The Washington times., 1923-02-10
BY GEORGE FRANKLIN.

BY GEORGE FRANKLIN.
Declaring himself to be pro-
gressive but not "a progressive, !"
James Henry MacLafferty, Repre-
sentative from the Sixth District
of California, today sounded .
warning against prevailing ten
denotes while discussing the prob
lens confronting the American
people.
Al business man in Congress,
who never participated in politics
previous to. his election to fill the
unexpired term of the late Repre-
sentative John A. Elston, Repre-
sentative MacLafferty has won
the position Of being as able q
debater and as gifted an orator
as can be found among the Rep
resentatives.
Not q Democracy Here.
Pointing to the general impress.
sion that we are living under q
democracy, Representative MacLaf-
ferty said.
I'VE are living not under q
the limits OF a republic. They are
two very different conditions. 1t
is not generally understood, but the
American Constitution was not q
popularity constructed document. 1t
was devised and framed by a body
of men who may truthfully be
likened to an economic conference.
After it was promulgated 1t had to
be adopted by each OF the subscrib-
ing. or confederated, States. The
work was done behind closed doors
and it is known that SO brilliant a
patriot as Patrick Henry was placed
in the position of being forced to
announce his determination to ac-
cept and stand by it when it was
attacked by certain factions.
To-day we are facing one of the
most serious periods in the coun-
try's history. This exists in the
ignorance of the Constitution by
many men and women, accepted as
true blooded Americans. America
lis by no means a material express
sion, as they assume. 1t is purely
an ideal and the highest that the
human mind has been able OF con-
ceiving in the worlds history. Hit
eracy is bad enough, but there Is
an ignorance more dangerous than
illiteracy, and that is what I am
Indicating. You see it on the floor
of the House many times. There
you can find men whose patriotism
cannot be challenged, fighting to
secure the very things which must
inevitably result in tearing down
our Constitution and setting up IN
place of it the ideals reflected by
the bolshevists. They simply do
not understand what America really
means, and what is guaranteed
under the safeguards provided by
the Constitution"
Emphasizes Gravity.
Emphasizing the gravity Of the
situation developing as a result OF
the tendency of the influence in
Dictated by him, Representative Mac
Lafferty declared that meeting the
demands created by the European
war was easy as compared with the
educational campaign which must
be conducted vigorously to prevent
the disaster he foresaw in a no
distant future.
gressional race when / realized that
the House of Representatives was
top heavy with lawyers. Out OF the
entire body there were but fifty
members who could be rated as
business men. On a business man
in-Congress campaign I won but
with the largest majority ever given
any candidate in my district. I car
ried all but three or four districts
and tied in two Of them. During
the campaign I averaged some six
speeches each week. They were all
devoted to business conditions and
not to politics. The result at the
polls showed how the Sixth Cali
fornia district stood on the principle
that more business men were needed
in Congress-
Turning to the issues constantly
coming up for consideration in Con-
gress and often receiving the sup
port of ardent adherents, Represen-
tativS MacLafferty stated that many
of them were old issues, settled long
ago, but revived and presented in
a new guise. Many of them, he
said. were of internal origin.
Quotes Lincoln.
when Lincoln was running for
the legislative in Illinois he stated
that the combined armies Of Europe
under the leadership of a Napoleon
could never penetrate far enough
into America for the soldiers to
drink the waters of the Ohio river,
but that still greater dangers were
to be feared, arising from within,
and that is just what is taking
place." declared Representative Mac
Lafferty. do not mistake me. This
results from the presence here of
thousands of foreigners who have
never been able to understand the
American idea, and are continually
urging the adoption of some inno-
walton they brought over with them,
and have been nursing ever since.
There is where the danger lies. 1t
means that a nationwide educa-
tional campaign is needed. devoted
to the single aim of teaching the
ignorant American what America
really is.
America is purely an ideal. an
ideal form of Government, and were
a colony Of Americans to settle in
Africa they would take the Amer
lean ideal with them, If they prop.
erly understand it.
"There is another misapprehen-
sion which acts like a drag and
that is that America has already
attained her destiny. America has
not ceased to be progressive and
can never cease to be such and re-
tain q Vistage OF the underlying
TrincinIe for which she stood when