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Show ii- ; CURB ON POWER S. Benson President of Harding College, Searcy, Ark. Authority turns men's heads. Human nature changes very little if at all. Bigots and despots goven for their own advantage, to grab and hold power. I saw it at its worst during eleven years under the war lords of South China. The rule applies to mortals of every race and station. It applied to King Saul, the Lord's Annointed; no less to the modern heathen, Ilirohito. We are protected from it in America, not by mere luck. I'ramcrs of the American Constitution laid a foundation solid enough to support a government by the people, a representative government gov-ernment in which the representatives are accountable directly to the people who elect them. They were wise pioneers. They knew human nature as well as the theory of government. They knew how soon power runs to tyranny when not held in check. Pillars Of Freedom ... While the United States retains constitutional government it is keeping all the pillars of human freedom on which our liberty rests. Under our Constitution, you can't make me worhip a god I do not trust; you have to convert me. You can't make me buy something I don't want; you have to sell me. You can't make anybody shut up until you prove that he is lying. No system without flaws was ever devised by mortal mind. Many a falsehood has been proclaimed under the cloak of free speech. Many a crime has been committed in the name of religion. Many a pirate has sailed the open seas of free trade. Nevertheless, for all their abuses, religiou liberty, free speech, and open competition competi-tion are still essential parts of human freedom. Integral Liberties ... Someone has asked, "Why do you delend tree laith and tree speech when only free enterprise is under attack?" Here's why: They are all one. Take from a common man his right to own something and before long he will be ready to kiss a gangster's hand for a loaf of bread to feed his hungry children. Too soon then will people be hiding in caves to pray as they did in the dark ages. There is a danger. Rulings by appointed bureaus and commissions, commis-sions, having no constitutional stability, may be greatly prejudiced by local interests or personal whims. They may be as dictatorial as any edict from the lips of an African chief. Written laws, made by representatives of the entire nation, however unwise they might occasionally oc-casionally appear, arc on a far more substantial basis. In Amwica, rulers are actually public servants. Their records are checked regularly by the people who choose them. On election clay they are re-engaged or dismissed. Scalawags hold office sometimes some-times but no tyrant has ever ruled us. But mark this: Our freedom is not some mysterious acid in American soil. Without representative, representa-tive, constitutional government, anything can happan here. Let us be sure that rule by bureaus ends when the war ends. |