The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1911-02-24
LET THE PEOPLE RULE.
(Lewiston Tribune).

GewistOn Irlbune).
Sophistry often lUrks in epigrams,
We have an instance of modern coin
age in the expression that it is bet
ter for the government to own the
railroads than for the railroads to
own the government Still again is
that of Let the people rule" Under
that soothing device many chronic
feeding is enabled to avoid response
bility, follow the crowd and land high
in easy and lucrative place. The man
who stands ready to bury his own
convictions, suppress his own con
science-if he has any-and supports
the whim and folly of the hour, pirates
about the will of the people, direct
elections and similar shams and weak
nesses in an heroic attempt to justify
his own cowardice and excuse his own
puerility. If it is right and democrat
! ic always to yield to the popular YER
dict, why, for instance, was the dem
ocratic party kept up at all after it
became a minority party? If the
J people must rule, as expressed merely
in popular majorities, why are there
more than one religious denomination
on the earth? Why hold member
ship in minority or non-conformist
church, since the majority declare for
its special sect?
The truth is that this ridiculous
talk OF submitting matters of individ-
ual preference and of individual right
and conscience to the decision of the
majority, all the while clamoring to
let the people rule, originated with
professional place-seekers who stand
ready to do that or anything else ne
cessary to secure easy livings and
places of prominence and power.
The majority is frequently wrong.
Two highwaymen hold up one travel
err If the majority rule is democratic
the traveller should yield gracefully
and join the organization. As a
means of relieving one of all respon-
sibility for his own opinions and re-
cord this rule OF cowardly conforma-
bility is the most effective that has
ever been devised. By its adoption a
plant candidate finds it easy to fatter
the people through concurring in
their whims and prejudices, while at
the same time actually deluding and
using them. As a means of fattening
oneself at the public treasury, there is
certainly nothing like it. 1t is CON
trary to the first principles of demo-
crazy that lead back behind the kings
and masters to the mind and con-
science of the individual as the only
safe sources of free government.
There are many reasons why a
transient numerical preponderance is
apt to go wrong and to be wrong
The long standing, tested and ap-
proved rule of sitting the masses, of
gradually selecting the safest and the
wisest men through several gradations
up to the top, preserves the govern
ment and the people, as far as posi-
bic from making costly mistakes and
of prompt rectifcation when made
Those of us with a comparatively
wide range of information upon men
and measures feel a sense of security
IN relying upon those of still wider
range of being guided right In TAX
ing away from the people their old
safeguards in representative govern
ment and leaving them without any
rules, any direction or any reliance
save the arts and Establishments of
popular seduction, the demagogues
viii, we fear, have deprived the nation
Of its strongest defense against error
and weakness If he be a democrat
who knows the first principles of his
political faith he will certainly hold
to his high privilege OF bringing
this question, and every question,
back to the forum, of his own mind
and conscience. No democrat, or
other citizen, can afford to turn over
his mind and conscience to any other
man or set of men
WORLDS BIGGEST LINER.