The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1897-09-30

liberty found her home beyond the Alps amid the dense forests of central ma
northern Europe, 30 the north Atlantic coast, under republican forms hm' 'nr
rendered to the rule of manmon; while manhood anu al that hahh""' "a"
cherish, must find a asylum upon the farms of the central north and upon IN
wide plains and indomitable mountains, and in the sunft valleys OF ne west mi
Again the senator, after numerating a score o more of things which he
claims should not have been done not one of which vas done by the onVen''
.naively observes:
deserves eae snc ss,rasen nt but agitation for the mere sake Of agitation may be,
come mischievons and dangerous
Granted. But the action Of the convention was In strict conformity with
the above rule az to agitation. There ws II agitation for the mere aSeof az,
iation." The entire effort of the convention wa to correct governmental
abuses and was therefore, according to the senator 'n'en' legitimate"
Says the senator:
ciahsts tendencies d Developed a%, in int. the ed recent e snnsaS' for which the democracy
In what sense does he uet the word "agradan"' If he means that it was
proposed to arbitrarily distribute lands r to limit holdings by law ne rs ms
taken. If he means that it was proposed to easel the people to red1stnDnte
pubic burdens, n 10 ei i aouaot. hn, i ,batc ease he writes himself down
as the enemy Of agriculture, which has always been the object OF the hst ina
greatest solcitude of democracy. The eleventh of the rs principles jefferson
is, Encouragement of agriculture and of commerce its handmade Eve" IT,
Carnegie, in his spurious triumphant Democracy, quotes Isaiah;
And they shall beat their sw@dss into top pl sngn;hs. n.,i aa t NsHhe sp shnl t int
learn wr any more.
And the Scotch parvenu, the pampered child of protection adds:
Ceres is the prime divinity in the republic. To her the American makes his
most profound obeisance, upon him her sweetest smiles IRE lavished in return
Even Mr. Caruegie, the plunderer Of Ceres felt that while posing in the garb
of democracy he must at least make obesance to Ceres hollow and hypocrtical
though It might te. But Senator David B. Hill makes no obeisance to Ceres He
hos nt . word for the oppressed and rapidly vanishing farmer. He scouts atthe
idea that there are wrongs and expressions" He pleads for what he terms
vested rights" He pleads for property" He sneersa at poverty" He depre
,,.a. h. sravinoo Of .classa against clas, thereby admitting the existence of an
tapopishc classes He hurls the most sconful anathemas at the poor and nnfor
tunate, and exats the rich and powerful, defending their right community from
n change in law or procedure which will check their remorsees career of pill
LACE and conquest. while bitterly inveghhng against that just criticism of courts
which lis a. essential to an honest administration of the laws "sniticsm al ever
be for any purpose whatever
Aynian tendencies. Who but paticians, mobiles, and arstocrats w fear
ed them. Is our law limiting and equaizing the amount Of p"dc land which a
nerson NAV acquire BY homestead or pre- empion wrong? Why wers ITS homely
limitations established? Isl wrong to advocate policies which tend to thu own
enhip Of lands by the many instead of the few hit wrong to support measures
which will save from annihuation that remnant of proprietary farmers which
still remains with is, or shall we go on checking and expressing tn 'agrari
ans " and licensing the vulures of trade till the lands ire all owned by urban
landlords and titled by a tenant peasantryg Was not the maintenance OF the
agrsrian law coincident with the maintenance of Roman liberty? was not the
Hebrew Jubilee redemption "agraian'7 Did not Aristotle declare that the best
,.rrhl,cs werp those in which the citizens themselves titled the lands We're
the martyrs Ca~ius and Gncchi wrongy Or were their arrogant, inhuman'
uur,epro assssins wrongr Is the democratic party to be democratic. or nit
- 10 .,istocrahc, Shall the future Of the democratic organization be limited
tos a act Of dfdestructon,n namely proclsimhg absolute ennity "an thing