Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1912-08-13
ALFRED HENRY LEWIS
TELLS WHY HE is FOR
COLONEL ROOSEVELT
By ALFRED HENRY LEWIS.


The Republican party was long ago
seized upon by Money. 1t is instinc-
tive in Money to make slaves of men.
Money, in Republican control. used and
still uses the party to drive the people
to the shearing Sheds Of criminal priv
ilege. The Democrats protested and
still protest against this in their plat
form and from their stumps
But the Democrats are no more to
be trusted than the Republicans. They
promise, they protest. But when, from
1893 to 1897, they had not only the
white house, but both houses OF con-
gress, they most carefully did nothing
They have shown that as whole party
they are as much beneath the callous,
calculating thumb Of Money as are or
ever were the Republicans. Where
fore, for one at least. my preference
goes in this campaign to the new third
party and to Mr.. Roosevelt
Government is business, president
picking is business The country is but
a corporation, a company: the citizens
are the shareholders. An election is
the shareholders meeting The com
pany, the country, is intended to pro-
duce in favor of the sharehoder-citi-
zen protection to life, limb, liberty and
property
Questions For the Citizen.
Upon plain business principle Of
the most and best for the least. the
citizen shareholder in casting his bal
lot should consider government from
the standpoint of what he pays and
what he gets what it costs and what it
comes TO- As to what the citizen
shareholder is getting in this year Of
political ungrace-l9l2-you may form
your own conclusions by reviewing the
conditions-the higher cost of living,
for example which surround you BY
casting wary eye about you can set
tie, in that matter Of government,
questions Of quantity and quality fJr
yourself
Am | not right in comparing the
country to a corporation? What is it,
indeed, but a merest stock company in
which each and all Of us hold equal
shares? And a president. what is he
but the counuy's business manager
when all is in? Also, the post of bust
ness manager is of all positions that
one where an iron courage and a
swerveess honesty should most abide
4 feeble or dishonest congressman
should mean no more than just a rat
aboard liner. A feeble or dishonest
president might we'll become the leak
that sinks the ship.
Here lies the trouble: The everyday
American is politically lazy. 1t grows
each year more and more difficult 10
make him work at his politics in per
son. His public ldcness arises doubt
less from the fact that, with the
mounting census of the country, ne
feels of less and less account. His self
Importance gets swamped in a popula-
ton of $4,000, 900. He owns not one
| twentieth the weight that was his a
century ago.
The ldler in Politics.
Our duty Sinking tdler of politics is
right so far as he seeks to measure his
own shrinking importance to govern
ment And yet he should remember
that while his importance to govern
ment has diminished not a splinter has
oeen Whitfield from the Importance of
government to him. The citizen. with
96,000,o00 for the counuys population.
should feel as much concern in select
ing right president as was felt by
those who voted for Mr.. Madison 100
years ago.
As practced and taught by the par