The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-12-04


brought to block before or since.
1t was the Empire OF the World,
with all of its appurtenances and
concomitants, including provinces and
colonies and unrestricted power to
tax: Unnumbered thrones of gold,
ivory, porphyry, and precious stones:
navies and invincible legions, with
boundleSs granarieS to feed both these
and the lnsatiate Capitoiine mob, be-
sides royal baths for their scrubbing,
and free theatres surprising concep-
ton in immensely, including gladiators
mines. dancing girls and wild beasts
without end for the edification and
merrymaking of the rabble-rOut
whose endless demand was; bread
and the circus" In addition to these,
were. imperial palaces in every large
city, the forum, the comitia, the Sem
ate House, with it's togaed, trucking
inmates, most lavish of all of fawn
and abasement to their ever changing
lord and master. The summary in
complete as it is ought to have stated
the craving for power and lucre of
the greediest glutton that ever made
a mimicry of Liberty; but the aggre-
CATION of muniments was not 1.-THE
in compass to what was Knocked down
to one Didius Julianus, the purchaser
at public vendue of an Empire, and
the mightlest of all times, for in ad-
dition TO the count of good things here
given he bought a lump of slaves, to
all intents running up into hundreds
and hundreds of millions of all de-
greeS, who dared not call their souls
their own. not to speak of the accumu-
latlons of ages The fellow was a
paseborn churi, by some alleged to
have been of slavish paternity, but he
had been favored son of the State
and under her fostering care, was able
10 buy q world. The story would be
beyond belief. were it not borne out
by gravest history. Were it not for
coFrelatlye example. it would be be-
yond the scope of credence that this
deDased and degraded state had been
for near thousand years the Great
Republic of antiquity. when to say:
II am Roman was an absolute
safeguard in the remotes corner of
her boundless domains. to her hum
bleSt citizen.
What is to prevent the Great
Modern Republic" being brought to
IKE abasement. aye, even to the auc-
honeer's block in the no distant fu-
ture? Take a brief retrospect as
forecast of possibility. A month
ago she was on the eve of a recurring
national election for a, Chief who,
whilst bearing a Democratic title.
rivals the Caesars in the latter usurp-
ing days in outreach IF sway and
claim of prerogative. The party in
power claimed victory then with alb
soiute assurance of the result and
continued to claim until it was an
nounced. baSing their claim on being
the party of corporate and Segre-
gate wealth; to which assumption
there was no gainsay. for it was as
serted and believed of all men that
they had millions on millions in
hln0
states, dubbed doubtful. to buy up.
twas done. as was the last preced-
In election. 1t matters naught in
denial. for the winning side to play
the part of "the prophet of the past"
by saving there was no occasion to
purchase prostituted states in the bal
ance of doubt. in view of the over
whelming majority of ballots cast for
their candidate. The fact stands
charged by one party and virtually
admitted by the other. that a bribery
or corruption fund, which beggars de-
scrlption was most bounteously used
in the suspected states, and would
have settled the issue in their favor
hal it hinged as was believed it would
on those so-called pivotal states
These got their dirty little stipend,
amounting perhaps in some cases,
to Thirty Pieces of Silver and
the Constitution became by force of
ii
Writings, thing of the past. God
help the knaves who wrought the
wrong, and be especially merciful
TO those who strove to avert it. Selah,
Such reputed fund was many
times in excess f that for which
the vile mercenary cohorts, known as
Praetorian Guard, bartered awav
to an unworthy scullion this priceless
prize with the last vestige of liberty
still remaining. Probably the entire
fortune of Julianus did not reach the
annual accretions of numbers of mon
eyed magnateS of our day and country
where the individual accommodations
OF many are already reputed to run
up into the hundreds of millions
with obvious capacity for doubling
every few years. When these reach
the thousand million mark OF gauge
as many Will before babes now born,
VIII be of age to vote for a magiS-
trate or Master. what is to prevent
a recurrence of the historic sale here
alluded to, if not by individual bid
by combination and combine of the
pampered favored class to which he
belongs? According to high statis-
tlcal authority. few years ago. the
aggregate wealth of that colossal
empire about the time that Didius
the crown peddler struts his ride
utous travesty for the brief space of
LII &c llOOllS upon our mundane
stage, was owned to all intents. by
six hundred individuals. BY the
same investigator Of financial facts,
it was proclaimed that over one half
of the available assets of the great
modern republic was at the time of
his computation, in possession of
81 900 individuals. Conceding his
figures, and a simnle sum in sub
traction will give the balance-sheet.
See how it stands. Thirty-one thou
sand from eighty millions. we will
say for short, leave 79,900.00G. to
whom the remaining half of this
boundless domain is legitimately di-
visible. 1t might be termed an il
lustratioa of long and short divis-
lon. How lone can such unjust
disproportion last and liberty ana free
institution continue? And when
what: After me the deluge. was
Louis the Fifteenth's reply. and the
Pampered, and over plethOric few
echoed later on, even SO it is.
The trend of great fortunes in the
hands OF the few to still further
concentration, shrinkage in number
OF possessors. and closer cohesion
amongst the survis ors, is known of all
men who have given the subject a
thought 1t will require brief space
< to