The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-11-06
MIDNIGHT AT CANTON.

IAN YIN.
ton. but he must be on the side Of the
millionaire. He must be a workingmar
voting as his employer dictates. All 9TH
ers, according to the eloquent Roosevelt
are hoboes and shirks. and unworthy Of
consideration. What becomes of the prin-
ciple of manhood suffrage in that case?
One of the notable things about Lin
coins speeches is that while he frequently
expressed opinions which applied directly
to the problems of his day, they were
singularly broad in their application. SC
broad that they seem to have been spoken
for all time. In 1860 he said, apropos oil
a strike at New Haven:
I am glad to see that system Of labor pre-.
walls in New England under which laborers can
strike when they want to, where they are not
Obliged to work under all circumstances and arc
not tied down and obliged to labor whether you
pay them or not l desire that il you
get too thick here. and find it hard to better
your condition on this soil. you may have a
chance to strike and go somewhere else, where
you may not be degraded. I want you to
have clean bed and no snakes in it.
The Republican campaign orator is
prone to abuse the man who wants to quit
work when he IS not being paid living
should happen to stroll into one of Colo
mel Roosevelt's audiences and interrupt
the speaking with such remarks as these
that irascible person would probably call
him hobo and hint that he had not been
properly brought up.
There is more or less talk Just at pres
ent about the necessity that class of in
telligent and cultured people should be
developed, and there is some disposition
on the part Of certain writer's and think
ers to sneer at the old-fashioned Ameri-
can ideal of the man who could both work
and think. whose hands were as skillful
as his head, and who could appreciate a
moving machine as we'll as a picture by
Corot This is what Lincoln had to say
on the subject of aristocracies:
I hold If the Almighty had ever made a set
of men that should do all the eating and o.
the work He would have made them with mouths
only and no hands.
That is brief, and considerably to the
point. Again:
BY the "mud-sill" theory It is assumed that
labor and education are incompatible, and any
practical combination OF them impossible. Ac
cording to that theory blind horse upon
tread-miil is a perfect illustration Of what
laboser should be-all the better for being blind.
that he could not kick understandingiy. Ae-
cording to that theory, the education OF la.
borers is not only useless but pernicions and
dangerous. In fact. it is, in some sort, deemed
a misfortune that laborers should have heads at
all. Those heads regarded as explosive
only to be safely kept in damp places
as far as possible from that peculiar sort of fire
which ignites them.
This notion that man can work bet
for fed oil
have aroused Lincoln's ever-ready sense
of humor. The big. keen-sighted. genial
hearted man had no room in his philoso-
ply for any such narrow theory of life
The fact that he. by dint Of earnest striv-
ing after the education within his reach,
climbed from an obscure position to the
heights of philosophy and of wisdom
which he attained, is the best possible
proof that no class, no caste, no heredity.
can be relied upon to produce or to crush
out character. The attempt to make it
do SO is futile. Lincoln is an example for
all time OF the law that a man is greater
than a system. All the same, such words
rs those above quoted are not popular
with the Republican party nowadays, and
IL Mr.. Bryan should happen to quote them,
without mentioning the fact that it was
the great Republican who origi-
nally said them. he would be liable to be
pilloried in Mr.. Hanna's next scathing
speech for the crime of using incendiary
and emotional language. Lincoln is not
usually thought of as an emotional man.
but if he said things like this. perhaps
history is wrong about him. Here is some
more emotionalsm:'
These capitalists generally act tremendously
and in concert TO fleece the people; and now
that they have got into quarrel with themselves
we are called upon TO appropriate the peoples
money to settle the quarrel
We have evidence in abundance that
Lincoln clearly foresaw dangers which
might threaten the Republic in the fu-
ture, and that he believed these dangers
to be chiefly, if not solely, those which
interfered with the liberty CT the masses
in the interests Of class. The one prin-
ciple which he regarded as the corner
stone of free government was the doc
trine of human equality as voiced in the
of independence. He declared
in one of mis- speeches that if party
were founded upon this principle the
gates of hell should not prevail against
it. But = party may shift its founda-
items If the time has come when Re-
is no longer to involve the
and freedom of the work
ngman, when it SO shapes itself to the
avil tendencies of n commercial age as to
represent instead the opposing interests
If short-sighted employers, it is time the
act should be thoroughly understood.
ihe interests CT capital and labor are in
ruth Identical in the long run; but 1t is
lust as true now as it was in Lincoln's
line that it will not do for one man to
rule another by force. 1t will not do to
rust to the capitalists enlightened con-
IGNITION of his own interests. The work
ngman can secure his rights without
vrecking his employer; 1t is possible to
pay living wages without wreckiEg the
business, in most cases, but the iaborer
:annot stand reduction beyond certain
point in his wages without depicting his
strength which is all the capital he has.
The price of his labor. if left to purely
selfish interest for decision, is simply the
AMOUNT which flesh and blood happens to
,ring in the market at any certain time
+ workmen are plentiful. wages may go
Town below living point and the empl yer
lot suffer. since other men may be had
when the first relay gives out. OF course.
,ther considerations beside the purely
selfish desire for money do influence the
,rice OF wages, the state of public senti-
nent, the perfection of the union and the
personal character of the employer But
or the sake of the Commonwealth 1t is
lot safe to allow the money interests eff
he country to control legislation in de-
lance of the will of the people. Since
t cannot be assumed that their desires
will always be those Of the people. the
,nly safe foundation for government is in
system which shall be absolutely free
rom the dominion of money.