The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1919-11-14
Whist win The Government Do I

Z country. OCuetiUueS SiuCes MI. GS III
pers was credited with saying thai
the United Brotherhoods would force
the Government to take permanent
possession of the railroads, and in
view of the steps that the railroad
unions have taken it seems certain
that they mean. if possible, to carry
out Mr.. Gompers' threat to the let
ter, and that being true, it appears
to me, that it is time for everyone
| who really values our republic OF
democracy to do some very serious
thinking, and decisive acting, so far
as he may.
/ do not mean that the railroad
brotherhoods have any intention of
deliberately imperiling our form of
government or our freedom. / would
impute no Intentionally dishonest or
destructive motives to the railroaders
in the demands, or uItfmatum, that
they have delivered to our Govern
ment Let no one misunderstood
me. This is time of all times that
we should be open, frank and gener-
Gus in our discussions of all great
public questions, for things are on a
pivot.
But if it has come to the point
that any one class of men, with what
ever honesty of purpose, can coerce
our Government, absolutely force it,,
to comply with their demands, how
ever prejudicial such demands may
be to the rest of the people-if our
Government can thus be coerced; our
Wanted republic is descendent, our
democracy is stranded, our liberty
is gone, our greatness and power
are evanescent.
If the great mass of people can be
Indifferent under such conditions, it
argues, it seems to me, a public
apathy that fatefully points to a final
loss of political liberty. Eternal
vigilance ist he price of liberty" All
history is loud with that truth. When
the Roman Republic was going to
pieces, again and again did Cicero
complain that Romans cared for moth
ing but their fishponds-their
wealth and pleasure. But we Ameri-
cans, If 1 judge rightly, are wide
awake and on the job when we see
clearly that our freedom Is at stake.
The danger is that we might not
receive in this the threatened in
dustrial and sociali5tic debauch that
would terribly shake, and perhaps
crush. our existing political struc-
ture.
Isn't it significant that any class
of men can boldly threaten our Gov
eminent, as If the Government were
theirs solely, and not ours also? Can
i the railroad brotherhoods compel our
Congress to comply with their de-
mands, or else unseat our Congress,
and elect one of their own, that will
comply with them, as they assert
they will do? If SO, repeat, as for
the rest of us, our Government is
gone. What will the Government do?
What will the people do?
In dealing with this problem there
are four courses open to the Govern
ment: to weakly submit to the bro
therhoods' demands; to compromise;
to submit it to vote of the people;
or surely and firmly resist it.
If it is really strong and honest
Government and does not see fit to
submit it to a referendum of the
people, nor can in justice and wisdom
| accede to the demands; 1t evidently
will effectively resist them, giving
of course the railroaders impartial
and simple Justice. For the peoples
government can not submit to the
demands of any one class of men
against it's own best judgment, or
in violation Of the will of the whole
people, without disgrace to itself,
or betrayal of its high trust to the
whole people. And for the Govern
ment to ever compromise with GER
tain class on their demands, is to
barter with the rights and prero-
gatives of the whole, people, and to
set up weak and dangerous pre-
cedent. The Government ought to
govern, giving justice to all classes
and concessions to none, carrying
out the will of all the people and
protecting their inalienable rights.
Our Government seems to have
suddenly degenerated into a regu-
lating and compromising power rath-
er than governing power. Too
much congressional investigation of
private affairs and government su-
pervision and control of public in
dustries, to my mind, is encouraging
to the socialistic element, leading
them to believe that they can force
the governments hand, and evolve