The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-11-20
THE wArrrRsoN 1NrsRvlHw.


Henri Watterson's Partisan interview,
! published in full in yesterday morning
Eagle, is sharp shot away out on the
| outposts of the future battle-ground.
As such it should be read by every
political student and every non-political
citizen. Ii points out the approaching
danger-the agrarian feature OF Social
ism. Mr.. Watterson's interview is a
singuiarly able one. 1t is certainly fear
less in its delineation CT the economic
conditions OF the times. The remedies
il offers are indefinite except as TO pro-
posed notification Of the advantages OF
a protective tariff, and this is at best a
mistaken suggestion.
Mr.. W&tteIson believes we still have
to meet and overcome the Socialistic
element in this country. He speaks
with conviction whose tone of sorrow
leaves no doubt as to his perfect sin
cerity. And if our people are four years
hence to be asked to choose between
the painted promises of unreined dema-
gosuEs and the bald, truthful, unprom-
ing reassurances of real statesmen, it is
high time that they were now, even
before the smoke of battle of the last
conflict has passed away, guarding
against the inroads of subtle folly
Every man, whatever his station, his
fortune. his intellectual ability, what
ever his pair in the world. should first
embrace the optimistic but veracious
feature of the worlds history that every
years grown of the world has added to
it's advancement. There is no danger OF
a retrograde movement extending over
many years. The general trend is for
ward, with all halts merely temporal.
This is a matter that fits gracefully TO
nearly every mans conviction. And
what should fall equally as gracefully
before the lance OF reason is the fallacy
that any enormous plunge into the lar
future was ever taken by any nation,
race or tribe In other words, the world
progresses always. but always slowly.
The change of one petty administration
for another is not going, within the day,
to turn the world topsy-turvy and by
some magical contriyance make justice
all the poets claim it should be, equality
as even-handed as the theorist insists it
would be and brotherhood as gentle.
hloodless and complete as we all hope it
could be- The world is growing, but
growing slowly. No vote that any man
can cast, no head that any mob can
take, no governmental system that any
revolution can overthrow is going to
bring a millennium of universal perfec-
ton in citizenship anywhere upon this
great globe.
Changes may come that will set the
government rocking on its foundations,
but the offspring Of that violence Will
be of slight advantage, of imperceptible
advantage to the individual.
And right here one is reminded Of the
sad undertone in the Watterson inter-
view. If the government is to rock on
its foundations it may rock to destruc-
ton. Now whatever our individual
hardships or political and social Unequal
tiles. we must confess that our govern
ment is the grandest on earth, and
rather than TO sacrifice it we must al
ways stand ready to offer ourselves and
our lives, all but our liberty.
So whenever it comes it is the duty Of
every patriot, no matter of what politl-
cal faith he may be, TO take his stand by
the side that calls for the perpetuation
OF the government and its constitution.
If he is to help in reform, let him do
so with an honest heart and a ready
hand, but when that reform becomes
Altgeldian. when it becomes Tillmanic,
when it proposes 70 submit Socialism
for that higher, purer dream, Anarchy,
without government at alb then he
must take sides against it for his gov
eminent. If il is Socialism we are 10
meet, we have against us the greatest
tUcIilN Mt Slldll ever IuCCl. WIN
the most dangerous weapons, with re-
cruiting officers of the glibbest, most
honeyed tongues, and leaders who seek
not to win the battle for the righting of
a wrong or the penalty for crime, but
for licensing OF riot and carnage.
The first duty of a citizen is to his
country, not TO his party or to his indi-
yldual interests And if Socialism in
this country takes up arms the consci-
entious citizen must stand against it as
for his country.
In such 4 fight there will be two ex-
tremes. the excessively rich with aristO-
cratic tendencies on the one hand, the
Social'stic dreamers with a new repub-
lie on he oher hand. and each unfriendly
10 the government and each TO be rep
rimanded by the great American public,
which must neither fear the one nor
favor the other.