The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-11-15

| distance of 50 years back, ana as he
| states In this letter, his observations are
| founded on study of the history of e-e
| past, which after ALL is the only prece-
dent by which We may be able to judge
Of the future. Macaulay remarks that
| our ultimate fate will be withheld for a
| long period, on account OF a physical cir
| cumstance, that OF our vast undeveioped
area OF unsettled land. This unpopulat-
! ed region has served heretofore ss safe
| ty valve, through which was poured all
| of the surplus energy of our population,
which If kept in our more Inhabited dis
triets. would have tended TO hurry for
ward the condition foreseen by Macaulay
AS you are aware this district is growing
! less every year, and viii soon be entirely
used up. When this happens the reign
of the demagegue, both financial. polite
| al, social and labor, will be materially
| fastened s. r. l.
The letter from Macauiay was written
to II s. Randall of New York. who
! asked him for his opinion on Thomas JEFF
terson. The letter follows:
Holy Lodge, Kensington. London.
May q. 1857.
Dear Sir:
You are surprised to learn that I have
| not high opinion of Mr. Jefferson, and
am surprised at your surprise. I am
certain that | never wrote a line, and
| that / never in parliament place where
ii is the fashion TO court the populace-
uttered word, indicating an opinion that
the supreme authority in a state ought TO
| be trusted to the majority of citizens told
by the head; in other words to the poor
est and most ignorant part of society.
1 have long been convinced that institu-
tons purely democratic must. sooaer or
! later, destroy liberty or civilization, or
both. In Europe, where the population
is dense. the effect of such institutions
would be almost instantaneous. What
happened lately in France is an example.
IN 1s4S a pure democracy vas established
there. During a short time there was
reason to expect a geaeraI spOliation, a
national bankruptcy, q new partition Of
the soil, q maximum OF prices a ruinous
load Of taxation laid on the r,ch for the
purpose Of supporting the poor in Idle
ness. Such a system would, in twenty
years, have made France as poor and
barbarous as the France of the Cariov-
ingians. Happily. the danger was avert
ed; and now there is a despotism. silent
tribune. an ensIaved press. Liberty is
gone, but civilization has been saved.
have not the smallest doubt that, if we
had 9 purely democratic government here
the effect would be the same Either the
poor would plumber the rich ard civiliza-
ton would perish, or order and prosper
ity would be saved by a strong military
government. and liberty would perish
You may think that your country enjoys
an exemption from these evils; l wiz
frankly own to you that l am of very
different opinion. Your fate | believe to
be certain. though it IS deferred by a
physical cause. IS long as you have
boundleSs extent Of fertile and unoccu-
pied land, your laboring population will
be far more at ease than the laboring
population of the old world; and while
that is the case or efferson politics may
continue to exist without causing any
fatal calamity. But the time will come
when New England viii De a thiclxly set
tied as old England Wages Will be as
low. and Will fiuctuate as much with you
as with US. You will have your Manches-
ter sand Birninghams. And in those
Manchesters and Birminghams hundreds
and thousan ds Of artisans will sometimes
be out of work. Then your institutions
viii be fairly brought to the test. Dis
tress everywhere makes the laborer NUT
innous and disconnected, and inclines him
to listen with eagerness to agitators. who
tell him that it is a monstrous iniq,Iity
that one man should have q million while
another cannot get a full meal. In bad
years there is plenty Of grumbIing here,
and sometimes a little rieting; but mat
tiers it little, for here the sufferers are
not the rulers. The supreme power is in
the hands of class. numerous indeed, but
select-of an educated elass-of class
which is. and knows itself to be, deeply
interested in the security of property
and the maintenance OF order. According
Is the malcontents are gently but firmly
restrained. The bad time is got over.
without robbing the wealthy to relieve
the INDECENT. The springs Of national
prosperity soon begin to flow again; work
is plentiful. wages rise, and all is tran
quillity and cheerfulness. l have seen
England pass. three or four times,
through such critical seasons as l have
described. Through such seasons the
United States viii have to pass in the
course Of the next century, if not of
this. How will you pass through them?
heartily wish Won good deliverance.
But my reason and my wishes are at
war. and 1 cannot help foreboding the
worst. It it quite plain that your gov
ernment viii never be able to restrain
IL
For. with you the majority is the gov
erEnent. ana has the rich. who are al
ways the minority. absolutely at its mer-
cy- The day Will come when. in the state
Of New York. multitude Of people.
none of whom has had more than half
a breakfast. or expects to have more
than half a dinner. will choose a iegisia-
ture II is possible 70 doubt what sort
of a legislature VIII be chosen? on one
side is a statesman preaching patience.
respect for vested rights, strict observ-
ance of public faith: on the other is q
den1a gogue. ranting about the tyranny Of
the capitalists and usurers. and asking
why anybody should be permitted To
drink champagne and 70 ride in a car
rage while thousands of honest folk are
in want Of uecessaries Which Of the
two candidates is likely 70 be preferred
by a workman who hears his children
CRY for bread2 I seriously apprehend you
viii. in some such season of adversely rs
! have described. do things that win pre-
vent prosperity from returning; that you
viii act Ike people who shoVld, in a
season o. scarcity devour all the seed
corn. ard thus make the next year rot
one Of scarcity. but OF absolute famine
There VII be. l fear. srollation The