New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1918-02-20

enjoy with US, life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness . s
You will have noticed that in stating
our case in the present great conflict, it
BECAME expedient, if not necessary, to
quote from the Gettysburg Address Of
our Abraham Lincoln, delivered Nov.
19, 1863. The only difference being
that used the term democracy and
Lincoln gave the definition Of the term
in its stead, saying: that the govern
ment of the people, by the people, and
for the people shall not perish from the
earth. - -
If we then ask, what is democracy,
we find here the answer. It is govern
ment of the people, by the people and for
the people. That means to say, it is a
government, a power, not inherited by
anyone person SSor a number of persons
from ans ancestor; not power bought
or purchased by gold; not a power
possessed by special privilege, to be used
or abused at will, but power coming
directly out from the people, conferred
upon one man or number of men, also
taken from out of that same people.
And these men are then to guide, not
according to their own mind and will,
but according to the will Of these same
people. The people prescribe the form,
the manner, the. direction that the
guidance is to take. And even there the
interest Of the people does not cease,
but these men, so chosen, shall use such
power conferred according to the pre-
scribed orders and will of the people; use
that power, not for the benefit of "a few,
certain class, interest, or section of the
people only but to and for the benefit
of all the people concerned. That is
Lincoln's definition and conception of
demo cracy; and such is the government
of the great United States. Our govern
ment consists of President, and two
Houses Of Congress. Thee men have
been taken by us from out of our miGst
and set by ourselves out above our
selves to be our guides. They have re
ceived their power from us and also
their instructions in the form of Con
stitution and numerous Federal Laws,
accepted and ratified by our vote. And
they are now to execute these to the
welfare OF all concerned. And with us,
the people, now lies, in the form of the
ballot, the power to repudiate or en-
dorse that government. Truly Demo
cracy in the most lavish Interpretation
of the term.
Il. But such lavish freedom and liberty
Of the people also imposes binding duty
and obligation upon that people. In
organizing such form of government
they have made a covenant and hence:
forth the Individual or class or any section
of such people, while enjoying their person.
al liberty to the greatest extent possible
must at no time place it's private, individ.
ual veal above tie common veal. AT
no time can an Individual or class or
section of such people try to impose
without breaking it's covenant and
tearing to shreds all democratic ideals
it's personal or private opinion upon the
masses or seek to- attain under such form
Of government personal gain and ad-
vantage to the detriment or harm of the
common interest. While they may
suggest, they must not, dare not, cannot
impose. Wherever. such an attempt is
made, the mass Of the people will re-
pudiate and in a democratic manner,
with the interest of the mass and with
or classes or sections that have made
such an attempt, at heart, correct the
evil done the common cause by such
Individual, class, or section. ='s.>ss2s5 +
That l have given you precisely Lin
coins conception of the matter, every
page of history on the great Civil War
will attest. He personally was con-
WINGED that slavery was moral wrong.
TIE South did not share this conviction
with him. The North was to some ex-
tent divided. The South did not share
this conviction with him, because slavery
had grown up with them from the youth
Of the land, had been tolerated, even
legalized, by that great instrument, the
Constitution of the United States of
America, andewas so much part and SO
necessary a part of their cotton ente
prise that for the South itself to abolish
slavery meant financial suicide; for tie
North to impose it upon them, financial
murder, The South did not mean to
impose slavery upon the North, save a
few radicals; the North did not mean to
impose abolition Of slavery upon the