The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-11-14

Justice. (ApplauSe). linen some g0OQ
religious men were afraid we were try
ing to subvert religion, and dig out Of
the decalogue and expunge from
Gods law one of the most important
Of the ten commandments,
THOU SHALT NOT STEAL"
/ have said it and repeat it, that the
right of property is a mos t sacred
thing. But is it not INDUSTRIOUS that
the Peoples party should be charged
with being organized for the purpose
of stealing when we are organized for
the sole purpose OF putting a stop to
stealing. daughter and appauSe.)
The zeal of the small politicians,
theOlOgians. daughter and applause).
reminds me Of the old saying of the
crime of one who steals the goose from
the commons, but what of the man
who steals the commons from the
goose? daughter and applauSe). l
am not here to demand or encourage
the stealing of geese. but to speak Of
the much greater crime of those who
are stealing the commons. Great ap-
plause). | think it no Dissertation of
my pricstly office to stand on such a
platform and to speak of truth, justice
and the rights Of man and the COM
mon fatherhood of God. (AppiauSe.)
The essential principles of the PeO
pies party. and those Of the old
United Labor party in the state of New
York are the nearest in their de-
mands to the teachings 10 the pre-
amble of the Declaration of Indepen-
dence-the equal rights Of men. We
are all eQual-equal because we are
members of one family, and take away
this equality we are mere brutcS. You
cannot assert the equality of man
without asserting the will Of God. 1t
is a religious proposition. These
truths spring from the Creator, and
a man whose heart is right takes
them to himself. In that preamble,
which seems to be inspired of God, we
are told that the inalienablc rights of
men are life, liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness. These are the gifts of
the Creator to man and no power in
heaven or earth can take them from
us. They are called inalienable be-
cause they arc the gift Of the creator.
Take away the equal rights of men
and main sinks to the level OF the brute
and
HUMAN LIFE is A COMPETITION.
1t is then no longer a we'll ordered
march seeking goal God has estab-
liShcd; there would be no further
recognition of the fatherhood of God
and the brotherhood of man but
everything would become monopoly;
we would no longer recognize each
other as the children of one Father:
we would no longer be governed by
the Golden Rule: do unto others as
you would have others do unto you"
but men would relapse into barbar-
ism. How Sh0lloW would human life
become; it would be a mere scramble
of the animal for the necessities
which sustain life: men would no long
cr labor in the cause of humanity,
there would be no love of country or
any feeling of patriotism; the law of
human society is no longer. The
larger love takes in the whole world
but this is no longer so: it is no longer
every man for himself and God for us
all, but it is every man fer himself
and the devil take the hindmoSt.
daughter and applause). This is
what the rule of our political parties
would bring us to if it were not for the
people
DO NOT ASK Me TO TAKE SUCH LAWS.
In the name of religion [ stamp on
them and spit upon them. Gap
plause). Take away these fundamen-
tai laws of religion and what is more
natural than that the big fish should
eat the little ones. In the mighty
deep there are great monsters that
guIp down thousands of the smaller
fry at Il single mouthful. 1t is the
same among animals, the large and
strong eat the small and weak. You
might lecture the lion and the tiger
but they would still continue to de-
YOUR the lamb when they were thrown
together; it is the nature of the beast.
(Applausc.) 1t is also the natural
thing that the masses should be eXter-
minated, that the strong should de-
YOUR the weak, that the rich should
feast on the poor. These things are
just as natural as it is that the lion
and the tiger should feast on mutton
it is the nature of the beast. (Ap-
plause) You might lecture the tiger
after he had satisfied his hunger on
some defenseless animal about the
cruelty Of such an act, but | dO not
think it would have much effect upon
him. The nearest approach to a
Qualm of conscience might be a little fit
of indigestion. and when he was hum
cry he would go and do the same thing
again.
IT IS TIE NATURE OF THE BEAST.
Under the eXis ting laws the rich will
devour the poor because it is the ma
ture of the beast. (Applause.) 1t is
only by asserting the brotherhood of
man which is the fatherhood of God
that the workingman has any stand
ing in this world. In behalf of the
toiler and the weak and oppressed |
am here to assert these fundamental
truths which are based on revealed
religion. Npplause.)
L am here to say to you working peo-
pie. don't quarrel with religion, be-
cause without that you can never get
the equality of men. You cannot assert
the brotherhood of man without as
sorting the common fatherhood of
God. The law of equality is Gods
law. / am only here tonight to sug-
gest fundamental truths. The law of
political economy must find it's basis
in the law of religion. II we are the
children of God-if we are brothers.
surely we have right to walk this
gOodly earth ther and no man has
right to enslave brother. The law
OF God teaches us the equal rights of
all men. Under that law the life of
the child IS just as sacred as the life
or the greatest statesman or philOsO-
pher that ever lived; the life of the
child OF the poor man is just as sacred
as the life of the child of the rich
man: the life of the beggar is as
sacred as the life of a king, and we
cannot take the life of the one with
out mourning the penalties Of Gods
law any more than we can take the
III fp Of apOf bpr-al1 aro oouol