The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-01-01
A STRONG LETTER.
JOIN OR DIE NO. ,.
BY Thomas c.. Hodgson.

BY Thomas c. Hodgson
Editor Representative:
Mr.. Owen is surely right when he says
that people will sacrifice and die if neces-
sary for sentiment; that you can never
fuse the masses into living force on ques-
tons of mere dollars and cents. Liberty.
human rights, loyalty AMI such like sent-
ments are the fusng elements in human
life. The cOlonists first gathered around
the principle of mo taxation without rep
resentation.' This involved a question of
human rights, which it cost the colonies
vastly more in money to sustain than it
would to have paid the tax imposed by
the mother country. They had no thought
or separation and independence. They
fondly believed that the country which
struggled through centuries to achieve her
own independence would, upon fair con-
slderatlOn, gladly accord to the colonies
the rights it had claimed for itself. Here
is where human nature gets in it's work.
1t makes difference whose OK is gored.
The American people. for nearly one hum
dred years denied to the black race 1.-THE
Of the rights for which they themselves
fought through seven long years to attain
Thousands of our free silver Republicans
and Democrats, remembering the ancient
glory of those parties. as the bulwark of
human rights. still fondly believe that
those rights which were subverted in 1878
will be gladly made good by the same par
ties that once stood so nobly for what is
right. The people do not seem to realze
that both history and human nature are
against them. 1t is human nature never to
surrender power once obtained. Power is
supremacy selfish, and it is human nature
to love power. But to return.
The colonies at first were far from beins
united. State jealousies divided and weak
ened. Personal ambitions and jea lousies
among the generals made it uphill work
no ich tri
authority retarded the good work Arm
les marched and counter marched battles
were fought and won or lost. without sub
stantial gain. At length the immmortai
cartoon appeared: A serpent cut in thir-
teen tortured and wriggling pieces, Writh-
ing in the throes of death, was UNDERSIGNED
with the command: Join or die" The
effect was magical. Public opinion fused
Governors and commanders yielded to it's
spell. Personal ambitions were swallowed
up IN patriotism. ana history rushed on to
Yorktown and independence
Precisely the same lesson is taught by
the civil war. even more forcibly. The peo-
pie who sacrificed all for their own rights
refused to grant to the negro the right to
own himself Inrighteous power exer-
clsed the same influence upon free America
that 1t did on the descendants of Pym and
Eampden The first two years Of the civil
war were lost to the cause of humanity
by reason of the mercenary and political
sefishness Of politicians and the personal
ambitions and jealousies Of comman .ers
in the field
But the emancipation proclamation in
fused a new hope and new spirit into the
nation. NO more territory for slavery"
served to mass the friends of freedom. be-
fore the wa but no more slavery"' was
the sentiment that welded the nation and
achieved success after the war began
No two epochs can be more parellei than
that which preceded the war and the pres
ent. The same confusion the rending Of
parties; the bitterness of feeling which
marks the hostility Of capital ana labor to
each other; the Rule or ruin policy of
plutocracy; the failure of compromises
such as the Bland and Sherman bills. and
the establishment of railway commissions
ers and antitrust laws. All these have
only served to aggravate the difficulties
they were intended to allay or remove.
Thoughtful men have for years looked on
with terrible forebodngs. Meantime
where are the people of God, the reform
ers? They are like sheep without a shep-
herd. They arc in all parties. They are
lighting each other in stead of the common
enemy. Socialists. single takers free sill
verites, Prohibiti0nists Populsts, odds
and ends, all in confusion Does it need q
prophet to predict the outcome if we per-
Sist III this course of conduct? There is
more generalship in peace than in war.
What is the main principle of strategy ?
To mass your friends and divide your
enemy. Our enemy is a mastery strate-
gist on that basis. There is no hope unless
we mass.
JOIN OR DIE.