Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1928-07-09
Timely Views
oMINANCE OF POWER TRUST" IN GOVERN.
MENT STRESSED

MENI STRESSED
By GEORGE ". NORRIS, L. s. Senator from Nebraska.
George William Norris was born on a farm in
Sandusky county, Ohio, in 1861. He worked for
farmers in summer and attended school in winter.
Afterwards he taught school to earn means to at
tain a higher education. Norris studied law and
was admitted to the bar in 1888. In 1885 he moved
to Nebraska. He was prosecuting attorney for
three terms and Judge Of the Fourteenth Nebraska
district from 1895 TO 1902. Norris was a member
# the Fifty-eighth to Sixty-second congresses, and
was elected United States senator from Nebraska
in 1912. He has been reelected twice to the same
post.
There has never been such q stupendous attempt
to undermine the foundations Of government and civ
ilized society as the secret Vaccination of the power
monopoly. 1t is poisoning the minds OF youth through
the secret control of text books in our public schools.
1t has reach its deceitful and into the church and
has undertaken to bride the minister in his pulpit. II
has crept into the back door Of state universities and
colleges to practice deception upon the coming genera
ton. 1t has invaded the secret halls Of fraternaI So
eieties, spreading its evil influence. 1t has crept into
the midst of such organizations as the Boy Scouts and
Girl Scouts Of America. It has, with deception and
bribery, undertaken to influence state legislatures.
BY the expenditure Of huge sums Of money it has
undertaken to buy seats in the United States senate.
and, BY the organization Of the greatest lobby that
has ever been gotten together in our capital city, it
has expended untold sums for the control Of our ma
tional legislature. It has been spending, and Is spend
ing annually, millions Of dollars to control every ave-
nue. Of government, from road overseer to the White
House.
Il has done this, in the main, by secret and undar-
hand methods, and every cent Of the money that it
has dishonorably, unpatriotically and d~eceitfully used.
il has wrung from the people Of the United States in
e~xorbitant public utility rates. 1t has used the money
Of the people to deceive the people. 1t has taken, in
contributions from labor, money to enthrall and m
slave labor. It has robbed the home and the fireside
of pennies in order to control the necessities Of life
of every family in the land.
And what are the progressive minded people Of the
United States going to do about ii? Under our system
CT machine politics. the people are practically helpless.
1t Is easy to say that q third party can be organized
or that some representative Of the people can Be put
unto the race as an independent candidate for president.
but the machine realizes that this gigantic trust knows
that under our system of electing a president such a
course Is, for practical purposes, an impossibiIity.
II our worse than useless electoral college were
abolished, and the people were allowed to vote direct
ly for prsident, il would be very easy and inexpensive,
when the people are dissatisfied with the nominations
made by the major parties, to run an independent can
didate for president. All that would be necessary
would be to file the required petitions in the various
states to put the name on the official ballot. This
could and would be taken care of locally without the
expenditure Of any money, and without the necessity
Of any political organization.
But, until we amend the constitution and abolish
this fifth wheel to our government wagon, political
machines viii pay no attention to the rank and sie
Of political parties or to citizens generally.