Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1922-06-23

1.
hichmond, the Capital of Virginia.
was little clapboard village of less
than three thousand people. And a
pretty tough lot Of American citi-
zcns generally speaking lived in
those days too. ConhdentialIv. the
poor Indians, who had to live next
our ancestors are more to be piticd
than ccESurcd. The SCRAP between
Z fcdcraliStS and Anti-Fcdcralisi did
moi mean just exactly what YOU
mink 1t did. gentle reader. 1t was.
brady speaking, scrap between
what we call democracy and pure
anarchy, Il scrap between some sort
OF government and no government
at all. If YOU think our forefathers
were saints you had better not read
much about them. Miracles No. 1
occurred when they whipped the
British. Miracle No. 2 occurred
when Nature ordered the birth of
the men who formed the Constitu-
ton and set this government i'm mo
ton. All things are relative. II is
perhaps true that these men would
not understand the vast machine we
now have but relatively speaking
they were much more able men than
any we now have running the coun-
| try or the world for that matter.
The country that we az running is
million times greater and more
complex than the country that they
were running, but the men who are
running II now are Il long way from
being Il million times wiser than
the men who were running The
country then.
And now comes the great qucs-
ton: What Of the future? Is there
law OF Civilization and Decay as
Mr.. Brooks Adams claims will
Civilization be destroyed by the
enemies within it, as Lord Macaulav
said it would be? Can country
become too much civilized? Can
civilization become so complex that
the average man can not grasp it
and therefore becomes an enemy
10 1t and turns rebel and breaks it
down? Can the structure of civil
llzation be built SO high that it top
pies over, to chaos and barbarism?
The greatest philosophers think So.
They think that man can be rcgula-
ted too much from Nature; that the
endless clang and chatter and rule
and regulations of the Civilized
state finally become tortue and Il
nuisance to him; that they finally
crisis cross with the laws of God
and Nature and that then it is that
man in his bcwildcrmcnt and fury
SmashcS up civilization and rcvcrts
TO barbariSni Society passes laws
that are contrary to human instinct
and appctitcS to appeaSc the whim
of faction or at the bchest of the
arrogance of cgotism and ignorance.
All this but haStcnS the final wreck.
And this is why country should
proceed over With caution. The
Constitution Of the United States
as put across this country contrary
to its wishes and against it's will.
| was we'll for us because it met
our needs. But when really better
Constitution was put across Mexico
1t failed utterly because the people
could not understand it there. And
so you never can tell. The United
States is really the product of COM
bination of miracles; it is Heavens
most most favored land but it is 90
ing to require brains to keep it so
The old fashioned partizan poll
tlcian who has really the most de
graded political intellect on earth,
can not do it. He is back number.
West Virginia has been the most
partiZan and priest ridden State in
the country for years. have warn
cd against the reaction. We got too
good all at once. Here comes the
first defeat in MartinSburg where
DR.. Tonkin was elected Mayor by
373 majority though opposed by the
reform element, the Democrats, the
Anti-SalOon League and the
Churches with several OF the preach
crS taking an active part in the cam
paign against him. And now comes
Mayor Campbcl's overwhelming de-
feat in Huntington. And the rcac-
ton is everywhere. Human nature
will just stand so much restraint, so
much government and we should al
ways be careful not TO tempt the
limit We arc approaching the limit
on taxation and we are approach
! ing the limit on government conn