The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1909-08-26
CALAMITY TALK.

1t Is easy TO talk calamity. Ihat Is
why so many do it. Many people love
to hear it, and that is another reason.
Talking calamity is not new enter
prise. The politicians practiced it in
the days Of the Roman empire. In our
own country there was season of
calamity talk extending from 1873 to
1898. In the twenty years thus bound
ed. men flourished on calamity talk.
The men who talked it were green
hackers. populists. etc. The Democrats
also talked calamity. During the twen-
ty-year period referred TO the Repub-
licans defended the country and re-
piled to the calamity talk.
In his lecture at Mount Ayr Senator
Lafollette said: Men are in greater
bondage than were the colored people
before the Civil War" He also told
the people that not less than one hun
dred men control the finances of the
country. Now. in regard to the bond
age of men at the present time. we
ought to give some thought. If Sena-
tor Lafollette's statement is true. the
masses of voters ought to awaken and
declare a new proclamation of free
dom.
The truth is that this country is
free. the freest in the world. The able
bodied man who has good health and
cannot get along in the United States
could not do so anywhere else. 1t
costs a great deal to live Bread
stuffs are high. Meats are costly. But
ter and eggs are expensive. But why
do not some of the men who complain
OF these matters take up some of the
public lands which the government is
giving away and go to work producing
these high priced articles?
There is every inducement to take
up the honorable pursuit of farming.
Washington called agriculture the
most honorable and healthy pursuit of
man. Yet the calamity orators never
tell the people anything about these
things. Nor could the thousands upon
thousands of idlers and loafers in the
large cities be induced to locate on
public lands for the purpose of be-
..
get up at any one of the socialist
meetings held every night in the city
of New York and tell the loafers who
hear him that they ought to go west
and go TO work he would be met with
mob violence.
Somebody ought to tell the masses
of the people the truth. Some Chautau-
qua speaker ought to tell the people
that the consumers Of liquors in the
United States annually pour down
their Threats sufficient amount of
liquor, the price of which would buy
the biggest railroad system in Amer
lea. And If tobacco is included. all
the property of the Standard Oil Com
pany might be bought in a period of
less than two years. Senator Lafol-
lette from his exalted place ought TO
tell the young men who hear him 10
go to work at some useful occupation
and 10 save their money. He ought
to tell them also that the government
is Unable to enrich anybody, and that
ii is not engaged in impoverishing
anybody. The world is full of men
who are never exactly suited with any
occupation that is at hand. They are
always looking for something else.
We concede that the Senator has a
right to criticise the government and
to suggest changes in system. But we
insist that as a Senator of the United
States and public teacher, he has
no right to spread calamity in the
hearts of the young men, in a measure
jus,ifying their idleness and lack of
effort because Of some failure upon the
part of the government to suppress
conspiracies of rich men. Every one
regrets the building up of the unnatu-
raj American.fortunes. but not step
Is taken toward leveling fortunes by
discouraging men in their efforts to
take care of themselves.-De Moines
Capital