Chicago eagle., 1898-12-03


figures have been sent to Springfield.
The total vote was 2O4,1O5 males and
I ,131 females.
The "arlstocracy Of wealth." rs some
are pleased to call II, Is not the nris.
tocracy Of the land. The "arlstOcrats'
Of any country are Its "best' people.
Surely America Is not the land In which
II can be proved that the richest, or plu-
tOcrat classes, are exclusively the best
people. 1t Is quite true that there have
grown up. In recent years. several sets
Of mortnls, who think that they alone
are the arlstOcracy Of the United States;
but 1t does not follow from this that
they are. To put the case tersely. there
Is no such thing as an arlstOcrncy of
class In the United States to-day, and
there never will be while our constltu-
tlOn and laws remain. CliIues Of self
styled aristOcrats will probably con-
tinue to rise and fall, from time to time,
as has always been the case; societies
Of vain and ambitious people will con-
tinue to perform the never.ending "Our
set" act that has marked the drama Of
human life since the days Of Noah;
family, ancestry, race and wealth. ench
In Its way, will set up their claims to
aristOcracy; hut none will ever become
sufficiently powerful to ultimately COM
pei the people Of the nation to recognise
them as supreme. Nor will any of these
self.styled aristocrnclcs long prevail.
for the simple reason that they have no
hereditary privilege, ana no assurance
that their claims hold good for the fu.
ture, ana without the assurance of per.
petulty Of rank, from generation to
generation, no class aristOcracy can be
established. Furthermore. the weakest
Of all the nrlstocracles Of republic like
the United States II IN nrlstOcracy Of
wealth; for aE arlstOcracy Of wealth
without hereditary title una rank can
only prevail by remaining rich. Facts
show that It II seldom that grent wealth
remains In a single family longer than
two generations; rarely, indeed. does Il
Outlast more than one. How many OF
the wealthy families Of to-day can pOin,
to q wealthy line Of ancestors? Few Of
them can trace back even to u grand
father How many Of tO.day's million
aires can he certain that their children,
children will not be poor? 1t simply II
impossible to create an American aris
tocracy based on money, because the
foundation Il insecure. and the cOnse
Guences that follow Its destruction are
certain. An aristOcracy based on an
cestry. family achievement or brains
may endure for a time, but an aristOc
racy based on mere money can have nc
! certainty Of existence beyond the mo
ment. The rich Of this year are tn.
poor Of last year; the pauper OF to.da,
was Cr0esus Of yesterday. In n fire.,
republic. which permits no entailmen
Of land, no heredity Of title. and no O.
cape from contract obligations ant
debts by privilege Of nobility. the estab
lishment OF an arlstOcracy Of wealth l,
impossible.
The language Of diplomacy is alway,
restrained, but while the words ar,
carefully chosen 50 as to avoid unneces
sary Offense, every phrase has a definit,
meaning. When Lord ROsebery wa
prime minister In England there wer
signs that France had set her eyes up0l
the equatorial provinces In Africa frOu
which the Egyptian garris0ns had beel
withdrawn during the SOudan rebellion
He authorized Sir Edward Grey to dc
clare, In 1895, that q French advance t
the waters Of the Nile would be regard
cd by the British Government as "a
unfriendly act" In ordinary CONVEX
satiOn these three words would not b
emphasized by any stress Of voice, no
would they ordinarily be accepted as
warning. The man who protests In ad
vance against an invasion of his right
generally uses stronger word tha
"unfriendly." He refers to II as "war
ton outrage" or as q "hlgh.handed nc
Of hostility" What diplomacy mean
by ian unfriendly act" 10 an offens
committed by one Government agains
another, which involves immediat
risks Of war. When Sir Edward Grey
warning was unheeded, and the Frenc
dag was raised on the Upper Nile q
Fashoda three years afterward, ther
was grave situation. France had con
mitted an offense against England, an
was confronted by demand that MAJ
chand should retire from Fashoda. Th
terms Of the demand implied forcibl
action II 1t was not compiled with. PREF
ident Monroe. who was . diplomats
like his Secretary OF State. John Quinc
Adams, used the same word "unfrient
"" In proclaiming the famous doctrin
which bears bis name. He declared tha
; any attempt on the part Of Europea
} powers to interfere with OF oppress th
Independent republics Of the America