Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1881-04-06
A HIDEOUS HERITAGE.


Two imperial mandates have fallen
to the sons of men within the month.
On March 4, by the will of the majori-
ty ofthe people ofthis nation of50, ,0O0,-
600, James Abram Garfield assumes the
executive fuctions of this government.
Yesterday, irrespective of the will of
IS, 900, 900 OF people, Alexander Ro-
manoff made known to these millions
that, by the "will of God" he is hence
forth the autocrat, heayen-born, sacred
ly-annointed and divinely-appoiu ted
ruler, pontitf and lawmaker His faith
er, lying mangled and cold in the
sumptuous woe of the Winter Palace
yonder, came in with tho same assump-
lion of divinity. The bulletins Of Sun
day made known that by Gods will he
had been removed from his sacred mis-
sion. In the long line of the Romanoff
autocrats the will of God has been
worked with violence. Few have died
natural deaths. None have reigned in
tranquility. So far as the ends that are
held good and wholesome in the forms
of government go, the divine system is
the least satisfactory in this day, as it
was in the days that to punish Israel
God sent that people king.
Prone as mankind is to covet power
and reckless as most men are in grasp
ing it, the most aspiring spirit in Chris
tendon might hesitate before undertak-
ing the task that lies before the untried
youth who assumes this bloody and
troublous heritage. His ancestors have
ruled through forms that time has
shown impotent. Any million of men
are greater than any one man. Eighty
FIVE millions of men groreling in ignor-
ance-in many cases men only because
they bear the forms Of their Maker
must prove greater than this one man
who so rashly announces himself their
God given master.
If adversely be the school of merit
tho third Alexander, who reaches out
so confidently to grasp the heavy scep-
tre stained with the blood of his sire,
should bring something else than the
stolid self-will of his autocratic ances-
tors to the business of government. 1t
is lesson old as history that wrong is
only maintained by wrong. The mur-
der of prince like Alexander is not the
outcome of mad passion not the graft
| fcation of personal hatred; not the
triumph of lawlessness nor the realiza-
ton of anarchy. For quarter of a
century the sluggish thought of great
people has been slowly formulating it.
self into expression for quarter of a
century great people have been arous-
ing themselves to the responsibilities OF
that high law which recognizes the
right that every man hasin himself. 1t
was not because Alexander H. was not
an amiable man, a generous prince and
as kings 90, clement ruler of his peo-
pie that his subjects warned him that
the strife between manhood and slavery
was battle TO the death.
1t was because he refused to admit
that the Russian millions of to-day were
made of the same manhood as the ma
tions surrounding upon each hamlet,
ruling with rod Of iron, with rights
over person and property without limi-
tation. To the exactions of the govern
ment were added the ungovernable
rapacities of horde Of satraps, against
whom there was no appeal. No laws
protected the people, no civic system
took the commonality into the contem-
pla.ion OF its workings. The forms of
justice were the arbitrary will of the To-
| cal slave-driver.
The minion of the Court was sent to
every hamlet, clothed with the power
! of life and death, wrcakcd bis lust Of nu-
thority or greed for gain on gentle and
simple alike. The millions Of money
needed TO maintain the State were
ground out Of the poverty -strlken peas
ant on no system but the mere will of
the local tyrant Complaint was met
by wholesale confcation refusal was
met by the knout, applied alike to the
| bare back of the aged and infirm as
well as children and women When,
with every hope fled the laccrated peas
ant appealed to the last resource of the
miserable, death, his kinsmen to the re-
motest generation were made to pay the
penalty. Finally driven to that last
resort Of the down-trodden, revolution,
whole communities were slaughtered
by court-martial, and wien the numbers
became too great for even this summary
method thousands of communities were
chained in couples and driven north.
ward to the perpetual winter Of Siberia
TO drag out miserable years in the gov.
ernment mines. II in the march death
overlook the victim, his corpse was
forced upon his comrade, to keep the
number complete until the list could be
receiptcd at the end Of the aolorous
journey. Every road in Russia has
been stained by the blood and bathed
by the tears of men, women and chill
dren who keep up this hidcous caval
cade year in and year out.
So II came TO pass that tho living