Devils Lake weekly world. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1911-1914, 1912-04-26
POPULAR GOVERNMENT,

popular Government these days
and Restoration of Popular Govern
ment - that one would be led to believe
that our form Of government had here
tofore been a despotism. 1t has always
been true that large number of pco-
pie are ready to welcome a change, al
ways seeing panacea for all their ills
in something they do not possess. This
sentiment or idea is no doubt largely
responsible for the actions of so many
people in getting divorces and remar-
rying: others following it move from
state to state and city to city always
seeing something in the future that is
going to make life on earth heaven.
The wise man realizes that SO long as
men are mortal and finite this world
will always have plenty of trouble for
its inhabitants, and that no government
will ever be ideal and that the social
condition will never be perfect. There
arc those who would ruthlessly cast
aside our present government and de-
stroy our constitution giving the only
reason for so doing that it is obsolete.
Those who cry the loudest against gov
eminent are frequently cheered the
most. The man who has the courage 20
insist that our government was not on.
~ the best century and a quarter ago
but is the best in form today is de-
scribed as reactionary The reason
Of this is largely that these persons do
not distinguish between a good consti-
tuition and good laws, and the men who
are in authority under the constitution
and laws. In other words, we want to
destroy the house that has given US
shelter in many storms because some
bad man has come into it.
Our forefathers sought to establish
government of the people, for the
people, and by the people in which the
weakest member of society shall be
strong as the strongest before the
law; the poorest citizen to have the
same constitutional rights and liberties
as the richest and most powerful. All
of these were provided for and guaran-
teed under our constitution and are 80
provided today. If there have been
any inequalities practiced it is not the
fault of the government, neither is it
the fault of the corrupt officials. 1t is
the fault primarily of the whole people
who have accepted the solemn duties Of
the citizen and have failed to fulfill
them. There never has ben a time
since the foundation Of our government
that the people have not had it in their
power to elect good man of large cap
acity who could and would maintain
tho laws and put in effect the consti-
tutional provisions protecting the weak
against the strong. There never has
,, been a time but that there was an
abundance of men Of great ability and
purest patriotism, willing to serve the
people. The fault has been that we,
the people of America, have been SO
engrossed with our own affairs, or so
much the slaves of partisanship or fac
tionalism, or personal subservieuce Of
some man or political machine that we
have failed to do our duty. This has
been especially true in times of peace.
There is no form of government that
will release the pople from the arduous
duties that come with universal suffer
age. We are not asking that no pro-
gress be made. We believe in progress,
but before we destroy the constitution
and the laws that were established,
after the sacrifice that was made to es-
tablish them, which were the result Of
the best minds Of the world for cen
fury, we had better try the workingc Of
that constitution and those laws with
officials who will carry them out in the
spirit and the letter. The change which
we need most in America today is less
yelling and more calm, sober thinking;
less jingoism and more patriotism;
deeper sense of the responsibilities that
rest upon each individual citizen for
the maintenance of good government.
--OO--
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.
The Republican party IN North Dako-
ia is in a similar condition to what it