Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1891-01-22

So uD1ugated the desert ddu aDoilSHeu nv
frontier The laboring capacity of every in
OF this planet has been duplicated
by machinery. In massachusetts alone we
are told that its engines are equivalent TO 90
the labor of IOOOJ0OO. We now perform
one-thIrd of the worlds mining, one-quarter
OF its manufacturing, one fifth OF its farm
ing, and we possess one sixth part OF its en-
tire accumulated wealth.
THE ANGL O. SAXON.
The Anglo Saxon, Mr.. President, is not by
nature or Instinct an Anarchist, Socialist, a
Nihlistor or a Communist lie does not de-
sire the Reputation of debts. public or pri-
vate, and he does not favor the forcible re-
of property. He came to this
continent, as he has gone everywhere else on
the face Of the earth, with a purpose. The
10000 English colonists who came to this
country between 1920 and 1850 formed the
most significant, the most formidable mlSra-
tion that has ever occurred upon this globe
since time began. They brought with them
social and political ideas novel In their ap-
plication, of inconceivable energy and pow
er. The home the family, the State, indi-
vIdualism, the right of personal effort, free
dom of conscience, an indomitable love OF
liberty and justice, genius for self-goVern-
ment, an unrivaled capacity Tor conquest,
but preferring charters to the sword, and
they have been inexcrable and relentless in
were fatigued with caste and privilege and
prerogatlve. They were tired of monarchs,
and so, upon the bleak and inhospItable
shores of New England, they decreed the
sovereignty of the people, snd there they
buiIded "a church without Bishop and
State without a King" The result of that ex-
pertinent, Mr. President, has been Ostensibly
successful Under the operation Of these
great forces after two hundred and seventy
years, this country exhibits peaceful tri-
umph over many subdued natiOnalIties
through a Government automatic IN its
functions and sustained by no power but the
Invisible majesty of law. With swift and
constant communication by lines OF steam
TRANSPORTATION by land and lake and sea,
with teIegraphs extending their nervous re-
ticulat ons from State to State, the remotest
members Of this gigantic Republic are ami
mated by vitality as vigorous as that which
throbs at its mighty heart, and it is thought
the quickened intelligence that has been
communicated by those ideas that these con
ditions, which have been fatal to othe ma
tions, have become the pillars OF our
strength and bulwarks of our safety.
Mr. President if time and space sign fled
now what they did when independence was
declared. the United States could not exist
under one Government. 1t would not be
possible to secure unity of purpose or iden-
tity of interest between communities scpa-
rated by such barriers and obstacles as
Maine and California But time and distance
are relative terms, and, under the operations
of these forces, this continent has dwindlcd
to a spaTt-
STRIDE OF PROGRESS.
When the Atlantic cable was completed it
was not merely that wire, finer by COM
parison than the gossamer of morn ng, had
sunk to its path along the peaks and the
pIatcaus OF the deep, but the earth instan-
taneOuSly grew smaller by the breadth OF
the Atlantic. new volume in the history
of the world was opened. The to morrow of
Europe Il ,shcd upon the yesterday of Amer
lea. Time. up to the period when this ex
pertinent commenced on this continent,
yielded its treasures grudgingly and with re-
luctance. The centuries crept from inn
provemtnt to Improvement with tardy,
sluggish steps, as If nature were unwilling
to acknowledge the mastery of man. The
great inventions of glass, of gunpowder, of
printing and tile mariners compass con Q
sumed n thousand years, but as the great ex-
pertinent upon this continent has proceeded
the ancient law of progress has been disre-
garded and the mind is bewildered by the
stupendous results of its marvellous achieve
ments. The application of steam to locomo
tiOn on land and sea, the cotton gin, electric
illumination and telegrapy, the cylinder
printing press, the sewing machine,
the Photographic art, tubular and
suspension bridges, the telephone,
the spectroscope and the myriad
forms of new applications of science to
health and domestic comfort, to the arts OF
peace and war, have alone rendered democ-
racy possible. The steam engine emanci-
pated millions from the slavery of daily toll,
and left thom at liberty to pursue higher
range of effort Labor has become more re-
munerative, and the food of wealth has
raised the poor to comfort and the middle
classes to affluence. With prosperity has at
tended leisure, books. travel; the masses
have been provided with schools, a7d the
range of mental inquiry has become wider
and more daring. The sewing machine does
the work of a hundred hands and gives rest
and hope to weary lives. Farming, as my
distinguished friend from New York (Mr.
Evarts) once said. has become a 'sedentarY
occupation" The reaper no longer swings
his sickle in midsummer fields through the
yellowing grain, followed by those who
gather the wheat and tares, but he who rides
in vehicle is protected from the meridian
sun, accomplishing in comfort in single
hour the former labors of the day.
BY these and the other emancipating devices
of society, the laborer and the artisan ac-
Quire the means of study and recreation.
They provide their children with better op-
portunities than they possessed. Emerging
from the obscure degradation to which they
have been consigned by monarchies, they
have assumed the leadership In politics and
society. The governed have become govern
ors. The subjects have become the kings.
They have formed States; they have made
laws; they have established localities and it
Is not true, Mr.. President, that, during this
extraordinary period, the rich have grown
richer and the poor have grown poorer.
There has never been a time since the angel
stood with a flaming sword sbefore the gates
4 ,~Hav l,T1n nF inv Fnd n
paid as now a return in interest as 1t does to-
day; nor has there been an hour when the
dollar that is earned by the lab oring man
would buy so much of every thing that is es-
sential for the welfare of himself and his
family as it will to- day.
PowERLEss TO ENsLAvE.
Mr.. President, monopolies and corpora
tions, however strong they may be, can not
permanently enslave such a people. They
have given too many convincing proofs of
their capacity for self-government. They
have made too many Incredible sacrifices
TOR this great system which has been builded
and established here to allow it to be over
thrown. They will submit to no dictation.
We have become Mr.. President, the wealth
Test Nation upon the face of this earth, and
the greater part Of these enormous accumu-
lations has been piled up during the past
twenty years-from 1850 to lSS0-notwith-
standing the losses incurred by the most de-
structive war of modern times, the enamel
patton Of four billions of slave property, the
expense of feeding the best fed, of clothing
the best clothed, and Of sheltering the best
sheltered people in the world-notwith-
standing all the losses by fire and food.
During that period of twenty years the
wealth of the country increased at the rate
If S25O, 900 for every hour. Every time that
he clock ticked about the rortal of this
chamber the aggregated, accumulated,
permanent wealth Of thii country In
creased more than SO. Sir, it rivals, I
exceeds the fctions of the Arabian Nights
There is nothing in the story of the lamp o
Aladdin that surpasses It. It is without par