Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1903-09-08

comes each of us, to greater or less
extent, feels the tension Unfortun-
ately, in this world the innocent fire..
quently find themselves obliged to pay
some Of the penalty for the misdeeds
Of the guilty; and SO If hard times
come, whether they be due to our
own fault or to our misfortune,
whether they be due to some burst Of
speculative frenzy that has caused a
portion of the business world to lose
its head-a loss which no legislation
can possibly supply-or whether they
be due to any lack of wisdom in a
portion Of the world Of labor lin each
case the trouble once started is felt
more or less in every walk Of life.
It is all-essential to the continuance
Of our healthy national life that we
should recognize this community OF
interest among our people. The vel
fare OF each Of us Is dependent fun
damentally upon the welfare OF all Of
us. and therefore in public life that
man Is the best representative OF each
Of us who seeks to do good to each by
doing good to all; In other words.
whose endeayor 1t Is, not to represent
any special class and promote merely
that class's selfish interests, but to
represent Ill true and honest men OF
all sections and all classes and to
work for their interests BY working
for our common country.
We can keep our government on 4
sane and healthy basis. we can make
and keep our social system what It
should be. only on condition Of judg-
ing each man, not as member OF a
class, but on his worth as man. It is
an infamous thing in our American
life, and fundamentally treacherous
to our institutions. to apply to any
man any test save that of his personal
worth, or to draw between two sets
Of men any distinction save the dis
tinction Of conduct, the distinc-
tion that marks off those
who do well and wisely from
those who do i'll and foolishly. There
are good citizens and bad citizens in
every class as in every locality, and
the attitude of decent people toward
great public and social questions
should be determined, not by the ac-
cidental questions of employment or
locality, but by those deep-set princi-
pies which represent the innermost
souls Of men,
The failure in public and In private
life thus to treat each man on his
own merits the recognition Of this gov
ernment as beng either for the poor as
such or for the rich as such, would
prove fatal to our republic, as such
failure and such recognition have
always proved fatal In the past to
other republics. A healthy republican
government must rest upon individuals
not upon classes or sect nns. As soon
ss It becomes government by a class
or by a section II departs from the
old American ideal.
II is, Of course. the mefest truism to
say that free institutions are Of avail
only to people who possess the high
and peculiar characteritics needed to
take advantage Of such institutions.
The century that has just closed has
witnessed many and lamentable in.
stances In which people have seized a
government free In form, or have had
It bestowed upon them, and yet have
permitted It under forms Of liberty to
become some species Of despotism or
anarchy, because .hey-did not haze in
them the power to make this seem.
ing liberty one Of deed instead Of one
merely of word. Under such circum-
stances thc seeming liberty may be
snppIanted by tyranny or despotism
lin The first place, or II may reach The
road III despotisn hy the path Of III
cense and anarchy ii matters but
little which road IS taken. In either
case the same goal Is reached. Peo-
pie show themselves just as unfit for
liberty whether they submit to an
archy or to tyranny: and class gov.
ernment. whether It be the goyeYn.