The Labor enquirer., 1884-03-15

!
Austria or England have in q conflict Q
arms with their governments ? Abso
lutely none at all. II it were necessary
in order to put down the people of any
one country at war with their govern
ment, all the armies would he concen
trated against them. Despots are unitet
to retain their impious power. But th,
peoples have obtained the favor of Ne
mesis. They hold the power Of retribu
tive justice, from which no tyrant car
long escape. / desire to speak guardedly
and plainly at this point, simply stating
facts as / see them. No man can abhol
assassination more than /. But as I
means of overthrowing tyranny I do moi
abhor it in any measure worthy compar
ison, as / deprecate war. would inf.
nitsly prefer that every crowned head o.
Europe should be blown to Heaven with
dynamite than that one great battle with
the engineery of slaughter now welded
by traind armies, should be fought.
I have spent many dreadful days and
nights on fields of carnage, and the
visions haunt me still. The life Of car
or an emperor is no more precious TO
himself, nor to his family, than that Of
the humblest soldier is to him and his
family. God Is no respecter of persons,
and his ambassadors have no right to be.
The monarch of Russia can put down
any uprising of tangible force, but he
cannot shield himself from perpetual
fear of assassination which must make
life to him a curse. l hope and pray
that the uncomfortable dread will drive
him to stop sending scores of thousands
of men and women to perishing in Sibe-
ria, and also to grant the people the
right of constitutional government. If
he does not he richly deserves his doom.
The rulers of England could easily
crush any army Ireland could command,
but cannot afford to live in the horrible
dread that now torments them. They
cannot long endure to depend on guards
encircling their persons day and night.
They must see that it is infinitely better
to confer liberty on the masses. have
said this much about assassination, to
reach an expression of an opinion /
cherish. Revolutions are to be compar-
stively bloodless, hereafter, and are not
to destroy the accumulated wealth Of the
nations. l believe but few will fall
by use of the invisible but terrible forces
supplied to the people by science. Love
of life is the master passion of men.
Rulers prize life for themselves, while
they have little concern for that of 9th
ers. They can command wars in which
scores of thousands perish if it does not
come nigh them, as has been their wont
in the past Rather than relax their
hold of power to rob their subjects they
will sacrifice armies, but when the alter
native is presented-and from it there is
no escape-either to let go and disgorge
or die themselves, they will not hesitate
long. That alternative is being presented
and am not sorry! Assassination OF
rulers is terrible. No language can de-
scribe its horrors, but war is so much
more dreadful that there is no ground
for comparison and the enslavement Of
peoples is infinitely more dreadful than
either, or both combined.
l pray God that light may increase and
love of freedom may intensity until all
peoples shall say to tyrants and mean
what they say, Give me liberty or give
me DEATH" or die yourselves!