The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1909-08-10
ami always will be, to replace 1t with

The nrSt thing we need IN tnis
country, as President Roosevelt so
well set forth In that great message
which told what he had been trying
to do for the American people, is
equality of opportunity for every
citizen. No man should have less,
and no man ought to ask for any
more. Equality of opportunity is the
real object of our laws and institu-
lions. Our institutions and our laws
are not valuable in themselves. They
are valuable only because they Sc
cure equality of opportunity for hap
piness and welfare for our citizens.
An institution or law is means,
not an end, means to be used for
the public good, to be modified for
the public good, and to be interpret
ed for the public good. One of the
great reasons why President Roose-
velt's administration was Of such
enormous value to the plain Ameri-
can was that he understood what st.
Paul meant when he said: "The let
ter killeth, but the spirit giveth life"
To follow blindly the letter of the
law, or the form of an institution,
without intelligent regard both for
its spirit and for the public welfare,
Is very nearly as dangerous as to
disregard the law altogether. What
we need Is the use of the law for the
public good, and the construction of
it for the public welfare.
1t goes without saying that the law
Is supreme and must be obeyed Our
civilization rests on obedience to law.
But the law is not absolute. . 1t re-
quires to be construed. Rigid con-
structiOn of the law works, and
must work, in the vast majority of
cases, for the benefit of the men who
can hire the best lawyers AMI who
have the sources Of influence in law
| making at their command Strict
construction necessarily favors the
great interests as against the peo-
pie, and in the long run can not do
otherwise. Wise execution Of the
law must consider what the law
ought to accomplish for the general
good. The great oppressive trusts
exist because of subservient lawmak-
ers and adroit legal constructions.
Here is the central stronghold of the
money power in the everlasting con-
f1ict of the few to grab. and the many
to keep or win the rights they were
born with. Legal technicalities sell
dom help the people The people,
not the law, should have the benefit
of every doubt
Equality of opportunity a square
deal for every man, the protection
of the citizen against the great con-
centratiOn of capital. the intelligent
use of laws and institutions for the
public good, and the conservation OF
our natural resources, not for the
trusts. but for the people; these are
real issues and real problems. Upon
such things as these the perpetuity of
this country as nation of homes
really depends. We are coming to
see that the simple things are the
things to work for. More than that,
we are coming to see that the plain
American citizen is the man to work
for. The Imagination is staggered
by the magnitude. of the prize for
which we work. If we succeed,
there will exist upon this continent
a sane, strong people, living through
the centuries in land subdued and
controlled for the service Of the peo-
pie, it's rightful masters, owned by
the many and not by the few If we
fail, the great interests, increasing
their control Of our natural resources
will thereby central the country more
and more. and the rights of the peo-
pie will fade into the privileges of
concentrated wealth.
There could be no better illustra-
ton of the eager, rapid, unwearied
absorption by capital of the rights
which belong to all the people than
the water power trust, not yet form
ed but in rapid process of forma-
ton. This statement is true, but
not unchallenged. We are met at
every turn by the indignant denial
of the water power interests. They
tell us that there is no community
of interests among them, and yet
they appear year after year at these
congresses by their paid attorneys.
asking for your influence to help
them remove the few remaining OBJ
stacles to their perpetual and COM
plete absorption Of the remaining
water powers. They tell us it has