Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1923-06-13
American
mdiuiduaHsn1
A Timely Message to
the American People
By HERBERT HOOVER
Secretary of Commerce.
V.-Political Phases.

~ Is not the primary purpose of
this essay to discuss our political
organization. Democracy is mere
ly the mechanism which individualism
invented as a device that would carry
on the necessary political work of its
social organization. Democracy arises
out of individualism and prospers
through it alone.
Without question, there exists, al
most all over the world, unprecedented
disquietude at the functioning of gov
eminent itself 1t is in part the dreamy
social ferment of war emotion. 1t is
in part the aftermath Of a period when
the government was everything and the
individual nothing, from which there is
much stimulation to two schools of
thought: one that all human ills can
be cured by governmental regulation,
and the other that all regulation is
sin.
During the war, the mobilization Of
every effort, the destruction Of the
normal demand and the normal ave
nues of distribution, required a vast
excursion over the deadline of individ-
uaism in order that we might secure
immediate results. Its continuation
would have destroyed the initiative Of
our people and undermined all real
progress. We are slowly getting back
but many still aspire to these supposed
short cuts to the millennium.
Much Of our discomfort takes the
form of resentment against the in
eQualities in the distribution of the
sacrifices Of war. Both silently and
vocally there Is complaint that while
some died, others ran no risk. and yet
others profited. For these complaints
there Is adequate justification. The
facts are patent. However. no conceiv-
able human intelligence would be able
to manage the conduct Of war SO AS to
see that all sacrifices and burdens
should be distributed eQuitably. War
is destruction, and we should blame
war for Its injustices, not social sys-
TEN whose object is construction. The
submergence Of the individual, how
ever, In the struggle Of the race could
be but temporary-ts continuance
through the crushing Of Individual &C.
ton and its inequitles would, II for
no other reason. destroy the founda
lions Of our civilization.
Looked at as the umpire In our social
system, our government has maintained
an equality before the law and devel-
opment Of legal justice and an author
ity In restraint Of evil instincts that
al TO
ideals so far as the imperfections of
developing human institutions permit.
1t has gone the greatest distance of
any government toward maintaining an
equality Of franchise; an equality Of
entrance to public office, and govern
ment by the majority. 1t has succeeded
far beyond all others in those safe
guards of equality Of opportunity
through education, public information
and the open channels Of free speech
and free press. 1t is, however, much
easier to chart the course Of progress
Of government in dealing with the alb
stract problems Of order, political lib
erty, and stimulation to intellectual
and moral advancement than 1t is to
chart Its relations to the economic seas.
These seas are new and only partly
discovered or explored.
Our governments greatest troubles
and failures are in the economic field
Forty years ago the contact of the in.
dividual with the government had it's
largest expression in the sheriff or po
liceman, and in debates over political
equality. In those happy days the gov
eminent offered but small interfer
ence with the economic life Of the citi-
zen. But with the vast development
of industry and the train of regulating
functions of the national and munich
pal government that followed from It,
with the recent vast increase in taxa
ton due to the wnr-the government
has become through its relations to
economic life the most potent force for
maintenance or destruction of our
American individualism.
The entrance of the government be-
gan strongly three decades ago, when
our Industrial organization began to
move powerfully in the direction Of
consolidation of enterprise We found
in the course Of this development that
equality of opportunity and its corol-
larry, Individual initiative, was being
throttled by the concentration of con-
troll Of industry and service, and thus
an economic domination Of groups
builded over the nation. At this time,
particularly, we were threatened with
a form of autocracy Of economic pow
err. Our mass of regulation Of public
utilities and our legislation against re-
straint of trade Is the monument to
our intent to preserve an equality of
opportunity. This regulation is itself
proof that we have gone long way
toward the abandonment Of the "capi-
talism" of AGam Smith.
Day by day we learn more as to the
practical application of restrictions
against economic and political domina-