132
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
April, 1935
sands have been put to death without the semblance o f a trial since the lawless Communist has been enthroned in Moscow. The old czarist regime was corrupt. But, under it, the people had some recourse to law, and were at least given some semblance o f a trial before being led out and shot down like dogs. The world recently beheld the spec tacle o f an entire family slaughtered to satisfy the blood lust o f the beasts that rule in Moscow—slaughtered be cause some one killed one o f the Bolshevik brutes. Not sat isfied with this wallow o f blood, these Communistic Herods deliberately put to death without trial more than a hundred persons who were not implicated in the killing. One was a woman eighty-two years o f age! These executions seemed to assist in satisfying their bloodthirst, and, at the same time, weeded out some “ undesirables.” Law does not gov ern Russia. Arbitrary and unchallengeable decisions o f a small and merciless oligarchy are made from day to day. not quite so flagrant in Socialism as it is in its twin sister, Communism, or in Fascism, yet a study o f Social ism, past and present, does not as sure us that Socialists, in general, hold law in high regard. Numerous evidences are at hand. For instance, the Socialist, the late Victor Berger, said in a speech: “ The ballot box is simply a humbug. Now I don't doubt that in the last analysis, we must shoot ; and, when it comes to shoot ing, Wisconsin will be there.” (T . N. T., p. 34). The citizens o f Milwaukee sent him to Congress! He advised Socialists to: “ have a good rifle and the necessary rounds o f ammunition.” A merica G oes S ocialistic and —L awless ! Recent events in Washington are disconcerting to an old-fashioned American,, to say the least. It can hardly be denied that our present administration has a strong leaning, o f necessity or otherwise, toward State Socialism and pa ternalism. It will not be amiss for us to consider the ten dencies o f our present government in upholding the ma jesty o f its own law. Tw o years ago last summer, Uncle Sam (that incarnation o f the richest and most powerful nation on earth) lay paralyzed, agonizing from many in ternal disorders. Hundreds o f thousands were in bread lines. Millions were jobless. Tens o f thousands were losing their homes, farms, and other earthly possessions. The governors o f the nation seemed utterly impotent. Blackest pessimism stalked everywhere. At such a time, the repre sentatives o f the dominant political party o f the United States met to nominate a President, and to formulate some remedy that would restore Uncle Sam to health and strength. Outside, a world was on fire! The nation and the world turned their hands imploringly to these represen tatives to help furnish efficient firemen, lest the buildings o f civilization be destroyed. Behold! The physicians gathered for consultation at the bedside o f Uncle Sam, who was gasping for breath. Then they called for the remedy: “ W e want beer! We want beer!” In the pandemonium that reigned, voices were actually heard to shout: “ To hell with the Constitution! We After that, the rifle rules Russia ruthlessly. May God have mercy up on any nation when once the orderly processes o f law give place to goose step under a dictator! S ocialism ? L awless ! While the spirit o f lawlessness is
want beer!” The Eighteenth Amendment was still in the Constitution! And thus, for a flaming world outside, these firemen suggested the use o f fire water! If newspaper re ports were true (and they were not denied), the fire water was furnished in good measure, for several truck loads of empty bottles were in the refuse carted away after these na tional physicians and world firemen turned their weary footsteps homeward! The world’s mightiest lawmakers were only lawbreakers! Poor Uncle Sam ! Rum was the remedy left to restore him to his strength! Rum was to re turn him to “ happy days . . . again” ! The remedy has been applied. He has been filled inside with rum, and he has been rubbed outside with rum. Result? Our Uncle Samuel is seeing snakes! They leap up out o f the seas. They were spawned in the filthy, pestilential swamps of Europe. They are not illusions. They are real. Socialism! Fascism! Communism! Naziisml Nihilism! Atheism!
Nietzscheism! Lawlessness, espe cially when it is wet, is the lure for serpents— always! So, on they com e! T he “ G old D ecisions ” There is another example. Only a few days ago, one o f the most im portant cases in the life o f the nation was before the Supreme Court. It was “ The Gold Decisions” case. The vote was taken. It was five to four. The majority vote sustained “ The Great Experimenter,” at the same time administering a rebuke to Con gress for lawlessness. But the most i mp o r t a n t pronouncement — t h e ¡words that will last longest— came from the spokesman o f the minority, justice McReynolds arose and sol emnly said: “ The Constitution has been swept away!” R em em b e r, though uttered by a minority, those words were thundered forth from the bench o f the United States Su
Our Uncle Samuel is Seeing Snakes! This cartoon appeared in the Los Angeles Eve ning Herald m d Express and is used by per mission o f the publishers.
preme Court. Walter Lippmann (and the words o f no newspaper writer carry more weight) wrote from New York on February 26,1935: The gold decisions . . . . even if we put to one side the passionate discourse of Justice McReynolds and take only the views expressed by the Chief Justice, there is no escape from the conclusion that the whole Court has held that the United States repudiated its undertaking . . . . This raises the moral issue which affects the vital honor of the American people. . . . It cannot be evaded. For a nation which has upon it a stigma of this sort will be troubled for a long time to come . . . . In examining the moral issue, we have to take as given and settled the premise that the striking down o f the gold clause in gov ernment bonds was unconstitutional. “ Unconstitutional” ! But it stands! And the administra tion o f the United States and the Congress o f the United States propose to see to it that it continues to stand. It is a tremendous portent o f the future. I f this is State Social ism, then State Socialism is not overmuch concerned about the lawfulness o f its own acts. Expediency disenthrones law. Almighty God, in His infinite wisdom, chose to give His only begotten Son to die, rather than to disenthrone law. The tremendous prophetic significance o f it all lies in the fact that lawlessness produces dictators. And dictators—ten o f them—will give the world its dictator o f dictators. Then comes the Lord from heaven to Armageddon into the Valley o f Decision (Joel 3 :14 ). Dictators never get beyond stillbirth among a law-abiding people. The huge crop o f dictators in the world today bears
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker