Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1907-06-06
Il II II II II H r
Champ
a Letters
It II II II II &--7,
Especial Washington Letter.l

Especial Washington letter.
40 the anarchists have been
~ playing the fool, as usual, by
~ plotting to assassinate Car
Nicholas of Russia. Most as
suredly anarchists are the most in
corrigible idiots on earth. They are
Just as apt to kill a wise and humane
ruler as a despot. What good could a
sane man suppose would come of kill
Ing Mckinley or the president Of the
French republic, King Humbert Of
Italy or Empress Elizabeth Of Austria?
These fools claim that their object is
to do away with all government. They
ought to have learned by this time of
day that killing individual rulers has
no tendency whatever to abolish gov
eminent. In this country, for instance,
there are eight men who may by law
succeed seriatim to Colonel Roosevelt's
place should he die while in Office. 1t
would be a remarkable performance
should the anarchists manage to kill
aim and all the eight presidents in
posse at one fell swoop. And suppose
they did. What would happen? If
congress were in session, it would pass
an emergency measure %instanter ap-
pointing somebody president pro tenn.
and till a special election could be
called to elect a president. If congress
were not in session, it would get itself
together in five days and do the same
thing, somebody acting on his own
motion as president while congress
was getting itself together. OF course
there Is no provision In the constitu-
ton or laws for the performances
which l have mentioned, but the law
of self preservation is the first law of
nature. We would act on 1t, and every
body would acquiesce in the proceed
ings as necessary and proper.
In the cas- of crowned heads the
assassination Of the reigning sover-
eigns and their immediate possible
successors does nothing for the aboli-
ton Of government, for in almost ev-
cry case there are scores of persons in
being who may lawfully succeed to
the throne. In Great Britain and Ger
many there must be hundreds, for the
Brunswickers and H~ohenzollerns are
prolific folks. President Roosevelt
cannot charge them with race suicide.
Gar Nicholas also has numerous blood
relations who are in the line Of success
sion. He is not u great monarch, but
he does his best according to his lights.
which, it must be confessed, are some
what dim and Pickering. He is not
cruel as go. He is a reformer
SO far as he knows how to be and SO
far as he is permitted to be by cir
cumstances and his advisers. So was
his grandfather, Alexander II. He is
known in history a IS "the liberator''
because he freed the serfs. The nihil-
lists murdered him at the very moment
when he was about to sign a paper
granting many new privileges to the
Russian people. That paper was never
| signed, for he was succeeded by his
gloomy, savage and tyrannical son,
Alexander Ill, who was a reactionary
Of the most pronounced type. So by
the death of a liberal ear the Rus
slams fell out Of the frying pan into
the fire. So in all human probability 1T
will be, to a certain extent at least, If
they succeed in assassinating Nicho-
las. It's a great pity that all the an
archists on the face Of the earth could
not be rounded up and either hanged
or imprisoned for life at hard labor.
If the present gang could be utterly
extirpated, it would be some consider
able time before a new gang could be
raised. 1t would be a good radiance.