Ottumwa tri-weekly courier., 1912-08-17


baked soul proof readers
repository thought
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THE COMMON PEOPLE" CRY IN WAsHINGTONs
TIME.
In 1857, century and a quarter ago. after the
constitutional convention had adopted present
stitution was submitted to the different states for
adoption rejection. The who fought in the revo
lutionary war and helped to win American indepen-
dence, favor Of ratfyng the action of the con-
venon and adopting the constitution while the Tories
and English synpathzers fought it, saying that it re-
srcted the rights of the people, that it took away the
power of the states that representative government
not government of the people and that it would
not be success In other words they simply had the
cry then as about 'Let the people rule" The
same arguments put forth then that used now
The same language has been used by the self named
champions Of the people in their bombastic pleas
through all the centuries of the existence of govern
ments.
There were, however, at that time who had
participated in the revolutionary war and also in the
deliberations of the convention that formed the const
tuition. Washington, Hamilton and others had fought
in the revolutionary and had also taken part in the
constitutional convention They had been through all
phases involved in the formation Of government.
They were familiar with the cry of the demagogue and
the tory. They like Lincoln and Grant in the civil war,
accustomed to expect continuous attacks from the
Hamilton did not propose to allow this fauthnd-
ing tory element have the field all to itself, 50 ne,
and through his efforts Others caused to be published
articles for the purpose of arousng the people to
aizaton of their duty to give their serious thought to
the matter under dscussion and asked them motto be
preudiced by the frantic appeals that made in the
name of the people" Hamiton's efforts success
ful-the constitution that he 50 ably defended was
adopted and the history Of the United States proves
the wisdom Of his judgment
In one of his articles, printed on October n, 1887,
one hundred and twenty five years ago, he said:
"We shall be led to conclude that they will mutual
y hope to evnce the business of their opinions and to
increase the number of their converts by the loudness
of their decamations and the bitterness of their in
vectives An enlightened zeal for the energy and efi
cheney of government will be stigmatized as the Off
spring of temper fond Of despotic power and hostile
to the principles Of liberty An overscrupuous jealousy
of danger to the rights Of the people, which is more
commonly the fault Of the head than of the heart will
be represented pretense and artce the stale
bait for popularity at the expense Of the public good It
will be forgotten on the hand that jealousy is the
usual concomitant of love- and that the noble ethus
as1n of liberty apt to he infected with spirit Of
row and ibera distrust On the other hand, it will be
equally forgotten that the vigor of government is
sentia to the security Of liberty that in contemplation
of a sound and we-nformed Judgment their interest
can be separated and that dangerous ambition
more often turks behind the specous mask Of zeal for
the rights of the people than under the forbddng ap
pearance Of zeal for the rmness and efficiency Of gov
ernnent History will teach us that the former has
been found much more certain road to the intro
uction of despotsm than the latter and that of those
men who have overturned the liberties of republics,
the greatest number have begun their by paying
an obsequious court to the people; commencing
demagogues and ending tyrants"