The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-11
Principles of Liberty.

the people. by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
 Principles of Liberty.
 Shall we not today consecrate for the further perpetuation of the principles of American liberty and a constitutional form of government. purchased at the cost of the blood of patriots? In this hour when there seems to be a disposi- ton to depart from the established forms, when there seems to be a desire upon the part of those in authority to abide in a central bureaucracy, rather than in a representative democracy-it becomes you and me to protest against any de- parture whatsoever from the form of government which came to us from the constitutional convention of 1lS7. and those amendments which have been made to it by specific will of the people.
 Our concern is not of the past, nor wholly with the present, but much with the future If the destiny of the repub- lie is in the hands of the American to- day, then it becomes him to be guided and governed only by patriotic impulse and the desire to do that which will most largely contribute to the permanency of republican institutions. Advancing our civilization so that we will not, by rec ognizing the false claims of selfish in terests and forgetting the American max
  the greatest good for the greatest num- Der. incur the penalty which other people have paid rather than let us hold over in mind those who framed our govern ment believed in the equality of the peo- pie and that the chief aim of the gov ernment is to maintain that equality. Prosperity of America. "Under our system of government the nation has reached a material develop ment hitherto unknown. The people have prospered beyond the dream of those who lived a century ago. But with the devel- opment of the country and changes in economic conditions and particularly with the growth of great private corporations. performing many of the functions of government has come the necessity for the exercise of strict governmental con- trol, and a rigid enforcement of all the laws enacted to restrain the rich and powerful from encroaching upon the nat ural and legal rights of the poor and weak
 'sThe marvellous foresight of the fathers of this country in framing the constitu- ton of the United States is shown by the fact that in spite of all the changes which have occurred in industrial and economic conditions. in spite of the unex- pected expansion of the country, the con- stitution has been found sufficiently fex-
 
 arisen Let us remember this, for the danger of today is that the American people may be lulled into a false security and, yielding to the demands of selfish interests. permit the breaking down or constitutional provisions, under which the American people have attained this wonderful degree of material prosperity and have yet maintained the individual liberty of the citizen.
 Ruin of Rome.
 "The constitution of the ancient re- public of Rome, which for 800 years had recognized the voice of the people as supreme was expanded by executive interpretation and contracted by execu- tive administration, until Rome has so completely outgrown it's democratic conditions as to become only tragedy and a tradition Let us implore the aid of Him on high to preserve us from the errors which ruined Rome, by the avoidance of which America may travel on to that destiny and realize that full fillment which will be the inspiration