Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1913-09-25
j. S. WILL FOLLOW
EXAMPLE OF ROME
so SAYS SENATOR J. HAM LEWIS
IN HIsroRtcAL WORK COM
PARINo REPUBLICS.

Washington, d. c., Sept 24.-Sen.
ator James Hamilton Lewis Of Illinois
has published book entitled Two
Great Republics-Rome and the United
States" The volume comprises 304
pages and compares conditions record
ed in Roman history with those exist
ing in America today.
"The FIVE centuries Of republican in
stitutions on the banks of the Tiber
still remain the richest quarry to
which the student Of republican govern
ments is able to resort for his ma
terial," Mr.. Lewis says, "and the
greatest resemblance to the existing
conditions in the United States, both
as to the character Of the politics and
the nature Of the problems, Is to be
found in the great Roman republic OF
1000 years ago"
Three great evils, Senator Lewis
points out, led to the downfall OF the
Roman republic. I le great inequali-
ties OF wealth, the influence of a class
.of demagogues possessed of a knoWl-
edge of human nature and endowed
with skill in the management of men,
yet entirely lacking in principle pa
triotism, or any sense OF public obliga..
ton, and the absence Of any system OF
representative organization In the
Roman government.
"The first two of these evils Sem
ator Lewis says, ARE to be found IN
the American republic Of today; the
last of the three was disadvantage
suffered by Rome but ontgrown by
modern republics
After tracing the principal events In
Roman history, from the point Of view
of world development, Senator Lewis
concludes:
mot only in great but also in small
or things we see the ever recurring
resemblances between Roman and
American condition. Cicero's com.
plant, Let me tell you that there Is no
class Of people SO harassed by every
kind OF unreasonable difficulty as can
didates for office finds responsive
chord in every American politician.
SIaps "Unscrupulous Demagogue" =
"The impossibility OF voters being
able to discriminate between the re-
former and the unscrupulous dema-
gogue is shown time and again in the
political history both OF Rome and the
United States. There has always
D0eu u GLASS; VI POllLICiouS WAIAOuI
character, without honesty, without
any pretense of truthfulness, without
any ability Of kind to be Of value to
the public, but possessed of an almost
superhuman ability to deceive the
public and to advertise themselves.
Examples OF this class may be found
in Roman history in such men as
Carlo and Caesar; striking examples
in recent American history will readi-
ly occur to every one.
Political expenditure in. the latter
days of the Roman republic had be-
come an even greater evil than in the
case OF the United States today. It Is
interesting, though alarming, to note
that, the greater political freedom be.
came at Rome, the greater became the
amount Of political expenditures and
the greater the power Of money In
elections. A similar alarming phenom-
enon has recently been noticed in this
country in the greater increase Of po-
litical expenditures which have fol-
lowed the introduction Of the direct
primary and the consequent greater
difficulties of the candidates for ONCE
not possessed OF large fortune"