The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1881-06-30
BRIGHTER DAYS AHEAD.

The mossback will soon find him
self dragged along in forward
to which he has lent aid
neither in money nor approval. If
one would take the time to dog his
footsteps and watch him closely, 1t
would be found that he is,after all, a
man of most progressive ideas. He
would not give dollar towards
building a railway from Austin to-
wards the northwest, and had he
been called upon 10 pay fifty
cents for a telegram that would
have secured such a road, he would
most positively have refused to con-
tribute this enormous sum, though
at the end of every month he col
lects $500 or $1,000 on business
property. To call him a mossback
is rather rough, when it implies that
the wool extends all the way down
his spinal column, and that it is only
necessary TO turn him loose as n
buffalo OH the prairies for him soon to
be in the state that Darwin found the
human family just as the last vestige
of a tail dropped from the backbone,
and produced man from monkey.
That "silent man" might thus de-
scribe a mossback, but the STATES
MAN has watched HIM closely
and finds that he is the most
human of all human beings.
He lives within himself. and
for himself, and collects rents
and clips coupons and draws inter-
est, and his eye displays, instead of
a dull beastly glare, a brilliancy
in its sharp and cutting glances.
There is humanity in that
eye that was never dreamed of
when Adam began to cast sly
glances at Eve, and which only be-
gan to show itself when Cain slew
his brother. Cain was really the
first mossback, and history tells us
that he was a remarkably cunning
and calculating human being. Phi
losophy and science and experience
teaches that the qualities of the
sire extend to those of his
own blood, and it is proven
in the race of mOssbacks that
the stock is true to the parent blood.
Abel was generous fellow, and,
when he and his brother agreed to
pay tribute to their Maker, Abel
picked the best of his flock and Of
fered generous sacrifices, While Cam
picked out lot of murrained cattle
and scabby sheep with which 10 pay
his devotiOns upon the altar. This
scabby proceeding did not please
Abel, and Cain got mad and con-
ceived plan to better his
financial condition, and so he
murdered the generous boy, and
took his fiocks and herds as pay for
the sacrifices he had made. The
modern mossback has improved
upon the sire. In the first place he
would not make u sacrifice TO save
his soul from perdition, and he
would, just as his great ancestor
did, slay his brother for gain. The
mossback is a powerful being in
some communities. His cold, cal
culating disposition leads him TO
take advantage of others, and he
controls property and makes it pay
more largely than other men, There
is no end to his demands and, as
property makes wealth and wealth
makes power, so the mossback has
ability to shape the destiny of his
surroundings. A mossback turns
over a silver dollar that it may be
converted into two gold dollars, and
he smiles with supreme delight,
real human smile, when he seats
himeelf upon a thousand dollar lot
that has cost him really One-tenth
that sam. He then contrives to get
his neigbhors to build ON both sides
of this lot, AID then he. pays small
per centage for A4e right to use the
petition walls, and then asks twice
as much rent for his property as his
neighbors. There is much that is
peculiarly human about this sort OF
mossbackism. Another owns aaeagile
of land, that he "lawed' other peo'
pie out of years ago, fifty miles
away from a railroad line. He will
NOT give one dollar to the company
that proposes to build railway
through this very tract of land, but
he will charge for right-of-way curse
the railway as a nuisance, and then
chuckle over the fact that he is thus
enabled to sell land for ten ortwenty
dollars per acre, which, short
time before, he could not dis
pose of for fifty cents. Thus they
reap the reward of patient waiting.
They have never spent a dollar to
push the city, but it is going to move
ahead without their sanction and
grow, while they chuckle with de-
light at their gain. The breed will
live as long as it is set down in holy
writ that those two boys of the first
couple disputed about each one car
rying his share of a public burden
Austin will continue to have
mossbacks, but they are grand
sort OF humanity that makes for
tune and name, and goes down to
the grave mourned as great and
good men, possessing gold. 1t has
been said that Austin is one
of the best places in the world
for the study of mossbaskism. This
may be true, and if so,
these delectable beings are going
no longer 10 shape the destiny
of this community The capital city
win grow and prosper in the next
Ten years as never before. 1t can be
counted that within the next two
wears ten lines of railways will con-
center at Austin. placing it in close
connection with every portion ofthe
country. These will bring here
mora vVide-awake men with money