ANARCHY AND ITS MEANING IN THE UNITED STATES.
By L. A. S.
To the American people the present occasion of national calamity and sorrow is one not merely for indignation, but for sober reflection as well. While abhorring the crime that has been committed, we should not forget to inquire for the cause of it. The cause was not personal animosity, nor cupidity, else would the act mean no more than an ordinary attempt at murder. The crime is significant because it was committed in the name of politics. The crime and the criminal are not the main features of the case to be considered. The crime is a symptom; the essential thing is the disease itself. It is very common to make the mistake of treating the symptoms without getting at the malady which produces them. It is to be hoped the American people will not make this mistake, but will look further than the symptoms, and take measures to deal with the evil itself from which such horrible symptoms arise. Anarchy is as senseless as it is cruel; but there is a cause for it. There is no effect without a cause. And it is to be noted that this is the first time in American history that anarchy has raised its hand against the chief executive. Lincoln was not shot by an anarchist; neither was Garfield. Never before has anarchy conducted itself here as if this were a European nation ruled by a hereditary sovereign. Anarchy has long been active here, it is true; but chiefly because this country was a safe and favorable rendezvous in which to plot against the lives of European rulers. It is evident from this that a republican government, such as has prevailed in this country, is not favorable to the development of anarchy. Otherwise it would long ago have been striking at the nation's chief executives, as it has long struck at the sovereigns of the Old World. The chief executives of the United States have always moved about freely with very slight precautions against possible attempts upon their lives. The Czar and other European rulers, on the other hand, have surrounded themselves with fortresses and armed regiments, and a journey by one of them is always attended with the most excessive precautions for his personal safety. Most of the governments of Europe are despotic. From the history of these governments, as compared with that of the United States, it is clear that despotism breeds anarchy far more than does free government. And this is suggestive as to the nature of the remedy that must be sought. While no remedy may exist that will eradicate anything so devoid of regard for reason and justice, that remedy must be used which will most nearly approximate this desirable end; and history proves this to be the maintenance of free government. Nothing should be done to make the government of these United States more nearly like the governments of Europe. To do that would be only to treat the symptoms while aggravating the disease itself. A widespread call is being made for severe measures. It is demanded that anarchy be put down with a strong hand, after the manner in which it is treated in other lands. This would be well if it would accomplish the desired result; whether it will or not is the question to be considered. Anarchists are free here because this is a free government. To make it less free than it is, in the endeavor to root out this evil, would only be to approximate those Old World conditions which have bred the anarchy that plagues us here. The Old World is the starting-point of this plague; it is not native to these shores. Whether this nation now, more than in the past, is taking any course calculated to foster the development of anarchy, is a question to be carefully considered by the American people. This question they should consider in looking beyond the symptoms to the malady itself which threatens such deplorable results. L. A. S.