Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1896-09-04
OH! SUCH PATRIOTISM
POLITICIANS PLAYTHlNO AND
DEMAOOCUES' TOOL.
The Treatment Accorded to the Private
Soldier and the Patriotic" Money
Furnisher 90 During Our Late War
Compared.

ooh, liberty, what crimes are COM
mitted in thy namev exclaimed Mad
anne Roland as she assembled the steps
of the French guillotine. "Oh, patriot
ism, what prolific source of misery
thou art" the worlds masses may
well exclaim.
Webster defines patriotism" as Glove
of country; the passion which aims to
serve ones country"
According to the common interpre-
tation of this definition there seems to
be but one way in which ones "love
of country" may display itself to gain
for him the title of patriot" The
ditch digger, the engine stoker, the
farmer, mechanic or artisan of any
kind is never spoken of as patriot
while engaged in humbly Serving his
country" by his daily toll, but let dan
ger threaten the stability of his gov
eminent, its laws, its flag, and his pat
riotism" will at once be judged by the
zeal he displays in rushing to their
defense.
The watchwords of patriotism in En-
gland are God save the queen" in
Germany Long live the emperor" and
In this land of the free where the peo-
pie are supposed to rule, Hail Column
bia, happy land" There was a time,
about third of century ago, when
1t seemed possible that this country
might support two breeds Of patriots,
one directly opposed to the other Had
it's designs jeff Davis and Robert E.
Lee would have beeen specially hon
ored as the leading patriots" of that
section and an imaginary line like
that which divides us from Mexico and
Canada would have marked the bounds
where treason to the south might lose
itself in patriotism to the north or vice
versa.
1t is the establishment or mainte-
nance of these imaginary lines, sup
posed to divide one country" from
another, but which really separates the
victims of one gang of politicians from
those of another. That patriotism" is
supposed to do its perfect work. The
history of the world shows that untold
billions of wealth and millions
of lives have been sacrificed upon the
altar of patriotism" and this proves
that the sentiment for which 1t is sup
posed to stand is Numerically opposed
to that which Jesus embodied in the
doctrine Of "the Fatherhood Of God and
brotherhood Of man."
There are patriots and patriots. 1t
was considered very patriotic on the
part of our farmers, mechanics, clerks
and laboring men generally when Sum-
ter was fired upon to drop everything
and spring to the defense of their
Country" for the poor wages of thir-
teen dollars per month. 1t Will be re-
membered that the only dollar rec
ognized at that time by our national
government was composed of gold or
silver and that therefore the promise of
thirteen dollars per month meant thir-
teen silver or gold dollars. AS the war
progressed, however, silver and gold
disappeared into the bank vaults and
tie government could not comply with
its promise to the soldiers, but to meet
the demands of the war it had to issue
paper dollars and declare them to be
a full legal tender for certain purposes.
among these purposes, of course, being
that of paying the soldier, who had
been promised silver or gold.
While the war was on there was an
other class of men in the country who,
while not recognized as patriots at the
time, certainly were, nevertheless, the
most patriotic of patriots, or else the
country is now being egregiously de-
ceiyed. That class was the bankers,
who it is now said furnished the
money" with which the government
carried on it's gigantic war operations.
One regularity which attaches to these
ots-after-the-war" is that the
further we get away from the dark days
Of the rebellion the brighter and fairer
appears the service they rendered, until
now, thirty-one years after the war, the
service rendered by the common SOL
der who left home and loved ones to
serve in the ranks of the army, and, If
need be, die in the field or moan his life
away in a hospital tent, is thrown
completely in the shade by the splen-
dor of the act Of those who furnished
he money" to carry on the war. There
Is nothing too good for that class now,
and while the money they furnished"
was frequently deprecated to less than
half value yet that same money must
now be returned in gold, and IL pat
riotism" can ever find better money
than gold it will, of course, give it to
the men who so generously assumed
he awful responsibility Of backing our
at that time.
Oh, yes; there are patriots and pat
lots.
Let us briefly consider the money
kind.
On the 31st Of December, 1861, the
furnishing patriots suspended
specie payments, that Is to say, as far
Is doing business with gold and silver
money was concerned the banks of the