The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-11-19
sEATTLE. SUNDAY, NOVEMBER ID.


The aotaoress VINO Is known 10 the
public as Ouida recently contributed an
article to one Of the yellow journals Of
the East She IL a skiilfuI ussr Of
words and good judge of what the
public likes. Her article, therefore. was
unthinking who revei in sensational
ism. There is an element In our people
which dearly loves To be miserable In
disposition and character. Bryan ap-
psals always to that element. When
he tells such auditors that they are
wretched race. dogntrodden. abused,
and worse than any other people on
earth. they throw up their hats and
yell with delight.
This characteristic made Ouida's arti-
Gle very acceptable TO some. Shea for
eigner who has never lived In this coun-
try--was cheerfuily paid to utter this
libel on the American people:
THE thirst of gold consumes the ma
ton There Ia not another nation where
the contrast between the rich and the
poor is more marked and terrible.
Americans pride themselves upon their
freedom. Offices are bought
and sold: justice Is matter OF dollars
and cents
Four absolutely false statements are
contained within thase few lines There
is more freedom I'm this country than
In any other except Great Britain: Of
fees are not bought and sold. justice ia
not n matter of dollars and cents. There
Is not greater freedom In Great Britain.
but In the United States and Great Brit
ain there Is greater freedom than In
any other country.
But for the moment we VIII take only
that sentence which concerns the con-
trast between the rich and the poor.
The statement made by ouida Is out
rageons. The fact is that the people
of the United States DO not know what
poverty means. There is not a man or
woman Ia good health, OF good charac-
ter, ard with ordinary prudence. who
need suffer want In this country. In
the lowest purlleus OF the great cities
there Il no such thing as starvation ex-
cept In most isolated and exceptional
cases. There is poverty. but IL is not
of IA desperate character II IA only too
true that many people so without some
OF the decencies of life, bat it is be-
cause OK improvldsnce. If the DAY
laborer of the United States would live
as his peer In other countries lives ha
could have money in the bank In thirty
days
In the cities az Earope. net even ex-
eep;iug England. there is percentage
OF wretehednsss which IS heartbreaking.
The scenes If sQualoE7ahi misery in
London, Rnd in the capital II thc coun-
try which ouida seems to extol N eur
expense. are beyond the conception II
an American who has not seeR them
Thousands 20 tens 81 thousands die
every year ~ starvation a cessa-
ton of food for few days. bat the slow
starvation 81 "a daily snsuiHcleucy OF
food. There arc thousands Of Children
who never taste feed ~ - wholesome
nature. ara WIN exist t. IA imu,a,urs
adui; state 81 fooa which an Asneri-
can would reject with djaaalu There
are thousands ia TIE great cities or
Europe who never knew what i; IS T.
have Sufficient clothing. $40 slaea o.
rags. and whose ouly warmth IN wsa.e~
IS secured frc1n scraps II Goa, and wocl
begged. stolen or egaohed - seara a
passing wagon.
II Is true that car large cites have
their squaIi3 quarters. who're tNove Is
dirt, viee and Glscsse. Ia; The grvat
percentage OF Inhabitants Of these wife
quarters are not Americans. but f8r-
e'Eners
There IS nc Poor - this cs>uutry sasca
as there Is IN europe ana II Asia
Was 81 The thirst foT gold sAat
hroagS,, 80 theso shores nearGv e5es-
teen millions % fogclsners in aAssat affy
yearsF Is II tho thlrst fcy sa'G sAai
stimulates the humhlsst peasant E-ssa
Europe 10 strive assa scn IN ogller sasaf
he snasn eajoy TIE ownership * no;sse.