The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1905-07-20

the rich and the poor; but, in her
case, the rich were very rich, and the
poor extremely poor. The king, in
order to maintain his court in the
splendor for which it was famous,
levied heavy duties on merchandise,
and In some cases, decreed that each
family must buy a certain amount of
some commodity, whether they really
needed it or not. For instance, if
man failed to buy the stated quantity
of salt each year, he was liable to fine
and imprisonment.
The mobiles, of course, had their rent
rolls; and if tenant devoted any of
his time to improving the house or
land he occupied, the rent was prompt
ly raised IN proportion to the improve
ment. Besides the rent, the mobiles had
certain hereditary privileges, which
they usually agreed to foregO OH the
payment of sum of money by the
luckless tenant. A Iudicrous example
of this is mentioned TO the French Rev
olution, In the present Chautauqua
series. In the summer afternoons,
when the noble ladies were taking their
siesta, it was the duty of the tenants to
patrol the swamps and pools in the vi
cinity of the castle, and keep the frogs
from croaking, so as not to disturb the
slumbers of said noble ladies. But on
the payment of specified sum of
money, to the landlord, this duty was
remitted. There were other and less
innocent privileges which his lordship
denied himself for the sake of ready
money.
The clergy were legally entitled to
collect tithes for the maintenance of
themselves and the church, and these
were no small addition to the already
haapsa expense, wnlch Tho email farmer
was called on to bear.
Altogether these taxes diminished
their income to such an extent that the
peasants were unable to save any mon
ey for rainy day, and if sickness
overlook them, they were reduced to
actual beggary.
In the cities, the situation was even
worse than in the country. Those who
could obtain employment, received
such meager wages that they were on
the verge of starvation ali the time,
and those who couldn't, were forced to
beg or steal for living. This is more
especially true of the illiterate classes,
who depended on the strength of their
arms, and were incapable of any but
manual labor. And these were the
people who were the most bloodthirsty
and vicious during the horrors of the
revolution. Education broadenssth the
mind and lack of education is almost
certain to be accompanied by mar
row bigotry, which impels its possessol
to great extravaganza in his utterances
and actions. So when Marat and Rob
espierre addressed the mobs in violent
language, they found ready listeners
i, and it was easy to persuade them thai
the only salvation lay in the extinction
of royalty and the nobility.
Now let us consider the state o1
; affairs in our own country. While W.
are not troubled by king, nobility, Of
a corrupt clergy, yet we have class Of
people, who, to all intents and pur
poses, occupy similar position. They
have the power to make living expen
sive, or cheap, as they please. The!
[ practically control the production an(
distribution of the necessaries of life
/: and they regulate both the buying an(
s selling price. They are sometimes
Q called the capitalist class, and at th'
: present rate of increase, their powe
: will soon be absolute. 1t is said tina
D money is king, and such seems to b.
4 the case in these days of, what ON
i of our departed members would call
r commercial mania. The greed TO
i gain is the dominant characteristic o
}, the American people, and ell othe
r considerations take second place. Th
J. battle is to the strong-not the stron
b physically, but the strong financially
The capitalist class has found that b
f combining their capital and eliminat
s ing competition, they greatly increas
a their profits. So the great monopolie
y are formed, and the people can pa
b their prices or 60 without the necess
ties and luxuries of life. True, thes
y combinations sometimes receive legs
IS setback, but it has not been show