Evening star., 1923-05-04
CAPITAL KEYNOTES
BY PAUL y. COLLINS

were the traitor slackerS in 1s1Ir
Why not fine or imprison the NOT
voters?
X x x
: Drifting toward a pure democ-
@cy?" What will prove that drift
ASA we not rather drifting in the op
posafe direction, toward d supcr-re-
public such as a former President
once kAid should be governed by "a
represensa part of tho people:
What evidence is there that the re-
cent trend of affairs is making this
more than pefore government Of
the people, VY the people and for the
people?
= 4 !: :.
If history teks US that no pure
democracy has ever long survived
what is it's record of empire or re
public? The depth@ of the Atlantic
II is said, cover thA greatest empire
of prehistoric NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
and possibly the grea test of all e:n-
pires. Where IS the tutlpire of the
pharaohs. of Babylon, of Cyrus,
Darius. Alexander, Caesasr, Charlie
nagne, Peter the Great, Louis TIL"
Grand. Napoleon or the kSLser, the
czar: or any potentate of th@ modern
world?
What pure republic has long
survived? That of Athens orr OF
Rome?
The United States flag is the oidcA
unchanged flag in the world. Long
may it wave. Who will name any
other emblem of power SO mighty
/
portunityo Its greatness comes from
the founder of the party now t.
power, Abraham Lincoln, whose
fundamental principles are immortal
as he expressed them-.not that TIE
trend should ever he tcr5rard n re-
public of "a representative part o.
the people, but that II shG2l6 always
i be like the magic source OF nowcr Of
the Arabian tales-the touch OF the
giant with the earth.
The President agrees with those
who deprecate the failure Of the
masses to recognize the need Of more
popular participation in the functions
and duties of citizenship as indicaled
| by the voting Of only 46 per cent of
the legal voters.
There is a new chance for tho al
legged veterans" who have been
picketing the White House in their
uniforms of the Army. and asking for
the release of so-callcd political
prisoners How much does real
patriotism count with such pickcts?
Here is a case for considerations:
Kenneth F. Thomas some wears ago
was sentenced to the Virginia peni-
tentiary on a charge of bigamy. Later
he escaped, and reached Canada
There he enlisted in tho Canadian
army for fighting the kaiser and llr.
served under British officers all
| through the war, rising b. bravery
and intelligence to the rank or
in a hospital twenty-aight months
recovering from his worGda. In tho
meanwhile, six months after his cs-
cape, and also A. year afterA he wrote
to the Governor of Virginia. telling
where he was. and promising to re
turn and complete his Sentance after
the war. His more than two years
| in the hospital prevented his taking
| that course as promptly as Ne had
| promised. bur last week he came. He
volun tarily and unguarded returned
to the penitentiary, asking no cNn-
ency by reason of his heroic lighting
for justice and democracy.
There he is today. Will representa-
tives of socialism and So-cailnd free:
speech take interest in his case
Will the Governor Of Virginia wait
for any rickets to remind him -e&at
prison walls are n>t made for men
who have expiated in blood whatever
mistake or crime they had been led
into before the war" Here is the
acid test of justice.
Copyright 1922. by Y. V. Collnsl