Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1907-09-01
DEMOCRACY
is POSITIVE
JUDGE DILLON DEFINES PARTVs
PRINCIPLES
ADDRESSES DEMOCRATIC CLUB
BANQUET
1--WE Oppose" He Says, "class Legls-
Iation, Tariff for Protection, and
Combinations to Restrain
Trade and Labor"


of enthusiasm was aroused by Judge
Dillon's speech on why / Am Demo-
GRAFT" About two score of the mem
bers and their friends gathered around
the table in honor of the eminent jurist.
Judge r. j. Adcock presided as toast
master, and in introducing Judge Dii-
| Ion he told in few appreciative re-
marks of the honored guests career as
! district attorney.
! Mr. Dillon said in part:
1T am a Democrat because l believe
| in popular sovereignty, That is the
meaning of the word. A nation there
fore which is governed by and for the
people is a Democracy.
"An o1igarchy is a government by
and for the few. In all aristocracs
power is the accident of birth. Mon
arches are ruled by kings and mobiles
and plutocracies by the rich.
TT is the fundamental doctrine OIL
the Democratic party that the people
are the source of all power We accept
| he declaration of independence as our
ll,olitical faith. 1t was written by
! Democrat and is still the best express
Zion of the rights of man. We are
called .sticklers for the constitution
and strict constructionists' because we
are opposed to the Capitalization OF
power in Washington. and because we
| iealousIy guard against every invasion
of the rights reserved by that instru-
ment to the several states.
Equal rights to all, special priv
iIeges to none is the grandest of all
the maxims of Democracy and this
alone would compel my adherence to its
| faith, even If 1t had no other. 1t is
| Fundamental all embracing and con-
| tains within 1t the principle which has
| given to our party all the power ana
glory 1t has enjoyed in the past, ana
contains within 1t the potency OF its
future usefulness and success.
| From our positive beliets THESE
negative ones follow:
Democracy is opposed to
"Class legislation,
Tariff for protection,
Combinations in restraint OF trade,
Combinations in restraint of. labor.
/ Democracy demands that every
grant of power and privilege which has
been made to corporations shall be held
| and exercised under strict control, and
that such franchises shall always be
subject to recall by the people.
Democrats Not Anarchists
81 am "a Democrat because that po-
litical faith Is positive. 1t Is not the
party of negation. Democrats are
neither anarchists nor socialists. we
believe in law and order We believe
this is a government of laws and not
of men Our public officers are not our
rulers They are our public servants
1t is their duty to execute the laws
which the people make.
"At the same time we believe In lib
erty a liberty that is not license. bu
one so wide that every man shall have
the right to do as he pleases so long az
in the doing thereof he infringes no
the equal right of every other man t
do as he p1eases.
"a Republican friend Of mlne whel
he listened to this confession Of my pc
litica1 faith. said: we also believe thu
same thing But my rejoinder was tina
the devil also believed and trembled a
the wrath to come. Many Republican:
believe these principles because they are
so fundamentally true as to be almos
automatic But 1t is one thing to believe
and another to practice what you believe
1.-THE Republican party believes in equa
rights to all and special privileges tc
none, and then goes its way and enacts
a tariff law by which one class of our
people are grievously taxed in order thai
a favored few may pile up fortunes with
which to further Cypress the consumers,
while at the same time they sell their
manufactured goods to foreign countries
cheaper than they sell to us.
"Following out the same line of hypoc-
risy the party in power has enriched its
| lands. our coal. our iron and our timber,
and in consideration of campaign funds
has turned loose lot of men especially
! franchised to prey upon the people like
| wild osasts
HAS the world ever witnessed such
corruption as Is being exposed at this
time? Let us devoutly thank Cod and
/ Mr.. Heney that one of them was con-
victed last night. The Republican party
cannot escape responsibility for these
high crimes and misdemeanors because II
not only made the laws which made these
outrages possible, but it's favorite SONS
and trusted officers are the guilty men.
Republicans Not Sincere
Courts and legislatures, state. county
and municipal governments. have laid
down In the mire and allowed this polit-
ical juggernaut to pass over them
THE party In power, like Judas. has
sold its master 1or money In this state
many good men and true are trying to
escape the wrath 20 come by organizing
/ a Republican side show under the power
full names of Lincoln and Roosevelt and
are now trying to convince people that
I'VE didn't do it,
"The S. p. company and its alphabet
! ical and unspeakable Boss Parker will
disappear from their political haunts for
a little while anu the people will be told
tHaI. Incy HdVcN DeSIl -TttlTtQI |DuSl-
ness. The people may be foolish enough
to believe it and put the new gang into
office. If dhey do it will be because they
| have no other party to which they can
turn with confidence for relief.
For forty and seven years the Demo-
cratic party has been wandering in the
wilderness as scapegoat because of
the sins of others. Once. under the lead
ership of Samuel ]. Tilden 1t came within
sight of the promised land. only to be
driven back into the desert by force and
| fraud, while our Moses was being buried
on the mountain top. Twice under Grover
| Cleveland we entered In and tasted its
milk and honey. But we came. like Hes
slams. In the pay and under the leader
ship of Wall street.
True Faith Not Dead
Even yet the true faith was not dead
| 1t blazed up again among the farmers
and laboring men. The great middle
class. the men who comprise the toilers
and consumers. took up the fight They
met at CINCINNATI and reorganized
Democracy BY dropping the Greek and
adopting the English spelling they called
| it the Peoples party. 1t was a mighty
49,