Conservative. 3
WHAT OF THE MORROW ?
Editor Conservative :
As that semi-philosopher , Ingorsoll ,
said : "Wo must think. " When
I consider the decadence of mo
rality in public lifo ( to say nothing of
that in private life ) and the immeasur
able increase in the recklessness , bru
tality , savagery and numbers of crim
inals and crimes ; the failures of the
r-
efforts to effect reforms not only in
h individuals but in all methods for free
ei. and enlightened government ; the in
. satiable greed and the oppression that
come of gratifying it ; the many
cruelties and mockeries of justice in
the uses and dispensations of public
charities ; the base ends to which the
uses of education are put ; the fac
tional selfishness which weakens
nearly all organizations social , moral ,
political and religious destroying the
great power harmony and unity of
action would give them for a right
and beneficial use of endless opportun
ities , and so the treating of over
whelming ethical force , I am not
much in love with many of my fellow
men , and I seem to grow pessimistic
as the years advance.
Present Day "Statesmen. "
The same extent of personal liberty
I have had , I would like should be the
heritage of my children ; but I begin
to fear that such evolution is in pro
gress that it will not be. The irre
trievable complications into which
the covernmeut has been forced by
mere partisan politicians , occupying
the places intended for statesmen ,
with the daily additions made to them
by those whose ambitions for per
sonal gain and aggrandizement without
a thought for the general welfare , are ,
in their effects upon the body politic ,
much like a carbuncle 011 the human
organism. As one cell breaks down
and suppurates , the one next to it fol
lows , and it spreads until it may be
come fatal or the surgeon's knife alone
can give relief. As a remedy is
sought for each complication others
grow up around those already exist
ing , and quack statesmen , by constant
mal-practice , aggravate the disease un
til no surgeon can cure it but the sud
" horseback " who
denly-risen"man on ,
comes with his sword and adherents
and establishes a new order of things
and the struggle begins over again to
recover lost liberties and overthrow
usurpers by internecine strife.
There is for us Americans the hu
miliatiou of hypocrisy. We half bank
rupted the treasury in an aggressive
war on Spain , on pretense that her
cruelty in the reconcentrado for the
niggers of Cuba shocked our sense "o :
humanity ; and we stand quietly by
and see England carry on a like
course of oppression on white men
women and children without so much
as an official protest ; what" hypocrisy
could bo greater and what humiliation
more galling and depressing ? The
mrbarism which has characterized
the English government in its conduct
of the war in South Africa , without
an official protest from every civilized
government , ought to shame all na-
; ions of the world ; for it exceeds that
of the Mohammedans in the spread
of their religion by the sword.
Capital and Labor.
While combinations of capital , for the
conduct of great beneficial enterprises
are entirely legitimate and necessary ,
such consolidations as have created
some trusts ( made to stifle competi
tion , control production and markets ,
fix prices , and even dictate the num
ber of laborers , their hours for labor
and compensation ) are wholly illegiti
mate and unnecessary. These , on the
one hand , and labor combinations on
the other hand , evolve forces which
are complicated in their operations
with the irresistible operations of
natural laws , which are antagonistic
to them. Natural force alone can
maintain equilibrium. The forces
in conflict with it , from the causes I
have stated , are an unknown quantity
and there are no X-rays which can
disclose them to us. The quack states
men are constantly trying to obstructer
or evade the operations of natural
force by creating some artificial force
by legislative enactment , which only
drives the natural forces to act in
new directions , making more and
more involved complications. The
operations of both are full of danger.
That the results are being manipulat
ed by men ignorant of their trend
and blind to their possibilities in
shaping the results in human affairs
in all relations , is evident enough.
We , ' ' the plain people of the land , ' '
can only sit still and wait until the
operations of the natural forces dis
close their course and results ; and
see whether the attempts to evade or
obstruct diem'will destroy equilibrium
in trade , commerce and finance , or
whether the time-servers and money-
grabbers , who have ignored the natural
laws and sought to substitute human
enactments in place of them , will be
overthrown in a universal financial
panic that will make paupers of
them and bankrupt nations. The
antagonism cannot go on in peace al
ways.
Something of the insane folly in the
impulses which control too many men
would-be statesmen who come into
control of public affairs , is illustrated
by the contest between Hanna and
Foraker in Ohio ; and on a lower plane
between McLaurin and Tillman ii
South Carolina. Neither of the latter
is a democrat nor republican while
each is a sort of hermaphrodite parti
an , "going in a gang by himself. "
t is to bo hoped the senate wll upseat
joth.
Our "Colonial" Policy.
The effect of the decisions of the
supreme court has placed the govern
ment in a maelstrom of complications
: rom which extrication , except by
lonest ( even if unprofitable pecuni
arily ) methods seems impossible. But
lonest methods will not be tried. Every
effort to solve the difficult problems
arising , seems like killing the hydra
which grew many new heads for each
one cut off. We face equal dangers
whether wo hold on or let go , whether
we stop whore we are or continue to
follow the labyrinth in the dark.
With our great territory , advantages
and resources , why could we not be
content to mind our own affairs and
leave Deity to manage and take care
of His creatures in other nations in
His own way and time , and not under
take to do His work by finite means
with only finite knowledge ? With
all our sacrifice of life and treasure ,
what good have we done for ourselves
or for anyone or anything else ?
What part of the * world or ol human
ity has been , in any respect , made
better or better off ? And now , for
years to come , it is clear that , with
great numbers of men , and ships , war
munitions and supplies , we must con
tinue marching , sailing , fighting , kill
ing and burning among a semi-savage
people , ten thousand miles away , whenever
never did us any harm or sought any
thing from us , and who are occupying
an area of land and water in the
tropics nearly equal to our own , to
what end ? For what purpose ? We
are only another illustration where
1' vaulting ambition o'erleaps itself and
falls on the other side. ' ' We furnish
strong evidence that the church dog
ma of ' ' the fatherhood of God and the
brotherhood of man' ' is only a barren
ideality with us.
Centuries ago , with a glib tongue
and one impractical idea , Peter the
Hermit so imposed upon and appealed
to the ignorance , emotions , the cupid
ity , and the instincts of the savage in
men as to bring on the Crusades , some
echoes of which are coming to us now
from Jerusalem , where Christians ( ? )
are fighting about which denomination
shall sweep some portion of the floor in
a church.
A Day of Reckoning Coming.
We were blessed with every element
a Deity could create and give us to
make us a powerful , enlightened ,
wealthy , prosperous , moral , and
peaceable people ; unlimited territory
and natural resources , protected by
oceans and distance against aggression
by other nations , with a repre
sentative republican form of govern
ment under a written constitution ;