The Louisiana populist., 1896-01-03
THE WAY ROME WENT.
PARALLEL OF AN ANCIENT AND
MODERN CIVILIZATION.
Among the Wrongs the People Had to
Then and DO Now Complain of, is Judi
ciary Interpreting Laws In the Interest OF
Legalized Robbers.


the future historian, writing of this
government, may record the melan-
choly fact that it took this republic
one-tenth as long to die. As Rome
was unconscious of her approaching
dissolution, of her gradual weakening
of all energies, and of her discontented
paupers that were spread like death
damp all over the body polite. just so
it is in this government to-day.
No parallel has ever been more COM
plete. Rome boasted of her great
strides in literature and in the arts
and sciences, and of oratory and reli-
gion, and of her vast amphitheaters
and gladiatorial combats, and of the
costly feasts and rich apparel enjoyed
by her wealthy.
The same boasting is indulged in to-
day in this government. The condi-
tions of that dying nation in the days
of Cicero were fearfully similar to the
conditions that now exist in the United
States. Corruption existed on every
hand, and if friends stood in the way
of the advancement of friends he was
either ruined or cut down. Vastly
rich Offices were farmed out to political
favorites regardless of qualification or
honesty.
=: A cringing judiciary interpreted law
to please the wealthy, and the Debses
all over Rome were sent to prison
without justice, sense or decency.
T. Oh H. l,,l II Al
wealth and cornered the money and re-
duced the masses to poverty, in the
same manner as has been done with
us. A wealthy patrician, whose work
men were starving, invited Cicero to a
supper that cost about the same that
Wannamaker recently gave his daugh-
ter, while the women in his sweatshops
were starving.
The wealthy of Rome built sacred
temples, costing hundreds of thousands
of dollars, in which was heard the CAB
bling of ''sacred geese, and these tenn
plies cost no more than those in Brook
lyn and New York, in which is heard
just as senseless gabbling as was given
by the sacred geese" that were
often encircled with gold neck
lace, studded with diamonds that
cost as much as the collar OF
Mrs. Vanderbilt's bench legged pup.
Rome built vast theaters in which
the actors posed in state of nudity,
the same as ''living pictures" posing
to please the wealthy sensualist to-day.
A wealthy noble would build a temple
costing 81, 900, 900 and donate it to an
art society and then double the rack
rent of his poor tenants, on the same
plan that Rockefeller gave $6, 600, 900
to build theological college in Chicago
and then put the price up on coal oil
and get wrongfully out OF the poor
forty times more than he gave the
college.
Rome built amphitheaters. in which
men were set to fighting for their lives,
and when one was PROSTATE and lifted
his hand in token for a vote for his life
it was too often the case that the
thumbs went down and the victor sent
the dagger down through his heart.
Between two ranges of mountains is
vast empire OF agriculture, which forms
a vast amphitheatre. i'm which Wall
street has set 10000, 900 to fighting
for their lives. And IL whole armies
go down in exhaustion Wall street
does not care enough about them to
even vote to have them live or die and
coldly remarks ''The people be id"
There is much boasting about mod
ern civilization being so much superior
to old pagan Roman civilization.
Strong and brave Romans would
pounce down upon the passing cara
van and fight it, and conquer it, and
rob it, and make off with the plunder,
and perhaps divide it with the needy.
But the modern way is an improve
ment over the old way, that is not so
dangerous to the robber. for now when
. scoundrel wishes to rob, all he has to
do is to fill his pocket with Doodle and
go to Washington and get his fellow
to pass certain laws for his |
class and then 60 back to his Office and
rake in the plumber. The modern
ukCliiOQ 10 IHuCn tlc SAFER lOF the |
scoundrels' hide.
But in either case the honest indi- |
vidual has to fork over to an Internal
villain his honest earnings. So far as
the honest individual is concerned, the
results are the same, whether he is
robbed under pagan civilization" or
under Christian civilization Nor |
will the robbed individual feel any bet
Ier when he learns that the money |
robbed from him was given TO build q
very orthodox theological college
But II one must be robbed and has
} choice of the ways he would certainly
'elect to be robbed under the old pa
yanistic way, for he then would have
! chance to break the robbers Internal
lead.
voter, how much room has one to
,oast Of this civilization over the OLD
Voter, do you see any possibility for
his government to last, with all the |