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The Commoner
SEPTEMBER, 1921
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American Political Ideals
(A speech delivered by Hon, Jno. Garland
Pollard, LL. D, Former Attorney General of Vir
ginia, on the Chautauqua platform, June, 1921.),
Ladies and Gentlemen: t
Prom sixteen hundred American platforms in
forty-three states of the union, the speakers of
the Radcliffe Chautauqua System "will this Bum
mer address five million American citizens on
the subject of American political ideals. I am
proud to appear as one of the representatives of
this great Chautauqua system, which not only
Keeks the promotion of culture through high
class entertainments, but which at the same time
Is performing a highly patriotic service in call
ing the attention of the people of this country
to the task of lifting higher and yet higher,
those political ideals which have made the
United States the greatest nation on earth.
When a man speaks of ideals, there are those
who at once put him down as a dreamer blind
to the actualities of life. But every, step in the
political progress of man, from serfdom to
sovereign' people has been but a triumph of an
Ideal, and all future polity al progress must de
pend on those who entertain ideals and are will
ing to fight for them.
On the other vhand, it must be admitted that
along with our ideals must go a knowledge of
the stubborn facts of the past and present. It
is therefore not unworthy in this connection to
refer to the material aspects of our political
situation. s
how politics Affects our material
interests
It is for this reason that in discussing" politi
cal ideals I 'shall first seek to bring to your
minds howx vitally politics, the science of gov
ernment, affects your material interest at every
Btage of your existence, how Close home the
government comes to every individual,- how
it sits at every hearthstone, a silent unob
served visitor. Yes, the government's solicitude
for the individual's welfare begins before he is
born. While he is yet in his mother's womb,
yea, even before- he has taken' form or shape,
the law protects him by branding and punish
ing as a felony any attempt to interfere with
his coming' into the world. "When he is born,
the fact of his- birth is made a permanent legal
record. The government then -begins to look
after the infant's food and seeks to maintain
the purity of the supply through pure food and .
inspection laws. It knows that the growing
child must bo the special subject of its protec
tion against contagious diseases, and the laws
are made to prevent their spread. It then
leads the child to the schoolroom and there
takes charge pf his training. It follows him UP
through the grades into the high school where
it undertakes, to give direction to his life by
providing him with manual training and com
mercial courses. It also provides for him col
leges .and universities where he may further
pursue his studies or fit himself for the profes
sions. Nor is this all. He can not become a
lawyer, doctor, dentist, teacher or an under
taker without standing an examination pre
scribed by law. And then he steps out into
life. But the government hasn't finished with
him yet, yea, it has only started, for it large
ly prescribes the conditions under which his
young life shall be spent, whether ho shall
be surrounded by the temptation of the bawdy
house, the gambling den and the "speak-easy,"
And then when he is ready to take upon him
self the real responsibilities of life and lay
aside "single blessedness" he can't eyen get
married except in the manner and form pre
scribed by the government. And then when
he comes under the dominion of his wife, surely
then, it is time for the law to let him alone, but
no, it decrees that he support that wife and
sends him to jail if he doesn't. And then when
the children come, he must support them too,
and How? By furnishing them shelter, food
and clothing, the prices of which are materially
affected by tariff, and other taxes fixed by law..
And so the government follows the citizen all
through his life, prescribing, the conditions un
der which he shall conduct his business and how
much of his earnings he must give up in taxes.
Yes, it follows you down to your-dying day and
after you are dead, it prescribes how long your
body may be kept out of the ground, . Now is
this the last of the law? It then takes charge
of your estate and 'distributes : it out among the
lawyers. The, government would hot" 'stop even
bero, but would-go further 'and lfevy a tax on
your happiness W misery iif the' next world,
but fortunately -for'' you theifax collector never
knows which way you have gone Other con
cerns of life bogin with the cradle and ond
with the grave, but not so with your govern
ment. It reaches out for you before you are
born and feeds on what you have left after you
are dead and gone. And yet, and yet! few of
us think we have time to give to politics, the
science of government.
FINANCIAL BURDENS IMPOSED BY GOV
ERNMENT 'And now turning more specifically to the fi
nancial burdens imposed on us by government,
let me call your attention to the fact that in
early days the government touched the individ
ual but lightly and remotely. But now in the
progress of time it has grown into a gigantic
business machine gathering for its maintenance
billions of dollars each year. Our governments,
local, state and national, cost us approximately
7,000 millions a year which in the average is
about one-eighth of the income of every man,
woman and child in the Unit6d States. Or, to
put it in another way, our govemfhents, local,
state and national have become so huge as to
absorb the total income of all the people for
one-eighth of their time, or a month and a half
in each year. This is an appalling fact which
should make every citizen realize what his gov
ernment means to him in dollars and cents, in
good, hard cash! I do not mean to say that every
citizen pays one-eighth of his income in taxes,
but what I do mean is that the average citizen
is burdened in about that proportion by taxes
paid directly ,by him plus those indirect taxes
-passed on to him by others and which are hid
den away in the cost of everything he buys.
These indirect taxes are no less burdensome
than direct taxes, for there is but one source
from which the government may derive its sus
tenance and that is from the earnings of the
people. The only difference is in the degree
of consciousness of the burden. The indirect
tax has proven less objectionable, for taxation
lias been described as "the art of so picking
the- goose,, as to get the greatest amount of
feathers with the least amount of squealing."
THE BURDENS OF MILITARISM
And what a change the recent World War
has wrought in our national finances! Thq last
congress made total appropriations amounting
to 5,G86 million, of which 93 per cent may be
charged up to war; that to sav 'J 3 cents out of
every dollar paid into the national treasury last
year (after the war had ended) went for pen
sion obligations and debts contracted for past
wars and in maintaining the army and navy for
possible future wars. And this proportion is
destined to increase if we continue to hold aloof
from disarmament agreements with other na
tions, for if we attempt to play a lone hand,
those will prevajl who are sure to insist on as
big a navy on the Atlantic as the combined
navies of Europe, and on the Pacific as largo
a navy as that of Japan, And, think of it, my
follow citizens, out of every dollar you pay Into
the federal treasury only 6 cents goes to' the
ordinary expenses of government, such as con
. gress, courts, executive departments, public
buildings, rivers, harbors, roads, and the like
and only 1 cent out of every dollar is devoted
to scientific and educational work. These facts
in themselves are sufficient to -arouse the atten
tion of every patriotic citizen.
POLITICS AS AN INSTRUMENTALITY OF
SERVICE
Thus I have sought to show you how your
governments affect your material welfare. Now
let us turn to the consideration of political
ideals, politics as an instrumentality of ser
vice to others. American political ideals may
he taken to refer to those principles of govern
ment set out in the Declaration of Independence
Sid the Constitution of the United States, but
the ideals or which I shall speak are those in
dividual Ideals of political duty which must pre
vail in America; if we wish to approach Lin
coln's standard of a government of the people,
hv the people, for the people. Love of coun
try and love of God, patriotism and religion
are closely related. I can not conceive of a
man who loves his God and hates his country.
Ln times of peace our patriotism is measured
by our interest in politics and the only yard
stick bv which we may measure a man s re
ligion is his interest in his fellow man.
RELIGION AND POLITICS
We are accustomed to think of our religion
and our politics as things entirely separate and
-Soar? 0$ 'conception of politics has sunk so
low tliatVe think it sacrilege to speak .of poU
4?cs and Veligion in the: pame breath Politics
is doomed to remain in the mire So long as thd
average voter thinks that his religion has noth
ing to do with his politics. Politics Is the
science of govornmont. Government Is an ln
strumentallty for tho welfare of mankind and
religion is concorned with everything which af-
fecta man's welfare.
Our religion, not our sectarianism, should
permeate and direct all of our activities noC
only in church but also In state and in business.
In all human rolatlons wo must apply ita pt'ln-
ciplos to all of our overy-day dealings. To for-r
bid the entrance of Christian principles into
movements for the betterment of mankind
simply because such movements have a political
aspect, is to put a limit upon our rollgion and
to say that it has nothing to do with thoso
questions which most vitally affect tho welfaro
of the human race. This does not moan a
union of church and state. For when tho
church teaches fidelity to tho dutios of citizen
ship, she is no more Interfering with politics
than she Is interfering with business, when she
teaches us that we must be honest In our deal
ings with our follow man. Let us call to mind
some of tho activities which are today recognized
as within the sphere of government and examine-
them to see what relationship, if any,
they bear to tho teachings of our religion.
ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE ,
One of tho first and oldest functions of tho
government was tho establishment of justice
between man and man, and after centuries of
thought and study we have built up a systonvof
jurisprudence, which, though constantly and
slowly improving, does not yet accomplish tho
ends for which it was constituted. Reform in
the administration of justice Is today one of tho
important concerns of internal government. Our
courts while aiming at justice, are bound down
by an antiquated procedure unfitted to tho needs
of the day, and in tho trial of cases, the time
of the courts and the lawj'ors Is largely con
sumed in the discussion of questions of proced
ure rather than in the merits of tho contro
versy, and justice is not Infrequently sacrificed
to form. Does our rellgio. concern itself In tho
administration pf justice? What man can read
his Bible without being impressed not only
with our duty to do justice but also to seek tho
establishment of justice, and in seeking after
justice can the Christian ignore his govern
ment, one of the chief agencies through which
justice Is to be secured? Listen to the prophet
Isaiah: "Cease to do evil! Learn to do right!
SEEK JUSTICE! Rellovo the oppressed! SE
CURE JUSTICE for the orphan and plead for
the widow." Isa. 1: 10-17.
ESTABLISHMENT OF PEACE
Again our government was constituted to se
cure peace at homo and with the nations of the
earth. "Glory to God in the highest and on
earth peace, good will towards men." Luke
2:14-. This was .the sentiment which announced
the coming of our Master and yet shall we His
followers ignore the fact that one of the most
powerful agencies for bringing about peace on
earth Is our government?
Bear in mind that what I am now trying to
do, is to bring to your attention tho powerful
influence of human government 'in attaining tlio
objects towards which our religion teachos ,ua
we must strive.
EDUCATION
Another great task that the government has
undertaken is the education of our youth. So
important didChristlan!ty think education to be,
that the churches preceded the state in providing
institutions of learning. If the advancement of
education be a Christian duty, how can a
Christian neglect his government, the principal
agency through which the education of youth
is to be attained?
PUBLIC HEALTH
Again, Idl modern times, we find the govern
ment undertaking to be the guardian of public
health. It is striving to stamp out the dread
disease of tuberculosis, which is killing its
hundreds of thousands, and likewise it is fight
ing the spread of all diseases from which man
kind Is suffering. Has our religion nothing to
do with theso bodily ills? Stop and think to
what extent Christ's short ministry on earth was
taken up with healing the sick. And if Chris
tianity Is concerned with the sufferings of the
body, how can the Christian negl ct his gov
ernment, which in the complexity of modern
life' Is a most necessary agency in prei'enting the
spread of disease and lessening the. pain and
suffering of the human race.
SOCIAL JUSTICE
Again, the government is undertaking to se
cure . social justice by regulating the
hours of labor for men and women, pro
hibiting child laboP and securing a minimum
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