The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-05-25
RANDOM REC0LLECTI0NS
THE LATE LAWRENCE GODKIN'S
OWN ACCOUNT OF HIS YOUTH.
Experiences in the Crimea-ReasOns
for Coming to the United states
In the south.
New York Evening Post.

New York Evening Post
The following are a few extracts Of an
autobiogra phicaI character from the Rec
objections" which Mr.. Godkin published in
the Evening Post of Dec. so. 1899, shortly
after his retirement;
when / was in college Queens Bel
fasD I and the young men of my acquaint-
ance were Liberals in the English sense.
John Stuart Mil was our prophet, and
Grote and Bentham were our daily food
In fact. the late Nelson Hancock, who
was our professor of political economy and
Jurisprudence. made Bentham his textbook
Why political economy and Jurisprudence
were united in the same chair I never
knew, but at that period. in England
and Ireland. at least, political economy
was taught as a real science. which con-
sisted simply in the knowledge of what
man, as an exchanging and producing ami
NAL. would do If let alone On that you
can base a science. for the mark OF sci
ence is that it enables you to predict.
Since then what is called political economy
has become something entirely different.
II has assumed the role of an adviser who
teaches man 10 make himself more COM
Portable through the help Of his govern
mcnt and has no more claim to be
science than philanthropy. or what is called
sociology At all events. its influence
on statesmen is nothing like what it was
when Pitt read Adam, Smith and Peel lis
tened TO Golden.
But whatever its value or defects.
and my trends were filed with the teach
ings Of the 'laissez-faire' school and had
no doubt that it's recent triumph in the
abolition OF the corn laws was sure to lead
10 wider ones in other countries. I have
said that John Stuart Mill was our prophet
but America was our promised land. To
the SCOTS Of the Tories that our schemes
were impracticable our answer was that
I'm America. barring slavery. they were &C
tually at work. There were the chief Of
the state and the legislators. freely elected
by the votes of the people. There were
the offices open TO everybody who had the
capacity 10 fill them. There was no army
or navy, two great curses of humanity in
all ages. There was to be no war, except
war in self-defense. and the revenues were
spent in the execution of the laws and the
promotion of public convenience. In fact
we did not doubt that in America, at last.
the triumph of humanity over its own
weaknesses and SuperSutlonS was being
achieved, and the dream of Christendom
was at last being realized.
"All or nearly all that we knew about
America. however, came from De Tocque-
Vile. American newspapers were unknown
and Americans were rather rare birds. The
gorgeous check-drawing American, with
castles, moOrS and salmon rivers in Scot
land. was still to make his appearance The
occasional stray American that one came
across was as like as not 10 have come
over TO place a coal field or the stock of
a railroad and was not unlikely 10 be at
tired in black, with a dress coat and a
black satin waistcoat, TO the amusement OF
the liGht-m1nded; and anything he told us,
no matter how beautiful. was swallowed
with eager credu1ty
THE CRIMEAN WAR
IT did not go to the Crimea until the win
ter of 1854 I passed a couple of months
at Eupatoria. about forty miles north Of
Sebastopcl. which was assaulted by a
strong Russian column while 1 was there.
A few Indian officers. home on leave. and
myself were the only Giaours present. and
the Indian officers were strongly of the
opinion that if the place were carried the
fugitive Turks would massacre us out Of
sheer vexation. The assault was made.
but failed The column advanced through
Mussulman graveyard under heavy hre
of artillery. When the affair was over L
rode over their line of march and came
upon the most horrible spectacle magma
bic. The shot had broken the tOmbStoneS
into small pieces and through them had
inflicted the ghastliest wounds and LAGER
atiOns on the men who had fallen. l had
Danube. but they were nothing like this.
though covering wider area.
Late in the spring / went TO Sebastopol
and was there until the place was taken.
Owing to the kindness OF friends in the
PiedmOnteSe army 1 was enabled to visit
the MalakOf either the afternoon OF its
capture or the following morning, 1 now
forget which, but the burying parties were
lust going 10 work. When we reached the
top OF the parapet the Russians were still
dropping shells from the other side or the
harbOr whenever they saw a group, so that
we obliged TO walk singly. The sight
which met our eyes within the fort was
a horfid one. Ten thousand men, as / was
afterwards told. both Russians and French.
three acres, the result OF an hour or two
not even the youngest. could avoid the re-
Election that probably but few of these I'M
fortunates knew what the quarrel was
about in which they had sacrificed their
lives This and the scenes in the trenches
through which ] passed that day gave me
a disgust for war which during the forty
years that have since elapsed l have never
ceased TO express whenever an opportunity
ARRIVAL IN AMERICA
II arrived in America in the fall OF 1856
on the eve of the presidential election. The
air was fun of the discussion about slavery.
which was TO end four years later in the
civil war The excitement was tremendous.