Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1901-10-10
the ORIGIN OF ANARCHY.

MANY reIllarkdDie theories advanced
as to the causes and origin of anar.
chy in this country. We have bee,
told that anarchy is the fruit of no.
litical agitations that have "set closs
against class" that it is a legitimate
child OF "yellow journalism; !" thar i,
owes its inception to atheism: that IL
is a sequence of the leveiing process
of democracy; that it is this. that
and the other thing that it is NOT. 10.
noring for obvious reasons that il ia
the legitimate fruit of centuries ~
European despotism and an exotic
growth, foreign TO our soil and at
mosphere.
With so many theories advanced
as to the origin of anarchy, it is NOT
altogether surprising that it has been
discovered that it owed its ilception
to the anti-slavery agitation. II
needed some such discovery to show
the absurdity of confusing effect with
cause. The Baltimore Sun comes
forward with the charge that "wben
the philosophical historian, who is
not afraid to tell the truth, investi.
gates the origin of anarchy in the
United States, he will be compelled
to recognize John Brown as the
fountain head of the evil" 1t was
Brown, it says, who "invaded Viz
ginia with his fellow anarchists
stirred up the slaves, and took the
lives OF innocent people. His muir
derous acts were applauded by the
antislavery propaganda in the north
ern states, which for years had been
melting men of Browns fanatical
and lawless type to acts of murder
and violence against the people of
the south. A leading northern alb.
olitionist who denounced the consti-
tuition as covenant with hell' was
applauded by hundreds of thousands
of northern men and women. There
was little difference between such
sentiment and that which inspired
CzolgosZ to assassinate President Me-
Kinley.
Admittedly Brown was an insurrec-
Zionist and in his raid upon Harper's
Ferry placed himself outside the pale
of law, but in fixing the responsible
ties for he"fanaticismsn of Brown
and his fellow zealots should it be
placed upon the condition that called
such fanaticism into existence or
the propaganda that sought its over
throw? Was not Brown the legiti-
mate outgrowth of the system of
human slavery then in vogue in the
| outburSts of the more Jealous aboli-
| tionists We're the result of the anti
slavery propaganda, but what gave
excuse for the propaganda, and was
it not justified? Obviously, when the
responsibility is fixed by the "philo-
sophical historian" it will be placed
upon the men who instituted and up
held the system of human slavery
| in the United States.
| TIE same reasoning that mistakes
| effect for cause is found in the charge
| that anarchism is due to political ag-
itation that 'sets class against class
If there were no conditions that Gre
ated classes there could be no "set.
| ting class against class" In the very
nature of things if there is a class
enjoying unjust privileges, as did
the slave-owning class, it will be OPP
posed by other classes, and every APP
peal to the people to abolish such
class privileges can have no other
effect than setting class against
class" But in fixing the response
bility for this class feeling the cause
that has created classes and class
privileges must be ascertained ana
the responsibility placed where 1t
properly belongs. 1t is not those
who would destroy class distinctions,
but those who create and uphold
them, that are responsible for setting
class against class.
1t must be confessed that the spir-
it of anarchy is wide spread in this
Countrywide spirit of mob violence
and contempt for the orderly pro-
cesses of the courts and of the law;
but anarchy, as the term is generally
employed, is a foreign growth, ana
all efforts to connect it with peaceiul
political agitation, past or present III
this country are calculated to oD-
scure the real status of the anarchy
that plots assassination and the oV-
erthrow of all government, ard are
designed to appeal to the passions
and predjudices of the people rather