The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1873-05-30
HAMILTON FISH.
TIuE TWO CONFLICTS.

To-day is time of mourning. From
mountain tops and valley depths, from cit
les, villages and plains, the people pour
forth, stirred by one sympathy, moved by
one impulse, to honor the dead who died
for their country. They bring wreaths and
flowers and tears to hallow the memory OF
the sacrifices made for us all.
Whence came the necessity for these sac
rifces? 1t came from neglected wrong.
There was class of men whom circum-
stonoos enabled ~ uiaw into their own
pockets money belonging to others. There
were three hundred thousand of these per-
sons, and of those tleeced there were four
million. The rights of the latter as Ameri-
can citizens were violated by the taking of
their earnings. Then their rights as human
beings were violated by taking from them
the relations of family, and giving them
immortality. They separated husband and
wife, father and children, and dashed and
dcmoralzed without limit. We collected
pennies for the heather in Africa and Asia,
and sent out missionaries, and heard once
in awhile that an African or an Asiatic was
converted, and felt happy in the conscious
ness of duty performed. The 100000
enacted laws prohibiting the education OF
any one of the four millions, under pain of
criminal punishment. They must not be
taught to read or to spell, or even their let
tiers. We dared not say this was wrong.
Our tongues were tied, our press was muz-
zled. The 300, 900 laid their burning hands
on the education of the eight millions of the
white masses, and dried it up. Before the
war there was not free school in any slave
State except in few cities. If we said
any thing about those wronged white mass
es they were the first to gather tar and
feathers. We kept quiet about it, and
went on talking about other nations sins,
till at last the Almighty demanded penalty
for neglecting known wrongs till they got
beyond peaceable control, and the nation
had to pay six hundred thousand lives tc
get out of the difficulty hundred
thousand on our SIDE three hundred thous
and on theirs, dead on the battle field, or il
hospitals, or from disease picked men fol
the sacrifice, without blemish, perfect il
form and stature.
Are we out of all danger now ? Is there
not the same disposition to concentrate il
few hands the means of the masses, an'
to disregard their rights We elect
Congress 1t attends to our business in
slipshod way, pockets million dollars an'
goes home We want great railroad
across the country, and are willing to hell
build it. Congress votes enough for tn
purpose, and at other sessions leading mem
bers, trusted members, and vice-p presidents
even, put the money or stock of the railroa
in their pockets and vote it more land or prl
vileges it should not have. Legislatures sci
their votes, sell their constituents, sell any
thing any body will buy no matter who
belongs to. We build railroads and PIT
men in to manage them. They put til
whole concern, locomotives, rolling stoc
and rails in their ample pockets, and bi
us be grateful for what we get or hope TO
without sniyelling over what is gone.
Our old-fashioned highways are extinc
The railroads have taken their place. "
cannot shoulder our satchels, take OF
umbrellas under our arms and go where "
please without their leave, or send pour
of freight without their license and the
charge us what they choose. We dare NJ
open our mouths or write word against
but we put our fingers on our lips and OF
faces in the dust and keep silence, or Il
very people whom we might propose
serve would rebuke us because they capn
see where it concerns them, or how It's the
business.
We speak now as part of the press of Il
United States. There has been nothir
wrong in this State, but there has been
every other, and the press says little
nothing.
Our United States judges, our congress
en-, our State judges, our legislators, rit