Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1896-08-31
Anarchy in High Society.
Ie Philadelphia City and State.

From the Philadelphia City and State.
Anarchy, strictly speaking, is the alb
sence of government. But government
in this constitutional and free country is
designed to give equal rights to ALL and,
by a system of legislation and civil ad-
ministration in all their various phases,
to protect those rights completely, so
that the poor man shall not suffer any
abridgement or perversion of them be-
cause of his poverty, and that the rich
man shall not have any rights merely by
virtue of his riches and to which his
simple citizenship does not entitle him.
II, then, rich men in this country com
bine in operations for the increase of
their own wealth, which involve the Sys
tematic corruption of legislatures and
the defiance and perversion of law,
they become as truly anarchistic in
spirit, as much overturnerS of govern
ment, and infinitely more dangerous, on
account of seeming respectability and
the clandestine character of their opera
tions, as the poor, dcluded bomb-throw-
erS of Chicago. Both are attempts to
overthrow or pervert government, as we
understand it.
The possibility Of pure anarchy com
ing about in this country, under which
no government would exist, is, of course,
too remote and absurd to be considered.
1t is the topsy-turvy ruling condition of
things which good, hard shaking,
either from below or above, causes that
is to be feared. And this ruling uncer-
tain condition can be brought about
just as effectively by the rich anarchist as
by the poor one-by the great corporation
with one-half of its curiously-eXtended
body seated in church pews or busy with
the endowment of universities and
missionary enterprises, and the other
half giving salaries large enough to sup
port themselves and their families to
lobbyists whose special duty it is to cor
rupt legislatures and to oil political
machines.
We need not go beyond the limits of
Philadelphia to find striking illustra
tions of this astute, silked, and exceed
ingly dangerous form of anarchy; and
yet our great newspapers-those leaders
of public opinion and guardians of
public safety-have no word to speak on
the subject. 1t cannot be that their pro-
pretors have been tempted to offer in
cense secretly to Baal, or have been
persuaded to prophesy against Israel for
reward!
But let us not foolishly imagine that
the American citizen is shut up
to choice between the two forms of
anarchy which are more or less danger
ouSy at work in the country. He may
and should stand resoutely between
them with his American love of law and
fair dealing to all, and armed with his
American freedom of speech to combat
them both. He should also try to make
it quite clear that it is owing to the
operations of the respectable, upper-class
form, of anarchy in the country that the
lower vulgar kind which everyone casts
u stone at has become at all menacing.
Remove the one and the other will dis
appear. But this work can only be
done by resolute determination to get
at the full truth to let both light and
air in wherever their Vitaizing in
fuence is needed, even though it be our
class or our set which needs the search
ing publication.