8 Conservative.
ORSON IN COUNCIL.
( Suggestion to the Pence Conference. )
Cnmo Orson out of the forest once ; the farm *
era gripped their guns ,
Tliey blnted their horns for nciglibor nid , and
sheltered their tender ones ;
They never were fond of Orson erst , for some
lie had clubbed nnd clawed ,
And the stoutest of all nnd the heaviest armed
were shy of Ids walks abroad.
Ills hand , or his paw , you scarce know which ,
nnd the difference wns not great
As regards the name , when on your arm or
your skull you felt the weight.
Still was not worst in its plumb-down stroke ,
but ho had one awful hug-
When it clamped you once alxmt the ribs , you
would judge your grave was dug.
And less than over they now rejoiced , at the
sight of his healthy figure ;
For every time ho had shown his head , ho was
grown a trifle bigger ;
More tall in stature , and huge of bulk , more
wis in his move and look ,
And strange , ho had taken to nil their ways ,
nnd wns often found nt his book.
So , just when a tempest of fire through all
their line was about to break ,
Old Orson bowed , and h cleared his throat ,
and in sweetest of growl he spake :
"Good friends , we have tussled many a bout ,
nnd I guess you will hardly think ,
If I mention a scheme for a quiet life , it is fear
that makes mo shrink.
"It seems to me , there is much blood spilled ,
for any good it has been ;
Wo como to about the same at last , with the
loss and the woo and sin.
Suppose wo agree for awhile to lay our clubs
and our guns aside ,
And see if wo don't far better thrive ? At least
it might bo tried. "
Then what an uproar those dear hearts put up
nt the strnngo propose !
There were some who called it a civil thing ,
nnd wore rather inclined to close :
"Well , how if wo try ? the Benr of late shows
many a hopeful sign ;
No cause in the blood ngainstit ; looknt his
brother Vnlontino. "
But the others hooted , nnd howled aloud , "No
trusting the brute , for mol
He ripped mo , once ; " and "Ho mauled me ,
twice ; " "He is mischief-bound you'll see. "
And Orson , whom not one could shako , nor
they all could bring to ground ,
It was cleverer far to keep in arms , than to
make for pence all round.
When Charles
COMMERCIAL Kingsley became a
GRAVITATION.
professor in Cain-
e University he foolishly undertook
prove that there was no such thing as
*
hti inexorable law of Nature. He held
that even the law of gravitation was not
the rigid and universal sort of thing
Newtoa had supposed. "If I choose to
catch a stone , " he argued , "I can hold
it in my hands ; it has not fallen to the
ground , and will not till I let it. So
much for the inevitable law of gravity. "
It is with some such foolish sophistry
many of us are attempting to ignore the
great law of commercial gravitation that
is creating the so-called trust movement.
Kingsley forgot that the inevitable laws
of gravity , at which he sneered , con
tinued to pull the stone towards the earth
while it was in his hand , and would keep
on pulling until he dropped it , even if
Nature had to wait till death relaxed his
grasp. In like manner the reformers
and legislators who are dogmatizing
against the right of capital to combine
are forgetting the inexorable law that
forces such combination , and that will
keep on forcing it until all artificial bar
riers are removed. It is as foolish to
deny this law as to deny that there is a
law compelling water to run down hill.
Why not cease fighting the eternal
law and concentrate our efforts upon
regulating its action. We do not try to
stop the Mississippi from running to the
sea , though it does at times overflow its
banks and do great damage. We sim
ply build levees to prevent the needless
and ruinous inundation. But when wo
try to legislate against all capitalistic
combinations we are doing the same sort
of thing as if we attempted to build a
dam that would stop the whole Missis
sippi. It is as impossible to prevent
such centralization of capital in a free
country as to prevent unconfined water
from centralizing in the ocean. Both
are impelled by a law that is stronger
than any human law.
There is no wish to deny the evils that
accompany the present concentration
movement. The rascality and certain
disaster of overcapitalization have been
pointed out many times in these col
umns. The illicit use of power to force
railway discriminations has been de
nounced for the unmitigated evil it is.
For these and other sins the trusts will
justly suffer , and will drag down to
ruin many an honorable concern when
the day of reckoning comes. But in
so far as these companies are seeking to
fleece the stock speculator or to play the
highwayman with the railroads , they
are lawless and not law abiding things.
The point to remember is that these are
the exception and not the rule that the
vast aggregate of centralized capital is
acting with legitimate motives and
under an inexorable law.
From the beginning of civilization it
has been the natural tendency of indus
tries to grow and of capital to combine.
Not an argument now hurled against
the trust but was used with equal force
a century ago in England against incor
porated companies. We have now lost
all fear of stock companies , but are
alarmed over the combination of such
companies. Yet this latest development
is as natural and inevitable as the earl
ier , and in time we shall learn that it
brings the solution of many a knotty
question. Fighting the mere bigness of
these combinations is foolish. Oar
American industries have been expand
ing steadily ever since their smallest be
ginnings in colonial New England , and
the great trading combinations of the
present day have been evolved by na
tural processes of growth. You may as
well try to butt down a twenty-foot wall
with your head as to hurl yourself
against the natural forces that are caus
ing centralization of capital.
It is time to drop hysterics and take a
fearless and honest look at these sup
posed commercial bogies. These is ab
solutely no indication that the trusts
will reduce wages ; on the contrary , they
have raised wages. Nor is there any
proof that they will raise prices. If any
of them try it , there is a natural law of
competition that will soon destroy them.
The sins of inflated stock must be suf
fered for , but the dupes who get caught
deserve no sympathy. The vital fact is
that centralized capital is a healthy and
normal phase of industrial development
and has come to stay. Chicago Dry
Goods Reporter.
The dawn of the
day when silver
shall be sold at $1.29 an ounce all over
the world is breaking. The smelter
syndicate and refiners' combine have
put up the beautiful white metal
since March , 1899 , more than the
Bryan syndicate raised it in the
last three years. Together the Bryan-
archists and silver mine and bullion
owners make a formidable political
party. They attempt to direct the pol
icies and administer the government of
the American republic. They may pos
sibly succeed in 1900 !
CONSERVATISMS.
Pseudo or traditional conservatism
rebels against the word of the "living
God" while it upholds that of the dead
gods of tradition.
Civilization comprises the institutions
and methods evolved by man for his in
dividual preservation through social
organization.
Culture , though a result of civiliza
tion , is often a parasitic attachment and
in the way of progress.
Progress and civilization arc identi
cal. Progress is the improvement in
methods of self-preservation of one
period and people over and against
another period and people.
Institutions or methods which may be
life-saving , or supporting to inability ,
are invariably detrimental to the race.
Altruism and humauitariauism are
toll-gates on the road to progress.
Traditionalism is constantly in the
way of civilization.
Ethics is the science , morality the art
of self-preservation.
The brotherhood of man is an absurd
ity but an intelligent utilitarianism the
basis of individual salvation.
Religion is the intelligent conscious
ness of the unity and iuseparableness of
all things and one's self as an individ
ualized entity in the eternal solidarity.
Religion is attachment to the whole as
a part of self.
