The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-05-09
QUESTIONS OF THE HOUR.
1T is THE hour OF ALL hours FOR
TIE BEST STATESMANSdIP

buttons, when nations aud principalities are
reeling with the shock of seismic forces an6
thousand agencies are conspiring to sub
vert our own. that man is worse than traitor
who can survey the social commissions of the
hour with Indifferent calmness or exult in
the fate which impends.
We are nearing the crisis Of our destiny;
patriotism is in the cruciblel The contagion
of political immortality; the bold intrigues
of srtful and arrogant agitators to elevate
themselves to official place by terrorizng
the ignorant and exciting the oupidity OF
the rapacious; the wide dissemination of
| mischievous political fallacies; the daring
and designing onslaught upon existing So
ciaI conditions and civil politics, which have
been endorsed by the experience Of a cent
ury; the Republication of genius and learn
ing; the RELOCATION Of men from public
trust whose talents led us safely through
the shadows of melancholy periods in the
past; the growth OF the spirit of anarchy,
aud the clamor for the assassination of
wealth are menaces TO our body polite
which none but a knave will connive at,
and none but fool will ignore.
Such periods of unrest have always
| uhSblClOuo lut u6
desolating ambition, which finds a perma-
| nept lodgment in the hearts OF large pro-
portion of the human family, invites an
| abandonment of eternal principles for pre-
carious spoils which are the uncertain re-
wards of treachery.
Unfortunately such men are not wanting
| TO emphasize the evils of this hour by their
busting insignifcance and their restless
| itching for fame.
| We see flippant harlequius parading as
political astrologers, fast gaining danger
Gus dominion over the minds of the ignorant
| and oredulous, portraying in bold antitheses
the imaginary splendors and luxuries which
surround the wealthy, and the swinish
| squalor in which poverty enthrals the Door.
We hear venerable names, which are the
rlghtful consorts of glorious events Of the
past, and lnseparably linked with the career
OF our political Improvement, clustered
thick around with vile abuses. We hear
theories advocated and reforms demanded
which are in defiance of all recognized laws
| OF political philosophy. We see notorious
maxlms perverted to basest uses by an
adroit sophistry OF reasoning. and vulgar
absurdities woven into epigrammatic bril-
| liancy by ingenious tricks Of expression,
while sparkling apothegms amply the place
| of logic and furnish a secure disguise for
pernicious fallacies.
In such turbulent times men are most
| ouoOopuAOio w SbIuuR anu euuueu lInpTes~
sions; and their minds are often induced,
by passionate and plausible appeals, to
desert the fixed principles of lifetime and
to embrace fatuous dogmas. which are at
tractively solely for their novelty and in
genuity. The sagacity and keen discern
| mento their sober moments are vanquished
by impulse and their powers of reason con-
hscated by passion. IT'S then that doctrines,
which will not bear the test OF ANALYSIS, and
barren theories, luminous with transparent
| FOLLY, triumph over creeds and tenets whose
eternal foundations are firmly planted on
| the adamant of truth.
1t is difficult to combat the f1ashy Ian
guage ard airy wit of men whose ready
| tongues give utterauce to words which beHr
no kinship 60 their hearts. Their arraignment
of popular and political vices before the
| high court of puolic opinion invest their
| efforts with the show Of sincerity aud win
the acclaim Of the virtuous of every creed.
But these fierce philippics are but the garb
| of dissimulatIon, bold attempt to throw
the glare of fash light upon the conspicu-
| Gus depravlties OF the times while the
speaker conceals his own corruption and
and diverts inquiring scrutiny by his SUBJ
| tleness of tongue.
Where ignorance and poverty are so uni
| versal, it is no difficult task TO win applause
when poverty is proclaimed as synonym
for virtue, and wealth is charged as an uu-
"nlppoO CTlluos WuoTe JHes0 COuulGlOnS are
| attributed to the wanton neglect OF a pa
ternal government whose alleged duty it is
| to furnish support for life, opportunity for
| leisure, and the means of amusement to
even the lowliest and most indolentof those
who come witQin the purview of its citizen
| ship.
1t requires no capacity beyond that of a
| barbarian, or a child to discern the true in
| wardness OF the system of government
which these political highwaymen seek TO
insugurate. To wiring money from the
| purses of the rich; to appropriate for public
USES without compensation, all the vast en-
| terprises in6ugurated by men of mastery
executive genius; Co sieze upon the fortunes
| of those who are endowed with marvellous
| financial ability, and have spent lifetime
| of ceaseless energy in their accumulation
aud scatter them gratuitously among vag-
abonds and idlers; to garner the wealth of
the nation into one common excheQuer and
invite the rabbie to draw; to enrich the
masses by savage spoliation and legalized
rapine; to turn the government minis into
licensed charity mills; to destroy all in
centives to industry and call into activity
all the excuses which unbridled avarice in
variably displays; these are the methods
suggested for the relief of the present en-
barrassments that beset our people, and are
the avenues through which they assert our
future prosperity must come.
MuSG bucu ooCCrlneS 90 UncnalleuRed. and
such chaotic decisions be grated into our
codesl Must the principles of political sci
ence, which are the results of the Iabored
evolutions of centuries of human thought,
aud accepted as wise by the keenesr and
most vigorous minds Of generations he sup
planted by the idle theories of huckster
statesmen whose chief aim is to render their
government odious, and to have all the cid
school of patriots, who we're the trainers
and defenders Of our national greatness, pll.
loried and stoned to death amidst the exult-
ing shouts Of an ignorant mob2 Shall an
archy drink nourishment from the un-
guarded fountain of liberty, or oppression
reyouth itself in the caldron Of our sorrows?
Will our people don the livery of those who
scatter the infection of discomfort, or ally
themselves with traitors whose Wanted pa
triotism is circumscribed by vicious and
visionary schemes Of personal am
bitiong Shall sensational ayitators fnflame
the minds OF our people, and our whole sys-
tenn Of government be multiiated by the
misguided zeal Of an unduly excited popu-
lace, and be remodeled after the architect
ure of ambitious parvenus and political
mountebauks2 Shall truth be awed into
silence, while alien insurrechonists and mis-
chievous doctrinaires are declaring open
hostility to our established social orga nigm
and are preaching the go'pel of revolution
at our very doorsl Shall intelligence be de-
posed from its sovereignty by its servant,
ignorancel Shall the moral faculties of the
multitude be extlnguished, and virtue be
chased to Its tombl Shall labor be stripped