The Lynden tribune. [volume] (Lynden, Wash.) 1908-current, 1911-02-16

den propose to call Senator Brown
bluff. Well that isn't exactly what
should have advised, but perhaps 1t Is
Just as we'll Personally l would have
favored showing him that we expect
ed him to do our will, in this road
matter. and not his own, and then
trusted him in other matters as we
always have in the past. l am not
greatly in favor of recalling a man
Just because he does one thing that
doesn't suit me. The recall Is a dan
gerous weapon as well as convent
tool. The only excuse We have in ask
ing the recall of Brown, that l know
Of is his mistake on this road mat
ter. and his Stiffness in making a
bluff that he wanted to be recalled If
he wasn't right.
| The best men in the world make
mistakes, but the best men are al
ways ready to correct themselves.
In December 81 persons were ar
rested In Bellingham for drunkenness
| In January IL were arrested for drum
enness. In December there were many
saloons operating under license. In
January there were no saloons. 1t
doesn't seem rs II any comment were
necessary.
A friend of mine handed me copy
of Life and Health in which was an
article on Liberty and Plus" by F.
| W. Fitzpatrick, and said he thought
there was a mighty sensible article,
and that he hoped | could use some
of the thought editorially. | read a
little ways in the article and then
stopped to tear my hair. Mr.. Fitzpat-
rick very carefully explains III choice
English that We Americans are run
ming Liberty into the sround-that
We have too much Liberty.
What do you think of that? Trea-
son isn't it?
That is the way it looked to me.
stormed and swore for time and
then read some more. / hadn't been
mistaken in his meaning He says
we teach too much Liberty at home;
| that we teach too much of it i'll The
schools, and he asks: What respect
has the average school boy for any
authority or law?-He speaks of a
president as Teddy or Bill, father
is the Old Man; a passing auto is a
target for snowballs or stones; old
age or lameness, fitting butt Tor
ribald jest; and the policeman, the
visable sign of the law, is to be ieer-
ed and reviled if one is only at Il
safe enough distance from his clutch
es." And so on went the article, and
as | read | found that some Of the
statements sounded woefully too much
like truth. OF course not all boys lie
all the bad things that are suggested
but there is an element of disrespect
among the younger generation that
should be more than regretted. Mr.
Fitzpatrick even calls attention TO the
schools that are self governed and OBJ
jects to them. l don't know as | woul
go SO far. | too think We should
teach the youngsters to have self re-
spect and self government. But, there
is no self government where there IL
70 respect for elders and for all laws
Mr. Fitzpatrick blames the disre-
spect for law and elders to over-doses
Of Liberty, and l am inclined to think
he is right. Liberty abused is worse
than slavery. If We cannot command
the respect of our children we cannot
expect the law to command their re.
spect when they have become adults
We want our children to love us
We want them to obey lis because
what we tell them to do is right :oi
them to do, but, we also want them
to obey us because it is right the!
should obey their parents. They
should, in school, obey the lies II
the teacher, because those 'uies are
good to be obayed, but they should al
so be taught that they must obey
them because rules are laws and
laws must be Obeyed-because DISC
bedience begets anarchy and anarchy
| 'haios.
but if the rules are bad, If they
are contrary, say, to the best rules
of health?"
If there are any such rules enforc-
ed in school you should have an in
terview with the teachers and school
board, but teach your children that
50 long as the rules exist, they are
to be obeyed implicitly, for the rules
are laws, and a republic to remain a
republic must be made up of law low
ers.
A republic makes its own laws
then surely it should respecy them.
Individually, mustn't We, most of us
admit that Of recent years We are con
ing to more and more respect only
those laws which suit our individu-
. al opinions of governm Haven
we, sometimes, disregarjed, 1T least
in spirit, the will of the majority
when We happened to belong 10 the
minority? For instance take the sa-
loon question. We have many recent
examples of how the losing minority
are defying the will of tn, majority.
Can't you Remember how four or NOR
years ago when the saloon crowd was
the majority, and had the laws at
their backs that you sometimes be-
lieved right would justify you in de-
stroying or harming the saloon bust
ness, even contrary to law? You
deny it, do you? Well most of the
saloon men deny that they would