Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1920-05-27


vik Russia; the farmer who hires
help and almost every farmer is COM
PEELED to employ help in the harvest
time, is a criminal exploiter and he
is denied the right to vote or hold
an office.
The man who devotes his life to
religion, who comforts the poor, visits
the sick, the servant of God, is driven
from the political house; he is denied
the right to vote. It is dangerous to
give the thrifty, the Industrious, the
vote. The fact that they were born
in Russia, that their parents and
grandparents were natives to the soil
for centuries, means nothing. These
disfranchised ones speak the Russian
language; it is their only tongue.
Their blood has had part in Russian
suffering The bOlshevik constitution
exiles them. They are natives without
a country; and why? Because by hon
esty and industry they have saved a
little; because they have tried to get
on. Lenine says such people are filled
with dangerous ambition; they are
climbing the ladder of capitalism;
they are dangerous to the proletariat.
The soldier is not an employer of
labor; he cannot be; he is given
vote. The sailor is not an employer or
labor; he cannot be; he is given
vote
The constitutional provision defining
citizenship puts premium on lndo-
lence, a penalty on industry; it encour-
ages waste; it Furnishes economy; 1t
makes the successful an Outcast; 1t
makes of the ne'er-do-Well a citizen;
frugality, thrift and industry are
crimes; those who possess these quail
tiles are branded as undesirables;
they are denied citizenship.
No Possible Justification.
Lenine tries to justify all of this
by saying that in the transition from
capitalism to socialism it is necessary
to rule with an iron hand. Capitalism
must be destroyed. The system must
be uprOOted. Even so, what right has
Lenine, without the consent of the
majority, to take citizenship from ma
tive Russians? What is his excuse for
it? Where is the force of his argu-
ment? Even admitting, for the sake OF
argument, that communism, bolshe-
vism, is a panacea for all the ills OF
the human race, what right has Lenine
and his minority to force it on the
people of Russia? Conceding his creed
is for the common good, is it not his
first duty to make the people see and
understand it's virtues, and then, by
and with the majority consent put the
creed to the test? To assert that his
program is economic does not change
the fact that his methods are not DEM
ocratic. The Lenine system OF dis
franchising the people is bound to de-
moraliZe them.
How can a people be free without
learning self-reliance, without trying
self-government? Pr0claiming people
free does not make them free. Free
dom is action. It is thinking. 1t Is the
ability to govern ones self. 1t comes
from experience and exercise in gov
erning ones self The definition Of
freedom is self-determination, and the
word self" is an important part OF
the definition. Admitting for the mo-
ment that Lenine is trying to govern
the people for their benefit, although
he is not giving them thinking part
in the government, does it not follow
that his methods incapacitate the
people for self-government? How can
a child learn to walk except by try
ing, and even though the child STUN
bles and falls, is bruised and hurt,
these experiences are part Of the edu-
cation in walking.
Real Test of Freedom.
The right to vote is the test Of free
DOM Rob a free man Of his voting
right and you make Of him something
less than free man. It does not mat
ter whether you treat him we'll or not,
if you rule him without giving him a
say in his own government, you de-
stroy his independence. Suppose the
constitution of a debating society, a
lodge, a farmers grange, a labor
union, declared that some members
could hold Office and vote, while others
were not eligible for Office and could
not vote What would be the position
in the body of those who were denied
all right of participation in its affairs
They would be compelled to obey the
rules, do the bidding and bow to the
wish of those who had the right to
vote. What would be the effect upon
the voteless ones? They would be de-
moralized; they would become non
entities. Those possessing the voting
power would grow arrogant, arbitrary
and autocratic. The war Of the ages,
the struggle of all history, has been
the fight of men for equality in gov
eminent The right to vote is the test.
Copyright, 1920. Western Newspaper Union)
NF>.IL R,N~nr Erovo DIanua