The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1895-05-28
D~RcADRNcE OF FEuDALIsN.
Our Country and Its COnditiOn--A Won
derful Dream.

The greatest characteristic VI
Nineteenth Century has been progress
The oldfeudal and monarchlai sysV0"
of government have given way 70 'rL :,
Democracy to a wonderful extent IN al
the world. The divine rlgnE Oh ruio
as tolerated in past ages, is now an on,
solete idea. with none to detend II OK.
cent money lords. The masses Oh Vne
people have been reached by Inc press
and education has produced a reVolu
tion further reaching in It's conse-
n1ences than all the proceeding cenVu-
rias have accomplished for 1,OOO years
Von populi Cec Det has Deen cnoSn
and adopted as the taIIsnanlc
for the future. The idea that all men
were created equal-that all SHOULD
have an equal chance in the race Oh
life in the pursuit of happiness, none
will dare to deny in theory, but where
o~pportunity OCCURS their course Is
blocked by legislation. In all the past
there never has been q time equal to
the last half of the Nineteenth Century
for accommodating enormous fortunes
bv those who stood IA close touch with
government officials, and just IN pro-
portion as this great wealth has been
concentrated In the hands Of the few
has the masses been made poor. Leg
islation has been for thirty years chiefly
in the interest of the wealthy class,
and has given birth to a spirit Of dis
content and unrest that bids fair to
overturn the Republic. The rapid ad
vance of civilization, including the
various sciences and everything de-
pendent on progress, looks dazzling in.
deed, and causes the beholder to be
astonished with wonder when he con-
trasts the closing year Of the century
with its beginning. But he should be
careful in building his theories of the
future, to consider the substratum and
examine the political differences be-
tween the present and the past that is
within the memory of persons still liv,
ing.
Vast fortunes In the possession of a
small minority is fraught with more
danger to the liberties of the country
than a large standing army. All his
tory points 70 the accumulation and
concentration OF capital in the hands
of the favored few, as the last scene in
the life of every country that has fallen
from its eminent place among the
nations of earth. One half of our
Senators are malionaires, and are in a
positiontouss golden arguments to adj
vance their interests, and, if necessary,
make sure their reelection. We are
now at an epoch where less than 80, OOe
men control half the wealth Of a nation
of 70, OOO,O 900 people. This breach is
widening every year; and the contrast
becomes more marked between riches
and poverty as each crop is harvested
and put on the market. The press,
which is s~ubservient to the money
power, cannot brook opposition, but
cries, '"TreasonI Treasonl" if q man
has the nerve to give expression to his
honest convictions on the condition of
his country. The defendants of a revo-
lutionary ancestry cannot be kept in
silence, or gagged by threats or ridi,
cule-the two most potent weapons in
daily use. The seeds which terminate
into patriotism are being destroyed by
taking from the people the reward of
their labor; their manhood dwarfed by
political frauds, and their voice
drowned by the eorrupting influence
of money. The only persons who are
satisfied with the present political
status are those whose incomes are
from salaries. The dream of the ex.
Fedt raj soldier is the best revelation
Of the future we have seen, and now
present it for what it is worth:
DREAMING.
Dreaming is q condition or active
state Of mind not thoroughly under
stood. Some of our most pleasant
dreams take possession of subjects that
have not been thought of in u past
experience. Again, they r evolved
from subjects that prey upon oul
thoughts while engaged in our usual
occupations. They appear to emanate
from the mind in full play without 6
guide, like a steam engine without G
governor, while the will power is in
allegiance. The rapidity of it's actor
is incompreheasible-a s~uficiency o.
thought, if reduced to writing, to fill
large volume, or a distance Travelled
great enough to circumvent the eartl
many times in the compass of an hour