The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1913-06-21
A New Declaration of independence and
a New Freedom By President Wilson


for, IL the government of
the United States is to do the right
thing by the people Of the United
States, it has got to do 1t directly,
and not through the INTERPRETATION of
these gentlemen. Every time it has
come to a critical question these gen.
tlemen have been yielded to. and their
demands have been treated as the de-
mands that should be followed as a
matter of course.
The Government of the United
States at present is foster-child of
the special interests. 1t is not allowed
to have will of its own. 1t is told at
every move: Don't do that; you will
interfere with our prosperity" And
when we ask, Where is our prosperity
lodged?" certain group of gentlemen
say, with u.s. The government Of
the United States in recent years has
not been administered by the common
people Of the United States. You
know just as we'll as l dot is not an
indictment against anybody. it Is
mere statement of the facts,-that the
people have stood outside and looked
on at their own government and that
all they have had to determine in past
years has been which crowd they
would look on at; whether they would
look on at this little group or that
little group who had managed to get
the control of affairs in its hands.
Have you ever heard, for example, Of
any hearing before any great commit
tee of the Congress in which the peo-
pie of the country as a whole were
represented. except 1t may be by the
Congressman themselves? The men
who appear at those meetings in order
to argue for or against a schedule in
the tariff, for this measure or against
that measure, are men who represent
special interests. They may represent
them very honestly, they may intend
no wrong to their fellow-citizens, but
they are speaking from the point of
! view always of small portion of the
population. l have sometimes won
dered why men, particularly men of
means, men who didn't have to work
! for their living, shouldn't constitute
I themselves attorneys for the people,
and every time hearing is held be-
fore a committee of Congress should
not 60 and ask: Gentlemen, in con-
sidering these things suppose you
consider the whole country. Suppose
you consider the citizens of the United
States"
don't want SNUG lot of experts to
sit down behind closed doors in Wash.
ington and play Providence to me,
There is Providence to which am
perfectly willing to submit. But as for
other men setting up as Providence
over my self, l seriously object.
have never met a political savior in
the flesh, and never expect to meet
one. am reminded of Gillet Burgess
verses;
never saw purple COW,
never hope to see one
But this I'll tell you anyhow,
I'd rather see than be one.
That is the way I feel about thii
saving of my fellow-countrymen. II
/ rather see a savior of the United State
, than set up to be one; because l nav,
= found out, have actually found Out
. that men l consult with know NOR
3 than l do-especially If I consult wit
8 enough of them. l never came out
committee meeting or conferenc
: without seeing more Of the questio
9 that was under discussion than l ha
y seen when went in. And that, to m
s mind, is an image of government.
, am not willing to be under the patroI
o age of the trusts, no matter how prov
: dental government presides over tn
r process of their control of my life.
y | am one of those who absolutel