Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-05-21

IN UNITED STATES
Americans, Like New Zealand
ers, Conservative Even in
Their RadicaIism.
NEW ZEALAND'S HINTS
IN AMERICAN POLITICS
Roosevelt, Taft and Bryan Barred as
Candidates in the 1916 Presi-
Dental Campaign.
Editorial Correspondence Of The star.
BY THEODORE w. MOVES.


BY THEODORE w. MOVES.
Notwithstanding the representations Of
some of the books on New Zealand, the
New Zealanders are not supernatural in
| wisdom or virtue but are human even as
ourselves. with the same weaknesses, the
| same temptations and tendencies to be
resisted; the same selfishness more or less
| enlightened. The human nature of the
| New Zealand farmers, for instance, is dis
| closed in their opposition to the extern
sion of the referendum. because tit is al
| legged, under the present system of vot-
| ing their votes are IS per cent heavier
| than those of the urban voter who can
more easily. quickly ard ineXpensively
cast his vote: and they fear that they
will lose this advantage If under an ex
| tension of the referendum practically a
new voting system is established. The
| human nature of the New Zealand work
ingman Is disclosed in his policy of up
holding and obeying the arbitration court
! as long as it's decisions We're invariably
| and sweepingy in his favor. and of
| smashing this court and resorting to the
| barbaric strike system as soon as the
| conditions even slightly changed. The
| human nature of the New Zealand bust
1 ness men ana capitalists Is ulSClOSeu III
| their tendencies toward trusts and COM
| bines, which need constantly to be check
i ed. The land monopoly and the coal
| monopoly have been vigorously attacked
| by the government in New Zealand, but
| powerful aggregations of organized CAPT
| tai still exist there and are denounced
| as monopolies. as the sugar monopoly,
| tobacco monopoly and shippers monopoly
| There are charges and counter charges
by opposing political parties, as In TINS
l of fat- IN
monopolies: but these combines in New
/ Zealand are not. of course, nearly so
powerful or so highly developed as our
! own.
Zealand is disclosed in the development
of the same sort of weaknesses rs with us
/ in governments long in control: Tor eX-
ample, note the expulsion from office after
| twenty years of power on the familiar
cry of unsound financing and of favOrlt-
| ism or worse in appointments to the public
| service and in government control OF
| public utilities of the Wanted progressive
| government of New Zealand. under whose
administration SO much radical legisia-
! ton has been enacted This Overturn OF
| the progressive government is not at all
an overthrow of progressive principles 1t
| is merely a Enthusiastically American
| declaration at the antipodes that the
people are tired and d.strustful OF men
| too long in office.
| In New Zealand the people have ruled:
and on the whole ruled credltably and
| beneficially. not because they have mad
| or have rot had direct primaries. initla-
| tive, referendum. recall or government
ownership of railroads, but because In
| community composed largely of small
| farmers and men who I'm some way work
| ed with their hands. these men or small
means have intellgently co-operated.
They have voted faithfully and they have
/ voted together at primaries and elections
and as consequence they have coh1roii-
| cd The middle class has ruled as against
| the two ends. Neither orsanlzed non
| taxpayers like our democratic and re-
publican Teammates in our large cities
! nor organized plutOcratlc taxpayers IN
! trusts and combines nave prevalleo
1 against them.
| The primary teaching of the New Zea-
lander to the American is not to adopt or
to avoid this or that legislative novelty,
but to vote at primaries as we'll as cleo
TONS to vote honestly and thoughtfulty,
to vote as early and as often as the law
permits.
Conservative in Radicalism.
The New Zealander is conservative even
in his radical!sm. So is the American.
The hint on this point given by the ex-
ample Of New Zealand meets here with
hearty and quick response.
New Zealand, for instance. approves the
spirit and purpose of the Henry George
doctrine, but makes vital notifications in
Its practical application, stopping far
short of the single tax, and now revolts
at the Matchmaking of land. 1t has also.
as we have seen. resisted the strongest
pressure to adopt the initiative and re-
call.
| So i'm the United States, though the ma
tional movement is distinctly progressive
this movement is modified by the national
tradition not to go to extremes in any
-, md ho nat a q
Its radical movements and drawing the
political dcad-line in radcalism abruptly
and diSconcertingly.
Thus the American people. though cod
ding the silver mine owners and Obiga-
tons Sinking debtors up to a. certain
point. put their foot down debase-
ment of the currency on the l6-to-1 basis
They indicate that they draw the line
at all forms of confiscation of private
property without compensation, whether
open or disguised, whether of the living
or the heirs OF the dead. whether by the
coarse and direct methods of the earlier
days, when the man to be robbed was
beheaded preliminary to the appropria-
| ton of his property, or by modern meth
DDS like that of which the possibility was
| recently suggested by Vice President
Marshall of permitting the man whose
possessions are coveted to die a natural
death, and then contiscating his property
by denying his heirs the right to inherit
Though suffering from railroads abuse
OIL power anu edStT 10 regulate
ly and to punish, they baked at Bryan's
suggestion of government ownership Of
the roads. The signs clearly indicate that
| recall of judges and judicial decisions is
under the popular ban, though the drift
of public sentiment is steaoy and un-
mistakable toward an increase of the di-
rect power of the people in government
and toward vigorous opposition to contro.
of the government by combines of special
interests
i Standpatism IN excessive protection is
in essence. form of radicalism which
the people have repudiated. The nation
has desired to create and foster home
industries and to protect the wages and
working conditions of American labor
but the movement in response to this
popular impulse has been carried to ex-
tremes and obstipately held there, witt
thet result of reaction SO violent as to
threaten to destroy the whole protective
policy and the political organization iden-
titled with it. The suggestion of experience
and of political history is. however. that
the movement TO correct and punish the
| radicalism OF standpat excessive protec-
tion will in its turn sweep past the poin,
| at which the national interests are best
| served and itself push to radical and
| injurious extremes. and that there VIII
| then follow a confederation. and the
pendulum of public sentiment will swing
part way back again
| Among the peculiarities of the recent
| presidential campaign was the universal
| population of 1.-The Interests. and the
| universal claim to progressivsm. The
/ fact was recognized on all sides that the
| Socalled progressive doctrines are
| speaking broadly favored by the people
Y of the United States and the effort of
| each candidate was to convince the voters