Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1917-09-01

While there Is an element OF uODli-
ity fl the attitude OF the few rich men
now serving the government in yari-
Gus capacity free OF charge. when the
thought OF free service becomes an
obsession there is also to be seen in it
the element Of danger In democracy
Sir Hoover for example. is giving the
best OF expert service to his country in
the hope OF reaching a proper solution
on the food situation, and there Is no
doubt OF his ability 10 measure up to
the task Nor can there be q doubt as
to the patriotic motive behind his free
service. But when Mr.. Hoover Is so
imbued with belief in the correctness
OF free service 10 the government that
he feels every man should follow his
example there Is very grave doubt as
10 the wisdom of his conclusions.
Though every man may not be as able
as MIR Hoover, there are quite mum
Der OF men equally patriotic who are
not so well of and 20 whom it would
be an undesirable sacrifice to give
their time 10 the government, yet their
services may be proportionately as
valuable TO the nation as are those of
Mr. Hoover in the larger administr2-
tive field As fact. free service 70
the government in democracy, ex-
cept i'm the last extremity and as
universal principle is basically
wrong. Pursued TO its ultimate con-
clusion, Il means the elimination from
any part in administrative government
OF every man save the rich man Eng
land passed through this phase Of life
for years. Her House of Commons.
supposed TO be representative OF the
peoples interests. for decades was an
unpaid body. a body composed of men
rich enough to serve their government
free Of charge But the result was
that actual representatives of labor
never could afford to go TO the com
mons and the peoples affairs rested
in the hands OF men having wealth
and time to spend il. 1t took many
years Tor the British mind TO grasp
the danger Of this situation, but final
~ the thought sifted in and a change
was quickly established Free sery-
ice to the government was found to
be opposed to government by the peo-
ple. Now the members of the British
House Of Commons are paid, as they
should be Country publishers may
well consider the wisdom of watch
fulness lest this free system. tried and
found wanting, does not gain too firm
root in the circles OF our own admin
istration.
The United States never must be
placed in the position of beggar ma
ton. The people want the best there
Is in government because il is the PEG
pies government And they are ready
10 pay for the best They do not want
TO rest under obligation TO any man.
II the exigency of the occasion de-
mands food administrator then the
country wants the ablest man to be
ohtaineds and il wants 10 pay for his
services II il be right to have in Of
fee a food administrator serving with
ont pay. then Il is right TO have in Of
fee a president TO serve without pay.
II is right for cabinet members to
serve without pay and for members of
the Senate and House to serve with
out pay. And, if il be right for Mr..
49,. .. .,.rn,,t eorxsfaa IN bis 10
partment without pay, then it is right
to hll the governments departments
with men and women who are willing
10 give their time to the government
And by the same token if the govern
ment departments properly should ex-
cept free newspaper space they should
as promptly request that other COM
modities be supplied free of charge
There is no halfway-house about this
business. This is a democracy. After
mature deliberation the country decid-
ed that the volunteer system Of raising
an army was unfair. and SO conscrip-
ton OF men was adopted as princi-
pie. The volunteer service of money,
and time which means money, is even
more unfair The cost Of government.
whether in time Of war or in time Of
peace. must be paid by the people, If
il becomes necessary for the people to
call for free service or for free COM
modities. then let all the people share
in the sacrifice. The newspaper pub
fishers viii be the first to offer both
their time and their commodity to the
government. But in the meantime they
see not only the element of injustice,
but the element of danger in the serv-
ice and -without-pay policy which
appears to be growing in popularity
II seems absurd when paid head Of
a government department asks for
free service or expect free commodi-
ties TO help him out
Alfalfa requires carefully prepar-
ed seed bed. The land should be free