The Iola register., 1891-10-02

In even the highest and best sense says.
The weak shall be the governmer
charge. The strong shall be stripped |
of their strength. Socialism puts a |
premium on weakness and discount
on strength. Growth is a crime and
mediocrity a virtue. Under our gov
ernment the reverse is true; and the
best manhood and womanhood the
world knows is the result of this. Yet
the socialistic Peoples party would
change our government. In fact Pef-
fer said in his speech in this city last
week:
The only way to get rid of this is
to change our laws and customs, and
that is very simple when you have
men who are not afraid to do it.
Men liao Robsspierre, like Marat,
like Glttcal, like Parsons, like Spies,
for instance. Men like Doster and
Jesse James who believe that "the
right of the user of money is para
mount to the right of the owner ofit.'
Great God! And this is called patri-
otism: this is called justice. And the
men who preach this philosophy of
dispair are called Heroes.
Continuing, PETER asks:
Why, my brother, should your wife
and my wife be compelled to work
harder and longer. and suffer more
hardship than the wives of other men;
why should you and 1 be compelled
to suffer more hardships and perform
more labor than other men?
We answer, read from Genesis iv 81
verses. "And Cain was wroth and
his countenance fell. And
the Lord said unto Cain: IF thou
doest well shalt thou not be accepted?
and IL thou doest not we'll sin lieth at
thy own door, " This Is the only
answer to the great Question of the
Ages. Socialism, the Philosophy of
Cain, offers 10 solution of the problem.
The problem is deeper than the laws
deeper than financial legislation;
deeper than the tariff. 1t has its root
i'm human nature; and its resulting
phenomena are not caused by laws
nor by lack of laws; not caused by
parties nor government. The same
inequality between men is found in
the lawless desert that is seen in the
civilized nation.
And under the ubiquitous legisla-
tionr that we hear so much of, under
the Seven Great Conspiracies," under
the alleged contraction of the curren-
cy. many laborers. many merchants,
many farmers have grown wealthy;
while beside them their brothers, liv-
ing under the same laws, have grown
poorer and poorer. If you claim class
legislation against the farmer, why
has not this Hesitation affected all the
farmers alike? Why has it made some
farmers rich and others poor? Be-
cause laws do not and cannot affect
men in their relative positions. 1t is
the brains, the ability, the Judgment,
the capability for steady, hard work;
work I'm the right direction, that
makes a man a success. Lack of this
makes him a failure; and nothing
more.
In free trade England there is mis-
cry; some men work harder than 9th
ers; in free silver Egypt and India
there is the same complaint about the
rich growing richer and the poor poor.
er, the same contrast between the pal.
ace and the hovel that there is in
America; in Arabia, where there is
government ownership of land, there
is a grCmble against oppression; in
Australia. where the government owns
the railroads, there is cry about in
ljustice. Laws and customs cannot
change mems natures. Nor can re-
forms of any sort make a poor man.
lager successful business man.
| Socialism is a will o. the wisp. II
attracts the shallow seer of the truth;
the discontented; the unsuccessful
who wishes to shift the burden of his
failure from his own shoulder. But
1t can never usher in perfectly just
government. For a perfect govern
ment you must have perfectly just
subjects, and the fact that selfishness
is the predominant characteristic of
humanity to-day, makes such thing
impossible. Perhaps ages of civilizing
influences, ages of breeding of Chris
tian men with Christian women, ages
of striving after right once seen: will
bring US a race of just men; but we
have another race to deal with now.