The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-08-17

or a law is q means. not an end, a
means to be used for the public good,
to be modified for the public good,
and to be interpreted for the public
good. One of the great reasons why
President R~oosevelt's administration
was of such enormous value to the
plain American people was that he
understood what ST. Paul mean when
ne said: The letter kilieth, but the
spirit giveth life" To follow blindly
the letter of the aw, or the form OF
an institution, without intelligent re-
gard both for it's spirit and for the
public welfare, Is very nearly as dan
| gerous as to disregard the law alto
gether. What we need is the use Of
the law for the public good, and the
construction Of it for the public well
fare.
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
requires 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 and who have
the sources of influence in law-mak-
ing at their command. Strict construc-
ton necessarily favOrs h great in
terests vas against the people, and in
the long run can not do otherwise.
Wise execution of the law must con-
slider what the law ought to accom-
plish for the general good. The great
oppressive trusts exist because of sub
servient lawmakers and adroit legal
constructions. Here is the central
stronghold of the mOney power in the
everlasting conflict of the few to
grab, and the many to keep or win
the rights they were born with. Legal
technicalities seldom 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 concen-,
trations of capital, the intelligent use
of laws and institutions for the public
good, and the conservation of our ma
tural 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 coun-
try as a nation of homes really de-
pends. We are coming to see that the
simple things are the things to work
for. More than that, we are coming
to see hat the plain American citizen
is the man to work for. The magma
ton is staggered by the magnitude
Of the prize for which we work. If we
succeed, there Will exist upon this con-
tinent a sane, strong people, living
through the centuries IN a land sub
dued and controlled for the service Of
the people, 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 re-
sources, will thereby control the coun-
try more and more, and the rights of
the people will fade into the privileges
Of concentrated wealth.
There could be no better illustra>
ton of the eager, rapid, unwearied alb
sorption by capital Of the rights which
belong to all the people than the water
power trust, not yet formed. but in
rapid process of formation. This
statement is true. but not unchal-
lenged. We are met at every turn by
the indignant denial of the water power
interests. They tell us that there is no
community of interest among them.
and yet they appear year after year
at these Congresses by their paid at
tOrneys, asking for your influence to
help them remove the few remaining
to their perpetual and COM
plete absorption Of the remaining
powers. They tell US it has no
significance that the General Electric
interests are acquiring great groups
of water powers in various parts OF
the United States, and dominating the
power market in the region Of Zach
group. And whoever dominates
power, dominates all industry. Have
you ever seen a few drops or OF! scat
tered on the water spreading until they
a continuous film. which put
end at once to all agitation Of the
surface. The time for us to agitate
question is now, before the separ-
circles of centralized control spread
the uniform, unbroken, nation
covering Of a single gigantic
trust. There will be little chance Tor
mere agitation after all. No man
at all familiar with the situation can
doubt that the time for effective pro-
test is very short. If we do not use
it to protect ourselves now, We may
very sure that the trust will give
hereafter small consideration to the
Of the average citizen when
in conflict with it's own.
The man who really counts is the
American citizen. This is the
man for whom the Roosevelt policies
were created, and his welfare is the