The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-10-31

DAILY STATE JOURN
unless in addition thereto there lie
ready to hand the social weapons
which can be forged only by law and
by public opinion operating true and
operated upon by law.
Doctrines Not New.
Again friends. do not forget that We
are proposing no new principles, the
doctrines we preach reach back to tbs
golden rule and the sermon on the
mount. They reach back to the com
mandnents delivered at Sinai All that
we are doing is to apply these doctrines
in the shape necessary to make them
available for meeting tho living issues
of our own way We d fine to be
bound by the empty little cut and dried
formulas of bygone PHILOSOPHERS use
full once perhaps. but useless now. Our
purpose is to shaclle grae'Iv cunuir as
we sha exile brutal force. and we are not
to be diverted from this purpose by the
appeal to the dead dogmas of adj
yanced past We propose to lift TIE
burdens from the lowly and the weary.
from the poor and the oppressed We
propose to stand for the sacred rights
of childhood and womanhood- Nay.
more we propose to see that manhood
is not crushed out of the men who toll.
by excessive hours of labor. by under
payment. by injustice and opposition
When this purpose can only be secured
by the collective action o. our people
through their governmental agencies
we propose so to secure it. We brush
aside the arguments of those VINO seek
to bar action by the repetition of some
formula bout states rights Cr ABOUT
the history of liberty being the his
tory of the Limitation of governmental
power or about the duty of the courts
finally to determine the meaning of the
constitution We are for human rights,
and we intend to work for them in
efficient fashion. Where they can De
best obtained by the application of the
doctrines of states rights, then we are
for states rights.
Power of the Nation.
Where. in order to obtain them, 1t
is necessary to invoke the power Of
the nation then we shall invoke to its
uttermost limits that mighty power
We are for liberty. But we are
for the liberty of the oppressed. and
not for the liberty of the oppressed to
Cypress the weak and to bind bur
dens on the shoulders of the heavy
laden It is idle to ask US not to ex-
ercise the power of the government
when only by the power of the gov
eminent can we curb the greed that l.
in high places, when only by the eX-
ercise of the government can We exalt
the lowly and give heart to the hum
ble and the down trodden. We care
for facts and not for formulas we
care for deeds and not for words
We recognize no sacred right or OPP
preston. We recognize no divine right
to work injustice. We stand for the
constitution We recognize that one
of its most useful functions is the pro-
lection of property. But We viii not
consent to make of the constitution
fetch for the protection OF foss1l1Zed
wrong. We call the attention OF those
who thus interpret it to the fact that
in that great instrument of justice
life and liberty are put on full Level
with property, indeed, are enumerated
ahead of it in the order of their inn
portance. We stand for an upright 1u-
dietary. But where the judges claim
the right to make our laws by nnaIIy
interpreting them, by finally deciding
whether or not we have the power 10
make them, then we claim the right
ourselves to exercise that power. we
forbid any men, no matter what their
official position may be, to uSurp the
right which is ours the right Whlch
is the peoples We recognize in neitn-
er court nor congress nor president any
divine right to override the will of the
people expressed with due elaboration
in orderly fashion and through the
forms of law. We Progressives hold
that the words of the declaration Of
independence as given effect to oy
Washington, and as construed ana
applied by Abraham Lincoln, are to be
accepted as real and not as empty
phrases. We believe that in very
truth this is a government by the
people, themselves, that the constitu-
ton is theirs. That the courts are
theirs, that all the governmental agents
and agencies are theirs. We believe
that all true leaders of the people
must fearlessly stand for Righteousness
and honesty, must fearlessly tell the
people what justice and honor demand. !
But we no less strongly insist that 1t
is for the people themselves finally to
decide all questions of public policy
and to have their decision made eff
fective.
What Party Stands For.
I'm the platform formulated by the
Progressive party we set forth clearly
and specifically our faith in every vi !
tai point at issue before this people. |
We have declared our position on the
trusts and on the tariff. on the ma
for securing genuine popular
government; on the method of meet /
ing the needs of the farmer, of the +
business man and of the man who tolls [
with his hands, in the mine or on the
in the factory or the shops +
There is not promise we have made
which can not be kept. There is not
promise we have made that viii not
be kept. Our platform is a covenant .
with the people Of the United States /
and if we are given the power we will |
live up to that covenant in letter and |
in spirit.
1--WE know that there are in life in /
Justices which we are powerless to
but we know also that there
s much injustice which can be rene
lied and this injustice we intend to
remedy. We know that the long path
eading upwards, the light can not be
raversed at once or in a day or in a
year. but there are certain steps that
AN be taken at once. These we in
Then al