Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-04-13

favor a restricted ballot; but l do mean
to declare with all the emphasis which
the words import, that as the %perpetuity
of this government rests upon the virtue,
the intelligence and the patriotism of the
people, il behooves the true friends of
the republic to be on guard against the
pernicious teachings and practices OF
those who do not Know or knowing, do
not care, what the consequences may be.
1t may be true, and doubtless is, tina
for many years yet, and so long as home
lovers or home-owners are in the ma
jority in this country, the evil day will
not come; but if the time ever comes,
and who shall say it will not? when So
cialists from Germany, communists from
France and nihilists from Russia, rein
forced bv a shiftless and disconnected
population, white and black, of our own
shall have filled this boosted land of
liberty, and shall form a majority of our
voters, the perilous times will have come
upon US; the eud predicted by Macaulay
will be at hand, and either anarchy or
| C2sarism will reign supreme.
/ have long been impressed with the
belief that the chief danger to our insti-
tutions lies in the power for mischief of
the two extremes of our soCiety-the very
rich and the very poor. These extremes
when bent on mischief-the one strug-
Cling by fair RleHns or foul to increase
Its possessions and. to secure them by a
stronger governments; the other driven
to despair by a hard fate and Indifferent
to the rights of property-have been de-
nominated respectively the cormorant
and the commune. 9he control of gov
! eminent by the former would mean
C@sarism; by the latter, anarchy. 1t
seems to me that it should be the mission
/ of q wise craftsmanship to hold these
dangerous elements in check; and when
ever a tendency is discovered, whether
In class legislation, false teach
ing, prejudice, or otherwise that would
encourages or d to the ranks of either,
that every lover of his country should
hasten to expose and counteract it. II
the cormorant threatens the safety of the
republic let US exterminate the oormor-
anti; if the commune, let US exterminate
the N
Now l am no alarmist; my dreams are
not disturbed by any nightmare of polit-
zeal pessimism; on the contrary, L am
full of hope and faith in the ultimate
and lasting triumph of our institutions as
the noblest heritage ever vOuchsafed BY
God to man. My jealousy and zeal for
that heritage may sometimes cause me
TO challenge as dangerous tendencies
that ere not really so; but for this [ shall
be forgiven, for everything is forgiven to
the spirit of liberty,
The mere possession of wealth, how
ever great, if honestly acquired and law
fully guarded, is no menace to our gov
eminent; neither Is the heritage of pow
erty, so long as its victims, with ihtelli-
gent and patriotic purpose in demanding
and compelling their own rights shall
insist that the rights of others be re-
spected. The acquisition of property is
encouraged by all good governments and
its protection is one OF the chief ends of
government. Whether it is counted by
millions or is a mere trifie; whether it
exists in stocks n bonds and herds upon
a thousand hills, or only in the humble
home of the very poor. 1t claims the equal
care and the equal protection of govern
ment And If In man doubts that the
people of Texas endorse this proposition,
let him recall the great strike of 1885.
They surely had no consuming love for Mr..
Gould, and yet the contemplation of his
constantly growing millions never sent
such a thrill of alarm through law-abid-
ing people of ali classes as the lawless
destruction of his property. OH! how
the indomitable spirit of law raised its
mighty voice above tumultuous din of riot
and in terms not to be mistaken and
never to be forgotten cried: "Peaoe,
be still!'
Is there any danger to be apprehended
from the aggressions of the very rich?
The chief danger from this source would
be a very natural inclination TO secure
their possessions behind the bulwarks of
u very strong government, without much
reference to its form. This inclination
is not likely to arise unless
brought abont by the dangers of
communism either real or apparent.
And if government has gone out
of its rightful waY to create, or
favor, that class at the expense of the
many, such favoritism will breed an in
science of wealth that bodies no good to
the country; and all fair-minded men
should denounce the wrong and demand
the application of a vigorous corrective.
That the national government has,
within the last thirty years promoted
legislation of this kind is undoubtedly
true; but l beg you to remember that
such legislation was never conceived,
aided nor consummated by the party
founded by Jefferson. The act of 1862
creating greenback money by making 1t
non-receivable for import duties and in
terest on the public debt, deprecated it
to fifty cents on the dollar, and capital
lists bought it up at that price n invest
ed it in government bonds, thus making
a profit to themselves and a
loss to the people of one
billion dollars. In 1869 the Republicans
passed an act making the principal of the
bonds payable in coin, although they
called for 'sdollars, - and although the
law creating the greenbaok in terms
made it receivable for all dues except
import duties and interest on the public
debt, thus adding five hundred millions
to the gain of the bondholders and to the
burden of the people. In 1873 they pro-
hibited the future coinage of silver, and
in 1874 they demonetized that metal.
From 1861 to 1871 they voted away to
corporations $50 ,000, 200 acres of the
public domain; and beginning in the for
mer year they perfected a tariff system
which has done more to make the rich
richer and the poor poorer than n
scheme ever devised by human cupidity.
1 will not stop TO tell you how during all
these years, the Democrats voted stead
lily against all such measures; how in
1890 fhou rofad AGAINST fha liberalization