Newark leader. ([Newark, Ohio]) 1917-1946, 1920-02-13
DEMOCRACY
By c.. F. Alfordson

| Ue pufCudSeu dI CIlc price VI CHdIIIS
and of slavery? They say We are
weak, when will we be stronger? Will
it be when a British guard is sta
toned at each and every dOor?''-
Patrick Henry.
When this eloquent statesman of
Revolutionary days stooo before the
Virginia Assembly asking these ques-
tions of the American colonists was
he thinking of their troubles only, or
was he gifted with the tabled second
sight? In the words of the poet,
"Me thinks he was endowed with an
advanced power of min l." that he
could glance through the vast years
of space and see the condition Of the
American of 1920 For here we are
practically in as bad, if not a worse
condition. Then the colonis;s' troubles
were taxation without representation.
They were really in better condition
at that time than we are today, for
what little surplus that remained
above their direct taxation was theirs.
| It's rot so with us; we aye allowed
to receive a certain salary or wage,
and on anything above that we must
pay an income tax. A married man
| is allowed $4,000 and 5000 for each
child, and at the present H. G. l.. a
! chile. would live-no not live, hut
manage to exist in rags and starva-
tion on that sum. This is what rep
resentation has lead to. And why?
Because a handful of Wall street
congressman want to control the
capital of the world.
We also pay tax on everything
we eat, drink, wear, or look at Of
course the greater part of this taxa
tion was brought on by the world
war for Democracy, and we are will
ing to pay our share of it. But when
we look at the thousands of Ameri-
can homes and see the vacant chairs
of the loved ones who gave their
lives for this cause we think it is
high time that some of this Dem
ocracy, so dearly paid for, should ar
rive at our home ports.
Our government has lent the for
eign powers nearly ten billions ($10,-
000,000,000) of good American dol
lars, our citizens have given of every
thing, even life, and now that peace
is declared it would be good idea
to look after our own. We would like
to raise our children as human beings,
and we can do it very easy if they
will only give US half of the DEM
ocracy they preached during war
times. The way we understand DEM
ocracy is a government by the peo-
pie and for the people, and that good
old constitution of the U. S. A. was
drawn for that purpose. And it says
a man shall not be deprived of his
liberty except as a punishment for
crime But during the year of 1919
sirname was Cummins, elected by
the people. Was he for the people?
(Yes, Wall street division). He had
framed one of the most damnable
bills that has ever taken up room on
a congressional record. This bill
would make an honest American
soldier ashamed to look German in
the face and say | fought for DEM
ocracy. But thank God, the Ameri-
can working people are not blind,
neither can they be led as lamb to
the slaughter. They got busy and
more letters of condemnation reached
the desks of senators and representa-
tives concerning this one bill than
any other bill that had ever occupied
a space before. Then right while the
country is at fever heat, in walks
two more, broad minded CD patriotic
(would be) representatives of the
American people, namely Palmer and
Graham of sedition bill fame. Were
this bill to pass and become a law
the majority of American citizens
would be at the mercy of few. 1t
would be crime to send letter of
condemnation through the mail, no
difference how rotten the business it
aimed at was (yet we fought in the
wo, Ids war for Democracy. And here
is where Patrick Henry mi sh. have
asked, "when will we be stronger?"
Will it be when few tyrannical con- I
gressmen have bound us hand and
foot? The Cummins and Esch bills
are of the stripe with which they wish
to do their binding in order to shove
US into abject slavery and servitude.
You can hobble jack ass and prevent
him from kicking you, but if the
hobble ever gets loose it's hell then.
We the American working or COM
mon people are in the same position
as the jack ass. Barn boss Cummins
has new set of hobbies he wishes
to try on US. Now its easier to kick
ofF -