The sun., 1906-12-05

In their speeches and writings either excite
or justify the action tend, OF course, to
excite bitter race feeling and to cause
the people of the opposite race to lose sight
OF the abominable act Of the criminal HIM
self; and, in addition, by the prominsnce
they give TO the hideous deed they undoubt-
edly tend to excite in other brutal and de-
PRAYED natures thoughts OF committing IL.
Swift, relentless and orderly punishment
under the law 10 the only way by which
criminality OF this type can permanently
be suppressed.
CAPITAL AND LABoR.
In dealing with both labor and capital,
with the questions affecting both corpora
tions and trades unions, there is one matter
more important to remember than aught
else, and that is the infinite harm done by
preachers OF mere discomfort. These are
hatred against all men OF wealth. They
seek to turn wise and proper movements
for the better control OF corporations, and
for doing away with the abuses connected
with wealth, into q campaign OF ny sterical
. excitement and false hood in which the aim
is to inhane to madness the brutal pasSions
Of mankind. The sinister demagogues
and foolish visionaries who are always
eager to undertake such a campaign OF
destruction sometimes seek to associate
reform in COVE rnmental and social met hods,
and sometimes masquerade as such re-
formers. In reality they are the worst
enemies of the cause they profess TO advo-
cate, Just a. the purveyors Of sensational
slanier in newspaper or magazine are the
worst enenies OF all men who are engaged
in an honest effort to better what 70 bad
In our social and governmental conditions.
To pre- ach hatred OF the rich man a. such,
to carry on campaign OF slander and In
vective against him, to seek to mislead and
inhame to madness honest men whose
lives are hard and who have not the kind Of
mental training which will permit them to
appreciate the danger in the doctrines
preached--all this IL TO commit q crime
against the body politic and TO be false to
American national life. Moreover, while
such preaching and such agitation may
give a livelihood and a certain notortety
to some OF those who take part In IL, and may
result in the temporary political success
ment win eithr fa1 or else will
provoke a violent reaction, which will itself
result not merely In undoing the mis-
chief wrought by the demagogue and the
agitatar but also in undoing the good that
the honest reformer, the true upholder OF
popular rights, has painfully and labori-
ously achieved. Corruption Ia never 20 rife
as in communities where the demagogue
and the agitator bear full sway, because
In such communities all moral bands be-
come loosened and hysteria and sensation
alsm replace the spirit OF sound Judgment
and fair dealing "a between man and man.
In sheer revolt against the squalsd anarchy
thus produced men are sure In the end TO
turn toward any leader who can restore
order, and then their relief at being free
from the intolerable burdens OF class ha-
tired, violence and demagogy is such that
they cannot for some time be aroused to
indignation against misdeeds by men OF
wealth; 10 that they permit new growth
of the very abuses which we're in part re-
sponsible FOR the original outbreak. The
one hope for scess for our people lies in
a resolute and fearless but sane and COOL
headed advance along the path marked out
last year by this very Congress. There
must be a stern refusal to be misled into
following either that base creature no
appeals ana panders TO the lowest instincts
ana passions In order to arouse one set OF
Americans against their fellows, or that
other creature, e1ually base but no bsser,
who in a spirit of greed or TO accumulate
or adl 90 an already huge fortune seeks
to ex, lait his Enllow Americans with callous
disregard TO their welfare of soul and body.
The man who debaucheS others IN order
10 obtain a high office stands on an evil
equality OF corruption with the man who
debauches others for financial profit; and
" hen hatred is sown the crop W which springs
up can only be evil.
The lain reoIle who think-the mo-
chanics farmers, merchants, workers with
head or hand, the men to whom American
traditions are dear, who love their country
and try to act iecently by their neighbors,
owe it to themselves to remember that the
most damaging blow that can be given
popular government Is to elect an unworthy
and sinister agitator on a platform OF vio-
lence and hypocrisy. Whenever such an
issue is raised in this country nothing oan
te gained by finching from it, for In such
case democracy Is itself on trial, popular
self-government under republican forms ls
itself ON trial The triumph of the mob
is just as evil q thing as the triumph OF the
rlutI cracy, and to have escaE ed one danger
avails M thing whatever II we succumb to
the other. In the end the honest man,
whether rich or Poor' who earns s rs. 1s , own
has as much to fear from the insincere and
unworthy demagogue, promising much
and erforming nothing, or else performing
nC thing but evil. who would set on the
mob to plumber the rich, as from the crafty
corrur Il mist who for his own ends would
7 ermit the common people TO be exploited
by the very wealthy. IL we ever let this
Government fall into the hands OF Eaen OF
either Of these two classes we shall show
ourselves false to Americas past. More.
over, the demagogue and the corruptionist
often work hand in hand. There are at
this moment wealthy reactionaries OF such
obtuse morality that they regard the public
servant who prosecutes them when they
violate the law, or who seeks to make them
bear their proF or share OF the public bur
dens, as being even more Objectionable
than the violent sgitator who hounds on
the mob to plunder the rich. There Is
nothing to choose between such q reao-
tionary and such an sgitator; fundamentally
they are alike in their selfish disregard OF
the rights OF others; and 1t Ia natural that
they should join In opposition TO any move
ment Of which the aim is fesrlessly to do
exact and even justice to all.
RAILROAD EMPLOYEES HOURS AND KI0Hr-
HOUR LAW.
I call your attention to the need Of passing
the bill limiting the number Of hours OF en-
plovment Of railroad employees. The meas
Ire is a very moderate one and l can con-
ceive OF no serious objection to It. Indeed,
so far as IL is In our power, 1t should be our
aim steadily to reduce the number Of hours
of labor, with as goal the general introduc-
ton Of an eight-hour day. There are indus
tries in which il is not possible that the
hours Of labor should be reduced; just as
there are communities not far enough ad-
vanced for such a movement TO be for their
good, or, IL in the Tropics, so situated that
there is no analogy between their needs
and ours in this matter. On the Isthmus of
Panama, for instance, the conditions arc
in every way 90 different from what they are
here that an eight-hour day would be alb
surd; lust as il is absurd 90 far as the 18TH