The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1919-12-29
HEARD BY BIG AUDIENCE

Judge Stafford's Subject Was "some
Needed Limitations of the Right
to Combine"
Hon. Wendell P. Stafford of Wash
ngton was the speaker at the opening
of the Sunday evening Forum series at
the Second Congregational church.
Judge Stafford is a Vermonter, resi-
dent of St Johnsbury, but has been
a judge in the courts OF the District
of Columbia for the past Is years.
The first meeting CT the Forum was
a complete success The church was
filled by large and appreciative au-
dIence and the address by Judge Stat
ford was able and instructive. The
speaking was preceded by singing,
Scripture reading by Rev. J. A. Perry
and prayer by Rev w. G., Towart.
Rev. G. S Mills introduced the speak
er and told of the pans for future
meetings OF the Forum.
Judge Stafford's subject was Some
Limitations of the Right to Combine" +"
anu MD TAIN Was utNNAtu " LtElLlbN0
proposed to reach basis of indus
trial peace and progress with justice
to labor. capital and the public and
without the strife that now exists. His
address in part was as follows:
There is an old Greek story that re-
lates how a strange monster with the
body of a lion, the wings of great
bird and the head OF woman, sat be-
side the road that ran to Thebes; and
every one who passed that way was
.accCsted with her riddle. If he gave
the wrong answer, he must die. Ii he
gave the right answer, she he SET
would perish and the people would he
free. The situation that confronts us
now is such a sphinx The question
she propounds is one that we must
answer If free government is 10 sur
vive.
That question is: How are the
masses of men and women who labor
with their hands to be secured out Of
the products OF their labor what they
feel to be, and will be in fact, a fair
retu II? Until we can answer that
que estiou We shall have no peace. and
If we fail TO answer il, We shall have
a revolution. If the peasants of Eng
land in 1881 could march to London
and exact from Richard II the
changes they desired, do you imagine
the working forces of the world to-
day will prove less powerful? The
question Is not one that faces Ameri.
ca alone. II faces Britain; it faces
France; it faces Italy. It has torn
Russia into pieces. The Sphinx sits
by the road that every modern ma
tion has to pass.
Thee was a time when enormous
masses of men could he held down by
a few; just az there was time when
three men in armor could hold back
multitude of unarmed men But that
time is gone forever The nations
that control the world today have ac-
knowledged the principle of popular
sovereignty; and that means that
whatever the great majority OF men
desire and believe to be fair, they will
in the end secure. In countries like
orr own. where the peoples viii find
free expression in the ballot. any
change the people really wish can be
brought about through the regular
steps OF government and law They
have only to be patient and they can
have thei will. The future Is in their
hands. No matter how wild or dang
erous the change may seem to us, if
they can convert to their way Of
thinking a firm and continuous maiori-
ty, they can put 1t into practice, for
Tta'ntes and constitutions may be
nodded at their will.
One would suppose that this fact
alone ought to be enough to save us
from any danger Of a bloody revolu
tion And 1t is enough if patience
and reason can prevail But the
signs are all about us that patience
and reason have been forgotten. and
that great bodies of men are deter
mined to resort to other means than
the regular steps of free COVE nment
to secure their ends.
Free government | say. Let us re-
call for moment one or two of the
fundamental PRINCIPLES that underlie
any government that deserves TO be
called free For what does such a
government exist? Certainly the
answer is, the weIfa e of the com
munity as whole. Popular govern
ment is built upon that proposition as
upon a rock,--that the welfare of the
community is the final test,-4h"t th"
selfish interest OF every individual
and everv class must yield to that
! Now, the men who set up our kind
of government We're inspired by a
great faith,-the faith that the people
have sense enough and honesty
enough to act upon that principle,
These great minds saw clearly that
it is never for the interest of the peo-
pie as a whole that any injustice
should be done. 1t may be for the
interest of an individual or of a class,
and ii the question is left to the de-
cision of the individual or the class,
we may expect that it will be decided
upon selfish grounds, as it usually has
been decided under other kinds of
government
1t follows therefore that the com
munity itself must have and keep con-
troll over every step in the process of