Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1912-04-19

DN' iOiS SuDIly IuIOuBH tHelT news
columns, and especially through their
headlines.
We warn our readers to be on their
guard against this attempt on the part
of newspapers to sti1e free discussion.
We suggest to them that they pay little
attention to headlines; that, wherever
public speech is not printed in full in
the newspapers, they exercise caution
in reading what purports to be a re-
port of it, unless that report appears in
newspaper that is either eminent for
its fairness or is in sympathy with the
speaker whose address is reported; and
that when they read in a headline or in
an editorial that one public man has
been engaged in 'abuse" of another,
they read the speech itself and find out
whether indeed it is personal vilfication
(which is as bad to direct against a
public man as against private citizen)
or whether it has not been perfectly
legitimate even if vigorous and even if
mistaken-criticism.
On the part of those who wish to SUD-
press such free discussion there has
been, and there will continue to be, an
effort to lead the minds of the people
away from the consideration of
principles and policies, and the wisdom
or unwsdom of specific acts on the
part of public servants, and to lead the
minds of the people into questions of
personal interest; and personal fortunes,
and personal fueds. Every right
| thinking American who values his own
liberty of mind will resist this attempt
on the part of interested parties to
deprive him of his liberty. He will keep
clear in his mind the fact that the only
loyalty which public officer as public
officer owes in this country is loyalty to
| the people, and that the deeds of a man
in public Office are to be measured by no
other loyalty than that.
| 1t is important that this effort to
obscure issues by personalities should be
resisted, because there has never been
time in recent years when it has been
more important that the people of the
country should be able to choose be-
tween two broad views of popular
government.
According to one view, popular
government is such in name only and
not in fact. President Taft expressed
this view when he said this was a
government of the people, for the
people, by representative part of the
people. In order to show this he pointed
out that the electorate constituted only
one-fourth of the total populations; and
therefore it was representative part
argument to Drove that even smaller
minority, that a class, such as the
judges, should be given power beyond
the reach of the people. In other words,
he held up as desirable a form of
government in which the will OF the
people could be defied by representa-
tive part. That is a perfectly legitimate
view, and one that ought to be freely
expressed and discussed.
The other view is fundamentally diff
ferent. This view is that this is indeed
a government, not by representative
part of the people, but by the whole
people, and that whatever interferes
with government by the whole people is
contrary to the spirit of American in
h. g..
ballots are cast by quarter of the
population land the population includes
babies in arms) is no indication that
this is not government by the whole
people; that if at any time it became
clear that the electorate as now con-
stituted did not express the will of the
whole people, it should be constituted
differently; that the mere casting of
ballots by the electorate is not an ex-
hibition of the exercise of power over
three-quarters of the people by one
quarter of the people; that if it ever
became such (Which is quite inconceiv-
able), our government would be turned
into an intolerable oligarchy; and that
to use this illustration of the electorate
as an excuse for granting to any class
or group within the country irresponsible
power, is to show utter misunder-
standing of the spirit of American self
rule.
Here are two views. Mr.. Taft takes
one view, and has expressed it forcibly
in his Toledo speech. 1t is the view that
explains many acts of his Administra-
ton. 1t is view that is shared by
certain element and very large pro-
portion of ofiice-holders in his own
party. The other view is the view that
is held by those who call themselves
Progressives.
Which of these two views a man
holds will determine his attitude towards