The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1909-08-11

do Tor the American people, is eqaul-
ity of opportunity for every citizen
No man should have less, and no man
ought to ask for any mor,. Edpialit,
of opportunity is the real object of our
laws and institutions. Our institutions
and our laws are not valuable IN
themselves. They are valuable only
because they secure equality of oppor-
tunity for the happiness ana welfare
of our citizens. An institution or n
law is m ~~s, not an end, a means
to be used z the public good, to be
modified f. e public goo I, and to be
| interpreted sr the public good
The g Il Not the Letter.
| "one re great reasons why
President s z osevelts administration
was of s. . enormous value 10 the
plain AM an was that ne under
stood VIII It. Paul meant when he
| said: t. letter killeth. but the
spirit Civ life To follow blindly
the letter OF the law, or the form of
an institution, without intelligent re-
gard both for its spirit and for the
public welfare, is very nearly as dam
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 1t for the public
welfare.
'Tt goes without saying that the law
i, supreme and must be obeyed our
civilization rests on obedience 20 law.
But the law is not absolute. Il 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 man who can
hire the best lawyers and who have
the sources of influence in lawmaking
at their command. Strict construction
| necessarily favors the great interests
as against the people, and in tn, lorg
run can not do otherwise. Wise ex-
ecution of the law must consider what
the law ought to accomplish for the
general good. The great oppressive
trusts exist because of subservient
lawmakers and adroit legal constitute
tons. Here is the central stronghold
of the money power in the everlast-
ing conflict of the few to grab. and
the many TO keep or win the rights
they were born with Legal techni-
calities seldom help the people. The
people, not the law, should have the
benefit of every doubt.
Square Deal for All.
Equality of opportunity, a square
deal for every man, the protection of
the citizen against the great concern
trations Of capital. the intelligent use
Of laws and institutions for the public
goosj, and Misrepresentation 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-
Ponds.
Water Trust Forming.
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 form ed but
in rapid process of formation. This
statement is true, but not unchalleng-
ed. 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
torneys, asking for your influence to
at these congresses by their paid at
| torneys, asking for your influence to
I'M faIU ~ ivpiy
obstacles to their perpetual and COM
plete absorption of the remaining
water powers. They tell us 1t 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 each
mates all industry.
Time for Protest Now.
1.-THE time for us to agitate this
question is now, before the separate
circles of centralized control spread
into the uniform, unbroken, nation
wide covering of a single gigantic
trust. There will be little chance for
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 onw, we may
be very sure that the trust will give
hereafter small consideration to the
welfare of the average citizen when
in conflict with its own.
The Men Who Count.
1.-The man who really counts is the
plain American citizen. This Is the
man for whom the Roosevelt policies
were created, and his welfare is the
end to which the Roosevelt policies
lead. AS a nation we are fortunate at
this time in this fast above all others,
that the great man who gave his name
to these policies has for his successor
another great president whose admin
istration is most solemnly pledged to
the support of them.
For Roosevelt Policies.
II stand for the Roosevelt policies