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was even greater against tho poor man tho
very man most m need of laud. It would have
"been difficult enough for a person of small
means to have made tho trip oven if euro of
getting land but it was out of tho question for
him to borrow the money when he had only a
chance (it turned out to ho one chance in
thirteen) of securing land after he got there.
The railroads have profited largely by the
plan which the admistration adopted, because
they collected fares both ways from disap
pointed ones and still have another chance at
the successful ones when they return to make
permanent settlements, but those desiring to
locate upon the reservation have been put to
much needless expense and trouble.
A Minister's Lament.
The editor of The Commoner receives
many letters, bo many, in fact, that he finds it
impossible to give a personal reply tp all of
them, hut he receives much information from
these letters. Some of them furnish texts for
editorials, and these texts are utilized whenever
possible. Ho has recently received a letter
which refleots the fear that many entertain that
the nation has already gone so far on the road
to commercialism that its course cannot now
bo changed. The, letter was written by a min
ister, and a few quotations, from it will, be in
teresting. "As for myself an old soldier and
color bearer in the civil war I feel like one
whose house is on fire, and who has fought the
flame with every means at command, until it
seems evident that the house and all its sacred
tore is doomed to destruction.
"For a long time I have foreseen the im
pending danger and have on every occasion
done what I could to avert it. The prelimi
nary utterance of the highest court is now"
public, and the actual dissolution of the republic
is begun, and as I estimate tho case, there is no
human power that can resist its progress.
"The capitalistic powers of this country and
of the world are in the plot and they have
found a party that faithfully does their bid
ding. They essentially control tho directing
forces of thoughtthe press, the pulpit, the
forum and the market. They calculate that
they can buy majorities at tho ballot box in
the halls of legislation, in the judiciary, every
where and it is only too evident that they
can. They can bribe or send an ultimatum
with the army and navy, as the case may re
quire, to achieve their ends; and really there
is no possible way to arouse and unify the peo
ple for a successful resistance.
"Y.ou still loyally prqfer' to believe in the
people. I would like to do so, but if the things
which have transpired during the last four
years will not awaken the people, I hao na
hope that they will bo aroused though the latf;
remnant of our republican institutions wore
removed. Absolutism iB already here, and un
less the Lord of Hosts stretches, forth His hand
rebuking and bringing to naught the devicps of
scheming men, this government o the people,
by the people, and for the pepple has alreodv
completed its career an$ the world's hopo of
liberty and justice is blighted." '
The Commoner.
Ho then proceeds to say that while he is. dis
couraged as to tho ultimate outcome, he will
continue to do what ho can, but is embarrassed
by tho restraints that are placed upon one in
his position.
His letter suggests two questions: first, is
the situation hopeless? and, second, is it proper
for a minister to tako part in the work- that
must be done?
The case is not hopeless. No one who has
observed tho tendency of republican policies
can deny that that party is completely under
the domination of organized wealth. It Bprang
into existenco to combat tho extension of
slavery; in its earlier days it invoked the name
aud principles of Jefferson; it quoted the decla
ration of independence in its early platforms,
and proclaimed its devotion to human rights.
Lincoln was the typical representative of the
party. Others were more scholarly and more
rhetorical, but Lincoln in homely, yet eloquent
way, gave expression to the moral sentiments
which ran through the party creed. He con
densed the tenets of republican faith into a
sentence when he said that the republican party
believed in the man and the dollar, but that in
case of conflict it believed in the man before
the dollar.
Today, the republican party openly, noto
riously, and shamelessly places the dollar far
above the man. It is establishing in- society,
in politics and in the church a standard where
- by, money is made to answer all things. As in
the declining days of tho Koman Empire,, men
are measured, not by what they are, but by
. what they have, and success pecuniary suc
cess is the one thing sought for. When the
republican party legislates on the subject of
taxation it lays the burdens upon the poor and
allows the rich to escape a large portion of the
burden which they ought in justice to bear.
When it legislates on the money question it
tries to make the dollar dearer in the interest
of the money changers and the holders of fixed
investments, and it tries to give to bankers'
complete control aver the issue of paper
money. When it legislates on the trust
question well it does not legislate at all, it
simply allows private monopolies to do what
ever they please and then draws its campaign
funds from great trusts which could not exist
if the party did its duty to the people.
When it legislates on tho subject of im
perialism it tramples upon the most sacred
traditions of tho nation, and violates self-evident
truths in the hope of securing rich com
mercial reward by the subjugation of distant
peoples. It does not hesitate to buy every one
who can be bought, to deceive every one who
can be deceived, and to intimidate every one
who can.be intimidated. Now, this is the con
dition which has been developing during tho
last .few years, but, bad as it is it can be
remedied. Tho democratic party has tried to
remedy it. Prion to 1890 Wall street influ
ences, had secured control of our party organi
zation , and had madq.it impotent to accom
plish any reforms. As soon as the democratic
paftrjr raised the standard of real demociacy in
ty?l it, inspired hope and the party ticket
polled a million moro votes than had ever
been cast for a democratic .candidate before.
Less than a million democrats went over to
tho enemy; less than twenty per cent of tho
voting strength of the party deserted and gave
victory to the republicans, but these deserters be
came responsible for what has happened since.
Between 1890 and 1900 the republican party was
aided by the natural reaction from tho pauio
of 1893, by the increased production of gold,
by the expenditure of money in the prosecu
tion of wars on three continents and by the
enthusiasm which a successful war usually
arouses. And yet, in Bpite of these facts,
tho republican candidate increased hiB vote
less than three per cent and the democratic
candidate lost less than three per cent of his
vote. What would have been the result if the
billion dollar steel trust had been formed be
fore the election instead of after? Senator
Depew said recently that it might have changed
the result of the election. What would have
been the result if the recent supreme court de
cision had been rendered during the campaign,
with a third of the republican judges dissent
ing? During tho campaign tho republican
party denied that it had any imperialistic in-
tentions or that it desired to establish militar
ism in the United States. What would have
been the result if it had openly avowed before
the election the purposes which it has disclosed
since?
The patriotism of the people, has been sufn
cient in times past, and we should not despair
even now. We must appeal to the conscience of
the people, not only because it iB a duty to do
so, but because we have reason to expect a re
sponse. Republicans are not satisfied with tho
record which their party is making; they have
voted their ticket under protest, and it is only
a question of time when this protest will mani
fest itself in revolt. The acts of the republi
can party have belied its words, and its betrayal
of all that is high and. holy in governmental
principles must sooner or later bring defeat to
its leaders and redemption to the country.
' But what of the duty 'of ministers?
Ordinarily, the minister does not feel justi
fied in taking an active part in politics! His
congregation is usually divided and he would
create friction in his tshurch by entering into
politics, and yet who will deny that it is tho
duty of the minister to apply his moral princi
ples in every word and act? Whenever a
moral question a question involving right
and wrong arises, the influence of the minister
must be cast upon the right side, ( r upon the
side which, after careful and conscientious in
vestigation, he thinks right. The more impor
tant' the question, the more imperative is it
that the influence of the minister, be it great
or small, be cast on the right side. When the
colonists were fighting against taxation with
out representation, the ministers were quick to
add their voice and influence to the side of tho
revolutionary patriots, The speech of one has
been preserved in poetry: , u
"When God is wijtn' our righteous cause, ; "'
Hjs holiest temples thou are ours; l ' "'
.. . His churchos Vro' our forts and towers, v v,,
That frown up6nvatyrant foe." ' '
The same principle is involved now. It is