Alma record., 1922-09-14
With Our State
Contemporaries
TO ALL GOOD CITIZENS

MUCH Oh lnc CflllClSIu uiitSleu
against Attorney General Daugherty
because he asked the federal court at
Chicago for an injunction against the
railroad strikers is misdrected. The
matter is now out of the hands of the
attorney general and in the hands of
the court. 1t was the court which
issued the temporary injunction last
Friday, and it Will not be surprising
if the same court makes the same in
junction permanent. The real crti-
cism of Mr.. Daugherty should be be-
cause he was so slow in taking action.
He cannot change his attitude now,
and all who believe in law and order
should back him to the limit.
We do not believe there is any
danger that the right of free speech
is going to be infringed upon in this
country. We haven't heard anyone
who desires to obey the law and re-
spect the rights and property of 9TH
ers crying out against abridgement of
his rights to speak or write as he
pleases. The issue in the railroad
strike is not so much free speech as
the right of free work. 1t will do
little good for a man to have the right
to shout his ideas from the treetops
if he hasn't the privilege of making
a living in his own way and without
interfering with the rights or privi-
eges of anyone else. A man can go
to his death shouting his ideas, but
often it will be better for him to save
his breath and take the bitter medi-
cine the physician prescribes for him.
We have come TO a stage of devel-
opment, or rather misdevelopment, in
this country where few individuals
imagine they are the only ones who
ought to run the nation, its industries
and its business. The vast majority
of these self-constituted runners Of
things haven't demonstrated as yet
that they know much about running
anything anywhere except into the
ground. Nothing that has been and
is suits them. They refuse to accom-
modate themselves to conditions which
have grown up with the centuries and
thus are the sum of wisdom and ex-
perience. Our laws do not suit them
because they are given no special
privileges under those laws. They
want to bind everybody else, but de-
cline to be bound on their part. They
don't like our laws, our customs, our
economic conditions, our financial sys-
tenn, our courts, our officers of the
law, our army, our navy, our diplo-
matte procedure or anything about
our government. As soon as man,
through genius, industry, skill, thrift,
economy, foresight, courage, venture
someness or lucky chance, rises above
the common level, their guns are
aimed at him. TO their disordered
minds he becomes an undesirable to
be struck at and brought down.
In a republic such as ours it is first
of all essential that men should be
mutually respectful, mutually toler-
ant, mutually helpful. We have no
place in this country for men who
hate one another. We have no place
here for men who seek to separate
US into hard and fast classes or social
orders. We have no place here for
any that claim special privileges of
any kind. We have no place here for
any who transgress the law, which is
! impartial and fosters the health,
growth, prosperity, happiness and
wellbeing of all. We have no place
here for any who seek to destroy any
individual or his property We have
no place here for anyone who pre-
sumes to tell any other individual
what he shall do, where he shall work
when or how. Above all, we have nc
place here for any who preach
against the government or against
any Of its duly constituted agencies.
Have you ever observed how rarely
those whom we classify in the general
order of good citizens" complain
against the operation of any Of oui
laws? Have you ever observed how
rare it is when any of this class com
plains that his freedom of speech is
circumscribed Yet these are the in.
dividuals who cheerfully take upor
themselves the burdens of govern.
ment. 1t is they that pay the expenses
of government, which are consider
able. 1t is they that obey the laws
and submit gracefully to having what
they may often consider their rights
and privileges curtailed for the gooc
of all. 1t is they that recognize the
government as something which re.
presents them as friend, not as ar
enemy. 1t is they that know they
must give something to government
without expecting anything more il
return than security of person anc
property and rights equal to those en-.
joyed by every other individual.
All too often it is the man who
thinks the government owes hin
something that is most boisterous ir
his insistence upon free speech ant
licensed activities. This rule Of the
proletariat business has upset the
small minds and inflamed the disor.
dered ones. We have had so much
of this pure bunk peddled b the pro.