Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1922-05-05
AMERlCAklSM VS.. COMMUNISM.
[ HN W. II. SAM VERSO

SioilcI, mas puDll>lcu reply -
one of my recent articles on the
tan question. wish to dcmur to
tch "reply" for the sake Of argu-
mcnl. The vital things cnarsc
MS. Hallanan does not attempt 10
answer. he cannot answer because
they are true and he knows they
are true. The Legislature of this
State OF 1921 paid no attention to
the written Constitution in pass
ing 4 number of acts. We find sal
aries raised by act after act of the
Legislature including the salary Of
the Stale Tax Commissioner in
Migrant violation of the Constitu-
ton. In my articles l have said
not one word against the Rcpubli-
can party. The Republican party
is not running this country. North,
south, east and west, Yankee and
Rebels, Democrats and Rcpubli-
cans have all just about pctercd out
so far as running the country is
concerned. We are run by group
politics. operating thru Boards
and Bureaus and Commissions
whose duty is to graft the people
for the bcncst of the group bench
man. These group graftcrs, and
boards and commissions and blu
reau> have already killed the rail
roads and every other business in
the country that they have been
permitted to touch. Nobody would
put up five cents to build a rail
road anywhere. Under the ConSti-
tuition of the United States, and
especially after the Tenth Amend
ment, the government has no right
tc take over the railroads or the
mines or any other business anv
more than it has to take over the
hogs and the COWS and the crops.
In the opinion of every real Ameri-
can who knows what Americanism
means the government has just the
same right to take private property
or hold it or regulate it or control
it that the Arabs have. But the
trouble is that some people know
so little of the political history Of
he world that they believe that the
controlling political psychology of
this age is modern. 1t is not, most
cmphatically it is MOTT rep
rcscnts a relapse from high politi-
cal concepts; 4 return to the child
hood of the race, TO barbariSm and
savaScry. The highest political
ideal of the HUMAN race is lEdividu-
allSm or AmcricaniSm. 1t is the
idea Of Herbert Spencer. Washing
ton, jefferson, Adams, Lincoln. M:-
Kinney. etc, as opposed Karl
Marx and CARR, Nation. Amcri-
caniSm means not only the scpara-
ton of Church and State but ii
means the absolute and final sep
arationa Of business and State. for
the union of business and State has
been found to be as degrading and
rcprchcnSible as the union of
church and state. The union of
church and state: the union Of
politics and religion have always
meant the destruction of both. God
has decreed the division of labor
and He has decrced the whole func-
dlon OF government to be justice
and protection. The government
should be the policeman, tile pro-
tcctor and the dispenser of justice
and nothing more. 1t should have
nothing to do with business or re-
ligion either by way of owning
them, regulating them. directing
them. or controlling them. II
should be absolutely hands of.
on, say some, if the government
docs not take charge of things the
little children will suffer and the
people will freeze. This is pattern
alisic baby talk. and it is this I'M
American lim'Ecrjaw that is ruin
ing or government and killing
BUSINESS. The government is pot
tcring around from pillar TO post
and cannot even protect the coun-
try from TIE criminals. Individu
AllSm means freedom and social
ISM means slavery. Every man
with any eyes at all can sec liberty.
respect for Law and religion, and
everything else that is good slip
ping away under the present syS-
ttm. AmcricaniSm is the highest
Ideal of government ever CON
rcivcd by man and every American
should swear by the altar of Al.
mI&hlN God that he will not Der
NIT a lot Of brainlcSS trash to de-
Face and ruin it. We can have
business fired up here one hun
area per cent in thirty days by a
return to AmcricaniSm. Business
will simply die the death that it
died in Russia under the boards.
bureaus and commissions Of social
ism. Ii will take ii Il little longer
OF course but just as surely. no
man is going TO start business.
either now or forever hereafter