Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1912-03-14
OUR PRESENT
system IS THE
VERY BEST
THAT man HAS DEVISED
TaffS Plain .FOrCefuI Talk on
Government

dent Taft gave calm, clear and care
fully considered analysis of represen-
tative government as provided under
the existing Constitution and political
system in this country, that is we'll
worthy of careful perusal by all
American voters. Said he in this con-
nection
In the last year or two we have
heard much of radical methods OF
changing the judiciary system. If we
would properly consider these propos-
ais and stand on solid and safe ground
We must re-eXamine the fundamental
principles of stable popular govern
ment. The history of the world seems
to show that our form of government
is more enduring and satisfactory than
and other. We began as small
Union of thirteen states, strung along
the Atlantic coast, of three million of
people, and under the same Constitu-
ton we have enlarged to be a world
Power of forty-eight sovereign states.
bound into one, of more than ninety
millions of people, and with a hum
ane guardianship of ten millions mora
nine in the Pacific and one in the
Atlantic. We have fought, beginning
with the Revolution, four foreign wars,
and we have survived a civil war of
the greatest proportions recorded in
history and have united the battling
sections by an indissoluble tie. From
our body polite we have excised the
cancer of slavery, the only thing pro-
tected by the Constitution which was
inconsistent with that liberty, the
preservation of which was the main
purpose of establishing the Union. We
have increased our business and pro.
ductive activities in every direction;
our natural resources to be continent
wide, and all the time we have main
tanned sacred those inalienable rights
of man, the right of liberty, the right
of private property, and the right to
the pursuit of happiness.
For these reasons we believe in
popular government. Government is
human fundamentally to secure the
greatest good to the greatest number,
and the greatest happiness to the in
dividual. Experience, and especially
the growth of popular government in
our history, has shown that in the
long run every class of the people, and
by that | mean those similarly situat-
ed, are better able to secure attention
to their welfare than any other class
however altruistic the latter class
the members of the GLASS have reason
able intelligence and capacity for
knowing their rights and interests
Hence it follows that the best govern
ment, in the sense of the government
most certain to provide for and pro
tect the rights and governmental need,
of every class, is that one in which
every class has a voice. In recogni
ton of this, the tendency from earliest
times in our history has been the en-
largement of the electorate to includ >
in the ultimate source of governmental
power as many as possible of those
governed. But even today the elector
ate is not more in number of those
who are citizens of the nation and arr
the people for whom the government
is maintained. and whose rights an /
to secure. More than this, govern
ment by unanimous vote of the cleo
torate is impossible, and therefore the
majority of the electorate must rule
We find, therefore, that government BY
the people is, under our present sys-
TEN, government by majority of one
fourth of those whose rights and hap
piness are to be affected by the course
and conduct of the Government. This
is the nearest to a government by tho
whole people we have ever had. Wo-
mans suffrage will change this, and il
is doubtless coming as soon as the
electorate can be certain that most
women desire it and will assume its
burden and responsibility. But even
the electorate will only be part of tn
whole speople. In other words, the
electorate is a representative govern
ing body for the whole people for
which the Government was establish
ed, and the controlling majority of
the electorate is body still less mum
erous 1t is thus apparent that ours
is a Government of all the people BY a
representative part of the people. Now
the object of government is not only to
secure the greatest good to the
greatest number. but also to do this
as near as may be by securing the
rights of each individual in his liberty
state Of Ohio City Of Toledo, Lucas County, s.