The oasis., 1894-05-03
THE DUTY or LrcIsIArroN.

NdCtuicl. LNc ulciuIidus plN0tHi'h NH' following remarkable prediction;
 "I have long been convinced that institutions purely democratic must. 500 ter or later. destroy liberty or civ ! iliZatiOu, or both In Europe, where
 he population is dense, the effect of
 uch destinations would be almost in- 'tantaneous.
 What happened France is an exam pie. In lS4S pure democracy was established there. During short time Jhere was reason Go expect spoliation and natural bankruptcy, new parti- Jion of the soil, a maximum of prices. | ruinous load of taxation on the rich for the purpose of supporting the poor in idleness. Such a system would, in twenty years, have made France as poor and barbarOus as the France of the Cariovignians. Happily. the dan ger was averted. and now there Is a IespOtism, a silent tribune, au enslayed press. Liberty isgone but civilization is saved.
 II hare not the smallest doubt that, if we had q purely democratic govern ment here, the effect would be the same. Either the poor would plunder
 the rich and civilization would perish, ,r order and prosperity would be saved )y a strong military government, and liberty would perish You may think that your country enjoys an exemption rom these evils. will frankly own to you that 1 am of very different opinion. Your fate | believe tO be cer- Eain, though it is deferred by a phys ical cause. As long as you have a 0OundlesS extent Of fertile and unOc- cupied land, your labOring population will be far more at ease than the labor ing population of the Old World, and. while that is the case the Jefferson politics may continue to exist without causing any fatal calamity. But the time will come when New England will be as thickly peOpled as Old Eng and. Wages will be as low and iiuc- suate as much with you as with us. You will have your ManchesteFs and 8irminghamS. and in those Manches- lers and Birminghams hundreds Of thousands of artisans will aSsuredly be sometimes out of work. Then your institutions will be fairly brought tO the test Distress everywhere makes the labOrer mutinOus and discOntented tAAlA AntlAAlN1 HA-lA tt AA7A'H ffltU 'ttr VI ness to agitatOrs who tell him that it is monstrOus iniquity that one man should have a million while another cannot get full meal. In bad years there is plenty of grumbling here and sometimes little riOting. But lt matters little. for here the sufferers are not the rulers. The supreme power Is in the hands of a class, numerous, indeed, but select; Of an educated class; of a class which is. and knows itself to be. deeply interested in the security of property and maintenance of order. Accordingly the malcOntents are firmly yet gently restrained. The bad time is got over without rObbing the wealthy to relieve the indigent. The springs of national prosperity soon begin to flow again: work is plen- tiful, wages rise and all is tranquility and cheeTfulness. I have seen Eng land pass three or four times through such critical seasons as have described Through such seasons the United States will have to pass within the next century. if not this. How will you pass through thems l heartily wish you a good delyeTdnce: but my reason and my wishes are at war, and cannot help forebOdiDg the worst. lt is quite plain that your government will never be able Go restrain dis tressed and discOntented majority: for with you the majority is the govern ment, and has the rich who are always q minority, absolutely at its mercy. The day will come when the state Of New York, multitude of people. none of whom has had more than half a breakfast or expects tO have more than half a dinner, will choose a legis- lature. Is it possible Co doubt what sort of a legislature will be chOsens On one side is a statesman preaching patience, respect for vested rights, strlct observance of public faith. On the other is demagOgue ranting about the tyranny of capitalists and usurers and asking why anybody should be permitted to drink champagne and ride in a carriage while thousands of