CHAPTER III

CONTINENTAL AND POLITICAL ENVIRONMENTS IN

AMERICA

No one can walk or march here to invade us-they must swim or fly if they come. We have surrendered neither our domestic nor our international rights, but we have slept on both of these rights too long. A few, however, were awake all the time putting the rest of us in a vice. So we find the existing order of things strangulating-menacing our hold on life. We have become extremely uncomfortable—even irritable. We Americans have an intolerable political condition to

overcome.

Politics and business, we were told, should be kept separate. The wealth grabbers told us that. The rank and file of us did not mix into politics at all, except to vote occasionally, and scarcely knew why we did that. But the wealth grabbers did not keep their business out of politics. We were the only ones that tried to keep business and politics separate, and the effect was that we kept out of politics altogether, except merely to vote to give politicians power. When we get down to "brass tacks," however, we will discover that business and politics should go hand in hand, and should not be separated, and that every patriotic American should be actively interested and active in politics.

The Political

Ours was the first government to make a proper start. Washington, Jefferson, Franklin and men of that class launched the ship of state, and did it on a sound political and business basis-fitted to growth and

modification as conditions should change-always open to be governed by principles of eternal justice. That was in the beginning and that was the purpose of its continuance. There was nothing demagogic or selfish in the original organizers. The colonists had built up from hard luck, and political oppression from abroad. Therefore they knew the importance of good government. These serious pioneers drafted a wonderful Constitution, though later disfigured by technical court construction that smothered in part the spirit of the greatest instrument ever drawn by the hand of man. For a time we built to the spirit of that grand instrument, but as the virgin resources renumerated the industry of the people, and they owned more, the temptation to exploit brought into politics demagogues and hypocrites, and crouded out statesmen.

Under the administration of demagogues, a new and fundamentally pernicious principle was injected into our governmental policy. It was the doctrine of socalled "reasonable profit" to the owners of capital, without taking into account the necessity for a reasonable compensation for the industry and production of the toilers.

Under this destructive policy-now an iron rule, those who can possess themselves of capital, irrespective of whether it is acquired by the owner as the product of his toil, or by accident, hook or crook, become proprietors of the industry of labor, and by that iniquitous rule may take toll, limited only when labor has been reduced to bare subsistence. Upon the practice of this rule, justice in the social world has been undermined, and civilization is being destroyed, properly so if we tolerate the rule, for this earth is not a suitable place for liberty loving people if we shall be subject to its operation.

Thank God, there are always enough of us remaining who dare to repudiate and who will ultimately destroy the operation of any false rule.

The Capital of the United States

Our towns are important, likewise our counties, and the States each a great commonwealth. Important as all these may seem, and great as our respective States may impress us-town, county, State, all combined, influence our business affairs comparatively little when measured with the administration at Washington, the capital of our country. There we have Congress, the President with his several Executive Departments, and the Supreme Court. They rule us under the existing political practices.

We look to Washington, then, for the great and most important things. All eyes are now on Washington. What about it? Much indeed. I shall not mince things out of the pride I have for my country. I love the country in spite of the mistakes of the administrators. I believe it the duty of those who love their country to point out any mistakes they may know about its administration. Love of my country does not blind me, nor close my eyes or make me refrain from pointing out what I believe to be faults in its administration. We must prosecute its faults as well as to make operative its virtues. If we do not do both we are not good Americans. There is more reason now than ever before for every American to attend to the rights of the people.

We elect our own representatives, and if we ourselves know what we want and see to it that they, too, know, there would be no trouble in their truly representing us. The trouble has been largely with ourselves. We have not known what we really wanted, while "big

business," thriving off our earnings, knows exactly what it wants, has abundant means, and is completely organized to act and does act in every emergency for its own selfish ends. The special interests have experts to draft their plans. Did we not see how quickly they took hold of the war, at the time it started in Europe and again when we declared war? They are always ready, because they get the earnings from our toil. They know just what they want and have always gotten our representatives to grant it to them. In the last few years they have gotten their greatest increase of wealth.

Of all the cowards, no other is so cowardly as the average politician, considering him in a political sense. That, nevertheless, many of our officials are better men morally and at heart, as well as in ability, than they get credit for. They must, however, be led by the people if we are to succeed. They dare not fight the people's battles unless the people lead them. For the public officials, to fight the people's battles is the "signal" to "big business," to deceive the people and get the latter to defeat such officials at the polls.

If we lead our public officials by showing them exactly what we want, then they will know that we know, and that “big business" will not be able to deceive us as it has done in the past. Then the officials will act in our behalf. A progressive, thinking and observing people will find among themselves men and women suited for public officials to serve the general welfare.

Who Says the People Rule?

Most politicians who face American audiences assume that they can charm with glittering generalities, provided they truckle to a vanity which they presume all persons possess of their own importance. A favorite

thing is to make the audience believe that every American citizen is his own master, and ordinarily they hit it off as follows:

"The people rule; this is a government of, by and for the people.

It was from his heart that Lincoln made such a statement. Because it came from the bottom of his heart it was honest and original with him. But he feared of the future, and his fear was well founded, for the people have not ruled. Some one must rule. It should be the people, but thus far it has not been. (See index for Lincoln's prophecy.)

These who claim that the people have ruled slander the people, for surely no one can claim that with the enormous advantages that exist in America, that if the people have ruled they are really fit to rule, for all along they have gotten the small end of the advantages that exist, and then think of the mess we are now in. But just the same, this Government is for the people, and it is their right to rule. It is because they have the right, that I seek to show what a dismal, lamentable failure the existing rulers have made of the Government. I do so in the hope that the people themselves may soon exercise their right to rule, and thus we would secure the advantages that really belong to us all.

Our national territory affords us enormously greater advantages than we have had. Only here and there do we find a person who really takes advantage of the opportunities, and even the most of those who do, seek merely the material advantages, which when carried to excess destroy the very purpose of life if it has any purpose at all. Surely life has a purpose.

It would be useless to show up the disadvantages, unless at the same time we explain the advantages that