The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1898-01-26
new YORK CITY
ALWAYS Az ENEMY OF THE RE-
PUBLIC.
NOT AN AMERICAN, But A FOREIGN
CITY.
Foreign DepOtisms Depress the Hu.
man Family. but the American
Institutions Lift Them Up.
Let Us Distrust Everything That
New York Advocates.

TACOMA, Wash, Dec. 3O.-Adjutant
General John E. Ballaine recently paid
his respects to William T. Stead's forth
coming book, "Satans Invisible World;
or, Despairing Democracy" in a letter
to the London Daily Chronicle, which
has created a stir both in this country
and Europe. The letter is chiefly a de-
tense OF American institutions against
the conclusions of Mr.. Stead and incl
dentally a stinging criticism OF New
York City, which Mr. Stead has desig-
mated as the typical American city.
TEXT OF THE LETTER.
The text of the letter is as follows:
Il have just read an advance sheet
Of William T. Stead's forthcoming book,
"Satan's Invisible World; or, Despair
ing Democracy" The evident purpose
of this book is to prove that Republican
government is a failure and, inferen-
TALLY. that the American republic must
:Hc, lte.uy drift into monarchism. Eng
lishmen have been writing this sort OF
philosophy ever since the surrender OF
yorktown 115 years ago, but the Amcri-
can republic continues to grow and
prosper with unprecedented accelera-
tiOn. Despite this, Mr. Stead in his
latest publication displays more ma
hgnant spirit against everything re
publican and denser ignorance iof
everything American than any of his
predecessors in the role Of commenta-
tors and prophets concerning America
from British standpoint.
Mr. Stead bases his argument On the
assumption that New York is not mere
ly the most typical but the best known
American city 1t is only a window
through which the old world peeps into
the new, and further on he declares:
For democracy, in the English sense
OF the word, there is no longer a strug-
gle in the city of New York. The ablest
and most hopeful Americans have given
it up as a bad job. If New York be the
typical American city and democracv
there be given up as a bad job then
1t follows that all of which New York
is the type must likewise abandon de-
mocracy.
Right there is the fatal weakness OF
MIR. Stead's effort to prop mp The decay
ing monarchy by impeachng the efficacy
and stability of Republcanism If
the foundation of his argument is false,
the superstrueture necessarily crumbles
to the ground
NEW YORK A EUROPEAN CITY.
The government Of New York City
has been notoriously rotten, except ur-
ing occasional spasms of reform. and
well informed persons acknowledge that
the people Of the metropolis as whole
have proved their utter unfitness for
self-government. But that New York
is the most typical American city Of all
Americans deny emphatically 1t is dis
tlnctly European city, socially, finar-
cially, commercially and politically, OK
oept in its form Of government The
United States census discloses that
three-fourths of the inhabitants Of New
York city are foreign born, or of foreign
parentage 1t is the only city in the
United States containing such a prA-
dominance of aliens
Its population being SO largely ru-
rOpean, the majority of it's newspapars
pander to the tastes Of their constituents
by publishing European news to the
exclusion of American news of equal
Importance, and the moral and intel
lectual status Of those constituents Is
exemplified in the yellow journalism OF
New York, specie of lewd sensational
ism that fiourishes in TO other Amerf-
can city.
The jails, penitentiaries insane asyI-
ums and poorhouses Of New York are
cro"ded with inmates of European
blrth The criminal calendar Of the
city is more volumnous than that OF
the combined states Of Ohio, Indiana.
Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa. Nebraska
and Kansas, with population seven
times greater than the population OF
New York city, but principally Ameri-
can. Statistics OF the United State.
prove it. There is more distressing
poverty and illiteracy OF European or
igin in the city Of New York than In all
the country west of the Mississipi
river. containing 12,0cO.3oC persons.
SOCIETY CALLED AtINO
society Of New York city apes the
society OF Europe and despises every
American innovation. 1t ia the only
IA,
city IN the United States whose society
rejects the American for tne exclusive
English mold. That is quite natural.
1cr abnormal wealth Is cen,ered there
and rocisessors Of 1t, being idle, dtsst-
gated and superficial. lack the solidIty
Of the average American ana easily mis-
tese the empty gaudincss o. royalty fer