Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1926-07-09
TIME TO HALT
Continued from PAGE Onel

was more threatening to the nation
and it's institutions than any Euro
pean nation ever was" he continued:
1T is quite the fashion of late to
more or less openly f1out some of the
provisions of the constitution and stat
utes enacted in consonance with and
under its authority.
'Jn some newspapers, even, the adj
vices carried that the best course is
to continue to violate the law until it's
enforcement appears so hopeless that
it will be changed.
Whether an existing law be bene-
fetal to the welfare of the people in
the view of the writer in the news
paper or the individual disparaging
the official and his work is not at all
the question.
THE authority he is defying in the
one matter where in his individual in
clina ton differs with it is the same
and only authority that stands be-
tween him and the despotism OF some
enc stronger than he"
The old fashioned responsibility
of parents for the training of their
children" he said, lis gradually be-
ing abandoned to and assumed by
biliSs IlliI VI AilC pliCl SOCldl SdH-
iZation or some branch of govern
mental activity. The old fashioned
local maintenance and control of
schools is displaced by centralized
maintenance and control by larger
units.
THE distinction between state and
federal jurisdiction of crimes is being
gradually obliterated; is even now
e.,
make punishable by federal statute
the carrying from one state to an
other of any article which las been
obtained by theft or robbery. which
means of course that the burden of
detection and prosecution of the Of
tenders. and their maintenance
while undergoing punishment is
shifted from the state governments
to the federal.
"The first effect Of all this central
ization of authority and control is to
create and build up a great army of
office holders and employees support
ed by taxation. The next, and one
that is wholly harmful is that the
individual citizen loses his interest In
the conduct of affairs.
"He sees some one else sharing
WIN i'AilA III VIC lCSpOllSlDlnNy 1Oi
the discharge of a duty which was
once his and feels that someone else
may attend to it. In a constantly
increasing ratio the individual voter
and citizen comes to know little and
care less about how his public bust
ness is managed until some glaring
instance Of mismanagement or dis
honesty arouses him to interest and
activity long enough to put some
official or group of officials out and
others In. Then he settles back and
let's another some one else attend
to things for him
Il fear it is of little avail to talk
about to undertake to correct this
inclination. 1t seems to be in our
nature to leave to others the bear
ing of burdens. The remedy is to
check, to lessen the Capitalization, to
bring back to states, counties, towns,
individuals, a sense of responsibility
for the discharge of duties, the con-
troll of local affairs
In paying tribute to those whom
the monument commentaries. It
torney General Sargent referred to
the recent death of his SON in-law.
"Out of my home in the spring of
1917" he said, went two boys. One
of them was blinded by gas at Cha
teau Thierry. The other has lust
now been laid to rest by his Young
wife and two babies; dead from dis
ease which had made wreck of his
life ever since that terrible passage
over on the Leviathan. Each was
glad to have done his part.
Il speak of these things that you
may know that this memorial to your
heroes is one to mine; that / know
and feel while talking that it is a
memorial to ours May the number
of such tokens of remembrance of
the American soldiers sacrifices to
duty, to country, multiply until there
be one In every hamlet, however
small"
He added that the best tribute to
the heroic dead was that we here
resolve that we, each individually,
under high heaven, will from this
time on discharge the duty of citi-
zen not only to observe the law but
to let it be known that he is opposed
to its violation"
The memorial is Of granite and
bronze. erected at cost of 100000.
On raised exedra is mounted a tab
let IS feet high against which are
set five heroic figures symbolic of
the part played by Pittsfield en- and
women in the World war. Dominant
in the centre is the robed figure of
the Greek Goddess Minerva, holding
a spray of laurel above the heads of
a uniformed infantry officer, sailor,
doushboy and aviator.