Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-09-08
GOING AHEAD BACKWARDS.


United States senate Of the proposed
legislation which is to supplement the
Sherman antitrust law, Senator Borah
took occasion to point out that while
the politicians are sounding the cry of
more power for the people. legislation
actually taking away their powers Is
being framed and made into law. This
is being accomplished, he said,
through the medium of various COM
missions in which great power Is
vested and which are limiting individ-
ual and collective responsibility by
placing too much in the power of COM
missions that may be Incompetent
The senator said in part:
Mr.. President, let us reflect for a
moment. This Is day of propaganda
for popular government for placing
the government more and more In the
hands Of the people, for turning the
powers of legislation and the power of
control of the executive more COM
lletely over into the hands of the
masses. That is what we tell them.
What are we doing? We have today
the transportation system of this coun-
try almost completely in the control
and under the control of commits
sion which the people can neither Sc
lect, elect nor recall. We have the cur
rency of this country in the control of
commission which the people of the
country can neither select, elect, recall
nor prevent from being appointed. We
have now pending in the congress of
the United States bill providing that
there shall be placed in the hands of a
commission at Washington the power,
capacity, and the great instrumental
tiles which are to turn the wheels of
industry in this country from the
Atlantic to the Pacific. We are now
proposing to place all the great indus
tries of the country in the hands OF
commission which the people neither
select, elect, nor can they recall. We
leave a nero shell Of the government,
the mere outward form Of the govern
ment, in the hands of the people to
flatter and satisfy their pride, while
the great essential elemental powers
which deal with and control their des-
TIMES are in the hands of twenty-five
or thirty men.
What chance will the great mass Of
the American people have in controll-
ing those thirty men when twenty-five
years have rolled around? We have
had some observations passing before
US, and we know that it would be
within the power of any one man to
turn these great industries and the en-
tire business, currency, and transport
alton Of the country over to class of
men whose view of unfair competition
or whose view of proper currency
might be as far removed from your
Judgment or mine as the light from
the darkness. Who is going to check
up on it? Where is the counter
check? What becomes of that princi-
pie, the principle which has preserved
the government until this day, that in
no mans hand Is lodged arbitrary pow
er, that the executive is balanced
against the legislature, and the legis-
lature against tho judiciary, and one
against the other? What becomes Of
that great fundamental principle dis
covered by our fathers practically and
put into the constitution of the United
States when you, have the vast powers
which are delegated to these men
without any check or balance or recall
or review whatever?
Mr. President, I am not expressing
my view with any expectation what
ever of changing the current or chang
ing the program. understand per-
fectly how utterly useless 1t Is to
prophesy except to satisfy your own
intellectual activity, but just so sure
as the American people discover, and
az soon as they do discover, that we
are delegating these vast powers to
those with whom they have no politi-
cal connection and over whom they
have no elective control. the program
will be changed.