The advocate. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1901-1913, 1912-02-22

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{ - L.1ss. ~ 20 I..9- : -
The Important thing is fhiI-fhat
under such government recognition as
we may give TO that which is benef-
,icent and wholesome IN large bust
ness organizations we shalt be most
'vigilant never to allow them to crys-
itallize into@'a condition which shall
make private Initiative dificuIt. It is
or the utmost Importance that In the
future we shall keep the. broad path OF
opportunity just as open and easy for
our children as 1t was for our fathers
iduring tho period which has been the
glory Of Americas Industrial history.
In a word then, our fundamental
purpose must be to secure genuine
equality Of opportunity No man
should receive a dollar unless that
dollar has been fairly earned. Every
dollar received should represent n dol
lars worth Of service rendered. No
watering Of stocks should be permit
ted, and 1t can be prevented only by
tclose governmental supervision Of all
stock issues so as to prevent oyerean-
tltallZation. -
We stand for the rights Of property,
but we stand even more for the rights
|of man. We will protect the rights Of
the wealthy man, but we maintain
that he holds his wealth subject to the
general right Of the community to reg
'ulate it's business use as the public
welfare requires.
Welfare of Labor.
We also maintain that the nation
and the several states have the right
to regulate the terms and conditions
of labor, which is the chief element
Of wealth, directly in the interest of
the common good tt IS our prime
duty to shape the Industrial and social
forces. so that they may tell for the
material and moral upbullding Of the
farmer and the wageworker, lust as
they should do in the case Of the bust
ness man. You, trainers of this con-
SutGttOn, be careful SO to frame it tina t.
under it the people shall leave them
selves free to do whatever is necessary
In order TO help the farmers of the
state to get for themselves and their
wives and children not only the bene-
hts OF better farming, but also those
OF better business methods and better
conditions Of life on the farm.
Moreover. shape your constitutional
action so that the people will be able
through their legislative bodies or. fail
ing that, by direct popular vote to pro
vide workmen's compensation acts, to
regulate the hours Of labor for chill
dren and for women, to provide for
their safety while ut work and to pre-
vent overworl1 or work under. unhy-
a1enic or unsafe conditions. See to it
that no restrictions are placed upon
legislative powers that wiiI prevent the
enactment Of laws under which your
people can promote the general vel
fare, the common good
So much for the ends Of govern
ment, and l have. Of course, merely
sketched il o'':lnc what the ends
should be. NoH for the machinery by
which the ends are to be achieved,
and here lain remember I only sketch
III oU' e and do not for moment;
pro''.-,t to work out in detail the meth
o.. Of achieving. your purposes. Let
&c at the outset urge upon you to re-
member that, while machinery is iD-
nortant, it is easy to overestimatc it's
importance and, moreover, that each
community has the absolute right to
determine for itself what that machin-
cry shall be, subject only to the funda-
mental law Of the nation az expressed
in the constitution Of the United
States. Massachusetts has the right
to have appointive judges who serve
during good behavior, subject to re-
moval, not by impeachment, but by
simple majority vote Of the two houses
Of the legislature whenever the repre-
sentatives of the people feel that the
needs Of the people require such re-
moval. New York has the right to
have long term elective judiciary.
Ohio has the right to have short term
elective judiciary without the recall.
California, Oregon and Arizona have
each and every one of them the right
to have a short term elective judiciary
with the recall, Personally Of the four
systems l prefer the Massa chusetts
one if addition be made to it as [ here.
matter indicate.
IL IhC uloC pflCSJ L DS.lcNc III tic
short ballot. You cannot get good serv-
ice from the public servant if you can
not sec him, and there is no more ef-
fcctiyc way Of hiding him than by mix
Ing hin up with multitude Of others
so that they are none Of them imDor-
tHnt enough TO catch tire eve OF the
average workaday citizen. THE crook
in public life Is not ordinarily the man
whom the people themselves elect Iii.
rccty to q highly important and re.
sponsiblc position. The type Of boss
who has made the name OF politician
odiouS rarely himself runs for high elec.
tive office, and IL he does and is elected
the people have only themselves to
blame. The professional politician and
the professional lobbyist thrive most
rankly under q system which provides
.kI