Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1901-02-14
Kansas.

Kansas.
The performances Of Mrs. Carrie
Nation and the other fanatics who are
rioiing against the saloons in Kansas
may be interesting enough to the stu
dent of emotional insanity and the hys-
terra of crowds. Mrs. Nation and her
assistants in '.ioint" smashing are sin
cerely religious, and perfectly con-
vinced of the necessity and propriety
of their proceedings. They talk about
1.-The arm of the Lord" and their ''holy
warfare;" and they sing Nearer, My
God, to Thee while the hoodlums are
getting drunk on the free liquor spilled
by the crusaders. In the minds oil
these enthusiasts, lawless destruction
of the property of persons whom they
believe to be wrongdoers assumes the
authority of law, a higher Law, with
positive religious sanction. The pas
sionate language, the anger as OF a
prophet rebuking sin and judging SIN
ners, the prayers aud hymns in froni
of murder shops, the excitement and
high key of the whole movement the
insolence to public officers might we'll
belong to a new sect come 20 denounce
and reform the world. But in Kansas
these outbreaks eouni tor less than
they would anywhere else. Fart oil
Kansas is mad all the time apparently.
Perhaps prenatal Influences have
left their strong mark on the State. In
the conflict between Free Soiler and
Border Rufian. type was developed
somewhat like that of Cromwell's men,
as great at holding forth as at shooting.
Begotten of the Bible aud Sharp's IL
fes, Bleeding Kansas still keeps the
traces of the fierce zeal, the unbending
consciousness of righteousness and tn
fighting temper of the earlier time
An excitable, enthusiastic, proseiytlng
disposition seems common in it. There
is an immense amount of spouting and
ranting, much or most of it sincere
Eccentric and picturesque Individual:
abound, such as hung about the skirts
of the anti-slavery agitation. Talk and
action have sharp angles. The bliz
zard is blowing always In the brain
Around the common sense of the ma
jority of the people, the thunder o
the crank minority is always mutterinE
or booming.
Surely there never was in all th'
wards of Bedlam queerer set OF moon
struck men and women than dances
in procession along the roads OF kansa
Popnlism. It was a sort of tarantism
albeit the grasshopper and not th
tarantula had Dipped the dancers.
was a costly business for Kansas, bu
it was a curious spectacle. For ther
was something spectaculas and theatrI
cal about Populism as there Is abou
the smaller show which Mrs. Natio
is giving. Stage plays may not greaii
prosper in the Kansas farming dii
tricts, but the people have their amuss
ments and Populism has been one
them. The Populists we're franti
) singers. They were strong in festiva
and powwowipgs. They were rich
prophetesses. Their conventions wei
frequent and loud. Populist youn
r women refused to marry non-Populi
: Young men. Harlequin and Columbia
/ Jerry Simpson and Mrs. Lease. d
= lighted the crowds. A serious EN-
3 t:onal play, with numerous comic cha
1 acters and interludes. Great excit
r nent and some grotesqueness we're Il
> characteristics OF Populism- On
2 serious side Ii indicated great capa
f ity for emotion in the regions OF po
tics and political economy, scienc
9 not naturally sentimental.
= The burning of tae negro Alexana
; at Leavenworth the other day may
? thought 10 be another example OF u
n excitable and nenrotic Kansas tempe
) ament. There. too, prenatal inf
q euces may be sought BY the enrio
a inquirer. Il viii be remembered Ii