Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1919-02-13

no handful OF men have any laWrW
or mortal right to decide that ques-
ton in their own secret councils.
"The people whose destinies in the
future are decreed and written dowa
for them in the secret conferences OF
a few men, the majority of whom are
Of alien birth and alien speech and
alien sympathy and alien allegiance
is not free people nor is its polit-
ical existence democracy
"A nation whose policies are de-
cided upon by minority, whether
that minority consists Of hundreds
of thousands of citizens or of two or
three citizens, can in no sense of
the word be democracy, because
the very essence of democracy is the
decision of the rule of the majority.
Neither can decisions arrived at
without free discussion among the
people themselves and the freest ex-
preston of opinion either in print
or in speech be rightfully called pop
ular decisions.
"A decision of the majority of the
people presupposes free discussion by
a free press and should be in order
to be definitely and indisputably
majority decision submitted to re-
ferendum vote Of the whole people
and so be ratified at the polls with
out question or challenge.
IF this nation is to remain il
deed and in truth the free democracy
which our fathers made it, then there
must be freedom of discussion, free
dom of printing, freedom of speech
and the assured safety of every cit
izen behind the sheltering guaran-
tees of the Constitution; if the Cos
gress is to maintain and exercise its
lawful rights and authority, them
the Congress must maintain and in
sure the safe exercise and the law
full rights of every man and woman
who lives beneath our flag; and II
the nation is to return to that long
and well tried policy Of non-interven-
ton in the politics and the wars of
other people under which we have
developed from small folk inhab-
ting a narrow strip of territory ON
the shore of the Atlantic into the
most gigantic, powerful, prosperous
and happy people ever grouped to-
gether under one flag in the whole
history of the world, then you men
in the Congress must not only de-
fend and affirm and exercise your
own constitutional RIGHTS and powers
but you must see to Il that the
rights and the powers of the people
are defended and affirmed and freely
xercised
Our true policy is our ancient
policy-to get out Of Europe, to stag
out Of Europe, never to interfere ia
the politics of Europe or in the wars
of Europe, to mind our own BUSH
ness, to resort to every fair methoa
to make our country richer and hap
pier than any other country, to com
nit no aggressions upon other people
and to maintain our potential mil
itary strength and our actual naval
4 power as will either preserve us
from attacks by other nations or will
enable us in case of such attack to-
grind our enemies to powder.
"That, Senator's, is the way the.
majority of your countrmen think to-
day.
And that is the way the major.
Ity of your countrymen would SNEAK
to-day If you had the courage and
the good sense to remove the muzzle.
which you have nconstitutionallv
and illegally and in violation of vour
oaths and your duty clapped upon
the only mouthpiece the American
people have, the press, which was
always free until you muzzled II
and which in the whole history Of
the nation never so greatly needed
its freedom as it does today; that #
may speak boldly and bravely, power
fully and practically in support Of
liberty and democracy and the fun
damental principles of true Amer
icanism."