The public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1913-1968, 1920-04-22
REPUBLICAN PARTY'S
PRICPLES EXPLAINED
BY HON. CHAS. kerr
Large Audience Hears Distinguished
Son of Mason County Explain the
History and Principles OF
His Party.

HIS BhrIls
There was a good audience at the
court house Wednesday evening to
hear Judge Charles Kerr, of Lexing-
ton, explain the principles and history
of the Republican party. He was in
troduced by Judge c. d. Newell, one of
his old school mates, and he decoted
some time to expressing his delight at
again being back among the scenes of
his childhood and young manhood.
Judges discussion was fair and on
very high plane. His audience was
greatly pleased and those who heard
him today know much more about the
two great parties. He explained that
when he left Mason county he was an
ardent Democrat but that after he
studied the differences of the two par
ties, he saw that either the leaders of
the Democratic party were wrong or
he was wrong and he joined the Re-
publican party. He congratulated the
Community Club upon its study of the
great political problems of the day
In his address, Judge Kerr said in
part:
Ignoring the names there have never
been but two great political parties
since the foundation of the Republic.
Each of these parties was born with
the Constitution. The divisive prin-
ciples out of which they grew, have at
tached to them. more or less intensive
ly. since their organization. The Con-
stitution was compromise between
the extremes of those principles out
of which the two schools of political
thought grew into being.
Between the two great parties in
| this country, and the dominant parties
of England. from time to time. during
the period that has elapsed since the
organization of our Government, there
will be found no striking analogy.
Parties in America are peculiar to our
own form of government and the in
/ ternal, domestic problems which have
been the result of our national eXpan-
sion and development Having orig
mated in the divergent constructions
placed upon the Constitution, each
party has sought to impress upon the
country that rule of action which
would most nearly comport with its
Interpretation of that instrument.
The Democratic party was first
known as the Republican party, and
later as the Democratic party. The
Republican party has been known as
the Federalist, Whig and Republican
parties. Minor designations, for our
purposes may be ignored. When we
use the single designation of Demo
crat and Republican we comprehend
the divisive party tenets that have
always existed, and which exist to-
day, to a large extent, fundamentally
if not practically.
Two Distinct Differences.
In the constitutional debates two
|
made manifest. These tendencies be-
came even more manifest in the sew
eral states to which the Constitution
was submitted for ratification, when
its provisions were made the subject
of general discussion. These were the
certifugal and certipetal tendencies
The one sought to create a distinct in
dividualism, coupled with a certain
Independence in legislation admins
tration. and jurisdiction on the part Of
the states, leaving to the national gov
ernment only questions of foreign pol
icy and the national defense; the otheI
sought to build up a strong national
organization in which the states would
be subordinated to the central Fedora
authority. In the cabinet of President
Washington, in the persons of Jeffer'
son and Hamilton, these irreconcilablC
differences were moulded into concrete
party alignments. The French Revo
luton, with its distinctive individual
istic inclinations, had controlling in,
fluence over Jefferson, while the dis
asters which followed the old Colonia
Confederation drove Hamilton to the
theory of "a more perfect union" helC
together by a strong centralized gov
ernment. Concretely expressed the one
became the apostle of Liberty the othei
of Order Jefferson had faith in thu
masses and believed in as little au
thority as possible. Hamilton's views
carried him to the opposite extreme
One exalted the state above the Ma
ton, the other the Nation above thu
state. In this attitude of mind thes,
two great leaders faced each other a
the conclusion of the first Washington
administration.
Within five years of the formation
and adoption of the Constitution part!
lines were clearly established anC
tightly drawn. Jefferson. who was for
tunately not member of the Consti
tutional Convention. BECAME the rep
resentative not merely OF democracy
in the broad meaning OF that term. bu
OF local democracy. His was the doc
trlne that there Is little need for gov
ernment at all, that the people are
sure to go right II LET alone, as free
from governmental restraint as pos
sible Resistance OF authority was tC
him n prima faole evidence OF justin,