THERE are not only cyclones and hurricanes, earthquakes and tidal waves in the physical world to disturb the minds of men in these days, but in the social world there is a fearful storm brewing that is even more alarming. Men have tried to pass over these social forebodings as something that was of no special consequence. They have told us that the gathering storm in society would break away and a glorious dawn of peace and good-will would shine forth.
But the cloud is getting blacker, the outlook is more threatening, and the discussions over social questions are becoming more heated and determined. A most intense feeling has entered into the minds of men, and they seem possessed with the idea that they are being driven to do something desperate. The vast number of monopolizing trusts that are being formed are looked upon as a menace to freedom, and by many it is considered that the colonial expansion policy upon which the United States has recently entered is all in the interest of the money power. In the discussions along this line a noted public speaker recently said:
These are the two arguments which are always used in favor of conquest, philanthropy, and five per cent. The one chloroforms the conscience of the conqueror, and the other picks the pocket of the conquered.
Some say that philanthropy demands that we govern the Filipinos for their own good, while others assert that we must hold the islands because of the pecuniary profit to be derived from them. I deny the soundness of both arguments. Forcible annexation will not only be criminal aggression (to borrow Mr. McKinley’s language of a year ago), but it will cost more than it is worth, and the whole people will pay the cost, while a few will reap all the benefits.
Still weaker is the argument based upon religious duty. The Christian religion rests upon the doctrine of vicarious suffering and atonement; the colonial311policy rests upon the doctrine of vicarious enjoyment.
When the desire to steal becomes uncontrollable in an individual he is declared to be a kleptomaniac and is sent to an asylum. When the desire to grab land becomes uncontrollable in a nation, we are told that the “currents of destiny are flowing through the hearts of men,” and that the American people are entering upon their manifest mission.
Shame upon a logic which locks up the petty offender and enthrones grand larceny! Have the people returned to the worship of the golden calf? Have they made unto themselves a new commandment consistent with the spirit of conquest and the lust for empire? Is “Thou shalt not steal” upon a small scale to be substituted for the law of Moses?
Another speaker within the last few weeks spoke the following:—
Nearly all of the wealth of this land is passing into a few hands, and not one of these hands favorable to the freedom of the citizen. Every great industrial, commercial, mining, or transportation enterprise is passing into the hands first of corporations, and then by further consolidation into the hands of trusts, which thus have an absolute monopoly—a monopoly which can arbitrarily fix prices, fix wages, and regulate output—a monopoly which has no soul, and whose chief purpose is to plunder the public.
We have established a moneyed aristocracy and are now fastening a yoke on posterity. A standing army is to be enthroned and bayonet argument is to govern.
We quote still another speaker as follows:—
We do not need this vast army in time of peace any more than we need a king. . . . We should, if we are true to the people and our principles, vigorously oppose this enormous increase of the regular army. A large standing army in a republic is always a menace to civil liberty and to free institutions.
If you have taken the pains to read the foregoing quotations closely you see that they are the expression of very deep-seated feeling in regard to vital issues that are now engrossing the public mind. They are the outward evidence of a strong undercurrent of hostility to certain measures that they can not endure. Such expressions indicate more than a passing statement of indifferent opinion; they mark strong conviction—conviction so strong that something must be done about it unless this order of things is speedily changed. And every one knows that the foregoing quotations are by no means the strongest that might be given. They are simply some of the milder utterances that are heard from multitudes of men from all parts of the country.
But you say, “The men who are making such statements are cranks; they are wild and fanatical.” Well, we will not take the time to argue that point with you. You can have it your way if you like. But let them be cranks, or fanatics, or what not, one thing is sure, and that is, they are popular with the people. Large crowds flock to hear them speak, and their writings are eagerly sought and read. Their utterances have a firm lodging-place in the public mind, and this fact is an auspicious omen. Such intensity of discussion, received so eagerly, and accepted so fully by the people, denotes a smothered sentiment that can not long be restrained from bursting into a furious social storm.
If you will take the time to briefly read the story of the French Revolution and the discussions that led up to it, you will see that the issues then and now are identical. And if you will survey the horrors of the French Revolution you will get but a minimized view of the terrors of the social cyclone into which the whole world is driving at a furious speed. For the unmistakably accurate voice of inspiration tells us that we are entering “a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation.”