The Grange advance., 1874-06-24
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The Common People.

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text, and shall endeavor if possible to
find the meaning Of the term. There
seems to be an outcropping of senti-
ment that points towards division Of
the people into classes in our land to-
day; desire upon the part of many
money favored ones to establish spe-
cies of prescription that rather smacks
of despotism. We know Of no line of
heritage OF descent by which such au-
thority gains recognition Of power un-
less it be through the excessive de-
mands of surplus capital held in the
hands Of inviduals that has no immedi-
ate representation Of genuine worth in
the business transactions that are Of
general interest to the masses; conse-
quent]y it is handled to meet the de.
mands Of an extravagant and riotous
living Of that particular class, purchas-
ing tor them what titles OF nobility fail
to supply mongrel royalty without a
crown, a hot house plant, a sort Of fun
gus, growing out Of the carcass Of stolen
goods. Some might say that this is
truly American, but We deny the charge;
it hasn't the first living feature Of an
American character; it is foreign born
and illegitimate at that, for it travels
without parentage, stealing its coat Of
arms from nobility with whom it has
no recognized affinity. To be an Amer
lean is to be commoner with the free
dom Of manhood purchased by the
rights of toll and usefulness. Such
was the established programme by the
colonies and handed down by them
from one generation to another until
the present; and the true American
has stuck to the letter and the spirit Of
its requirements; frugality, industry
and economy, were born of the necessi~
ty Of those days, and the spirit of the
common people" " to-day is the result
of that experience and teaching. The
non-producing, money-grabbing, pleas
ure-seeking class Of this people are for
eign born interlopers, or dish-water
Americans aping foreign manners, and
buying foreign preferments with the
price of money Then to me, to be one
of the common people," is to be an
american, for they are the life blood,
the sovereign power by and through
which the Republic lives, 50 when a
cobweb aristocracy endeavor to throw
obloquy and shame upon legitimate la
Dor, we retort by asking your right to
citizenship; what have you done to mer-
it the privilege of an association with
Commoners or with Americans; you
have fought none of its battles, neither
have you produced any Of its wealth,
but simply like leeches, hanging to the
unprotected parts Of a turtle, do you
hang to the unprotected parts Of Amer
ican industry and toll, living of its vi
tally without paying consideration.
No! Sir knight Of the Cloth! the
world moves; and when We say the
world, we mean the sentient portion
Of it. Thought is ever active in build
ing superstructures by which humanity
is enabled to ascend from lower to
higher levels; progress is the motive
power that sways human enleayor in
the direction Of a more uniform growth,
and thus keeps the masses nearer level
in intellectual attainments, notwith'
standing there may be desire upon the
part Of some to subdivide this realm
of human activity into caste approach.
ing the character Of an aristocracy, but
the laboring masses are interposing g
barrier heretofore unused on account
of the ignorance they we're forced tt
live under in consequence Of depleted
circumstances. The plow boy has sub
stituted thought for his whistle" ant
that thought is blowing other fields
than that of stubble growth, preparato