The Saint Paul globe., 1903-12-06
LOCK The DOOR.


commercial or business organization,
no one can read the mail arriving daily
at the newspaper Office, carrying its
burden of appeals for assaults upon
the public treasury. without wonder
ing where we are to end. For there
is an endless succession Of circulars,
petitions, appeals, addresses and mis-
cellaneous literature, the purpose OF
all of which is to secure the expendf-
ture of millions of the peoples money.
Two Of the most recent Of these
movements will illustrate the evils of
the whole. The people of the North
west are asked to turn in and help
get an appropriation of $4,000, 600 for
the improvement Of the upper Missis-
sippi. And from Washington we are
advised by the usual typewriter letter
from some interested party that Con-
gresham Brownlow has reintroduced
his bill for federal aid to good roads,
carrying an appropriation Of $4,000
600.
We select these two proposals be-
cause both relate to things that have
merit. AS far as the interests of navi-
cation can be served-and no further
the upper Mississippi should be i'm
proved. The roads of the coun-
try should certainly be revolution
lied. But in each instance the merits
Of the proposition fairly disappear be-
fore the gigantic raid that is pro-
posed upon the resources Of the peo-
PIE. Our ideas have become extended
by the imitation of the times. and lust
as there is no promoter SO mean
spirited now as to consent to float
company with less than three to five
millions of capital, so a politician or
an association fears to lose all chance
Of recognition unless public expendi-
ture OF from ten to fifty millions is
demanded.
We need to adapt our ideas to the
changed conditions Of the times. and
above all we need to put a check upon
the growing tendency to call upon the
federal government for uncounted
millions because their expenditure
may be of some strictly local benefit;
tendency that is responsible for the
rise OF appropriations to near the
billion dollar mark. Somewhere there
is time and a place for stopping.
and it occurs to US that the time and
place are here and now.
The increase in national expenditure
Is not the whole or even the worst of
the trouble. Take this good roads
matter, for instance. The object is A
worthy one. Much more than s24.-
100000 could be spent proftably upon
our highways. But the work is and
should remain one absolutely for local
authorities to consider and undertake.
state may properly appropriate
funds for highway improvement, to a
limited total, conditioned upon the ex-
penditure Of stated amount by the
counties where the work is done. The
general government should have moth
ing to do with it beyond the snlendid
work already done in aseertaining the
best methods Of road construction. and
In giving object lessons to the people
in that work.
Bad as is the piling up Of the hur-
dens that the general government has
to carry, dangerous as is the extension
and overlooking of the federal ma
chine, it is still worse to encourape
the people in the idea that thew need
DO little or nothing for themselves.
that whenever they want ANYTHING
they should run to Washington for it
and foist the labor and the cost upon
the nation by judicious combination
between their representatives and
those Of other communities eoualIv
anxious to shirk their proper responsi-
bilities. One of the helpful conse-
quences of a time Of lessened activity
should be cessation of centraliza-
ton on one side and OF the loss Of
manly fiber and Independence on the
other; and at least some return to-
ward the old. safe rule Of the republic,
that that system is best which limits
the activities and the power of the
central government to the narrowest
field consistent with the transaction
OF legitimate public business and the
proper maintenance Of the nations
dignity and power.
Gov -plact HarrinLr na Ola -. -.