The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1922-03-01
THE STATE MUST LIVE



a majority of his people he can step
down and avoid doing violence to his
conscience. The life of the state is
promoted in exact proportion to the
numbers of its citizens who keep
their consciences in good working
order, and that is the first duty every |
man owes to himself and to his coun- |
try.
Any form of free government re-
quires, of necessity, that the wills of |
the lawmakers, who are few, must be !
dominated by the wills of the many, |
| who are voters. But if the conscience
of any such lawmaker forbids him to
execute the public will his first
thought should be to guard we'll his
| own conscience in such way as will
| best tend to awaken, not override,
the public conscience.
This is the only safe and orderly
way. of conducting our government;
but we do not follow that way in this
state.
| There are now presented a full
score of important questions on each
and every one of which, separately
presented, the state is entitled to
have expressed in the most practical
way the views of majority of our
voters.
Under the form of primary used
by US for about twenty years we have
wholly subjected the consciences of
the many voters to the consciences of
the few lawmakers.
Thus the consciences of the many
find no means to preserve themselves,
and for sheer lack of exercise fear
public conscience may grow weak. The
adoption of political platform to
guide future and condemn past polit-
ical acts is of vital Importance to the
state. The people may have a good
servant in office, but a majority of
them have right to instruct him and
guide his course.
In 1920 union labor was everywhere
contending for an eight-hour day;
that was the main issue then raised
by political events, and they put a
. candidate in the race for governor
who, upon no other political issue, was
/ defeated that year by large MAORI
ties.
. AS my conscience is thus confirmed
|, and supported by the voters of my
state | am loath to do it violence by
/ voting to return any man to Wash
ington who is unwilling to accept so
clear mandate Of his people for the
5 repeal of the laws passed prior to that
: time which put millions of men on an
, eight-hour day.
= | might trust my conscience to the
: keeping of my country on, in part, to
a majority of my fellows with whom
/ | may join for party action, but not
wholly to a few Office holders.
| The distinguished and astute Paul
5 Morton, while in the cabinet of Pfesi-
dent Roosevelt, expressed much in one
epigram, when he said, every Amer
lean citizen should take care that he
remain in a position where, if need
be, he can look any man in the face
and tell him to go to hell" He die
not mean by this to encourage that
> turbulence of temper which wisdom
Il forbids
e Every man is the best keeper of his
y own honor and independence. This is
, a duty he owes to himself; if he dis.
charges that duty without rashness
or violence to others, he does good
Il service to the state in thus rebukine
l and curbing infringements upon in,
dividual rights. Thus society is fur,
nished its best security for socia
order and the surest means to enforce
/ justice in our social intercourse.
II For forty years past every young
: man who joined any branch of unior
: labor was Immediately informed b!
t his fellows, whom experience haC
made the best judges, that insult anc
II oppression was to be his lot. Their
o spokesman and journals at all times
:" complained of griefs quite as heav!
as any now mentioned by them.
Union IdDoT Is cHlelIy eHlpAOySu u
It railroads, mines and factories. Oh
age does not operate to lessen tn
IL numbers of such; as their ranks ar
IL ever swelled by new thousands VIII
H. are under thirty and few men of mid
/ die age are found to quit these EN-
= Payments. while majority of a
III their members are probably unde
thirty-fve.
So. in the face of these warning:
we are made to wonder why so man
continue to cast their tents towar
IL Sodom. They must find there les
Ia grief than they complain of and NOR
Sc favor than they admit.
In a country which is envied by tn