The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1901-06-14
JUSTICE FIRST AND CHARITY
AFTERWARDS.
WI. Bryan in The Commoncrl

The literary sycophants who strew
rhetorical flowers in the pathway of
the successful, without inquiring into
the methods employed for securing
success. complacently throw the re
spOnsibility for failure in life upon
God, or Nature, or upon the man him
self. Is it the fault of God or of Ma
ture that children are driven into
factories at so early an age that their
bodies are stunted, their minds dwarfed
and the strength and usefulness of flu
ture generations lessened2 Is God or
Nature responsible for the laws which
permit this impairment of the man
power and woman power of the nation
The labor organizations have done
much to mitigate the evils of child
labor and to shorten the hours of adult
labor, but what encouragement have
they received from those who favor
government by injunction, oppose ar
bitration and denounce as disturbers of
the peace all who criticise existing
conditions
is it the fault of G cd or of Nature
that our tax laws are so made and our
tax systems so administered that the
poor man pays more than his share and
the rich man less than his share2
Is God or Nature to blame for the
substitute system which raises the pur-
chasing power of the dollar in the
hands of the money changer, while it
increases the burden of debt to the
man who owes and decreases the value
of property in the hands of the wealth
producers?
Is God or Nature responsible for a
paper money trust that makes the peo-
pie at large the victims Of private in
dividuals entrusted with the control
of the volume of currency?
Is God or Nature responsible for pri-
vate monopolies which corner the
markets extort from the people and
disburse the proceeds among the hold
ers of watered stock2
Is God or Nature to blame for the
substitution of force for reason and
might for right in government? Is God
or Nature responsible for the nation S
entrance upon career of conquest,
entailing upon the many the burden
and menace of militarism and. confer.
ring upon the few the benefits of ex-
plOitatiOn2
The United States court has coined
the larceny by law" and compared
with ordinary stealing this form of
theft may be called grand larceny; and
yet wholesale wrong doing is never
taken into account by those who as
sumo that all who are poor de-
serve their poverty and that all
who are rich earn their riches.
If one employs another to commit
robbery he is as guilty as if he
commits the act himself does it
change the moral character of the act
because the injury is done indirectly
instead of directly? Does it change
the moral character of the act because
the injury Is done through legislation
which he has secured. or in the absence
of some righteous law the passage OF
which he has prevented?
The accumulation of wealth by hon
est means is to be encouraged, but the
line must be drawn between honest
wealth-the reward of brain service
or muscle service rendered and preda
| tory wealth which defies the law OF
turns government itself into a machine
|
The indolent cannot expect plenty un
der any just form of government
neither can the vicious expect happi-
ness, but under bad laws those whC
work the hardest may enjoy the least
and those who labor least may have
the most
But the remedy:
! Give Justice to every creature-jus
tice i'll the methods of government
| justice in the distribution of the bur
dens of government justice in the
making of the laws, justice in the in
depreciation of the laws, justice in thu
execution of the laws. Justice frs
and charity afterwards
I Love as the antithesis of greed, vii
inspire both justice and mercy
In monarchy revolution is the Onl,
weapon Of the oppressed; under GU
form of government wrongs are righteC
by the ballot; but even here the longe
a necessary reform is della. ed the more
disturbance its accomplishment causes
Victor Hugo has described them al
the human race in misery. w
cannot afford to make people misera
BILE. Life is secure and property right
are respected in proportion as the PEG
pie find life worth living. Happy will
be the lot of all when each member o
society makes to society a just and ade
quate return for that which he receive
from society. Happy will be the 10
of all when each member of sOciet.
recognizes the indissOluble tie tina
binds together the highest and tn
lowest, the strongest and the weakest
the richest and poorest