Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1901-09-19

n 4 u iAD IA Ii LIZ IVA
lord in his palace. as well as the pea
SAINT in the field, must be nourished by |
the products of the farm. From the |
land must come the food and fiber
that supply human needs. Not only |
is the land the source whence must
come the necessities of life, but it is
the foundation of material prosperity.
With the development of agriculture
come commerce, wealth, power. Its
neglect has ushered in the beginning
of the decline of national greatness
and the downfall of kingdoms. The
frugal, temperate, industrious citizens
in rural homes are the anchors Of
safety to this nation. The plain coun-
try people accustomed as they are
to habits of industry and economy.and
removed from the dissipating, ener-
waiting, immoral environments that
follow the crowded city life, where the
supremacy of the home is lost, must
ever remain the source of the purest
and best citizenship. God bless the old
farm. 1t is where our fathers spent
| their useful manhood, and where many
of us first breathed the sweetest word
in any Language Mother"
Capt. S. 3. Evans.
The lands we see before US, less
than sixty years ago, were free to
those who had the energy to claim and
use them; the laws of the government
invited occupation, yet this territory
at that time was remote from the old
settlements, far away from the
centers of civilization and it was ne
cessary for those who came here to
lay the foundations of such state as
they desired, to do so amid conditions
that We're unfavorable for comfort
or convenience.
There was no glamour of romance
to gild the situation; it was task
of toll and privations; there was no
music of bands or thrill of oratory to
inspire them; they sang the simple,
old fashioned hymns of their religion
and found inspiration as they looked
upon the faces of their children, Tor
whom they sought home in the will
derness.
They were theoretically under the
protection of federal law but officers
were few and to large extent they
We're left to themselves, and to gov
ern themselves, by neighborhood reg.
ulations Among the very first of
their acts was the Acknowledgement
of the fundamental principles of JUS
tice, and to establish order, which
is the first law of heaven.
The statutes under which they liv-
ed did not cover all crimes but there
were unwritten laws to which they
gave loyal allegiance, and this was
enough to guide them in their deal
ings with each other; and public SEN
timent enforced the DEGREES of a
virtuous majority.
The early labors of these pioneers in
government bore fruit in the creation
, of state that is in harmony with the
ideals of the fathers of the republic.
The foundations therefore, Of the state
were laid in order, justice and in rec
! ognition of the right of the citizen to
, self government.
Is such government, thus estab-
lished, worthy of preservation?
If it be worthy of preservation, we
have the right as citizens to use all
necessary means to ensure its perpet
uity.
/ There are those in our midst who
, would destroy that government and
inaugurate reign of lawlessness
!. where each man shall be law unto
; himself One OF the members of that
propaganda has recently taken the
/ life of the President of the United
5 States with the hope that anarchy
: may prevail and we are now confront.
1 ed with the question; Shall such
. crimes be probable in the future, OF
: shall We take such measures as to
rid ourselves of the evil?
. When our land is threatened with
: plague, We have health officers who
: inspect each ship hailing from dan,
: gerous port, and they turn back those
E who are infected. We have quaran
! tines where suspected persons are
S held for strict examination. The
: right of preservation is thus estab
$ lished by precedent and points to US {
remedy when threatened with an in
e vasion of those who come to oul
J shores to inaugurate riot and revolu
/ ton. The right of congress to enact
laws regarding the landing of per
d sons whose presence may be prejudi
g cial to the health of the people S con
0 coded but it has also the right to turr
e back those who would come here tx
/ destroy the government under which
e We choose to live. The state also ha:
e the right to define crimes and to pre-
5 scribe punishment for those who
!, would destroy the very source from
l. which laws proceed.
The right of a government to live
= carries with it the right of self de
e tense; bearing in mind that the con
(. stitutional guaranty or free speecl
u does not imply that this is license t,
,. destroy the constitution itself; that
u peaceable assembling of the peopl
/ cannot be possible if its object be t.
a bring about reign of terror; and tina
4 q free press does not mean an engin
y OF war against the government.
u There can scarcely be limit Pre-
, scribed as to the right of any citizel
to criticise the acts of any admins
y tration of the government, which i
:. composed of a group of men who ar
IL not i1faliib1e but wa ara all ooroe