The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1912-09-20
Issued Every Friday. ST. so year
Entered at the postofice at Oroville, Washing
ton. ~ second class matter.
For President.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT
For Vice President
JAMES S. SHERMAN
WHAT Is He GIVING USl

How many of those who cry ''let the
people rule" believe in democracy?
Doubtless there are many earnest and
sincere men who do believe in the d.
rect, unlimited and unchecked rule
of majOrities. These are not the men,
however, who are now at the head of
the third term party. Certainly Col
Roosevelt, the organizer and the alb
sOlute dictator of the third term party,
does not believe in such a system of
government, No one today can play
upon the catch phrases of the advC-
Gates of democracy with more effec-
tiveness than the colonel, but no one
breaches or designs to initiate meas
ures more extremely opposed to the
principles OF democracy than he.
Democracy is that idea, perfection
of self government, wherein the bal
lot shall be supreme, ana where every
man and woman of voting age shall
have an opportunity 70 assist direct
ly in the making of laws, direct con-
troll over their enforcement and di-
rect voice in the administration of JUS
tice. Like socialism, it presupposes
that human nature will be radically
changed by system and the mechan-
ism OF government; that given I'M
checked control over the interests,
property and personal welfare of their
fellows, men will become less selfish
less influenced by envy or jealousy,
less prone to seek profit at tie ex-
pense of others; that honor and vir-
tue will dictate their actions. and that
confidence will replace distrust and
the square deal reign supreme. 1t Is
beautiful, guileless conception, and
we do not propose to quarrel with any
one for coni,iring up such a charming
picture of social felicity. 1t ought, in
TACT, t, recommend itself to ill the
unsophisticateG. But that is beside
tie question.
Are any So innocent rs to believe
for moment that the colonel in
tends to bring about such system of
government even though he is the
most vociferous in declaiming about
democracy? If so, let them carefully
examine his proposals, that is the ones
in which he would have a voice were
he elected president for third term,
Tin substance If not in letter.. The
initiative. the referendum and the re-
call that he advocates are to be ap-
piled to state governments only, as he
very candidly asserts AS president,
therefore, he would have nothing
whatever to do with carrying those
planks of his platform into effect. True
he would now have the recall of ju-
dicial decisions apply to federal
courts, though when he first sprung
that Quixotic proposition few months
ago he distinctly limited it to state
courts. The change is natural how
ever, because anything that would
weaken the federal courts serves to
strengthen his designs. He would not
have the recall of elective officials ap-
ply to the president but he may soon
advocate it's application to senators
and representatives, as still further
favorable to his designs.
All the measures in his platform
which he can have a voice in fOrmu-
lating into laws aim at building up a
tremendously powerful centralized
governmet at Washington, with the
president in a position with the ap-
pOintive power and the control it gives
him of absolute authority over the af-
fairs and interests of every individual
in the nation. His proposition for the
control of trusts, alone, would give
him more power than any other indi-
vidual monarch or despot in history.
His conservation policy as promul-
gated many times and partially in
stituted by PinchOt would give him
still greater authority over commune
ties and individuals than it is healthy
for any free people to permit The
government he is aiming at is a
thoroughgoing bureaucracy with the
president as the supreme dictator. 1t
is Napoleanic in conception. despotic
in form and the very opposite of de-
mOcracy in character. jr.