Evening star., 1937-08-19
MACAU[AY LETTER
PRINTED IN STAR
Document From Which
President Quoted Appeared
on January !, 1888.

The full text OF the letter written
by Thomas Babington Macauley, Brit
tsh historian and writer, to an Amer
lean friend in 1887 and quoted yester-
day by President Roosevelt in his ad-
dress at Manteo, N. c., was printed in
The Evening Star on January l. 1898.
A copy of the document had been sent
to The Star at that time by william
Litauer, former member of Congress
from New York
The letter, written when Macauley
vas at the height of his greatness and
slightly more than two years prior to
his death, follows in full:
LONDON. May %, 1857.
Dear sir: You are surprised to learn
that have not high opinion of Mr..
Jefferson, and I am surprised at your
surprise. l am certain that 1 never
wrote line, and never in Parliament,
IN conversation, or even on the hust-
ines, place where it is the fashion to
court the populace, uttered a word in
dicating the opinion that the supreme
authority in state ought to be en-
trusted to the majority of citizens told
by the heads; in other words, to the
poorest and most ignorant of society
I have long been convinced that insti-
tutions purely democratic must. sooner
or later, destroy liberty or civilization,
or both"
Cites French Democracy.
In Europe. where the population is
dense, the effct of such institutions
would be almost insta ntaneous. What
happened lately in France is an eX-
ample. In l848 a pure democracy was
eSta blished there. During a short time
there was a strong reason to expect a
general spoliation, national bank
ruptcy, new partition Of the soil, a
maximum Of prices. a ruinous load of
taxation laid on the rich for the pur-
pose Of supporting the poor in idleness.
Such system would in 20 years, have
made France as poor and as barbarous
as the France of the Carlovingians
Happily, the danger was averted and
now there is a despotism, a silent
tribune. an enslaved press, liberty is
gone. but civilization has been saved
have not the smallest doubt that IL
we had a purely democratic govern
ment here. the effect would be the
same. Either the poor would plunder
the rich and civilization would perish,
or order and property would be saved
by strong military government, and
liberty would perish.
American Fate Certain"
You may think that your country
enjoys an exemption from these evils;
! will frankly own to you that I am
OF very different opinion. Your fate
! believe to be certain, though it is
deferred by physical cause AS long
As you have a boundless extent of fer
tile and unoccupied land. your labor
ing population will be far more at ease
than the laborlng population of the
Old World: and while it is the case
the Jeffersonian policy may continue
to exist without causing any fatal ca
lamity. But the time will come when
New England will be as thickly peopled
as old England. Wages will be as low
and will fluctuate as much with you
as with us. You will have your Man
chesters and Birminghams; hundreds
and thousands of artisans will assured
~ be sometimes out of work Then
your institutions will be fairly brought
TO the test. Distress everywhere makes
the laborer mutinous and discontented
and inclines him to listen with eager
ness to aRltators who tell him that it
is monstrous iniquity that one man
should have a million while another
cannot get full meal In bad years
there is plenty Of grumbling here and
sometimes a little rioting. But 1t
matters little, for here the sufferers
are not the rulers. The supreme
power is in the hands OF a class, nu-
merous, indeed, but selected of an
educated class, of class which is
and knows itself to be deeply interest
ed in the security Of property and the
maintenance of order. Accordingly,
the malcontents are firmly yet gently
restrained The bad time is got over
without robbing the wealthy to relieve
the INDECENT. The springs Of national
prosperity soon begin to now again;
work Is plentiful; wages rise, and all
Is tranquility and cheerfulness.
Foretells Critical Seasons.
have seen England three or four
times pass through such critical sea =
sons as I have described. Through
such seasons the United States will
have to pass in the course of the next
century, II not Of this. How will you
pass through them? I heartily wish
you good deliverance, but my reason
and my wishes are at war and cannot
help foreboding the worst. 1t is quite
plain that your Government will never
be able to restrain a distressed and
discontented majority. For with you
the majority is the Government, and
has the rich, who are always a minor
ity. absolutely at its mercy The day
will come when in the State of New
York. a multitude of people, none Of
whom has had more than half a
breakfast or expects to have more than
half dinner, will choose the Legis-
lature. Is it possible to doubt what
sort OF Legislature will be chosen?
On one side is a statesman preaching
patience. respect for vested rights, 8
RfriNf nhrnryo poe of ,,,L,;z f.:.,-