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 Holders of political office are but reflectionsof the dominant leadership -- good 
i>(
bad --among the electorate. . Horatio Bunce is a striking exaJ,ple of responsible citizenship. Were his kind tomultiply, we would see many new faces in public office; or, as in the case of DavyCrockett, a new Crockett.For either the new faces or the newCrocketts, we must look at the Horatio inourselves!
From
The Life of Colonel David Crockett.
Compiled
by
Edward S. Ellis (Philadelphls;Porter
&
Coates, 1884).--The Foundation for Economic EducationInc., U.S.A.
 
IS GOVERNMENT
"CHARITY"REALLY THEFT?
One day in the United States House of Representatives, a bill was taken up appro-priating moneyforthe benefit ofawidowofadistinguished naval officer. Several beauti-ful speeches had been made in its support.The Speaker was just about to put thequestion when David Crockett arose:"Mr. Speaker--Ihave as much respect forthe memory of the deceased, and as muchsympathy for the sufferings of the living, if suffering there be, as anyman inthis House,but we must not permit our respect for thedead or our sympathy for a part ofthe livingto lead us into an act of injustice to thebalance of the living. I will not go into anargument to prove that Congress has nopower to appropriate this money as an act of charity. Every member upon this floorknows it. We have the right, as individuals,to give away as much of our own money aswe please in charity; but as members of Congress wehave no right so to appropriateadollar ofthe public money. Someeloquentappeals have been made to us upon theground that it is a debt due the deceased.Mr. Speaker, the deceased lived long afterthe close of the war; he was in office to thedayofhis death, and I have never heard thatthe government was in arrears to him."Every maninthis House knowsit is not adebt. We cannot, without the grossest cor-ruption, appropriate this money as thepayment of a debt. We have not thesemblance ofauthority to appropriate it as acharity. Mr. Speaker, I have said we havethe right to give as much money of our ownas we please. I am the poorest man on thisfloor. I cannot vote for this bill, but I will
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