The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1912-08-09
sure that there Will be 20 recurrence

progress and reform, as in respect to
secret rebates In railways, the i'm
proper comforting of public fran
| Chises, and the immunity Of mo-
| noUcliZing trusts and combinations.
The misfortunes Of ordinary business,
| the division of She estates OF
| wealthy men at their death, the
! chances of speculation which undue
| good fortune seems often to stimu-
/ late, operating as causes through a
| genera: Jon, will do much TO divide up
such large fortunes. It is far better to
| await the d.minution of this evil by
natural causes than to attempt what
would soon take IN the aspect of con-
fscation Or tn abolish the principle
and institution Of private property and
| to change 10 socialism. Socialism in
wolves the taking away Of the motive
for acquisition, saving, energy, and
| enterprise, and futile attempt by
| committees to apportion the rewards
due for productive labor 1t means
stagr9tioE and retrogression 1t de-
| stroys the handspring Of human action
| that has carried the world on and up
ward for 1000 years.
| Opponents Offer No Remedy.
l do not say that the two gentle
men who now lead, one the Demo
cratic party and the other the former
| Republicans who have left their party
IL their attacks upon existing condi-
tons. and in their attempt to satisfy
the popular unrest by promises OF
remedies, are consciously embracing
socialism. The truth is that they do
not offer any definite legislation or
| policy by which the happy conditions
| they promise are to be brought about,
but if their promises mean anything,
| they lead directly toward the ap-
preparation of what belongs to one
man by another The truth is, my
| friends, both those who have left the
Republican party under the inspira-
ton of their present leader, and our
old opponents, the Democrats, under
their candidate are going in a direc-
ton they do not definitely know, to-
ward an end they can not definitely
describe, with but one chief and clear
object, and that is of acquiring power
for their party by popular support
through the promise of a change for
the better. What they clamor for
is a change. They ask for a change in
government so that the government
may be restored to the people, as if
this had not been peoples govern
ment since the beginning Of the con-
- F,,l !,
with every reform in governmental
and election machinery which shall
facilitate the expression Of the popu-
lar will as the short ballot and the
reduction in elective Offices will make
it possible But these gentlemen pro-
pose to reform the government, whose
present defects, If any, are due to the
failure of the people to devote as
much time as is necessary to their
political duties, by requiring politi-
cal activity by the people three times
that which thus far the people have
been willing to assume; and thus they
propose remedies which, instead Of
exciting the people to further interest
and activity in the government, will
tire them into such an Indifference as
still further to remand control Of pub
lie affairs to a minority.
Hostility to Judiciary.
Instead of giving US the benefit of
any specific remedies for the hard
ships and evils Of society they point
out, they follow their urgent appeals
for closer association of the people
in legislation by an attempt to cult
vate the hostility of the people to the
courts and to represent that they are
in some form unfolding injustice and
are obstructing the popular will. At
tempts are made to take away all
those safeguards for maintaining the
independence of the judiciary which
are so carefully framed in our consti-
tuition These attempts find express
sion in the policy, on the one hand,
of the recall Of judges, a system I'M
der which judge whose decision in
one case may temporarily displease
once of his Office by a popular vote.
a pernicious system embodied in the
Arizona constitution and which the
Democrats of the louise and senate
refused to condemn as the initial pol
icy Of a new state. The same spirit
manifested itself in the vote by Demo
cratic senators on the proposition,
first, to abolish the commerce court.
and, second, to abolish judges by mere
act of repeal, although under the con-
stitution their terms are for life, on
DO ground except that they did not
like some of the courts recent de-
cisions
Anothec form of hostility to the
judiciary is shown in the grotesque
proposition by the leadec of former
Republicans who have lefe their party
for recall of decisions, so that de-
c'sion on point of cons .itntional law,
having been rendered by the highest
court capable Of rendering it, shall
they be submitted to Popular vote to
determine whether it ought to be sus-
tanned
Again, the Democratic party In con-
gress and convention shows its desire
to weaken the cop.ts by forbiddina
the use of the wr,s of injunction to
protect a lawful business against the
destructive effect of secondary boy
colt and Of interposing a jury in con-