The St. Lucie County tribune. (Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Fla.) 1905-1920, 1907-11-01
LESSONSFROM
TIE ANCIENTS
Parallelism of Social Strife in
Ancient and MOdern Times.
MIGHT AGAINST RIGHT
I. 7. r. fripp Continues His Series OF
Historical Sketches Dealing With
the Social Struggle.

Tiberus and Caus Gracious were the
most distinguished of one Of the most
llustrious families Of Rome a family
Of great men through successive gen
eratiOns. TibcriuS was born about 1913
b. &. In early life he rose to high dis
tinctOn in war, but attained his great
est glory as statesman in timeof peace.
With the prestige also Of the noble patri-
elan order, there would have been n limit
to the aspirations Of ambition in the
service of his country; but he cspoused
the cause of the down trodden work
ing man. Being elected Tribune. (rep-
resentative Of the common peOple) he
endeavored to reimpose the Agraran
law Of Iicinius Stolo, and after violent
opposition on the part of the aristOcratic
party, he succeeded in passing bill to
that effect" A word as to that law:
with the name of A. l.. used to be
associated the idea of abolition of prop
erty in land, or at least of a new dis
trbution of it. There are still some
disputed points on this matter. but one
thing seems made out that those laws
had no reference to private lands held
in absolute property, but to state lands.
The Agrarian Law of Licinlus Stoles
carried after struggle of five years
A. w. 1888 about three years before the
period of the Solitude Magstratum
when the government was completely
in the hands of the working class. and
Licinius was repeatedly elected Tribune
during that happy era. His law, while
it gave five acres of land to each poor
citizen, still allowed the free use of the
unallotted lands to the nobility, only
limiting them to about 1913 acres to
each citizen, and the use of the public
pasture lands. Yet the nobility fought
the measure with all their power. 1.-THE
law produced very sautary effects.
But before the year G2l, when Tibcrlua
| Gracious was elected Tribune, the Id
| cinean Law had been suffered to fall
/ into allowance; and although vast tracts
had been acquired by the Italian, the
Punic, and the Greek wars, no regular
distribution of land had taken place
among the destitute citizens for up
ward Of century, the state lands hav-
ing been entered upon and cultivated
by the CAPITALISTS Chambers EncD
"many of whom thus came to hold
thousands of jugera instead of the 500
allowed" while the poor were robbed
of their rights. All this Gracious IN
dertoook to undo. 1t vas q hercu!ean
task; for the occupied state lands had
passed from fathers to sons. and much
of it had changed hands many times
by purchase with illegal deeds. Yet
Gracious succeeded, and gave the poor
workers their share Of land according
to the Old law. lie a'SG had another
bill passed which allowed all citizens
with families to use more of the public
land by ~ acres (2jO iugers) for every
child. Yet the capitalists were not
satisfied, and fought the bill with al
their might.
1t is said that "the energy Of Grac-
chus carried the measure in spite Of tho
ouposition Of the ariStOCratic party,
whose vengencG however could only hG
satisfied with the assassination of Grac-
chuS." His enemies contrived, when
he stood for reelection TO the Tribune
shin, to raise mob riot 70 aSsaSsinate
the Tribune, ard "he was slain along
with UPWARDS Of 300 others. His SUR
vivng friends were imprisoned. eXiled,
or put to death. 49,. The same
methods have been adopted in the
strike district of miners, and manu-
facturers also, in our own country -
"The land of the free, and the home of
the brave" Posses Of ''gun-men,' AS
they are called, are employed to raise
. riots, if they can, and shoot ''undesra-
BILE citizens" the leaders first if posi-
BILE, but to shoot anyhow, and call it a
riot. Then proclaim martial law-ar,
, rest innocent men imprison IN the null
; pen, and depart from their homes with
orders never to return to break up
= the unions. Il. Il. X. FRlPP.
White City, Fla, Oct. 2d 1907