The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-12-14
THE INCAPABLE ENTHUSIAST.

The incapable enthusiast is an omni-
present figure in politics. There is not
any exact periodicity in the arrival and
departure of the incapable enthusiast, as
there is in the flight of locusts. He comes
rather with the effective, sudden unex-
pectedness of the rats that in vast armies
sometimes move over the face of Scandi-
navia. or the white ants that in freakish
mood make dreaded forced march over
certain districts of Africa. There is no
stopping the march of the Norway rats;
they go on until they reach the sea and
perish amid general thanksgiving, as did
the herd of swine that possessed with the
devil rushed into the sea of Galilee and
persisted.
1t is very much so with the Eruption of
the incapable enthusiast. There is no
stopping him; he does no good; he makes
deal of social mischief, and every capa-
Die man, whether an enthusiast or not, is
very thankful when the incapable enthu-
siasts are either drowned in the sea of their
own expectoration or die of moral and
mental epilepsy, delirium tremens or ST.
Nitus dance. Sometimes the incapable
enthusiast is Father McG1ynn or Henry
George, gravely proposing TO abolish
poverty by legislation. Sometimes he is a
labor reformer," who would have part
nership between labor and capital, in
which labor shall dictate its own wages.
control the management, share in the
profits, while it magnanimously provides
that capital shall bear all the losses. Some
times the incapable enthusiast is a
Robespierre or st. Just, sort of political
Doctor Sangrado, who thinks the only
way to restore sick state TO life is to
bleed il to death by cutting off the head of
every man, woman and child that does not
agree with you; sometimes he is dyna-
inter who thinks the true way to har-
monte English rule in Ireland is to blow
up the Tower of London on a holiday
when it IS full of innocent, irresponsible
visiting English women and children
Sometimes the incapable enthusiast
is at the head OF trade
union, who instructs his followers
that the true way 10 abate Injustice
suffered at the hands of Employer Peter
is to mob and main Employe Paul. who in
order to get his bread has accepted the
work and the wages that Employe Peter
rejected with contempt. Sometimes the
incapable enthusiast IS Bellamyite, who
exterminates the poverty that is incl
dental to individualism by the erection of
the Utopian machinery of communism,
which reduced TO successful practice would
mean state of social tyranny as dismal
and destructive of spiritual growth or free
independent manhood as that Of Sparta
under Lycurgus.
Sometimes the incapable enthusiast i. a
Chibago anarchist; a human mad bull that
is crazy enough TO suppose that he can
undertake TO gore liberty under law with
his horns. toss in it the air and then pro-
coed 10 trample the life out OF il
without getting shot like runa.
way Texas steer by policeman.
Sometimes the incapable enthusiast is
the whooping crane OF the Farmers Ali.
ance party, trying TO pose as the Ameri.
can eagle, and screaming for free silver
coinage, the sub-treasury scheme and
other new but dishonest schemes 70 paw
old debts.
1Ac iuCSpSpIe eAtnuslast assumes as
many shapes as Proteus, but his distin.
gushing ear-mark has been faithfully de.
scrihed as uniform indifference 10 moral
considerations, and among the whole tribe
OF incapable enthusiasts no one is more
conspicuous for this insensihility 10 moral
considerations than that most incorriglble
OF inearables, the "third party" Prohibit
zionist, who stands up and disingenu-
ously denounces the high license law SIS a
"delusion and = snare" when al au-
thentic, authoritative testimony shows
that, while no legislation ever sobered 4
man incapable otherwise Of his own saliva
ton, high license has something bet
ter abated the saloon nuisance in