Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1902-10-13
CHAPT |.
By Bertha NJ. Clay.

Ray-Martin Ray, the Radical, the Re
former; "the Voice Of the People; as
he liked best to call himself; the
philanthropist, the hater Of queen and
aristocracy, the teacher of treason;
the man who worked for, yet lived
upon the people; the man who was
half genius, half mailman, half poet,
full Of great thoughts all distorted,
full Of grand ideas all wrong; a man
whose lips had been touched by the
divine fire of elOquence, who could
stir the hearts of the people as the
wind stirs the leaves; a man who had
magnificent conceptions Of what the
world might be made, yet failed
utterly in making them practical;
man over whom wise government
hestitates, hardly knowing whether
to crush him or to take him by the
hand and make a friend of him.
More than one prime minister had
knitted his brows over the name of
Martin Ray; more than one popular
Outburst had followed the fire of this
mans words. He was earnest and
sincere. He hated everything that ap-
pertainedI to royalty; against the
queen as a woman he said never a
word-against her as the head Of the
state he uttered thunders of wrath.
The aristocracy he hated with honest
hatred, He would have taken the
broad acres Of duke and earl and
shared them among the labOring poor.
He protested that the monopoly of
wealth by few was gross injustice
to the many; he swore that he would
give his life to undo the wrong; at the
same time, he was content to live him
self upon the subscriptions of the
people whom he misled and excited to
seditiOn.
He could be tracked easily as the
flaming fire that lays bare the
prairie. Wherever he went he was
followed by loud murmurs of popular
discomfort, and then came riot and i'm
prisOnment. In quiet hamIets, in
sleepy villages, in peaceful towns, in
factories, workshops, and garrets, his
words fell, and set fire to those who
listened.
At Harbury there had been a trial
for bribery at the elections. There
there thought Martin Ray; sit is the
very place for paying lecture by the
'WOrking-man's friend" So the
walls Of the old town were placarded
with the name of Martin Ray, the
famous Radical, the people thirsted to
see the new champion of popular
rights, Harbury had always been a
quiet conservative town, the inhabi-
tants of which had rarely troubled
themselves with politics, save at cleo
ton times; but now among the poor
and the artisan class a new light was
spreading. They were no longer to
be depressed and condemned; every
man was to have his due: there
should be none very rich, none very
poor And the man who was to help
in the accomplishment of all this was
coming-"The Voice of the People"
Martin Ray. No wonder that the old
walls were placarded, and that every
gate and door bore his name.
The largest placard of all was that
opposite the house of Amos Hatton,
who lived in Castle street, Harbury.
the last descendant of what had once
been wealthy and powerful family.
For generations they had faded and
decayed; they had no longer houses
or lands, nor even position; and Amos
HattOn had been compelled to apply
himself to one of the professions. He
was a solicitor, with a small but pay
Ing practice; and, being a staunch
conservative, the name of Martin Raw
IN large letters opposite to his door
displeased him greatly.
When he came down to breakfast
on this fine May morning, there the
words were, looking him defantlv in
the face, while his pretty daughter
Doris was gazing at them intently.
She turned when he entered.
Papa" she asked, what is q
RadicaI?"
The old lawyers face flushed hotly,
i will not answer you until I feel
caImer; to say the least of it, it is
most atrocious to place that name
there"
The girl looked at it with softened
eyes.
Martin Ray" she said-"ft is not
bad name, papa
1T is not the name, but the man"
rejoined the lawyer. "The fellow is
capable of anything; and unfortunate
~ ne is fine orator, they say"
1 should like to hear him. said
Doris.
Hear him! Do you want your ears
to burn, Doris, through listening to
such doctrines as his? Take nv
word for it, the man who does not be-
lieye in and serve his queen fails to
serve his Maker
Doris made no answer, but in her
heart she said that such a sweeping
condemnation was unfair-that MANY
men to whom the word royalty"
even, was an abomination tried their
best to lead a pure life.
L do not see what politics have IN