The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1912-04-24
Advantage Taken of Them
BY the "Interests,"
IT WOULD OPEN THEIR EYES
To the Present Situation Of
Our Great Affairs Of
Government.
SIDE LIGHTS ON HAPPENINGS

navian literature, says: "Put
problems to debate" and Milton
concludes a panagyric on freedom
with "Of all liberties, give me the
liberty to know, to utter and to ar
que freely, according to con-
science"
What sententious and wise rehec-
lions! This is why a Kentuckian
never shoots a man who can talk
politics-he wants to keep him to
argue with.
The chief obstacle to thorough
Investigation of our political and
industrial problems by the masses,
IL not only their indifference, but
their lack of facilities for correct
information. What OF the bulls,
bears, grafters, demagogues, cranks
sensation mongers, all bent upon
confusion and misrepresentation,
makes it well nigh impossible to
get the true facts unless you are
upon the ground. Nothing would
please the bears more than for the
Steel Probe Committee to wreck
she trust stock. Nothing would
please the defeated litigant, or can
didate or the down-and out, 50 well
as recalls How, then, could the
initiative and referendum help mat
tiers? Would not the field for sell
fish operations be broadened and
opportunities increased?
Our present system is the safer
bernuse it relieves the private cit
izen of much public work and re-
sponsibility which is given the rep
resentative, and, since the evils we
complain of spring from our own
neglect of public duty, whatever
adds to these duties can but in
crease the evil. Indeed, have we
not already reached the limit?
Think of the cost of all the various
divisions of government, the fami- /
Iy, schools, churches, charities, fire |
Iosses-nearly half a billion last |
year-public enterprises-a single
canal costing more than a quarter
of a billion dollars-hoods, the idle
and deadbeats, the spoils of the
CRATER and trusts, litigation, and
Thousand other drains upon the ov-
esr-taxed energies, all of which must
be subtracted from the earnings of
the producer. No wonder he neg
IeCts his public duty; no wonder he
staggers under the tremendous load
like an Atlas. The wonder is that
his nerves of steel, muscles of iron
and heart of oak do not fail him al
together. Here is where our troub-
les begin.
Suppose the people had the time
40 get at the true inwardness of the
protective feature of our tariff,
covert system of criminal taxation,
which under a mask of pure benev-
olence, robs them of one billion sew
en- hundred millions of dollars an
nnally and turns this fabulous sum :
over TO a favored few, rendering
them more powerful than any des-
pot on earth, and who, while their
long, felonious fingers are pillaging
your pockets, with Snug hypocrisy,
sing psalms and eXtol Protection.
How long, ! ask, would it last? For
fifty years, with consummate skill,
the protectionist has confused the
public mind and played upon party
prejudices with ever increasing
success. Lincoln said you can fool
all the people some of the time
and some Of the people all Of the
time. but you can't fool all the peo-
pln all the time. How about it?
ONLY a few days ago, letter was
written by a L. S. Senator, who is
to be guarding the inter-
ssts of the people. to the Secretary
who is managing Roosevelt's cam
paign of pure politics., which, if
read in the catacombs of Egypt,
ought TO open the eyes of mum
mes enDalmeu nine thousand
years before Christ. Yet this infa-
nous threat and demand is only
form of you and |, Bro.
are practical men," and
n you want this boundless graft to
go on, you must cough up the
dough. You fellows get about sew
en- billions, or about $3.50 from ev-
cry family every four years and you
can afford to put up a few paltry
millions to carry States like New
York and Indiana. So they can
and so they do, while the bewilder-
ed victims stare at each other, won
dering how and by whom it was
done.
Protection paves the way to mo-
nopoly. Like vampire it sucks