Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1914-07-16
NONGONFORMITY.
Editor Democrat:

Eae our ScnOot DOy Gays, anu We MAJ
our text books for study and certain
methods of receiving instructions fro,.,
our teachers. Many of us, when we
stood up in class and orally spelled
words from Webster's old Blue Back,
had but little conception of the greaS
meaning of some of those words. The
word above adopted as our subject,
clsssed by Mr.. Webster in his columns
IS having five syllables, with the &C
cent on the third, is one never to be
forgotten, to the day of ones death,
fer we are now living in an age Of
.'nonconformity. Political noncon-
formity on every hand. in every town
in every county, in every state and
throughout the nation and throughout
the world. Religious nonconformity
TO every order of priestcraft, almost
every dogmatic structure, shadowy
reproductions of the past, cerdal tests
of egoistic churchmanship and the be-
lief tina there must be an eternal
clinging to all the traditions of al
earlier age, simply because the eclesi-
sstically CARRIED, say it must be done.
in order to be saved.
Sociological nonconformity, think as
the other fellow thinks, dress as the
ether fellow dresses, do as he does,
sleep as he sleeps, eat as he eats, go
only where he goes, belong to his club,
hie morals, your morals, bow down to
the idols of his Bonded knees,--not
much In this non-conforming age, Of
the twentieth century, thank you
Praise to our free country and to
our intelligent free people there comes
a turning point in reference to all
Things entering into our lives. whether
they point in reference to all things en-
tering into our lives, whether they be
political, religious or ethical.
The progressive in politics as we
new have them, is but a non-confor
ist to the ways and methods of the
old reactionary, and we have a sus-
picion that all which is called pro-
gressiveness, in this day and time, in
the political field, will bear watching,
when practical application is made to
cur governmental institutions. The
progressiveness of Mr.. Lafollette, the
first dissenter, when compared to that
of President Roosevelt and the Per.
kins-Pinchots, seems to be as far sep
arated in practicable principles as the
East is from the West and as dark
ness is from daylight. A fair minded
reasonable man, will experience some
difficulty in pointing out and distin-
gushing the practicable difference in
the governmental theories of our
North Carolina dissenters, calling
themselves ''progressives" from the
time settled theories of the great
masses of democrats, scattered from
the Atlantic ocean to Cherokee, far
beyond the mountains. The people
know what democracy means, for the7
have heard of it, and have lived it,
since the days Of Jefferson, and in truc
democracy there is a world of pro-
gTessiveness, but when it comes to
blocking out certain crowd or sect
and clubbing them with the special ep-
tibet of @progressives" as distin-
grished from plain old democracy
pure and SIMPLE, then the common
yeomanry, who before moved and
wrought in the light thereof, are
thrown into darkness and know not
where they are being led. The sweet
est and most encouraging word to the
common man on this earth, pertaining
to his ordinary welfare, is that word
democracy for he we'll knows its
full meaning, but when we come to
what is termed "progressiveness" is
IS susceptible of many twists and I'm
certain meanings. The constitutional
amendments as proposed, may be good
things for the people and ali right,
hut one thing cerain is, that tbs
masses of the voters seem to know
very little about what eur Lawmakers
ere striking at. The man who con-
soles himself, with the though that he
is in some way going to have to pay
less taxes than heretofore, is doomed
to sad disappointment. The day of
low taxes, is numbered in the past,
and the only certain thing we may
look for, in that direction. is steady
increase, let it come how it. will: for
the numerous and ever increasing pub
JIG institutions, can never be run with
cut more money, and it would be ex-
ceedingly hard to find one in North
c2roIina now who does not already
think he Ii taxed higher than he ought
ID be The man WAC stands back and