St. Johns review. (Saint Johns, Or.) 1904-current, 1912-11-15

lWlJn US UOuhy III OuT tTOuuicS
lthey are helping with might and
lmain 10 undermine all that is
left to us, while all the time they
pretend to be our friends. Be.
ware of them. They seek but
their own mean advantage. Look
out for the demigogue-that arch
enemy of freedom and equity,
who parades before you in the
guise of a friend. The spirit of
destruction is with US. Turn
from il, my friends, and let your
policy be one of construction in
stead. There is a revolutionary
tendency abroad in America to-
day which thoughtful citizens,
who have the true welfare of the
people at heart, look upon with
grave disapproval and condem-
nation. This destructive ten
dency we must, and will stem.
And the reason for it? Back of
it all, of course, is this bitter
conflict of Capital and Labor.
But we do not all engage in the
struggle with the calm fortitude
that is best adapted TO bring ul-
innate success to the arms of la
Dor. There lies a serious men,
ace TO our cause. For instance,
on every hand you hear men de-
crying the Constitution of our
country, and belittling the spirit
that prompted its making. But
the other day heard one speak
ing on the street who said that
the trainers of the Constitution
had in mind when they wrote il
nothing less than the oligarchy
of wealth that presides over our
destinies today that they wrote
il with the express and premedi-
tated intention of founding a ma
tion for the wealthy. rather than
for all men, irrespective of their
financial condition in life. Let
us believe nothing of the sort,
for upon the face of il this con-
tention does not merit our seri-
GUS consideration. Go back with
me in history to the founding of
this nation, and examine into the
conditions of the men who draft
ed It's organic laws. The men
who declared for freedom then
and later framed a written Con-
stitution TO bind the states to-
gether were by their erstwhile
Sovereign termed traitors to the
British Government for they
were subjects Of that govern
ment, and when they rebelled
against il they became political
outcasts. with a price upon their
heads. The men who were most
active in melting the Colonies TO
revolt against Great Briton did
so only when life under the
tyrannies of that Government
became unbearable, and when
they signed the Declaration of
Independence each one realized
that by that act he might be
signing his own death warrant.
This we know from reading the
speeches and remarks made by
those men upon that solemn oc-
casion. Now. in the name Of
Truth, let us examine into the |
industrial conditions that obtain
ed at the time Of the framing of |
the Constitution.
Then every man was an arti-
san or a farmer, or a small busi-
ness man the shoemaker was
an independent agent, building
his trade upon the excellence of
his handiwork the carpenter
his own boss. hiring only appren-
tices and belonging TO no Con-
tractor Employers association
a free agent, and likewise with
other trade occupations. IL is
true that among other things the
Constitution guarantees TO every
citizen that his property rights
shall not be disturbed. shall re-
main inviolate, save by due pro-
cess of law. II is equally true
hat the Capitalistic class has
used this clause TO great advan-
age in amassing huge fortunes.
But bear in mind that when this
great document was written that
rights and purely hui
nan rights were almost, il not
quite, synonymous; for then the
arge majority of citizens were
nome owners. And is il not ri
iiculous TO suppose that our
'orefathers We're so miraculously |
leen of sight that they could
yaze calmly into the future and
zee the mighty modern machines,
most of which have been invent
ID within a decade, that today
axe the place of skilled labor
md make a thousand horseshoes
while independent blacksmiths |
# that day made but one-doI
'ou suppose they saw these gi-
.nts at work belching forth the
appliances, the foodstuffs, the
10th, the thousand and one
hings that we use in our daily
ife, that in that time We're the
roducts of individual workmen,
lboring by the sweat of their
row and for the love of their
York? No, such an idea is pre-