The independent., 1903-05-14
THE PHILOSOPHERS OF FREEDOM

This mayoralty election experience
caused Mr.. George to start an active
agitation for the adoption of the Aus
tralian ballot system in this country,
which idea was quickly adopted by
individuals and parties and it soon
became enacted into the political ma.
chinery OF all the states.
One of the ways in which Mr..
George advocated this reform was
through the columns of weekly po-
litical and economic newspaper, The
Standard, which he started early in
1887.
In that paper he also made a mas
terly defense Of Rev. DR.. Edward Nc
Glynn, who for openly supporting the
candidacy of George for the mayor
atty the year before was suspended
from his pulpit by Archbishop Corri-
gan, although other Catholic priests
had been permitted openly to aid the
candidature of Mr.. Hewitt. The arch
bishop subsequently ordered DR.. Nc
Glynn to renounce as opposed to the
teachings of the Catholic church his
doctrines on the land question which
were the same as those set forth In
Georges book, Progress and Pow
erty." McGlynn refusing, the arch
bishop procured his excommunica-
tion. But the papal legate, Arch
bishop Satolli, reopening the case in
1892 had committee of the profess
sors of the Catholic university at
Washington consider written state
ment by DR.. McGlynn of his views on
the land question. The committee re-
ported that there was nothing in them
opposed to the doctrines Of the church,
whereupon the legate removed the
ban of excommunication and the Doc
tor was soon after appointed by Arch
bishop Corrigan to the charge of a
little church at Newburg on the Hud-
son river.
Henry George made lecturing tour
of Australia iE 1890 and on his return
to New York suffered stroke Of
-aphasia from his years of intense
work. He soon recovered from this,
however and in 1892 published his
fifth book, entitled: "a Perplexed
Philosopher, being an examination
of Mr.. Herbert Spencer's various ut
terances on the land question, with
some incidental reference to his syn
thetic philosophy. Georges second
book, "The Land Question" had ap-
peared in 1881, his third, Social
Problems" in 1884, and his fourth,
Protection or Free Trader" in 1886.
In 1891 Mr.. George published
brochure called "The Condition of
Labor, an Open Letter to Pope Leo
KILL" being an answer to the pope's
encyclical and an exposition of
Georges land doctrines. But before
writing this he had begun work on
the most profound and, what he es-
teemed to be, the most ambitious of all
his writings, .sThe Science Of Political
Economy" book on which he was
still writing when death overlook him
in 1897.
Mr.. George had always taken an
intense interest and more or less
active part in politics. He was A
democrat Of the Thomas Jefferson
type and he voted for Grover Cleye-
land, expecting him to raise the tar
iff issue on radical lines, but when
Cleveland sent federal troops to Chi
cago during the railroad strike George
openly denounced the president as the
man who had done most up to his time
toward the establishment of dicta-
torship. Mr.. George strongly sup
ported Mr.. Bryan for the presidency
in 1896, and himself became candi-
date for the New York mayoralty the
next year. Worn out by long years
of intense work and had fallen into
i'll health, he was warned by medical
advisors against the fatigue and ex-
citement of campaign, but he
brushed warnings aside with the
statement that if the people called
him to lead he would go forth regard
less of personal consequences. The
warnings were not idle, for early in
the morning of October 20, 1897, four
days preceding the election, he was
stricken with apoplexy and he died
before daylight came.
His funeral was one of the most
remarkable tributes ever accorded a.
private citizen and his burial was in
Greenwood Cemetery, in lot beside