Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-09-16
Selected by Tavenner

when the constitution should be
amended, and the power to declare
war, vested in congress, should be
| limited to war for the one purpose OF
common defense, as originally intend
| ed, and when the people who must
| pay the cost and do the fighting should
recover back to themselves for exer-
else by direct vote the power to de-
| clare war for other purposes.
| / do not only believe in the funda-
mental and natural right OF the people
| TO exercise direct power in the con-
| troll of their constitution and the ad-
ministration of public affairs, but
have full confidence in the wisdom OF
! the multitude and the ability of the
masses to exercise self-goyernment
| We hear it said in opposition to the
! direct vote that the people would be
| liable TO act without full information
and proper advisement. Grant this as
/ true, the same objection could be urg-
| ed with equal force against legisla-
| tive bodies, as many members vote
| not upon their own information or adj
visement but by following others who
| claim a superior knowledge of the
| facts. 1t is true that men may make
mistakes, but 1t is also true that a
man does not make as many mistakes
/ himself as others are liable to make
against him, and 1t is also true that If
| he does make such mistakes he is
more liable to correct them than 9TH
| ers would be to correct them against
| him.
| 1t IS true that some men are wiser
/ than other men, that some men are
| better informed than other men, that
| some men are more experienced and
| better trained than other men; but no
man Is so much wiser than another
| man or so much better informed than
another man or so much more expert
enced or better trained than another
man that he is entitled to be given
/ the right to think or act for another
man, nor the power to govern other
men, nor to tell another man what is
I good for him, nor what that other man
! likes best, nor how he loves to live,
nor how he should enjoy life, liberty
or the pursuit of happiness
| While some men claim that only
the special few know how to direct
| the government and to conduct pub
! lie affairs, yet whenever one OF these
special few passes away the world is
| found to move on without him, and
men are found who are able to con-
I duet public affairs in even a better
way than the special few in whom it
was claimed that all political wisdom
rested. And while some men claim
| in justification of the right of the spe-
cial few to govern the many that the
/ special few do what is best for their
| fellow man and better than their fell
| low man could do for himself This
| is subterfuge as old as history Ev-
! cry man who has enslaved another
man has enslaved him under the claim
I II
the enslaved. Every nation which has
conquered and subjugated a defense
less people has conquered and sub
! jugated them under the claim that it
was TO improve the condition of the
subjugated.
You will hear the claim that the
| people themselves do not know enough
! TO select good public officials and that
! popular election Of such officials is a
failure and that such selection of pub
| lie servants can be better made bv
the representatives of the people than
by the people themselves Unfortun-
ately for this argument. we have a
practical example before US The fed
eral constitution provided for the eIec-
ton of United States senator's by the
state legislatures; but after trial and
experience it was found that under
the election of United States senator's
by legislatures that the United States
senate had become filled with men
who represented themselves and their
business associates more efficiently
than the people whom it was intended
they should represent. BY reason of
this discovery the federal constitution
was amended, taking the power away
from the state legislatures for the
election of United States senator's and
placing the same in the control of the
direct vote of the people.