The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1908-08-28

After call of the counties
showed no other candidate, Mr..
James Young. of Allegsny, plac.
ed the name of David j. Lewis
before the convention, and he
was nominated by acclamation
as the Democratic candidate for
Congress from the Sixth Congress.
siOnal District.
MR.. LEWIS SPEAKS.
The candidate was then intro
duced to the convention by the
chair and made brief address,
which was warmly received. In
brief it was as follows:
This is a Republican form of
government. The principal diff.
ference between it and q mon
archical government is in the
length of time that man can
hold an office. In monarchical
government officers appointed by
king hold Office for life. In
republic men hold Office for but
a brief stated period. and the
makers of our government fixed
on term of two years for a mem
ber of the House of Representa-
tives. 1T they thought it good to
have him hold it for eight, ten,
or twelve years, why should they
have provided for the election of
new representative every two
years! The truth is that a cer-
tain of regular change in the
personnel OF office holders is nee
essarye for a just and healthy re
publican form of government,
supplying with the new repre-
sentative not only new ideas, but
q new supply of the earnest
spirit to serve the people, and to
prevent stagnatlon; while long
office holding usually degener
ates into mere struggle to retain
the emoluments of the office. The
experience of mankind has shown
that orderly change and rotation
in office is necessary to the health
full administration and progress
of government; and this is a prin-
ciple of nature which the thought.
full farmer uses when he changes
the seed for his different fields,
to rotate his crops. There are
instances of public men of such
unusual ability and extraordi.
nary knowledge of public affairs
that the people as a whole may
well think that they would lose
in making a change, but these
cases are rare. Our Constitution
was plainly intended to break up
the monarchical idea of per-
sonal monopoly in Office, and for
this purpose requires an election
every..two years. And this prin-
ciple in the past has been fairly
well respected in the Sixth Con.
gressional District. l am in
formed that no individual having
held the office of representative
for more than four terms, as in
the case Of Judge McCOmas, who
was man of exceptional ability.
The present incumbent Of the
Office has already held it for five
terms, ten years. and for some
years under substantial protest
from his own party, and now
seeks to extend the unprecsdent-
ed number to six terms, twelve
years, half generation of unin-
terruptsd Office holding.
'In this he opposes not only
the wishes of large element of
his own party, the spirit and
healthy operation of Rspubli
can form of government. The
Office is in fact retained not as
the result of the spontaneous
wishes of the Republican party,
but by force of tactical or arti-
fetal majority, largely made up
from the organization and man.
agement of subordinate Office
holders, who are also opposed to
the limited term fixed by the law.
Let this method once be success
full and you have Mexicanized
the Sixth District only to intro
duce the habits of Mexican poll
tics, where Republican govern
ment has become nothing bnt an
empty name. Other questions,
there are which concern the couR.
try, as whole of which l shall
later frankly state my views but
the grave question as to whether
the representative from this
district is to hold the Office &C
cOrding to the spirit of q mon,
. archial or Republican form o.
government is one which only
the citizens of the Sixth Con
gressional District of Maryland
can decide"
SKETCH OF THE CANDIDATE.
David j. Lewis was born O
Welsh parents in Clearfield
County. Pa. in 1869. and ther,