The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-01-20
THE pEopLE.s GOVERNMENT.

THE PEOPLES GOVERNMENT.
Abraham Lincoln's expression, govern
nent OF the people. by the people and for
the people" did not express new idea
so much as it gave epigrammatic express
sion to an old one. Americans had always
been familiar with the idea in a theoret-
zeal and practical way. but they had not
been in the habit OF taking a close and
searching view of It. Mr.. Lincolns ex-
preston. now much quoted. has had an
educational influence in making people
think about what they passed over lightly
before. We are apt to lose sigk- of the
significance of events or environments with
which we are very familiar. The adage
that familiarity breeds contempt" has
very wide application. The greatest OBJ
jects and events in the natural world lose
their impressiveness by familiarity. There
are thousands of persons living within
sight of the dome of the Capitol at Wash
ington who have never been inside Of the
building. and many living almost within
sound of the roar of Niagara who have
never seen the falls. If the sun or moon
rose but once in hundred years it would
be the greatest event of the century. Per-
sons born in the tropics who see snow fall
for the first time can hardly believe their
senses. If forest trees budded and leaved
but once in century the event would be
regarded as next 10 a miracle.
To come back to government by the peo-
the idea scarcely realize it's significance.
This can only be done by one born and
brought up where monarchism or abso-
lutism prevails. Intelligent foreigners Wis.
to excite their admiration and wonder,
but nothing so much as the manifold evil
dences and expressions of government of
the people, by the people and for the peo-
pie. They are profoundly impressed by
the absence of class distinctions, by the
freedom with which officials mingle with
the people and by the many evidences that
the latter are the source of all power.
While visiting at Albany, n. Y, few
days ago Mr.. WI Ting-fang, the Chinese
lature. In his brief remarks he referred to
the authority of the Chinese Emperor and
that of the various viceroys derived from
him and so passing down to other officials.
but he said they had nothing like a law
making body representing the people. He
said:
You see, in China we have about twenty
provinces, all governed by the imperial
government in the King. OF course his
power is delegated to the governors, and
these officers govern the different provinces,
but the governors and the officers have
almost actual power, subject TO the disap-
prevail of the sovereign, to legislate what
| is proper for the welfare of the province.
But to thing of this kind-that is
power being delegated to the people to legis-
late for the welfare of the people in the
province, that is unknown i'm China. So
L say IL would be a good thing for us to
| take lesson from you. because then, you
| see. all the wants of the people would be
known.
The intelligent Chinaman could see the
| fundamental difference between absolute
government and government by the peo-
| pie. Looking at the matter from another
| point of view an intelligent German arti-
san who has been experimenting the erec-
| ton or the bronze candelabra around the
| soldiers monument was praising the monu-
ment as the finest and most impressive in
| the world. ''Oh," he said. 1--WE have fine
and costly monuments in Germany, but
| they are not for the people. They are in
| tended to glorify the monarchy or COM
memorate some great battle or dynasty.
They do not represent the idea of popular
government or of popular gratitude as this
| does. This is a peoples monument" The
| speaker was not a statesman nor a pub
| licist, but he got at the gist of the whole
| question. European monuments represent
absolutism, while those in America repre-
sent government of the people, by the peo-
| rle and for the people. This great idea
should never be allowed to become obso-
| lete through familiarity.