The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-08-20
ton yet and will probably never be,
is someuyG Of a character. He is
frIllY Pc <hliSfic in his nature

is someDyG Of a character. He is
truly Pc ,nlistic in his nature.
The Eagle has repeatedly pointed out
that the Populist is an entirely new
bird. The eastern politicians Try to de-
scribe him as IAN aggravated form of
Iepublicanism,- and as an "Anarch-
ist,' and as an 'agitator."
The Populist is not a Republican in
any sense: he is not a Herr Most and
is not walking delegate from a labor
union. He resembles none of these
He is sui generis, as the United States
wiz some day learn.
Tom Watson is just now brought into
light as a political historian. 1t de-
velops that he has written a history Of
France for the Populist cause. He at
tenIpts to show by analogy the medi-
eyal inequalities perpetuated TO some
extent, but to any extent wrongfuily,
in our social system today.
This is Populism straight out 1t is
protest against inequalities in oppor
tunities and in results.
Only one volume of WatSon'S French
history has been written up TO date.
He starts with early Gaul and explains
tie life of the people. He attacks
Caesar. He says:
Caesar himself was one of the boldest
money hunters that ever plundered
temple or con:iscated an estate or sold a
nation under the hammer Of the auc-
tioneer. 1t is very probable that he in
vaded Gaul partly at the instance of the
Roman spectators and partly at the sug-
gestion of his own financial necessities
and hopes.
He quickly sketches the conquest of
Gaul by the Romans and then devOtes
short chapter to the country under
Roman rule. Again he draws pic
lures of the wealthy and the poor.
Many of the Gauls had the Roman
franchise conferred upon them and
they are described as building splendid
castles along the Rhine and the Moselle
where they lived in great luxury.
These mobiles sent their sons TO Rome
to be educated and to. visit the emper
or's court The author says:
Thus things went on in the upper world
With the actual laborers in Gaul life was
not so pleasant. In nearly all cases the
man who followed the pillow was serf.
He was bound to the soil, and, when the
estate was sold, he went with it, just as
the other plow tools did To make his
lot severe, taxes were heavier on land and
oIe nd he
tax collector had almost unlimited power.
Only few lines are given to Nero.
The insurrectiOn Of Vindex is incident
ally mentioned OF the Roman tyrant
Mr.. Watson says:
Nero seemed to care little for the eccus-
alton that he had killed his mother, but
the Indictment that he was sorry fiddler
broke him all up. He called a great meet
ing of people in Rome, made them a
speech, denied that he was sorry fiddler
and played a tune or two to prove that
he could tickle the catgut with skill and
ability.
Mr.. Watson defends Attila against
the charge of being a savage and mere
marauder, declaring him to have been
"a great organizer of peoples, and a
general of splendid ability"
After the battle of Chalons came the
German tribes, the Franks. who lodged
themselves permanently in Gaul and
established the kingdom of France.
Physical force was the highest law.
Thus saith Watson:
of the weakest disputant, swiftly con-
WINGED him that there was flaw IN his
logic and hopeless defect in his chain
of title. Murder was considered a trivial
oense. A scale of prices fixed the amount
which the offender should pay for killing
his foes. The fine varied with the Dig
nifty or Importance of the deceased. To
kill one of the nobility cost 81 100. to kill
priest or judge cost the murderer 81
ESQ, to smash in the head of deacon only
cost 500. to slay a common freeman cost
$3.50, aDdH'ou could kill as many slaves as
you pleased at the moderate price of about
500 each.
Celebrating on this code. Mr.. Wat
son makes an application which Buckle
would hardly have thought of. The
Georgian puts it in this language:
1t certainly was a very free and easy
state of society when an angry Frank, suf-
fering perhaps, from a fit of indigestion,
brought on by eating too much raw cow
and sour acorns, could march out into
the neighborhood, split the skulls OF all
his enemies, fill respectable graveyard
before dinner and then go free by pay
ing smaller sum Of money than our tax
payers have to pay for the burial Of one
very common congressman.
a king is always mark for Mr.. Wat
son. Sketching the ''long haired" early
kings of France. of the era when the
mayors Of the palace played them as
puppets he gives this bit of description:
The people rarely ever saw their SOW
ereign- He lived slothfully in his rude
palace. among his wives and his concu-
bines, losing all strength and all infu-
ence. Occasionally he came forth. sur
rounded by his grandees. and made for
NAL parade through the streets of Paris.
Seated n a heavy OF cart, pulled along
by 3 pair Of huge oxen with all the msjes-
tic leisure for which that kind of a team
is celebrated, we can fancy that tire royal
parade made an iniehble impression u
on the 'ras-tag and bob-tail' Of Paris
Bear in mind that the streets in those
days were mere dirt roads, full Of mud
holes; remember that the cartwheels were
solid. and felt bound to go 20 the bottom
Of every soft place they struck; recoilect
that when 4 cart tits TO one side no NOR
tai man, even though a king with hair a
yard long. can stay inside the pesky thing
without grabbing hold Of the other side
keep al thsse things before you. and /