The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1913-06-05

tiyesl has contributed the following
article TO the Saturday Evening Post.
1t later appeared in the congressional
record. from which we herewith re
produce It:
Followers After Strange Gods.
Crusades for political regeneration
come periodically, like other epidem'
les. They are as different as are the
measles, the whooping cough, an 4 e
chicken pox. The crusaders are ae'ta'
err constant nor consistent. Each agi-
tatiop is for a new idea, with new dis
coyeries OF shortcomings In the gov
eminent and new remedies.
| speak of these things with the ut
most respect because I have been
victim; and in my youth l sometimes
despaired of the Republic and ques-
toned the wisdom Of the men who
projected 1t. We had, back in the
early fifties, the American or Know
Nothing party movement, so called
because none of those engaged In II
protested to know anything about 1t.
They we're franker than most OF their
successors in the reform movement
we have had since that time, for these
gentlemen profess 10 know all about
everything.
FSl rG.,n nhanThnn
tention of the citizenship; but even
then we had men and newspapers in
the North who thought that Lincoln
was ITO Slow and Unprogres5ve" or
ITO rash and Impulsive" and so much
did they think alike on the central
idea of opposition to Lincoln that they
easily compromised their differences
on principles to unite in their Eman-
cipatcr before the war talk ended.
Then we had the liberal movement
in 1872, with opponents OF national
ism and protection supporting Greedy,
the arch.opponent OF state rights and
free trade, with the assurance that
they were the only men In this
country governed by principle
rather than by prejudice. Next came
the Greenbackers REINFORCED by the
flat money advocates, who insisted
that the Federal Government could
coin paper money as well as gold and
silver and create wealth by the flat
law. With them came the prohibition
lists, who believed that they could re-
gulate mans appetite by statue, and
the Labor party which demanded spe-
cial legislation for a class with the
watchword Of no class legislation.
The Jonahs OF Politics
A few years later We had the
Grange and THE Farmers alliance
which went a step further than the
Green hackers and insisted that gov
eminent deposits should be guarant-
eed by nonperishable agricultural
products which must have meant fert-
ilzer, as that is the only nonperish'
able product of agricultural ana the
one into which all other agricultural
products sooner or later resolve them
selves. :
Then came the Populist Tart to-
reform everything; and little later
the Free Silver Party, which was to
the Democratic Party al the Whale
was TO Jonah until the Lord released
him. Now, We have the Progressive
Party, which seems to have almost
played whale to a Republican Jonah
for the time being. These reform
movements have all been earnest and
perhaps honest though misguided in
demanding legislative reforms that
could not be realized and after each
effort the people behind them found
a place in one or the other of the old
parties.
The last impulsive movement of
this kind is more ambitious and in
my judgment is more mislead than
all the others because II does not stop
at legislative reform, but goes direct.
ly to fundamental principles and seek
to rewrite or destroy the primary law
of the country as laid down in the
Constitution. In all other efforts the
people have been handicapped by ira
dition or sentiment or veneration mai
stayed the hands OF the latest cru
saders of reform, for they would un
hesitatingly rewrite the constitution
or do away with 1t entirely as tn
fundamental law and convert thi
government into pure democracy, t
be swayed like an old time cam
meeting by the fervor OF the exhorte
rather than by the logic OF the o
dained minister.
have had patience with all formt
reform campaigns for In my young,
days had some of the same impulse
and moreover, had any one OF the.
campaigns succeeded the experimel