Oxford eagle., 1895-03-21
Effect of the Financial
Depression.

satisfaction and distrust il ap-
parent to- everybody
There is only one real cause
for it, and that Is the generally
depressing financial situation.
The prices of most agricultural
products are low; that, ofeourse.
dIssatisfies the farmers. Busi-
ness in all manufactured art.-
eles - dull, and that Fact drives
the manufacturers To- reduce
wages, To run their mill on snort
time, or to cicse them until bust
ness gets better The working
people, enraged at any talk ri
reduction of wages. propose 10
resist 1t by strikes. and In some
cases by trying tO Kill off the
men who aFe Wiling To work
for lower wages.
In such an emergency. in
which all the interests of the
people are 80 Intimately con
eerned. nobO,iy thinks he =
called To- remedy the situation.
No man of any class seems To
think he Ought to- make any
concession az turn his hand to
make times better; bat all with
one accord cry out to- the NJ
tiOnal Government To save them.
The farmer cries Justify for
b0untieS on his products. or for
the Government to lend him ar
give him money. Tne manu-
taeturer prays for higher duties
tn keep out foreign goods aHi
give him Il monopoly of the
home market The working
man, regarding the men vino
pay him wages as his worst
enemy. calls ON the Government
to seize on all industries and
operate them for the good of
the people: while other parties
want the Government To keep a
] standing army to- shoot down
Il all who interfere with their
/ prosperity
Everybody looks to the Gov
ernment for all hrs blessings
without recognizing that he has
any pablIc duties to perform or
that the rights of citizenship i'm
pose any obligations upon him.
IL l. truly astonishing how the
/ citizens of "A free republic. reared
under the enjoyment Of free in
stItutiOns and possessing an al
most unlimited power of partici-
/ patIng IN the public affairs ut
the republic. seen ready to abaa
don all and To find a remedy for
their evils by rp>ortIng 20 a Sys-
TEN that l. autocratIe and absp-
lutte in the extreme. and actually
exists nowhere except IN Rus
STA. But II all shows how peo-
pie who are raised up under
democratic republican iHststu-
tIous can tire of the rights and
duties of citizenship. abandon
all the functions Of popular self
government. and fy tO a desp0-
tIsEn With the hope that it will
remove the dissatisfaction Of the
poor by f-s.tlins them without
requiring them to work. while
Il maintains N army To project
. the rich
: Some may think this : IN
overirawn picture. bus the
sentiments of the people cs TIE
subject Hlay be FeEI in tile pub
lie platforms of political parties.
IN the atteranees Of newspapers
everywhere, and in the frequent
and repeated outeries that have
, gone to Washington for troops
To shoot dIstHrbers of the peace.
. In the meantime, the only con
trast to this drift towards impe-
riallsm Is the sentiment of mob
Law that occasionally animates
the people when they have
some wrong to set right, and,
; distrusting the authorities and
scorninS the slow and doubtful
Processes Of the Law, take mat.
ters IN their own hands and Wis
II all possible brutality upon
the victims IL Is at such a mo.
meut that the people realize that
they do not wish any govern
ment of any sort. and they east
themselves free from all Law and
all restraints. In both cases
the people are equally astray
from the principles of their free
institutions. A mob il com
posed Of savages. and they are
just as FAR from the dignity and
high position Of citizenship as
ARE the slaves of an oriental
deSpotism-
As for the financial depres-
sion that has broaght the peo.
pie where they seem tn eOgr,
the care and protection of an
aatocratie government, all the
kings and emperors in the
. world could not remove il. The
monarehs of Europe have hard
struggle q keep their own gov
ernmeRts out OF bankruptcy. and
! all their efforts would Eail II they
did not employ the wisesl
statesmen in their realms 10
| manage their finances. Here
, nobody has any respect for ex
. perieRee or wisdom in finance
bat every man Is a selfeonstitu
{ ted authority to settle the af
fairs of the country. In such a
! mass Of -selfappointed wise
, men. every one II opposed in
. opinion to every other, and. as
, a result, only confusion results
and nothing Is done by Con
gressS-
(, Thus il comes out that thers
IS no hope for any improvement