Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1911-06-30
Until The End of the War"---A
Reminder of the Late John P.
Altpeld.

OF men! LIE ldue JOllu AluReiet
had, during his lifetime, no severer
critic than the Philadelphia North
American, a republican paper. In it's
Memorial Day issue, the Philadelphia
North American referred to Governor
Altgeld prophetic patriot" The
following Is an extract from the
North Americans editorial:
Enlistment must be not for any
"whole summer" but 'until the end
of the war" for it is bound to be a
long, desperate conflict. 1t will be so
because the majority of the we'll
meaning, honorable majority of the
people of the east are now standing
by the forces of dishonest and de-
structive privilege in strength, as
mistaken as the brave, ardent, honor
able men of the south did half CEN
tury ago. And this because they
could understand the concrete evil Of
physical slavery, but have not yet at
tanned understanding of the more
vile industrial servitude which con-
centrated wealth now seeks to impose
upon every class In every 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 IL, 1902. AS he pro-
nounced the last words of this address
the ex-governor of Illinois 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 not the fash
ion of this country, are not the draw
ing rooms aid the clubs Of this coun-
try controlled by concentrated and
corrupt wealth? Are they not grow
ing stronger every year, and do they
not vilify and attempt TO crush every
Dluy LllHL uOeS uOL
"Can anything be accomplished in
the way of curDing this great force
and protecting the American people?
"My friends, let me cite you a par
allel: George William Curtis and
other writer's of his day have de-
scribed 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 it's minister's; that senators and
legislators we're its lackeys; that it
controlled the professor in his lecture
room, the editor in his sanctum, the
preacher in his pulpit; that it swag-
gered in the drawing room; that it
ruled at the clubs; that it dominated
with an iron hand all the affairs Of
society; that every year enlarged its
power, every move increased it's do
minion: that the men and the women
who dared to even question the divin-
ity of that institution were ostracized
were prosecuted, were vilitied aye,
were hanged.
"But the great clock in the cham
Der of the omnipotent never stands
still. 1t licked away the years as it
had once ticked away the centuries.
Finally it struck the hour, and the
world heard the tread Of a million
armed men, and slavery vanished
from America forever.
cit seems madness to even question
the divinity of the American syndi-
cate. But. my friends, the great
clock is still ticking still ticking.
Soon it will again strike the hour,
and the world will see not one mil
lion, but ten million free men rise up,
armed not with muskets, but with
freemen's ballots, and the sway OF the
syndicate will vanish from America
| forever.
81 am not discouraged. Things will
right themselves. The pendulum
swings one way and then another.
But the steady pull of gravitation is
toward the center of the earth. Any
structure must be plumb If it Is to
endure, or the building will fall.
so 1T is with nations may
seem to triumph; right may seem tc
be defeated; but the gravitation OF
eternal justice is toward the throne
of God. Any political institution
which is to endure must be plumb
with that line OF JUSTICE
L
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