Danskeren. [volume] (Neenah, Wis.) 1892-1920, 1912-05-10

party would provide none of that
sort of peace. He set his teeth, adjust.
ed his glasses, balled his fists, and
went after them-those mild, kind
gentlemen who loved peace above every
thing else. No, with Roosevelt at the
helm there could be no peace. Some
thing doing all the time, in the right
direction, too. And the poor man, the
working man, knew that he had a
friend in yonder white mansion by
Lafayette Square.
Now. reader, do you get the real
significance of what happened shortly
after Taft's establishment in the saddle
~executivel A select coterie of the old
guard noble guardsmen. thesel) held
a little pleasant lo%yefeast, at which
the keynote for the new administration
was sounded. Such was the note:
"Let US have peacel"-oh peace is
an inestimable blessing. No doubt,
they had reason to know why they
desired it so very ardently.
Taft came in, and behold the change.
Openly, he comraderied with avowed
enemies of the Roosevelt policies: the
policies he was to carry out. A clever
~cartoonist caught the idea, showing
Taft and an attendant carrying out"
those policies on a stretcher as a dead
body, emaciated with starvation.
Recently. a friendly gentleman called
Taft "a real progressive, intelligently
alert to the public welfare" Ahem,
well-er-the trouble is that only the
m%oneyed aristocracy is able to view
him in that light. With them, he GER
tainly is a safe man. A real pro-
g~ressive, forsoothl
A man is known by the company he
keeps. isn't he7 Well. according TO
that criterion, Taft, at heart, is an
~arrant ~aristocrat. Only that and no.
thing more. Let's quote a recent ut
~terance of his. There are those who
do not believe all people are fit for
popular government. The fact is we
know they are not. Some Of us don't
dare to say so, but I do. We are called
upon now to say whether We ale to
continue the judiciary independent of
the majority, or of all the people
Now, let me for the sake of complete
ness supply the d~ial0ctie counterpart
of that statement. Here you have IL:
"There are those who do not believe
all Judges are fit to administer the
law. The fact is we know they are
not. Some Of rs don't dare TO say
so-but a certain Lion Hunter does!"
Do you get the drift and trend Of
the Haitian ideas, dear Mr.. Voterf
Are you ready to subscribe to his
statement abovef The majority isn't
fit to rule anymore. The will Of the
majority. consequently, no longer is
law. This. too. in a country whose
very foundation is popular government,
a rule by the people, for the people.
1.-THE majority no more understands
what's good for the country. Forum
ately, our judges and moneykings do
theoretically, the only sovereignty
recognized in our states is that of the
people. Only don't run away think
ing the moneyed aristocracy cordially
subscribe to that doctrine; they don't.
They would fain be rulers in essence
a. they certainly are in fact. And do
yon know why2 Because they are
nurtured on the conceit that money
%ennobles a man, makes him something
apart, that If a man has money he is
fit TO rule, to command TO interpret
the law; fit to be worshipped, to lead
others; that the possession of riches
~eleYates the possessor above the com
mon people, makes him immune from
the common law. invests him with a
sort Of semi divinity, with dignity and
honor, though he be mean and distest-
able in heart. Look about you, kind
reader, and verify what here is said.
Not but that / am aware of the
lugubrious fact that great heards of
voters are led by the nose, being
guided by a paltry dollar, or two.
But I believe the majority sound to
the core, and entirely able to distin-
guish between right and wrong. He
who denies this, asserts that popular
government is improbable. To say
that the majority is unfit to rule is
an insult to American citizenship.
Why, If Taft had deliberately set
about making himself impossible, he
could hardly, it would seem, have ac-
complished this in more effective fash
ion.
Many voters seem troubled with
short memories, and a lack of political
perspective. Their want Of correct,
historic circumspection, indeed, amounts
almost to an obsession. Hence, they
have no very clear perception of the