The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1918-11-22
The Menace OF
PATERNALISM
CHAPTER V.
The Menace.

Lie u1cudCC WHICH L ste Is 1O =
in the deliberate will Of the peo-
pie, but in fact that under the
emotional stress Of war, under the
patriotic impulse Of the time, I'M
der the actual or fancied necessi-
ty Of the war situation tendencies
are tolerated and modes Of
thought and action permitted to
gain a footing unopposed, which
are apt to create very serious
problems upon the return Of nor
NAL conditions.
That menace is aggravated by
the fact from a thoroughly lauda-
BILE and patriotic desire to sustain
the Nations spokesman and cho-
sen leader in the formidable diff
ficulty and responsibility Of his
task of conducting the war, we
are all reluctant to raise cOntrO-
versies, and most of us would
rather swallow our convictions in
silence, at whatever discomfort to
our mental digestive apparatus,
than place ourselves in position
where our patriotism may be
doubted or our motives suspected
to be those Of a selfish concern
for our individual or class inter-
ests, in time when selfishness is
almost reasonable.
In what [ am going to say [ wish
very distinctly and earnestly to
disclaim any intention Of critics.
ing our present Government. It
would be most unbecoming and
improper to do so before this non
partisan gathering in which poll
tics can have no place.
What | mean to bring out is not
any sins of omission or commits
sion of the present Administration
but unavoidable frailties and
shortcomings which are inherent
in the very essence Of all govern
ment and which emphasize the
need, particularly in democra-
cy, Of combining the business func-
tons Of government to activities
which private enterprise cannot
undertake equally as we'll or bet
ter than the State, or which, In
the interest Of the maintenance
Of free institutions, private enter,
prise ought not to be permitted
to undertake.
Liberty necessarily limits gov
ernmental efficiency That is
part of the price we pay for free
dom. We do not begrudge the
price. We are prepared to pay
any price for the supreme bless
ing Of being free men-if neces-
sary, even the price Of our lives,
as many Of those did who pro-
cured for us the great legacy of
liberty. But why unnecessarily
bid up the price against ourselves
by extending the scope Of govern
mental activities beyond the field
which naturally belongs to them.
Government, in its very essence
is the negation Of competition
It IS, by the very fact Of it's be-
ing, whatever it's name or kind,
the monopoly Of monopolies. It
cannot but be affected with those
shortcomings which spring from
the absence of competition and
the exercise Of monopoly.
Why, then should a people
which rightly discountenances mo-
nopoly and rightly believes in the
principles Of competition, enlarge
the operations Of governmental
agencies further than is required
Tor the recognized purposes which
a free government is meant to
serve.
In saying this, I do not fail to
recognize that certainly during the
period OF reconstruction and prob
ably more or less permanently
both here and in Europe. the scope
Of State activities is bound to in
crease and must concern itself
with, and lntercede i'll. matters
which heretofore We're left entire
" TO private enterprise.
But this concern and intcrces
sion should be such as not to eli
inmate, or lame, private enterprise
but to make it more effective. Z
this respect we mieht learn from
the enemy through careful study
OF the methods followed in Ger
many before the war, some OF
which are worthy Of adoption viii
st others must be rejected as be
lng III contrast with our concep
tion Of right and morality.
Nor do fail to recognize. but
on the contrary, [ welcome unra