Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1907-01-17
RIGHT TO HOME RULE.
The Great Reserved Power of
the People.
GENERALIZATION Is DANGEROUS

GENERALIZATION is DANGEROUS.
Constant Vigilance lis Necessary.
Our Complicated and Expensive
Government but of Small Aid to the
Individual.
Nothing should be so cherished by
che people of the United States as their
right 10 home rule. Any action by the
legislative, executive or judicial depart
ments of the federal government look |
ing toward increased Capitalization in
the hands of the federal government is |
a step toward decreasing the power Of
the people to govern themselves. Nor
should the people of any state view the
| encroacllmcnt of their state govern
ment with any less suspicion, for home
rule is a fundamental Democratic prin-
ciple. There is nothing so necessary in
a Democratic republic as the constant
vigilance of the voters to preserve and
if possible increase their own power to
direct their local government. 1t need
only be pointed out that the most vexa-
tious and irritating issues, such as
sumptuary laws, can best be settled by
allowing each county or township to
pass upon the question Of "wet'' or
"dry," high license or no license. Tax
alton for local purposes can only be
settled equitably in the same way. The
old town meeting is the place where
home rule started, and no better plan
has ever been devised to give each
sovereign citizen an equal right with
his neighbors to express his views and
vote intelligently on the matters that
directly interest him.
Directly the power to rule is dele
gated to others there is the tendency
to encroach upon the liberty of the cit
lien and to concentrate more power in
fewer hands. Our vastly increased pop
ulation has made it more and more diff
fcult to preserve home rule and has
tended to lead citizens to look to Il
higher power to do the things they
have neglected or feel unable to do.
The individual looks to the town or
ward, the town looks to the county, the
county looks to the state. and the state
looks to the United States to do what
would be irksome or expensive for the
lesser political subdivisions to do, but
which could be better done even by in
dividuals if they are public spirited
and act with energy. The further
away from home rule we get the
greater is the cost of government and
the more difficult to prevent grating
and corruption.
After all, government, whether town,
city, county, state OF national, can do
but little help to each individual. To
preserve the peace and punish evil
doors is almost the extent of the good
chinery. II the people had not gradu-
ally allowed the concentration of gov
ernmcnt in other hands but their own
there would be but half the taxes and
half the horde Of public officials suck
ing at their substance. There would
be no tramps and but few poor and
aged but what their friends and neigh
bors could care for. There would be
much less crime and litigation, fewer
lawyers, and hence laws would not be
made so complicated and intricate, but
more plain n simple. One-half the
judges would be unneeded. and jails
and reformatories would have fewer
occupants. There is a tendency that
should be stayed for individuals to run
to the mayor OF council OF state legis-
lature or even congress for assistance
or the right to do something nat they
ought not to do or to prevent their
%neighbors from doing what they in
herently have the right to do or might
do without injury to the public.
Personal and public ignorance has
led to most of the eX]crescences Of gov
eminent: but. O every one is becom-
ing educated in a measure. why cannot
we hold fast TO what remains Of sim
pie government and home rule instead
of making it more complicated and
concentrated? The federal government
has we'll defined powers granted to it
by the states. and all else is expressly
reserved to the states and the people.
The proposition to expand the consti-
tutional limits of the federal govern
ment and for the executive to do
things" that he has no power to do is II
dangerous innovation that should be
checked and curbed. An occasional
crisis may be reached in such Il strenu-
GUS manner, but it is very dangerous
to the republic and if allowed to le per
sisted in will break down all the safe
guards to the liberty of the individual
which our forefathers provided for so
carefully.
R~oosevelt's Pathetic Lament.