Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1907-05-03

to develop, on behalf of the people a CO.
herent and powerful movement, a genuine
and representative nationality.
Two generations passed before the srC-
fnccd, Then came the civil! War. terrible
and bitter in itself and In its aftermath,
but a struggle from which the nation
finally emerged. united in fact as well as
name. united forever. Oh. my hearers, my
fellow countrymcn, great indeed has been
orr good fortune, for as time clears away
brother and made each look "as through n
glass darkly" at the other. we can all feel
the same pride in the valor. the devotion
and the feulty, toward the right as It was
given TO each to see the right. shown alike
ly the men who wore the blue and by the
men who wore the gray.
"Prcparc to Meet War;"
We cannot afford to forget the maxim
that Washington insisted. upon, that the
6urest way to avert war is to be prepared
to meet il. Nevertheless the duties that
most concern us of this generation are not
military but social and Industrial. Each
community must always dread she evils
which spring up as attendant upon the
very qualities which give it Success, We
Of this mighty western Republic have TO
grapple With the dangers that spring from
popular self-goyernment tried on a scale
inComparably yaster than ever before in the
history Of mankind, and from an Astounding
material prosperity greater also than any
thing which the world has hitherto seen.
At The moment. the greatest problem
before us Is how to exercise suCn control
over the business use of vast wealth, in
Insure ii not being used against the inter
est Of the public, while yet permitting
such ample Legitimate profits as will en-
courage individual initia'ive. 1T is our buSi-
ness to put a stop to abuses and to pre-.
vent their recurrence, without showing a
spirit of mere vindictiveness for what has
been done in the past.
This is the exact spirit in which this
country should move to the reform of cor.
porate wealth. The wrong-doer, the man
who swindles and cheats, whether on a big
scale or a little one. shall receive at our
hands mercy as scant as If he committed
crimes of violence or brutality. We are
unalterably determined to prevent wrong.
doing in the future, but we have no inten.
ton of trying to wreak such an indiscrimi-
nate vengeance for wrongs done in the past
as would confound the innocent with the
guilty. Our purpose is to build up rather
than to tear down. We show ourselves
the truest friends Of property when we
make it evident that we Will not tolerate
the abuses of property
We are steadily bent on preserving the
Institution of private property, we combat
every tendency towards reducing the peo-
pie to economic servitUde, and we care
not, whether the tendency is due to a sinis-
ter agitation directed against all property,
or whether it is due to The actions of those
members of the predatory classes whose
anti-social power is UNNECESSARILY increased
because of the very fact that they possess
wealth.
'Decds Not Professions"
We base our regard for each man on the
essentials, not the accident. We judge him
not by his professions, but by his deeds, by
his conduct. not by what he has acquired
of this worlds goods. Other republics have
fallen because the citizens gradually grew
to consider the interests of a class before
the interests of the whole, for when such
was the case it mattered little whether it
was the poor who plundered the rich or the
rich who exploited the poor in either event
the end Of the republic was at hand.
We are resolute in our purpose not to
fall into such a pit. This great republic
Of ours shall never become the government
Of q noh