The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1920-05-29

Elk Russia; the farmer who hires
help. and almost every farmer Is com
PEELED 10 employ help in the harvest
time. : criminal explolter 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. 1t is dangerous TO
give the thrifty, the Industrious, the
vote. The fact thar they were born
IN Russia, that their parents and
grandparents were natives to the soil
for centuries, means nothing. These
dsfranchised ones speak the Russian
language; it is their only tongue.
Their blood has had a part In Russian
suffering. The bOlshevik constitution
exiles them. They are natives without
country; and why? Because by hon
esty and industry they have saved
little; because they have tried TO get
on. Lenine says such people are filed
with dangerous ambition; they are
climbing the ladder of capitalism;
y
The soldier is not an employer Of
labor; he cannot be; he is given
vote The sailor IS not an employer Of
labor; he cannot be; he is given a
vote.
The constitutional provision defining
citizenship puts a premium on indo-
lence, a penalty on industry; it encOur-
.Seha
makes the successful an Outcast; IL
makes of the ne'er-dO-well 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 I'm 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-
argument, that communism, bolshe-
vism, is a panacea for all the Ills of
the human race, what right has Lenfne
! 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 its 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
! belf-government? Proclaimfng people
| free does not make them free. Free
| dom is action. 1t 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 a thinking part
! in the government, does it not follow
| that his methods incapacitate the
! people for self-government? How can
! q 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 a free man. 1t does not mat
| ter whether you treat him well or not,
! if you rule him without giving him
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 it's 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 vOteIess 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)
| World in Danger From Plague.
| Danger from plague-infected ports
| in the Mediterranean Is pointed out
| by Doctor Beaumetz of the Pasteur in
| stitute. who says that reports show a
! recrudescence of the plague, especially
| in Syria, Saloniki, Alexandria and Con-
! stantinople, where energetic measures
| are being taken. especially for the pro-
| lection of allied troops. Doctor Beau
| nnipion ho+ "a