Elk City mining news. (Elk City, Idaho) 1903-1913, 1912-03-28
SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
pififuI Spectacle of Fallen Greatness.

PififuI Spectacle of Fallen Greatness.
Colonel Roosevelt's speeches now be-
gin to read suspiciously and familiarly
like Colonel Bryan's speeches used to
read, and for precisely the same pur-
pose-to win Office by cunning appeals
to the imagination and to the thought
lessness of the masses OF the people.
1t is hard to conceive a more adroit and
more contemptibly demagogic appeal
to the unreasoning impulses of the
people than his reference TO the tyranny
of minorities, as if minorities were en-
ioying some discriminating powers
which they had obtained through I'M
just and tricky law. The fact is, the
people in practically every specific re-
lation are just group of minorities,
The debtors are minority, and so are
the creditors. The farmers are a
minority. Probably even the home
owners are a minority. The laboring
element, as so classified, is a minority.
Of course every wrong that is inflicted
comes from a minority, usually from
specific individuals or associations, but
every good thing, creative, scientific,
benevolent or what-not, also comes
from similar minorities. Colonel
Roosevelt's favorite hobby is the
natural resource proposition, doubtless
because the insignificant minority
typifed in the public land states is
comparatively safe political material
to attack, seeing that the subject wins
powerful approval in the preponderat-
ing eastern and southern and central
states whose interests are in no wise
affected by his proposals. The public
land laws, under which the present
tyrannical minority to which he refers
operates, have been on the statute
books almost from the beginning of the
nation, and with their amendments and
additions have governed the disposal of
very nearly everything of consequence
in the fortyeight states, outside of the
original thirteen. These laws have
been applied to all alike. have given
everybody an equal chance who wanted
the chance, and still do so, excepting
that under the withdrawals made by
him while president nobody now has a
chance, saving only the swarm of
officehoiders turned loose through Mr..
Pinchot to hold the public domain, in
GLIDING the flowing streams, in idleness
and uselessness. If Colonel Roosevelt
is to be taken at all seriously every
man who has made homestead on the
public domain, or acquired lawful
patent to other unappropriated natural
resource, is tyrannical minority for
holding on to his property against all
the rest of the people.
1t is hard to conceive of a sadder
spectacle, or of a greater loss to the
American people, than the retrogres-
sion OF what was SO powerful and so
useful a character, to the low and
shabby harangues he is now making in
order to win votes and get back into
the presidency. There is an even more
discouraging aspect of it in the fact
that he receives so much popular Gre
dence, in the face of the drivel he is
now uttering from the public rostrum.
If anything were needed to make clear
the fact that we must have the checks
and balances he now so much despises
must lave In positions of public trust
and power and leadership men who I'M
derstand the meaning thereof and their
indispensable uses; must have repre-
sentative and deliberative institutions
whereby the true can be separated
from the false, Colonel Roosevelt him
self furnishes the living proof and the
fact that he has 50 great constituency
makes the demonstration complete. -
Lewiston Tribune.