The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-09-02
ITS GROWTH WAS SLOW
At Last It Powered Into a System
Like Our Own.
BASED ON THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN
How Brave and Patriotic People Wrested from
Kings and Mobiles the Reins Of Govern
ment and at Last Won Their
Freedom.

When Scion visited Sardis and there
beheld Croesus in all his glory, sur
rounded by his court of oriental splen-
doris and luxury, with boundless
treasures, absolute power, and every
pleasure his royal heart could wish,
1T is said that he asked the old phi
losopher if he did not consider him
truly fortunate and a happy man.
King of LYDIA" replied, the aged
law giver, ''as God has given the
Greeks moderate proportion of other
things, SO likewise he has favored
them with a democratic spirit, and a
liberal kind of knowledge which has
no taste for the splendors of royalty"
This was the keynote to the Gre
clan theory of government, struck by
the masters hand. Feeble and dis
cordant at first, it grew in volume
and melody until the whole land of
Greece from shore to shore rang
with the music of human liberty, and
still it was waited on over the seas
and across the centuries, until today
it awakens responsive chord in the
breast of every true patriot.
The Grecian theory of government
was intensely and essential dem
ocratic, but their ideal was only
reached by process of evolution,
theG having gone through all the sue
cessiye stages of monarchy, oligarchy
and aristocracy, with even a touch of
anarchy before they enjoyed the bless
ings of pure democracy.
One of the fundamental principles
of dem ,cracy is the right of local se'f
government. This the Greeks eXercis-
ed from the earliest times. Greece
was composed of many States and col
Onies, but each was considered polit-
ically independent OF the others, with
its own laws and government. Still
they had in common their language
and their religion and in the presence
of common danger, they were one
people with one patriotic purpose.
OF an the various forms of govern
ment adopted by the different States,
that of Attica with Athens as its
head came nearer embodying the true
Grecian ideal. 1t is proper, therefore,
in the consideration of this subject
to attend more particularly to the pol
icy of the Athenians and the genius
of their institutions.
From remote times the people of
Attica had been ruled by kings with
practically absolute power, and with
out written laws The result of this
condition of affairs has been the same
in every age, namely, oppression and
degradation of the great body of the
people. But the Greeks were a brave
people and the result was a constant
warfare between the king and mobiles
on one side and the people on the
other.
First the title of king was abolished
and that of archon was substituted in
it's place, but the office remained;
next the term of the archon was linn
tied to ten years, but the privilege
rested solely in the family of the last
king; then the exclusive privilege of
the family of the last king was abol-
ished and any person of noble birth
could be chosen archon; thirty one
years later the term of the archon
was reduced to one year, and the
power distributed among nine person
one chief archon and eight asao-
ciateS. OF these nine archonS one pre-
sided, and might be called chief exec
utiye; one had charge of the religion,
which was so interviewer with the
customs and life of the people that
we might call him secretary of the
interior; a third had charge of the
army and might well be called Sec
rotary of war. The other six were
caller legislators, and were so to
speak, a primitive senate.
In this distribution of power we see
one of their fundamental conceptions
of democratic government, a concep-
ton which has been so beautiful.y
amplified in our enlightened day and
our own favored land.
Still there We're no written laws or
constitution, and no right given the
common people to vote or hold office.
and oppression continued. The groans
of the people changed to murmurs,
which in turn rose to the clamors of
instruction and rebellion. The rul-
ing classes were overbearing and OPP
pressiye, corrupted by wealth and
luxury and careless of the rights of
the. people, but they were wise IN
their day and generation, they knew
the temper of the people, and they
knew some relief must be speedily
administered. or else the very foun-
dations of all their wealth, power
and greatness would be broken up.
In their extremity they elected Scion
archon and gave him full authority
to make and enforce such a written
constitution and code of laws as he
might deem proper. A wiser choice
could not have been made. BY
heredity he was noble and knew the
weaknesses of his class; but he was
poor and had been forced to mingle
with men as merchant to earn his
livelihood. He therefore knew the
sufferings and needs and capacities of
the common people.
He at once divided the people into
four classes, with wealth as a basis.
The first only could hold the archon-
ship and high offices; the second and
third, inferior offices; while the
fourth, which comprised the great
body of the common people, could not
hold offices, but he gave to them the
sacred right of voting.
Thus we see how this brave and