Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-08-14
Past, Present and Future.
written for the Democrat by 5. L. Cary.

Priests and Emperor by Divine
right to own and rule men and
things. The days of the past had
been turned into starless night and
a few crowned heads made laws for
the millions; justice and mercy were
weeping in hiding places and hope
was hidden by despair. OF course
justice was reversed and all opposers
OF existing conditions were classed
as criminals and their punishmenta
as horrible as desperate men could
invent-stoning, crucifxion, the
rack, boiling in oil, and their vic
tins, Christ and his apostles, Socra-
ties, Stephen, Gallileo, Columbus,
and Joan of Arc, all lovers of truth
and human rights. Later it was
learned that severe punishments
did not lessen crime, and only a lit.
tie over 100 years ago in England
l6O alleged crimes were punishable
with death. But Civilization says
all just punishment should be re
formatory and confinement not to
punish the criminal, but to protect
society. Prevent crime by Justice.
Educate the ignorant and criminal
classes industrially and give all
equal right to life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness, and there will
be signs in the sky of a great awak-
ening-a jubilee Of mankind when
the triumphs of peace will be great
er than the triumph of war, and
such men as martyrs were made OF
will be the leaders ill the millinium
of modern civilization. Do you,
own thinking. Think the truth,
speak the truth, do the truth.
The world and the church has
been very unfortunate in it's choice
of unbelievers to burn, cruelty,
stone or boil in oil.
How can we best get rid of the
criminal classes today?
Ans. Find work for the idle;
teach every child trade. 1t has
been fully demonstrated that intel
lectual education cannot take the
place of useful labor. The U. S.
census of 1890 shows that of 1884
convicts 3l,426 were ignorant of
any trade. French statistics of so
years show number of indictments
in 100000 of each class, agriculture
s; liberal Prof, 8; factory. IA; com
merce, is; domestic, 80; without
trade, 4O5; and in reformatories the
per cent is much larger. So much
so that, of the unemployed, it shows
that an industrial education would
almost eliminate crime.
There's good time a coming,
Boys, good time coming"
when right makes might. When
love rules and fear is cast out.
When ghosts, witches, demons, ia
kris, hoodoos and devils are all
banished from the mind and rele-
gated to oblivion. Then great
change will come over the spirit of
our lives and it will be said truth
fully, "The way of the transgressor
is hard" Now to go wrong and to
do wrong is easy. Thefe's good
company all the way down, but in
the near future the bad man will be
lonesome. His road will be narrow
and crooked, and the road to hap
piness will be broadened and we'll
travelled Instead of a good man
gone wrong it will be a bad man
headed right. The signs of the
times all point upward, spiritually,
Intellectually, physically. Moral
questions are discussed as never be-
fore by pulpit, press and public.
We spend 300 million dollars year.
ly on public education. Physically
we are farm the lead of any other
nation, so the command to 60 forth
and subdue the earth was never as
near fullfillment as now. The dis
covery of the power in steam now
challenged by the power of electric
ity, now followed by the greater dis
covery of a middle class by civil
cation which not only increases their
wants but also the facilities for sup
plying them and paying for them.
Steam railways, electric railways,
canals and wagon roads with mod
ern machinery and the most intel
ligent labor on earth with the sons
of earth awakening to find we are
hungry, naked, and in the prison of
Ignorance. Our duty as people
is plain. Il was hungry and We fed
me, was naked and ye clothed me,
was thirsty and ye gave me drink,
in prison and ye visited me-" This
great middle class just awakening
will be the great bulwark for peace
and plenty. Once clothed and in
their right minds vii ~ Peace be
STILL" and swords wilrb turned to
plowshares and spears into pruning
hooks. The spirit of our institu-
tions has permeated the nations.
The world is awakening and con-
stitutional governments will cover
the earth as the waters cover the sea.
The rule of happiness and the
law of duty press upon US as never
before. We will not need to say to
our neighbor "Know ye the Lord"
for all shall know him from the
least to the greatest. The yoke of
our fathers is lifting from our
shoulders. Though engraven in
stones and written in blood it is
fast passing away. Error is wound
ed to die among its worshipers, and
truth long crushed to earth is ris-
ing again to make us free. The
dead past like our dead ancestors
are no longer worshiped by civiliza-
ton. Their history is mainly use
full that we may avoid their errors,
and profit by their example. To.
day an honest doubt is worth. a