The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1917-08-27

| the territory of the central powers.
We may well ask what does it mean
Is all this the highest fruit of civil
ization?
"The spark that shot off the first
guns was small question Of tariff
which land locked Servia did not
wish to pay for crossing to her sea
port. The murder which was made
the pretext for a declaration Of war
was only pretext. There was an
unrest which made possible the
spread of this war to world war.
We shall not go today into discus
sion of the power Of Prussianism,
only to say that this war is to over
throw the king business. A king Is
one who rules, or that which rules.
In Germany 1t is Prussianism. This
king business is not lacking in AIN.
erica, there are certain powerful
forces here that unless they are
curbed they will rule, and we shall
no longer have democracy. Do you
know that six per cent Of the people
Of the United States own ninety-fou-
per cent Of the wealth of the United
states? That this condition could
come to pass in 100 years of time
ought make us thoughtful for the
future. Rockefeller has more money
today than all the wealth owned In
the thirteen original colonies-one
man has as much wealth as this ma
ton had at the time of the revolu-
tionary war.
One hundred and sixty thousand
miles of railroads Of the United
States are owned by six corporations.
There is political unrest in this
country because only few politicians
rule in the great cities and COM
parstive few govern our national pol
itics. This political power only
will be curbed by the people coming
close to their government and cutting
out the machine work. Unless we
here in America can keep abreast in
heart and mind with our material
progress, no one can forsee what the
future shall hold for u.s."
Suffragists' Program.
Following Judge Sadler's lecture,
came Mrs. Ailshire, who is district
chairman of the Illinois Woman's
Emergency league. This league
which is an organization within
the Illinois Woman's Equal Suf-
frage association, has been form
ed to create an interest in the
constitutional convention and to
advocate certain needed reforms
to be Incorporated in that new
constitution The republican and the
democratic parties Of Illinois have
formally asked the Illinois Equal Suf-
frage association to do this, because
the women are non-partisan and
neither Of the great political parties
wish to make party issues OF any or
the reforms. The women are rising
to the occasion and have wonder
full organization based on the system
of tens as the old English feudal
system was numbered. The Illinois
women have only partial suffrage and
it does not extend to voting on the
question of the new constitution. 1t
goes without saying, that the women
are working for full suffrage article
in the new constitution.
The Saturday evenings program
was a concert by the Welsh quartette,
a musical organization of high
order. These Welsh singers were
passengers on the Lusitania, the great
Cunard ocean liner which was sunk
by torpedo in 1915. The ship sank
In eighteen minutes and 1902 peo-
pie persisted. One told the story in
a very dramatic way and left
clear picture in the minds Of his
hearers of the awful tragedy.