Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1919-10-19
WHAT THE PRESS OF THE
NATION SAY
HAS GOVERNMENT GOT AWAY
FROM US?
(Kansas City Starr

(kansas City Starr
English speaking peoples claim to
nave greater genius for government
than other sons Of men have exhibited.
They have governed themselves in
| some form for an appreciable space, as
modern history is measured, and have
found time while doing 1t to govern
other races besides, often with sue
cess.
Whenever a shipload of Englishmen
landed in Il wilderness in the brave
days of Westward Ho! the first thing
they did was to set up a government
Order was heavens and their first law.
The Mayflower people drew UP a sort
of instrument of government on ship
board before they ever touched foot
to Americas shore and their descend
ants have been making laws ever since.
In England, at the same time, James
| was perfecting theory of govern
| ment rather opposed to the genius of
his subjects, and they rose up in the
| reign of his son and smashed it to bits
and made a new start on notions of
their own.
Looking back over these 800 years
we see, both in England and America,
what vast superstructures have been
raised on these rather simple founda
tions. Genius for government certainly
has done it's work, for II the English
speaking peoples are the. best gov
erned in the world they are-which
perhaps ought not to follow-tze >1ost
governed. Here in Amerita, Where we
started on the theory that the least
government was the best, we have a
structure amazing in it's complexity
and which works no man can say how
| or why, but apparently by luck, faith
and the happy fortune, so far, of a
clear track ahead.
The original functions of govern
| ment were few and obvious. They were
easily identified by the citizen. He
sometimes caught a glimpse of a SOL
der or a ship of war, and recognized
in them the police power of govern
| ment. He saw the operation of the
postoffice and of the mint. If he lived
on the coast he saw lighthouses, and
knew that the government charted
harbors and appointed ports. Beyond
these evidences, and those of light in
direct taxes and perhaps the weather
| forecast, he had little to make him
aware that there was such thing as
government. 1t didn't interfere with
his business. unless he happened to be
a moonshiner or smuggler. Perhaps
his sole personal contact with govern
ment was through his congressman's
annual package of seeds.
From these beginnings we have
travelled pretty far. The citizen is not
now likely to forget that he is gov
| erned. Government is all around him.
Government to left of him. government
| to right of him, taxes and thunders.
From the original 2-cylinder govern
ment has developed an engine whose
roar there Is no stopping the ears
against. Government boards, COM
missions, bureaus, administrations,
surround the citizen on all sides, with
all cylinders going and the muffler off.
Government occupies desk in his Of
flee and counts the money that comes
| in. Government takes over his BUSH
| ness, runs 1t at a loss and taxes him
to make up the deficit. Vast, armies
of office holders are billeted on busI-
ness and industry. Government, which
once had but doubtful power to deepen
a river for commerce. now waters en-
tire deserts from the public treasury
and even forgets to collect for the sale
of the land. There Is nothing govern
ment cannot do, especially in the line
Of expenditure. That is, there Is Moth
ability to do 1t is another question. 1t
does few things well or efficiently, or
at a reasonable cost. 1t doesn't have
to 1t is the government.
II has come TO be a question whether
Americans do not pay too much for
too much government. They would
perhaps do better to pay less and get
less. They get too much OF what they
do not need and too little of what they
do need. They need increased func-
tioning by fewer offices. instead of de-
creased functioning by more offices.
which Is the present growing tendency
| OF government. On the path we are
going the individual In less and less
and the government 10 more and more,
which IL the exact opposite Of the the