Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1907-12-13
SOME CHUNKS OF WISDOM.
A Fair and Dispationate Presentation of the
Issues Now Before the People
IELM Wash Dec 10 lul-

eSotiSm for what follows. | am simply
Il unit among the vast aggregation of
human bipeds who aspire to the natural
and political principles of Life. lib
eriy and the pursuit of happiness"
am not believer in total depravity,"
as taught in the churches, neither do
believe that man is infallible, and
moreover. ! believe most people are
prompted by nature to do right, rather
than wrong, if they know how. 1t is
ignorance of the laws of our being
and the laws OF our country that leads
us into trouble. Ii the masses would
read more of the history of past ages
and the different forms of government,
they would realize by comparison. that
We have the best system ol government
ever devised by Man 1t is simply per
version of those principles that leads
to confusion and disaster. No party
virtues of our political fabric. 1t is
equally true that the evils of politics
and the mistakes of legislators are the
common heritage Of all the parties
that have been entrusted with power,
but this is not the fault Of our basic
principles. but the fault of designing
demagosues or ignorant legislators.
Political parties in any country where
popular government prevails are a ne
cessity. Freedom of speech and free
dom of the press emphasize differences
of opinion and men naturally take
sides upon different issues and array
themselves against each other in blood
less combat. believe most men are
patriots, and by that term l mean a
love Of country and OF home and not
love of conquest, and the patriotic
spirit ought to prompt every man to
read and study and think and investi-
gate for himself The two leading
parties of the L. S. have promulgated
certain cardinal principles on which
they claim the support of the people
And l leave it to the intelligent voter
to Judge as to the merits of the prin-
ciples involved
The Democratic party contends and
always has cOntended. that all men are
created equal: that all men are en-
dOwed with certain inalienable rights.
among which are life. liberty and the
pursuit of happiness: that governments
are instituted among men to secure
these rights: that governments derive
their just powers from the consent OF
the governed.
the republic was founded and upon
whose permanence the integrity of free
government depends. stand in greater
peril today than at any time since they
were first declared. The party in
power, since the death of Lincoln has
pursued a course of uniform hostility
to these fundamental principles. 1t
has steadily led in the encrOachment
of the few, the rich, the favored. the
exclusive upon the declared rights of
the common people. The equality of
men before the law has been denied by
the leaders of the party, the right to
life. liberty and the pursuit OF happi-
ness. has been pronounced fiction and
the consent Of the governed" as pre-
requisite to just government, sneered at
in high places as an exploded fallacy
"All men are created equal does not
mean, of course, that they are equal
in intelligence for that is absurd on
account of environment, but that their
rights are equal before the law and
rights to life. liberty and the pursuit
of happiness. Under the &. o. p. ad-
ministration do they have it? Are
those rights secured to them? Have
the FilipinOs ever consented to be
governed by the U. S.? II they have
| haven't heard Of 1t. We have one
form of government for the Caucasians
living under the American flag and an
other for the Malays: republicanism
for Americans in Florida and 'bene-
VIOLENT disposition" for Americans in
Porto Rico The flag has become a
commercial asset
| Commercial greed has usurped the
temple OF Justice and Wall street and
the stock exchange dominates the halls
of Congress; the basic principles Of
our government are ignored that the
favored few, the privileged class. shall
revel in luxury. Never in the history
of the world. has MammOn been SO
fondly worshipped And l challenge
history to prove an era Of greater de-
bauchery. fraud and corruption than
has existed in the L. S, In the past
eleven years. Now why is this? Is
it because our government Is not
founded on the principles of Truth and
Justice? Oh. no. 1t is because those
lated, ignored and rendered void by
stealthy. vicious. premeditated, un-
scrupulous legislation. Take our tariff,
for instance. Who are the benefciar
les? Certainly not the common people
for they are the ones who pay 1t and
you can't tax the people rich. The
benefciaries are those for whose bene
fit the tariff is intended-a privileged
few; and 1t has made 'em millionarias
How? BY taking the money from the
pockets of those who buy protected
goods and putting it into the pockets
Of the parties protected or course.
any fool ought to know that it's a
simple case Of stand and deliver" All
the same highwayman, only its little
more genteel and not so liable to prose