East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1912-10-17


ness and variety Men of many oc-
cupations, of many interests, of many
aspirations contribute to il Neigh
borhood meetings. city assemblies
state conventions. interstate gather
ings, national conventions, are held
by people of every sort interested in
every kind OF occupation. Debate
stimulates each profession. each trade
each class OF manufacturers, every
union of laborers. every association
Of agents, and the cumulative effect
upon opinion and upon affairs is in
calculable.
Men are everywhere studying their
own interests. not only from their
special individual points of view. but
also in conference with men follow
ing similar callings all over the coun-
! try.
The final result of it all is that the
common interests is becoming more
and more clear-that it is easier to
see things as n whole If you will but
resort to the men who have studied
them as a whole.
Why We are Eager to Restore the
Ideals of Our Government.
Government. therefore. in the Unit
ed States may he said to be entering
upon new day. That is the reason
we are so impatient at some of the
old influences which abound in it:
that is the reason we are So eager to
restore its ideals and to broaden its
point of view: and that is also the
reason why we wish to make it alb
solutely honest. not only, but thor
oughly efficient.
\ vast deal remains to he done in
the mere line of efficiency. Indeed,
there has been very little serious eff
fort even yet in The direction of max
ing the government of the United
states as efficient as a successful bus
mess organization would he. For gov
ernment is an instrument, not an OBJ
ject in itself We ought to be inter-
ested in it only as it expresses the pur-
pose Of the people of the country
The Duty Of Government Regarding
Pure Food.
Take a special topic Consider the
duty OF the government regarding
pure food. Then aspect of govern
ment is very well illustrated in the
care that government takes, when it
is justly conducted. to see to it that
the food the people eat is pure. Pure
food laws, whether of the state or of
the nation, are OF capital and funda-
mental Importance. No man should
be allowed to sell impre food. or adul-
terated food. or food from which the
nutritious quality has been taken. And
one of the greateSet scandals of our
time is that the pure food laws we
fought so hard to get are so often ig
nored and violated and circumvented.
This is not as new a function Of
government as some people suppose,
but it is one which. unfortunately,
our own government. state and fed
eral took up very tardily. and which
require the persistent agitation of such
men as Doctor Wiley to make effec-
tive in the field of public opinion.
I do not know any function of gov
crnment in which the two sides we
have to make sure of in politics are
more clearly illustrated In the first
place, the law must be clear, explicit,
founded upon fact. unmistakable in
its commands and in its penalties. But
the law will not enforce itself.
And the Indispensable second re-
quirement is that the government
should be absolutely Independent OF
the influences which would resist or
impair the application of such laws
1t must be beyond being reached
in any way. Its inspection of foods
must be thorough. intelligent, fear
less; and its application of the law
must be absolutely without respect of
persons or interests. financial or po-
litical.
1t is serious question now in many
quarters whether these things can be
said either of our pure food laws or
of their administration. Until that
doubt is entirely removed, our gov
ernment will not have squared itself
with the duty and the standard of the
times.
The Policy Of Conservation Must Not
be Guided by Political Expediency.
The matter of the conservation of
our natural resources affords another
illustration. We must renew our for
ests. We must preserve, by scientific
care and cultivation. those that we
have. We must see to it that the min
eral resources of the country are not
eXtravagantly wasted. and that with
the care Of our forests there shall go
the renewal also of those sources of
great rivers which lie on the noun
tainside and in the forested valleys.
/ II viii not do for the government
merely to prevent the use of the for
/ cyts, merely to hold settlers off and
make enterprise wait until it shall
have determined what it will do with
these things It must adopt a policy
OF use as we'll as of reservation, and
in this it must be guided by know
ledge, not by mere political eXpedi-
ency.
such knowledge is available. This
is an age Of specialization There are
men who can tell us, if we wish to
hear disinterested counsel, just how
these things can be used without be.
Ing wasted or exhausted
Again it is a question of good house.
keeping. The government must ad-
minister our resources as good trus-
tee would administer a great estate
FOR the support OF the living and the
benefit Of those yet unborn
That Is the reason why the dues.