The advocate and Topeka tribune., 1893-04-12
TEE FINAL QUESTION.


to him that when commonwealth of 60, ,0O0 900
Americans based Itself upon the great pHincl-
pie Of self-seeking, self-seeking was the best
thing, and whatever hardship 1t seemed to
ten-fOld measure If few hundred thousand
favored Americans enjoyed the privilege Of
socially contemning all the rest, 1t was as
clearly right and just that they should do so,
as that 1900 American milliOnaires should be
richer than all the other Americans put to-
gother. Such a status, growing out of our
political equality and our material prosperity,
muht evince dtUSne purpose to any one Init.
mate with the designs of Providence, and 1t
seemed O kind Of tmptetv to doubt is perfection.
-HOw9lPS Traveller From Altruria."
EDITOR ADVOCATES Though expressed
with nsivette of which the world and
its political economy are not quite guilty,
the above is exactly the attitude Of civ
ilizstlon to-day toward any petitioner
for reform. And yet the Sphinx riddle
remains to be solved at all peril. An
enormous and ever-growing "weslth " by
the side Of shorrible and daily darkening
poverty. Great colleges unable to keep
pace with growing degradation and ig-
norance which threatens the world.
Million dollar churches pointing their
spires toward the lightning and sinking
their foundations in rum washed pools
Of crime wider and deeper and blacker
than any sun has shown upon within the
Christian era.
The state and the citizen are possessed
OF the idea that wealth, some number OF
tons Of gold, arel the all and in all Of po-
liticsl economy, and that the only thing
which cannot (though for purely selfish
reasons) be- fAslly sacrificed to this is
the street police. The church and the
Ohuroh-msn are Satisfied that If there is
anything else OF Importance it is merely
a question OF faith and baptism and
words, words, words; and sppertsins
solely to time when the gold will have
been burned up--if such tune comes.
They are not just sure Of that. They
only "believe that they believe it,
Will it never be understood that the
final question, in this world, the ques-
tions that must be answered do not con-
Germ amounts and sorts Of money, nor
any other material thing or ssmblsnce Of
q thing, but men, and the work of men,
and nothing more unless it be the faith
Of men? You may reduce the rate Of in
terest to per cent. per annum and yet
the first man who gains 81 more than is
demanded for his daily necessities, and
who can confirm the growing possession
to his heirs, may own in his dsscsndents
the entire world and raise this whole
question over again. You may make
gold like the Wind-driven sand for pleni-
tude, and coin it al, yet if there remains
Of humanity this unemployed margin"
wages will reduce themselves to the bare
pittance necessary for an animal exist
ence, and starvation will Rssail every
tOiler. In this assault the farmer shall
no more escape than the landless day
laborer to whom q MalthusiRn code, or
dained Of man, already forbids home,
wife or child. Neither will any system
Of single tax, income or inheritance tax,
or what not, settle this matter, no Odds
how deftly arranged to destroy wealth
as fast as it may be created. They will
fail for several reasons. First, they are
merely destructive and net constructive
in their nature. They aim not to supply
man with new objsct of ambition, but
simply to take away the one he has.
Second, :heY simply cover into the state