The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-26
MIR. UNDERWOOD ON REPRESENTA-
 TIVE GOVERNMENT

From the Montgomery Advertiser. The earnest declaration of Hon. Oscar
 Underwood for continuance of repre-
 sentative government, in the face of loose
 and loud cries for so called political prog
 ress has behind it the force and authority l of a public life, remarkable public men | that Alabama has produced since the war, and the force of authority of a pub l lie life, characterized by soundness | clearness and courage.
 MT. Underwood s courage was never bet ter illustrated than in this instance, in which, at critical time in his career he took issue with the advocates of so called progressive democracy, which Is one and
 the same with so called progressive repub- licanism. But these theories have their advocates-men who are earnest and sip cere, and who are not without some po- litical influence in MT. Underwood's home state of Alabama MT. Underwood's name will be presented to the next democratic national convention as candidate for the presidential nomination, by his state his candidacy has received indorsement and commendation throughout the country, for his splendid career in Congress has not
 gone unnoticed and unmarked. If po-
 litical expediency had appealed to him. he might have kept silent, or given a lip in- dorsement to these theories now insistent- | ly urged on the voters.
 | But if MT. Underwood ever had a distinguishing characteristic, it was his l devotion to principle In the midst of | those friends who rendered him signal honor in Birmingham Thursday night
 and regardless of his prospects for the presidential nomination, MT. Underwood spoke out against those who would "in part abandon the representative govern
 ment enacted by our revolutionary fa-
 thers, and adopt a system that would
 in the end establish direct democracy.
 when the ultimate powers to make laws
 would be placed directly in the hands of
 the people and the independent judiciary, intended to protect the constitutional
 guarantee of individual liberty, would be-
 come subservient to the will of the ma jority through political compulsion.'' MT. Underwood uttered a wholesome
 truth when he said that nasty and i'll
 
 be enacted under the representative form
 of government than under the initiative.
 referendum and recall. and we of Ala
 bama, who have had some stormy state
 politics in the last half dozen years, know this to be true.
 The issue is plain. Mr. Underwood sets it out Shall we strike down representa- tive government, and substitute some thing we know nothing about. except that it is proposed by insistent politicians hum gry for office!
 If we cannot trust members of the legislature, how can we trust the people who sent up these unworthy members of the legislature? If we cannot trust the | members of a legislature we can not trust their constituents. If we can not give our | confidence to our law makers, we can not | have confidence in human nature, and we can have confidence in no form of hu-
 man government. A few law makers have I been dishonest, but it is unjust to condemn I all law makers for the sins of few. If | all law makers are not to be trusted, how can we afford to trust the orators, who would stir up the people, when the initia-
 tive, referendum and recall are in opera 1 tion?
 1 It Is proposed to abandon the form of government adopted by our fathers and
 under which we have grown to be the richest and most powerful nation of the | world. Are we ready to do it? Are we
 ready to follow such men as advise us to
 do 1t in preference to following the lead
 ership of a clear thinker. and man of
 common sense, like Oscar Underwood.
 who has won the confidence of the coun- 1 try?