The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1908-05-15

three-quarters of the figures reached
in recent years, we shall have ab-r
1870 600 900 in 1925 and at least 200,-
Where are they to go, how are they
to be employed. how fed. how en-
able1 to earn a living wage? The
pressure of all the nations upon the
waste places Of the earth grows more
intense as the last of them are oc-
cupied. We are approaching tn
point where all our wheat product
will be needed for ouwr own uses. and
we shall cease to be an exporter OF
grain. There is still some room in
Canada, but it will socn be filled. The
relief will be but temporary. Our
own people whose min eral resources
viii by that time have. greatly dimin-
ishnd. must find themselves thrown
back upon the sole for living. II
continued abuse of the land should
mark the next 50 wears as 1t has the
last, what must be oar outlook?
Political Future Threa;eend.
Not cnl. the economic but the pc
,itical future is invo;ved. No people
ever felt the want of work or the
pinch of poverty for long time with
out reaching out violent hands aga 'nst
their political institutions, believ ng
that they might find in a change some
relief from their distress. Although
there have been moments of such
restlessness in our country. the tria'
has never been so severe or so TT :
longed as to put us to the test. 1t is
interesting that one Of the a. st
men in England during the last cen
ltury, a historian or high merit. a
statesman who saw active service
and a profound student of me1 and
things, put on record his prophecy OF
such a future ordeal, Writing to an
American correspondent NIFTY years
ago Lord Macauey used these Words
"As long as. you have n boundless eN-
tent of fertile and unoccupied land
your laboring population will be
founl more at ease than the labor
ing population of the Old World; but
the time will come when wages wi
be rs low and will fiuctuate as much
with you as they do with us. Then
your Institutions will be brought to
the test. Distress everywhere makes
the laborer mutinous and discomfort.
ed and inclines him to listen with
eagerness to agitators who tell him
that it is a monstrous iniquity that
: ffata IN 4
another cannot get full meal.
The day will come when the mutt
tudes OF people. none Of whom has
had more than half a breakfast or
kaxpects to have more than half a din
ner. viii choose a legislature. Is II
possible to doubt what sort of legis.
lature will be chosen? There
will be, fear, spSiia;ion. The spoila-
tion will increase the distress; the
distress will produce fresh spoilation.
Either ciyilation or liberty will per-
Iish Either some Caesar or Napoleon
| will seize the reins o. government
with q strong hand or your republic
win be as fearfully plundered and
llaid waste by barbarians in the twen-
tieth century as the Roman Empire in
| the fifth"
We need not accept this gloomy pic
ture too literally. but we have been
already sufficiently warned to prevent
us from dismissing the subject as un'
worthy of attention Every nation
hnds its hour of peril when there Is
no longer free access to the Hand. OF
when the land will no longer support
the people. Disturbances within are
more to be feared than attacks from
without. Our government is built up
on the assumption of fairly ruling
their passions, with power to change
their institutions when such change
Ia geenrally desired 1t would not be
strange If they should in their desire
for change attempt to pull down the
pillars of their national temple. Fai
may this day be from us. But since
| the unnecessary destruction of oul
Hand will bring new conditions of dan
ger, its conservation It's Improvement
to the highest point OF productivity
promised by scientific intelligence
and practical experiment, appears t.
be first command OF any political
economy worthy of the name.