Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1906-05-17
THE COMING STRUGGLE
Individual Rights Versus Com
munity of Interests.
WHITTIER ARE WE DRIFTING

Republican Doctrine of Centralized
Government Leads to Socialism,.
Democratic Party the Only Bulyvark
of n Free People Against
That
The eventual struggle in this country
will be between individualism and So
cialism, and the Republican party, with
Its persistent efforts for Capitalization.
Is to blame for the growth of the So
cialistic propaganda. The Democracy
has always stood for the freedom of
the individual and home rule and oD-
posed to the paternalistic and Hamilto-
MAN theory that the federal govern
ment must be all powerful. The con-
stitutional provision that all rights not
granted by the states to the general
government are reserved to the states
and the people is the fundamental doc
trine Of the Democratic party. Jeffer-
son, the apostle Of the Democrats, de-
clared this, and no true Democrat has
ever gainsaid it.
Mr.. Bryan, who has been accused by
the Republicans Of socialism, shows by
his conservative views in his article ell
titled, ''Individualism versus Social
ISM" in the Century Magazine for
April, his own and the Democratic DO
sition. In that article he says: much
Of the strength developed by socialism
Is due to the fact that Socialists advo-
cate certain reforms which individual
lists also advocate. Municipal ownership
Of monopolies, for instance. is advocated
by individualists because it is practical
ly impossible to have more than one
| water system in a city, and by the lat
ter Oh the general ground that govern
ment should own all the means of pro-
duction and distribution.
Mr.. Bryan remarks that the senti-
ment for municipal lighting plants is
not yet so strong, and the sentiment
in favor of public telephones and street
car lines is still less pronounced; but
the same general principles apply to
them, and individualists, without ac-
cepting the creed Of socialism, can ad-
vOcate the extension of municipal own
ership to them" he further shows
plainly the evils to the individual citi-
| zen of socialism when he says: "If the
government operates all the factories,
all the farms and all the stores. there
must be superintendent as We'll as
workmcn; there must be different
kinds of employment, some more pleas
ant, some less pleasant and he asks:
els it likely that any set Of men can
distribute the work or fix the comDen-
sation to the satisfaction of all, or
eve to the satisfaction Of a majority
of the people?'
How great, therefore, is the gulf be-
tween the Democracy and the Social
lists, who believe in concentrating all
power in the central government,
whereas the Democrats stand for the
utmost freedom Of the individual citi-
zen without infringement upon the
rights of others.
The trend of Republicanism is to
rush to congress for a cure for political
evils; to overlook, and even aid, eXecu-
tive usurpation yer the representa-
tives of the people; to favor trusts and
corporations who in return have fur
nished money to corruptly keep their
friends in power. The Democratic doc
trine is exactly opposite and is ex-
pressed by Equal rights to all and
special privileges to none" Without
the Democratic party, which alone
offers all classes equal rights, there
would be a certain hurrying of the I'M
thinking to the extreme of appropriate
ing all the means of production and
distribution by the national govern
ment, so that ultimately there would
be no incentive for individual effort.
The c~onfiscation of the property of
those who, by saving or superior abil-
ity, had secured a competence would
follow the appropriation of the prop
erty Of those who had amassed mil
lions.
The Democrats are striving to curb
and control by equitable laws the
trusts, the corporations and individuals
who are mOnOpOliSts, so that the hum
blest citizen shall have equal opportu-
nifty with them, and the first step in that
direction is to abolish the special privi-
leges that the Republican party has
granted it's favorites.
Tobacco Monopoly.
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