Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1901-09-13

| lUlnDIfnnfE
sbiyi, 1chich, mistaking license Of action for
freedom, ,aisnan1es il liberty. The ablest
statesmen and iurists of all nations and
ages have clearly shown that license to
do wrong is never liberty. Cicero said
that ''men should seek for the interest of
all collectively, for, If each shall grasp
at his individual interest, all human
society will be dissolved" Blackstone,
the father of English law, writes that
1.-THE law which restraints man from
dong mischief to his fellow citizens.
though 1t decreases the natural, increases
the civil liberty OF mankind" Thomas
Jefferson, the author of the Declaration
of Independence, declares that "a wise
and frugal government IS that which
shall restrain men from iniuring one
another and otherwise leave them free
to regulate their own pursuits OF In
dustry and Improvement Thus we
might continue Indefinitely to quote the
opinions Of the ablest statesmen ana
iurists of civilization to prove that
liberty does not consist in permitting
each man to do as he wills. but in re-
stricting the individual from encroach.
ing upon the rights of others. Whenever
this principle has been dlsregarded
order has been turned into chaos, and
civilization turned backward toward
barbarism. A large portion of the Old
Testament is devoted to the history of
II great natiOn-Gods dealings with
them. This narrative has many important
lessons for other nations, and none more
important than this, that Israel was
progressive and prosperous whenever
its people were obedient unto wise leaders
and that national weakness, servitude
and debauchery inevitably followed
when there was no ruler In Israel, and
each man did that which was right in
his own right. That was ancient anarch-
! ism, the disregard of authority, throw
ing off of wholesome restrictions, and
the abandonment of every man to do
that which was right in his own sight.
During these latter days men have
hungered to repeat this experiment
under different names, but embodying
the same evil spirit whether baptized as
Communism, Nhilism or Anarchism.
They have tried and failed to gain con-
troll in France, Germany and Russia, and
now they have come into this fair land
of large privileges and planted their
octopus roots in our virgin soil. Across
the water the iron hand of government
has held them in subsection, prohibiting
their meetings, and suppressed their
printing, but here they have held open
meetings and proclaimed their lawless-
ness from the housctops. Aye, the man
who pardoned the leaders OF the Chica-
go rior. has since dominated the politics
of Illinois and factored largely IN
/ national politics.
! IYhot shall his Hation do ,rih those
/ RHO openy oppose The gOrerHmcd|
Danger is imminent and alarming
Throughout the South lynch law openly
and persstentlv prevails, not because
/ the negro will not get his deserts. but
because the populace are impatient for
the workings of justice. In our great
cities there are many who, disbeleving
in authority, promulgate their perniclous
views by open speech and printed page.
From the president down, men in posi-
tons of trust are made the object Of
/ Yillifyng by the press a. is no sovereign
of Europe and, as Europeans are wont TO
I believe, in a manner to endanger the
Republic. if not to prepare for Its ulti.
mate overthrow. Years ago De Tocque-
Vile predicted that "the growth of
the great cities would menace the Re-
public, unless order was enforced by a
standing army Sir Robert Peel eX-
pressed as his opinion that 1.-THE American
form Of government will fail to protect
life and property in crowded popula-
TONS" while Macaulay prophsied in
these words: AS for America, | APP
peal to the twentieth century. Either
some Caesar or Napoleon will seize the
reins of your government with a strong
hand or your Republic will be as fear
fully plundered and laid waste in the
twentieth century as Rome was in the
fifth, with this ditlerence-that the
Huns and NandalS who raVaged Rome
came from without her borders, while
your Huns and Nandals will be engen-
dered by your own institutions aud
within your own country We do not
believe that these predictions are coming
to pass, and yet in the light Of recent
experiences we are compelled to confess
that danger is so imminent as TO Call for
immediate, wise action.
one duty ,chich present conditions I'M
pose is more strenuous measures N de0ttn9
trih The criminal pauPerS rom other conn
tries, lrho here stir mp aittag0nisD, 10 The
gOrernment. Until less than quarter OF
a century ago the character of those who
came to our shores were such as to be
highly helpful to the country, composed
mainly of the sturdy, industrious middle
class-the backbone of nation. There
was the good natured, witty Irishman
the blue-eyed. industrious Swede, the
sturdy Scott, and the thoughtful Ger
man. We welcomed Kossuth witt
his eloquent appeals for his oppressed
people and generously contributed fol
their relief. But the gates must be clos
ed somewhere, and so we closed them tC
the Chinese on the Pacific coast, bu
neglected to close them to the crimina
poor and the insurrectionist from Italy
Russia, Poland and Spain. They have
come here with their lawlessness anC
have received, as nowhere else, tolera
ton and attentive hearing. In mos
countries of Europe their tire-brand
; would have been extinguished; but her
they have been permitted to carry then
and light the death-torches of their cas-