The Labor enquirer., 1884-05-10
SELF PRESERVATION.
1t Has Always Been Recognized
as the First Law of
Nature.
Some Interesting Bits Of Antique
HistEy Brought Out by Carl
Wulsten.
Editor Labor Enquirer.

Editor Labor Enquirer. t.fl
| DENVER, May 5.-Did you ever step
upon rattlesnake2 Did you ever corner
a wolff Did you ever assault a cata-
mount? Did you ever wound a tiger?
No; but you probably once stepped into
an ant-hill; or hit with a stick into a
wasp-nest. Perchance got your head too
near a bumblebee-nest. Yes we'll, how
did they act Did the rattlesnake, wolf,
catamount or tiger crouch down at your
royal highness' feet and lick the dust
from your toes? Did the ants, wasps and
bumblebees run or fly away from you
No by the eternal, they did nothing of
the kind! They attacked you to the best
of their knowledge and ability. And in
every instance, l bargain for it, they
made it hot about your ears for the time
being. Well, if you were able to kill
them you did it without compunctlon,
and if you were not, they would kill you,
l warrant, in the first cases, and in the
cases of the small insects, they would
give you crawling over and a stinging
about you ears which you will probably
remember ever and hereafter. Well, do
YOU blame them? They only followed
the mere instincts of their existence and
enacted the first law of nature-"Self-
Preservation"
God in His eternal wisdom provided
for that in every animal, even in man.
But He probably never dreamed that
man would often-very often-forget
that instinct under the pressure of
his cunning nature calling his cowardice
"Prudence." Yes, co Eardice called pru-
dence and nothing else. Might is Right,
has been and is demonstrated by man
every day of his existence.
The savages of America, Africa and
Australia, whether with the assistance of
bows and arrows, their boomerangs and
Dall lariats, their clubs and spears, or
with their cunning and treachery, follow
the idea on the offensive of might is
right, and are actuated on the defensive
by the instinct of self preservation. The
1 Bedouin of the Sahara follows the same
law. The Tekke Turkman. the Kirgish,
the Afghan and the Malay, all these
cop,; ho rborior no follOw II Tho CouGoc
sian race has paid homage to its doctrine.
The feudal barons of medieval times
held that might was right and exercised
this doctrine until it has become a creed
and religious prerogative of the mighty
and wealthy. From behind secure walls
of mighty thickness.the ancient lords of
feudal times sailed forth and with force
of arms, in broad daylight, attacked the
lesser class of human beings and robbed
them. If resistance was offered they
even murdered them and even gloried
in their bloody deeds, upon which they
built themselves castles upon castles,
erected domain upon domain, and
planted their thrones, calling themselves
; princes, kings and emperors, "by the
grace of God w Of course, when they
had accumulated wealth and property,
! had subjugated the poor and timid, made
slaves of their cowardly fellow beings,
then-and not until then-theY set up
the great doctrine that, MISREPRESENTATION
! is the first law of nature" Thus history
t excused and justified conqlerors. Thus
! are TigIash, Pilesar, Salmanaser, Sen
nacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, Cam
byses, Xerxes, Attaxerxes. Darius, Alex
ander, Scipio Africannus, Pompejus
, Cazar, Augustus, Germanicus, Tiberius
E Calligula and Nero, and thousands Of
other conquerors excused and justified
, Thus have Solomon, Ferdinand and
Isabella, William the Conqueror, the
Vicings of Norway, Peter the Great
= Charles the Twelfth, Phillip the Second
of Spain, Charles the Great of Germany
Frederic the Second of Prussia, Napoleon
:, Bonaparte and many more robbers beer
: excused and justified. They used this
S almighty law of nature, "selfDreserva
: ton" as cloak and hood to veil theil
open robbery of those who were not SC
e mighty as they. They were the rattle
a snakes, wolves, catamounts and tigers
3 the ants, wasps and bumblees, in their
e own estimations, when in reality they
: were the robbers, beasts of prey and vul
.. . lures of the human race for whose mem
: ory and glorifcation the cowardly masses
e erected pyramids, mausoleums and pill
t lars of victory. They destroyed millions
l of human beings and uncountable
j amounts of wealth, begotten by the
= sweat of the brows of millions of down
e trodden humanity. Were they the civ
: ilizers of the world? By no means. Die
/ one of them ever alleviate the suffering
t of poor humanity Did any of then
e improve the people?
: The agony, the death-struggle for free
: dom, the desperation of dis pair of the
+ low masses were the instruments of tha
e civilization, which we to-day enjoy. Gu
> of desperate necessitv the masses ploddec
= and struggled under the iron heel O
these desperadoes of the human race, X
enable themto throw off the tyranny
. and bloody owner ship. A generation il
' bonds being swept away by the ak o
? tbe;r onnressors tanpht its succeedin!