Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-10-24
The OLIGARCHIES.
BY DIR. FRANK CRANE.
Downright, 1859

The real enemy of every country in
the world is it's oligarchy. that class
which by the cumulative stupidity of
custom has gotten itself into the saddle
| and rides the rest
/ 1t is this class, in Russia, in Germany,
| in Austria and in England, that has
| brought on this war by its vicious self
ishness and by its inability to govern
people for the peoples welfare.
| If the bureaucracy of Russia, the
junkers of Germany, the mobiles of Aus
tria and the aristocracy of England
could be eliminated, the common peo-
pie of all these lands would ground
arms and go back home and about their
business.
Intelligent observers cannot resist the
conviction that. whichever side con-
quers in the present struggle, things
| will be little better for the people, for
whose sake and welfare all states are
supposed to exist
Things will not improve until there
shall come some upheaval in which the
people shall unhorse their masters and
organize government for themselves.
| Which oligarchy shall dominate Eu-
rope, or the seas, does not much con-
| Germ the world: the important concern
| is to get rid of them all and somehow
| to organize mankind for mankind's
sake.
The real party to which foreseeing
souls belong is that to which Victor
| Hugo said he belonged. 1.-THE party of
revolutionary civilization; the party
which will control the twentieth CEN
| fury; and out of which must come the
| United States of Europe first. and then
| the United States of the World"
Frank Harris has written a book in
which he tells some bitter things about
| the dominant classes of England.
He compares the English noble with
the Prussian junker, saying that. while
the junker ideal is that of an efficient
soldier. proud, hard and willing at any
moment to throw away his life. the
ideal of the English noble is to do as
little as possible, and to marry an
heiress, even an American, rather than
live in straitened ways.
The whole English caste he declares
to be founded wealth. the common
nickname of The Beerage" showing of
what elements the English peerage is
made. The soul-deStroy 'ng influence OF
this idle. parasitic class is deadly; its
aim is to live magnificently without
working, and thus work. thrift, en-
deavor-indeed, all the household vir-
tues-are discredited.
Emerson said that this class low
cred the dignity of manhood" 1t does
infinitely worse than that, declares Mr..
Harris. at poisons the founts of honor
at the source and injects ii subtle, all
pervading venom through all the veins
of nations life: Il enfeebles the army
corrupts the judiciary. stultifies the
legislature, degrades the church. SO
long as Great Britain preserves this
oligarchy in its present form IL cannot
hope to be among the nations that lead
the modern world: this one institution
handicaps it out of the race
Three-quarters of century ago
Heinrich Heine visited England aud
wrote his "Enelische Fragmente." In
which he uses these biting words that
all lovers of English ideals would do
we'll to ponder:
"England's mobiles hold themselves far
above the common ruck of mankind:
like beings of higher sort they re-
gard England as a comfortable hotel,
Italy as their winter garden. Paris
a gay reception room. and the whole
world as their property. Without care
or duty effort they are content to
live like gods with gold as the tails
man to crafty every widest wish
Heine left England. he tells us. to get
away from gentlemen" and live
among ordinary knaves and fools. who
had at least some clear understanding
of human squalor.