Year: 1878

THE COMMUNE.


The sporadic manifestations of COM
munism and agrarianism here and
there throughout the country are not
of sufficient force or numerical i'm
portance to occasion serious alarm,


but their existence is food for thought.


Things do not generally happen with
out cause or reason for their happen


ing. Manifestations of social turmoil


can always be traced to causes of dis


content, and whether the manifesto


tiohs be rational or not the causes are


invariably found to be well defined


and clear. At first thought the rise


and spread of such doctrines as those


of the Commune would seem impos-


sible in a country like ours. Most


men would say that the measure of


already as broad and comprehensive


as human wisdom could devise that


no reasonable man could ask any


franchise beyond that of universal


suffrage, and that the possibility of the


advancement of the humblest citizen


to the highest posts oftrust and power


ought to satisfy the cravings of every


ambition. This reasoning, taking the


theory of our government as prem
ise, would be conclusive. But, unfor-


tunately, the theory of our govern


ment as premise is constantly inval-
idated by the practices that have crept
into our administrative system.


The moral and intellectual forces
which dominate our affairs have ceased
to be popular and democratic, and haye
become oligarchical and aristocratic.
The sovereignty of the masses has be-
come an empty name or a. disgusting
farce, while the real ruling influences
are cliques, families, corporations and
banded interests capable of employing
vast sums of money for purposes of
corruption or skilled in turning the
forces of popular fanaticism to the
destruction the-popular- sense OF
Judgment. The aristocratic tenden
cies of our system have never been
more forcibly presented to the public
view than by social event which has
just transplred. The two clans of
Cameron and Sherman, which have
just been united in marriage, undoubt-
edly WELD a greater political power
and exert widespread influence up
on the fortunes of the republic than
was ever enjoyed by any hundred
before in our history. That
their influence is destructive to the
public welfare, debasing TO political
and utterly disgraceful to the
national name and reputc goes with
out saying.


Dazzling the popular eye with the
glitter of fortunes acquired by means
in foulness all the way from
John Sherman's notorious leagues
with the Syndicate down to Simon
Cameron's copaftnership with rings of
eAiON1HS di my CoHtAoCtOIS dC TIT Out>
break of the war, these predatory
clans are at last emboldeded to parade
themselves and their booty with oifen-
sive ostentation before the public, and
to flaunt their tawdry splendor in the
faces of the millions whose squalor is
or indirectly the result of their



1t the masses of the American people
had been bred in the social and politi-
cal atmosphere of Germany, Austria
or Russia the state of things whereof
this Cameron Sherman business is a
would not excite their resent
ment. But they haye not been bred
to such servitude at least they have
not been schooled to succomb quietly
to such ascendency of successful base
ness. The manifestation of commun-
ism and agrarianism which we have
noted are simply symptoms of popular
discomfort. They are not and cannot
become organized popular movements
because it is the genius of our race to
reach real results by conservative
methods, by compromise between the
blind courage of the extreme fanatic
and the cool judgement of the prac-
tical politician. There is no occasion
to be terrified by the developments of
Least of all is there
need of increasing the regular army
to protect society against their ebluli
ton. Society in the proper sense of
the term can protect itself. The regu-
lar army can be of use only in pro-
tecting the illegitimate aristocracy,
against whose bastard pretensions to
in fee and entail, these in
cipient convulsions of the populaee
are a protest. In short and in fine,
the communism we hear about is
nothing more or less than the natural
in the forces of society to
the Cameron-Sherman which is
just now being so brszenly flaunted in
our faces aud the red flag of the Com
mune is no more and no less hateful
and alien to the true sense of our peo.
pie than the tawdry ensigns of these
two great clans which are just now
intertwined. BY and by Cameron
will get its deserts, and
then we shall hear no more of the
Commune.-[W Washington Post.


FLORIDA CURIOSITY.


Silver spring, Florida, is one of the