New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1893-07-05
The ONLY TRUE NOBILITY

In the life Of /, great republic like the
United States Of America there must
constantly be occurring instances which
. are repugnant to the real spirit of our
institutions. Tie civilization of this
country is the outcome of incessant
struggles that have been going on in
this world for untold centuries. The
development of humanity has been of
slow groth. The absolute power Of lead
crs seems to have been the rule during
the remote ages. Indeed, the world of
the chief is the law of most savage tribes.
This comes from the fact that tribel
superiority is largely dependent upon the
cunning and courage of it's chief or It's
leaders. 1t is perhaps strange, but it is
none the less true, that all the notions of
the past which have shown phenomenal
growth and great success have secured
their advanced positions by the develop
ment of great military strength. Hence
physical ability, courage and strategy
were at first the necessary qualifications
for leadership. From this early habit
of relying on leaders came chiefs, kings,
emperors and princes. The ability to
manage we'll, the courage to perform
daring deeds, in early times must have
been badges of rulership.
After time the world grew to think
that ''great sires must have great sons.'
The era of noble families, of respect for
gentility, followed; and hereditary rights
and privileges came to be looked upon
as sacred, and all this happened rs ma
turally as water runs down hill. In
all the crude stages of human develop
ment war, fighting among tribes, was the
chief occupation. In those earlier days
the victorious tribe made slaves of thu &
people whom it conquered. Thus TIL
more severe work of the world for age
came to be performed by slaves. S.
for as / know, no nation of the remote
ages was an exception to this rule. Slav
cry in those days was as universal as con
quest, and conquest constituted the rea
work of national life. This state
affairs could only end in the degrade
ton of labor and the creation of a nobi
i:y. In this way work came to be locke
upon as symbol of degradation, an
ease, pomp and power came to be locke
upon as the goals of human ambitio
This condition of affairs naturally deve
oped the idea that power, the riA hit
govern, belongs by nature to niger
DIR of beings, and that the mass of hui
anity IS born simply to serve and
obey. The mythology and theology
the past strengthened this idea by CO..
stantly representing Deity as a gre;
King, Prince or Ruler. By this natural |
method the rights of kings and princes
came to he looked upon as 'sdivine rights
and the literature of the whole world is |
full of expressions claiming that the
right to rule by certain noble families of
the world comes from God 1t took CEN
turtles for the people to discover that
the children Of princes are not always
entitled to the name of princes them
selves. 1t took still longer for philo-
sopher to be developed who could catch |
glimpse of the great law of humanity,
that political power should always be
given to individual merit and should be
bestowed by the people upon the ruler,
and that the right to govern comes from
below. from the people, and IS not given
from above. 1t took ages to perceive
and understand this great truth.
The notion that kings presses some
divine right had taken such a deep hold
upon struggling humanity that it seemed |
TO have become congenital, 1t even now
actually seems to be born in the vast t
of the peopIe of the world.
Centuries ago communities, and after I
ward nations, we're attempted to be
formed upon the opposite theory. and
republics would spring up founded upon
the notion that the people are the rulers,
and that the men in official positions are
the servants of the people and should
exercise no power except as directed by
the real rulers, the people. Those re-
publics would flourish for time and
then be overthrown. So strong was the
idea of ''klngship' that monarchial forms
of government were usually formed upon
the ruins of each attempt at government
by the people. Then would follow a
revolt of the people against the divine
right Of kings and emperors to rule them,