Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1912-02-22

The important thing Is cigis-that
Under such government recognition as
we may give TO that which is' benef-
icent and wholesome in large bust
hess organizations we shall be- most
vigllant never TO allow them to erys-
talliZe' into condition which shall
make private Initiative difficult IT Is
OF the utmost Importance that In the
futurc we shall keep the broad path OF
opportunity Just as open AID easy for
our children aS il w"A or o'." fathc"T
during the period 0-,ir.i has been Il .
glory of Americas ~ - rial history
In word. hen. orr fun,lamenl /
purpose must he a secure genuine
equality Of opportC1ity so man
should receive II de- ar unless that
dollar has been falr earned. Every
dollar received should represent dol
lars worth Of service" rendered. No
watering of stocks shouTd be- permit
ted, and II can 10 prevented only by
close governmental supervision OF all
stock issues so IA 10 prevent Overcap-
italization.
We stand for the rights of property,
but we stand even more for the rights
Of man. We will protect the rights Of
| the wealthy man, but we maintain
| that he holds his wealth subject to the
general right OF the community 10 reg
ulate its business use as the public
welfare requires.
Welfare Of Labor.
We also maintain that the nation
and the several states have the right
to regulate the terms and conditions
{ Of labor. which is the chief element
Of wealth, directly in the interest Of
the common good. 1t Is cur prime
duty to shape the industrial and social
forces SO that they may tell for the
material and moral upbuiding OF the
farmer and the wageworker, Just AZ
they should do In the case OF the bust
ness man You, trainers OF this con
stitution, be careful so to frame 1t that
under IT the people shall leave them
selves free to do whatever is necessary
In order to help the farmers OF the
state to get for themselves and their
wives and children not only the bene-
fits OF better farming, but also thos"
OF better business methods and better"
conditions of fife on the farm.
Moreover. shape your constitutional
action so that the people will be able.
through their legislative bodies or, fail
ing that. by direct popular vote to pro
vide workmen's compensation acts, TO
regulate the hours of labor for chill
dren and for women, TO provide for
their safety while at work and to pre-
vent Overwork or work under unhy
gienic or unsafe conditions. See to II
that no restrictions are placed upon
legislative powers that will prevent the
enactment Of laws under which your
people can promote the general wei
fare, the common good.
SO much for the ends of govern
ment, and I have, OF course, merely
sketched In outline what the ends
should be. Now for the machinery by
which these ends are to be achieved,
and here again remember only sketch
in outline and do not for moment
pretend to work out in detail the meth
DDS Of achieving your purposes, Let
me ut the outset urge upon you to- re
member that, while machinery is i'm
portant, it is easy to overestimate its
Importance and, moreover, that each
community has the absolute right tn
determine for itself what that machfn-
cry shall be. subject only to thesftInda
mental law Of the nation as expressed
In the constitution Of the United
States. Massachusetts has the right
to have appointive judges who serve
during good behavior, subject to re-
moval, not by impeachment. bat by
simple majority vote OF the two houses
Of the legislature whenever the repre-
sentatives Of the people feel that the
needs Of the people require such re-
moval. New York has the right to
have a long term elective judiciary
Ohio has the right to have short term
elective judiciary without the recall
California, Oregon and Arizona have
each and every one Of them the right
to have u short term elective judiciary
with the recall. Personally Of the four
systems l prefer the Massachusetts,
one If addition be made to il as l here
matter indicate.
In the first place, l believe in the
short ballot. You cannot get good serv
Ice from the public servant IL you can
not see him, and there is no more eff
fective way Of hiding him than by mix
Ing him up with a multitude Of others
SO that they are none Of them impor-
tant enough to. catch the eye Of the
average workaday citizen. The crook
In public life is not ordinarily the man
whom the people themselves elect di
rectly to highly important and re-
sponsible position. The type Of boss
who has made the name Of politician
odious rarely himself runs for high cleo
tive Office and il he does and Is elected
the people have only themselves t.
blame. The professional politician ana
the professional lobbyist thrive most
rankly under a system which provides
Il multitude of elective officers, Of such
divided responsibility and OF such Oh
scurity that the public knows and can !