Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1912-08-16
HOW AMERICA
WAS SETTLED.
Written for the Recorder by OF. Morton
SECOND ARTICLE

The prime cause Of the immlgla-
ton To America was neither an
abundance of wild land On one
side of the ocean, nor All over sup
Ply of people on the other SIDE:
One of. the leading causes was social
privilege, and the other was rellgl-
,,us intolerance. Either OF these
tAo things. can turn u country
highly favored by nature into a
place very uncomfortable to live
in unless all the inhabitants be OF
one mind.
Now privilege leads to social arts
tocracy and divides people into ar
tificial classes, just as surely as wa
ter runs down hill. Young chill.
dren know nothing of this idea OF
inequality. All people stand on
an equal footing in their eyes. 1t
is the same with savages, who are
IA sort Of grown-up children. The
savage chief is chief only because
his people select him as such, by
reason of his superior ability. But
as the savage develops into what
we call the civilized man, the ten
dcrcy is for the chief to regard his
authority rs belonging to himself
by right, by divine right, and to
act accordingly. He surrounds
himself with his favored friends
aad LASTS his authority to his son,
who in turn passes it to his son.
Thus arise two general classes: the
class of the few and the class OF
the many; the class of the blue
blood and the class or the "com
mon herd" The few like power,
and stop for nothing to keep them
selves in power. They become
proud, exclusive, over bearing. For
a while, they h"id monopoly OF
property, cduc;Iion, culture, and
political authority. -B BY reason OF
their wealth and leisure, they de
yelope men and women of intellect
ana force. Because of these favor
iug circumstances, among their
own rams are to be found almost
The only handsome men and WON
Ell of the nation. Thus the Few
| feel their superiority. They look
down on the class of Many as a
race of inferior beings, whose only
true mission in the world is to wait
uoun themselves. They therefore
dispise the man who tolls with his
hands, they are contemptuous oil
his natural rights, they will not ac-
cord him social recognition, and
they look with holy horror upon
intcrnarrying with him. Yet If the
Many remain ignorant, poor, I'M
couth, and unhandsome, 1T is be-
cause privilege has crowded them
out of the middle of the highway,
and left them to stumble along in
the bitches AMI fence corners. And
so long as the Manv consent to be
humble. the Few are we'll pleased.
Yet in the long run this artificial
distinction between the Few and
the Many tends to break down of
it's own weight, and to give place
to a return of the rule by the peo-
pie. This is because society can
advance only to a certain point, so
long as it is under aristocratlc con-
troll. Privilege is naturally con-
sentative, because it wants to make
sure of holding its vantage ground.
But modern civilization is on an IN
dustrial basis. Privilege is glad
enough to pocket the profits of in
dustry, but insists that every posi-
bic amount of the drudgery be
done bv others. The toiler thus
becomes indispensable, and in time
is master of the situation. He is
no longer content to look no higher
than drudgery. He acquires edu,
cation, property, and good breed
ing, and in this way rises to the
level of the old-time aristocrat.
The only aristocracy which does
endure is the aristocracy of charac-
ter, ability, and manners. Wheth-
err a person is in it or out Of it de-
ponds upon himself alone.
Now at the time the settlement
of America began, Europe was al
reldy moving in this very direc-
ton. The Few were as vet in the
saddle, but on the part of the
Many there was a growing con-
seriousness that they were not hav-
ing a square deal. They had be-
gun to feel that the natural high
way of opportunity is broad and
indefinitely long, and is not intend
ed to be no more than a cluster OF
very short and narrow by paths.
This feeling of the Many was to
find expression in these lines OF
Robert Burns:
IF I'm designed yon lordlipg's slave.
BY natures laws designed,
Why was an independent thought
En- planted in NY mind?"
But Europe was an old country.
Social Privilege was there recog-