The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1907-12-13
THE POINT OF VIEW.
Democratic and Republican Positions
on Several important Questions,
Contrssted

! bptttHi NV @Hi
am glad to note the growth OF
reform sentiment in the Republican
party, but the difference between
the Republican reformer and the
Republican standpatter is illus
trated by a story which | recently
heard. A man told me of q visit
which he made when a boy to a
backwoods ueighborhood where the
members of a certain sect still be-
lieved that the earth stood still.
After several had expressed them
selves on the subject one member
was called on who had travelled
enough to become skeptical on the
question. Closing one eye and
looking wise, he said: Well, she
may move, but if she does she
moves mighty little One of the
others rebuked him and said: You
fool She is either standing stock
still or she is going like blazes'
The Republican reformer having
travelled little and gathered in
SEPARATION from the Democrats, is
willing to admit that there ought
to be little reform, but the stand
patter is quite sure that if we do
not stand stock still we will soon
be going like blazes."
Mr.. Bryan then took up his sub
ject and proceeded to present the
democratic view and the aristo.
cratic view of government-Jeffer-
son being the representative Of
those who view government from
the standpoint of the whole people,
and Hamilton representing those
who view it from the standpoint of
those who deny the right and the
capacity of the people to self gov
eminent. He showed how this
difference in the point of view nc.
counted for the position taken by
different people on questions re.
latiug to the methods of govern.
ment. He insisted that the Demo
cratic party looked at government
from the Jeffersoniau point OF
view, while Republican leaders
were more Hamiltonian, and leaned
toward Capitalization.
He next presented the Democrat.
ic and Aristocratic view of society,
saying that the Democrat regarded
society as constructed from the
bottom, while the aristocrat thought
it constructed from the top. The
Democrat" he said, believes that
ii you will only legislate so that
the people will be prosperous, their
prosperity will be shared by the
small classes that rest upon the
people; the aristUcrat believes that
if you will only legislate to make
the well to do prosperous, their
prosperity will leak through on
those below. You cannot make n
man admit that he is all aristocrat,
but you can prove it on him by the
view he takes of public questions.
When | want to ascertain a mau S
point of view, tell him the story
Of Lazarus and Dives. If he is a
Democrat he regrets that there is
any one who is compelled to live on
crumbs and begins to devise some
remedy that will enable each one to
have table of his own and not be
dependent on the crumbs that fall
from the table of another. RI he
is an aristocrat he says, What a
lucky thing it was, Lazarus, that
there was Dives near This is
no imaginary test. II is a very
practical one. You will find that
the Democrat looks at public cues.
tons from the standpoint of the
masses and asks what will be best |
for the people as a whole, while the
Republican leaders eulogize the
captains Of industry aud regard
the employer as q sort of trustee to
whom the government shonld civ.
all that is intended for the EN-
ployes.
Why do Republican leaders favor
centralizationi Because the great
corporate interests want to get
away from State legislation. The
Democrats believe that the govern
ment should be kept as near the
people as possible and want Federal
remedies added to, not substituted
for, State remedies.
Why do the Republican leaders
prevent effective legislation against
the trustsf Because they look at
The question from the standpoint of
The trust magnate, while the Dem
)crats look at the question from
The standpoint Of the millions who
are victimized.
Why do the Republicans favor
nigh tariff laws which tax eight,