The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-11-06
LONDON DISCUSSES
 OUR CIVIL DUTIES
LARGE TURN VERElN AUDIENCE GREETS THE SPEAkER-AD- DRESS LISTENED TO WITH EAGER ATTENTION.
Continued from Fifth Paee)

| continued rom FiItH Fd9C1 |
 granting of equal civil liberty to a negro
 does not give him any social -ight or
 standing; 1t simply gives him that same
 measure of justice under the law .hat it
 gives a white man. His social status is
 fixed by society and not by government,
 or the laws.
 l I ardently favor the maintenance of the
 integrity of the white race as essential, 1 but 1 think one of the safest and surcst means of preserving the white race IS that
 we do justice to the negro, by according
 to him the rights which we say by our
 laws he shall have
 It can hardly be doubted at this day
 that virtue or morality, in the words of Washington, Is "a necessary spring of popular government" and it's superstruc- ture to be secure, must rest upon the foundation of private morality. It has always been accepted as true, however
 variant may be the meanings conveyed by the word, that what is termed the
 virtue or moral sense of a people is the true test of their civilization. Religion and philosophy here agree-the inspired writers, the poets, and the philosophers
 of all ages, in text, adage and maxim,
 assert it, in varng forms, and l think we
 may with confidence say that human ex- perience has demonstrated it's truth Out of this must come our sense of duty
 and obligation and hence 1t is the meas ure of our progress. We are not made
 good by laws, for our laws are but the
 expression of public opinion, and are good
 only as their makers are virtuous.
 If the laws of any state or nation are
 bad or badly administered, we instinct lively say the people of that state or nation are backward
 Preserving Liberty. The enjoyment of this liberty imposes
 upon us the duty of preserving it. God
 grants liberty" said Daniel Webster, always ready to defend it." And Thom- as Jefferson says Eternal vigilance is
 the price of liberty" All power is a
 trust, and so 1t is that our forefathers,
 having assured this liberty to us through
 blood and suffering, we hold 1t in trust and the duty and burden Is imposed upon
 us to defend and preserve tito keep sacred this great trust, to guard it with
 unceasng vigilance, and to defend it from all assaults should be so dear to
 our hearts as to make the performance
 of this our highest duty, the most agree
 ble and satisfactory part of our lives. The highest court of the land has de-
 clared that civil liberty exists only where
 every individual has the power to pursue his own happiness according to his own views, unrestricted, except by equal, just and impartial laws" Which but affirms what we have written down for ourselves in our constitutions
 Each individual must have like right, and therein Is the equality which is es- sental When we speak of equal civil rights, that Is all we mean Each indi- vidua1 must have a like showing or op-
 portunity-equal and exact justice, MT.
 Jefferson terms 1t. Deprive any one per son or any class of persons of his or
 their liberty or freedom, and you destroy
 the equilibrium you get the government
 out of plumb, 1t were, and gradually.
 it may be, but surely, you topple the
 whole fabric and 1t falls to the destruc-
 ton of the liberty of all.
 Why all this feeling of unrest among
 the people, in respect to the railroads, and the great combinations of capital
 which exist by the favor of the people, and presumably for their benefit? Every. one knows 1t Is because the great power given by the public has not been exer- cised by Its possessors equally and justly.
 Individuals and localities have been fa- vored; classes have been created and thus the common rights of all have been de- feated
 The legislature Is by the constitution denied the power to take either life, lib- erty or property of the individual. It
 would be monstrous, if the legislature could. at it's will. deprive any individual
 of his life, liberty; civil liberty would cease to exist, no one would be safe. and
 in self-defense, and in common defense.
 the people would rise up and overthrow
 this tyranny. It would shock our sense
 of morality and justice for the legislature
 to attempt by its mere dictum. or law, to take one mans property and give it to another
 So, If the legislature should say that only certain persons or classes of per sons should pursue certain avocations or callings. or be permitted to make certain contracts which before that time. had been for time immemorial the common right of all; it would require no argument to show that it had thereby attempted to deprive all. except the classes ex- cepted of their common fundamental 1 liberty, and so your courts would de- clare. Legislation of this character would | lead to monopoly in it's worst form. This l is just what the great combinations of | wealth are guilty of, and of which we so l loudly and justly complain.
 The Trust.
 The railroads say you shall not have equal rates because you are not as large i shipper as some other man: the meat l trust says you shall neither slaughter nor
 sell meat, except on its terms. on pain of
 refusal by 1t to supply your demands
 the to>acco trust dictates the price of leaf
 tobacco the farmers have to sell, and the
 price at which the dealer must sell it,
 when manufactured, and refusal to com ply with it's dictates means that the
 dealer can get no tobacco. The Standard 1 oil company originated this idea of con- trolling the price of crude and manufac-
 tured products. It Is now made manifest
 that these unlawful combinations and eXactions were made possible only by the violations of the law of equal liberty, l by the railroads.
 | A combination of merchants, under the | guise of projections says that you, as u | consumer. shall not buy certain classes l of goods, except from certain class of
 merchants. under penalties which impose serious loss
 l combination or organization of labor, | made for the mutual aid and protection, says to one that you shall not sell your | labor, and to another that you shall not | buy it. except terms which we im- | pose. and violation of its rules win re- | suit in loss of character and standing among his fellows to the one, and loss of