The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-08-25
SOME coMpARrsoNs.

SOME COMPANIONS.
 The Hartford ceurant draws a com parison between the South Carolina of Calhoun. Hayne and Robert Barn well Rhett. the reference being to the sober. fair and sensible statesman ship of the old days as compared with the wild fauaticisrn of the present. and 1t might well have included number of other States of the South in it's 'comperison. In those old days men were selected as law-makers ba- cause' of their honesty. independence and fitness: now they are chosen In toos many cases because of their sub- | serviency to some popular wave" Then laws were enacted for the hon. or and credit and benefit of the State and the whole people: now they are of some fanatic or politician. In short. our law-makers seem dominated by some sort of wave. and the de- plorable part of 1t is that these waves threaten to ruin every State in which they dominate tho Legislatures
 The one hope Is that these Ill con- | ditioned waves have reached their highest point and may soon recede. but the harm they are doing. and the Injury they are infiicting on the States and on the cause of good government will live long after the actors and pro- motors have been forgotten. or are | remembered only with bitterness and | hard feeling. as well as of wonder at l their want of fairness, statesmanship and personal independence, Perhaps many of the participants in this deluge of fanaticisrn. or something worse will ask themselves In after days how they could have so easily been led astray and dominated by men who plainly had their own personal interests to serve and would sacrifice the State and the people to accomplish their own selfish purposes
 And The Courants comments re. minds us that its neighbor. The Times is not very much in love with a word that has been badly overworked of late. and thus refers to it.
 The closing days of the Legislature. following the adjournment of Con. gress, go to point out theA word which n.h Tn most common mon use In the Eng. @ ha%e Seard aht t fOr %osa savsn ls months in our capitol and 1t Is in per ennial use at Washington. It Is in ev- cry I.ry nswspaER,er; t Is part and portion ised by every candidate: 1t Is urged In all religious conventions and it has been putting in an appearance year af- of reform had been carried out as con- templated, there would be nothing left to reform. at least nothing else but the reforms themselves which like sort of kaleidoscope show well-nigh endless changes There must be something wrong with onr methods or some vi- tai mistake in our ideas of reform. or loss of energy and so many humiliat- ing failures. That 1t Is a pretext cam not always be denied. and those who are are, ia, familiar d with the writings of that son, recall that he said: Reform is the last refuge of the scoundrel."
 It appears from our reading of the
 
 has been as badly abused in that lit- tie State as 1t has in Georgia or Ala bama. It has been handed around from one self-appointed guardian of the people to another until 1t must he worn almost threadbare. To alter the phraseoloRy, of Whittier a Iittie-%- u1Y nNdu aN Most tired are these: Reform all
 men,"
 The trouble with many of these ot- hcious reformers is that they stand a great deal more in need of reformL ing than do any of the abuses they set themselves to correct. In a majority of cases they butt in where they have no call to interfere and where they are not wanted. They abandon theiv own business. if they happen to havo any. and busy themselves trying to have goodness legislated into human beings. If by some misfortune or mis- take one of these over-good men gets into a Legislative body he seems. to think he was sent there expressly to look after the morals, the habits and the conduct of his feIlow-men, and If they are not willing to be good of their own accord they must be made good by law.
 We confess that we are heartily sick and tired of the whole breed of reformers, as we have seen them of late. and had opportunity to watch their work. They are doing harm in most instances. apparently without knowing it. We can admit that some of them are honest and sincere In their beliefs and actions. but many of them, we believe. are actuated solely by spite and malevolence towards those who refuse to see as they do. Not being able to get revenge in any other way, or lacking the courage to attempt 1t. they endeavor to make the law do for them what they cannot do for them selves.
 Reform" Is a good word. It refers to a privilege and duty which may