The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-03-28
Who Are sThe Peopie?"

Who are 1.-The people?" In a general
way every one understands who they
are. They are the mass; they are All
of Us. But there are occasions when
a moments reflection shows that the
words are not and cannot be used in
this sense; or if so tried to be used the
sense is altogether too big for the
occasion. For instance there was the
famous pronunciamento issued by the
Three Tailors of Tooley Street. Be-
tween its eve, the people," and the
three one-ninths who affixed their
names there was a disparity of num-
bers that has ever stood as an illustra-
ton of the ridiculous. Since then few
have cared to invite the comparison
there presented between the generality
and the detail, but the generality re-
mains much worked thing One
hears everywhere of ''the people"
There is something in the largeness,
the vagueness. the impersonality, the
copiousness of the term that appeals
to the imaginative. There is a ro-
tundity of thought in it, a soapbubble-
ism of glitter and seeming solidity, that
makes 1T the faVorite of the orator who
is Initiating some cause with the gas
of Importance. The people demand
this reform; the people are behind this
movement; the people are writhing I'M
der this oppression; the people are
robbed by soulless corporations; the
octopus of the money power has fast
ened it's tentacles upon the people, and
so on through an inexhaustible list of
applications of this glittering general
ity. And we look about us and find
the people pursuing their usual voca-
lions, indulging in their customar,
pleasures, and discover in and among
them no signs of the feelings with
which they should be stirred to their
depths were that true that is asserted
of them.
So it becomes a question of interest
to ascertain with precision who are
the people; the formula for finding out
in every possible case the exact num-
Der who constitute that nebulous mass.
Happily the genius is at hand to solve
the problem. He is our own Tall Pine.
He makes it as plain as day 1t re-
quires nothing but an application of
the old rule of three He poured out
his usual mass of information on q.
Sixth ward audience Thursday even
ing. From the mass we extract the
solution. He told them that he had
been called upon by the people of St
Paul. to save them. 81 have been
named by petition bearing 63S
names" as the savior of the people
Six hundred and thirty-eight persons
then. constitute "the people" of st.
Paul.
This simplifies the problem; reduces
the vagueness of the generality to the
concrete. If we assume that women
and children. as well as men, form the
material for the formation Of "the
people," then we have, for all future
computations, the proportions that. as
the enumeration Of st. Paul GAO. 292 in
1885 is to 6SS. so the aggregate COW
cred by any possible use of the
term the people" will be to those
actually potential as "the people," If.
Tor Illustration, we wish to ascertain
who are the people to whom some
Populistic orator, speaking on finance
refers when he declares that the peo-
pie demand his panacea, we have onlv
to state the problem thus: 14O. 292 :63S..
75,000,000:x. Working this out we would
find that "the people" of this nation
number exactly 342, 800. If Mr.. Erwin's
candidacy shall produce no other re-
suit. the world must stand indebted to
him for making it possible hereafter