The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1883-01-31

Aristocracy of birth was .horn OF its
last remnant of power in the Cnltea
States By the election of Andrew JACK
son to the Presidency. From the De
ginning of the government until then the
struggle was between those WHO having
DESTROYED the substance oil Royaity
hungcred for is shadows. and those
who determined there should be perfect
equality Of power among men.
Forty years we're required to ellml-
nate the aristocracy of birth from
American politics. How successfully 1t
has been done the elevation OF a tailor
a tanner. aid a cabin boy OF a cana.
boat to the Presidency. abundantly tes-
tities. Those years were an era OF
peaceful revolution accomplishing h
in other lands is wrought only by the
red hand of blood.
The next era in American history was
a contest of forty years between Liberty
and the Aristocracy of Slavery. SIN
gular to note. the political party which
previously maintained the rights OF
Man became the champion of the slave
power and the party which had endeav-
ored to confine liberty became the
friend of freedom. This era witnessed
a Revolution of Force beginning with
the death of John Brown and ending
with the assassination of Abraham Lin
coin. A human sacrifice was required
TO beoin and to end the great drama.
We have entered the third era OF u
countrv's history. The difficulties here
tofore oyercome-the abolition of caste.
the emancipation of slavery, the sup
pression of rebellion-have all been
met and opposed iii other ages and by
other republics. We are now confront
| ed by a problem which no free govern
ment ha. ever solved, and which has
destroyed them all.
The contest is now between the peo-
pie and the a%ristocracy of wealth. On
the 25th of December. A. ID. 1913. Lord
Chesterfield wrote from Paris: I'm
short all the symptoms which L nave
| ever met with in history previous to
! great changes and revolutions IN gov
| eminent. now exist and daily increase
in France" Forty years thereafter the
Guilotine stood in the Place de la Revo-
| luton, replacing the statue OF King
! Louis. He has read history in vain
| who fails t o discover a startling and
| str king parallelism between our own
| and the Roman Republic. We are go
| ing down the same road which led to
| ROme's destruction as fast as time can
| carry us. Upon the settlement of the
| question-how and to what extent shall
the power of wealth be limited depends
| the fate of our institutions. When so
great a man as Mr.. Beecher goes
abroad in the land preaching the gospel
| of riches, il is time to enquire the cause
of this departure from the ancient say
ing THAT a rich man shall hardly enter
| into the kingdom of heaven" l main
tain
First-That our liberties are in peril
so long as the power of wealth is I'M
limited.
Second-That a satisfactory method
of attaining this end is possible.
Of all power, that of wealth is most
Objectionable, because its possession
necessarily involves a certain amount
of deprivatit n on the part of those over
whom it is exercised. A large amount
of the surplus capital OF the country is
| daily directed to control and fix the
| price of food, either by direct purchase
or by determining the cost of its trans
| pOrtaJion to the !. arkets OF the country.
Food is the dearest, land the cheapest,
commodity in America. A century
hence population will be so dense that
! six days labor will be required to pro-
cure a bare living, shelter and food.
Then land will be the dearest of all
possessions, and the struggle of the
rich will be to become vast landed pro-
prietors. If they succeed, the poor will
90 to the wall, as in Ireland OF tie
rich will go to the g%uilotine as in
France. When population becomes
dense, men will discover that it is easier,
all things considered, to vote them
selves a living, than to work for it.
Then elections will be frequent and
workshops deserted. The more people
there are the more money there must
be. Ii the people increase and spread
over the entire land and the money is
centered in the hands O. the few. there
will be want and hunger,and these pro-
luce revolution. Where one possesses
all, the rest are slaves. The nearest
approach to perfect freedom is where
wealth Is most equally distributed.
With a population Of five hundred mill
lions OF people, society would not last a
day as at present constituted in the
United States. Mr.. Vanderbilt, Mr..
Astor and Mr.. Gould can buy every foot
Of land in the State of North Carolina.
1t is in the power Of these three men to
reduce an eutire State of this Union to
the condition of Ireland. When such a
scheme becomes more profitable or
pleases the fancy of such men more
than Specializing in grain and stocks, it
Will be attempted.
(VD RE CnNTINIEn