Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1912-03-26
BURNING THE BARN TO CATCH SOME RATS
BY BISHOP 4. GAMBLER

crop of demagOgues (already too large)
would be almost Infinitely increased and
tho number Of wise and patriotic men
would be reduced to less than any influ-
entail company. If we may not say to
less than any assignable quantity.
An individual, when oppressed by the
wild and sodden majority, could not rely
upon settled principles of law or fear
less courts for his defense, but would be
ground under the power of a despotism
so impersonal that he could not bring it
to account and so nearly omnipotent
that he could not resist it single-handed.
The majority, glutted with success, would
not stick at any oppression, and the
chief concern of both weak and bad men
would be to keep themselves in favour
with the INSCRIPTIONS majority. All the
evils of the turbulent democracies of an
cient GREECE would spring up in our
land i'm the most potential forms. The
Greek democracies had no newspapers,
but with all law dependent upon popular
within 1.-THE interests" in our day which
have their newspapers and their press
dispatches with which to mislead the peo-
pie and whip popular passion into a fury
against all forces that might oppose them.
They would not need to buy all the peo-
pie, but only enough of the purchasable
votes to control a balance of power,
and for the rest they could depend upon
the creation of factions to put them in
position to use their purchased blocks
of voters to serve effectually their wick
ed purposes. In some states under present
conditions the parties are so nearly equal
that the control of a few thousand votes
might determine the choice of the presi-
dent of the United States. What would
be the case, if representative government
nd aV FOL
ocracy substituted for it?i
In such a case we could conceive of
moneyed interests contributing to cleo
ton funds-on both sides in a national
election until towards the close of the
campaign, and then throwing the pre-
ponderance of their influence to the man
who would promise them most and thus
secure his election, together with con-
gress in sympathy with his plans. That
being done, they might through their
Vaccinations manufacture the conditions
of a panic, proclaim impending peril to
business tell their willing tool he must
set aside laws to prevent the disaster
that was threatened, and then through
their system of newspapers make the peo-
pie believe the official law-breaker was
a saviour of his country. Who could re-
sist such programme after the people
had been educated to believe that law
is not sacred, but may be set aside If
the chief-magistrates of the nation de-
cides that its enforcement might make a
panic? And if one law might be suspend
ed, another also might be suspended UNI
der some other plea of necessity. Even
the HABEAS CORPUS might be suspend
ed under some speciOus plea of imperious
necessity pressed skillfully upon an am
bilious man who might servilely fear the
moneyed interests on one side and sedu-
lousy court popular favour on the other
side. And if by any means he could
get both sides united, for no longer time
than a few months, he might invade and
overthrow the most sacred rights of mi
norities. Any crime is possible to man
i'm power who has adopted the political
heresy that law may be set aside and
constitutions subverted under plea of
necessity, he alone being competent to
decide when such necessity has arisen.
This heresy has been the creed of all
despots in all ages and all lands.
Let the people Of the United States
beware of spurious reformers who pro-
pose to burn the store-houses of repre-
sentative government to kill some politi-
cal rats which they say have multiplied
lately. The agitators may not be half
so much concerned to kill rats as they
are to run away with some good thing
while the people are absorbed in watch
ing the barn burn.