The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1915-08-04
FIRST INSTALLMENT
CHAPTER !.

could run the nation better than those
appointed to do so by himself and thou
sands of others just like him. one voter
would put the tariff higher than IL ever
was before; the next would abolish 1t. But,
whichever type of thinker gets his candi-
dates into power. there remain always In
these United States millions of people who
have to be poor, dirty and disconnected.
From this even a child would conclude
either that vast majority of people are
doomed to unhappness by the God who
made them or that vast majority of pol
itlcians are Incapable governors. AS to
the first conclusion, we know nothing;
but as to the second, we are certain be-
You'd peradvcnture. With mighty few ex.
ceptions. those whom we put over us to
govern us are the most incompetent lot
of legislators and administrators in his
tory. For the most part they are men
vaguely trained to the law. They talk
better and oftener on a greater variety of
topics than the average man who Is maxi
ing or trying to make an honest living.
They make IL their business to be con-
spicuous, instead of the opposite, and so
get themselves elected AS a body of men
they know practically nothing about any
thing useful or important, and their small
minds are so tangled with the little law
they know that they are unable to see
through the tangle into the heart of law,
which is Justice. If lawyers could be
counted on to do right the pawnbroker
down the street and the shoemaker round
the corner would not have to be called
away from affairs, important to them, to
sit on juries and do justice.
But the thing goes deeper. What in each
voters judgment is the one chief thing
that is wrong with these United States?
There would be almost as many answers
as there are voters. I've asked lots of
men, and no two agreed, but liked one
mans answer a lot He said: "The chief
trouble with the country Is that its citi-
zens have to pay taxes when they ought
to be receiving dividends. And this he
said, would be the case if from the start
we had been governed by our best minds
instead of by our worst; If as a nation we
had been run from the beginning the way
Standard Oil, for instance, has been run
as a trust"
l am not standing up for the rapacious-
ness of trusts, only for their efficiency
AS a nation we have been more rapacious
and dishonest than any trust that ever
lived This being So and blot upon us
that can never be wiped out, wrong OF
our own doiDg that can never be righted
1t is ten thousand pities that we haven't
been efficient too
How many billions of dollars was this
country worth, as land. coal, oil, forest
gold, silver, iron, etc, ETC.? Only astron-
omers think in big enough figures to an
swer that Anyhow, as a nation we
grabbed, stole and cheated II all away from
the people who owned 1t. And then We
began to play ducks and brakes with II.
II from the start our resources could have
been handled by a Rockefeller newell he
might be a thousand times richer than
he Is, but we've would none of us be
poor. And our house would be clean and
efficient from garnet to cellar, and not
Quilted and creaky and full of vermin and
half the ceilings down.
Think of a whole country run as trust,
with employment at more than fair re-
turn for every able-bodied man, and fat
dividends for everybody in good years.
In such a state by force of public opin-
lon even Bryan might be made useful.
Even in Utopia there are offices which
have to be swept out.
If there is salvation ahead of us, In.
stead of ruin. something of this sort will
have to be worked out from what is left
70 us OF our natural resources
Failing this those of us who are rich
enough and contented enough as lndivid-
nails will be pulled down from our high
slaces and trampled by an unreasoning
mob until there is no longer anything
stable nor anyone contented. The air OF
This great city which we breathe is 10
per cent air and 80 per cent revolution. In
,theI parts of the country the percentage
If revolution is greater
The only man with sufficient mind and
power to effect anything good Is yourself
But II you personally were to preach the
gospel of efficiency people would think
you were working. to put IL bluntly, for
rour own pocket This gospel then os-
'ensibly must not come from you. II must
not come from the rich. From whom
.hen7 From the poor, you answer. But
alas, my friend. even the champions of
Inc poor are open TO suspicion.
This gospel then must come from
xhere7 Why from heaven, of course,
whence all good gospels have come. or are
believed to have come And
seeing that we are in America, where
The women are given the best OF every
hing, our heaven-sent messenger must
be a woman.
] see your gesture of horror. But she
hall not be as you see her. She shall be
young and beautiful and good and sim
;ere. She shall not speak her own
thoughts. but ours The masses win be-
ieve in her The classes may. and II
hey don't they win have sense enough to
pretend to-
With you to help, l believe, upon my
word OF honor. that / can make this thing
sappen. VIII you help? What do you
hink7
Yours as ever,
MILES STILLITER
To this letter Professor Stilliter re-
seived the following answer by return
Dear stilliter:
I'll help II you can answer one thing sat
sfactorily. To be a successful gospelist
he woman, as you intimate, must be sin
,ere. She must believe what she breaches
Z she is sincere. how can she tell people
hat she comes from heaven? You say
he must come from heaven in order TO
believe. II is quite a rigmarole l know
hat you have been thinking and expert |
nenting for years toward some such end
n this. But am a business man. and I |
ave 20 be shown
Yours with sincere interest b
Professor Stilliter answered TO this:
Dear Barclay.
She only has 10 believe that she comes
rom heaven. II she can be made 10 be- |
eve that. are you satisfied? s.
That night the two men met by ap-
,ointment. Outlining his plan. and
OCCASIONALLY going into detail, Profes-
or StiIliter talked rapidly for almost
wo hours without stopping. till the
wsat stood on his brow and his voice