Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1912-08-05


ton that has carried the world on and
upward for 1000 years.
l do not say that the two gentlemen
who now lead, one the Democratic
party and the other the former Repub-
icans who have left their party. in
their attacks upon existing conditions
and in their attempt to satisfy the pop
ular unrest by promises of remedies.
are consciously embracing socialism.
The truth is that they do not offer any
definite legislation or policy by which
the happy conditions they promise are
to be brought about, but II their prom
Uses mean anything they lead directly
toward the appropriation of what be
longs to one man to another.
Don't Know Where They Are Going.
The truth is, my friends, both those
who have left the Republican party
under the inspiration Of their present
leader and our old opponents, the
Democrats, under their candidate, are
going In direction they do not def
initely know, toward an end they can
not definitely describe. with but one
chief and clear object, and that is of
acquiring power for their party by
popular support through the promise
Of change for the better. What
they clamor for is change. They
ask for change in government so
that the government may be restored
to the people, as if this had not been
a peoples government since the begin
ming of the constitution.
These gentlemen propose to reform
the government, whose present de-
fects, IL any, are due to the failure OF
the people to devote as much time as
Is necessary to their political duties by
requiring a political activity by the
people three times that which thus far
the people have been willing to as
sumo, and thus they propose RENE
dies which, instead Of exciting the
people to further interest and activity
in the government, will tire them into
such an Indifference as still further to
remand control of public affairs to a
minority.
But after we have changed all the
governmental machinery so as to per.
NIT Instantaneous expression of the
people in constitutional amendments,
in statutes and In recall of public
agents, what then? Votes are not
bread. constitutional amendments are
not work, referendums do not pay rent
or furnish houses, recalls do not fur
v,fcE olothinrr Initiatives do az 1u
employment or relieve inequalities of
condition or OF opportunity. We still
ought to have set before use the def
mite plans to bring on complete equal
ity Of opportunity and to abolish hard
ship and evil for humanity. We listen
for them in vain.
Instead of giving us the benefit OF
any specific remedies for the hardships
and evils of society they point out, they
follow their urgent appeals for closer
association Of the people in Legislation
by an attempt to cultivate the hostility
Of the people to the courts and to repre-
sent that they are in some form up
holding injustice and are obstructin.
the popular will Attempts are mad,
to take away all those safeguards fol
maintaining the independence of thu
judiciary which are SO carefully framed
in our constitution.
Hostility to the Courts.
These attempts find expression in the
policy, on the one hand, Of the recall OF
judges, a system under which judge
ai.,f< In,
rarily displease the electorate Is to bt
deprived at once Of his Office by popu
lar vote, a pernicious system embodied
in the Arizona constitution and which
the Democrats of the house and senate
refused to condemn as the initial policy
of new state. The same spirit mani
tested itself in the vote by Democratic
senators on the proposition, first, tC
abolish the commerce court and, sec
ond, to abolish judges by mere act OF
repeal, although under the constitution
their terms are for life, on no ground
except that they did not like some OF
the courts recent decisions.
Another form Of hostility to the judic
iary is shown in the grotesQue propo
sition by the leader of former Repub
licans who have left their party for 6
recall Of decisions, so that decision
on a point Of constitutional law, hav
ing been rendered by the highest court
capable of rendering it, shall then b.
submitted to popular vote to determine
whether it ought to be sustained
Again tho Domorrotic Marty In cOn
gress and convention shows it's desir,
to weaken the courts by forbidding thu
! use of the writ Of injunction to protec
a lawful business agf inst the destruc
| tive effect of a secondary boycott ant
obligation to meet this national need.
Protective Tariff.
The platform of 1908 promised on be
half Of the Republican party to do Ger
| tain things. One was that the tariff
would be revised mt an extra session
! An extra session was called and tn
! tariff was revised The platform di'
| not say in specific words that the re
vision would he generally downward
but l construed it to mean that. Dur
Ing the pendency or tne h1Il anu alle
| 1t was passed it was subjected to tn
most vicious misrepresentation. 1t wa
said to be bill to increase the tarif
rather than to reduce it. The law ha
! been In force now since August. 1909,
period of about thirty-tive months. w
are able to judge from its operation
how far the statement Is true that
did reduce duties
It has vindcated itself, Under 1t
operation prosperity has been gradual
" restored since the panic OF 1907
There have been no disastrous failure
and no disastrous strikes The per
oeptage Of reduction below the Ding
iey bill is shown in the larger free lis
and in the lower percentage or tn
tariff collected on the total value o
the goods imported The figures shoy