St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-01-11
FOR DoNNELLY AND FISH.
Rev. H. NJ. Simmons breaches on
The Threatened Social War;

Inc threatened social " ar.
Rev. II. NJ. Simmons dropped a few
chunks of wisdom for calamity hunt
ers." His subject was The Threat
ened Social War" He said:
- have been requested to review a
book just published in Chicago under
the title Of The Coming Climax" and
telling of a terrific social war that
threatens America. The author, l. c.
Hubbard. pictures S,0O0,000 farmers ana
wOTkingmen filed with intense and
steadily growing hatred toward what
he calls the triumphant plutocrats'
He holds that unless this hatred is soon
cooled by wise legislation, bombs will
begin their deadly work. and we shall
have war by Which this continent will
be ''drenched in blood from sea to sea-"
and our great cities may be inundated
by the revolutionary lava and vanish as
completely as Gid POmpeii and Hercu-
laneum. The chief preventive meas
ures. he urges.a are the government own
erShip of banks, railroads and coal mines.
''IhesboOk does not merit our atten-
ton. except as representative of large
class Of publications today. AS such il
doubtless indicates wide and deep dis
content. Doubtless. too. there is reason
enough for the discomfort. Poverty
ulUIIlDlE-
ing mlllionaires make it seem more un-
just than ever before. Doubtless, too.
there is danger enough in the discon-
tent; and probably it is well to have the
danger exaggerated now and then, as in
this book, to wake men to a sense of it.
There may be some wisdom, also, in
these proposed remedies. Rich mines
ought to be owned by the public.
and, perhaps, it would be well for
railroads to be. Not long since
rode on car where FIVE women
sOOd oil the rear platform, wedged
IN among the men, and an old
lady was clinging on the outer STEP
When a company with vast profits
makes half its passengers stand, show
Ing no consideration except for their
CONS, and continues to do this month
after month without any sign of COM
ing change OF heart, it seems an argu-
ment for public ownership. But if gov
eminent is as bad as Mr.. Hubbard rep
resents. we should gain little by putting
industries under its control. He SAYS
'plutocrats' own the government own
the judiciary own both the rotten old
political parties Ii politics is as cor
rupt as that, we do not want to extent
its sphere. It is not more laws that we
want. but more honest men. Million
aires do not monopolize corruption. 1t is
bad for them to bride, but Just as bad for
live by the same principles as half the
people who complain of them. The
millionaire may worship wealth, but
most of his abusers show by their envy
of him that they worship it too. We
| should stop abusing each other and see
a brother in every worthy man, be he a
bilionalre or bootblack.
And how foolish for any people to
| talk Of settling social wrongs by war,
| in republici In Russia it might be
| sensible to appeal to war, or even to
| throw bomb now and then. But what
] need OF IL where every man has a vote?
These 100000 workingmen would be
| foolish 10 put down 'plutocrats' by
bombs or bullets. when they could do it
| so much more neatly and cheaply by
| ballots. Let them agree what they want
| and they can carry it at any election. Let
| have the majority to fill every legis
| lature with their own labor leaders
| and these, of course, could never be
! bribed. They could abolish old laws and
constitutions, and make others to bring
| in their millennium in a month without
| any destruction of property. How much
better that would be- For working
men to bury Chicago and New York,
like Pompeii and Herculaneum, under
revolutionary lava would not be half
so sensible as to save those cities for
| themselves, and hold their meetings and
| banQuets in the marble palaces of the
| millionaires. Even to blow up pluto
| craft by bomb would not be so sweet
vengeance as to reduce him to a state
| of dependence and CALLING servitude by
| due process of law. And revolu-
| tionists should remember how apt
they are to turn against each
| other. Think how Yell-meaning French
| men could hardly keep from hugging
each other at that great confederation
celebration 100 years ago. Yet they