The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-08-19
breakfast Chat.
ANARCHY VS.. CIVILIZATION.
From the Providence Journal.

FROM the PfONluellCe JOuIIdi
Has anarchy the upper hand Of civiiza-
tion? Is there no real protection against
irresponsible riot despite all the safe
guards of government? The assassina-
ton of Seror Canovas Is one more strik-
ing demonsti alton of the part which the
pistol or the dagger In the hand OF
single re ck.ess man may play in the des-
TIMES of nations. So far as history rec
ords, the leaders of the race have had 20
face this peril. William the Silent and
Henry of Navarro are conspicuous cases
of a great work Interrupted by death at
an assassin's whm. In their day, of
course, violent deaths were in the main
more common than they are now. Men
of low and high degree had TO encounter
the personal vengeance of their enemies
There was less reliance upon the state as
the avenger of injuries, less confidence
indeed, in its ability or even its willing
ness to punish criminals. The orderly ad-
ministration OF justice has certainly
gained within the past two centuries. So
far as the majority of mankind is con-
cerned, few have reason to suppose that
they will not die quietly in their beds.
Such sudden takings off as are common
in thes, days are mostly accidental and
not intentional.
Nevertheless, II is true enough that
violence even to the point of murder
might be much more frequent than IL Is
were anything to be gained in conse-
| quence. The rulCrs of the earth, the men
| in high official position, can have no very
| great assurance of personal safety. What
| has hal peIed to Senior Canovas may hap
| pen at any moment to any monarch or
statesman who has become hateful, not
| merely to a portion of TIE nation. but to
| a single unbalanced Individual. We have
had startling examples within the !ast
| decade or two of the dangers which even
| the heads of constitutionally governed
countries are compelled by their position
| to run. The assassination of Lincoln
| the first great tragedy of the kind in our
own history-was easily accounted for; II
was a not unnatural result of the pas
sions aroused by civil war, and II it had
come earlier no one would have been
| greatly surprised Garfield was simply
| shot down by one who was practically a
madman; and part of the horror OF
Guiteau's crime was the illustration It
| offered of the ease with which the head
| Of the nation could be removed by any
one who had a real or fancied grievance
against him Since then our presidents
have been better protected; but protection
| in such cases counts for comparatively
| little. The man who wants to kill another
will find his opportunity.
| Inc murder or PRESIDENT CarnOt is an
| other case of deliberate assassination for
| no conceivable object. 1t used to be sup
posed that tyrants only, or men who had
won unpopularity by their brutaites or
| their disregard of popular rights, had
| much occasion to beware of the assassin.
| But this red-handed sneak observes no
| difference between Trojan and Tyrian.
| The best of men Is as shining a mark for
| his knife as the worst. When King Hum
| bert was recently shot at he calmly re-
| marked that this was one of the acct
| dents of his trade. 1t was a melancholy
witticism in which there was only too
| much truth. Beast of the strength OF
| civilized government all we may, an
archy still may overturn its head by a
! single stroke. Furthermore II has some
| thing besides individual murder to de-
pend upon. 1t can go into the business
wholesale by the judicious use of dyna.
| mite and send whole communities into
| Mysteries of terror. OF course in the long
run such tactics defeat themselves
| Nothing permanent is ever accomplished
| by them The anarchists themselves are
| somewhat volubly eager to say that they
do not approve the assassination of Senci
Canovas. But ii Is at least a soberins
thought to reflect tfat despite all cviliza
tion can do anarchy has so much of ar
| upper hand that IL can whenever il
| chooses remove obnoxious rulers or ter
rorize whole communities.