Morgan County Democrat. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1886-1943, 1935-01-24
STRAIGHT FROM WASHINGTON
(By Stephen M. Young)

President Roosevelt at the recent
crime conference denounced lynch
ing. Lynching is a peculiarly Amer
lean custom which should be out
lawed by a drastic measure. An
anti-lynching bill should be enacted
during this session of the congress.
1t is great wrong that men law
fully imprisoned and awaiting trial
should be permitted to be killed
without legal authority. Great dan
ger turks in the abandonment of
constitutional law and order. Mobs
are dangerous. They are brutal.
Mob rule is anarchy. Lynching and
| mob-rule might ignite the flame of
bloody revolution. 1t is not such a
great step from taking lives of per-
sons accused of crime by mob vio-
lence to taking property of the
haves by the have-nots without due
process of law The hungry and
| unemployed and under privileged
| have rights. Mob violence should
not be tolerated anywhere.
The house of Representatives was
| not in session last Thursday. Ad-
| journment was had to celebrate
Emancipation Day" No-not the
| anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's s
| sylvania's Democratic governor
| first in so years-took office.
| The seniority rule in congress
| plays queer pranks. An example:
| Congressman John H. Hoeppel, Cal
ifornia, formerly a Republican post
| master, serving his first term in the
last congress. won the doubtful dis
tinction Of voting against the ad-
| ministration more times than any
other Democratic member. He was
a member of the War Claims COM
mittee, having been appointed on
the same day that number of 9TH
er congressional freshmen" were
| appointed. He never attended a
meeting Of this committee, but at
the opening of the present congress
was appointed chairman because of
his seniority in being selected few
minutes ahead of his colleagues.
Due to the vicissitudes of an Ala
bama primary, the chairmanship
was vacant Several of the mem
bers of this committee had taken
an active interest in their work, but
Hoeppel's seniority in being placed
on the committee a minute or two
ahead of such members gave hin
the Craftsmanship and the patron
age that goes with it. Southern
, districts that wisely continue theil
spokesmen in congress for term af-
ter term are represented by able
members who have made a career
in national politics. Many of these
members now occupy important
committee chairmanships.
A great deal will be heard in this
session of the congress relative tc
the proper distribution of wealth in
this country. Why should people
be in want IN land of plenty?
Some advocate confiscation of al
|
of one million dollars Others ad
vocate less drastic plan of inheri
tance and gift taxes which will, in
i. effect, take all wealth over one mil
lion dollars. Why should the heil
who had nothing whatever to dc
with the creation of the wealth re
, main in idleness with a fortune Of
more than one million dollars
; President Lincoln freed chatte
, slaves by his Emancipation Procla
!. nation. A man does not have to bt
black to be slave.
| 1t is prob!ematical whether on,
, individual can really earn mor'
! than one million dollars. What al
, individual gains and holds beyon'
that sum is probably due to the la
, Dor of others. If an employer knew
t that some reasonable limit was fix
. ed by his government upon tn
, amount of money he could retain
! he would more likely pay his asso
ciates and employees greater shar
of the profits of their industry an
labor. Attempts have been made t.
limit armaments to prevent futur
wars. Is it not proper to conside
: limiting the property one individua
may acquire in order to lessen th
frightful effects of future econom