means of correcting all
abuses. the government will not need
to be supported by a large permanent
army for every citizen will be ready
TO defend such a government from at
tack. The only domestic use for
large standing army is to suppress by
force that discomfort which should be
cured by legislation.
To support permanent army of
100000 men requires approximately
one-half as much money as is annually
expended for education in the United
States. Ho wmuch cheaper it is to
uplift people by the gentle and peace
full process of intellectual development
than to blow them up with powder
and dynamite!
Imperialism involves departure
from principles which were universal
ly accepted in this country until with
in two years. To know that all men
are created equal one needs not the
wisdom of a sage or the learning of
the schools. 1t was declared to be a
self-evident truth: it was evident to
those who pledged their lives to the
maintenance of the Declaration of In
dependence, and it is evident still to
those who are not blinded by the CLAM
our of wealth and the glittering prom
ises of a colonial system. If all men
are created equal and endowed with
inalienable rights, it follows as logi-
cal and necessary sequence that gov
ernments were instituted for the well
fare of all and derive their just pow
ers from the consent of the governed.
On the preservation of this doctrine
our hopes depend; if it is abandoned
there is no foundation upon which a
government like ours can be con-
structed.
Do net allow yourselves to be de-
ceived by those who question the ca
pacity of this people or that people
for self-goyernment. Macauley, in his
essay on John Milton, points out the
folly of attempting to prepare people
for government by denying them
the right to participate in their own
government. He said:
Many politicians Of our time are
in the habit of laying it down as
Self-evident proposition that no people
ought to be free until they are fit to
use their freedom. The maxim is
worthy of the fool in the old story who
resolved not to go into the water till
he had learned to swim. If men are
to wait for liberty till they become
wise and good in slavery, they may
Indeed wait forever"
When I say that those who distrust
the capacity of the people for self-gov-
eminent tend directly toward mon
archy, am only repeating what Lin
coin deliberately declared in his first
annual message. He said:
Monarchy itself is sometimes limited
at as possible refuge from the power
of the people. In my present position
| could scarcely be justified We're I
to omit raising warning voice against
this approach of returning despotism.
1t is not needed nor fitting here that
a general argument should be made in
favor of popular institutions; but there
is one point, with it's connections not
SO hacllneyed as most others, to which
l ask brief attention. 1t is the effort
to place capital on an equal footing
with, if not above, labor, in the struc-
ture of government. u No
men living are more worthy to be
trusted than those who toll up from
poverty; none less inclined to take or
touch aught which they have not hon
estly earned. Let them beware of sur
rendering political power which they
already possess, and which, if surren-
dered, will surely be used to close the
door OF advancement against such as
they, and to fix new disabilities and
burdens upon them till all of liberty
shall be lost
The warning is even more needed
now than it was forty years ago. The
Army and Navy Journal is already