Jasper County Democrat, Volume 13, Number 52, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 October 1910 — GOVERNOR MARSHALL’S SPEECH. [ARTICLE]

GOVERNOR MARSHALL’S SPEECH.

The speech of Governor Marshall delivered in this city last night. was an honest, straightforward appeal to the intelligence =‘! the people. The attitude of x e Governor was not so much that of a leader —and not at all that of a boss—as that of a man counseling with his friends and neighbors c« ncerning matters ill which they had a common interest. The appeal was, not to authority. but to reason; . not to leaders, but to principles. The Governor said: It can not be that here in Indiana, with churches and schools and newspaper? and intelligence everywhere, that men are 1 sstpettfing judgment

until sonde one whose career has been satisfactory to tfaein J shall tell them What to think. Democrat as I am, and hopeful as I am for the success of the Denjocratic party in Indiana...! would not cry. •Follow me." even though I was assured such cry would bring party success,; why the party should be successful. A free people must follow principles and men. and not men alone.

That is the keynote of his' -peech. The Governor did well to remind us all of the nature of our government, of the nature of liberty as it has always been understood by the men of our race. It is true, as he said, that "the governed have an inherent right in an orderly way to change their form of government, hut that perturbed orators and states!!ie;i can not destroy the charter •>i a people's rights to satisfy the caprice and whim of the individual citizen." In other words, our government is a government if law and institutions, and not of mere abstractions. This point was made very strongly in the speech la>t night. Believing in local self-government as the surest guaranty of liberty, the (iOvernor warned the people against the centralizing tendency that is now operating so strongly. lie was n it. he said.' one of those "who believe in the appointment of -rewards <.f public affair? and of trustee- tinder God,’ 7 in a- “partnership between the government arid their private affairs.” The < a>vern<>r argued that it was not enough to hold and maintain that certain tariff schedules were wrong, but that war ought to be waged on the whole scheme of privilege, Fhe speech is notable as containing the first discussion of the temperance question in the present campaign. No one who knows Governor Marshall will believe that he has any sympathy with the liqrior interest, or any political alliance with it. Being opposed to all interests in government, he could not connive'at the control of the Democratic party by the liquor interest —which is quite as much an interest as the steel trust is. But he did defend the Democratic plan of city and township option as against county option, and he based his argument on his theory of local self-government. His idea is that a community can not be made and kept “dry" against its will, that men can not lie made go«'d by law. and that law to be effective must be as far as pos--iDie the expression of the will • f the people who are to live under it. There is a great ileal to be said in favor of this view. Broadly speaking it is wholly -' t’.nd. The question is as to its application. W e think it well that the question'should be raised, for it iimportant that the will of the j»e«>plft should be known. , l lie governor ’called attention to the fact that the Republican convention had ignored this question, ami reminded the people that though the platform indorsed practically everthing else that the pariv had done it made no mention of the party's most recent achievement, the enactment of the county option law. From this he drew the conclusion that t.:e intention was to play the game both wavs, to stand for "wet candidates in. certain counties, and "dry 1 " candidate- in certain others. Certain if /Is that the Republican party ishowing little interest in the count \ option law. Fhe people are left to infer that it will not be repealed. The interence may be justifiable, but nevertheless it would have been better and more frank to say what was meant, and to stand affirmatively for county option. The Governor did well to inform the people as to his views on this subject, and f ti e views of the party. For this is. after at I, a state election,; and state issues ought not to be ignored. W e are to hear more of them from the Governor. The speech as a whole is excellent. The two main themes are, as has been said, the governmental principle ori which this government rests —a principle which has rat cr been le st sight of in these days of the new nationalism—and city and township option. The two themes are as we have -aid. not unrelated. W e have no doubt that the speech will be widely and—carefully read, a - it ought to be. For it is a sober and thoughtful appeal to the intelligence and conscience of the voter.' —Indianapolis News.

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