The Saint Paul globe., 1896-11-20
THE CHANGE OF THE CENTURY

THE CHANGE OF THE CENTURY.
Henry Watterson, in the interview
in a broad and general way, the chief
menace to the republic when, in reply
to the question what he regarded as
the most radical change of the century,
ions of people and we loved liberty. In
1900 we are nearly a hundred millions
of people and we love money" This
is not saying that people a hundred
years ago did not love money, nor
that people now do not love libFty,
but what he meant was that then peo-
pie made money secondary to liberty,
while now, too many, for the country's
good, are willing to make sacrifice Of
their own and their neighbors liberty
if thereby they can gain wealth.
Sacrifice or gain of freedom can only
come through governmental action.
Government is simply surrendered frae-
dom, given up by the subjects in con-
sideration of certain advantages, and
every increase of power in government
means only SO much more freedom of
action parted with by the citizen.
Turning to the field Of government
then, both the actual and the pro-
posed, what is there in it to justify this
charge that, as a people, we are willing
10
transformed into centralized power for
money? We will find it wherever pa
ternalism, in any of it's various de-
grees, shows itself in that field What
are some of the instances? What more
fundamental in liberty than the right
Of free exchange of what one has pro-
duced by his labor? And yet a party
is just returned to control whose fun
damental proposition is a denial Of
this freedom whenever and wherever
the government shall, in it's wisdom or
whim, choose to abridge or deny it.
And under what pretense is this sur
render made? That the nation and
all it's people will be made richer there
by.
Another portion of the fields occupied
with a party that proposes a still fur
ther surrender of Individual freedom in
exchange for money. 1t would make
the government the source of supply
of money the paWnbroker to take their
produce in pledge, the money loaner
with whom to hvnOtboaata +hair Iapd
Why? Because they want money and
want to get it more easily and abund-
antly than they can from individuals.
Another group, the skirmish line of
these two similarly motived parties,
would make complete surrender of all
freedom of man and transmute it into
power in the government to control
and direct all the means of production
and distribution. Why? Because they
believe that under such an arrange
ment each would get more wealth than
he can now obtain. These are the in
dications that money is more loved
than liberty.
If this process of swapping liberty
through growth of government dfrac-
tion, goes on, nothing is more certain
than the retrogression of the republic
into despotism. This is inevitable be-
cause the very foundation of a repub-
lie, the character Of it's citizenry, is
sapped by the process. When men,
under whatever pretext, or for what
ever estensible end, are willing to give
up liberty for gain, whether of wealth
or other advantage, that sturdiness Of
character is lost which insures con-
tinuance of a republic in fact as we'll
| as in name. The words Of Lowell are
more pregnant today with significance
than when he wrote:
Rough are the steps, slow-hewn in lintiest
rock
States climb to power by. Slippery with
gold
Those down which they stumble to eternal
mock,
No chafferer's hand shall long the scepter
Who, given fate to shape shall sell the
block.
| If 1t be true that we, as a people.
| love money more than liberty, then
never was there more dire need of the
presence and the activity of real De-
mocracy. 1t only guards freedom. Tt
only resists the Establishments of the
| crafty and the appeals of the sentiment
tai who would betray her. 1t guards
| her against the approaches of social
ism, detecting and exposing it's many
! and specious disguises, as vigilantly as
| it opposes the mere mercenaries who
| only seek plunder. 1t is only under
| Democracy that characters are formed
| that love liberty more than money.
| A REFORAIATORY FOR WOMEN.
| The paper read yesterday by DR..