A National Crisis and One-Man Power
REV. NEWELL DWIGHT HILLIS, a prominent Brooklyn clergyman and orator, sees a national crisis pending in this country, which is likely to result in the establishment of a one-man power. He says:— Just now our country is entering upon a crisis that is to strain its institutions to the last point before breaking. A century ago the great figures of the community were the magistrate and the leading minister. In the middle of the last century the statesman and the politician were the outstanding figures representing weight of intellect, and those were the days of Daniel Webster and Henry Clay. Then came an era about five years ago when the statesman was submerged by the multi-millionaire. Wealth, riches, the love of gold and power control our statesmen now. Individuals representing hundreds of millions caused the politician to pass under an eclipse. This Croesus who once owned his private car and yacht, now owns his private governor, his private representatives, and last summer he owned his private Congress. Now has come a day when the multi-millionaire is powerless to control the treasury he has gained. The next stage is his submergence by the numbers of his workmen acting under the control of a single will. But the rule of the many because they have the votes and are needed by the governor who seeks re-election, is a rule of peril that threatens every institution that we love.