The Pensacola journal., 1913-02-12
VOX POPULI.
A. GREENHUT WRITES ON
REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT

Editor Pensacola Journal.
Coming tn America as a youth, 1
drew comparisons between the Old
World and the New World, and noted
the difference in the condition Of the
people of each. 1 sought for the reason
why there should be, on one side Of the
ocean, poverty and widespread oppres-
sion of the masses, while on the other
side there existed a great and growing
prosperity and a free, contented peo-
pie.
The reason readily discovered, and
1t lay entirely in the difference in the
form of government.
The centralized forms Of government
in Europe all tend to the suppression
of the Individual, even to the point
where the poor man receives no more
consideration from the governing class
than Is bestowed upon dumb beasts.
Worse than this, that mans sons and
grandsons, no matter what qualifca-
tions they may possess or develop, are,
by the workings of those narrow forms
Of government, held down to the state
of servitude of the father.
Contrast that with the government
Of the United States and the life of
the people under its representative form
of government The vote of the labor
ing man is as effective as that of the
rich man, and he receives the same
consideration at the hands of the>duly
elected lawmakers and law admins
traitors. If the poor man, or his chill
dren, possess or develop superior quail
tiles, he, or they, may go to the very
top.
No purely lima aginary social line
binds the son to the hardships of the
father. No trick of birth sets one man
above his fellow men, to rule them
whether he is fit or not.
can readily understand the skep-
ticism Of the royalists of Europe as to
the fitness of the masses to govern
themselves because I was born and
reared in an atmosphere that taught
and preached that doctrine, but that
this is a false doctrine, the whole his
tory of the United States is absolute
proof, for no country in the history of
the world has made greater progress
in the arts and sciences, in civilization
and in the development Of the indi-
vidual, than has the United States
under the system of representative
government that has now existed one
hundred and thirty-six years.
Having THESE views on methOQS OF
government, and of their effect upon
the people under them, 1 can but note
with alarm the tendency that is devel-
oping among our cities. including our
own city of Pensacola, to seek suppress
sion of, or a curtailment Of, "the voice
of the people" 1t is but a short step
away from representative government.
but 1t is a long step toward Old World
governmental oppression of the masses.
1t is a violation of a true and tried
principle
The next step, and it would be more
easily taken because there is more ex-
cuse for it, and bigger, richer in
terests back of it. would be the sub
stitution Of a commission for the
much abused state legislatures.
Then just one more step, and con-
gress is replaced by a triumvirate, or
dictator. or king, and the republic
is destroyed and the dream of the roy
alist is realized.
OF course it win be said that we
would not take that step, or the one
before it, but are you sure about that
Remember that fine speeches would
be made about the advantages of cut
ting out politics." of fixing the re-
sponsibility,S of eliminating red tape,
ETC. And our good old representative
government would be scornfully de-
scribed as cumbersome and topheavy. -