The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1922-04-07
A Government of Interests.


broadly speaking, should be left te
the churches and to a healthy mora
sentiment; that the province of gov.
eminent is to protect the people in
their personal and property rights
in their material interests and the
safety of life and limb and the free
pursuit of happiness; that free COM
petition is essential under a demo
cratic form of government and that
it means prosperity as to material
things and the development of men
tai alertness and strong fibre in our
people; that a government cannot
exist half socialistic and half demo-
cratic; that the showing of socialistic
planks into democratic machine
means ultimately the destruction of
that machine and the undoing of the
government for which it functions.
Moreover, we have urged that the
deluge of laws with which we are
being inflicted and which cannot be
enforced fairly because of their null
tiplicity are weakening all the good
and useful laws upon our statute
books and breeding a contempt for
authority and for patriotism.
Nor have we been alone in our
contention. Here and there from the
watch-towers of public opinion have
come cries of danger and warning.
More recently some of the great
minds of our country have been oc-
cupied with the consideration of
these things and the cries of warn
ing have become stronger and more
pressing,
Recently Dr. Nicholas Murray But
Ter, President of Columbia Univer-
sity, said: "In the United States we
are, in fiat defiance of all our pro-
claimed principles, building a series
of bureaucracies that will put to
shame the best efforts of the govern
ment of the Car of all the Russias |
when in the heyday of it's glory. We
are surrounded by agents, inspectors
and spies, and the people are called |
upon to support through their taxes,
in harmful and un-American activi-
ties, whole armies of individuals who
should be engaged in productive in
1ustry"
Samuel G.. Blythe, the greatest
of the political reporters
and observers of the United States,
writing in the Saturday Evening
Post of March rs, says the American
people learned from the manipula-
ions of Big Business that Congress
could be controlled by organized eff
ort and began to organize, and that
low there are hundreds of organiza-
ions engaged in pushing their pet
,ills through Congress, and thus i'm
posing their wills on the people, re-
,ardless of their effect as to the gen
raj good or the evil that will finally
esult to the government itself.
Blythe points out that Congress is I
10 longer controlled by parties, but I
lends an obedient ear to almost any l
ind of organization of power and 6
nifty. observing how easy it is to c
influence Congress or any other legis- 1
alive body and all Federal and State I
and administrators by or 1
anized pressure, that pressure has I
cen exerted for all sorts of fantastic U
There is a certain section
f our public that holds the firm con- |
lotion that all social, moral, govern
rental, political, economic and civ
ills may be cured by legislation. 1t
, Section One of the Articles of be-
eff of this great portion of the peo- /,
lie that the way to reform us, re-
enerate us, replenish us, reimburse
S for losses due to our own inepti- III
lde, make us happy, moral, healthy, /
rosperous and powerful is to pass
Tvs directing that these desirable
nds shall be attained forthwith and ii
roviding strict penalties for remiss-
ess in these various matters" And
gain: Apparently all that is needed
, get any sort of law passed is to
AXE an organization that shall ia
Or that law. Congress and the leg
latures meekly and humbly and OBJ
squiously do the rest" II
Senator Stanley, of Kentucky, ii
liking about the flood of laws that
nnoy and hamper and be-devil us, II
,cently said: Every business man
nds an inspector at his elbow and a
ederal sleuth at his heels. d. d. No
ody escapes. Everything in the
oral, industrial and commercial
orld is to be owned, operated, su-
ervised or censored, from the birth
baby to the burial of corpse;
Id the worst is not yet"
The people are mighty tired of be-
g logged and deviled and skinned
7 the powers that be.
In our opinion, however, the germ