The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-08-21

,
 nothing but an open grave in the potter $
 field. The spirit of democracy and his in nate sense of justice call upon this man right now to stop and look and listen; to review what really makes for greatne
 in a people. and to answer in the silent
 watches of the night the accusing voice l of lis own conscience which tells him
 that it is men, not money, brains. not business love, not 1ucre, peace, not pros l perity which mark the greatness of d l people. Let hm answer that accusing
 voice by resolving that though he may I not make so many dollars In the future | he will not forget that every other mans wife and every other mans child in 1 America are equally dear to him, and
 that he desecrates the graves of those 1 who fell from Lexington to Appomattox | and stamps himself coward when he l demands or receives the aid of the flaw in
 his conflict for supremacy. Too long l have some been the recipients of money 1 made through the toll of others and turned over by unequal and unjust tax l ing laws. It is good to love wealth and
 all the trappings of outside pomp and l circumstance. From this good hour let ], these men fight their battles of life with l out handleapping their less fortunate l brothers. Les them nang pictures of | Nathan Hale in their bedrooms and as 1 each days light reveals his features unto | 1 thought more of men than he did of
 British gold, so they will dedicate their l lives and consecrate their efforts to his splendid ideals.
 l Upon who does the hour call for char l ity? There are thousands Of us Hho have
 not reached the land overfoW1ng with
 milk end honey Still we wander in the
 wilderness of industrial despair. Still.
 are we able to gather mama only for
 day and still we look with longing on | the fleshpots of Egypt. Discomfort and | bitterness have entered into our souls
 So long have we been impressed with the iniquity of special privilege, with the ar
 rogance of some rich men, with the power
 of money to produce peace var, plenty l or famine, that we have come to hate all
 those who have, and to believe that the | possession of money is the mark of in-
 famy and the badge Of dishonor. If you | be one of these, my brother. this hour calls upon you for charity. Many have succeeded honestly in this land; most have succeeded as they thought, honestly. l There are but few who have not cared now success has come to them. Let us
 not condemn until the sheep have been | separated from the goats. Let us under
 stand that 1t is possible for tine man in 1 troadcloth and the man in hodticn-gray | to be brethren in America Let us await the developments of brief time lest per
 chance the judgment of misfortune upon I fortune may be injustice, not justice. Let
 US be sure before we strike; let us con
 demn no man unheard, and let HIS give to
 every man his advocate in the forum Of American brotherhood.
 1 ''It will be observed that the sum of l the justice and the charity for which l am contending is the revival of Jeffer-
 sons idea of equality before the law, | rot equality in muscle or brain or will ts.v s..t.
 guarantees to every honest and indus-
 trious man his life, his liberty his hap 1 piness and his chance. Justice and char | fly are always needed to enforce this 1 guaranty. Get into the bread-hne If 1 you will but beware in so doing not to
 drive out weaker brother.
 T see a people, the most marvellous l which has ever sprung from the loins' of l time and the womb of destiny Among
 them all kindreds. tribes and
 tong'ies. What are they to become in
 the melting pot? They are of like pas
 sions, men with hopes, fears, ambitions, prejudices Are they to evolve into
 castes not of birth and lineage, but of success and failure? Out of the crucible 1 of these years, heated with the fires of both seeming and real injustice. is a
 rewer generation to be poured forth to the vassalage of the paternalistic system of government born under republican mis- | rule or to a socialism where success de- 1 bends not upon merit and honest en- deavor but upon the mere drawing of the I breath of life?
 1 Tt is idle for a thoughful man in | America, whether millionaire or pauper,
 to longer play the ostrich Safety does | not consist in hiding ones head in the sands of either sentiment or hope. 1t
 is foolish for the vastly rich to keep
 on insisting that more and more shall I be added to their riches through a
 specious system of special legislation
 ostensbly enacted to run the govern
 ment, in reality enacted to loot the peo-
 pie. It is worse than ignorance for them l to smile at the large body of intelligent Americans who regard themselves fortu- | nate If the debit and credit accounts of | fife balance at the end of ench year;
 and to assume that the mighty many.
 who are becoming convinced that that so- cial system which we call democracy is hut a glittering generality. and long en-
 dure the industrial slavery being pro duceI. The hour has come when patriot | Ism must consist in something more than ! eulogies upon the flag. Whether voting the ticket or not men everywhere looK- l ing upon the awful injustice of this | economic system are becoming socialistic
 in theory if not in conduct. And shall any | fair-minded man say that If it rebounds to the interests of the people of this coun- | try that a hundred men should control I its business to the good of everyone that | there is anything fallacious in the theory | that government instead of transferring l business to favored few for the benefit | of all should itself discharge that busi- | ness for the benefit of all? 1 hava never | been able to convince myself that either system would not cast pail over hu-
 man action and dull the motives which
 have heretofore moved mankind to the | very ioftiest endeavor and produced what I conceive to he the most perfect
 system of government ever devised by l the brain of man since that far-oT | theocracy of the Jew went down beneath
 his demand for the pomp and splendor
 of earthly power. And yet [ do not 1 hesitate to say that if it be impossible to
 restore this republic to it's ancient ideals which do not believe, and I must make
 the ultimate choice between the paternal- l ism of the few and the socialism of the | many, count me and my house with the | throbbing heart of humanity.
 Republican Discomfort
 "1'he discontent in republican ranks is democratic dscontent. How much of 1t
 has reached the point where wearied with
 the bad workings of good system. it is willing to topple that system over and try
 something new. [ cannot prophecy But
 l am quite sure that whatever badges
 men may wear in America this year 1 whatever ballots they may cast and whatever battle cries they may utter
 there are but three grades of citizens. The first grade is made, up of the ia ;
 vored few. their hangers-on and their l hapanfiariac who thfpk tha aaoIa ;.. ,,vo,,