The Tucson citizen., 1902-03-29
The DEMOCRATIC POSITION.

government assisting the Deet sugar
industry" and also what objection
you have u helping American ship
ping interests 10 take the ocean carry
ing trade away from England and
Germany" Mr. Furber volunteers the
opinion that the protective tariff has
built up this country and made it
prosperous" anu he would like to
know what the Democrats would do
II they had a chance
TO begin with. We must inform Mr..
Furber that the government is not an
eleemosynary institution. The people
must support the government and not
the government support the people.
In the last analysis the objects of all
government and of all men Is the
pursuit of prosperity. There are but
two ways by which prosperity can pos
sibly be attained production or plum
der. The very essence of Democracy
is a belief that the only reliable and
labor expended on the earth or on the
products of the earth; that the whole
functions and resources Of good gov
ernment are exhausted when industry
is encouraged to the utmost by secur-
ing to every man the fullest enjoyment
of the property which he produces.
Democracy. in fine, is the pursuit of
prosperity by industry. All other con
ceptions of government. whatever de-
scriptive titles they may adopt, are
imperialistic in greater or lesser de-
gree. because each one of them con-
templates the use of government for
plunder in some form or other
In this country our Republican i'm
whole people for the benefit of a few
favorities as the protection of Ameri-
can industry or the encouragement
Of American shipping. while the con-
quest of the Philippine islands and
the organization of syndicates to ex-
poit them Is described as the uplft-
ing of weaker races or the discharge
of the white mans burden But what
ever terms may be used to describe
the operation, Democracy holds 1t to be
certain that the granting of any favor
by the government to one person nee
ccssarily involves the plunder of an.
other
A few moments reflection ought tC
convince Mr.. Furber that this prin-
ciple is incontrovertible Government
of itself can create nothing 1t cannot
by any exercise of its functions force
a stone from its bed or take an ounce
of ore from a mine or make a barren
field fruitful. Since government car
create nothing it has nothing of it:
own to bestow. If it undertakes tc
enrich one citizen, the things which
it gives him it must take from an.
other. Government, therefore, cannot
be generous and just at the same time
for if it be generous to one it must bt
oppressive to another. If it have {
favorite it must have a victim ant
that government only is just which has
neither faVorites nor victims. Demo
cracy may be defined as the impartial
ity of government.
There being no source of treasure
open to the government but the poe
kets of the people, whenever it un-
dertakcs to favor a class It obviously
betrays the determination to rob the
multitude, A protective tariff stripped
of All verbiagc means that a farmer
must give two bushels Of wheat for a
pair of stockings, which under former
conditions he could get for one, which
is the use of the taxing power to rob
many men of the property created in
their sweat and toll for the benefit of
a few men who have proved their per-
sistency in the lobbies of Congress.
The grant of a subsidy to ship own
ers Is simply a contribution from the
Treasury to the expenses of those who
need transportation facilities across
the sea. Ii such system were now in
operation it would simply mean that
every miner who sweats in the bowels
OF the earth, every brakeman who
shivers at midnight on top of freight
car, every farmer who tolls in the field
must contribute from their earnings to
the expenses Of the few tourists who
are spending the winter months on
the shores of the Mediterranean. visit
ing the cities OF southern Italy. ex-