The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-10-25
lInele Jack and
biS nepbew. 81 ys Ssss'ss g.

CONVERSATION vIII.-(Continued
Nephew Dick-"But how am L TO
reconcile what you said, my dear I'M
Gle. in our last conversation, with your
violent TRADES against the democracy
of the country?"
Uncle Jack-"My dear Dick, it is one
of the most difficult things in the
world to make a despot understand how
we can oppose despotism without OPP
posing authority, or democrat under
stand how we can oppose democracy
without opposing liberty. There are
three simple forms of government, mon
archy, aristocracy and democracy.
Each of these forms, once adopted,
tends to become exclusive, and each
when exclusive. is despotic, as Mr.. Cal
houn, our greatest American statesman,
used so often to assert. and despotiSm,
whether of the one, of the few, or of
the many, is alike hostile to true lib
erty. In common with all the great
est authorities on the question, / re-
gard good government, civil govern
ment, | mean, as a matter of compro
mise between these three simple origi-
nal forms: and the wisdom of a civil
constitution consist in their nice adj
justment, in so balancing one cy an
cheney of the administration, but yet
SO as to secure an effective guaranty
of the just freedom of the subject Here
/ stand on true American ground, and
in accordance with the men who won
our national independence, and origi
nally framed our several constitutions.
Looking at our civil and political in
stitutions in the light of their origi-
nal character and intent, they seem to
me the wisest and the best that hui
mainly can expect, and hence it be-
comes the religious duty of every
American to preserve these institu-
tions intact in that original charac-
ter andrintent.
But / see. or seem to see, a strong
and overwhelming tendency in the
country, among politicians especially,
to render the democratic element ex-
elusive and to convert the government
of the country into a pure democracy,
which would if we had powerful neigh
| bors to contend with, very soon re-
solve itself into a pure military des-
potism. Everything tends to strengthen
this tendency. Demagogues and par
ties appeal to it, the press encourages
it, and it is more than any man
! political reputation is worth to oppose
it. He might as well attempt, by rush
| ing before it. to arrest the railroad
engine going at full speed. Here,
think, 1 see a most grave peril for our
republic.
Il have done something to admonish
my Catholic brethren of this peril,
and the great body of them are now
on their guard against it and prepared
to sacrifice their lives to preserve
| American institutions. When you con-
slider their numbers. every day in
creasing, as also their growing intelli-
gence, wealth and moral weight, you
might see that, if united with the more
sober and conservative portion of nom
| Catholics, they would be able to do
| much to check this dangerous tendency,
and to prevent you radicals from run
ming the noble institutions of the coun-
try. Liberty is never preserved but
at the price of eternal vigilance, and
what / have wished to impress upon
my countrymen is, that the danger to
our liberties does not come from the
side of conserva tism, but from that of
radicalism. But, unhappily, it is pre-
| cisely here that they do not, and will
not, understand me. Because 1 oppose
| radicalism they insist that I oppose
liberty and am hostile to the institu-
lions of the country. I would not mind
this on my own account, but it pre-
vents my warnings from being heard
or needed, and therefore 1 regret it.
This is not all. While L and my
friends are doing all in our power to
enlist the whole Catholic body on the
side of our institutions, and thus bring
to them most powerful support the
non Catholic portion of my country
men, even the conservative as well as
the radical, sympathize only with a
/ small party of nominal Catholics who
are governed by decided radical and
revolutionary tendencies and suffer the
most uncalled for and cruel movement