Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1924-03-05
CAUSE AND EFFECT

CAUSE AND EFFECT
1t seems impossible to avoid tht
conclusion that the district primary
responsible as It Is for the rep
rcsentatives making up the Con-
gress, has either chosen a Job lot
majority or. has hypnotized them int
g. state Of hslplessness.
One OF the most depressing
features OF the turmoil in the ma
tional halls OF legislation Is the at.
titude Of many legislators. The re.
ports show that those who are moi
hysterical or running for the dug
out are apparently incapable oil
recognizing the serious gravity OF
tho situation. Instead OF acting
as though shocked by the revela-
dlons they are running about shrek
ing: You're It," like a lot Of i'm
mature schoolboys.
And speaking OF schoolboys a
father informs us that judging from
the CONVERSATION among the school,
boys who take any interest in such
affairs, they are Of the opinion that
everyone in public life Is a crook.
when I was a. boy" the father
went on to say. 9the fellow who
cheated at cards became an out
cast. Nowadays. from what hear,
the general opinion seems to be
that he is smart"
We trust the situation Is not as
bad as this father thinks, but 1t
would not be strange for the i'm
mature. un3pided mind Of the
schoolboy to arrive at that con-
rlusion. He hasn't the sense of
proportion. the experience to weigh
the evidence and accepts what he
reads Of Il very few. as representa-
tive OF them all. He forgets that
the rewards In public as In private
are not and have not been obtained
by crookedncss. But the schoolboy
is not alone in this error. Those
OF mature Judgment, who if they
carefully reviewed the situation
should know better are yielding to A
dominant note of pesslmism, hold
ing up their hands in helplessness
instead of using them effectively to
support steadiness at the helm.
We. the people. have assumed the
responsibility OF selecting those who
represent us in Congress. We didn't
put their selection into the hands
OF delegates. who might canvass
more thoroughly, than 1t Is possible
for the public IN mass to do. the
eligibility Of the candidates. Hav-
ing blithcly chosen Congress Il be-
comes out Job to see that 1t func-
ton. else what Is the good of our
first endeavorr We, tho people.
have undertaken something. II We
wish to maintain our respect let us
see 1t through.
But how? someone asks. Per-
plexity wrinkles the public brow.
We family recollect having read
somewhere that mob psychology Is
bad. that what is evcrybody's bust
ness Is nobody's. We are in a
plight. sure enough. We have no
delegated authority to blame be-
CAUSE we didn't delegate 1t, we our
selves assumed Il. We are the
ones TO suffer the blame. Are We
going to sit down and sulk In help
lnRanNSSr n W. going N soa1.
through the channels of an lin
visible government" to control a
visible government? Because we
are too fond OF Sinking to undertake
something. or because we would
like to reform the world by stealth
are we waiting until someone comes
along and initiates us--for a
pecuniarX<f consideration--into The
the Flaming Bunghole, or some
ether variety of invisible govern
ment: While We are about that.
those who may not agree with us
or haven't the price of admission
may organize The Red Fire Ora CONS
and set about reform with tooth
and claw--with per capita dues
somewhat less. a
Then, while the Knights and the
Dragons fight Il out, We can so
home to our slippers and the even
ing paper.
Now we would net attempt to
tell the people how. acting In .
mass. they may accomplish with the
same or with any amount OF effort
as effective results as were possible
under the methods OF = republic.
that Is. by representatives selected
Tor that purpose. Those old
methods needed docking after and
We didn't do It, 50 We strapped the
old methods and adopted new ones
which require much more looking
after on the part Of each and all OF
ns--and now we have fallen down
on that.
But all Is not lost save honor and
that tottering on its throne: there's
one thing We haven't tried vet.
Let's try It.
Let every voter send postal cards
to each of his or her representatives
in Congress. Let each write some
thing IKE this upon it: We are