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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/19603-8.txt b/19603-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..69fe7a7 --- /dev/null +++ b/19603-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6004 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Arena, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Arena + Volume 4, No. 20, July, 1891 + +Author: Various + +Editor: B.O. Flower + +Release Date: October 22, 2006 [EBook #19603] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ARENA *** + + + + +Produced by Barbara Tozier, Bill Tozier, Richard J. Shiffer +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + +THE ARENA. + +No. XX. + +JULY, 1891. + + + + +[Illustration: (signed) Very truly Yours, Oliver Wendell Holmes.] + + + + +OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES. + +BY GEORGE STEWART, D. C. L., LL. D. + + +To the year 1809, the world is very much indebted for a band of +notable recruits to the ranks of literature and science, statesmanship +and military renown. One need mention only a few names to establish +that fact, and grand names they are, for the list includes Darwin, +Gladstone, Erastus Wilson, John Hill Burton, Manteuffel, Count Beust, +Lord Houghton, Alfred Tennyson, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. Each of +these has played an important part in the world's history, and +impressed the age with a genius that marks an epoch in the great +department of human activity and progress. The year was pretty well +advanced, and the month of August had reached its 29th day, when the +wife of Dr. Abiel Holmes presented the author of "The American Annals" +with a son who was destined to take his place in the front line of +poets, thinkers, and essayists. The babe was born at Cambridge, +Massachusetts, in the centre of a Puritan civilization, which could +scarcely have been in touch and harmony with the emphasized +Unitarianism emanating from Harvard. But Abiel Holmes was a genial, +generous-hearted man, and despite the severity of his religious +belief, contrived to live on terms of a most agreeable character with +his neighbors. A Yale man himself, and the firm friend of his old +professor, the president of that institution, who had given him his +daughter Mary to wed (she died five years after her marriage), we may +readily believe that for a time, Harvard University, then strongly +under the sway of the Unitarians, had little fascination for him. But +his kindly nature conquered the repugnance he may have felt, and he +soon got on well with all classes of the little community which +surrounded him. By his first wife he had no children. But five, three +daughters and two sons, blessed his union with Sarah Wendell, the +accomplished daughter of the Hon. John Wendell, of Boston. We may pass +briefly over the early years of Oliver Wendell Holmes. He was educated +at the Phillips Academy at Exeter, and subsequently entered Harvard +University, where he was graduated, with high honors, in 1829, and +belonged to that class of young fellows who, in after life, greatly +distinguished themselves. Some of his noblest poems were written in +memory of that class, such as "Bill and Joe," "A Song of Twenty-nine," +"The Old Man Dreams," "Our Sweet Singer," and "Our Banker," all of +them breathing love and respect for the boys with whom the poet +studied and matriculated. Young Holmes was destined for the law, but +Chitty and Blackstone apparently had little charm for him, for after a +year's trial, he abandoned the field and took up medicine. His mind +could not have been much impressed with statutes, for all the time +that he was supposed to be conning over abstruse points in +jurisprudence, he was sending to the printers some of the cleverest +and most waggish contributions which have fallen from his pen. The +_Collegian_,--the university journal of those days,--published most of +these, and though no name was attached to the screeds, it was fairly +well known that Holmes was the author. The companion writers in the +_Collegian_ were Simmons, who wrote over the signature of "Lockfast"; +John O. Sargent, poet and essayist, whose _nom de plume_ was "Charles +Sherry"; Robert Habersham, the "Mr. Airy" of the group; and that +clever young trifler, Theodore Snow, who delighted the readers of the +periodical with the works of "Geoffrey La Touche." Of these, of +course, Holmes was the life and soul, and though sixty years have +passed away since he enriched the columns of the _Collegian_ with the +fruits of his muse, more than half of the pieces survive, and are +deemed good enough to hold a place beside his maturer productions. +"Evening of a Sailor," "The Meeting of the Dryads," and "The Spectre +Pig,"--the latter in the vein of Tom Hood at his best,--will be +remembered as among those in the collection which may be read to-day +with the zest, appreciation, and delight which they inspired more +than half a century ago. Holmes' connection with the _Collegian_ had a +most inspiriting effect on his fellow contributors, who found their +wits sharpened by contact with a mind that was forever buoyant and +overflowing with humor and good nature. In friendly rivalry, those +kindred intellects vied with one another, and no more brilliant +college paper was ever published than the _Collegian_, and this is +more remarkable still, when we come to consider the fact, that at that +time, literature in America was practically in its infancy. Nine years +before, Sydney Smith had asked his famous question, "Who reads an +American book? who goes to an American play?" And to that query there +was really no answer. Six numbers of the _Collegian_ were issued, and +they must have proved a revelation to the men and women of that day, +whose reading, hitherto, had almost been confined to the imported +article from beyond the seas, for Washington Irving wrote with the pen +of an English gentleman, Bryant and Dana had not yet made their mark +in distinctively American authorship, and Cooper's "Prairie" was just +becoming to be understood by the critics and people. + +Shaking the dust of the law office from his shoes, Oliver Wendell +Holmes, abandoning literature for a time, plunged boldly into the +study of a profession for which he had always evinced a strong +predilection. The art and practice of medical science had ever a +fascination for him, and he made rapid progress at the university. +Once or twice he yielded to impulse, and wrote a few bright things, +anonymously, for the _Harbinger_,--the paper which Epes Sargent and +Park Benjamin published for the benefit of a charitable institution, +and dedicated as a May gift to the ladies who had aided the New +England Institution for the Education of the Blind. In 1833, Holmes +sailed for Paris, where he studied medicine and surgery, and walked +the hospitals. Three years were spent abroad, and then the young +student returned to Cambridge to take his medical degree at Harvard, +and to deliver his metrical Essay on Poetry, before the Phi-Beta-Kappa +Society. In this year too, 1836, he published his first acknowledged +book of poems,--a duodecimo volume of less than two hundred pages. In +this collection his Essay on Poetry appeared. It describes the art in +four stages, _viz._, the Pastoral or Bucolic, the Martial, the Epic, +and the Dramatic. In illustration of his views, he furnished +exemplars from his own prolific muse, and his striking poem of "Old +Ironsides" was printed for the first time, and sprang at a bound into +national esteem. And in this first book, there was included that +little poem, "The Last Leaf," better work than which Holmes has never +done. It is in a vein which he has developed much since then. Grace, +humor, pathos, and happiness of phrase and idea, are all to be found +in its delicious stanzas:-- + + I saw him once before, + As he passed by the door, + And again + The pavement stones resound, + As he totters o'er the ground + With his cane. + + They say that in his prime, + Ere the pruning-knife of Time + Cut him down, + Not a better man was found + By the Crier on his round + Through the town. + + But now he walks the streets, + And he looks at all he meets, + Sad and wan; + And he shakes his feeble head, + That it seems as if he said, + "They are gone!" + + The mossy marbles rest + On the lips that he has prest + In their bloom, + And the names he loved to hear + Have been carved for many a year + On the tomb. + + My grandmamma has said-- + Poor old lady, she is dead + Long ago-- + That he had a Roman nose, + And his cheek was like a rose + In the snow. + + But now his nose is thin, + And it rests upon his chin + Like a staff; + And a crook is in his back, + And a melancholy crack + In his laugh. + + I know it is a sin + For me to sit and grin + At him here; + But the old three-cornered hat, + And the breeches, and all that, + Are so queer! + + And if I should live to be + The last leaf upon the tree + In the spring, + Let them smile as I do now, + At the old forsaken bough + Where I cling. + +In 1838, Doctor Holmes accepted his first professorial position, and +became professor of anatomy and physiology at Dartmouth. Two years +later, he married, and took up the practice of medicine in Boston. In +1847, he returned to his old love, accepting the Parkman professorship +of anatomy and physiology, in the Medical School at Harvard. While +engaged in teaching, he prepared for publication several important +books and reports relating to his profession, and his papers in the +various medical journals attracted great attention by their freshness, +clearness, and originality. But it is not as a medical man that Doctor +Holmes may be discussed in this paper. We have to deal altogether with +his literary career,--a career, which for its brilliancy has not been +surpassed on this side of the Atlantic. + +As a poet he differs much from his contemporaries, but the standard he +has reached is as high as that which has been attained by Lowell and +Longfellow. In lofty verse he is strong and unconventional, writing +always with a firm grasp on his subject, and emphasizing his perfect +knowledge of melody and metre. As a writer of occasional verse he has +not had an equal in our time, and his pen for threescore years has +been put to frequent use in celebration of all sorts of events, +whether military, literary, or scientific. Bayard Taylor said, "He +lifted the 'occasional' into the 'classic'," and the phrase happily +expresses the truth. The vivacious character of his nature readily +lends itself to work of this sort, and though the printed page gives +the reader the sparkling epigram and the graceful lines, clear-cut +always and full of soul, the pleasure is not quite the same as seeing +and hearing him recite his own poems, in the company of congenial +friends. His songs are full of sunshine and heart, and his literary +manner wins by its simplicity and tenderness. Years ago, Miss Mitford +said that she knew no one so thoroughly original. For him she could +find no living prototype. And so she went back to the time of John +Dryden to find a man to whom she might compare him. And Lowell in his +"Fable for Critics," describes Holmes as + + "A Leyden-jar full-charged, from which flit + The electrical tingles, of hit after hit." + +His lyrical pieces are among the best of his compositions, and his +ballads, too few in number, betray that love which he has always felt +for the melodious minstrelsy of the ancient bards. Whittier thought +that the "Chambered Nautilus" was "booked for immortality." In the +same list may be put the "One-Hoss Shay," "Contentment," +"Destination," "How the Old Horse Won the Bet," "The Broomstick +Train," and that lovely family portrait, "Dorothy Q----," a poem with +a history. Dorothy Quincy's picture, cold and hard, painted by an +unknown artist, hangs on the wall of the poet's home in Beacon Street. +A hole in the canvas marks the spot where one of King George's +soldiers thrust his bayonet. The lady was Dr. Holmes' grandmother's +mother, and she is represented as being about thirteen years of age, +with + + Girlish bust, but womanly air; + Smooth, square forehead, with uprolled hair; + Lips that lover has never kissed; + Taper fingers and slender wrist; + Hanging sleeves of stiff brocade; + So they painted the little maid. + +And the poet goes on:-- + + What if a hundred years ago + Those close-shut lips had answered no, + When forth the tremulous question came + That cost the maiden her Norman name, + And under the folds that look so still, + The bodice swelled with the bosom's thrill! + Should I be I, or would it be + One tenth another, to nine tenths me? + + Soft is the breath of a maiden's yes, + Not the light gossamer stirs with less; + But never a cable that holds so fast + Through all the battles of wave and blast, + And never an echo of speech or song + That lives in the babbling air so long! + There were tones in the voice that whispered then, + You may hear to-day in a hundred men. + + O lady and lover, how faint and far + Your images hover, and here we are, + Solid and stirring in flesh and bone, + Edward's and Dorothy's--all their own, + A goodly record for time to show + Of a syllable spoken so long ago! + Shall I bless you, Dorothy, or forgive + For the tender whisper that bade me live? + + It shall be a blessing, my little maid! + I will heal the stab of the red-coat's blade, + And freshen the gold of the tarnished frame, + And gild with a rhyme your household name; + So you shall smile on us brave and bright, + As first you greeted the morning's light, + And live untroubled by woes and fears + Through a second youth of a hundred years. + +Dr. Holmes' coloring is invariably artistic. Nothing in his verse +offends the eye or grates unpleasantly on the ear. He is a true +musician, and his story, joke, or passing fancy is always joined to a +measure which never halts. "The Voiceless," perhaps, as well as "Under +the Violets," ought to be mentioned among the more tender verses which +we have from his pen, in his higher mood. + +His novels are object lessons, each one having been written with a +well-defined purpose in view. But unlike most novels with a purpose, +the three which he has written are nowise dull. The first of the set +is "The Professor's Story; or, Elsie Venner," the second is "The +Guardian Angel," written when the author was in his prime, and the +third is "A Mortal Antipathy," written only a few years ago. In no +sense are these works commonplace. Their art is very superb, and while +they amuse, they afford the reader much opportunity for reflection. +Elsie Venner is a romance of destiny, and a strange physiological +condition furnishes the key-note and marrow of the tale. It is Holmes' +snake story, the taint of the serpent appearing in the daughter, whose +mother was bitten by a rattle-snake before her babe was born. The +traits inherited by this unfortunate offspring from the reptile, find +rapid development. She becomes a creature of impulse, and her life +spent in a New England village, at a ladies' academy, with its social +and religious surroundings, is described and worked out with rare +analytical skill, and by a hand accustomed to deal with curious +scientific phenomena. The character drawing is admirable, the episodes +are striking and original, and the scenery, carefully elaborated, is +managed with fine judgment. Despite the idea, which to some may at +first blush appear revolting and startling, there is nothing +sensational in the book. The reader observes only the growth and +movement of the poison in the girl's system, its effect on her way of +life, and its remarkable power over her mind. Horror or disgust at her +condition is not for one moment evoked. The style is pure and +ennobling, and while our sympathies may be touched, we are at the same +time fascinated and entertained, from the first page to the last. Of +quite different texture is "The Guardian Angel," a perhaps more +readable story, so far as form is concerned, much lighter in +character, and less of a study. There is more plot, but the range is +not so lofty. It is less philosophical in tone than "Elsie Venner," +and the events move quicker. The scene of "The Guardian Angel" is also +laid in an ordinary New England village, and the object of the +Doctor-Novelist was to write a tale in which the peculiarities and +laws of hysteria should find expression and development. In carrying +out his plan, Dr. Holmes has achieved a genuine success. He has taught +a lesson, and at the same time has told a deeply interesting story, +lightened up here and there with characteristic humor and wit. The +characters of Myrtle Hazard and Byles Gridley are drawn with nice +discrimination, while the sketch of the village poet, Mr. Gifted +Hopkins, is so life-like and realistic, that he has only to be named +to be instantly recognized. He is a type of the poet who haunts the +newspaper office, and belongs to every town and hamlet. His lady-love +is Miss Susan Posey, a delicious creation in Dr. Holmes' best manner. +These two prove excellent foils for the stronger personages of the +story, and afford much amusement. "A Mortal Antipathy" is less of a +romance than the others. The reader will be interested in the +description of a boat race which is exquisitely done. + +In biographical writing, we have two books from Dr. Holmes, one a +short life of Emerson, and the other a memoir of Motley. Though +capable of writing a great biography like Trevelyan's Macaulay or +Lockhart's Scott, the doctor has not yet done so. Of the two which he +has written, the Motley is the better one. In neither, however, has +the author arrived at his own standard of what a biography should be. + +Mechanism in thought and morals,--a Phi-Beta-Kappa address, delivered +at Harvard in 1870,--is one of Dr. Holmes' most luminous contributions +to popular science. It is ample in the way of suggestion and the +presentation of facts, and though scientific in treatment, the +captivating style of the essayist relieves the paper of all heaviness. +A brief extract from this fine, thoughtful work may be given here:-- + + "We wish to remember something in the course of + conversation. No effort of the will can reach it; but we + say, 'wait a minute, and it will come to me,' and go on + talking. Presently, perhaps some minutes later, the idea we + are in search of comes all at once into the mind, delivered + like a prepaid bundle, laid at the door of consciousness + like a foundling in a basket. How it came there we know not. + The mind must have been at work groping and feeling for it + in the dark; it cannot have come of itself. Yet all the + while, our consciousness was busy with other thoughts." + +The literary reputation of Dr. Holmes will rest on the three great +books which have made his name famous on two continents. Thackeray had +passed his fortieth year before he produced his magnificent novel. +Holmes, too, was more than forty when he began that unique and +original book, "The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table," one of the most +thoughtful, graceful, and able investigations into philosophy and +culture ever written. We have the author in every mood, playful and +pathetic, witty and wise. Who can ever forget the young fellow +called John, our Benjamin Franklin, the Divinity student, the +school-mistress, the landlady's daughter, and the poor relation? What +characterization is there here! The delightful talk of the autocrat, +his humor, always infectious, his logic, his strong common sense, +illumine every page. When he began to write, Dr. Holmes had no settled +plan in his head. In November, 1831, he sent an article to the _New +England Magazine_, published by Buckingham in Boston, followed by +another paper in February, 1832. The idea next occurred to the author +in 1857,--a quarter of a century afterwards, when the editors of the +_Atlantic Monthly_, then starting on its career, begged him to write +something for its pages. He thought of "The Autocrat," and resolved, +as he says, "to shake the same bough again, and see if the ripe fruit +were better or worse than the early windfalls." At a bound "The +Autocrat" leaped into popular favor. The reading public could hardly +wait for the numbers. All sorts of topics are touched upon from nature +to mankind. There is the talk about the trees, which one may read a +dozen times and feel the better for it. And then comes that charming +account of the walk with the school-mistress, when the lovers looked +at the elms, and the roses came and went on the maiden's cheeks. And +here is a paragraph or two which makes men think: + + "Our brains are seventy-year clocks. The angel of life winds + them up once for all, then closes the case, and gives the + key into the hand of the Angel of the Resurrection. Tic-tac! + tic-tac! go the wheels of thought; our will cannot stop + them; they cannot stop themselves; sleep cannot still them; + madness only makes them go faster; death alone can break + into the case, and seizing the ever-swinging pendulum, which + we call the heart, silence at last the clicking of the + terrible escapement we have carried so long beneath our + wrinkled foreheads. + + "If we could only get at them, as we lie on our pillows and + count the dead beats of thought after thought, and image + after image, jarring through the overtired organ! Will + nobody block those wheels, uncouple that pinion, cut the + string that holds those weights, blow up the infernal + machine with gun-powder? What a passion comes over us + sometimes for silence and rest!--that this dreadful + mechanism, unwinding the endless tapestry of time, + embroidered with spectral figures of life and death, could + have but one brief holiday! Who can wonder that men swing + themselves off from beams in hempen lassos?--that they jump + off from parapets into the swift and gurgling waters + beneath?--that they take counsel of the grim friend who has + but to utter his one peremptory monosyllable and the + restless machine is shivered as a vase that is dashed upon a + marble floor? Under that building which we pass every day + there are strong dungeons, where neither hook, nor bar, nor + bed-cord, nor drinking vessel from which a sharp fragment + may be shattered, shall by any chance be seen. There is + nothing for it, when the brain is on fire with the whirling + of its wheels, but to spring against the stone wall and + silence them with one crash. Ah, they remembered that,--the + kind city fathers,--and the walls are nicely padded, so that + one can take such exercise as he likes without damaging + himself on the very plain and serviceable upholstery. If + anybody would only contrive some kind of a lever that one + could thrust in among the works of this horrid automaton and + check them, or alter their rate of going, what would the + world give for the discovery?" + +"The Autocrat" was followed by "The Professor at the Breakfast +Table,"--a book in every way equal to the first one, though, to be +sure, there are critics who pretend to see diminished power in the +author's pen. It is, however, full of the same gentle humor and keen +analyses of the follies and foibles of human kind. It is a trifle +graver, though some of the characters belonging to "The Autocrat" come +to the front again. It is in this book that we find that lovely story +of Iris,--a masterpiece in itself and one of the sweetest things that +has come to us for a hundred years, rivalling to a degree the +delicious manner and style of Goldsmith and Lamb. In 1873 the last of +the series appeared, and "The Poet" came upon the scene to gladden the +breakfasters. Every chapter sparkles with originality. "I have," says +Dr. Holmes, "unburdened myself in this book, and in some other pages, +of what I was born to say. Many things that I have said in my riper +days have been aching in my soul since I was a mere child. I say +aching, because they conflicted with many of my inherited beliefs, or +rather traditions. I did not know then that two strains of blood were +striving in me for the mastery--two! twenty, perhaps, twenty thousand, +for aught I know--but represented to me by two--paternal and maternal. +But I do know this: I have struck a good many chords, first and last, +in the consciousness of other people. I confess to a tender feeling +for my little brood of thoughts. When they have been welcomed and +praised, it has pleased me, and if at any time they have been rudely +handled and despitefully treated, it has cost me a little worry. I +don't despise reputation, and I should like to be remembered as having +said something worth lasting well enough to last." + +There is much philosophy in "The Poet," and if it is less humorous +than "The Autocrat," it is more profound than either of its fellows in +the great trio. In it the doctor has said enough to make the +reputations of half a dozen authors. + +"One Hundred Days in Europe," if written by anyone else save Dr. +Holmes, would, perhaps, go begging for a publisher. But he journeyed +to the old land with his heart upon his sleeve. He met nearly every +man and woman worth knowing, and the Court, Science, and Literature +received him with open arms. He had not seen England for half a +century. Fifty years before, he was an obscure young man, studying +medicine, and known by scarcely half a dozen persons. He returned in +1886, a man of world-wide fame, and every hand was stretched out to do +him honor, and to pay him homage. Lord Houghton,--the famous breakfast +giver of his time, certainly, the most successful since the princely +Rogers,--had met him in Boston years before, and had begged him again +and again to cross the ocean. Letters failing to move the poet, +Houghton tried verse upon him, and sent these graceful lines:-- + + "When genius from the furthest West, + Sierra's Wilds and Poker Flat, + Can seek our shores with filial zest, + Why not the genial Autocrat? + + "Why is this burden on us laid, + That friendly London never greets + The peer of Locker, Moore, and Praed + From Boston's almost neighbor streets? + + "His earlier and maturer powers + His own dear land might well engage; + We only ask a few kind hours + Of his serene and vigorous age. + + "Oh, for a glimpse of glorious Poe! + His raven grimly answers 'never!' + Will Holmes's milder muse say 'no,' + And keep our hands apart forever?" + +But he was not destined to see his friend. When Holmes arrived in +England, Lord Houghton was in his grave, and so was Dean Stanley, +whose sweetness of disposition had so charmed the autocrat, when the +two men had met in Boston a few years before. Ruskin he failed to meet +also, for the distinguished word-painter was ill. At a dinner, +however, at Arch-Deacon Farrar's, he spent some time with Sir John +Millais and Prof. John Tyndall. Of course, he saw Gladstone, Tennyson, +Robert Browning, Chief Justice Coleridge, Du Maurier, the illustrator +of _Punch_, Prof. James Bryce who wrote "The American Commonwealth," +"Lord Wolseley," Britain's "Only General," "His Grace of Argyll," +"Lord Lorne and the Princess Louise,"--one of the best amateur +painters and sculptors in England,--and many others. Of all these +noted ones, he has something bright and entertaining to say. The +universities laid their highest honors at his feet. Edinburgh gave him +the degree of LL.D., Cambridge that of Doctor of Letters, and Oxford +conferred upon him her D. C. L., his companion on the last occasion +being John Bright. It was at Oxford that he met Vice-Chancellor +Benjamin Jowett, the Master of Balliol College, Prof. Max Müller, Lord +and Lady Herschell, and Prof. James Russell Lowell, his old and +unvarying friend. The account of his visit to Europe is told with most +engaging directness and simplicity, and though the book has no +permanent value, it affords much entertainment for the time. + +The reader will experience a feeling of sadness, when he takes up Dr. +Holmes' last book, "Over the Tea-cups," for there are indications in +the work which warn the public that the genial pen will write +hereafter less frequently than usual. It is a witty and delightful +book, recalling the Autocrat, the Professor, and the Poet, and yet +presenting features not to be found in either. The author dwells on +his advancing years, but this he does not do in a querulous fashion. +He speaks of his contemporaries, and compares the ages of old trees, +and over the tea-cups a thousand quaint, curious, and splendid things +are said. The work takes a wide range, but there is more sunshine than +anything else, and that indefinable charm, peculiar to the author, +enriches every page. One might wish that he would never grow old. As +Lowell said, a few years ago, in a birthday verse to the doctor:-- + + "You keep your youth as yon Scotch firs, + Whose gaunt line my horizon hems, + Though twilight all the lowland blurs, + Hold sunset in their ruddy stems. + + * * * * * + + "Master alike in speech and song + Of fame's great anti-septic--style, + You with the classic few belong + Who tempered wisdom with a smile. + + Outlive us all! Who else like you + Could sift the seed corn from our chaff, + And make us, with the pen we knew, + Deathless at least in epitaph?" + + + + +PLUTOCRACY AND SNOBBERY IN NEW YORK, + +BY EDGAR FAWCETT. + + +Let us imagine that a foreigner has entered a New York ball-room for +the first time, and let us make that foreigner not merely an +Englishman, but an Englishman of title. He would soon be charmed by +the women who beamed on every side of him. Their refinement of manner +would be obvious, though in some cases they might shock him by a +shrillness and nasal harshness when speaking, while in other cases +both their tone and accent might repel him through extreme affectation +of "elegance." But for the most part he would pronounce these women +bright, cultivated, and often remarkably handsome. They would not +require to be amused or even entertained after the manner of his own +countrywomen; they would appear before him amply capable of yielding +rather than exacting diversion, and often through the mediums of +nimble wit, engaging humor, or an audacity at once daring and +picturesque. But after a little more time our titled stranger would +begin to perceive that behind all this feminine sparkle and freshness, +lurked a positive transport of humility. He would discover that he had +swiftly become with these fashionable ladies an object of idolatry, +and that all the single ones were thrilled with the idea of marrying +him, while all the married ones felt pierced by the sad realization +that destiny had disqualified them for so golden a bit of luck. He +would find himself assailed by questions about his precise English +rank and standing. Had he any other title besides the one by which he +was currently known? How long ago was it since his family had been +elevated to the peerage? Did he personally know the Queen or the +Prince of Wales? Was his mother "Lady" anybody before she married his +father? Did he own several places in the country, and if so, what was +the name of each? + +The men would naturally be less inquisitive; but then the men all +would have their Burke or DeBrett to consult at their clubs, and could +"look him up" there as if he had been an unfamiliar word in the +dictionary. And these male followers of fashion would, for the most +part, distress and perplex him. He would be confronted with a mournful +fact in our social life: the men who "go out" are nearly all silly +striplings who, on reaching a sensible age, discreetly remain at home. + +He would soon begin to perceive that New York society is a blending of +the ludicrous and pathetic. The really charming women have two +terrible faults, one which their fathers, husbands, and brothers have +taught them, and one which they have apparently contracted without +extraneous aid. The first is their worship of wealth, their devout +genuflection before it as the sole choicest gift which fate can +bestow, and the second is their merciless and metallic snobbery. They +have made a god of caste, and in a country where, of all other cults, +that of caste is the most preposterous. The men (the real grown-up +men, who may hate the big balls, but are nevertheless a great deal in +the movement as regards other gay pastimes) watch them with quiet +approbation. Many a New York husband is quite willing that his wife +shall cut her own grandmother if that relative be not "desirable." The +men have not time to preen their social plumes quite so strenuously; +they are too busy in money-getting, and of a sort which nearly always +concerns the hazard of the Wall Street die. And yet quite a number of +the men are arrant snobs, refusing to associate with, often even to +notice, others whose dollars count fewer than their own. This form of +plutocratic self-adulation is relatively modern. It is called by some +people a very inferior state of things to that which existed in "the +good old Knickerbocker days." But the truth is, odious though the +millionnaire's ascendancy may be at present, that of the Knickerbocker +was once hardly less so. Vulgar, brassy, and intolerable the +"I'm-better-than-you" strut and swagger of plutocracy surely is; but +in the smug, pert provincialism of those former New York autocrats who +defined as "family" their descent of two or three generations from raw +Dutch immigrants, there was very little comfort indeed. The present +writer has seen something of this element; in the decade from 1865 to +1875 it was still extremely active. Society was then governed by the +Knickerbocker, as it is now governed by the plutocrat, and in either +instance the rule has been wholly deplorable. Indeed, for one cogent +reason, if no other, poor New York stands to-day as the least +fortunate of all great cities. Her society, from the time she ceased +to admit herself a village up to the date at which these lines are +written, has never been even faintly worthy of the name. A few years +ago the "old residents," with their ridiculous claims to pedigree, had +everything their own way. A New York drawing-room was, in those days, +parochial as a Boston or Philadelphia tea-party. There were modish +metropolitan details, it is true, but the petty reign of the immigrant +Hollanders' descendants would have put to shame the laborious freaks +and foibles of a tiny German principality. Now, having changed all +that, and having forced the Knickerbockers from their old places of +vantage, the plutocrats reign supreme. To a mind capable of being +saddened by human materialism, pretension, braggadocio, it is all very +much the same sort of affair. Our republic should be ashamed of an +aristocracy founded on either money or birth, and that thousands of +its citizens are not only unashamed of such systems, but really glory +in them, is merely another proof of how this country has broken almost +every democratic promise which she once made to the Old World. + +It is easy to sneer away statements like these. It is easy to laugh +them off as "mere pessimism," and to talk of persons with "green +spectacles" and "disordered livers." We have learned to know the glad +ring of the optimist's patriotic voice. If we all believed this voice, +we should all believe that America is the ideal polity of the world. +And one never so keenly realizes that this is not true as when he +watches the creeds and character of society in New York. Of Londoners +we are apt to assert that they grovel obsequiously before their +prince, with his attendant throng of dukes, earls, and minor +gentlemen. This may be fact, but it is very far from being the whole +fact. In London there is a large class of ladies and gentlemen who +form a localized and centralized body, and whose assemblages are +haunts of intelligence, refinement, and good taste. In a certain sense +these are "mixed," but all noteworthy gatherings must be that, and the +"smart" and "swagger" sets of every great European city are nowadays +but a small, even a contemptible factor in its festivities. + +Not long ago the present writer inquired of a well-known Englishman +whether people of literary and artistic note were not always bidden to +large and important London receptions. "In nearly all cases, yes," he +replied. "It has been the aim of my sister to invite, on such +occasions, authors, artists, and actors of talent and distinction. +They come, and are welcomed when they come." He did not mention the +name of his sister, knowing, doubtless, that I knew it. She was an +English duchess, magnificently housed in London, a beauty, and a star +of fashion. + +But our New York brummagem "duchesses" of yesterday are less liberal +in their condescensions. An attractive New York woman once said to me: +"I told a man the other day that I was tired of meeting him +incessantly at dinner, and that we met each other so often in this way +as to make conversation a bore." Could any remark have more pungently +expressed the unhappy narrowness of New York reunions? How many times +has the dainty Mr. Amsterdam or Mrs. Manhattan ever met men and women +of literary or artistic gifts at a fashionable dinner in Fifth or +Madison Avenue? How many times has he or she met any such person at a +"patriarchs' ball" or an "assembly?" Has he or she _ever_ met an actor +of note _anywhere_, except in two or three exceptional instances? +True, men and women of intellectual fame shrink from contact with our +noble Four Hundred. But that they should so shrink is in itself a +scorching comment. They encounter patronage at such places, and +getting patronage from one's inferiors can never be a pleasant mode of +passing one's time. That delicate homage which is the due of mental +merit they scarcely ever receive. Now and then you hear of a +portrait-painter, who has made himself the rage of the town, being +asked to dine and to sup. But he is seldom really held to be _des +nôtres_, as the haughty elect ones would phrase it, and his +popularity, based upon insolent patronage, often quickly crumbles. The +solid devotion is all saved for the solid millionnaires. Frederick the +Great, if I recall rightly, said that an army was like a snake, and +moved on its stomach. Of New York society this might also be asserted, +though with a meaning much more luxurious. To be a great leader is to +be a great feeder. You must dispense terrapin, and canvas-back ducks, +and rare brands of champagne, in lordly dining-halls, or your place is +certain to be secondary. You may, if a man, have the manners of a +Chesterfield and the wit of a Balzac; you may, if a woman, be +beautiful as Mary Stuart and brilliant as DeStaël, and yet, powerless +to "entertain," you can fill no lofty pedestal. "Position" in New York +means a corpulent purse whose strings work as flexibly as the dorsal +muscles of a professional toady. And this kind of toady has an +exquisite _flair_ for your greatness and dignity the moment he becomes +quite sure of your pecuniary willingness to back both. New York is at +present the paradise of parvenus, and these occasionally commit +grotesque mistakes in the distribution of civilities. Because you +chose to "stay in" for a season or two, they will take for granted, if +suddenly brought in contact with you, that you have never "been out" +and could not go if you tried. Of course, to feel hurt by such cheap +hauteur proves that you are in a manner worthy of it; but even though +you are not in the least hurt, you cannot refrain from a thrill of +annoyance that a country which has boasted in so loud-mouthed a way to +Europe of having begun its national life by a wholesome scorn of all +class distinction, should contain citizens cursed by a spirit of such +tawdry pride. At least the aristocracies of other lands, vicious and +reprehensible as they have always been, are yet an evil with a certain +malign consistency for their support. Like those monarchies of which +they have formed a piteous adjunct, they have always been the +outgrowths of a perfectly natural ignorance. Though distinct clogs to +civilization, their existence remains pathetically legitimate. +Nuisances, they are still nuisances with a hereditary hold on history. +Their chief modern claim for continuance is the fact that they were +once authorized by that very "divine right" which is now the scorn and +jest of philosophy, and that the communities which they still infest +are yet unprepared for the shock of their extirpation. It is clear +that they will one day be sloughed off like a mass of dead animal +tissue, even if they are not amputated like a living limb that has +grown hopelessly diseased. They are as surely doomed by the slow +threat of evolution as is the failure to establish trial by jury in +Russia. They are tolerated by progress for the simple reason that +progress is not yet ready to destroy them. Hence are all imitations of +their permitted and perpetuated folly in wofully bad taste. They are +more; they are an insult, when practised in such a land as ours, to +republican energies, motives, and ideals. Heaven knows, we are a +country with sorry enough substantiality behind her vaunts. We call +ourselves freemen, and our mines and factories are swarming with +haggard slaves. We declare that to be President of the United States +is the most honorable office a man can hold, and our elected +candidates (except when they have the splendid self-abnegating courage +of a Cleveland!) wade to Washington through a perfect bog of venal +promises. We prate of our democratic institutions, and forget that +free trade is one of the first proofs of a free people, and that +protected industries are the feudalism of manufacture. We sneer at the +corruption of a Jeffreys or a Marlborough in the past, and concede +that bribery riots in our capital, and that the infernal political +grist-mill in New York has to-day almost as much nefarious grinding to +get through with annually as it had when Tweed and Sweeny stood the +boss millers that fed its voracious maw. And after all, the +abominations of New York's politics are only a few degrees more +repellent than the cruelties and pusillanimities of her self-styled +patrician horde. The highest duty of rich people is to be charitable; +in New York the rich people make for themselves two highest duties, to +be fashionable and to be richer--if they can. Charity of a certain +sort does exist among them, and it would be unfair to say that it is +all of the pompous public sort. Much of it, indeed, is private, and +when incomes, as in a few individual cases, reach enormous figures, +the unpretentious donations are of no slight weight. But charity is a +virtue that counts for nothing unless meekness, philanthropy, +altruism, is each its acolyte. How can we expect that beings who busy +themselves with affairs of such poignant importance as whether they +shall give Jones a full nod or Brown a quarter of a nod when they next +meet him; as whether the Moneypennys are really quite _lancés_ enough +for them to encounter the great Gilt-edges or no, at a prospective +dinner-party; as whether the latest Parisian tidings about bonnets are +really authentic or the contrary; as whether His Royal Highness has or +has not actually appeared at one of his imperial mamma's drawing-rooms +in a Newmarket cutaway,--how, it is asked, can we expect that beings +of this bent may properly heed those ghastly and incessant wants which +are forever making of humanity the forlorn tragi-comedy it is? The +yawp of socialism is excusably despised by plutocracy. Socialism is +not merely a cry of pain; if it were only that its plaints might have +proved more effectual. It is a cry of avarice, of jealousy, and very +often of extreme laziness as well. Every socialistic theory that we +have yet heard of is self-damning. Each real thinker, whether he be +Croesus or pauper, comprehends that to empower the executive with +greater responsibility than it already possesses would mean to tempt +national ruin, and that until mankind has become a race of angels the +hideous problem of human suffering can never be solved by vesting +private property-rights in the hands of public functionaries. But the +note of anguish in that voice of desperation and revolt need not, for +all this, be confused with its madder strains. The claim of poverty +upon riches is to-day a tremendously ethical one. Help--and help wise, +earnest, persistent--is the inflexible moral tax levied by life itself +on all who have an overplus of wealth wherewith to relieve deserving +misery. The occasional careless signing of a cheque, or even a visit +now and then among the filthy slums of Bayard and Hester Streets, +cannot cancel these mighty obligations. And there are better ways of +schooling the soul to recognize the magnitude and insistence of such +obligations than by organizing ultra-select dancing-classes at +Sherry's; giving "pink luncheons" to a bevy of simpering female snobs; +uncorking eight-dollar bottles of Clos de Vougeot for a fastidious +dinner company of men-about-town; squandering three thousand dollars +on a Delmonico ball, or purchasing at vast prices the gowns and jewels +of a deposed foreign empress. Yes, there are better ways. And for +people who are solely pleasure-seekers to call themselves Christian +is, from their own points of view, blasphemy unspeakable; since +whatever we agnostics may say and believe about the alleged "divinity" +of Christ, _they_ hold that the Galilean was the son of God, and that +in such miraculous character he spoke when saying: "Leave all and +follow me." + +The American snob is a type at once the most anomalous and the most +vulgar. Why he is anomalous need not be explained, but the essence of +his vulgarity lies in his entire absence of a sanctioning background. +It is not, when all is said, so strange a matter that anyone reared in +an atmosphere of historic ceremonial and precedent should betray an +inherent leaning toward shams and vanities. But if there is anything +that we Americans, as a race, are forever volubly extolling, it is our +immunity from all such drawbacks. And yet I will venture to state that +in every large city of our land snobbery and plutocracy reign as twin +evils, while in every small town, from Salem to some Pacific-slope +settlement, the beginnings of the same social curse are manifest. Of +course New York towers in bad eminence over the entire country. Abroad +they are finding out the absurd shallowness of our professions. Nearly +seven years ago an able literary man said to me in London: "I am +wearied, here, by the necessity of continual aristocratic patronage. +Especially true is this," he added, "regarding all new dramatic +productions. Lord This and Lady That are more thought of as +potentially occupying stalls or boxes at a first performance than is +the presence of the most sapient judges." And then again, after a +slight pause, he proceeded: "But I hear it is very much the same thing +with you. I have often longed to go to America, just for the sake of +that social emancipation which it has seemed to promise. But they tell +me that in your big cities a good deal of the same humbug prevails." I +assured him that he was fatally right; but I did not proceed to say, +as I might have done, that our "aristocracy" rarely patronizes first +nights at theatres, holding most ladies, and gentlemen connected with +the stage in a position somewhere between their scullions and their +head footmen. + +London laughs and sneers at New York when she thinks of her at all, +which is, on the whole, not very often. If London esteemed New York of +greater importance than she does esteem her, the derisive laughter +might be keener and hence more salutary. Imagine America separated by +only a narrow channel from Europe, and imagine her to contain in her +chief metropolis, as she does at present, the amazing contradictions +and refutations of the democratic idea which are to be noted now. What +food for English, French, and German sarcasm would our pigmy Four +Hundred then become! In those remote realms they have already shrank +aghast at the licentious tyrannies of our newspapers. England has +freedom of the press, but she also has a law of libel which is not a +cipher. Our law of libel is so horribly effete that the purest woman +on our continent may to-morrow be vilely slandered, and yet obtain no +adequate form of redress. This is what our extolled "liberty" has +brought us--a despotism in its way as frightful as anything that +Russia or the Orient can parallel. Is it remarkable that such +relatively minor abuses as those of plutocracy and snobbery should +torment us here in New York when bullets of journalistic scandal are +whizzing about our ears every day of our lives, and those who get +wounds have no healing remedy within their possible reach? Some one of +our clever novelists might take a hint for the plot of a future tale +from this melancholy state of things. He might write a kind of new +Monte Cristo, and make his hero, riddled and stung by assaults of our +unbridled press, find but a single means of vengeance. That means +would be the starting of a great newspaper on his own account, and the +triumphant cannonading of his foes through its columns. More +influential New York editors would doubtless already have forced their +way within the holy bounds of patrician circles, were it not that, in +the first place editors are somewhat hard-worked persons, and that in +the second place they are usually men of brains. + +Marriage, among the New York snobs and plutocrats, ordinarily treats +human affection as though it were a trifling optic malady to be cured +by a few drops of corrective lotion. Daughters are trained by their +mothers to leave no efforts untried, short of those absolutely +immoral, in winning wealthy husbands. Usually the daughters are +tractable enough. Rebellion is rare with them; why should it not be? +Almost from infancy (unless when their parents have made fortunes with +prodigious quickness) they are taught that matrimony is a mere hard +bargain, to be driven shrewdly and in a spirit of the coolest +mercantile craft. Sometimes they do really rebel, however, mastered by +pure nature, in one of those tiresome moods where she shows the +insolence of defying bloodless convention. Yet nearly always +capitulation follows. And then what follows later on? Perhaps +heart-broken resignation, perhaps masked adultery, perhaps the +degradation of public divorce. But usually it is no worse than a +silent disgusted slavery, for the American woman is notoriously cold +in all sense of passion, and when reared to respect "society" she is a +snob to the core. Some commentators aver that it is the climate which +makes her so pulseless and prudent. This is possible. But one deeply +familiar with the glacial theories of the fashionable New York mother +might find an explanation no less frigid than comprehensive for all +her traits of acquiescence and decorum. How many of these fashionable +mothers ask more than a single question of the bridegrooms they desire +for their daughters? That one question is simply: "What amount of +money do you control?" But constantly this kind of interrogation is +needless. A male "match" and "catch" finds that his income is known to +the last dollar long before he has been graduated from the senior +class at Columbia or Harvard. Society, like a genial feminine +Briarĉus, opens to him its myriad rosy and dimpled arms. He has only +to let a certain selected pair of these clutch him tight, if he is +rich enough to make his personality a luring prize. Often his morals +are unsavory, but these prove no impediment. The great point with +plutocracy and snobbery is to perpetuate themselves--to go on +producing scions who will uphold for them future generations of +selfishness and arrogance. One sees the same sort of procreative +tendency in certain of our hardiest and coarsest weeds. Sometimes a +gardener comes along, with hoe, spade, and a strong uprooting animus. +In human life that kind of gardener goes by the ugly name of +Revolution. But we are dealing with neither parables nor allegories. +Those are for the modish clergymen of the select and exclusive +churches, and are administered in the form of dainty little religious +pills which these gentlemen have great art in knowing how to palatably +sugar. + + + + +"SHOULD THE NATION OWN THE RAILWAYS?" + +BY C. WOOD DAVIS. + +PART I.--OBJECTIONS TO NATIONAL OWNERSHIP CONSIDERED. + + +When the paper published in the February ARENA, entitled "The Farmer, +the Investor, and the Railway," was written, the writer was not ready +to accept national ownership as a solution of the railway problem; but +the occurrences attending the flurries of last autumn in the money +markets, when half a dozen men, in order to obtain control of certain +railways, entered into a conspiracy that came near wrecking the entire +industrial and commercial interests of the country, having shed a +lurid light upon the enormous and baleful power which the corporate +control of the railways places in the hands of what Theodore Roosevelt +aptly termed "the dangerous wealthy classes," has had the effect of +converting to the advocacy of national ownership not only the writer +but vast numbers of conservative people of the central, western, and +southern States to whom the question now assumes this form: "Which is +to be preferred: a master in the shape of a political party that it is +possible to dislodge by the use of the ballot, or one in the shape of +ten or twenty Goulds, Vanderbilts, Huntingtons, Rockefellers, Sages, +Dillons, and Brices who never die and whom it will be impossible to +dislodge by the use of the ballot?" The particular Gould or Vanderbilt +may die, as did that Vanderbilt to whom was ascribed the aphorism "The +public be damned," but the spirit and power of the Goulds and +Vanderbilts never dies. + + +OBJECTIONS TO NATIONAL OWNERSHIP. + +The objections to national ownership are many; that most frequently +advanced and having the most force being the possibility that, by +reason of its control of a vastly increased number of civil servants, +the party in possession of the federal administration at the time +such ownership was assumed would be able to perpetuate its power +indefinitely. As there are more than 700,000 people employed by the +railways, this objection would seem to be well taken; and it indicates +serious and far-reaching results _unless_ some way can be devised to +neutralize the political power of such a vast addition to the official +army. + +In the military service we have a body of men that exerts little or no +political power, as the moment a citizen enters the army he divests +himself of political functions; and it is not hazardous to say that +700,000 capable and efficient men can be found who, for the sake of +employment, to be continued so long as they are capable and +well-behaved, will forego the right to take part in political affairs. +If a sufficient number of such men can be found, this objection would, +by proper legislation, be divested of all its force. At all events no +trouble from such a source has been experienced since Australian +railways were placed under control of non-partisan commissions, such a +commission, having had charge of the Victorian railways since +February, 1884, or a little more than one term, they being appointed +for seven years instead of for life, as stated by Mr. W. M. Acworth in +his argument against government control. + +The second objection is that there would be constant political +pressure to make places for the strikers of the party in power, thus +adding a vast number of useless men to the force, and rendering it +progressively more difficult to effect a change in the political +complexion of the administration. + +That this objection has much less force than is claimed is clear from +the conduct of the postal department which is, unquestionably, a +political adjunct of the administration; yet but few useless men are +employed, while its conduct of the mail service is a model of +efficiency after which the corporate managed railways might well +pattern. Moreover, if the railways are put under non-partisan control, +this objection will lose nearly if not quite all its force. + +A third objection is that the service would be less efficient and cost +more than with continued corporate ownership. + +This appears to be bare assertion, as from the very nature of the case +there can be no data outside that furnished by the government-owned +railways of the British colonies, and such data negatives these +assertions; and the advocates of national ownership are justified in +asserting that such ownership would materially lessen the cost, as any +expert can readily point out many ways in which the enormous costs of +corporate management would be lessened. With those familiar with +present methods, and not interested in their perpetuation, this +objection has no force whatever. + +The fourth objection is that with constant political pressure +unnecessary lines would be built for political ends. + +This is also bare assertion, although it is not impossible that such +results would follow; yet such has not been the case in the British +colonies where the governments have had control of construction. On +the other hand, it is notorious that under corporate ownership, and +solely to reap the profits to be made out of construction, the United +States have been burthened with useless parallel roads, and such +corporations as the Santa Fe have paralleled their own lines for such +profits. It is quite safe to say that when the nation owns the +railways there will be no nickel-plating, nor will such an unnecessary +expenditure be made as was involved in the construction of the "West +Shore"; nor will the feat of Gould and the Santa Fe be repeated of +each building two hundred and forty miles, side by side, for +construction profits, much of which is located in the arid portion of +Kansas where there is never likely to be traffic for even one railway. +Much of the republic is covered with closely parallel lines which +would never have been built under national ownership, and this process +will continue as long as the manipulators can make vast sums out of +construction. + +A fifth objection is that with the amount of red-tape that will be in +use, it will be impossible to secure the building of needed lines. + +While such objection is inconsistent with the fourth it may have some +force; but as the greater part of the country is already provided with +all the railways that will be needed for a generation, it is not a +very serious objection even if it is as difficult as asserted to +procure the building of new lines. It is not probable, however, that +the government would refuse to build any line that would clearly +subserve public convenience, the conduct of the postal service +negativing such a supposition; and for party purposes the +administration would certainly favor the construction of such lines as +were clearly needed, and it is high time that only such should be +built; and what instrumentality so fit to determine this as a +non-partisan commission acting as the agent of the whole people? + +The sixth objection is that lines built by the government would cost +much more than if built by corporations. + +Possibly this would be true, but they would be much better built and +cost far less for maintenance and "betterments," and would represent +no more than actual cost; and such lines as the Kansas Midland, +costing but $10,200 per mile, would not, as now, be capitalized at +$53,024 per mile; nor would the President of the Union Pacific (as +does Sidney Dillon, in the _North American Review_ for April,) say +that "A citizen, simply as a citizen, commits an impertinence when he +questions the right of a corporation to capitalize its properties at +any sum whatever," as then there would be no Sidney Dillons who would +be presidents of corporations, pretending to own railways built wholly +from government moneys and lands, and who have never invested a dollar +in the construction of a property which they have now capitalized at +the modest sum of $106,000 per mile. After such an achievement, in +making much out of nothing, it is no wonder that Mr. Dillon is a +multi-millionnaire and thinks it an impertinence when a citizen asks +how he has discharged his trust in relation to a railway built wholly +with public funds, no part of which Mr. Dillon and his associates seem +in haste to pay back; their indebtedness to the government, with many +years of unpaid interest, amounting to more than $50,000,000, which is +more than the cash cost of the railway upon which these men have been +so sharp as to induce the government, after furnishing all the money +expended in its construction, to accept a second mortgage, and now ask +the same accommodating government to reduce the rate of +interest--which they make no pretence of paying--to a nominal figure, +and to wait another hundred years for both principal and interest. To +make sure that the government's second mortgage shall be no more +valuable than second mortgages usually are, and to make it more +comfortable for the manipulators, Messrs. Gould and Dillon now propose +to put a blanket first mortgage of $250,000,000 on this property, +built wholly from funds derived from the sale of government lands and +bonds, and to pay the interest on which bonds the people are yearly +taxed, although Mr. Dillon and his associates contracted to pay such +interest. In his conception of the relations of railway corporations +to the public, Mr. Dillon is clearly not in accord with the higher +tribunals which hold, in substance, that railways are public rather +than private property, and that the shareholders _are entitled to but +a reasonable compensation for the capital actually expended in +construction_ and a limited control of the property; and in this +connection it may be well to quote briefly from decisions of the +United States Supreme Court, which, in the case of Wabash Railway +_vs._ Illinois, uses this language: "The highways in a State are the +highways of the State. The highways are not of private but of public +institution and regulation. In modern times, it is true, government is +in the habit, in some countries, of letting out the construction of +important highways, requiring a large expenditure of capital, to +agents, generally corporate bodies created for the purpose, and giving +them the right of taxing those who travel or transport goods thereon +as a means of obtaining compensation for their outlay; but a +superintending power over the highways, and the charges imposed upon +the public for their use, always remains in the government." Again, in +Olcott _vs._ the Supervisors, it is held that: "Whether the use of a +railway is a public or private one depends in no measure upon the +question who constructed it or who owns it. It has never been +considered of any importance that the road was built by the agency of +a private corporation. No matter who is the agent, the function +performed is that of the State." + +Mr. Justice Bradley says: "When a railroad is chartered it is for the +purpose of performing a duty which belongs to the State itself.... It +is the duty and prerogative of the State to provide means of +intercommunication between one part of its territory and another." + +If, as appears, such is the duty of the State (nation) why should not +the State resume the discharge of this duty when the corporate agents +to which it has delegated it are found to be using the delegated power +for the purpose of oppressing and plundering a public which it is the +duty of the government to protect? + +The abilities of the man who cannot become a multi-millionnaire with +the free use, for twenty-five years, of $33,000,000 of government +funds, must be of a very low order, and it is no wonder, that after +having for so many years had the use of such a sum without payment of +interest, Mr. Dillon and his associates are very wealthy, and, like +others who are retaining what does not belong to them, think it an +impertinence when the owner inquires what use they are making of +property to which they have no right. Had the nation built the Union +Pacific there would have been no "Credit-Mobilier" and its unsavory +scandal, and it is safe to say that the road would not now be made to +represent an expenditure of $106,000 per mile, and that Mr. Dillon and +some others would not have so much money as to warrant them in putting +on such insufferable airs. When it is remembered what use Oakes Ames +and the Union Pacific crew made of issues of stock, it is not at all +surprising that the president of the Union Pacific should think it an +impertinence for a citizen to question the amount of capitalization or +the use to which a part of such issues have been put, some of which +are within the knowledge of the writer, so far as relates to issues of +that part of the Union Pacific lying in Kansas and built by Samuel +Hallett, who told the writer that he gave a member of the then federal +cabinet several thousand shares of the capital stock of the "Union +Pacific Railway, Eastern Division,"--now the Kansas Division of the +Union Pacific--to secure the acceptance of sections of the road which +were not built in accordance with the requirements of the act of +Congress, which provided that a given amount of government bonds per +mile should be delivered to the railway company when certain officials +should accept the road; and it was a quarrel with the chief engineer +of the road in relation to a letter written by such engineer to +President Lincoln, informing him of the defective construction of this +road, that caused Samuel Hallett to be shot down in the streets of +Wyandotte, Kansas, by engineer Talcott. It is within the knowledge of +the writer that the member of the cabinet to whom Mr. Hallett said he +gave several thousand shares of stock, held an amount of Union Pacific +shares years afterwards, and that many years after he left the cabinet +he continued to draw a large salary from the Union Pacific Company. +Mr. Hallett also told the writer what were the arguments applied to +congressmen to induce them to change the government lien from a first +to a second mortgage of the Pacific Railway lines, and what was his +contribution in dollars to the fund used to enable congressmen to see +the force of the arguments. When issues of railway shares are used for +corrupt purposes it is certainly an impertinence for a citizen to make +inquiries or offer any remarks in relation thereto. + +The seventh objection to State owned railways is that they are +incapable of as progressive improvement as are corporate owned ones, +and will not keep pace with the progress of the nation in other +respects; and in his _Forum_ article Mr. Acworth lays great stress +upon this phase of the question, and argues that as a result the +service would be far less satisfactory. + +There may be force in this objection, but the evidence points to an +opposite conclusion. When the nation owns the railways, trains will +run into union depots, the equipment will become uniform and of the +best character, and so sufficient that the traffic of no part of the +country would have to wait while the worthless locomotives of some +bankrupt corporation were being patched up, nor would there be the +present difficulties in obtaining freight cars, growing out of the +poverty of corporations which have been plundered by the manipulators, +and improvements would not be hindered by the diverse ideas of the +managers of various lines in relation to the adoption of devices +intended to render life more secure or to add to the public +convenience. That such is one of the evils of corporate management is +demonstrated daily, and is shown by the following from the _Railway +Review_ of March 7, 1891: "It is stated that a bill will be introduced +in the Illinois Legislature, at the suggestion of the railroad and +warehouse commissioners, governing the placing of interlocking plants +at railway grade crossings. It sometimes happens that one of the +companies concerned is anxious to put in such a plant and the other +objects. At present there is no law to govern the matter, and the +enterprising company is forced to abide the time of the other." +Instead of national ownership being a hindrance to improvement and +enterprise, the results in Australia prove the contrary, as in +Victoria the government railways are already provided with +interlocking plants at all grade crossings, and one line does not have +to wait the motion of another, but all are governed by an active and +enlightened policy which adopts all beneficial improvements, +appliances or modes of administration that will add either to the +public safety, comfort, or convenience. It is safe to say that had +the nation been operating the railways, there would have been no +Fourth Avenue tunnel horror; and Chauncey Depew and associates would +not now be under indictment, as the government would not have +continued the use of the death-dealing stove on nearly half the +railways in the country in order to save money for the shareholders. + +Existing evidence all negatives Mr. Acworth's postulate "that State +railway systems are incapable of vigorous life." + +An objection to national ownership, which the writer has not seen +advanced, is that States, counties, cities, townships, and +school-districts would lose some $27,000,000 of revenue derived from +taxes upon railways. + +While this would be a serious loss to some communities, there would be +compensating advantages for the public, as the cost of transportation +would be lessened in like measure. + +Many believe stringent laws, enforced by commissions having judicial +powers, will serve the desired end, and the writer was long hopeful of +the efficacy of regulation by State and national commissions; but +close observation of their endeavors and of the constant efforts--too +often successful--of the corporations to place their tools on such +commissions, and to evade all laws and regulations, have convinced him +that such control is and must continue to be ineffective, and that the +only hope of just and impartial treatment for railway users is to +exercise the "right of eminent domain," condemn the railways, and pay +their owners what it would cost to duplicate them; and in this +connection it may be well to state what valuations some of the +corporations place upon their properties. + +Some years since the "Santa Fe" filed in the counties on its line a +statement showing that at the then price of labor and materials--rails +were double the present price--that their road could be duplicated for +$9,685 per mile, and the materials being much worn the actual cash +value of the road did not exceed $7,725 per mile. + +In 1885 the superintendent of the St. Louis & Iron Mountain Railway, +before the Arkansas State board of assessors, swore that he could +duplicate such railway for $11,000 per mile, and yet Mr. Gould has +managed to float its securities, notwithstanding a capitalization of +five times that amount. + + (_Concluded next month_.) + + + + +THE UNKNOWN.[1] + +PART II. + +BY CAMILLE FLAMMARION. + + [1] Translated by G. H. A. Meyer and J. Henry Wiggin, + from the manuscript of Camille Flammarion. + +The human soul would seem to be a spiritual substance, endowed with +psychical force, capable of acting outside bodily limits. This force, +like all others, may be transmissible into the form of electricity or +heat, or may be capable of bringing into activity certain latent +energies while it yet remains intimately united with our mental being. + +We propound questions to the table, already impressed with our nervous +impetus, on subjects interesting to ourselves; and then we ourselves +unconsciously inspire the responses. The table speaks to us in our own +language, giving back our own ideas, within the limits of our own +knowledge, conversing with us about our opinions and views, as we +might discuss them with ourselves. This is absolutely the +reflection--direct or remote, precise or vague--of our own feelings +and thoughts. All my efforts to establish the identity of a stranger +spirit, unknown to the persons present, have failed. + +On the other hand, attentive examination of different communications +leads us toward a conclusion as to their origin. When amidst the +Marquis de Mirville's revelations, one is in the full swing of Roman +Catholic diabolism--demons, spirits, purgatory, miracles, +prayers,--nothing is lacking. With the Count de Gasparin, we are in +the bosom of Rational Protestantism, which is absolutely the opposite +of the other. Here are no present miracles, no devils, but simply a +physical agency, a fluid obedient to volition. In the experiences of +Eugene Nus's circle, we find the language of Fourier discoursing about +the phalanstery, about racial solidarity, and socialistic religion. +Therein are found earthly music chanted in space,--songs of Saturn and +Jupiter dictated under the influence of Alyre Bureau, who was the +musician for the spiritualist society of Allan-Kardec. Here we have +disembodied spirits of all ranks, and this is the apostolate of their +reincarnation. + +In the United States, on the contrary, the moving tables declare that +the hypothesis of reincarnation is absurd and misleading; and it may +be assumed that none of the persons present, especially the ladies, +would for one moment admit the possibility of being some day +reincarnated beneath the skin of a negro. A brilliant imagination, +like that of Sardou, will picture to us Jupiter's castles; a musician +may receive the revelation of a musical composition, more or less +charming; an astronomer may be favored with astronomical +communications. Is this physical auto-suggestion? Not absolutely, +since the force goes outside of ourselves, in order to act. It is +rather _mental_ suggestion; yet an idea cannot be suggested to a piece +of wood. This is, therefore, the direct action of the mind. I cannot +find a better name for it than _psychical force_, a term, as already +stated, which I have used since 1865, and which has since become the +fashion. + +The action of mind, outside the body, has other testimony, however. +Magnetism, hypnotism, suggestion, telepathy prove this every day. It +cannot be disputed that here also we encounter many illusions. + +Some ten years ago a learned physician at Nice, Doctor Barety, the +author of "La Force Neurique Rayonnante et Circulante" (The Radiation +and Circulation of Nervous Force) devoted himself to ingenious +experiments in the distant transmission of thought as observable in a +magnetized person. In these experiments, in which I assisted, it +seemed to me that the subject's sense of hearing amply sufficed to +explain the results. + +Take one case. The subject began to count aloud, while the magnetizer +was in an adjoining room, the door standing open between them. At a +certain moment the doctor, with all his energy, projected his "nervous +fluid" from his hands, and the magnetized subject forthwith ceased +counting; yet the doctor's linen cuffs made enough noise to indicate +what he commanded, though no word was spoken. During the experiments +at Salpétrière and at Ivry, to which Doctor Luys was kind enough to +invite me, I thought I observed that a previous knowledge of the +sequence of the experiments furnished a wide margin for the exercise +of the personal faculties of the young women upon whom the experiments +were made. These suspicions, however, did not prevent certain facts in +regard to mental suggestion from being absolutely incontestable. + +Here is one among others:-- + +Doctor Ochorowiez was attending a lady troubled with long-standing +hysterio-epilepsy, aggravated by a maniacal inclination to suicide. +Madame M. was twenty-seven years of age, and had a vigorous +constitution. She appeared to be in excellent health. Her active and +gay temperament was united with extreme moral sensibility. Her +character was specially truthful. Her profound goodness was tinctured +with a tendency toward self-sacrifice. Her intelligence was +remarkable. Her talents were many, and her perceptive faculties were +good. At times she would display a lack of willpower, and an element +of painful indecision; while at other times she showed exceptional +firmness. The slightest moral fatigue, any unexpected impression, +though of trifling importance, whether agreeable or otherwise, +reacted, although slowly and imperceptibly, upon her vaso-motor +nerves, and brought on convulsive attacks and a nervous swoon. Writes +Dr. Ochorowiez in his work on Mental Suggestion: + + One day, or rather one night, her attack being over + (including a phase of delirium), the patient fell quietly + asleep. Awaking suddenly, and seeing us (one of her female + friends and myself) still near her, she begged us to go + away, and not to tire ourselves needlessly on her account. + She was so persistent that, fearing a nervous crisis, we + departed. I went slowly downstairs, for she resided on the + fourth story, and I paused several times to listen + attentively, troubled by an evil presentiment; for she had + wounded herself several times a few days before. I had + already reached the courtyard, when I paused again, asking + myself whether or not I ought to go away. + + All at once her window opened with a slam, and I saw the + sick woman leaning out with a rapid motion. I rushed to the + spot where she might fall; and mechanically, without + attaching any great importance to the impulse, I + concentrated all my will in one great desire to oppose her + precipitation. + + The patient was influenced, however, though already leaning + far out, and retreated slowly and spasmodically from the + window. The same movements were repeated five times in + succession, until the patient, seemingly fatigued, at last + remained motionless, her back leaning against the casement + of the window, which was still open. + + She could not see me, as I was in the shadow far below, and + it was night. At that moment, her friend, Mademoiselle X., + ran in, and caught madame in her arms. I heard them + struggling together, and hastened up the stairs to + mademoiselle's assistance. I found the invalid in a frenzy + of excitement. She did not recognize us, but mistook us for + robbers. I could only draw her away from the window by using + violence enough to throw her upon her knees. Several times + she tried to bite me; but after much trouble, I succeeded in + replacing the poor lady in her bed. While maintaining my + grasp with one hand, I induced a contraction of her arms, + and finally put her to sleep. + + When again in a somnambulistic state, her first words were: + "Thanks!--pardon!" + + Then she told me that she positively intended to throw + herself out of the window, but that each time she felt as if + she were "stayed from below." + + "How so?" + + "I do not know." + + "Did you have any suspicion of my presence?" + + "No! it was precisely because I believed you away, that I + proposed to carry out my design. However, it seemed to me at + times that you were near me, or behind me, and that you did + not want me to fall." + +Here is another experiment still more striking. Pierre Janet, +Professor of Philosophy in the Havre Lycée, and Monsieur Gibert, a +physician, selected as a subject for their observation a certain +woman, a native of Brittany. She was fifty years old, robust, and +moderately sensitive to hypnotic influences. On October 10, 1885, they +agreed upon the following command: + + To-morrow, at noon, lock the doors of your house. + W. + +This suggestion Dr. Janet inscribed upon a sheet of paper, which he +carried about in his pocket, not communicating its purport to anybody. +Dr. Gibert made the suggestion by placing his forehead against the +woman's, while she was in a lethargic slumber; and for a few moments +he concentrated his mind upon the mental command he was giving. + +Writes Janet concerning this incident: + + On the morrow we went to the house, at fifteen minutes + before twelve, and found the entrance barricaded and the + doors locked. Inquiry proved that madame herself had closed + them. When I asked her, next day, why she had done such a + strange thing, she replied: "I felt very tired, and did not + want you to come in and put me to sleep." + + She was greatly agitated at the time. She continually + wandered about the garden, and I saw her pluck a rose, and + go towards the letter-box, which was near the gate. These + actions were of no importance; but it is curious to note + that these last actions were precisely those the day before + we had thought of ordering her to perform, though we + afterwards decided upon a different suggestion, namely, that + of locking the doors. Undoubtedly his first suggestion + occupied Gibert's mind while he was giving the second, and + had a corresponding influence over the woman. + +Here is still another experiment, related by Doctor Dusart: + + Every day, before leaving a certain young patient, I + commanded her to sleep until a specified hour the next day. + Once I came away, forgetting this precaution, and I was + seven hundred yards away before I thought of it. Being + unable to retrace my steps, I said to myself that my wish + might perhaps be felt, notwithstanding the distance, since a + silent suggestion was sometimes obeyed at an interval of one + or two yards. I therefore formulated my command that she + should sleep until eight o'clock the next morning, and then + kept on my way. The next day I called again, at half-past + seven, and found my patient still asleep. + + "How happens it that you are still asleep?" + + "Why, Monsieur, I am obeying your orders." + + "You are mistaken. I went away without giving any such + command!" + + "That is so! but five minutes later I distinctly heard you + tell me to sleep until eight o'clock." + + As it was not yet eight, and as eight was the hour I usually + indicated, the possibility suggested itself that her + awakening was the result of an illusion, arising from habit, + and perhaps, after all, this was a case of simple + coincidence. In order to make a clean breast of it, and + leave no room for doubt, I ordered the invalid to sleep + until she should receive a command to awake. + + During the day, having a few spare moments, I resolved to + complete the experiment. On leaving my house, seven + kilometers away, I mentally gave the order for her to wake + up. I noticed that it was two o'clock. On reaching the house + I found her awake. Her parents, following my advice, had + noted the precise time of her awakening. It was the very + hour at which I gave the command. + + This experiment was repeated several times, at different + hours, and always with kindred results. + +This is really very interesting; but here is something which appears +more extraordinary. + + On the first of January I discontinued my visits, and my + relations to the family ceased. I had not even heard them + spoken of; yet on January 12, as I was making some visits in + an opposite direction, ten kilometers away from my former + patient, I found myself wondering if it was still possible + to make her hear my mental commands, despite the distance + separating us, despite the cessation of my relations to the + family, and despite the intervention of a third party, the + father himself, who was magnetizing his daughter. I + therefore bade the patient not fall asleep. Half an hour + later, reflecting that if, by some extraordinary chance, my + command was obeyed, this might prejudice the mind of the + unfortunate girl against me, I withdrew my prohibition, and + dismissed it from my thoughts. On the following morning, at + six o'clock, I was greatly surprised by the arrival of a + messenger, bringing me a letter from the father of the young + lady, in which he informed me that on the day before, + January 12, at ten o'clock in the forenoon, he was unable to + put his daughter to sleep, except by a prolonged and + disagreeable struggle. When she at last fell asleep she + declared that if she had resisted, it was because of my + command, and that she finally fell asleep only because I + permitted it. + + These declarations had been made before witnesses, whom the + father had asked to countersign his report. I have preserved + this letter, and have added a few circumstantial details + thereto. + + It is, therefore, probable that, with an exact knowledge or + phenomenal conditions, we may eventually be able to mentally + transmit entire thoughts to distant points, as is done now + by telephone. + +Independently of magnetism, it is difficult not to believe that two +persons, mutually dear to each other, although separated by certain +circumstances, may remain united by their thoughts, with a tenacity +which nothing can disturb, especially if the circumstances are grave. +The thoughts of the one react upon the mind of the other, as if the +beatings of one heart could transmit themselves to another heart. +There is a certain psychical tie between the two; and at the time when +one especially concentrates his voluntary force upon the other, it is +not unusual for the latter to feel the reaction, and be plunged into a +revery even more intense. The transmission of thought--or, to speak +more exactly, _suggestion_,--is, under these conditions, a matter for +observation, which might frequently be applied. + +I shall not here consider the phenomena of telepathy or ghosts. +Readers of THE ARENA have been favored with Mr. Wallace's excellent +articles on this point, and it would be superfluous to reconsider it. +No doubt our readers are also acquainted with the examples reported in +my work called Urania, and have long been aware that I believe in the +possibility of communications between invisible beings and ourselves. +In the point of view at which I have placed myself in this technical +and essentially scientific outline, I have taken care to carefully +distinguish the things seen by myself from those which I have not +seen. + +I do not belong to the same class with those who say: "We have not +seen it, and therefore it cannot be." There are honest people +everywhere. There are, perhaps, few exact observers, capable of +reporting facts, without changing anything in their recitals; but +there are witnesses we cannot well gainsay. + +Here, for example, is a letter among many recently addressed to me, +relative to certain extraordinary facts. + + Your work, Urania, has prompted me to bring to your + knowledge an event which I heard related by the very person + to whom it happened,-a Danish physician, named Vogler, + residing at Gudum, near Alborg, in Jutland. + + Vogler is a man of robust health, both in mind and body. He + has an upright and positive disposition, without the least + tendency (but quite the contrary) to nervous excitability. + + He related to me the following story, which I have often + heard confirmed by others as the unadorned and exact truth. + + When a young man, studying medicine, he travelled in Germany + with Count Schimmuelmann, a noted name among the nobility of + Holstein, who was about his own age. They hired a small + house in a German university town where they proposed to + stay for sometime. The Count lived in the apartments on the + ground floor, while Vogler occupied the next story; and the + street door, as well as the stairway, were used by + themselves alone. One night, when Mr. Vogler was reading in + bed, he suddenly heard the door at the foot of the stairs + open and shut; but he did not pay any attention to it, + believing the Count had just come in. A few moments later he + heard slow and tired footsteps ascend the stairs, and stop + at his chamber door. He saw the door open, but nobody + appeared. The footsteps did not cease, however, for he heard + them on the floor, advancing from the door to the bed. He + could see absolutely nothing, although the light was + continuously burning; and he could not understand the + affair, not recognizing the footsteps. When the steps had + drawn very near the bed, he heard a great sigh, which he at + once recognized as that of his grandmother, whom he had left + in good health at their home in Denmark. At the same instant + he also recognized the step, which was, indeed, the halting + and aged step of his grandmother. Looking at his watch, + which he had placed under his pillow, Vogler noted the exact + hour, and made a memorandum of it, for he at once surmised + that his grandmother might be dying at the very instant. At + a later day he received a letter from the paternal home, + announcing the sudden death of his grandmother, who + particularly cherished him above the other grandchildren. + This established the fact that her death occurred at the + very hour indicated. In this manner did the venerable woman + take leave of her grandson, who did not even know of her + illness. + + EDWARD HAMBRO, + _Counselor-at-law, and Secretary of Public Works + in the City of Christiana._ + +Here, as may be seen, is a fact, observed as precisely as a scientific +experiment; and it might be added to those I have published in Urania. + +I will adduce one more fact, which was observed very long ago, in +1784, by my great-grandfather, on my mother's side. + +It occurred in Illand, a little village in the county of Bar, which +to-day belongs to the Department of Haute-Marne, not far from the +native place of both my maternal grandfather and myself. In childhood +I spent all my vacations there among the vine-planted hills, face to +face with gracious landscapes, amid forests alive with bird songs. The +house yet stands in which the incident happened. It is at the entrance +of the village, on the right, and is called the Chateau. One evening +my great-grandmother, on returning from her work in the fields, +perceived, by the huge chimney-corner (which can still be seen), her +brother, who had been dead several months. He was seated, and seemed +to be warming himself. "My God!" she exclaimed in affright, "it's our +dead Rolet!" and then she ran away. Her husband, entering in his turn, +also saw his brother-in-law sitting by the fireplace. At that critical +moment one of the farm hands uttered an oath, and the apparition +vanished. + +I give this narrative as it was related to me. No misgivings as to the +reality of the vision existed in the minds of the personages in my +grandmother's household. + +Allow me to mention another illustration. In February, 1889, I +received from H. Van der Kerkhare the following communication, +relating to an article I had published about this class of phenomena. + + While in Texas, on August 25, 1874, towards sunset, I was + smoking my after-dinner pipe in a room on the ground floor + of the house I occupied. I was facing the wall, with a door + on my right opening towards the northwest. Here is a diagram + of the scene. + + [Illustration] + + Suddenly I saw my old grandfather in the doorway. I was in + that semi-conscious state of well-being and quietude natural + to a man with a good appetite who has dined satisfactorily. + I was not at all astonished to see my grandfather there. In + fact, I was vegetating just then, thinking of nothing in + particular. Nevertheless, I said to myself:--"It is droll + that the rays of the setting sun should pour gold and purple + through the least folds of my grandfather's garments and + face." In fact, the setting sun was red, and threw its last + horizontal rays diagonally athwart the doorway. Grandfather + had a beneficent countenance. He smiled and seemed happy. + All at once he disappeared along with the vanishing sun, and + I roused myself as from a dream, but with the conviction + that I had seen an apparition. Six weeks afterwards I was + apprised by letter that my grandfather had died on the night + of August 25 and 26 between one and two o'clock. Well, there + is a difference of five and one-half hours between the + longitude of Belgium, where my grandfather died, and the + longitude of Texas where I was, and where the sun set at + about seven o'clock. + +It would be easy to cite a large number of similar cases. Let me end +this section with the following conclusion of Ch. Richet, the learned +editor of the _Revue Scientifique_:-- + + Unless we discredit the value of all human testimony, these + stories are veritable and accurate. Whenever kindred + incidents are reproduced by experiment, telepathy will no + longer be disputed, but admitted as a natural phenomenon, as + well proven as the rotation of the earth, or as the + contagion of tuberculosis. To-day's audacious theories will, + in a few years, seem almost like infantile truisms. + +We have now come to the closing section of this already long +essay,--namely, to the explanation of such phenomena as table-tipping, +spirit rapping and dictation, and distant transmission of thought. Let +us confess that it is much easier to unfold and discuss such facts, +than to determine their _modus operandi_. I will add that, even if in +the present state of our knowledge, it is impossible to explain these +facts, there is no shadow of a reason for rejecting them. + +The theory with which we conclude has been anticipated by the +preceding sections. + +What is the universe? What is nature? What are beings? What are +things? + +From astronomy to physiology, everything constrains us to allow the +existence of at least two elements--force and matter. + +The order and laws of the universe, together with human thought and +consciousness, lead us to admit (besides force and matter) a third +element--intelligence; for speaking only of the constituency of our +planet, no chemical combination whatever has ever been known to +produce an idea. + +Force directs. Matter obeys. + +Force is invisible and so is matter. + +All matter whatsoever is composed of atoms, too infinitesimal for our +perception, and even invisible beneath the most powerful microscope +but whose existence is demonstrated by chemistry, as well as by +physics. The molecules of iron, gold, hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, appear +to be groups of atoms. Even if we deny the existence of atoms, and +admit only the existence of molecules, they also are invisible. + +Matter, therefore, in its very essence, is invisible. Our eyes behold +only motion and transitory forms. Our hands touch only appearances. +Hardness and softness, heat and cold, weight and lightness, are +relative, not absolute conditions. + +What we call matter is only an effect produced upon our senses by the +motion of atoms,--that is to say, by our unceasing receptivity to +sensations. + +The universe is a dynamic conglomerate. Atoms are in perpetual motion, +caused by forces. All is movement. Heat, light, electricity, +terrestrial magnetism, do not exist as independent agents. They are +but modes of motion. That which actually exists is force. It is force +that sustains the universe. It is force that projects the earth into +space. It is force that constitutes living creatures. + +The human soul is a principle of force. Thought is a dynamic act. +Psychical force acts upon the matter composing our bodies, and +actuates all our members to fulfil their tasks. Like all forces, +psychical force can transform itself, can become electricity, heat, +light, motion; for these are all modes of motion. Psychical force is +itself in motion. + +It can act outside the limits of the human organism, and can +temporarily animate a table. I place my hands on a round table, with a +firm desire to see it obey my will. I communicate to it a certain +heat, a certain electricity, a certain polarization, or a certain +other something we have not yet discovered. The stand becomes, so to +speak, an extension of my body, and submits to the influence of my +will. I look at a person. I take his hand. I thus act upon him. + +More than this. If the brain of another person vibrates in unison with +mine, or has at one in harmony with the keynote of my own brain, I can +act upon him, even from a distance. + +If I emit a sound a few yards from a piano, those piano-strings which +are in harmony with my utterance will vibrate, and themselves send +forth a kindred sound, easily distinguishable. + +A telegraph wire transmits a despatch: A neighboring wire is +influenced by induction; and it has been possible, by the aid of this +second and separate wire, to read messages sent over the first. + +There is still more to be said. The principle of the transformation of +force to-day opens to us new views which might well be called +marvellous. We every day make use of the telephone, without thinking +that it is, in itself, more astonishing than all the occult facts +considered in this paper. + +You speak. Your voice is transmitted ten or twenty thousand +kilometers, from Paris to Marseilles, and even farther away. You think +it is your own voice which is heard and recognized at the other end of +the wire; but it is not; your voice has not made the journey. Sound of +itself, in its ordinary state, is not transmitted with anything like +the rapidity attending this flight over the copper wire. If it were +otherwise, we should have to wait seven hours and twenty-four seconds +for a response, whereas there is no appreciable delay in the +telephonic passage of sound. The usual vocal velocity becomes electric +velocity, and the interval between the terminal stations of the wire +is traversed instantaneously. On reaching its destination, the current +again transforms itself into sound through its encounter with a +medial, an environment like that at its starting-point. + +Is the conductive wire indispensable? By no means! Is there a +connecting wire between the sun and the earth? Yet the spots on the +sun occasion rebounds in the variations of terrestrial magnetism. In +the photophone the conductive wire has already been dispensed with, +and a ray of light is used in its place. You speak behind a mirror, +and thus cause it to vibrate. These vibrations modify the reflection +of light from the vibrating mirror, which thus bears along your voice, +with which it becomes charged. Selenium, the chemical element used in +the operation, transmits the sound to the telephone, and your spoken +word is reproduced. + +The principal of the transformation of forces is undoubtedly one of +the most prolific in modern physics. Heat can be transformed into +mechanical motion; mechanical motion may be transformed into heat. +Electricity is transformable into magnetism; and, reciprocally, +magnetism may change into electricity, into light. The motion of the +mill-wheel serves to illuminate your house. From Paris you can light a +lamp in Brussels. When you act from afar upon another mind, it is not +your thought which travels, as a mental condition; but your thought +traverses the intervening ether through a series of vibrations as yet +unknown to us, and only becomes thought again when brought into +contact with another brain, because the last transference brings the +impulse into a medium akin to that from which it started. It is +therefore necessary that this second brain should be in sympathy with +yours; that is to say, using one of Doctor Ochorowiez's expressions, +that "the dynamic tone" of the receiver should be in accord with your +own. It is, moreover, noticeable that there are periods when veritable +thought-currents affect thousands of brains at the same moment. At the +bottom of all this there is but one principle, and that is identical +with the relation existing between the magnet and the iron, between +the sun and the earth,--namely, the transmission and transformation of +motion. Herbert Spencer has said:-- + + The discovery that matter, so simple in appearance, is + wonderfully complicated in its vital structure,--and that + other discovery, that its molecules, oscillating with a + rapidity almost infinite, convey their impressions to the + surrounding ether, which, in turn, transmits them over + inconceivable distances, in an inconceivably short space of + time,--these discoveries lead us to the even more marvellous + discovery, that any kind of molecules are affected in a + special manner by molecules of the same kind, though + situated in the most distant regions of space. + +It requires but one step more for the admission that psychical +communications may be established between an inhabitant of Mars and an +inhabitant of the earth. + +We are often asked what all these studies amount to. That is still +unknown. If they should end in a scientific proof of the existence and +immortality of the soul, these investigations would forthwith surpass +in value all other human sciences put together, without a single +exception. + +It must be acknowledged that this reason is a sufficient authorization +for us not to despise this class of researches. But this argument is +needless. These investigations relate to the unknown, and that reason +is all-sufficient. + +Did Galvani in examining the convulsions of his frogs, have any idea +of the immense, the prodigious, the universal part which electric +science was to perform in less than a century? Denis Papin and Robert +Fulton, Benjamin Franklin and James Watts, Jouffroy and Daguerre,--all +the inventors, all the searchers after truth,--were they wrong in +losing themselves in their pursuit of the unknown? It is such men who +cause the advance of humanity. It is to them mankind owes its +progress. + +If it were proved, we say, that there exists outside of us, and even +within us, an immaterial and spiritual force, which eludes the known +processes of nature, and the acknowledged laws of life,--and which +reveals itself by other processes and other laws, which do not +supplant the first, but take an equal place beside them, this new +knowledge might enlighten somewhat the shadows which now conceal the +great secret of the origin and destiny of such poor beings as +ourselves. + +First of all, let us seek the truth. To be sure, Taine has written +very wittily: "I never thought that a truth could be of any practical +use!" but we may not be of the same mind, and may think, on the +contrary, that the search for truth is the prime object of men's +intellectual existence. + + + + +THE SWISS AND AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONS, + +BY W. D. McCRACKAN. + + +The study of federalism, as a system of government, has in recent +times become a favorite subject for constitutional writers. At present +the United States and the Dominion of Canada on this continent, the +newly constituted Australian Commonwealth at the Antipodes, and in +Europe the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Swiss +Confederation are all examples of the application of the federal +principle in its various phases. What makes all researches into this +branch of political learning particularly difficult, and perhaps for +that reason also exceptionally fascinating, is the fact that federated +states seem forever oscillating between the two extremes of complete +centralization and decentralization. The two forces, centripetal and +centrifugal, seem to be always pulling against each other, and +producing a new resultant which varies according to their +proportionate intensity. One is almost tempted to say that there must +be an ideal state somewhere between these two extremes, some point of +perfect balance, from which no nation can ever depart very far without +either falling apart into anarchy or being consolidated into +despotism. Whatever, therefore, can throw light upon these obscure +forces is certainly entitled to our deepest interest. + +But not all the different states mentioned above as representatives of +federalism, possess an equal value for us in our search after +improvements in the art of self-government. The study of the +constitutions of the German and Austro-Hungarian empires can only be +of secondary importance to us Americans, because these states are +founded upon monarchical principles, quite foreign to our body +politic. To a limited extent, the same objection may be made to the +Canadian and Australian constitutions, since the connection of those +countries with the monarchical mother country has not been +constitutionally severed. But there is another federated state in +existence, until lately almost ignored by writers on political +subjects, whose example can in reality be of the utmost use to us, for +its general organization more nearly resembles our own in miniature +than any other. This country is Switzerland. In her quiet fashion the +unobtrusive little Confederation is working out some of the great +modern problems, and her citizens, with their natural aptitude for +self-government, are presenting object lessons which we especially in +America cannot afford to overlook. It is true that political analogies +are sometimes a little perilous, for identical situations can never be +reproduced in different countries, but if there be any virtue at all +in the study of comparative politics, a comparison between the Federal +constitutions of Switzerland and the United States ought to throw into +relief some features which can be of service to us. + +To be perfectly frank, the Swiss constitution, when placed side by +side with our own, at first shows certain decided short-comings. The +Constitution of the United States is an eminently logical, +well-balanced document, in which a masterly distinction is made +between the executive, legislative, and judicial functions of +government, and between matters which belong by nature to organic law, +and those which may safely be left to the statute law. In the Swiss +constitution, however, the line which separates these departments is +not as clearly drawn, so that, in fact, a certain amount of confusion +in their treatment becomes apparent. In the primitive leagues which +were concluded between the early Confederates no attempt was made to +draw up regular constitutions, and the one now in force dates only +from 1848, with amendments made in 1874, 1879, and 1885, an instrument +still somewhat imperfect, perhaps, but none the less suggestive to the +student. + +There are two institutions in the Swiss state which bear a very strong +likeness to corresponding ones in our own. Both countries have a +legislative system consisting of two houses, one representing the +people numerically, and the other the Cantons or States of which the +Union is composed, and both possess a Supreme Court, which in +Switzerland goes by the name of the Federal Tribunal. It is generally +conceded that the Swiss consciously imitated these American +institutions, but in doing so they certainly took care to adapt them +to their own particular needs, so that the two sets of institutions +are by no means identical. The Swiss National Council and Council of +States, forming together the Federal Assembly, are equal, co-ordinate +bodies, performing the same functions, whereas our House of +Representatives and Senate have particular duties assigned to each, +and the former occupies in a measure a subordinate position to the +latter. The Swiss Houses meet twice a year in regular sessions, on the +first Monday in June and the first Monday in December, and for extra +sessions if there is special unfinished business to transact. The +National Council is composed at present of 147 members, one +representative to every 20,000 inhabitants. Every citizen of +twenty-one is a voter; and every voter not a clergyman is eligible to +this National Council--the exclusion of the clergy is due to dread of +religious quarrels, with which the pages of Swiss history have been +only too frequently stained. A general election takes place every +three years. The salary of the representatives is four dollars a day, +which is forfeited by non-attendance, and about five cents a mile for +travelling expenses. On the other hand, the Council of States is +composed of forty-four members, two for each of the twenty-two +Cantons. The length of their terms of office is left entirely to the +discretion of the Cantons which elect them, and in the same manner +their salaries are paid out of the Cantonal treasuries. There are +certain special occasions when the two houses meet together and act in +concert: first, for the election of the Federal Council, which +corresponds in a general way to our President and his Cabinet; +secondly, for the election of the Federal Tribunal; thirdly, for that +of the Chancellor of the Confederation, an official whose duties seem +to be those of a secretary to the Federal Council and Federal +Assembly, and fourthly, for that of the Commander-in-Chief in case of +war. The attributes of the Swiss Federal Tribunal, though closely +resembling those of our Supreme Court, are not identical with them, +for the Swiss conception of the sovereignty of the people is quite +different from our own. Their Federal Assembly is the repository of +the national sovereignty, and, therefore, no other body can override +its decisions. The Supreme Court of the United States tests the +constitutionality of laws passed by Congress which may be submitted to +it for examination, thus placing itself as arbiter over the +representatives of the people; but the Federal Tribunal must accept as +final all laws which have passed through the usual channels, so that +its duty consists merely in applying them to particular cases without +questioning their constitutionality. + +If there is a certain resemblance between the Federal Assembly and our +Congress, and between the Federal Tribunal and our Supreme Court, +there is on the other hand a striking difference between the Federal +Council and our presidential office. + +The Swiss Constitution does not intrust the executive power to one +man, as our own does, but to a Federal Council of seven members, +acting as a sort of Board of Administration. These seven men are +elected for a fixed term of three years, out of the ranks of the whole +body of voters throughout the country, by the two Houses, united in +joint session. Every year they also designate, from the seven members +of the Federal Council, the two persons who shall act as President and +Vice-President of the Swiss Confederation. The Swiss President is, +therefore, only the chairman of an executive board, and presents a +complete contrast to the President of the United States, who is +virtually a monarch, elected for a short reign. Sir Henry Maine says +in his book on "Popular Government," that somewhat exasperating but +always instructive arraignment of democracy: "On the face of the +Constitution of the United States, the resemblance of the President of +the United States to the European king, and especially to the King of +Great Britain, is too obvious to mistake. The President has, in +various degrees, a number of powers which those who know something of +kingship in its general history recognize at once as peculiarly +associated with it and with no other institution." In truth he is +vested with all the attributes of sovereignty during his term of +office. He holds in his hand the whole executive power of the +government; he is Commander-in-Chief of the army and navy; possesses a +suspensory veto upon legislation and the privilege of pardoning +offences against Federal law, and finally is intrusted with an +appointing power unparalleled in any free country. With all this +authority he is still a partisan by reason of the manner of his +election, so that he cannot possibly administer his office +impartially, and must, from the necessity of the case, forward the +interests of one political party at the expense of the rest. It is +certainly worthy of consideration whether the Swiss Federal Council +does not contain valuable suggestions for reformers who desire to +hasten the triumph of absolute democracy in the United States. + +The institution of the Referendum has no counterpart in our own +country, unless we except the somewhat unwieldy provisions in various +States for the revisions of their constitutions by popular vote. It is +undoubtedly the most successful experiment in applying the principles +of direct government which has been made in modern times. Having +already written more fully upon this subject in the March number of +THE ARENA, the writer will here confine himself to reminding the +readers of this review that the referendum is an institution by means +of which laws framed by the representatives are submitted to the +people for rejection or approval. It is significant of the interest +which the referendum is already exciting in this country that a +committee of gentlemen recently presented themselves at the State +House to urge the adoption of this principle in local matters. + +There are, besides, a host of minor differences between the Swiss and +American Constitutions, of more or less interest to students of +politics and economics. + +The central government in Switzerland maintains a university, the +Polytechnic at Zürich, and by virtue of the constitution also exerts +an influence over education throughout the Confederation. Article 27 +prescribes that the Cantons shall provide compulsory primary +instruction to be placed in charge of the civil authorities and to be +gratuitous in all public schools. In practice these provisions have +been found difficult to enforce where the spirit of the population was +opposed to them, as in Uri, the most illiterate of the Cantons, where +the writer found educational matters entirely in the hands of the +priesthood. Fortunately, however, the Swiss people at large have a +very keen appreciation of the value of education, so that illiteracy, +as we have it in this country, among the negroes and the poor whites +of the South, as well as amongst certain classes of our immigrants, is +really unknown in Switzerland. Someone has jestingly said that there +"the primary business of the state is to keep school," and really, in +travelling through the country which gave birth to Pestalozzi, one is +continually impressed with the size and comparative splendor of the +schoolhouses; in every village and hamlet they have the appearance of +being the very best which the community by scrimping and saving can +possibly put up. On the subject of import duties, the Constitution +lays down in Article 29 as general rules to guide the conduct of +legislators, that "materials which are necessary to the industries and +agriculture of the country shall be taxed as low as possible; the same +rule shall be observed in regard to the necessaries of life. Articles +of luxury shall be subjected to the highest taxes." From this set of +principles it will be seen that Switzerland levies her duties for +revenue only, as the phrase is, although it must be confessed that +there is a perceptible tendency now manifested to raise the duties in +consequence of the high protectionist wave which is sweeping over the +continent of Europe at the present moment. When the statistics of +Switzerland's general trade, including all goods in transit, which, of +course, make a considerable portion of the whole, are compared with +those of other European states, it is found that she possesses a +greater amount of general trade per head of population than any other +country, more even than England. The telegraph and telephone systems +are managed by the central government, as well as the post office, +with excellent results. Not only are these departments conducted in an +exemplary manner upon cheap terms, but a respectable revenue is also +derived from them which makes a good showing in the annual budget. +Everything which is connected with the army, from the selection of the +recruits to the election of the Commander-in-Chief, also possesses +exceptional interest, because Switzerland is the only country in the +world which has so far succeeded in maintaining an efficient militia +without the vestige of a standing army. An attempt was made in 1885 to +deal with the evils of intemperance, by establishing a state monopoly +of the manufacture and sale of spirituous liquors, the Revenue thus +derived being apportioned amongst the Cantons according to population, +with the proviso that ten per cent. of it be used by them to combat +the causes and effects of alcoholism in their midst. It is too early +to speak of the final results of this legislation, but for the moment +there seems to be a decided falling off in the consumption of the +cruder and more injurious qualities. Amongst other matters which the +Federal authorities have brought under their supervision, are the +forests, river improvements, ordinary roads, and railroads, and +bridges, etc., not managing them all directly, but reserving the right +to regulate them at will. Even hunting and fishing come within the +jurisdiction of the central government, this constitutional power +having been used to preserve the chamois in certain mountain ranges +where they were threatening to disappear completely, but where, thanks +to timely interference, they are now actually on the increase. + +Apart from these constitutional provisions, the general drift of +legislative action seems to have set in very strongly towards a mild +form of state socialism, somewhat after the form of the Prussian +system, but with this difference, that in the case of Switzerland it +is the people who unite to delegate certain powers to the state, while +in the latter country this policy is imposed upon the people from +above by the ruling authorities. The altogether exceptional clauses in +the Swiss Constitution referring to the exclusion of the Jesuits, a +survival of the war of 1848, to the so-called Heimatlosen, or those +who have no commune of origin, and to the police appointed to control +the movements of foreign agitators seeking the asylum of the country, +all these have a purely local interest, and need not be especially +examined. + +What, then, is the peculiar mark and symbol of the Swiss Constitution, +taken as a whole? When all has been said and done, the most +characteristic provisions are those which introduce forms of direct +government or of pure democracy, as the technical expression is. The +supremacy of the legislative branch, as representing the people, the +peculiar make-up of the Federal Council, the limited powers of the +Federal Tribunal, and above all the institution of the referendum, are +all evidences of this tendency toward direct government. In the +Cantonal governments the same quality is still more apparent, for it +is from them that the Swiss Federal Constitution has borrowed the +principles which underlie these characteristic provisions. In point of +fact, representative democracy has never felt quite at home in +Switzerland; there has always been an effort to revert to simpler, +more straightforward methods; to reduce the distance which separates +the people from the exercise of their sovereignty; and to constitute +them into a court of final appeal. + +In view of the marvellous stability which the pure democracy of +Switzerland has displayed, there is something comical in the horror of +all forms of direct government expressed by most constitutional +writers. De Tocqueville, whom we honor for his appreciation of our own +Constitution, declares "that they all tend to render the government of +the people irregular in its action, precipitate in its resolutions, +and tyrannical in its acts." Mr. George Grote also condemns the +referendum, and of course one cannot expect pure democracy to be +praised by Sir Henry Maine, who believes that "the progress of mankind +has hitherto been effected by the rise and fall of aristocracies." On +the other hand it is refreshing to hear Mr. Freeman and Mr. Dicey +actually discussing the practicability of introducing the referendum +into the English political system. + +After all, is not this very quality of directness a great +recommendation, when we consider the rubbish which at present clogs +the wheels of our political machinery, the complications which confuse +the voter and hide the real issues from his comprehension? The very +epithets pure and direct satisfy at once our best aspirations and our +common sense. If monarchy is the government of one, oligarchy that of +a few, and democracy that of many, surely there will some day arise +the rule of all. The United States seems to be standing at the parting +of two ways, one of which leads back in a vicious circle to plutocracy +and despotism, while the other advances towards a genuine pure +democracy. No nation can stand still. Which way shall it be? + + + + +THE TYRANNY OF ALL THE PEOPLE. + +BY REV. FRANCIS BELLAMY. + + +Dr. Whewell observed that the acceptance of every new idea passed +through three stages: 1. It is absurd; 2. It is contrary to the Bible; +3. We always believed it. Change the second stage to, It is +unscientific, and the diagram may apply to socialism. We have +certainly emerged from the period when it was considered a valid +argument to call socialism somebody's dream. It is now treated with a +scientific earnestness which betrays its progress in general thought. +This serious grappling with the subject is noted in the recent "Plea +for Liberty," by some of Mr. Herbert Spencer's disciples, for which +Mr. Spencer himself has written an elaborate introduction. + +The same earnestness is felt in the masterly editorial, "Is Socialism +Desirable?" in THE ARENA for May. This is a solid contribution to the +permanent literature of the subject. It is not a surprise that it has +commanded such wide attention. Its deep thoughtfulness, its strategic +selection of only vital points for its attack, and, not the least, its +kindliness and chivalry, mark it as a notable production. I truly +appreciate the honor of being chosen by this knightly antagonist to +face the attack on his own sands. + +It is not without some question, however, that I accept the generous +challenge. For I am not sure that I myself believe in the military +type of socialism which the editor seems continually to have in mind. +The book, which more than all others combined has brought socialism +before American thought, has also furnished to its opponents a +splendidly clear target in its military organization. It cannot be +repeated too often, however, that the army type is not conceded by +socialists to be an essential, even, of nationalistic socialism. +Democratic socialism differs considerably from military socialism, and +may be fully as national in its reach. In so far as Mr. Flower's +arguments apply to democratic socialism, the following paragraphs may +be taken as a rejoinder. + +To bring the chief counts of the editor's indictment again clearly +before the readers, it will be well to summarize them:-- + +(1) National socialism means governmentalism, which is tyranny over +the individual. + +(2) National socialism means paternalism, which, exercised by all the +people, is the most hopeless kind of tyranny. + +(3) National socialism means the arrest of progress, because the +majority will surely tyrannize over the small "vanguard of human +progress." + +(4) National socialism will be needless when the people are educated +to the fraternalism which alone could temper the inevitable despotism +of the majority. + +There is a period in every agitation of a new idea when the most +prosperous weapon against it is a thumping epithet. The name must be +apt enough to stick. Furthermore, no matter how misleading, it must be +suggestive of sinister things. + +"Governmentalism" is such a word. In its etymology it is harmless +enough. Governmental is the adjective of government, and means +"exercising the powers of government." Governmentalism, therefore, +means the exercise of the powers of government considered as a +principle. But the word when made the bogy of socialism is supposed to +mean the principle of the exercise of the powers of government raised +to the _nth_ degree, and separated from the people. It suggests a +shadowy somewhat of officialdom; a Corliss engine of functionaryism; +all of which is thought of as apart from the people, yet pressing upon +the people. In other words, the name "governmentalism," while intended +as a word of opprobrium for socialism, really indicates the amazing +misconception which the critics have of the nation itself, and of the +relation of the nation's life to its self-direction. + +The nation is not an aggregate of the Smiths, and Joneses, and +Robinsons. It is a favorite formula with the opponents of the new +school that the nation is but a multitude of individuals. So is a +sand-heap. But in the nation the individual atoms are linked by mutual +obligations. They are members one of another. No individual can claim +isolation and independency. Let him make the most of his +individuality; yet, as Aristotle said, "Man is a political animal;" +his nature apart from the nation is incomplete; sundered from that to +which he belongs he seems a freak. + +The nation, then, is not an artificial binding of units; it is a +natural relationship. The ideal nation is not entered as a result of +reflection and choice. A man is born into the nation as into the +family. To belong to the English nation when born an Englishman is not +usually considered so "greatly to his credit," except in the case of +Mr. Gilbert's naval hero. The very term "naturalize," with which we +denote the initiation of a foreigner, is a confession that the nation +is not a social contract but a natural relation. It is this natural +relation which makes the nation worth dying for; it is fatherland. + +Still further, the nation is an organic being. The scattered atoms of +a sand-heap are as perfect as before they were dislodged; not so an +amputated arm. When the nation is disunited, the detached segment +becomes a different kind of body. "The man without a country" begins +to be another sort of man. The nation is not a mass of independent +individuals, but of related individuals, who, moreover, are so closely +related that they make together an indivisible organism; this organism +develops according to orderly laws; this organism has perpetuity, +never disjoining itself either from its past or future; and this +organism has also self-consciousness and moral personality. This is +the nation in which we live, and move, and have our being. + +When we look this high conception of the nation squarely in the eye, +much of the talk about governmentalism seems at once irrelevant. For +government in America must ever mean the nation directing itself. Here +are no hereditary governing machines; no bureaucracies created by a +power apart from the people. In Europe, government is fastened on the +people. But in America, if government is not of the people, by the +people, and for the people, it is their own fault. The worst abuses of +power in a government actually emanating from the people, do not put +it beyond their reach. It is still the nation governing itself. It +will one day become conscious of its strength, and will direct its +efforts more wisely. But so long as it is the living, organic nation +governing itself, no mere multiplication of functions, no +straightforward increase of powers, are a discrowning of the people. + +Socialists believe in the fearless extension of government because +they have a clear and high idea of the nation as an organic +relationship, apart from which the individual cannot realize himself. +As the nation becomes more self-conscious, it perceives more clearly +its own responsibility for the development of each individual. The +self-governing nation extends its governmental powers solely to give a +better chance for development to the largest number of individuals. +"All individualism," says Mr. Flower, "would be surrendered to that +mysterious thing called government." But there is nothing mysterious +in the expression the nation makes of its own will; and it is hard to +discover what individualism is surrendered, except bumptiousness, when +the rounded development of the greatest number of individuals is the +nation's motive for extending its governmental functions. + +There is also another kind of reason for being undismayed at the +threat of governmentalism. Nationalism is but the very distant +consummation of local socialism. + +I suppose it is not strange that the hostile critics occupy themselves +almost entirely with this keystone of the arch, since that has given +the name to the whole tendency. They delight to picture the superb +riot of corruption if nationalists could have their way at once. They +will never listen, they will never remember, while nationalists +declare they would not have their way at once if they could. A +catastrophe by which nationalistic socialism might be precipitated +would be a deplorable disaster to human progress. + +Socialism properly begins with the municipality; or more properly +still, with the town-meeting. The Hon. Joseph Chamberlain is a +practical State socialist; and he outlines in the _North American +Review_ for May how English cities are laying the foundation of more +general socialism. The popular representative government of the +municipality, he says, "unlike the imperial legislature, is very near +to the poor, and can deal with details, and with special conditions. +It is subject to the criticism and direct control both of those who +find the money, and of those who are chiefly interested in its +expenditure. In England, at any rate," he continues, "it has been free +from the suspicion of personal corruption, and has always been able to +secure the services of the ablest and most disinterested members of +the community." The practical socialism of Birmingham, and other +cities of Great Britain, enthusiastically supported by multitudes of +citizens who do not call themselves socialists, is an example of the +first numbers on the socialistic programme. The intellectual leaders +of socialism are in no hurry. They have all the time there is. It may +take years to persuade American cities that they are business +corporations themselves, whose aim is the well-being of all the +members. The extension of municipal control over all natural +monopolies may be decades off. No matter; there is no use in being +hot-headed because hearts are hot at the miseries of the poor. +Municipalization ought to precede nationalization. The members of the +community must learn to trust each other before the East and the West +will trust one another. It must be proved in American cities, as it +has been already in English cities, that the extension of municipal +powers is itself a force to drive out corruption and purify politics, +before the nation as a whole will deem it safe to make great +enlargements of the civil service. + +As that day approaches, it will be found that nationalism is a much +simpler thing than it now seems. Nationalism does not begin in a paper +constitution and work downwards. During the upheavals of the French +Revolution Abbè Siéges is always coming forward with a new +constitution. But in America institutions are rather an evolution. The +last numbers on the social programme may safely be left blank. +Nationalism is neither a city let down, of a sudden, four-square from +heaven, nor are its working plans yet to be found in any architect's +office on earth. We certainly want no nationalism which is not an +orderly development. We may agree with Mr. Spencer that the course of +political evolution is full of surprises. It is quite possible that +the nationalism which seems so full of menace as a military despotism +may turn out to be but a simple federation of industrial and +commercial interests which find they require a single head. + +In other words, it seems to me, nationalism is only a prophecy. It is +too distant to be certainly detailed. Present day accounts of it will +one day be, as Horace Greeley said of something else, "mighty +interesting reading." We may be inspired by it as the end towards +which present movements are tending. But each age solves its own +problems; and the passage into that promised land is the issue for +another generation. A nearer view alone can determine where the +passage is, and whether the land is truly desirable. We may justly put +some faith in the common sense, as well as in the political ingenuity +of those who come after us. If military socialism, whatever it is, +should ever be the issue, this American people can be trusted to vote +against it if it is undesirable. Meantime, what our people must vote +upon in the present year of grace, is whether great private +corporations shall control legislatures and city councils, and charge +their own unquestioned prices for such public necessities of life as +light and transit. There is an issue between tyranny and liberty which +is to the point. The future is in the hands of evolution. + +Another opprobrious epithet is "paternalism." This is the most +familiar of the titles of reproach. It suggests an idea of government +made pestiferous by old abuse. The most atrocious despotisms both of +king and church have planted themselves _in loco parentis_. The +welfare of the people has been the hoary excuse for the cruelest +outrages of history. Mr. Flower goes a step further and avers that, +with the good of the people for a pretext, tyranny has always been in +exact proportion to power and authority. + +Without stopping to query as to this last rather sweeping statement, +it will be enough to check ourselves while the editor leaps to his +induction; namely, that because the monarchical and ecclesiastical +governments have tyrannized in proportion to their power, nothing less +is to be expected if our Republic becomes affected with a greater +sense of governmental responsibility for the welfare of her citizens. +If our nation, it is claimed, allows this specious excuse to commit it +to the doctrine of State interference, we are drifted into the +despotic paternalisms of the old world. + +But a paternalism must have a parent, a royal sire, or a priestly +grandmother. In the antique paternalisms there is invariably this +parental personality at the top; down beneath it are the puppet +children. "My soldiers are my children," says Napoleon; and he orders +a charge for their benefit; an hour afterwards the dying address him +as Sire as he walks over the field. "The German people are my +children," says Emperor William; and he issues the edict for the +compulsory life-insurance of workingmen; an undoubted blessing. Both +are instances of paternalism; and the principle in one case is as +obnoxious as in the other. The principle of paternalism is an +irresponsible authority above the people, mastering the people, with +their welfare as a pretext. + +But this essential of paternalism must be lacking in the republic. +Whatever powers democracy may assume, it recognizes no authority +outside itself. Democratic government, however socialistic it may +become, is nothing but democracy expressing its own will. If the +individual is led to surrender certain of his freedoms for the good of +all, he surrenders to a paternalism of all the people. That were +better called, once for all, a fraternalism. + +It is not enough, however, to show that the title is in our case a +grave misnomer. The editor adduces several recent instances which he +considers exhibitions of the increasing tyranny of all the people. He +believes the tyranny of all the people, if they are as selfish as they +are now, would be more hopeless than the despotism of an individual; +for the single tyrant is after all amenable to revolution, while the +whole nation as a tyrant is accountable to nothing. To his view, +indeed, the occurrences I am about to repeat prove the new tyrant is +already created. They exhibit a "tyranny which shows that persecutions +are only limited by the power vested in the State." + +Let us examine the data for this astonishing conclusion. My limits +will not allow more than a bare reference to the incidents which are +fully described in the May editorial. + +Case I. is the incarceration in Tennessee of a Seventh-day Adventist +for working on Sunday. Of this it may be remarked that had it happened +two centuries ago it would have been symptomatic; to-day it is a +curiosity. + +Case II. is the arrest of a Christian Scientist in Iowa for practising +contrary to the rules of the State. I presume this cannot be fairly +disposed of by suggesting that there has been some aggravated occasion +for such stringency. But it is certainly true that the State has the +right to prevent malpractice--a right none of us would wish renounced. +And as soon as there are sufficient data to convince an intelligent +public opinion that the theory, with its perilous repudiation of all +medical skill, is not fatal to human life, it will receive an +ungrudged status. + +Case III. is the arrest of a minister, of pure life and unquestioned +standing, for sending obscene literature through the mail. The sole +charge was the publication of an earnest and chastely worded article +on marital purity; but the real cause was supposed to be his severe +criticism of the Society for the Prevention of Vice nearly a year +afterward. If these facts are verifiable this is a monstrous outrage. +But unhappily it is not the first instance where revenge has been +taken on the innocent by due process of law. Without doubt the people +ought to be more aroused by it than they are. Yet such a sporadic +instance of miscarried justice is scarcely a reason why the State +should cease its efforts to check by law the present alarming increase +of lascivious printing. + +Case IV. is an election bill in California which prohibits independent +nominations except upon petition of five per cent. of the voters, and +thus disfranchises four per cent. of the voting population. If this +mad device proves anything, it proves that the leaders of the old +parties are in such consternation at the uneasiness of the people that +they have lost their heads. It proves no more than the denial of the +right of petition in Congress during anti-slavery days; and it proves +as much as that attempt to ignore the voice of reform. Earthquakes are +not far off when such things happen. + +Case V. is the suit for damages which one Powell brings against +Pennsylvania. Under a statute authorizing the manufacture of +oleomargarine, he had undertaken the business, to find himself ruined +by a later legislature making its manufacture a misdemeanor. This is +very noteworthy, for it proves too much. It shows a vested money +interest controlling legislature and voting a rival business into +outlawry. This is a kind of instance socialists like to get hold of. + +Yet these instances are used to illustrate "a growing spirit of +intolerance" in our country; they are said to exhibit a State tyranny +which is already blossoming under paternalistic legislation; they +emphasize, it is claimed, the fact,--"That all the majority wishes is +the sanction of law to make its crimes against the minority assume a +show of respectability. All that retards persecution is the limit of +the sanction of law; and I submit that, in the light of history, and +in the face of the wrongs of the present, all increase in governmental +power menaces the liberty, the happiness, and the growth of the +individual." + +This is a pretty large indictment to hang on such debatable evidence. +Its audaciousness fairly takes one's breath away. Our heaviest battery +is turned against ourselves. Every cherished dream of the good time +coming goes up at a blast. Instead of freedom at last to do that for +which we are made, and to fit into the niche where we belong, we are +shown a State's-prison. Instead of an age of joy and of elastic step, +we are pointed to an iron rule of repression and cheerlessness. +Instead of leisure to ripen, of a full summing of our powers, of the +exhilaration of new truth, we have disclosed to us a stunted +individuality treading a dull and monotonous round of existence. And +all this, because if the people are trusted with more power they will +tyrannize life down to this paralyzing reaction. + +The logic of this bold pessimism is:--Human nature is tyrannical; the +majority have always tyrannized in proportion to their power; increase +their power and they will increase their tyranny. This is the +syllogism which has dignified the foregoing collection of occurrences +into grave symptoms of an increase of popular despotism. + +It might be fair to meet dogmatic pessimism with dogmatic optimism. +Or, it would be legitimate to follow the logic to its end in a general +abandoning of all the powers of government which, it seems, has only +hurt when it tried to help humanity; to go back honestly to Jefferson, +and beyond him, to + + The very best government of all, + That which governs not at all. + +This is the pandemonium of anarchy. Mr. Flower believes that there is +not enough of the golden rule in society to-day to make socialism +tolerable. But we have only to imagine our present society, with its +current quantity of golden rule, thrown into the chaos where +government has ceased to govern, where the political majority has lost +all its power, but where the majority of brute strength awakes to find +itself with no laws to molest or make it afraid. + +But this doctrine of the inevitable despotism of the political +majority lies so at the bottom of the whole impeachment, that it ought +to be carefully examined in itself. + +In the first place, both premises are without support. Human nature, +even in irresponsible multitudes, is not essentially tyrannical. Let +us admit frankly all the degraded sweeps of intolerance in the past; +yet has not human nature during recent generations been growing in the +tolerant spirit? Look straight at the intelligent society around us; +look within ourselves most of all, and let us ask if we see any such +intolerance of spirit as would bloom into tyranny if we only had the +chance. A man may prove to me by inductive data, reaching +uninterruptedly over ten thousand years, that my own nature is +intolerant; he may even corroborate his proof by pointing to my +occasional acts of thoughtless disregard for another's opinion, yet +all this array does not overwhelm me, for I know I am not intolerant. +Our society to-day, as a whole, knows it is not intolerant;--even +though it be proved as conclusively as ever Puritan divine proved +God's hatred for man, and man's incapacity for a single good act. The +logic works well; only there are some omitted factors. Human nature +has made some progress. Hospitality to new ideas, and patience with +divergent ones, are two of the surest fruits of later civilization. + +Again, the majority have not always tyrannized in proportion to their +power. They did not, in the Dutch Republic, when William of Orange +followed the hideous persecutions of Phillip II. with the +establishment of religious liberty. The Church of England was in the +majority when it abandoned its acts of tyranny. Congregationalism was +still in the ascendancy when it ceased to banish Baptists and to whip +Quakers. The Rhode Island Baptists had plenty of majority when they +pioneered the empire of religious freedom in America. And the Maryland +Roman Catholics had things their own way, when in an age of +persecution they resolved to be hospitable to other beliefs. Indeed, +in our American life especially, the generosity and long-suffering of +majorities are among the most notable features. On the other hand it +may with truth be said that the worst tyrannies have been on the part +of minorities. In the old world the oppressive minorities have usually +been hereditary or ecclesiastical interests. In our country the ruling +minorities have been determined, and self-assertive classes who would +not brook the wisdom or the sense of justice of the majority. It was +the regnant minority which rushed the South into secession. It was +that same minority which had for half a century before over-ridden the +whole nation. It was the Tammany minority which ruled the Democracy. +It is the minority of syndicates, corporations, and vested interests +which crowned itself in our Billion Congress, and is spreading itself +in our legislatures. Are the very occurrences, of which so much has +been made exhibitions, of the tyranny of all the people; or, are they +not rather, with one exception, instances where a graceless minority +has resolved either slyly or boldly to ignore the people? In short, +the charge in the phrase "tyranny of the majority" has but the least +justification in the course of government. There has been in history +no power which has tyrannized less than the political majority. In +modern times, at least, the most violent acts of despotic outrage have +been the attempts to ride down the will of the political majority. "In +the light of history, and in the face of the wrongs of the present," +to use the editor's words, it might be well to consider some means for +the protection of majorities. + +For after all, in spite of the English sneers at government by count +of noses, from Carlyle and Sir Henry Maine to the latest utterances, +there is nothing so safe for humanity's interests as the political +majority. It is perfectly true that "the vanguard of human progress +must ever be in the minority." But the hope of this minority lies in +one day becoming the majority. As Disraeli said, that is the +minority's business. The minorities of hereditary privilege, of +priesthood, of monied classes, can perpetuate themselves and their +power. But the majority of voters is always changing and always losing +its power. The minority of radicals is always becoming the majority of +conservatives,--the steadfast power to which progress has tied itself. + +Is socialism necessary to the progress of the race? Will not a +perfected fraternalism make the strong hand of socialism needless? +Both questions are to be answered, yes. The perfect state is +undoubtedly pictured in Rousseau's ideal, where every man remains +perfectly free, so that when he obeys the State he obeys only himself. +This is the deep and eternal truth of the law of brotherhood, which is +also the law of liberty. Love is the fulfilling of all law; no laws +will be needed when love is the protection of the weak. Belief in that +coming government of Love is the real religion. + +But the practical politics of the present deal with a society where a +strong arm is needed to protect the weak from the tyranny of the +giants. To talk about the principles of brotherhood fully prevailing +in our present conditions, is to treat the laws of Christ with +flippancy. Nine-tenths of the maxims of our modern business system +contradict the law of love. In our present environment it is +impossible for business people or working people to obey the Sermon on +the Mount and not starve. Perhaps a few sacrifices of this kind are +needed to teach us how abhorrent the present selfish system is to the +Christianity of Christ. "I suppose I ought to be thankful to get the +work at all, for they told other women they had no work left for +them," said a woman to me who was making men's pantaloons for two +dollars a dozen. She was part of the system; she was competing with +other less fortunate women as truly as her employer with other firms; +she drank her tea at the expense of her less lucky sister, who had no +work and no tea. What chance does this system afford for perfect +fraternalism, or even for decent fraternalism, among those who have to +compete? + +Socialism aims to produce an environment where not only the Golden +Rule but the Law of Love will have a living chance. As such an agent +it has its proper political place in the development of mankind. + + + + +REVOLUTIONARY MEASURES AND NEGLECTED CRIMES. + +PART II. + +BY PROF. JOSEPH RODES BUCHANAN. + + +If we agree that all men are born free and equal, with certain +inalienable rights,--life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,--let +us legislate to enforce our belief. All men are _not_ born equal, if +one is born with power to live without toil; power to control the +movements of a hundred thousand of his _unequal_ fellow-citizens; +power to bribe legislatures; power to hire a pretorian guard of +laborers, writers, editors, clergymen, and even soldiers or police to +do his bidding and to sing his praise, and to threaten those who wish +to establish a real republic. It was thought we had abolished +hereditary inequality; but in a land where our democratic lords can +each hire fifty thousand men and equip an army if need be,--where a +democratic American lord can buy a dozen of the puny lords of +Europe,--the social equality dreamed of in '76 does not exist. We have +abolished the useless title but not the lord. + +We should not object to that inequality which is natural--to the +superior ability and superior virtue which place one man far above his +fellows; but we should object to an immense inequality, _which is not +natural_, and which sometimes places the superior man at the mercy and +in the service of one who has no ability whatever,--who is simply born +to rule by means of _hereditary wealth_. This is just as great a +social inequality as that which Jefferson saw in Europe, and which he +thought was to be excluded from America. + +It is a condition that is demoralizing in a hundred ways, and is +fraught with peril to the republic, peril to society, and peril to all +the interests of humanity; and therefore as I would assert,--and _who +would deny_ the supreme right and power of the people to protect the +republic from any impending calamity by any just means, _but not by +any unjust means_--I would claim that it is our right and duty to say +that this grand hereditary inequality shall not be perpetual, and that +_the past shall not rule the present--the graveyard shall not contain +our legislature_,--but that each generation shall be a law unto +itself, and shall establish the conditions of justice and safety +without regard to the follies of the dead and the ancient laws of +inheritance when they conflict with justice. + +Justice and safety to the republic demand that men shall _not be born +as rulers, nor born as serfs_. The serf is the person who is born in +poverty, with no right to a standing place, and whom society has left +to the education of the street or of the coal mine, growing up without +knowledge, without industrial skill--knowing nothing but to sell +unskilled labor in a market crowded by a million others like himself +or herself, and thus forced into that wretched life seen in all the +great cities of America and Europe, the description of which is enough +to make us cry out in despair, How long, O Lord, how long? Wherein +does this white slavery differ from African slavery, except that the +master cares nothing for the slave, is not bound by self-interest to +take care of him, and cannot flog him though he can punish him in +other ways, and on shipboard he can flog him also, and the horrors of +nautical brutality have not even produced a society for its abolition? + +Such is the serf, which our democracy allows its citizens to +become,--men to whom the right of suffrage sometimes seems a worthless +rag which they would gladly sell,--men on whose weak shoulders the +republic cannot stand. + +To abolish that class, every boy and girl should be guaranteed a solid +intellectual and industrial education, making a permanent guarantee +against pauperism and serfdom, a permanent guarantee that women shall +not be enslaved by lust, but shall be enabled to rear an offspring of +manly citizens. These are the most important things that a true +nationalism should accomplish at present, and mainly by the gospel of +industrial education, which the writer has long been urging with all +his power. + +Public sentiment has advanced so far on this question, that there will +be very little opposition to abolishing the serf by industrial +education; out with all our industrial education, our disorganized +competition makes employment terribly uncertain, and impoverishes the +industrious by enforced idleness, because there is no science, no +social system to regulate the demand and supply of labor in different +pursuits. + +Hence, until we can do better, there must be at all times a vast +number of idle men walking about in search of work, losing all their +savings in times of enforced idleness, their days of gloom and +despair. + +They are our brothers, and we cannot say with Cain, "Am I my brother's +keeper?" _We are_ our brothers' keepers, for they are partners in this +republic, and brothers in the family of God, and they help to make the +social atmosphere in which we live, and they help the republic to sink +or swim. We simply cannot afford to deny our brotherhood, and if we do +we are the devil's own fools. + +Action on this matter is demanded now as it never was before, for we +are advancing blindly to a crisis which our political economists and +statesmen have not foreseen, and do not yet recognize. The genius that +increases by invention the productive power of labor ought to increase +the rewards of labor, but it does not. Labor is demanded only to +supply what is consumed; and if at present a million laborers are +employed to produce the food, clothing, fuel, furniture, and houses +required, but in a few years invention enables half a million to +produce the same, what is to become of the half million no longer +needed? Will wages advance so that the million may still be employed, +working for half a day instead of a day. That would be just, but +instead, it produces a glut in the labor market, which by competition +puts down wages, and starts a fierce contest between laborers and +employers, and among laborers themselves. The fall in prices produced +by competition in a crowded market makes the employer unwilling to +advance wages, and an angry contest is inevitable. The multitude +dislodged by invention is increased by the inevitable multitude +arising from irregular demand and supply in fluctuating markets, and +thus families by the hundred thousand are driven to the verge of +immediate starvation, and this becomes our chronic condition, which +must be rectified,--a chronic condition which bears most heavily on +woman, and through her debases future generations. + +We are bound to see that every honest citizen, male or female, has a +fair chance in the battle of life, has a fair preparation at the +start, and a fair field. To insure this,--to insure that the +productive power of the nation is not wasted,--is a larger question +than our statesmen have ever yet considered. It requires that the +government shall have a DEPARTMENT OF PRODUCTIVE LABOR, in which +honest men and women, when jostled out of their industrial positions, +may enlist.[2] This department should be managed by the ablest and +most benevolent business men of the Peter Cooper class, who understand +all productive industries, and who, seeing what is permanently and +largely needed for human consumption and not abundantly supplied, or +what new industries can be started which will benefit the nation, what +new productions can be acclimatized, shall take charge of all the +laborers who wish to enlist in governmental employ for eight hours a +day, with such pay and rations as will be satisfactory and fair; and +if rightly managed, not only will their labor pay all costs of the +department, but it may be made to teach the country great industrial +lessons in agriculture and manufactures, by improvements which +scientific combined labor on a large scale may introduce; and if we +are anxious to make our country independent in all things, and +superior in manufactures, this is the very method in which it can be +done, by the instruction in the national establishments, which may be +the means of starting all manufactures that we need, far better than +the protective tariff which forces an unnatural growth _at an enormous +cost to the people_. + + [2] Thousands of the women toiling in the cities on + starving wages, might be given in the Southern States + pleasant employment in fruit culture, and other light + agricultural labors. + +There will then be no tramps, no paupers, no women compelled to sell +their persons; and as poverty, gloom, and hardship are the chief +sources of intemperance, we may anticipate, as another consequence, an +immense diminution of the liquor traffic, when the Department of +Productive Labor shall have gotten into full operation. Moral gloom +and the bad passions impel men to intemperance, and when they acquire +the happy and gentle temperament of woman they will also acquire her +temperance. + +Mr. Bellamy's idea of the nation as the employer may not be +practicable, but the Department of Productive Labor is an obvious +method of initiating the principle of national co-operation, which an +urgent necessity has compelled the British government to initiate in +Ireland. But we cannot safely wait, like England, until famine is +threatening. + +The pauperization of labor depends on the monopoly of land combined +with the monopoly of machinery. It cannot occur in a new country, but +must develop when all the land is monopolized and worth a hundred +dollars an acre. The independence of the laborer owing to cheap vacant +land is more than restored by a Department of Productive Labor which +establishes a minimum of wages below which they cannot be forced, and +gives a standing ground on which exaction can be resisted permanently +by the laborer. + +The Department of Productive Labor may be made a charming feature of +the government, on which philanthropists may expend their skill; and +its beautiful plantations, especially in the highlands of the +Carolinas and Georgia, and in California, may be looked to as a haven +of repose by all who are disappointed in life, who may find in these +rural homes something more attractive than the co-operative societies +to which some are rushing now. The voice of the red flag anarchist +will be quieted, and the agitators who endeavor to stir up dissension +will find most of their grievances redressed when the laborer has an +assured home. + +There is no obstructive limit to the achievements of the army of +labor. Aside from agriculture and manufactures, there are roads to be +built, buildings to be erected, improvements of many kinds, and there +are about a thousand million acres of arid land, needing irrigation, +the necessary works for which could employ more than would probably +apply, for the wages should not be such as to attract men from +profitable employments. The army of labor may not at first be wisely +managed, but anything is better than the vast national losses by +_enforced idleness_. It is not extravagant to anticipate an _ultimate_ +governmental administration of railroads, mines, manufactures, and +government farms that may employ many hundred thousands. There is no +apparent hindrance to the extension of the Department of Productive +Labor until it shall embrace all who desire the comfort and security +it gives, while those who prefer the strife of competition can remain +outside of the experiment, and thus the governmental and the +individual systems be fairly tried in competition with each other. +Thus far no formidable difficulty appears in abolishing pauperism, but +we find a more difficult task when we propose the abolition of +Plutocracy, by what may be called a REVOLUTIONARY MEASURE. + +Having thus gotten rid of the increasing army of paupers and tramps, +providing, as it seems, a sound basis for a republic, we have the +other problem of getting rid of the growing aristocracy--the +plutocratic princes, the syndicates and trusts, who constitute the +other great danger,--of whom we may say we must either master them or +they will master us by managing our senators, governors, and +presidents. They have already swallowed some such legislatures as we +have been able to elect, with such facility as to show that it will +not be long before they can swallow the entire government, and when it +has been swallowed it may not be as fortunate as Jonah in getting out +again, for there is some very important legislation necessary to this +republic which the plutocracy may be expected to resist with all its +power, and when the conflict comes it will be a grand one. + +They will probably combat with all their might the doctrine which must +sometime be presented, that the nation must rule itself on democratic +principles, and that the dead shall not rule the living by entail, +mortmain, or will. When a child is born it must become a member of the +republic on conditions compatible with the safety of that republic. It +cannot be allowed to come in as the born master of a hundred thousand +fellow-citizens equally competent to serve the republic. Our young +citizens approach us from a generation that has passed away. + +It sleeps in the graveyard, or it leads a better life in the better +world. It has left vast masses of wealth, surrounded by wretched areas +of desolate poverty. Was it wise or just to do so,--to ignore +brotherhood of man, and to perpetuate all possible inequality? No, a +thousand times no. There is not one, perhaps, of the millionnaire +dwellers in the better world who does not regret and mourn his earthly +selfishness, and who would not order a more just and generous +distribution of his estate if his voice could be heard. + +But we need not ask them. _We know what is just_ and we will correct +the mistakes of the departed. We know that this hoarding in families +is unjust to the republic and unjust to the Brotherhood of +Humanity,--an injury to all, a benefit to none. Therefore it must not +be permitted. + +Already the law is beginning to recognize this principle, which is +destined to revolutionize all the world; but we are not the leaders in +this democracy, because our plutocracy is too strong. Switzerland in +its mountain homes carries the banner of democracy, and has gone +farther than any other country in asserting the rights of the +commonwealth over inherited wealth. New York has ordained a little +infinitesimal inheritance tax which, according to the _Herald_, in +1886 produced $60,000, in 1887 $500,000, in 1888 over a million. That +will be enough to build schoolhouses for the 20,000 children kept out +of school in the city of New York for want of room. The proposition is +under discussion in Massachusetts, and if we do our duty Massachusetts +may set the example of the greatest social revolution ever +accomplished by law. If Boston received the benefit of such a tax on +its own population, it might be adjusted to raise from one million to +more than ten millions a year; at any rate a succession tax might +produce more than all other taxes produce at present, and it would +bring about such radical changes that it would be expedient to make +the change gradual, and gradual it must be, for it will meet +determined opposition, and we must enforce our principle by every +argument of justice and expediency, for it is both just and expedient. +_What right have the millionnaires to say how the world shall be +managed after they have left it?_ What right to say that when they +have established a dangerous inequality, posterity shall be compelled +to make it perpetual. The robber barons established inequality by the +sword, and by the same power made it perpetual. The posterity of kings +and barons, however worthless, corrupt, criminal, or imbecile, +continue to occupy the saddle upon the public donkey. But inherited +royalty is going, and inherited aristocracy must also go. We who +survive are the responsible parties, and (as the Romans charged their +rulers in times of danger) we must see that the republic does not +suffer, and that aristocracy shall not be its permanent master. + +What right has the millionnaire to direct from the grave, that the +wealth which he has left shall be used in the manner most dangerous +and most injurious to society. He has no such right. He has no right +in the matter, but what we in our justice or in our good-nature may +give him. If these views are just, they must in time rule the world, +but they are not yet asserted by those to whom the world looks for +counsel.[3] + + [3] A year after this was written, the following + advanced sentiment was uttered by Rabbi Schindler: + "Have the dead the right of imposing laws upon the + living, of making contracts of which future generations + ought to bear the burden?" + +The sacred right of the living citizen in that which his industry has +created, has no application here. It is a totally different case. It +is the question what right has he to rule the world after he has +enjoyed his full share and more, and gone away. We do not ask whether +he got his wealth by fraud, or robbery, or industry. _He has left it; +he is done with it; he is dead in fact and ought to be dead in law!_ +The law has no jurisdiction over him now, and he has no possible +interest in what is done, nor any power to rectify his mistakes. To +perpetuate his fictitious personality, and make the opinions which he +has left in writing an authority like the acts of a living man, is a +tremendous stretch of the imagination, much like the old superstitions +which made a law by the preface "thus saith the Lord." + +I know the claim will be made that the wealth which the millionnaires +could not carry away was truly theirs, and therefore that while they +lived they had a right to dispose of it. But I deny it. In the highest +sense of justice, _it was not theirs_, and even if it was, it was +justly forfeited by their treason to humanity; for I hold that neither +genius nor the business capacity that produces wealth ever releases a +man from his obligations to society. In time of war to defend the city +or State, we take every man's property, so far as needed, and require +him, in addition, to offer his life in battle to protect the +community; and surely in the grand battle which every republic has to +meet against its foes,--on the one hand oligarchy and despotism, and +on the other social disorder and convulsions between capital and +impoverished labor,--in this battle, I say, every man may be required +to defend the republic with his money, his honor, and his life, if +need be, and he should think himself very lightly released if society +demands only to become his legatee, after he has provided for his +family. He thus relinquishes what is nothing to him but everything to +society. + +Wealth is the product of the nation--of all its work of brain and +muscle. No one man by himself ever accumulated wealth. But in the +entangled social co-operation, struggle, and battle, wealth is +scattered strangely and gathered in heaps like the money at a gaming +table. One man seizes a gold mine, another seizes for a trifle a piece +of parchment giving the title to land where a million are going to +settle, and both become millionnaire princes at the expense of the +commonwealth. There would be very few rich men if the real production +of each was all that he could hold. To seize by a legal fiction a mine +that yields a million annually is simply a robbery of the +commonwealth. The robbery of the commonwealth and the toiler is our +chronic condition. The urban population, strong in capital and skilful +in combination and chicanery, has drained the agricultural regions, +until agriculture,[4] toil, and poverty, are closely associated, +while urban wealth displays its ostentatious ease, and farmers are +driven by the million into a desperate political struggle for +self-protection. + + [4] It is necessary to illustrate this by a few decisive + facts which have not been made familiar to the + majority of readers, as farmers' interests have + received very little consideration in the East. The + financial policy of the general government ever + controlled by capital against labor, has been the most + gigantic imposition by financial jugglery that history + has recorded, and has been effected chiefly by + manipulation and contraction of the currency to make + debts more oppressive, and during the war by + depreciating the people's money. After the war when + $500,000,000 were needed to compensate the destruction + of confederate money, a criminal contraction of + $500,000,000 dealt a crushing blow to the South, and to + the whole country. Let us look at it from the + standpoint of the largest body of laborers, the + farmers. A very intelligent Illinois farmer, Bert + Stewart, presents the case as follows, and if his data + are all correct, he has demonstrated a wholesale + robbery: The national debt at the end of the war was + about $2,800,000,000. What would it then have cost the + farmers to pay this debt? He estimates that it could + have been paid by 996,000,000 bushels of wheat; or + 1,380,000,000 bushels of corn; or 10,000,000 bales of + cotton. But financial legislation has increased the + value of money (magnifying the debt), and decreased the + value of the products of labor, so that practically, + the debt has been increasing faster than it has been + paid; and, after paying nearly $2,000,000,000 of the + principal, and over $2,000,000,000 of interest, it will + cost more to pay the remaining third of the debt than + to have paid the whole at first. It would require + to-day, instead of 1,380,000,000, over 4,000,000,000 + bushels of corn to pay the remaining third. This being + the case, it would seem that the payment of about four + thousand millions during the last twenty-six years, + leaving the debt substantially unpaid, was virtually a + _robbery of the commonwealth_ by corrupt or ignorant + legislation. Mr. Stewart mentions also, that in one + year the binding twine trust, by raising prices, drew + $21,000,000 "from the farmers of the West to the + sharpers of the East." The reports of the State Board + of Agriculture of Illinois show (what is a fair + statement for the whole country) that during the last + thirty years the corn crops of Illinois have for more + than half the time brought less than the cost of their + production; and taking the entire thirty years + together, the losses so nearly balanced the profits + that the average net profit of the thirty years has not + exceeded seventeen cents an acre for each year, in the + cultivation of over six millions of acres of corn. In + the official report of Iowa also, it is stated "the + general range of farm products have sold below cost of + production, since 1885." The official "Farm Statistics + of Michigan," just issued, tell the same sad story. It + shows that the wheat crop of 1889 cost more than it + sold for, the loss being $1,471,515. The entire loss on + wheat, corn, and oats amounted to $9,226,510. Thus is + agricultural labor crushed that millionnaires may grow. + Hence it is that farmers are sinking under their + burdens of mortgage indebtedness, paying seven per + cent. or more, losing their farms, and often compelled + to mortgage crops, tools, and stock. In the single + year, 1887, 35,334 farm mortgages were recorded in + Illinois, amounting to $37,040,770, and "nine million + mortgaged homes" is the war-cry of the Farmers' + Alliance. + + Thus the independent farmer is disappearing, and + although there was scarcely a tenant farmer in Illinois + in 1840, there are more than 110,000 tenant farmers + now; and we have a vast increase of large farms. But + while the farmer sinks into poverty, those who handle + his products grow rich. The Chicago Stock Yard that was + started with a million of capital has grown so + prosperously that its stock now amounts to $23,000,000. + The monetary interests control all things, and Mr. + Stewart forcibly says: "The time has come, gentlemen, + when the government must run the railroads, or the + railroads will run the government. In Pennsylvania + to-day two roads own the State, its legislature, its + governor, its courts, its people, own them body and + soul, and stole the money from the people to buy them + with. You elect men to positions and pay them salaries, + and then the railroads buy them and make you pay for + bribing your own officers, in the freight rates they + charge you. The net income of the railroads of the + United States is three times that of the entire revenue + of the government." + +The great mass of accumulated wealth was all unearned. It was the +donation of absurd law to monopolists,--to men who procured the titles +to lands. Their value came from the entire community, created by the +people, and when that amount is rescued from landlordism, the millions +vanish and society reclaims its own. Thus do I assert the ownership of +the community in millionnaire hoards. And when the tenant for life has +gone, to whom the law has been by far too generous, and left his +hoards, out of which he has already squandered more than he was +entitled to--the commonwealth from which this wealth was gathered may +rightly step in and reclaim it. + +It is but a waif on the ocean of commerce--the jetsam and flotsam, of +which the law must direct the disposal. The heirs, as they have been +called, may come in to the wreck that lies on the shores of time, +after the soul has gone to eternity--but law must decide whether these +wreckers are entitled to the cargo,--to goods which they did not +produce, and whether it is safe and patriotic to allow them to carry +off what is substantially in the majority of cases morally and justly +the property of the commonwealth. There may be some exceptions to +these general statements as to property, but when we recollect how +land monopoly and other monopolies have robbed the commonwealth, I +hold that the commonwealth is bound to reclaim the stolen wealth +wherever it can find it, and certainly wherever the commonwealth can +find it abandoned by the claimant, the action of trover should come in +when the tenant for life has ceased to exist. + +Perhaps the devotees of precedent may be bold enough to call this +robbery, but it is simply reclamation of that which has too long been +lost or stolen. For the chief foundations of large fortunes, the chief +source of the great flood of accumulated wealth, has been the taxation +of the people by the monopoly of land and monopoly of mines--the +monopoly by private individuals of what justly belonged to the +commonwealth, but was captured by the sword or by law--aided by +cunning financial operations which stand on no higher plane than +gambling or fraud. + +The British peerage draw an annual rental from their lands of +$66,000,000, and the American princes draw far more, but I have not +had time to find the statistics.[5] It will not be long before foreign +landlords shall draw $50,000,000 annually from the United States, if +they do not already, for they hold more than 20,000,000 acres, and on +these they may practise the eviction of tenants in the Irish fashion. +The wrongs of Irish tenants elicit universal sympathy, but they are +far surpassed now in America without outcry or comment. About +twenty-four thousand evictions occurred last year in the city of New +York, and this indicated more than a hundred thousand human beings +turned homeless into the streets, generally in a penniless condition! +The distressing evictions of the great cities, and the selling out of +thousands of western farmers under foreclosing mortgages, are +preparing a terrible mass of discontented population to whom a social +convulsion would not be alarming. Those who live under the pressure of +a terrible social system will not be sorry if it is overthrown by +violence. + + [5] Parker Pillsbury mentions a Governor of Maine, who + owns in Maine, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Dakota, + and Canada, 691,000 acres. + +A large portion of the city of New York is held at values ($50 a foot) +which would make its annual ground rental over $100,000 a year for a +single acre. When we think of the vast sums which have been +accumulating for centuries in the form of rent--say, for example, the +land rents of England, which, outside of mines, amount to $330,000,000 +a year,--it will be apparent that the grand flood-tide of wealth, +which has passed into the possession of private individuals who have +been fortunate enough to acquire land titles long ago, and their +successors, exceeds by more than a hundred times all the wealth that +has not been squandered and remains in sight to-day. + +But it is gone--squandered--and we never can reclaim it; and there is +another mountain mass of wealth not quite expended yet, which came +from corrupt financial monopoly, which has sometimes generated +financial lords more rapidly than land monopoly. Upon questions of +finance and political economy, our people have been as blind as they +have upon the land question, and our entire financial legislation has +been but a trap to catch the commonwealth and rob it, and the +commonwealth has been caught, and robbed of far more than two thousand +millions.[6] + + [6] As a single specimen of this, I would mention that + those eminent politicians, John C. New, and Wm. H. + English, of Indiana, under the laws engineered by + cunning and accepted by ignorance, invested $200,000 in + a national bank scheme when greenbacks had been knocked + down to forty cents, and in thirteen years from 1864 to + 1877 they made a clear profit of $2,133,000--more than + ten for one of their investment. But this is very + moderate in comparison with land speculation. The + Elyton Land Company at Birmingham, Alabama, with a cash + capital of $100,000, has declared in five years, ending + in 1888, dividends amounting to $5,570,000, and is + believed to own property still that will amount to + $5,000,000, a return of more than a hundred dollars for + every one invested--a clear profit absorbed of over ten + millions--_the gift of law to monopoly_. Will this ever + return to the commonwealth? The robbery of the + commonwealth goes on in every direction. Shall we + continue the present system under which, while the + nation is losing its inheritance daily, one man in + Chicago tied up the wheat crop of the United States, + and one man also tied up or cornered pork, and both + levied millions on the people? + +The follies and crimes of the past cannot be readjusted--but its +legacy of robbery to the present must submit to the arbitration of +justice, and the demands of philanthropy. The millions exacted from +the tenants of England and Ireland by the descendants of the robber +barons and brigand soldiers, who took the soil by the sword, still cry +aloud for justice. + +If we grant that an individual may by his own exertions justly acquire +a hundred thousand dollars, which is an ample competence, and that as +an encouragement and reward for his industry, society may justly allow +him to dispose of it by will, which I think is a liberal concession, I +see no sufficient reason for extending his authority beyond that +amount. All above that amount, I hold, should belong to the +commonwealth in justice, for two reasons--first, because it was taken +from the commonwealth, and second, because the commonwealth suffers +from two dangerous classes, which ought not to exist,[7]--the tramps +becoming demoralized and desperate, and the idlers, becoming +demoralized and worthless, who think themselves a privileged class, +born with a right to live in everlasting idleness upon the toil of +those who are not thus well born. This division into the aristocracy, +the proletariat, and the middle class struggling to become the +aristocracy, does not make a republic. It is an ancient falsehood and +injustice established by absurd laws of inheritance (as absurd as the +Hindoo castes), which have cursed the world, and will continue to +curse it until America shall establish democratic justice. Yet as +experience shows that men's opinions in all things are swayed by their +interests, there must be but few of the patrician class who can +perceive these truths, and we must rely for their appreciation upon +the vast majority who are not born to wealth. + + [7] To save the nation _we must reform_ and stop the + production of 60,000 boy tramps and the half million of + paupers and criminals which our horrible system has + produced, which at the present rate of increase will, + in fifty years, be a million and a quarter, and in a + hundred years will probably exceed FOUR MILLIONS. I see + no measures but those I propose that will save us from + this terrible condition. They will not be adopted in + time to prevent civil war, but they must be adopted + afterwards. + +What policy the commonwealth may observe,--whether it shall allow the +millionnaire to dispose of ten, twenty, or fifty per cent. as an +encouragement and reward for his accumulations,--is a debatable +question. To give him post-mortem control of fifty per cent. would be, +it seems to me, an act of prodigal generosity to millionnaire heirs. +That a dead man of a hundred millions should be allowed to keep fifty +millions hoarded in private possession appears to me an extravagant +claim, for even ten per cent. of that amount would be enough to spoil +his children and unfit them for good citizenship. I believe it would +be better for society if all inheritance of wealth were forbidden, and +every boy and girl required to begin life with a few hundred dollars, +and gain the position they deserved by their own abilities alone. + +This reclamation of millionnaire estates by the commonwealth would not +be so necessary but for the fact that the world has been ruled by +false principles, and in all past ages millionnaires have, with few +exceptions, regarded their vast possessions as something on which the +public had no claim in justice, as being the true sources of +wealth--something on which the brotherhood of humanity had no +claim--something which was not a sacred trust for the benefit of +mankind--something which they should clutch with an iron grasp, as +long as possible, to keep it intact and unbroken, and still speaking +from the grave, hold it protected from all the claims of humanity, to +magnify their own names in their descendants, and keep their offspring +the lords dominant of society,--thus making it really a curse instead +of a blessing; and as neither the moralists nor the clergy have ever +taught them anything else, such is still their tendency, with a few +such exceptions as Peter Cooper and George Peabody. But when society +substitutes rational ethics and simple justice for old traditions and +debasing customs, the destruction of wealth will be _recognized as a +crime_, no matter how it was obtained; and such profligates as the +Prince of Wales, who spends half a million yearly, and then calls upon +his avaricious mother for one or two millions to silence the clamor of +creditors whom he has defrauded, will be no longer feasted, admired, +and imitated, for justice will be embodied in law and the race of +profligates will have been exterminated. + +If any owner of these hoards, when he is compelled to give them up, +politely throws out five per cent. or even two per cent. for something +that he considers worthy, it is received with great laudation as +something not to have been expected. A Cleveland millionnaire was +lauded for a petty donation, less than he had expended on his old +wife's laces. As philanthropists millionnaires are generally great +failures. They did not study the public welfare through life, and they +do not know how to promote it; their benefactions generally go to +institutions that perpetuate the old order of mediĉval conservatism, +and delay the progress of humanity. They are incompetent as trustees. +One man with the wealth of an Astor or a Rockefeller, and the +overflowing love guided by the wisdom of intuition (so conspicuous in +Jesus that men have worshipped him as a God, and elevated their own +natures by the worship), could accomplish more than all that American +wealth has ever done upon this continent. + +Therefore by that right of eminent domain which is good over lands +occupied by the living, and far better over estates abandoned by the +dead, it becomes the duty of society to maintain the republic, to +assert the supreme law of justice, and thereby teach the doctrine so +long forgotten by followers of Christianity, that all our powers and +resources beyond our own necessities belong to our brothers. Such are +the principles of every real Christian. Such was the sentiment of John +Wesley; and his expression, if I recollect rightly, was that he would +consider himself a thief if he died with more than ten pounds in his +possession. + +These doctrines are not entirely strange--the world is beginning to +look in this direction already. The _heirship of the state_ is an idea +already broached in France, sustained by Clemenceau, Pelletan, and +many other distinguished citizens, and discussed in the Chamber of +Deputies. The proposition was to limit the law of inheritance, and +substitute the heirship of the state for all collateral heirs. That +eminent and practical philanthropist, M. Godin, whose name has been +immortalized by the Industrial Palace at Guise, warmly espoused this +idea in all its breadth, and said:-- + + "When an individual dies, society has then the right to take + to itself what he leaves, for it has been the chief aid of + the deceased. Without its aid, without its institutions, he + could never have been able to amass the riches of which he + is at his death the holder. Society inherits wealth, then, + to use for the same work of social progress already + accomplished; that is to say to allow others, the surviving + in general (not the privileged strangers to the creation of + the existing riches), to continue their labor and + co-operation in the common social work. The heredity of the + State is then just, both in principle and in fact." + +The two measures which are necessary now are the Department of +Productive Labor and the law of inheritance by the commonwealth, which +limits the transmission of estates above a hundred thousand dollars, +giving the commonwealth a share, rising from one to ninety-nine per +cent. according to the magnitude of the estate--or _some other form_ +of taxation (if there be a better) producing equivalent results. + +I do not propose these measures as THE REMEDY _par excellence_ for our +unhappy social condition. Not at all. They are merely the gigantic +blows from the right arm of the commonwealth, by which the curses +established in the dark and bloody past, crushing man and woman to the +earth, shall be hurled into oblivion. The true, absolute, and complete +REMEDY is that industrial, intellectual, hygienic, and ethical +training of all, which I have published as the "New Education" which +will make new men. These are bold and revolutionary measures,[8] but +the surgery of the knife is sometimes what humanity demands. The mad +riot of rivalry and selfishness must be restrained before it brings +the republic to ruin. The power of land monopoly must be broken by a +land tax, and the post-mortem despotism which perpetuates accumulated +evils must be thrown off by just and practicable legislation. + + [8] Succession and income taxes are now beginning to be + considered. Two very feeble propositions have been + brought forward. The Massachusetts Legislative + Committee, on probate, reported a bill well adapted to + be worthless--to discourage benevolence and keep + property in the family by imposing a tax of five per + cent. on property left by will, except when going to + relatives or connections. Congressman Hall, of + Minnesota, introduced a bill in the last Congress for + an income tax, a fourth of one per cent. on incomes + between two and three thousand rising gradually to one + per cent. on incomes over $10,000. This very small + business is not what was demanded by "The Farmers' + Alliance and Industrial Union" in the Ocala convention, + which demanded the abolition of national banks and "the + passage of _a graduated income tax law_." These demands + were reiterated by the last legislature of Missouri, in + a resolution calling upon Congress to act upon them, + and pledging the legislature to enforce the farmers' + demand as far as in their power. North Carolina, too, + has adopted the Alliance principles. The income tax + will probably be a growing one--one per cent. will not + be its maximum. The British income tax under Mr. + Gladstone in 1885 was three and a third per cent. But + this is mere child's play, being about equivalent to a + property tax of one seventh of one per cent. When + seriously considered, the question will be between + five, ten, twenty, and thirty per cent. + +We must act upon the undisguised truth that individual humanity is not +yet properly educated, and not yet qualified to exercise its +trusteeship of wealth, for the hard struggles against the oppressive +power of poverty, sickness, robbery, fraud, and sudden calamity have +made the self-protective faculties predominant, and the sharp rivalry +and competition of business has so increased their predominance that +the thought of public welfare is never paramount, and is but an +occasional glimmer, and the death-bed surrender of wealth, if it +considers the welfare of society at all, considers it so blindly that +a large proportion of the benevolent endowments are of little real +value. + +It is, therefore, necessary that the outcry of suffering and the +warning of danger should rouse the public conscience to nobler +principles, and that society in its maximum wisdom, which embraces a +few earnest philanthropists, many capable financiers and economists, +very many tender-hearted women who will not consent to suffering, and +who are destined to participate in government, as well as a great many +who are personally conscious of wrongs that need rectifying, should +assume the administration of the SUPERFLUOUS WEALTH abnormally +accumulated. + +The change proposed is so great that its realization may be far off, +and the evolution of law may be rivalled by the evolution of evasive +ingenuity, so that the commonwealth may be compelled to prohibit +evasive ante-mortem donations, and to reinforce the succession tax by +more stringent measures, from which there can be no escape, and which +will control plutocracy as effectively as any succession tax, and thus +render the latter of less importance; but it is none the less +important that the principle should be asserted, that the dead shall +not rule the living. + +There are two obvious measures, and _one of them is sure to be adopted +soon_, without waiting for the abolition of unlimited inheritance. The +income tax is made almost necessary by the last Congress, which +emptied the treasury, and the income tax, if made accumulative, +increasing its rates with the increase of income, will be as +effective a control over plutocracy as the people wish to make it. The +_increasing rate_ of taxation upon superfluous wealth, is a sacred +principle for which every reformer should contend. + +But even this is not fortified against evasion, and we need the most +efficient tax of all--the progressively accumulating tax on wealth, +which will gather a large rental from all the _superfluous_ millions, +compelling the holders to use them profitably. A three per cent. tax +on all over ten millions would not only enrich the commonwealth, but +stimulate industry in millionnaires. How long will the millionnaires +be able to defeat such legislation? + +_These are the coming taxes._ They are not untried theories, for +Switzerland, the foremost nation in democracy, enjoys both the income +tax and the progressively accumulating tax, which falls most heavily +on the largest properties. + +It is to be hoped that political corruption and intrigue will not +delay many years this assertion of the sovereignty of the commonwealth +by taxation, which will give the republic a solid foundation, and that +the power of the commonwealth thus enlarged will, through the +Department of Productive Labor, and by educational progress, give us a +true and a happy republic. These suggestions are not farther in +advance of public opinion to-day, than was the nationalization of the +land, when I urged it in 1847. They will find fit champions in a few +years. + +To what extent the Department of Productive Labor should be fostered +by every State, and to what extent it may be authorized by the federal +constitution, we need not yet consider, for it is apparent that the +due administration of the national domain and development of the arid +region by irrigation, will furnish ample employment, if we adopt as a +sacred principle, the demand of justice, that _not another acre of the +national domain shall ever be sold_. Let us give settlers the easiest +possible terms, but never surrender to monopoly the land of the +commonwealth. + + + + +"ĈONIAN PUNISHMENT." + +BY REV. W. E. MANLEY, D. D. + + +Some months ago an article with the above heading appeared in THE +ARENA. It was written by Rev. C. H. Kidder, and was intended as a +reply to one written by myself, on the eternal punishment. + +It appears that a friend of Mr. Kidder, a physician "of great +ability," on reading my article was caused great disquietude. "He felt +that if all the statements contained in the article were accurate, his +religious instructors had been either knaves or fools--knaves, if they +taught what they did not believe, and fools, if they believed what +they taught," p. 101. I have only to say that the statements of my +article are, in all important respects, accurate, explain the rest as +he may; nor has Mr. Kidder shown that they are not accurate, except in +one particular, not affecting the main question. This will be noticed +in the proper place. + +It is often true that men "of great ability" are men of hasty +judgment, especially when they are "much disquieted"; and the doctor +is certainly mistaken in supposing that his instructors were either +knaves or fools. The men who teach eternal punishment are in the main +honest, and of fair intelligence. The doctrine came into the church in +a dark age; and for centuries it was dangerous to believe or teach +anything else. When the human mind was set free, and it was no longer +dangerous to teach what one believed, the doctrine had become so +firmly established by a false system of interpretation, that it was a +long time before much impression could be made toward its removal. But +the Gospel leaven has been working in all these ages since the +reformation to the present century; so that now there is little faith +of that kind in the Orthodox church and none out of it. + +I have not intended to admit that all the teachers of eternal +punishment in the church have been honest. Some have been dishonest, +in order, as they claimed, to do the more good. There was a class of +ministers in the ancient church who had two sets of opinions, one set +for the congregation, and another for the private circle. Dr. Edward +Beecher mentions several venerable men, who preached eternal misery, +but who had not a particle of faith in the doctrine, as he believes. +They are Chrysostom, Gregory Nazianzus, Athanasius, and Basil the +Great. See Historical Retribution, p. 273. These were great men; but a +greater than these had taught that it is right to lie for the good of +mankind, namely, Plato. Who will say there have been no others since +that day? For the honor of humanity, I trust not many. + +I would say here that all Mr. Kidder has advanced, may be admitted, +without the least detriment to the main purpose of my article. The +greater part of his paper is devoted to incidental topics that are not +essential to the main subject, and what he says on the main point +utterly fails to invalidate my argument, as the reader will clearly +perceive before I get through. + +So far as our version favors eternal punishment, the fact is due +chiefly to a wrong translation; and it is difficult to suppress the +conviction that the translators, in much of their work of this kind, +were perfectly conscious of the wrong they were doing. The word _hell_ +in every place where it is found (with one or two exceptions, where +the heathen hell is referred to) is the rendering of a word that has +no such meaning. The word _everlasting_ combines a wrong rendering and +a wrong exegesis. These are the main points. They are the Jachin and +Boaz of the orthodox temple. But the translators have sought to favor +their doctrines in other ways; sometimes by supplying words not found +in the text, and sometimes by rejecting words that are there. + +My article was devoted chiefly to these last, particularly a wrong use +of the Greek article, and the rejection of an important word, when it +conflicted with their views, though they often employ it at other +times. + +I say with the fullest confidence that the doctrine of eternal +punishment is not in the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures. It came into the +church chiefly with converts who had believed it before their +conversion, and continued to believe it by a misconstruction of the +Scriptures. + + +THE SON OF GOD. + +By not paying particular attention to what I said, my critic has +misrepresented me in an important particular; and has repeated the +idea a number of times, namely, that I deny the sonship of Jesus +Christ. I simply refer to some passages to show the importance of the +Greek article, and some of these have the expression, "the Son of +God," when they ought to have been rendered "a Son of God," or "a Son +of a God" not only because the article is omitted in the Greek, but it +is the language of Satan, and of the heathen, and therefore more +characteristic than the words _the_ Son of God. The sonship of our +Lord has evidence enough, without that of Satan and the heathen, +especially as the evangelists have represented them as giving no such +testimony. + +The reference in my article to insanity and suicide was incidental; +and whether strictly correct or not, the thousand that have been +ruined in this way is a picture sufficiently frightful, and shows that +the Christian religion has been greatly misapprehended; for in its +purity, it never has, and never can, produce a single case of either +insanity or suicide. + + +THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. + +Of the six theological seminaries, which I referred to, on the +authority of Dr. Edward Beecher, as existing in the early days of the +church, I find on further reading that two were not theological +seminaries, but "schools of thought," as the doctor afterwards calls +them. One of these was in Asia Minor; and there, the annihilation of +the wicked was believed and taught. The other was in North Africa; and +here, endless punishment was the prevailing belief on the subject of +future destiny. The four others were real seminaries, in which the +doctrine of the final holiness and happiness of all intelligent +beings, after future disciplinary punishment, was inculcated by men as +much distinguished for piety and virtue and missionary zeal, as any in +the whole church. + +The four schools were located at Alexandria, in Egypt, Cesarea in +Palestine, Antioch in Syria, and Edessa or Nisibis. This last school +was held at the one or the other of these places, in Eastern Syria. +When persecution drove it out of one of these cities, it held its +sessions in the other. All these four schools were numerously +attended, often having hundreds of scholars at one time. Mr. Kidder +thinks there must have been more than this number; but as it is a mere +conjecture with him, his opinion can have but little weight against +the statement of a man who has thoroughly investigated the subject. It +will not do to judge them after our little schools, at the present +day, when the church is divided into scores of little communities, +each having its insignificant seminary or seminaries. The church was +then one body, though each school varied slightly from the rest. + + +PROFESSOR SHEDD. + +Dr. Beecher points out and refutes the statements of Professor Shedd, +and some others, on the prevalence of certain doctrines in the early +church. + +Professor Shedd, in his history of Christian doctrine, Vol. II. p. +414, says, "The punishment inflicted upon the lost was regarded by the +fathers of the ancient church, with very few exceptions, as endless." +"The only exception to the belief in the eternity of future +punishment, in the ancient church, appears in the Alexandrian school." +"The views of Origen concerning future retribution were almost wholly +confined to their schools." + +Dr. Beecher makes the following reply. "This statement somewhat +transcends the limits set by Lecky, to the doctrine of the +restoration. It is not confined to two individuals, but it is confined +to one school,--the school of Alexandria. What then shall be said of +Diodore, of Tarsus, not of the school of Alexandria, the eminent +teacher of Chrysostom, and a decided advocate of universal +restoration? What shall be said of his disciple, Theodore of +Mopsuestia, that earnest defender of the same doctrine, of whom Dorner +says that he was the climax and crown of the school of Antioch? What +shall be said of the great Eastern school of Edessa and Nisibis, in +which the scriptural exposition of Theodore of Mopsuestia, was a +supreme authority and text-book? Was Theodore of the school of +Alexandria? Not at all. He was of the school of Antioch.... And yet he +not only taught the doctrine of universal restoration on his own +basis, but even introduced it into the liturgy of the Nestorian +Church, in Eastern Asia. What, too, shall we say of the two great +theological schools, in which he had a place of such honor and +influence?... Dr. Shedd would have called to mind a statement in +Guericke's Church History, _as translated by himself_, "It is +noticeable that the exegetico-grammatical school of Antioch, as well +as the allegorizing Alexandrian, adopted and maintained the doctrine +of restoration, p. 349, note 1." Then it should be added that Origen +was not the only one of the Alexandrian school, who taught this +doctrine. Clemens, who preceded Origen, taught it; and Didymus who +succeeded him. The whole period of the presidency of these men over +the school must have been a century or more. And yet the great body of +Christians, as Professor Shedd would have us believe, were believers +in eternal punishment; but they neither turned these men out, nor +established any other school to counteract their influence. They must +have been a trifle different from believers in the doctrine now. And +what is very remarkable, we hear of no books or essays written against +the doctrine of the Alexandrian school, as if it were a pernicious +heresy. + +Church historians in modern times impose on their readers by quoting +passages from ancient Christian writers, that employ the word +_everlasting_ in connection with punishment, leaving the impression +that these words were understood then as they are now, when in fact +believers in limited punishment, as well as those who thought +punishment endless, employed the term _everlasting (ai[=o]nios_) to +denote its duration. Origen and Clemens speak of everlasting +punishment, though they believed it would end in reformation and +salvation. Justin Martyr and Irenĉus warn men of everlasting +punishment, though they believed in the annihilation of the wicked. + + +MORAL RESURRECTION. + +In some instances the resurrection is used in the same way as the new +birth, to denote conversion. Such is John v. 21-29. The change thus +indicated is commonly called a moral resurrection. My critic would +have the last two verses refer to the general resurrection at the end +of the world; while he seems to admit that all the rest relates to a +moral resurrection, two things as unlike as they possibly could be. +Such is not our Lord's mode of teaching. I understand the whole +passage as confined to one subject, the moral resurrection. He divides +the subject into two parts, to be sure, but it is the same subject in +both parts--first, the moral resurrection then in progress; and +second, the moral resurrection "coming" on a more extensive scale, +even embracing all men. Jesus changes one word only, using +_graves_,--more properly _tombs_,--instead of _death_. But coming out +of death into life, and coming out of the tombs into life, are +essentially the same thing. Both are figurative expressions. I insist +that where Jesus says, "The hour is coming and now is," he conveys +the impression that the then present process was in its nature the +same as the coming one, only that the latter would be more extended, +even universal. + + +THE WORD A GOD. + +That Trinitarians should translate this expression, The Word was God, +in John i. 1, might be expected; but by the rules of translating the +Greek language into English, the expression should be, The Word was a +god. The rule of Middleton that the article must not be used in the +predicate of a sentence may hold good, when it conflicts with no +superior rule; but if taken absolutely, it has many exceptions. I +suppose the renowned Origen understood the Greek language. He +interprets the passage before us as I do. "Origen uses [Greek: theos] +(god), not in our modern sense, as a proper name, but as a common +name. This use of the term, _which was common to him with his +contemporaries_, and continued to be common after his time, is +illustrated by his remarks on the passage, 'and the Logos was God'; in +which he contended, that the Logos was god, in an inferior sense;--not +as we would say God, but _a god_, not _the_ divine being, but _a_ +divine being. (Opp. iv. p. 48, reqq.)." See Norton's Statement of +Reasons, p. 120, note. + +The quotation from the Athanasian creed had better been omitted; for +many will read it, who had not before known that it contained any such +absurdity; and will have less respect for the Trinity than they would +wish to have. The quotation is, "The Father is God, the Son is God, +and the Holy Spirit is God; and yet they (?) are not three Gods, but +one God." I am accused of following an "uncritical principle," in not +reasoning in the same way. If it is "uncritical," I plead guilty, and +beg that my sentence may be as mild as possible. But before the +sentence is pronounced may it not be well to apply the reasoning to +some other subject,--to Peter, James, and John, for instance? Each of +these is a man; but they are not three men but one man! + + +MELLO. + +I complained that the translators and revisors left out this word, +apparently for the reason that it conflicts with their theology. It +makes certain things to be near at hand, which they regarded as far in +the future. My critic says, "The Greek _mell[=o]_ frequently has the +meaning assigned to it by Dr. Manley, but it is not shut up to that +meaning," p. 106. It probably has that meaning twenty times, where it +has any other meaning once. In the passages from which it is excluded, +if it has any other meaning, why did they not retain it, and render it +according to its true import, and not throw it out? Mr. Kidder does +not meet the case, when he shows that the word does sometimes have +another meaning. His business is to show that _it has no meaning_, in +the passages from which it is excluded. It will then be in order to +show why the writers put such a word in these passages. When the +translators recognize the word, they seldom fail to give it a meaning +corresponding to the sense I assign to it. + +It is conceded that the wrath to come (Matt. iii. 7; Luke iii. 7.), +should probably be the wrath _about_ to come, meaning the destruction +soon to fall on the Jewish State. This word _mell[=o]_ (about) takes +the passage out of the hands of those who would apply it to a far-off +eternal punishment. The word in other passages would have been alike +opposed to the common construction; and, therefore, it was left out. +This is the plain common-sense view of the case; and I shall hold the +translators and revisers guilty of a base fraud, till some good reason +can be given for their conduct. This probably cannot be done. + +AI[=O]N, AI[=O]NIOS. That the expression, "end of the world," where +the original for _world_ is _ai[=o]n_, ever has the meaning of end of +this material universe cannot be proved. Where Jesus promises to be +with his disciples to the end of the world (_ai[=o]n_) is the most +favorable instance. But in the sense here intended, namely, enabling +them to perform miracles, he was with them, only to the end of the +Jewish age. By that time the Gospel was so well established, as no +longer to need miraculous interposition. In what sense Jesus was with +the disciples, is explained by the closing words of Mark's Gospel. +"And they went forth, preaching everywhere, the Lord working with +them, and confirming the word, by the signs that followed. Amen." + +My critic says of _ai[=o]n_, p. 107: "It may at times refer to the +Jewish dispensation, with its limit fixed at the judgment executed +upon the holy city, and the destruction of the temple." Then it _may +mean_ this, in Matt. xiii. 38, 39, 49, and xxiv. 3. "It does not +always mean age; for this meaning is inadequate for the _worlds_, +_ai[=o]nos_, of Heb. i. 2, xi. 3." It does not seem so; for God +created the ages and dispensations of time, as much as he did the +material worlds. _Constituted_ may be better than _created_. God is +the author of both creations. Aion is a term that always implies time, +or duration, and not material substance. De Quincey says that +everything has its aion. The _ai[=o]n_ of an individual man is about +seventy years. The aion of the human race would probably be some +millions of years. It would follow from this reasoning that the +_ai[=o]n_ of God would be eternal, past, and to come. De Quincey does +not, I believe, carry his reasoning to this result; and I had never +seen the argument stated before, as it is in the passages produced by +Mr. K., from Aristotle and Plato. But the same reasoning that makes +the _ai[=o]n_ of God eternal, makes every other limited. It would be +illogical, and appear so at once, if one should argue, God is eternal; +and, therefore, punishment is eternal. + +The rule generally accepted for understanding _ai[=o]nios_, is to +modify the meaning according to the nature of the noun which it +qualifies. If it denote duration, the amount of duration will depend +on the noun qualified. This rule forbids that eternal punishment +should be of as long duration as eternal life. Punishment is a means +to an end, and in itself is undesirable. Life or happiness is an end; +the longer continued the better; for it is desirable in itself. It is +that which we seek by means of punishment. The less we have of +punishment, the better. The more we have of life, the better. + +My critic ought to have pondered the words of Dr. Taylor Lewis, before +he entered on this discussion. His words are, "The preacher, in +contending with the Universalist and the Restorationist, would commit +an error, and it may be, suffer a failure in his argument, should he +lay the whole stress of it on the etymological or historical +significance of the words, _ai[=o]n_, _ai[=o]nios_, and attempt to +prove that of themselves they necessarily carry the meaning of endless +duration." Lange's Eccl. p. 48. Beecher's "Retribution," p. 154. Prof. +Lewis says that _ai[=o]nios_ means _pertaining to the age or world to +come_. The only fault this definition has, is the addition of the +words _to come_. Jesus says, "These shall go away into the punishment +of the age, and the righteous into the life of the age." The age +referred to, is the Christian age or dispensation, that has already +come. It is the same as has all along been called, "the age to come," +or about to come. It was to follow the Jewish age, which was soon to +end. Both together are referred to as "this age and that which is +about to come." But when the parable of the sheep and goats begins, +the age is already come. + +The form here given by Taylor Lewis is the same as Jesus himself used, +if he spoke the Aramaic, as my critic says he did, and I agree with +him. He did not say, "These shall go away into _ai[=o]nion_ +punishment," etc., which is the unwarranted Greek form. But his words +are, "These shall go away into the punishment of the age (or +pertaining to the age), and the righteous into the life of the age (or +pertaining to the age)." It is the same form in the Peshito-Syriac +version, made in the days of the Apostles. It is the same in the +Hebrew New Testament, translated by the Bible society, to circulate +among the modern Jews. + +I have in my possession over a hundred passages, from classic Greek +authors, in which _ai[=o]n_ is used in a limited sense, generally +denoting human life, or the age of man. It is used, in a few +instances, to denote an endless age, by attaching to it another word +for _endless_. The adjective _ai[=o]nios_ is used very little by these +authors, and not at all, I think, by the more ancient ones. No lexicon +gives it the definition of eternal, till long after the time of +Christ; and the remark is added, when thus defined, that it is so +understood by the _theologians_. + +But the principal help for understanding the Greek of the New +Testament, is the Greek version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint. +The words we are discussing are found in that version not far from +four hundred times, three fourths of them probably in a limited sense. +The Hebrew form, "the statutes of the age," are rendered into Greek, +everlasting or _ai[=o]nion_ statutes; "the covenant of the age," the +_ai[=o]nion_ covenant, etc. These terms have sixteen different +renderings. They are, _everlasting_, _forever_, _forevermore_, +_perpetual_, _ever_, _never_ (when joined with a negative particle), +_old_, _ancient_, _long_, _always_, _world_, _lasting_, _eternal_, +_continuance_, _at any time_, _Elam_. The last word stands for the +Hebrew _olam_, the word answering to _ai[=o]n_ in the Greek. With +these definitions in view (a number of them being limited terms), it +would be folly to claim that this word has an unlimited meaning when +applied to punishment. The punishment which God inflicts is limited. +Heb. 12. + +Great stress is placed on the circumstance, that in Matt. xxv. 46, +the punishment and the life are spoken of near together, even in the +same verse. Tertullian, and later Augustine, urged this fact as proof +that both must be of the same duration. The late Albert Barns thought +the argument sound. Of course, no large man ever rode a large horse, +without being of the same size. Perhaps an illustration from Scripture +will be more satisfactory. "And the eternal mountains were scattered; +the everlasting hills did bow; his ways are everlasting." Hab. iii. 6. +For the last sentence, see the margin, Revised Edition. Are there to +be no ways of God, after the mountains and hills are gone? Besides, +this whole parable has its fulfilment, not in eternity, but in the +Christian dispensation. It began to be fulfilled at the coming of +Christ, when some were living, who had heard him, during his ministry, +nearly forty years before. Matt. xvi. 27, 28. No fixed rewards and +punishments are possible under the circumstances, for men are +changing. The rendering "pertaining to the age," has no objection of +this kind. If it be claimed that a man, "once a Christian, always a +Christian," no one can doubt, that a man, not a Christian, may become +one, and so change his condition--a proof that his condition is not +eternal. + +I will close this article by a few words on the apocalypse. The +dramatic representation of Eichhorn is correct, save the added clause, +"the eternal felicity of the future life described." The holy city is +not heaven; it came down from God _out of heaven_. It does not denote +a final and fixed condition. It is four-square, and has three gates on +each side; and all of them open continually, to admit those who wish +to enter; and the invitation is sounded without ceasing, to the +outsiders from within, to "come and partake of the waters of life +freely." Neither in the New Jerusalem, nor the lake of fire, is there +any allusion to the eternal world of fixed and changeless conditions. + +In those days, when books were not printed, but transcribed by the +hand, it was customary for the author to make a strong appeal to the +copyist or transcriber, not to make any alteration in the book, with +certain penalties, fictitious or otherwise. Hence the Revelation +closes with this admonition,--not to add to, nor take from, the book +(xxii. 18, 19.), the penalty being sufficiently severe, to which I +would commend the late revisers of the New Testament. + + + + +THE NEGRO QUESTION FROM THE NEGRO'S POINT OF VIEW. + +BY PROF. W. S. SCARBOROUGH. + + +In the discussion of the so-called "Negro Problem," there is, as a +rule, a great deal of the sentimental and still more of the +sensational. By a series of _non sequitur_ arguments the average +disputant succeeds admirably in proving what is foreign to the +subject. This is true of writers of both sections of our +country--North as well as South--but especially true of those of the +South. + +The recent symposium of Southern writers in the _Independent_ on the +Negro Question, as interesting as it was for novelty and variety of +view, is no exception to the rule. If the negro could be induced to +believe for a moment that he was thus actually destitute of all the +elements that go to make up a rational creature, his life would be +miserable beyond endurance. But he has not reached that point nor does +he care to reach it. Others may exclaim:-- + + "O wad some power the giftie gi'e us + To see oursel's as ithers see us;" + +but not the negro, if the vision must always be so distorted. The +black man is naturally of a sanguine temperament, as has so often been +said; and the facts in the case bear him out in entertaining a hopeful +view of his own future and his ability to carve it out. I am sure that +they do not warrant even our Southern friends in taking such a +pessimistic view of the situation, so far as the negro himself is +concerned. But facts are of little account nowadays. There is a +tendency to ignore them and appeal to the prejudices and passions of +men, and that, too, when it is well known that such methods of +procedure prolong rather than settle the question at issue. This is +the work of the alarmist--to keep things stirred up and always in an +unsettled state. + +I think it may be justly inferred that the average white man does not +understand the black man, and that he is still an unknown quantity to +many of the white people of the country, even to those who profess to +know him best. Admitting this, then, it is but natural that much of +their deliberation and many of their conclusions should be wide of the +mark. The negro does not censure the white man for his conclusions as +they are the logical consequence of his premises, but he _does_ object +to his premises. Our white friends make their mistake in seeming by +all their movements to insist that there is but one standpoint from +which to view this question, the white man's; but there is another and +the negro is viewing it from that side, not selfishly but in a +friendly and brotherly spirit. + +Senator George was right when he said that the solution of this +question should be left to time, but wrong when he further added, "and +to the sound judgment of the Southern people." The recent +disfranchisement of the negroes of his native State shows very plainly +to the thoughtful citizen that the South is not yet capable of justly +handling this question, notwithstanding that they are the people "who +have the trouble before them every day." This is Mississippi's fatal +mistake and one that places the State in the rear of her Southern +sisters, and for the present, at least, lessens the value of any +suggestion from that quarter. + +It is well understood that the sentiment of the American people is +that enough has been done for the negro; that the country is under no +obligations to look further after his interest, and that he must act +for himself. Survival of the fittest is now the watchword. There is no +objection to this provided the blacks are _allowed_ to do for +themselves,--to survive as the fittest, if it be possible,--but this +they are not allowed to do. They are certainly anxious to work out +their own destiny. They are tired of sentiment and are therefore +impatient. They desire to show to the world that they are not only +misunderstood but misjudged. They are willing to unite with either +North or South in the adjustment of present difficulties. + +Unlike the Indians they are sincere--neither treacherous nor +deceitful. They are simple, frank, and open-hearted, and are as +desirous of good government as are the most honored citizens of the +land. Let alone, they will give neither the State nor the nation any +trouble. They feel themselves a part and parcel of the nation and as +such have an interest in its prosperity as deep as those who are +allowed to exercise, untrammelled, the rights of citizenship. + +To keep the blacks submissive there is need of neither army nor navy. +Though at the foot of the ladder they are contented to remain there, +until by virtue of their own efforts they may rise to higher planes. +The negro has never sought, does not now, nor will he seek to step +beyond his limit. "Social equality," "Negro domination," and "Negro +supremacy," are meaningless terms to him so far as his own aspirations +are concerned. The social side of this question will regulate itself. +It has always done so, in all ages and all climes, despite coercion, +despite law. This is the least of the negro's cares. His demand for +civil rights is no demand for "social equality." This is a mistaken +view of the subject. It is this dread of social equality, this fear of +social contact with the negro that precludes many well-meaning people +from securing accurate information in regard to the aims, and +purposes, and capabilities of those whom they desire to help. But +there is light ahead, dark as at times it now may seem, and erroneous +as are the views in regard to the negro's relation to the American +body-politic. + +Congressman Herbert, in his effort to show the negro's incapacity for +self-government by calling attention to the defalcations, +embezzlements, and petty larcenies, etc., of reconstruction times, +forgets that if this is to be taken as the gauge of capacity for +self-government, the same rule will apply to bank and railroad +wreckers of the present day,--to every defaulter and embezzler of +State and private funds, and to every absconding clerk. Now we must +remember that this class of citizens is enormously large, and that +they are all white, as a rule. Every daily paper that one picks up +devotes considerable space to this class of citizens who, according to +Mr. Herbert, has shown its "incapacity for self-government," as well +as the incapacity of others "who alone have acquired such a capacity" +as is claimed by Congressman Barnes. Queer logic is it not? The latter +should say so, for it is he who claims that "the Anglo-Saxon is the +only member of the human family who has yet shown evidence of a +capacity for self-government." + +Again, it is said that the negro cannot attain high and rigid +scholarship, and even those who have succeeded in becoming educated +"if left to themselves would relapse into barbarism." Now, I cannot +believe that any such statement as this can be made with sincerity. In +the light of the facts it is preposterous. Flipper, while at West +Point, demonstrated beyond controversy the fallacy of such a position +as the first; and there is hardly a college commencement in which some +negro in some way does not continue to show its falsity by +distinguishing himself by his extraordinary attainments. Even while I +write, a letter lies before me from a young colored student, a +graduate of Brown University, who is now taking a post-graduate course +at the American School for Classical Studies, at Athens, Greece. From +all reports, he is making an excellent record, and will present a +thesis in March on "The Demes of Athens." As to relapsing into +barbarism, were the negro removed from white influence, the mere +mention of the negro scholar, Dr. Edward Blyden, born on the island of +St. Thomas, educated and reared in Africa away from the slightest +social contact with people of Anglo-Saxon extraction, is sufficient +proof that such a conclusion is not a correct one. + +What a leading journal has said in regard to the Indians may be +repeated here as applicable to the negro: "The most crying need in +Indian [negro] affairs is its disentanglement from politics and +political manipulations." + +Here is an opportunity for the Church, but the Church has shown itself +wholly inadequate to meet the case, and because of its tendency to +shirk its duty, may be said to be to blame for many of the troubles +growing out of the presence of the negro on this continent. I have +noted that there is more prejudice in the Church, as a rule, than +there is in the State. If, as is asserted by some, neither Church nor +State can settle this question, then there is nothing to be done but +to leave it to time and the combined patience and forbearance of the +American people,--black as well as white. + + + + +A PRAIRIE HEROINE. + +BY HAMLIN GARLAND. + + +Lucretia Burns had never been handsome, even in her days of early +girlhood, and now she was middle aged, distorted with work and +child-bearing, and looking faded and worn as one of the boulders that +lay beside the pasture fence near where she sat milking a large white +cow. + +She had no shawl or hat and no shoes, for it was still muddy in the +little yard, where the cattle stood patiently fighting the flies and +mosquitoes swarming into their skins already wet with blood. The +evening was oppressive with its heat, and a ring of just-seen +thunder-heads gave premonitions of an approaching storm. + +An observer seeing Lucretia Burns as she rose from the cow's side, and +taking her pails of foaming milk staggered toward the gate, would have +been made weak with sympathetic pain. The two pails hung from her lean +arms, her bare feet slipped on the filthy ground, her greasy and faded +calico dress showed her tired, swollen ankles, and the mosquitoes +swarmed mercilessly on her neck and bedded themselves in her colorless +hair. + +The children were quarrelling at the well and the sound of blows could +be heard. Calves were querulously calling for their milk, and little +turkeys lost in the tangle of grass were piping plaintively. + +The sun just setting struck through a long, low rift like a boy +peeping beneath the eaves of a huge roof. Its light brought out +Lucretia's face as she leaned her sallow forehead on the top bar of +the gate and looked towards the west. + +It was a pitifully worn, almost tragic face,--long, thin, sallow, +hollow-eyed. The mouth had long since lost the power to shape itself +into a kiss, and had a droop at the corners which seemed to announce a +breaking down at any moment into a despairing wail. The collarless +neck and sharp shoulders showed painfully. + +She felt vaguely that the night was beautiful, the setting sun, the +noise of frogs, the nocturnal insects beginning to pipe--all in some +way called her girlhood back to her, though there was little in her +girlhood to give her pleasure. Her large gray eyes (her only +interesting feature) grew round, deep, and wistful as she saw the +illimitable craggy clouds grow crimson, roll slowly up, and fire at +the top. A childish scream recalled her. + +"Oh my soul!" she half groaned, half swore, as she lifted her milk and +hurried to the well. Arriving there, she cuffed the children right and +left with all her remaining strength, saying in justification:-- + +"My soul! can't you--you young 'uns give me a minute's peace? Land +knows, I'm almost gone up--washin' an' milkin' six cows, and tendin' +you and cookin' f'r _him_, ought'o be enough f'r one day! Sadie, you +let him drink now'r I'll slap your head off, you hateful thing! Why +can't you behave, when you know I'm jest about dead." She was weeping +now, with nervous weakness. "Where's y'r pa?" she asked after a +moment, wiping her eyes with her apron. + +One of the group, the one cuffed last, sniffled out, in rage and +grief:-- + +"He's in the cornfield,--where'd ye s'pose he was?" + +"Good land! why don't the man work all night? Sile, you put that +dipper in that milk agin, an' I'll whack you till your head'll swim! +Sadie, le' go Pet, an' go 'n get them turkeys out of the grass 'fore +it gits dark! Bob, you go tell y'r dad if he wants the rest o' them +cows milked, he's got 'o do it himself. I jest can't, and what's more +I _won't_," she ended rebelliously. + +Having strained the milk and fed the children, she took some skimmed +milk from the cans and started to feed the calves bawling strenuously +behind the barn. The eager and unruly brutes pushed and struggled to +get into the pails all at once, and in consequence spilt nearly all of +the milk on the ground. This was the last trial,--the woman fell down +on the damp grass and moaned and sobbed like a crazed thing. The +children stood around like little partridges, looking at her in +silence, till at last the little one began to wail. Then the mother +rose wearily to her feet, and walked slowly back towards the house. + +She heard Burns threshing his team at the well, with the sound of +oaths. He was tired, hungry, and ill-tempered, but she was too +desperate to care. His poor, overworked team did not move quick enough +for him, and his extra long turn in the corn had made him dangerous. +His eyes gleamed from his dust-laid face. + +"Supper ready?" he growled. + +"Yes, two hours ago." + +"Well, I can't help it! That devilish corn is getting too tall to plow +again, and I've got 'o go through it to-morrow or not at all. Cows +milked?" + +"Part of 'em." + +"How many?" + +"Three." + +"Hell! Which three?" + +"Spot, and Brin, and Cherry." + +"_Of_ course! kept the three worst ones. I'll be damned if I milk 'm +to-night. I don't see why you play out jest the nights I need ye +most--" here he kicked a child out of the way. "Git out 'o that! Haint +ye got no sense? I'll learn ye--" + +"Stop that, Sim Burns!" cried the woman, snatching up the child. +"You're a reg'lar ol' hyeny,--that's what you are--" she added +defiantly, roused at last from her lethargy. + +"You're a--beauty, that's what _you_ are," he said, pitilessly. "Keep +your brats out f'um under my feet;" and he strode off to the barn +after his team, leaving her with a fierce hate in her heart. She heard +him yelling at his team in their stalls. + +The children had had their supper so she took them to bed. She was +unusually tender to them for she wanted to make up in some way for her +harshness. The ferocity of her husband had shown up her own petulant +temper hideously, and she sat and sobbed in the darkness a long time +beside the cradle where the little Pet slept. + +She heard Burns come growling in and tramp about,--the supper was on +the table, he could wait on himself. There was an awful feeling at her +heart as she sat there and the house grew quiet. She thought of +suicide in a vague way; of somehow taking her children in her arms and +sinking into a lake somewhere, where she would never more be troubled, +where she could sleep forever, without toil or hunger. + +Then she thought of the little turkeys wandering in the grass, of the +children sleeping at last, of the quiet, wonderful stars. Then she +thought of the cows left unmilked, and listened to them stirring +uneasily in the yard. She rose, at last, and stole forth. She could +not rid herself of the thought that they would suffer. She knew what +the dull ache in the full breasts of a mother was, and she could not +let them stand at the bars all night moaning for relief. + +The mosquitoes had gone, but the frogs and katy-dids still sang, while +over in the west Venus shone. She was a long time milking the cows; +her hands were so tired she had often to stop and rest them, while the +tears fell unheeded into the pail. She saw and felt little of the +external as she sat there. She thought of how sweet it seemed the +first time Sim came to see her, of the many rides to town with him +when he was an accepted lover, of the few things he had given her, a +coral breastpin and a ring. + +She felt no shame at her present miserable appearance, she was past +that; she hardly felt as if the tall, strong girl, attractive with +health and hope, could be the same soul as the woman who now sat in +utter despair listening to the heavy breathing of the happy cows, +grateful for the relief from their burden of milk. + +She contrasted her lot with that of two or three women that she knew, +not a very high standard, who "kept hired help," and who had "fine +houses of four or five rooms." Even the neighbors were better off than +she, for they didn't have such quarrels. But she wasn't to blame--Sim +didn't--then her mind changed to a vague resentment against "things;" +everything seemed against her. + +She rose at last and carried her second load of milk to the well, +strained it, washed out the pails, and after bathing her tired feet in +a tub that stood there, she put on a pair of horrible shoes without +stockings, and crept stealthily into the house. Sim did not hear her +as she slipped up the stairs to the little low, unfinished chamber +beside her oldest children,--she could not bear to sleep near _him_ +that night,--she wanted a chance to sob herself to quiet. + +As for Sim, he was a little disturbed but would as soon have cut off +his head as acknowledge himself in the wrong, but he yelled as he went +to bed, and found her still away:-- + +"Say, ol' woman, aint ye comin' to bed?" and upon receiving no answer +he rolled his aching body into the creaking bed. "Do as ye damn please +about it. If ye wan' to sulk y' can." And in such wise the family grew +quiet in sleep, while the moist, warm air pulsed with the ceaseless +chime of the crickets. + + +II. + +When Sim Burns woke the next morning he felt a sharper twinge of +remorse. It was not a broad or well-defined feeling, just a sense that +he'd been unduly irritable, not that on the whole he was not in the +right. Little Pet lay with the warm June sunshine filling his baby +eyes, curiously content in striking at flies that buzzed around his +little mouth. + +The man thrust his dirty naked feet into his huge boots, and, without +washing his face or combing his hair, went out to the barn to do his +chores. + +He was a type of the prairie farmer and his whole surrounding was +typical. He had a quarter-section of fine level land, mortgaged, of +course, but his house was a little box-like structure, costing, +perhaps, five hundred dollars. It had three rooms and the ever-present +"summer kitchen" attached to the back. It was unpainted and had no +touch of beauty, a mere box. + +His stable was built of slabs and banked and covered with straw. It +looked like a den, was low and long, and had but one door in the end. +The cow-yard held ten or fifteen cattle of various kinds, while a few +calves were bawling from a pen near by. Behind the barn on the west +and north was a fringe of willows forming a "wind-break." A few broken +and discouraged fruit trees standing here and there among the weeds +formed the garden. In short, he was spoken of by his neighbors as "a +hard-working cuss, and tollably well fixed." + +No grace had come or ever _could_ come into his life. Back of him were +generations of men like himself, whose main' business had been to work +hard, live miserably, and beget children to take their places after +they died. He was a product. + +His courtship had been delayed so long on account of poverty that it +brought little of humanizing emotion into his life. He never +mentioned it now, or if he did, it was only to sneer obscenely at it. +He had long since ceased to kiss his wife or even speak kindly to her. +There was no longer any sanctity to life or love. He chewed tobacco +and toiled on from year to year without any very clearly defined idea +of the future. + +He was tall, dark, and strong, in a flat-chested, slouching sort of +way, and had grown neglectful of even decency in his dress. He wore +the American farmer's customary outfit of rough brown pants, hickory +shirt, and greasy white hat. It differed from his neighbors, mainly in +being a little dirtier and more ragged. His grimy hands were broad and +strong as the clutch of a bear, and he "was a turrible feller to turn +off work," as Council said. "I druther have Sim Burns work for me one +day than some men three. He's a linger." He worked with unusual speed +this morning, and ended by milking all the cows himself as a sort of +savage penance for his misdeeds the previous evening, muttering in +self-defence:-- + +"Seems 's if ever' cussid thing piles on to me at once. That corn, the +road-tax, and hayin' comin' on, and now _she_ gits her back up--" + +When he went back to the well he sloshed himself thoroughly in the +horse-trough and went to the house. He found breakfast ready but his +wife was not in sight. The older children were clamoring around the +uninviting breakfast table, spread with cheap plates and with boiled +potatoes and fried salt pork as the principal dish. + +"Where's y'r ma?" he asked, with a threatening note in his voice, as +he sat down by the table. + +"She's in the bedroom." + +He rose and pushed open the door. The mother sat with the babe in her +lap, looking out of the window down across the superb field of +timothy, moving like a lake. She did not look round. She only grew +rigid. Her thin neck throbbed with the pulsing of blood to her head. + +"What's got into you, _now_?" he said brutally; "don't be a fool. Come +out and eat breakfast with me, an' take care o' y'r young ones." + +She neither moved nor made a sound. With an oath he turned on his heel +and went out to the table. Eating his breakfast in his usual wolfish +fashion, he went out into the hot sun with his team and ridding +plow, not a little disturbed by this new phase of his wife's +"cantankerousness." He plowed steadily and sullenly all the forenoon, +in the terrific heat and dust. The air was full of tempestuous +threats, still and sultry, one of those days when work is a +punishment. When he came in at noon he found things the same,--dinner +on the table, but his wife out in the garden with the youngest child. + +"I c'n stand it as long as _she_ can," he said to himself, in the +hearing of the children. When he finished the field of corn it was +after sundown, and he came up to the house, hot, dusty, his shirt +wringing wet with sweat, and his neck aching with the work of looking +down all day at the cornrows. His mood was still stern. The +multitudinous lift, and stir, and sheen of the wide green field had +been lost upon him. + +"I wonder if she's milked them cows," he muttered to himself. He gave +a sigh of relief to find she had. But she had done so not for his +sake, but for the sake of the poor, patient, dumb brutes. + +When he went to the bedroom after supper, he found that the cradle and +his wife's few little boxes and parcels--poor pathetic properties--had +been removed to the garret which they called a chamber, and he knew he +was to sleep alone again. + +"She'll git over it, I guess." He was very tired but he didn't feel +quite comfortable enough to sleep. The air was oppressive. His shirt +wet in places, and stiff with dust in other places, oppressed him more +than usual, so he rose and removed it, getting a clean one out of a +drawer. This was an unusual thing for him, for he usually slept in the +same shirt which he wore in his day's work, but it was Saturday night, +and he felt justified in the extravagance. + +In the meanwhile poor Lucretia was brooding over her life in a most +dangerous fashion. All she had done and suffered for Simeon Burns came +back to her till she wondered how she had endured it all. All day long +in the midst of the glorious summer landscape she brooded. + +"I hate him," she thought with a fierce blazing up through the murk of +her musing, "I hate t' live. But they aint no hope. I'm tied down. I +can't leave the children, and I aint got no money. I couldn't make a +living out in the world. I aint never seen anything an' don't know +anything." + +She was too simple and too unknowing to speculate on the loss of her +beauty, which would have brought her competency once,--if sold in the +right market. As she lay in her little attic bed, she was still +sullenly thinking, wearily thinking of her life. She thought of a poor +old horse which Sim had bought once, years before, and put to the +plough when it was too old and weak to work. She could see her again +as in a vision, that poor old mare, with sad head drooping, toiling, +toiling, till at last she could no longer move, and lying down under +the harness in the furrow, groaned under the whip--and died. + +Then she wondered if her own numbness and despair meant death, and she +held her breath to think harder upon it. She concluded at last, +grimly, that she didn't care--only for the children. + +The air was frightfully close in the little attic, and she heard the +low mutter of the rising storm in the west. She forgot her troubles a +little, listening to the far-off gigantic footsteps of the tempest. + +_Boom, boom, boom_, it broke nearer and nearer as if a vast cordon of +cannon was being drawn around the horizon. Yet she was conscious only +of pleasure. She had no fear. At last came the sweep of cool, fragrant +storm-wind, a short and sudden dash of rain, and then in the cool, +sweet hush which followed, the worn and weary woman fell into a deep +sleep. + +When she woke the younger children were playing about on the floor in +their night-clothes, and little Pet was sitting in a square of +sunshine intent on one of his shoes. He was too young to know how poor +and squalid his surroundings were, the patch of sunshine flung on the +floor glorified it all. He (little animal) was happy. + +The poor of the western prairies lie almost as unhealthily close +together as do the poor of the city tenements. In the small hut of the +peasant there is as little chance to escape close and tainting contact +as in the coops and dens of the North End of proud Boston. In the +midst of oceans of land, floods of sunshine and gulfs of verdure, the +farmer lives in two or three small rooms. Poverty's eternal cordon is +ever round the poor. + +"Ma, why didn't you sleep with pap last night?" asked Bob, the +seven-year old, when he saw she was awake at last. She flushed a dull +red. + +"Sh! Because--I--it was too warm--and there was a storm comin'. You +never mind askin' such questions. Is he gone out?" + +"Yup. I heerd him callin' the pigs. It's Sunday, aint it, ma?" + +"Why, yes, so it is! Wal! Now Sadie, you jump up an' dress quick's y' +can, an' Bob an' Sile, you run down an' bring s'm water," she +commanded, in nervous haste beginning to dress. In the middle of the +room there was scarce space to stand beneath the rafters. + +When Sim came in for his breakfast he found it on the table but his +wife was absent. + +"Where's y'r ma?" he asked with a little less of the growl in his +voice. + +"She's upstairs with Pet." + +The man ate his breakfast in dead silence, till at last Bob ventured +to say, + +"What makes ma ac' so?" + +"Shut up!" was the brutal reply. The children began to take sides with +the mother--all but the oldest girl who was ten years old. To her the +father turned now for certain things to be done, treating her in his +rough fashion as a housekeeper, and the girl felt flattered and docile +accordingly. + +They were pitiably clad; like most farm-children, indeed, they could +hardly be said to be clad at all. Sadie had on but two garments, a +sort of undershirt of cotton and a faded calico dress, out of which +her bare, yellow little legs protruded, lamentably dirty and covered +with scratches. + +The boys also had two garments, a hickory shirt and a pair of pants +like their father's, made out of brown denims by the mother's +never-resting hands,--hands that in sleep still sewed, and skimmed, +and baked, and churned. The boys had gone to bed without washing their +feet, which now looked like toads, calloused, brown, and chapped. + +Part of this the mother saw with her dull eyes as she came down, after +seeing the departure of Sim up the road with the cows. It was a +beautiful Sunday morning, and the woman might have sung like a bird if +men were only as kind to her as Nature. But she looked dully on the +seas of ripe grasses, tangled and flashing with dew, out of which the +bobolinks and larks sprang. The glorious winds brought her no melody, +no perfume, no respite from toil and care. + +She thought of the children she saw in the town. Children of the +merchant and banker, clean as little dolls, the boys in knickerbocker +suits, the girls in dainty white dresses, and a bitterness sprang into +her heart. She soon put the dishes away, but felt too tired and +listless to do more. + +"Taw-bay-wies! Pet want ta-aw-bay-wies!" cried the little one, tugging +at her dress. + +Listlessly, mechanically she took him in her arms, and went out into +the garden which was fragrant and sweet with dew and sun. After +picking some berries for him, she sat down on the grass under the row +of cotton-woods, and sank into a kind of lethargy. A kingbird +chattered and shrieked overhead, the grasshoppers buzzed in the +grasses, strange insects with ventriloquistic voices sang all about +her,--she could not tell where. + +"Ma, can't I put on my clean dress?" insisted Sadie. + +"I don't care," said the brooding woman darkly. "Leave me alone." + +Oh, if she could only lie here forever, escaping all pain and +weariness! The wind sang in her ears, the great clouds, beautiful as +heavenly ships, floated far above in the vast dazzling deeps of blue +sky, the birds rustled and chirped around her, leaping-insects buzzed +and clattered in the grass and in the vines and bushes. The goodness +and glory of God was in the very air, the bitterness and oppression of +man in every line of her face. + +But her quiet was broken by Sadie who came leaping like a fawn down +through the grass. + +"O ma, Aunt Maria and Uncle William are coming. They've jest turned +in." + +"I don't care if they be!" she answered in the same dully-irritated +way. "What're they comin' here to-day for, I wan' to know." She stayed +there immovably, till Mrs. Council came down to see her, piloted by +two or three of the children. Mrs. Council, a jolly, large-framed +woman, smiled brightly, and greeted her in a loud, jovial voice. She +made the mistake of taking the whole matter lightly; her tone amounted +to ridicule. + +"Sim says you've been having a tantrum, Creeshy. Don't know what for, +he says." + +"He don't," said the wife with a sullen flash in the eyes. "_He_ +don't know why! Well, then, you just tell him what I say. I've lived +in hell long enough. I'm done. I've slaved here day in and day out f'r +twelve years without pay--not even a decent word. I've worked like no +nigger ever worked 'r could work and live. I've given him all I had, +'r ever expect to have. I'm wore out. My strength is gone, my patience +is gone. I'm done with it--that's a _part_ of what's the matter." + +"My sakes, Lucreeshy! You mustn't talk that way." + +"But I _will_," said the woman, as she supported herself on one palm +and raised the other. "I've _got_ to talk that way." She was ripe for +an explosion like this. She seized upon it with eagerness. "They aint +no use o' livin' this way, anyway. I'd take poison if it want f'r the +young ones." + +"Lucreeshy Burns!" + +"Oh, I mean it." + +"Land sakes alive, I b'leeve you're goin' crazy!" + +"I shouldn't wonder if I was. I've had enough t' drive an Indian +crazy. Now you jest go off an' leave me 'lone. I aint in mind to +visit--they aint no way out of it, an' I'm tired o' tryin' to _find_ a +way. Go off an' let me be." + +Her tone was so bitterly hopeless that the great jolly face of Mrs. +Council stiffened into a look of horror such as she had not worn for +years. The children, in two separate groups, could be heard rioting. +Bees were humming around the clover in the grass, and the kingbird +chattered ceaselessly from the Lombardy poplar-tip. Both women felt +all this peace and beauty of the morning, dimly, and it disturbed Mrs. +Council because the other was so impassive under it all. At last, +after a long and thoughtful pause, Mrs. Council asked a question whose +answer she knew would decide it all,--asked it very kindly and +softly,-- + +"Creeshy, are you comin' in?" + +"No," was the short and sullenly decisive answer. Mrs. Council knew +that was the end, and so rose with a sigh and went away. + +"Wal, good by," she said simply. + +Looking back she saw Lucretia lying at length with closed eyes and +hollow cheeks. She seemed to be sleeping, half-buried in the grass. +She did not look up nor reply to her sister-in-law. Her life also was +one of toil and trouble, but not so hard and hapless as Lucretia's. +By contrast with most of her neighbors she seemed comfortable. + +"Sim Burns, what you ben doin' to that woman?" she burst out as she +waddled up to where the two men were sitting under a cotton-wood tree, +talking and whittling after the manner of farmers. + +"Nawthin' 's fur 's I know," answered Burns, not quite honestly, and +looking uneasy. + +"You needn't try t' git out of it like that, Sim Burns," replied his +sister. "That woman never got into that fit f'r _nawthin'_." + +"Wal, if you know more about it than I do, whadgy ask _me_ fur," he +replied angrily. + +"Tut, tut!" put in Council, always a peacemaker, "hold y'r horses! +Don't git on y'r ear, childern! Keep cool, and don't spile y'r shirts. +Most likely yer all t' blame. Keep cool an' swear less." + +"Wal, I'll bet Sim's more to blame than she is. Why they aint a +harder-workin' woman in the hull State of Ioway than she is--" + +"Except Marm Council." + +"Except nobody. Look at her, jest skin and bones." + +Council chuckled in his vast way. "That's so, mother, measured in that +way she leads over you. You git fat on it." + +She smiled a little, her indignation oozing away; she never "_could_ +stay mad," her children were accustomed to tell her. Burns refused to +talk any more about the matter, and the visitors gave it up, and got +out their team and started for home, Mrs. Council firing this parting +shot:-- + +"The best thing you can do to-day is t' let her alone. Mebbe the +childern 'll bring her round again. If she does come round, you see 't +you treat her a little more 's y' did when you was a-courtin' her." + +"This way," roared Council, putting his arm around his wife's waist. +She boxed his ears while he guffawed and clucked at his team. + +Burns took a measure of salt and went out into the pasture to salt the +cows. On the sunlit slope of the field, where the cattle came running +and bawling to meet him, he threw down the salt in handfuls, and then +lay down to watch them as they eagerly licked it up, even gnawing a +bare spot in the sod in their eagerness to get it all. + +Burns was not a drinking man; was hard-working, frugal, in fact, he +had no extravagances except his tobacco. His clothes he wore until +they all but dropped from him; and he worked in rain and mud, as well +as dust and sun. It was this suffering and toiling all to no purpose +that made him sour and irritable. He didn't see why he should have so +little after so much hard work. + +He was puzzled to account for it all. His mind (the average mind) was +weary with trying to solve an insoluble problem. His neighbors, who +had got along a little better than himself, were free with advice and +suggestion as to the cause of his persistent poverty. + +Old man Bacon, the hardest-working man in the county, laid it to +Burns' lack of management. Jim Butler, who owned a dozen farms (which +he had taken on mortgages), and who had got rich by buying land at +government price and holding for a rise, laid all such cases as Burns +to "lack of enterprise, foresight." + +But the larger number feeling themselves "in the same boat" with +Burns, said:-- + +"I'd know. Seems as if things got worse an' worse. Corn an' wheat +gittin' cheaper 'n' cheaper. Machinery eatin' up profits--got to +_have_ machinery to harvest the cheap grain, an' then the machinery +eats up profits. Taxes goin' up. Devil to pay all round; I'd know what +'n thunder _is_ the matter." + +The democrats said protection was killing the farmers, the republicans +said no. The grangers growled about the middle-men, the green-backers +said there wasn't circulating medium enough, and in the midst of it +all, hard-working discouraged farmers, like Simeon Burns, worked on, +unable to find out what really was the matter. + +And there on this beautiful Sabbath morning, Sim sat and thought and +thought, till he rose with an oath, and gave it up. + + +III. + +It was hot and brilliant again the next morning as Douglass Radbourn +drove up the road with Lily Graham, the teacher of the school in the +little white schoolhouse. It was blazing hot, even though not yet nine +o'clock, and the young farmers plowing beside the fence looked +longingly and somewhat bitterly at Radbourn seated in a fine +top-buggy beside a beautiful creature in lace and cambric. + +Very beautiful the town-bred "schoolma'am" looked to those grimy, +sweaty fellows, superb fellows physically, too, with bare red arms and +leather-colored faces. She was as if builded of the pink and white +clouds soaring far up there in the morning sky. So cool, and sweet, +and dainty. + +As she came in sight, their dusty and sweaty shirts grew biting as the +poisoned shirt of the Norse myth, their bare feet in the brown dirt +grew distressingly flat and hoof-like, and their huge, dirty, brown, +chapped, and swollen hands grew so repulsive that the mere remote +possibility of some time in the far future "standing a chance" of +having an introduction to her, caused them to wipe them on their +trousers' leg stealthily. + +Lycurgus Banks, "Ly" Banks, swore when he saw Radbourn. "That cuss +thinks he's ol' hell this morning. He don't earn his living. But he's +jest the kind of cuss to get holt of all the purty girls." + +Others gazed with simple, sad wistfulness upon the slender figure, +pale, sweet face, and dark eyes of the young girl, feeling that to +have talk with such a fairy-like creature was a happiness too great to +ever be their lot. And when she had passed they went back to work with +a sigh and feeling of loss. + +As for Lily, she felt a pang of pity for these people. She looked at +this peculiar form of poverty and hardship much as the fragile, tender +girl of the city looks upon the men laying a gas-main in the streets. +She felt (sympathetically) the heat and grime, and though but the +faintest idea of what it meant to wear such clothing came to her, she +shuddered. Her eyes had been opened to these things by Radbourn, who +was a well-known radical,--a law student in Rock River. + +"Poor fellows!" sighed Lily, almost unconsciously. "I hate to see them +working there in the dirt and hot sun. It seems a hopeless sort of +life, doesn't it?" + +"Oh, but this is the most beautiful part of the year," said Radbourn. +"Think of them in the mud, in the sleet; think of them husking corn in +the snow, a bitter wind blowing; think of them a month later in the +harvest; think of them imprisoned here in winter!" + +"Yes, it's dreadful! But I never felt it so keenly before. You have +opened my eyes to it." + +"Writers and orators have lied so long about 'the idyllic' in farm +life, and said so much about the 'independent American farmer' that he +himself has remained blind to the fact that he's one of the +hardest-working and poorest-paid men in America. See the houses they +live in,--hovels." + +"Yes, yes, I know," said Lily; a look of deeper pain swept over her +face. "And the fate of the poor women, oh, the fate of the women!" + +"Yes, it's a matter of statistics," went on Radbourn, pitilessly, +"that the wives of the American farmers fill our insane asylums. See +what a life they lead, most of them; no music, no books. Seventeen +hours a day in a couple of small rooms--dens. Now there's Sim Burns! +what a travesty of a home! Yet there are a dozen just as bad in sight. +He works like a fiend,--so does his wife,--and what is their reward? +Simply a hole to hibernate in and to sleep and eat in in summer. A +dreary present and a well-nigh hopeless future. No, they have a +future, if they knew it, and we must tell them." + +"I know Mrs. Burns; she sends several children to my school. Poor, +pathetic little things, half-clad and wistful-eyed. They make my heart +ache; they are so hungry for love, and so quick to learn." + +As they passed the Burns farm, they looked for the wife but she was +not to be seen. The children had evidently gone up to the little white +schoolhouse at the head of the lane. Radbourn let the reins fall slack +as he talked on. He did not look at the girl, his eyebrows were drawn +into a look of gloomy pain. + +"It aint so much the grime that I abhor, nor the labor that crooks +their backs and makes their hands bludgeons. It's the horrible waste +of life involved in it all. I don't believe God intended a man to be +bent to plow-handles like that, but that aint the worst of it. The +worst of it is, these people live lives approaching automata. They +become machines to serve others more lucky or more unscrupulous than +themselves. What is the world of art, of music, of literature, to +these poor devils--to Sim Burns and his wife there, for example? Or +even to the best of these farmers?" + +The girl looked away over the shimmering lake of yellow-green corn, a +choking came into her throat. Her gloved hand trembled. + +"What is such a life worth? It's all very comfortable for us to say, +'they don't feel it.' How do we know what they feel? What do we know +of their capacity for enjoyment of art and music? They never have +leisure or opportunity. The master is very glad to be taught by +preacher, and lawyer, and novelist, that his slaves are contented and +never feel any longings for a higher life. These people live lives but +little higher than their cattle,--are _forced_ to live so. Their hopes +and aspirations are crushed out, their souls are twisted and deformed +just as toil twists and deforms their bodies. They are on the same +level as the city laborer. It makes me wild to think of it. The very +religion they hear is a soporific. They are taught to be content here +that they may be happy hereafter. Suppose there isn't any hereafter?" + +"Oh, don't say that, please!" Lily cried. + +"But I don't _know_ that there is," looking up at her pitilessly, "and +I do know that these people are being robbed of something more than +money, of all that makes life worth living. The promise of milk and +honey in Canaan is all very well, but I prefer to have mine here, then +I'm sure of it." + +"What can we do?" murmured the girl. + +"Do? Rouse these people for one thing; preach _discontent_, a noble +discontent." + +"It will only make them unhappy." + +"No, it won't, not if you show them the way out. If it does, it's +better to be unhappy striving for higher things, like a man, than to +be content in a wallow like swine." + +"But what _is_ the way out?" + +This was sufficient to set Radbourn upon his hobby-horse. He outlined +his plan of action, the abolition of all indirect taxes. The State +control of all privileges, the private ownership of which interfered +with the equal rights of all. He would utterly destroy speculative +holdings of the earth. He would have land everywhere brought to its +best use, by appropriating all ground rents to the use of the State, +etc., etc., to which the girl listened with eager interest but with +only partial comprehension. + +As they neared the little schoolhouse, a swarm of midgets in pink +dresses, pink sun-bonnets, and brown legs, came rushing to meet their +teacher, with that peculiar devotion the children in the country +develop for a refined teacher. + +Radbourn helped Lily out into the midst of the eager little scholars, +who swarmed upon her like bees on a lump of sugar, till even +Radbourn's gravity gave way, and he smiled into her lifted eyes--an +unusual smile, that strangely enough stopped the smile on her own +lips, filling her face with a wistful shadow, and her breath came hard +for a moment and she trembled. + +She loved that cold, stern face, oh, so much! and to have him smile +was a pleasure that made her heart leap till she suffered a smothering +pain. She turned to him to say:-- + +"I am very thankful, Mr. Radbourn, for another pleasant ride," adding +in a lower tone, "It was a very great pleasure; you always give me so +much. I feel stronger and more hopeful." + +"I'm glad you feel so. I was afraid I was prosy with my +land-doctrine." + +"Oh no! Indeed no! You have given me a new hope; I am exalted with the +thought; I shall try to think it all out and apply it." + +And so they parted, the children looking on and slyly whispering among +themselves. Radbourn looked back after awhile but the bare little hive +had absorbed its little group, and was standing bleak as a tombstone +and hot as a furnace on the naked plain in the blazing sun. + +"America's pitiful boast!" said the young radical looking back at it. +"Only a miserable hint of what it might be." + +All that forenoon as Lily faced her little group of barefoot children, +she was thinking of Radbourn, of his almost fierce sympathy for these +poor supine farmers, hopeless, and in some cases content in their +narrow lives. The children almost worshipped the beautiful girl who +came to them as a revelation of exquisite neatness and taste,--whose +very voice and intonation awed them. + +They noted (unconsciously, of course,) every detail. Snowy linen, +touches of soft color, graceful lines of bust and side--the slender +fingers that could almost speak, so beautifully flexile were they. +Lily herself sometimes, when she shook the calloused, knotted, +stiffened hands of the women, shuddered with sympathetic pain, to +think that the crowning wonder and beauty of God's world should be so +maimed and distorted from its true purpose. + +Even in the children before her she could see the inherited results +of fruitless labor--and more pitiful yet in the bent shoulders of the +older ones she could see the beginnings of deformity that would soon +be permanent. And as these things came to her, she clasped the poor +wondering things to her side with a convulsive wish to make life a +little brighter for them. + +"How is your mother, Sadie?" she asked of Sadie Burns, as she was +eating her luncheon on the drab-colored table near the open window. + +"Purty well," said Sadie in a hesitating way. + +Lily was looking out, and listening to the gophers whistling as they +raced to and fro. She could see Bob Burns lying at length on the grass +in the pasture over the fence, his heels waving in the air, his hands +holding a string which formed a snare. Bob was "death on gophers." It +was like fishing to young Izaak Walton. + +It was very still and hot and the cheep and trill of the gophers, and +the chatter of the kingbirds alone broke the silence. A cloud of +butterflies were fluttering about a pool near, a couple of big flies +buzzed and mumbled on the pane. + +"What ails your mother?" Lily asked, recovering herself and looking at +Sadie who was distinctly ill at ease. + +"Oh, I dunno," Sadie replied, putting one bare foot across the other. + +Lily insisted. + +"She 'n' pa's had an awful row--" + +"Sadie!" said the teacher warningly, "what language!" + +"I mean they quarrelled, an' she don't speak to him any more." + +"Why, how dreadful!" + +"An' pa he's awful cross,--and she won't eat when he does, an' I haf +to wait on table." + +"I believe I'll go down and see her this noon," said Lily to herself, +as she divined a little of the state of affairs in the Burns family. + +Sim was mending the pasture fence as Lily came down the road toward +him. He had delayed going to dinner to finish his task and was just +about ready to go when Lily spoke to him. + +"Good-morning, Mr. Burns. I am just going down to see Mrs. Burns. It +must be time to go to dinner--aren't you ready to go? I want to talk +with you." + +Ordinarily he would have been delighted with the idea of walking down +the road with the schoolma'am, but there was something in her look +which seemed to tell him that she knew all about his trouble, and +beside he was not in good humor. + +"Yes, in a minnit,--soon's I fix up this hole. Them shoats, I b'leeve, +would go through a keyhole, if they could once git their snoots in." + +He expanded on this idea as he nailed away, anxious to gain time. He +foresaw trouble for himself. He couldn't be rude to this sweet and +fragile girl. If a _man_ had dared to attack him on his domestic +shortcomings, he could have fought. The girl stood waiting for him, +her large, steady eyes full of thought, gazing down at him from the +shadow of her broad-brimmed hat. + +"The world is so full of misery anyway, that we ought to do the best +we can to make it less," she said at last in a musing tone, as if her +thoughts had unconsciously taken on speech. She had always appealed to +him strongly, and never more so than in this softly uttered +abstraction,--that it was an abstraction added to its power with him. + +He could find no words for reply, but picked up his hammer and +nail-box, and slouched along the road by her side, listening without a +word to her talk. + +"Christ was patient, and bore with his enemies, surely we ought to +bear with our--friends." She went on adapting her steps to his. He +took off his torn straw hat and wiped his face on his sleeve, being +much embarrassed and ashamed. Not knowing how to meet such argument, +he kept silent. + +"How _is_ Mrs. Burns?" said Lily at length, determined to make him +speak. The delicate meaning in the emphasis laid on _is_ did not +escape him. + +"Oh, she's all right,--I mean she's done her work jest the same as +ever. I don't see her much--" + +"I didn't know--I was afraid she was sick. Sadie said she was acting +strangely." + +"No, she's well enough--but,--" + +"But what is the trouble? Won't you let me help you, _won't_ you?" + +"Can't anybody help us. We've got 'o fight it out, I s'pose," he +replied, a gloomy note of resentment creeping into his voice. "She's +ben in a devil of a temper f'r a week." + +"Haven't you been in the same kind of a temper too?" demanded Lily, +firmly, but kindly. "I think most troubles of this kind come from bad +temper on both sides. Don't you? Have you done your share at being +kind and patient?" + +They had reached the gate now, and she laid her hand on his arm to +stop him. He looked down at the slender gloved hand on his arm feeling +as if a giant had grasped him, then he raised his eyes to her face, +flushing a purplish red as he remembered his grossness. It seemed +monstrous in the presence of this girl-advocate. Her face was like +silver, her eyes seemed pools of tears. + +"I don't s'pose I have," he said at last pushing by her. He couldn't +have stood her glance another moment. His whole air conveyed the +impression of destructive admission. Lily did not comprehend the +extent of her advantage or she would have pursued it further. As it +was she felt a little hurt as she entered the house. The table was +set, but Mrs. Burns was nowhere to be seen. Calling her softly, the +young girl passed through the shabby little living room to the +oven-like bedroom which opened off it, but no one was about. She stood +for a moment shuddering at the wretchedness of the room. + +Going back to the kitchen she found Sim about beginning on his dinner; +little Pet was with him, the rest of the children were at the +schoolhouse. + +"Where is she?" + +"I d' know. Out in the garden I expect. She don't eat with me now. I +never see her. She don't come near _me_. I aint seen her since +Saturday." + +Lily was shocked inexpressibly and began to see clearer the magnitude +of the task she had set herself to do. But it must be done; she felt +that a tragedy was not far off. It must be averted. + +"Mr. Burns, what have you done? What _have_ you done?" she asked in +terror and horror. + +"Don't lay it all to _me_! She hain't done nawthin' but complain f'r +ten years. I couldn't do nothin' to suit her. She was always naggin' +me." + +"I don't think Lucretia Burns would nag anybody. I don't say you're +_all_ to blame, but I'm afraid you haven't acknowledged you were any +to blame. I'm afraid you've not been patient with her. I'm going out +to bring her in. If she comes will you say you were _part_ to blame? +You needn't beg her pardon, just say you'll try to be better. Will you +do it? Think how much she has done for you! Will you?" + +He remained silent, and looked discouragingly rude. His sweaty, dirty +shirt was open at the neck, his arms were bare, his scraggly teeth +were yellow with tobacco, and his uncombed hair lay tumbled about on +his high, narrow head. His clumsy, unsteady hands played with the +dishes on the table. His pride was struggling with his sense of +justice; he knew he ought to consent, and yet it was so hard to +acknowledge himself to blame. The girl went on in a voice piercingly +sweet, trembling with pity and pleading. + +"What word can I carry to her from you? I'm going to go and see her. +If I could take a word from _you_, I know she would come back to the +table. Shall I tell her you feel to blame?" + +The answer was a long time coming; at last the man nodded an assent, +the sweat pouring from his purple face. She had set him thinking, her +victory was sure. + +Lily almost ran out into the garden and to the strawberry patch, where +she found Lucretia in her familiar, colorless, shapeless dress, +picking berries in the hot sun, the mosquitoes biting her neck and +hands. + +"Poor, pathetic, dumb sufferer," the girl thought as she ran up to +her. + +She dropped her dish as she heard Lily coming, and gazed up into the +tender, pitying face. Not a word was spoken, but something she saw +there made her eyes fill with tears, and her throat swell. It was pure +sympathy. She put her arms around the girl's neck and sobbed for the +first time since Friday night. Then they sat down on the grass under +the hedge and she told her story, interspersed with Lily's horrified +comments. + +When it was all told the girl still sat listening. She heard +Radbourn's calm, slow voice again. It helped her not to hate Burns; it +helped her to pity and understand him. + +"You must remember that such toil brutalizes a man; it makes him +callous, selfish, unfeeling necessarily. A fine nature must either +adapt itself to its hard surroundings or die. Men who toil terribly in +filthy garments day after day and year after year cannot easily keep +gentle; the frost and grime, the heat and cold will sooner or later +enter into their souls. The case is not all in favor of the suffering +wives, and against the brutal husbands. If the farmer's wife is dulled +and crazed by her routine, the farmer himself is degraded and +brutalized. They are both products of a social system, victims of a +land system, which produces tenement houses in the city, and pushes +the farmer into a semi-solitude--victims of land laws that are relics +of feudalism, made in the interest of the man who holds a special +privilege in the earth. Free America has set up on its soil the +systems of land-owning which produces the lord and the tenant; that +glorifies speculation in the earth, and gives the priceless riches of +the hills and forests into a few hands. But this will not continue--it +can't continue. The awakening understanding of America cries out +against it." + +As well as she could Lily explained all this to the woman who lay with +her face buried in the girl's lap. Lily's arms were about her thin +shoulders in an agony of pity. + +"It's hard, Lucretia, I know, more than you can bear, but you mustn't +forget what Sim endures, too. He goes out in the storms and in the +heat and dust. His boots are hard, and see how his hands are all +bruised and broken by his work! He was tired and hungry when he said +that--he didn't really mean it." + +The wife remained silent. + +"Mr. Radbourn says work as things go now _does_ degrade a man in spite +of himself. He says men get coarse and violent in spite of themselves +just as women do when everything goes wrong in the house,--when the +flies are thick, and the fire won't burn, and the irons stick to the +clothes. You see, you both suffer. Don't lay up this fit of temper +against Sim--will you?" + +The wife lifted her head and looked away. Her face was full of +hopeless weariness. + +"It aint this once. It aint that 't all. It's having no let up. Just +goin' the same thing right over 'n' over--no hope of anything better." + +"If you had a hope of another world--" + +"Don't talk that--that's rich man's doctrine. I don't want that kind +o' comfert. I want a decent chance here. I want 'o rest an' be happy +_now_--then I'm sure of it." + +Lily's big eyes were streaming with tears. What should she say to the +desperate woman? + +"What's the use? We might jest as well die--all of us." + +The woman's livid face appalled the beautiful girl. She was gaunt, +heavy-eyed, nerveless. Her faded dress settled down over her limbs +showing the swollen knees and thin calves, her hands with distorted +joints protruded painfully from her sleeves. And all about was the +ever-recurring wealth and cheer of nature that knows no fear or favor. +The bees and flies buzzing in the sun, the jay and kingbird in the +poplars, the smell of strawberries, the motion of lush grass, the +shimmer of corn blades tossed gayly as banners in a conquering army. + +Like a flash of keener light a sentence shot across the girl's mind. +"Nature knows no title-deed. The bounty of her mighty hands falls as +the sunlight falls, copious, impartial; her seas carry all ships, her +air is for all lips, her lands for all feet." + +"Poverty and suffering such as yours will not last." There was +something in the girl's voice that roused the woman. She turned her +dull eyes upon her face. + +Lily took her hand in both hers as if by a caress she could impart her +own faith. + +"Look up, dear. When Nature is so good and generous, man must come to +be better, surely. Come, go in the house again. Sim is there, he +expects you, he told me to tell you he was sorry." Lucretia's face +twitched a little at that, but her head was bent. "Come, you can't +live this way. There isn't any other place to go to." + +No, that was the bitterest truth. Where on this wide earth with its +forth-shooting fruits and grains, its fragrant lands and shining seas, +could this dwarfed, bent, broken, middle-aged woman go? Nobody wanted +her, nobody cared for her. But the wind kissed her drawn lips as +readily as those of the girl, and the blooms of clover nodded to her +as if to a queen. + +Lily had said all she could. Her heart ached with unspeakable pity and +a sort of terror. + +"Don't give up, Lucretia. This may be the worst hour of your life. +Live and bear with it all for Christ's sake--for your children's +sake. Sim told me to tell you he was to blame. If you will only see +that you are both to blame and yet neither to blame, then you can rise +above it. Try, dear!" + +The wife pulled herself together, rose silently, and started toward +the house. Her face was rigid but no longer sullen. Lily followed her +slowly, wonderingly. + +As she neared the kitchen door, she saw Sim still sitting at the +table; his face was unusually grave and soft. She saw him start and +shove back his chair,--saw Lucretia go to the stove and lift the +tea-pot, and heard her say, as she took her seat beside the baby,-- + +"Want some more tea?" + +She had become a wife and mother again, but in what spirit the puzzled +girl could not say. + + + + +EDITORIAL NOTES. + + +AN EPOCH-MARKING DRAMA. + +A movement destined, I think, to be in a degree epoch-marking in the +dramatic annals of the American stage, was inaugurated by Mr. James A. +Herne, on the fourth of May, in Boston, in the production of his +remarkable realistic drama, "Margaret Fleming," at Chickering Hall. +The play is a bold innovation, so much so that no theatre in the city +would produce it, although the various managers who examined it +declared it to be as strong as and no less powerful than any American +drama yet written. The character of the audience was as striking as +the play was brave and original. It was, indeed, a strange sight to +see such well-known and thoughtful men and women as Mr. William Dean +Howells, Rev. Minot J. Savage, Rabbi Solomon Schindler, Rev. Edward A. +Horton, Mrs. Louise Chandler Moulton, Hamlin Garland, and a score or +more of persons almost as well known in literary, religious, and +thoughtful circles, assembled on the first night of a dramatic +production. Nor was the character of the audience less remarkable +during the fortnight it was played. Men and women who are rarely seen +at theatres attended two, three, and even four performances. The +superb acting of Mr. and Mrs. Herne contributed much to the success of +the play; curiosity also doubtless attracted many, yet beyond and +above this was the deep appreciation of a thoughtful and intelligent +constituency, who saw in this drama the marvellous possibilities of +the stage for improvement as well as entertainment. They also saw real +life depicted. The absence of empty lines and stilted phrases so +common in conventional drama was refreshing and interesting to those +who believe that the drama has a mission other than merely to amuse. +"Margaret Fleming" is nothing if not artistic from the standpoint of +the realist. Its fidelity to life as we find it--to existing +conditions and types of society,--is wonderful. Its dramatic strength +is none the less marked. But aside from and above all this, for me it +has a far greater merit--utility. I have no sympathy with the +flippant, effeminate, and senile cry, "Art for art's sake"; that is +the echo of a decaying civilization, the voice of Greece and Rome in +their decline. It is the shibboleth of a people drunken with pleasure; +of a popular conscience anĉsthetized; the cry of sensualism and +selfishness popular with shallow minds and bloodless hearts; the +incarnation of that fatal effeminacy that springs from a union of +wealth and superficial intellectuality; the voice of a human automaton +without a soul. Victor Hugo has made no utterances more grandly true +than when he pleads for the beautiful being made the servant of +progress as voiced in the following sentiment: + + "Be of some service. Do not be fastidious when so much + depends upon being efficient and good. Art for art's sake + may be very fine, but art for _progress_ is finer still. + Ah! you must think? Then think of making man better. + Courage! Let us consecrate ourselves. Let us devote + ourselves to the good, to the true, to the just; it is well + for us to do so. Some pure lovers of art, moved by a + solicitude which is not without its dignity, discard the + formula, 'Art for Progress,' the Beautiful Useful, fearing + lest the useful should deform the beautiful. They tremble to + see the drudge's hand attached to the muse's arm. According + to them, the ideal may become perverted by too much contact + with _reality_. They are solicitous for the sublime, if it + descends as far as to humanity. They are in error. The + useful, far from circumscribing the sublime, enlarges it. + But critics protest: To undertake the cure of social evils; + to amend the codes; to impeach law in the court of right to + utter those hideous words, 'penitentiary,' 'convict-keeper,' + 'galley-slave,' 'girl of the town'; to inspect the police + registers; to contract the business of dispensaries; to + study the questions of wages and want of work; to taste the + black bread of the poor; to seek labor for the + working-woman; to confront fashionable idleness with ragged + sloth; to throw down the partition of ignorance; to open + schools; to teach little children how to read; to attack + shame, infamy, error, vice, crime, want of conscience; to + preach the multiplication of spelling-books; to improve the + food of intellects and of hearts; to give meat and drink; to + demand solutions for problems and shoes for naked + feet,--these things they declare are not the business of the + azure. Art is the azure. Yes, art is the azure; but the + azure from above, whence falls the ray which swells the + wheat, yellows the maize, rounds the apple, gilds the + orange, sweetens the grape. Again I say, a further service + is an added beauty. At all events, where is the diminution? + To ripen the beet-root, to water the potato, to increase the + yield of lucern, of clover, or of hay; to be a + fellow-workman with the ploughman, the vinedresser, and the + gardener,--this does not deprive the heavens of one star. + _Immensity does not despise utility_,--and what does it lose + by it? Does the vast vital fluid that we call magnetic or + electric flash through the cloud-masses with less splendor + because it consents to perform the office of pilot to a + bark, and to keep constant to the north the little needle + intrusted to it, the gigantic guide? Yet the critics insist + that to compose social poetry, human poetry, popular poetry; + to grumble against the evil and laud the good, to be the + spokesman of public wrath, to insult despots, to make knaves + despair, to emancipate man before he is of age, to push + souls forward and darkness backward, to know that there are + thieves and tyrants, to clean penal cells, to flush the + sewer of public uncleanness,--is not the function of art! + Why not? Homer was the geographer and historian of his time, + Moses the legislator of his, Juvenal the judge of his, Dante + the theologian of his, Shakespeare the moralist of his, + Voltaire the philosopher of his. No region, in speculation + or in fact, is shut to the mind. Here a horizon, there + wings; freedom for all to soar. To sing the ideal, to love + humanity, to believe in progress, to pray toward the + infinite. To be the servant of God in the task of progress, + and the apostle of God to the people,--such is the law which + regulates growth. All power is duty. Should this power enter + into repose in our age? Should duty shut its eyes? And is + the moment come for art to disarm? Less than ever. Thanks to + 1789, the human caravan has reached a high plateau; and, the + horizon being vaster, art has more to do. This is all. To + every widening of the horizon, an enlargement of conscience + corresponds. We have not reached the goal. Concord condensed + into felicity, civilization summed up in harmony,--that is + yet far off. The theatre is a crucible of civilization. It + is a place of human communion. All its phases need to be + studied. It is in the theatre that the public soul is + formed." + +The theatre may be made the most potent engine for progress and +reform. We are living in the midst of the most splendid age which has +dawned since humanity first fronted the morning, dimly conscious of +its innate power and the possibilities that lay imbedded in its being; +an era of life, growth, warfare. On the one hand are ancient thought +and prejudice, on the other the inspiration of greater liberty and a +nobler manhood. On the one hand selfishness, sensuality, vulgar +ostentation, avarice, luxury, and moral effeminacy crying, "Art for +art's sake," demanding amusements that will aid in dissipating any +moral strength or deep thought that still lingers in the mind, and +literature that shall enable one to kill time without the slightest +suspicion of intellectual exertion; physical, mental, and moral ennui, +with an assumed lofty contempt for utility. On the other hand we have +the gathering forces of the dawn, demanding "art for progress," +declaring that beauty must be the handmaid of duty; that art must wait +on justice, liberty, fraternity, nobility, morality, and intellectual +honesty,--in a word the forces in league with light must compel the +beautiful to make radiant the pathway of the future. In the union of +art and utility lies the supreme excellence of "Margaret Fleming," it +deals with one of the most pressing problems of our present +civilization; it is the most powerful plea for an equal standard of +morals for men and women that I have ever heard. This thought, it is +true, like the entire drama, is anything but conventional; it breathes +the spirit of the coming day. The subtile bondage and servility of +woman, a vestige of the barbarous past, still taints our civilization. +Far more is demanded by society of her than of man, and when +heretofore she has raised her voice against this inequity she has been +silenced by unworthy imputations. It is the shame of our age that +woman is not accorded a higher meed of justice. She has a right to +demand that the man who marries her be every whit as pure and moral as +herself, and until she makes this demand, and holds herself from the +contamination of moral lepers, no substantial progress for higher +morals and purer life will be made. Unless woman checks the increasing +degradation of manhood, man will sooner or later drag her to his +deplorable level. "Margaret Fleming" shows this truth and points to +the woman of to-day her stern and inexorable duty. + +Unless woman assumes an aggressive stand and ostracizes the libertine, +refusing his society, his attention, and most of all the proffer of +his leprous love, the moral outlook for society will soon be as gloomy +as was Rome's future when Epictetus was banished from her streets +because he mercilessly assailed the moral degradation of his day. + + +THE PRESENT REVOLUTION IN THEOLOGICAL THOUGHT. + +The rapid spread of heresy throughout the churches is creating genuine +dismay in many quarters. When such ripe scholars and representative +thinkers as Rev. Heber Newton, Dr. C. A. Briggs, and Rev. Dr. +Bridgman, representing three of the most powerful Protestant +communions, freely preach doctrines at variance with conventional +orthodox views, and express a grander hope and broader faith than that +cherished by conservative theologians, it is by no means strange that +the current of old-time thought should be stirred. If, however, these +scholarly minds stood alone in their convictions, there would be no +warrant for such widespread apprehension as is manifest. The serious +character of the present theological revolution, however, lies in the +fact that the pulpit and the people are honey-combed with the peculiar +heresy which rejects the verbal inspiration of the Bible and the dogma +of eternal damnation.[9] The general uneasiness occasioned by the +present epidemic of heresy, and the bitter strictures which it has +called forth, are perfectly natural, while it is equally true that the +present liberal attitude of so many of the foremost thinkers in the +various orthodox churches is the legitimate outcome of numerous +agencies which have been silently working for generations. + + [9] The _United Presbyterian_ in a recent issue says, + "It appears that Dr. Briggs does not stand alone in the + theological seminaries of the Presbyterian Church as a + teacher of dangerous views of inspiration. Four of the + professors of Lane Seminary have declared themselves as + equally radical." The _Interior_ says, "The paper of + Prof. Smith, of Lane, published in a pamphlet with that + of Prof. Evans, goes much beyond anything that has + appeared on the subject from Presbyterian authorship in + this country." + + At the meeting of the Alumni of the Union Theological + Seminary, on the eighteenth of May, the newly elected + professor of systematic theology, the brilliant Rev. + Henry J. Van Dyke, D. D. (since deceased) made the + following bold remark while defending Dr. Briggs: "_If + we cannot have orthodoxy and liberty, let orthodoxy go + and let us have liberty. Liberty has always produced + progress._" + + In his sermon on May the 24th, Rev. Thomas Dixon, one + of the Baptist clergymen of New York City, said: The + heresy trial is a record of barbarism, a relic of + savagery. It belongs to the crudeness, and ignorance, + and superstition of barbaric times. It smells of + roasting flesh. + + On the same Sunday the Rev. Dr. Charles H. Parkhurst, + of the Madison Square Presbyterian Church, of New York, + quoted the ringing words given above by Dr. Van Dyke, + with his cordial indorsement. He continued to thus + severely arraign the Orthodox brethren in the + Presbyterian Church: + + "This question of inerrancy is not new. Calvin, Luther, + and many others did not believe in the Bible's + inerrancy. If this is not according to the confession + of faith--I don't know whether it is or not--we had + better square the confession with the truth rather than + the truth with the confession. Let those who would + prove that there are no mistakes in the Bible produce a + cud-chewing coney, and then we will consider the + question of inerrancy. + + If the Church is to go on in the way that some are + trying to persuade us it ought to go, the sooner it + gives up the ghost the better, to save the medical + expense." + +At various era-marking periods in the annals of history, the +multitudes have been thus disturbed. They have felt that the old-time +beliefs of their fathers, the tradition of ages, the oracles, which +from early infancy they have learned to revere and hold most sacred, +were being demolished. This naturally aroused bitter antagonism in +their souls. They believed they were carrying out God's wishes when +like Saul of Tarsus, they aided in slaying heretics. Thus when the +great Nazarene taught a higher, sweeter, and nobler code of ethics +than the ancient Jewish law-givers and teachers, he was persecuted and +slain because the Jews believed he sought to overthrow their revered +and sacred truths. In a like manner Paul and the early advocates of +Christianity, when they proclaimed their religion in Gentile lands +frequently aroused the bitterest antagonism. At a later date Galileo's +demonstrations and Sir Isaac Newton's discovery occasioned precisely +the game dismay, and called forth bitter and pronounced opposition, +because it was felt that in one case the authority of the Bible was +impeached, and in the other that God was to be taken out of the +universe. When Luther and the Reformation broke the dead calm of +centuries of growing corruption and externalization in the religious +life of Europe, Christendom felt a thrill of dismay. New disturbing +elements had entered the fields. The general uneasiness on the part of +tens of thousands of people who believed they were sincere worshippers +of God, was succeeded by an intense desire to crush out this dangerous +heresy with fire and torture, if necessary. The terrible days, months, +and years that followed the dawn of the Reformation, bear melancholy +testimony to the innate ferocity of man's nature, and the relentless +character of religious warfare. Nevertheless, in spite of persecution, +the new truth spread. A broader horizon opened to man's view. That +conflict marked the birth of one of the grandest epochs in humanity's +onward march. Thus has it ever been. To-day stones the prophet, +to-morrow tearfully rears a monument and treasures his lofty +utterances. + +Yet with every transition period comes the old-time struggle, the +apprehension and anguish of spirit, _the night of doubt_. It is, +therefore, not surprising that the oppression of fear weighs on the +minds of all those who believe that God has spoken His last word; that +in the twilight of the past alone lies the hope of humanity. + +On the other hand, the theological revolt now manifest is a legitimate +result of multitudinous agencies, which have for generations been +silently and subtly influencing the mind of man, among which may be +mentioned the spread of popular education, and the growth of the +newspaper. As long as people knew not how to read or were unable to +procure any medium of information which brought them in rapport with +the vast growing world of thought and action, they naturally turned to +their priest or clergyman for intellectual as well as religious food, +and from him as a rule received instruction with the docility and +confidence exhibited by little children seeking for truth. With the +appearance of schoolhouses in every hamlet, and the establishment of +cheap and popular newspapers, however, came a change as marked as it +was wonderful. People began to reason and think for themselves. They +demanded credentials for the various dogmas and ideas discussed in +every department of thought. It is true, that religion was approached +much more reluctantly and reverently than other subjects, but the +growth of knowledge, the opportunity to hear all sides of problems +discussed, and the broader conception of life which a world knowledge +gave, exerted a positive and ever-increasing influence on their minds +in this department of thought. The great inventions of the past +hundred years, which have bound together as one family almost the +whole world, have also brought to light the great religions of other +races and ages. Gradually it dawned on the public mind that almost +every people had a clearly defined system of theology; containing much +that was beautiful, elevating, and inspiring, more or less hidden +among superstitious traditions natural to childhood and credulous +ages. This led many to ask whether Jesus might not have had a larger +thought in his mind than mankind had dreamed when he said, "Other +sheep have I which are not of this fold"; and whether there might not +be a wider significance than had been given to the idea, that God had +in sundry times and in divers ways spoken to His children on earth. +Another lever of progressive thought was the marvellous strides taken +in physical science, which followed the Reformation. Discoveries in +astronomy, in geology and biology have completely overthrown many +time-honored and revered traditions and fables regarded for ages as +divine truth. The critical spirit of the age, the inquiring condition +of human thought, which instead of being discouraging is distinctly a +mark of human growth, stands in bold antithesis to the dark ages, when +speculation and progress were outlawed in many fields of research, and +spirituality suffered an eclipse behind the pomp, form, and show of +theology, when to a great degree mental stagnation prevailed. Yet this +critical spirit has been one of the most potent factors in +liberalizing thought. Another cause for the radical change of views +among Bible scholars is found in the rich results of archĉological +research during the past generation. This with a critical, or +scientific study of the Bible, the early church, and profane history, +contemporaneous with the rise of Christianity, has led thousands of +the most profound and sincere religious thinkers into broader fields, +giving to them a loftier view of life, eternity and God than was +possible under the old conceptions. What diligent research on the part +of scholarship has effected among critical students, the recent +revision of the Bible has accomplished among the people. The old-time +reverence for the letter of the law, or what is commonly known as +verbal inspiration, is disappearing as mist before the sunshine, +owing, in this latter case, to the people becoming acquainted for the +first time with the fact that there are passages in the Bible +confessed by the most orthodox scholars to be spurious. They found in +the revised scriptures passages in some instances containing many +consecutive verses enclosed in brackets, as, for example, the story of +the woman taken in sin in the Gospel of John from vii. 53 to viii. 11 +inclusive. Consulting the foot-note they found that these passages +were spurious or added by a later hand. I well remember the +explanation made by a scholarly and devout professor in theology, +while at the Kentucky University, regarding the passage referred to +above. "The incident doubtless occurred much as it appears," asserted +the professor, "but while omitted from the earlier copies, was handed +down by tradition, and at a later day incorporated into the text." +Such explanations in the very nature of things, however, were by no +means calculated to satisfy the doubts which had been raised in the +minds of those who had from infancy been taught to believe in the +verbal inspiration of the Bible. Naturally the question arose in the +minds of the thinking masses, if one _passage_ is proved to be +spurious, and the world possesses no original manuscripts, what +guarantee that anything approaching the original teachings of Jesus is +preserved. If the stream of inspiration is proved to be muddy in some +places, is it not possible that what at first was pure as the melting +snow on the mountain tops, after passing through the hands of various +human authors and copyists, may have become as turbid with the cast of +human thought as the mountain stream which, pure at the source, is +heavy with mud at the base? It is impossible to estimate how much +influence this discovery on the part of the people has exerted in +behalf of a broader and more liberal interpretation of the Bible. +Another factor which is usually overlooked, but which has had a marked +effect on the thought which to-day is in open rebellion against the +old standards, is found in the influence exerted by a galaxy of great +and godly lives, which came on the stage of existence early in the +present century, and whose thoughts have unconsciously broadened the +minds, refined the sentiment, and ennobled the lives of every one who +has read their works. In this country Longfellow, Bryant, Whittier, +Lowell, Hawthorne, Emerson, Channing, Parker, Clarke, and other +illuminated souls, gave all who came under the magic of their words a +broader view of life, a truer conception of the universe, and a +loftier inspiration than aught that had touched them before. It is +doubtful if the great thinkers dreamed that on the current of their +thoughts tens of thousands of earnest lives were to be carried into a +larger hope, a more intelligent, humane appreciation of the mysteries +of creation, and a grander idea of God. Thus we see in the present +religious revolution nothing strange in the bitter opposition of +conservative thought, nothing remarkable in the persistent and earnest +attitude of those who stand for the higher criticism. It is the old +feud; the past struggling with the future; departing night battling +with the dawn. Of the issue none who have faith in the ultimate +triumph of truth, wisdom, and progress can doubt. + + +THE CONFLICT BETWEEN ANCIENT AND MODERN THOUGHT IN THE PRESBYTERIAN +CHURCH. + +The vote of the New York Presbytery on the twelfth of May, to present +the case of Prof. Charles A. Briggs[10] before the synod will probably +prove one of the most momentous moves made in recent years in the +theological world. It is a positive challenge thrown before +Presbyterians who hold views popularly termed "Higher Criticism." It +is a declaration of war to the knife on the part of those who oppose +the revision of the Westminster Confession, and who cherish ancient +thought. Nor is the opposition led by Dr. Briggs disposed to yield +what is believed to be the only truth consistent with an intelligent +conception of a just, loving, and wise God. The immediate cause of +this determined conflict is found in Professor Briggs' recent address +on the authority of the Holy Scriptures, delivered at his inaugural as +Professor of Biblical Theology in the Union Theological Seminary of +New York. In this notable address he maintained that there were three +great fountains of divine authority, the Bible, the Church, and +Reason, any one of which was capable of leading persons to God. He +instanced the following cases: Cardinal Newman was led to God through +the Church of Rome; Spurgeon, through the Bible, and the philosopher +Martineau through Reason. He further asserted "that no one could get +at the Bible unless he forced his way through human obstacles, which +he tabulated as follows: (1) Superstitious reverence for the book +itself. (2) The belief in the verbal inspiration of the Bible. (3) The +authenticity of the Scriptures. Traditions from the dead church assign +authors to all the books of the Bible, but higher criticism pronounces +these traditions fallacies and follies. (4) The doctrine of the +inerrancy of the Bible. Historical criticism again pronounces that +there are errors in the Bible, but they are in circumstantials, not in +essentials. (5) The miracles are in violation of the laws of nature, +and keep men away from the Bible. (6) The failure of minute prophecy." +Dr. Briggs further expressed belief in the ultimate salvation of +mankind, declaring that redemption was not limited to this world, but +continued through the vast period of time preceding the resurrection. + + [10] Dr. Philip Schaff, than whom there is no abler or + more renowned biblical scholar in the New World, has in + a recent paper in the New York _Herald_ defended Dr. + Briggs. That journal aptly says: In his paper, he + defines in the most trenchant language, the apparent + inconsistency of the New York Presbytery in practically + avowing, eighteen months ago, the same principle for + which Dr. Briggs, it declares, must now stand trial. He + declares that the American Presbyterian Church has + herself materially changed the Westminster Confession + of a hundred years ago, and that this spirit of + revision pervades the whole Christian world. Finally, + he asserts that, as the theory of verbal inspiration of + the Scriptures is not in the Westminster Confession of + Faith, it cannot be demanded from any Presbyterian + minister or professor, and warns churchmen that any + attempt by the General Assembly to enforce an extra + Scriptural and extra Confessional theory upon the + Church will create a split worse than that of 1837. The + _Herald_ observes that:-- + + "Dr. Schaff's international fame as a church historian + and theologian will compel the greatest respect from + not alone the ministers of the Presbyterian church, but + also from the clergy of all Christian churches. + + As early as 1845, he was tried for heresy in this + country, and acquitted. In 1854, he represented the + American German churches at the Ecclesiastical Diet at + Frankfort, and received the degree of D. D. from the + University at Berlin. In 1870, he accepted the chair of + sacred literature in the Union Theological Seminary of + this city. He is a member of the Leipsic Historical, + the Netherland, and other historical and literary + societies in this country and in Europe, and is one of + the founders and honorary secretary of the American + Branch of the Evangelical Alliance. In 1871, he was one + of the Alliance delegates to the Emperor of Russia to + plead for the religious liberty of his subjects in the + Baltic Provinces. + + He was president of the American Bible Revision + Committee, which was appointed in 1871 at the request + of the English committee, and in 1875 was sent to + England to arrange for the co-operation and publication + of the Anglo-American edition. The same year he + attended officially the conferences of the Old + Catholics, Greeks and Protestants at Bonn, to promote + Christian unity. + + Dr. Schaff was first president of the American Society + of Church History, and is the author of a great number + of historical and exegetical works, both in English and + German, the latter having been translated into + English." + +On page 55 of his revised address, he observes: + + The Biblical redemption is a redemption of our race and of + universal nature. As the ancient Jews limited redemption to + Israel and overlooked the nations, so the Church limited + redemption to those who were baptized, and excluded the + heathen and unbaptized. The Presbyterians have too often + limited redemption by their doctrine of election; the Bible + knows no such limitation. The Bible teaches election, but an + election of love. Loving only the elect, is earthly, human + teaching. Electing men to salvation by the touch of Divine + love--that is heavenly doctrine. The salvation of the world + can only mean the world as a whole, compared with which the + unredeemed will be so few and insignificant and evidently + beyond the reach of redemption by their own act of rejecting + it and hardening themselves against it, and by descending + into such depths of demoniacal depravity that they will + vanish from sight. + +In the appendix to his address, published about the middle of May, in +speaking of _inerrancy_, Dr. Briggs further observes:-- + + It is agreed that there are a large number of errors in the + best MSS. of the Bible; it is the theory of modern + dogmaticians, that they were not in the original MSS. We can + never have them, and it is idle to speculate as to their + contents. When the Lower or Textual Criticism has done its + best, and secured the best possible text, dogmaticians + discredit the best text when they speculate as to what was + in the original text. If the reactionary dogmaticians may + speculate to remove errors from the text, the rationalistic + critics may also speculate with regard to the original text + in a way that would make havoc with scholastic theology. + Even Mohammed was willing to accept the original text of the + Law and the Gospel, which he claimed had been falsified by + Jews and Christians. + + I said, "It is not a pleasant task to point out errors in + the Sacred Scriptures." In "Biblical Study," and "Whither?" + I limited myself to two errors of citation. I have not taken + a brief to prove the errancy of Scripture. _Conservative men + should hesitate before they force the critics in + self-defence to make a catalogue of errors in the Bible._ + The errors are in the only texts we have, and every one is + forced to recognize them. + + It is well known that the great reformers, Calvin and + Luther, recognized errors in the Scriptures, that Baxter and + Rutherford of the second Reformation were not disturbed by + them, and that the choicest spirits of modern times--such as + Van Oosterzee, Tholuck, Neander, Stier, Lange, and + Dorner--have not hesitated to point out numerous errors in + Holy Scripture. This view is maintained by Sanday, Driver, + Cheyne, Davidson, Bruce, Gore, Marcus Dods, Blaikie, and + numerous others in Great Britain; by Fisher, Thayer, Smythe, + Evans, H. B. Smith, W. R. Harper, and hosts of others in + this country." + +One can easily see how dangerously heretical such bold declarations +would sound to patriarchs of conservatism like Rev. Dr. Shedd, the +well-known author of Dogmatic Theology, which embraces thirteen +hundred pages, but in the index of which one looks in vain for +"forgiveness of sin" or "pardon of sin." A work which devotes +eighty-six pages to hell and only four to heaven. Dr. Briggs, however, +claims that theologians like Dr. Shedd, whose teachings have been +chiefly on the damnation of men not competent to judge him, and gauged +by our present civilization he is doubtless correct, but by the +standard of the theologians who framed the Westminster Confession, I +have less confidence in his accuracy. It must be remembered, however, +that Professor Briggs has exhaustively studied the lives and +teachings of the framers of the Confession, and he may have been able +at times to catch them at their best, when in moments of spiritual +exaltation they have uttered grand prophetic and divinely loving +utterances which were foreign to their usual habits of thought or the +religious conviction of the age in which they lived. And in that event +he may be able to maintain his position when his case is called before +the synod, even against the popular impression as to the real meaning +of the Confession. Failing in this, the only alternative will be +recantation or withdrawal from the Presbyterian Communion. From the +stand already taken it is impossible to imagine the professor +stultifying himself and teaching what he does not believe; while his +withdrawal will unquestionably mean the greatest schism that +Presbyterianism has yet suffered. I think it highly probable that the +majority of his brother ministers to-day will condemn[11] the bold, +brave man whom his communion in the near future will revere as a man +who, prophet-like, saw beyond the sect to which he belonged; whose +noble, loving, and holy nature drew him into intimate relationship +with the Divine life, which is the essence of Love. + + [11] Since writing the above the Assembly at Detroit has + voted against the confirmation of Dr. Briggs by 440 + against 59; thus, from a numerical point of view, Dr. + Briggs is in the minority. This is by no means + surprising, and I regard it greatly to the credit of + the Assembly that, while they hold to the severe + doctrines popularly known as Calvinism, they repudiate + all the great liberal scholars who refuse to believe + and teach conceptions of God which were unquestioningly + accepted in a former age, but which the enlightenment + of the present century shrinks from with unutterable + horror. Unless Dr. Briggs proves a dishonest man and + recants he must leave Union Theological Seminary, if + that institution remains in the Presbyterian + fellowship. + + + +[Transcriber's Note: A macron diacritical mark, a straight line above +a letter, is found on several words in the original text. These letters +are indicated here by the coding [=x] for a macron above any letter x. +For example, the word "aionios" with a macron above the first letter +"o" will appear as "ai[=o]nios" in the text.] + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Arena, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ARENA *** + +***** This file should be named 19603-8.txt or 19603-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/9/6/0/19603/ + +Produced by Barbara Tozier, Bill Tozier, Richard J. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Arena + Volume 4, No. 20, July, 1891 + +Author: Various + +Editor: B.O. Flower + +Release Date: October 22, 2006 [EBook #19603] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ARENA *** + + + + +Produced by Barbara Tozier, Bill Tozier, Richard J. Shiffer +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<hr class="full" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="page129" id="page129">129</a></span></p> + +<h1>THE ARENA.</h1> + +<h3>No. XX.</h3> + +<hr class="short" /> + +<h3>JULY, 1891.</h3> + +<hr /> + +<h2 id="contents">CONTENTS.</h2> + +<table class="contents_table" id="table_of_contents" summary="Table of Contents for The Arena, Volume 4"> +<tr> +<td><a href="#article_1">Oliver Wendell Holmes</a></td> <td class="article_author">George Stewart, D.C.L., LL.D.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><a href="#article_2">Plutocracy and Snobbery in New York</a></td> <td class="article_author">Edgar Fawcett</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><a href="#article_3">Should the Nation Own the Railways?</a></td> <td class="article_author">C. Wood Davis</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><a href="#article_4">The Unknown (Part II)</a></td> <td class="article_author">Camille Flammarion</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><a href="#article_5">The Swiss and American Constitutions</a></td> <td class="article_author">W. D. McCrackan</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><a href="#article_6">The Tyranny of All the People</a></td> <td class="article_author">Rev. Francis Bellamy</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><a href="#article_7">Revolutionary Measures and Neglected Crimes, (Part 2d)</a></td> <td class="article_author">Prof. Jos. Rodes Buchanan</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><a href="#article_8">Ĉonian Punishment</a></td> <td class="article_author">Rev. W. E. Manley, D.D.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><a href="#article_9">The Negro Question</a></td> <td class="article_author">Prof. W. S. Scarborough</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><a href="#article_10">A Prairie Heroine</a></td> <td class="article_author">Hamlin Garland</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><a href="#article_11">An Epoch-Marking Drama</a></td> <td class="article_author">Editorial</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><a href="#article_12">The Present Revolution in Theological Thought</a></td> <td class="article_author">Editorial</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><a href="#article_13">The Conflict Between Ancient and Modern Thought in the Presbyterian Church</a></td> <td class="article_author">Editorial</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<br /> +<hr class="full" /> +<br /> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/fig001.jpg" width="300" height="500" alt="(signed) Very truly Yours, Oliver Wendell Holmes." title="" /> +</div> + +<h2 class="article_title"><a name="article_1" id="article_1"></a>OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES.</h2> +<hr class="short" /> +<p class="author_byline">BY GEORGE STEWART, D. C. L., LL. D.</p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p>To the year 1809, the world is very much indebted for a band of +notable recruits to the ranks of literature and science, statesmanship +and military renown. One need mention only a few names to establish +that fact, and grand names they are, for the list includes Darwin, +Gladstone, Erastus Wilson, John Hill Burton, Manteuffel, Count Beust, +Lord Houghton, Alfred Tennyson, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. Each of +these has played an important part in the world’s history, and +impressed the age with a genius that marks an epoch in the great +department of human activity and progress. The year was pretty well +advanced, and the month of August had reached its 29th day, when the +wife of Dr. Abiel Holmes presented the author of “The American Annals” +with a son who was destined to take his place in the front line of +poets, thinkers, and essayists. The babe was born at Cambridge, +Massachusetts, in the centre of a Puritan civilization, which could +scarcely have been in touch and harmony with the emphasized +Unitarianism emanating from Harvard. But Abiel Holmes was a genial, +generous-hearted man, and despite the severity of his religious +belief, contrived to live on terms of a most agreeable character with +his neighbors. A Yale man himself, and the firm friend of his old +professor, the president of that institution, who had given him his +daughter Mary to wed (she died five years after her marriage), we may +readily believe that for a time, Harvard University, then strongly +under the sway of the Unitarians, had little fascination<span class='pagenum'><a name="page130" id="page130">130</a></span> for him. But +his kindly nature conquered the repugnance he may have felt, and he +soon got on well with all classes of the little community which +surrounded him. By his first wife he had no children. But five, three +daughters and two sons, blessed his union with Sarah Wendell, the +accomplished daughter of the Hon. John Wendell, of Boston. We may pass +briefly over the early years of Oliver Wendell Holmes. He was educated +at the Phillips Academy at Exeter, and subsequently entered Harvard +University, where he was graduated, with high honors, in 1829, and +belonged to that class of young fellows who, in after life, greatly +distinguished themselves. Some of his noblest poems were written in +memory of that class, such as “Bill and Joe,” “A Song of Twenty-nine,” +“The Old Man Dreams,” “Our Sweet Singer,” and “Our Banker,” all of +them breathing love and respect for the boys with whom the poet +studied and matriculated. Young Holmes was destined for the law, but +Chitty and Blackstone apparently had little charm for him, for after a +year’s trial, he abandoned the field and took up medicine. His mind +could not have been much impressed with statutes, for all the time +that he was supposed to be conning over abstruse points in +jurisprudence, he was sending to the printers some of the cleverest +and most waggish contributions which have fallen from his pen. The +<i>Collegian</i>,—the university journal of those days,—published most of +these, and though no name was attached to the screeds, it was fairly +well known that Holmes was the author. The companion writers in the +<i>Collegian</i> were Simmons, who wrote over the signature of “Lockfast”; +John O. Sargent, poet and essayist, whose <i>nom de plume</i> was “Charles +Sherry”; Robert Habersham, the “Mr. Airy” of the group; and that +clever young trifler, Theodore Snow, who delighted the readers of the +periodical with the works of “Geoffrey La Touche.” Of these, of +course, Holmes was the life and soul, and though sixty years have +passed away since he enriched the columns of the <i>Collegian</i> with the +fruits of his muse, more than half of the pieces survive, and are +deemed good enough to hold a place beside his maturer productions. +“Evening of a Sailor,” “The Meeting of the Dryads,” and “The Spectre +Pig,”—the latter in the vein of Tom Hood at his best,—will be +remembered as among those in the collection which may be read to-day +with the zest, appreciation,<span class='pagenum'><a name="page131" id="page131">131</a></span> and delight which they inspired more +than half a century ago. Holmes’ connection with the <i>Collegian</i> had a +most inspiriting effect on his fellow contributors, who found their +wits sharpened by contact with a mind that was forever buoyant and +overflowing with humor and good nature. In friendly rivalry, those +kindred intellects vied with one another, and no more brilliant +college paper was ever published than the <i>Collegian</i>, and this is +more remarkable still, when we come to consider the fact, that at that +time, literature in America was practically in its infancy. Nine years +before, Sydney Smith had asked his famous question, “Who reads an +American book? who goes to an American play?” And to that query there +was really no answer. Six numbers of the <i>Collegian</i> were issued, and +they must have proved a revelation to the men and women of that day, +whose reading, hitherto, had almost been confined to the imported +article from beyond the seas, for Washington Irving wrote with the pen +of an English gentleman, Bryant and Dana had not yet made their mark +in distinctively American authorship, and Cooper’s “Prairie” was just +becoming to be understood by the critics and people.</p> + +<p>Shaking the dust of the law office from his shoes, Oliver Wendell +Holmes, abandoning literature for a time, plunged boldly into the +study of a profession for which he had always evinced a strong +predilection. The art and practice of medical science had ever a +fascination for him, and he made rapid progress at the university. +Once or twice he yielded to impulse, and wrote a few bright things, +anonymously, for the <i>Harbinger</i>,—the paper which Epes Sargent and +Park Benjamin published for the benefit of a charitable institution, +and dedicated as a May gift to the ladies who had aided the New +England Institution for the Education of the Blind. In 1833, Holmes +sailed for Paris, where he studied medicine and surgery, and walked +the hospitals. Three years were spent abroad, and then the young +student returned to Cambridge to take his medical degree at Harvard, +and to deliver his metrical Essay on Poetry, before the Phi-Beta-Kappa +Society. In this year too, 1836, he published his first acknowledged +book of poems,—a duodecimo volume of less than two hundred pages. In +this collection his Essay on Poetry appeared. It describes the art in +four stages, <i>viz.</i>, the Pastoral or Bucolic, the Martial, the Epic, +and the Dramatic. In<span class='pagenum'><a name="page132" id="page132">132</a></span> illustration of his views, he furnished +exemplars from his own prolific muse, and his striking poem of “Old +Ironsides” was printed for the first time, and sprang at a bound into +national esteem. And in this first book, there was included that +little poem, “The Last Leaf,” better work than which Holmes has never +done. It is in a vein which he has developed much since then. Grace, +humor, pathos, and happiness of phrase and idea, are all to be found +in its delicious stanzas:—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<p>I saw him once before,</p> +<p>As he passed by the door,</p> +<p class="i8">And again</p> +<p>The pavement stones resound,</p> +<p>As he totters o’er the ground</p> +<p class="i8">With his cane.</p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p>They say that in his prime,</p> +<p>Ere the pruning-knife of Time</p> +<p class="i8">Cut him down,</p> +<p>Not a better man was found</p> +<p>By the Crier on his round</p> +<p class="i8">Through the town.</p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p>But now he walks the streets,</p> +<p>And he looks at all he meets,</p> +<p class="i8">Sad and wan;</p> +<p>And he shakes his feeble head,</p> +<p>That it seems as if he said,</p> +<p class="i8">“They are gone!”</p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p>The mossy marbles rest</p> +<p>On the lips that he has prest</p> +<p class="i8">In their bloom,</p> +<p>And the names he loved to hear</p> +<p>Have been carved for many a year</p> +<p class="i8">On the tomb.</p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p>My grandmamma has said—</p> +<p>Poor old lady, she is dead</p> +<p class="i8">Long ago—</p> +<p>That he had a Roman nose,</p> +<p>And his cheek was like a rose</p> +<p class="i8">In the snow.</p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p>But now his nose is thin,</p> +<p>And it rests upon his chin</p> +<p class="i8">Like a staff;</p> +<p>And a crook is in his back,</p> +<p>And a melancholy crack</p> +<p class="i8">In his laugh.</p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p>I know it is a sin</p> +<p>For me to sit and grin</p> +<p class="i8">At him here;<span class='pagenum'><a name="page133" id="page133">133</a></span></p> +<p>But the old three-cornered hat,</p> +<p>And the breeches, and all that,</p> +<p class="i8">Are so queer!</p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p>And if I should live to be</p> +<p>The last leaf upon the tree</p> +<p class="i8">In the spring,</p> +<p>Let them smile as I do now,</p> +<p>At the old forsaken bough</p> +<p class="i8">Where I cling.</p> +</div></div> + +<p>In 1838, Doctor Holmes accepted his first professorial position, and +became professor of anatomy and physiology at Dartmouth. Two years +later, he married, and took up the practice of medicine in Boston. In +1847, he returned to his old love, accepting the Parkman professorship +of anatomy and physiology, in the Medical School at Harvard. While +engaged in teaching, he prepared for publication several important +books and reports relating to his profession, and his papers in the +various medical journals attracted great attention by their freshness, +clearness, and originality. But it is not as a medical man that Doctor +Holmes may be discussed in this paper. We have to deal altogether with +his literary career,—a career, which for its brilliancy has not been +surpassed on this side of the Atlantic.</p> + +<p>As a poet he differs much from his contemporaries, but the standard he +has reached is as high as that which has been attained by Lowell and +Longfellow. In lofty verse he is strong and unconventional, writing +always with a firm grasp on his subject, and emphasizing his perfect +knowledge of melody and metre. As a writer of occasional verse he has +not had an equal in our time, and his pen for threescore years has +been put to frequent use in celebration of all sorts of events, +whether military, literary, or scientific. Bayard Taylor said, “He +lifted the ‘occasional’ into the ‘classic’,” and the phrase happily +expresses the truth. The vivacious character of his nature readily +lends itself to work of this sort, and though the printed page gives +the reader the sparkling epigram and the graceful lines, clear-cut +always and full of soul, the pleasure is not quite the same as seeing +and hearing him recite his own poems, in the company of congenial +friends. His songs are full of sunshine and heart, and his literary +manner wins by its simplicity and tenderness. Years ago, Miss Mitford +said that she knew no one so thoroughly original. For him she could +find no living prototype.<span class='pagenum'><a name="page134" id="page134">134</a></span> And so she went back to the time of John +Dryden to find a man to whom she might compare him. And Lowell in his +“Fable for Critics,” describes Holmes as</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<p>“A Leyden-jar full-charged, from which flit</p> +<p>The electrical tingles, of hit after hit.”</p> +</div></div> + +<p>His lyrical pieces are among the best of his compositions, and his +ballads, too few in number, betray that love which he has always felt +for the melodious minstrelsy of the ancient bards. Whittier thought +that the “Chambered Nautilus” was “booked for immortality.” In the +same list may be put the “One-Hoss Shay,” “Contentment,” +“Destination,” “How the Old Horse Won the Bet,” “The Broomstick +Train,” and that lovely family portrait, “Dorothy Q—,” a poem with +a history. Dorothy Quincy’s picture, cold and hard, painted by an +unknown artist, hangs on the wall of the poet’s home in Beacon Street. +A hole in the canvas marks the spot where one of King George’s +soldiers thrust his bayonet. The lady was Dr. Holmes’ grandmother’s +mother, and she is represented as being about thirteen years of age, +with</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<p>Girlish bust, but womanly air;</p> +<p>Smooth, square forehead, with uprolled hair;</p> +<p>Lips that lover has never kissed;</p> +<p>Taper fingers and slender wrist;</p> +<p>Hanging sleeves of stiff brocade;</p> +<p>So they painted the little maid.</p> +</div></div> + +<p>And the poet goes on:—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<p>What if a hundred years ago</p> +<p>Those close-shut lips had answered no,</p> +<p>When forth the tremulous question came</p> +<p>That cost the maiden her Norman name,</p> +<p>And under the folds that look so still,</p> +<p>The bodice swelled with the bosom’s thrill!</p> +<p>Should I be I, or would it be</p> +<p>One tenth another, to nine tenths me?</p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p>Soft is the breath of a maiden’s yes,</p> +<p>Not the light gossamer stirs with less;</p> +<p>But never a cable that holds so fast</p> +<p>Through all the battles of wave and blast,</p> +<p>And never an echo of speech or song</p> +<p>That lives in the babbling air so long!</p> +<p>There were tones in the voice that whispered then,</p> +<p>You may hear to-day in a hundred men.<span class='pagenum'><a name="page135" id="page135">135</a></span></p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p>O lady and lover, how faint and far</p> +<p>Your images hover, and here we are,</p> +<p>Solid and stirring in flesh and bone,</p> +<p>Edward’s and Dorothy’s—all their own,</p> +<p>A goodly record for time to show</p> +<p>Of a syllable spoken so long ago!</p> +<p>Shall I bless you, Dorothy, or forgive</p> +<p>For the tender whisper that bade me live?</p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p>It shall be a blessing, my little maid!</p> +<p>I will heal the stab of the red-coat’s blade,</p> +<p>And freshen the gold of the tarnished frame,</p> +<p>And gild with a rhyme your household name;</p> +<p>So you shall smile on us brave and bright,</p> +<p>As first you greeted the morning’s light,</p> +<p>And live untroubled by woes and fears</p> +<p>Through a second youth of a hundred years.</p> +</div></div> + +<p>Dr. Holmes’ coloring is invariably artistic. Nothing in his verse +offends the eye or grates unpleasantly on the ear. He is a true +musician, and his story, joke, or passing fancy is always joined to a +measure which never halts. “The Voiceless,” perhaps, as well as “Under +the Violets,” ought to be mentioned among the more tender verses which +we have from his pen, in his higher mood.</p> + +<p>His novels are object lessons, each one having been written with a +well-defined purpose in view. But unlike most novels with a purpose, +the three which he has written are nowise dull. The first of the set +is “The Professor’s Story; or, Elsie Venner,” the second is “The +Guardian Angel,” written when the author was in his prime, and the +third is “A Mortal Antipathy,” written only a few years ago. In no +sense are these works commonplace. Their art is very superb, and while +they amuse, they afford the reader much opportunity for reflection. +Elsie Venner is a romance of destiny, and a strange physiological +condition furnishes the key-note and marrow of the tale. It is Holmes’ +snake story, the taint of the serpent appearing in the daughter, whose +mother was bitten by a rattle-snake before her babe was born. The +traits inherited by this unfortunate offspring from the reptile, find +rapid development. She becomes a creature of impulse, and her life +spent in a New England village, at a ladies’ academy, with its social +and religious surroundings, is described and worked out with rare +analytical skill, and by a hand accustomed to deal with curious +scientific phenomena. The character drawing is admirable, the episodes +are striking and original, and the scenery, carefully elaborated, is +managed<span class='pagenum'><a name="page136" id="page136">136</a></span> with fine judgment. Despite the idea, which to some may at +first blush appear revolting and startling, there is nothing +sensational in the book. The reader observes only the growth and +movement of the poison in the girl’s system, its effect on her way of +life, and its remarkable power over her mind. Horror or disgust at her +condition is not for one moment evoked. The style is pure and +ennobling, and while our sympathies may be touched, we are at the same +time fascinated and entertained, from the first page to the last. Of +quite different texture is “The Guardian Angel,” a perhaps more +readable story, so far as form is concerned, much lighter in +character, and less of a study. There is more plot, but the range is +not so lofty. It is less philosophical in tone than “Elsie Venner,” +and the events move quicker. The scene of “The Guardian Angel” is also +laid in an ordinary New England village, and the object of the +Doctor-Novelist was to write a tale in which the peculiarities and +laws of hysteria should find expression and development. In carrying +out his plan, Dr. Holmes has achieved a genuine success. He has taught +a lesson, and at the same time has told a deeply interesting story, +lightened up here and there with characteristic humor and wit. The +characters of Myrtle Hazard and Byles Gridley are drawn with nice +discrimination, while the sketch of the village poet, Mr. Gifted +Hopkins, is so life-like and realistic, that he has only to be named +to be instantly recognized. He is a type of the poet who haunts the +newspaper office, and belongs to every town and hamlet. His lady-love +is Miss Susan Posey, a delicious creation in Dr. Holmes’ best manner. +These two prove excellent foils for the stronger personages of the +story, and afford much amusement. “A Mortal Antipathy” is less of a +romance than the others. The reader will be interested in the +description of a boat race which is exquisitely done.</p> + +<p>In biographical writing, we have two books from Dr. Holmes, one a +short life of Emerson, and the other a memoir of Motley. Though +capable of writing a great biography like Trevelyan’s Macaulay or +Lockhart’s Scott, the doctor has not yet done so. Of the two which he +has written, the Motley is the better one. In neither, however, has +the author arrived at his own standard of what a biography should be.</p> + +<p>Mechanism in thought and morals,—a Phi-Beta-Kappa<span class='pagenum'><a name="page137" id="page137">137</a></span> address, delivered +at Harvard in 1870,—is one of Dr. Holmes’ most luminous contributions +to popular science. It is ample in the way of suggestion and the +presentation of facts, and though scientific in treatment, the +captivating style of the essayist relieves the paper of all heaviness. +A brief extract from this fine, thoughtful work may be given here:—</p> + +<div class="quotation"><p>“We wish to remember something in the course of +conversation. No effort of the will can reach it; but we +say, ‘wait a minute, and it will come to me,’ and go on +talking. Presently, perhaps some minutes later, the idea we +are in search of comes all at once into the mind, delivered +like a prepaid bundle, laid at the door of consciousness +like a foundling in a basket. How it came there we know not. +The mind must have been at work groping and feeling for it +in the dark; it cannot have come of itself. Yet all the +while, our consciousness was busy with other thoughts.”</p></div> + +<p>The literary reputation of Dr. Holmes will rest on the three great +books which have made his name famous on two continents. Thackeray had +passed his fortieth year before he produced his magnificent novel. +Holmes, too, was more than forty when he began that unique and +original book, “The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table,” one of the most +thoughtful, graceful, and able investigations into philosophy and +culture ever written. We have the author in every mood, playful and +pathetic, witty and wise. Who can ever forget the young fellow called +John, our Benjamin Franklin, the Divinity student, the +school-mistress, the landlady’s daughter, and the poor relation? What +characterization is there here! The delightful talk of the autocrat, +his humor, always infectious, his logic, his strong common sense, +illumine every page. When he began to write, Dr. Holmes had no settled +plan in his head. In November, 1831, he sent an article to the <i>New +England Magazine</i>, published by Buckingham in Boston, followed by +another paper in February, 1832. The idea next occurred to the author +in 1857,—a quarter of a century afterwards, when the editors of the +<i>Atlantic Monthly</i>, then starting on its career, begged him to write +something for its pages. He thought of “The Autocrat,” and resolved, +as he says, “to shake the same bough again, and see if the ripe fruit +were better or worse than the early windfalls.” At a bound “The +Autocrat” leaped into popular favor. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="page138" id="page138">138</a></span> reading public could hardly +wait for the numbers. All sorts of topics are touched upon from nature +to mankind. There is the talk about the trees, which one may read a +dozen times and feel the better for it. And then comes that charming +account of the walk with the school-mistress, when the lovers looked +at the elms, and the roses came and went on the maiden’s cheeks. And +here is a paragraph or two which makes men think:</p> + +<div class="quotation"><p>“Our brains are seventy-year clocks. The angel of life winds +them up once for all, then closes the case, and gives the +key into the hand of the Angel of the Resurrection. Tic-tac! +tic-tac! go the wheels of thought; our will cannot stop +them; they cannot stop themselves; sleep cannot still them; +madness only makes them go faster; death alone can break +into the case, and seizing the ever-swinging pendulum, which +we call the heart, silence at last the clicking of the +terrible escapement we have carried so long beneath our +wrinkled foreheads.</p> + +<p>“If we could only get at them, as we lie on our pillows and +count the dead beats of thought after thought, and image +after image, jarring through the overtired organ! Will +nobody block those wheels, uncouple that pinion, cut the +string that holds those weights, blow up the infernal +machine with gun-powder? What a passion comes over us +sometimes for silence and rest!—that this dreadful +mechanism, unwinding the endless tapestry of time, +embroidered with spectral figures of life and death, could +have but one brief holiday! Who can wonder that men swing +themselves off from beams in hempen lassos?—that they jump +off from parapets into the swift and gurgling waters +beneath?—that they take counsel of the grim friend who has +but to utter his one peremptory monosyllable and the +restless machine is shivered as a vase that is dashed upon a +marble floor? Under that building which we pass every day +there are strong dungeons, where neither hook, nor bar, nor +bed-cord, nor drinking vessel from which a sharp fragment +may be shattered, shall by any chance be seen. There is +nothing for it, when the brain is on fire with the whirling +of its wheels, but to spring against the stone wall and +silence them with one crash. Ah, they remembered that,—the +kind city fathers,—and the walls are nicely padded, so that +one can take such exercise as he likes without damaging +himself on the very plain and serviceable upholstery. If +anybody would only contrive some kind of a lever that one +could thrust in among the works of this horrid automaton and +check them, or alter their rate of going, what would the +world give for the discovery?”</p></div> + +<p>“The Autocrat” was followed by “The Professor at the<span class='pagenum'><a name="page139" id="page139">139</a></span> Breakfast +Table,”—a book in every way equal to the first one, though, to be +sure, there are critics who pretend to see diminished power in the +author’s pen. It is, however, full of the same gentle humor and keen +analyses of the follies and foibles of human kind. It is a trifle +graver, though some of the characters belonging to “The Autocrat” come +to the front again. It is in this book that we find that lovely story +of Iris,—a masterpiece in itself and one of the sweetest things that +has come to us for a hundred years, rivalling to a degree the +delicious manner and style of Goldsmith and Lamb. In 1873 the last of +the series appeared, and “The Poet” came upon the scene to gladden the +breakfasters. Every chapter sparkles with originality. “I have,” says +Dr. Holmes, “unburdened myself in this book, and in some other pages, +of what I was born to say. Many things that I have said in my riper +days have been aching in my soul since I was a mere child. I say +aching, because they conflicted with many of my inherited beliefs, or +rather traditions. I did not know then that two strains of blood were +striving in me for the mastery—two! twenty, perhaps, twenty thousand, +for aught I know—but represented to me by two—paternal and maternal. +But I do know this: I have struck a good many chords, first and last, +in the consciousness of other people. I confess to a tender feeling +for my little brood of thoughts. When they have been welcomed and +praised, it has pleased me, and if at any time they have been rudely +handled and despitefully treated, it has cost me a little worry. I +don’t despise reputation, and I should like to be remembered as having +said something worth lasting well enough to last.”</p> + +<p>There is much philosophy in “The Poet,” and if it is less humorous +than “The Autocrat,” it is more profound than either of its fellows in +the great trio. In it the doctor has said enough to make the +reputations of half a dozen authors.</p> + +<p>“One Hundred Days in Europe,” if written by anyone else save Dr. +Holmes, would, perhaps, go begging for a publisher. But he journeyed +to the old land with his heart upon his sleeve. He met nearly every +man and woman worth knowing, and the Court, Science, and Literature +received him with open arms. He had not seen England for half a +century. Fifty years before, he was an obscure young man, studying +medicine, and known by scarcely half a dozen<span class='pagenum'><a name="page140" id="page140">140</a></span> persons. He returned in +1886, a man of world-wide fame, and every hand was stretched out to do +him honor, and to pay him homage. Lord Houghton,—the famous breakfast +giver of his time, certainly, the most successful since the princely +Rogers,—had met him in Boston years before, and had begged him again +and again to cross the ocean. Letters failing to move the poet, +Houghton tried verse upon him, and sent these graceful lines:—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<p>“When genius from the furthest West,</p> +<p class="i2">Sierra’s Wilds and Poker Flat,</p> +<p>Can seek our shores with filial zest,</p> +<p class="i2">Why not the genial Autocrat?</p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p>“Why is this burden on us laid,</p> +<p class="i2">That friendly London never greets</p> +<p>The peer of Locker, Moore, and Praed</p> +<p class="i2">From Boston’s almost neighbor streets?</p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p>“His earlier and maturer powers</p> +<p class="i2">His own dear land might well engage;</p> +<p>We only ask a few kind hours</p> +<p class="i2">Of his serene and vigorous age.</p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p>“Oh, for a glimpse of glorious Poe!</p> +<p class="i2">His raven grimly answers ‘never!’</p> +<p>Will Holmes’s milder muse say ‘no,’</p> +<p class="i2">And keep our hands apart forever?”</p> +</div></div> + +<p>But he was not destined to see his friend. When Holmes arrived in +England, Lord Houghton was in his grave, and so was Dean Stanley, +whose sweetness of disposition had so charmed the autocrat, when the +two men had met in Boston a few years before. Ruskin he failed to meet +also, for the distinguished word-painter was ill. At a dinner, +however, at Arch-Deacon Farrar’s, he spent some time with Sir John +Millais and Prof. John Tyndall. Of course, he saw Gladstone, Tennyson, +Robert Browning, Chief Justice Coleridge, Du Maurier, the illustrator +of <i>Punch</i>, Prof. James Bryce who wrote “The American Commonwealth,” +“Lord Wolseley,” Britain’s “Only General,” “His Grace of Argyll,” +“Lord Lorne and the Princess Louise,”—one of the best amateur +painters and sculptors in England,—and many others. Of all these +noted ones, he has something bright and entertaining to say. The +universities laid their highest honors at his feet. Edinburgh gave him +the degree of LL.D., Cambridge that of Doctor of Letters, and Oxford +conferred upon him her D. C. L., his companion on the last occasion +being<span class='pagenum'><a name="page141" id="page141">141</a></span> John Bright. It was at Oxford that he met Vice-Chancellor +Benjamin Jowett, the Master of Balliol College, Prof. Max Müller, Lord +and Lady Herschell, and Prof. James Russell Lowell, his old and +unvarying friend. The account of his visit to Europe is told with most +engaging directness and simplicity, and though the book has no +permanent value, it affords much entertainment for the time.</p> + +<p>The reader will experience a feeling of sadness, when he takes up Dr. +Holmes’ last book, “Over the Tea-cups,” for there are indications in +the work which warn the public that the genial pen will write +hereafter less frequently than usual. It is a witty and delightful +book, recalling the Autocrat, the Professor, and the Poet, and yet +presenting features not to be found in either. The author dwells on +his advancing years, but this he does not do in a querulous fashion. +He speaks of his contemporaries, and compares the ages of old trees, +and over the tea-cups a thousand quaint, curious, and splendid things +are said. The work takes a wide range, but there is more sunshine than +anything else, and that indefinable charm, peculiar to the author, +enriches every page. One might wish that he would never grow old. As +Lowell said, a few years ago, in a birthday verse to the doctor:—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<p class="i0">“You keep your youth as yon Scotch firs,</p> +<p class="i2">Whose gaunt line my horizon hems,</p> +<p class="i0">Though twilight all the lowland blurs,</p> +<p class="i2">Hold sunset in their ruddy stems.</p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<hr style='width: 25%; margin-left: 15%' /> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p class="i0">“Master alike in speech and song</p> +<p class="i2">Of fame’s great anti-septic—style,</p> +<p class="i0">You with the classic few belong</p> +<p class="i2">Who tempered wisdom with a smile.</p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p class="i0">Outlive us all! Who else like you</p> +<p class="i2">Could sift the seed corn from our chaff,</p> +<p class="i0">And make us, with the pen we knew,</p> +<p class="i2">Deathless at least in epitaph?”</p> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="page142" id="page142">142</a></span></div></div> + + +<h2 class="article_title"><a id="article_2" name="article_2"></a>PLUTOCRACY AND SNOBBERY IN NEW YORK,</h2> +<hr class="short" /> +<p class="author_byline">BY EDGAR FAWCETT.</p> +<hr class="short" /> + + +<p>Let us imagine that a foreigner has entered a New York ball-room for +the first time, and let us make that foreigner not merely an +Englishman, but an Englishman of title. He would soon be charmed by +the women who beamed on every side of him. Their refinement of manner +would be obvious, though in some cases they might shock him by a +shrillness and nasal harshness when speaking, while in other cases +both their tone and accent might repel him through extreme affectation +of “elegance.” But for the most part he would pronounce these women +bright, cultivated, and often remarkably handsome. They would not +require to be amused or even entertained after the manner of his own +countrywomen; they would appear before him amply capable of yielding +rather than exacting diversion, and often through the mediums of +nimble wit, engaging humor, or an audacity at once daring and +picturesque. But after a little more time our titled stranger would +begin to perceive that behind all this feminine sparkle and freshness, +lurked a positive transport of humility. He would discover that he had +swiftly become with these fashionable ladies an object of idolatry, +and that all the single ones were thrilled with the idea of marrying +him, while all the married ones felt pierced by the sad realization +that destiny had disqualified them for so golden a bit of luck. He +would find himself assailed by questions about his precise English +rank and standing. Had he any other title besides the one by which he +was currently known? How long ago was it since his family had been +elevated to the peerage? Did he personally know the Queen or the +Prince of Wales? Was his mother “Lady” anybody before she married his +father? Did he own several places in the country, and if so, what was +the name of each?</p> + +<p>The men would naturally be less inquisitive; but then the men all +would have their Burke or DeBrett to consult at their clubs, and could +“look him up” there as if he had<span class='pagenum'><a name="page143" id="page143">143</a></span> been an unfamiliar word in the +dictionary. And these male followers of fashion would, for the most +part, distress and perplex him. He would be confronted with a mournful +fact in our social life: the men who “go out” are nearly all silly +striplings who, on reaching a sensible age, discreetly remain at home.</p> + +<p>He would soon begin to perceive that New York society is a blending of +the ludicrous and pathetic. The really charming women have two +terrible faults, one which their fathers, husbands, and brothers have +taught them, and one which they have apparently contracted without +extraneous aid. The first is their worship of wealth, their devout +genuflection before it as the sole choicest gift which fate can +bestow, and the second is their merciless and metallic snobbery. They +have made a god of caste, and in a country where, of all other cults, +that of caste is the most preposterous. The men (the real grown-up +men, who may hate the big balls, but are nevertheless a great deal in +the movement as regards other gay pastimes) watch them with quiet +approbation. Many a New York husband is quite willing that his wife +shall cut her own grandmother if that relative be not “desirable.” The +men have not time to preen their social plumes quite so strenuously; +they are too busy in money-getting, and of a sort which nearly always +concerns the hazard of the Wall Street die. And yet quite a number of +the men are arrant snobs, refusing to associate with, often even to +notice, others whose dollars count fewer than their own. This form of +plutocratic self-adulation is relatively modern. It is called by some +people a very inferior state of things to that which existed in “the +good old Knickerbocker days.” But the truth is, odious though the +millionnaire’s ascendancy may be at present, that of the Knickerbocker +was once hardly less so. Vulgar, brassy, and intolerable the +“I’m-better-than-you” strut and swagger of plutocracy surely is; but +in the smug, pert provincialism of those former New York autocrats who +defined as “family” their descent of two or three generations from raw +Dutch immigrants, there was very little comfort indeed. The present +writer has seen something of this element; in the decade from 1865 to +1875 it was still extremely active. Society was then governed by the +Knickerbocker, as it is now governed by the plutocrat, and in either +instance the rule has been wholly deplorable.<span class='pagenum'><a name="page144" id="page144">144</a></span> Indeed, for one cogent +reason, if no other, poor New York stands to-day as the least +fortunate of all great cities. Her society, from the time she ceased +to admit herself a village up to the date at which these lines are +written, has never been even faintly worthy of the name. A few years +ago the “old residents,” with their ridiculous claims to pedigree, had +everything their own way. A New York drawing-room was, in those days, +parochial as a Boston or Philadelphia tea-party. There were modish +metropolitan details, it is true, but the petty reign of the immigrant +Hollanders’ descendants would have put to shame the laborious freaks +and foibles of a tiny German principality. Now, having changed all +that, and having forced the Knickerbockers from their old places of +vantage, the plutocrats reign supreme. To a mind capable of being +saddened by human materialism, pretension, braggadocio, it is all very +much the same sort of affair. Our republic should be ashamed of an +aristocracy founded on either money or birth, and that thousands of +its citizens are not only unashamed of such systems, but really glory +in them, is merely another proof of how this country has broken almost +every democratic promise which she once made to the Old World.</p> + +<p>It is easy to sneer away statements like these. It is easy to laugh +them off as “mere pessimism,” and to talk of persons with “green +spectacles” and “disordered livers.” We have learned to know the glad +ring of the optimist’s patriotic voice. If we all believed this voice, +we should all believe that America is the ideal polity of the world. +And one never so keenly realizes that this is not true as when he +watches the creeds and character of society in New York. Of Londoners +we are apt to assert that they grovel obsequiously before their +prince, with his attendant throng of dukes, earls, and minor +gentlemen. This may be fact, but it is very far from being the whole +fact. In London there is a large class of ladies and gentlemen who +form a localized and centralized body, and whose assemblages are +haunts of intelligence, refinement, and good taste. In a certain sense +these are “mixed,” but all noteworthy gatherings must be that, and the +“smart” and “swagger” sets of every great European city are nowadays +but a small, even a contemptible factor in its festivities.</p> + +<p>Not long ago the present writer inquired of a well-known<span class='pagenum'><a name="page145" id="page145">145</a></span> Englishman +whether people of literary and artistic note were not always bidden to +large and important London receptions. “In nearly all cases, yes,” he +replied. “It has been the aim of my sister to invite, on such +occasions, authors, artists, and actors of talent and distinction. +They come, and are welcomed when they come.” He did not mention the +name of his sister, knowing, doubtless, that I knew it. She was an +English duchess, magnificently housed in London, a beauty, and a star +of fashion.</p> + +<p>But our New York brummagem “duchesses” of yesterday are less liberal +in their condescensions. An attractive New York woman once said to me: +“I told a man the other day that I was tired of meeting him +incessantly at dinner, and that we met each other so often in this way +as to make conversation a bore.” Could any remark have more pungently +expressed the unhappy narrowness of New York reunions? How many times +has the dainty Mr. Amsterdam or Mrs. Manhattan ever met men and women +of literary or artistic gifts at a fashionable dinner in Fifth or +Madison Avenue? How many times has he or she met any such person at a +“patriarchs’ ball” or an “assembly?” Has he or she <i>ever</i> met an actor +of note <i>anywhere</i>, except in two or three exceptional instances? +True, men and women of intellectual fame shrink from contact with our +noble Four Hundred. But that they should so shrink is in itself a +scorching comment. They encounter patronage at such places, and +getting patronage from one’s inferiors can never be a pleasant mode of +passing one’s time. That delicate homage which is the due of mental +merit they scarcely ever receive. Now and then you hear of a +portrait-painter, who has made himself the rage of the town, being +asked to dine and to sup. But he is seldom really held to be <i>des +nôtres</i>, as the haughty elect ones would phrase it, and his +popularity, based upon insolent patronage, often quickly crumbles. The +solid devotion is all saved for the solid millionnaires. Frederick the +Great, if I recall rightly, said that an army was like a snake, and +moved on its stomach. Of New York society this might also be asserted, +though with a meaning much more luxurious. To be a great leader is to +be a great feeder. You must dispense terrapin, and canvas-back ducks, +and rare brands of champagne, in lordly dining-halls, or your place is +certain to be secondary. You may, if a man, have<span class='pagenum'><a name="page146" id="page146">146</a></span> the manners of a +Chesterfield and the wit of a Balzac; you may, if a woman, be +beautiful as Mary Stuart and brilliant as DeStaël, and yet, powerless +to “entertain,” you can fill no lofty pedestal. “Position” in New York +means a corpulent purse whose strings work as flexibly as the dorsal +muscles of a professional toady. And this kind of toady has an +exquisite <i>flair</i> for your greatness and dignity the moment he becomes +quite sure of your pecuniary willingness to back both. New York is at +present the paradise of parvenus, and these occasionally commit +grotesque mistakes in the distribution of civilities. Because you +chose to “stay in” for a season or two, they will take for granted, if +suddenly brought in contact with you, that you have never “been out” +and could not go if you tried. Of course, to feel hurt by such cheap +hauteur proves that you are in a manner worthy of it; but even though +you are not in the least hurt, you cannot refrain from a thrill of +annoyance that a country which has boasted in so loud-mouthed a way to +Europe of having begun its national life by a wholesome scorn of all +class distinction, should contain citizens cursed by a spirit of such +tawdry pride. At least the aristocracies of other lands, vicious and +reprehensible as they have always been, are yet an evil with a certain +malign consistency for their support. Like those monarchies of which +they have formed a piteous adjunct, they have always been the +outgrowths of a perfectly natural ignorance. Though distinct clogs to +civilization, their existence remains pathetically legitimate. +Nuisances, they are still nuisances with a hereditary hold on history. +Their chief modern claim for continuance is the fact that they were +once authorized by that very “divine right” which is now the scorn and +jest of philosophy, and that the communities which they still infest +are yet unprepared for the shock of their extirpation. It is clear +that they will one day be sloughed off like a mass of dead animal +tissue, even if they are not amputated like a living limb that has +grown hopelessly diseased. They are as surely doomed by the slow +threat of evolution as is the failure to establish trial by jury in +Russia. They are tolerated by progress for the simple reason that +progress is not yet ready to destroy them. Hence are all imitations of +their permitted and perpetuated folly in wofully bad taste. They are +more; they are an insult, when<span class='pagenum'><a name="page147" id="page147">147</a></span> practised in such a land as ours, to +republican energies, motives, and ideals. Heaven knows, we are a +country with sorry enough substantiality behind her vaunts. We call +ourselves freemen, and our mines and factories are swarming with +haggard slaves. We declare that to be President of the United States +is the most honorable office a man can hold, and our elected +candidates (except when they have the splendid self-abnegating courage +of a Cleveland!) wade to Washington through a perfect bog of venal +promises. We prate of our democratic institutions, and forget that +free trade is one of the first proofs of a free people, and that +protected industries are the feudalism of manufacture. We sneer at the +corruption of a Jeffreys or a Marlborough in the past, and concede +that bribery riots in our capital, and that the infernal political +grist-mill in New York has to-day almost as much nefarious grinding to +get through with annually as it had when Tweed and Sweeny stood the +boss millers that fed its voracious maw. And after all, the +abominations of New York’s politics are only a few degrees more +repellent than the cruelties and pusillanimities of her self-styled +patrician horde. The highest duty of rich people is to be charitable; +in New York the rich people make for themselves two highest duties, to +be fashionable and to be richer—if they can. Charity of a certain +sort does exist among them, and it would be unfair to say that it is +all of the pompous public sort. Much of it, indeed, is private, and +when incomes, as in a few individual cases, reach enormous figures, +the unpretentious donations are of no slight weight. But charity is a +virtue that counts for nothing unless meekness, philanthropy, +altruism, is each its acolyte. How can we expect that beings who busy +themselves with affairs of such poignant importance as whether they +shall give Jones a full nod or Brown a quarter of a nod when they next +meet him; as whether the Moneypennys are really quite <i>lancés</i> enough +for them to encounter the great Gilt-edges or no, at a prospective +dinner-party; as whether the latest Parisian tidings about bonnets are +really authentic or the contrary; as whether His Royal Highness has or +has not actually appeared at one of his imperial mamma’s drawing-rooms +in a Newmarket cutaway,—how, it is asked, can we expect that beings +of this bent may properly heed those ghastly and incessant wants which +are forever making<span class='pagenum'><a name="page148" id="page148">148</a></span> of humanity the forlorn tragi-comedy it is? The +yawp of socialism is excusably despised by plutocracy. Socialism is +not merely a cry of pain; if it were only that its plaints might have +proved more effectual. It is a cry of avarice, of jealousy, and very +often of extreme laziness as well. Every socialistic theory that we +have yet heard of is self-damning. Each real thinker, whether he be +Crœsus or pauper, comprehends that to empower the executive with +greater responsibility than it already possesses would mean to tempt +national ruin, and that until mankind has become a race of angels the +hideous problem of human suffering can never be solved by vesting +private property-rights in the hands of public functionaries. But the +note of anguish in that voice of desperation and revolt need not, for +all this, be confused with its madder strains. The claim of poverty +upon riches is to-day a tremendously ethical one. Help—and help wise, +earnest, persistent—is the inflexible moral tax levied by life itself +on all who have an overplus of wealth wherewith to relieve deserving +misery. The occasional careless signing of a cheque, or even a visit +now and then among the filthy slums of Bayard and Hester Streets, +cannot cancel these mighty obligations. And there are better ways of +schooling the soul to recognize the magnitude and insistence of such +obligations than by organizing ultra-select dancing-classes at +Sherry’s; giving “pink luncheons” to a bevy of simpering female snobs; +uncorking eight-dollar bottles of Clos de Vougeot for a fastidious +dinner company of men-about-town; squandering three thousand dollars +on a Delmonico ball, or purchasing at vast prices the gowns and jewels +of a deposed foreign empress. Yes, there are better ways. And for +people who are solely pleasure-seekers to call themselves Christian +is, from their own points of view, blasphemy unspeakable; since +whatever we agnostics may say and believe about the alleged “divinity” +of Christ, <i>they</i> hold that the Galilean was the son of God, and that +in such miraculous character he spoke when saying: “Leave all and +follow me.”</p> + +<p>The American snob is a type at once the most anomalous and the most +vulgar. Why he is anomalous need not be explained, but the essence of +his vulgarity lies in his entire absence of a sanctioning background. +It is not, when all is said, so strange a matter that anyone reared in +an atmosphere<span class='pagenum'><a name="page149" id="page149">149</a></span> of historic ceremonial and precedent should betray an +inherent leaning toward shams and vanities. But if there is anything +that we Americans, as a race, are forever volubly extolling, it is our +immunity from all such drawbacks. And yet I will venture to state that +in every large city of our land snobbery and plutocracy reign as twin +evils, while in every small town, from Salem to some Pacific-slope +settlement, the beginnings of the same social curse are manifest. Of +course New York towers in bad eminence over the entire country. Abroad +they are finding out the absurd shallowness of our professions. Nearly +seven years ago an able literary man said to me in London: “I am +wearied, here, by the necessity of continual aristocratic patronage. +Especially true is this,” he added, “regarding all new dramatic +productions. Lord This and Lady That are more thought of as +potentially occupying stalls or boxes at a first performance than is +the presence of the most sapient judges.” And then again, after a +slight pause, he proceeded: “But I hear it is very much the same thing +with you. I have often longed to go to America, just for the sake of +that social emancipation which it has seemed to promise. But they tell +me that in your big cities a good deal of the same humbug prevails.” I +assured him that he was fatally right; but I did not proceed to say, +as I might have done, that our “aristocracy” rarely patronizes first +nights at theatres, holding most ladies, and gentlemen connected with +the stage in a position somewhere between their scullions and their +head footmen.</p> + +<p>London laughs and sneers at New York when she thinks of her at all, +which is, on the whole, not very often. If London esteemed New York of +greater importance than she does esteem her, the derisive laughter +might be keener and hence more salutary. Imagine America separated by +only a narrow channel from Europe, and imagine her to contain in her +chief metropolis, as she does at present, the amazing contradictions +and refutations of the democratic idea which are to be noted now. What +food for English, French, and German sarcasm would our pigmy Four +Hundred then become! In those remote realms they have already shrank +aghast at the licentious tyrannies of our newspapers. England has +freedom of the press, but she also has a law of libel which is not a +cipher. Our law of libel is so horribly effete that the purest woman +on our continent may to-morrow<span class='pagenum'><a name="page150" id="page150">150</a></span> be vilely slandered, and yet obtain no +adequate form of redress. This is what our extolled “liberty” has +brought us—a despotism in its way as frightful as anything that +Russia or the Orient can parallel. Is it remarkable that such +relatively minor abuses as those of plutocracy and snobbery should +torment us here in New York when bullets of journalistic scandal are +whizzing about our ears every day of our lives, and those who get +wounds have no healing remedy within their possible reach? Some one of +our clever novelists might take a hint for the plot of a future tale +from this melancholy state of things. He might write a kind of new +Monte Cristo, and make his hero, riddled and stung by assaults of our +unbridled press, find but a single means of vengeance. That means +would be the starting of a great newspaper on his own account, and the +triumphant cannonading of his foes through its columns. More +influential New York editors would doubtless already have forced their +way within the holy bounds of patrician circles, were it not that, in +the first place editors are somewhat hard-worked persons, and that in +the second place they are usually men of brains.</p> + +<p>Marriage, among the New York snobs and plutocrats, ordinarily treats +human affection as though it were a trifling optic malady to be cured +by a few drops of corrective lotion. Daughters are trained by their +mothers to leave no efforts untried, short of those absolutely +immoral, in winning wealthy husbands. Usually the daughters are +tractable enough. Rebellion is rare with them; why should it not be? +Almost from infancy (unless when their parents have made fortunes with +prodigious quickness) they are taught that matrimony is a mere hard +bargain, to be driven shrewdly and in a spirit of the coolest +mercantile craft. Sometimes they do really rebel, however, mastered by +pure nature, in one of those tiresome moods where she shows the +insolence of defying bloodless convention. Yet nearly always +capitulation follows. And then what follows later on? Perhaps +heart-broken resignation, perhaps masked adultery, perhaps the +degradation of public divorce. But usually it is no worse than a +silent disgusted slavery, for the American woman is notoriously cold +in all sense of passion, and when reared to respect “society” she is a +snob to the core. Some commentators aver that it is the climate<span class='pagenum'><a name="page151" id="page151">151</a></span> which +makes her so pulseless and prudent. This is possible. But one deeply +familiar with the glacial theories of the fashionable New York mother +might find an explanation no less frigid than comprehensive for all +her traits of acquiescence and decorum. How many of these fashionable +mothers ask more than a single question of the bridegrooms they desire +for their daughters? That one question is simply: “What amount of +money do you control?” But constantly this kind of interrogation is +needless. A male “match” and “catch” finds that his income is known to +the last dollar long before he has been graduated from the senior +class at Columbia or Harvard. Society, like a genial feminine +Briaræus, opens to him its myriad rosy and dimpled arms. He has only +to let a certain selected pair of these clutch him tight, if he is +rich enough to make his personality a luring prize. Often his morals +are unsavory, but these prove no impediment. The great point with +plutocracy and snobbery is to perpetuate themselves—to go on +producing scions who will uphold for them future generations of +selfishness and arrogance. One sees the same sort of procreative +tendency in certain of our hardiest and coarsest weeds. Sometimes a +gardener comes along, with hoe, spade, and a strong uprooting animus. +In human life that kind of gardener goes by the ugly name of +Revolution. But we are dealing with neither parables nor allegories. +Those are for the modish clergymen of the select and exclusive +churches, and are administered in the form of dainty little religious +pills which these gentlemen have great art in knowing how to palatably +sugar.<span class='pagenum'><a name="page152" id="page152">152</a></span></p> + + +<h2 class="article_title"><a id="article_3" name="article_3"></a>“SHOULD THE NATION OWN THE RAILWAYS?”</h2> +<hr class="short" /> +<p class="author_byline">BY C. WOOD DAVIS.</p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<h3 class="article_section">PART I.—<span class="sc">Objections to National Ownership Considered</span>.</h3> + + +<p>When the paper published in the February <span class="sc">Arena</span>, entitled “The Farmer, +the Investor, and the Railway,” was written, the writer was not ready +to accept national ownership as a solution of the railway problem; but +the occurrences attending the flurries of last autumn in the money +markets, when half a dozen men, in order to obtain control of certain +railways, entered into a conspiracy that came near wrecking the entire +industrial and commercial interests of the country, having shed a +lurid light upon the enormous and baleful power which the corporate +control of the railways places in the hands of what Theodore Roosevelt +aptly termed “the dangerous wealthy classes,” has had the effect of +converting to the advocacy of national ownership not only the writer +but vast numbers of conservative people of the central, western, and +southern States to whom the question now assumes this form: “Which is +to be preferred: a master in the shape of a political party that it is +possible to dislodge by the use of the ballot, or one in the shape of +ten or twenty Goulds, Vanderbilts, Huntingtons, Rockefellers, Sages, +Dillons, and Brices who never die and whom it will be impossible to +dislodge by the use of the ballot?” The particular Gould or Vanderbilt +may die, as did that Vanderbilt to whom was ascribed the aphorism “The +public be damned,” but the spirit and power of the Goulds and +Vanderbilts never dies.</p> + + +<h3 class="article_section">OBJECTIONS TO NATIONAL OWNERSHIP.</h3> + +<p>The objections to national ownership are many; that most frequently +advanced and having the most force being the possibility that, by +reason of its control of a vastly increased number of civil servants, +the party in possession<span class='pagenum'><a name="page153" id="page153">153</a></span> of the federal administration at the time +such ownership was assumed would be able to perpetuate its power +indefinitely. As there are more than 700,000 people employed by the +railways, this objection would seem to be well taken; and it indicates +serious and far-reaching results <i>unless</i> some way can be devised to +neutralize the political power of such a vast addition to the official +army.</p> + +<p>In the military service we have a body of men that exerts little or no +political power, as the moment a citizen enters the army he divests +himself of political functions; and it is not hazardous to say that +700,000 capable and efficient men can be found who, for the sake of +employment, to be continued so long as they are capable and +well-behaved, will forego the right to take part in political affairs. +If a sufficient number of such men can be found, this objection would, +by proper legislation, be divested of all its force. At all events no +trouble from such a source has been experienced since Australian +railways were placed under control of non-partisan commissions, such a +commission, having had charge of the Victorian railways since +February, 1884, or a little more than one term, they being appointed +for seven years instead of for life, as stated by Mr. W. M. Acworth in +his argument against government control.</p> + +<p>The second objection is that there would be constant political +pressure to make places for the strikers of the party in power, thus +adding a vast number of useless men to the force, and rendering it +progressively more difficult to effect a change in the political +complexion of the administration.</p> + +<p>That this objection has much less force than is claimed is clear from +the conduct of the postal department which is, unquestionably, a +political adjunct of the administration; yet but few useless men are +employed, while its conduct of the mail service is a model of +efficiency after which the corporate managed railways might well +pattern. Moreover, if the railways are put under non-partisan control, +this objection will lose nearly if not quite all its force.</p> + +<p>A third objection is that the service would be less efficient and cost +more than with continued corporate ownership.</p> + +<p>This appears to be bare assertion, as from the very nature of the case +there can be no data outside that furnished by the government-owned +railways of the British colonies, and such data negatives these +assertions; and the advocates of<span class='pagenum'><a name="page154" id="page154">154</a></span> national ownership are justified in +asserting that such ownership would materially lessen the cost, as any +expert can readily point out many ways in which the enormous costs of +corporate management would be lessened. With those familiar with +present methods, and not interested in their perpetuation, this +objection has no force whatever.</p> + +<p>The fourth objection is that with constant political pressure +unnecessary lines would be built for political ends.</p> + +<p>This is also bare assertion, although it is not impossible that such +results would follow; yet such has not been the case in the British +colonies where the governments have had control of construction. On +the other hand, it is notorious that under corporate ownership, and +solely to reap the profits to be made out of construction, the United +States have been burthened with useless parallel roads, and such +corporations as the Santa Fe have paralleled their own lines for such +profits. It is quite safe to say that when the nation owns the +railways there will be no nickel-plating, nor will such an unnecessary +expenditure be made as was involved in the construction of the “West +Shore”; nor will the feat of Gould and the Santa Fe be repeated of +each building two hundred and forty miles, side by side, for +construction profits, much of which is located in the arid portion of +Kansas where there is never likely to be traffic for even one railway. +Much of the republic is covered with closely parallel lines which +would never have been built under national ownership, and this process +will continue as long as the manipulators can make vast sums out of +construction.</p> + +<p>A fifth objection is that with the amount of red-tape that will be in +use, it will be impossible to secure the building of needed lines.</p> + +<p>While such objection is inconsistent with the fourth it may have some +force; but as the greater part of the country is already provided with +all the railways that will be needed for a generation, it is not a +very serious objection even if it is as difficult as asserted to +procure the building of new lines. It is not probable, however, that +the government would refuse to build any line that would clearly +subserve public convenience, the conduct of the postal service +negativing such a supposition; and for party purposes the +administration would certainly favor the construction of such lines as +were clearly needed, and it is high time<span class='pagenum'><a name="page155" id="page155">155</a></span> that only such should be +built; and what instrumentality so fit to determine this as a +non-partisan commission acting as the agent of the whole people?</p> + +<p>The sixth objection is that lines built by the government would cost +much more than if built by corporations.</p> + +<p>Possibly this would be true, but they would be much better built and +cost far less for maintenance and “betterments,” and would represent +no more than actual cost; and such lines as the Kansas Midland, +costing but $10,200 per mile, would not, as now, be capitalized at +$53,024 per mile; nor would the President of the Union Pacific (as +does Sidney Dillon, in the <i>North American Review</i> for April,) say +that “A citizen, simply as a citizen, commits an impertinence when he +questions the right of a corporation to capitalize its properties at +any sum whatever,” as then there would be no Sidney Dillons who would +be presidents of corporations, pretending to own railways built wholly +from government moneys and lands, and who have never invested a dollar +in the construction of a property which they have now capitalized at +the modest sum of $106,000 per mile. After such an achievement, in +making much out of nothing, it is no wonder that Mr. Dillon is a +multi-millionnaire and thinks it an impertinence when a citizen asks +how he has discharged his trust in relation to a railway built wholly +with public funds, no part of which Mr. Dillon and his associates seem +in haste to pay back; their indebtedness to the government, with many +years of unpaid interest, amounting to more than $50,000,000, which is +more than the cash cost of the railway upon which these men have been +so sharp as to induce the government, after furnishing all the money +expended in its construction, to accept a second mortgage, and now ask +the same accommodating government to reduce the rate of +interest—which they make no pretence of paying—to a nominal figure, +and to wait another hundred years for both principal and interest. To +make sure that the government’s second mortgage shall be no more +valuable than second mortgages usually are, and to make it more +comfortable for the manipulators, Messrs. Gould and Dillon now propose +to put a blanket first mortgage of $250,000,000 on this property, +built wholly from funds derived from the sale of government lands and +bonds, and to pay the interest on which bonds the people are yearly +taxed, although Mr.<span class='pagenum'><a name="page156" id="page156">156</a></span> Dillon and his associates contracted to pay such +interest. In his conception of the relations of railway corporations +to the public, Mr. Dillon is clearly not in accord with the higher +tribunals which hold, in substance, that railways are public rather +than private property, and that the shareholders <i>are entitled to but +a reasonable compensation for the capital actually expended in +construction</i> and a limited control of the property; and in this +connection it may be well to quote briefly from decisions of the +United States Supreme Court, which, in the case of Wabash Railway +<i>vs.</i> Illinois, uses this language: “The highways in a State are the +highways of the State. The highways are not of private but of public +institution and regulation. In modern times, it is true, government is +in the habit, in some countries, of letting out the construction of +important highways, requiring a large expenditure of capital, to +agents, generally corporate bodies created for the purpose, and giving +them the right of taxing those who travel or transport goods thereon +as a means of obtaining compensation for their outlay; but a +superintending power over the highways, and the charges imposed upon +the public for their use, always remains in the government.” Again, in +Olcott <i>vs.</i> the Supervisors, it is held that: “Whether the use of a +railway is a public or private one depends in no measure upon the +question who constructed it or who owns it. It has never been +considered of any importance that the road was built by the agency of +a private corporation. No matter who is the agent, the function +performed is that of the State.”</p> + +<p>Mr. Justice Bradley says: “When a railroad is chartered it is for the +purpose of performing a duty which belongs to the State itself…. It +is the duty and prerogative of the State to provide means of +intercommunication between one part of its territory and another.”</p> + +<p>If, as appears, such is the duty of the State (nation) why should not +the State resume the discharge of this duty when the corporate agents +to which it has delegated it are found to be using the delegated power +for the purpose of oppressing and plundering a public which it is the +duty of the government to protect?</p> + +<p>The abilities of the man who cannot become a multi-millionnaire with +the free use, for twenty-five years, of $33,000,000 of government +funds, must be of a very low<span class='pagenum'><a name="page157" id="page157">157</a></span> order, and it is no wonder, that after +having for so many years had the use of such a sum without payment of +interest, Mr. Dillon and his associates are very wealthy, and, like +others who are retaining what does not belong to them, think it an +impertinence when the owner inquires what use they are making of +property to which they have no right. Had the nation built the Union +Pacific there would have been no “Credit-Mobilier” and its unsavory +scandal, and it is safe to say that the road would not now be made to +represent an expenditure of $106,000 per mile, and that Mr. Dillon and +some others would not have so much money as to warrant them in putting +on such insufferable airs. When it is remembered what use Oakes Ames +and the Union Pacific crew made of issues of stock, it is not at all +surprising that the president of the Union Pacific should think it an +impertinence for a citizen to question the amount of capitalization or +the use to which a part of such issues have been put, some of which +are within the knowledge of the writer, so far as relates to issues of +that part of the Union Pacific lying in Kansas and built by Samuel +Hallett, who told the writer that he gave a member of the then federal +cabinet several thousand shares of the capital stock of the “Union +Pacific Railway, Eastern Division,”—now the Kansas Division of the +Union Pacific—to secure the acceptance of sections of the road which +were not built in accordance with the requirements of the act of +Congress, which provided that a given amount of government bonds per +mile should be delivered to the railway company when certain officials +should accept the road; and it was a quarrel with the chief engineer +of the road in relation to a letter written by such engineer to +President Lincoln, informing him of the defective construction of this +road, that caused Samuel Hallett to be shot down in the streets of +Wyandotte, Kansas, by engineer Talcott. It is within the knowledge of +the writer that the member of the cabinet to whom Mr. Hallett said he +gave several thousand shares of stock, held an amount of Union Pacific +shares years afterwards, and that many years after he left the cabinet +he continued to draw a large salary from the Union Pacific Company. +Mr. Hallett also told the writer what were the arguments applied to +congressmen to induce them to change the government lien from a first +to a second mortgage of the Pacific Railway lines, and what was his<span class='pagenum'><a name="page158" id="page158">158</a></span> +contribution in dollars to the fund used to enable congressmen to see +the force of the arguments. When issues of railway shares are used for +corrupt purposes it is certainly an impertinence for a citizen to make +inquiries or offer any remarks in relation thereto.</p> + +<p>The seventh objection to State owned railways is that they are +incapable of as progressive improvement as are corporate owned ones, +and will not keep pace with the progress of the nation in other +respects; and in his <i>Forum</i> article Mr. Acworth lays great stress +upon this phase of the question, and argues that as a result the +service would be far less satisfactory.</p> + +<p>There may be force in this objection, but the evidence points to an +opposite conclusion. When the nation owns the railways, trains will +run into union depots, the equipment will become uniform and of the +best character, and so sufficient that the traffic of no part of the +country would have to wait while the worthless locomotives of some +bankrupt corporation were being patched up, nor would there be the +present difficulties in obtaining freight cars, growing out of the +poverty of corporations which have been plundered by the manipulators, +and improvements would not be hindered by the diverse ideas of the +managers of various lines in relation to the adoption of devices +intended to render life more secure or to add to the public +convenience. That such is one of the evils of corporate management is +demonstrated daily, and is shown by the following from the <i>Railway +Review</i> of March 7, 1891: “It is stated that a bill will be introduced +in the Illinois Legislature, at the suggestion of the railroad and +warehouse commissioners, governing the placing of interlocking plants +at railway grade crossings. It sometimes happens that one of the +companies concerned is anxious to put in such a plant and the other +objects. At present there is no law to govern the matter, and the +enterprising company is forced to abide the time of the other.” +Instead of national ownership being a hindrance to improvement and +enterprise, the results in Australia prove the contrary, as in +Victoria the government railways are already provided with +interlocking plants at all grade crossings, and one line does not have +to wait the motion of another, but all are governed by an active and +enlightened policy which adopts all beneficial improvements, +appliances or modes of administration that will add either to the +public<span class='pagenum'><a name="page159" id="page159">159</a></span> safety, comfort, or convenience. It is safe to say that had +the nation been operating the railways, there would have been no +Fourth Avenue tunnel horror; and Chauncey Depew and associates would +not now be under indictment, as the government would not have +continued the use of the death-dealing stove on nearly half the +railways in the country in order to save money for the shareholders.</p> + +<p>Existing evidence all negatives Mr. Acworth’s postulate “that State +railway systems are incapable of vigorous life.”</p> + +<p>An objection to national ownership, which the writer has not seen +advanced, is that States, counties, cities, townships, and +school-districts would lose some $27,000,000 of revenue derived from +taxes upon railways.</p> + +<p>While this would be a serious loss to some communities, there would be +compensating advantages for the public, as the cost of transportation +would be lessened in like measure.</p> + +<p>Many believe stringent laws, enforced by commissions having judicial +powers, will serve the desired end, and the writer was long hopeful of +the efficacy of regulation by State and national commissions; but +close observation of their endeavors and of the constant efforts—too +often successful—of the corporations to place their tools on such +commissions, and to evade all laws and regulations, have convinced him +that such control is and must continue to be ineffective, and that the +only hope of just and impartial treatment for railway users is to +exercise the “right of eminent domain,” condemn the railways, and pay +their owners what it would cost to duplicate them; and in this +connection it may be well to state what valuations some of the +corporations place upon their properties.</p> + +<p>Some years since the “Santa Fe” filed in the counties on its line a +statement showing that at the then price of labor and materials—rails +were double the present price—that their road could be duplicated for +$9,685 per mile, and the materials being much worn the actual cash +value of the road did not exceed $7,725 per mile.</p> + +<p>In 1885 the superintendent of the St. Louis & Iron Mountain Railway, +before the Arkansas State board of assessors, swore that he could +duplicate such railway for $11,000 per mile, and yet Mr. Gould has +managed to float its securities, notwithstanding a capitalization of +five times that amount.</p> + +<h3 class="article_section">(<i>Concluded next month</i>.)</h3> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="page160" id="page160">160</a></span></p> + +<h2 class="article_title"><a id="article_4" name="article_4"></a>THE UNKNOWN.<a name="fn_marker_1" id="fn_marker_1"></a><a href="#fn_1" class="fn_marker">[1]</a></h2> +<h3 class="article_section">PART II.</h3> +<hr class="short" /> +<p class="author_byline">BY CAMILLE FLAMMARION.</p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p>The human soul would seem to be a spiritual substance, endowed with +psychical force, capable of acting outside bodily limits. This force, +like all others, may be transmissible into the form of electricity or +heat, or may be capable of bringing into activity certain latent +energies while it yet remains intimately united with our mental being.</p> + +<p>We propound questions to the table, already impressed with our nervous +impetus, on subjects interesting to ourselves; and then we ourselves +unconsciously inspire the responses. The table speaks to us in our own +language, giving back our own ideas, within the limits of our own +knowledge, conversing with us about our opinions and views, as we +might discuss them with ourselves. This is absolutely the +reflection—direct or remote, precise or vague—of our own feelings +and thoughts. All my efforts to establish the identity of a stranger +spirit, unknown to the persons present, have failed.</p> + +<p>On the other hand, attentive examination of different communications +leads us toward a conclusion as to their origin. When amidst the +Marquis de Mirville’s revelations, one is in the full swing of Roman +Catholic diabolism—demons, spirits, purgatory, miracles, +prayers,—nothing is lacking. With the Count de Gasparin, we are in +the bosom of Rational Protestantism, which is absolutely the opposite +of the other. Here are no present miracles, no devils, but simply a +physical agency, a fluid obedient to volition. In the experiences of +Eugene Nus’s circle, we find the language of Fourier discoursing about +the phalanstery, about racial solidarity, and socialistic religion. +Therein are found earthly music chanted in space,—songs of Saturn and +Jupiter<span class='pagenum'><a name="page161" id="page161">161</a></span> dictated under the influence of Alyre Bureau, who was the +musician for the spiritualist society of Allan-Kardec. Here we have +disembodied spirits of all ranks, and this is the apostolate of their +reincarnation.</p> + +<p>In the United States, on the contrary, the moving tables declare that +the hypothesis of reincarnation is absurd and misleading; and it may +be assumed that none of the persons present, especially the ladies, +would for one moment admit the possibility of being some day +reincarnated beneath the skin of a negro. A brilliant imagination, +like that of Sardou, will picture to us Jupiter’s castles; a musician +may receive the revelation of a musical composition, more or less +charming; an astronomer may be favored with astronomical +communications. Is this physical auto-suggestion? Not absolutely, +since the force goes outside of ourselves, in order to act. It is +rather <i>mental</i> suggestion; yet an idea cannot be suggested to a piece +of wood. This is, therefore, the direct action of the mind. I cannot +find a better name for it than <i>psychical force</i>, a term, as already +stated, which I have used since 1865, and which has since become the +fashion.</p> + +<p>The action of mind, outside the body, has other testimony, however. +Magnetism, hypnotism, suggestion, telepathy prove this every day. It +cannot be disputed that here also we encounter many illusions.</p> + +<p>Some ten years ago a learned physician at Nice, Doctor Barety, the +author of “La Force Neurique Rayonnante et Circulante” (The Radiation +and Circulation of Nervous Force) devoted himself to ingenious +experiments in the distant transmission of thought as observable in a +magnetized person. In these experiments, in which I assisted, it +seemed to me that the subject’s sense of hearing amply sufficed to +explain the results.</p> + +<p>Take one case. The subject began to count aloud, while the magnetizer +was in an adjoining room, the door standing open between them. At a +certain moment the doctor, with all his energy, projected his “nervous +fluid” from his hands, and the magnetized subject forthwith ceased +counting; yet the doctor’s linen cuffs made enough noise to indicate +what he commanded, though no word was spoken. During the experiments +at Salpétrière and at Ivry, to which Doctor Luys was kind enough to +invite me, I thought I observed that a previous knowledge of the +sequence of the experiments<span class='pagenum'><a name="page162" id="page162">162</a></span> furnished a wide margin for the exercise +of the personal faculties of the young women upon whom the experiments +were made. These suspicions, however, did not prevent certain facts in +regard to mental suggestion from being absolutely incontestable.</p> + +<p>Here is one among others:—</p> + +<p>Doctor Ochorowiez was attending a lady troubled with long-standing +hysterio-epilepsy, aggravated by a maniacal inclination to suicide. +Madame M. was twenty-seven years of age, and had a vigorous +constitution. She appeared to be in excellent health. Her active and +gay temperament was united with extreme moral sensibility. Her +character was specially truthful. Her profound goodness was tinctured +with a tendency toward self-sacrifice. Her intelligence was +remarkable. Her talents were many, and her perceptive faculties were +good. At times she would display a lack of willpower, and an element +of painful indecision; while at other times she showed exceptional +firmness. The slightest moral fatigue, any unexpected impression, +though of trifling importance, whether agreeable or otherwise, +reacted, although slowly and imperceptibly, upon her vaso-motor +nerves, and brought on convulsive attacks and a nervous swoon. Writes +Dr. Ochorowiez in his work on Mental Suggestion:</p> + +<div class="quotation"><p>One day, or rather one night, her attack being over +(including a phase of delirium), the patient fell quietly +asleep. Awaking suddenly, and seeing us (one of her female +friends and myself) still near her, she begged us to go +away, and not to tire ourselves needlessly on her account. +She was so persistent that, fearing a nervous crisis, we +departed. I went slowly downstairs, for she resided on the +fourth story, and I paused several times to listen +attentively, troubled by an evil presentiment; for she had +wounded herself several times a few days before. I had +already reached the courtyard, when I paused again, asking +myself whether or not I ought to go away.</p> + +<p>All at once her window opened with a slam, and I saw the +sick woman leaning out with a rapid motion. I rushed to the +spot where she might fall; and mechanically, without +attaching any great importance to the impulse, I +concentrated all my will in one great desire to oppose her +precipitation.</p> + +<p>The patient was influenced, however, though already leaning +far out, and retreated slowly and spasmodically from the +window. The same movements were repeated five times in +succession, until the patient, seemingly fatigued, at last +remained motionless, her back leaning against the casement +of the window, which was still open.</p> + +<p>She could not see me, as I was in the shadow far below, and +it was night. At that moment, her friend, Mademoiselle X., +ran in, and caught madame in her arms. I heard them +struggling together, and hastened up the stairs to +mademoiselle’s assistance. I found the invalid in a frenzy +of excitement. She did not recognize us, but mistook us for<span class='pagenum'><a name="page163" id="page163">163</a></span> +robbers. I could only draw her away from the window by using +violence enough to throw her upon her knees. Several times +she tried to bite me; but after much trouble, I succeeded in +replacing the poor lady in her bed. While maintaining my +grasp with one hand, I induced a contraction of her arms, +and finally put her to sleep.</p> + +<p>When again in a somnambulistic state, her first words were: +“Thanks!—pardon!”</p> + +<p>Then she told me that she positively intended to throw +herself out of the window, but that each time she felt as if +she were “stayed from below.”</p> + +<p>“How so?”</p> + +<p>“I do not know.”</p> + +<p>“Did you have any suspicion of my presence?”</p> + +<p>“No! it was precisely because I believed you away, that I +proposed to carry out my design. However, it seemed to me at +times that you were near me, or behind me, and that you did +not want me to fall.”</p></div> + +<p>Here is another experiment still more striking. Pierre Janet, +Professor of Philosophy in the Havre Lycée, and Monsieur Gibert, a +physician, selected as a subject for their observation a certain +woman, a native of Brittany. She was fifty years old, robust, and +moderately sensitive to hypnotic influences. On October 10, 1885, they +agreed upon the following command:</p> + +<div class="quotation"><p>To-morrow, at noon, lock the doors of your house.</p> +<p class="author">w.</p> +</div> + +<p>This suggestion Dr. Janet inscribed upon a sheet of paper, which he +carried about in his pocket, not communicating its purport to anybody. +Dr. Gibert made the suggestion by placing his forehead against the +woman’s, while she was in a lethargic slumber; and for a few moments +he concentrated his mind upon the mental command he was giving.</p> + +<p>Writes Janet concerning this incident:</p> + +<div class="quotation"><p>On the morrow we went to the house, at fifteen minutes +before twelve, and found the entrance barricaded and the +doors locked. Inquiry proved that madame herself had closed +them. When I asked her, next day, why she had done such a +strange thing, she replied: “I felt very tired, and did not +want you to come in and put me to sleep.”</p> + +<p>She was greatly agitated at the time. She continually +wandered about the garden, and I saw her pluck a rose, and +go towards the letter-box, which was near the gate. These +actions were of no importance; but it is curious to note +that these last actions were precisely those the day before +we had thought of ordering her to perform, though we +afterwards decided upon a different suggestion, namely, that +of locking the doors. Undoubtedly his first suggestion +occupied Gibert’s mind while he was giving the second, and +had a corresponding influence over the woman.</p></div> + +<p>Here is still another experiment, related by Doctor Dusart:</p> + +<div class="quotation"><p>Every day, before leaving a certain young patient, I +commanded her to sleep until a specified hour the next day. +Once I came away, forgetting<span class='pagenum'><a name="page164" id="page164">164</a></span> this precaution, and I was +seven hundred yards away before I thought of it. Being +unable to retrace my steps, I said to myself that my wish +might perhaps be felt, notwithstanding the distance, since a +silent suggestion was sometimes obeyed at an interval of one +or two yards. I therefore formulated my command that she +should sleep until eight o’clock the next morning, and then +kept on my way. The next day I called again, at half-past +seven, and found my patient still asleep.</p> + +<p>“How happens it that you are still asleep?”</p> + +<p>“Why, Monsieur, I am obeying your orders.”</p> + +<p>“You are mistaken. I went away without giving any such +command!”</p> + +<p>“That is so! but five minutes later I distinctly heard you +tell me to sleep until eight o’clock.”</p> + +<p>As it was not yet eight, and as eight was the hour I usually +indicated, the possibility suggested itself that her +awakening was the result of an illusion, arising from habit, +and perhaps, after all, this was a case of simple +coincidence. In order to make a clean breast of it, and +leave no room for doubt, I ordered the invalid to sleep +until she should receive a command to awake.</p> + +<p>During the day, having a few spare moments, I resolved to +complete the experiment. On leaving my house, seven +kilometers away, I mentally gave the order for her to wake +up. I noticed that it was two o’clock. On reaching the house +I found her awake. Her parents, following my advice, had +noted the precise time of her awakening. It was the very +hour at which I gave the command.</p> + +<p>This experiment was repeated several times, at different +hours, and always with kindred results.</p></div> + +<p>This is really very interesting; but here is something which appears +more extraordinary.</p> + +<div class="quotation"><p>On the first of January I discontinued my visits, and my +relations to the family ceased. I had not even heard them +spoken of; yet on January 12, as I was making some visits in +an opposite direction, ten kilometers away from my former +patient, I found myself wondering if it was still possible +to make her hear my mental commands, despite the distance +separating us, despite the cessation of my relations to the +family, and despite the intervention of a third party, the +father himself, who was magnetizing his daughter. I +therefore bade the patient not fall asleep. Half an hour +later, reflecting that if, by some extraordinary chance, my +command was obeyed, this might prejudice the mind of the +unfortunate girl against me, I withdrew my prohibition, and +dismissed it from my thoughts. On the following morning, at +six o’clock, I was greatly surprised by the arrival of a +messenger, bringing me a letter from the father of the young +lady, in which he informed me that on the day before, +January 12, at ten o’clock in the forenoon, he was unable to +put his daughter to sleep, except by a prolonged and +disagreeable struggle. When she at last fell asleep she +declared that if she had resisted, it was because of my +command, and that she finally fell asleep only because I +permitted it.</p> + +<p>These declarations had been made before witnesses, whom the +father had asked to countersign his report. I have preserved +this letter, and have added a few circumstantial details +thereto.</p> + +<p>It is, therefore, probable that, with an exact knowledge or +phenomenal conditions, we may eventually be able to mentally +transmit entire thoughts to distant points, as is done now +by telephone.</p></div> + +<p>Independently of magnetism, it is difficult not to believe<span class='pagenum'><a name="page165" id="page165">165</a></span> that two +persons, mutually dear to each other, although separated by certain +circumstances, may remain united by their thoughts, with a tenacity +which nothing can disturb, especially if the circumstances are grave. +The thoughts of the one react upon the mind of the other, as if the +beatings of one heart could transmit themselves to another heart. +There is a certain psychical tie between the two; and at the time when +one especially concentrates his voluntary force upon the other, it is +not unusual for the latter to feel the reaction, and be plunged into a +revery even more intense. The transmission of thought—or, to speak +more exactly, <i>suggestion</i>,—is, under these conditions, a matter for +observation, which might frequently be applied.</p> + +<p>I shall not here consider the phenomena of telepathy or ghosts. +Readers of <span class="sc">The Arena</span> have been favored with Mr. Wallace’s excellent +articles on this point, and it would be superfluous to reconsider it. +No doubt our readers are also acquainted with the examples reported in +my work called Urania, and have long been aware that I believe in the +possibility of communications between invisible beings and ourselves. +In the point of view at which I have placed myself in this technical +and essentially scientific outline, I have taken care to carefully +distinguish the things seen by myself from those which I have not +seen.</p> + +<p>I do not belong to the same class with those who say: “We have not +seen it, and therefore it cannot be.” There are honest people +everywhere. There are, perhaps, few exact observers, capable of +reporting facts, without changing anything in their recitals; but +there are witnesses we cannot well gainsay.</p> + +<p>Here, for example, is a letter among many recently addressed to me, +relative to certain extraordinary facts.</p> + +<div class="quotation"><p>Your work, Urania, has prompted me to bring to your +knowledge an event which I heard related by the very person +to whom it happened,-a Danish physician, named Vogler, +residing at Gudum, near Alborg, in Jutland.</p> + +<p>Vogler is a man of robust health, both in mind and body. He +has an upright and positive disposition, without the least +tendency (but quite the contrary) to nervous excitability.</p> + +<p>He related to me the following story, which I have often +heard confirmed by others as the unadorned and exact truth.</p> + +<p>When a young man, studying medicine, he travelled in Germany +with Count Schimmuelmann, a noted name among the nobility of +Holstein, who was about his own age. They hired a small +house in a German university town where they proposed to +stay for sometime. The Count<span class='pagenum'><a name="page166" id="page166">166</a></span> lived in the apartments on the +ground floor, while Vogler occupied the next story; and the +street door, as well as the stairway, were used by +themselves alone. One night, when Mr. Vogler was reading in +bed, he suddenly heard the door at the foot of the stairs +open and shut; but he did not pay any attention to it, +believing the Count had just come in. A few moments later he +heard slow and tired footsteps ascend the stairs, and stop +at his chamber door. He saw the door open, but nobody +appeared. The footsteps did not cease, however, for he heard +them on the floor, advancing from the door to the bed. He +could see absolutely nothing, although the light was +continuously burning; and he could not understand the +affair, not recognizing the footsteps. When the steps had +drawn very near the bed, he heard a great sigh, which he at +once recognized as that of his grandmother, whom he had left +in good health at their home in Denmark. At the same instant +he also recognized the step, which was, indeed, the halting +and aged step of his grandmother. Looking at his watch, +which he had placed under his pillow, Vogler noted the exact +hour, and made a memorandum of it, for he at once surmised +that his grandmother might be dying at the very instant. At +a later day he received a letter from the paternal home, +announcing the sudden death of his grandmother, who +particularly cherished him above the other grandchildren. +This established the fact that her death occurred at the +very hour indicated. In this manner did the venerable woman +take leave of her grandson, who did not even know of her +illness.</p> + +<p class="rgt"><span class="sc">Edward Hambro</span><br /> +<i>Counselor-at-law, and Secretary of Public Works<br /> +in the City of Christiana</i>.<br /> +</p> +</div> + +<p>Here, as may be seen, is a fact, observed as precisely as a scientific +experiment; and it might be added to those I have published in Urania.</p> + +<p>I will adduce one more fact, which was observed very long ago, in +1784, by my great-grandfather, on my mother’s side.</p> + +<p>It occurred in Illand, a little village in the county of Bar, which +to-day belongs to the Department of Haute-Marne, not far from the +native place of both my maternal grandfather and myself. In childhood +I spent all my vacations there among the vine-planted hills, face to +face with gracious landscapes, amid forests alive with bird songs. The +house yet stands in which the incident happened. It is at the entrance +of the village, on the right, and is called the Chateau. One evening +my great-grandmother, on returning from her work in the fields, +perceived, by the huge chimney-corner (which can still be seen), her +brother, who had been dead several months. He was seated, and seemed +to be warming himself. “My God!” she exclaimed in affright, “it’s our +dead Rolet!” and then she ran away. Her husband, entering in his turn, +also saw his brother-in-law sitting by the fireplace. At that critical +moment one of the farm hands uttered an oath, and the apparition +vanished.<span class='pagenum'><a name="page167" id="page167">167</a></span></p> + +<p>I give this narrative as it was related to me. No misgivings as to the +reality of the vision existed in the minds of the personages in my +grandmother’s household.</p> + +<p>Allow me to mention another illustration. In February, 1889, I +received from H. Van der Kerkhare the following communication, +relating to an article I had published about this class of phenomena.</p> + +<div class="quotation"><p>While in Texas, on August 25, 1874, towards sunset, I was +smoking my after-dinner pipe in a room on the ground floor +of the house I occupied. I was facing the wall, with a door +on my right opening towards the northwest. Here is a diagram +of the scene.</p> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/fig167.jpg" alt="Seat and door location" title="" /> +</div> + +<p>Suddenly I saw my old grandfather in the doorway. I was in +that semi-conscious state of well-being and quietude natural +to a man with a good appetite who has dined satisfactorily. +I was not at all astonished to see my grandfather there. In +fact, I was vegetating just then, thinking of nothing in +particular. Nevertheless, I said to myself:—“It is droll +that the rays of the setting sun should pour gold and purple +through the least folds of my grandfather’s garments and +face.” In fact, the setting sun was red, and threw its last +horizontal rays diagonally athwart the doorway. Grandfather +had a beneficent countenance. He smiled and seemed happy. +All at once he disappeared along with the vanishing sun, and +I roused myself as from a dream, but with the conviction +that I had seen an apparition. Six weeks afterwards I was +apprised by letter that my grandfather had died on the night +of August 25 and 26 between one and two o’clock. Well, there +is a difference of five and one-half hours between the +longitude of Belgium, where my grandfather died, and the +longitude of Texas where I was, and where the sun set at +about seven o’clock.</p></div> + +<p>It would be easy to cite a large number of similar cases. Let me end +this section with the following conclusion of Ch. Richet, the learned +editor of the <i>Revue Scientifique</i>:—</p> + +<div class="quotation"><p>Unless we discredit the value of all human testimony, these +stories are veritable and accurate. Whenever kindred +incidents are reproduced by experiment, telepathy will no +longer be disputed, but admitted as a natural phenomenon, as +well proven as the rotation of the earth, or as the +contagion of tuberculosis. To-day’s audacious theories will, +in a few years, seem almost like infantile truisms.</p></div> + +<p>We have now come to the closing section of this already long +essay,—namely, to the explanation of such phenomena as table-tipping, +spirit rapping and dictation, and distant transmission of thought. Let +us confess that it is much easier to unfold and discuss such facts, +than to determine their <i>modus<span class='pagenum'><a name="page168" id="page168">168</a></span> operandi</i>. I will add that, even if +in the present state of our knowledge, it is impossible to explain +these facts, there is no shadow of a reason for rejecting them.</p> + +<p>The theory with which we conclude has been anticipated by the +preceding sections.</p> + +<p>What is the universe? What is nature? What are beings? What are +things?</p> + +<p>From astronomy to physiology, everything constrains us to allow the +existence of at least two elements—force and matter.</p> + +<p>The order and laws of the universe, together with human thought and +consciousness, lead us to admit (besides force and matter) a third +element—intelligence; for speaking only of the constituency of our +planet, no chemical combination whatever has ever been known to +produce an idea.</p> + +<p>Force directs. Matter obeys.</p> + +<p>Force is invisible and so is matter.</p> + +<p>All matter whatsoever is composed of atoms, too infinitesimal for our +perception, and even invisible beneath the most powerful microscope +but whose existence is demonstrated by chemistry, as well as by +physics. The molecules of iron, gold, hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, appear +to be groups of atoms. Even if we deny the existence of atoms, and +admit only the existence of molecules, they also are invisible.</p> + +<p>Matter, therefore, in its very essence, is invisible. Our eyes behold +only motion and transitory forms. Our hands touch only appearances. +Hardness and softness, heat and cold, weight and lightness, are +relative, not absolute conditions.</p> + +<p>What we call matter is only an effect produced upon our senses by the +motion of atoms,—that is to say, by our unceasing receptivity to +sensations.</p> + +<p>The universe is a dynamic conglomerate. Atoms are in perpetual motion, +caused by forces. All is movement. Heat, light, electricity, +terrestrial magnetism, do not exist as independent agents. They are +but modes of motion. That which actually exists is force. It is force +that sustains the universe. It is force that projects the earth into +space. It is force that constitutes living creatures.</p> + +<p>The human soul is a principle of force. Thought is a dynamic act. +Psychical force acts upon the matter composing our bodies, and +actuates all our members to fulfil their tasks. Like all forces, +psychical force can transform itself,<span class='pagenum'><a name="page169" id="page169">169</a></span> can become electricity, heat, +light, motion; for these are all modes of motion. Psychical force is +itself in motion.</p> + +<p>It can act outside the limits of the human organism, and can +temporarily animate a table. I place my hands on a round table, with a +firm desire to see it obey my will. I communicate to it a certain +heat, a certain electricity, a certain polarization, or a certain +other something we have not yet discovered. The stand becomes, so to +speak, an extension of my body, and submits to the influence of my +will. I look at a person. I take his hand. I thus act upon him.</p> + +<p>More than this. If the brain of another person vibrates in unison with +mine, or has at one in harmony with the keynote of my own brain, I can +act upon him, even from a distance.</p> + +<p>If I emit a sound a few yards from a piano, those piano-strings which +are in harmony with my utterance will vibrate, and themselves send +forth a kindred sound, easily distinguishable.</p> + +<p>A telegraph wire transmits a despatch: A neighboring wire is +influenced by induction; and it has been possible, by the aid of this +second and separate wire, to read messages sent over the first.</p> + +<p>There is still more to be said. The principle of the transformation of +force to-day opens to us new views which might well be called +marvellous. We every day make use of the telephone, without thinking +that it is, in itself, more astonishing than all the occult facts +considered in this paper.</p> + +<p>You speak. Your voice is transmitted ten or twenty thousand +kilometers, from Paris to Marseilles, and even farther away. You think +it is your own voice which is heard and recognized at the other end of +the wire; but it is not; your voice has not made the journey. Sound of +itself, in its ordinary state, is not transmitted with anything like +the rapidity attending this flight over the copper wire. If it were +otherwise, we should have to wait seven hours and twenty-four seconds +for a response, whereas there is no appreciable delay in the +telephonic passage of sound. The usual vocal velocity becomes electric +velocity, and the interval between the terminal stations of the wire +is traversed instantaneously. On reaching its destination, the current +again transforms itself into sound through its encounter with a +medial, an environment like that at its starting-point.</p> + +<p>Is the conductive wire indispensable? By no means! Is<span class='pagenum'><a name="page170" id="page170">170</a></span> there a +connecting wire between the sun and the earth? Yet the spots on the +sun occasion rebounds in the variations of terrestrial magnetism. In +the photophone the conductive wire has already been dispensed with, +and a ray of light is used in its place. You speak behind a mirror, +and thus cause it to vibrate. These vibrations modify the reflection +of light from the vibrating mirror, which thus bears along your voice, +with which it becomes charged. Selenium, the chemical element used in +the operation, transmits the sound to the telephone, and your spoken +word is reproduced.</p> + +<p>The principal of the transformation of forces is undoubtedly one of +the most prolific in modern physics. Heat can be transformed into +mechanical motion; mechanical motion may be transformed into heat. +Electricity is transformable into magnetism; and, reciprocally, +magnetism may change into electricity, into light. The motion of the +mill-wheel serves to illuminate your house. From Paris you can light a +lamp in Brussels. When you act from afar upon another mind, it is not +your thought which travels, as a mental condition; but your thought +traverses the intervening ether through a series of vibrations as yet +unknown to us, and only becomes thought again when brought into +contact with another brain, because the last transference brings the +impulse into a medium akin to that from which it started. It is +therefore necessary that this second brain should be in sympathy with +yours; that is to say, using one of Doctor Ochorowiez’s expressions, +that “the dynamic tone” of the receiver should be in accord with your +own. It is, moreover, noticeable that there are periods when veritable +thought-currents affect thousands of brains at the same moment. At the +bottom of all this there is but one principle, and that is identical +with the relation existing between the magnet and the iron, between +the sun and the earth,—namely, the transmission and transformation of +motion. Herbert Spencer has said:—</p> + +<div class="quotation"><p>The discovery that matter, so simple in appearance, is +wonderfully complicated in its vital structure,—and that +other discovery, that its molecules, oscillating with a +rapidity almost infinite, convey their impressions to the +surrounding ether, which, in turn, transmits them over +inconceivable distances, in an inconceivably short space of +time,—these discoveries lead us to the even more marvellous +discovery, that any kind of molecules are affected in a +special manner by molecules of the same kind, though +situated in the most distant regions of space.</p></div> + +<p>It requires but one step more for the admission that<span class='pagenum'><a name="page171" id="page171">171</a></span> psychical +communications may be established between an inhabitant of Mars and an +inhabitant of the earth.</p> + +<p>We are often asked what all these studies amount to. That is still +unknown. If they should end in a scientific proof of the existence and +immortality of the soul, these investigations would forthwith surpass +in value all other human sciences put together, without a single +exception.</p> + +<p>It must be acknowledged that this reason is a sufficient authorization +for us not to despise this class of researches. But this argument is +needless. These investigations relate to the unknown, and that reason +is all-sufficient.</p> + +<p>Did Galvani in examining the convulsions of his frogs, have any idea +of the immense, the prodigious, the universal part which electric +science was to perform in less than a century? Denis Papin and Robert +Fulton, Benjamin Franklin and James Watts, Jouffroy and Daguerre,—all +the inventors, all the searchers after truth,—were they wrong in +losing themselves in their pursuit of the unknown? It is such men who +cause the advance of humanity. It is to them mankind owes its +progress.</p> + +<p>If it were proved, we say, that there exists outside of us, and even +within us, an immaterial and spiritual force, which eludes the known +processes of nature, and the acknowledged laws of life,—and which +reveals itself by other processes and other laws, which do not +supplant the first, but take an equal place beside them, this new +knowledge might enlighten somewhat the shadows which now conceal the +great secret of the origin and destiny of such poor beings as +ourselves.</p> + +<p>First of all, let us seek the truth. To be sure, Taine has written +very wittily: “I never thought that a truth could be of any practical +use!” but we may not be of the same mind, and may think, on the +contrary, that the search for truth is the prime object of men’s +intellectual existence.<span class='pagenum'><a name="page172" id="page172">172</a></span></p> + +<h2 class="article_title"><a id="article_5" name="article_5"></a>THE SWISS AND AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONS,</h2> +<hr class="short" /> +<p class="author_byline">BY W. D. McCRACKAN.</p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p>The study of federalism, as a system of government, has in recent +times become a favorite subject for constitutional writers. At present +the United States and the Dominion of Canada on this continent, the +newly constituted Australian Commonwealth at the Antipodes, and in +Europe the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Swiss +Confederation are all examples of the application of the federal +principle in its various phases. What makes all researches into this +branch of political learning particularly difficult, and perhaps for +that reason also exceptionally fascinating, is the fact that federated +states seem forever oscillating between the two extremes of complete +centralization and decentralization. The two forces, centripetal and +centrifugal, seem to be always pulling against each other, and +producing a new resultant which varies according to their +proportionate intensity. One is almost tempted to say that there must +be an ideal state somewhere between these two extremes, some point of +perfect balance, from which no nation can ever depart very far without +either falling apart into anarchy or being consolidated into +despotism. Whatever, therefore, can throw light upon these obscure +forces is certainly entitled to our deepest interest.</p> + +<p>But not all the different states mentioned above as representatives of +federalism, possess an equal value for us in our search after +improvements in the art of self-government. The study of the +constitutions of the German and Austro-Hungarian empires can only be +of secondary importance to us Americans, because these states are +founded upon monarchical principles, quite foreign to our body +politic. To a limited extent, the same objection may be made to the +Canadian and Australian constitutions, since the connection of those +countries with the monarchical mother country has not been +constitutionally severed. But there is another federated state in +existence, until lately almost ignored by<span class='pagenum'><a name="page173" id="page173">173</a></span> writers on political +subjects, whose example can in reality be of the utmost use to us, for +its general organization more nearly resembles our own in miniature +than any other. This country is Switzerland. In her quiet fashion the +unobtrusive little Confederation is working out some of the great +modern problems, and her citizens, with their natural aptitude for +self-government, are presenting object lessons which we especially in +America cannot afford to overlook. It is true that political analogies +are sometimes a little perilous, for identical situations can never be +reproduced in different countries, but if there be any virtue at all +in the study of comparative politics, a comparison between the Federal +constitutions of Switzerland and the United States ought to throw into +relief some features which can be of service to us.</p> + +<p>To be perfectly frank, the Swiss constitution, when placed side by +side with our own, at first shows certain decided short-comings. The +Constitution of the United States is an eminently logical, +well-balanced document, in which a masterly distinction is made +between the executive, legislative, and judicial functions of +government, and between matters which belong by nature to organic law, +and those which may safely be left to the statute law. In the Swiss +constitution, however, the line which separates these departments is +not as clearly drawn, so that, in fact, a certain amount of confusion +in their treatment becomes apparent. In the primitive leagues which +were concluded between the early Confederates no attempt was made to +draw up regular constitutions, and the one now in force dates only +from 1848, with amendments made in 1874, 1879, and 1885, an instrument +still somewhat imperfect, perhaps, but none the less suggestive to the +student.</p> + +<p>There are two institutions in the Swiss state which bear a very strong +likeness to corresponding ones in our own. Both countries have a +legislative system consisting of two houses, one representing the +people numerically, and the other the Cantons or States of which the +Union is composed, and both possess a Supreme Court, which in +Switzerland goes by the name of the Federal Tribunal. It is generally +conceded that the Swiss consciously imitated these American +institutions, but in doing so they certainly took care to adapt them +to their own particular needs, so that the two sets of institutions +are by no means identical. The Swiss National Council and<span class='pagenum'><a name="page174" id="page174">174</a></span> Council of +States, forming together the Federal Assembly, are equal, co-ordinate +bodies, performing the same functions, whereas our House of +Representatives and Senate have particular duties assigned to each, +and the former occupies in a measure a subordinate position to the +latter. The Swiss Houses meet twice a year in regular sessions, on the +first Monday in June and the first Monday in December, and for extra +sessions if there is special unfinished business to transact. The +National Council is composed at present of 147 members, one +representative to every 20,000 inhabitants. Every citizen of +twenty-one is a voter; and every voter not a clergyman is eligible to +this National Council—the exclusion of the clergy is due to dread of +religious quarrels, with which the pages of Swiss history have been +only too frequently stained. A general election takes place every +three years. The salary of the representatives is four dollars a day, +which is forfeited by non-attendance, and about five cents a mile for +travelling expenses. On the other hand, the Council of States is +composed of forty-four members, two for each of the twenty-two +Cantons. The length of their terms of office is left entirely to the +discretion of the Cantons which elect them, and in the same manner +their salaries are paid out of the Cantonal treasuries. There are +certain special occasions when the two houses meet together and act in +concert: first, for the election of the Federal Council, which +corresponds in a general way to our President and his Cabinet; +secondly, for the election of the Federal Tribunal; thirdly, for that +of the Chancellor of the Confederation, an official whose duties seem +to be those of a secretary to the Federal Council and Federal +Assembly, and fourthly, for that of the Commander-in-Chief in case of +war. The attributes of the Swiss Federal Tribunal, though closely +resembling those of our Supreme Court, are not identical with them, +for the Swiss conception of the sovereignty of the people is quite +different from our own. Their Federal Assembly is the repository of +the national sovereignty, and, therefore, no other body can override +its decisions. The Supreme Court of the United States tests the +constitutionality of laws passed by Congress which may be submitted to +it for examination, thus placing itself as arbiter over the +representatives of the people; but the Federal Tribunal must accept as +final all laws which have passed through the usual channels, so that<span class='pagenum'><a name="page175" id="page175">175</a></span> +its duty consists merely in applying them to particular cases without +questioning their constitutionality.</p> + +<p>If there is a certain resemblance between the Federal Assembly and our +Congress, and between the Federal Tribunal and our Supreme Court, +there is on the other hand a striking difference between the Federal +Council and our presidential office.</p> + +<p>The Swiss Constitution does not intrust the executive power to one +man, as our own does, but to a Federal Council of seven members, +acting as a sort of Board of Administration. These seven men are +elected for a fixed term of three years, out of the ranks of the whole +body of voters throughout the country, by the two Houses, united in +joint session. Every year they also designate, from the seven members +of the Federal Council, the two persons who shall act as President and +Vice-President of the Swiss Confederation. The Swiss President is, +therefore, only the chairman of an executive board, and presents a +complete contrast to the President of the United States, who is +virtually a monarch, elected for a short reign. Sir Henry Maine says +in his book on “Popular Government,” that somewhat exasperating but +always instructive arraignment of democracy: “On the face of the +Constitution of the United States, the resemblance of the President of +the United States to the European king, and especially to the King of +Great Britain, is too obvious to mistake. The President has, in +various degrees, a number of powers which those who know something of +kingship in its general history recognize at once as peculiarly +associated with it and with no other institution.” In truth he is +vested with all the attributes of sovereignty during his term of +office. He holds in his hand the whole executive power of the +government; he is Commander-in-Chief of the army and navy; possesses a +suspensory veto upon legislation and the privilege of pardoning +offences against Federal law, and finally is intrusted with an +appointing power unparalleled in any free country. With all this +authority he is still a partisan by reason of the manner of his +election, so that he cannot possibly administer his office +impartially, and must, from the necessity of the case, forward the +interests of one political party at the expense of the rest. It is +certainly worthy of consideration whether the Swiss Federal Council +does not contain valuable suggestions for reformers who desire<span class='pagenum'><a name="page176" id="page176">176</a></span> to +hasten the triumph of absolute democracy in the United States.</p> + +<p>The institution of the Referendum has no counterpart in our own +country, unless we except the somewhat unwieldy provisions in various +States for the revisions of their constitutions by popular vote. It is +undoubtedly the most successful experiment in applying the principles +of direct government which has been made in modern times. Having +already written more fully upon this subject in the March number of +<span class="sc">The Arena</span>, the writer will here confine himself to reminding the +readers of this review that the referendum is an institution by means +of which laws framed by the representatives are submitted to the +people for rejection or approval. It is significant of the interest +which the referendum is already exciting in this country that a +committee of gentlemen recently presented themselves at the State +House to urge the adoption of this principle in local matters.</p> + +<p>There are, besides, a host of minor differences between the Swiss and +American Constitutions, of more or less interest to students of +politics and economics.</p> + +<p>The central government in Switzerland maintains a university, the +Polytechnic at Zürich, and by virtue of the constitution also exerts +an influence over education throughout the Confederation. Article 27 +prescribes that the Cantons shall provide compulsory primary +instruction to be placed in charge of the civil authorities and to be +gratuitous in all public schools. In practice these provisions have +been found difficult to enforce where the spirit of the population was +opposed to them, as in Uri, the most illiterate of the Cantons, where +the writer found educational matters entirely in the hands of the +priesthood. Fortunately, however, the Swiss people at large have a +very keen appreciation of the value of education, so that illiteracy, +as we have it in this country, among the negroes and the poor whites +of the South, as well as amongst certain classes of our immigrants, is +really unknown in Switzerland. Someone has jestingly said that there +“the primary business of the state is to keep school,” and really, in +travelling through the country which gave birth to Pestalozzi, one is +continually impressed with the size and comparative splendor of the +schoolhouses; in every village and hamlet they have the appearance of +being the very best which the community by scrimping and saving<span class='pagenum'><a name="page177" id="page177">177</a></span> can +possibly put up. On the subject of import duties, the Constitution +lays down in Article 29 as general rules to guide the conduct of +legislators, that “materials which are necessary to the industries and +agriculture of the country shall be taxed as low as possible; the same +rule shall be observed in regard to the necessaries of life. Articles +of luxury shall be subjected to the highest taxes.” From this set of +principles it will be seen that Switzerland levies her duties for +revenue only, as the phrase is, although it must be confessed that +there is a perceptible tendency now manifested to raise the duties in +consequence of the high protectionist wave which is sweeping over the +continent of Europe at the present moment. When the statistics of +Switzerland’s general trade, including all goods in transit, which, of +course, make a considerable portion of the whole, are compared with +those of other European states, it is found that she possesses a +greater amount of general trade per head of population than any other +country, more even than England. The telegraph and telephone systems +are managed by the central government, as well as the post office, +with excellent results. Not only are these departments conducted in an +exemplary manner upon cheap terms, but a respectable revenue is also +derived from them which makes a good showing in the annual budget. +Everything which is connected with the army, from the selection of the +recruits to the election of the Commander-in-Chief, also possesses +exceptional interest, because Switzerland is the only country in the +world which has so far succeeded in maintaining an efficient militia +without the vestige of a standing army. An attempt was made in 1885 to +deal with the evils of intemperance, by establishing a state monopoly +of the manufacture and sale of spirituous liquors, the Revenue thus +derived being apportioned amongst the Cantons according to population, +with the proviso that ten per cent. of it be used by them to combat +the causes and effects of alcoholism in their midst. It is too early +to speak of the final results of this legislation, but for the moment +there seems to be a decided falling off in the consumption of the +cruder and more injurious qualities. Amongst other matters which the +Federal authorities have brought under their supervision, are the +forests, river improvements, ordinary roads, and railroads, and +bridges, etc., not managing them all directly, but reserving the right +to regulate them at<span class='pagenum'><a name="page178" id="page178">178</a></span> will. Even hunting and fishing come within the +jurisdiction of the central government, this constitutional power +having been used to preserve the chamois in certain mountain ranges +where they were threatening to disappear completely, but where, thanks +to timely interference, they are now actually on the increase.</p> + +<p>Apart from these constitutional provisions, the general drift of +legislative action seems to have set in very strongly towards a mild +form of state socialism, somewhat after the form of the Prussian +system, but with this difference, that in the case of Switzerland it +is the people who unite to delegate certain powers to the state, while +in the latter country this policy is imposed upon the people from +above by the ruling authorities. The altogether exceptional clauses in +the Swiss Constitution referring to the exclusion of the Jesuits, a +survival of the war of 1848, to the so-called Heimatlosen, or those +who have no commune of origin, and to the police appointed to control +the movements of foreign agitators seeking the asylum of the country, +all these have a purely local interest, and need not be especially +examined.</p> + +<p>What, then, is the peculiar mark and symbol of the Swiss Constitution, +taken as a whole? When all has been said and done, the most +characteristic provisions are those which introduce forms of direct +government or of pure democracy, as the technical expression is. The +supremacy of the legislative branch, as representing the people, the +peculiar make-up of the Federal Council, the limited powers of the +Federal Tribunal, and above all the institution of the referendum, are +all evidences of this tendency toward direct government. In the +Cantonal governments the same quality is still more apparent, for it +is from them that the Swiss Federal Constitution has borrowed the +principles which underlie these characteristic provisions. In point of +fact, representative democracy has never felt quite at home in +Switzerland; there has always been an effort to revert to simpler, +more straightforward methods; to reduce the distance which separates +the people from the exercise of their sovereignty; and to constitute +them into a court of final appeal.</p> + +<p>In view of the marvellous stability which the pure democracy of +Switzerland has displayed, there is something comical in the horror of +all forms of direct government expressed<span class='pagenum'><a name="page179" id="page179">179</a></span> by most constitutional +writers. De Tocqueville, whom we honor for his appreciation of our own +Constitution, declares “that they all tend to render the government of +the people irregular in its action, precipitate in its resolutions, +and tyrannical in its acts.” Mr. George Grote also condemns the +referendum, and of course one cannot expect pure democracy to be +praised by Sir Henry Maine, who believes that “the progress of mankind +has hitherto been effected by the rise and fall of aristocracies.” On +the other hand it is refreshing to hear Mr. Freeman and Mr. Dicey +actually discussing the practicability of introducing the referendum +into the English political system.</p> + +<p>After all, is not this very quality of directness a great +recommendation, when we consider the rubbish which at present clogs +the wheels of our political machinery, the complications which confuse +the voter and hide the real issues from his comprehension? The very +epithets pure and direct satisfy at once our best aspirations and our +common sense. If monarchy is the government of one, oligarchy that of +a few, and democracy that of many, surely there will some day arise +the rule of all. The United States seems to be standing at the parting +of two ways, one of which leads back in a vicious circle to plutocracy +and despotism, while the other advances towards a genuine pure +democracy. No nation can stand still. Which way shall it be?<span class='pagenum'><a name="page180" id="page180">180</a></span></p> + +<h2 class="article_title"><a id="article_6" name="article_6"></a>THE TYRANNY OF ALL THE PEOPLE.</h2> +<hr class="short" /> +<p class="author_byline">BY REV. FRANCIS BELLAMY.</p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p>Dr. Whewell observed that the acceptance of every new idea passed +through three stages: 1. It is absurd; 2. It is contrary to the Bible; +3. We always believed it. Change the second stage to, It is +unscientific, and the diagram may apply to socialism. We have +certainly emerged from the period when it was considered a valid +argument to call socialism somebody’s dream. It is now treated with a +scientific earnestness which betrays its progress in general thought. +This serious grappling with the subject is noted in the recent “Plea +for Liberty,” by some of Mr. Herbert Spencer’s disciples, for which +Mr. Spencer himself has written an elaborate introduction.</p> + +<p>The same earnestness is felt in the masterly editorial, “Is Socialism +Desirable?” in <span class="sc">The Arena</span> for May. This is a solid contribution to the +permanent literature of the subject. It is not a surprise that it has +commanded such wide attention. Its deep thoughtfulness, its strategic +selection of only vital points for its attack, and, not the least, its +kindliness and chivalry, mark it as a notable production. I truly +appreciate the honor of being chosen by this knightly antagonist to +face the attack on his own sands.</p> + +<p>It is not without some question, however, that I accept the generous +challenge. For I am not sure that I myself believe in the military +type of socialism which the editor seems continually to have in mind. +The book, which more than all others combined has brought socialism +before American thought, has also furnished to its opponents a +splendidly clear target in its military organization. It cannot be +repeated too often, however, that the army type is not conceded by +socialists to be an essential, even, of nationalistic socialism. +Democratic socialism differs considerably from military socialism, and +may be fully as national in its reach. In so far as Mr. Flower’s +arguments apply to democratic<span class='pagenum'><a name="page181" id="page181">181</a></span> socialism, the following paragraphs may +be taken as a rejoinder.</p> + +<p>To bring the chief counts of the editor’s indictment again clearly +before the readers, it will be well to summarize them:—</p> + +<p>(1) National socialism means governmentalism, which is tyranny over +the individual.</p> + +<p>(2) National socialism means paternalism, which, exercised by all the +people, is the most hopeless kind of tyranny.</p> + +<p>(3) National socialism means the arrest of progress, because the +majority will surely tyrannize over the small “vanguard of human +progress.”</p> + +<p>(4) National socialism will be needless when the people are educated +to the fraternalism which alone could temper the inevitable despotism +of the majority.</p> + +<p>There is a period in every agitation of a new idea when the most +prosperous weapon against it is a thumping epithet. The name must be +apt enough to stick. Furthermore, no matter how misleading, it must be +suggestive of sinister things.</p> + +<p>“Governmentalism” is such a word. In its etymology it is harmless +enough. Governmental is the adjective of government, and means +“exercising the powers of government.” Governmentalism, therefore, +means the exercise of the powers of government considered as a +principle. But the word when made the bogy of socialism is supposed to +mean the principle of the exercise of the powers of government raised +to the <i>nth</i> degree, and separated from the people. It suggests a +shadowy somewhat of officialdom; a Corliss engine of functionaryism; +all of which is thought of as apart from the people, yet pressing upon +the people. In other words, the name “governmentalism,” while intended +as a word of opprobrium for socialism, really indicates the amazing +misconception which the critics have of the nation itself, and of the +relation of the nation’s life to its self-direction.</p> + +<p>The nation is not an aggregate of the Smiths, and Joneses, and +Robinsons. It is a favorite formula with the opponents of the new +school that the nation is but a multitude of individuals. So is a +sand-heap. But in the nation the individual atoms are linked by mutual +obligations. They are members one of another. No individual can claim +isolation and independency. Let him make the most of his +individuality;<span class='pagenum'><a name="page182" id="page182">182</a></span> yet, as Aristotle said, “Man is a political animal;” +his nature apart from the nation is incomplete; sundered from that to +which he belongs he seems a freak.</p> + +<p>The nation, then, is not an artificial binding of units; it is a +natural relationship. The ideal nation is not entered as a result of +reflection and choice. A man is born into the nation as into the +family. To belong to the English nation when born an Englishman is not +usually considered so “greatly to his credit,” except in the case of +Mr. Gilbert’s naval hero. The very term “naturalize,” with which we +denote the initiation of a foreigner, is a confession that the nation +is not a social contract but a natural relation. It is this natural +relation which makes the nation worth dying for; it is fatherland.</p> + +<p>Still further, the nation is an organic being. The scattered atoms of +a sand-heap are as perfect as before they were dislodged; not so an +amputated arm. When the nation is disunited, the detached segment +becomes a different kind of body. “The man without a country” begins +to be another sort of man. The nation is not a mass of independent +individuals, but of related individuals, who, moreover, are so closely +related that they make together an indivisible organism; this organism +develops according to orderly laws; this organism has perpetuity, +never disjoining itself either from its past or future; and this +organism has also self-consciousness and moral personality. This is +the nation in which we live, and move, and have our being.</p> + +<p>When we look this high conception of the nation squarely in the eye, +much of the talk about governmentalism seems at once irrelevant. For +government in America must ever mean the nation directing itself. Here +are no hereditary governing machines; no bureaucracies created by a +power apart from the people. In Europe, government is fastened on the +people. But in America, if government is not of the people, by the +people, and for the people, it is their own fault. The worst abuses of +power in a government actually emanating from the people, do not put +it beyond their reach. It is still the nation governing itself. It +will one day become conscious of its strength, and will direct its +efforts more wisely. But so long as it is the living, organic nation +governing itself, no mere multiplication of functions, no +straightforward increase of powers, are a discrowning of the people.<span class='pagenum'><a name="page183" id="page183">183</a></span></p> + +<p>Socialists believe in the fearless extension of government because +they have a clear and high idea of the nation as an organic +relationship, apart from which the individual cannot realize himself. +As the nation becomes more self-conscious, it perceives more clearly +its own responsibility for the development of each individual. The +self-governing nation extends its governmental powers solely to give a +better chance for development to the largest number of individuals. +“All individualism,” says Mr. Flower, “would be surrendered to that +mysterious thing called government.” But there is nothing mysterious +in the expression the nation makes of its own will; and it is hard to +discover what individualism is surrendered, except bumptiousness, when +the rounded development of the greatest number of individuals is the +nation’s motive for extending its governmental functions.</p> + +<p>There is also another kind of reason for being undismayed at the +threat of governmentalism. Nationalism is but the very distant +consummation of local socialism.</p> + +<p>I suppose it is not strange that the hostile critics occupy themselves +almost entirely with this keystone of the arch, since that has given +the name to the whole tendency. They delight to picture the superb +riot of corruption if nationalists could have their way at once. They +will never listen, they will never remember, while nationalists +declare they would not have their way at once if they could. A +catastrophe by which nationalistic socialism might be precipitated +would be a deplorable disaster to human progress.</p> + +<p>Socialism properly begins with the municipality; or more properly +still, with the town-meeting. The Hon. Joseph Chamberlain is a +practical State socialist; and he outlines in the <i>North American +Review</i> for May how English cities are laying the foundation of more +general socialism. The popular representative government of the +municipality, he says, “unlike the imperial legislature, is very near +to the poor, and can deal with details, and with special conditions. +It is subject to the criticism and direct control both of those who +find the money, and of those who are chiefly interested in its +expenditure. In England, at any rate,” he continues, “it has been free +from the suspicion of personal corruption, and has always been able to +secure the services of the ablest and most disinterested members of +the community.” The<span class='pagenum'><a name="page184" id="page184">184</a></span> practical socialism of Birmingham, and other +cities of Great Britain, enthusiastically supported by multitudes of +citizens who do not call themselves socialists, is an example of the +first numbers on the socialistic programme. The intellectual leaders +of socialism are in no hurry. They have all the time there is. It may +take years to persuade American cities that they are business +corporations themselves, whose aim is the well-being of all the +members. The extension of municipal control over all natural +monopolies may be decades off. No matter; there is no use in being +hot-headed because hearts are hot at the miseries of the poor. +Municipalization ought to precede nationalization. The members of the +community must learn to trust each other before the East and the West +will trust one another. It must be proved in American cities, as it +has been already in English cities, that the extension of municipal +powers is itself a force to drive out corruption and purify politics, +before the nation as a whole will deem it safe to make great +enlargements of the civil service.</p> + +<p>As that day approaches, it will be found that nationalism is a much +simpler thing than it now seems. Nationalism does not begin in a paper +constitution and work downwards. During the upheavals of the French +Revolution Abbè Siéges is always coming forward with a new +constitution. But in America institutions are rather an evolution. The +last numbers on the social programme may safely be left blank. +Nationalism is neither a city let down, of a sudden, four-square from +heaven, nor are its working plans yet to be found in any architect’s +office on earth. We certainly want no nationalism which is not an +orderly development. We may agree with Mr. Spencer that the course of +political evolution is full of surprises. It is quite possible that +the nationalism which seems so full of menace as a military despotism +may turn out to be but a simple federation of industrial and +commercial interests which find they require a single head.</p> + +<p>In other words, it seems to me, nationalism is only a prophecy. It is +too distant to be certainly detailed. Present day accounts of it will +one day be, as Horace Greeley said of something else, “mighty +interesting reading.” We may be inspired by it as the end towards +which present movements are tending. But each age solves its own +problems; and the passage into that promised land is the issue<span class='pagenum'><a name="page185" id="page185">185</a></span> for +another generation. A nearer view alone can determine where the +passage is, and whether the land is truly desirable. We may justly put +some faith in the common sense, as well as in the political ingenuity +of those who come after us. If military socialism, whatever it is, +should ever be the issue, this American people can be trusted to vote +against it if it is undesirable. Meantime, what our people must vote +upon in the present year of grace, is whether great private +corporations shall control legislatures and city councils, and charge +their own unquestioned prices for such public necessities of life as +light and transit. There is an issue between tyranny and liberty which +is to the point. The future is in the hands of evolution.</p> + +<p>Another opprobrious epithet is “paternalism.” This is the most +familiar of the titles of reproach. It suggests an idea of government +made pestiferous by old abuse. The most atrocious despotisms both of +king and church have planted themselves <i>in loco parentis</i>. The +welfare of the people has been the hoary excuse for the cruelest +outrages of history. Mr. Flower goes a step further and avers that, +with the good of the people for a pretext, tyranny has always been in +exact proportion to power and authority.</p> + +<p>Without stopping to query as to this last rather sweeping statement, +it will be enough to check ourselves while the editor leaps to his +induction; namely, that because the monarchical and ecclesiastical +governments have tyrannized in proportion to their power, nothing less +is to be expected if our Republic becomes affected with a greater +sense of governmental responsibility for the welfare of her citizens. +If our nation, it is claimed, allows this specious excuse to commit it +to the doctrine of State interference, we are drifted into the +despotic paternalisms of the old world.</p> + +<p>But a paternalism must have a parent, a royal sire, or a priestly +grandmother. In the antique paternalisms there is invariably this +parental personality at the top; down beneath it are the puppet +children. “My soldiers are my children,” says Napoleon; and he orders +a charge for their benefit; an hour afterwards the dying address him +as Sire as he walks over the field. “The German people are my +children,” says Emperor William; and he issues the edict for the +compulsory life-insurance of workingmen; an undoubted blessing. Both +are instances of paternalism; and<span class='pagenum'><a name="page186" id="page186">186</a></span> the principle in one case is as +obnoxious as in the other. The principle of paternalism is an +irresponsible authority above the people, mastering the people, with +their welfare as a pretext.</p> + +<p>But this essential of paternalism must be lacking in the republic. +Whatever powers democracy may assume, it recognizes no authority +outside itself. Democratic government, however socialistic it may +become, is nothing but democracy expressing its own will. If the +individual is led to surrender certain of his freedoms for the good of +all, he surrenders to a paternalism of all the people. That were +better called, once for all, a fraternalism.</p> + +<p>It is not enough, however, to show that the title is in our case a +grave misnomer. The editor adduces several recent instances which he +considers exhibitions of the increasing tyranny of all the people. He +believes the tyranny of all the people, if they are as selfish as they +are now, would be more hopeless than the despotism of an individual; +for the single tyrant is after all amenable to revolution, while the +whole nation as a tyrant is accountable to nothing. To his view, +indeed, the occurrences I am about to repeat prove the new tyrant is +already created. They exhibit a “tyranny which shows that persecutions +are only limited by the power vested in the State.”</p> + +<p>Let us examine the data for this astonishing conclusion. My limits +will not allow more than a bare reference to the incidents which are +fully described in the May editorial.</p> + +<p>Case I. is the incarceration in Tennessee of a Seventh-day Adventist +for working on Sunday. Of this it may be remarked that had it happened +two centuries ago it would have been symptomatic; to-day it is a +curiosity.</p> + +<p>Case II. is the arrest of a Christian Scientist in Iowa for practising +contrary to the rules of the State. I presume this cannot be fairly +disposed of by suggesting that there has been some aggravated occasion +for such stringency. But it is certainly true that the State has the +right to prevent malpractice—a right none of us would wish renounced. +And as soon as there are sufficient data to convince an intelligent +public opinion that the theory, with its perilous repudiation of all +medical skill, is not fatal to human life, it will receive an +ungrudged status.</p> + +<p>Case III. is the arrest of a minister, of pure life and unquestioned<span class='pagenum'><a name="page187" id="page187">187</a></span> +standing, for sending obscene literature through the mail. The sole +charge was the publication of an earnest and chastely worded article +on marital purity; but the real cause was supposed to be his severe +criticism of the Society for the Prevention of Vice nearly a year +afterward. If these facts are verifiable this is a monstrous outrage. +But unhappily it is not the first instance where revenge has been +taken on the innocent by due process of law. Without doubt the people +ought to be more aroused by it than they are. Yet such a sporadic +instance of miscarried justice is scarcely a reason why the State +should cease its efforts to check by law the present alarming increase +of lascivious printing.</p> + +<p>Case IV. is an election bill in California which prohibits independent +nominations except upon petition of five per cent. of the voters, and +thus disfranchises four per cent. of the voting population. If this +mad device proves anything, it proves that the leaders of the old +parties are in such consternation at the uneasiness of the people that +they have lost their heads. It proves no more than the denial of the +right of petition in Congress during anti-slavery days; and it proves +as much as that attempt to ignore the voice of reform. Earthquakes are +not far off when such things happen.</p> + +<p>Case V. is the suit for damages which one Powell brings against +Pennsylvania. Under a statute authorizing the manufacture of +oleomargarine, he had undertaken the business, to find himself ruined +by a later legislature making its manufacture a misdemeanor. This is +very noteworthy, for it proves too much. It shows a vested money +interest controlling legislature and voting a rival business into +outlawry. This is a kind of instance socialists like to get hold of.</p> + +<p>Yet these instances are used to illustrate “a growing spirit of +intolerance” in our country; they are said to exhibit a State tyranny +which is already blossoming under paternalistic legislation; they +emphasize, it is claimed, the fact,—“That all the majority wishes is +the sanction of law to make its crimes against the minority assume a +show of respectability. All that retards persecution is the limit of +the sanction of law; and I submit that, in the light of history, and +in the face of the wrongs of the present, all increase in governmental +power menaces the liberty, the happiness, and the growth of the +individual.”<span class='pagenum'><a name="page188" id="page188">188</a></span></p> + +<p>This is a pretty large indictment to hang on such debatable evidence. +Its audaciousness fairly takes one’s breath away. Our heaviest battery +is turned against ourselves. Every cherished dream of the good time +coming goes up at a blast. Instead of freedom at last to do that for +which we are made, and to fit into the niche where we belong, we are +shown a State’s-prison. Instead of an age of joy and of elastic step, +we are pointed to an iron rule of repression and cheerlessness. +Instead of leisure to ripen, of a full summing of our powers, of the +exhilaration of new truth, we have disclosed to us a stunted +individuality treading a dull and monotonous round of existence. And +all this, because if the people are trusted with more power they will +tyrannize life down to this paralyzing reaction.</p> + +<p>The logic of this bold pessimism is:—Human nature is tyrannical; the +majority have always tyrannized in proportion to their power; increase +their power and they will increase their tyranny. This is the +syllogism which has dignified the foregoing collection of occurrences +into grave symptoms of an increase of popular despotism.</p> + +<p>It might be fair to meet dogmatic pessimism with dogmatic optimism. +Or, it would be legitimate to follow the logic to its end in a general +abandoning of all the powers of government which, it seems, has only +hurt when it tried to help humanity; to go back honestly to Jefferson, +and beyond him, to</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<p>The very best government of all,</p> +<p>That which governs not at all.</p> +</div></div> + +<p>This is the pandemonium of anarchy. Mr. Flower believes that there is +not enough of the golden rule in society to-day to make socialism +tolerable. But we have only to imagine our present society, with its +current quantity of golden rule, thrown into the chaos where +government has ceased to govern, where the political majority has lost +all its power, but where the majority of brute strength awakes to find +itself with no laws to molest or make it afraid.</p> + +<p>But this doctrine of the inevitable despotism of the political +majority lies so at the bottom of the whole impeachment, that it ought +to be carefully examined in itself.</p> + +<p>In the first place, both premises are without support. Human nature, +even in irresponsible multitudes, is not<span class='pagenum'><a name="page189" id="page189">189</a></span> essentially tyrannical. Let +us admit frankly all the degraded sweeps of intolerance in the past; +yet has not human nature during recent generations been growing in the +tolerant spirit? Look straight at the intelligent society around us; +look within ourselves most of all, and let us ask if we see any such +intolerance of spirit as would bloom into tyranny if we only had the +chance. A man may prove to me by inductive data, reaching +uninterruptedly over ten thousand years, that my own nature is +intolerant; he may even corroborate his proof by pointing to my +occasional acts of thoughtless disregard for another’s opinion, yet +all this array does not overwhelm me, for I know I am not intolerant. +Our society to-day, as a whole, knows it is not intolerant;—even +though it be proved as conclusively as ever Puritan divine proved +God’s hatred for man, and man’s incapacity for a single good act. The +logic works well; only there are some omitted factors. Human nature +has made some progress. Hospitality to new ideas, and patience with +divergent ones, are two of the surest fruits of later civilization.</p> + +<p>Again, the majority have not always tyrannized in proportion to their +power. They did not, in the Dutch Republic, when William of Orange +followed the hideous persecutions of Phillip II. with the +establishment of religious liberty. The Church of England was in the +majority when it abandoned its acts of tyranny. Congregationalism was +still in the ascendancy when it ceased to banish Baptists and to whip +Quakers. The Rhode Island Baptists had plenty of majority when they +pioneered the empire of religious freedom in America. And the Maryland +Roman Catholics had things their own way, when in an age of +persecution they resolved to be hospitable to other beliefs. Indeed, +in our American life especially, the generosity and long-suffering of +majorities are among the most notable features. On the other hand it +may with truth be said that the worst tyrannies have been on the part +of minorities. In the old world the oppressive minorities have usually +been hereditary or ecclesiastical interests. In our country the ruling +minorities have been determined, and self-assertive classes who would +not brook the wisdom or the sense of justice of the majority. It was +the regnant minority which rushed the South into secession. It was +that same minority which had for half a century before over-ridden the +whole nation. It<span class='pagenum'><a name="page190" id="page190">190</a></span> was the Tammany minority which ruled the Democracy. +It is the minority of syndicates, corporations, and vested interests +which crowned itself in our Billion Congress, and is spreading itself +in our legislatures. Are the very occurrences, of which so much has +been made exhibitions, of the tyranny of all the people; or, are they +not rather, with one exception, instances where a graceless minority +has resolved either slyly or boldly to ignore the people? In short, +the charge in the phrase “tyranny of the majority” has but the least +justification in the course of government. There has been in history +no power which has tyrannized less than the political majority. In +modern times, at least, the most violent acts of despotic outrage have +been the attempts to ride down the will of the political majority. “In +the light of history, and in the face of the wrongs of the present,” +to use the editor’s words, it might be well to consider some means for +the protection of majorities.</p> + +<p>For after all, in spite of the English sneers at government by count +of noses, from Carlyle and Sir Henry Maine to the latest utterances, +there is nothing so safe for humanity’s interests as the political +majority. It is perfectly true that “the vanguard of human progress +must ever be in the minority.” But the hope of this minority lies in +one day becoming the majority. As Disraeli said, that is the +minority’s business. The minorities of hereditary privilege, of +priesthood, of monied classes, can perpetuate themselves and their +power. But the majority of voters is always changing and always losing +its power. The minority of radicals is always becoming the majority of +conservatives,—the steadfast power to which progress has tied itself.</p> + +<p>Is socialism necessary to the progress of the race? Will not a +perfected fraternalism make the strong hand of socialism needless? +Both questions are to be answered, yes. The perfect state is +undoubtedly pictured in Rousseau’s ideal, where every man remains +perfectly free, so that when he obeys the State he obeys only himself. +This is the deep and eternal truth of the law of brotherhood, which is +also the law of liberty. Love is the fulfilling of all law; no laws +will be needed when love is the protection of the weak. Belief in that +coming government of Love is the real religion.</p> + +<p>But the practical politics of the present deal with a society<span class='pagenum'><a name="page191" id="page191">191</a></span> where a +strong arm is needed to protect the weak from the tyranny of the +giants. To talk about the principles of brotherhood fully prevailing +in our present conditions, is to treat the laws of Christ with +flippancy. Nine-tenths of the maxims of our modern business system +contradict the law of love. In our present environment it is +impossible for business people or working people to obey the Sermon on +the Mount and not starve. Perhaps a few sacrifices of this kind are +needed to teach us how abhorrent the present selfish system is to the +Christianity of Christ. “I suppose I ought to be thankful to get the +work at all, for they told other women they had no work left for +them,” said a woman to me who was making men’s pantaloons for two +dollars a dozen. She was part of the system; she was competing with +other less fortunate women as truly as her employer with other firms; +she drank her tea at the expense of her less lucky sister, who had no +work and no tea. What chance does this system afford for perfect +fraternalism, or even for decent fraternalism, among those who have to +compete?</p> + +<p>Socialism aims to produce an environment where not only the Golden +Rule but the Law of Love will have a living chance. As such an agent +it has its proper political place in the development of mankind.<span class='pagenum'><a name="page192" id="page192">192</a></span></p> + +<h2 class="article_title"><a id="article_7" name="article_7"></a>REVOLUTIONARY MEASURES AND NEGLECTED CRIMES.</h2> +<h3 class="article_section">PART II.</h3> +<hr class="short" /> +<p class="author_byline">BY PROF. JOSEPH RODES BUCHANAN.</p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p>If we agree that all men are born free and equal, with certain +inalienable rights,—life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,—let +us legislate to enforce our belief. All men are <i>not</i> born equal, if +one is born with power to live without toil; power to control the +movements of a hundred thousand of his <i>unequal</i> fellow-citizens; +power to bribe legislatures; power to hire a pretorian guard of +laborers, writers, editors, clergymen, and even soldiers or police to +do his bidding and to sing his praise, and to threaten those who wish +to establish a real republic. It was thought we had abolished +hereditary inequality; but in a land where our democratic lords can +each hire fifty thousand men and equip an army if need be,—where a +democratic American lord can buy a dozen of the puny lords of +Europe,—the social equality dreamed of in ‘76 does not exist. We have +abolished the useless title but not the lord.</p> + +<p>We should not object to that inequality which is natural—to the +superior ability and superior virtue which place one man far above his +fellows; but we should object to an immense inequality, <i>which is not +natural</i>, and which sometimes places the superior man at the mercy and +in the service of one who has no ability whatever,—who is simply born +to rule by means of <i>hereditary wealth</i>. This is just as great a +social inequality as that which Jefferson saw in Europe, and which he +thought was to be excluded from America.</p> + +<p>It is a condition that is demoralizing in a hundred ways, and is +fraught with peril to the republic, peril to society, and peril to all +the interests of humanity; and therefore as I would assert,—and <i>who +would deny</i> the supreme right<span class='pagenum'><a name="page193" id="page193">193</a></span> and power of the people to protect the +republic from any impending calamity by any just means, <i>but not by +any unjust means</i>—I would claim that it is our right and duty to say +that this grand hereditary inequality shall not be perpetual, and that +<i>the past shall not rule the present—the graveyard shall not contain +our legislature</i>,—but that each generation shall be a law unto +itself, and shall establish the conditions of justice and safety +without regard to the follies of the dead and the ancient laws of +inheritance when they conflict with justice.</p> + +<p>Justice and safety to the republic demand that men shall <i>not be born +as rulers, nor born as serfs</i>. The serf is the person who is born in +poverty, with no right to a standing place, and whom society has left +to the education of the street or of the coal mine, growing up without +knowledge, without industrial skill—knowing nothing but to sell +unskilled labor in a market crowded by a million others like himself +or herself, and thus forced into that wretched life seen in all the +great cities of America and Europe, the description of which is enough +to make us cry out in despair, How long, O Lord, how long? Wherein +does this white slavery differ from African slavery, except that the +master cares nothing for the slave, is not bound by self-interest to +take care of him, and cannot flog him though he can punish him in +other ways, and on shipboard he can flog him also, and the horrors of +nautical brutality have not even produced a society for its abolition?</p> + +<p>Such is the serf, which our democracy allows its citizens to +become,—men to whom the right of suffrage sometimes seems a worthless +rag which they would gladly sell,—men on whose weak shoulders the +republic cannot stand.</p> + +<p>To abolish that class, every boy and girl should be guaranteed a solid +intellectual and industrial education, making a permanent guarantee +against pauperism and serfdom, a permanent guarantee that women shall +not be enslaved by lust, but shall be enabled to rear an offspring of +manly citizens. These are the most important things that a true +nationalism should accomplish at present, and mainly by the gospel of +industrial education, which the writer has long been urging with all +his power.</p> + +<p>Public sentiment has advanced so far on this question, that there will +be very little opposition to abolishing the<span class='pagenum'><a name="page194" id="page194">194</a></span> serf by industrial +education; out with all our industrial education, our disorganized +competition makes employment terribly uncertain, and impoverishes the +industrious by enforced idleness, because there is no science, no +social system to regulate the demand and supply of labor in different +pursuits.</p> + +<p>Hence, until we can do better, there must be at all times a vast +number of idle men walking about in search of work, losing all their +savings in times of enforced idleness, their days of gloom and +despair.</p> + +<p>They are our brothers, and we cannot say with Cain, “Am I my brother’s +keeper?” <i>We are</i> our brothers’ keepers, for they are partners in this +republic, and brothers in the family of God, and they help to make the +social atmosphere in which we live, and they help the republic to sink +or swim. We simply cannot afford to deny our brotherhood, and if we do +we are the devil’s own fools.</p> + +<p>Action on this matter is demanded now as it never was before, for we +are advancing blindly to a crisis which our political economists and +statesmen have not foreseen, and do not yet recognize. The genius that +increases by invention the productive power of labor ought to increase +the rewards of labor, but it does not. Labor is demanded only to +supply what is consumed; and if at present a million laborers are +employed to produce the food, clothing, fuel, furniture, and houses +required, but in a few years invention enables half a million to +produce the same, what is to become of the half million no longer +needed? Will wages advance so that the million may still be employed, +working for half a day instead of a day. That would be just, but +instead, it produces a glut in the labor market, which by competition +puts down wages, and starts a fierce contest between laborers and +employers, and among laborers themselves. The fall in prices produced +by competition in a crowded market makes the employer unwilling to +advance wages, and an angry contest is inevitable. The multitude +dislodged by invention is increased by the inevitable multitude +arising from irregular demand and supply in fluctuating markets, and +thus families by the hundred thousand are driven to the verge of +immediate starvation, and this becomes our chronic condition, which +must be rectified,—a chronic condition which bears most heavily on +woman, and through her debases future generations.<span class='pagenum'><a name="page195" id="page195">195</a></span></p> + +<p>We are bound to see that every honest citizen, male or female, has a +fair chance in the battle of life, has a fair preparation at the +start, and a fair field. To insure this,—to insure that the +productive power of the nation is not wasted,—is a larger question +than our statesmen have ever yet considered. It requires that the +government shall have a <span class="sc">Department of Productive Labor</span>, in which +honest men and women, when jostled out of their industrial positions, +may enlist.<a name="fn_marker_2" id="fn_marker_2"></a><a href="#fn_2" class="fn_marker">[2]</a> This department should be managed by the ablest and +most benevolent business men of the Peter Cooper class, who understand +all productive industries, and who, seeing what is permanently and +largely needed for human consumption and not abundantly supplied, or +what new industries can be started which will benefit the nation, what +new productions can be acclimatized, shall take charge of all the +laborers who wish to enlist in governmental employ for eight hours a +day, with such pay and rations as will be satisfactory and fair; and +if rightly managed, not only will their labor pay all costs of the +department, but it may be made to teach the country great industrial +lessons in agriculture and manufactures, by improvements which +scientific combined labor on a large scale may introduce; and if we +are anxious to make our country independent in all things, and +superior in manufactures, this is the very method in which it can be +done, by the instruction in the national establishments, which may be +the means of starting all manufactures that we need, far better than +the protective tariff which forces an unnatural growth <i>at an enormous +cost to the people</i>.</p> + +<p>There will then be no tramps, no paupers, no women compelled to sell +their persons; and as poverty, gloom, and hardship are the chief +sources of intemperance, we may anticipate, as another consequence, an +immense diminution of the liquor traffic, when the Department of +Productive Labor shall have gotten into full operation. Moral gloom +and the bad passions impel men to intemperance, and when they acquire +the happy and gentle temperament of woman they will also acquire her +temperance.</p> + +<p>Mr. Bellamy’s idea of the nation as the employer may not<span class='pagenum'><a name="page196" id="page196">196</a></span> be +practicable, but the Department of Productive Labor is an obvious +method of initiating the principle of national co-operation, which an +urgent necessity has compelled the British government to initiate in +Ireland. But we cannot safely wait, like England, until famine is +threatening.</p> + +<p>The pauperization of labor depends on the monopoly of land combined +with the monopoly of machinery. It cannot occur in a new country, but +must develop when all the land is monopolized and worth a hundred +dollars an acre. The independence of the laborer owing to cheap vacant +land is more than restored by a Department of Productive Labor which +establishes a minimum of wages below which they cannot be forced, and +gives a standing ground on which exaction can be resisted permanently +by the laborer.</p> + +<p>The Department of Productive Labor may be made a charming feature of +the government, on which philanthropists may expend their skill; and +its beautiful plantations, especially in the highlands of the +Carolinas and Georgia, and in California, may be looked to as a haven +of repose by all who are disappointed in life, who may find in these +rural homes something more attractive than the co-operative societies +to which some are rushing now. The voice of the red flag anarchist +will be quieted, and the agitators who endeavor to stir up dissension +will find most of their grievances redressed when the laborer has an +assured home.</p> + +<p>There is no obstructive limit to the achievements of the army of +labor. Aside from agriculture and manufactures, there are roads to be +built, buildings to be erected, improvements of many kinds, and there +are about a thousand million acres of arid land, needing irrigation, +the necessary works for which could employ more than would probably +apply, for the wages should not be such as to attract men from +profitable employments. The army of labor may not at first be wisely +managed, but anything is better than the vast national losses by +<i>enforced idleness</i>. It is not extravagant to anticipate an <i>ultimate</i> +governmental administration of railroads, mines, manufactures, and +government farms that may employ many hundred thousands. There is no +apparent hindrance to the extension of the Department of Productive +Labor until it shall embrace all who desire the comfort and security +it gives, while those who prefer the strife of competition can remain +outside of the experiment, and thus the governmental<span class='pagenum'><a name="page197" id="page197">197</a></span> and the +individual systems be fairly tried in competition with each other. +Thus far no formidable difficulty appears in abolishing pauperism, but +we find a more difficult task when we propose the abolition of +Plutocracy, by what may be called a <span class="sc lowercase">REVOLUTIONARY MEASURE</span>.</p> + +<p>Having thus gotten rid of the increasing army of paupers and tramps, +providing, as it seems, a sound basis for a republic, we have the +other problem of getting rid of the growing aristocracy—the +plutocratic princes, the syndicates and trusts, who constitute the +other great danger,—of whom we may say we must either master them or +they will master us by managing our senators, governors, and +presidents. They have already swallowed some such legislatures as we +have been able to elect, with such facility as to show that it will +not be long before they can swallow the entire government, and when it +has been swallowed it may not be as fortunate as Jonah in getting out +again, for there is some very important legislation necessary to this +republic which the plutocracy may be expected to resist with all its +power, and when the conflict comes it will be a grand one.</p> + +<p>They will probably combat with all their might the doctrine which must +sometime be presented, that the nation must rule itself on democratic +principles, and that the dead shall not rule the living by entail, +mortmain, or will. When a child is born it must become a member of the +republic on conditions compatible with the safety of that republic. It +cannot be allowed to come in as the born master of a hundred thousand +fellow-citizens equally competent to serve the republic. Our young +citizens approach us from a generation that has passed away.</p> + +<p>It sleeps in the graveyard, or it leads a better life in the better +world. It has left vast masses of wealth, surrounded by wretched areas +of desolate poverty. Was it wise or just to do so,—to ignore +brotherhood of man, and to perpetuate all possible inequality? No, a +thousand times no. There is not one, perhaps, of the millionnaire +dwellers in the better world who does not regret and mourn his earthly +selfishness, and who would not order a more just and generous +distribution of his estate if his voice could be heard.</p> + +<p>But we need not ask them. <i>We know what is just</i> and we will correct +the mistakes of the departed. We know that this hoarding in families +is unjust to the republic and<span class='pagenum'><a name="page198" id="page198">198</a></span> unjust to the Brotherhood of +Humanity,—an injury to all, a benefit to none. Therefore it must not +be permitted.</p> + +<p>Already the law is beginning to recognize this principle, which is +destined to revolutionize all the world; but we are not the leaders in +this democracy, because our plutocracy is too strong. Switzerland in +its mountain homes carries the banner of democracy, and has gone +farther than any other country in asserting the rights of the +commonwealth over inherited wealth. New York has ordained a little +infinitesimal inheritance tax which, according to the <i>Herald</i>, in +1886 produced $60,000, in 1887 $500,000, in 1888 over a million. That +will be enough to build schoolhouses for the 20,000 children kept out +of school in the city of New York for want of room. The proposition is +under discussion in Massachusetts, and if we do our duty Massachusetts +may set the example of the greatest social revolution ever +accomplished by law. If Boston received the benefit of such a tax on +its own population, it might be adjusted to raise from one million to +more than ten millions a year; at any rate a succession tax might +produce more than all other taxes produce at present, and it would +bring about such radical changes that it would be expedient to make +the change gradual, and gradual it must be, for it will meet +determined opposition, and we must enforce our principle by every +argument of justice and expediency, for it is both just and expedient. +<i>What right have the millionnaires to say how the world shall be +managed after they have left it?</i> What right to say that when they +have established a dangerous inequality, posterity shall be compelled +to make it perpetual. The robber barons established inequality by the +sword, and by the same power made it perpetual. The posterity of kings +and barons, however worthless, corrupt, criminal, or imbecile, +continue to occupy the saddle upon the public donkey. But inherited +royalty is going, and inherited aristocracy must also go. We who +survive are the responsible parties, and (as the Romans charged their +rulers in times of danger) we must see that the republic does not +suffer, and that aristocracy shall not be its permanent master.</p> + +<p>What right has the millionnaire to direct from the grave, that the +wealth which he has left shall be used in the manner most dangerous +and most injurious to society. He has no such right. He has no right +in the matter, but what we<span class='pagenum'><a name="page199" id="page199">199</a></span> in our justice or in our good-nature may +give him. If these views are just, they must in time rule the world, +but they are not yet asserted by those to whom the world looks for +counsel.<a name="fn_marker_3" id="fn_marker_3"></a><a href="#fn_3" class="fn_marker">[3]</a></p> + +<p>The sacred right of the living citizen in that which his industry has +created, has no application here. It is a totally different case. It +is the question what right has he to rule the world after he has +enjoyed his full share and more, and gone away. We do not ask whether +he got his wealth by fraud, or robbery, or industry. <i>He has left it; +he is done with it; he is dead in fact and ought to be dead in law!</i> +The law has no jurisdiction over him now, and he has no possible +interest in what is done, nor any power to rectify his mistakes. To +perpetuate his fictitious personality, and make the opinions which he +has left in writing an authority like the acts of a living man, is a +tremendous stretch of the imagination, much like the old superstitions +which made a law by the preface “thus saith the Lord.”</p> + +<p>I know the claim will be made that the wealth which the millionnaires +could not carry away was truly theirs, and therefore that while they +lived they had a right to dispose of it. But I deny it. In the highest +sense of justice, <i>it was not theirs</i>, and even if it was, it was +justly forfeited by their treason to humanity; for I hold that neither +genius nor the business capacity that produces wealth ever releases a +man from his obligations to society. In time of war to defend the city +or State, we take every man’s property, so far as needed, and require +him, in addition, to offer his life in battle to protect the +community; and surely in the grand battle which every republic has to +meet against its foes,—on the one hand oligarchy and despotism, and +on the other social disorder and convulsions between capital and +impoverished labor,—in this battle, I say, every man may be required +to defend the republic with his money, his honor, and his life, if +need be, and he should think himself very lightly released if society +demands only to become his legatee, after he has provided for his +family. He thus relinquishes what is nothing to him but everything to +society.</p> + +<p>Wealth is the product of the nation—of all its work of<span class='pagenum'><a name="page200" id="page200">200</a></span> brain and +muscle. No one man by himself ever accumulated wealth. But in the +entangled social co-operation, struggle, and battle, wealth is +scattered strangely and gathered in heaps like the money at a gaming +table. One man seizes a gold mine, another seizes for a trifle a piece +of parchment giving the title to land where a million are going to +settle, and both become millionnaire princes at the expense of the +commonwealth. There would be very few rich men if the real production +of each was all that he could hold. To seize by a legal fiction a mine +that yields a million annually is simply a robbery of the +commonwealth. The robbery of the commonwealth and the toiler is our +chronic condition. The urban population, strong in capital and skilful +in combination and chicanery, has drained the agricultural regions, +until agriculture,<a name="fn_marker_4" id="fn_marker_4"></a><a href="#fn_4" class="fn_marker">[4]</a> toil, and poverty, are closely associated, +while<span class='pagenum'><a name="page201" id="page201">201</a></span> urban wealth displays its ostentatious ease, and farmers are +driven by the million into a desperate political struggle for +self-protection.</p> + +<p>The great mass of accumulated wealth was all unearned. It was the +donation of absurd law to monopolists,—to men who procured the titles +to lands. Their value came from the entire community, created by the +people, and when that amount is rescued from landlordism, the millions +vanish and society reclaims its own. Thus do I assert the ownership of +the community in millionnaire hoards. And when the tenant for life has +gone, to whom the law has been by far too generous, and left his +hoards, out of which he has already squandered more than he was +entitled to—the commonwealth from which this wealth was gathered may +rightly step in and reclaim it.</p> + +<p>It is but a waif on the ocean of commerce—the jetsam and flotsam, of +which the law must direct the disposal. The heirs, as they have been +called, may come in to the wreck that lies on the shores of time, +after the soul has gone to eternity—but law must decide whether these +wreckers are entitled to the cargo,—to goods which they did not +produce, and whether it is safe and patriotic to allow them to carry +off what is substantially in the majority of cases morally and justly +the property of the commonwealth. There may be some exceptions to +these general statements as to property, but when we recollect how +land monopoly and other monopolies have robbed the commonwealth, I +hold that the commonwealth is bound to reclaim the stolen wealth +wherever it can find it, and certainly wherever the commonwealth can +find it abandoned by the claimant, the action of trover should come in +when the tenant for life has ceased to exist.</p> + +<p>Perhaps the devotees of precedent may be bold enough to call this +robbery, but it is simply reclamation of that which has too long been +lost or stolen. For the chief foundations of large fortunes, the chief +source of the great flood of accumulated wealth, has been the taxation +of the people by the monopoly of land and monopoly of mines—the +monopoly<span class='pagenum'><a name="page202" id="page202">202</a></span> by private individuals of what justly belonged to the +commonwealth, but was captured by the sword or by law—aided by +cunning financial operations which stand on no higher plane than +gambling or fraud.</p> + +<p>The British peerage draw an annual rental from their lands of +$66,000,000, and the American princes draw far more, but I have not +had time to find the statistics.<a name="fn_marker_5" id="fn_marker_5"></a><a href="#fn_5" class="fn_marker">[5]</a> It will not be long before foreign +landlords shall draw $50,000,000 annually from the United States, if +they do not already, for they hold more than 20,000,000 acres, and on +these they may practise the eviction of tenants in the Irish fashion. +The wrongs of Irish tenants elicit universal sympathy, but they are +far surpassed now in America without outcry or comment. About +twenty-four thousand evictions occurred last year in the city of New +York, and this indicated more than a hundred thousand human beings +turned homeless into the streets, generally in a penniless condition! +The distressing evictions of the great cities, and the selling out of +thousands of western farmers under foreclosing mortgages, are +preparing a terrible mass of discontented population to whom a social +convulsion would not be alarming. Those who live under the pressure of +a terrible social system will not be sorry if it is overthrown by +violence.</p> + +<p>A large portion of the city of New York is held at values ($50 a foot) +which would make its annual ground rental over $100,000 a year for a +single acre. When we think of the vast sums which have been +accumulating for centuries in the form of rent—say, for example, the +land rents of England, which, outside of mines, amount to $330,000,000 +a year,—it will be apparent that the grand flood-tide of wealth, +which has passed into the possession of private individuals who have +been fortunate enough to acquire land titles long ago, and their +successors, exceeds by more than a hundred times all the wealth that +has not been squandered and remains in sight to-day.</p> + +<p>But it is gone—squandered—and we never can reclaim it; and there is +another mountain mass of wealth not quite expended yet, which came +from corrupt financial monopoly, which has sometimes generated +financial lords more rapidly than land monopoly. Upon questions of +finance and political<span class='pagenum'><a name="page203" id="page203">203</a></span> economy, our people have been as blind as they +have upon the land question, and our entire financial legislation has +been but a trap to catch the commonwealth and rob it, and the +commonwealth has been caught, and robbed of far more than two thousand +millions.<a name="fn_marker_6" id="fn_marker_6"></a><a href="#fn_6" class="fn_marker">[6]</a></p> + +<p>The follies and crimes of the past cannot be readjusted—but its +legacy of robbery to the present must submit to the arbitration of +justice, and the demands of philanthropy. The millions exacted from +the tenants of England and Ireland by the descendants of the robber +barons and brigand soldiers, who took the soil by the sword, still cry +aloud for justice.</p> + +<p>If we grant that an individual may by his own exertions justly acquire +a hundred thousand dollars, which is an ample competence, and that as +an encouragement and reward for his industry, society may justly allow +him to dispose of it by will, which I think is a liberal concession, I +see no sufficient reason for extending his authority beyond that +amount. All above that amount, I hold, should belong to the +commonwealth in justice, for two reasons—first, because it was taken +from the commonwealth, and second, because the commonwealth suffers +from two dangerous classes, which ought not to exist,<a name="fn_marker_7" id="fn_marker_7"></a><a href="#fn_7" class="fn_marker">[7]</a>—the tramps +becoming demoralized and desperate, and the idlers, becoming +demoralized and worthless, who think themselves a privileged class, +born with a right to live in everlasting idleness upon the toil of +those who are not thus well born. This division into the aristocracy, +the proletariat, and the middle class struggling to become the +aristocracy, does not make a republic. It is an ancient falsehood and +injustice established by absurd laws<span class='pagenum'><a name="page204" id="page204">204</a></span> of inheritance (as absurd as the +Hindoo castes), which have cursed the world, and will continue to +curse it until America shall establish democratic justice. Yet as +experience shows that men’s opinions in all things are swayed by their +interests, there must be but few of the patrician class who can +perceive these truths, and we must rely for their appreciation upon +the vast majority who are not born to wealth.</p> + +<p>What policy the commonwealth may observe,—whether it shall allow the +millionnaire to dispose of ten, twenty, or fifty per cent. as an +encouragement and reward for his accumulations,—is a debatable +question. To give him post-mortem control of fifty per cent. would be, +it seems to me, an act of prodigal generosity to millionnaire heirs. +That a dead man of a hundred millions should be allowed to keep fifty +millions hoarded in private possession appears to me an extravagant +claim, for even ten per cent. of that amount would be enough to spoil +his children and unfit them for good citizenship. I believe it would +be better for society if all inheritance of wealth were forbidden, and +every boy and girl required to begin life with a few hundred dollars, +and gain the position they deserved by their own abilities alone.</p> + +<p>This reclamation of millionnaire estates by the commonwealth would not +be so necessary but for the fact that the world has been ruled by +false principles, and in all past ages millionnaires have, with few +exceptions, regarded their vast possessions as something on which the +public had no claim in justice, as being the true sources of +wealth—something on which the brotherhood of humanity had no +claim—something which was not a sacred trust for the benefit of +mankind—something which they should clutch with an iron grasp, as +long as possible, to keep it intact and unbroken, and still speaking +from the grave, hold it protected from all the claims of humanity, to +magnify their own names in their descendants, and keep their offspring +the lords dominant of society,—thus making it really a curse instead +of a blessing; and as neither the moralists nor the clergy have ever +taught them anything else, such is still their tendency, with a few +such exceptions as Peter Cooper and George Peabody. But when society +substitutes rational ethics and simple justice for old traditions and +debasing customs, the destruction of wealth will be <i>recognized as a +crime</i>, no matter how it was<span class='pagenum'><a name="page205" id="page205">205</a></span> obtained; and such profligates as the +Prince of Wales, who spends half a million yearly, and then calls upon +his avaricious mother for one or two millions to silence the clamor of +creditors whom he has defrauded, will be no longer feasted, admired, +and imitated, for justice will be embodied in law and the race of +profligates will have been exterminated.</p> + +<p>If any owner of these hoards, when he is compelled to give them up, +politely throws out five per cent. or even two per cent. for something +that he considers worthy, it is received with great laudation as +something not to have been expected. A Cleveland millionnaire was +lauded for a petty donation, less than he had expended on his old +wife’s laces. As philanthropists millionnaires are generally great +failures. They did not study the public welfare through life, and they +do not know how to promote it; their benefactions generally go to +institutions that perpetuate the old order of mediæval conservatism, +and delay the progress of humanity. They are incompetent as trustees. +One man with the wealth of an Astor or a Rockefeller, and the +overflowing love guided by the wisdom of intuition (so conspicuous in +Jesus that men have worshipped him as a God, and elevated their own +natures by the worship), could accomplish more than all that American +wealth has ever done upon this continent.</p> + +<p>Therefore by that right of eminent domain which is good over lands +occupied by the living, and far better over estates abandoned by the +dead, it becomes the duty of society to maintain the republic, to +assert the supreme law of justice, and thereby teach the doctrine so +long forgotten by followers of Christianity, that all our powers and +resources beyond our own necessities belong to our brothers. Such are +the principles of every real Christian. Such was the sentiment of John +Wesley; and his expression, if I recollect rightly, was that he would +consider himself a thief if he died with more than ten pounds in his +possession.</p> + +<p>These doctrines are not entirely strange—the world is beginning to +look in this direction already. The <i>heirship of the state</i> is an idea +already broached in France, sustained by Clemenceau, Pelletan, and +many other distinguished citizens, and discussed in the Chamber of +Deputies. The proposition was to limit the law of inheritance, and +substitute the heirship of the state for all collateral heirs. That +eminent and practical philanthropist, M. Godin, whose name has been<span class='pagenum'><a name="page206" id="page206">206</a></span> +immortalized by the Industrial Palace at Guise, warmly espoused this +idea in all its breadth, and said:—</p> + +<div class="quotation"><p>“When an individual dies, society has then the right to take +to itself what he leaves, for it has been the chief aid of +the deceased. Without its aid, without its institutions, he +could never have been able to amass the riches of which he +is at his death the holder. Society inherits wealth, then, +to use for the same work of social progress already +accomplished; that is to say to allow others, the surviving +in general (not the privileged strangers to the creation of +the existing riches), to continue their labor and +co-operation in the common social work. The heredity of the +State is then just, both in principle and in fact.”</p></div> + +<p>The two measures which are necessary now are the Department of +Productive Labor and the law of inheritance by the commonwealth, which +limits the transmission of estates above a hundred thousand dollars, +giving the commonwealth a share, rising from one to ninety-nine per +cent. according to the magnitude of the estate—or <i>some other form</i> +of taxation (if there be a better) producing equivalent results.</p> + +<p>I do not propose these measures as <span class="sc lowercase">THE REMEDY</span> <i>par excellence</i> for our +unhappy social condition. Not at all. They are merely the gigantic +blows from the right arm of the commonwealth, by which the curses +established in the dark and bloody past, crushing man and woman to the +earth, shall be hurled into oblivion. The true, absolute, and complete +<span class="sc lowercase">REMEDY</span> is that industrial, intellectual, hygienic, and ethical +training of all, which I have published as the “New Education” which +will make new men. These are bold and revolutionary measures,<a name="fn_marker_8" id="fn_marker_8"></a><a href="#fn_8" class="fn_marker">[8]</a> but +the surgery of the knife is sometimes what humanity demands. The mad +riot of rivalry<span class='pagenum'><a name="page207" id="page207">207</a></span> and selfishness must be restrained before it brings +the republic to ruin. The power of land monopoly must be broken by a +land tax, and the post-mortem despotism which perpetuates accumulated +evils must be thrown off by just and practicable legislation.</p> + +<p>We must act upon the undisguised truth that individual humanity is not +yet properly educated, and not yet qualified to exercise its +trusteeship of wealth, for the hard struggles against the oppressive +power of poverty, sickness, robbery, fraud, and sudden calamity have +made the self-protective faculties predominant, and the sharp rivalry +and competition of business has so increased their predominance that +the thought of public welfare is never paramount, and is but an +occasional glimmer, and the death-bed surrender of wealth, if it +considers the welfare of society at all, considers it so blindly that +a large proportion of the benevolent endowments are of little real +value.</p> + +<p>It is, therefore, necessary that the outcry of suffering and the +warning of danger should rouse the public conscience to nobler +principles, and that society in its maximum wisdom, which embraces a +few earnest philanthropists, many capable financiers and economists, +very many tender-hearted women who will not consent to suffering, and +who are destined to participate in government, as well as a great many +who are personally conscious of wrongs that need rectifying, should +assume the administration of the <span class="sc lowercase">SUPERFLUOUS WEALTH</span> abnormally +accumulated.</p> + +<p>The change proposed is so great that its realization may be far off, +and the evolution of law may be rivalled by the evolution of evasive +ingenuity, so that the commonwealth may be compelled to prohibit +evasive ante-mortem donations, and to reinforce the succession tax by +more stringent measures, from which there can be no escape, and which +will control plutocracy as effectively as any succession tax, and thus +render the latter of less importance; but it is none the less +important that the principle should be asserted, that the dead shall +not rule the living.</p> + +<p>There are two obvious measures, and <i>one of them is sure to be adopted +soon</i>, without waiting for the abolition of unlimited inheritance. The +income tax is made almost necessary by the last Congress, which +emptied the treasury, and the income tax, if made accumulative, +increasing its rates with<span class='pagenum'><a name="page208" id="page208">208</a></span> the increase of income, will be as +effective a control over plutocracy as the people wish to make it. The +<i>increasing rate</i> of taxation upon superfluous wealth, is a sacred +principle for which every reformer should contend.</p> + +<p>But even this is not fortified against evasion, and we need the most +efficient tax of all—the progressively accumulating tax on wealth, +which will gather a large rental from all the <i>superfluous</i> millions, +compelling the holders to use them profitably. A three per cent. tax +on all over ten millions would not only enrich the commonwealth, but +stimulate industry in millionnaires. How long will the millionnaires +be able to defeat such legislation?</p> + +<p><i>These are the coming taxes.</i> They are not untried theories, for +Switzerland, the foremost nation in democracy, enjoys both the income +tax and the progressively accumulating tax, which falls most heavily +on the largest properties.</p> + +<p>It is to be hoped that political corruption and intrigue will not +delay many years this assertion of the sovereignty of the commonwealth +by taxation, which will give the republic a solid foundation, and that +the power of the commonwealth thus enlarged will, through the +Department of Productive Labor, and by educational progress, give us a +true and a happy republic. These suggestions are not farther in +advance of public opinion to-day, than was the nationalization of the +land, when I urged it in 1847. They will find fit champions in a few +years.</p> + +<p>To what extent the Department of Productive Labor should be fostered +by every State, and to what extent it may be authorized by the federal +constitution, we need not yet consider, for it is apparent that the +due administration of the national domain and development of the arid +region by irrigation, will furnish ample employment, if we adopt as a +sacred principle, the demand of justice, that <i>not another acre of the +national domain shall ever be sold</i>. Let us give settlers the easiest +possible terms, but never surrender to monopoly the land of the +commonwealth.<span class='pagenum'><a name="page209" id="page209">209</a></span></p> + +<h2 class="article_title"><a id="article_8" name="article_8"></a>“ÆONIAN PUNISHMENT.”</h2> +<hr class="short" /> +<p class="author_byline">BY REV. W. E. MANLEY, D. D.</p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p>Some months ago an article with the above heading appeared in <span class="sc">The +Arena</span>. It was written by Rev. C. H. Kidder, and was intended as a +reply to one written by myself, on the eternal punishment.</p> + +<p>It appears that a friend of Mr. Kidder, a physician “of great +ability,” on reading my article was caused great disquietude. “He felt +that if all the statements contained in the article were accurate, his +religious instructors had been either knaves or fools—knaves, if they +taught what they did not believe, and fools, if they believed what +they taught,” p. 101. I have only to say that the statements of my +article are, in all important respects, accurate, explain the rest as +he may; nor has Mr. Kidder shown that they are not accurate, except in +one particular, not affecting the main question. This will be noticed +in the proper place.</p> + +<p>It is often true that men “of great ability” are men of hasty +judgment, especially when they are “much disquieted”; and the doctor +is certainly mistaken in supposing that his instructors were either +knaves or fools. The men who teach eternal punishment are in the main +honest, and of fair intelligence. The doctrine came into the church in +a dark age; and for centuries it was dangerous to believe or teach +anything else. When the human mind was set free, and it was no longer +dangerous to teach what one believed, the doctrine had become so +firmly established by a false system of interpretation, that it was a +long time before much impression could be made toward its removal. But +the Gospel leaven has been working in all these ages since the +reformation to the present century; so that now there is little faith +of that kind in the Orthodox church and none out of it.</p> + +<p>I have not intended to admit that all the teachers of eternal +punishment in the church have been honest. Some have been dishonest, +in order, as they claimed, to do the more good. There was a class of +ministers in the ancient church who<span class='pagenum'><a name="page210" id="page210">210</a></span> had two sets of opinions, one set +for the congregation, and another for the private circle. Dr. Edward +Beecher mentions several venerable men, who preached eternal misery, +but who had not a particle of faith in the doctrine, as he believes. +They are Chrysostom, Gregory Nazianzus, Athanasius, and Basil the +Great. See Historical Retribution, p. 273. These were great men; but a +greater than these had taught that it is right to lie for the good of +mankind, namely, Plato. Who will say there have been no others since +that day? For the honor of humanity, I trust not many.</p> + +<p>I would say here that all Mr. Kidder has advanced, may be admitted, +without the least detriment to the main purpose of my article. The +greater part of his paper is devoted to incidental topics that are not +essential to the main subject, and what he says on the main point +utterly fails to invalidate my argument, as the reader will clearly +perceive before I get through.</p> + +<p>So far as our version favors eternal punishment, the fact is due +chiefly to a wrong translation; and it is difficult to suppress the +conviction that the translators, in much of their work of this kind, +were perfectly conscious of the wrong they were doing. The word <i>hell</i> +in every place where it is found (with one or two exceptions, where +the heathen hell is referred to) is the rendering of a word that has +no such meaning. The word <i>everlasting</i> combines a wrong rendering and +a wrong exegesis. These are the main points. They are the Jachin and +Boaz of the orthodox temple. But the translators have sought to favor +their doctrines in other ways; sometimes by supplying words not found +in the text, and sometimes by rejecting words that are there.</p> + +<p>My article was devoted chiefly to these last, particularly a wrong use +of the Greek article, and the rejection of an important word, when it +conflicted with their views, though they often employ it at other +times.</p> + +<p>I say with the fullest confidence that the doctrine of eternal +punishment is not in the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures. It came into the +church chiefly with converts who had believed it before their +conversion, and continued to believe it by a misconstruction of the +Scriptures.</p> + +<h3 class="article_section">THE SON OF GOD.</h3> + +<p>By not paying particular attention to what I said, my critic has +misrepresented me in an important particular; and<span class='pagenum'><a name="page211" id="page211">211</a></span> has repeated the +idea a number of times, namely, that I deny the sonship of Jesus +Christ. I simply refer to some passages to show the importance of the +Greek article, and some of these have the expression, “the Son of +God,” when they ought to have been rendered “a Son of God,” or “a Son +of a God” not only because the article is omitted in the Greek, but it +is the language of Satan, and of the heathen, and therefore more +characteristic than the words <i>the</i> Son of God. The sonship of our +Lord has evidence enough, without that of Satan and the heathen, +especially as the evangelists have represented them as giving no such +testimony.</p> + +<p>The reference in my article to insanity and suicide was incidental; +and whether strictly correct or not, the thousand that have been +ruined in this way is a picture sufficiently frightful, and shows that +the Christian religion has been greatly misapprehended; for in its +purity, it never has, and never can, produce a single case of either +insanity or suicide.</p> + + +<h3 class="article_section">THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.</h3> + +<p>Of the six theological seminaries, which I referred to, on the +authority of Dr. Edward Beecher, as existing in the early days of the +church, I find on further reading that two were not theological +seminaries, but “schools of thought,” as the doctor afterwards calls +them. One of these was in Asia Minor; and there, the annihilation of +the wicked was believed and taught. The other was in North Africa; and +here, endless punishment was the prevailing belief on the subject of +future destiny. The four others were real seminaries, in which the +doctrine of the final holiness and happiness of all intelligent +beings, after future disciplinary punishment, was inculcated by men as +much distinguished for piety and virtue and missionary zeal, as any in +the whole church.</p> + +<p>The four schools were located at Alexandria, in Egypt, Cesarea in +Palestine, Antioch in Syria, and Edessa or Nisibis. This last school +was held at the one or the other of these places, in Eastern Syria. +When persecution drove it out of one of these cities, it held its +sessions in the other. All these four schools were numerously +attended, often having hundreds of scholars at one time. Mr. Kidder +thinks there must have been more than this number; but as it is a mere +conjecture with him, his opinion can have but little weight against +the statement of a man who has thoroughly investigated the subject. It +will not do to judge them after our<span class='pagenum'><a name="page212" id="page212">212</a></span> little schools, at the present +day, when the church is divided into scores of little communities, +each having its insignificant seminary or seminaries. The church was +then one body, though each school varied slightly from the rest.</p> + + +<h3 class="article_section">PROFESSOR SHEDD.</h3> + +<p>Dr. Beecher points out and refutes the statements of Professor Shedd, +and some others, on the prevalence of certain doctrines in the early +church.</p> + +<p>Professor Shedd, in his history of Christian doctrine, Vol. II. p. +414, says, “The punishment inflicted upon the lost was regarded by the +fathers of the ancient church, with very few exceptions, as endless.” +“The only exception to the belief in the eternity of future +punishment, in the ancient church, appears in the Alexandrian school.” +“The views of Origen concerning future retribution were almost wholly +confined to their schools.”</p> + +<p>Dr. Beecher makes the following reply. “This statement somewhat +transcends the limits set by Lecky, to the doctrine of the +restoration. It is not confined to two individuals, but it is confined +to one school,—the school of Alexandria. What then shall be said of +Diodore, of Tarsus, not of the school of Alexandria, the eminent +teacher of Chrysostom, and a decided advocate of universal +restoration? What shall be said of his disciple, Theodore of +Mopsuestia, that earnest defender of the same doctrine, of whom Dorner +says that he was the climax and crown of the school of Antioch? What +shall be said of the great Eastern school of Edessa and Nisibis, in +which the scriptural exposition of Theodore of Mopsuestia, was a +supreme authority and text-book? Was Theodore of the school of +Alexandria? Not at all. He was of the school of Antioch…. And yet he +not only taught the doctrine of universal restoration on his own +basis, but even introduced it into the liturgy of the Nestorian +Church, in Eastern Asia. What, too, shall we say of the two great +theological schools, in which he had a place of such honor and +influence?… Dr. Shedd would have called to mind a statement in +Guericke’s Church History, <i>as translated by himself</i>, “It is +noticeable that the exegetico-grammatical school of Antioch, as well +as the allegorizing Alexandrian, adopted and maintained the doctrine +of restoration, p. 349, note 1.” Then it should be added that Origen +was not the only one of the Alexandrian school, who<span class='pagenum'><a name="page213" id="page213">213</a></span> taught this +doctrine. Clemens, who preceded Origen, taught it; and Didymus who +succeeded him. The whole period of the presidency of these men over +the school must have been a century or more. And yet the great body of +Christians, as Professor Shedd would have us believe, were believers +in eternal punishment; but they neither turned these men out, nor +established any other school to counteract their influence. They must +have been a trifle different from believers in the doctrine now. And +what is very remarkable, we hear of no books or essays written against +the doctrine of the Alexandrian school, as if it were a pernicious +heresy.</p> + +<p>Church historians in modern times impose on their readers by quoting +passages from ancient Christian writers, that employ the word +<i>everlasting</i> in connection with punishment, leaving the impression +that these words were understood then as they are now, when in fact +believers in limited punishment, as well as those who thought +punishment endless, employed the term <i>everlasting (aiōnios</i>) to +denote its duration. Origen and Clemens speak of everlasting +punishment, though they believed it would end in reformation and +salvation. Justin Martyr and Irenæus warn men of everlasting +punishment, though they believed in the annihilation of the wicked.</p> + + +<h3 class="article_section">MORAL RESURRECTION.</h3> + +<p>In some instances the resurrection is used in the same way as the new +birth, to denote conversion. Such is John v. 21-29. The change thus +indicated is commonly called a moral resurrection. My critic would +have the last two verses refer to the general resurrection at the end +of the world; while he seems to admit that all the rest relates to a +moral resurrection, two things as unlike as they possibly could be. +Such is not our Lord’s mode of teaching. I understand the whole +passage as confined to one subject, the moral resurrection. He divides +the subject into two parts, to be sure, but it is the same subject in +both parts—first, the moral resurrection then in progress; and +second, the moral resurrection “coming” on a more extensive scale, +even embracing all men. Jesus changes one word only, using +<i>graves</i>,—more properly <i>tombs</i>,—instead of <i>death</i>. But coming out +of death into life, and coming out of the tombs into life, are +essentially the same thing. Both are figurative expressions. I insist +that where Jesus says, “The hour is coming and now is,” he<span class='pagenum'><a name="page214" id="page214">214</a></span> conveys +the impression that the then present process was in its nature the +same as the coming one, only that the latter would be more extended, +even universal.</p> + + +<h3 class="article_section">THE WORD A GOD.</h3> + +<p>That Trinitarians should translate this expression, The Word was God, +in John i. 1, might be expected; but by the rules of translating the +Greek language into English, the expression should be, The Word was a +god. The rule of Middleton that the article must not be used in the +predicate of a sentence may hold good, when it conflicts with no +superior rule; but if taken absolutely, it has many exceptions. I +suppose the renowned Origen understood the Greek language. He +interprets the passage before us as I do. “Origen uses θεὁς [Greek: theos] +(god), not in our modern sense, as a proper name, but as a common +name. This use of the term, <i>which was common to him with his +contemporaries</i>, and continued to be common after his time, is +illustrated by his remarks on the passage, ‘and the Logos was God’; in +which he contended, that the Logos was god, in an inferior sense;—not +as we would say God, but <i>a god</i>, not <i>the</i> divine being, but <i>a</i> +divine being. (Opp. iv. p. 48, reqq.).” See Norton’s Statement of +Reasons, p. 120, note.</p> + +<p>The quotation from the Athanasian creed had better been omitted; for +many will read it, who had not before known that it contained any such +absurdity; and will have less respect for the Trinity than they would +wish to have. The quotation is, “The Father is God, the Son is God, +and the Holy Spirit is God; and yet they (?) are not three Gods, but +one God.” I am accused of following an “uncritical principle,” in not +reasoning in the same way. If it is “uncritical,” I plead guilty, and +beg that my sentence may be as mild as possible. But before the +sentence is pronounced may it not be well to apply the reasoning to +some other subject,—to Peter, James, and John, for instance? Each of +these is a man; but they are not three men but one man!</p> + + +<h3 class="article_section">MELLO.</h3> + +<p>I complained that the translators and revisors left out this word, +apparently for the reason that it conflicts with their theology. It +makes certain things to be near at hand, which they regarded as far in +the future. My critic says, “The Greek <i>mellō</i> frequently has the +meaning assigned to it by Dr. Manley, but it is not shut up to that +meaning,” p. 106. It<span class='pagenum'><a name="page215" id="page215">215</a></span> probably has that meaning twenty times, where it +has any other meaning once. In the passages from which it is excluded, +if it has any other meaning, why did they not retain it, and render it +according to its true import, and not throw it out? Mr. Kidder does +not meet the case, when he shows that the word does sometimes have +another meaning. His business is to show that <i>it has no meaning</i>, in +the passages from which it is excluded. It will then be in order to +show why the writers put such a word in these passages. When the +translators recognize the word, they seldom fail to give it a meaning +corresponding to the sense I assign to it.</p> + +<p>It is conceded that the wrath to come (Matt. iii. 7; Luke iii. 7.), +should probably be the wrath <i>about</i> to come, meaning the destruction +soon to fall on the Jewish State. This word <i>mellō</i> (about) takes +the passage out of the hands of those who would apply it to a far-off +eternal punishment. The word in other passages would have been alike +opposed to the common construction; and, therefore, it was left out. +This is the plain common-sense view of the case; and I shall hold the +translators and revisers guilty of a base fraud, till some good reason +can be given for their conduct. This probably cannot be done.</p> + +<p><span class="sc">Aiōn, aiōnios</span>. That the expression, “end of the world,” where +the original for <i>world</i> is <i>aiōn</i>, ever has the meaning of end of +this material universe cannot be proved. Where Jesus promises to be +with his disciples to the end of the world (<i>aiōn</i>) is the most +favorable instance. But in the sense here intended, namely, enabling +them to perform miracles, he was with them, only to the end of the +Jewish age. By that time the Gospel was so well established, as no +longer to need miraculous interposition. In what sense Jesus was with +the disciples, is explained by the closing words of Mark’s Gospel. +“And they went forth, preaching everywhere, the Lord working with +them, and confirming the word, by the signs that followed. Amen.”</p> + +<p>My critic says of <i>aiōn</i>, p. 107: “It may at times refer to the +Jewish dispensation, with its limit fixed at the judgment executed +upon the holy city, and the destruction of the temple.” Then it <i>may +mean</i> this, in Matt. xiii. 38, 39, 49, and xxiv. 3. “It does not +always mean age; for this meaning is inadequate for the <i>worlds</i>, +<i>aiōnos</i>, of Heb. i. 2, xi. 3.” It does not seem so; for God +created the ages and dispensations of time,<span class='pagenum'><a name="page216" id="page216">216</a></span> as much as he did the +material worlds. <i>Constituted</i> may be better than <i>created</i>. God is +the author of both creations. Aion is a term that always implies time, +or duration, and not material substance. De Quincey says that +everything has its aion. The <i>aiōn</i> of an individual man is about +seventy years. The aion of the human race would probably be some +millions of years. It would follow from this reasoning that the +<i>aiōn</i> of God would be eternal, past, and to come. De Quincey does +not, I believe, carry his reasoning to this result; and I had never +seen the argument stated before, as it is in the passages produced by +Mr. K., from Aristotle and Plato. But the same reasoning that makes +the <i>aiōn</i> of God eternal, makes every other limited. It would be +illogical, and appear so at once, if one should argue, God is eternal; +and, therefore, punishment is eternal.</p> + +<p>The rule generally accepted for understanding <i>aiōnios</i>, is to +modify the meaning according to the nature of the noun which it +qualifies. If it denote duration, the amount of duration will depend +on the noun qualified. This rule forbids that eternal punishment +should be of as long duration as eternal life. Punishment is a means +to an end, and in itself is undesirable. Life or happiness is an end; +the longer continued the better; for it is desirable in itself. It is +that which we seek by means of punishment. The less we have of +punishment, the better. The more we have of life, the better.</p> + +<p>My critic ought to have pondered the words of Dr. Taylor Lewis, before +he entered on this discussion. His words are, “The preacher, in +contending with the Universalist and the Restorationist, would commit +an error, and it may be, suffer a failure in his argument, should he +lay the whole stress of it on the etymological or historical +significance of the words, <i>aiōn</i>, <i>aiōnios</i>, and attempt to +prove that of themselves they necessarily carry the meaning of endless +duration.” Lange’s Eccl. p. 48. Beecher’s “Retribution,” p. 154. Prof. +Lewis says that <i>aiōnios</i> means <i>pertaining to the age or world to +come</i>. The only fault this definition has, is the addition of the +words <i>to come</i>. Jesus says, “These shall go away into the punishment +of the age, and the righteous into the life of the age.” The age +referred to, is the Christian age or dispensation, that has already +come. It is the same as has all along been called, “the age to come,” +or about to come. It was to follow the Jewish age, which was soon to +end.<span class='pagenum'><a name="page217" id="page217">217</a></span> Both together are referred to as “this age and that which is +about to come.” But when the parable of the sheep and goats begins, +the age is already come.</p> + +<p>The form here given by Taylor Lewis is the same as Jesus himself used, +if he spoke the Aramaic, as my critic says he did, and I agree with +him. He did not say, “These shall go away into <i>aiōnion</i> +punishment,” etc., which is the unwarranted Greek form. But his words +are, “These shall go away into the punishment of the age (or +pertaining to the age), and the righteous into the life of the age (or +pertaining to the age).” It is the same form in the Peshito-Syriac +version, made in the days of the Apostles. It is the same in the +Hebrew New Testament, translated by the Bible society, to circulate +among the modern Jews.</p> + +<p>I have in my possession over a hundred passages, from classic Greek +authors, in which <i>aiōn</i> is used in a limited sense, generally +denoting human life, or the age of man. It is used, in a few +instances, to denote an endless age, by attaching to it another word +for <i>endless</i>. The adjective <i>aiōnios</i> is used very little by these +authors, and not at all, I think, by the more ancient ones. No lexicon +gives it the definition of eternal, till long after the time of +Christ; and the remark is added, when thus defined, that it is so +understood by the <i>theologians</i>.</p> + +<p>But the principal help for understanding the Greek of the New +Testament, is the Greek version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint. +The words we are discussing are found in that version not far from +four hundred times, three fourths of them probably in a limited sense. +The Hebrew form, “the statutes of the age,” are rendered into Greek, +everlasting or <i>aiōnion</i> statutes; “the covenant of the age,” the +<i>aiōnion</i> covenant, etc. These terms have sixteen different +renderings. They are, <i>everlasting</i>, <i>forever</i>, <i>forevermore</i>, +<i>perpetual</i>, <i>ever</i>, <i>never</i> (when joined with a negative particle), +<i>old</i>, <i>ancient</i>, <i>long</i>, <i>always</i>, <i>world</i>, <i>lasting</i>, <i>eternal</i>, +<i>continuance</i>, <i>at any time</i>, <i>Elam</i>. The last word stands for the +Hebrew <i>olam</i>, the word answering to <i>aiōn</i> in the Greek. With +these definitions in view (a number of them being limited terms), it +would be folly to claim that this word has an unlimited meaning when +applied to punishment. The punishment which God inflicts is limited. +Heb. 12.</p> + +<p>Great stress is placed on the circumstance, that in Matt.<span class='pagenum'><a name="page218" id="page218">218</a></span> xxv. 46, +the punishment and the life are spoken of near together, even in the +same verse. Tertullian, and later Augustine, urged this fact as proof +that both must be of the same duration. The late Albert Barns thought +the argument sound. Of course, no large man ever rode a large horse, +without being of the same size. Perhaps an illustration from Scripture +will be more satisfactory. “And the eternal mountains were scattered; +the everlasting hills did bow; his ways are everlasting.” Hab. iii. 6. +For the last sentence, see the margin, Revised Edition. Are there to +be no ways of God, after the mountains and hills are gone? Besides, +this whole parable has its fulfilment, not in eternity, but in the +Christian dispensation. It began to be fulfilled at the coming of +Christ, when some were living, who had heard him, during his ministry, +nearly forty years before. Matt. xvi. 27, 28. No fixed rewards and +punishments are possible under the circumstances, for men are +changing. The rendering “pertaining to the age,” has no objection of +this kind. If it be claimed that a man, “once a Christian, always a +Christian,” no one can doubt, that a man, not a Christian, may become +one, and so change his condition—a proof that his condition is not +eternal.</p> + +<p>I will close this article by a few words on the apocalypse. The +dramatic representation of Eichhorn is correct, save the added clause, +“the eternal felicity of the future life described.” The holy city is +not heaven; it came down from God <i>out of heaven</i>. It does not denote +a final and fixed condition. It is four-square, and has three gates on +each side; and all of them open continually, to admit those who wish +to enter; and the invitation is sounded without ceasing, to the +outsiders from within, to “come and partake of the waters of life +freely.” Neither in the New Jerusalem, nor the lake of fire, is there +any allusion to the eternal world of fixed and changeless conditions.</p> + +<p>In those days, when books were not printed, but transcribed by the +hand, it was customary for the author to make a strong appeal to the +copyist or transcriber, not to make any alteration in the book, with +certain penalties, fictitious or otherwise. Hence the Revelation +closes with this admonition,—not to add to, nor take from, the book +(xxii. 18, 19.), the penalty being sufficiently severe, to which I +would commend the late revisers of the New Testament.<span class='pagenum'><a name="page219" id="page219">219</a></span></p> + +<h2 class="article_title"><a id="article_9" name="article_9"></a>THE NEGRO QUESTION FROM THE NEGRO’S POINT OF VIEW.</h2> +<hr class="short" /> +<p class="author_byline">BY PROF. W. S. SCARBOROUGH.</p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p>In the discussion of the so-called “Negro Problem,” there is, as a +rule, a great deal of the sentimental and still more of the +sensational. By a series of <i>non sequitur</i> arguments the average +disputant succeeds admirably in proving what is foreign to the +subject. This is true of writers of both sections of our +country—North as well as South—but especially true of those of the +South.</p> + +<p>The recent symposium of Southern writers in the <i>Independent</i> on the +Negro Question, as interesting as it was for novelty and variety of +view, is no exception to the rule. If the negro could be induced to +believe for a moment that he was thus actually destitute of all the +elements that go to make up a rational creature, his life would be +miserable beyond endurance. But he has not reached that point nor does +he care to reach it. Others may exclaim:—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<p>“O wad some power the giftie gi’e us</p> +<p>To see oursel’s as ithers see us;”</p> +</div></div> + +<p>but not the negro, if the vision must always be so distorted. The +black man is naturally of a sanguine temperament, as has so often been +said; and the facts in the case bear him out in entertaining a hopeful +view of his own future and his ability to carve it out. I am sure that +they do not warrant even our Southern friends in taking such a +pessimistic view of the situation, so far as the negro himself is +concerned. But facts are of little account nowadays. There is a +tendency to ignore them and appeal to the prejudices and passions of +men, and that, too, when it is well known that such methods of +procedure prolong rather than settle the question at issue. This is +the work of the alarmist—to keep things stirred up and always in an +unsettled state.</p> + +<p>I think it may be justly inferred that the average white<span class='pagenum'><a name="page220" id="page220">220</a></span> man does not +understand the black man, and that he is still an unknown quantity to +many of the white people of the country, even to those who profess to +know him best. Admitting this, then, it is but natural that much of +their deliberation and many of their conclusions should be wide of the +mark. The negro does not censure the white man for his conclusions as +they are the logical consequence of his premises, but he <i>does</i> object +to his premises. Our white friends make their mistake in seeming by +all their movements to insist that there is but one standpoint from +which to view this question, the white man’s; but there is another and +the negro is viewing it from that side, not selfishly but in a +friendly and brotherly spirit.</p> + +<p>Senator George was right when he said that the solution of this +question should be left to time, but wrong when he further added, “and +to the sound judgment of the Southern people.” The recent +disfranchisement of the negroes of his native State shows very plainly +to the thoughtful citizen that the South is not yet capable of justly +handling this question, notwithstanding that they are the people “who +have the trouble before them every day.” This is Mississippi’s fatal +mistake and one that places the State in the rear of her Southern +sisters, and for the present, at least, lessens the value of any +suggestion from that quarter.</p> + +<p>It is well understood that the sentiment of the American people is +that enough has been done for the negro; that the country is under no +obligations to look further after his interest, and that he must act +for himself. Survival of the fittest is now the watchword. There is no +objection to this provided the blacks are <i>allowed</i> to do for +themselves,—to survive as the fittest, if it be possible,—but this +they are not allowed to do. They are certainly anxious to work out +their own destiny. They are tired of sentiment and are therefore +impatient. They desire to show to the world that they are not only +misunderstood but misjudged. They are willing to unite with either +North or South in the adjustment of present difficulties.</p> + +<p>Unlike the Indians they are sincere—neither treacherous nor +deceitful. They are simple, frank, and open-hearted, and are as +desirous of good government as are the most honored citizens of the +land. Let alone, they will give neither the State nor the nation any +trouble. They feel themselves a<span class='pagenum'><a name="page221" id="page221">221</a></span> part and parcel of the nation and as +such have an interest in its prosperity as deep as those who are +allowed to exercise, untrammelled, the rights of citizenship.</p> + +<p>To keep the blacks submissive there is need of neither army nor navy. +Though at the foot of the ladder they are contented to remain there, +until by virtue of their own efforts they may rise to higher planes. +The negro has never sought, does not now, nor will he seek to step +beyond his limit. “Social equality,” “Negro domination,” and “Negro +supremacy,” are meaningless terms to him so far as his own aspirations +are concerned. The social side of this question will regulate itself. +It has always done so, in all ages and all climes, despite coercion, +despite law. This is the least of the negro’s cares. His demand for +civil rights is no demand for “social equality.” This is a mistaken +view of the subject. It is this dread of social equality, this fear of +social contact with the negro that precludes many well-meaning people +from securing accurate information in regard to the aims, and +purposes, and capabilities of those whom they desire to help. But +there is light ahead, dark as at times it now may seem, and erroneous +as are the views in regard to the negro’s relation to the American +body-politic.</p> + +<p>Congressman Herbert, in his effort to show the negro’s incapacity for +self-government by calling attention to the defalcations, +embezzlements, and petty larcenies, etc., of reconstruction times, +forgets that if this is to be taken as the gauge of capacity for +self-government, the same rule will apply to bank and railroad +wreckers of the present day,—to every defaulter and embezzler of +State and private funds, and to every absconding clerk. Now we must +remember that this class of citizens is enormously large, and that +they are all white, as a rule. Every daily paper that one picks up +devotes considerable space to this class of citizens who, according to +Mr. Herbert, has shown its “incapacity for self-government,” as well +as the incapacity of others “who alone have acquired such a capacity” +as is claimed by Congressman Barnes. Queer logic is it not? The latter +should say so, for it is he who claims that “the Anglo-Saxon is the +only member of the human family who has yet shown evidence of a +capacity for self-government.”</p> + +<p>Again, it is said that the negro cannot attain high and rigid +scholarship, and even those who have succeeded in<span class='pagenum'><a name="page222" id="page222">222</a></span> becoming educated +“if left to themselves would relapse into barbarism.” Now, I cannot +believe that any such statement as this can be made with sincerity. In +the light of the facts it is preposterous. Flipper, while at West +Point, demonstrated beyond controversy the fallacy of such a position +as the first; and there is hardly a college commencement in which some +negro in some way does not continue to show its falsity by +distinguishing himself by his extraordinary attainments. Even while I +write, a letter lies before me from a young colored student, a +graduate of Brown University, who is now taking a post-graduate course +at the American School for Classical Studies, at Athens, Greece. From +all reports, he is making an excellent record, and will present a +thesis in March on “The Demes of Athens.” As to relapsing into +barbarism, were the negro removed from white influence, the mere +mention of the negro scholar, Dr. Edward Blyden, born on the island of +St. Thomas, educated and reared in Africa away from the slightest +social contact with people of Anglo-Saxon extraction, is sufficient +proof that such a conclusion is not a correct one.</p> + +<p>What a leading journal has said in regard to the Indians may be +repeated here as applicable to the negro: “The most crying need in +Indian [negro] affairs is its disentanglement from politics and +political manipulations.”</p> + +<p>Here is an opportunity for the Church, but the Church has shown itself +wholly inadequate to meet the case, and because of its tendency to +shirk its duty, may be said to be to blame for many of the troubles +growing out of the presence of the negro on this continent. I have +noted that there is more prejudice in the Church, as a rule, than +there is in the State. If, as is asserted by some, neither Church nor +State can settle this question, then there is nothing to be done but +to leave it to time and the combined patience and forbearance of the +American people,—black as well as white.<span class='pagenum'><a name="page223" id="page223">223</a></span></p> + + +<h2 class="article_title"><a id="article_10" name="article_10"></a>A PRAIRIE HEROINE.</h2> +<hr class="short" /> +<p class="author_byline">BY HAMLIN GARLAND.</p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p>Lucretia Burns had never been handsome, even in her days of early +girlhood, and now she was middle aged, distorted with work and +child-bearing, and looking faded and worn as one of the boulders that +lay beside the pasture fence near where she sat milking a large white +cow.</p> + +<p>She had no shawl or hat and no shoes, for it was still muddy in the +little yard, where the cattle stood patiently fighting the flies and +mosquitoes swarming into their skins already wet with blood. The +evening was oppressive with its heat, and a ring of just-seen +thunder-heads gave premonitions of an approaching storm.</p> + +<p>An observer seeing Lucretia Burns as she rose from the cow’s side, and +taking her pails of foaming milk staggered toward the gate, would have +been made weak with sympathetic pain. The two pails hung from her lean +arms, her bare feet slipped on the filthy ground, her greasy and faded +calico dress showed her tired, swollen ankles, and the mosquitoes +swarmed mercilessly on her neck and bedded themselves in her colorless +hair.</p> + +<p>The children were quarrelling at the well and the sound of blows could +be heard. Calves were querulously calling for their milk, and little +turkeys lost in the tangle of grass were piping plaintively.</p> + +<p>The sun just setting struck through a long, low rift like a boy +peeping beneath the eaves of a huge roof. Its light brought out +Lucretia’s face as she leaned her sallow forehead on the top bar of +the gate and looked towards the west.</p> + +<p>It was a pitifully worn, almost tragic face,—long, thin, sallow, +hollow-eyed. The mouth had long since lost the power to shape itself +into a kiss, and had a droop at the corners which seemed to announce a +breaking down at any moment into a despairing wail. The collarless +neck and sharp shoulders showed painfully.</p> + +<p>She felt vaguely that the night was beautiful, the setting<span class='pagenum'><a name="page224" id="page224">224</a></span> sun, the +noise of frogs, the nocturnal insects beginning to pipe—all in some +way called her girlhood back to her, though there was little in her +girlhood to give her pleasure. Her large gray eyes (her only +interesting feature) grew round, deep, and wistful as she saw the +illimitable craggy clouds grow crimson, roll slowly up, and fire at +the top. A childish scream recalled her.</p> + +<p>“Oh my soul!” she half groaned, half swore, as she lifted her milk and +hurried to the well. Arriving there, she cuffed the children right and +left with all her remaining strength, saying in justification:—</p> + +<p>“My soul! can’t you—you young ‘uns give me a minute’s peace? Land +knows, I’m almost gone up—washin’ an’ milkin’ six cows, and tendin’ +you and cookin’ f’r <i>him</i>, ought’o be enough f’r one day! Sadie, you +let him drink now’r I’ll slap your head off, you hateful thing! Why +can’t you behave, when you know I’m jest about dead.” She was weeping +now, with nervous weakness. “Where’s y’r pa?” she asked after a +moment, wiping her eyes with her apron.</p> + +<p>One of the group, the one cuffed last, sniffled out, in rage and +grief:—</p> + +<p>“He’s in the cornfield,—where’d ye s’pose he was?”</p> + +<p>“Good land! why don’t the man work all night? Sile, you put that +dipper in that milk agin, an’ I’ll whack you till your head’ll swim! +Sadie, le’ go Pet, an’ go ‘n get them turkeys out of the grass ‘fore +it gits dark! Bob, you go tell y’r dad if he wants the rest o’ them +cows milked, he’s got ‘o do it himself. I jest can’t, and what’s more +I <i>won’t</i>,” she ended rebelliously.</p> + +<p>Having strained the milk and fed the children, she took some skimmed +milk from the cans and started to feed the calves bawling strenuously +behind the barn. The eager and unruly brutes pushed and struggled to +get into the pails all at once, and in consequence spilt nearly all of +the milk on the ground. This was the last trial,—the woman fell down +on the damp grass and moaned and sobbed like a crazed thing. The +children stood around like little partridges, looking at her in +silence, till at last the little one began to wail. Then the mother +rose wearily to her feet, and walked slowly back towards the house.</p> + +<p>She heard Burns threshing his team at the well, with the sound of +oaths. He was tired, hungry, and ill-tempered, but<span class='pagenum'><a name="page225" id="page225">225</a></span> she was too +desperate to care. His poor, overworked team did not move quick enough +for him, and his extra long turn in the corn had made him dangerous. +His eyes gleamed from his dust-laid face.</p> + +<p>“Supper ready?” he growled.</p> + +<p>“Yes, two hours ago.”</p> + +<p>“Well, I can’t help it! That devilish corn is getting too tall to plow +again, and I’ve got ‘o go through it to-morrow or not at all. Cows +milked?”</p> + +<p>“Part of ‘em.”</p> + +<p>“How many?”</p> + +<p>“Three.”</p> + +<p>“Hell! Which three?”</p> + +<p>“Spot, and Brin, and Cherry.”</p> + +<p>“<i>Of</i> course! kept the three worst ones. I’ll be damned if I milk ‘m +to-night. I don’t see why you play out jest the nights I need ye +most—” here he kicked a child out of the way. “Git out ‘o that! Haint +ye got no sense? I’ll learn ye—”</p> + +<p>“Stop that, Sim Burns!” cried the woman, snatching up the child. +“You’re a reg’lar ol’ hyeny,—that’s what you are—” she added +defiantly, roused at last from her lethargy.</p> + +<p>“You’re a—beauty, that’s what <i>you</i> are,” he said, pitilessly. “Keep +your brats out f’um under my feet;” and he strode off to the barn +after his team, leaving her with a fierce hate in her heart. She heard +him yelling at his team in their stalls.</p> + +<p>The children had had their supper so she took them to bed. She was +unusually tender to them for she wanted to make up in some way for her +harshness. The ferocity of her husband had shown up her own petulant +temper hideously, and she sat and sobbed in the darkness a long time +beside the cradle where the little Pet slept.</p> + +<p>She heard Burns come growling in and tramp about,—the supper was on +the table, he could wait on himself. There was an awful feeling at her +heart as she sat there and the house grew quiet. She thought of +suicide in a vague way; of somehow taking her children in her arms and +sinking into a lake somewhere, where she would never more be troubled, +where she could sleep forever, without toil or hunger.<span class='pagenum'><a name="page226" id="page226">226</a></span></p> + +<p>Then she thought of the little turkeys wandering in the grass, of the +children sleeping at last, of the quiet, wonderful stars. Then she +thought of the cows left unmilked, and listened to them stirring +uneasily in the yard. She rose, at last, and stole forth. She could +not rid herself of the thought that they would suffer. She knew what +the dull ache in the full breasts of a mother was, and she could not +let them stand at the bars all night moaning for relief.</p> + +<p>The mosquitoes had gone, but the frogs and katy-dids still sang, while +over in the west Venus shone. She was a long time milking the cows; +her hands were so tired she had often to stop and rest them, while the +tears fell unheeded into the pail. She saw and felt little of the +external as she sat there. She thought of how sweet it seemed the +first time Sim came to see her, of the many rides to town with him +when he was an accepted lover, of the few things he had given her, a +coral breastpin and a ring.</p> + +<p>She felt no shame at her present miserable appearance, she was past +that; she hardly felt as if the tall, strong girl, attractive with +health and hope, could be the same soul as the woman who now sat in +utter despair listening to the heavy breathing of the happy cows, +grateful for the relief from their burden of milk.</p> + +<p>She contrasted her lot with that of two or three women that she knew, +not a very high standard, who “kept hired help,” and who had “fine +houses of four or five rooms.” Even the neighbors were better off than +she, for they didn’t have such quarrels. But she wasn’t to blame—Sim +didn’t—then her mind changed to a vague resentment against “things;” +everything seemed against her.</p> + +<p>She rose at last and carried her second load of milk to the well, +strained it, washed out the pails, and after bathing her tired feet in +a tub that stood there, she put on a pair of horrible shoes without +stockings, and crept stealthily into the house. Sim did not hear her +as she slipped up the stairs to the little low, unfinished chamber +beside her oldest children,—she could not bear to sleep near <i>him</i> +that night,—she wanted a chance to sob herself to quiet.</p> + +<p>As for Sim, he was a little disturbed but would as soon have cut off +his head as acknowledge himself in the wrong, but he yelled as he went +to bed, and found her still away:<span class='pagenum'><a name="page227" id="page227">227</a></span>—</p> + +<p>“Say, ol’ woman, aint ye comin’ to bed?” and upon receiving no answer +he rolled his aching body into the creaking bed. “Do as ye damn please +about it. If ye wan’ to sulk y’ can.” And in such wise the family grew +quiet in sleep, while the moist, warm air pulsed with the ceaseless +chime of the crickets.</p> + + +<h3 class="article_section">II.</h3> + +<p>When Sim Burns woke the next morning he felt a sharper twinge of +remorse. It was not a broad or well-defined feeling, just a sense that +he’d been unduly irritable, not that on the whole he was not in the +right. Little Pet lay with the warm June sunshine filling his baby +eyes, curiously content in striking at flies that buzzed around his +little mouth.</p> + +<p>The man thrust his dirty naked feet into his huge boots, and, without +washing his face or combing his hair, went out to the barn to do his +chores.</p> + +<p>He was a type of the prairie farmer and his whole surrounding was +typical. He had a quarter-section of fine level land, mortgaged, of +course, but his house was a little box-like structure, costing, +perhaps, five hundred dollars. It had three rooms and the ever-present +“summer kitchen” attached to the back. It was unpainted and had no +touch of beauty, a mere box.</p> + +<p>His stable was built of slabs and banked and covered with straw. It +looked like a den, was low and long, and had but one door in the end. +The cow-yard held ten or fifteen cattle of various kinds, while a few +calves were bawling from a pen near by. Behind the barn on the west +and north was a fringe of willows forming a “wind-break.” A few broken +and discouraged fruit trees standing here and there among the weeds +formed the garden. In short, he was spoken of by his neighbors as “a +hard-working cuss, and tollably well fixed.”</p> + +<p>No grace had come or ever <i>could</i> come into his life. Back of him were +generations of men like himself, whose main’ business had been to work +hard, live miserably, and beget children to take their places after +they died. He was a product.</p> + +<p>His courtship had been delayed so long on account of poverty that it +brought little of humanizing emotion into his<span class='pagenum'><a name="page228" id="page228">228</a></span> life. He never +mentioned it now, or if he did, it was only to sneer obscenely at it. +He had long since ceased to kiss his wife or even speak kindly to her. +There was no longer any sanctity to life or love. He chewed tobacco +and toiled on from year to year without any very clearly defined idea +of the future.</p> + +<p>He was tall, dark, and strong, in a flat-chested, slouching sort of +way, and had grown neglectful of even decency in his dress. He wore +the American farmer’s customary outfit of rough brown pants, hickory +shirt, and greasy white hat. It differed from his neighbors, mainly in +being a little dirtier and more ragged. His grimy hands were broad and +strong as the clutch of a bear, and he “was a turrible feller to turn +off work,” as Council said. “I druther have Sim Burns work for me one +day than some men three. He’s a linger.” He worked with unusual speed +this morning, and ended by milking all the cows himself as a sort of +savage penance for his misdeeds the previous evening, muttering in +self-defence:—</p> + +<p>“Seems ‘s if ever’ cussid thing piles on to me at once. That corn, the +road-tax, and hayin’ comin’ on, and now <i>she</i> gits her back up—”</p> + +<p>When he went back to the well he sloshed himself thoroughly in the +horse-trough and went to the house. He found breakfast ready but his +wife was not in sight. The older children were clamoring around the +uninviting breakfast table, spread with cheap plates and with boiled +potatoes and fried salt pork as the principal dish.</p> + +<p>“Where’s y’r ma?” he asked, with a threatening note in his voice, as +he sat down by the table.</p> + +<p>“She’s in the bedroom.”</p> + +<p>He rose and pushed open the door. The mother sat with the babe in her +lap, looking out of the window down across the superb field of +timothy, moving like a lake. She did not look round. She only grew +rigid. Her thin neck throbbed with the pulsing of blood to her head.</p> + +<p>“What’s got into you, <i>now</i>?” he said brutally; “don’t be a fool. Come +out and eat breakfast with me, an’ take care o’ y’r young ones.”</p> + +<p>She neither moved nor made a sound. With an oath he turned on his heel +and went out to the table. Eating his breakfast in his usual wolfish +fashion, he went out into the hot sun with his team and ridding plow, +not a little disturbed<span class='pagenum'><a name="page229" id="page229">229</a></span> by this new phase of his wife’s +“cantankerousness.” He plowed steadily and sullenly all the forenoon, +in the terrific heat and dust. The air was full of tempestuous +threats, still and sultry, one of those days when work is a +punishment. When he came in at noon he found things the same,—dinner +on the table, but his wife out in the garden with the youngest child.</p> + +<p>“I c’n stand it as long as <i>she</i> can,” he said to himself, in the +hearing of the children. When he finished the field of corn it was +after sundown, and he came up to the house, hot, dusty, his shirt +wringing wet with sweat, and his neck aching with the work of looking +down all day at the cornrows. His mood was still stern. The +multitudinous lift, and stir, and sheen of the wide green field had +been lost upon him.</p> + +<p>“I wonder if she’s milked them cows,” he muttered to himself. He gave +a sigh of relief to find she had. But she had done so not for his +sake, but for the sake of the poor, patient, dumb brutes.</p> + +<p>When he went to the bedroom after supper, he found that the cradle and +his wife’s few little boxes and parcels—poor pathetic properties—had +been removed to the garret which they called a chamber, and he knew he +was to sleep alone again.</p> + +<p>“She’ll git over it, I guess.” He was very tired but he didn’t feel +quite comfortable enough to sleep. The air was oppressive. His shirt +wet in places, and stiff with dust in other places, oppressed him more +than usual, so he rose and removed it, getting a clean one out of a +drawer. This was an unusual thing for him, for he usually slept in the +same shirt which he wore in his day’s work, but it was Saturday night, +and he felt justified in the extravagance.</p> + +<p>In the meanwhile poor Lucretia was brooding over her life in a most +dangerous fashion. All she had done and suffered for Simeon Burns came +back to her till she wondered how she had endured it all. All day long +in the midst of the glorious summer landscape she brooded.</p> + +<p>“I hate him,” she thought with a fierce blazing up through the murk of +her musing, “I hate t’ live. But they aint no hope. I’m tied down. I +can’t leave the children, and I aint got no money. I couldn’t make a +living out in the world. I aint never seen anything an’ don’t know +anything.”</p> + +<p>She was too simple and too unknowing to speculate on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="page230" id="page230">230</a></span> loss of her +beauty, which would have brought her competency once,—if sold in the +right market. As she lay in her little attic bed, she was still +sullenly thinking, wearily thinking of her life. She thought of a poor +old horse which Sim had bought once, years before, and put to the +plough when it was too old and weak to work. She could see her again +as in a vision, that poor old mare, with sad head drooping, toiling, +toiling, till at last she could no longer move, and lying down under +the harness in the furrow, groaned under the whip—and died.</p> + +<p>Then she wondered if her own numbness and despair meant death, and she +held her breath to think harder upon it. She concluded at last, +grimly, that she didn’t care—only for the children.</p> + +<p>The air was frightfully close in the little attic, and she heard the +low mutter of the rising storm in the west. She forgot her troubles a +little, listening to the far-off gigantic footsteps of the tempest.</p> + +<p><i>Boom, boom, boom</i>, it broke nearer and nearer as if a vast cordon of +cannon was being drawn around the horizon. Yet she was conscious only +of pleasure. She had no fear. At last came the sweep of cool, fragrant +storm-wind, a short and sudden dash of rain, and then in the cool, +sweet hush which followed, the worn and weary woman fell into a deep +sleep.</p> + +<p>When she woke the younger children were playing about on the floor in +their night-clothes, and little Pet was sitting in a square of +sunshine intent on one of his shoes. He was too young to know how poor +and squalid his surroundings were, the patch of sunshine flung on the +floor glorified it all. He (little animal) was happy.</p> + +<p>The poor of the western prairies lie almost as unhealthily close +together as do the poor of the city tenements. In the small hut of the +peasant there is as little chance to escape close and tainting contact +as in the coops and dens of the North End of proud Boston. In the +midst of oceans of land, floods of sunshine and gulfs of verdure, the +farmer lives in two or three small rooms. Poverty’s eternal cordon is +ever round the poor.</p> + +<p>“Ma, why didn’t you sleep with pap last night?” asked Bob, the +seven-year old, when he saw she was awake at last. She flushed a dull +red.<span class='pagenum'><a name="page231" id="page231">231</a></span></p> + +<p>“Sh! Because—I—it was too warm—and there was a storm comin’. You +never mind askin’ such questions. Is he gone out?”</p> + +<p>“Yup. I heerd him callin’ the pigs. It’s Sunday, aint it, ma?”</p> + +<p>“Why, yes, so it is! Wal! Now Sadie, you jump up an’ dress quick’s y’ +can, an’ Bob an’ Sile, you run down an’ bring s’m water,” she +commanded, in nervous haste beginning to dress. In the middle of the +room there was scarce space to stand beneath the rafters.</p> + +<p>When Sim came in for his breakfast he found it on the table but his +wife was absent.</p> + +<p>“Where’s y’r ma?” he asked with a little less of the growl in his +voice.</p> + +<p>“She’s upstairs with Pet.”</p> + +<p>The man ate his breakfast in dead silence, till at last Bob ventured +to say,</p> + +<p>“What makes ma ac’ so?”</p> + +<p>“Shut up!” was the brutal reply. The children began to take sides with +the mother—all but the oldest girl who was ten years old. To her the +father turned now for certain things to be done, treating her in his +rough fashion as a housekeeper, and the girl felt flattered and docile +accordingly.</p> + +<p>They were pitiably clad; like most farm-children, indeed, they could +hardly be said to be clad at all. Sadie had on but two garments, a +sort of undershirt of cotton and a faded calico dress, out of which +her bare, yellow little legs protruded, lamentably dirty and covered +with scratches.</p> + +<p>The boys also had two garments, a hickory shirt and a pair of pants +like their father’s, made out of brown denims by the mother’s +never-resting hands,—hands that in sleep still sewed, and skimmed, +and baked, and churned. The boys had gone to bed without washing their +feet, which now looked like toads, calloused, brown, and chapped.</p> + +<p>Part of this the mother saw with her dull eyes as she came down, after +seeing the departure of Sim up the road with the cows. It was a +beautiful Sunday morning, and the woman might have sung like a bird if +men were only as kind to her as Nature. But she looked dully on the +seas of ripe grasses, tangled and flashing with dew, out of which the +bobolinks and larks sprang. The glorious winds brought her no melody, +no perfume, no respite from toil and care.<span class='pagenum'><a name="page232" id="page232">232</a></span></p> + +<p>She thought of the children she saw in the town. Children of the +merchant and banker, clean as little dolls, the boys in knickerbocker +suits, the girls in dainty white dresses, and a bitterness sprang into +her heart. She soon put the dishes away, but felt too tired and +listless to do more.</p> + +<p>“Taw-bay-wies! Pet want ta-aw-bay-wies!” cried the little one, tugging +at her dress.</p> + +<p>Listlessly, mechanically she took him in her arms, and went out into +the garden which was fragrant and sweet with dew and sun. After +picking some berries for him, she sat down on the grass under the row +of cotton-woods, and sank into a kind of lethargy. A kingbird +chattered and shrieked overhead, the grasshoppers buzzed in the +grasses, strange insects with ventriloquistic voices sang all about +her,—she could not tell where.</p> + +<p>“Ma, can’t I put on my clean dress?” insisted Sadie.</p> + +<p>“I don’t care,” said the brooding woman darkly. “Leave me alone.”</p> + +<p>Oh, if she could only lie here forever, escaping all pain and +weariness! The wind sang in her ears, the great clouds, beautiful as +heavenly ships, floated far above in the vast dazzling deeps of blue +sky, the birds rustled and chirped around her, leaping-insects buzzed +and clattered in the grass and in the vines and bushes. The goodness +and glory of God was in the very air, the bitterness and oppression of +man in every line of her face.</p> + +<p>But her quiet was broken by Sadie who came leaping like a fawn down +through the grass.</p> + +<p>“O ma, Aunt Maria and Uncle William are coming. They’ve jest turned +in.”</p> + +<p>“I don’t care if they be!” she answered in the same dully-irritated +way. “What’re they comin’ here to-day for, I wan’ to know.” She stayed +there immovably, till Mrs. Council came down to see her, piloted by +two or three of the children. Mrs. Council, a jolly, large-framed +woman, smiled brightly, and greeted her in a loud, jovial voice. She +made the mistake of taking the whole matter lightly; her tone amounted +to ridicule.</p> + +<p>“Sim says you’ve been having a tantrum, Creeshy. Don’t know what for, +he says.”</p> + +<p>“He don’t,” said the wife with a sullen flash in the eyes.<span class='pagenum'><a name="page233" id="page233">233</a></span> “<i>He</i> +don’t know why! Well, then, you just tell him what I say. I’ve lived +in hell long enough. I’m done. I’ve slaved here day in and day out f’r +twelve years without pay—not even a decent word. I’ve worked like no +nigger ever worked ‘r could work and live. I’ve given him all I had, +‘r ever expect to have. I’m wore out. My strength is gone, my patience +is gone. I’m done with it—that’s a <i>part</i> of what’s the matter.”</p> + +<p>“My sakes, Lucreeshy! You mustn’t talk that way.”</p> + +<p>“But I <i>will</i>,” said the woman, as she supported herself on one palm +and raised the other. “I’ve <i>got</i> to talk that way.” She was ripe for +an explosion like this. She seized upon it with eagerness. “They aint +no use o’ livin’ this way, anyway. I’d take poison if it want f’r the +young ones.”</p> + +<p>“Lucreeshy Burns!”</p> + +<p>“Oh, I mean it.”</p> + +<p>“Land sakes alive, I b’leeve you’re goin’ crazy!”</p> + +<p>“I shouldn’t wonder if I was. I’ve had enough t’ drive an Indian +crazy. Now you jest go off an’ leave me ‘lone. I aint in mind to +visit—they aint no way out of it, an’ I’m tired o’ tryin’ to <i>find</i> a +way. Go off an’ let me be.”</p> + +<p>Her tone was so bitterly hopeless that the great jolly face of Mrs. +Council stiffened into a look of horror such as she had not worn for +years. The children, in two separate groups, could be heard rioting. +Bees were humming around the clover in the grass, and the kingbird +chattered ceaselessly from the Lombardy poplar-tip. Both women felt +all this peace and beauty of the morning, dimly, and it disturbed Mrs. +Council because the other was so impassive under it all. At last, +after a long and thoughtful pause, Mrs. Council asked a question whose +answer she knew would decide it all,—asked it very kindly and +softly,—</p> + +<p>“Creeshy, are you comin’ in?”</p> + +<p>“No,” was the short and sullenly decisive answer. Mrs. Council knew +that was the end, and so rose with a sigh and went away.</p> + +<p>“Wal, good by,” she said simply.</p> + +<p>Looking back she saw Lucretia lying at length with closed eyes and +hollow cheeks. She seemed to be sleeping, half-buried in the grass. +She did not look up nor reply to her sister-in-law. Her life also was +one of toil and trouble, but<span class='pagenum'><a name="page234" id="page234">234</a></span> not so hard and hapless as Lucretia’s. +By contrast with most of her neighbors she seemed comfortable.</p> + +<p>“Sim Burns, what you ben doin’ to that woman?” she burst out as she +waddled up to where the two men were sitting under a cotton-wood tree, +talking and whittling after the manner of farmers.</p> + +<p>“Nawthin’ ‘s fur ‘s I know,” answered Burns, not quite honestly, and +looking uneasy.</p> + +<p>“You needn’t try t’ git out of it like that, Sim Burns,” replied his +sister. “That woman never got into that fit f’r <i>nawthin’</i>.”</p> + +<p>“Wal, if you know more about it than I do, whadgy ask <i>me</i> fur,” he +replied angrily.</p> + +<p>“Tut, tut!” put in Council, always a peacemaker, “hold y’r horses! +Don’t git on y’r ear, childern! Keep cool, and don’t spile y’r shirts. +Most likely yer all t’ blame. Keep cool an’ swear less.”</p> + +<p>“Wal, I’ll bet Sim’s more to blame than she is. Why they aint a +harder-workin’ woman in the hull State of Ioway than she is—”</p> + +<p>“Except Marm Council.”</p> + +<p>“Except nobody. Look at her, jest skin and bones.”</p> + +<p>Council chuckled in his vast way. “That’s so, mother, measured in that +way she leads over you. You git fat on it.”</p> + +<p>She smiled a little, her indignation oozing away; she never “<i>could</i> +stay mad,” her children were accustomed to tell her. Burns refused to +talk any more about the matter, and the visitors gave it up, and got +out their team and started for home, Mrs. Council firing this parting +shot:—</p> + +<p>“The best thing you can do to-day is t’ let her alone. Mebbe the +childern ‘ll bring her round again. If she does come round, you see ‘t +you treat her a little more ‘s y’ did when you was a-courtin’ her.”</p> + +<p>“This way,” roared Council, putting his arm around his wife’s waist. +She boxed his ears while he guffawed and clucked at his team.</p> + +<p>Burns took a measure of salt and went out into the pasture to salt the +cows. On the sunlit slope of the field, where the cattle came running +and bawling to meet him, he threw down the salt in handfuls, and then +lay down to watch them as they eagerly licked it up, even gnawing a +bare spot in the sod in their eagerness to get it all.<span class='pagenum'><a name="page235" id="page235">235</a></span></p> + +<p>Burns was not a drinking man; was hard-working, frugal, in fact, he +had no extravagances except his tobacco. His clothes he wore until +they all but dropped from him; and he worked in rain and mud, as well +as dust and sun. It was this suffering and toiling all to no purpose +that made him sour and irritable. He didn’t see why he should have so +little after so much hard work.</p> + +<p>He was puzzled to account for it all. His mind (the average mind) was +weary with trying to solve an insoluble problem. His neighbors, who +had got along a little better than himself, were free with advice and +suggestion as to the cause of his persistent poverty.</p> + +<p>Old man Bacon, the hardest-working man in the county, laid it to +Burns’ lack of management. Jim Butler, who owned a dozen farms (which +he had taken on mortgages), and who had got rich by buying land at +government price and holding for a rise, laid all such cases as Burns +to “lack of enterprise, foresight.”</p> + +<p>But the larger number feeling themselves “in the same boat” with +Burns, said:—</p> + +<p>“I’d know. Seems as if things got worse an’ worse. Corn an’ wheat +gittin’ cheaper ‘n’ cheaper. Machinery eatin’ up profits—got to +<i>have</i> machinery to harvest the cheap grain, an’ then the machinery +eats up profits. Taxes goin’ up. Devil to pay all round; I’d know what +‘n thunder <i>is</i> the matter.”</p> + +<p>The democrats said protection was killing the farmers, the republicans +said no. The grangers growled about the middle-men, the green-backers +said there wasn’t circulating medium enough, and in the midst of it +all, hard-working discouraged farmers, like Simeon Burns, worked on, +unable to find out what really was the matter.</p> + +<p>And there on this beautiful Sabbath morning, Sim sat and thought and +thought, till he rose with an oath, and gave it up.</p> + + +<h3 class="article_section">III.</h3> + +<p>It was hot and brilliant again the next morning as Douglass Radbourn +drove up the road with Lily Graham, the teacher of the school in the +little white schoolhouse. It was blazing hot, even though not yet nine +o’clock, and the young farmers plowing beside the fence looked +longingly and<span class='pagenum'><a name="page236" id="page236">236</a></span> somewhat bitterly at Radbourn seated in a fine +top-buggy beside a beautiful creature in lace and cambric.</p> + +<p>Very beautiful the town-bred “schoolma’am” looked to those grimy, +sweaty fellows, superb fellows physically, too, with bare red arms and +leather-colored faces. She was as if builded of the pink and white +clouds soaring far up there in the morning sky. So cool, and sweet, +and dainty.</p> + +<p>As she came in sight, their dusty and sweaty shirts grew biting as the +poisoned shirt of the Norse myth, their bare feet in the brown dirt +grew distressingly flat and hoof-like, and their huge, dirty, brown, +chapped, and swollen hands grew so repulsive that the mere remote +possibility of some time in the far future “standing a chance” of +having an introduction to her, caused them to wipe them on their +trousers’ leg stealthily.</p> + +<p>Lycurgus Banks, “Ly” Banks, swore when he saw Radbourn. “That cuss +thinks he’s ol’ hell this morning. He don’t earn his living. But he’s +jest the kind of cuss to get holt of all the purty girls.”</p> + +<p>Others gazed with simple, sad wistfulness upon the slender figure, +pale, sweet face, and dark eyes of the young girl, feeling that to +have talk with such a fairy-like creature was a happiness too great to +ever be their lot. And when she had passed they went back to work with +a sigh and feeling of loss.</p> + +<p>As for Lily, she felt a pang of pity for these people. She looked at +this peculiar form of poverty and hardship much as the fragile, tender +girl of the city looks upon the men laying a gas-main in the streets. +She felt (sympathetically) the heat and grime, and though but the +faintest idea of what it meant to wear such clothing came to her, she +shuddered. Her eyes had been opened to these things by Radbourn, who +was a well-known radical,—a law student in Rock River.</p> + +<p>“Poor fellows!” sighed Lily, almost unconsciously. “I hate to see them +working there in the dirt and hot sun. It seems a hopeless sort of +life, doesn’t it?”</p> + +<p>“Oh, but this is the most beautiful part of the year,” said Radbourn. +“Think of them in the mud, in the sleet; think of them husking corn in +the snow, a bitter wind blowing; think of them a month later in the +harvest; think of them imprisoned here in winter!”</p> + +<p>“Yes, it’s dreadful! But I never felt it so keenly before. You have +opened my eyes to it.”<span class='pagenum'><a name="page237" id="page237">237</a></span></p> + +<p>“Writers and orators have lied so long about ‘the idyllic’ in farm +life, and said so much about the ‘independent American farmer’ that he +himself has remained blind to the fact that he’s one of the +hardest-working and poorest-paid men in America. See the houses they +live in,—hovels.”</p> + +<p>“Yes, yes, I know,” said Lily; a look of deeper pain swept over her +face. “And the fate of the poor women, oh, the fate of the women!”</p> + +<p>“Yes, it’s a matter of statistics,” went on Radbourn, pitilessly, +“that the wives of the American farmers fill our insane asylums. See +what a life they lead, most of them; no music, no books. Seventeen +hours a day in a couple of small rooms—dens. Now there’s Sim Burns! +what a travesty of a home! Yet there are a dozen just as bad in sight. +He works like a fiend,—so does his wife,—and what is their reward? +Simply a hole to hibernate in and to sleep and eat in in summer. A +dreary present and a well-nigh hopeless future. No, they have a +future, if they knew it, and we must tell them.”</p> + +<p>“I know Mrs. Burns; she sends several children to my school. Poor, +pathetic little things, half-clad and wistful-eyed. They make my heart +ache; they are so hungry for love, and so quick to learn.”</p> + +<p>As they passed the Burns farm, they looked for the wife but she was +not to be seen. The children had evidently gone up to the little white +schoolhouse at the head of the lane. Radbourn let the reins fall slack +as he talked on. He did not look at the girl, his eyebrows were drawn +into a look of gloomy pain.</p> + +<p>“It aint so much the grime that I abhor, nor the labor that crooks +their backs and makes their hands bludgeons. It’s the horrible waste +of life involved in it all. I don’t believe God intended a man to be +bent to plow-handles like that, but that aint the worst of it. The +worst of it is, these people live lives approaching automata. They +become machines to serve others more lucky or more unscrupulous than +themselves. What is the world of art, of music, of literature, to +these poor devils—to Sim Burns and his wife there, for example? Or +even to the best of these farmers?”</p> + +<p>The girl looked away over the shimmering lake of yellow-green corn, a +choking came into her throat. Her gloved hand trembled.<span class='pagenum'><a name="page238" id="page238">238</a></span></p> + +<p>“What is such a life worth? It’s all very comfortable for us to say, +‘they don’t feel it.’ How do we know what they feel? What do we know +of their capacity for enjoyment of art and music? They never have +leisure or opportunity. The master is very glad to be taught by +preacher, and lawyer, and novelist, that his slaves are contented and +never feel any longings for a higher life. These people live lives but +little higher than their cattle,—are <i>forced</i> to live so. Their hopes +and aspirations are crushed out, their souls are twisted and deformed +just as toil twists and deforms their bodies. They are on the same +level as the city laborer. It makes me wild to think of it. The very +religion they hear is a soporific. They are taught to be content here +that they may be happy hereafter. Suppose there isn’t any hereafter?”</p> + +<p>“Oh, don’t say that, please!” Lily cried.</p> + +<p>“But I don’t <i>know</i> that there is,” looking up at her pitilessly, “and +I do know that these people are being robbed of something more than +money, of all that makes life worth living. The promise of milk and +honey in Canaan is all very well, but I prefer to have mine here, then +I’m sure of it.”</p> + +<p>“What can we do?” murmured the girl.</p> + +<p>“Do? Rouse these people for one thing; preach <i>discontent</i>, a noble +discontent.”</p> + +<p>“It will only make them unhappy.”</p> + +<p>“No, it won’t, not if you show them the way out. If it does, it’s +better to be unhappy striving for higher things, like a man, than to +be content in a wallow like swine.”</p> + +<p>“But what <i>is</i> the way out?”</p> + +<p>This was sufficient to set Radbourn upon his hobby-horse. He outlined +his plan of action, the abolition of all indirect taxes. The State +control of all privileges, the private ownership of which interfered +with the equal rights of all. He would utterly destroy speculative +holdings of the earth. He would have land everywhere brought to its +best use, by appropriating all ground rents to the use of the State, +etc., etc., to which the girl listened with eager interest but with +only partial comprehension.</p> + +<p>As they neared the little schoolhouse, a swarm of midgets in pink +dresses, pink sun-bonnets, and brown legs, came rushing to meet their +teacher, with that peculiar devotion the children in the country +develop for a refined teacher.<span class='pagenum'><a name="page239" id="page239">239</a></span></p> + +<p>Radbourn helped Lily out into the midst of the eager little scholars, +who swarmed upon her like bees on a lump of sugar, till even +Radbourn’s gravity gave way, and he smiled into her lifted eyes—an +unusual smile, that strangely enough stopped the smile on her own +lips, filling her face with a wistful shadow, and her breath came hard +for a moment and she trembled.</p> + +<p>She loved that cold, stern face, oh, so much! and to have him smile +was a pleasure that made her heart leap till she suffered a smothering +pain. She turned to him to say:—</p> + +<p>“I am very thankful, Mr. Radbourn, for another pleasant ride,” adding +in a lower tone, “It was a very great pleasure; you always give me so +much. I feel stronger and more hopeful.”</p> + +<p>“I’m glad you feel so. I was afraid I was prosy with my +land-doctrine.”</p> + +<p>“Oh no! Indeed no! You have given me a new hope; I am exalted with the +thought; I shall try to think it all out and apply it.”</p> + +<p>And so they parted, the children looking on and slyly whispering among +themselves. Radbourn looked back after awhile but the bare little hive +had absorbed its little group, and was standing bleak as a tombstone +and hot as a furnace on the naked plain in the blazing sun.</p> + +<p>“America’s pitiful boast!” said the young radical looking back at it. +“Only a miserable hint of what it might be.”</p> + +<p>All that forenoon as Lily faced her little group of barefoot children, +she was thinking of Radbourn, of his almost fierce sympathy for these +poor supine farmers, hopeless, and in some cases content in their +narrow lives. The children almost worshipped the beautiful girl who +came to them as a revelation of exquisite neatness and taste,—whose +very voice and intonation awed them.</p> + +<p>They noted (unconsciously, of course,) every detail. Snowy linen, +touches of soft color, graceful lines of bust and side—the slender +fingers that could almost speak, so beautifully flexile were they. +Lily herself sometimes, when she shook the calloused, knotted, +stiffened hands of the women, shuddered with sympathetic pain, to +think that the crowning wonder and beauty of God’s world should be so +maimed and distorted from its true purpose.</p> + +<p>Even in the children before her she could see the inherited<span class='pagenum'><a name="page240" id="page240">240</a></span> results +of fruitless labor—and more pitiful yet in the bent shoulders of the +older ones she could see the beginnings of deformity that would soon +be permanent. And as these things came to her, she clasped the poor +wondering things to her side with a convulsive wish to make life a +little brighter for them.</p> + +<p>“How is your mother, Sadie?” she asked of Sadie Burns, as she was +eating her luncheon on the drab-colored table near the open window.</p> + +<p>“Purty well,” said Sadie in a hesitating way.</p> + +<p>Lily was looking out, and listening to the gophers whistling as they +raced to and fro. She could see Bob Burns lying at length on the grass +in the pasture over the fence, his heels waving in the air, his hands +holding a string which formed a snare. Bob was “death on gophers.” It +was like fishing to young Izaak Walton.</p> + +<p>It was very still and hot and the cheep and trill of the gophers, and +the chatter of the kingbirds alone broke the silence. A cloud of +butterflies were fluttering about a pool near, a couple of big flies +buzzed and mumbled on the pane.</p> + +<p>“What ails your mother?” Lily asked, recovering herself and looking at +Sadie who was distinctly ill at ease.</p> + +<p>“Oh, I dunno,” Sadie replied, putting one bare foot across the other.</p> + +<p>Lily insisted.</p> + +<p>“She ‘n’ pa’s had an awful row—”</p> + +<p>“Sadie!” said the teacher warningly, “what language!”</p> + +<p>“I mean they quarrelled, an’ she don’t speak to him any more.”</p> + +<p>“Why, how dreadful!”</p> + +<p>“An’ pa he’s awful cross,—and she won’t eat when he does, an’ I haf +to wait on table.”</p> + +<p>“I believe I’ll go down and see her this noon,” said Lily to herself, +as she divined a little of the state of affairs in the Burns family.</p> + +<p>Sim was mending the pasture fence as Lily came down the road toward +him. He had delayed going to dinner to finish his task and was just +about ready to go when Lily spoke to him.</p> + +<p>“Good-morning, Mr. Burns. I am just going down to see Mrs. Burns. It +must be time to go to dinner—aren’t you ready to go? I want to talk +with you.”<span class='pagenum'><a name="page241" id="page241">241</a></span></p> + +<p>Ordinarily he would have been delighted with the idea of walking down +the road with the schoolma’am, but there was something in her look +which seemed to tell him that she knew all about his trouble, and +beside he was not in good humor.</p> + +<p>“Yes, in a minnit,—soon’s I fix up this hole. Them shoats, I b’leeve, +would go through a keyhole, if they could once git their snoots in.”</p> + +<p>He expanded on this idea as he nailed away, anxious to gain time. He +foresaw trouble for himself. He couldn’t be rude to this sweet and +fragile girl. If a <i>man</i> had dared to attack him on his domestic +shortcomings, he could have fought. The girl stood waiting for him, +her large, steady eyes full of thought, gazing down at him from the +shadow of her broad-brimmed hat.</p> + +<p>“The world is so full of misery anyway, that we ought to do the best +we can to make it less,” she said at last in a musing tone, as if her +thoughts had unconsciously taken on speech. She had always appealed to +him strongly, and never more so than in this softly uttered +abstraction,—that it was an abstraction added to its power with him.</p> + +<p>He could find no words for reply, but picked up his hammer and +nail-box, and slouched along the road by her side, listening without a +word to her talk.</p> + +<p>“Christ was patient, and bore with his enemies, surely we ought to +bear with our—friends.” She went on adapting her steps to his. He +took off his torn straw hat and wiped his face on his sleeve, being +much embarrassed and ashamed. Not knowing how to meet such argument, +he kept silent.</p> + +<p>“How <i>is</i> Mrs. Burns?” said Lily at length, determined to make him +speak. The delicate meaning in the emphasis laid on <i>is</i> did not +escape him.</p> + +<p>“Oh, she’s all right,—I mean she’s done her work jest the same as +ever. I don’t see her much—”</p> + +<p>“I didn’t know—I was afraid she was sick. Sadie said she was acting +strangely.”</p> + +<p>“No, she’s well enough—but,—”</p> + +<p>“But what is the trouble? Won’t you let me help you, <i>won’t</i> you?”</p> + +<p>“Can’t anybody help us. We’ve got ‘o fight it out, I s’pose,” he +replied, a gloomy note of resentment creeping<span class='pagenum'><a name="page242" id="page242">242</a></span> into his voice. “She’s +ben in a devil of a temper f’r a week.”</p> + +<p>“Haven’t you been in the same kind of a temper too?” demanded Lily, +firmly, but kindly. “I think most troubles of this kind come from bad +temper on both sides. Don’t you? Have you done your share at being +kind and patient?”</p> + +<p>They had reached the gate now, and she laid her hand on his arm to +stop him. He looked down at the slender gloved hand on his arm feeling +as if a giant had grasped him, then he raised his eyes to her face, +flushing a purplish red as he remembered his grossness. It seemed +monstrous in the presence of this girl-advocate. Her face was like +silver, her eyes seemed pools of tears.</p> + +<p>“I don’t s’pose I have,” he said at last pushing by her. He couldn’t +have stood her glance another moment. His whole air conveyed the +impression of destructive admission. Lily did not comprehend the +extent of her advantage or she would have pursued it further. As it +was she felt a little hurt as she entered the house. The table was +set, but Mrs. Burns was nowhere to be seen. Calling her softly, the +young girl passed through the shabby little living room to the +oven-like bedroom which opened off it, but no one was about. She stood +for a moment shuddering at the wretchedness of the room.</p> + +<p>Going back to the kitchen she found Sim about beginning on his dinner; +little Pet was with him, the rest of the children were at the +schoolhouse.</p> + +<p>“Where is she?”</p> + +<p>“I d’ know. Out in the garden I expect. She don’t eat with me now. I +never see her. She don’t come near <i>me</i>. I aint seen her since +Saturday.”</p> + +<p>Lily was shocked inexpressibly and began to see clearer the magnitude +of the task she had set herself to do. But it must be done; she felt +that a tragedy was not far off. It must be averted.</p> + +<p>“Mr. Burns, what have you done? What <i>have</i> you done?” she asked in +terror and horror.</p> + +<p>“Don’t lay it all to <i>me</i>! She hain’t done nawthin’ but complain f’r +ten years. I couldn’t do nothin’ to suit her. She was always naggin’ +me.”</p> + +<p>“I don’t think Lucretia Burns would nag anybody. I don’t say you’re +<i>all</i> to blame, but I’m afraid you haven’t<span class='pagenum'><a name="page243" id="page243">243</a></span> acknowledged you were any +to blame. I’m afraid you’ve not been patient with her. I’m going out +to bring her in. If she comes will you say you were <i>part</i> to blame? +You needn’t beg her pardon, just say you’ll try to be better. Will you +do it? Think how much she has done for you! Will you?”</p> + +<p>He remained silent, and looked discouragingly rude. His sweaty, dirty +shirt was open at the neck, his arms were bare, his scraggly teeth +were yellow with tobacco, and his uncombed hair lay tumbled about on +his high, narrow head. His clumsy, unsteady hands played with the +dishes on the table. His pride was struggling with his sense of +justice; he knew he ought to consent, and yet it was so hard to +acknowledge himself to blame. The girl went on in a voice piercingly +sweet, trembling with pity and pleading.</p> + +<p>“What word can I carry to her from you? I’m going to go and see her. +If I could take a word from <i>you</i>, I know she would come back to the +table. Shall I tell her you feel to blame?”</p> + +<p>The answer was a long time coming; at last the man nodded an assent, +the sweat pouring from his purple face. She had set him thinking, her +victory was sure.</p> + +<p>Lily almost ran out into the garden and to the strawberry patch, where +she found Lucretia in her familiar, colorless, shapeless dress, +picking berries in the hot sun, the mosquitoes biting her neck and +hands.</p> + +<p>“Poor, pathetic, dumb sufferer,” the girl thought as she ran up to +her.</p> + +<p>She dropped her dish as she heard Lily coming, and gazed up into the +tender, pitying face. Not a word was spoken, but something she saw +there made her eyes fill with tears, and her throat swell. It was pure +sympathy. She put her arms around the girl’s neck and sobbed for the +first time since Friday night. Then they sat down on the grass under +the hedge and she told her story, interspersed with Lily’s horrified +comments.</p> + +<p>When it was all told the girl still sat listening. She heard +Radbourn’s calm, slow voice again. It helped her not to hate Burns; it +helped her to pity and understand him.</p> + +<p>“You must remember that such toil brutalizes a man; it makes him +callous, selfish, unfeeling necessarily. A fine<span class='pagenum'><a name="page244" id="page244">244</a></span> nature must either +adapt itself to its hard surroundings or die. Men who toil terribly in +filthy garments day after day and year after year cannot easily keep +gentle; the frost and grime, the heat and cold will sooner or later +enter into their souls. The case is not all in favor of the suffering +wives, and against the brutal husbands. If the farmer’s wife is dulled +and crazed by her routine, the farmer himself is degraded and +brutalized. They are both products of a social system, victims of a +land system, which produces tenement houses in the city, and pushes +the farmer into a semi-solitude—victims of land laws that are relics +of feudalism, made in the interest of the man who holds a special +privilege in the earth. Free America has set up on its soil the +systems of land-owning which produces the lord and the tenant; that +glorifies speculation in the earth, and gives the priceless riches of +the hills and forests into a few hands. But this will not continue—it +can’t continue. The awakening understanding of America cries out +against it.”</p> + +<p>As well as she could Lily explained all this to the woman who lay with +her face buried in the girl’s lap. Lily’s arms were about her thin +shoulders in an agony of pity.</p> + +<p>“It’s hard, Lucretia, I know, more than you can bear, but you mustn’t +forget what Sim endures, too. He goes out in the storms and in the +heat and dust. His boots are hard, and see how his hands are all +bruised and broken by his work! He was tired and hungry when he said +that—he didn’t really mean it.”</p> + +<p>The wife remained silent.</p> + +<p>“Mr. Radbourn says work as things go now <i>does</i> degrade a man in spite +of himself. He says men get coarse and violent in spite of themselves +just as women do when everything goes wrong in the house,—when the +flies are thick, and the fire won’t burn, and the irons stick to the +clothes. You see, you both suffer. Don’t lay up this fit of temper +against Sim—will you?”</p> + +<p>The wife lifted her head and looked away. Her face was full of +hopeless weariness.</p> + +<p>“It aint this once. It aint that ‘t all. It’s having no let up. Just +goin’ the same thing right over ‘n’ over—no hope of anything better.”</p> + +<p>“If you had a hope of another world—”</p> + +<p>“Don’t talk that—that’s rich man’s doctrine. I don’t<span class='pagenum'><a name="page245" id="page245">245</a></span> want that kind +o’ comfert. I want a decent chance here. I want ‘o rest an’ be happy +<i>now</i>—then I’m sure of it.”</p> + +<p>Lily’s big eyes were streaming with tears. What should she say to the +desperate woman?</p> + +<p>“What’s the use? We might jest as well die—all of us.”</p> + +<p>The woman’s livid face appalled the beautiful girl. She was gaunt, +heavy-eyed, nerveless. Her faded dress settled down over her limbs +showing the swollen knees and thin calves, her hands with distorted +joints protruded painfully from her sleeves. And all about was the +ever-recurring wealth and cheer of nature that knows no fear or favor. +The bees and flies buzzing in the sun, the jay and kingbird in the +poplars, the smell of strawberries, the motion of lush grass, the +shimmer of corn blades tossed gayly as banners in a conquering army.</p> + +<p>Like a flash of keener light a sentence shot across the girl’s mind. +“Nature knows no title-deed. The bounty of her mighty hands falls as +the sunlight falls, copious, impartial; her seas carry all ships, her +air is for all lips, her lands for all feet.”</p> + +<p>“Poverty and suffering such as yours will not last.” There was +something in the girl’s voice that roused the woman. She turned her +dull eyes upon her face.</p> + +<p>Lily took her hand in both hers as if by a caress she could impart her +own faith.</p> + +<p>“Look up, dear. When Nature is so good and generous, man must come to +be better, surely. Come, go in the house again. Sim is there, he +expects you, he told me to tell you he was sorry.” Lucretia’s face +twitched a little at that, but her head was bent. “Come, you can’t +live this way. There isn’t any other place to go to.”</p> + +<p>No, that was the bitterest truth. Where on this wide earth with its +forth-shooting fruits and grains, its fragrant lands and shining seas, +could this dwarfed, bent, broken, middle-aged woman go? Nobody wanted +her, nobody cared for her. But the wind kissed her drawn lips as +readily as those of the girl, and the blooms of clover nodded to her +as if to a queen.</p> + +<p>Lily had said all she could. Her heart ached with unspeakable pity and +a sort of terror.</p> + +<p>“Don’t give up, Lucretia. This may be the worst hour of your life. +Live and bear with it all for Christ’s sake—for<span class='pagenum'><a name="page246" id="page246">246</a></span> your children’s +sake. Sim told me to tell you he was to blame. If you will only see +that you are both to blame and yet neither to blame, then you can rise +above it. Try, dear!”</p> + +<p>The wife pulled herself together, rose silently, and started toward +the house. Her face was rigid but no longer sullen. Lily followed her +slowly, wonderingly.</p> + +<p>As she neared the kitchen door, she saw Sim still sitting at the +table; his face was unusually grave and soft. She saw him start and +shove back his chair,—saw Lucretia go to the stove and lift the +tea-pot, and heard her say, as she took her seat beside the baby,—</p> + +<p>“Want some more tea?”</p> + +<p>She had become a wife and mother again, but in what spirit the puzzled +girl could not say.<span class='pagenum'><a name="page247" id="page247">247</a></span></p> + +<h2 class="article_title" ><a name="EDITORIAL_NOTES" id="EDITORIAL_NOTES"></a>EDITORIAL NOTES.</h2> +<hr class="short" /> + +<h3 class="editorial_title"><a id="article_11" name="article_11"></a>AN EPOCH-MARKING DRAMA.</h3> + +<p>A movement destined, I think, to be in a degree epoch-marking in the +dramatic annals of the American stage, was inaugurated by Mr. James A. +Herne, on the fourth of May, in Boston, in the production of his +remarkable realistic drama, “Margaret Fleming,” at Chickering Hall. +The play is a bold innovation, so much so that no theatre in the city +would produce it, although the various managers who examined it +declared it to be as strong as and no less powerful than any American +drama yet written. The character of the audience was as striking as +the play was brave and original. It was, indeed, a strange sight to +see such well-known and thoughtful men and women as Mr. William Dean +Howells, Rev. Minot J. Savage, Rabbi Solomon Schindler, Rev. Edward A. +Horton, Mrs. Louise Chandler Moulton, Hamlin Garland, and a score or +more of persons almost as well known in literary, religious, and +thoughtful circles, assembled on the first night of a dramatic +production. Nor was the character of the audience less remarkable +during the fortnight it was played. Men and women who are rarely seen +at theatres attended two, three, and even four performances. The +superb acting of Mr. and Mrs. Herne contributed much to the success of +the play; curiosity also doubtless attracted many, yet beyond and +above this was the deep appreciation of a thoughtful and intelligent +constituency, who saw in this drama the marvellous possibilities of +the stage for improvement as well as entertainment. They also saw real +life depicted. The absence of empty lines and stilted phrases so +common in conventional drama was refreshing and interesting to those +who believe that the drama has a mission other than merely to amuse. +“Margaret Fleming” is nothing if not artistic from the standpoint of +the realist. Its fidelity to life as we find it—to existing +conditions and types of society,—is wonderful. Its dramatic strength +is none the less marked. But aside from and above all this, for me it +has a far greater merit—utility. I have no sympathy with the +flippant, effeminate, and senile cry, “Art for art’s sake”; that is +the echo of a decaying civilization, the voice of Greece and Rome in +their decline. It is the shibboleth of a people drunken with pleasure; +of a popular conscience anæsthetized; the cry of sensualism and +selfishness popular with shallow minds and bloodless hearts; the +incarnation of that fatal effeminacy that springs from a union of +wealth and superficial intellectuality; the voice of a human automaton +without a soul. Victor Hugo has made no utterances more grandly true +than when he pleads for the beautiful being made the servant of +progress as voiced in the following sentiment:</p> + +<div class="quotation"><p>“Be of some service. Do not be fastidious when so much +depends upon being efficient and good. Art for art’s sake +may be very fine, but<span class='pagenum'><a name="page248" id="page248">248</a></span> art for <i>progress</i> is finer still. +Ah! you must think? Then think of making man better. +Courage! Let us consecrate ourselves. Let us devote +ourselves to the good, to the true, to the just; it is well +for us to do so. Some pure lovers of art, moved by a +solicitude which is not without its dignity, discard the +formula, ‘Art for Progress,’ the Beautiful Useful, fearing +lest the useful should deform the beautiful. They tremble to +see the drudge’s hand attached to the muse’s arm. According +to them, the ideal may become perverted by too much contact +with <i>reality</i>. They are solicitous for the sublime, if it +descends as far as to humanity. They are in error. The +useful, far from circumscribing the sublime, enlarges it. +But critics protest: To undertake the cure of social evils; +to amend the codes; to impeach law in the court of right to +utter those hideous words, ‘penitentiary,’ ‘convict-keeper,’ +‘galley-slave,’ ‘girl of the town’; to inspect the police +registers; to contract the business of dispensaries; to +study the questions of wages and want of work; to taste the +black bread of the poor; to seek labor for the +working-woman; to confront fashionable idleness with ragged +sloth; to throw down the partition of ignorance; to open +schools; to teach little children how to read; to attack +shame, infamy, error, vice, crime, want of conscience; to +preach the multiplication of spelling-books; to improve the +food of intellects and of hearts; to give meat and drink; to +demand solutions for problems and shoes for naked +feet,—these things they declare are not the business of the +azure. Art is the azure. Yes, art is the azure; but the +azure from above, whence falls the ray which swells the +wheat, yellows the maize, rounds the apple, gilds the +orange, sweetens the grape. Again I say, a further service +is an added beauty. At all events, where is the diminution? +To ripen the beet-root, to water the potato, to increase the +yield of lucern, of clover, or of hay; to be a +fellow-workman with the ploughman, the vinedresser, and the +gardener,—this does not deprive the heavens of one star. +<i>Immensity does not despise utility</i>,—and what does it lose +by it? Does the vast vital fluid that we call magnetic or +electric flash through the cloud-masses with less splendor +because it consents to perform the office of pilot to a +bark, and to keep constant to the north the little needle +intrusted to it, the gigantic guide? Yet the critics insist +that to compose social poetry, human poetry, popular poetry; +to grumble against the evil and laud the good, to be the +spokesman of public wrath, to insult despots, to make knaves +despair, to emancipate man before he is of age, to push +souls forward and darkness backward, to know that there are +thieves and tyrants, to clean penal cells, to flush the +sewer of public uncleanness,—is not the function of art! +Why not? Homer was the geographer and historian of his time, +Moses the legislator of his, Juvenal the judge of his, Dante +the theologian of his, Shakespeare the moralist of his, +Voltaire the philosopher of his. No region, in speculation +or in fact, is shut to the mind. Here a horizon, there +wings; freedom for all to soar. To sing the ideal, to love +humanity, to believe in progress, to pray toward the +infinite. To be the servant of God in the task of progress, +and the apostle of God to the people,—such is the law which +regulates growth. All power is duty. Should this power enter +into repose in our age? Should duty shut its eyes? And is +the moment come for art to disarm? Less than ever. Thanks to +1789, the human caravan has reached a high plateau; and, the +horizon being vaster, art has more to do. This is all. To +every widening of the horizon, an enlargement of conscience +corresponds. We have not reached the goal. Concord condensed +into felicity, civilization summed up in harmony,—that is +yet far off. The theatre is a crucible of civilization. It +is a place of human communion. All its phases need to be +studied. It is in the theatre that the public soul is +formed.”</p></div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="page249" id="page249">249</a></span></p> + +<p>The theatre may be made the most potent engine for progress and +reform. We are living in the midst of the most splendid age which has +dawned since humanity first fronted the morning, dimly conscious of +its innate power and the possibilities that lay imbedded in its being; +an era of life, growth, warfare. On the one hand are ancient thought +and prejudice, on the other the inspiration of greater liberty and a +nobler manhood. On the one hand selfishness, sensuality, vulgar +ostentation, avarice, luxury, and moral effeminacy crying, “Art for +art’s sake,” demanding amusements that will aid in dissipating any +moral strength or deep thought that still lingers in the mind, and +literature that shall enable one to kill time without the slightest +suspicion of intellectual exertion; physical, mental, and moral ennui, +with an assumed lofty contempt for utility. On the other hand we have +the gathering forces of the dawn, demanding “art for progress,” +declaring that beauty must be the handmaid of duty; that art must wait +on justice, liberty, fraternity, nobility, morality, and intellectual +honesty,—in a word the forces in league with light must compel the +beautiful to make radiant the pathway of the future. In the union of +art and utility lies the supreme excellence of “Margaret Fleming,” it +deals with one of the most pressing problems of our present +civilization; it is the most powerful plea for an equal standard of +morals for men and women that I have ever heard. This thought, it is +true, like the entire drama, is anything but conventional; it breathes +the spirit of the coming day. The subtile bondage and servility of +woman, a vestige of the barbarous past, still taints our civilization. +Far more is demanded by society of her than of man, and when +heretofore she has raised her voice against this inequity she has been +silenced by unworthy imputations. It is the shame of our age that +woman is not accorded a higher meed of justice. She has a right to +demand that the man who marries her be every whit as pure and moral as +herself, and until she makes this demand, and holds herself from the +contamination of moral lepers, no substantial progress for higher +morals and purer life will be made. Unless woman checks the increasing +degradation of manhood, man will sooner or later drag her to his +deplorable level. “Margaret Fleming” shows this truth and points to +the woman of to-day her stern and inexorable duty.</p> + +<p>Unless woman assumes an aggressive stand and ostracizes the libertine, +refusing his society, his attention, and most of all the proffer of +his leprous love, the moral outlook for society will soon be as gloomy +as was Rome’s future when Epictetus was banished from her streets +because he mercilessly assailed the moral degradation of his day.</p> + +<hr class="short" /> + +<h3 class="editorial_title"><a id="article_12" name="article_12"></a>THE PRESENT REVOLUTION IN THEOLOGICAL THOUGHT.</h3> + +<p>The rapid spread of heresy throughout the churches is creating genuine +dismay in many quarters. When such ripe scholars and representative +thinkers as Rev. Heber Newton, Dr. C. A. Briggs, and Rev. Dr. +Bridgman, representing three of the most powerful Protestant +communions, freely preach doctrines<span class='pagenum'><a name="page250" id="page250">250</a></span> at variance with conventional +orthodox views, and express a grander hope and broader faith than that +cherished by conservative theologians, it is by no means strange that +the current of old-time thought should be stirred. If, however, these +scholarly minds stood alone in their convictions, there would be no +warrant for such widespread apprehension as is manifest. The serious +character of the present theological revolution, however, lies in the +fact that the pulpit and the people are honey-combed with the peculiar +heresy which rejects the verbal inspiration of the Bible and the dogma +of eternal damnation.<a name="fn_marker_9" id="fn_marker_9"></a><a href="#fn_9" class="fn_marker">[9]</a> The general uneasiness occasioned by the +present epidemic of heresy, and the bitter strictures which it has +called forth, are perfectly natural, while it is equally true that the +present liberal attitude of so many of the foremost thinkers in the +various orthodox churches is the legitimate outcome of numerous +agencies which have been silently working for generations.</p> + +<p>At various era-marking periods in the annals of history, the +multitudes have been thus disturbed. They have felt that the old-time +beliefs of their fathers, the tradition of ages, the oracles, which +from early infancy they have learned to revere and hold most sacred, +were being demolished. This naturally aroused bitter antagonism in +their souls. They believed they were carrying out God’s wishes when +like Saul of Tarsus, they aided in slaying heretics. Thus when the +great Nazarene taught a higher, sweeter, and nobler code of ethics +than the ancient Jewish law-givers and teachers, he was persecuted and +slain because the Jews believed he sought to overthrow their revered +and sacred truths. In a like manner Paul and the early advocates of +Christianity, when they proclaimed their religion in Gentile lands +frequently aroused the bitterest antagonism. At a later date Galileo’s +demonstrations<span class='pagenum'><a name="page251" id="page251">251</a></span> and Sir Isaac Newton’s discovery occasioned precisely +the game dismay, and called forth bitter and pronounced opposition, +because it was felt that in one case the authority of the Bible was +impeached, and in the other that God was to be taken out of the +universe. When Luther and the Reformation broke the dead calm of +centuries of growing corruption and externalization in the religious +life of Europe, Christendom felt a thrill of dismay. New disturbing +elements had entered the fields. The general uneasiness on the part of +tens of thousands of people who believed they were sincere worshippers +of God, was succeeded by an intense desire to crush out this dangerous +heresy with fire and torture, if necessary. The terrible days, months, +and years that followed the dawn of the Reformation, bear melancholy +testimony to the innate ferocity of man’s nature, and the relentless +character of religious warfare. Nevertheless, in spite of persecution, +the new truth spread. A broader horizon opened to man’s view. That +conflict marked the birth of one of the grandest epochs in humanity’s +onward march. Thus has it ever been. To-day stones the prophet, +to-morrow tearfully rears a monument and treasures his lofty +utterances.</p> + +<p>Yet with every transition period comes the old-time struggle, the +apprehension and anguish of spirit, <i>the night of doubt</i>. It is, +therefore, not surprising that the oppression of fear weighs on the +minds of all those who believe that God has spoken His last word; that +in the twilight of the past alone lies the hope of humanity.</p> + +<p>On the other hand, the theological revolt now manifest is a legitimate +result of multitudinous agencies, which have for generations been +silently and subtly influencing the mind of man, among which may be +mentioned the spread of popular education, and the growth of the +newspaper. As long as people knew not how to read or were unable to +procure any medium of information which brought them in rapport with +the vast growing world of thought and action, they naturally turned to +their priest or clergyman for intellectual as well as religious food, +and from him as a rule received instruction with the docility and +confidence exhibited by little children seeking for truth. With the +appearance of schoolhouses in every hamlet, and the establishment of +cheap and popular newspapers, however, came a change as marked as it +was wonderful. People began to reason and think for themselves. They +demanded credentials for the various dogmas and ideas discussed in +every department of thought. It is true, that religion was approached +much more reluctantly and reverently than other subjects, but the +growth of knowledge, the opportunity to hear all sides of problems +discussed, and the broader conception of life which a world knowledge +gave, exerted a positive and ever-increasing influence on their minds +in this department of thought. The great inventions of the past +hundred years, which have bound together as one family almost the +whole world, have also brought to light the great religions of other +races and<span class='pagenum'><a name="page252" id="page252">252</a></span> ages. Gradually it dawned on the public mind that almost +every people had a clearly defined system of theology; containing much +that was beautiful, elevating, and inspiring, more or less hidden +among superstitious traditions natural to childhood and credulous +ages. This led many to ask whether Jesus might not have had a larger +thought in his mind than mankind had dreamed when he said, “Other +sheep have I which are not of this fold”; and whether there might not +be a wider significance than had been given to the idea, that God had +in sundry times and in divers ways spoken to His children on earth. +Another lever of progressive thought was the marvellous strides taken +in physical science, which followed the Reformation. Discoveries in +astronomy, in geology and biology have completely overthrown many +time-honored and revered traditions and fables regarded for ages as +divine truth. The critical spirit of the age, the inquiring condition +of human thought, which instead of being discouraging is distinctly a +mark of human growth, stands in bold antithesis to the dark ages, when +speculation and progress were outlawed in many fields of research, and +spirituality suffered an eclipse behind the pomp, form, and show of +theology, when to a great degree mental stagnation prevailed. Yet this +critical spirit has been one of the most potent factors in +liberalizing thought. Another cause for the radical change of views +among Bible scholars is found in the rich results of archæological +research during the past generation. This with a critical, or +scientific study of the Bible, the early church, and profane history, +contemporaneous with the rise of Christianity, has led thousands of +the most profound and sincere religious thinkers into broader fields, +giving to them a loftier view of life, eternity and God than was +possible under the old conceptions. What diligent research on the part +of scholarship has effected among critical students, the recent +revision of the Bible has accomplished among the people. The old-time +reverence for the letter of the law, or what is commonly known as +verbal inspiration, is disappearing as mist before the sunshine, +owing, in this latter case, to the people becoming acquainted for the +first time with the fact that there are passages in the Bible +confessed by the most orthodox scholars to be spurious. They found in +the revised scriptures passages in some instances containing many +consecutive verses enclosed in brackets, as, for example, the story of +the woman taken in sin in the Gospel of John from vii. 53 to viii. 11 +inclusive. Consulting the foot-note they found that these passages +were spurious or added by a later hand. I well remember the +explanation made by a scholarly and devout professor in theology, +while at the Kentucky University, regarding the passage referred to +above. “The incident doubtless occurred much as it appears,” asserted +the professor, “but while omitted from the earlier copies, was handed +down by tradition, and at a later day incorporated into the text.” +Such explanations in the very nature of things, however, were by no +means calculated to satisfy the doubts which had<span class='pagenum'><a name="page253" id="page253">253</a></span> been raised in the +minds of those who had from infancy been taught to believe in the +verbal inspiration of the Bible. Naturally the question arose in the +minds of the thinking masses, if one <i>passage</i> is proved to be +spurious, and the world possesses no original manuscripts, what +guarantee that anything approaching the original teachings of Jesus is +preserved. If the stream of inspiration is proved to be muddy in some +places, is it not possible that what at first was pure as the melting +snow on the mountain tops, after passing through the hands of various +human authors and copyists, may have become as turbid with the cast of +human thought as the mountain stream which, pure at the source, is +heavy with mud at the base? It is impossible to estimate how much +influence this discovery on the part of the people has exerted in +behalf of a broader and more liberal interpretation of the Bible. +Another factor which is usually overlooked, but which has had a marked +effect on the thought which to-day is in open rebellion against the +old standards, is found in the influence exerted by a galaxy of great +and godly lives, which came on the stage of existence early in the +present century, and whose thoughts have unconsciously broadened the +minds, refined the sentiment, and ennobled the lives of every one who +has read their works. In this country Longfellow, Bryant, Whittier, +Lowell, Hawthorne, Emerson, Channing, Parker, Clarke, and other +illuminated souls, gave all who came under the magic of their words a +broader view of life, a truer conception of the universe, and a +loftier inspiration than aught that had touched them before. It is +doubtful if the great thinkers dreamed that on the current of their +thoughts tens of thousands of earnest lives were to be carried into a +larger hope, a more intelligent, humane appreciation of the mysteries +of creation, and a grander idea of God. Thus we see in the present +religious revolution nothing strange in the bitter opposition of +conservative thought, nothing remarkable in the persistent and earnest +attitude of those who stand for the higher criticism. It is the old +feud; the past struggling with the future; departing night battling +with the dawn. Of the issue none who have faith in the ultimate +triumph of truth, wisdom, and progress can doubt.</p> + +<hr class="short" /> + +<h3 class="editorial_title"><a id="article_13" name="article_13"></a>THE CONFLICT BETWEEN ANCIENT AND MODERN THOUGHT IN THE +PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.</h3> + +<p>The vote of the New York Presbytery on the twelfth of May, to present +the case of Prof. Charles A. Briggs<a name="fn_marker_10" id="fn_marker_10"></a><a href="#fn_10" class="fn_marker">[10]</a> before the synod will probably +prove one of the most momentous moves made in recent years in the +theological world. It is a positive challenge<span class='pagenum'><a name="page254" id="page254">254</a></span> thrown before +Presbyterians who hold views popularly termed “Higher Criticism.” It +is a declaration of war to the knife on the part of those who oppose +the revision of the Westminster Confession, and who cherish ancient +thought. Nor is the opposition led by Dr. Briggs disposed to yield +what is believed to be the only truth consistent with an intelligent +conception of a just, loving, and wise God. The immediate cause of +this determined conflict is found in Professor Briggs’ recent address +on the authority of the Holy Scriptures, delivered at his inaugural as +Professor of Biblical Theology in the Union Theological Seminary of +New York. In this notable address he maintained that there were three +great fountains of divine authority, the Bible, the Church, and +Reason, any one of which was capable of leading persons to God. He +instanced the following cases: Cardinal Newman was led to God through +the Church of Rome; Spurgeon, through the Bible, and the philosopher +Martineau through Reason. He further asserted “that no one could get +at the Bible unless he forced his way through human obstacles, which +he tabulated as follows: (1) Superstitious reverence for the book +itself. (2) The belief in the verbal inspiration of the Bible. (3) The +authenticity of the Scriptures. Traditions from the dead church assign +authors to all the books of the Bible, but higher criticism pronounces +these traditions fallacies and follies. (4) The doctrine of the +inerrancy of the Bible. Historical criticism again pronounces that +there are errors in the Bible, but they are in circumstantials, not in +essentials. (5) The miracles are in violation of the laws of nature, +and keep men away from the Bible. (6) The failure of minute prophecy.” +Dr. Briggs further expressed belief in the ultimate salvation of +mankind, declaring that redemption was not limited to this world, but +continued through the vast period of time preceding the resurrection.</p> + +<p>On page 55 of his revised address, he observes:</p> + +<div class="quotation"><p>The Biblical redemption is a redemption of our race and of +universal nature. As the ancient Jews limited redemption to +Israel and overlooked<span class='pagenum'><a name="page255" id="page255">255</a></span> the nations, so the Church limited +redemption to those who were baptized, and excluded the +heathen and unbaptized. The Presbyterians have too often +limited redemption by their doctrine of election; the Bible +knows no such limitation. The Bible teaches election, but an +election of love. Loving only the elect, is earthly, human +teaching. Electing men to salvation by the touch of Divine +love—that is heavenly doctrine. The salvation of the world +can only mean the world as a whole, compared with which the +unredeemed will be so few and insignificant and evidently +beyond the reach of redemption by their own act of rejecting +it and hardening themselves against it, and by descending +into such depths of demoniacal depravity that they will +vanish from sight.</p></div> + +<p>In the appendix to his address, published about the middle of May, in +speaking of <i>inerrancy</i>, Dr. Briggs further observes:—</p> + +<div class="quotation"><p>It is agreed that there are a large number of errors in the +best MSS. of the Bible; it is the theory of modern +dogmaticians, that they were not in the original MSS. We can +never have them, and it is idle to speculate as to their +contents. When the Lower or Textual Criticism has done its +best, and secured the best possible text, dogmaticians +discredit the best text when they speculate as to what was +in the original text. If the reactionary dogmaticians may +speculate to remove errors from the text, the rationalistic +critics may also speculate with regard to the original text +in a way that would make havoc with scholastic theology. +Even Mohammed was willing to accept the original text of the +Law and the Gospel, which he claimed had been falsified by +Jews and Christians.</p> + +<p>I said, “It is not a pleasant task to point out errors in +the Sacred Scriptures.” In “Biblical Study,” and “Whither?” +I limited myself to two errors of citation. I have not taken +a brief to prove the errancy of Scripture. <i>Conservative men +should hesitate before they force the critics in +self-defence to make a catalogue of errors in the Bible.</i> +The errors are in the only texts we have, and every one is +forced to recognize them.</p> + +<p>It is well known that the great reformers, Calvin and +Luther, recognized errors in the Scriptures, that Baxter and +Rutherford of the second Reformation were not disturbed by +them, and that the choicest spirits of modern times—such as +Van Oosterzee, Tholuck, Neander, Stier, Lange, and +Dorner—have not hesitated to point out numerous errors in +Holy Scripture. This view is maintained by Sanday, Driver, +Cheyne, Davidson, Bruce, Gore, Marcus Dods, Blaikie, and +numerous others in Great Britain; by Fisher, Thayer, Smythe, +Evans, H. B. Smith, W. R. Harper, and hosts of others in +this country.”</p></div> + +<p>One can easily see how dangerously heretical such bold declarations +would sound to patriarchs of conservatism like Rev. Dr. Shedd, the +well-known author of Dogmatic Theology, which embraces thirteen +hundred pages, but in the index of which one looks in vain for +“forgiveness of sin” or “pardon of sin.” A work which devotes +eighty-six pages to hell and only four to heaven. Dr. Briggs, however, +claims that theologians like Dr. Shedd, whose teachings have been +chiefly on the damnation of men not competent to judge him, and gauged +by our present civilization he is doubtless correct, but by the +standard of the theologians who framed the Westminster Confession, I +have less confidence in his accuracy. It must be remembered, however, +that Professor Briggs has exhaustively studied the lives and<span class='pagenum'><a name="page256" id="page256">256</a></span> +teachings of the framers of the Confession, and he may have been able +at times to catch them at their best, when in moments of spiritual +exaltation they have uttered grand prophetic and divinely loving +utterances which were foreign to their usual habits of thought or the +religious conviction of the age in which they lived. And in that event +he may be able to maintain his position when his case is called before +the synod, even against the popular impression as to the real meaning +of the Confession. Failing in this, the only alternative will be +recantation or withdrawal from the Presbyterian Communion. From the +stand already taken it is impossible to imagine the professor +stultifying himself and teaching what he does not believe; while his +withdrawal will unquestionably mean the greatest schism that +Presbyterianism has yet suffered. I think it highly probable that the +majority of his brother ministers to-day will condemn<a name="fn_marker_11" id="fn_marker_11"></a><a href="#fn_11" class="fn_marker">[11]</a> the bold, +brave man whom his communion in the near future will revere as a man +who, prophet-like, saw beyond the sect to which he belonged; whose +noble, loving, and holy nature drew him into intimate relationship +with the Divine life, which is the essence of Love.</p> + +<hr class="full" /> +<div class="footnotes"> +<h2 id="footnote_heading">Footnotes</h2> +<ol> +<li><p><a name="fn_1" id="fn_1"></a> +Translated by G. H. A. Meyer and J. Henry Wiggin, from +the manuscript of Camille Flammarion. +<span class="fn_return"><a href="#fn_marker_1">Return to text</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p><a name="fn_2" id="fn_2"></a> +Thousands of the women toiling in the cities on starving +wages, might be given in the Southern States pleasant employment in +fruit culture, and other light agricultural labors. +<span class="fn_return"><a href="#fn_marker_2">Return to text</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p><a name="fn_3" id="fn_3"></a> +A year after this was written, the following advanced +sentiment was uttered by Rabbi Schindler: “Have the dead the right of +imposing laws upon the living, of making contracts of which future +generations ought to bear the burden?” +<span class="fn_return"><a href="#fn_marker_3">Return to text</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p><a name="fn_4" id="fn_4"></a> +It is necessary to illustrate this by a few decisive +facts which have not been made familiar to the majority of readers, as +farmers’ interests have received very little consideration in the +East. The financial policy of the general government ever controlled +by capital against labor, has been the most gigantic imposition by +financial jugglery that history has recorded, and has been effected +chiefly by manipulation and contraction of the currency to make debts +more oppressive, and during the war by depreciating the people’s +money. After the war when $500,000,000 were needed to compensate the +destruction of confederate money, a criminal contraction of +$500,000,000 dealt a crushing blow to the South, and to the whole +country. Let us look at it from the standpoint of the largest body of +laborers, the farmers. A very intelligent Illinois farmer, Bert +Stewart, presents the case as follows, and if his data are all +correct, he has demonstrated a wholesale robbery: The national debt at +the end of the war was about $2,800,000,000. What would it then have +cost the farmers to pay this debt? He estimates that it could have +been paid by 996,000,000 bushels of wheat; or 1,380,000,000 bushels of +corn; or 10,000,000 bales of cotton. But financial legislation has +increased the value of money (magnifying the debt), and decreased the +value of the products of labor, so that practically, the debt has been +increasing faster than it has been paid; and, after paying nearly +$2,000,000,000 of the principal, and over $2,000,000,000 of interest, +it will cost more to pay the remaining third of the debt than to have +paid the whole at first. It would require to-day, instead of +1,380,000,000, over 4,000,000,000 bushels of corn to pay the remaining +third. This being the case, it would seem that the payment of about +four thousand millions during the last twenty-six years, leaving the +debt substantially unpaid, was virtually a <i>robbery of the +commonwealth</i> by corrupt or ignorant legislation. Mr. Stewart mentions +also, that in one year the binding twine trust, by raising prices, +drew $21,000,000 “from the farmers of the West to the sharpers of the +East.” The reports of the State Board of Agriculture of Illinois show +(what is a fair statement for the whole country) that during the last +thirty years the corn crops of Illinois have for more than half the +time brought less than the cost of their production; and taking the +entire thirty years together, the losses so nearly balanced the +profits that the average net profit of the thirty years has not +exceeded seventeen cents an acre for each year, in the cultivation of +over six millions of acres of corn. In the official report of Iowa +also, it is stated “the general range of farm products have sold below +cost of production, since 1885.” The official “Farm Statistics of +Michigan,” just issued, tell the same sad story. It shows that the +wheat crop of 1889 cost more than it sold for, the loss being +$1,471,515. The entire loss on wheat, corn, and oats amounted to +$9,226,510. Thus is agricultural labor crushed that millionnaires may +grow. Hence it is that farmers are sinking under their burdens of +mortgage indebtedness, paying seven per cent. or more, losing their +farms, and often compelled to mortgage crops, tools, and stock. In the +single year, 1887, 35,334 farm mortgages were recorded in Illinois, +amounting to $37,040,770, and “nine million mortgaged homes” is the +war-cry of the Farmers’ Alliance. +</p><p> +Thus the independent farmer is disappearing, and although there was +scarcely a tenant farmer in Illinois in 1840, there are more than +110,000 tenant farmers now; and we have a vast increase of large +farms. But while the farmer sinks into poverty, those who handle his +products grow rich. The Chicago Stock Yard that was started with a +million of capital has grown so prosperously that its stock now +amounts to $23,000,000. The monetary interests control all things, and +Mr. Stewart forcibly says: “The time has come, gentlemen, when the +government must run the railroads, or the railroads will run the +government. In Pennsylvania to-day two roads own the State, its +legislature, its governor, its courts, its people, own them body and +soul, and stole the money from the people to buy them with. You elect +men to positions and pay them salaries, and then the railroads buy +them and make you pay for bribing your own officers, in the freight +rates they charge you. The net income of the railroads of the United +States is three times that of the entire revenue of the government.” +<span class="fn_return"><a href="#fn_marker_4">Return to text</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p><a name="fn_5" id="fn_5"></a> +Parker Pillsbury mentions a Governor of Maine, who owns +in Maine, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Dakota, and Canada, 691,000 acres. +<span class="fn_return"><a href="#fn_marker_5">Return to text</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p><a name="fn_6" id="fn_6"></a> +As a single specimen of this, I would mention that those +eminent politicians, John C. New, and Wm. H. English, of Indiana, +under the laws engineered by cunning and accepted by ignorance, +invested $200,000 in a national bank scheme when greenbacks had been +knocked down to forty cents, and in thirteen years from 1864 to 1877 +they made a clear profit of $2,133,000—more than ten for one of their +investment. But this is very moderate in comparison with land +speculation. The Elyton Land Company at Birmingham, Alabama, with a +cash capital of $100,000, has declared in five years, ending in 1888, +dividends amounting to $5,570,000, and is believed to own property +still that will amount to $5,000,000, a return of more than a hundred +dollars for every one invested—a clear profit absorbed of over ten +millions—<i>the gift of law to monopoly</i>. Will this ever return to the +commonwealth? The robbery of the commonwealth goes on in every +direction. Shall we continue the present system under which, while the +nation is losing its inheritance daily, one man in Chicago tied up the +wheat crop of the United States, and one man also tied up or cornered +pork, and both levied millions on the people? +<span class="fn_return"><a href="#fn_marker_6">Return to text</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p><a name="fn_7" id="fn_7"></a> +To save the nation <i>we must reform</i> and stop the +production of 60,000 boy tramps and the half million of paupers and +criminals which our horrible system has produced, which at the present +rate of increase will, in fifty years, be a million and a quarter, and +in a hundred years will probably exceed <span class="sc lowercase">FOUR MILLIONS</span>. I see no +measures but those I propose that will save us from this terrible +condition. They will not be adopted in time to prevent civil war, but +they must be adopted afterwards. +<span class="fn_return"><a href="#fn_marker_7">Return to text</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p><a name="fn_8" id="fn_8"></a> +Succession and income taxes are now beginning to be +considered. Two very feeble propositions have been brought forward. +The Massachusetts Legislative Committee, on probate, reported a bill +well adapted to be worthless—to discourage benevolence and keep +property in the family by imposing a tax of five per cent. on property +left by will, except when going to relatives or connections. +Congressman Hall, of Minnesota, introduced a bill in the last Congress +for an income tax, a fourth of one per cent. on incomes between two +and three thousand rising gradually to one per cent. on incomes over +$10,000. This very small business is not what was demanded by “The +Farmers’ Alliance and Industrial Union” in the Ocala convention, which +demanded the abolition of national banks and “the passage of <i>a +graduated income tax law</i>.” These demands were reiterated by the last +legislature of Missouri, in a resolution calling upon Congress to act +upon them, and pledging the legislature to enforce the farmers’ demand +as far as in their power. North Carolina, too, has adopted the +Alliance principles. The income tax will probably be a growing +one—one per cent. will not be its maximum. The British income tax +under Mr. Gladstone in 1885 was three and a third per cent. But this +is mere child’s play, being about equivalent to a property tax of one +seventh of one per cent. When seriously considered, the question will +be between five, ten, twenty, and thirty per cent. +<span class="fn_return"><a href="#fn_marker_8">Return to text</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p><a name="fn_9" id="fn_9"></a> +The <i>United Presbyterian</i> in a recent issue says, “It +appears that Dr. Briggs does not stand alone in the theological +seminaries of the Presbyterian Church as a teacher of dangerous views +of inspiration. Four of the professors of Lane Seminary have declared +themselves as equally radical.” The <i>Interior</i> says, “The paper of +Prof. Smith, of Lane, published in a pamphlet with that of Prof. +Evans, goes much beyond anything that has appeared on the subject from +Presbyterian authorship in this country.” +</p><p> +At the meeting of the Alumni of the Union Theological Seminary, on the +eighteenth of May, the newly elected professor of systematic theology, +the brilliant Rev. Henry J. Van Dyke, D. D. (since deceased) made the +following bold remark while defending Dr. Briggs: “<i>If we cannot have +orthodoxy and liberty, let orthodoxy go and let us have liberty. +Liberty has always produced progress.</i>” +</p><p> +In his sermon on May the 24th, Rev. Thomas Dixon, one of the Baptist +clergymen of New York City, said: The heresy trial is a record of +barbarism, a relic of savagery. It belongs to the crudeness, and +ignorance, and superstition of barbaric times. It smells of roasting +flesh. +</p><p> +On the same Sunday the Rev. Dr. Charles H. Parkhurst, of the Madison +Square Presbyterian Church, of New York, quoted the ringing words +given above by Dr. Van Dyke, with his cordial indorsement. He +continued to thus severely arraign the Orthodox brethren in the +Presbyterian Church: +</p><p> +“This question of inerrancy is not new. Calvin, Luther, and many +others did not believe in the Bible’s inerrancy. If this is not +according to the confession of faith—I don’t know whether it is or +not—we had better square the confession with the truth rather than +the truth with the confession. Let those who would prove that there +are no mistakes in the Bible produce a cud-chewing coney, and then we +will consider the question of inerrancy. +</p><p> +If the Church is to go on in the way that some are trying to persuade +us it ought to go, the sooner it gives up the ghost the better, to +save the medical expense.” +<span class="fn_return"><a href="#fn_marker_9">Return to text</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p><a name="fn_10" id="fn_10"></a> +Dr. Philip Schaff, than whom there is no abler or more +renowned biblical scholar in the New World, has in a recent paper in +the New York <i>Herald</i> defended Dr. Briggs. That journal aptly says: In +his paper, he defines in the most trenchant language, the apparent +inconsistency of the New York Presbytery in practically avowing, +eighteen months ago, the same principle for which Dr. Briggs, it +declares, must now stand trial. He declares that the American +Presbyterian Church has herself materially changed the Westminster +Confession of a hundred years ago, and that this spirit of revision +pervades the whole Christian world. Finally, he asserts that, as the +theory of verbal inspiration of the Scriptures is not in the +Westminster Confession of Faith, it cannot be demanded from any +Presbyterian minister or professor, and warns churchmen that any +attempt by the General Assembly to enforce an extra Scriptural and +extra Confessional theory upon the Church will create a split worse +than that of 1837. The <i>Herald</i> observes that:— +</p><p> +“Dr. Schaff’s international fame as a church historian and theologian +will compel the greatest respect from not alone the ministers of the +Presbyterian church, but also from the clergy of all Christian +churches. +</p><p> +As early as 1845, he was tried for heresy in this country, and +acquitted. In 1854, he represented the American German churches at the +Ecclesiastical Diet at Frankfort, and received the degree of D. D. +from the University at Berlin. In 1870, he accepted the chair of +sacred literature in the Union Theological Seminary of this city. He +is a member of the Leipsic Historical, the Netherland, and other +historical and literary societies in this country and in Europe, and +is one of the founders and honorary secretary of the American Branch +of the Evangelical Alliance. In 1871, he was one of the Alliance +delegates to the Emperor of Russia to plead for the religious liberty +of his subjects in the Baltic Provinces. +</p><p> +He was president of the American Bible Revision Committee, which was +appointed in 1871 at the request of the English committee, and in 1875 +was sent to England to arrange for the co-operation and publication of +the Anglo-American edition. The same year he attended officially the +conferences of the Old Catholics, Greeks and Protestants at Bonn, to +promote Christian unity. +</p><p> +Dr. Schaff was first president of the American Society of Church +History, and is the author of a great number of historical and +exegetical works, both in English and German, the latter having been +translated into English.” +<span class="fn_return"><a href="#fn_marker_10">Return to text</a></span></p></li> + +<li><p><a name="fn_11" id="fn_11"></a> +Since writing the above the Assembly at Detroit has +voted against the confirmation of Dr. Briggs by 440 against 59; thus, +from a numerical point of view, Dr. Briggs is in the minority. This is +by no means surprising, and I regard it greatly to the credit of the +Assembly that, while they hold to the severe doctrines popularly known +as Calvinism, they repudiate all the great liberal scholars who refuse +to believe and teach conceptions of God which were unquestioningly +accepted in a former age, but which the enlightenment of the present +century shrinks from with unutterable horror. Unless Dr. Briggs proves +a dishonest man and recants he must leave Union Theological Seminary, +if that institution remains in the Presbyterian fellowship. +<span class="fn_return"><a href="#fn_marker_11">Return to text</a></span></p></li> +</ol> +</div> + +<hr class="full" /> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Arena, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ARENA *** + +***** This file should be named 19603-h.htm or 19603-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/9/6/0/19603/ + +Produced by Barbara Tozier, Bill Tozier, Richard J. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Arena + Volume 4, No. 20, July, 1891 + +Author: Various + +Editor: B.O. Flower + +Release Date: October 22, 2006 [EBook #19603] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ARENA *** + + + + +Produced by Barbara Tozier, Bill Tozier, Richard J. Shiffer +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + +THE ARENA. + +No. XX. + +JULY, 1891. + + + + +[Illustration: (signed) Very truly Yours, Oliver Wendell Holmes.] + + + + +OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES. + +BY GEORGE STEWART, D. C. L., LL. D. + + +To the year 1809, the world is very much indebted for a band of +notable recruits to the ranks of literature and science, statesmanship +and military renown. One need mention only a few names to establish +that fact, and grand names they are, for the list includes Darwin, +Gladstone, Erastus Wilson, John Hill Burton, Manteuffel, Count Beust, +Lord Houghton, Alfred Tennyson, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. Each of +these has played an important part in the world's history, and +impressed the age with a genius that marks an epoch in the great +department of human activity and progress. The year was pretty well +advanced, and the month of August had reached its 29th day, when the +wife of Dr. Abiel Holmes presented the author of "The American Annals" +with a son who was destined to take his place in the front line of +poets, thinkers, and essayists. The babe was born at Cambridge, +Massachusetts, in the centre of a Puritan civilization, which could +scarcely have been in touch and harmony with the emphasized +Unitarianism emanating from Harvard. But Abiel Holmes was a genial, +generous-hearted man, and despite the severity of his religious +belief, contrived to live on terms of a most agreeable character with +his neighbors. A Yale man himself, and the firm friend of his old +professor, the president of that institution, who had given him his +daughter Mary to wed (she died five years after her marriage), we may +readily believe that for a time, Harvard University, then strongly +under the sway of the Unitarians, had little fascination for him. But +his kindly nature conquered the repugnance he may have felt, and he +soon got on well with all classes of the little community which +surrounded him. By his first wife he had no children. But five, three +daughters and two sons, blessed his union with Sarah Wendell, the +accomplished daughter of the Hon. John Wendell, of Boston. We may pass +briefly over the early years of Oliver Wendell Holmes. He was educated +at the Phillips Academy at Exeter, and subsequently entered Harvard +University, where he was graduated, with high honors, in 1829, and +belonged to that class of young fellows who, in after life, greatly +distinguished themselves. Some of his noblest poems were written in +memory of that class, such as "Bill and Joe," "A Song of Twenty-nine," +"The Old Man Dreams," "Our Sweet Singer," and "Our Banker," all of +them breathing love and respect for the boys with whom the poet +studied and matriculated. Young Holmes was destined for the law, but +Chitty and Blackstone apparently had little charm for him, for after a +year's trial, he abandoned the field and took up medicine. His mind +could not have been much impressed with statutes, for all the time +that he was supposed to be conning over abstruse points in +jurisprudence, he was sending to the printers some of the cleverest +and most waggish contributions which have fallen from his pen. The +_Collegian_,--the university journal of those days,--published most of +these, and though no name was attached to the screeds, it was fairly +well known that Holmes was the author. The companion writers in the +_Collegian_ were Simmons, who wrote over the signature of "Lockfast"; +John O. Sargent, poet and essayist, whose _nom de plume_ was "Charles +Sherry"; Robert Habersham, the "Mr. Airy" of the group; and that +clever young trifler, Theodore Snow, who delighted the readers of the +periodical with the works of "Geoffrey La Touche." Of these, of +course, Holmes was the life and soul, and though sixty years have +passed away since he enriched the columns of the _Collegian_ with the +fruits of his muse, more than half of the pieces survive, and are +deemed good enough to hold a place beside his maturer productions. +"Evening of a Sailor," "The Meeting of the Dryads," and "The Spectre +Pig,"--the latter in the vein of Tom Hood at his best,--will be +remembered as among those in the collection which may be read to-day +with the zest, appreciation, and delight which they inspired more +than half a century ago. Holmes' connection with the _Collegian_ had a +most inspiriting effect on his fellow contributors, who found their +wits sharpened by contact with a mind that was forever buoyant and +overflowing with humor and good nature. In friendly rivalry, those +kindred intellects vied with one another, and no more brilliant +college paper was ever published than the _Collegian_, and this is +more remarkable still, when we come to consider the fact, that at that +time, literature in America was practically in its infancy. Nine years +before, Sydney Smith had asked his famous question, "Who reads an +American book? who goes to an American play?" And to that query there +was really no answer. Six numbers of the _Collegian_ were issued, and +they must have proved a revelation to the men and women of that day, +whose reading, hitherto, had almost been confined to the imported +article from beyond the seas, for Washington Irving wrote with the pen +of an English gentleman, Bryant and Dana had not yet made their mark +in distinctively American authorship, and Cooper's "Prairie" was just +becoming to be understood by the critics and people. + +Shaking the dust of the law office from his shoes, Oliver Wendell +Holmes, abandoning literature for a time, plunged boldly into the +study of a profession for which he had always evinced a strong +predilection. The art and practice of medical science had ever a +fascination for him, and he made rapid progress at the university. +Once or twice he yielded to impulse, and wrote a few bright things, +anonymously, for the _Harbinger_,--the paper which Epes Sargent and +Park Benjamin published for the benefit of a charitable institution, +and dedicated as a May gift to the ladies who had aided the New +England Institution for the Education of the Blind. In 1833, Holmes +sailed for Paris, where he studied medicine and surgery, and walked +the hospitals. Three years were spent abroad, and then the young +student returned to Cambridge to take his medical degree at Harvard, +and to deliver his metrical Essay on Poetry, before the Phi-Beta-Kappa +Society. In this year too, 1836, he published his first acknowledged +book of poems,--a duodecimo volume of less than two hundred pages. In +this collection his Essay on Poetry appeared. It describes the art in +four stages, _viz._, the Pastoral or Bucolic, the Martial, the Epic, +and the Dramatic. In illustration of his views, he furnished +exemplars from his own prolific muse, and his striking poem of "Old +Ironsides" was printed for the first time, and sprang at a bound into +national esteem. And in this first book, there was included that +little poem, "The Last Leaf," better work than which Holmes has never +done. It is in a vein which he has developed much since then. Grace, +humor, pathos, and happiness of phrase and idea, are all to be found +in its delicious stanzas:-- + + I saw him once before, + As he passed by the door, + And again + The pavement stones resound, + As he totters o'er the ground + With his cane. + + They say that in his prime, + Ere the pruning-knife of Time + Cut him down, + Not a better man was found + By the Crier on his round + Through the town. + + But now he walks the streets, + And he looks at all he meets, + Sad and wan; + And he shakes his feeble head, + That it seems as if he said, + "They are gone!" + + The mossy marbles rest + On the lips that he has prest + In their bloom, + And the names he loved to hear + Have been carved for many a year + On the tomb. + + My grandmamma has said-- + Poor old lady, she is dead + Long ago-- + That he had a Roman nose, + And his cheek was like a rose + In the snow. + + But now his nose is thin, + And it rests upon his chin + Like a staff; + And a crook is in his back, + And a melancholy crack + In his laugh. + + I know it is a sin + For me to sit and grin + At him here; + But the old three-cornered hat, + And the breeches, and all that, + Are so queer! + + And if I should live to be + The last leaf upon the tree + In the spring, + Let them smile as I do now, + At the old forsaken bough + Where I cling. + +In 1838, Doctor Holmes accepted his first professorial position, and +became professor of anatomy and physiology at Dartmouth. Two years +later, he married, and took up the practice of medicine in Boston. In +1847, he returned to his old love, accepting the Parkman professorship +of anatomy and physiology, in the Medical School at Harvard. While +engaged in teaching, he prepared for publication several important +books and reports relating to his profession, and his papers in the +various medical journals attracted great attention by their freshness, +clearness, and originality. But it is not as a medical man that Doctor +Holmes may be discussed in this paper. We have to deal altogether with +his literary career,--a career, which for its brilliancy has not been +surpassed on this side of the Atlantic. + +As a poet he differs much from his contemporaries, but the standard he +has reached is as high as that which has been attained by Lowell and +Longfellow. In lofty verse he is strong and unconventional, writing +always with a firm grasp on his subject, and emphasizing his perfect +knowledge of melody and metre. As a writer of occasional verse he has +not had an equal in our time, and his pen for threescore years has +been put to frequent use in celebration of all sorts of events, +whether military, literary, or scientific. Bayard Taylor said, "He +lifted the 'occasional' into the 'classic'," and the phrase happily +expresses the truth. The vivacious character of his nature readily +lends itself to work of this sort, and though the printed page gives +the reader the sparkling epigram and the graceful lines, clear-cut +always and full of soul, the pleasure is not quite the same as seeing +and hearing him recite his own poems, in the company of congenial +friends. His songs are full of sunshine and heart, and his literary +manner wins by its simplicity and tenderness. Years ago, Miss Mitford +said that she knew no one so thoroughly original. For him she could +find no living prototype. And so she went back to the time of John +Dryden to find a man to whom she might compare him. And Lowell in his +"Fable for Critics," describes Holmes as + + "A Leyden-jar full-charged, from which flit + The electrical tingles, of hit after hit." + +His lyrical pieces are among the best of his compositions, and his +ballads, too few in number, betray that love which he has always felt +for the melodious minstrelsy of the ancient bards. Whittier thought +that the "Chambered Nautilus" was "booked for immortality." In the +same list may be put the "One-Hoss Shay," "Contentment," +"Destination," "How the Old Horse Won the Bet," "The Broomstick +Train," and that lovely family portrait, "Dorothy Q----," a poem with +a history. Dorothy Quincy's picture, cold and hard, painted by an +unknown artist, hangs on the wall of the poet's home in Beacon Street. +A hole in the canvas marks the spot where one of King George's +soldiers thrust his bayonet. The lady was Dr. Holmes' grandmother's +mother, and she is represented as being about thirteen years of age, +with + + Girlish bust, but womanly air; + Smooth, square forehead, with uprolled hair; + Lips that lover has never kissed; + Taper fingers and slender wrist; + Hanging sleeves of stiff brocade; + So they painted the little maid. + +And the poet goes on:-- + + What if a hundred years ago + Those close-shut lips had answered no, + When forth the tremulous question came + That cost the maiden her Norman name, + And under the folds that look so still, + The bodice swelled with the bosom's thrill! + Should I be I, or would it be + One tenth another, to nine tenths me? + + Soft is the breath of a maiden's yes, + Not the light gossamer stirs with less; + But never a cable that holds so fast + Through all the battles of wave and blast, + And never an echo of speech or song + That lives in the babbling air so long! + There were tones in the voice that whispered then, + You may hear to-day in a hundred men. + + O lady and lover, how faint and far + Your images hover, and here we are, + Solid and stirring in flesh and bone, + Edward's and Dorothy's--all their own, + A goodly record for time to show + Of a syllable spoken so long ago! + Shall I bless you, Dorothy, or forgive + For the tender whisper that bade me live? + + It shall be a blessing, my little maid! + I will heal the stab of the red-coat's blade, + And freshen the gold of the tarnished frame, + And gild with a rhyme your household name; + So you shall smile on us brave and bright, + As first you greeted the morning's light, + And live untroubled by woes and fears + Through a second youth of a hundred years. + +Dr. Holmes' coloring is invariably artistic. Nothing in his verse +offends the eye or grates unpleasantly on the ear. He is a true +musician, and his story, joke, or passing fancy is always joined to a +measure which never halts. "The Voiceless," perhaps, as well as "Under +the Violets," ought to be mentioned among the more tender verses which +we have from his pen, in his higher mood. + +His novels are object lessons, each one having been written with a +well-defined purpose in view. But unlike most novels with a purpose, +the three which he has written are nowise dull. The first of the set +is "The Professor's Story; or, Elsie Venner," the second is "The +Guardian Angel," written when the author was in his prime, and the +third is "A Mortal Antipathy," written only a few years ago. In no +sense are these works commonplace. Their art is very superb, and while +they amuse, they afford the reader much opportunity for reflection. +Elsie Venner is a romance of destiny, and a strange physiological +condition furnishes the key-note and marrow of the tale. It is Holmes' +snake story, the taint of the serpent appearing in the daughter, whose +mother was bitten by a rattle-snake before her babe was born. The +traits inherited by this unfortunate offspring from the reptile, find +rapid development. She becomes a creature of impulse, and her life +spent in a New England village, at a ladies' academy, with its social +and religious surroundings, is described and worked out with rare +analytical skill, and by a hand accustomed to deal with curious +scientific phenomena. The character drawing is admirable, the episodes +are striking and original, and the scenery, carefully elaborated, is +managed with fine judgment. Despite the idea, which to some may at +first blush appear revolting and startling, there is nothing +sensational in the book. The reader observes only the growth and +movement of the poison in the girl's system, its effect on her way of +life, and its remarkable power over her mind. Horror or disgust at her +condition is not for one moment evoked. The style is pure and +ennobling, and while our sympathies may be touched, we are at the same +time fascinated and entertained, from the first page to the last. Of +quite different texture is "The Guardian Angel," a perhaps more +readable story, so far as form is concerned, much lighter in +character, and less of a study. There is more plot, but the range is +not so lofty. It is less philosophical in tone than "Elsie Venner," +and the events move quicker. The scene of "The Guardian Angel" is also +laid in an ordinary New England village, and the object of the +Doctor-Novelist was to write a tale in which the peculiarities and +laws of hysteria should find expression and development. In carrying +out his plan, Dr. Holmes has achieved a genuine success. He has taught +a lesson, and at the same time has told a deeply interesting story, +lightened up here and there with characteristic humor and wit. The +characters of Myrtle Hazard and Byles Gridley are drawn with nice +discrimination, while the sketch of the village poet, Mr. Gifted +Hopkins, is so life-like and realistic, that he has only to be named +to be instantly recognized. He is a type of the poet who haunts the +newspaper office, and belongs to every town and hamlet. His lady-love +is Miss Susan Posey, a delicious creation in Dr. Holmes' best manner. +These two prove excellent foils for the stronger personages of the +story, and afford much amusement. "A Mortal Antipathy" is less of a +romance than the others. The reader will be interested in the +description of a boat race which is exquisitely done. + +In biographical writing, we have two books from Dr. Holmes, one a +short life of Emerson, and the other a memoir of Motley. Though +capable of writing a great biography like Trevelyan's Macaulay or +Lockhart's Scott, the doctor has not yet done so. Of the two which he +has written, the Motley is the better one. In neither, however, has +the author arrived at his own standard of what a biography should be. + +Mechanism in thought and morals,--a Phi-Beta-Kappa address, delivered +at Harvard in 1870,--is one of Dr. Holmes' most luminous contributions +to popular science. It is ample in the way of suggestion and the +presentation of facts, and though scientific in treatment, the +captivating style of the essayist relieves the paper of all heaviness. +A brief extract from this fine, thoughtful work may be given here:-- + + "We wish to remember something in the course of + conversation. No effort of the will can reach it; but we + say, 'wait a minute, and it will come to me,' and go on + talking. Presently, perhaps some minutes later, the idea we + are in search of comes all at once into the mind, delivered + like a prepaid bundle, laid at the door of consciousness + like a foundling in a basket. How it came there we know not. + The mind must have been at work groping and feeling for it + in the dark; it cannot have come of itself. Yet all the + while, our consciousness was busy with other thoughts." + +The literary reputation of Dr. Holmes will rest on the three great +books which have made his name famous on two continents. Thackeray had +passed his fortieth year before he produced his magnificent novel. +Holmes, too, was more than forty when he began that unique and +original book, "The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table," one of the most +thoughtful, graceful, and able investigations into philosophy and +culture ever written. We have the author in every mood, playful and +pathetic, witty and wise. Who can ever forget the young fellow +called John, our Benjamin Franklin, the Divinity student, the +school-mistress, the landlady's daughter, and the poor relation? What +characterization is there here! The delightful talk of the autocrat, +his humor, always infectious, his logic, his strong common sense, +illumine every page. When he began to write, Dr. Holmes had no settled +plan in his head. In November, 1831, he sent an article to the _New +England Magazine_, published by Buckingham in Boston, followed by +another paper in February, 1832. The idea next occurred to the author +in 1857,--a quarter of a century afterwards, when the editors of the +_Atlantic Monthly_, then starting on its career, begged him to write +something for its pages. He thought of "The Autocrat," and resolved, +as he says, "to shake the same bough again, and see if the ripe fruit +were better or worse than the early windfalls." At a bound "The +Autocrat" leaped into popular favor. The reading public could hardly +wait for the numbers. All sorts of topics are touched upon from nature +to mankind. There is the talk about the trees, which one may read a +dozen times and feel the better for it. And then comes that charming +account of the walk with the school-mistress, when the lovers looked +at the elms, and the roses came and went on the maiden's cheeks. And +here is a paragraph or two which makes men think: + + "Our brains are seventy-year clocks. The angel of life winds + them up once for all, then closes the case, and gives the + key into the hand of the Angel of the Resurrection. Tic-tac! + tic-tac! go the wheels of thought; our will cannot stop + them; they cannot stop themselves; sleep cannot still them; + madness only makes them go faster; death alone can break + into the case, and seizing the ever-swinging pendulum, which + we call the heart, silence at last the clicking of the + terrible escapement we have carried so long beneath our + wrinkled foreheads. + + "If we could only get at them, as we lie on our pillows and + count the dead beats of thought after thought, and image + after image, jarring through the overtired organ! Will + nobody block those wheels, uncouple that pinion, cut the + string that holds those weights, blow up the infernal + machine with gun-powder? What a passion comes over us + sometimes for silence and rest!--that this dreadful + mechanism, unwinding the endless tapestry of time, + embroidered with spectral figures of life and death, could + have but one brief holiday! Who can wonder that men swing + themselves off from beams in hempen lassos?--that they jump + off from parapets into the swift and gurgling waters + beneath?--that they take counsel of the grim friend who has + but to utter his one peremptory monosyllable and the + restless machine is shivered as a vase that is dashed upon a + marble floor? Under that building which we pass every day + there are strong dungeons, where neither hook, nor bar, nor + bed-cord, nor drinking vessel from which a sharp fragment + may be shattered, shall by any chance be seen. There is + nothing for it, when the brain is on fire with the whirling + of its wheels, but to spring against the stone wall and + silence them with one crash. Ah, they remembered that,--the + kind city fathers,--and the walls are nicely padded, so that + one can take such exercise as he likes without damaging + himself on the very plain and serviceable upholstery. If + anybody would only contrive some kind of a lever that one + could thrust in among the works of this horrid automaton and + check them, or alter their rate of going, what would the + world give for the discovery?" + +"The Autocrat" was followed by "The Professor at the Breakfast +Table,"--a book in every way equal to the first one, though, to be +sure, there are critics who pretend to see diminished power in the +author's pen. It is, however, full of the same gentle humor and keen +analyses of the follies and foibles of human kind. It is a trifle +graver, though some of the characters belonging to "The Autocrat" come +to the front again. It is in this book that we find that lovely story +of Iris,--a masterpiece in itself and one of the sweetest things that +has come to us for a hundred years, rivalling to a degree the +delicious manner and style of Goldsmith and Lamb. In 1873 the last of +the series appeared, and "The Poet" came upon the scene to gladden the +breakfasters. Every chapter sparkles with originality. "I have," says +Dr. Holmes, "unburdened myself in this book, and in some other pages, +of what I was born to say. Many things that I have said in my riper +days have been aching in my soul since I was a mere child. I say +aching, because they conflicted with many of my inherited beliefs, or +rather traditions. I did not know then that two strains of blood were +striving in me for the mastery--two! twenty, perhaps, twenty thousand, +for aught I know--but represented to me by two--paternal and maternal. +But I do know this: I have struck a good many chords, first and last, +in the consciousness of other people. I confess to a tender feeling +for my little brood of thoughts. When they have been welcomed and +praised, it has pleased me, and if at any time they have been rudely +handled and despitefully treated, it has cost me a little worry. I +don't despise reputation, and I should like to be remembered as having +said something worth lasting well enough to last." + +There is much philosophy in "The Poet," and if it is less humorous +than "The Autocrat," it is more profound than either of its fellows in +the great trio. In it the doctor has said enough to make the +reputations of half a dozen authors. + +"One Hundred Days in Europe," if written by anyone else save Dr. +Holmes, would, perhaps, go begging for a publisher. But he journeyed +to the old land with his heart upon his sleeve. He met nearly every +man and woman worth knowing, and the Court, Science, and Literature +received him with open arms. He had not seen England for half a +century. Fifty years before, he was an obscure young man, studying +medicine, and known by scarcely half a dozen persons. He returned in +1886, a man of world-wide fame, and every hand was stretched out to do +him honor, and to pay him homage. Lord Houghton,--the famous breakfast +giver of his time, certainly, the most successful since the princely +Rogers,--had met him in Boston years before, and had begged him again +and again to cross the ocean. Letters failing to move the poet, +Houghton tried verse upon him, and sent these graceful lines:-- + + "When genius from the furthest West, + Sierra's Wilds and Poker Flat, + Can seek our shores with filial zest, + Why not the genial Autocrat? + + "Why is this burden on us laid, + That friendly London never greets + The peer of Locker, Moore, and Praed + From Boston's almost neighbor streets? + + "His earlier and maturer powers + His own dear land might well engage; + We only ask a few kind hours + Of his serene and vigorous age. + + "Oh, for a glimpse of glorious Poe! + His raven grimly answers 'never!' + Will Holmes's milder muse say 'no,' + And keep our hands apart forever?" + +But he was not destined to see his friend. When Holmes arrived in +England, Lord Houghton was in his grave, and so was Dean Stanley, +whose sweetness of disposition had so charmed the autocrat, when the +two men had met in Boston a few years before. Ruskin he failed to meet +also, for the distinguished word-painter was ill. At a dinner, +however, at Arch-Deacon Farrar's, he spent some time with Sir John +Millais and Prof. John Tyndall. Of course, he saw Gladstone, Tennyson, +Robert Browning, Chief Justice Coleridge, Du Maurier, the illustrator +of _Punch_, Prof. James Bryce who wrote "The American Commonwealth," +"Lord Wolseley," Britain's "Only General," "His Grace of Argyll," +"Lord Lorne and the Princess Louise,"--one of the best amateur +painters and sculptors in England,--and many others. Of all these +noted ones, he has something bright and entertaining to say. The +universities laid their highest honors at his feet. Edinburgh gave him +the degree of LL.D., Cambridge that of Doctor of Letters, and Oxford +conferred upon him her D. C. L., his companion on the last occasion +being John Bright. It was at Oxford that he met Vice-Chancellor +Benjamin Jowett, the Master of Balliol College, Prof. Max Mueller, Lord +and Lady Herschell, and Prof. James Russell Lowell, his old and +unvarying friend. The account of his visit to Europe is told with most +engaging directness and simplicity, and though the book has no +permanent value, it affords much entertainment for the time. + +The reader will experience a feeling of sadness, when he takes up Dr. +Holmes' last book, "Over the Tea-cups," for there are indications in +the work which warn the public that the genial pen will write +hereafter less frequently than usual. It is a witty and delightful +book, recalling the Autocrat, the Professor, and the Poet, and yet +presenting features not to be found in either. The author dwells on +his advancing years, but this he does not do in a querulous fashion. +He speaks of his contemporaries, and compares the ages of old trees, +and over the tea-cups a thousand quaint, curious, and splendid things +are said. The work takes a wide range, but there is more sunshine than +anything else, and that indefinable charm, peculiar to the author, +enriches every page. One might wish that he would never grow old. As +Lowell said, a few years ago, in a birthday verse to the doctor:-- + + "You keep your youth as yon Scotch firs, + Whose gaunt line my horizon hems, + Though twilight all the lowland blurs, + Hold sunset in their ruddy stems. + + * * * * * + + "Master alike in speech and song + Of fame's great anti-septic--style, + You with the classic few belong + Who tempered wisdom with a smile. + + Outlive us all! Who else like you + Could sift the seed corn from our chaff, + And make us, with the pen we knew, + Deathless at least in epitaph?" + + + + +PLUTOCRACY AND SNOBBERY IN NEW YORK, + +BY EDGAR FAWCETT. + + +Let us imagine that a foreigner has entered a New York ball-room for +the first time, and let us make that foreigner not merely an +Englishman, but an Englishman of title. He would soon be charmed by +the women who beamed on every side of him. Their refinement of manner +would be obvious, though in some cases they might shock him by a +shrillness and nasal harshness when speaking, while in other cases +both their tone and accent might repel him through extreme affectation +of "elegance." But for the most part he would pronounce these women +bright, cultivated, and often remarkably handsome. They would not +require to be amused or even entertained after the manner of his own +countrywomen; they would appear before him amply capable of yielding +rather than exacting diversion, and often through the mediums of +nimble wit, engaging humor, or an audacity at once daring and +picturesque. But after a little more time our titled stranger would +begin to perceive that behind all this feminine sparkle and freshness, +lurked a positive transport of humility. He would discover that he had +swiftly become with these fashionable ladies an object of idolatry, +and that all the single ones were thrilled with the idea of marrying +him, while all the married ones felt pierced by the sad realization +that destiny had disqualified them for so golden a bit of luck. He +would find himself assailed by questions about his precise English +rank and standing. Had he any other title besides the one by which he +was currently known? How long ago was it since his family had been +elevated to the peerage? Did he personally know the Queen or the +Prince of Wales? Was his mother "Lady" anybody before she married his +father? Did he own several places in the country, and if so, what was +the name of each? + +The men would naturally be less inquisitive; but then the men all +would have their Burke or DeBrett to consult at their clubs, and could +"look him up" there as if he had been an unfamiliar word in the +dictionary. And these male followers of fashion would, for the most +part, distress and perplex him. He would be confronted with a mournful +fact in our social life: the men who "go out" are nearly all silly +striplings who, on reaching a sensible age, discreetly remain at home. + +He would soon begin to perceive that New York society is a blending of +the ludicrous and pathetic. The really charming women have two +terrible faults, one which their fathers, husbands, and brothers have +taught them, and one which they have apparently contracted without +extraneous aid. The first is their worship of wealth, their devout +genuflection before it as the sole choicest gift which fate can +bestow, and the second is their merciless and metallic snobbery. They +have made a god of caste, and in a country where, of all other cults, +that of caste is the most preposterous. The men (the real grown-up +men, who may hate the big balls, but are nevertheless a great deal in +the movement as regards other gay pastimes) watch them with quiet +approbation. Many a New York husband is quite willing that his wife +shall cut her own grandmother if that relative be not "desirable." The +men have not time to preen their social plumes quite so strenuously; +they are too busy in money-getting, and of a sort which nearly always +concerns the hazard of the Wall Street die. And yet quite a number of +the men are arrant snobs, refusing to associate with, often even to +notice, others whose dollars count fewer than their own. This form of +plutocratic self-adulation is relatively modern. It is called by some +people a very inferior state of things to that which existed in "the +good old Knickerbocker days." But the truth is, odious though the +millionnaire's ascendancy may be at present, that of the Knickerbocker +was once hardly less so. Vulgar, brassy, and intolerable the +"I'm-better-than-you" strut and swagger of plutocracy surely is; but +in the smug, pert provincialism of those former New York autocrats who +defined as "family" their descent of two or three generations from raw +Dutch immigrants, there was very little comfort indeed. The present +writer has seen something of this element; in the decade from 1865 to +1875 it was still extremely active. Society was then governed by the +Knickerbocker, as it is now governed by the plutocrat, and in either +instance the rule has been wholly deplorable. Indeed, for one cogent +reason, if no other, poor New York stands to-day as the least +fortunate of all great cities. Her society, from the time she ceased +to admit herself a village up to the date at which these lines are +written, has never been even faintly worthy of the name. A few years +ago the "old residents," with their ridiculous claims to pedigree, had +everything their own way. A New York drawing-room was, in those days, +parochial as a Boston or Philadelphia tea-party. There were modish +metropolitan details, it is true, but the petty reign of the immigrant +Hollanders' descendants would have put to shame the laborious freaks +and foibles of a tiny German principality. Now, having changed all +that, and having forced the Knickerbockers from their old places of +vantage, the plutocrats reign supreme. To a mind capable of being +saddened by human materialism, pretension, braggadocio, it is all very +much the same sort of affair. Our republic should be ashamed of an +aristocracy founded on either money or birth, and that thousands of +its citizens are not only unashamed of such systems, but really glory +in them, is merely another proof of how this country has broken almost +every democratic promise which she once made to the Old World. + +It is easy to sneer away statements like these. It is easy to laugh +them off as "mere pessimism," and to talk of persons with "green +spectacles" and "disordered livers." We have learned to know the glad +ring of the optimist's patriotic voice. If we all believed this voice, +we should all believe that America is the ideal polity of the world. +And one never so keenly realizes that this is not true as when he +watches the creeds and character of society in New York. Of Londoners +we are apt to assert that they grovel obsequiously before their +prince, with his attendant throng of dukes, earls, and minor +gentlemen. This may be fact, but it is very far from being the whole +fact. In London there is a large class of ladies and gentlemen who +form a localized and centralized body, and whose assemblages are +haunts of intelligence, refinement, and good taste. In a certain sense +these are "mixed," but all noteworthy gatherings must be that, and the +"smart" and "swagger" sets of every great European city are nowadays +but a small, even a contemptible factor in its festivities. + +Not long ago the present writer inquired of a well-known Englishman +whether people of literary and artistic note were not always bidden to +large and important London receptions. "In nearly all cases, yes," he +replied. "It has been the aim of my sister to invite, on such +occasions, authors, artists, and actors of talent and distinction. +They come, and are welcomed when they come." He did not mention the +name of his sister, knowing, doubtless, that I knew it. She was an +English duchess, magnificently housed in London, a beauty, and a star +of fashion. + +But our New York brummagem "duchesses" of yesterday are less liberal +in their condescensions. An attractive New York woman once said to me: +"I told a man the other day that I was tired of meeting him +incessantly at dinner, and that we met each other so often in this way +as to make conversation a bore." Could any remark have more pungently +expressed the unhappy narrowness of New York reunions? How many times +has the dainty Mr. Amsterdam or Mrs. Manhattan ever met men and women +of literary or artistic gifts at a fashionable dinner in Fifth or +Madison Avenue? How many times has he or she met any such person at a +"patriarchs' ball" or an "assembly?" Has he or she _ever_ met an actor +of note _anywhere_, except in two or three exceptional instances? +True, men and women of intellectual fame shrink from contact with our +noble Four Hundred. But that they should so shrink is in itself a +scorching comment. They encounter patronage at such places, and +getting patronage from one's inferiors can never be a pleasant mode of +passing one's time. That delicate homage which is the due of mental +merit they scarcely ever receive. Now and then you hear of a +portrait-painter, who has made himself the rage of the town, being +asked to dine and to sup. But he is seldom really held to be _des +notres_, as the haughty elect ones would phrase it, and his +popularity, based upon insolent patronage, often quickly crumbles. The +solid devotion is all saved for the solid millionnaires. Frederick the +Great, if I recall rightly, said that an army was like a snake, and +moved on its stomach. Of New York society this might also be asserted, +though with a meaning much more luxurious. To be a great leader is to +be a great feeder. You must dispense terrapin, and canvas-back ducks, +and rare brands of champagne, in lordly dining-halls, or your place is +certain to be secondary. You may, if a man, have the manners of a +Chesterfield and the wit of a Balzac; you may, if a woman, be +beautiful as Mary Stuart and brilliant as DeStael, and yet, powerless +to "entertain," you can fill no lofty pedestal. "Position" in New York +means a corpulent purse whose strings work as flexibly as the dorsal +muscles of a professional toady. And this kind of toady has an +exquisite _flair_ for your greatness and dignity the moment he becomes +quite sure of your pecuniary willingness to back both. New York is at +present the paradise of parvenus, and these occasionally commit +grotesque mistakes in the distribution of civilities. Because you +chose to "stay in" for a season or two, they will take for granted, if +suddenly brought in contact with you, that you have never "been out" +and could not go if you tried. Of course, to feel hurt by such cheap +hauteur proves that you are in a manner worthy of it; but even though +you are not in the least hurt, you cannot refrain from a thrill of +annoyance that a country which has boasted in so loud-mouthed a way to +Europe of having begun its national life by a wholesome scorn of all +class distinction, should contain citizens cursed by a spirit of such +tawdry pride. At least the aristocracies of other lands, vicious and +reprehensible as they have always been, are yet an evil with a certain +malign consistency for their support. Like those monarchies of which +they have formed a piteous adjunct, they have always been the +outgrowths of a perfectly natural ignorance. Though distinct clogs to +civilization, their existence remains pathetically legitimate. +Nuisances, they are still nuisances with a hereditary hold on history. +Their chief modern claim for continuance is the fact that they were +once authorized by that very "divine right" which is now the scorn and +jest of philosophy, and that the communities which they still infest +are yet unprepared for the shock of their extirpation. It is clear +that they will one day be sloughed off like a mass of dead animal +tissue, even if they are not amputated like a living limb that has +grown hopelessly diseased. They are as surely doomed by the slow +threat of evolution as is the failure to establish trial by jury in +Russia. They are tolerated by progress for the simple reason that +progress is not yet ready to destroy them. Hence are all imitations of +their permitted and perpetuated folly in wofully bad taste. They are +more; they are an insult, when practised in such a land as ours, to +republican energies, motives, and ideals. Heaven knows, we are a +country with sorry enough substantiality behind her vaunts. We call +ourselves freemen, and our mines and factories are swarming with +haggard slaves. We declare that to be President of the United States +is the most honorable office a man can hold, and our elected +candidates (except when they have the splendid self-abnegating courage +of a Cleveland!) wade to Washington through a perfect bog of venal +promises. We prate of our democratic institutions, and forget that +free trade is one of the first proofs of a free people, and that +protected industries are the feudalism of manufacture. We sneer at the +corruption of a Jeffreys or a Marlborough in the past, and concede +that bribery riots in our capital, and that the infernal political +grist-mill in New York has to-day almost as much nefarious grinding to +get through with annually as it had when Tweed and Sweeny stood the +boss millers that fed its voracious maw. And after all, the +abominations of New York's politics are only a few degrees more +repellent than the cruelties and pusillanimities of her self-styled +patrician horde. The highest duty of rich people is to be charitable; +in New York the rich people make for themselves two highest duties, to +be fashionable and to be richer--if they can. Charity of a certain +sort does exist among them, and it would be unfair to say that it is +all of the pompous public sort. Much of it, indeed, is private, and +when incomes, as in a few individual cases, reach enormous figures, +the unpretentious donations are of no slight weight. But charity is a +virtue that counts for nothing unless meekness, philanthropy, +altruism, is each its acolyte. How can we expect that beings who busy +themselves with affairs of such poignant importance as whether they +shall give Jones a full nod or Brown a quarter of a nod when they next +meet him; as whether the Moneypennys are really quite _lances_ enough +for them to encounter the great Gilt-edges or no, at a prospective +dinner-party; as whether the latest Parisian tidings about bonnets are +really authentic or the contrary; as whether His Royal Highness has or +has not actually appeared at one of his imperial mamma's drawing-rooms +in a Newmarket cutaway,--how, it is asked, can we expect that beings +of this bent may properly heed those ghastly and incessant wants which +are forever making of humanity the forlorn tragi-comedy it is? The +yawp of socialism is excusably despised by plutocracy. Socialism is +not merely a cry of pain; if it were only that its plaints might have +proved more effectual. It is a cry of avarice, of jealousy, and very +often of extreme laziness as well. Every socialistic theory that we +have yet heard of is self-damning. Each real thinker, whether he be +Croesus or pauper, comprehends that to empower the executive with +greater responsibility than it already possesses would mean to tempt +national ruin, and that until mankind has become a race of angels the +hideous problem of human suffering can never be solved by vesting +private property-rights in the hands of public functionaries. But the +note of anguish in that voice of desperation and revolt need not, for +all this, be confused with its madder strains. The claim of poverty +upon riches is to-day a tremendously ethical one. Help--and help wise, +earnest, persistent--is the inflexible moral tax levied by life itself +on all who have an overplus of wealth wherewith to relieve deserving +misery. The occasional careless signing of a cheque, or even a visit +now and then among the filthy slums of Bayard and Hester Streets, +cannot cancel these mighty obligations. And there are better ways of +schooling the soul to recognize the magnitude and insistence of such +obligations than by organizing ultra-select dancing-classes at +Sherry's; giving "pink luncheons" to a bevy of simpering female snobs; +uncorking eight-dollar bottles of Clos de Vougeot for a fastidious +dinner company of men-about-town; squandering three thousand dollars +on a Delmonico ball, or purchasing at vast prices the gowns and jewels +of a deposed foreign empress. Yes, there are better ways. And for +people who are solely pleasure-seekers to call themselves Christian +is, from their own points of view, blasphemy unspeakable; since +whatever we agnostics may say and believe about the alleged "divinity" +of Christ, _they_ hold that the Galilean was the son of God, and that +in such miraculous character he spoke when saying: "Leave all and +follow me." + +The American snob is a type at once the most anomalous and the most +vulgar. Why he is anomalous need not be explained, but the essence of +his vulgarity lies in his entire absence of a sanctioning background. +It is not, when all is said, so strange a matter that anyone reared in +an atmosphere of historic ceremonial and precedent should betray an +inherent leaning toward shams and vanities. But if there is anything +that we Americans, as a race, are forever volubly extolling, it is our +immunity from all such drawbacks. And yet I will venture to state that +in every large city of our land snobbery and plutocracy reign as twin +evils, while in every small town, from Salem to some Pacific-slope +settlement, the beginnings of the same social curse are manifest. Of +course New York towers in bad eminence over the entire country. Abroad +they are finding out the absurd shallowness of our professions. Nearly +seven years ago an able literary man said to me in London: "I am +wearied, here, by the necessity of continual aristocratic patronage. +Especially true is this," he added, "regarding all new dramatic +productions. Lord This and Lady That are more thought of as +potentially occupying stalls or boxes at a first performance than is +the presence of the most sapient judges." And then again, after a +slight pause, he proceeded: "But I hear it is very much the same thing +with you. I have often longed to go to America, just for the sake of +that social emancipation which it has seemed to promise. But they tell +me that in your big cities a good deal of the same humbug prevails." I +assured him that he was fatally right; but I did not proceed to say, +as I might have done, that our "aristocracy" rarely patronizes first +nights at theatres, holding most ladies, and gentlemen connected with +the stage in a position somewhere between their scullions and their +head footmen. + +London laughs and sneers at New York when she thinks of her at all, +which is, on the whole, not very often. If London esteemed New York of +greater importance than she does esteem her, the derisive laughter +might be keener and hence more salutary. Imagine America separated by +only a narrow channel from Europe, and imagine her to contain in her +chief metropolis, as she does at present, the amazing contradictions +and refutations of the democratic idea which are to be noted now. What +food for English, French, and German sarcasm would our pigmy Four +Hundred then become! In those remote realms they have already shrank +aghast at the licentious tyrannies of our newspapers. England has +freedom of the press, but she also has a law of libel which is not a +cipher. Our law of libel is so horribly effete that the purest woman +on our continent may to-morrow be vilely slandered, and yet obtain no +adequate form of redress. This is what our extolled "liberty" has +brought us--a despotism in its way as frightful as anything that +Russia or the Orient can parallel. Is it remarkable that such +relatively minor abuses as those of plutocracy and snobbery should +torment us here in New York when bullets of journalistic scandal are +whizzing about our ears every day of our lives, and those who get +wounds have no healing remedy within their possible reach? Some one of +our clever novelists might take a hint for the plot of a future tale +from this melancholy state of things. He might write a kind of new +Monte Cristo, and make his hero, riddled and stung by assaults of our +unbridled press, find but a single means of vengeance. That means +would be the starting of a great newspaper on his own account, and the +triumphant cannonading of his foes through its columns. More +influential New York editors would doubtless already have forced their +way within the holy bounds of patrician circles, were it not that, in +the first place editors are somewhat hard-worked persons, and that in +the second place they are usually men of brains. + +Marriage, among the New York snobs and plutocrats, ordinarily treats +human affection as though it were a trifling optic malady to be cured +by a few drops of corrective lotion. Daughters are trained by their +mothers to leave no efforts untried, short of those absolutely +immoral, in winning wealthy husbands. Usually the daughters are +tractable enough. Rebellion is rare with them; why should it not be? +Almost from infancy (unless when their parents have made fortunes with +prodigious quickness) they are taught that matrimony is a mere hard +bargain, to be driven shrewdly and in a spirit of the coolest +mercantile craft. Sometimes they do really rebel, however, mastered by +pure nature, in one of those tiresome moods where she shows the +insolence of defying bloodless convention. Yet nearly always +capitulation follows. And then what follows later on? Perhaps +heart-broken resignation, perhaps masked adultery, perhaps the +degradation of public divorce. But usually it is no worse than a +silent disgusted slavery, for the American woman is notoriously cold +in all sense of passion, and when reared to respect "society" she is a +snob to the core. Some commentators aver that it is the climate which +makes her so pulseless and prudent. This is possible. But one deeply +familiar with the glacial theories of the fashionable New York mother +might find an explanation no less frigid than comprehensive for all +her traits of acquiescence and decorum. How many of these fashionable +mothers ask more than a single question of the bridegrooms they desire +for their daughters? That one question is simply: "What amount of +money do you control?" But constantly this kind of interrogation is +needless. A male "match" and "catch" finds that his income is known to +the last dollar long before he has been graduated from the senior +class at Columbia or Harvard. Society, like a genial feminine +Briaraeus, opens to him its myriad rosy and dimpled arms. He has only +to let a certain selected pair of these clutch him tight, if he is +rich enough to make his personality a luring prize. Often his morals +are unsavory, but these prove no impediment. The great point with +plutocracy and snobbery is to perpetuate themselves--to go on +producing scions who will uphold for them future generations of +selfishness and arrogance. One sees the same sort of procreative +tendency in certain of our hardiest and coarsest weeds. Sometimes a +gardener comes along, with hoe, spade, and a strong uprooting animus. +In human life that kind of gardener goes by the ugly name of +Revolution. But we are dealing with neither parables nor allegories. +Those are for the modish clergymen of the select and exclusive +churches, and are administered in the form of dainty little religious +pills which these gentlemen have great art in knowing how to palatably +sugar. + + + + +"SHOULD THE NATION OWN THE RAILWAYS?" + +BY C. WOOD DAVIS. + +PART I.--OBJECTIONS TO NATIONAL OWNERSHIP CONSIDERED. + + +When the paper published in the February ARENA, entitled "The Farmer, +the Investor, and the Railway," was written, the writer was not ready +to accept national ownership as a solution of the railway problem; but +the occurrences attending the flurries of last autumn in the money +markets, when half a dozen men, in order to obtain control of certain +railways, entered into a conspiracy that came near wrecking the entire +industrial and commercial interests of the country, having shed a +lurid light upon the enormous and baleful power which the corporate +control of the railways places in the hands of what Theodore Roosevelt +aptly termed "the dangerous wealthy classes," has had the effect of +converting to the advocacy of national ownership not only the writer +but vast numbers of conservative people of the central, western, and +southern States to whom the question now assumes this form: "Which is +to be preferred: a master in the shape of a political party that it is +possible to dislodge by the use of the ballot, or one in the shape of +ten or twenty Goulds, Vanderbilts, Huntingtons, Rockefellers, Sages, +Dillons, and Brices who never die and whom it will be impossible to +dislodge by the use of the ballot?" The particular Gould or Vanderbilt +may die, as did that Vanderbilt to whom was ascribed the aphorism "The +public be damned," but the spirit and power of the Goulds and +Vanderbilts never dies. + + +OBJECTIONS TO NATIONAL OWNERSHIP. + +The objections to national ownership are many; that most frequently +advanced and having the most force being the possibility that, by +reason of its control of a vastly increased number of civil servants, +the party in possession of the federal administration at the time +such ownership was assumed would be able to perpetuate its power +indefinitely. As there are more than 700,000 people employed by the +railways, this objection would seem to be well taken; and it indicates +serious and far-reaching results _unless_ some way can be devised to +neutralize the political power of such a vast addition to the official +army. + +In the military service we have a body of men that exerts little or no +political power, as the moment a citizen enters the army he divests +himself of political functions; and it is not hazardous to say that +700,000 capable and efficient men can be found who, for the sake of +employment, to be continued so long as they are capable and +well-behaved, will forego the right to take part in political affairs. +If a sufficient number of such men can be found, this objection would, +by proper legislation, be divested of all its force. At all events no +trouble from such a source has been experienced since Australian +railways were placed under control of non-partisan commissions, such a +commission, having had charge of the Victorian railways since +February, 1884, or a little more than one term, they being appointed +for seven years instead of for life, as stated by Mr. W. M. Acworth in +his argument against government control. + +The second objection is that there would be constant political +pressure to make places for the strikers of the party in power, thus +adding a vast number of useless men to the force, and rendering it +progressively more difficult to effect a change in the political +complexion of the administration. + +That this objection has much less force than is claimed is clear from +the conduct of the postal department which is, unquestionably, a +political adjunct of the administration; yet but few useless men are +employed, while its conduct of the mail service is a model of +efficiency after which the corporate managed railways might well +pattern. Moreover, if the railways are put under non-partisan control, +this objection will lose nearly if not quite all its force. + +A third objection is that the service would be less efficient and cost +more than with continued corporate ownership. + +This appears to be bare assertion, as from the very nature of the case +there can be no data outside that furnished by the government-owned +railways of the British colonies, and such data negatives these +assertions; and the advocates of national ownership are justified in +asserting that such ownership would materially lessen the cost, as any +expert can readily point out many ways in which the enormous costs of +corporate management would be lessened. With those familiar with +present methods, and not interested in their perpetuation, this +objection has no force whatever. + +The fourth objection is that with constant political pressure +unnecessary lines would be built for political ends. + +This is also bare assertion, although it is not impossible that such +results would follow; yet such has not been the case in the British +colonies where the governments have had control of construction. On +the other hand, it is notorious that under corporate ownership, and +solely to reap the profits to be made out of construction, the United +States have been burthened with useless parallel roads, and such +corporations as the Santa Fe have paralleled their own lines for such +profits. It is quite safe to say that when the nation owns the +railways there will be no nickel-plating, nor will such an unnecessary +expenditure be made as was involved in the construction of the "West +Shore"; nor will the feat of Gould and the Santa Fe be repeated of +each building two hundred and forty miles, side by side, for +construction profits, much of which is located in the arid portion of +Kansas where there is never likely to be traffic for even one railway. +Much of the republic is covered with closely parallel lines which +would never have been built under national ownership, and this process +will continue as long as the manipulators can make vast sums out of +construction. + +A fifth objection is that with the amount of red-tape that will be in +use, it will be impossible to secure the building of needed lines. + +While such objection is inconsistent with the fourth it may have some +force; but as the greater part of the country is already provided with +all the railways that will be needed for a generation, it is not a +very serious objection even if it is as difficult as asserted to +procure the building of new lines. It is not probable, however, that +the government would refuse to build any line that would clearly +subserve public convenience, the conduct of the postal service +negativing such a supposition; and for party purposes the +administration would certainly favor the construction of such lines as +were clearly needed, and it is high time that only such should be +built; and what instrumentality so fit to determine this as a +non-partisan commission acting as the agent of the whole people? + +The sixth objection is that lines built by the government would cost +much more than if built by corporations. + +Possibly this would be true, but they would be much better built and +cost far less for maintenance and "betterments," and would represent +no more than actual cost; and such lines as the Kansas Midland, +costing but $10,200 per mile, would not, as now, be capitalized at +$53,024 per mile; nor would the President of the Union Pacific (as +does Sidney Dillon, in the _North American Review_ for April,) say +that "A citizen, simply as a citizen, commits an impertinence when he +questions the right of a corporation to capitalize its properties at +any sum whatever," as then there would be no Sidney Dillons who would +be presidents of corporations, pretending to own railways built wholly +from government moneys and lands, and who have never invested a dollar +in the construction of a property which they have now capitalized at +the modest sum of $106,000 per mile. After such an achievement, in +making much out of nothing, it is no wonder that Mr. Dillon is a +multi-millionnaire and thinks it an impertinence when a citizen asks +how he has discharged his trust in relation to a railway built wholly +with public funds, no part of which Mr. Dillon and his associates seem +in haste to pay back; their indebtedness to the government, with many +years of unpaid interest, amounting to more than $50,000,000, which is +more than the cash cost of the railway upon which these men have been +so sharp as to induce the government, after furnishing all the money +expended in its construction, to accept a second mortgage, and now ask +the same accommodating government to reduce the rate of +interest--which they make no pretence of paying--to a nominal figure, +and to wait another hundred years for both principal and interest. To +make sure that the government's second mortgage shall be no more +valuable than second mortgages usually are, and to make it more +comfortable for the manipulators, Messrs. Gould and Dillon now propose +to put a blanket first mortgage of $250,000,000 on this property, +built wholly from funds derived from the sale of government lands and +bonds, and to pay the interest on which bonds the people are yearly +taxed, although Mr. Dillon and his associates contracted to pay such +interest. In his conception of the relations of railway corporations +to the public, Mr. Dillon is clearly not in accord with the higher +tribunals which hold, in substance, that railways are public rather +than private property, and that the shareholders _are entitled to but +a reasonable compensation for the capital actually expended in +construction_ and a limited control of the property; and in this +connection it may be well to quote briefly from decisions of the +United States Supreme Court, which, in the case of Wabash Railway +_vs._ Illinois, uses this language: "The highways in a State are the +highways of the State. The highways are not of private but of public +institution and regulation. In modern times, it is true, government is +in the habit, in some countries, of letting out the construction of +important highways, requiring a large expenditure of capital, to +agents, generally corporate bodies created for the purpose, and giving +them the right of taxing those who travel or transport goods thereon +as a means of obtaining compensation for their outlay; but a +superintending power over the highways, and the charges imposed upon +the public for their use, always remains in the government." Again, in +Olcott _vs._ the Supervisors, it is held that: "Whether the use of a +railway is a public or private one depends in no measure upon the +question who constructed it or who owns it. It has never been +considered of any importance that the road was built by the agency of +a private corporation. No matter who is the agent, the function +performed is that of the State." + +Mr. Justice Bradley says: "When a railroad is chartered it is for the +purpose of performing a duty which belongs to the State itself.... It +is the duty and prerogative of the State to provide means of +intercommunication between one part of its territory and another." + +If, as appears, such is the duty of the State (nation) why should not +the State resume the discharge of this duty when the corporate agents +to which it has delegated it are found to be using the delegated power +for the purpose of oppressing and plundering a public which it is the +duty of the government to protect? + +The abilities of the man who cannot become a multi-millionnaire with +the free use, for twenty-five years, of $33,000,000 of government +funds, must be of a very low order, and it is no wonder, that after +having for so many years had the use of such a sum without payment of +interest, Mr. Dillon and his associates are very wealthy, and, like +others who are retaining what does not belong to them, think it an +impertinence when the owner inquires what use they are making of +property to which they have no right. Had the nation built the Union +Pacific there would have been no "Credit-Mobilier" and its unsavory +scandal, and it is safe to say that the road would not now be made to +represent an expenditure of $106,000 per mile, and that Mr. Dillon and +some others would not have so much money as to warrant them in putting +on such insufferable airs. When it is remembered what use Oakes Ames +and the Union Pacific crew made of issues of stock, it is not at all +surprising that the president of the Union Pacific should think it an +impertinence for a citizen to question the amount of capitalization or +the use to which a part of such issues have been put, some of which +are within the knowledge of the writer, so far as relates to issues of +that part of the Union Pacific lying in Kansas and built by Samuel +Hallett, who told the writer that he gave a member of the then federal +cabinet several thousand shares of the capital stock of the "Union +Pacific Railway, Eastern Division,"--now the Kansas Division of the +Union Pacific--to secure the acceptance of sections of the road which +were not built in accordance with the requirements of the act of +Congress, which provided that a given amount of government bonds per +mile should be delivered to the railway company when certain officials +should accept the road; and it was a quarrel with the chief engineer +of the road in relation to a letter written by such engineer to +President Lincoln, informing him of the defective construction of this +road, that caused Samuel Hallett to be shot down in the streets of +Wyandotte, Kansas, by engineer Talcott. It is within the knowledge of +the writer that the member of the cabinet to whom Mr. Hallett said he +gave several thousand shares of stock, held an amount of Union Pacific +shares years afterwards, and that many years after he left the cabinet +he continued to draw a large salary from the Union Pacific Company. +Mr. Hallett also told the writer what were the arguments applied to +congressmen to induce them to change the government lien from a first +to a second mortgage of the Pacific Railway lines, and what was his +contribution in dollars to the fund used to enable congressmen to see +the force of the arguments. When issues of railway shares are used for +corrupt purposes it is certainly an impertinence for a citizen to make +inquiries or offer any remarks in relation thereto. + +The seventh objection to State owned railways is that they are +incapable of as progressive improvement as are corporate owned ones, +and will not keep pace with the progress of the nation in other +respects; and in his _Forum_ article Mr. Acworth lays great stress +upon this phase of the question, and argues that as a result the +service would be far less satisfactory. + +There may be force in this objection, but the evidence points to an +opposite conclusion. When the nation owns the railways, trains will +run into union depots, the equipment will become uniform and of the +best character, and so sufficient that the traffic of no part of the +country would have to wait while the worthless locomotives of some +bankrupt corporation were being patched up, nor would there be the +present difficulties in obtaining freight cars, growing out of the +poverty of corporations which have been plundered by the manipulators, +and improvements would not be hindered by the diverse ideas of the +managers of various lines in relation to the adoption of devices +intended to render life more secure or to add to the public +convenience. That such is one of the evils of corporate management is +demonstrated daily, and is shown by the following from the _Railway +Review_ of March 7, 1891: "It is stated that a bill will be introduced +in the Illinois Legislature, at the suggestion of the railroad and +warehouse commissioners, governing the placing of interlocking plants +at railway grade crossings. It sometimes happens that one of the +companies concerned is anxious to put in such a plant and the other +objects. At present there is no law to govern the matter, and the +enterprising company is forced to abide the time of the other." +Instead of national ownership being a hindrance to improvement and +enterprise, the results in Australia prove the contrary, as in +Victoria the government railways are already provided with +interlocking plants at all grade crossings, and one line does not have +to wait the motion of another, but all are governed by an active and +enlightened policy which adopts all beneficial improvements, +appliances or modes of administration that will add either to the +public safety, comfort, or convenience. It is safe to say that had +the nation been operating the railways, there would have been no +Fourth Avenue tunnel horror; and Chauncey Depew and associates would +not now be under indictment, as the government would not have +continued the use of the death-dealing stove on nearly half the +railways in the country in order to save money for the shareholders. + +Existing evidence all negatives Mr. Acworth's postulate "that State +railway systems are incapable of vigorous life." + +An objection to national ownership, which the writer has not seen +advanced, is that States, counties, cities, townships, and +school-districts would lose some $27,000,000 of revenue derived from +taxes upon railways. + +While this would be a serious loss to some communities, there would be +compensating advantages for the public, as the cost of transportation +would be lessened in like measure. + +Many believe stringent laws, enforced by commissions having judicial +powers, will serve the desired end, and the writer was long hopeful of +the efficacy of regulation by State and national commissions; but +close observation of their endeavors and of the constant efforts--too +often successful--of the corporations to place their tools on such +commissions, and to evade all laws and regulations, have convinced him +that such control is and must continue to be ineffective, and that the +only hope of just and impartial treatment for railway users is to +exercise the "right of eminent domain," condemn the railways, and pay +their owners what it would cost to duplicate them; and in this +connection it may be well to state what valuations some of the +corporations place upon their properties. + +Some years since the "Santa Fe" filed in the counties on its line a +statement showing that at the then price of labor and materials--rails +were double the present price--that their road could be duplicated for +$9,685 per mile, and the materials being much worn the actual cash +value of the road did not exceed $7,725 per mile. + +In 1885 the superintendent of the St. Louis & Iron Mountain Railway, +before the Arkansas State board of assessors, swore that he could +duplicate such railway for $11,000 per mile, and yet Mr. Gould has +managed to float its securities, notwithstanding a capitalization of +five times that amount. + + (_Concluded next month_.) + + + + +THE UNKNOWN.[1] + +PART II. + +BY CAMILLE FLAMMARION. + + [1] Translated by G. H. A. Meyer and J. Henry Wiggin, + from the manuscript of Camille Flammarion. + +The human soul would seem to be a spiritual substance, endowed with +psychical force, capable of acting outside bodily limits. This force, +like all others, may be transmissible into the form of electricity or +heat, or may be capable of bringing into activity certain latent +energies while it yet remains intimately united with our mental being. + +We propound questions to the table, already impressed with our nervous +impetus, on subjects interesting to ourselves; and then we ourselves +unconsciously inspire the responses. The table speaks to us in our own +language, giving back our own ideas, within the limits of our own +knowledge, conversing with us about our opinions and views, as we +might discuss them with ourselves. This is absolutely the +reflection--direct or remote, precise or vague--of our own feelings +and thoughts. All my efforts to establish the identity of a stranger +spirit, unknown to the persons present, have failed. + +On the other hand, attentive examination of different communications +leads us toward a conclusion as to their origin. When amidst the +Marquis de Mirville's revelations, one is in the full swing of Roman +Catholic diabolism--demons, spirits, purgatory, miracles, +prayers,--nothing is lacking. With the Count de Gasparin, we are in +the bosom of Rational Protestantism, which is absolutely the opposite +of the other. Here are no present miracles, no devils, but simply a +physical agency, a fluid obedient to volition. In the experiences of +Eugene Nus's circle, we find the language of Fourier discoursing about +the phalanstery, about racial solidarity, and socialistic religion. +Therein are found earthly music chanted in space,--songs of Saturn and +Jupiter dictated under the influence of Alyre Bureau, who was the +musician for the spiritualist society of Allan-Kardec. Here we have +disembodied spirits of all ranks, and this is the apostolate of their +reincarnation. + +In the United States, on the contrary, the moving tables declare that +the hypothesis of reincarnation is absurd and misleading; and it may +be assumed that none of the persons present, especially the ladies, +would for one moment admit the possibility of being some day +reincarnated beneath the skin of a negro. A brilliant imagination, +like that of Sardou, will picture to us Jupiter's castles; a musician +may receive the revelation of a musical composition, more or less +charming; an astronomer may be favored with astronomical +communications. Is this physical auto-suggestion? Not absolutely, +since the force goes outside of ourselves, in order to act. It is +rather _mental_ suggestion; yet an idea cannot be suggested to a piece +of wood. This is, therefore, the direct action of the mind. I cannot +find a better name for it than _psychical force_, a term, as already +stated, which I have used since 1865, and which has since become the +fashion. + +The action of mind, outside the body, has other testimony, however. +Magnetism, hypnotism, suggestion, telepathy prove this every day. It +cannot be disputed that here also we encounter many illusions. + +Some ten years ago a learned physician at Nice, Doctor Barety, the +author of "La Force Neurique Rayonnante et Circulante" (The Radiation +and Circulation of Nervous Force) devoted himself to ingenious +experiments in the distant transmission of thought as observable in a +magnetized person. In these experiments, in which I assisted, it +seemed to me that the subject's sense of hearing amply sufficed to +explain the results. + +Take one case. The subject began to count aloud, while the magnetizer +was in an adjoining room, the door standing open between them. At a +certain moment the doctor, with all his energy, projected his "nervous +fluid" from his hands, and the magnetized subject forthwith ceased +counting; yet the doctor's linen cuffs made enough noise to indicate +what he commanded, though no word was spoken. During the experiments +at Salpetriere and at Ivry, to which Doctor Luys was kind enough to +invite me, I thought I observed that a previous knowledge of the +sequence of the experiments furnished a wide margin for the exercise +of the personal faculties of the young women upon whom the experiments +were made. These suspicions, however, did not prevent certain facts in +regard to mental suggestion from being absolutely incontestable. + +Here is one among others:-- + +Doctor Ochorowiez was attending a lady troubled with long-standing +hysterio-epilepsy, aggravated by a maniacal inclination to suicide. +Madame M. was twenty-seven years of age, and had a vigorous +constitution. She appeared to be in excellent health. Her active and +gay temperament was united with extreme moral sensibility. Her +character was specially truthful. Her profound goodness was tinctured +with a tendency toward self-sacrifice. Her intelligence was +remarkable. Her talents were many, and her perceptive faculties were +good. At times she would display a lack of willpower, and an element +of painful indecision; while at other times she showed exceptional +firmness. The slightest moral fatigue, any unexpected impression, +though of trifling importance, whether agreeable or otherwise, +reacted, although slowly and imperceptibly, upon her vaso-motor +nerves, and brought on convulsive attacks and a nervous swoon. Writes +Dr. Ochorowiez in his work on Mental Suggestion: + + One day, or rather one night, her attack being over + (including a phase of delirium), the patient fell quietly + asleep. Awaking suddenly, and seeing us (one of her female + friends and myself) still near her, she begged us to go + away, and not to tire ourselves needlessly on her account. + She was so persistent that, fearing a nervous crisis, we + departed. I went slowly downstairs, for she resided on the + fourth story, and I paused several times to listen + attentively, troubled by an evil presentiment; for she had + wounded herself several times a few days before. I had + already reached the courtyard, when I paused again, asking + myself whether or not I ought to go away. + + All at once her window opened with a slam, and I saw the + sick woman leaning out with a rapid motion. I rushed to the + spot where she might fall; and mechanically, without + attaching any great importance to the impulse, I + concentrated all my will in one great desire to oppose her + precipitation. + + The patient was influenced, however, though already leaning + far out, and retreated slowly and spasmodically from the + window. The same movements were repeated five times in + succession, until the patient, seemingly fatigued, at last + remained motionless, her back leaning against the casement + of the window, which was still open. + + She could not see me, as I was in the shadow far below, and + it was night. At that moment, her friend, Mademoiselle X., + ran in, and caught madame in her arms. I heard them + struggling together, and hastened up the stairs to + mademoiselle's assistance. I found the invalid in a frenzy + of excitement. She did not recognize us, but mistook us for + robbers. I could only draw her away from the window by using + violence enough to throw her upon her knees. Several times + she tried to bite me; but after much trouble, I succeeded in + replacing the poor lady in her bed. While maintaining my + grasp with one hand, I induced a contraction of her arms, + and finally put her to sleep. + + When again in a somnambulistic state, her first words were: + "Thanks!--pardon!" + + Then she told me that she positively intended to throw + herself out of the window, but that each time she felt as if + she were "stayed from below." + + "How so?" + + "I do not know." + + "Did you have any suspicion of my presence?" + + "No! it was precisely because I believed you away, that I + proposed to carry out my design. However, it seemed to me at + times that you were near me, or behind me, and that you did + not want me to fall." + +Here is another experiment still more striking. Pierre Janet, +Professor of Philosophy in the Havre Lycee, and Monsieur Gibert, a +physician, selected as a subject for their observation a certain +woman, a native of Brittany. She was fifty years old, robust, and +moderately sensitive to hypnotic influences. On October 10, 1885, they +agreed upon the following command: + + To-morrow, at noon, lock the doors of your house. + W. + +This suggestion Dr. Janet inscribed upon a sheet of paper, which he +carried about in his pocket, not communicating its purport to anybody. +Dr. Gibert made the suggestion by placing his forehead against the +woman's, while she was in a lethargic slumber; and for a few moments +he concentrated his mind upon the mental command he was giving. + +Writes Janet concerning this incident: + + On the morrow we went to the house, at fifteen minutes + before twelve, and found the entrance barricaded and the + doors locked. Inquiry proved that madame herself had closed + them. When I asked her, next day, why she had done such a + strange thing, she replied: "I felt very tired, and did not + want you to come in and put me to sleep." + + She was greatly agitated at the time. She continually + wandered about the garden, and I saw her pluck a rose, and + go towards the letter-box, which was near the gate. These + actions were of no importance; but it is curious to note + that these last actions were precisely those the day before + we had thought of ordering her to perform, though we + afterwards decided upon a different suggestion, namely, that + of locking the doors. Undoubtedly his first suggestion + occupied Gibert's mind while he was giving the second, and + had a corresponding influence over the woman. + +Here is still another experiment, related by Doctor Dusart: + + Every day, before leaving a certain young patient, I + commanded her to sleep until a specified hour the next day. + Once I came away, forgetting this precaution, and I was + seven hundred yards away before I thought of it. Being + unable to retrace my steps, I said to myself that my wish + might perhaps be felt, notwithstanding the distance, since a + silent suggestion was sometimes obeyed at an interval of one + or two yards. I therefore formulated my command that she + should sleep until eight o'clock the next morning, and then + kept on my way. The next day I called again, at half-past + seven, and found my patient still asleep. + + "How happens it that you are still asleep?" + + "Why, Monsieur, I am obeying your orders." + + "You are mistaken. I went away without giving any such + command!" + + "That is so! but five minutes later I distinctly heard you + tell me to sleep until eight o'clock." + + As it was not yet eight, and as eight was the hour I usually + indicated, the possibility suggested itself that her + awakening was the result of an illusion, arising from habit, + and perhaps, after all, this was a case of simple + coincidence. In order to make a clean breast of it, and + leave no room for doubt, I ordered the invalid to sleep + until she should receive a command to awake. + + During the day, having a few spare moments, I resolved to + complete the experiment. On leaving my house, seven + kilometers away, I mentally gave the order for her to wake + up. I noticed that it was two o'clock. On reaching the house + I found her awake. Her parents, following my advice, had + noted the precise time of her awakening. It was the very + hour at which I gave the command. + + This experiment was repeated several times, at different + hours, and always with kindred results. + +This is really very interesting; but here is something which appears +more extraordinary. + + On the first of January I discontinued my visits, and my + relations to the family ceased. I had not even heard them + spoken of; yet on January 12, as I was making some visits in + an opposite direction, ten kilometers away from my former + patient, I found myself wondering if it was still possible + to make her hear my mental commands, despite the distance + separating us, despite the cessation of my relations to the + family, and despite the intervention of a third party, the + father himself, who was magnetizing his daughter. I + therefore bade the patient not fall asleep. Half an hour + later, reflecting that if, by some extraordinary chance, my + command was obeyed, this might prejudice the mind of the + unfortunate girl against me, I withdrew my prohibition, and + dismissed it from my thoughts. On the following morning, at + six o'clock, I was greatly surprised by the arrival of a + messenger, bringing me a letter from the father of the young + lady, in which he informed me that on the day before, + January 12, at ten o'clock in the forenoon, he was unable to + put his daughter to sleep, except by a prolonged and + disagreeable struggle. When she at last fell asleep she + declared that if she had resisted, it was because of my + command, and that she finally fell asleep only because I + permitted it. + + These declarations had been made before witnesses, whom the + father had asked to countersign his report. I have preserved + this letter, and have added a few circumstantial details + thereto. + + It is, therefore, probable that, with an exact knowledge or + phenomenal conditions, we may eventually be able to mentally + transmit entire thoughts to distant points, as is done now + by telephone. + +Independently of magnetism, it is difficult not to believe that two +persons, mutually dear to each other, although separated by certain +circumstances, may remain united by their thoughts, with a tenacity +which nothing can disturb, especially if the circumstances are grave. +The thoughts of the one react upon the mind of the other, as if the +beatings of one heart could transmit themselves to another heart. +There is a certain psychical tie between the two; and at the time when +one especially concentrates his voluntary force upon the other, it is +not unusual for the latter to feel the reaction, and be plunged into a +revery even more intense. The transmission of thought--or, to speak +more exactly, _suggestion_,--is, under these conditions, a matter for +observation, which might frequently be applied. + +I shall not here consider the phenomena of telepathy or ghosts. +Readers of THE ARENA have been favored with Mr. Wallace's excellent +articles on this point, and it would be superfluous to reconsider it. +No doubt our readers are also acquainted with the examples reported in +my work called Urania, and have long been aware that I believe in the +possibility of communications between invisible beings and ourselves. +In the point of view at which I have placed myself in this technical +and essentially scientific outline, I have taken care to carefully +distinguish the things seen by myself from those which I have not +seen. + +I do not belong to the same class with those who say: "We have not +seen it, and therefore it cannot be." There are honest people +everywhere. There are, perhaps, few exact observers, capable of +reporting facts, without changing anything in their recitals; but +there are witnesses we cannot well gainsay. + +Here, for example, is a letter among many recently addressed to me, +relative to certain extraordinary facts. + + Your work, Urania, has prompted me to bring to your + knowledge an event which I heard related by the very person + to whom it happened,-a Danish physician, named Vogler, + residing at Gudum, near Alborg, in Jutland. + + Vogler is a man of robust health, both in mind and body. He + has an upright and positive disposition, without the least + tendency (but quite the contrary) to nervous excitability. + + He related to me the following story, which I have often + heard confirmed by others as the unadorned and exact truth. + + When a young man, studying medicine, he travelled in Germany + with Count Schimmuelmann, a noted name among the nobility of + Holstein, who was about his own age. They hired a small + house in a German university town where they proposed to + stay for sometime. The Count lived in the apartments on the + ground floor, while Vogler occupied the next story; and the + street door, as well as the stairway, were used by + themselves alone. One night, when Mr. Vogler was reading in + bed, he suddenly heard the door at the foot of the stairs + open and shut; but he did not pay any attention to it, + believing the Count had just come in. A few moments later he + heard slow and tired footsteps ascend the stairs, and stop + at his chamber door. He saw the door open, but nobody + appeared. The footsteps did not cease, however, for he heard + them on the floor, advancing from the door to the bed. He + could see absolutely nothing, although the light was + continuously burning; and he could not understand the + affair, not recognizing the footsteps. When the steps had + drawn very near the bed, he heard a great sigh, which he at + once recognized as that of his grandmother, whom he had left + in good health at their home in Denmark. At the same instant + he also recognized the step, which was, indeed, the halting + and aged step of his grandmother. Looking at his watch, + which he had placed under his pillow, Vogler noted the exact + hour, and made a memorandum of it, for he at once surmised + that his grandmother might be dying at the very instant. At + a later day he received a letter from the paternal home, + announcing the sudden death of his grandmother, who + particularly cherished him above the other grandchildren. + This established the fact that her death occurred at the + very hour indicated. In this manner did the venerable woman + take leave of her grandson, who did not even know of her + illness. + + EDWARD HAMBRO, + _Counselor-at-law, and Secretary of Public Works + in the City of Christiana._ + +Here, as may be seen, is a fact, observed as precisely as a scientific +experiment; and it might be added to those I have published in Urania. + +I will adduce one more fact, which was observed very long ago, in +1784, by my great-grandfather, on my mother's side. + +It occurred in Illand, a little village in the county of Bar, which +to-day belongs to the Department of Haute-Marne, not far from the +native place of both my maternal grandfather and myself. In childhood +I spent all my vacations there among the vine-planted hills, face to +face with gracious landscapes, amid forests alive with bird songs. The +house yet stands in which the incident happened. It is at the entrance +of the village, on the right, and is called the Chateau. One evening +my great-grandmother, on returning from her work in the fields, +perceived, by the huge chimney-corner (which can still be seen), her +brother, who had been dead several months. He was seated, and seemed +to be warming himself. "My God!" she exclaimed in affright, "it's our +dead Rolet!" and then she ran away. Her husband, entering in his turn, +also saw his brother-in-law sitting by the fireplace. At that critical +moment one of the farm hands uttered an oath, and the apparition +vanished. + +I give this narrative as it was related to me. No misgivings as to the +reality of the vision existed in the minds of the personages in my +grandmother's household. + +Allow me to mention another illustration. In February, 1889, I +received from H. Van der Kerkhare the following communication, +relating to an article I had published about this class of phenomena. + + While in Texas, on August 25, 1874, towards sunset, I was + smoking my after-dinner pipe in a room on the ground floor + of the house I occupied. I was facing the wall, with a door + on my right opening towards the northwest. Here is a diagram + of the scene. + + [Illustration] + + Suddenly I saw my old grandfather in the doorway. I was in + that semi-conscious state of well-being and quietude natural + to a man with a good appetite who has dined satisfactorily. + I was not at all astonished to see my grandfather there. In + fact, I was vegetating just then, thinking of nothing in + particular. Nevertheless, I said to myself:--"It is droll + that the rays of the setting sun should pour gold and purple + through the least folds of my grandfather's garments and + face." In fact, the setting sun was red, and threw its last + horizontal rays diagonally athwart the doorway. Grandfather + had a beneficent countenance. He smiled and seemed happy. + All at once he disappeared along with the vanishing sun, and + I roused myself as from a dream, but with the conviction + that I had seen an apparition. Six weeks afterwards I was + apprised by letter that my grandfather had died on the night + of August 25 and 26 between one and two o'clock. Well, there + is a difference of five and one-half hours between the + longitude of Belgium, where my grandfather died, and the + longitude of Texas where I was, and where the sun set at + about seven o'clock. + +It would be easy to cite a large number of similar cases. Let me end +this section with the following conclusion of Ch. Richet, the learned +editor of the _Revue Scientifique_:-- + + Unless we discredit the value of all human testimony, these + stories are veritable and accurate. Whenever kindred + incidents are reproduced by experiment, telepathy will no + longer be disputed, but admitted as a natural phenomenon, as + well proven as the rotation of the earth, or as the + contagion of tuberculosis. To-day's audacious theories will, + in a few years, seem almost like infantile truisms. + +We have now come to the closing section of this already long +essay,--namely, to the explanation of such phenomena as table-tipping, +spirit rapping and dictation, and distant transmission of thought. Let +us confess that it is much easier to unfold and discuss such facts, +than to determine their _modus operandi_. I will add that, even if in +the present state of our knowledge, it is impossible to explain these +facts, there is no shadow of a reason for rejecting them. + +The theory with which we conclude has been anticipated by the +preceding sections. + +What is the universe? What is nature? What are beings? What are +things? + +From astronomy to physiology, everything constrains us to allow the +existence of at least two elements--force and matter. + +The order and laws of the universe, together with human thought and +consciousness, lead us to admit (besides force and matter) a third +element--intelligence; for speaking only of the constituency of our +planet, no chemical combination whatever has ever been known to +produce an idea. + +Force directs. Matter obeys. + +Force is invisible and so is matter. + +All matter whatsoever is composed of atoms, too infinitesimal for our +perception, and even invisible beneath the most powerful microscope +but whose existence is demonstrated by chemistry, as well as by +physics. The molecules of iron, gold, hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, appear +to be groups of atoms. Even if we deny the existence of atoms, and +admit only the existence of molecules, they also are invisible. + +Matter, therefore, in its very essence, is invisible. Our eyes behold +only motion and transitory forms. Our hands touch only appearances. +Hardness and softness, heat and cold, weight and lightness, are +relative, not absolute conditions. + +What we call matter is only an effect produced upon our senses by the +motion of atoms,--that is to say, by our unceasing receptivity to +sensations. + +The universe is a dynamic conglomerate. Atoms are in perpetual motion, +caused by forces. All is movement. Heat, light, electricity, +terrestrial magnetism, do not exist as independent agents. They are +but modes of motion. That which actually exists is force. It is force +that sustains the universe. It is force that projects the earth into +space. It is force that constitutes living creatures. + +The human soul is a principle of force. Thought is a dynamic act. +Psychical force acts upon the matter composing our bodies, and +actuates all our members to fulfil their tasks. Like all forces, +psychical force can transform itself, can become electricity, heat, +light, motion; for these are all modes of motion. Psychical force is +itself in motion. + +It can act outside the limits of the human organism, and can +temporarily animate a table. I place my hands on a round table, with a +firm desire to see it obey my will. I communicate to it a certain +heat, a certain electricity, a certain polarization, or a certain +other something we have not yet discovered. The stand becomes, so to +speak, an extension of my body, and submits to the influence of my +will. I look at a person. I take his hand. I thus act upon him. + +More than this. If the brain of another person vibrates in unison with +mine, or has at one in harmony with the keynote of my own brain, I can +act upon him, even from a distance. + +If I emit a sound a few yards from a piano, those piano-strings which +are in harmony with my utterance will vibrate, and themselves send +forth a kindred sound, easily distinguishable. + +A telegraph wire transmits a despatch: A neighboring wire is +influenced by induction; and it has been possible, by the aid of this +second and separate wire, to read messages sent over the first. + +There is still more to be said. The principle of the transformation of +force to-day opens to us new views which might well be called +marvellous. We every day make use of the telephone, without thinking +that it is, in itself, more astonishing than all the occult facts +considered in this paper. + +You speak. Your voice is transmitted ten or twenty thousand +kilometers, from Paris to Marseilles, and even farther away. You think +it is your own voice which is heard and recognized at the other end of +the wire; but it is not; your voice has not made the journey. Sound of +itself, in its ordinary state, is not transmitted with anything like +the rapidity attending this flight over the copper wire. If it were +otherwise, we should have to wait seven hours and twenty-four seconds +for a response, whereas there is no appreciable delay in the +telephonic passage of sound. The usual vocal velocity becomes electric +velocity, and the interval between the terminal stations of the wire +is traversed instantaneously. On reaching its destination, the current +again transforms itself into sound through its encounter with a +medial, an environment like that at its starting-point. + +Is the conductive wire indispensable? By no means! Is there a +connecting wire between the sun and the earth? Yet the spots on the +sun occasion rebounds in the variations of terrestrial magnetism. In +the photophone the conductive wire has already been dispensed with, +and a ray of light is used in its place. You speak behind a mirror, +and thus cause it to vibrate. These vibrations modify the reflection +of light from the vibrating mirror, which thus bears along your voice, +with which it becomes charged. Selenium, the chemical element used in +the operation, transmits the sound to the telephone, and your spoken +word is reproduced. + +The principal of the transformation of forces is undoubtedly one of +the most prolific in modern physics. Heat can be transformed into +mechanical motion; mechanical motion may be transformed into heat. +Electricity is transformable into magnetism; and, reciprocally, +magnetism may change into electricity, into light. The motion of the +mill-wheel serves to illuminate your house. From Paris you can light a +lamp in Brussels. When you act from afar upon another mind, it is not +your thought which travels, as a mental condition; but your thought +traverses the intervening ether through a series of vibrations as yet +unknown to us, and only becomes thought again when brought into +contact with another brain, because the last transference brings the +impulse into a medium akin to that from which it started. It is +therefore necessary that this second brain should be in sympathy with +yours; that is to say, using one of Doctor Ochorowiez's expressions, +that "the dynamic tone" of the receiver should be in accord with your +own. It is, moreover, noticeable that there are periods when veritable +thought-currents affect thousands of brains at the same moment. At the +bottom of all this there is but one principle, and that is identical +with the relation existing between the magnet and the iron, between +the sun and the earth,--namely, the transmission and transformation of +motion. Herbert Spencer has said:-- + + The discovery that matter, so simple in appearance, is + wonderfully complicated in its vital structure,--and that + other discovery, that its molecules, oscillating with a + rapidity almost infinite, convey their impressions to the + surrounding ether, which, in turn, transmits them over + inconceivable distances, in an inconceivably short space of + time,--these discoveries lead us to the even more marvellous + discovery, that any kind of molecules are affected in a + special manner by molecules of the same kind, though + situated in the most distant regions of space. + +It requires but one step more for the admission that psychical +communications may be established between an inhabitant of Mars and an +inhabitant of the earth. + +We are often asked what all these studies amount to. That is still +unknown. If they should end in a scientific proof of the existence and +immortality of the soul, these investigations would forthwith surpass +in value all other human sciences put together, without a single +exception. + +It must be acknowledged that this reason is a sufficient authorization +for us not to despise this class of researches. But this argument is +needless. These investigations relate to the unknown, and that reason +is all-sufficient. + +Did Galvani in examining the convulsions of his frogs, have any idea +of the immense, the prodigious, the universal part which electric +science was to perform in less than a century? Denis Papin and Robert +Fulton, Benjamin Franklin and James Watts, Jouffroy and Daguerre,--all +the inventors, all the searchers after truth,--were they wrong in +losing themselves in their pursuit of the unknown? It is such men who +cause the advance of humanity. It is to them mankind owes its +progress. + +If it were proved, we say, that there exists outside of us, and even +within us, an immaterial and spiritual force, which eludes the known +processes of nature, and the acknowledged laws of life,--and which +reveals itself by other processes and other laws, which do not +supplant the first, but take an equal place beside them, this new +knowledge might enlighten somewhat the shadows which now conceal the +great secret of the origin and destiny of such poor beings as +ourselves. + +First of all, let us seek the truth. To be sure, Taine has written +very wittily: "I never thought that a truth could be of any practical +use!" but we may not be of the same mind, and may think, on the +contrary, that the search for truth is the prime object of men's +intellectual existence. + + + + +THE SWISS AND AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONS, + +BY W. D. McCRACKAN. + + +The study of federalism, as a system of government, has in recent +times become a favorite subject for constitutional writers. At present +the United States and the Dominion of Canada on this continent, the +newly constituted Australian Commonwealth at the Antipodes, and in +Europe the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Swiss +Confederation are all examples of the application of the federal +principle in its various phases. What makes all researches into this +branch of political learning particularly difficult, and perhaps for +that reason also exceptionally fascinating, is the fact that federated +states seem forever oscillating between the two extremes of complete +centralization and decentralization. The two forces, centripetal and +centrifugal, seem to be always pulling against each other, and +producing a new resultant which varies according to their +proportionate intensity. One is almost tempted to say that there must +be an ideal state somewhere between these two extremes, some point of +perfect balance, from which no nation can ever depart very far without +either falling apart into anarchy or being consolidated into +despotism. Whatever, therefore, can throw light upon these obscure +forces is certainly entitled to our deepest interest. + +But not all the different states mentioned above as representatives of +federalism, possess an equal value for us in our search after +improvements in the art of self-government. The study of the +constitutions of the German and Austro-Hungarian empires can only be +of secondary importance to us Americans, because these states are +founded upon monarchical principles, quite foreign to our body +politic. To a limited extent, the same objection may be made to the +Canadian and Australian constitutions, since the connection of those +countries with the monarchical mother country has not been +constitutionally severed. But there is another federated state in +existence, until lately almost ignored by writers on political +subjects, whose example can in reality be of the utmost use to us, for +its general organization more nearly resembles our own in miniature +than any other. This country is Switzerland. In her quiet fashion the +unobtrusive little Confederation is working out some of the great +modern problems, and her citizens, with their natural aptitude for +self-government, are presenting object lessons which we especially in +America cannot afford to overlook. It is true that political analogies +are sometimes a little perilous, for identical situations can never be +reproduced in different countries, but if there be any virtue at all +in the study of comparative politics, a comparison between the Federal +constitutions of Switzerland and the United States ought to throw into +relief some features which can be of service to us. + +To be perfectly frank, the Swiss constitution, when placed side by +side with our own, at first shows certain decided short-comings. The +Constitution of the United States is an eminently logical, +well-balanced document, in which a masterly distinction is made +between the executive, legislative, and judicial functions of +government, and between matters which belong by nature to organic law, +and those which may safely be left to the statute law. In the Swiss +constitution, however, the line which separates these departments is +not as clearly drawn, so that, in fact, a certain amount of confusion +in their treatment becomes apparent. In the primitive leagues which +were concluded between the early Confederates no attempt was made to +draw up regular constitutions, and the one now in force dates only +from 1848, with amendments made in 1874, 1879, and 1885, an instrument +still somewhat imperfect, perhaps, but none the less suggestive to the +student. + +There are two institutions in the Swiss state which bear a very strong +likeness to corresponding ones in our own. Both countries have a +legislative system consisting of two houses, one representing the +people numerically, and the other the Cantons or States of which the +Union is composed, and both possess a Supreme Court, which in +Switzerland goes by the name of the Federal Tribunal. It is generally +conceded that the Swiss consciously imitated these American +institutions, but in doing so they certainly took care to adapt them +to their own particular needs, so that the two sets of institutions +are by no means identical. The Swiss National Council and Council of +States, forming together the Federal Assembly, are equal, co-ordinate +bodies, performing the same functions, whereas our House of +Representatives and Senate have particular duties assigned to each, +and the former occupies in a measure a subordinate position to the +latter. The Swiss Houses meet twice a year in regular sessions, on the +first Monday in June and the first Monday in December, and for extra +sessions if there is special unfinished business to transact. The +National Council is composed at present of 147 members, one +representative to every 20,000 inhabitants. Every citizen of +twenty-one is a voter; and every voter not a clergyman is eligible to +this National Council--the exclusion of the clergy is due to dread of +religious quarrels, with which the pages of Swiss history have been +only too frequently stained. A general election takes place every +three years. The salary of the representatives is four dollars a day, +which is forfeited by non-attendance, and about five cents a mile for +travelling expenses. On the other hand, the Council of States is +composed of forty-four members, two for each of the twenty-two +Cantons. The length of their terms of office is left entirely to the +discretion of the Cantons which elect them, and in the same manner +their salaries are paid out of the Cantonal treasuries. There are +certain special occasions when the two houses meet together and act in +concert: first, for the election of the Federal Council, which +corresponds in a general way to our President and his Cabinet; +secondly, for the election of the Federal Tribunal; thirdly, for that +of the Chancellor of the Confederation, an official whose duties seem +to be those of a secretary to the Federal Council and Federal +Assembly, and fourthly, for that of the Commander-in-Chief in case of +war. The attributes of the Swiss Federal Tribunal, though closely +resembling those of our Supreme Court, are not identical with them, +for the Swiss conception of the sovereignty of the people is quite +different from our own. Their Federal Assembly is the repository of +the national sovereignty, and, therefore, no other body can override +its decisions. The Supreme Court of the United States tests the +constitutionality of laws passed by Congress which may be submitted to +it for examination, thus placing itself as arbiter over the +representatives of the people; but the Federal Tribunal must accept as +final all laws which have passed through the usual channels, so that +its duty consists merely in applying them to particular cases without +questioning their constitutionality. + +If there is a certain resemblance between the Federal Assembly and our +Congress, and between the Federal Tribunal and our Supreme Court, +there is on the other hand a striking difference between the Federal +Council and our presidential office. + +The Swiss Constitution does not intrust the executive power to one +man, as our own does, but to a Federal Council of seven members, +acting as a sort of Board of Administration. These seven men are +elected for a fixed term of three years, out of the ranks of the whole +body of voters throughout the country, by the two Houses, united in +joint session. Every year they also designate, from the seven members +of the Federal Council, the two persons who shall act as President and +Vice-President of the Swiss Confederation. The Swiss President is, +therefore, only the chairman of an executive board, and presents a +complete contrast to the President of the United States, who is +virtually a monarch, elected for a short reign. Sir Henry Maine says +in his book on "Popular Government," that somewhat exasperating but +always instructive arraignment of democracy: "On the face of the +Constitution of the United States, the resemblance of the President of +the United States to the European king, and especially to the King of +Great Britain, is too obvious to mistake. The President has, in +various degrees, a number of powers which those who know something of +kingship in its general history recognize at once as peculiarly +associated with it and with no other institution." In truth he is +vested with all the attributes of sovereignty during his term of +office. He holds in his hand the whole executive power of the +government; he is Commander-in-Chief of the army and navy; possesses a +suspensory veto upon legislation and the privilege of pardoning +offences against Federal law, and finally is intrusted with an +appointing power unparalleled in any free country. With all this +authority he is still a partisan by reason of the manner of his +election, so that he cannot possibly administer his office +impartially, and must, from the necessity of the case, forward the +interests of one political party at the expense of the rest. It is +certainly worthy of consideration whether the Swiss Federal Council +does not contain valuable suggestions for reformers who desire to +hasten the triumph of absolute democracy in the United States. + +The institution of the Referendum has no counterpart in our own +country, unless we except the somewhat unwieldy provisions in various +States for the revisions of their constitutions by popular vote. It is +undoubtedly the most successful experiment in applying the principles +of direct government which has been made in modern times. Having +already written more fully upon this subject in the March number of +THE ARENA, the writer will here confine himself to reminding the +readers of this review that the referendum is an institution by means +of which laws framed by the representatives are submitted to the +people for rejection or approval. It is significant of the interest +which the referendum is already exciting in this country that a +committee of gentlemen recently presented themselves at the State +House to urge the adoption of this principle in local matters. + +There are, besides, a host of minor differences between the Swiss and +American Constitutions, of more or less interest to students of +politics and economics. + +The central government in Switzerland maintains a university, the +Polytechnic at Zuerich, and by virtue of the constitution also exerts +an influence over education throughout the Confederation. Article 27 +prescribes that the Cantons shall provide compulsory primary +instruction to be placed in charge of the civil authorities and to be +gratuitous in all public schools. In practice these provisions have +been found difficult to enforce where the spirit of the population was +opposed to them, as in Uri, the most illiterate of the Cantons, where +the writer found educational matters entirely in the hands of the +priesthood. Fortunately, however, the Swiss people at large have a +very keen appreciation of the value of education, so that illiteracy, +as we have it in this country, among the negroes and the poor whites +of the South, as well as amongst certain classes of our immigrants, is +really unknown in Switzerland. Someone has jestingly said that there +"the primary business of the state is to keep school," and really, in +travelling through the country which gave birth to Pestalozzi, one is +continually impressed with the size and comparative splendor of the +schoolhouses; in every village and hamlet they have the appearance of +being the very best which the community by scrimping and saving can +possibly put up. On the subject of import duties, the Constitution +lays down in Article 29 as general rules to guide the conduct of +legislators, that "materials which are necessary to the industries and +agriculture of the country shall be taxed as low as possible; the same +rule shall be observed in regard to the necessaries of life. Articles +of luxury shall be subjected to the highest taxes." From this set of +principles it will be seen that Switzerland levies her duties for +revenue only, as the phrase is, although it must be confessed that +there is a perceptible tendency now manifested to raise the duties in +consequence of the high protectionist wave which is sweeping over the +continent of Europe at the present moment. When the statistics of +Switzerland's general trade, including all goods in transit, which, of +course, make a considerable portion of the whole, are compared with +those of other European states, it is found that she possesses a +greater amount of general trade per head of population than any other +country, more even than England. The telegraph and telephone systems +are managed by the central government, as well as the post office, +with excellent results. Not only are these departments conducted in an +exemplary manner upon cheap terms, but a respectable revenue is also +derived from them which makes a good showing in the annual budget. +Everything which is connected with the army, from the selection of the +recruits to the election of the Commander-in-Chief, also possesses +exceptional interest, because Switzerland is the only country in the +world which has so far succeeded in maintaining an efficient militia +without the vestige of a standing army. An attempt was made in 1885 to +deal with the evils of intemperance, by establishing a state monopoly +of the manufacture and sale of spirituous liquors, the Revenue thus +derived being apportioned amongst the Cantons according to population, +with the proviso that ten per cent. of it be used by them to combat +the causes and effects of alcoholism in their midst. It is too early +to speak of the final results of this legislation, but for the moment +there seems to be a decided falling off in the consumption of the +cruder and more injurious qualities. Amongst other matters which the +Federal authorities have brought under their supervision, are the +forests, river improvements, ordinary roads, and railroads, and +bridges, etc., not managing them all directly, but reserving the right +to regulate them at will. Even hunting and fishing come within the +jurisdiction of the central government, this constitutional power +having been used to preserve the chamois in certain mountain ranges +where they were threatening to disappear completely, but where, thanks +to timely interference, they are now actually on the increase. + +Apart from these constitutional provisions, the general drift of +legislative action seems to have set in very strongly towards a mild +form of state socialism, somewhat after the form of the Prussian +system, but with this difference, that in the case of Switzerland it +is the people who unite to delegate certain powers to the state, while +in the latter country this policy is imposed upon the people from +above by the ruling authorities. The altogether exceptional clauses in +the Swiss Constitution referring to the exclusion of the Jesuits, a +survival of the war of 1848, to the so-called Heimatlosen, or those +who have no commune of origin, and to the police appointed to control +the movements of foreign agitators seeking the asylum of the country, +all these have a purely local interest, and need not be especially +examined. + +What, then, is the peculiar mark and symbol of the Swiss Constitution, +taken as a whole? When all has been said and done, the most +characteristic provisions are those which introduce forms of direct +government or of pure democracy, as the technical expression is. The +supremacy of the legislative branch, as representing the people, the +peculiar make-up of the Federal Council, the limited powers of the +Federal Tribunal, and above all the institution of the referendum, are +all evidences of this tendency toward direct government. In the +Cantonal governments the same quality is still more apparent, for it +is from them that the Swiss Federal Constitution has borrowed the +principles which underlie these characteristic provisions. In point of +fact, representative democracy has never felt quite at home in +Switzerland; there has always been an effort to revert to simpler, +more straightforward methods; to reduce the distance which separates +the people from the exercise of their sovereignty; and to constitute +them into a court of final appeal. + +In view of the marvellous stability which the pure democracy of +Switzerland has displayed, there is something comical in the horror of +all forms of direct government expressed by most constitutional +writers. De Tocqueville, whom we honor for his appreciation of our own +Constitution, declares "that they all tend to render the government of +the people irregular in its action, precipitate in its resolutions, +and tyrannical in its acts." Mr. George Grote also condemns the +referendum, and of course one cannot expect pure democracy to be +praised by Sir Henry Maine, who believes that "the progress of mankind +has hitherto been effected by the rise and fall of aristocracies." On +the other hand it is refreshing to hear Mr. Freeman and Mr. Dicey +actually discussing the practicability of introducing the referendum +into the English political system. + +After all, is not this very quality of directness a great +recommendation, when we consider the rubbish which at present clogs +the wheels of our political machinery, the complications which confuse +the voter and hide the real issues from his comprehension? The very +epithets pure and direct satisfy at once our best aspirations and our +common sense. If monarchy is the government of one, oligarchy that of +a few, and democracy that of many, surely there will some day arise +the rule of all. The United States seems to be standing at the parting +of two ways, one of which leads back in a vicious circle to plutocracy +and despotism, while the other advances towards a genuine pure +democracy. No nation can stand still. Which way shall it be? + + + + +THE TYRANNY OF ALL THE PEOPLE. + +BY REV. FRANCIS BELLAMY. + + +Dr. Whewell observed that the acceptance of every new idea passed +through three stages: 1. It is absurd; 2. It is contrary to the Bible; +3. We always believed it. Change the second stage to, It is +unscientific, and the diagram may apply to socialism. We have +certainly emerged from the period when it was considered a valid +argument to call socialism somebody's dream. It is now treated with a +scientific earnestness which betrays its progress in general thought. +This serious grappling with the subject is noted in the recent "Plea +for Liberty," by some of Mr. Herbert Spencer's disciples, for which +Mr. Spencer himself has written an elaborate introduction. + +The same earnestness is felt in the masterly editorial, "Is Socialism +Desirable?" in THE ARENA for May. This is a solid contribution to the +permanent literature of the subject. It is not a surprise that it has +commanded such wide attention. Its deep thoughtfulness, its strategic +selection of only vital points for its attack, and, not the least, its +kindliness and chivalry, mark it as a notable production. I truly +appreciate the honor of being chosen by this knightly antagonist to +face the attack on his own sands. + +It is not without some question, however, that I accept the generous +challenge. For I am not sure that I myself believe in the military +type of socialism which the editor seems continually to have in mind. +The book, which more than all others combined has brought socialism +before American thought, has also furnished to its opponents a +splendidly clear target in its military organization. It cannot be +repeated too often, however, that the army type is not conceded by +socialists to be an essential, even, of nationalistic socialism. +Democratic socialism differs considerably from military socialism, and +may be fully as national in its reach. In so far as Mr. Flower's +arguments apply to democratic socialism, the following paragraphs may +be taken as a rejoinder. + +To bring the chief counts of the editor's indictment again clearly +before the readers, it will be well to summarize them:-- + +(1) National socialism means governmentalism, which is tyranny over +the individual. + +(2) National socialism means paternalism, which, exercised by all the +people, is the most hopeless kind of tyranny. + +(3) National socialism means the arrest of progress, because the +majority will surely tyrannize over the small "vanguard of human +progress." + +(4) National socialism will be needless when the people are educated +to the fraternalism which alone could temper the inevitable despotism +of the majority. + +There is a period in every agitation of a new idea when the most +prosperous weapon against it is a thumping epithet. The name must be +apt enough to stick. Furthermore, no matter how misleading, it must be +suggestive of sinister things. + +"Governmentalism" is such a word. In its etymology it is harmless +enough. Governmental is the adjective of government, and means +"exercising the powers of government." Governmentalism, therefore, +means the exercise of the powers of government considered as a +principle. But the word when made the bogy of socialism is supposed to +mean the principle of the exercise of the powers of government raised +to the _nth_ degree, and separated from the people. It suggests a +shadowy somewhat of officialdom; a Corliss engine of functionaryism; +all of which is thought of as apart from the people, yet pressing upon +the people. In other words, the name "governmentalism," while intended +as a word of opprobrium for socialism, really indicates the amazing +misconception which the critics have of the nation itself, and of the +relation of the nation's life to its self-direction. + +The nation is not an aggregate of the Smiths, and Joneses, and +Robinsons. It is a favorite formula with the opponents of the new +school that the nation is but a multitude of individuals. So is a +sand-heap. But in the nation the individual atoms are linked by mutual +obligations. They are members one of another. No individual can claim +isolation and independency. Let him make the most of his +individuality; yet, as Aristotle said, "Man is a political animal;" +his nature apart from the nation is incomplete; sundered from that to +which he belongs he seems a freak. + +The nation, then, is not an artificial binding of units; it is a +natural relationship. The ideal nation is not entered as a result of +reflection and choice. A man is born into the nation as into the +family. To belong to the English nation when born an Englishman is not +usually considered so "greatly to his credit," except in the case of +Mr. Gilbert's naval hero. The very term "naturalize," with which we +denote the initiation of a foreigner, is a confession that the nation +is not a social contract but a natural relation. It is this natural +relation which makes the nation worth dying for; it is fatherland. + +Still further, the nation is an organic being. The scattered atoms of +a sand-heap are as perfect as before they were dislodged; not so an +amputated arm. When the nation is disunited, the detached segment +becomes a different kind of body. "The man without a country" begins +to be another sort of man. The nation is not a mass of independent +individuals, but of related individuals, who, moreover, are so closely +related that they make together an indivisible organism; this organism +develops according to orderly laws; this organism has perpetuity, +never disjoining itself either from its past or future; and this +organism has also self-consciousness and moral personality. This is +the nation in which we live, and move, and have our being. + +When we look this high conception of the nation squarely in the eye, +much of the talk about governmentalism seems at once irrelevant. For +government in America must ever mean the nation directing itself. Here +are no hereditary governing machines; no bureaucracies created by a +power apart from the people. In Europe, government is fastened on the +people. But in America, if government is not of the people, by the +people, and for the people, it is their own fault. The worst abuses of +power in a government actually emanating from the people, do not put +it beyond their reach. It is still the nation governing itself. It +will one day become conscious of its strength, and will direct its +efforts more wisely. But so long as it is the living, organic nation +governing itself, no mere multiplication of functions, no +straightforward increase of powers, are a discrowning of the people. + +Socialists believe in the fearless extension of government because +they have a clear and high idea of the nation as an organic +relationship, apart from which the individual cannot realize himself. +As the nation becomes more self-conscious, it perceives more clearly +its own responsibility for the development of each individual. The +self-governing nation extends its governmental powers solely to give a +better chance for development to the largest number of individuals. +"All individualism," says Mr. Flower, "would be surrendered to that +mysterious thing called government." But there is nothing mysterious +in the expression the nation makes of its own will; and it is hard to +discover what individualism is surrendered, except bumptiousness, when +the rounded development of the greatest number of individuals is the +nation's motive for extending its governmental functions. + +There is also another kind of reason for being undismayed at the +threat of governmentalism. Nationalism is but the very distant +consummation of local socialism. + +I suppose it is not strange that the hostile critics occupy themselves +almost entirely with this keystone of the arch, since that has given +the name to the whole tendency. They delight to picture the superb +riot of corruption if nationalists could have their way at once. They +will never listen, they will never remember, while nationalists +declare they would not have their way at once if they could. A +catastrophe by which nationalistic socialism might be precipitated +would be a deplorable disaster to human progress. + +Socialism properly begins with the municipality; or more properly +still, with the town-meeting. The Hon. Joseph Chamberlain is a +practical State socialist; and he outlines in the _North American +Review_ for May how English cities are laying the foundation of more +general socialism. The popular representative government of the +municipality, he says, "unlike the imperial legislature, is very near +to the poor, and can deal with details, and with special conditions. +It is subject to the criticism and direct control both of those who +find the money, and of those who are chiefly interested in its +expenditure. In England, at any rate," he continues, "it has been free +from the suspicion of personal corruption, and has always been able to +secure the services of the ablest and most disinterested members of +the community." The practical socialism of Birmingham, and other +cities of Great Britain, enthusiastically supported by multitudes of +citizens who do not call themselves socialists, is an example of the +first numbers on the socialistic programme. The intellectual leaders +of socialism are in no hurry. They have all the time there is. It may +take years to persuade American cities that they are business +corporations themselves, whose aim is the well-being of all the +members. The extension of municipal control over all natural +monopolies may be decades off. No matter; there is no use in being +hot-headed because hearts are hot at the miseries of the poor. +Municipalization ought to precede nationalization. The members of the +community must learn to trust each other before the East and the West +will trust one another. It must be proved in American cities, as it +has been already in English cities, that the extension of municipal +powers is itself a force to drive out corruption and purify politics, +before the nation as a whole will deem it safe to make great +enlargements of the civil service. + +As that day approaches, it will be found that nationalism is a much +simpler thing than it now seems. Nationalism does not begin in a paper +constitution and work downwards. During the upheavals of the French +Revolution Abbe Sieges is always coming forward with a new +constitution. But in America institutions are rather an evolution. The +last numbers on the social programme may safely be left blank. +Nationalism is neither a city let down, of a sudden, four-square from +heaven, nor are its working plans yet to be found in any architect's +office on earth. We certainly want no nationalism which is not an +orderly development. We may agree with Mr. Spencer that the course of +political evolution is full of surprises. It is quite possible that +the nationalism which seems so full of menace as a military despotism +may turn out to be but a simple federation of industrial and +commercial interests which find they require a single head. + +In other words, it seems to me, nationalism is only a prophecy. It is +too distant to be certainly detailed. Present day accounts of it will +one day be, as Horace Greeley said of something else, "mighty +interesting reading." We may be inspired by it as the end towards +which present movements are tending. But each age solves its own +problems; and the passage into that promised land is the issue for +another generation. A nearer view alone can determine where the +passage is, and whether the land is truly desirable. We may justly put +some faith in the common sense, as well as in the political ingenuity +of those who come after us. If military socialism, whatever it is, +should ever be the issue, this American people can be trusted to vote +against it if it is undesirable. Meantime, what our people must vote +upon in the present year of grace, is whether great private +corporations shall control legislatures and city councils, and charge +their own unquestioned prices for such public necessities of life as +light and transit. There is an issue between tyranny and liberty which +is to the point. The future is in the hands of evolution. + +Another opprobrious epithet is "paternalism." This is the most +familiar of the titles of reproach. It suggests an idea of government +made pestiferous by old abuse. The most atrocious despotisms both of +king and church have planted themselves _in loco parentis_. The +welfare of the people has been the hoary excuse for the cruelest +outrages of history. Mr. Flower goes a step further and avers that, +with the good of the people for a pretext, tyranny has always been in +exact proportion to power and authority. + +Without stopping to query as to this last rather sweeping statement, +it will be enough to check ourselves while the editor leaps to his +induction; namely, that because the monarchical and ecclesiastical +governments have tyrannized in proportion to their power, nothing less +is to be expected if our Republic becomes affected with a greater +sense of governmental responsibility for the welfare of her citizens. +If our nation, it is claimed, allows this specious excuse to commit it +to the doctrine of State interference, we are drifted into the +despotic paternalisms of the old world. + +But a paternalism must have a parent, a royal sire, or a priestly +grandmother. In the antique paternalisms there is invariably this +parental personality at the top; down beneath it are the puppet +children. "My soldiers are my children," says Napoleon; and he orders +a charge for their benefit; an hour afterwards the dying address him +as Sire as he walks over the field. "The German people are my +children," says Emperor William; and he issues the edict for the +compulsory life-insurance of workingmen; an undoubted blessing. Both +are instances of paternalism; and the principle in one case is as +obnoxious as in the other. The principle of paternalism is an +irresponsible authority above the people, mastering the people, with +their welfare as a pretext. + +But this essential of paternalism must be lacking in the republic. +Whatever powers democracy may assume, it recognizes no authority +outside itself. Democratic government, however socialistic it may +become, is nothing but democracy expressing its own will. If the +individual is led to surrender certain of his freedoms for the good of +all, he surrenders to a paternalism of all the people. That were +better called, once for all, a fraternalism. + +It is not enough, however, to show that the title is in our case a +grave misnomer. The editor adduces several recent instances which he +considers exhibitions of the increasing tyranny of all the people. He +believes the tyranny of all the people, if they are as selfish as they +are now, would be more hopeless than the despotism of an individual; +for the single tyrant is after all amenable to revolution, while the +whole nation as a tyrant is accountable to nothing. To his view, +indeed, the occurrences I am about to repeat prove the new tyrant is +already created. They exhibit a "tyranny which shows that persecutions +are only limited by the power vested in the State." + +Let us examine the data for this astonishing conclusion. My limits +will not allow more than a bare reference to the incidents which are +fully described in the May editorial. + +Case I. is the incarceration in Tennessee of a Seventh-day Adventist +for working on Sunday. Of this it may be remarked that had it happened +two centuries ago it would have been symptomatic; to-day it is a +curiosity. + +Case II. is the arrest of a Christian Scientist in Iowa for practising +contrary to the rules of the State. I presume this cannot be fairly +disposed of by suggesting that there has been some aggravated occasion +for such stringency. But it is certainly true that the State has the +right to prevent malpractice--a right none of us would wish renounced. +And as soon as there are sufficient data to convince an intelligent +public opinion that the theory, with its perilous repudiation of all +medical skill, is not fatal to human life, it will receive an +ungrudged status. + +Case III. is the arrest of a minister, of pure life and unquestioned +standing, for sending obscene literature through the mail. The sole +charge was the publication of an earnest and chastely worded article +on marital purity; but the real cause was supposed to be his severe +criticism of the Society for the Prevention of Vice nearly a year +afterward. If these facts are verifiable this is a monstrous outrage. +But unhappily it is not the first instance where revenge has been +taken on the innocent by due process of law. Without doubt the people +ought to be more aroused by it than they are. Yet such a sporadic +instance of miscarried justice is scarcely a reason why the State +should cease its efforts to check by law the present alarming increase +of lascivious printing. + +Case IV. is an election bill in California which prohibits independent +nominations except upon petition of five per cent. of the voters, and +thus disfranchises four per cent. of the voting population. If this +mad device proves anything, it proves that the leaders of the old +parties are in such consternation at the uneasiness of the people that +they have lost their heads. It proves no more than the denial of the +right of petition in Congress during anti-slavery days; and it proves +as much as that attempt to ignore the voice of reform. Earthquakes are +not far off when such things happen. + +Case V. is the suit for damages which one Powell brings against +Pennsylvania. Under a statute authorizing the manufacture of +oleomargarine, he had undertaken the business, to find himself ruined +by a later legislature making its manufacture a misdemeanor. This is +very noteworthy, for it proves too much. It shows a vested money +interest controlling legislature and voting a rival business into +outlawry. This is a kind of instance socialists like to get hold of. + +Yet these instances are used to illustrate "a growing spirit of +intolerance" in our country; they are said to exhibit a State tyranny +which is already blossoming under paternalistic legislation; they +emphasize, it is claimed, the fact,--"That all the majority wishes is +the sanction of law to make its crimes against the minority assume a +show of respectability. All that retards persecution is the limit of +the sanction of law; and I submit that, in the light of history, and +in the face of the wrongs of the present, all increase in governmental +power menaces the liberty, the happiness, and the growth of the +individual." + +This is a pretty large indictment to hang on such debatable evidence. +Its audaciousness fairly takes one's breath away. Our heaviest battery +is turned against ourselves. Every cherished dream of the good time +coming goes up at a blast. Instead of freedom at last to do that for +which we are made, and to fit into the niche where we belong, we are +shown a State's-prison. Instead of an age of joy and of elastic step, +we are pointed to an iron rule of repression and cheerlessness. +Instead of leisure to ripen, of a full summing of our powers, of the +exhilaration of new truth, we have disclosed to us a stunted +individuality treading a dull and monotonous round of existence. And +all this, because if the people are trusted with more power they will +tyrannize life down to this paralyzing reaction. + +The logic of this bold pessimism is:--Human nature is tyrannical; the +majority have always tyrannized in proportion to their power; increase +their power and they will increase their tyranny. This is the +syllogism which has dignified the foregoing collection of occurrences +into grave symptoms of an increase of popular despotism. + +It might be fair to meet dogmatic pessimism with dogmatic optimism. +Or, it would be legitimate to follow the logic to its end in a general +abandoning of all the powers of government which, it seems, has only +hurt when it tried to help humanity; to go back honestly to Jefferson, +and beyond him, to + + The very best government of all, + That which governs not at all. + +This is the pandemonium of anarchy. Mr. Flower believes that there is +not enough of the golden rule in society to-day to make socialism +tolerable. But we have only to imagine our present society, with its +current quantity of golden rule, thrown into the chaos where +government has ceased to govern, where the political majority has lost +all its power, but where the majority of brute strength awakes to find +itself with no laws to molest or make it afraid. + +But this doctrine of the inevitable despotism of the political +majority lies so at the bottom of the whole impeachment, that it ought +to be carefully examined in itself. + +In the first place, both premises are without support. Human nature, +even in irresponsible multitudes, is not essentially tyrannical. Let +us admit frankly all the degraded sweeps of intolerance in the past; +yet has not human nature during recent generations been growing in the +tolerant spirit? Look straight at the intelligent society around us; +look within ourselves most of all, and let us ask if we see any such +intolerance of spirit as would bloom into tyranny if we only had the +chance. A man may prove to me by inductive data, reaching +uninterruptedly over ten thousand years, that my own nature is +intolerant; he may even corroborate his proof by pointing to my +occasional acts of thoughtless disregard for another's opinion, yet +all this array does not overwhelm me, for I know I am not intolerant. +Our society to-day, as a whole, knows it is not intolerant;--even +though it be proved as conclusively as ever Puritan divine proved +God's hatred for man, and man's incapacity for a single good act. The +logic works well; only there are some omitted factors. Human nature +has made some progress. Hospitality to new ideas, and patience with +divergent ones, are two of the surest fruits of later civilization. + +Again, the majority have not always tyrannized in proportion to their +power. They did not, in the Dutch Republic, when William of Orange +followed the hideous persecutions of Phillip II. with the +establishment of religious liberty. The Church of England was in the +majority when it abandoned its acts of tyranny. Congregationalism was +still in the ascendancy when it ceased to banish Baptists and to whip +Quakers. The Rhode Island Baptists had plenty of majority when they +pioneered the empire of religious freedom in America. And the Maryland +Roman Catholics had things their own way, when in an age of +persecution they resolved to be hospitable to other beliefs. Indeed, +in our American life especially, the generosity and long-suffering of +majorities are among the most notable features. On the other hand it +may with truth be said that the worst tyrannies have been on the part +of minorities. In the old world the oppressive minorities have usually +been hereditary or ecclesiastical interests. In our country the ruling +minorities have been determined, and self-assertive classes who would +not brook the wisdom or the sense of justice of the majority. It was +the regnant minority which rushed the South into secession. It was +that same minority which had for half a century before over-ridden the +whole nation. It was the Tammany minority which ruled the Democracy. +It is the minority of syndicates, corporations, and vested interests +which crowned itself in our Billion Congress, and is spreading itself +in our legislatures. Are the very occurrences, of which so much has +been made exhibitions, of the tyranny of all the people; or, are they +not rather, with one exception, instances where a graceless minority +has resolved either slyly or boldly to ignore the people? In short, +the charge in the phrase "tyranny of the majority" has but the least +justification in the course of government. There has been in history +no power which has tyrannized less than the political majority. In +modern times, at least, the most violent acts of despotic outrage have +been the attempts to ride down the will of the political majority. "In +the light of history, and in the face of the wrongs of the present," +to use the editor's words, it might be well to consider some means for +the protection of majorities. + +For after all, in spite of the English sneers at government by count +of noses, from Carlyle and Sir Henry Maine to the latest utterances, +there is nothing so safe for humanity's interests as the political +majority. It is perfectly true that "the vanguard of human progress +must ever be in the minority." But the hope of this minority lies in +one day becoming the majority. As Disraeli said, that is the +minority's business. The minorities of hereditary privilege, of +priesthood, of monied classes, can perpetuate themselves and their +power. But the majority of voters is always changing and always losing +its power. The minority of radicals is always becoming the majority of +conservatives,--the steadfast power to which progress has tied itself. + +Is socialism necessary to the progress of the race? Will not a +perfected fraternalism make the strong hand of socialism needless? +Both questions are to be answered, yes. The perfect state is +undoubtedly pictured in Rousseau's ideal, where every man remains +perfectly free, so that when he obeys the State he obeys only himself. +This is the deep and eternal truth of the law of brotherhood, which is +also the law of liberty. Love is the fulfilling of all law; no laws +will be needed when love is the protection of the weak. Belief in that +coming government of Love is the real religion. + +But the practical politics of the present deal with a society where a +strong arm is needed to protect the weak from the tyranny of the +giants. To talk about the principles of brotherhood fully prevailing +in our present conditions, is to treat the laws of Christ with +flippancy. Nine-tenths of the maxims of our modern business system +contradict the law of love. In our present environment it is +impossible for business people or working people to obey the Sermon on +the Mount and not starve. Perhaps a few sacrifices of this kind are +needed to teach us how abhorrent the present selfish system is to the +Christianity of Christ. "I suppose I ought to be thankful to get the +work at all, for they told other women they had no work left for +them," said a woman to me who was making men's pantaloons for two +dollars a dozen. She was part of the system; she was competing with +other less fortunate women as truly as her employer with other firms; +she drank her tea at the expense of her less lucky sister, who had no +work and no tea. What chance does this system afford for perfect +fraternalism, or even for decent fraternalism, among those who have to +compete? + +Socialism aims to produce an environment where not only the Golden +Rule but the Law of Love will have a living chance. As such an agent +it has its proper political place in the development of mankind. + + + + +REVOLUTIONARY MEASURES AND NEGLECTED CRIMES. + +PART II. + +BY PROF. JOSEPH RODES BUCHANAN. + + +If we agree that all men are born free and equal, with certain +inalienable rights,--life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,--let +us legislate to enforce our belief. All men are _not_ born equal, if +one is born with power to live without toil; power to control the +movements of a hundred thousand of his _unequal_ fellow-citizens; +power to bribe legislatures; power to hire a pretorian guard of +laborers, writers, editors, clergymen, and even soldiers or police to +do his bidding and to sing his praise, and to threaten those who wish +to establish a real republic. It was thought we had abolished +hereditary inequality; but in a land where our democratic lords can +each hire fifty thousand men and equip an army if need be,--where a +democratic American lord can buy a dozen of the puny lords of +Europe,--the social equality dreamed of in '76 does not exist. We have +abolished the useless title but not the lord. + +We should not object to that inequality which is natural--to the +superior ability and superior virtue which place one man far above his +fellows; but we should object to an immense inequality, _which is not +natural_, and which sometimes places the superior man at the mercy and +in the service of one who has no ability whatever,--who is simply born +to rule by means of _hereditary wealth_. This is just as great a +social inequality as that which Jefferson saw in Europe, and which he +thought was to be excluded from America. + +It is a condition that is demoralizing in a hundred ways, and is +fraught with peril to the republic, peril to society, and peril to all +the interests of humanity; and therefore as I would assert,--and _who +would deny_ the supreme right and power of the people to protect the +republic from any impending calamity by any just means, _but not by +any unjust means_--I would claim that it is our right and duty to say +that this grand hereditary inequality shall not be perpetual, and that +_the past shall not rule the present--the graveyard shall not contain +our legislature_,--but that each generation shall be a law unto +itself, and shall establish the conditions of justice and safety +without regard to the follies of the dead and the ancient laws of +inheritance when they conflict with justice. + +Justice and safety to the republic demand that men shall _not be born +as rulers, nor born as serfs_. The serf is the person who is born in +poverty, with no right to a standing place, and whom society has left +to the education of the street or of the coal mine, growing up without +knowledge, without industrial skill--knowing nothing but to sell +unskilled labor in a market crowded by a million others like himself +or herself, and thus forced into that wretched life seen in all the +great cities of America and Europe, the description of which is enough +to make us cry out in despair, How long, O Lord, how long? Wherein +does this white slavery differ from African slavery, except that the +master cares nothing for the slave, is not bound by self-interest to +take care of him, and cannot flog him though he can punish him in +other ways, and on shipboard he can flog him also, and the horrors of +nautical brutality have not even produced a society for its abolition? + +Such is the serf, which our democracy allows its citizens to +become,--men to whom the right of suffrage sometimes seems a worthless +rag which they would gladly sell,--men on whose weak shoulders the +republic cannot stand. + +To abolish that class, every boy and girl should be guaranteed a solid +intellectual and industrial education, making a permanent guarantee +against pauperism and serfdom, a permanent guarantee that women shall +not be enslaved by lust, but shall be enabled to rear an offspring of +manly citizens. These are the most important things that a true +nationalism should accomplish at present, and mainly by the gospel of +industrial education, which the writer has long been urging with all +his power. + +Public sentiment has advanced so far on this question, that there will +be very little opposition to abolishing the serf by industrial +education; out with all our industrial education, our disorganized +competition makes employment terribly uncertain, and impoverishes the +industrious by enforced idleness, because there is no science, no +social system to regulate the demand and supply of labor in different +pursuits. + +Hence, until we can do better, there must be at all times a vast +number of idle men walking about in search of work, losing all their +savings in times of enforced idleness, their days of gloom and +despair. + +They are our brothers, and we cannot say with Cain, "Am I my brother's +keeper?" _We are_ our brothers' keepers, for they are partners in this +republic, and brothers in the family of God, and they help to make the +social atmosphere in which we live, and they help the republic to sink +or swim. We simply cannot afford to deny our brotherhood, and if we do +we are the devil's own fools. + +Action on this matter is demanded now as it never was before, for we +are advancing blindly to a crisis which our political economists and +statesmen have not foreseen, and do not yet recognize. The genius that +increases by invention the productive power of labor ought to increase +the rewards of labor, but it does not. Labor is demanded only to +supply what is consumed; and if at present a million laborers are +employed to produce the food, clothing, fuel, furniture, and houses +required, but in a few years invention enables half a million to +produce the same, what is to become of the half million no longer +needed? Will wages advance so that the million may still be employed, +working for half a day instead of a day. That would be just, but +instead, it produces a glut in the labor market, which by competition +puts down wages, and starts a fierce contest between laborers and +employers, and among laborers themselves. The fall in prices produced +by competition in a crowded market makes the employer unwilling to +advance wages, and an angry contest is inevitable. The multitude +dislodged by invention is increased by the inevitable multitude +arising from irregular demand and supply in fluctuating markets, and +thus families by the hundred thousand are driven to the verge of +immediate starvation, and this becomes our chronic condition, which +must be rectified,--a chronic condition which bears most heavily on +woman, and through her debases future generations. + +We are bound to see that every honest citizen, male or female, has a +fair chance in the battle of life, has a fair preparation at the +start, and a fair field. To insure this,--to insure that the +productive power of the nation is not wasted,--is a larger question +than our statesmen have ever yet considered. It requires that the +government shall have a DEPARTMENT OF PRODUCTIVE LABOR, in which +honest men and women, when jostled out of their industrial positions, +may enlist.[2] This department should be managed by the ablest and +most benevolent business men of the Peter Cooper class, who understand +all productive industries, and who, seeing what is permanently and +largely needed for human consumption and not abundantly supplied, or +what new industries can be started which will benefit the nation, what +new productions can be acclimatized, shall take charge of all the +laborers who wish to enlist in governmental employ for eight hours a +day, with such pay and rations as will be satisfactory and fair; and +if rightly managed, not only will their labor pay all costs of the +department, but it may be made to teach the country great industrial +lessons in agriculture and manufactures, by improvements which +scientific combined labor on a large scale may introduce; and if we +are anxious to make our country independent in all things, and +superior in manufactures, this is the very method in which it can be +done, by the instruction in the national establishments, which may be +the means of starting all manufactures that we need, far better than +the protective tariff which forces an unnatural growth _at an enormous +cost to the people_. + + [2] Thousands of the women toiling in the cities on + starving wages, might be given in the Southern States + pleasant employment in fruit culture, and other light + agricultural labors. + +There will then be no tramps, no paupers, no women compelled to sell +their persons; and as poverty, gloom, and hardship are the chief +sources of intemperance, we may anticipate, as another consequence, an +immense diminution of the liquor traffic, when the Department of +Productive Labor shall have gotten into full operation. Moral gloom +and the bad passions impel men to intemperance, and when they acquire +the happy and gentle temperament of woman they will also acquire her +temperance. + +Mr. Bellamy's idea of the nation as the employer may not be +practicable, but the Department of Productive Labor is an obvious +method of initiating the principle of national co-operation, which an +urgent necessity has compelled the British government to initiate in +Ireland. But we cannot safely wait, like England, until famine is +threatening. + +The pauperization of labor depends on the monopoly of land combined +with the monopoly of machinery. It cannot occur in a new country, but +must develop when all the land is monopolized and worth a hundred +dollars an acre. The independence of the laborer owing to cheap vacant +land is more than restored by a Department of Productive Labor which +establishes a minimum of wages below which they cannot be forced, and +gives a standing ground on which exaction can be resisted permanently +by the laborer. + +The Department of Productive Labor may be made a charming feature of +the government, on which philanthropists may expend their skill; and +its beautiful plantations, especially in the highlands of the +Carolinas and Georgia, and in California, may be looked to as a haven +of repose by all who are disappointed in life, who may find in these +rural homes something more attractive than the co-operative societies +to which some are rushing now. The voice of the red flag anarchist +will be quieted, and the agitators who endeavor to stir up dissension +will find most of their grievances redressed when the laborer has an +assured home. + +There is no obstructive limit to the achievements of the army of +labor. Aside from agriculture and manufactures, there are roads to be +built, buildings to be erected, improvements of many kinds, and there +are about a thousand million acres of arid land, needing irrigation, +the necessary works for which could employ more than would probably +apply, for the wages should not be such as to attract men from +profitable employments. The army of labor may not at first be wisely +managed, but anything is better than the vast national losses by +_enforced idleness_. It is not extravagant to anticipate an _ultimate_ +governmental administration of railroads, mines, manufactures, and +government farms that may employ many hundred thousands. There is no +apparent hindrance to the extension of the Department of Productive +Labor until it shall embrace all who desire the comfort and security +it gives, while those who prefer the strife of competition can remain +outside of the experiment, and thus the governmental and the +individual systems be fairly tried in competition with each other. +Thus far no formidable difficulty appears in abolishing pauperism, but +we find a more difficult task when we propose the abolition of +Plutocracy, by what may be called a REVOLUTIONARY MEASURE. + +Having thus gotten rid of the increasing army of paupers and tramps, +providing, as it seems, a sound basis for a republic, we have the +other problem of getting rid of the growing aristocracy--the +plutocratic princes, the syndicates and trusts, who constitute the +other great danger,--of whom we may say we must either master them or +they will master us by managing our senators, governors, and +presidents. They have already swallowed some such legislatures as we +have been able to elect, with such facility as to show that it will +not be long before they can swallow the entire government, and when it +has been swallowed it may not be as fortunate as Jonah in getting out +again, for there is some very important legislation necessary to this +republic which the plutocracy may be expected to resist with all its +power, and when the conflict comes it will be a grand one. + +They will probably combat with all their might the doctrine which must +sometime be presented, that the nation must rule itself on democratic +principles, and that the dead shall not rule the living by entail, +mortmain, or will. When a child is born it must become a member of the +republic on conditions compatible with the safety of that republic. It +cannot be allowed to come in as the born master of a hundred thousand +fellow-citizens equally competent to serve the republic. Our young +citizens approach us from a generation that has passed away. + +It sleeps in the graveyard, or it leads a better life in the better +world. It has left vast masses of wealth, surrounded by wretched areas +of desolate poverty. Was it wise or just to do so,--to ignore +brotherhood of man, and to perpetuate all possible inequality? No, a +thousand times no. There is not one, perhaps, of the millionnaire +dwellers in the better world who does not regret and mourn his earthly +selfishness, and who would not order a more just and generous +distribution of his estate if his voice could be heard. + +But we need not ask them. _We know what is just_ and we will correct +the mistakes of the departed. We know that this hoarding in families +is unjust to the republic and unjust to the Brotherhood of +Humanity,--an injury to all, a benefit to none. Therefore it must not +be permitted. + +Already the law is beginning to recognize this principle, which is +destined to revolutionize all the world; but we are not the leaders in +this democracy, because our plutocracy is too strong. Switzerland in +its mountain homes carries the banner of democracy, and has gone +farther than any other country in asserting the rights of the +commonwealth over inherited wealth. New York has ordained a little +infinitesimal inheritance tax which, according to the _Herald_, in +1886 produced $60,000, in 1887 $500,000, in 1888 over a million. That +will be enough to build schoolhouses for the 20,000 children kept out +of school in the city of New York for want of room. The proposition is +under discussion in Massachusetts, and if we do our duty Massachusetts +may set the example of the greatest social revolution ever +accomplished by law. If Boston received the benefit of such a tax on +its own population, it might be adjusted to raise from one million to +more than ten millions a year; at any rate a succession tax might +produce more than all other taxes produce at present, and it would +bring about such radical changes that it would be expedient to make +the change gradual, and gradual it must be, for it will meet +determined opposition, and we must enforce our principle by every +argument of justice and expediency, for it is both just and expedient. +_What right have the millionnaires to say how the world shall be +managed after they have left it?_ What right to say that when they +have established a dangerous inequality, posterity shall be compelled +to make it perpetual. The robber barons established inequality by the +sword, and by the same power made it perpetual. The posterity of kings +and barons, however worthless, corrupt, criminal, or imbecile, +continue to occupy the saddle upon the public donkey. But inherited +royalty is going, and inherited aristocracy must also go. We who +survive are the responsible parties, and (as the Romans charged their +rulers in times of danger) we must see that the republic does not +suffer, and that aristocracy shall not be its permanent master. + +What right has the millionnaire to direct from the grave, that the +wealth which he has left shall be used in the manner most dangerous +and most injurious to society. He has no such right. He has no right +in the matter, but what we in our justice or in our good-nature may +give him. If these views are just, they must in time rule the world, +but they are not yet asserted by those to whom the world looks for +counsel.[3] + + [3] A year after this was written, the following + advanced sentiment was uttered by Rabbi Schindler: + "Have the dead the right of imposing laws upon the + living, of making contracts of which future generations + ought to bear the burden?" + +The sacred right of the living citizen in that which his industry has +created, has no application here. It is a totally different case. It +is the question what right has he to rule the world after he has +enjoyed his full share and more, and gone away. We do not ask whether +he got his wealth by fraud, or robbery, or industry. _He has left it; +he is done with it; he is dead in fact and ought to be dead in law!_ +The law has no jurisdiction over him now, and he has no possible +interest in what is done, nor any power to rectify his mistakes. To +perpetuate his fictitious personality, and make the opinions which he +has left in writing an authority like the acts of a living man, is a +tremendous stretch of the imagination, much like the old superstitions +which made a law by the preface "thus saith the Lord." + +I know the claim will be made that the wealth which the millionnaires +could not carry away was truly theirs, and therefore that while they +lived they had a right to dispose of it. But I deny it. In the highest +sense of justice, _it was not theirs_, and even if it was, it was +justly forfeited by their treason to humanity; for I hold that neither +genius nor the business capacity that produces wealth ever releases a +man from his obligations to society. In time of war to defend the city +or State, we take every man's property, so far as needed, and require +him, in addition, to offer his life in battle to protect the +community; and surely in the grand battle which every republic has to +meet against its foes,--on the one hand oligarchy and despotism, and +on the other social disorder and convulsions between capital and +impoverished labor,--in this battle, I say, every man may be required +to defend the republic with his money, his honor, and his life, if +need be, and he should think himself very lightly released if society +demands only to become his legatee, after he has provided for his +family. He thus relinquishes what is nothing to him but everything to +society. + +Wealth is the product of the nation--of all its work of brain and +muscle. No one man by himself ever accumulated wealth. But in the +entangled social co-operation, struggle, and battle, wealth is +scattered strangely and gathered in heaps like the money at a gaming +table. One man seizes a gold mine, another seizes for a trifle a piece +of parchment giving the title to land where a million are going to +settle, and both become millionnaire princes at the expense of the +commonwealth. There would be very few rich men if the real production +of each was all that he could hold. To seize by a legal fiction a mine +that yields a million annually is simply a robbery of the +commonwealth. The robbery of the commonwealth and the toiler is our +chronic condition. The urban population, strong in capital and skilful +in combination and chicanery, has drained the agricultural regions, +until agriculture,[4] toil, and poverty, are closely associated, +while urban wealth displays its ostentatious ease, and farmers are +driven by the million into a desperate political struggle for +self-protection. + + [4] It is necessary to illustrate this by a few decisive + facts which have not been made familiar to the + majority of readers, as farmers' interests have + received very little consideration in the East. The + financial policy of the general government ever + controlled by capital against labor, has been the most + gigantic imposition by financial jugglery that history + has recorded, and has been effected chiefly by + manipulation and contraction of the currency to make + debts more oppressive, and during the war by + depreciating the people's money. After the war when + $500,000,000 were needed to compensate the destruction + of confederate money, a criminal contraction of + $500,000,000 dealt a crushing blow to the South, and to + the whole country. Let us look at it from the + standpoint of the largest body of laborers, the + farmers. A very intelligent Illinois farmer, Bert + Stewart, presents the case as follows, and if his data + are all correct, he has demonstrated a wholesale + robbery: The national debt at the end of the war was + about $2,800,000,000. What would it then have cost the + farmers to pay this debt? He estimates that it could + have been paid by 996,000,000 bushels of wheat; or + 1,380,000,000 bushels of corn; or 10,000,000 bales of + cotton. But financial legislation has increased the + value of money (magnifying the debt), and decreased the + value of the products of labor, so that practically, + the debt has been increasing faster than it has been + paid; and, after paying nearly $2,000,000,000 of the + principal, and over $2,000,000,000 of interest, it will + cost more to pay the remaining third of the debt than + to have paid the whole at first. It would require + to-day, instead of 1,380,000,000, over 4,000,000,000 + bushels of corn to pay the remaining third. This being + the case, it would seem that the payment of about four + thousand millions during the last twenty-six years, + leaving the debt substantially unpaid, was virtually a + _robbery of the commonwealth_ by corrupt or ignorant + legislation. Mr. Stewart mentions also, that in one + year the binding twine trust, by raising prices, drew + $21,000,000 "from the farmers of the West to the + sharpers of the East." The reports of the State Board + of Agriculture of Illinois show (what is a fair + statement for the whole country) that during the last + thirty years the corn crops of Illinois have for more + than half the time brought less than the cost of their + production; and taking the entire thirty years + together, the losses so nearly balanced the profits + that the average net profit of the thirty years has not + exceeded seventeen cents an acre for each year, in the + cultivation of over six millions of acres of corn. In + the official report of Iowa also, it is stated "the + general range of farm products have sold below cost of + production, since 1885." The official "Farm Statistics + of Michigan," just issued, tell the same sad story. It + shows that the wheat crop of 1889 cost more than it + sold for, the loss being $1,471,515. The entire loss on + wheat, corn, and oats amounted to $9,226,510. Thus is + agricultural labor crushed that millionnaires may grow. + Hence it is that farmers are sinking under their + burdens of mortgage indebtedness, paying seven per + cent. or more, losing their farms, and often compelled + to mortgage crops, tools, and stock. In the single + year, 1887, 35,334 farm mortgages were recorded in + Illinois, amounting to $37,040,770, and "nine million + mortgaged homes" is the war-cry of the Farmers' + Alliance. + + Thus the independent farmer is disappearing, and + although there was scarcely a tenant farmer in Illinois + in 1840, there are more than 110,000 tenant farmers + now; and we have a vast increase of large farms. But + while the farmer sinks into poverty, those who handle + his products grow rich. The Chicago Stock Yard that was + started with a million of capital has grown so + prosperously that its stock now amounts to $23,000,000. + The monetary interests control all things, and Mr. + Stewart forcibly says: "The time has come, gentlemen, + when the government must run the railroads, or the + railroads will run the government. In Pennsylvania + to-day two roads own the State, its legislature, its + governor, its courts, its people, own them body and + soul, and stole the money from the people to buy them + with. You elect men to positions and pay them salaries, + and then the railroads buy them and make you pay for + bribing your own officers, in the freight rates they + charge you. The net income of the railroads of the + United States is three times that of the entire revenue + of the government." + +The great mass of accumulated wealth was all unearned. It was the +donation of absurd law to monopolists,--to men who procured the titles +to lands. Their value came from the entire community, created by the +people, and when that amount is rescued from landlordism, the millions +vanish and society reclaims its own. Thus do I assert the ownership of +the community in millionnaire hoards. And when the tenant for life has +gone, to whom the law has been by far too generous, and left his +hoards, out of which he has already squandered more than he was +entitled to--the commonwealth from which this wealth was gathered may +rightly step in and reclaim it. + +It is but a waif on the ocean of commerce--the jetsam and flotsam, of +which the law must direct the disposal. The heirs, as they have been +called, may come in to the wreck that lies on the shores of time, +after the soul has gone to eternity--but law must decide whether these +wreckers are entitled to the cargo,--to goods which they did not +produce, and whether it is safe and patriotic to allow them to carry +off what is substantially in the majority of cases morally and justly +the property of the commonwealth. There may be some exceptions to +these general statements as to property, but when we recollect how +land monopoly and other monopolies have robbed the commonwealth, I +hold that the commonwealth is bound to reclaim the stolen wealth +wherever it can find it, and certainly wherever the commonwealth can +find it abandoned by the claimant, the action of trover should come in +when the tenant for life has ceased to exist. + +Perhaps the devotees of precedent may be bold enough to call this +robbery, but it is simply reclamation of that which has too long been +lost or stolen. For the chief foundations of large fortunes, the chief +source of the great flood of accumulated wealth, has been the taxation +of the people by the monopoly of land and monopoly of mines--the +monopoly by private individuals of what justly belonged to the +commonwealth, but was captured by the sword or by law--aided by +cunning financial operations which stand on no higher plane than +gambling or fraud. + +The British peerage draw an annual rental from their lands of +$66,000,000, and the American princes draw far more, but I have not +had time to find the statistics.[5] It will not be long before foreign +landlords shall draw $50,000,000 annually from the United States, if +they do not already, for they hold more than 20,000,000 acres, and on +these they may practise the eviction of tenants in the Irish fashion. +The wrongs of Irish tenants elicit universal sympathy, but they are +far surpassed now in America without outcry or comment. About +twenty-four thousand evictions occurred last year in the city of New +York, and this indicated more than a hundred thousand human beings +turned homeless into the streets, generally in a penniless condition! +The distressing evictions of the great cities, and the selling out of +thousands of western farmers under foreclosing mortgages, are +preparing a terrible mass of discontented population to whom a social +convulsion would not be alarming. Those who live under the pressure of +a terrible social system will not be sorry if it is overthrown by +violence. + + [5] Parker Pillsbury mentions a Governor of Maine, who + owns in Maine, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Dakota, + and Canada, 691,000 acres. + +A large portion of the city of New York is held at values ($50 a foot) +which would make its annual ground rental over $100,000 a year for a +single acre. When we think of the vast sums which have been +accumulating for centuries in the form of rent--say, for example, the +land rents of England, which, outside of mines, amount to $330,000,000 +a year,--it will be apparent that the grand flood-tide of wealth, +which has passed into the possession of private individuals who have +been fortunate enough to acquire land titles long ago, and their +successors, exceeds by more than a hundred times all the wealth that +has not been squandered and remains in sight to-day. + +But it is gone--squandered--and we never can reclaim it; and there is +another mountain mass of wealth not quite expended yet, which came +from corrupt financial monopoly, which has sometimes generated +financial lords more rapidly than land monopoly. Upon questions of +finance and political economy, our people have been as blind as they +have upon the land question, and our entire financial legislation has +been but a trap to catch the commonwealth and rob it, and the +commonwealth has been caught, and robbed of far more than two thousand +millions.[6] + + [6] As a single specimen of this, I would mention that + those eminent politicians, John C. New, and Wm. H. + English, of Indiana, under the laws engineered by + cunning and accepted by ignorance, invested $200,000 in + a national bank scheme when greenbacks had been knocked + down to forty cents, and in thirteen years from 1864 to + 1877 they made a clear profit of $2,133,000--more than + ten for one of their investment. But this is very + moderate in comparison with land speculation. The + Elyton Land Company at Birmingham, Alabama, with a cash + capital of $100,000, has declared in five years, ending + in 1888, dividends amounting to $5,570,000, and is + believed to own property still that will amount to + $5,000,000, a return of more than a hundred dollars for + every one invested--a clear profit absorbed of over ten + millions--_the gift of law to monopoly_. Will this ever + return to the commonwealth? The robbery of the + commonwealth goes on in every direction. Shall we + continue the present system under which, while the + nation is losing its inheritance daily, one man in + Chicago tied up the wheat crop of the United States, + and one man also tied up or cornered pork, and both + levied millions on the people? + +The follies and crimes of the past cannot be readjusted--but its +legacy of robbery to the present must submit to the arbitration of +justice, and the demands of philanthropy. The millions exacted from +the tenants of England and Ireland by the descendants of the robber +barons and brigand soldiers, who took the soil by the sword, still cry +aloud for justice. + +If we grant that an individual may by his own exertions justly acquire +a hundred thousand dollars, which is an ample competence, and that as +an encouragement and reward for his industry, society may justly allow +him to dispose of it by will, which I think is a liberal concession, I +see no sufficient reason for extending his authority beyond that +amount. All above that amount, I hold, should belong to the +commonwealth in justice, for two reasons--first, because it was taken +from the commonwealth, and second, because the commonwealth suffers +from two dangerous classes, which ought not to exist,[7]--the tramps +becoming demoralized and desperate, and the idlers, becoming +demoralized and worthless, who think themselves a privileged class, +born with a right to live in everlasting idleness upon the toil of +those who are not thus well born. This division into the aristocracy, +the proletariat, and the middle class struggling to become the +aristocracy, does not make a republic. It is an ancient falsehood and +injustice established by absurd laws of inheritance (as absurd as the +Hindoo castes), which have cursed the world, and will continue to +curse it until America shall establish democratic justice. Yet as +experience shows that men's opinions in all things are swayed by their +interests, there must be but few of the patrician class who can +perceive these truths, and we must rely for their appreciation upon +the vast majority who are not born to wealth. + + [7] To save the nation _we must reform_ and stop the + production of 60,000 boy tramps and the half million of + paupers and criminals which our horrible system has + produced, which at the present rate of increase will, + in fifty years, be a million and a quarter, and in a + hundred years will probably exceed FOUR MILLIONS. I see + no measures but those I propose that will save us from + this terrible condition. They will not be adopted in + time to prevent civil war, but they must be adopted + afterwards. + +What policy the commonwealth may observe,--whether it shall allow the +millionnaire to dispose of ten, twenty, or fifty per cent. as an +encouragement and reward for his accumulations,--is a debatable +question. To give him post-mortem control of fifty per cent. would be, +it seems to me, an act of prodigal generosity to millionnaire heirs. +That a dead man of a hundred millions should be allowed to keep fifty +millions hoarded in private possession appears to me an extravagant +claim, for even ten per cent. of that amount would be enough to spoil +his children and unfit them for good citizenship. I believe it would +be better for society if all inheritance of wealth were forbidden, and +every boy and girl required to begin life with a few hundred dollars, +and gain the position they deserved by their own abilities alone. + +This reclamation of millionnaire estates by the commonwealth would not +be so necessary but for the fact that the world has been ruled by +false principles, and in all past ages millionnaires have, with few +exceptions, regarded their vast possessions as something on which the +public had no claim in justice, as being the true sources of +wealth--something on which the brotherhood of humanity had no +claim--something which was not a sacred trust for the benefit of +mankind--something which they should clutch with an iron grasp, as +long as possible, to keep it intact and unbroken, and still speaking +from the grave, hold it protected from all the claims of humanity, to +magnify their own names in their descendants, and keep their offspring +the lords dominant of society,--thus making it really a curse instead +of a blessing; and as neither the moralists nor the clergy have ever +taught them anything else, such is still their tendency, with a few +such exceptions as Peter Cooper and George Peabody. But when society +substitutes rational ethics and simple justice for old traditions and +debasing customs, the destruction of wealth will be _recognized as a +crime_, no matter how it was obtained; and such profligates as the +Prince of Wales, who spends half a million yearly, and then calls upon +his avaricious mother for one or two millions to silence the clamor of +creditors whom he has defrauded, will be no longer feasted, admired, +and imitated, for justice will be embodied in law and the race of +profligates will have been exterminated. + +If any owner of these hoards, when he is compelled to give them up, +politely throws out five per cent. or even two per cent. for something +that he considers worthy, it is received with great laudation as +something not to have been expected. A Cleveland millionnaire was +lauded for a petty donation, less than he had expended on his old +wife's laces. As philanthropists millionnaires are generally great +failures. They did not study the public welfare through life, and they +do not know how to promote it; their benefactions generally go to +institutions that perpetuate the old order of mediaeval conservatism, +and delay the progress of humanity. They are incompetent as trustees. +One man with the wealth of an Astor or a Rockefeller, and the +overflowing love guided by the wisdom of intuition (so conspicuous in +Jesus that men have worshipped him as a God, and elevated their own +natures by the worship), could accomplish more than all that American +wealth has ever done upon this continent. + +Therefore by that right of eminent domain which is good over lands +occupied by the living, and far better over estates abandoned by the +dead, it becomes the duty of society to maintain the republic, to +assert the supreme law of justice, and thereby teach the doctrine so +long forgotten by followers of Christianity, that all our powers and +resources beyond our own necessities belong to our brothers. Such are +the principles of every real Christian. Such was the sentiment of John +Wesley; and his expression, if I recollect rightly, was that he would +consider himself a thief if he died with more than ten pounds in his +possession. + +These doctrines are not entirely strange--the world is beginning to +look in this direction already. The _heirship of the state_ is an idea +already broached in France, sustained by Clemenceau, Pelletan, and +many other distinguished citizens, and discussed in the Chamber of +Deputies. The proposition was to limit the law of inheritance, and +substitute the heirship of the state for all collateral heirs. That +eminent and practical philanthropist, M. Godin, whose name has been +immortalized by the Industrial Palace at Guise, warmly espoused this +idea in all its breadth, and said:-- + + "When an individual dies, society has then the right to take + to itself what he leaves, for it has been the chief aid of + the deceased. Without its aid, without its institutions, he + could never have been able to amass the riches of which he + is at his death the holder. Society inherits wealth, then, + to use for the same work of social progress already + accomplished; that is to say to allow others, the surviving + in general (not the privileged strangers to the creation of + the existing riches), to continue their labor and + co-operation in the common social work. The heredity of the + State is then just, both in principle and in fact." + +The two measures which are necessary now are the Department of +Productive Labor and the law of inheritance by the commonwealth, which +limits the transmission of estates above a hundred thousand dollars, +giving the commonwealth a share, rising from one to ninety-nine per +cent. according to the magnitude of the estate--or _some other form_ +of taxation (if there be a better) producing equivalent results. + +I do not propose these measures as THE REMEDY _par excellence_ for our +unhappy social condition. Not at all. They are merely the gigantic +blows from the right arm of the commonwealth, by which the curses +established in the dark and bloody past, crushing man and woman to the +earth, shall be hurled into oblivion. The true, absolute, and complete +REMEDY is that industrial, intellectual, hygienic, and ethical +training of all, which I have published as the "New Education" which +will make new men. These are bold and revolutionary measures,[8] but +the surgery of the knife is sometimes what humanity demands. The mad +riot of rivalry and selfishness must be restrained before it brings +the republic to ruin. The power of land monopoly must be broken by a +land tax, and the post-mortem despotism which perpetuates accumulated +evils must be thrown off by just and practicable legislation. + + [8] Succession and income taxes are now beginning to be + considered. Two very feeble propositions have been + brought forward. The Massachusetts Legislative + Committee, on probate, reported a bill well adapted to + be worthless--to discourage benevolence and keep + property in the family by imposing a tax of five per + cent. on property left by will, except when going to + relatives or connections. Congressman Hall, of + Minnesota, introduced a bill in the last Congress for + an income tax, a fourth of one per cent. on incomes + between two and three thousand rising gradually to one + per cent. on incomes over $10,000. This very small + business is not what was demanded by "The Farmers' + Alliance and Industrial Union" in the Ocala convention, + which demanded the abolition of national banks and "the + passage of _a graduated income tax law_." These demands + were reiterated by the last legislature of Missouri, in + a resolution calling upon Congress to act upon them, + and pledging the legislature to enforce the farmers' + demand as far as in their power. North Carolina, too, + has adopted the Alliance principles. The income tax + will probably be a growing one--one per cent. will not + be its maximum. The British income tax under Mr. + Gladstone in 1885 was three and a third per cent. But + this is mere child's play, being about equivalent to a + property tax of one seventh of one per cent. When + seriously considered, the question will be between + five, ten, twenty, and thirty per cent. + +We must act upon the undisguised truth that individual humanity is not +yet properly educated, and not yet qualified to exercise its +trusteeship of wealth, for the hard struggles against the oppressive +power of poverty, sickness, robbery, fraud, and sudden calamity have +made the self-protective faculties predominant, and the sharp rivalry +and competition of business has so increased their predominance that +the thought of public welfare is never paramount, and is but an +occasional glimmer, and the death-bed surrender of wealth, if it +considers the welfare of society at all, considers it so blindly that +a large proportion of the benevolent endowments are of little real +value. + +It is, therefore, necessary that the outcry of suffering and the +warning of danger should rouse the public conscience to nobler +principles, and that society in its maximum wisdom, which embraces a +few earnest philanthropists, many capable financiers and economists, +very many tender-hearted women who will not consent to suffering, and +who are destined to participate in government, as well as a great many +who are personally conscious of wrongs that need rectifying, should +assume the administration of the SUPERFLUOUS WEALTH abnormally +accumulated. + +The change proposed is so great that its realization may be far off, +and the evolution of law may be rivalled by the evolution of evasive +ingenuity, so that the commonwealth may be compelled to prohibit +evasive ante-mortem donations, and to reinforce the succession tax by +more stringent measures, from which there can be no escape, and which +will control plutocracy as effectively as any succession tax, and thus +render the latter of less importance; but it is none the less +important that the principle should be asserted, that the dead shall +not rule the living. + +There are two obvious measures, and _one of them is sure to be adopted +soon_, without waiting for the abolition of unlimited inheritance. The +income tax is made almost necessary by the last Congress, which +emptied the treasury, and the income tax, if made accumulative, +increasing its rates with the increase of income, will be as +effective a control over plutocracy as the people wish to make it. The +_increasing rate_ of taxation upon superfluous wealth, is a sacred +principle for which every reformer should contend. + +But even this is not fortified against evasion, and we need the most +efficient tax of all--the progressively accumulating tax on wealth, +which will gather a large rental from all the _superfluous_ millions, +compelling the holders to use them profitably. A three per cent. tax +on all over ten millions would not only enrich the commonwealth, but +stimulate industry in millionnaires. How long will the millionnaires +be able to defeat such legislation? + +_These are the coming taxes._ They are not untried theories, for +Switzerland, the foremost nation in democracy, enjoys both the income +tax and the progressively accumulating tax, which falls most heavily +on the largest properties. + +It is to be hoped that political corruption and intrigue will not +delay many years this assertion of the sovereignty of the commonwealth +by taxation, which will give the republic a solid foundation, and that +the power of the commonwealth thus enlarged will, through the +Department of Productive Labor, and by educational progress, give us a +true and a happy republic. These suggestions are not farther in +advance of public opinion to-day, than was the nationalization of the +land, when I urged it in 1847. They will find fit champions in a few +years. + +To what extent the Department of Productive Labor should be fostered +by every State, and to what extent it may be authorized by the federal +constitution, we need not yet consider, for it is apparent that the +due administration of the national domain and development of the arid +region by irrigation, will furnish ample employment, if we adopt as a +sacred principle, the demand of justice, that _not another acre of the +national domain shall ever be sold_. Let us give settlers the easiest +possible terms, but never surrender to monopoly the land of the +commonwealth. + + + + +"AEONIAN PUNISHMENT." + +BY REV. W. E. MANLEY, D. D. + + +Some months ago an article with the above heading appeared in THE +ARENA. It was written by Rev. C. H. Kidder, and was intended as a +reply to one written by myself, on the eternal punishment. + +It appears that a friend of Mr. Kidder, a physician "of great +ability," on reading my article was caused great disquietude. "He felt +that if all the statements contained in the article were accurate, his +religious instructors had been either knaves or fools--knaves, if they +taught what they did not believe, and fools, if they believed what +they taught," p. 101. I have only to say that the statements of my +article are, in all important respects, accurate, explain the rest as +he may; nor has Mr. Kidder shown that they are not accurate, except in +one particular, not affecting the main question. This will be noticed +in the proper place. + +It is often true that men "of great ability" are men of hasty +judgment, especially when they are "much disquieted"; and the doctor +is certainly mistaken in supposing that his instructors were either +knaves or fools. The men who teach eternal punishment are in the main +honest, and of fair intelligence. The doctrine came into the church in +a dark age; and for centuries it was dangerous to believe or teach +anything else. When the human mind was set free, and it was no longer +dangerous to teach what one believed, the doctrine had become so +firmly established by a false system of interpretation, that it was a +long time before much impression could be made toward its removal. But +the Gospel leaven has been working in all these ages since the +reformation to the present century; so that now there is little faith +of that kind in the Orthodox church and none out of it. + +I have not intended to admit that all the teachers of eternal +punishment in the church have been honest. Some have been dishonest, +in order, as they claimed, to do the more good. There was a class of +ministers in the ancient church who had two sets of opinions, one set +for the congregation, and another for the private circle. Dr. Edward +Beecher mentions several venerable men, who preached eternal misery, +but who had not a particle of faith in the doctrine, as he believes. +They are Chrysostom, Gregory Nazianzus, Athanasius, and Basil the +Great. See Historical Retribution, p. 273. These were great men; but a +greater than these had taught that it is right to lie for the good of +mankind, namely, Plato. Who will say there have been no others since +that day? For the honor of humanity, I trust not many. + +I would say here that all Mr. Kidder has advanced, may be admitted, +without the least detriment to the main purpose of my article. The +greater part of his paper is devoted to incidental topics that are not +essential to the main subject, and what he says on the main point +utterly fails to invalidate my argument, as the reader will clearly +perceive before I get through. + +So far as our version favors eternal punishment, the fact is due +chiefly to a wrong translation; and it is difficult to suppress the +conviction that the translators, in much of their work of this kind, +were perfectly conscious of the wrong they were doing. The word _hell_ +in every place where it is found (with one or two exceptions, where +the heathen hell is referred to) is the rendering of a word that has +no such meaning. The word _everlasting_ combines a wrong rendering and +a wrong exegesis. These are the main points. They are the Jachin and +Boaz of the orthodox temple. But the translators have sought to favor +their doctrines in other ways; sometimes by supplying words not found +in the text, and sometimes by rejecting words that are there. + +My article was devoted chiefly to these last, particularly a wrong use +of the Greek article, and the rejection of an important word, when it +conflicted with their views, though they often employ it at other +times. + +I say with the fullest confidence that the doctrine of eternal +punishment is not in the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures. It came into the +church chiefly with converts who had believed it before their +conversion, and continued to believe it by a misconstruction of the +Scriptures. + + +THE SON OF GOD. + +By not paying particular attention to what I said, my critic has +misrepresented me in an important particular; and has repeated the +idea a number of times, namely, that I deny the sonship of Jesus +Christ. I simply refer to some passages to show the importance of the +Greek article, and some of these have the expression, "the Son of +God," when they ought to have been rendered "a Son of God," or "a Son +of a God" not only because the article is omitted in the Greek, but it +is the language of Satan, and of the heathen, and therefore more +characteristic than the words _the_ Son of God. The sonship of our +Lord has evidence enough, without that of Satan and the heathen, +especially as the evangelists have represented them as giving no such +testimony. + +The reference in my article to insanity and suicide was incidental; +and whether strictly correct or not, the thousand that have been +ruined in this way is a picture sufficiently frightful, and shows that +the Christian religion has been greatly misapprehended; for in its +purity, it never has, and never can, produce a single case of either +insanity or suicide. + + +THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. + +Of the six theological seminaries, which I referred to, on the +authority of Dr. Edward Beecher, as existing in the early days of the +church, I find on further reading that two were not theological +seminaries, but "schools of thought," as the doctor afterwards calls +them. One of these was in Asia Minor; and there, the annihilation of +the wicked was believed and taught. The other was in North Africa; and +here, endless punishment was the prevailing belief on the subject of +future destiny. The four others were real seminaries, in which the +doctrine of the final holiness and happiness of all intelligent +beings, after future disciplinary punishment, was inculcated by men as +much distinguished for piety and virtue and missionary zeal, as any in +the whole church. + +The four schools were located at Alexandria, in Egypt, Cesarea in +Palestine, Antioch in Syria, and Edessa or Nisibis. This last school +was held at the one or the other of these places, in Eastern Syria. +When persecution drove it out of one of these cities, it held its +sessions in the other. All these four schools were numerously +attended, often having hundreds of scholars at one time. Mr. Kidder +thinks there must have been more than this number; but as it is a mere +conjecture with him, his opinion can have but little weight against +the statement of a man who has thoroughly investigated the subject. It +will not do to judge them after our little schools, at the present +day, when the church is divided into scores of little communities, +each having its insignificant seminary or seminaries. The church was +then one body, though each school varied slightly from the rest. + + +PROFESSOR SHEDD. + +Dr. Beecher points out and refutes the statements of Professor Shedd, +and some others, on the prevalence of certain doctrines in the early +church. + +Professor Shedd, in his history of Christian doctrine, Vol. II. p. +414, says, "The punishment inflicted upon the lost was regarded by the +fathers of the ancient church, with very few exceptions, as endless." +"The only exception to the belief in the eternity of future +punishment, in the ancient church, appears in the Alexandrian school." +"The views of Origen concerning future retribution were almost wholly +confined to their schools." + +Dr. Beecher makes the following reply. "This statement somewhat +transcends the limits set by Lecky, to the doctrine of the +restoration. It is not confined to two individuals, but it is confined +to one school,--the school of Alexandria. What then shall be said of +Diodore, of Tarsus, not of the school of Alexandria, the eminent +teacher of Chrysostom, and a decided advocate of universal +restoration? What shall be said of his disciple, Theodore of +Mopsuestia, that earnest defender of the same doctrine, of whom Dorner +says that he was the climax and crown of the school of Antioch? What +shall be said of the great Eastern school of Edessa and Nisibis, in +which the scriptural exposition of Theodore of Mopsuestia, was a +supreme authority and text-book? Was Theodore of the school of +Alexandria? Not at all. He was of the school of Antioch.... And yet he +not only taught the doctrine of universal restoration on his own +basis, but even introduced it into the liturgy of the Nestorian +Church, in Eastern Asia. What, too, shall we say of the two great +theological schools, in which he had a place of such honor and +influence?... Dr. Shedd would have called to mind a statement in +Guericke's Church History, _as translated by himself_, "It is +noticeable that the exegetico-grammatical school of Antioch, as well +as the allegorizing Alexandrian, adopted and maintained the doctrine +of restoration, p. 349, note 1." Then it should be added that Origen +was not the only one of the Alexandrian school, who taught this +doctrine. Clemens, who preceded Origen, taught it; and Didymus who +succeeded him. The whole period of the presidency of these men over +the school must have been a century or more. And yet the great body of +Christians, as Professor Shedd would have us believe, were believers +in eternal punishment; but they neither turned these men out, nor +established any other school to counteract their influence. They must +have been a trifle different from believers in the doctrine now. And +what is very remarkable, we hear of no books or essays written against +the doctrine of the Alexandrian school, as if it were a pernicious +heresy. + +Church historians in modern times impose on their readers by quoting +passages from ancient Christian writers, that employ the word +_everlasting_ in connection with punishment, leaving the impression +that these words were understood then as they are now, when in fact +believers in limited punishment, as well as those who thought +punishment endless, employed the term _everlasting (ai[=o]nios_) to +denote its duration. Origen and Clemens speak of everlasting +punishment, though they believed it would end in reformation and +salvation. Justin Martyr and Irenaeus warn men of everlasting +punishment, though they believed in the annihilation of the wicked. + + +MORAL RESURRECTION. + +In some instances the resurrection is used in the same way as the new +birth, to denote conversion. Such is John v. 21-29. The change thus +indicated is commonly called a moral resurrection. My critic would +have the last two verses refer to the general resurrection at the end +of the world; while he seems to admit that all the rest relates to a +moral resurrection, two things as unlike as they possibly could be. +Such is not our Lord's mode of teaching. I understand the whole +passage as confined to one subject, the moral resurrection. He divides +the subject into two parts, to be sure, but it is the same subject in +both parts--first, the moral resurrection then in progress; and +second, the moral resurrection "coming" on a more extensive scale, +even embracing all men. Jesus changes one word only, using +_graves_,--more properly _tombs_,--instead of _death_. But coming out +of death into life, and coming out of the tombs into life, are +essentially the same thing. Both are figurative expressions. I insist +that where Jesus says, "The hour is coming and now is," he conveys +the impression that the then present process was in its nature the +same as the coming one, only that the latter would be more extended, +even universal. + + +THE WORD A GOD. + +That Trinitarians should translate this expression, The Word was God, +in John i. 1, might be expected; but by the rules of translating the +Greek language into English, the expression should be, The Word was a +god. The rule of Middleton that the article must not be used in the +predicate of a sentence may hold good, when it conflicts with no +superior rule; but if taken absolutely, it has many exceptions. I +suppose the renowned Origen understood the Greek language. He +interprets the passage before us as I do. "Origen uses [Greek: theos] +(god), not in our modern sense, as a proper name, but as a common +name. This use of the term, _which was common to him with his +contemporaries_, and continued to be common after his time, is +illustrated by his remarks on the passage, 'and the Logos was God'; in +which he contended, that the Logos was god, in an inferior sense;--not +as we would say God, but _a god_, not _the_ divine being, but _a_ +divine being. (Opp. iv. p. 48, reqq.)." See Norton's Statement of +Reasons, p. 120, note. + +The quotation from the Athanasian creed had better been omitted; for +many will read it, who had not before known that it contained any such +absurdity; and will have less respect for the Trinity than they would +wish to have. The quotation is, "The Father is God, the Son is God, +and the Holy Spirit is God; and yet they (?) are not three Gods, but +one God." I am accused of following an "uncritical principle," in not +reasoning in the same way. If it is "uncritical," I plead guilty, and +beg that my sentence may be as mild as possible. But before the +sentence is pronounced may it not be well to apply the reasoning to +some other subject,--to Peter, James, and John, for instance? Each of +these is a man; but they are not three men but one man! + + +MELLO. + +I complained that the translators and revisors left out this word, +apparently for the reason that it conflicts with their theology. It +makes certain things to be near at hand, which they regarded as far in +the future. My critic says, "The Greek _mell[=o]_ frequently has the +meaning assigned to it by Dr. Manley, but it is not shut up to that +meaning," p. 106. It probably has that meaning twenty times, where it +has any other meaning once. In the passages from which it is excluded, +if it has any other meaning, why did they not retain it, and render it +according to its true import, and not throw it out? Mr. Kidder does +not meet the case, when he shows that the word does sometimes have +another meaning. His business is to show that _it has no meaning_, in +the passages from which it is excluded. It will then be in order to +show why the writers put such a word in these passages. When the +translators recognize the word, they seldom fail to give it a meaning +corresponding to the sense I assign to it. + +It is conceded that the wrath to come (Matt. iii. 7; Luke iii. 7.), +should probably be the wrath _about_ to come, meaning the destruction +soon to fall on the Jewish State. This word _mell[=o]_ (about) takes +the passage out of the hands of those who would apply it to a far-off +eternal punishment. The word in other passages would have been alike +opposed to the common construction; and, therefore, it was left out. +This is the plain common-sense view of the case; and I shall hold the +translators and revisers guilty of a base fraud, till some good reason +can be given for their conduct. This probably cannot be done. + +AI[=O]N, AI[=O]NIOS. That the expression, "end of the world," where +the original for _world_ is _ai[=o]n_, ever has the meaning of end of +this material universe cannot be proved. Where Jesus promises to be +with his disciples to the end of the world (_ai[=o]n_) is the most +favorable instance. But in the sense here intended, namely, enabling +them to perform miracles, he was with them, only to the end of the +Jewish age. By that time the Gospel was so well established, as no +longer to need miraculous interposition. In what sense Jesus was with +the disciples, is explained by the closing words of Mark's Gospel. +"And they went forth, preaching everywhere, the Lord working with +them, and confirming the word, by the signs that followed. Amen." + +My critic says of _ai[=o]n_, p. 107: "It may at times refer to the +Jewish dispensation, with its limit fixed at the judgment executed +upon the holy city, and the destruction of the temple." Then it _may +mean_ this, in Matt. xiii. 38, 39, 49, and xxiv. 3. "It does not +always mean age; for this meaning is inadequate for the _worlds_, +_ai[=o]nos_, of Heb. i. 2, xi. 3." It does not seem so; for God +created the ages and dispensations of time, as much as he did the +material worlds. _Constituted_ may be better than _created_. God is +the author of both creations. Aion is a term that always implies time, +or duration, and not material substance. De Quincey says that +everything has its aion. The _ai[=o]n_ of an individual man is about +seventy years. The aion of the human race would probably be some +millions of years. It would follow from this reasoning that the +_ai[=o]n_ of God would be eternal, past, and to come. De Quincey does +not, I believe, carry his reasoning to this result; and I had never +seen the argument stated before, as it is in the passages produced by +Mr. K., from Aristotle and Plato. But the same reasoning that makes +the _ai[=o]n_ of God eternal, makes every other limited. It would be +illogical, and appear so at once, if one should argue, God is eternal; +and, therefore, punishment is eternal. + +The rule generally accepted for understanding _ai[=o]nios_, is to +modify the meaning according to the nature of the noun which it +qualifies. If it denote duration, the amount of duration will depend +on the noun qualified. This rule forbids that eternal punishment +should be of as long duration as eternal life. Punishment is a means +to an end, and in itself is undesirable. Life or happiness is an end; +the longer continued the better; for it is desirable in itself. It is +that which we seek by means of punishment. The less we have of +punishment, the better. The more we have of life, the better. + +My critic ought to have pondered the words of Dr. Taylor Lewis, before +he entered on this discussion. His words are, "The preacher, in +contending with the Universalist and the Restorationist, would commit +an error, and it may be, suffer a failure in his argument, should he +lay the whole stress of it on the etymological or historical +significance of the words, _ai[=o]n_, _ai[=o]nios_, and attempt to +prove that of themselves they necessarily carry the meaning of endless +duration." Lange's Eccl. p. 48. Beecher's "Retribution," p. 154. Prof. +Lewis says that _ai[=o]nios_ means _pertaining to the age or world to +come_. The only fault this definition has, is the addition of the +words _to come_. Jesus says, "These shall go away into the punishment +of the age, and the righteous into the life of the age." The age +referred to, is the Christian age or dispensation, that has already +come. It is the same as has all along been called, "the age to come," +or about to come. It was to follow the Jewish age, which was soon to +end. Both together are referred to as "this age and that which is +about to come." But when the parable of the sheep and goats begins, +the age is already come. + +The form here given by Taylor Lewis is the same as Jesus himself used, +if he spoke the Aramaic, as my critic says he did, and I agree with +him. He did not say, "These shall go away into _ai[=o]nion_ +punishment," etc., which is the unwarranted Greek form. But his words +are, "These shall go away into the punishment of the age (or +pertaining to the age), and the righteous into the life of the age (or +pertaining to the age)." It is the same form in the Peshito-Syriac +version, made in the days of the Apostles. It is the same in the +Hebrew New Testament, translated by the Bible society, to circulate +among the modern Jews. + +I have in my possession over a hundred passages, from classic Greek +authors, in which _ai[=o]n_ is used in a limited sense, generally +denoting human life, or the age of man. It is used, in a few +instances, to denote an endless age, by attaching to it another word +for _endless_. The adjective _ai[=o]nios_ is used very little by these +authors, and not at all, I think, by the more ancient ones. No lexicon +gives it the definition of eternal, till long after the time of +Christ; and the remark is added, when thus defined, that it is so +understood by the _theologians_. + +But the principal help for understanding the Greek of the New +Testament, is the Greek version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint. +The words we are discussing are found in that version not far from +four hundred times, three fourths of them probably in a limited sense. +The Hebrew form, "the statutes of the age," are rendered into Greek, +everlasting or _ai[=o]nion_ statutes; "the covenant of the age," the +_ai[=o]nion_ covenant, etc. These terms have sixteen different +renderings. They are, _everlasting_, _forever_, _forevermore_, +_perpetual_, _ever_, _never_ (when joined with a negative particle), +_old_, _ancient_, _long_, _always_, _world_, _lasting_, _eternal_, +_continuance_, _at any time_, _Elam_. The last word stands for the +Hebrew _olam_, the word answering to _ai[=o]n_ in the Greek. With +these definitions in view (a number of them being limited terms), it +would be folly to claim that this word has an unlimited meaning when +applied to punishment. The punishment which God inflicts is limited. +Heb. 12. + +Great stress is placed on the circumstance, that in Matt. xxv. 46, +the punishment and the life are spoken of near together, even in the +same verse. Tertullian, and later Augustine, urged this fact as proof +that both must be of the same duration. The late Albert Barns thought +the argument sound. Of course, no large man ever rode a large horse, +without being of the same size. Perhaps an illustration from Scripture +will be more satisfactory. "And the eternal mountains were scattered; +the everlasting hills did bow; his ways are everlasting." Hab. iii. 6. +For the last sentence, see the margin, Revised Edition. Are there to +be no ways of God, after the mountains and hills are gone? Besides, +this whole parable has its fulfilment, not in eternity, but in the +Christian dispensation. It began to be fulfilled at the coming of +Christ, when some were living, who had heard him, during his ministry, +nearly forty years before. Matt. xvi. 27, 28. No fixed rewards and +punishments are possible under the circumstances, for men are +changing. The rendering "pertaining to the age," has no objection of +this kind. If it be claimed that a man, "once a Christian, always a +Christian," no one can doubt, that a man, not a Christian, may become +one, and so change his condition--a proof that his condition is not +eternal. + +I will close this article by a few words on the apocalypse. The +dramatic representation of Eichhorn is correct, save the added clause, +"the eternal felicity of the future life described." The holy city is +not heaven; it came down from God _out of heaven_. It does not denote +a final and fixed condition. It is four-square, and has three gates on +each side; and all of them open continually, to admit those who wish +to enter; and the invitation is sounded without ceasing, to the +outsiders from within, to "come and partake of the waters of life +freely." Neither in the New Jerusalem, nor the lake of fire, is there +any allusion to the eternal world of fixed and changeless conditions. + +In those days, when books were not printed, but transcribed by the +hand, it was customary for the author to make a strong appeal to the +copyist or transcriber, not to make any alteration in the book, with +certain penalties, fictitious or otherwise. Hence the Revelation +closes with this admonition,--not to add to, nor take from, the book +(xxii. 18, 19.), the penalty being sufficiently severe, to which I +would commend the late revisers of the New Testament. + + + + +THE NEGRO QUESTION FROM THE NEGRO'S POINT OF VIEW. + +BY PROF. W. S. SCARBOROUGH. + + +In the discussion of the so-called "Negro Problem," there is, as a +rule, a great deal of the sentimental and still more of the +sensational. By a series of _non sequitur_ arguments the average +disputant succeeds admirably in proving what is foreign to the +subject. This is true of writers of both sections of our +country--North as well as South--but especially true of those of the +South. + +The recent symposium of Southern writers in the _Independent_ on the +Negro Question, as interesting as it was for novelty and variety of +view, is no exception to the rule. If the negro could be induced to +believe for a moment that he was thus actually destitute of all the +elements that go to make up a rational creature, his life would be +miserable beyond endurance. But he has not reached that point nor does +he care to reach it. Others may exclaim:-- + + "O wad some power the giftie gi'e us + To see oursel's as ithers see us;" + +but not the negro, if the vision must always be so distorted. The +black man is naturally of a sanguine temperament, as has so often been +said; and the facts in the case bear him out in entertaining a hopeful +view of his own future and his ability to carve it out. I am sure that +they do not warrant even our Southern friends in taking such a +pessimistic view of the situation, so far as the negro himself is +concerned. But facts are of little account nowadays. There is a +tendency to ignore them and appeal to the prejudices and passions of +men, and that, too, when it is well known that such methods of +procedure prolong rather than settle the question at issue. This is +the work of the alarmist--to keep things stirred up and always in an +unsettled state. + +I think it may be justly inferred that the average white man does not +understand the black man, and that he is still an unknown quantity to +many of the white people of the country, even to those who profess to +know him best. Admitting this, then, it is but natural that much of +their deliberation and many of their conclusions should be wide of the +mark. The negro does not censure the white man for his conclusions as +they are the logical consequence of his premises, but he _does_ object +to his premises. Our white friends make their mistake in seeming by +all their movements to insist that there is but one standpoint from +which to view this question, the white man's; but there is another and +the negro is viewing it from that side, not selfishly but in a +friendly and brotherly spirit. + +Senator George was right when he said that the solution of this +question should be left to time, but wrong when he further added, "and +to the sound judgment of the Southern people." The recent +disfranchisement of the negroes of his native State shows very plainly +to the thoughtful citizen that the South is not yet capable of justly +handling this question, notwithstanding that they are the people "who +have the trouble before them every day." This is Mississippi's fatal +mistake and one that places the State in the rear of her Southern +sisters, and for the present, at least, lessens the value of any +suggestion from that quarter. + +It is well understood that the sentiment of the American people is +that enough has been done for the negro; that the country is under no +obligations to look further after his interest, and that he must act +for himself. Survival of the fittest is now the watchword. There is no +objection to this provided the blacks are _allowed_ to do for +themselves,--to survive as the fittest, if it be possible,--but this +they are not allowed to do. They are certainly anxious to work out +their own destiny. They are tired of sentiment and are therefore +impatient. They desire to show to the world that they are not only +misunderstood but misjudged. They are willing to unite with either +North or South in the adjustment of present difficulties. + +Unlike the Indians they are sincere--neither treacherous nor +deceitful. They are simple, frank, and open-hearted, and are as +desirous of good government as are the most honored citizens of the +land. Let alone, they will give neither the State nor the nation any +trouble. They feel themselves a part and parcel of the nation and as +such have an interest in its prosperity as deep as those who are +allowed to exercise, untrammelled, the rights of citizenship. + +To keep the blacks submissive there is need of neither army nor navy. +Though at the foot of the ladder they are contented to remain there, +until by virtue of their own efforts they may rise to higher planes. +The negro has never sought, does not now, nor will he seek to step +beyond his limit. "Social equality," "Negro domination," and "Negro +supremacy," are meaningless terms to him so far as his own aspirations +are concerned. The social side of this question will regulate itself. +It has always done so, in all ages and all climes, despite coercion, +despite law. This is the least of the negro's cares. His demand for +civil rights is no demand for "social equality." This is a mistaken +view of the subject. It is this dread of social equality, this fear of +social contact with the negro that precludes many well-meaning people +from securing accurate information in regard to the aims, and +purposes, and capabilities of those whom they desire to help. But +there is light ahead, dark as at times it now may seem, and erroneous +as are the views in regard to the negro's relation to the American +body-politic. + +Congressman Herbert, in his effort to show the negro's incapacity for +self-government by calling attention to the defalcations, +embezzlements, and petty larcenies, etc., of reconstruction times, +forgets that if this is to be taken as the gauge of capacity for +self-government, the same rule will apply to bank and railroad +wreckers of the present day,--to every defaulter and embezzler of +State and private funds, and to every absconding clerk. Now we must +remember that this class of citizens is enormously large, and that +they are all white, as a rule. Every daily paper that one picks up +devotes considerable space to this class of citizens who, according to +Mr. Herbert, has shown its "incapacity for self-government," as well +as the incapacity of others "who alone have acquired such a capacity" +as is claimed by Congressman Barnes. Queer logic is it not? The latter +should say so, for it is he who claims that "the Anglo-Saxon is the +only member of the human family who has yet shown evidence of a +capacity for self-government." + +Again, it is said that the negro cannot attain high and rigid +scholarship, and even those who have succeeded in becoming educated +"if left to themselves would relapse into barbarism." Now, I cannot +believe that any such statement as this can be made with sincerity. In +the light of the facts it is preposterous. Flipper, while at West +Point, demonstrated beyond controversy the fallacy of such a position +as the first; and there is hardly a college commencement in which some +negro in some way does not continue to show its falsity by +distinguishing himself by his extraordinary attainments. Even while I +write, a letter lies before me from a young colored student, a +graduate of Brown University, who is now taking a post-graduate course +at the American School for Classical Studies, at Athens, Greece. From +all reports, he is making an excellent record, and will present a +thesis in March on "The Demes of Athens." As to relapsing into +barbarism, were the negro removed from white influence, the mere +mention of the negro scholar, Dr. Edward Blyden, born on the island of +St. Thomas, educated and reared in Africa away from the slightest +social contact with people of Anglo-Saxon extraction, is sufficient +proof that such a conclusion is not a correct one. + +What a leading journal has said in regard to the Indians may be +repeated here as applicable to the negro: "The most crying need in +Indian [negro] affairs is its disentanglement from politics and +political manipulations." + +Here is an opportunity for the Church, but the Church has shown itself +wholly inadequate to meet the case, and because of its tendency to +shirk its duty, may be said to be to blame for many of the troubles +growing out of the presence of the negro on this continent. I have +noted that there is more prejudice in the Church, as a rule, than +there is in the State. If, as is asserted by some, neither Church nor +State can settle this question, then there is nothing to be done but +to leave it to time and the combined patience and forbearance of the +American people,--black as well as white. + + + + +A PRAIRIE HEROINE. + +BY HAMLIN GARLAND. + + +Lucretia Burns had never been handsome, even in her days of early +girlhood, and now she was middle aged, distorted with work and +child-bearing, and looking faded and worn as one of the boulders that +lay beside the pasture fence near where she sat milking a large white +cow. + +She had no shawl or hat and no shoes, for it was still muddy in the +little yard, where the cattle stood patiently fighting the flies and +mosquitoes swarming into their skins already wet with blood. The +evening was oppressive with its heat, and a ring of just-seen +thunder-heads gave premonitions of an approaching storm. + +An observer seeing Lucretia Burns as she rose from the cow's side, and +taking her pails of foaming milk staggered toward the gate, would have +been made weak with sympathetic pain. The two pails hung from her lean +arms, her bare feet slipped on the filthy ground, her greasy and faded +calico dress showed her tired, swollen ankles, and the mosquitoes +swarmed mercilessly on her neck and bedded themselves in her colorless +hair. + +The children were quarrelling at the well and the sound of blows could +be heard. Calves were querulously calling for their milk, and little +turkeys lost in the tangle of grass were piping plaintively. + +The sun just setting struck through a long, low rift like a boy +peeping beneath the eaves of a huge roof. Its light brought out +Lucretia's face as she leaned her sallow forehead on the top bar of +the gate and looked towards the west. + +It was a pitifully worn, almost tragic face,--long, thin, sallow, +hollow-eyed. The mouth had long since lost the power to shape itself +into a kiss, and had a droop at the corners which seemed to announce a +breaking down at any moment into a despairing wail. The collarless +neck and sharp shoulders showed painfully. + +She felt vaguely that the night was beautiful, the setting sun, the +noise of frogs, the nocturnal insects beginning to pipe--all in some +way called her girlhood back to her, though there was little in her +girlhood to give her pleasure. Her large gray eyes (her only +interesting feature) grew round, deep, and wistful as she saw the +illimitable craggy clouds grow crimson, roll slowly up, and fire at +the top. A childish scream recalled her. + +"Oh my soul!" she half groaned, half swore, as she lifted her milk and +hurried to the well. Arriving there, she cuffed the children right and +left with all her remaining strength, saying in justification:-- + +"My soul! can't you--you young 'uns give me a minute's peace? Land +knows, I'm almost gone up--washin' an' milkin' six cows, and tendin' +you and cookin' f'r _him_, ought'o be enough f'r one day! Sadie, you +let him drink now'r I'll slap your head off, you hateful thing! Why +can't you behave, when you know I'm jest about dead." She was weeping +now, with nervous weakness. "Where's y'r pa?" she asked after a +moment, wiping her eyes with her apron. + +One of the group, the one cuffed last, sniffled out, in rage and +grief:-- + +"He's in the cornfield,--where'd ye s'pose he was?" + +"Good land! why don't the man work all night? Sile, you put that +dipper in that milk agin, an' I'll whack you till your head'll swim! +Sadie, le' go Pet, an' go 'n get them turkeys out of the grass 'fore +it gits dark! Bob, you go tell y'r dad if he wants the rest o' them +cows milked, he's got 'o do it himself. I jest can't, and what's more +I _won't_," she ended rebelliously. + +Having strained the milk and fed the children, she took some skimmed +milk from the cans and started to feed the calves bawling strenuously +behind the barn. The eager and unruly brutes pushed and struggled to +get into the pails all at once, and in consequence spilt nearly all of +the milk on the ground. This was the last trial,--the woman fell down +on the damp grass and moaned and sobbed like a crazed thing. The +children stood around like little partridges, looking at her in +silence, till at last the little one began to wail. Then the mother +rose wearily to her feet, and walked slowly back towards the house. + +She heard Burns threshing his team at the well, with the sound of +oaths. He was tired, hungry, and ill-tempered, but she was too +desperate to care. His poor, overworked team did not move quick enough +for him, and his extra long turn in the corn had made him dangerous. +His eyes gleamed from his dust-laid face. + +"Supper ready?" he growled. + +"Yes, two hours ago." + +"Well, I can't help it! That devilish corn is getting too tall to plow +again, and I've got 'o go through it to-morrow or not at all. Cows +milked?" + +"Part of 'em." + +"How many?" + +"Three." + +"Hell! Which three?" + +"Spot, and Brin, and Cherry." + +"_Of_ course! kept the three worst ones. I'll be damned if I milk 'm +to-night. I don't see why you play out jest the nights I need ye +most--" here he kicked a child out of the way. "Git out 'o that! Haint +ye got no sense? I'll learn ye--" + +"Stop that, Sim Burns!" cried the woman, snatching up the child. +"You're a reg'lar ol' hyeny,--that's what you are--" she added +defiantly, roused at last from her lethargy. + +"You're a--beauty, that's what _you_ are," he said, pitilessly. "Keep +your brats out f'um under my feet;" and he strode off to the barn +after his team, leaving her with a fierce hate in her heart. She heard +him yelling at his team in their stalls. + +The children had had their supper so she took them to bed. She was +unusually tender to them for she wanted to make up in some way for her +harshness. The ferocity of her husband had shown up her own petulant +temper hideously, and she sat and sobbed in the darkness a long time +beside the cradle where the little Pet slept. + +She heard Burns come growling in and tramp about,--the supper was on +the table, he could wait on himself. There was an awful feeling at her +heart as she sat there and the house grew quiet. She thought of +suicide in a vague way; of somehow taking her children in her arms and +sinking into a lake somewhere, where she would never more be troubled, +where she could sleep forever, without toil or hunger. + +Then she thought of the little turkeys wandering in the grass, of the +children sleeping at last, of the quiet, wonderful stars. Then she +thought of the cows left unmilked, and listened to them stirring +uneasily in the yard. She rose, at last, and stole forth. She could +not rid herself of the thought that they would suffer. She knew what +the dull ache in the full breasts of a mother was, and she could not +let them stand at the bars all night moaning for relief. + +The mosquitoes had gone, but the frogs and katy-dids still sang, while +over in the west Venus shone. She was a long time milking the cows; +her hands were so tired she had often to stop and rest them, while the +tears fell unheeded into the pail. She saw and felt little of the +external as she sat there. She thought of how sweet it seemed the +first time Sim came to see her, of the many rides to town with him +when he was an accepted lover, of the few things he had given her, a +coral breastpin and a ring. + +She felt no shame at her present miserable appearance, she was past +that; she hardly felt as if the tall, strong girl, attractive with +health and hope, could be the same soul as the woman who now sat in +utter despair listening to the heavy breathing of the happy cows, +grateful for the relief from their burden of milk. + +She contrasted her lot with that of two or three women that she knew, +not a very high standard, who "kept hired help," and who had "fine +houses of four or five rooms." Even the neighbors were better off than +she, for they didn't have such quarrels. But she wasn't to blame--Sim +didn't--then her mind changed to a vague resentment against "things;" +everything seemed against her. + +She rose at last and carried her second load of milk to the well, +strained it, washed out the pails, and after bathing her tired feet in +a tub that stood there, she put on a pair of horrible shoes without +stockings, and crept stealthily into the house. Sim did not hear her +as she slipped up the stairs to the little low, unfinished chamber +beside her oldest children,--she could not bear to sleep near _him_ +that night,--she wanted a chance to sob herself to quiet. + +As for Sim, he was a little disturbed but would as soon have cut off +his head as acknowledge himself in the wrong, but he yelled as he went +to bed, and found her still away:-- + +"Say, ol' woman, aint ye comin' to bed?" and upon receiving no answer +he rolled his aching body into the creaking bed. "Do as ye damn please +about it. If ye wan' to sulk y' can." And in such wise the family grew +quiet in sleep, while the moist, warm air pulsed with the ceaseless +chime of the crickets. + + +II. + +When Sim Burns woke the next morning he felt a sharper twinge of +remorse. It was not a broad or well-defined feeling, just a sense that +he'd been unduly irritable, not that on the whole he was not in the +right. Little Pet lay with the warm June sunshine filling his baby +eyes, curiously content in striking at flies that buzzed around his +little mouth. + +The man thrust his dirty naked feet into his huge boots, and, without +washing his face or combing his hair, went out to the barn to do his +chores. + +He was a type of the prairie farmer and his whole surrounding was +typical. He had a quarter-section of fine level land, mortgaged, of +course, but his house was a little box-like structure, costing, +perhaps, five hundred dollars. It had three rooms and the ever-present +"summer kitchen" attached to the back. It was unpainted and had no +touch of beauty, a mere box. + +His stable was built of slabs and banked and covered with straw. It +looked like a den, was low and long, and had but one door in the end. +The cow-yard held ten or fifteen cattle of various kinds, while a few +calves were bawling from a pen near by. Behind the barn on the west +and north was a fringe of willows forming a "wind-break." A few broken +and discouraged fruit trees standing here and there among the weeds +formed the garden. In short, he was spoken of by his neighbors as "a +hard-working cuss, and tollably well fixed." + +No grace had come or ever _could_ come into his life. Back of him were +generations of men like himself, whose main' business had been to work +hard, live miserably, and beget children to take their places after +they died. He was a product. + +His courtship had been delayed so long on account of poverty that it +brought little of humanizing emotion into his life. He never +mentioned it now, or if he did, it was only to sneer obscenely at it. +He had long since ceased to kiss his wife or even speak kindly to her. +There was no longer any sanctity to life or love. He chewed tobacco +and toiled on from year to year without any very clearly defined idea +of the future. + +He was tall, dark, and strong, in a flat-chested, slouching sort of +way, and had grown neglectful of even decency in his dress. He wore +the American farmer's customary outfit of rough brown pants, hickory +shirt, and greasy white hat. It differed from his neighbors, mainly in +being a little dirtier and more ragged. His grimy hands were broad and +strong as the clutch of a bear, and he "was a turrible feller to turn +off work," as Council said. "I druther have Sim Burns work for me one +day than some men three. He's a linger." He worked with unusual speed +this morning, and ended by milking all the cows himself as a sort of +savage penance for his misdeeds the previous evening, muttering in +self-defence:-- + +"Seems 's if ever' cussid thing piles on to me at once. That corn, the +road-tax, and hayin' comin' on, and now _she_ gits her back up--" + +When he went back to the well he sloshed himself thoroughly in the +horse-trough and went to the house. He found breakfast ready but his +wife was not in sight. The older children were clamoring around the +uninviting breakfast table, spread with cheap plates and with boiled +potatoes and fried salt pork as the principal dish. + +"Where's y'r ma?" he asked, with a threatening note in his voice, as +he sat down by the table. + +"She's in the bedroom." + +He rose and pushed open the door. The mother sat with the babe in her +lap, looking out of the window down across the superb field of +timothy, moving like a lake. She did not look round. She only grew +rigid. Her thin neck throbbed with the pulsing of blood to her head. + +"What's got into you, _now_?" he said brutally; "don't be a fool. Come +out and eat breakfast with me, an' take care o' y'r young ones." + +She neither moved nor made a sound. With an oath he turned on his heel +and went out to the table. Eating his breakfast in his usual wolfish +fashion, he went out into the hot sun with his team and ridding +plow, not a little disturbed by this new phase of his wife's +"cantankerousness." He plowed steadily and sullenly all the forenoon, +in the terrific heat and dust. The air was full of tempestuous +threats, still and sultry, one of those days when work is a +punishment. When he came in at noon he found things the same,--dinner +on the table, but his wife out in the garden with the youngest child. + +"I c'n stand it as long as _she_ can," he said to himself, in the +hearing of the children. When he finished the field of corn it was +after sundown, and he came up to the house, hot, dusty, his shirt +wringing wet with sweat, and his neck aching with the work of looking +down all day at the cornrows. His mood was still stern. The +multitudinous lift, and stir, and sheen of the wide green field had +been lost upon him. + +"I wonder if she's milked them cows," he muttered to himself. He gave +a sigh of relief to find she had. But she had done so not for his +sake, but for the sake of the poor, patient, dumb brutes. + +When he went to the bedroom after supper, he found that the cradle and +his wife's few little boxes and parcels--poor pathetic properties--had +been removed to the garret which they called a chamber, and he knew he +was to sleep alone again. + +"She'll git over it, I guess." He was very tired but he didn't feel +quite comfortable enough to sleep. The air was oppressive. His shirt +wet in places, and stiff with dust in other places, oppressed him more +than usual, so he rose and removed it, getting a clean one out of a +drawer. This was an unusual thing for him, for he usually slept in the +same shirt which he wore in his day's work, but it was Saturday night, +and he felt justified in the extravagance. + +In the meanwhile poor Lucretia was brooding over her life in a most +dangerous fashion. All she had done and suffered for Simeon Burns came +back to her till she wondered how she had endured it all. All day long +in the midst of the glorious summer landscape she brooded. + +"I hate him," she thought with a fierce blazing up through the murk of +her musing, "I hate t' live. But they aint no hope. I'm tied down. I +can't leave the children, and I aint got no money. I couldn't make a +living out in the world. I aint never seen anything an' don't know +anything." + +She was too simple and too unknowing to speculate on the loss of her +beauty, which would have brought her competency once,--if sold in the +right market. As she lay in her little attic bed, she was still +sullenly thinking, wearily thinking of her life. She thought of a poor +old horse which Sim had bought once, years before, and put to the +plough when it was too old and weak to work. She could see her again +as in a vision, that poor old mare, with sad head drooping, toiling, +toiling, till at last she could no longer move, and lying down under +the harness in the furrow, groaned under the whip--and died. + +Then she wondered if her own numbness and despair meant death, and she +held her breath to think harder upon it. She concluded at last, +grimly, that she didn't care--only for the children. + +The air was frightfully close in the little attic, and she heard the +low mutter of the rising storm in the west. She forgot her troubles a +little, listening to the far-off gigantic footsteps of the tempest. + +_Boom, boom, boom_, it broke nearer and nearer as if a vast cordon of +cannon was being drawn around the horizon. Yet she was conscious only +of pleasure. She had no fear. At last came the sweep of cool, fragrant +storm-wind, a short and sudden dash of rain, and then in the cool, +sweet hush which followed, the worn and weary woman fell into a deep +sleep. + +When she woke the younger children were playing about on the floor in +their night-clothes, and little Pet was sitting in a square of +sunshine intent on one of his shoes. He was too young to know how poor +and squalid his surroundings were, the patch of sunshine flung on the +floor glorified it all. He (little animal) was happy. + +The poor of the western prairies lie almost as unhealthily close +together as do the poor of the city tenements. In the small hut of the +peasant there is as little chance to escape close and tainting contact +as in the coops and dens of the North End of proud Boston. In the +midst of oceans of land, floods of sunshine and gulfs of verdure, the +farmer lives in two or three small rooms. Poverty's eternal cordon is +ever round the poor. + +"Ma, why didn't you sleep with pap last night?" asked Bob, the +seven-year old, when he saw she was awake at last. She flushed a dull +red. + +"Sh! Because--I--it was too warm--and there was a storm comin'. You +never mind askin' such questions. Is he gone out?" + +"Yup. I heerd him callin' the pigs. It's Sunday, aint it, ma?" + +"Why, yes, so it is! Wal! Now Sadie, you jump up an' dress quick's y' +can, an' Bob an' Sile, you run down an' bring s'm water," she +commanded, in nervous haste beginning to dress. In the middle of the +room there was scarce space to stand beneath the rafters. + +When Sim came in for his breakfast he found it on the table but his +wife was absent. + +"Where's y'r ma?" he asked with a little less of the growl in his +voice. + +"She's upstairs with Pet." + +The man ate his breakfast in dead silence, till at last Bob ventured +to say, + +"What makes ma ac' so?" + +"Shut up!" was the brutal reply. The children began to take sides with +the mother--all but the oldest girl who was ten years old. To her the +father turned now for certain things to be done, treating her in his +rough fashion as a housekeeper, and the girl felt flattered and docile +accordingly. + +They were pitiably clad; like most farm-children, indeed, they could +hardly be said to be clad at all. Sadie had on but two garments, a +sort of undershirt of cotton and a faded calico dress, out of which +her bare, yellow little legs protruded, lamentably dirty and covered +with scratches. + +The boys also had two garments, a hickory shirt and a pair of pants +like their father's, made out of brown denims by the mother's +never-resting hands,--hands that in sleep still sewed, and skimmed, +and baked, and churned. The boys had gone to bed without washing their +feet, which now looked like toads, calloused, brown, and chapped. + +Part of this the mother saw with her dull eyes as she came down, after +seeing the departure of Sim up the road with the cows. It was a +beautiful Sunday morning, and the woman might have sung like a bird if +men were only as kind to her as Nature. But she looked dully on the +seas of ripe grasses, tangled and flashing with dew, out of which the +bobolinks and larks sprang. The glorious winds brought her no melody, +no perfume, no respite from toil and care. + +She thought of the children she saw in the town. Children of the +merchant and banker, clean as little dolls, the boys in knickerbocker +suits, the girls in dainty white dresses, and a bitterness sprang into +her heart. She soon put the dishes away, but felt too tired and +listless to do more. + +"Taw-bay-wies! Pet want ta-aw-bay-wies!" cried the little one, tugging +at her dress. + +Listlessly, mechanically she took him in her arms, and went out into +the garden which was fragrant and sweet with dew and sun. After +picking some berries for him, she sat down on the grass under the row +of cotton-woods, and sank into a kind of lethargy. A kingbird +chattered and shrieked overhead, the grasshoppers buzzed in the +grasses, strange insects with ventriloquistic voices sang all about +her,--she could not tell where. + +"Ma, can't I put on my clean dress?" insisted Sadie. + +"I don't care," said the brooding woman darkly. "Leave me alone." + +Oh, if she could only lie here forever, escaping all pain and +weariness! The wind sang in her ears, the great clouds, beautiful as +heavenly ships, floated far above in the vast dazzling deeps of blue +sky, the birds rustled and chirped around her, leaping-insects buzzed +and clattered in the grass and in the vines and bushes. The goodness +and glory of God was in the very air, the bitterness and oppression of +man in every line of her face. + +But her quiet was broken by Sadie who came leaping like a fawn down +through the grass. + +"O ma, Aunt Maria and Uncle William are coming. They've jest turned +in." + +"I don't care if they be!" she answered in the same dully-irritated +way. "What're they comin' here to-day for, I wan' to know." She stayed +there immovably, till Mrs. Council came down to see her, piloted by +two or three of the children. Mrs. Council, a jolly, large-framed +woman, smiled brightly, and greeted her in a loud, jovial voice. She +made the mistake of taking the whole matter lightly; her tone amounted +to ridicule. + +"Sim says you've been having a tantrum, Creeshy. Don't know what for, +he says." + +"He don't," said the wife with a sullen flash in the eyes. "_He_ +don't know why! Well, then, you just tell him what I say. I've lived +in hell long enough. I'm done. I've slaved here day in and day out f'r +twelve years without pay--not even a decent word. I've worked like no +nigger ever worked 'r could work and live. I've given him all I had, +'r ever expect to have. I'm wore out. My strength is gone, my patience +is gone. I'm done with it--that's a _part_ of what's the matter." + +"My sakes, Lucreeshy! You mustn't talk that way." + +"But I _will_," said the woman, as she supported herself on one palm +and raised the other. "I've _got_ to talk that way." She was ripe for +an explosion like this. She seized upon it with eagerness. "They aint +no use o' livin' this way, anyway. I'd take poison if it want f'r the +young ones." + +"Lucreeshy Burns!" + +"Oh, I mean it." + +"Land sakes alive, I b'leeve you're goin' crazy!" + +"I shouldn't wonder if I was. I've had enough t' drive an Indian +crazy. Now you jest go off an' leave me 'lone. I aint in mind to +visit--they aint no way out of it, an' I'm tired o' tryin' to _find_ a +way. Go off an' let me be." + +Her tone was so bitterly hopeless that the great jolly face of Mrs. +Council stiffened into a look of horror such as she had not worn for +years. The children, in two separate groups, could be heard rioting. +Bees were humming around the clover in the grass, and the kingbird +chattered ceaselessly from the Lombardy poplar-tip. Both women felt +all this peace and beauty of the morning, dimly, and it disturbed Mrs. +Council because the other was so impassive under it all. At last, +after a long and thoughtful pause, Mrs. Council asked a question whose +answer she knew would decide it all,--asked it very kindly and +softly,-- + +"Creeshy, are you comin' in?" + +"No," was the short and sullenly decisive answer. Mrs. Council knew +that was the end, and so rose with a sigh and went away. + +"Wal, good by," she said simply. + +Looking back she saw Lucretia lying at length with closed eyes and +hollow cheeks. She seemed to be sleeping, half-buried in the grass. +She did not look up nor reply to her sister-in-law. Her life also was +one of toil and trouble, but not so hard and hapless as Lucretia's. +By contrast with most of her neighbors she seemed comfortable. + +"Sim Burns, what you ben doin' to that woman?" she burst out as she +waddled up to where the two men were sitting under a cotton-wood tree, +talking and whittling after the manner of farmers. + +"Nawthin' 's fur 's I know," answered Burns, not quite honestly, and +looking uneasy. + +"You needn't try t' git out of it like that, Sim Burns," replied his +sister. "That woman never got into that fit f'r _nawthin'_." + +"Wal, if you know more about it than I do, whadgy ask _me_ fur," he +replied angrily. + +"Tut, tut!" put in Council, always a peacemaker, "hold y'r horses! +Don't git on y'r ear, childern! Keep cool, and don't spile y'r shirts. +Most likely yer all t' blame. Keep cool an' swear less." + +"Wal, I'll bet Sim's more to blame than she is. Why they aint a +harder-workin' woman in the hull State of Ioway than she is--" + +"Except Marm Council." + +"Except nobody. Look at her, jest skin and bones." + +Council chuckled in his vast way. "That's so, mother, measured in that +way she leads over you. You git fat on it." + +She smiled a little, her indignation oozing away; she never "_could_ +stay mad," her children were accustomed to tell her. Burns refused to +talk any more about the matter, and the visitors gave it up, and got +out their team and started for home, Mrs. Council firing this parting +shot:-- + +"The best thing you can do to-day is t' let her alone. Mebbe the +childern 'll bring her round again. If she does come round, you see 't +you treat her a little more 's y' did when you was a-courtin' her." + +"This way," roared Council, putting his arm around his wife's waist. +She boxed his ears while he guffawed and clucked at his team. + +Burns took a measure of salt and went out into the pasture to salt the +cows. On the sunlit slope of the field, where the cattle came running +and bawling to meet him, he threw down the salt in handfuls, and then +lay down to watch them as they eagerly licked it up, even gnawing a +bare spot in the sod in their eagerness to get it all. + +Burns was not a drinking man; was hard-working, frugal, in fact, he +had no extravagances except his tobacco. His clothes he wore until +they all but dropped from him; and he worked in rain and mud, as well +as dust and sun. It was this suffering and toiling all to no purpose +that made him sour and irritable. He didn't see why he should have so +little after so much hard work. + +He was puzzled to account for it all. His mind (the average mind) was +weary with trying to solve an insoluble problem. His neighbors, who +had got along a little better than himself, were free with advice and +suggestion as to the cause of his persistent poverty. + +Old man Bacon, the hardest-working man in the county, laid it to +Burns' lack of management. Jim Butler, who owned a dozen farms (which +he had taken on mortgages), and who had got rich by buying land at +government price and holding for a rise, laid all such cases as Burns +to "lack of enterprise, foresight." + +But the larger number feeling themselves "in the same boat" with +Burns, said:-- + +"I'd know. Seems as if things got worse an' worse. Corn an' wheat +gittin' cheaper 'n' cheaper. Machinery eatin' up profits--got to +_have_ machinery to harvest the cheap grain, an' then the machinery +eats up profits. Taxes goin' up. Devil to pay all round; I'd know what +'n thunder _is_ the matter." + +The democrats said protection was killing the farmers, the republicans +said no. The grangers growled about the middle-men, the green-backers +said there wasn't circulating medium enough, and in the midst of it +all, hard-working discouraged farmers, like Simeon Burns, worked on, +unable to find out what really was the matter. + +And there on this beautiful Sabbath morning, Sim sat and thought and +thought, till he rose with an oath, and gave it up. + + +III. + +It was hot and brilliant again the next morning as Douglass Radbourn +drove up the road with Lily Graham, the teacher of the school in the +little white schoolhouse. It was blazing hot, even though not yet nine +o'clock, and the young farmers plowing beside the fence looked +longingly and somewhat bitterly at Radbourn seated in a fine +top-buggy beside a beautiful creature in lace and cambric. + +Very beautiful the town-bred "schoolma'am" looked to those grimy, +sweaty fellows, superb fellows physically, too, with bare red arms and +leather-colored faces. She was as if builded of the pink and white +clouds soaring far up there in the morning sky. So cool, and sweet, +and dainty. + +As she came in sight, their dusty and sweaty shirts grew biting as the +poisoned shirt of the Norse myth, their bare feet in the brown dirt +grew distressingly flat and hoof-like, and their huge, dirty, brown, +chapped, and swollen hands grew so repulsive that the mere remote +possibility of some time in the far future "standing a chance" of +having an introduction to her, caused them to wipe them on their +trousers' leg stealthily. + +Lycurgus Banks, "Ly" Banks, swore when he saw Radbourn. "That cuss +thinks he's ol' hell this morning. He don't earn his living. But he's +jest the kind of cuss to get holt of all the purty girls." + +Others gazed with simple, sad wistfulness upon the slender figure, +pale, sweet face, and dark eyes of the young girl, feeling that to +have talk with such a fairy-like creature was a happiness too great to +ever be their lot. And when she had passed they went back to work with +a sigh and feeling of loss. + +As for Lily, she felt a pang of pity for these people. She looked at +this peculiar form of poverty and hardship much as the fragile, tender +girl of the city looks upon the men laying a gas-main in the streets. +She felt (sympathetically) the heat and grime, and though but the +faintest idea of what it meant to wear such clothing came to her, she +shuddered. Her eyes had been opened to these things by Radbourn, who +was a well-known radical,--a law student in Rock River. + +"Poor fellows!" sighed Lily, almost unconsciously. "I hate to see them +working there in the dirt and hot sun. It seems a hopeless sort of +life, doesn't it?" + +"Oh, but this is the most beautiful part of the year," said Radbourn. +"Think of them in the mud, in the sleet; think of them husking corn in +the snow, a bitter wind blowing; think of them a month later in the +harvest; think of them imprisoned here in winter!" + +"Yes, it's dreadful! But I never felt it so keenly before. You have +opened my eyes to it." + +"Writers and orators have lied so long about 'the idyllic' in farm +life, and said so much about the 'independent American farmer' that he +himself has remained blind to the fact that he's one of the +hardest-working and poorest-paid men in America. See the houses they +live in,--hovels." + +"Yes, yes, I know," said Lily; a look of deeper pain swept over her +face. "And the fate of the poor women, oh, the fate of the women!" + +"Yes, it's a matter of statistics," went on Radbourn, pitilessly, +"that the wives of the American farmers fill our insane asylums. See +what a life they lead, most of them; no music, no books. Seventeen +hours a day in a couple of small rooms--dens. Now there's Sim Burns! +what a travesty of a home! Yet there are a dozen just as bad in sight. +He works like a fiend,--so does his wife,--and what is their reward? +Simply a hole to hibernate in and to sleep and eat in in summer. A +dreary present and a well-nigh hopeless future. No, they have a +future, if they knew it, and we must tell them." + +"I know Mrs. Burns; she sends several children to my school. Poor, +pathetic little things, half-clad and wistful-eyed. They make my heart +ache; they are so hungry for love, and so quick to learn." + +As they passed the Burns farm, they looked for the wife but she was +not to be seen. The children had evidently gone up to the little white +schoolhouse at the head of the lane. Radbourn let the reins fall slack +as he talked on. He did not look at the girl, his eyebrows were drawn +into a look of gloomy pain. + +"It aint so much the grime that I abhor, nor the labor that crooks +their backs and makes their hands bludgeons. It's the horrible waste +of life involved in it all. I don't believe God intended a man to be +bent to plow-handles like that, but that aint the worst of it. The +worst of it is, these people live lives approaching automata. They +become machines to serve others more lucky or more unscrupulous than +themselves. What is the world of art, of music, of literature, to +these poor devils--to Sim Burns and his wife there, for example? Or +even to the best of these farmers?" + +The girl looked away over the shimmering lake of yellow-green corn, a +choking came into her throat. Her gloved hand trembled. + +"What is such a life worth? It's all very comfortable for us to say, +'they don't feel it.' How do we know what they feel? What do we know +of their capacity for enjoyment of art and music? They never have +leisure or opportunity. The master is very glad to be taught by +preacher, and lawyer, and novelist, that his slaves are contented and +never feel any longings for a higher life. These people live lives but +little higher than their cattle,--are _forced_ to live so. Their hopes +and aspirations are crushed out, their souls are twisted and deformed +just as toil twists and deforms their bodies. They are on the same +level as the city laborer. It makes me wild to think of it. The very +religion they hear is a soporific. They are taught to be content here +that they may be happy hereafter. Suppose there isn't any hereafter?" + +"Oh, don't say that, please!" Lily cried. + +"But I don't _know_ that there is," looking up at her pitilessly, "and +I do know that these people are being robbed of something more than +money, of all that makes life worth living. The promise of milk and +honey in Canaan is all very well, but I prefer to have mine here, then +I'm sure of it." + +"What can we do?" murmured the girl. + +"Do? Rouse these people for one thing; preach _discontent_, a noble +discontent." + +"It will only make them unhappy." + +"No, it won't, not if you show them the way out. If it does, it's +better to be unhappy striving for higher things, like a man, than to +be content in a wallow like swine." + +"But what _is_ the way out?" + +This was sufficient to set Radbourn upon his hobby-horse. He outlined +his plan of action, the abolition of all indirect taxes. The State +control of all privileges, the private ownership of which interfered +with the equal rights of all. He would utterly destroy speculative +holdings of the earth. He would have land everywhere brought to its +best use, by appropriating all ground rents to the use of the State, +etc., etc., to which the girl listened with eager interest but with +only partial comprehension. + +As they neared the little schoolhouse, a swarm of midgets in pink +dresses, pink sun-bonnets, and brown legs, came rushing to meet their +teacher, with that peculiar devotion the children in the country +develop for a refined teacher. + +Radbourn helped Lily out into the midst of the eager little scholars, +who swarmed upon her like bees on a lump of sugar, till even +Radbourn's gravity gave way, and he smiled into her lifted eyes--an +unusual smile, that strangely enough stopped the smile on her own +lips, filling her face with a wistful shadow, and her breath came hard +for a moment and she trembled. + +She loved that cold, stern face, oh, so much! and to have him smile +was a pleasure that made her heart leap till she suffered a smothering +pain. She turned to him to say:-- + +"I am very thankful, Mr. Radbourn, for another pleasant ride," adding +in a lower tone, "It was a very great pleasure; you always give me so +much. I feel stronger and more hopeful." + +"I'm glad you feel so. I was afraid I was prosy with my +land-doctrine." + +"Oh no! Indeed no! You have given me a new hope; I am exalted with the +thought; I shall try to think it all out and apply it." + +And so they parted, the children looking on and slyly whispering among +themselves. Radbourn looked back after awhile but the bare little hive +had absorbed its little group, and was standing bleak as a tombstone +and hot as a furnace on the naked plain in the blazing sun. + +"America's pitiful boast!" said the young radical looking back at it. +"Only a miserable hint of what it might be." + +All that forenoon as Lily faced her little group of barefoot children, +she was thinking of Radbourn, of his almost fierce sympathy for these +poor supine farmers, hopeless, and in some cases content in their +narrow lives. The children almost worshipped the beautiful girl who +came to them as a revelation of exquisite neatness and taste,--whose +very voice and intonation awed them. + +They noted (unconsciously, of course,) every detail. Snowy linen, +touches of soft color, graceful lines of bust and side--the slender +fingers that could almost speak, so beautifully flexile were they. +Lily herself sometimes, when she shook the calloused, knotted, +stiffened hands of the women, shuddered with sympathetic pain, to +think that the crowning wonder and beauty of God's world should be so +maimed and distorted from its true purpose. + +Even in the children before her she could see the inherited results +of fruitless labor--and more pitiful yet in the bent shoulders of the +older ones she could see the beginnings of deformity that would soon +be permanent. And as these things came to her, she clasped the poor +wondering things to her side with a convulsive wish to make life a +little brighter for them. + +"How is your mother, Sadie?" she asked of Sadie Burns, as she was +eating her luncheon on the drab-colored table near the open window. + +"Purty well," said Sadie in a hesitating way. + +Lily was looking out, and listening to the gophers whistling as they +raced to and fro. She could see Bob Burns lying at length on the grass +in the pasture over the fence, his heels waving in the air, his hands +holding a string which formed a snare. Bob was "death on gophers." It +was like fishing to young Izaak Walton. + +It was very still and hot and the cheep and trill of the gophers, and +the chatter of the kingbirds alone broke the silence. A cloud of +butterflies were fluttering about a pool near, a couple of big flies +buzzed and mumbled on the pane. + +"What ails your mother?" Lily asked, recovering herself and looking at +Sadie who was distinctly ill at ease. + +"Oh, I dunno," Sadie replied, putting one bare foot across the other. + +Lily insisted. + +"She 'n' pa's had an awful row--" + +"Sadie!" said the teacher warningly, "what language!" + +"I mean they quarrelled, an' she don't speak to him any more." + +"Why, how dreadful!" + +"An' pa he's awful cross,--and she won't eat when he does, an' I haf +to wait on table." + +"I believe I'll go down and see her this noon," said Lily to herself, +as she divined a little of the state of affairs in the Burns family. + +Sim was mending the pasture fence as Lily came down the road toward +him. He had delayed going to dinner to finish his task and was just +about ready to go when Lily spoke to him. + +"Good-morning, Mr. Burns. I am just going down to see Mrs. Burns. It +must be time to go to dinner--aren't you ready to go? I want to talk +with you." + +Ordinarily he would have been delighted with the idea of walking down +the road with the schoolma'am, but there was something in her look +which seemed to tell him that she knew all about his trouble, and +beside he was not in good humor. + +"Yes, in a minnit,--soon's I fix up this hole. Them shoats, I b'leeve, +would go through a keyhole, if they could once git their snoots in." + +He expanded on this idea as he nailed away, anxious to gain time. He +foresaw trouble for himself. He couldn't be rude to this sweet and +fragile girl. If a _man_ had dared to attack him on his domestic +shortcomings, he could have fought. The girl stood waiting for him, +her large, steady eyes full of thought, gazing down at him from the +shadow of her broad-brimmed hat. + +"The world is so full of misery anyway, that we ought to do the best +we can to make it less," she said at last in a musing tone, as if her +thoughts had unconsciously taken on speech. She had always appealed to +him strongly, and never more so than in this softly uttered +abstraction,--that it was an abstraction added to its power with him. + +He could find no words for reply, but picked up his hammer and +nail-box, and slouched along the road by her side, listening without a +word to her talk. + +"Christ was patient, and bore with his enemies, surely we ought to +bear with our--friends." She went on adapting her steps to his. He +took off his torn straw hat and wiped his face on his sleeve, being +much embarrassed and ashamed. Not knowing how to meet such argument, +he kept silent. + +"How _is_ Mrs. Burns?" said Lily at length, determined to make him +speak. The delicate meaning in the emphasis laid on _is_ did not +escape him. + +"Oh, she's all right,--I mean she's done her work jest the same as +ever. I don't see her much--" + +"I didn't know--I was afraid she was sick. Sadie said she was acting +strangely." + +"No, she's well enough--but,--" + +"But what is the trouble? Won't you let me help you, _won't_ you?" + +"Can't anybody help us. We've got 'o fight it out, I s'pose," he +replied, a gloomy note of resentment creeping into his voice. "She's +ben in a devil of a temper f'r a week." + +"Haven't you been in the same kind of a temper too?" demanded Lily, +firmly, but kindly. "I think most troubles of this kind come from bad +temper on both sides. Don't you? Have you done your share at being +kind and patient?" + +They had reached the gate now, and she laid her hand on his arm to +stop him. He looked down at the slender gloved hand on his arm feeling +as if a giant had grasped him, then he raised his eyes to her face, +flushing a purplish red as he remembered his grossness. It seemed +monstrous in the presence of this girl-advocate. Her face was like +silver, her eyes seemed pools of tears. + +"I don't s'pose I have," he said at last pushing by her. He couldn't +have stood her glance another moment. His whole air conveyed the +impression of destructive admission. Lily did not comprehend the +extent of her advantage or she would have pursued it further. As it +was she felt a little hurt as she entered the house. The table was +set, but Mrs. Burns was nowhere to be seen. Calling her softly, the +young girl passed through the shabby little living room to the +oven-like bedroom which opened off it, but no one was about. She stood +for a moment shuddering at the wretchedness of the room. + +Going back to the kitchen she found Sim about beginning on his dinner; +little Pet was with him, the rest of the children were at the +schoolhouse. + +"Where is she?" + +"I d' know. Out in the garden I expect. She don't eat with me now. I +never see her. She don't come near _me_. I aint seen her since +Saturday." + +Lily was shocked inexpressibly and began to see clearer the magnitude +of the task she had set herself to do. But it must be done; she felt +that a tragedy was not far off. It must be averted. + +"Mr. Burns, what have you done? What _have_ you done?" she asked in +terror and horror. + +"Don't lay it all to _me_! She hain't done nawthin' but complain f'r +ten years. I couldn't do nothin' to suit her. She was always naggin' +me." + +"I don't think Lucretia Burns would nag anybody. I don't say you're +_all_ to blame, but I'm afraid you haven't acknowledged you were any +to blame. I'm afraid you've not been patient with her. I'm going out +to bring her in. If she comes will you say you were _part_ to blame? +You needn't beg her pardon, just say you'll try to be better. Will you +do it? Think how much she has done for you! Will you?" + +He remained silent, and looked discouragingly rude. His sweaty, dirty +shirt was open at the neck, his arms were bare, his scraggly teeth +were yellow with tobacco, and his uncombed hair lay tumbled about on +his high, narrow head. His clumsy, unsteady hands played with the +dishes on the table. His pride was struggling with his sense of +justice; he knew he ought to consent, and yet it was so hard to +acknowledge himself to blame. The girl went on in a voice piercingly +sweet, trembling with pity and pleading. + +"What word can I carry to her from you? I'm going to go and see her. +If I could take a word from _you_, I know she would come back to the +table. Shall I tell her you feel to blame?" + +The answer was a long time coming; at last the man nodded an assent, +the sweat pouring from his purple face. She had set him thinking, her +victory was sure. + +Lily almost ran out into the garden and to the strawberry patch, where +she found Lucretia in her familiar, colorless, shapeless dress, +picking berries in the hot sun, the mosquitoes biting her neck and +hands. + +"Poor, pathetic, dumb sufferer," the girl thought as she ran up to +her. + +She dropped her dish as she heard Lily coming, and gazed up into the +tender, pitying face. Not a word was spoken, but something she saw +there made her eyes fill with tears, and her throat swell. It was pure +sympathy. She put her arms around the girl's neck and sobbed for the +first time since Friday night. Then they sat down on the grass under +the hedge and she told her story, interspersed with Lily's horrified +comments. + +When it was all told the girl still sat listening. She heard +Radbourn's calm, slow voice again. It helped her not to hate Burns; it +helped her to pity and understand him. + +"You must remember that such toil brutalizes a man; it makes him +callous, selfish, unfeeling necessarily. A fine nature must either +adapt itself to its hard surroundings or die. Men who toil terribly in +filthy garments day after day and year after year cannot easily keep +gentle; the frost and grime, the heat and cold will sooner or later +enter into their souls. The case is not all in favor of the suffering +wives, and against the brutal husbands. If the farmer's wife is dulled +and crazed by her routine, the farmer himself is degraded and +brutalized. They are both products of a social system, victims of a +land system, which produces tenement houses in the city, and pushes +the farmer into a semi-solitude--victims of land laws that are relics +of feudalism, made in the interest of the man who holds a special +privilege in the earth. Free America has set up on its soil the +systems of land-owning which produces the lord and the tenant; that +glorifies speculation in the earth, and gives the priceless riches of +the hills and forests into a few hands. But this will not continue--it +can't continue. The awakening understanding of America cries out +against it." + +As well as she could Lily explained all this to the woman who lay with +her face buried in the girl's lap. Lily's arms were about her thin +shoulders in an agony of pity. + +"It's hard, Lucretia, I know, more than you can bear, but you mustn't +forget what Sim endures, too. He goes out in the storms and in the +heat and dust. His boots are hard, and see how his hands are all +bruised and broken by his work! He was tired and hungry when he said +that--he didn't really mean it." + +The wife remained silent. + +"Mr. Radbourn says work as things go now _does_ degrade a man in spite +of himself. He says men get coarse and violent in spite of themselves +just as women do when everything goes wrong in the house,--when the +flies are thick, and the fire won't burn, and the irons stick to the +clothes. You see, you both suffer. Don't lay up this fit of temper +against Sim--will you?" + +The wife lifted her head and looked away. Her face was full of +hopeless weariness. + +"It aint this once. It aint that 't all. It's having no let up. Just +goin' the same thing right over 'n' over--no hope of anything better." + +"If you had a hope of another world--" + +"Don't talk that--that's rich man's doctrine. I don't want that kind +o' comfert. I want a decent chance here. I want 'o rest an' be happy +_now_--then I'm sure of it." + +Lily's big eyes were streaming with tears. What should she say to the +desperate woman? + +"What's the use? We might jest as well die--all of us." + +The woman's livid face appalled the beautiful girl. She was gaunt, +heavy-eyed, nerveless. Her faded dress settled down over her limbs +showing the swollen knees and thin calves, her hands with distorted +joints protruded painfully from her sleeves. And all about was the +ever-recurring wealth and cheer of nature that knows no fear or favor. +The bees and flies buzzing in the sun, the jay and kingbird in the +poplars, the smell of strawberries, the motion of lush grass, the +shimmer of corn blades tossed gayly as banners in a conquering army. + +Like a flash of keener light a sentence shot across the girl's mind. +"Nature knows no title-deed. The bounty of her mighty hands falls as +the sunlight falls, copious, impartial; her seas carry all ships, her +air is for all lips, her lands for all feet." + +"Poverty and suffering such as yours will not last." There was +something in the girl's voice that roused the woman. She turned her +dull eyes upon her face. + +Lily took her hand in both hers as if by a caress she could impart her +own faith. + +"Look up, dear. When Nature is so good and generous, man must come to +be better, surely. Come, go in the house again. Sim is there, he +expects you, he told me to tell you he was sorry." Lucretia's face +twitched a little at that, but her head was bent. "Come, you can't +live this way. There isn't any other place to go to." + +No, that was the bitterest truth. Where on this wide earth with its +forth-shooting fruits and grains, its fragrant lands and shining seas, +could this dwarfed, bent, broken, middle-aged woman go? Nobody wanted +her, nobody cared for her. But the wind kissed her drawn lips as +readily as those of the girl, and the blooms of clover nodded to her +as if to a queen. + +Lily had said all she could. Her heart ached with unspeakable pity and +a sort of terror. + +"Don't give up, Lucretia. This may be the worst hour of your life. +Live and bear with it all for Christ's sake--for your children's +sake. Sim told me to tell you he was to blame. If you will only see +that you are both to blame and yet neither to blame, then you can rise +above it. Try, dear!" + +The wife pulled herself together, rose silently, and started toward +the house. Her face was rigid but no longer sullen. Lily followed her +slowly, wonderingly. + +As she neared the kitchen door, she saw Sim still sitting at the +table; his face was unusually grave and soft. She saw him start and +shove back his chair,--saw Lucretia go to the stove and lift the +tea-pot, and heard her say, as she took her seat beside the baby,-- + +"Want some more tea?" + +She had become a wife and mother again, but in what spirit the puzzled +girl could not say. + + + + +EDITORIAL NOTES. + + +AN EPOCH-MARKING DRAMA. + +A movement destined, I think, to be in a degree epoch-marking in the +dramatic annals of the American stage, was inaugurated by Mr. James A. +Herne, on the fourth of May, in Boston, in the production of his +remarkable realistic drama, "Margaret Fleming," at Chickering Hall. +The play is a bold innovation, so much so that no theatre in the city +would produce it, although the various managers who examined it +declared it to be as strong as and no less powerful than any American +drama yet written. The character of the audience was as striking as +the play was brave and original. It was, indeed, a strange sight to +see such well-known and thoughtful men and women as Mr. William Dean +Howells, Rev. Minot J. Savage, Rabbi Solomon Schindler, Rev. Edward A. +Horton, Mrs. Louise Chandler Moulton, Hamlin Garland, and a score or +more of persons almost as well known in literary, religious, and +thoughtful circles, assembled on the first night of a dramatic +production. Nor was the character of the audience less remarkable +during the fortnight it was played. Men and women who are rarely seen +at theatres attended two, three, and even four performances. The +superb acting of Mr. and Mrs. Herne contributed much to the success of +the play; curiosity also doubtless attracted many, yet beyond and +above this was the deep appreciation of a thoughtful and intelligent +constituency, who saw in this drama the marvellous possibilities of +the stage for improvement as well as entertainment. They also saw real +life depicted. The absence of empty lines and stilted phrases so +common in conventional drama was refreshing and interesting to those +who believe that the drama has a mission other than merely to amuse. +"Margaret Fleming" is nothing if not artistic from the standpoint of +the realist. Its fidelity to life as we find it--to existing +conditions and types of society,--is wonderful. Its dramatic strength +is none the less marked. But aside from and above all this, for me it +has a far greater merit--utility. I have no sympathy with the +flippant, effeminate, and senile cry, "Art for art's sake"; that is +the echo of a decaying civilization, the voice of Greece and Rome in +their decline. It is the shibboleth of a people drunken with pleasure; +of a popular conscience anaesthetized; the cry of sensualism and +selfishness popular with shallow minds and bloodless hearts; the +incarnation of that fatal effeminacy that springs from a union of +wealth and superficial intellectuality; the voice of a human automaton +without a soul. Victor Hugo has made no utterances more grandly true +than when he pleads for the beautiful being made the servant of +progress as voiced in the following sentiment: + + "Be of some service. Do not be fastidious when so much + depends upon being efficient and good. Art for art's sake + may be very fine, but art for _progress_ is finer still. + Ah! you must think? Then think of making man better. + Courage! Let us consecrate ourselves. Let us devote + ourselves to the good, to the true, to the just; it is well + for us to do so. Some pure lovers of art, moved by a + solicitude which is not without its dignity, discard the + formula, 'Art for Progress,' the Beautiful Useful, fearing + lest the useful should deform the beautiful. They tremble to + see the drudge's hand attached to the muse's arm. According + to them, the ideal may become perverted by too much contact + with _reality_. They are solicitous for the sublime, if it + descends as far as to humanity. They are in error. The + useful, far from circumscribing the sublime, enlarges it. + But critics protest: To undertake the cure of social evils; + to amend the codes; to impeach law in the court of right to + utter those hideous words, 'penitentiary,' 'convict-keeper,' + 'galley-slave,' 'girl of the town'; to inspect the police + registers; to contract the business of dispensaries; to + study the questions of wages and want of work; to taste the + black bread of the poor; to seek labor for the + working-woman; to confront fashionable idleness with ragged + sloth; to throw down the partition of ignorance; to open + schools; to teach little children how to read; to attack + shame, infamy, error, vice, crime, want of conscience; to + preach the multiplication of spelling-books; to improve the + food of intellects and of hearts; to give meat and drink; to + demand solutions for problems and shoes for naked + feet,--these things they declare are not the business of the + azure. Art is the azure. Yes, art is the azure; but the + azure from above, whence falls the ray which swells the + wheat, yellows the maize, rounds the apple, gilds the + orange, sweetens the grape. Again I say, a further service + is an added beauty. At all events, where is the diminution? + To ripen the beet-root, to water the potato, to increase the + yield of lucern, of clover, or of hay; to be a + fellow-workman with the ploughman, the vinedresser, and the + gardener,--this does not deprive the heavens of one star. + _Immensity does not despise utility_,--and what does it lose + by it? Does the vast vital fluid that we call magnetic or + electric flash through the cloud-masses with less splendor + because it consents to perform the office of pilot to a + bark, and to keep constant to the north the little needle + intrusted to it, the gigantic guide? Yet the critics insist + that to compose social poetry, human poetry, popular poetry; + to grumble against the evil and laud the good, to be the + spokesman of public wrath, to insult despots, to make knaves + despair, to emancipate man before he is of age, to push + souls forward and darkness backward, to know that there are + thieves and tyrants, to clean penal cells, to flush the + sewer of public uncleanness,--is not the function of art! + Why not? Homer was the geographer and historian of his time, + Moses the legislator of his, Juvenal the judge of his, Dante + the theologian of his, Shakespeare the moralist of his, + Voltaire the philosopher of his. No region, in speculation + or in fact, is shut to the mind. Here a horizon, there + wings; freedom for all to soar. To sing the ideal, to love + humanity, to believe in progress, to pray toward the + infinite. To be the servant of God in the task of progress, + and the apostle of God to the people,--such is the law which + regulates growth. All power is duty. Should this power enter + into repose in our age? Should duty shut its eyes? And is + the moment come for art to disarm? Less than ever. Thanks to + 1789, the human caravan has reached a high plateau; and, the + horizon being vaster, art has more to do. This is all. To + every widening of the horizon, an enlargement of conscience + corresponds. We have not reached the goal. Concord condensed + into felicity, civilization summed up in harmony,--that is + yet far off. The theatre is a crucible of civilization. It + is a place of human communion. All its phases need to be + studied. It is in the theatre that the public soul is + formed." + +The theatre may be made the most potent engine for progress and +reform. We are living in the midst of the most splendid age which has +dawned since humanity first fronted the morning, dimly conscious of +its innate power and the possibilities that lay imbedded in its being; +an era of life, growth, warfare. On the one hand are ancient thought +and prejudice, on the other the inspiration of greater liberty and a +nobler manhood. On the one hand selfishness, sensuality, vulgar +ostentation, avarice, luxury, and moral effeminacy crying, "Art for +art's sake," demanding amusements that will aid in dissipating any +moral strength or deep thought that still lingers in the mind, and +literature that shall enable one to kill time without the slightest +suspicion of intellectual exertion; physical, mental, and moral ennui, +with an assumed lofty contempt for utility. On the other hand we have +the gathering forces of the dawn, demanding "art for progress," +declaring that beauty must be the handmaid of duty; that art must wait +on justice, liberty, fraternity, nobility, morality, and intellectual +honesty,--in a word the forces in league with light must compel the +beautiful to make radiant the pathway of the future. In the union of +art and utility lies the supreme excellence of "Margaret Fleming," it +deals with one of the most pressing problems of our present +civilization; it is the most powerful plea for an equal standard of +morals for men and women that I have ever heard. This thought, it is +true, like the entire drama, is anything but conventional; it breathes +the spirit of the coming day. The subtile bondage and servility of +woman, a vestige of the barbarous past, still taints our civilization. +Far more is demanded by society of her than of man, and when +heretofore she has raised her voice against this inequity she has been +silenced by unworthy imputations. It is the shame of our age that +woman is not accorded a higher meed of justice. She has a right to +demand that the man who marries her be every whit as pure and moral as +herself, and until she makes this demand, and holds herself from the +contamination of moral lepers, no substantial progress for higher +morals and purer life will be made. Unless woman checks the increasing +degradation of manhood, man will sooner or later drag her to his +deplorable level. "Margaret Fleming" shows this truth and points to +the woman of to-day her stern and inexorable duty. + +Unless woman assumes an aggressive stand and ostracizes the libertine, +refusing his society, his attention, and most of all the proffer of +his leprous love, the moral outlook for society will soon be as gloomy +as was Rome's future when Epictetus was banished from her streets +because he mercilessly assailed the moral degradation of his day. + + +THE PRESENT REVOLUTION IN THEOLOGICAL THOUGHT. + +The rapid spread of heresy throughout the churches is creating genuine +dismay in many quarters. When such ripe scholars and representative +thinkers as Rev. Heber Newton, Dr. C. A. Briggs, and Rev. Dr. +Bridgman, representing three of the most powerful Protestant +communions, freely preach doctrines at variance with conventional +orthodox views, and express a grander hope and broader faith than that +cherished by conservative theologians, it is by no means strange that +the current of old-time thought should be stirred. If, however, these +scholarly minds stood alone in their convictions, there would be no +warrant for such widespread apprehension as is manifest. The serious +character of the present theological revolution, however, lies in the +fact that the pulpit and the people are honey-combed with the peculiar +heresy which rejects the verbal inspiration of the Bible and the dogma +of eternal damnation.[9] The general uneasiness occasioned by the +present epidemic of heresy, and the bitter strictures which it has +called forth, are perfectly natural, while it is equally true that the +present liberal attitude of so many of the foremost thinkers in the +various orthodox churches is the legitimate outcome of numerous +agencies which have been silently working for generations. + + [9] The _United Presbyterian_ in a recent issue says, + "It appears that Dr. Briggs does not stand alone in the + theological seminaries of the Presbyterian Church as a + teacher of dangerous views of inspiration. Four of the + professors of Lane Seminary have declared themselves as + equally radical." The _Interior_ says, "The paper of + Prof. Smith, of Lane, published in a pamphlet with that + of Prof. Evans, goes much beyond anything that has + appeared on the subject from Presbyterian authorship in + this country." + + At the meeting of the Alumni of the Union Theological + Seminary, on the eighteenth of May, the newly elected + professor of systematic theology, the brilliant Rev. + Henry J. Van Dyke, D. D. (since deceased) made the + following bold remark while defending Dr. Briggs: "_If + we cannot have orthodoxy and liberty, let orthodoxy go + and let us have liberty. Liberty has always produced + progress._" + + In his sermon on May the 24th, Rev. Thomas Dixon, one + of the Baptist clergymen of New York City, said: The + heresy trial is a record of barbarism, a relic of + savagery. It belongs to the crudeness, and ignorance, + and superstition of barbaric times. It smells of + roasting flesh. + + On the same Sunday the Rev. Dr. Charles H. Parkhurst, + of the Madison Square Presbyterian Church, of New York, + quoted the ringing words given above by Dr. Van Dyke, + with his cordial indorsement. He continued to thus + severely arraign the Orthodox brethren in the + Presbyterian Church: + + "This question of inerrancy is not new. Calvin, Luther, + and many others did not believe in the Bible's + inerrancy. If this is not according to the confession + of faith--I don't know whether it is or not--we had + better square the confession with the truth rather than + the truth with the confession. Let those who would + prove that there are no mistakes in the Bible produce a + cud-chewing coney, and then we will consider the + question of inerrancy. + + If the Church is to go on in the way that some are + trying to persuade us it ought to go, the sooner it + gives up the ghost the better, to save the medical + expense." + +At various era-marking periods in the annals of history, the +multitudes have been thus disturbed. They have felt that the old-time +beliefs of their fathers, the tradition of ages, the oracles, which +from early infancy they have learned to revere and hold most sacred, +were being demolished. This naturally aroused bitter antagonism in +their souls. They believed they were carrying out God's wishes when +like Saul of Tarsus, they aided in slaying heretics. Thus when the +great Nazarene taught a higher, sweeter, and nobler code of ethics +than the ancient Jewish law-givers and teachers, he was persecuted and +slain because the Jews believed he sought to overthrow their revered +and sacred truths. In a like manner Paul and the early advocates of +Christianity, when they proclaimed their religion in Gentile lands +frequently aroused the bitterest antagonism. At a later date Galileo's +demonstrations and Sir Isaac Newton's discovery occasioned precisely +the game dismay, and called forth bitter and pronounced opposition, +because it was felt that in one case the authority of the Bible was +impeached, and in the other that God was to be taken out of the +universe. When Luther and the Reformation broke the dead calm of +centuries of growing corruption and externalization in the religious +life of Europe, Christendom felt a thrill of dismay. New disturbing +elements had entered the fields. The general uneasiness on the part of +tens of thousands of people who believed they were sincere worshippers +of God, was succeeded by an intense desire to crush out this dangerous +heresy with fire and torture, if necessary. The terrible days, months, +and years that followed the dawn of the Reformation, bear melancholy +testimony to the innate ferocity of man's nature, and the relentless +character of religious warfare. Nevertheless, in spite of persecution, +the new truth spread. A broader horizon opened to man's view. That +conflict marked the birth of one of the grandest epochs in humanity's +onward march. Thus has it ever been. To-day stones the prophet, +to-morrow tearfully rears a monument and treasures his lofty +utterances. + +Yet with every transition period comes the old-time struggle, the +apprehension and anguish of spirit, _the night of doubt_. It is, +therefore, not surprising that the oppression of fear weighs on the +minds of all those who believe that God has spoken His last word; that +in the twilight of the past alone lies the hope of humanity. + +On the other hand, the theological revolt now manifest is a legitimate +result of multitudinous agencies, which have for generations been +silently and subtly influencing the mind of man, among which may be +mentioned the spread of popular education, and the growth of the +newspaper. As long as people knew not how to read or were unable to +procure any medium of information which brought them in rapport with +the vast growing world of thought and action, they naturally turned to +their priest or clergyman for intellectual as well as religious food, +and from him as a rule received instruction with the docility and +confidence exhibited by little children seeking for truth. With the +appearance of schoolhouses in every hamlet, and the establishment of +cheap and popular newspapers, however, came a change as marked as it +was wonderful. People began to reason and think for themselves. They +demanded credentials for the various dogmas and ideas discussed in +every department of thought. It is true, that religion was approached +much more reluctantly and reverently than other subjects, but the +growth of knowledge, the opportunity to hear all sides of problems +discussed, and the broader conception of life which a world knowledge +gave, exerted a positive and ever-increasing influence on their minds +in this department of thought. The great inventions of the past +hundred years, which have bound together as one family almost the +whole world, have also brought to light the great religions of other +races and ages. Gradually it dawned on the public mind that almost +every people had a clearly defined system of theology; containing much +that was beautiful, elevating, and inspiring, more or less hidden +among superstitious traditions natural to childhood and credulous +ages. This led many to ask whether Jesus might not have had a larger +thought in his mind than mankind had dreamed when he said, "Other +sheep have I which are not of this fold"; and whether there might not +be a wider significance than had been given to the idea, that God had +in sundry times and in divers ways spoken to His children on earth. +Another lever of progressive thought was the marvellous strides taken +in physical science, which followed the Reformation. Discoveries in +astronomy, in geology and biology have completely overthrown many +time-honored and revered traditions and fables regarded for ages as +divine truth. The critical spirit of the age, the inquiring condition +of human thought, which instead of being discouraging is distinctly a +mark of human growth, stands in bold antithesis to the dark ages, when +speculation and progress were outlawed in many fields of research, and +spirituality suffered an eclipse behind the pomp, form, and show of +theology, when to a great degree mental stagnation prevailed. Yet this +critical spirit has been one of the most potent factors in +liberalizing thought. Another cause for the radical change of views +among Bible scholars is found in the rich results of archaeological +research during the past generation. This with a critical, or +scientific study of the Bible, the early church, and profane history, +contemporaneous with the rise of Christianity, has led thousands of +the most profound and sincere religious thinkers into broader fields, +giving to them a loftier view of life, eternity and God than was +possible under the old conceptions. What diligent research on the part +of scholarship has effected among critical students, the recent +revision of the Bible has accomplished among the people. The old-time +reverence for the letter of the law, or what is commonly known as +verbal inspiration, is disappearing as mist before the sunshine, +owing, in this latter case, to the people becoming acquainted for the +first time with the fact that there are passages in the Bible +confessed by the most orthodox scholars to be spurious. They found in +the revised scriptures passages in some instances containing many +consecutive verses enclosed in brackets, as, for example, the story of +the woman taken in sin in the Gospel of John from vii. 53 to viii. 11 +inclusive. Consulting the foot-note they found that these passages +were spurious or added by a later hand. I well remember the +explanation made by a scholarly and devout professor in theology, +while at the Kentucky University, regarding the passage referred to +above. "The incident doubtless occurred much as it appears," asserted +the professor, "but while omitted from the earlier copies, was handed +down by tradition, and at a later day incorporated into the text." +Such explanations in the very nature of things, however, were by no +means calculated to satisfy the doubts which had been raised in the +minds of those who had from infancy been taught to believe in the +verbal inspiration of the Bible. Naturally the question arose in the +minds of the thinking masses, if one _passage_ is proved to be +spurious, and the world possesses no original manuscripts, what +guarantee that anything approaching the original teachings of Jesus is +preserved. If the stream of inspiration is proved to be muddy in some +places, is it not possible that what at first was pure as the melting +snow on the mountain tops, after passing through the hands of various +human authors and copyists, may have become as turbid with the cast of +human thought as the mountain stream which, pure at the source, is +heavy with mud at the base? It is impossible to estimate how much +influence this discovery on the part of the people has exerted in +behalf of a broader and more liberal interpretation of the Bible. +Another factor which is usually overlooked, but which has had a marked +effect on the thought which to-day is in open rebellion against the +old standards, is found in the influence exerted by a galaxy of great +and godly lives, which came on the stage of existence early in the +present century, and whose thoughts have unconsciously broadened the +minds, refined the sentiment, and ennobled the lives of every one who +has read their works. In this country Longfellow, Bryant, Whittier, +Lowell, Hawthorne, Emerson, Channing, Parker, Clarke, and other +illuminated souls, gave all who came under the magic of their words a +broader view of life, a truer conception of the universe, and a +loftier inspiration than aught that had touched them before. It is +doubtful if the great thinkers dreamed that on the current of their +thoughts tens of thousands of earnest lives were to be carried into a +larger hope, a more intelligent, humane appreciation of the mysteries +of creation, and a grander idea of God. Thus we see in the present +religious revolution nothing strange in the bitter opposition of +conservative thought, nothing remarkable in the persistent and earnest +attitude of those who stand for the higher criticism. It is the old +feud; the past struggling with the future; departing night battling +with the dawn. Of the issue none who have faith in the ultimate +triumph of truth, wisdom, and progress can doubt. + + +THE CONFLICT BETWEEN ANCIENT AND MODERN THOUGHT IN THE PRESBYTERIAN +CHURCH. + +The vote of the New York Presbytery on the twelfth of May, to present +the case of Prof. Charles A. Briggs[10] before the synod will probably +prove one of the most momentous moves made in recent years in the +theological world. It is a positive challenge thrown before +Presbyterians who hold views popularly termed "Higher Criticism." It +is a declaration of war to the knife on the part of those who oppose +the revision of the Westminster Confession, and who cherish ancient +thought. Nor is the opposition led by Dr. Briggs disposed to yield +what is believed to be the only truth consistent with an intelligent +conception of a just, loving, and wise God. The immediate cause of +this determined conflict is found in Professor Briggs' recent address +on the authority of the Holy Scriptures, delivered at his inaugural as +Professor of Biblical Theology in the Union Theological Seminary of +New York. In this notable address he maintained that there were three +great fountains of divine authority, the Bible, the Church, and +Reason, any one of which was capable of leading persons to God. He +instanced the following cases: Cardinal Newman was led to God through +the Church of Rome; Spurgeon, through the Bible, and the philosopher +Martineau through Reason. He further asserted "that no one could get +at the Bible unless he forced his way through human obstacles, which +he tabulated as follows: (1) Superstitious reverence for the book +itself. (2) The belief in the verbal inspiration of the Bible. (3) The +authenticity of the Scriptures. Traditions from the dead church assign +authors to all the books of the Bible, but higher criticism pronounces +these traditions fallacies and follies. (4) The doctrine of the +inerrancy of the Bible. Historical criticism again pronounces that +there are errors in the Bible, but they are in circumstantials, not in +essentials. (5) The miracles are in violation of the laws of nature, +and keep men away from the Bible. (6) The failure of minute prophecy." +Dr. Briggs further expressed belief in the ultimate salvation of +mankind, declaring that redemption was not limited to this world, but +continued through the vast period of time preceding the resurrection. + + [10] Dr. Philip Schaff, than whom there is no abler or + more renowned biblical scholar in the New World, has in + a recent paper in the New York _Herald_ defended Dr. + Briggs. That journal aptly says: In his paper, he + defines in the most trenchant language, the apparent + inconsistency of the New York Presbytery in practically + avowing, eighteen months ago, the same principle for + which Dr. Briggs, it declares, must now stand trial. He + declares that the American Presbyterian Church has + herself materially changed the Westminster Confession + of a hundred years ago, and that this spirit of + revision pervades the whole Christian world. Finally, + he asserts that, as the theory of verbal inspiration of + the Scriptures is not in the Westminster Confession of + Faith, it cannot be demanded from any Presbyterian + minister or professor, and warns churchmen that any + attempt by the General Assembly to enforce an extra + Scriptural and extra Confessional theory upon the + Church will create a split worse than that of 1837. The + _Herald_ observes that:-- + + "Dr. Schaff's international fame as a church historian + and theologian will compel the greatest respect from + not alone the ministers of the Presbyterian church, but + also from the clergy of all Christian churches. + + As early as 1845, he was tried for heresy in this + country, and acquitted. In 1854, he represented the + American German churches at the Ecclesiastical Diet at + Frankfort, and received the degree of D. D. from the + University at Berlin. In 1870, he accepted the chair of + sacred literature in the Union Theological Seminary of + this city. He is a member of the Leipsic Historical, + the Netherland, and other historical and literary + societies in this country and in Europe, and is one of + the founders and honorary secretary of the American + Branch of the Evangelical Alliance. In 1871, he was one + of the Alliance delegates to the Emperor of Russia to + plead for the religious liberty of his subjects in the + Baltic Provinces. + + He was president of the American Bible Revision + Committee, which was appointed in 1871 at the request + of the English committee, and in 1875 was sent to + England to arrange for the co-operation and publication + of the Anglo-American edition. The same year he + attended officially the conferences of the Old + Catholics, Greeks and Protestants at Bonn, to promote + Christian unity. + + Dr. Schaff was first president of the American Society + of Church History, and is the author of a great number + of historical and exegetical works, both in English and + German, the latter having been translated into + English." + +On page 55 of his revised address, he observes: + + The Biblical redemption is a redemption of our race and of + universal nature. As the ancient Jews limited redemption to + Israel and overlooked the nations, so the Church limited + redemption to those who were baptized, and excluded the + heathen and unbaptized. The Presbyterians have too often + limited redemption by their doctrine of election; the Bible + knows no such limitation. The Bible teaches election, but an + election of love. Loving only the elect, is earthly, human + teaching. Electing men to salvation by the touch of Divine + love--that is heavenly doctrine. The salvation of the world + can only mean the world as a whole, compared with which the + unredeemed will be so few and insignificant and evidently + beyond the reach of redemption by their own act of rejecting + it and hardening themselves against it, and by descending + into such depths of demoniacal depravity that they will + vanish from sight. + +In the appendix to his address, published about the middle of May, in +speaking of _inerrancy_, Dr. Briggs further observes:-- + + It is agreed that there are a large number of errors in the + best MSS. of the Bible; it is the theory of modern + dogmaticians, that they were not in the original MSS. We can + never have them, and it is idle to speculate as to their + contents. When the Lower or Textual Criticism has done its + best, and secured the best possible text, dogmaticians + discredit the best text when they speculate as to what was + in the original text. If the reactionary dogmaticians may + speculate to remove errors from the text, the rationalistic + critics may also speculate with regard to the original text + in a way that would make havoc with scholastic theology. + Even Mohammed was willing to accept the original text of the + Law and the Gospel, which he claimed had been falsified by + Jews and Christians. + + I said, "It is not a pleasant task to point out errors in + the Sacred Scriptures." In "Biblical Study," and "Whither?" + I limited myself to two errors of citation. I have not taken + a brief to prove the errancy of Scripture. _Conservative men + should hesitate before they force the critics in + self-defence to make a catalogue of errors in the Bible._ + The errors are in the only texts we have, and every one is + forced to recognize them. + + It is well known that the great reformers, Calvin and + Luther, recognized errors in the Scriptures, that Baxter and + Rutherford of the second Reformation were not disturbed by + them, and that the choicest spirits of modern times--such as + Van Oosterzee, Tholuck, Neander, Stier, Lange, and + Dorner--have not hesitated to point out numerous errors in + Holy Scripture. This view is maintained by Sanday, Driver, + Cheyne, Davidson, Bruce, Gore, Marcus Dods, Blaikie, and + numerous others in Great Britain; by Fisher, Thayer, Smythe, + Evans, H. B. Smith, W. R. Harper, and hosts of others in + this country." + +One can easily see how dangerously heretical such bold declarations +would sound to patriarchs of conservatism like Rev. Dr. Shedd, the +well-known author of Dogmatic Theology, which embraces thirteen +hundred pages, but in the index of which one looks in vain for +"forgiveness of sin" or "pardon of sin." A work which devotes +eighty-six pages to hell and only four to heaven. Dr. Briggs, however, +claims that theologians like Dr. Shedd, whose teachings have been +chiefly on the damnation of men not competent to judge him, and gauged +by our present civilization he is doubtless correct, but by the +standard of the theologians who framed the Westminster Confession, I +have less confidence in his accuracy. It must be remembered, however, +that Professor Briggs has exhaustively studied the lives and +teachings of the framers of the Confession, and he may have been able +at times to catch them at their best, when in moments of spiritual +exaltation they have uttered grand prophetic and divinely loving +utterances which were foreign to their usual habits of thought or the +religious conviction of the age in which they lived. And in that event +he may be able to maintain his position when his case is called before +the synod, even against the popular impression as to the real meaning +of the Confession. Failing in this, the only alternative will be +recantation or withdrawal from the Presbyterian Communion. From the +stand already taken it is impossible to imagine the professor +stultifying himself and teaching what he does not believe; while his +withdrawal will unquestionably mean the greatest schism that +Presbyterianism has yet suffered. I think it highly probable that the +majority of his brother ministers to-day will condemn[11] the bold, +brave man whom his communion in the near future will revere as a man +who, prophet-like, saw beyond the sect to which he belonged; whose +noble, loving, and holy nature drew him into intimate relationship +with the Divine life, which is the essence of Love. + + [11] Since writing the above the Assembly at Detroit has + voted against the confirmation of Dr. Briggs by 440 + against 59; thus, from a numerical point of view, Dr. + Briggs is in the minority. This is by no means + surprising, and I regard it greatly to the credit of + the Assembly that, while they hold to the severe + doctrines popularly known as Calvinism, they repudiate + all the great liberal scholars who refuse to believe + and teach conceptions of God which were unquestioningly + accepted in a former age, but which the enlightenment + of the present century shrinks from with unutterable + horror. Unless Dr. Briggs proves a dishonest man and + recants he must leave Union Theological Seminary, if + that institution remains in the Presbyterian + fellowship. + + + +[Transcriber's Note: A macron diacritical mark, a straight line above +a letter, is found on several words in the original text. These letters +are indicated here by the coding [=x] for a macron above any letter x. +For example, the word "aionios" with a macron above the first letter +"o" will appear as "ai[=o]nios" in the text.] + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Arena, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ARENA *** + +***** This file should be named 19603.txt or 19603.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/9/6/0/19603/ + +Produced by Barbara Tozier, Bill Tozier, Richard J. 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