The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1910-05-19

manhood. dreading "the man or
horseback. while in the fastnesse:
! of that twilight zone. that striI
OF mo mans land, that lies between
the unexpressed state authority and
the unparalleled federal authority
barons of high finance have built
their strongholds. whence they can
levy tribute on the peoples food on
one side and dominate the trans
portation lines OF interstate COM
merce on the other, and retreat TO
recesses where state clashes with
state and state with the nation as to
which should go after them.
State rights is not a doctrine,
neither Is protection or free trade,
nor are conservation Of resources
and the gold standard. They are ex-
pedients. The principle of the equal
rights of man to life. liberty and the
pursuit of happiness Is a doctrine.
and holds good under any and all
circumstances. The tariff rate that
is proper and expedient this year may
be totally inadequate OF oppressively
excessive next year; the standard of
money OF one generation may be re-
garded as belonging to an age OF
barbarism by another; the policy OF
state rights. which protected the peo-
pie from the possibility of a king in
one century, becomes the means OF
their enthrallment in another.
There is no jealousy between
states now. no fear of a king. We
are all equally citizens OF the United
States, and those questions in which
all are equally interested should be
handled by the United States, not
left to the individual states TO handle
variously and incompletely. No cit
izen OF Idaho, Montana or Colorado
is more interested in the proper use
OF the water power sites of those
states than are the citizens of Ken
lucky; certainly We are as much in
terested as they in the economical
use Of the fuel and timber and the
lreplenishing Of the forests and water
sheds, the reclamation Of food pro-
ducing lands, and the development
OF means OF water transportation.
No single state and no combina-
ton OF states can cope with the
Standard Oil company, OF New Jer-
sey, which owns the stock of the
Standard Oil companies organized in
a dozen different states, every one OF
them doing business In some state
other than the one Of its origin. No
single state or combination of states
can regulate railroad system,
which extends beyond the limits of
can control an express company
which transacts business between
points in II and points in other states
II we cling to the ancient policy OF
limiting federal jurisdiction TO those
expressly conferred by the constltu-
ton; the sole function Of govern
ment-which the originators OF the
policy OF state rights declared TO be
preservation Of the rights OF man TO
life, liberty and the pursuit OF hap
plness"-will be lost, and the gov
eminent considered merely a referee,
to enforce arbitrary rules, for the
protection Of property acquired un-
der the law OF the jungle that
They should take who have the
power,
And they should keep, who can.
This Is the doctrine involved in
the question of today; but II is the
purpose, OF those interests, which
have profted by the de-centralized
authority, TO keep these questions in
the background. The effect OF their
prominence the last few years has
been the successful revolt against
Cannonism in the house and the an
nounced retirement of Aldrich and
Hale, leaders OF the old regime in
the senate.
Had the insurgents been logical
on the tariff, these policies would
have remained to the fore. and the
country would have forced all public
men of all parties to go on record
favoreng them, or TO retire. With
the tariff as an issue in the campaign
Republication will be measured by
loyalty to the theory OF protection
and Cannon and Aldrich and Hale
will measure up to every requirement
on that score-and then some
The outcome OF a tariff campaign
is always easy to forecast. Through
out the summer the public will all be
Democrats because the free tade
orators will paint word pictures OF
the plutocrats rolling in wealth ex-
torted from the ultimate consumer
and every man Is an ultimate con-
sumer OF something. which he thinks
costs too much.
The Democrats will promise "a
cut every schedule in the tariff II