Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-10-25

fought so hard to get are so often ig-
nored and violated and circumvented
This is not as new function Of gov
ernment as some people suppose, but
lit is one which, unfortunately, our
own government, state and Federal,
took up very tardily, and which re-
ouired the persistent agitation Of such
men as Doctor Wiley to make effect
i've in the field of public opinion.
1 do not know any function Of gov
ernment in which the two sides we
have to make sure of in politics are
more clearly illustrated. In the first
place, the law must be clear, explicit,
founded upon fact, unmistakable In
its commands, and in its penalties
But the law will not enforce itself.
And the indispensable second re-
quirement is that the government
should be absolutely Independent of
the influences which would resist or
impair the application Of such laws. 1t
must be beyond being reached" IN
any way. Its inspection Of foods must
be thorough, intelligent, fearless; and
its application of the law must be alb
solutely without respect Of persons or
interests, financial or political.
1t is a serious question now in many
quarters whether these things can be
said either of our pure-food laws or
of their administration. Until that
doubt is entirely removed, our gov
ernment will not have squared itself
with the duty and the standard Of the
times.
Policy of Conservation Must Not be
Guided by Political Expedieney.
The matter of the conservation OF
our natural resources affords another
Illustration. We must renew our for
ests. We must preserve. by scientific
care and cultivation, those that we
have. We must see to it that the min
eral resources Of the country are not
extravagantly wasted, and that with
the care of our forests there shall go
the renewal also Of those sources OF
the great rivers which lie on the
mountainside and in the forested val
leys.
It will not do for the government
merely to prevent the use Of the for
ests, merely to hold settlers of and
make enterprise wait until 1t shall
have determined what it will do with
these things. It must adopt a policy
of use as we'll as of reservation, and
in this 1t must be guided by knowl-
edge, not by mere political expedi-
ency.
Such knowledge is available. This
is an age Of specialization. There are
men who can tell us, if we wish to
hear disinterested counsel, just how
things can be used without being
wasted or exhausted.
Again it is question OF good
housekeeping. The government must
administer our resources as good
trustee would administer a great es-
tate for the support Of the living and
the benefit of those yet unborn.
That is the reason why the ques-
ton Of conservation has come to the
front Of our time and has so broad
ened its meaning. We now do not
hesitate to say that it Is the business
Of government not only to see that
men live under just laws, but to see
that active means are taken for the
conservation of their health and
strength and for the establishment OF
every condition which will make them
strong and free.
The Governments Duty Towards the
Farmer.
We now see, to take another Illus
tration, that it is the duty Of the gov
ernment to take the scientific knowl-
edge developed in the universities out
Of the workers Of the country, to the
farmers, for instance, to whom should
be carried every item of what we
know about the character and use OF
Soils about irrigation, about the rota-
ton, of crops, about the climatic and
other conditions which determine
what crops can be best produced In
particular localities; about the pres
eryation Of fruit from insects and dis
ease; about the best times for plant
| ing in order to forestall conditions
which have oftentimes cut our crops
off; and everything else that may
make knowledge the servant of in.
dustry. knowledge is not developed
for its own sake, to be consumed ir
the universities. 1t is valuable only
for guidance and enlightenment.
The Market Basket as the Symbol o.
Prosperity.
The interest Of government in high
prices and an excessive cost OF living
| Is direct and manifest nowadays
Every law should be altered which
gives rise to conditions which make Il
harder for the rank and file of men tc
live. And every means ought to be
adopted by which labor may be KEEP
in heart and made secure of its JUS
earnings.
1t is not accident or the mere trick
of parties that the market-basket /:
made a symbol of the peoples pros
perity and content. An essential mat
ter with every man is, How shall M
earn enough to support himself ant
those who are dependent upon him
If any one is allowed to fix prices un
Justly or arbitrarily; if any one Is al
lowed to secure what he doesn't earn
If one man is permitted privilege
which another man does not enjoy
and fills his pocket by means of tina
privilege, while another man starves
lif the market basket is empty, not
withstanding that the man who own
lit is willing and able to work, thel
there is clearly something for govern
ment to set right.
Great questions of sanitation ant
public health have become govern
ment questions in our day. Before th'
dawn of democracy, government hat
never paid any attention to these mat
ters. Men were allowed to live lik
flies. Nowadays we consider it th'
duty of statesmen to see that womel
| not ,t-itb work. tha