The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1893-05-24
AN IDEA OF LIBERTY.
1As Kind That Exists In the South Under
Democratic Rule.

AN IDEA OF LIBERTY.
1hs Kind That Exists In the South Under
Democratic Rule.
Answer fool according to his folly lest he
be wise in his own conceit.-Scripture.
While Hoke Smith is at Washington
playing secretary of the interior in re-
ward for his dirty work in Georgia last
fall, he has left wild eyed, narrow fore
headed ninny in charge of his paper, the
Atlanta Journal. This creature, who is
evidently descendant of some witch
burner crossed on plantation 'overseer
Of the Legree type, is amusing himself
trying to think that he thinks and abus-
ing the Peoples Party of Georgia, which
he alludes to as monster" In one of
his half crazy articles we find this pro-
found observation:
In Georgia and the south liberty can only ex-
list under Democratic rule.
Well, if what has existed in the south
under Democratic rule be elderly" the
rest of the world has been sadly misin-
formed as to what was meant by that
term. Democratic rule in the south has
done nearly everything else but allow
liberty to exist. To speak of elderly
In connection with Democratic rule in
the south is little short of blasphemy.
To say nothing about human slavery ex-
isting for a century as q "divine institu-
ton" under this boosted rule, the other
forms of slavery and persecution invent
ed by these rulers" have been only
slightly less Infamous. In truth, there
is no class in the world SO intolerant of
free speech and honest difference of opin-
ion as this very element which the At
lanta Journal says must rule or lib
erty will be lost. Shades of Thomas
Jefferson and other Revolutionary pa
triots, forbid the proclamation of the
word which you spent your lives to make
reality for mankind!
Slave driving itself was merciful COM
pared to the bitter ostracism, the malig-
nant persecution, that have been inflicted
on everybody in the south since the war
who dared to lift hand or voice against
the insolent ruling class-the class that
rules by bulldozing, ballot box stufing,
bribery, fraud and every other deviltry
and calls these infamies guaranteeing
the existence of liberty" With the in
tolerance of ignorance they refuse to al
low anybody else to differ with them.
Unable or unwilling to learn themselves,
they refuse to let others learn. They
stay in tie same old ruts, worship the
same old idols, sing the same old songs,
believe the same old lies and get furious
q al bai,, Lot
desire to shake off the dust of prejudice
and the moss of ages and keep step with
the advanced thought Of the age
Everybody who differs with or ques-
tons the infallibility Of these puffed up
aristocratic, self complacent UPSTAIRS is
insulted, derlded and denounced as an
''enemy of the SOUTH" as "hireling Of
the Republican party" as ''stirrer up
Of strife" There never was so intolerant
or insolent a ruling class in any free
country as that which The Journal says
must be kept up lest liberty perish. Lib
erty, if it exists now, will certainly per-
ish if this element be not put down.
The very article of the Atlanta Jour-
nal from which we have quoted above
proves conclusively all we have said
and speaks for itself Of the brutal intol-
erance of the oligarchy which it repre-
sents. According to that servile lick
spittle of an upstart aristocracy, it is q
crime for the Peoples Party to organize
industrial legions for the purpose Of for
warding their political views. For do
ing this they are monsters" enemies
Of the human race, conspirators and
everything else that is vile.
1t is all right, however, for the 'rul-
ing class to organic their brutal clubs,
their mobs to throw rotten eggs at Peo-
pies Party speakers, their social ostra-
cism, their business boycotts against
those who won't vote with them, and,
above all, to use their lying and venal
press to beslime everybody in bad Eng
ish and low billingsgate who refuses to
bend the knee to as contemplate a gang
of political freebooters as ever cut a
throat or scuttled ship.-Nonconform-
ist