The Palatka news and advertiser. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1908-19??, 1911-07-07
"UNTIL THE END
OF THE WAR"

OF THE WAR.
How time does change the opinion @
men! The late John P. Altgeld had
during his lifetime, no severer critic tina
the Philadelphia North American, re
publican paper. In its Memorial Day is
sue, the Philadelphia North American
referred TO Governor Altgeld as &C;
prophetic patriot" The following is al
extract from the North Americans edi
torial:
Enlistment must be not for any "whole
summer" but until the end OF the war, "
for il is bound to be long, desperate
conflict 1t will be so because the ma
iority OF the well ,meaning, honorable
majority of the people OF the east are
now standing by the forces of dishonest
and destructive privilege in strength, as
mistaken as the brave, ardent, honorable
men of the south did half century ago.
And this because they could understand
the concrete evil of physical slavery,
but have not yet attained understanding
OF the more vile industrial seryitude
which concentrated wealth now seeks
to impose upon every class in every
American community.
Therefore, we speak our Memorial
day message now in the words which a
prophetic patriot spoke nine years ago.
They called him demagogue and an
anarchist even SO recently. But this was
the peroration of the speech delivered
by John P. Altgeld, at Joliet, March II,
1902. AS he pronounced the last words
OF this address the ex-governor of Hi
nois tainted, and remained unconscious
until his death on the following day:
"But, some one says, is there any use
in our making an effort? Are not all OF
the bankers of this country, all OF the
trusts and great corporations of this
country, all of the powerful forces OF
this country, is cot the fashion of this
country, are not the drawing rooms and
the clubs of this country now controlled
by concentrated and corrupt wealth?
Are they not growing stronger every
year, and do they not vilify and attempt
10 crush everybody that does not submit?
Can anything be accomplished in the
way of curbing this great force and pro-
tecting the American people?
my friends, let me cite you parallels:
George William Curtis and other writers
of his day have described the slave
power back in the fifties. They tell US
that slavery sat in the white house and
made laws in the capitol; that courts of
justice were its ministers; that senators
and legislators were its lackeys; that il
controlled the professor in his lecture
room, the editor in his sanctum, the
preacher in his pulpit; that it staggered
in the drawing room; that il ruled at the
clubs; that it dominated with an iron
hand all the affairs of society; that every
year enlarged its power, every move in
IFS dominion; that the men and
the women who dared to even question
the divinity of that institution were os.
lracized, were prosecuted, were vlificd-
aye, were hanged
But the great clock in the chamber
Of the omnipotent never stands still. Ii
licked away the years as it had once
licked away the centuries Finally il
struck the hour, and the world heard
he tread of a million armed men, and
slavery vanished from America forever.
Mote the parallel: Today the syndi.
,ate rules at the white house and makes
avs at the capitol; courts of Justice are
Is ministerG; senators and legislators are
is lackeyS. 1t controls the preacher in
lis pulpit, the professor in his lecture
Dom, the editor in his sanctum; il
waggers in the drawing room; it rules -
the clubs; it dominates with rod of II
ron the affairs of society Every year II
nlargeS its power; and the men and /.
'omen who protest against the crimes 81
lat are being committed by organized
reed in this countrywide talk of pro Al
citing the American peoplc-are ostra. III
zed, are vilified, are bounded and i'm. ic
riSoned. di
ut seems madness even to question in
Re divinity of the American syndicate st
ut, my friends, the great clock is still pS
cking-still ticking. Soon it will 81
.ain strike the hour, and the world ".
i'll see not one million, but ten million ~
ee men rise up, armed not with mus
ITS, but with freemen's ballots, and the Of
'ay of the syndicate will vanish from n,
merica forever.
VI am not discouraged Things will
sht themselves. The pendulum swings
e way and then another. But the
lady pull of gravitation is toward the
inter- of the earth. Any structure must CT
plumb if ii is 10 endure, or the build .
J will fall
so ii is with nationS-wrong may -, ,,'
I'M TO triumph: right may seem to be Of
feated; but the graviation of eternal RAJ
lice is toward the thone of God. ANY Ia
litical institution which is TO endure
Isl be plumb with that line of Justice. - sui
The Commoner s,., s5s de-