The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1878-04-29
comm..issie ,Asis.siens.

forms Of the exceptional character Of this
country and of its people. 1t has been
sometimes held by the forid orator from the
illimitable and untamable West that the
United States and its constitution and
climate and resources and people were 80
widely different from all other States and con-
situations and climates and peoples before
seen that none of the old science, none of the
old rules or principles derived from the
history of peoples in other lands, could be
Justly applied to cases arising here. In an
important financial discussion in the Senate
Mr.. Schurz once showed. by m elaborate
citation of authorities in political economy,
the unwisdom Of q certain proposed action,
and Mr. Morton loftily jeered at this attempt
to restrict tho actions of free people by
rules actually drawn from books, and,
Europe. In short, the absurdity Of
measuring the greatness of this country
by the littleness of other countries Is
one Of. the commonplace of hifalutin ora
tory; and If we take the orators at their
word it must be concluded that it will
never be just to reason on any scientific
principles in this country until we have
discovered all the sciences anew for our
selves, from legislation TO astronomy. But
there is one topic as to which the argu-
ment from the different conditions of
life in this country seems to apply
with certain propriety. This topic
is the so-cAlled communicate agita-
Ala ssw0ks Int
are extremely dangerous in many other
countries, and must in those countries be
stamped out from their origin at every peril.
may be tolerated as harmless here. In
many parts of Europe it is dangerous to
permit men to harnngue about the oppres-
sion of the masses. Here it is only ridicu-
lous. There it means revolt against the OPP
preston: here it means that the orator
will accept an office in order that he may
set the world right. There it is. tragedy !;
here it is comedy, if not farce.
As to all the overthrow Of the existing
world that Communism proposes to itself
there is the same radical difference be-
tween Europe and this country. Com
munism assails points that Europe does
not permit to be put in doubt; but here
everything that it touches is in doubt
at all times. An unfxed condition rs to
opinions and facts is our normal state, and
Communism finds itself no better and no
worse than any other ism that proposes or
applies novel theories to the same old facts
It's force is broken by the circumstance that
it appeals to popular opinion only in COM
mon with thousand other theories for the
reconstruction of society, labor, morality,
politics and religion. Society in Europe
stands by the principle that in proportion
as man is left to himself he will go to
the dogs. II assumes that as human
nature is bad, SO unrestricted human
action must necessarily tend to evil
consequently European communities de-
fine the few acts as TO which man is free
and restrain him as to all the rest. In this
country We define the few nets as to which
he is restrained md give him NIL possible
liberty as to large field of life, because our
theory is that mon left to himself tends
to do not OWL but good; for that is
the condition Of his own prosperity
in which he is more interested than any
one else. There are some errors in
this, rs there are certainly in the other
view also but it is impossible for de-
mocracy to exist on any other theory. 1t is
obvious tibet this theory gives to Commun-
ism, rs to other noxious fancies, all tho
ropo it CON take, and rope enough is oil it
wants. Communists are astonished to find
that in this country they are not conspira-
tors. They constitute party, and very
small and at present contemplate one.
They will DO contemplate, and, conse-
quently, Of no account until they are
majority then they will DO the people and
may do what they please inside the consti-
tuition. Their proposed crimes will be Of
no account while they are not the people;
when they nre they will not be crimes.
Communism is one of the bugdboos that
shallow people faunt in the faces of timid
public. There are plants that, grown in the
soil of one country, are virulent and deadly
poisons, while in another soil and under
other skies they serve the people as food
md similarly tho social conception that
proves virulent poison in Paris or Berlin
will be with us merely IN insipid md
malodorous weed. Our people are too
logical to accept any social or political
creed without an effort to comprehend its
nature or understand it's purposes; and
reasonable efYortto understand Communism
will simply strip il of the disguises in
which il struts. There appear to be just
now in the different parts of the country as
many claimants to the name of tho Com
mune MS there used to be in Chatham street
to the name of Jacobs. There was, first,
plain Jacobs-then the original Jacobs,
and next the real original jacobs
and, perhaps, even several other grades
Of this respectable family. Out West in oil
the large cities there are organizations of a
socialistic labor party who call themselves
Communists: and hero we have Mt least two