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36 chapters
VANISHING LANDMARKS The Trend Toward Bolshevism
VANISHING LANDMARKS The Trend Toward Bolshevism
There are several types of intellect, with innumerable variations and combinations. Some see but do not observe. They note effects but look upon them as facts and never seek a cause. Tides lift and rock their boats but they ask not why. They stand at Niagara and view with some outward evidence of delight a stream of water and an awful abyss, but they lift neither their thoughts nor their eyes towards the invisible current of equal volume passing from Nature’s great evaporator, over Nature’s inco
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CHAPTER I REPUBLIC VERSUS DEMOCRACY
CHAPTER I REPUBLIC VERSUS DEMOCRACY
Representative government and direct government compared. The Fathers created a republic and not a democracy. Before you dismiss the thought, examine your dictionaries again and settle once and forever that a republic is a government where the sovereignty resides in the citizens, and is exercised through representatives chosen by the citizens; while a democracy is a government where the sovereignty also resides in the citizens but is exercised directly, without the intervention of representative
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CHAPTER II THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
CHAPTER II THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
The republican character of the constitutional convention, the qualifications of the delegates, and the extent to which they trusted to the wisdom of the people. The Constitutional Convention was a republican body, and not a mass meeting. George Washington presided. He was a delegate from Virginia. James Madison was another representative from the same state, and he wrote the greater part of the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson was in France, and had nothing whatever to do with drafting the great
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CHAPTER III STATESMEN MUST FIRST BE BORN AND THEN MADE
CHAPTER III STATESMEN MUST FIRST BE BORN AND THEN MADE
Some fundamental qualifications for statesmanship. Integrity and wisdom compared. How are lawyers obtained? Admission to the bar does not always produce even an attorney. And there is a very marked difference between an attorney and a lawyer. But when a young man is admitted to the bar who has aptitude for the law, without which no man can be a lawyer, industry in the law, without which no man ever was a lawyer, then with some years of appropriate environment—the court room and the law library—a
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CHAPTER IV EXPECTATIONS REALIZED
CHAPTER IV EXPECTATIONS REALIZED
The capacity of the people to select representatives wiser than their constituents illustrated by historic facts. America has passed through several crises, and each time has been saved because the people’s representatives were wiser than the people. In this respect, the expectation of the Fathers has been realized. I will mention but three instances. During the Civil War the government resorted to the issuance of paper currency, commonly called greenbacks. While conservative people assumed that
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CHAPTER V INDEPENDENCE OF THE REPRESENTATIVE
CHAPTER V INDEPENDENCE OF THE REPRESENTATIVE
The effect of popular instructions to representatives discussed and illustrated. The Fathers never intended that the people should legislate, interpret the laws or administer justice. They did provide, however, that the people should choose their legislators, their judges and their executives. They sought also to render impossible any interference with the independence of these representatives. Judges are not expected to inquire of bystanders how questions of law shall be decided, or what decree
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CHAPTER VI TREND OF THE TIMES
CHAPTER VI TREND OF THE TIMES
A consideration of the constitutional guarantee that each state shall have a republican form of government, and the warning of Washington against making changes in the constitution. Both the trend of thought and the current of events are away from representative government and toward direct government. Legislating by initiative or by referendum, the recall of judges, and especially the recall of judicial decisions, come dangerously near constituting a democratic form of government, against which
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CHAPTER VII CONSTITUTIONAL LIBERTY
CHAPTER VII CONSTITUTIONAL LIBERTY
The necessity for organized government and organized justice as a guarantee of constitutional liberty is sought to be shown. Plato’s dream, Macaulay’s dire prediction and a threat. A democratic form of government precludes the possibility of constitutional liberty. Constitutional liberty does exist in what Professor Giddings calls a “democratic state,” but cannot in what the same author calls a “democratic form of government.” His admittedly correct differentiation cannot be too often repeated.
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CHAPTER VIII WHAT IS A CONSTITUTION?
CHAPTER VIII WHAT IS A CONSTITUTION?
The nature of the constitution and the dependence of the minority thereon and hence the necessity for an independent judiciary discussed and illustrated. A constitution is little less than a firm and binding contract between the majority and the minority, entered into for the sole protection of the minority, with regularly constituted courts to enforce its provisions. The Supreme Court of the United States, from which every root of the Judiciary Department—one of the three coordinate branches of
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CHAPTER IX PRELIMINARY
CHAPTER IX PRELIMINARY
The basis of human happiness most be understood before one can judge if the policy which our government has pursued is calculated to afford liberty in the pursuit of happiness—admittedly the most important of our inalienable rights—as well as to determine whether the same should be reversed. Preliminary to the discussion of the original design of government, and its gradual reversal of purpose, I want to present as briefly as I may, some philosophies of life. This I deem important, for only as w
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CHAPTER X NO COMPETITION BETWEEN THE SEXES
CHAPTER X NO COMPETITION BETWEEN THE SEXES
A brief discussion of the distinction between women as voters and as statesmen. While this chapter is parenthetical and is not essential to the argument, yet a discussion of the philosophy of human happiness would be incomplete without it. If man had the power of creation his present wisdom would cause him not only to omit competition between the sexes, but he would avoid the possibility of even rivalry. The Creator in His wisdom did not put the sexes in competition and man can neither improve n
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CHAPTER XI PURPOSES AND POLICIES OF GOVERNMENT
CHAPTER XI PURPOSES AND POLICIES OF GOVERNMENT
In this chapter the wisdom of the Fathers is sought to be shown by the fact that they inaugurated policies and purposes admirably calculated to develop the individuality of each citizen, and to afford the greatest opportunity for the maximum of human happiness. With these philosophies of human life in our mind, let us pass to the study of the purpose and policy of our government as shown in its history. Imagine, if you will, that we have just won our independence, that the Constitutional Convent
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CHAPTER XII THE RESULT OF THIS POLICY
CHAPTER XII THE RESULT OF THIS POLICY
The policy defined in the preceding chapter is illustrated and its wisdom shown by the logical results thereof. The source and constant course of wages is also discussed. After spending seventy-five years of our national life in the discussion of state rights, and then four years of bloody fratricidal war, the fact that the United States of America is a nation and not simply a confederation of sovereign states was definitely determined. Occasionally, we still hear people speak of “ these United
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CHAPTER XIII ALL DEPENDENT UPON THE PAYROLL
CHAPTER XIII ALL DEPENDENT UPON THE PAYROLL
The importance of the American payroll upon which all rely is emphasized, and the necessity of safeguarding this payroll is shown together with a lesson in domestic economy. While the government has kept as few as possible in its employ we are dependent, directly or indirectly, upon the payroll. Not only the merchant and the farmer, but the professional man and banker, have suffered when, for any cause, labor has stood in the bread line. This is well illustrated by the fact that the American peo
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CHAPTER XIV AMERICAN FORTUNES NOT LARGE, CONSIDERING
CHAPTER XIV AMERICAN FORTUNES NOT LARGE, CONSIDERING
A country of such resources could not be developed as America has been without great fortunes resulting. Inequality of results in every field of human endeavor, except the acquisition of property, is welcomed and approved by everyone. I am not surprised at the fortunes that have been made in this country. On the contrary, even greater fortunes might have been reasonably expected. As I look over the matchless resources of America, the surface of which as yet has been only scratched, and the match
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CHAPTER XV POPULAR DISSATISFACTION
CHAPTER XV POPULAR DISSATISFACTION
It is as logical that dissatisfaction should develop because of inequality of results in “money making,” as it is that inequality in results shall follow inequality of aptitude and effort. This dissatisfaction has tended strongly to develop socialistic thought and teaching. A century and a quarter, during which representatives were chosen because of actual or supposed aptitude, and retained in office during long periods—frequently for life—when nearly every industry was fostered, and none father
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CHAPTER XVI GREED AND ITS PUNISHMENT
CHAPTER XVI GREED AND ITS PUNISHMENT
The government very properly interfered to curb aggression and extortion. That is a most appropriate function of government, but a very inappropriate end and can be carried too far. Just cause for complaint did, does and always will exist. The Kingdom of Heaven has not yet been established by human agencies. Greed of gain, whetted by indulgence, led to practices in many instances reprehensible. Some of the big fellows who had achieved great things, and rightfully owned what they had accomplished
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CHAPTER XVII OBSTRUCTIVE LEGISLATION
CHAPTER XVII OBSTRUCTIVE LEGISLATION
While supervision and control of big business is essential, the trend has been in the direction of interference and in many instances inhibition. While both political parties, and all administrations, profess great friendship for business, the treatment that both political parties have accorded business is well illustrated by the fable of the elephant that, in going through the jungle, stepped on a mother bird. When the elephant saw the havoc she had wrought, she called the orphaned chick and sa
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CHAPTER XVIII THE INEVITABLE RESULT
CHAPTER XVIII THE INEVITABLE RESULT
As soon as the government changed its policy and denied exceptional rewards for exceptional risks virile Americans refused to assume these risks and internal improvements ceased. A distinction is drawn between pioneer capital and improvement capital. The effect of this changed attitude toward internal improvement and business generally is exactly what every thoughtful person foresaw. No railroad construction worth mentioning has been begun in the last decade. A few unimportant extensions have be
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CHAPTER XIX UNEARNED INCREMENT
CHAPTER XIX UNEARNED INCREMENT
Originally the government permitted each to enjoy the natural advance in the value of his holdings—the unearned increment. In recent years it has discriminated and in certain classes of investments has sought to limit rewards to the equivalent of reasonable interest rates. The first piece of land I ever owned was a half interest in one hundred and sixty acres. My law partner and I got four hundred and eighty dollars together and we bought one hundred and sixty acres at three dollars per acre. We
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CHAPTER XX BUSINESS PHILOSOPHIES
CHAPTER XX BUSINESS PHILOSOPHIES
This is a preliminary chapter intended to show that management is the most essential factor in every business proposition. Several illustrations are given, and some advice offered. Before discussing government construction, ownership and operation of railroads, and other so-called public utilities, I want to call attention to some well-known but seldom recognized principles. All business stands on three legs. No business can stand on two legs. Notwithstanding the persistent nonsense that has ema
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CHAPTER XXI THE GOVERNMENT’S HANDICAP
CHAPTER XXI THE GOVERNMENT’S HANDICAP
In this chapter an argument is made that no government, and especially no republic, can supply the necessary management for business enterprises. The effect of popular and political interference with public business is illustrated. The principal reason why government business operations are always financial failures is that no republic can supply the all-essential third leg. Its management is always defective. It can furnish capital, it can employ labor, but in a government where the people have
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CHAPTER XXII THE POST OFFICE
CHAPTER XXII THE POST OFFICE
The common belief that the Post Office Department is conducted along approved business methods is sought to be dissipated. The advocates of government ownership continually remind you that the Post Office Department is a government managed affair. It is, and I think I am perfectly safe in saying that until the government took control of the railroads, cables, telegraph and telephone lines, commenced building ships and constructing airplanes, it was the worst managed institution on the face of th
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CHAPTER XXIII CIVIL SERVICE
CHAPTER XXIII CIVIL SERVICE
The sole purpose of discussing the Civil Service System in this connection is to show what must ensue if the government continues its trend and enlarges its business operations. Partisan politics cannot be eliminated, neither does the Civil Service secure the most efficient. Concrete and actual instances are given as illustrations. So much has been said in favor of Civil Service by its friends, and so much criticism offered by those who know little about it, that I am impelled to submit a few ob
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CHAPTER XXIV CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT
CHAPTER XXIV CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT
Before increasing the business activities of the government and creating an enormous army of government officials, clerks and employees, all under Civil Service, it is well to consider some feasible plan of retirement, for it is a question that will not down. The discussion of Civil Service as applied to governmental industrial operations will be incomplete unless it includes the question of retirement. Shall those who have been for many years on the government payroll be pensioned? With few exc
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CHAPTER XXV PROPERTY BY COMMON CONSENT
CHAPTER XXV PROPERTY BY COMMON CONSENT
The desire that the government shall enlarge its functions so as to prevent large accumulations, has led to the verge of confiscation of property. Several proposed methods of partial or total confiscation are discussed. Originally no one held property by common consent, and in the very early history of the race I suppose no one gave a thought to what we now call “property rights.” Even now savages seldom claim ownership to anything beyond a dog, weapons of the chase, possibly a horse or a canoe.
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CHAPTER XXVI EQUALITY OF INCOME
CHAPTER XXVI EQUALITY OF INCOME
The inevitable effect of equality of income, assuming it could be accomplished, is discussed. Two or three years ago George Bernard Shaw had a prize article in the “Metropolitan” in which he advocated “Equality of Income” as a panacea for all the ills that afflict civilization. I remember he urged that if all had equal incomes the race would be improved; for there would be greater freedom of selection. He seemed to deplore the fact that under present conditions “men and women meet in parks and o
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CHAPTER XXVII AN HISTORICAL WARNING
CHAPTER XXVII AN HISTORICAL WARNING
The teachings of Rousseau, which logically resulted in the French revolution, wherein the confiscation of property was the prime purpose, is compared with some of the teachings of today. History that should constitute an ample warning is cited. We have been sowing what Rousseau was permitted to sow and from which was reaped the French revolution. The “Social Contract” taught that property as understood today did not exist. The citizen simply held it in trust for society. For under the “Social Co
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CHAPTER XXVIII CAPITAL AND LABOR
CHAPTER XXVIII CAPITAL AND LABOR
Among the dangers threatening the republic is the warfare which admittedly exists between capital and labor, the manifest tendency of which is in the direction of bolshevism. Some citations are made showing its imminence. One need not to have read the preceding pages to know that the United States is fast approaching a crisis. Industrial and social unrest is everywhere apparent. Capital and labor are at grips in many places, while management, the all-essential factor, seems helpless to accomplis
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CHAPTER XXIX CAN THE CRISIS BE AVERTED?
CHAPTER XXIX CAN THE CRISIS BE AVERTED?
Our troubles have all resulted from false teachings which are leading us farther and farther afield. The very rich will spend nothing to correct the public mind and legislation seems powerless to afford a remedy. All this might have been prevented and possibly even now can be avoided. It has been brought upon us in part by false education but largely through evolution in our form of government, in our purpose of government, and in industrial conditions. It could have been prevented by correct ed
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CHAPTER XXX INDUSTRIAL REPUBLICS
CHAPTER XXX INDUSTRIAL REPUBLICS
While democracy as a form of government spells ruin, democracy in society spells America in her best estate. The possibility of industrial republics is suggested. While talking about democracy in government we seem to have lost our conception of democracy in society. What better can we expect from democracy in government than France’s experience, when the voice of the people was declared to be the voice of God? But social democracy is a very different thing from a democratic form of government,
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CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
I came to man’s estate thoroughly believing that the Constitution of the United States is the greatest chart of liberty ever penned by man; and nothing that I have seen, nothing that I have heard, and nothing that has transpired in all my mature life has shaken my faith. I think I must have been born an optimist. From earliest recollection I have liked the rooster that crows in the morning better than the owl that hoots in the nighttime. And what is best of all, the surroundings of my childhood
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APPENDIX A UNSKILLED LABORERS
APPENDIX A UNSKILLED LABORERS
To Civil Service Commission: Your letter of November 4th relative to the adoption of rules governing the employment of laborers in the Federal Service at Boston is at hand. I will have occasion to take the matter up with the President, and if he desires the rules signed I shall be glad to comply. Otherwise I shall decline. My principal objection is the fact that paragraph 6, “Definition of Classified Work,” contained in the regulations governing the employment of classified laborers, adopted Jul
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APPENDIX B TEA EXAMINER
APPENDIX B TEA EXAMINER
To the Civil Service Commission: I am in receipt of your communication of November 21st certifying three names from which to select a Tea Examiner. I hereby file objection to each and all of the persons so certified because of mental unfitness for the position for which they apply. There is no tariff duty on tea and the sole purpose of examination of tea is to protect the American people from cheap and deleterious preparations. A competent tea examiner must be able to pour hot water on a sample
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APPENDIX C TOBACCO EXAMINER
APPENDIX C TOBACCO EXAMINER
To the Civil Service Commission: I am in receipt of your letter of the 12th inst. certifying three names eligible for selection as Tobacco Examiner at the port of ————. I hereby file objections to each and all because of mental unfitness for the position for which they apply. The Tariff Duty on unmanufactured tobacco is in part as follows: This is sufficient to show the importance of the position and the necessity of having an expert tobacco man as examiner. No one of these certified is competen
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APPENDIX D
APPENDIX D
Correspondence between the Secretary of the Treasury and the Civil Service Commission in re Trial Lawyers. To the Civil Service Commission: Gentlemen: I wish you would hold an examination for special agents at the earliest possible moment. As I explained to your Mr. —— the other day, the Department needs some special agents with legal training. Not all special agents need legal training, but there are many times when cases have to be prepared for presentation to the Board of General Appraisers,
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