The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1921-04-01
Democracy.

made the following statement:
Il believe that the man who
shapes our, executive policies, wheth-
er in the city, the State or the ma
ton, should DO elected directly by
the people Any other plan is born
of distrust of the people and is a
confession that democracy is more
or less failure"
Vice-President Marshall as he was
getting ready to vacate for the new
Administration, contributed an il
Illustrated page to the New York
Herald. He seemed to have been
-'fed up" on Democracy and selected
as near as he could the most partisan
Republican paper to air his remark
able statements. The ruling idea adj
vanced was that the direct vote of
the people for President should be
abolished. The choice of candidates
for President, he proposed, should
rest entirely with the electors re-
ceiving majority of the votes cast,
as usual, by States. This would limit
the party machinery to the State
convention, and eliminate the peo-
pies forum, the national convention.
The people would therefore vote on
ly for electors and have their wings
cut when the time comes for electing
a President.
After the Vice President had re-
ceived all the political honors he felt
were possible, he came out in his
true colors. This is the sort of dem
ocracy that many of our party lead
ers secretly hold to. The truth of
the whole affair is, that is why the
Democratic organization is a failure.
1t is the reason why we cannot have
d continuous Democratic administra-
ton
really democrats. They do not be-
lieve in government of the people,
for the people and by the people
Really it was Republican who
made this statement. and to tell the
truth there is as much real dem
ocracy among Republicans as there
is among Democrats, and maybe
more
Before the Civil War the South
with its slaves was an aristocracy
and since the war the same South
has voted solidly Democratic for the
reason only that the North voted Re-
publican.
Mr. Turck is right and democracy
is right, but we are having such
things all the time as those which
called forth Mr.. Trucks remarks.
Selfish leaders say they do not think
the people are capable of self govern
ment, therefore those representatives
proceed to hand out sort of benev-
client despotism. They tax and spend
tax and spend. The only change
the people can make is to change adj
ministrations and the change brings
nothing but tax and expenditure.
True democracy isNlike true re-
ligion. There is only one kind.
Those self constituted rulers and
leaders know they are usurpers.
The government belongs to the
people and no one knows that fact
better than the political leader.
He may rule for time, but the
day will come for reckoning, and
this reckoning will be made to the
people. Sometimes it comes in the
shape of revolution, and sometimes
in chaos and confusion like poor Rus
STA. Nicholas, as we are led to be-
lieve, was not despot, but he was
controlled by the most tyrannical
despotism, and therefore he was pow
erless. He wanted his people to have
constitutional government. but his
political associates stood between
him and the people and the Ro-
manofS were destroyed.
Lcnine and Trotzky are more ty-
rannical than ever was Gar Mich
Olas, and the end of these men will
be more terrible than was that of
Nicholas.
No wonder the political leaders
who are forever making a pretense
of democracy find themselves without
office and friends They live for
day and go down in disgrace. They
build monuments and palaces at the
expense of the people, not to per-
petuate the names of illustrious pa
triots and statesmen, but for the
vainglorious present in which they
live. They preach democracy and
live aristocrats and imperialists, and
they die in obscurity.
The ideal democracy was that of