Perth Amboy evening news., 1912-03-19
Restoring Representative government

1--WE have so complicated u ma
chinery Of government, we have made
1t so difficult, 30 full of ambushes and
hiding places, 80 indirect, that instead
of having true representative govern
ment we have a great inextricable
jungle of organization intervening be-
tween the people and the processes OF
their government, 80 that by stages.
without intending 1t, without being
aware OF 1t, we have lost the purity
and d~irectness Of representative gov
eminent. What we must devote our.
selves to now is not to ~upsetting our
institutions, but to restoring them.
Undoubtedly we should avoid ex
element and should silence the dema-
ogu The man with power, but with
out conscience, could, with an eloquent
tongue, If he cared for nothing but his
w power, put this whole country into
a fame, because the whole country be.
lieves that something Is wrong and Is
eager to follow those who profess to be
able to lead 1t away from its Difficult
ties. But it is all the more necessary
that we should be careful who are our
guides. The processes We are engaged
in are fundamentally conservative
processes. II your tree Ia diseased II
is no revolution to restore to 1t the pu-
rity Of Its sap, to renew the soil thai
sustains 1t, to r~e-estabish the condi-
tons of its health. That is a process
of life, of renewal, of redemption.
'"There is no ground for alarm, there
fore. We are bent upon a perfectly
definite program, which Is one of
health and renewal.
"Let us ask ourselves very frankly
what it is that needs to be corrected
! To sum 1t all up in one sentence, 1t Is
the control of politics and of our life
by great combinations of wealth. Mel
sometimes talk as IL it were wealth we
were afraid of, as If we were Jealous
of the accumulation of great fortunes.
] Nothing OF the kind is true. America
has not the slightest Jealousy of the
legitimate accumulation of wealth
Everybody knows that there are hun
dreds and thousands of men OF large
1 nCaAS dlio luA SC CSohChiiS PO"SA "NN
have come by 1t all perfectly legiti
mately not only, but in a way that de
serves the thanks and admiration OF
the communities they have served and
developed. But everybody knows also
that some of the men who control the
wealth and have built up the industry
of the country seek to control politics
and also to dominate the life of com.
mon men In q way in which no mar
should be permitted to dominate.
The Bipartisan Machine.
"In the first place, there Is the no
torious operation of the bipartisan po
lltlcal machine. / mean the machine
which does not represent party prin
ciple Of any kind, but which la Willing
to enter into any combination, witt
whatever group of persons or of poll
ticians, to control the offices OF local.
ties and OF states and of the nation
itself In order to maintain the power
of those who direct 1t. Tht machfns
is supplied with Its funds by the mel
who use 1t in order to protect them
selves against legislation which the,
do not desire and In order to Obtain
the legislation which Is necessary fol
the prosecution of their purposes
"The methods of our legislatures
make the operations OF such machines
easy and convenient, for very little o.
our legislation is formed and effected
by open debate upon the floor. Al
most all OF it is framed in lawyers
ofices, discussed In committee rooms
passed without debate. Bills that tbs
machine and It's hackers do not desir.
are smothered In committee; measures
which they do desire are brought on
and hurried through their passage. l
happens again and again that grea
groups OF such bills are rushet
through In the hurried hours tina
mark the close or the legislative ses
sions, when every one is withheld
from vigilance by fatigus and when
is possible to DO secret things.
"when we stand in the presence o
these things and see how eomplet'
and sinister their operation has beei
we CRY OUT with no little truth tina
we no longer have representative gov
eminent.
"Among the remediea proposed In re
cent Years have been the initiative AM
referendum la tho field of Legislation
and the recall IN the field Of admiuis