The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1899-01-13

GIVEN by the Jackson Club tonight.
Inc grand old man, who, by consent
ing to u for mayor of Chicago on the
municipal ownership platform, has
torn the mask Of treason from those
who would betray the living issues for
which the allied forces stand was at
MS best and said in part:
h Republic Threatened.
Ih1s club has won fame through Its
struggle for higher politics-for higher
standards of Justice. and for more hon
est economic and financial policies. But
great as are your achievements, much
as you have accomplished, your work
mas barely begun. This Republic has been
the beacon light of tho world for more
Inan q century. 1t has not only lifted
the hopes of all men. but by its example
~ mas turned the face Of nearly all ma
lions toward liberty. Since the first read
ing or the Declaration Of independence
over Two hundred and fifty constitutions
that were Republican in form have been
ADOPTED. Most of them persisted, but they
VIII rise again. Now the foundations are
being pulled from under our own institu-
tlons. The very affairs Of liberty are
peing betrayed by the men set to guard
them. Two years ago, when we turned
the race OF our party toward the sun, we
protested against economic policies that
ROBBED, against financial policies that
paralyzed, and against judicial usurpa-
ton that enslaved. Every days develop
ment since that time has shown not only
that we were right, but that the situation
was far more serious than VIC supposed.
Look About You. American Citizens.
Look about you! Nearly all of the
wealth of this land Is passing into a few
hands, and not one Of these hands favor
able to the freedom OF the citizen. Every
great Industrial. commercial, mining or
transportation enterprise Is passing into
the hands first of corporations, and then
by further consolidation into the hands
OF trusts which thus have an absolute
monopoly-a monopoly which can, arbi-
trarily, fix prices, fix wages and regulate
output-a monopoly which has no soul
and whose chief purpose Is to plumber
the public. The monopollst and the spec
ulator prosper, but the masses wither.
Men of moderate fortunes and Of fair
Incomes. who were the bulwark OF the
Republic, are slowly but surely being
wiped out. We are being reduced to two
classes; in the first stage these will be
known as the very rich and the moder-
ately poor, and in the second stage as
the masters and the slaves. We have
established a monied aristocracy and are
now fastening a yoke on posterity. A
standing army Is to be enthroned and
o argument Is to govern.
Wealth tho Enemy of Liberty.
Republican institutions cannot live amid
these conditions. Wealth has never been
the friend of liberty. Concurrently with
the progress Of these changes we hear
the snarling voices of men who deride
the doctrines of Jefferson and Lincoln
that made our country great and mighty.
Already we see magazine articles urging
the establishment by law of a permanent
aristocracy in our system Of government,
n from high quarters we hear q de-
mand for Hamiltonism Hamilton be-
1ieved In monarchy and aristocracy bot
toned on corruption. He was in love
with the English system as 1t existed In
the last century. thoroughly rotten from
top to bottom, and he labored to trans
plant whatever he could Of that system.
He once said to John Adams: purge
the British Constitution of it's corruption
and give to its popular branch equality
of representation and it would become an
impracticable government. But as It
tands at present. it is the most perfect
government that ever existed" He did
not advance a single new thought, did
not promulgate a single new principle;
and he sneered at the idea that the people
were capable of self-government.
Hamilton Was Against Our Constitution.
England herself has since that time re-
pudiated corruption and established
equality Of representation. Hamilton
favored the adoption of the new Consti-
tuition, but was not satisfied with 1t and
openly expressed the hope that some fu-
ture war would centralize the powers of
the government. When he was made
Secretary of the Treasury the new Com
stitution had been adopted, Congress had
been given power to raise money. eyery-
body could see that the Republic could
now easily pay its debts, and that II was
not necessary to introduce corruption Of
any sort. But true to his theory. he at
once secured the establishment of q ma
tional IN and introduced the British
funding and bond-issuing system, coupled
with its ltmitless opportunities for plum
der. "A short period of unparalleled spec-
ulation and pe%culation followed. The
sharks and financial birds of prev made
fortunes and Hamilton became the hero
Of the hour. The. whole system collnnsed
in q few ears and scattered ruin and
misery over the country. Yet for a whole
century the men who use the govern-
ment to plumber the country have shout
ed for Hamilton. Whether Hamilton
himself shared in the plumber Is imma-
terial. He expressed his belief in the
system, and deliberately furnished the
opportunity to others. During the ad-
ministration Of Mr.. Adams Hamiltonism
ran wild. Almost every principle of
h Declaration OF independence was
trampled under foot, and those provisions
Of the new Constitution tina were In
tended to protect the Individual were
ruthlessly brushed aside. No man dared
to criticise the administration. Scores Of
good men were denied trial by jury and
languished in prison for exercising the
ri9ht of free speech. A tyranny was es-
tabilshed that surpassed anything exist
ing In England. Four years of this re-
rfne was all the American people could
then stand; they declared that they had
mot ii OF q foreign yoke to take up a