Los Angeles herald., 1908-09-08

ment upon its sphere of activity. The
| Judge reseiits any attempt of the legis-
lator or of the executive to usurp the
functions of the court; the executive
resents any attempt of the court or OF
the lawmaker to enter his domain, and
the lawmaker is equally insistent upon
the preservation of his independence.
If there ie any time or place where a
jury is needed, IL is in a case of In
direct contempt. It Is not strange that
abuses have crept In, for a man would
have to be more than human to unite in
himself the deliberation of the legis-
lator, the zeal OF the public prosecutor
and the impartiality of the judge.
While the laboring men have been
the first to complain of this denial of
the right OF trial by jury in cases of
indirect contempt, 1t ought not to be
considered labor question. The jury
system is so essential to the adminis
trAtion of justice that the subject ought
to appeal to all who make a study or
the science of government. If citizens
would only be on their guard against
the beginnings of evils, IL would be very
easy to apply necessary remedies, but
in the struggle for existence the voters
are often Indifferent to the application
Of an erroneous principle until repeated
applications establish a custom, and In
time a custom crystallizes into law.
1t behooves us, as lovers of our coun-
try and as the friends of liberty, to
insist upon the independence of the diff
ferent departments of our government
and upon the maintenance of the rights
which have been shown by experience
to be essential to freedom and self
government. The jury system must be
preserved, and we cannot hope to pre-
serve 1t IL, for any reason or under any
pretext, we permit any citizen to be de-
MED the protection which 1t furnishes.
According to the Declaration of In
dependence, governments are instituted
among men to secure to them the en-
toyment of their inalienable rights.
Among these inalienable rights three
are specifically enumerated-life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness. The sec
ond and third, however, are really parts
OF the first, for life means nothing to
the individual If it Is confined to mere
animal existence. Man Is distinguished
from the brute in that the latter mere
ly eats and sleeps and dies, while man
is endowed by the Creator with in
finite possibilities. Liberty is neces-
sary for the realization of mans pos
sibtlities. His conscience must be left
free that he may fix for himself the
relation between himself and his God.
His mind must be left free that he may
devise and plan for himself. for his
family and for his fellows. His speech
must be free that he may give to the
world the results of his Investigations
and present to others the ideal which
he is trying to realize in his work. His
pen must be free that he may scatter
seed thoughts to the uttermost parts
of the earth and leave to posterity a
record of his work. He finds in gov
ernment the cheapest as well as the
surest protection of this liberty to be,
to think, to speak, to act.
Ax,I rI.ak -
happiness? Man must have home and
and society. He must
have food or he will starxe. He must
have clothing and shelter; he must
have books, he must have instruments
with which to work. He must provide
during the period of strength for the
years when age dulls his energies and
benumbs his hands. He may have ann
bition, he may have willingness to
work and an environment that spurs
him on; but the government may en-
courage or 1t may discourage his eff
forts. Government may bid him hope
or leave him to despair.
ToIIers Unprotected
When I visited the valley of Jordan
I learned that it is fertile and pro-
ductive, and yet, instead of being cul
tivated like the valley of the Nile. vast
stretches of territory lie untitled. Why?
I was told that under the reign of the
sultan the toiler is not protected in the
enjoyment of the fruits of his toll. If
the farmer plants and tends his crop
the rowing Bedouins will sweep down
from the hills at harvest time and
carry away the fruits of his industry.
If the government does not assure to
the individual the enjoyment of the re-
suit of his effort, there is no stimulus
to industry.
We have the best government on
earth. 1t gives the largest liberty. the
greatest hope and the most encourage
ment to the citizens, and yet even in
this country it is always necessary to
be on the watch to keep the instrument
talities of government from being
turned to private gain.
One of the great problems of today
is to secure an equitable distribution |
of the proceeds of toll. The material !
wealth of this country is largely a
joint product; in factories few people
work alone, and on the farm a certain |
amount of cooperation is necessary |
Where men work together the army |
organization applies to some degree; |
that is, some direct, others are direct |
ed The difficulty has been to divide |
the results fairly between the captains |
of industry and the privates In the !
ranks. AS the dividing is done largely |
by the captains 1t is not unnatural |
that they should magnify their part |
and appropriate too large share; |
neither is it unnatural that there |
should be complaint on the part of the |
toilers who think that their recon-
pense is insufficient.
The labor question, therefore, as 1t |
presents itself at this time, is chiefly |
a question of distribution, and the leg
islation asked for is legislation which !
will, secure to each that to which his
services entitle him. AS legislation is
secured through the ballot every one
should use the ballot to obtain the
legislation necessary. The Democratic
platform presents the ideal toward
which the Democratic party is striving,
justice in the distribution of
rewards. The Democratic party pro-
claims that each individual should re-
ceive from society reward for his toll
with his contribution to
the welfare of society, and unless some
other party can do the work begun, the
Democratic party ought to have the
support of all, whether they belong to
the wage earning class or occupy posi-
tions in which they direct the efforts of
others. If an officer in TIE industrial
army were sure that his children and
his children's children would inherit
his position he might feel possibly in