The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1922-02-23

Washington is stirred to action. Nothing escapes
the vigilant eye of the government and Its innum-
cradle functionares. If the price of one article
goes up, let the government take charge of the
seller; II the price of another goes down, let the
government take charge of the buyer. And thus
the carnival of government activities goes mer-
rily on. Government control is the remedy for
every i'll, and government regulation the source
of every good.
The people pay all the expenses. In some, in
stances they pay it all through the government at
Washington. In the case of other activities they
pay half through the government at Washington
and the other half through the governments OF the
states. But the people pay all the expenses of this
complicated machinery of government, that mas
Its agents looking over the shoulders of every bust
ness man and directing affairs of every citizen.
The fathers embodied with rare wisdom those
elements of strength and endurance which were
essential if the government was to be perpetuated
through the ages. They avoided with the fore
sight of statesmen the things that lead to disap-
pointment and discomfort among the people. The
fathers studied the experience of mankind in self
government. They studied the lessons and profited
by the teachings of history. They sought and
found the causes of failure by other peoples in the
experiment of self g~overnment. They did not
wander into the realms of fancy. They were Gre
ating a government for human beings whose ma
ture has remained the same through all the GEN.
turtles of time. They knew that the things that
LII tuS ages VIZ IltASASLh AoFoh LAS
content, and resulted in disappointment and revo-
luton would lead to the same end in future ages.
They therefore created a government adapted to
the nature of man, a simple government of laws to
be enacted and enforced by the chosen representa-
tives Of a free people. The purpose Of the govern
ment was to protect them in their natural rights,
and to enable them to meet their national and
International duties and obligations. Its powers
were limited. Z -
The fathers did not contemplate at any time
under the Constitution they gave us a government
by men. 1t was not in the scheme of the fathers
that at any time the people should be beguiled
into using the government at Washington for
supervising or directing their purely personal, To-
cal, and domestic affairs. They knew that in a
government of free people no man is big enough
or wise enough or good enough to command an
other, his political equal, In what he may or may
not do. 1t Is fundamental that a free people may
not be expected long to endure the annoyances, the
vexations, the arbitrary regulations, the restric-
lions, or the disappointment that are incident to
government by men acting as the functionaries OF
a central authority, directing the affairs of and
exercising. police powers over the people In the
remotest parts of their territorial limits. Even
the assurances Of government bureaus that the
authority exercised over the liberty OF the citi-
Gems is for his own good win not long beguile the,
citizen into a surrender of his right to live under
O government OF laws enacted by his authority and
consent that merely protect him from injury by
others and protect others from injury by him.
There is no word In the discussion by the faith.
ers OF the powers and duties OF the government
they have handed down to us that leads to the
belief that 1t was contemplated In their plan that
the head of any department or the chief of any
bureau or the agent of any commission should at
any time make restrictions or arbitrary regula-
= items affecting the life, liberty, property, or the
pursuit of happiness Of the citizen. Such ~restric-.
tions upon the individual % were contemplated