The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-12-06

in the mass as the enemy of the other side in the mass Is both wicked and amnnn apomsn' in In the pas, the most direful brought about the downfall of republics fas ever been the growth of the class spIrit' the growth of the spirit which .enas to make a man subordinate the welfare of the public as a whole to the welfare of the particular class to which ne belongs, the substitution of loyalty 10 class for loyalty to the nation. s In,s inevitably brings. about a ten- dency to treat each man not on his merits as an individual. but on his po- sition as belonging to a certain class m the community. If such a spirit grows up In this Republic 1t will uiti- It has proved fatal to every communitv m which 1t has become dominant Un. less we continue to keep quick and .iveiy .y sense of the great Fundamental truth that our concern Is with the in- dividual worth of the individual man. this Government can not permanently hoid the place which 1t has achieved among the nations. The vital lines of cleavage among our people do not cor respond, and indeed run at right angles to. the lines of cleavage which divide occupation from occupa tion, which di- vide wage-workers from capitalists, farmers from bankers, men of small means from men of large means. men Who live in the towns from men who i've in the country; for the vital line of cleavage Is the line which divides the honest man who tries to do well by his neishbor from the dishonest man who does i'll by his neighbor. In other words, the standard we should establish Is the standard of conduct. not the standard of occupation, of means, or of social position. It Is the mans moral quality. his attitude toward inc great questions which concern all hu- manity, his cleanliness of life, his DOW CT to do his duty toward himself and towaf dothers. which really count; and if we substitute for the standard of personal judgment which treats each man arcording to hts merits another standard in accordance with which all men of one class are favored and ali men of another class discriminated against. we shall do irreparable damage to the body polite believe that our people are too sane. too self-respecting, too fit for self-government, ever to adopt such an attitude. This Govern ment Is not and never shall be govern ment by a piutocracy. This Govern ment is not and never shall be govern ment by mob. It shall continue to be In the future what 1t has been in the past, government based on the the oFy that each man. rich or poor, Is to be treated simply and solely on his worth as a man, that all his personal and property rights are to be safe guarded. and that he is neither to wrong others nor to suffer wrong from others.
 The noblest of all forms of govern ment is self government: but it is also the most difficult. We who possess this priceless boon. and who desire to hand 1t on to our children and our children's 's children. should ever bear In mind the thought so finely expressed by Burke Men arc qualified for civil liberty in exact proportion to their disposition to put moral chains upon their own ap- petites; In proportion as they are dis posed to listen to the counsels of the wise and good In preference to the flat terry of knaves. Society can not exist unless controlling power upon will and appetite be placed somewhere, and the less of 1t there we within the more there must be without. It Is ordained in. the eternal constitution of things that men of incorporate minds can not be free. Their passions forge their fet- ters"
 Insurance.
 The great insurance companies af. ford striking examples of corporatinns whose business has extended SO far which created them as to preclude l strict enforcement of supervision and regulation of the parent States Tn my last annual message I recommend- ed that the Congress carefully consid CT whether the power of the Bureau of Corporations can not constitutions aliv he extended to cover interstate transactions in insurance" Recent ! events have emphasized the impor' anca tion of this question. to sec whether 1t Is not possible to furnish better safeguards than the several States have been able to furnish against cor ruption of the isgrant kind which has been exposed. It has been only