4 - r REESE LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. 1{ecened Chli^yeJv . Recession No 6 f ZT6 Class No / ' -u u ir~v " u J u M u "* - EFORM Coi.f ALPH DE FAIRMONT The Arena Publishing Company, BOSTON, JWTA.SS. THE PRICE $3.00 A YEAR. IT 6 PAGES PER MONTH. Largest Original Review Published in the English-speaking World. THE ARENA has come to be recognized as the rallying point for the ablest liberal and aggressive reformative thinkers of our age. In its pages great vital or root problems, affecting civilization, are discussed more thoroughly and authorita- tively than in any other review published. Among the many eminent thinkers who have contributed their best thoughts to THE ARENA during the past few years, we mention the following: ALFRED R WALLACE, D.C.L. PROF. MAX MULLER. CAMILLE FLAMMARION. REV. LYMAN ABBOTT, D.D. CANON W. H. FREEMANTLH. LADY HENRY SOMERSET. FRANCES E. WILLARD. COUNT LEO TOLSTOI. HENRY GEORGE. EDWARD EVERETT HALE, D.D. LOUISE CHANDLER MOULTON. EMILIO CASTELAR. MARY A. 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REFORM An Essay on the Political, Financial, and Social Condition of the United States SHOWING Dangers, Defects, and Remedies BY COLONEL RALPH DE CLAIRMONT BOSTON I THE ARENA PUBLISHING COMPANY, COPLEY SQUARE, 1896. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1894, by COI,. RALPH DE CLAIRMONT, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at 'Washington, D. C. All Rights Reservfd. CONTENTS. PREFACE. 1. CAVEAT PATR1A. 2. LAW AND JUSTICE. 3. LEGISLATION. 4. THE PRESS. 5. EDUCATION. 6. RELIGION. 7. FINANCE. 8. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 9. UNITED STATES ARMY. CONCLUSION. APPENDIX. CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF SWITZERLAND VI , CONTENTS. Court Majesty of the Law Contempt King Alonzo the Wise, and the Lawyers Contempt of Court in France Boulanger in New York Election of Judges and Other Judicial Officers Judges of Federal Courts and United States Supreme Court Judicial Robes and Cap Respect in Court Conduct of the Public Arms in Court Punishment for Such Offenses Jury System Who to Serve as Jurors, and How Long Chal- lenging Jurors Trial of Cases by the Papers Model Jury Object of Imprisonment Preventive Imprisonment Perorations of Attorneys Civil Procedure Mexico Ahead in Justice Costs of Suit in Mexico Moderate Fees and Charges Shameful Treatment of Witnesses by Insolent Attorneys Detention of Witnesses Speedy Trials State Courts Code Napole"on Metric System Manner of Introducing It in Mexico Conciseness of Judicial Verbiage in France as Compared to Ours Model Decision of the Court of Appeals of Paris Court of Cassation Prompt Execution of Sentence Pardoning Power General Dix's Idea on Pardons Butte City Almost Free From Crime Swiss Prisons Death Penalty Methods of Capital Punishment Vivisection Sympathy of Women for Criminals in Jail Bonds and Bail Penal Colonies on Adja- cent Islands Expulsion from the Country Fiscal Standing in Court Immunity of Higher Criminals Lynching and Causes Purification and Simplification of Our Laws. III. LEGISLATION. Definition Analysis of the Laws The Different United States in America Whom to Elect to Legislatures Qualifications of Legislators Conflicting Laws and Legislation State Supreme Courts and United States Supreme Court Decisions Rendered Opinions Not To Be Pub- lished Concurrence and Dissension Origin of Bills, Amendments and Intricate Process Abolish State Senates Veto Power Election of United States Senators Bribery in Elections Sphere and Power of the Federal Government Railroads and Telegraphs To Be Owned by the Government Auditors and Controllers Government Accounts "The People Be D !" American Railroads How Constructed and Guarded Treatment of Passengers European Railroads Accidents in Switzer- land Reduction of Employees and Dividends Seizure of Railroads by the Government for Unpaid Taxes Railroad Commissioners American Cars Swiss Cars and Officials Marriage and Divorce Civil Register Courts of Mexico Wise Laws in the Sister Republic Marriage in Mexico Births and Deaths Judicial Oaths Mostly a Farce Identifica- tion of Individuals Uniform Divorce Laws Needed Adultery Hasty, Irreflected Marriages Sphere of Women Rights and Duties of Women Household Servants Anarchism Definition The Doctrines and Actions of Anarchists Retribution Mutual Agreement of Governments Explosives Their Manufacture and Danger Nitro-gly cerine Restric- tion of Their Sale Punishment of Offenders Return to Gunpowder, Smoothbore Cannon and Wooden Ships Ironclads and Torpedoes CONTENTS. vii High Explosives in Their Infancy Experiment and Explosion Pre- ventive Measures Against Anarchists Visitors to Parliaments in Euro.pe Regulations for Admission Protection of Public Buildings Socialists " Homo Sapiens" and "Homo Imbecilis" Prosperity and Financial Condition of the French People Distribution of Realty Laws of Tenure for Real Estate Working Hours and Pay of Workingmen in France Cost of Living in France Condition of American Laboring Classes Discharge of Employees Here and in Mexico Bankruptcy and Account Books in Mexico Federal Uniform Bankrupt Law Fraudulent Failures Registration of Foreigners Residing in France Chinese Defying the Laws of Congress "Dura Lex, sed Lex!" Detective Agencies Employment of Private Detectives and Sneaking Spies Police, Na- tional Guard and Army Rebellious States in Interdict Greater Powers to Government and to United States Supreme Court Condottieri and Freebooters Price on the Heads of Fugitive Criminals Mexican Rob- ber Chief American Flag Foreign Banners To Be Limited Admission of Territories to Statehood Washington the Best Governed City Territorial Government Pensions Enormous Amount Paid Still Pro- vision for the Aged and Crippled Franchises and Charters and Their Execution Street Cars and Railroads Rights and Privileges of Passen- gers Judges in Theaters in Mexico Prize-fighting Concealed Weapons Manufacture and Sale of Arms Gendarmes and Carabinieri Uniform and Armament of Policemen English Police Public Streets Streets of Washington, D. C. Buildings Fiasco in London Forests and their Preservation Naturalization United States Mails Lotteries Beer, Wines and Liquor Insurance and Fires. IV. THE PRESS. Introductory Brief History Invention of Printing Costly Bibles Power of the Press for Good and Evil Early Journalism in Europe and the United States First Newspapers PublishedJournalism in England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain Oldest Paper in America Oldest Regular Periodical Journalism in the United States Colonial Days Former and Present Capacity " Fast Press " and Modern Steam Press Concentration and Radiation of News Associated Press Want of Dis- crimination in News Developed like Fungi Size of Papers Excess of Matter Small Type Defects and Errors of the Press Vices Attacks on Individuals Want of Redress Power of the Press Public Opinion Advertisements Rights of Advertisers Responsible Editor Report- ers : Their Duties and Functions Hasty and Precocious News Paper Trials of Offenders Size, Type and Appearance of Papers Leading Arti- cles Excessive Liberty, Influence and Privileges Control and Censor- ship Penalties and Fines in Europe Jury Trials and Convictions Analysis of Prominent Papers Sensational Nonsense Illustrations in the Dailies Legitimate and Blackmail Profits Interestedness in Paid viii CONTENTS. News Excellent Papers of London Originality and Superiority- Berlin Echo Papers Public Instructors and Educators Purity of the Press Crusade Against the Press Rose-colored Illustrated Papers Sup- pression of Bad Books. V. EDUCATION. Introductory Public Schools Their Superiority to Those of Europe American Text Books Higher Educational Schools in Europe Com- pulsory Education Limit of Free Public Education Taxation for School Purposes Branches Taught in Public Schools State Control and Higher Schools Religion in Public Schools Morality, Urbanity and Good Manners Female Teachers Male Teachers Pay of Teachers Vacation Mixed Classes Teachers To Be Permanent Pensioning of Teachers Universal Higher Education and Its Consequences Increased Standard and More Years of Study Results of Classical Education Modern Lan- guages Spanish Language Its Origin, Beauty and Perfection Uni- versal Language Volapiik Cigarettes and Drink Children Not To Be Out Alone at Night. VI. RELIGION. Secular and Spiritual Education Sects Puritans Intolerance Principal Confessions and Sects Worldly and Political Interference The Church of Rome Society of Jesus Finances of the Church Divided Protestantism The Lord's Sabbath E Pluribus Unum Church of England English and American Clergy Qualifications of a Minister Ecclesiastical Dignity and Appearance Public Religious Processions and Ceremonies Street Dervishes Salvation Army in England and Switzerland American Missionaries Jesuit Missionaries Chinese Mis- sions Donations to the Church and Legacies Catholic University in Washington No Religious Interference in Politics Chaplain in Con- gress Interference with Other Creeds Christian Toleration Sunday Observance Recreation Sunday Enjoyment in London Cremation Cemeteries 1,200 Millions to Bury Process of Cremation Liberty of Conscience The Mormons, Polygamy, Bigamy, Monogamy and Poly- andry Secret Societies Nativism and the Foreign Element Intol- eranceImportation of White and Yellow Coolies Ostracism Hostility to Foreigners. VII. FINANCE. Mathematics President Pierce Mesilla Valley Santa Anna Causes of Crisis Millions to China Trade with China Chinese Census and Earnings Exchanges and Stocks Brokers Banking Defaulters and Forgers Jews and Gold Joseph in Egypt Bank Profits Utility of Banks Bank of England and of France Bank Notes Paper Money CONTENTS. ix Bank of England Notes Silver Coining in England United States Notes Solution of Silver Question Independence of the United States Scarcity of Gold Base Coin Earlier Coins Gold Shipments Rise of the Greenback Export of Gold Checked Profit on Bank Notes Government Banking Credit Government Revenues Tariff Ineffi- ciency of Senate Import Duties Income Tax Taxation of Estates Veto of Coinage Bill Seigniorage Opposition to Silver Government Notes Paper Money in Europe. VIII. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. City of Washington Washington Monument Government of the District of Columbia Strategical Position Pilgrimage to Washington Fortifying of Washington Constitution Swiss Constitution Amend- ments Diplomacy Republic of Switzerland Her Government Presi- dential Powers Veto Power Rank and Power of the President The Czar of Russia Respect of President His Military Household Assas- sination of Lincoln and Garfield President Pierce Guarding White House and Public Buildings Presidential Election President Not to Succeed Himself Messages and Reports Salary of President Retire- ment of President Cincinnatus and Washington Ex-Presidents as Senators Their Knowledge and Experience Departments of Govern- ment Perfection of Accounts Sword of Damocles Government Print- ing Official Courtesy Female Clerks Officials, Faithful and Honest Punishment of Offenders Senate and House of Representatives Too Many Senators No Bills to Originate in the Senate No Veto for Presi- dentClean Up the Work Servants of the Entire Nation, Not of Par- ties Functions of the Senate Prompt and Good Legislation Wanted Rules of Proceedings in Both Houses Reform Needed Attendance of Members Disciplinary Measures Foreign Legislative Bodies Disorder in House and Senate Desks in Senate Penalties in French Chambers Military Guard in Capitol No Work, No Pay Arrest of Members Millionaires in Congress Election of Senators French Senate House of Lords Federal Prisoners Periodicals in Washington "Official Gazette" or "Monitor" Premature and Indiscreet Publication Diplo- matic and Consular Service Inefficiency Ridiculous Diplomatic Inci- dentQualifications of Diplomats and Consuls Permanency and Pro- motion of American Diplomats Incompetent and Unworthy Men Suppression of Some Missions "Vse Victis" Diplomatic and Con- sular Uniforms Dress of Franklin in Paris Supreme Court Its Con- stitution and Emoluments Increase of Number of Justices to Thirteen Its Jurisdiction and Duties Mass of Business and Inability Retire- ment of Justices Unconstitutionally of Laws Dissolution of Con- gress by Supreme Court. CONTENTS. IX. UNITED STATES ARMY. Importance of the National Army United States Navy European Armies Military System of Switzerland Famous Swiss Victories Neu- trality of Switzerland Garrisons in European Capitals Military Budget of Switzerland Military Department at Berne Liability to Serve, and Recruits Military Training in Switzerland Military Exemption Tax Training of Officers and Non-commissioned Officers Permanent Staff Military Organization of Switzerland Fortification of St. Gotthard Swiss Uniform United States Army Superiority Over Other Armies Mexican War General Scott Beards in the Army Army Officers West Point Graduates from the Military Academy Marriage of Offi- cers Wearing Uniform Promotion Discipline Deserters Term of Enlistment Re-enlistment Promotion from the Ranks Secretary of War Strength of the United States Army Command of the Army Administrative Department Facility for and Correctness of Business General Staff of the Army Its Possible Organization Adjutant-General Control of Military Accounts Military Degradation Army Chap- lains 1 fr iform and Clothing Trappings and Accouterments Impor- tance of the Army Value of a Standing Army Philosophical View of the Army Importance of a Strong Army Increase of the Army Mili- tia Forces of the States Superiority of the Army Its Sphere of Utility Industrial and Labor Armies "Si vis Pacem, Para Bellum " Military Posts Concentration of Troops Field Maneuvers Northern and Southern Frontier Civil and Military Authority Military Courts Writ of Habeas Corpus Auditors in Europe Judge Advocate-General Sacri- fices by the Army Mexican War and Result Volunteers Washington and West Point. PREFACE. 1UTULTUM IN PARVO" is the opening motto of this book, an essay on the political, financial and social condition of the United States, showing the dangers that beset this great Republic, the defects of its institutions, and the remedies to be applied. The work is written in an absolutely patriotic spirit, free from prejudice and passion ; the language used is plain and comprehensive for all classes of our immense population, from the haughty banker and so-called merchant prince to the plain artisan and humble day-laborer. In order to show that the author is competent to handle the great subject developed in this book, and that "he knoweth whereof he writeth," he begs leave of the kind and indulgent reader to make the following preliminary declaration : Although of foreign birth the writer came to this country when a boy, became a citizen in 1856, and has resided here ever since, with the exception of several years' residence and travel in Mexico during the civil strife prior to the advent of Maximilian, and travel in Central America and Europe in 1890 and 1891. He had the honor of being acquainted with and a protege of General Winfield Scott, was present at the inauguration of President Franklin Pierce, at the funerals of Daniel Webster and Henry Clay, and on the night of the i5th of December, 1858, had an interview at the White House with President James Buchanan and General Cass, Secretary of State, in consequence of which a United States Minister was sent to Vera Cruz and recognized the Juarez Government of Mexico, at that time located in the heroic seaport. The Xll PREFACE. writer has held many positions of honor and trust in the ordinary pursuits of life, as well as in the diplomatic and military service, vliich enabled him to study and closely observe political, financial and social matters, not only in the United States, but in Mexico, Central America and most European countries. No names will be given in this book, and no personalities are intended ; if, however, the jacket fits certain parties, we cannot help it, and must do like the celebrated Pontius Pilate. Truth is frequently disagreeable to hear ; yet every one will find something of interest to him in the perusal of our work, no matter what party or station of life he may belong to. We expect to be severely criticized, as a matter of course : such is the lot which befalls all those who have the courage to come forth fran 1 *3y and fearlessly in the defense of what they con- sider right but we shall not pay any attention to adverse criticism, and simply repeat the great axiom, " Magna esi veritas et semper prevalebit T ' (Great is truth and will always prevail ! ) THE AUTHOR. SAN FRANCISCO, May, 1894. REFORM AN ESSAY ON THE POLITICAL, FINANCIAL AND SOCIAL CONDITION OF THE UNITED STATES. I. CAVEAT PATRIA! " BREAKERS AHEAD!" is the ominous warning cry oi the lookout when a white line of foam looms up before the moving craft, indicating the proximity of a lee shore or dangerous rocks. Well might that warning cry strike fear and terror into the hearts of captain, crew and passengers; the danger is appalling ! Timely and speedy maneuvers may save the craft : if she be a steamer, a reversal of the engines sometimes averts her doom ; a sailing vessel has but small chances. Thus even is it with the " Ship of State / " Kver since human events have been recorded with more or less correctness, history shows us the continued foundation, rise and fall of mighty empires and republics. The destruc- tion by fire of the famous library of Alexandria, which contained the records of the most remote periods in the existence of mankind, that immense and irreparable disaster has deprived us of the only authentic sources for the study and investigation of the past. Beyond the foundation of Rome, in the year 753 before Christ, history is extremely doubtful and mythical. After the Christian era and the divis- ion of the Roman Empire by the Emperor Theodosius toward 2 CAVEAT PATRIA. the close of the fourth century, history was written and pre- served principally by the monks isolated in their monasteries, and the secretaries of the ruling princes, whose versions are not always very reliable. One fact, however, stands out prominent and indisputable. All ancient history converges into that of the Roman republic and empire, and all modern history again radiates therefrom ! This great and all absorb- ing empire, the like of which had never existed before, nor will probably ever exist again, lasted no less than eleven centuries : it not only attained the highest point of civiliza- tion, literature, art, architecture, culture and refinement that has ever been reached, but produced great numbers of the most celebrated legislators, warriors, statesmen, poets and artists. Julius Csesar alone, the great, the incomparable Caesar, is sufficient to throw everlasting glory and splendor on Roman history. Such a man had never appeared before, nor proba- bly ever will appear again. The greatest of generals, states- men and legislators, Caesar's career was one brilliant success from beginning to end : he never experienced serious defeat ; he rose to the highest pinnacle of power, glory and honor man ever attained; and when the dagger of fanatical, though patriotic, conspirators terminated his existence, the very pur- pose they had sought to accomplish was frustrated by the prompt establishment of an empire which lasted no less than five hundred years. The only error Caesar ever committed was his sojourn of two years in Egypt, the guest of Mrs. Cleopatra Ptolemy, for which, however, he made brilliant atonement very soon after. It is not our purpose in these limited pages, intended to be a kind of ' ' Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin / " to enter into any description of the different republics that have enjoyed a more or less noteworthy existence ; the turbulent and short-lived Greek republics, the splendid Roman republic, the mercantile republics of Genoa and Venice, even the lilliputian republic of San Marino, we will pass over, and dedicating a few preliminary notices to the Swiss and French republics, now nourishing in their well-deserved prosperity and glory, we will come to the object of this volume, the great republic of the United States, with a few remarks on our Spanish sister republics of America. CAVEAT P ATRIA. 3 Prominent and superior to all ancient as well as modern democracies stands Switzerland, the Helvetian Republic ! The writer was present at the celebration of the 6ooth anniversary of the Swiss Republic on the 26. of August, 1891, at its very cradle, the town of Schwyz, the source and fountain of liberty in Europe even in the dark feudal epoch. That great celebration all over the famous Republic surpasses any similar event we ever witnessed, as regards the unanimous enthusiasm and true, real, unfeigned patriotism which prevailed among the entire Swiss population of about three millions, irrespective of creed, rank, station or condition; and well might they celebrate and be proud of their success. During the six hundred years that elapsed from the conspiracy on the Riitli, in 1291, which resulted in the final overthrow of the Austrian rule and oppression, Switzer- land maintained her independence against every invading foe, to the extent of utterly defeating the mighty armies of the Archduke of Austria in 1315, slaying the prince himself and the flower of the Austrian chivalry, and, in 1476, those of the powerful, hitherto unvanquished Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, who was slain and his army annihilated. And so fared all those who came to interfere with the brave and patriotic Swiss nation. All invading armies were repelled, the French excepted, who, under Massena, defeated the Russians at the battle of Zurich in 1799. Napoleon, however, proposed and concluded an honorable peace immediately, and the two countries became and have remained staunch friends ever since. The Swiss Republic, notwithstanding its victories over all its external enemies, has not been exempt from internecine troubles. On the contrary, civil and religious wars raged there frequently, the inevitable result of the Reformation in the sixteenth century, but the good sense of the people always resulted in renewed tranquillity. In 1847 dissensions broke out, and a portion of the Cantons formed a separate league, the "Sonderbund" which threatened to disrupt the Swiss confederation for the time being. Happily for the country, and we may say for the world at large, this calamity was averted through the noble and patriotic action of the Federal con mander, General Dufour, and in 1848 a new constitution was inaugurated, since which period the public 4 CAVEAT PATRIA. tranquillity has been undisturbed, and peace and harmony have reigned ever since. And how could it be otherwise when, after so many centuries of tests and experiments, the most perfect, equitable and just system of laws and government has been brought about that could procure the happiness, security and prosperity of any country on earth ! One of the reasons Switzerland has been respected by her monarchical neighbors in spite of her republican form of government is that from time immemorial she has afforded a place of refuge for political and religious offenders and exiles of every description, and that she has ever maintained the right of asylum sacred within her territory. Monarchs, princes, democrats, demagogues and anarchists alike are welcome, pro- vided they behave themselves and observe the laws of the great model Republic. A We shall frequently refer to the Swiss Republic during the course of these pages, for the simple reason that in Switzerland everything is good and commendable, scenery, government, roads, streets, railroads, post, telegraph, police, hotels, and in fact everything else. The present French Republic is the third and most success- ful trial of the democratic form of government in one of the most enlightened, fairest and richest countries under the sun. Well is it said even by the hostile German, when speaking of some one enjoying himself to his heart's content anywhere, "He lives like God in France." The many causes of the great prosperity of France are self-evident, but we have neither time nor space to enter into any discussion of these. After one thousand years of monarchy came the great French revolution at the close of the eighteenth century, the child of its precursor, the American revolution, to which we owe the political independence and immense growth of the United States. The first French Republic was not of long duration : the very excesses committed by its founders and adepts, such as Dan ton, Marat and Robespierre, caused the French people to desire peace, quiet and personal security; and thus it was an easy task for the great Napoleon Bonaparte to first sub- due and regulate the distracted Republic, and subsequently to found on its glorious ruins the vast and mighty empire, the CAVEAT PATRIA. 5 deeds and splendor of which will astonish posterity for centuries to come. Napoleon I, the greatest of men after Caius Julius Caesar, might have almost equaled his prototype had he not committed a number of fatal errors, the most grievous one being the Russian campaign, in winter too, causing the destruction of his grand army, and depriving him of the immense prestige of uninterrupted brilliant victories. Had he desisted from the impossible conquest of Russia, there would have been no Leipzig, no Waterloo, the grave of European liberty for a hundred years. Robert Hall, the celebrated English philosopher, exclaimed at the time : " When I heard of the result of the battle of Waterloo, it seemed to me as if the clock of the world had gone back for a hundred years ! ' ' Events have proved the unfortunate truth of this saying. The effeminate and incapable Bourbon dynasty was restored to the throne, but it was not many years before the Tenth Charles had to flee and give his place to Louis Philippe, the so-called citizen-king, who in turn fled to England in 1848, when the second French Republic was established. Still the French nation in general was not ripe for a general democracy. The second empire was founded by Napoleon III, the un- worthy and pitiful nephew of Napoleon the Great, who was to fall so ignominiously at Sedan, in just retribution for his infamous treason to the nation, when he. destroyed the second republic by force of arms. His former cognomen by Victor Hugo of ' ' The Man of the Second of December ' ' was then changed to that of " The Man of Sedan," and with this he has gone down to posterity. After the Franco-German war of 1870-71 the re-establishment of the empire would have been a comparatively easy matter in France had not victorious Germany stood aloof, indirectly encouraged the foundation of the third republic, and thus brought about a change highly advantageous for poor, bleeding and helpless France, but quite dangerous for the prolonged maintenance of a number of rotten and tottering monarchies. The third French Republic, now in its twenty-third year of existence, not only has out- lived the two previous ones, but seems to be quite firmly established for many years to come, after having so successfully overcome the treacherous abandonment of her former allies, CAVEAT P ATRIA. the open hostility of the surrounding monarchies, the aspira- tions and intrigues of the different pretenders to their former thrones, the ill will of the upper clergy until lately, the dis- turbances of anarchists, socialists and strikers, and last, but not by any means least, the incapacity and insatiable ambition of a portion of her political factors. But now France has over- come nearly all these obstacles and impediments, her army and navy are of the most powerful of any country on earth, and the past has been a wholesome and lasting lesson for that much-praised and much-abused nation, by which she will surely profit in future. Liberty, Fraternity, Equality* is the device of the French Republic. The first and last of these three sublime words are referred to in the Declaration of American Independence, but no mention is made of " fraternity " for some reason or other. The unanimous declaration of the thirteen United States of North America on the memorable 4th of July, 1776, is consid- ered the birthday of the existence of this great Republic, although the Constitution was not adopted until eleven years later. The unheard-of development, extension and wonderful progress achieved by the new republic, the first one founded on the American continent, are matters of record, and every child learns of them at school. On the 4th of July, 1876, the one hundredth anniversary of independence was celebrated with great pomp and universal rejoicing by the then fifty millions of inhabitants; and well might that glorious centen- nial anniversary have been greeted with such demonstrations of joy, because the country had risen to the pinnacle of power, renown, and material prosperity, peace within, peace without, and abundance on all sides. Since then hardly eighteen years have passed into eternity, and the change they have brought is all the more remarkable, as there is no appar- ent reason or cause for such a decline. There have been but few national calamities that were not speedily remedied by charitable aid in money and material. There have been no serious epidemics, no serious floods or riots or droughts. There has been no foreign war, no failure of crops nor lack of CAVEAT P ATRIA. 7 "grub;" and yet the United States have but recently passed through and in fact are still in the thrall of a most disastrous and incomprehensible monetary, industrial and agricultural crisis. What are the causes of this condition of affairs in the vastest, richest and most prosperous of all countries on earth the country that has so often been termed "God's coun- try ? ' ' We will endeavor to study the question with the kind and well-disposed reader, and give our humble opinion, which will be found by all impartial people about correct. When the population of the original thirteen States that composed the Union in 1787 amounted but to a few millions, the Constitution then adopted was entirely appropriate for the conditions then existing ; in fact it was a masterpiece of legislation framed by men of genius, sincerity, honorability, and, above all, by men inspired by true and noble patriotism ! The first signature on the document is that of the immortal George Washington ! a guarantee of perfection in itself. In after years the necessity of amending the venerable Constitution became apparent, and a number of articles were added to it at different periods. Still more ought to be done in this direction. The corruption in politics, business transac- tions and even family life seems to have rendered further alterations a most imperious necessity. After the close of the great war of the Rebellion we find that the primitive simplicity of our governmental action, our foreign policy, business methods, family relations, and the even ways of our daily pursuits, had undergone a complete change, a change decidedly for the worse. The immense hosts licensed from both the Federal and Confederate armies quietly and modestly returned again to private life and their ordinary pursuits, thus presenting to the world the wonderful example of the actors of one of the greatest wars in history retiring as suddenly from the scene of their glorious activity as they had been called on it ; and men who were chiefs in command of tens, nay, hundreds of thousands of troops for years were not at all ashamed to accept modest government and civil situations, some even becoming teachers in colleges. On the other hand, the evil result of the mighty and gigantic struggle for the preservation of the old glorious Union was the formation of 8 CAVEAT PATRIA. trusts, corporations and syndicates for the concentration, in a few greedy, grasping, insatiable hands, of nearly every branch of industry, trade, manufacture, and especially that of trans- portation by steam and rail. Already the progress and per- fection of modern invention, machinery and scientific contri- vances and process had deprived thousands of working men and artisans of their livelihood, and caused other thousands to toi 1 with the greatest difficulty in order to earn their daily bread, leaving alone butter. Immense fortunes were accumulated, speculation became the dominant passion, not only of those cormorants whose nefarious calling it was, but also of profane outsiders who in former times did not even dream of investing or risking their capital or their hard-earned savings in any but their ordinary legit- imate business enterprises. The former comparative equality of nearly all classes has disappeared, and we have at present : first, the more or less arrogant, conceited capitalist, the so-called railroad magnate, the haughty banker, forming a small but all- powerful head class ; second, the middle classes, laboring under great difficulties on account of the public financial dis- order, unfair tariffs and heavy taxation ; and third, the poor, down-trodden and shamefully treated working classes, who seem to be considered by their self-styled superiors as no better than the pariahs of India. It is no wonder that a most bitter feeling has been brought about by the diametrically opposed interests and pretensions of the different classes of society as they exist at present in this country, and we cannot blame the laboring classes, the most deserving of all, to give vent to their dissatisfaction by public demonstrations and strikes ; they have no other recourse. In former days there were noble hearts, admirable philanthropists, men like Stephen Girard, George Peabody, James I^ick and many others, who made splendid use of their lawfully acquired millions by founding and endowing hospitals, cottages, dwellings for the poor, public baths, orphan asylums, observatories, scientific institutes, and made many other gen- erous donations. What have we nowadays ? Men who make themselves infamous by their exclamation, " The people be d / " Is there not a most striking contrast between the CAVEAT PATRIA. 9 narrow-minded, shoddy upstart and millionaire, which in this country of the almighty dollar and the golden calf, strange to say, means "men of brains," and the so-much assailed and reviled aristocracy of old Europe, whom the former are trying to monkey and imitate with such poor success ? The difference is simply this : The European nobleman and man of fortune, with but rare exceptions, lives up to his income : he keeps a host of servants, flunkeys and retainers ; he is ostentatious, and withal refined and gentlemanly ; he entertains his friends ; he keeps a large establishment, supports tradesmen in every line, and thus freely circulates the income derived from his estate or capital, whether inherited or acquired by himself. The American capitalist sits in his office, figures and calculates and schemes and devises by what means, foul or fair, he can increase his pile. Were it not for the luxurious wives and daughters and some spendthrift sons, who often manage to divert a considerable portion of that pile, there would be no end to accumulation. As soon as our millionaires have become such, they usually sneak off to some other place where they are less known and less despised, or go abroad to spend their plunder in foreign countries, instead of giving their countrymen and neighbors at home some benefit of their wealth. No man on earth can become the owner of a million of dollars or more by fair, honor- able and legitimate means, except by inheritance ; even then the origin of such millions is generally dubious. If a man makes a million, that million must come out of somebody's pocket, unless from the bowels of the earth through the hard labor of his fellow-men, the miners. We very seldom find conscientious scruples like those of the Duke of Galliera, a Genoese nobleman and a medical graduate of the University of Paris, some twenty years ago, who refused point blank to take possession of the twenty millions left by his parents, because he had done nothing whatever to earn or deserve such an immense fortune. We often see parents dis- own and disinherit their sons, but the case is rare indeed where the son disowns the father, especially when that father quits this world leaving several millions behind him. Quite recently a member of the local Government Board of London, 10 CAVEAT PATRIA. son and heir of the proprietor of one of the largest breweries in London, refused his inheritance on account of ' ' teetotalism;" another scion of an English baronet, likewise owner of an immense brewery, declined his share of the paternal estate, worth at least one million pounds sterling, because the money had been made by the manufacture and sale of ' ' intoxicating drink." Here we have for once men who are sincere in their convictions. The fact of so many wealthy Americans going to Europe, not simply to study, travel and enjoy themselves temporarily, but actually to reside there permanently, contributes not a little to the outflow of our gold to foreign countries, for which nothing is brought in return. Their daughters lay traps for and marry more or less impecunious princes, marquises, counts and barons, whose coats of arms are thus regilt. Few of these marriages prove to be permanent and happj', not so much on account of the alleged neglect and ill treat- ment of the wives by their noble husbands, but chiefly on account of the craze of our women for divorce after a few years of married life with one man. This, indeed, is one of the greatest evils to be found in this great country : ' ' Mar- riage and divorce," as easy to contract as to dissolve ; a mat- ter of a few hours' reflection and a few paltry dollars. Marriage has become a mere farce of late years. It is entered into without any previous proper courtship, almost without any legal restrictions ; without the consent of parents or guar- dians ; in defiance of public and private opinion ; without due reflection, and with the previous mental reservation of severing the marriage tie as soon as convenient, if not necessary. Family life is thus disrupted almost continuously. The family is the prime factor of the community, and consequently of the State. Nowadays we find but few families whose members live together in peace and harmony, who adhere to each other, protect each other, and form a strong nucleus to enjoy weal and -combat woe. The children, if not kept in a state of subjection by the prospect and hope of inheriting, neither love nor respect their parents, quit the paternal hearth before they are of age, get married without due sanction, and abandon father and mother in order to establish themselves on an CAVEAT PATRIA. 11 exclusively egotistical basis. There are, of course, many and even brilliant exceptions, ' ' exceptio regulam constat. ' ' There is no rule without exception, except this very rule itself. We desire it to be expressly understood that, in all the general accusations and scathing criticisms preferred in this little book, we always beg to refer to this rule ; otherwise we would be unjust toward many deserving people. We shall return to the subject of marriage, divorce, etc., in the second chapter. Some prominent man, returning to this country from an extended trip to Europe, said that every American attaining his age, and possessed of sufficient means to do so, ought to visit Europe ' ' in order to learn something. ' ' That man was right. Although we can teach the old Europeans a great many things, we can, on the other hand, learn a great deal from them, especially in the way of public buildings, bridges, streets, police, railroad and steamer travel, courtesy and polished manners in public and in private. Even many a fruitful lesson can we derive from the Spanish- American republics so much decried by ignorant and prejudiced Americans, especially from the neighboring United States of Mexico, where the judicial system, for instance, is by far superior to ours ; where the family life exists in its primitive purity and excellence ; and where the children, even after attaining old age, invariably revere, love and respect their parents, be they even assassins and robbers. Urbanity, too, can we learn from our Span- ish neighbors, refined manners and exquisite politeness. Immigration from Europe is what populated America in the first place after the discovery. The United States, soon after peace had been restored in 1814, became the objective point of those who were unfortunate and persecuted in Europe. Emigrants came in limited numbers by sailing vessels up to 1848, when steam transportation became more general; and mighty hosts, coming by the hundreds of thousands each succeeding year, soon filled up the East and West to such an extent that there are too many souls already in many dis- tricts. Immigration must be greatly restricted if not stopped entirely. Who is benefited by this influx of the foreigners ? Not the United States in general, but the steamship and rail- road companies and the speculating land-grabbers. The great 12 CAVEAT PATRIA. Alexander von Humboldt says in one of his famous volumes on America, " The fewer inhabitants in a district, the greater is the individual felicity.' ' Instead of crowding together in the already excessively populated large cities, the settling down in these ought to be made difficult by local legislation of an exclusive tendency. The people ought to be induced to found smaller towns in the vacant and thinly settled portions of the country. In this connection we cannot refrain from commenting on the manner in which public lands have been disposed of by the United States Government, especially of late years. It is well enough to sell actual, bonafide settlers 160 acres of land each at a reasonable price, conferring on such settler and his descen- dants the perpetual right of possession as long as he or they live on the land they purchased ; but he should not have the right to sell or otherwise dispose of it to other parties ; and, in the event of the settler and his family removing from the land, it should revert to the Government, to be assigned to some new occupant. No land, in fact, whether city lots or agricultural tracts, should be sold by anybody to any one, the Government alone having the power and authority to lease the lots or tracts to actual occupants, who require the same for dwelling, manufacturing, or agricultural purposes. Every- thing on God's earth is movable and salable, except the earth itself, which belongs to all the inhabitants of the globe, and cannot be removed from one place to another. Its corre- sponding ground rental would be payable to the Government instead of to the so-called landlord. The introduction and organization of this radical system of holding city and rural land as a fief seems fraught with enormous difficulties at first sight, but upon closer inspection it is simple enough, especially if we start from the fundamental principle that no man can sell or dispose of his land, and that he forfeits his rights to it the moment he removes away or does not need it any more for his original purposes. A man may have his house gilt inside and outside, full of precious stones and other valuables : it does not interfere with the happiness or comfort or sustenance of his neighbor in any way ; but if that man should, besides his movable treasures, CAVEAT PATRIA. 13 own and occupy a thousand acres of land and his neighbors but one-tenth of an acre apiece, then there would be manifest injury and injustice in the abnormal quantity of land owned by the rich man. There is no doubt whatever that the intro- duction of laws abolishing the right to sell and otherwise dispose of God's earth, and establishing the equitable and rational relation of Government leases, would very soon bring about that general welfare and individual happiness so much desired by philanthropists and benefactors of mankind, of course to the dismay and detriment of large landholders, heart- less, unscruplous speculators, and the many sycophants attached to them by interest. On no account should the land purloined from the unfortu- nate Indian in Oklahoma and the Cherokee strip have been sold to any one, but simply leased to the settlers on condition that they should not sell or assign the land thus occupied. All the shameful and degrading scenes of that invasion of the " Huns and Goths " would then have been avoided. In the midst of the mad rush just mentioned, and the iniquitous acquisition and holding of the lands belonging to God's earth, it is very gratifying indeed that the Federal Government has of late years inaugurated a system of national parks, thus protecting at least a small portion of the national domain from the greed of land-grabbers, shameless speculators, and the no less dangerous and destructive pro- clivities of the enemies of our forests and streams. Nature has provided forests in certain districts, and left others almost, if not entirely, bare of trees and even shrubs. It is not only one of the most sacred duties of our Government to carefully guard and protect the forests still existing, but to provide for the laying out and planting of forests where there are none and where they are needed. This cannot be accomplished by weak and desultory laws, but only by stringent measures, prompt trial, heavy fines and imprisonment, the custody of the forests, parks and reservations being intrusted to a suffi- cient number of guards under due supervision. In this respect, too, we can learn a great deal from the European system of forestry entirely controlled by the State, and which is as poetical as it is strict and beneficial. Not a stick of dead 14 CAVEAT PATRIA. wood can be picked up, not a tree cut down, in fact nothing touched except by permission from the Government. Forestry is practically a science to be acquired by years of study in the corresponding Government institute, from which the future forest employees graduate to enter on their interesting, highly poetical career, that brings them in daily contact with the admirable workings and wonders of Nature. In a like manner game, especially the feathered tribes, God's favorite and most useful and perfect creatures, could be under the exclusive control and protection of the Federal authorities, the same as the fish ; for man in his ignorance and rapacity will kill and destroy for the fun of the thing, leaving alone his necessities. After thousands of years of attempts at civilization, man, the so-called most perfect creature in the world, is little better than the original savage, only to be kept in check and order by the fear of retribution and punishment such as are meted out by the law. Before the great war of the Rebellion the country was divided into two great parties (not counting the minor factions), the Democratic and the Republican party, the latter containing a hidden spark of the former Knownothing party, all that has been said to the contrary notwithstanding. Both the Repub- lican and the Democratic party were useful, if not necessary, in their time, perhaps before the war, and most assuredly for several years after its close, until the South had become rec- onciled to the new order of things. For some time past, however, and especially of late years, the terms ' ' Republican ' ' and "Democrat," already synonymous in themselves, have become an anachronism. The utility and original purpose of these two factions in our great country have long since ceased to exist, and it is but an illusion to believe that the platforms raised by them at the time of the elections for President and Congress differ in any but insignificant points ; in fact they are almost identical in principle, though differing somewhat in text. With the exception of the tariff, monetary and taxation questions, the whole aim and object of each party is to struggle for the possession of office. These periodical commotions all over this vast land are alike detrimental to the welfare of the nation and the individual citizen, very undignified and often CAVEAT P ATRIA. 15 disgraceful when they are accompanied by the usual slander, libel and accusations of the candidates, and crowned by the inevitable abuses and excesses of a fanatical or venal press. The former political parties and the more recent milk and water Populist faction should be relegated to the background as things of the past, and a new, vigorous, sincerely patriotic and honest party arise like a phoenix from their ashes : \h^ Reform party, which must make it a point, with unflinching fortitude, and in spite of all opposition, to elect men to Congress and to the State assemblies who are not only willing but competent to propose and form into stringent laws the great, indispensable reforms by which alone this great and glorious Republic can be preserved for our descendants as we inherited it from our forefathers, instead of undergoing a premature decline and disruption, which would otherwise be its inevitable fate. Our laws are inefficient, in many respects nonsensical and conflicting. In former years, as far back as the fifties, all troubles of a private as well as political nature were promptly settled by the courts, and their decisions accepted and respected by high and low. Such is not at present the case. There is no longer any justice, no end to litigation ; not even after the United States Supreme Court has rendered a decision is the struggle ended, as we have witnessed it of late to our sorrow and regret. By thus sapping the very foundations of society, and of the Government that ought to be the most perfect in the world, but is not, we will surely accomplish their irretrievable ruin. " Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin ! " we must again ex- claim, though the quotation is over three thousand years old. There is, moreover, an unfortunate conflict of authority, and no last and final recourse to look to for a settlement of these frequent conflicts. It is often said, by those who pretend to know, that State and judicial matters in Europe have arrived at their present comparative state of perfection, when compared with ours, because Europe has attained such results after many centuries of experiments. Why should not we Americans, after one hundred years of uninterrupted freedom and pros- perity, such as had not fallen to the lot of any nation on earth heretofore, have accomplished just as much and even more? We have produced statesmen second to none in any country 16 CAVEAT PATRIA. for their talent and integrity, but of late years everything has been sacrificed to party politics and private interests, and now a complete cleaning out of the Augean stables has become a paramount necessity. It is these unfavorable comparisons of our rotten systems and institutions that have inclined many of our citizens to look with more favor on monarchical institutions than on our time-honored democratic ways. The writer was present at a social event in Washington, and to his utter sur- prise had to hear one of the highest American ladies in Washington society say ' ' that a monarchy is so much nicer than a republic !" His reply was, " Madam, Macchiavelli, the greatest statesman of his age, and the servant and adorer of princes, was of a contrary opinion when he declared frankly that the worst republic was still preferable to the finest monarchy ! " The inaptitude and torpid ill will of our legislation has been shown in the most striking manner lately, when Con- gress was convened for the sole purpose of providing ways and means to stave off national financial disaster and to solve the monetary crisis. With a hundred millions in gold and nearly two hundred millions in coined and bar silver in the vaults of the Treasury, money was scarce, and general distrust made mercantile relations among our people extremely diffi- cult. The question, difficult as it was and still is, could have been solved in a couple of weeks ; but party wrangling, private interests, and those of the banking fraternity, were more import- ant to our legislators than the welfare of the people at large ; and so we witnessed the humiliating spectacle of Congress fooling away three eternal months in ridiculous, sophistical debates and superflous oratory. A little more, than eighteen months ago Congress found it expedient to pass a law requiring all Chinese residents, with a few exceptions, to register their names, with personal descriptions and photographs, and to procure certificates entitling them to sojourn in the United States. There was absolutely nothing whatever in the provisions of this law to offend the susceptibilities of the Chinese residents, nor did they intend to impose the slightest hardship on them. Our Government was even generous enough not to charge any CAVEAT PATRIA. 17 fee whatever for this registration and corresponding certificate, whilst it would have been fully justified in collecting a dollar apiece from the Chinese. The way in which this decree of our Government has been received and treated is a matter of history, even after the Supreme Court had pronounced it law- ful and constitutional ! The fact of the wily Chinese refusing to submit to such a simple, harmless law, that was devised and framed for their own protection, was a deadly insult to the Government of the United States, not so much on the part of the ignorant and common coolie laborer as from their gov- erning companies, who insolently and arrogantly forbade their slaves to register, and carried their unjust and ridiculous protest to the highest tribunal of the country. Again our Government displayed its forebearance, a great weakness under all circumstances, and granted an extension of six months. The Chinese contribute but little to the support of the Federal Government, and it would only have been an act of well-deserved retribution had the Chinese been mulcted in the sum of two dollars apiece for their delay in procuring the certificates, which were at first offered them free of charge. One of the main causes of the present crisis must be traced back to the Chinese invasion of the Pacific Coast. We will not at this time dilate on the dangers and evils to the nation of such an influx of the Mongolians on our shores, of their absolute incompatibility of character with the white man, of their vices and manners and customs, of their antagonism to a republican form of government, which they will never be able to appreciate, of their maintaining their own independent tribunals of justice, which even sentence offenders against their ukases to death, and place a price on their heads like the mysterious Italian mania, of their immorality and loathsome diseases, and of the bitter feeling that has been engendered against them for a quarter of a century. These are matters upon which innumerable public speeches have been made and barrels of ink expended, to the extent that every well-mean- ing man, woman and child is now fully posted on the nefarious subject ; but we must be permitted, for the sake of argument from a financial standpoint, to mention here that the nomadic and unsteady Chinese population has cost this country 18 CAVEAT PATRIA. something like eight hundred millions of dollars in United States gold and silver coin taken and sent by them to China, not a cent of which will ever return to this country, leaving alone the grievous injury done the white laborer, male and female, by their ruinous competition and lower rates of wages. Here we have a downright national calamity, a sheer loss of eight hundred millions in coin ! It could have been averted in part if Congress had listened in time to the loud and vehement complaints of our statesmen and the immense majority of the inhabitants of the Pacific Coast. But no ! The absurd senti- mentality of our Eastern fellow-citizens, the protests of sectarian clergymen, and the incomprehensible apathy of Congress, coupled with the intrigues and presumable bribery on the part of the transportation companies, weighed heavier in the scales, and relief came too late. As if we had not trouble and difficulties enough with the eight millions of colored people living among us, also debarred from mixing with the white portion of the country, unscrupu- lous schemers, and reckless, unpatriotic companies, must needs go to Asia, and for the sake of passage money and freight earnings, under the pretext of trade and traffic, drag forth the yellow heathen, induce Congress to make treaties, receive the invading hordes with open arms, and accomplish the ruin of God's favored spot on earth. Never in the history of the world has there been a case where the accredited diplomatic representative of a nation, and a great and powerful nation at that, resigned his honorable position and returned to his own country as the ambassador of the other country ! This abnor- mity had to be perpetrated by an American citizen, and in the latter part of the nineteenth century ! Upon his return, more- over, and to fitly crown the extraordinary unheard-of occur- rence, the man was feasted and glorified by a shortsighted people, who have since had good caused for feeling mortified. The great danger of the Chinese nation is their enormous number. Four hundred millions of human beings, one-third part of the inhabitants of this planet, is no trifle ; here is a backing, and well are they aware of it. We must admire the Chinese withal. Here we have a civilization of four thousand years ; their records date back that far, and, for all we know, CAVEAT PATfclA. 19 theirs may be the true civilization, though we of the Caucasian race pretend to be superior to them. God has placed these four hundred millions of beings in the eastern part of Asia : they have slowly developed into their present condition and dense population ; they themselves decline all intercourse with other nations ; protected by the ocean on two sides, they built an immense fortified wall on their northern frontier thousands of miles long, and wide enough to allow sixteen horsemen to ride abreast on the battlement. This wall, now partly in ruins, should be built up again, and the Chinese Empire blockaded by sea, so as to cut off all intercourse with other nations. The British first encroached on Chinese territory by sea, and forced that country at the mouth of their cannon to trade with them and purchase and consume that deadly drug, opium. Other nations in the course of time followed the British example, and invaded the Celestial Empire with their shiploads of merchandise. The Chinese resisted with all their power for many years, but were finally forced to make treaties with France and England, after these two combined powers had defeated them in several battles, taken their capital of Pekin, and sacked and burned the imperial palace. The United States came in later to share the spoils of commerce with China, and to open their gates to the mighty hosts of hungry Mongols, who threatened at no remote period to overrun our whole country, and conquer it by sheer numbers. We in return obtained the privilege of collecting their passage and of trading with a few Chinese ports, not forgetting that of sending a number of sneaking, bigoted missionaries under the pretext of converting the Chinese, whilst we have so much missionary work yet undone in our own country. China got along very well with her Buddhist creed for so many thousand years, and it is simply cheek and absurd nonsense to pretend to convert them now to the Christian religion. The Creator has seen fit to place the Mongolian in Asia and the negro in Africa, and there they ought to remain. Since we cannot and will not mix with them, so as to blend the races, the Caucasian ought to leave these black and tan breeds most solemnly alone to work out their own destinies. Philanthropists on 20 CATEAT PATRIA. sentimental grounds, hypocrites on religious pretexts, and merchants on the grounds of commerce and profits, will as a matter of course entertain different opinions and declaim violently against our theory, which in spite of all is the true one. Speaking of American missionaries that go abroad to convert other creeds to that of Jesus Christ, as it has been perverted and is practiced nowadays, American missionaries, who have the extraordinar)^ cheek to even invade the territory of the Moslem, whose religious tenets are superior to theirs and certainly more sincerely observed, should not be encouraged, much less protected, by our Government. They must take their own chances, and become martyrs if they feel so inclined. We cannot afford to have continual diplomatic reclamations and controversies with other nations on account of a handful of religious fools seeking notoriety abroad ; the famous Monroe doctrine ought to be applied here in an inverted sense ; it is a poor rule that does not work both ways, and we are sorry to say that we Americans have of late shown a propensity of interfering with certain foreign affairs, instead of minding our own business. The great Washington already warned us to observe the strictest neutrality with regard to the affairs of other nations, and not to interfere in any manner. If the time should come when we are insulted or otherwise meddled with, then is the proper moment to show our claws. Supposing for a moment, as a matter of hypothesis, that all Chinamen should be compelled to return to Asia, and all Americans be expelled from China, as by right they ought to be; that we should lose the trade with China; that our steam- ship companies would have to withdraw their ships from their hitlierto profitable line ; that we should get no more tea, silk, rice, sugar, rattan and stinkpots ; what of it? The tem- porary losses to corporations and individuals would be bal- anced and even outweighed by the immense advantage of being freed from the obnoxious presence in our midst of the Chinese element, and the dangerous complications that are sure to loom up sooner or later. The only product from China, a favorite drink with Americans and an indispensable one with Englishmen, which CAVEAT PATRIA. 21 we might miss, is tea ; but even this article could be replaced by a native American plant. The writer years ago already discovered one that surpasses Chinese tea in delicious aroma and taste, and contains hardly any of the astringent properties of tea, called in chemistry " theine." This plant grows wild in great quantities, and is of far easier cultivation ; if introduced into commerce, it would soon drive out Chinese tea entirely. The higher grades of Chinese tea are very nice to the taste and not injurious to health ; but what about the other grades, that have already been boiled and used in China, and are adulterated with all kinds of strange stuff ? Before concluding with the Chinese topic, we cannot help expressing our admiration of many superior advantages these people have over our so-called advanced civilization. Every Chinaman wears his hair in the same style, and the queue has some advantages, although it is an appendix. They have a national characteristic costume, in every respect superior to ours, varying but in the quality of the material, according to the social position of the individual. This plain but not at all unbecoming dress of men and women in China beats any- thing we Americans and Europeans, in fact any other nation, can present, as far as simplicity and comfort are concerned. There are no styles, no ever-changing fashions, no absurd monkeying that which we envy in others. When a Chinaman is dressed in a new clean suit of plain blue satinet, his thick-soled felt shoes, and his neat skull-cap surmounted by the colored button, he looks by far better and certainly less ridiculous than our swell society men in claw-hammer coats, low-cut vests, and the uncomfortable, miserable, stove-pipe hat. How such a head-covering could outlive the first novelty of its appearance for even ten years is as deep a mystery as the object of the Egyptian sphinxes. Reckless extravagance in dress and living, the neglect of everything that is reasonable, sensible and of real comfort in our life, is another of the causes of general distress. The ever- changing fashions are productive of the greatest evils. Let the husband and father of a household of limited means be heard on the subject and give his sworn testimony. A plain sack coat or blouse, knee-breeches, and a soft felt or straw hat 22 CAVEAT PATRIA. should be the dress of our men, and if women would but come to their senses, cut off and discard the long trains of their gowns, adopt a fixed, plain and comfortable dress, without any leg-of-mutton sleeves, collars rising over the ears, and without those ridiculous, absurd and vulgar-looking feathered and flowered bonnets, that make them appear in public like a flock of circus performers, it would be far better for all concerned. The waste of material in this direction, by our women especi- ally, is something immense, and should be stopped by law, since people will insist on their folly. Female dress reformers have at various times devised and introduced new styles of female apparel, the bloomer, the divided skirt, the pants and coat similar to men's, and other changes, one as absurd as the other. Woman has been created for the skirt, and appears to best advantage in its mysterious folds, but that skirt must neither trail in the dust and dirt nor be cut too short, nor be overloaded with trimmings and ornaments, outraging good taste and ethics. Dress reform, we say, is needed as much as any other improvement at present. We would like to see more equality in the way and manner of dress and living among our fellow-citizens, not one to inhabit a palace, far too large for his use, the other restricted to a miserable hovel. Everybody ought to have the same sub- stantial, though plain food, and everybody plain and comfort- able clothing. Neither silk nor velvet nor costly laces are at all needed to insure comfort and happiness. The narrow- minded, the vanitous, the adorers of the golden calf, will exclaim that legislative measures and restrictions in the way of dwellings and dress would be an infringement on individual liberty. Very well! but pray define the term "liberty." We understand ' ' liberty " to be the faculty of every man to do and act as he pleases, provided his doings and actions do not interfere with the happiness and comfort of his neighbor! There can be no doubt that the conception of "liberty" is very elastic, and depends mostly on prevailing circumstances. Any man might avail himself of his rights as a free man to walk about naked on the streets, construct a tower one thousand feet high on a twenty-foot basis in the center of a city, or drive in a carriage with axles of fifteen feet in length ; but he is CAVEAT PATRTA. 23 forbidden by law to do anything of the kind, simply because such fancies would interfere with the comfort and security of other people. Laws are as necessary for the maintenance of order, security and happiness of men, as are their daily food and water ; whether these laws are dictated by a monarchical ruler, a tyrant, or a democratic body of legislators, it matters not, as long as these laws are just, equal for all, and obedience to them enforced. Take a small body of but fifty men, and place them together somewhere in an isolated region to shift for them- selves without any outside control. Unless a leader is chosen or appointed from the very beginning to rule them and regulate their intercourse, chaos, anarchy and murder would be sure to follow immediately. It is for this reason that laws for the government of nations, cities, towns and villages have been framed, and statutes, rules and regulations laid down for all combinations and assemblies of men. These laws are generally more or less imperfect, sometimes vicious and obnoxious ; then they must be altered or amended, a process much easier under a democratic form of government than under a monarchy, because a republic can change its rulers periodically, and freedom of speech and the press enable us to publically discuss all questions outside of the sacred precincts of our legislators. There may be, however, an excess and conflict of laws. Such a condition of affairs has frequently occurred in the history of our little globe, and is even now exemplified by our own United States, a very unfortunate state of public affairs. It has brought about anarchism, and if not checked and remedied very soon will result in the disintegration of our great Republic. The war of the Rebellion, or, if you prefer, of Secession, was thus brought about by this conflict of the laws of the country. A slave in the South by law, a free man in the North by law, and yet the former law was older. Although during the great war, and for some years after its close, decidedly on the Federal side, because we were absolutely opposed to a division of this great Republic, which would soon have been followed by further secessions, and the consequent destruction of one of the strongest bulwarks of liberty and prosperity, we have often reflected of later years that the South not only had a perfect 24 CAVEAT P ATRIA. right to secede and form a separate republic with its own insti- tutions, but that the South has been shamefully treated and despoiled, notwithstanding the fortunate result of the great struggle, by which the seceded States were forced to remain in the Union. Anarchism, which for the last decade or so has grown, developed, and raised its gory head in Europe and in the United States, is a nasty thing to cope with. It is not like an open, honest foe, whose forces can be numbered, and his plans of campaign foreseen and guarded against. In the thin ranks of the anarchists it is unfortunately in the power of one single man to prepare his deadly engine, conceal it on his body, and discharge it at any unsuspecting assembly of innocent and harmless people. Suppose the recreant, infamous wretch is caught: he is tried, condemned and executed in the same manner as the slayer of a single individual in a personal affray. The laws are evidently inadequate to uproot, or even to check, this monstrous outgrowth of the evils that afflict mankind in the midst of our so-called advanced civilization. Anarchism is a relapse to the most ferocious kind of barbarism, and must be met with barbaric measures. Lightning trials, so-called drumhead courtsmartial, and immediate, ignominious execu- tion of the culprits, are what is most needed. There is no law of expulsion and proscription in this country, but the sooner such a law is framed the better it will be for public safety in the United States as well as in Europe. Proscription was part of the Roman and Greek legislation; it would be desirable in our Republic, though exclusively for suspected common criminals, not political offenders. Socialism is comparatively harmless when compared with the monster of anarchism. The socialists profess to reorganize society on the basis of equality by reducing extreme wealth as well as extreme poverty, something like the intentions of the good King Henry IV. of France, who wanted every man to have a chicken in his pot on Sundays, and would have carried out his plan had he not, like most great and good men, met with a premature death and fallen a victim to the assassin's knife. The socialists at least endeavor to make propaganda by means of speech and press, not resorting to any acts of CAVEAT P ATRIA. 25 violence unless these are forced upon them in monarchical states, where they certainly are a dangerous threat to the existing institutions, and are frequently prosecuted, imprisoned, fined, and their meetings dissolved by the police under instruc- tions from their superiors. If the socialistic propaganda should finally succeed, and its dogma become prevailing, it might be in the interest of mankind for all we know. Every observing mind is aware that since the great war in these United States of North America there has sprung up, like the mushrooms in the forest after a warm rain, a certain plutocracy, upstarts and imitators of all the old time-honored European aristocracy, that has accumulated immense wealth amounting to fabulous millions, in most cases of doubtful, if not of criminal, origin. This wealth is in the hands of a priv- ileged few, and the distribution of the good things of life has therefore become very unequal and certainly unreasonable. Without being a communist or socialist we cannot help deeply to deplore such a condition of financial matters. L,et a hard- working, smart or lucky man make a reasonable fortune, retire on it, and live on his liberal income in peace and quiet for the rest of his days on earth ; but for heaven's sake do not take all, hoard it up, deprive your fellow-being of the necessaries of life, and create that spirit of restlessness and general dis- satisfaction now prevailing in our country. Excessive posses- sion of real and personal property must be prevented and limited by law ; there is no other remedy. The arrogant and haughty millionaire of the stripe of the one that immortalized himself so ignominiously by exclaiming, " The people be d /" when some just explanations were made to him, has neither a knowl- edge of human miseries, such as are brought about by abso- lute poverty, nor does he or she care whether their neighbors live or starve. There are of course many and brilliant excep- tions, an axiom we have stated before ; but the general class of these four hundred or three hundred or one hundred of the so-called upper strata of society enjoy a very unenviable repu- tation. If it is not the miserly propensity of a Harpagon, if it is not haughty seclusion, it is certainly either an imbecile desire to be more than they really are, or to outdo and outshine their own ilk by reckless extravagance as well as ridiculous 26 CAVEAT PATRIA. and stupid shoddyism. We do not like to be too severe, but of all human ailings and defects we detest "hoggish- ness." We remember once witnessing a group of convivial friends throwing the dice for the drinks in a fashionable saloon. The highest throw was five fives, when the last player went one better, and had the good luck to throw five sixes. His exuberant demonstrations of joy, however, were but of brief duration, when he was informed by the rest of the party that he had to ' ' set them up, ' ' because throwing five sixes on top of five fives was considered "hoggish." We again declare that no man can make one million of dollars by fair and honest means except he inherit it. This already exorbitant amount of one million ought to be fixed as the utmost limit of one individual's possessions. With the income of one million any man, even if he be the head of a large family, can live in luxury, ease and comfort without working for his living, like hundreds of thousands are compelled to do ; what more does he want and can he reasonably use ? In answer to this more than just and equitable proposition and accompanying limit of one million of property, the hue and cry will be about the hem- ming in of ambition and progress ; but those who utter such protests are biased either by being already possessed of an excessive fortune, or by their parasites and lickspittles who bask in the master's sunshine or feed at his manger. We have the great satisfaction of knowing beforehand that the immense majority of our fellow-citizens will be decidedly of our if not even of a more radical opinion. The reduction of those ill-gotten immense fortunes to a reasonable and equitable standard is a matter of easy execution : all that is necessary is the heaviest possible taxation by the Federal Government, as well as the State and municipal authorities, of all excess over one million, and the forcible distribution in equal parts to all the heirs of an estate, after deducting a fat percentage coming to the Government as an additional tax, not leaving out of sight the peremptory necessity of limiting the posses- sion and occupation of landed property, which should be inalienable as integral parts of the earth of God, leased by him to an ever-changing and transitory humanity. If our greedy monetary cormorants could possibly accomplish it, they would CAVEAT PATRIA. 27 form a syndicate to mortgage our planet to the inhabitants of another sphere, or they would drain the ocean in order to create lots of 25x100 to dispose of to the poor trash, and accumulate immense profits. This unsavory subject leads us to the unfortunate condition in which hundreds of thousands of deserving workingmen and their families are placed at present, in a country where want and privation should be entirely unknown, national calamities such as floods, earthquakes, droughts, etc., of course excepted ; even these latter can always be promptly remedied, and very often are, be it said to the credit of our population. In a certain measure the working people and artisans, as well as the so-called genteel professions, are to blame for their present distress. It is owing to their restless, nomadic disposi- tions. Hardly does business become slack in the place of their birth or usual residence, when they at once pack up their traps, often leaving their families without means of support behind, and migrate to strange parts, in many cases even thousands of miles away, not reflecting at all that these strange parts already have their own contingent of laboring and toiling men, and that they only come to snatch their legitimate bread from these too. This is one of the chief reasons why we see them by the thousands clamoring for work, and, in lieu of work, bread and shelter to keep from starving. The benevolently inclined, the upper classes from fear of excesses and plunder, and sometimes the local author- ities, come to the relief of these poor deluded beings, but such assistance can be but temporary and limited in kind. Sup- posing a needy stranger is given food and shelter for a few days or weeks, where is he to get clothing from, and where- with to pay for his washing, bathing, tobacco, beer and a lot of other minor requirements? The misery thus produced is some- thing appalling, and the only way to put an effectual stop to it would be to advise the men to remain at home, where they are supposed to have friends, families or acquaintances, to whom they can look for more sympathy than can possibly be expected in strange places remote from their original sphere. Or these unfortunate but shiftless men should be sent back to 28 CAVEAT PATRIA. their former abodes with a warning to remain there, which advice most of them would no doubt be inclined to follow after the awful experience they have gone through. This migratory propensity is partly excusable in young, active men, who can rough and weather it, whose misfortunes affect them alone ; but when it comes to married men taking such des- perate chances, with a wife and children or other persons dependent on them, then roaming about at random is unpar- donable. Every village, town and city is bound to assist and support their indigent, their sick, and those without means of securing a livelihood. By seeking help and work elsewhere they forfeit the aid thus due to them, and take desperate chances, as we see it daily just now. Hardly had the great Columbian Fair in Chicago come to an end after its brilliant career of six months, when there were thousands of men and women helpless on the streets clamoring for bread. And yet millions over millions were taken to and expended at the great City on the I^ake. If this be the result of industrial exhibitions and international shows in this country, we must renounce the idea of ever repeating them. In former ages, when the tribal system was still in full blast, and one tribe or race became dissatisfied with its pastures, places of abode and mode of living, they would strike their tents, pack up their goods and chattels, collect their live-stock, and, under the leadership of cunning and valiant chiefs, start for other regions, the men armed to the teeth, protecting their women and children during the period of migration. If their number was overwhelming, or if they were braver and stronger than the people they came to dispossess, they easily founded new hearths ; but terrific, stubborn battles and fearful slaughter were the more frequent results of the invasion, and then " vce victis ! " No mercy, no quarter, was known. Kvery thing became the booty of the victorious tribe : arms, cattle, the younger women, and sometimes the children, when these were spared ; the men were slain. Those were the good old times ; nowadays, in our so-called enlightened age, and with our pretended advanced civilization, these things are managed dif- ferently, but the result is just the same. If in former years the nations like the Goths, Huns, Vandals and Norsemen left CAVEAT PATRIA. 29 their icy and barren regions in quest of better fields, decided to conquer or to perish, well knowing that there was abso- lutely no other alternative, there was something to admire in such expeditions. The weapons, too, were almost alike, differing only in the shape and length of the sword, spear and buckler in some nations. The fighting was hand to hand at close quarters, no cowardly hiding behind breastworks and battle- ments, and firing long-range rifle bullets and shells at an enemy more or less concealed also. The night of the battle of Cannae, in which Hannibal was victorious, and which lasted from daybreak till sunset, there were lying sixty thousand warriors slain by hand on the field, not counting the wounded who could escape. Dear old Switzerland, the country whose institutions, people and sublime scenery we cannot tire of quoting and admir- ing ; her rough and mountainous territory, notwithstanding, did not escape the fate of Germany, France, Spain and Italy, and was invaded several times. Of the original inhabitants but little is known. The first conquest was by the Rhaeti ; these in turn were driven out by the Helvetii, a Celtic tribe. The latter were conquered by the Romans in the year 58 B. c.; but conquest by the mighty Romans was to all tribes and nations an immense advantage, although not appreciated by the Teutons, Picts, Scots, and some others, contrary to their own profit. The Romans did bring civilization in the real sense of the word ; they seldom interfered with the religious rites and other customs of the conquered, but taught them order and equitable law, made fine roads and aqueducts, founded flourishing posts and cities in the conquered provinces, and established communication and trade with Rome. It is extremely questionable whether the introduction of Christi- anity, with the inevitable accompaniment of dukes, counts and bishops as rulers, could outweigh the mild but solid and just domination of the great Romans. The descending influence of the Roman occupation of centuries is felt even to this day by some of their surviving works, the " Romansch " dialect still prevailing in the southern part of Switzerland. Rebellions against the Roman power were seldom, on account of the awful retribution that was sure to follow, as in the case of the Jewish nation during the reign of the Emperor Titus. 30 CAVEAT PATRIA. Asia and America having long since ceased to be the object of armed invasions for the purposes of conquest and occupa- tion, the attention of over-crowded Hurope during the latter part of our century has been turned to the dark continent of Africa. England, France, Germany, Spain and Belgium have at various times sent expeditions to conquer portions of Africa, there being considerable rivalry and jealousy between them; the invasion and conquests are still progressing. We hear but little of the slaughter and destruction of the tribes, which is accomplished only by means of superior armament, rifles, cannon, shells and rockets against lances, spears, assagais, bows, arrows and bucklers. No force of natives, be it ever so numerous and well trained, like the impi of the poor Zulus, can withstand the murderous attack of the Europeans at long range ; and if the poor natives of the black race sometimes succeed in surprising and annihilating a small body of their aggressors, the hue and cry of massacre sounds all over Europe, and the final destruction of the tribes, and seizure of the land they have held for thousands of years by the will of God, are all the more inevitable. All these acts of barbarity, injustice and spoliation are committed under the pretenses of commerce, colonization and civilization. Civilization ! Great Caesar ! which consists in the cross, the bible, gunpowder, whisky, and other physical calamities. In this respect the great Republic of the United States of North America has a clean record, and may justly be proud. With the exception of Texas, which was obtained in no very creditable manner, and which ended in the Mexican War, we have acquired all additions to our immense territory by lawful purchase, and paid cash for them, to the extent of allowing fourteen millions of dollars for Arizona -and Upper California after having conquered them. If the latter region afterwards turned out to be the modern Golconda, and furnished the world with untold millions in silver and gold, it is not our fault ; we knew nothing of it. Excess of population is sure to bring forth untold disasters, need, want, poverty, and consequently general unhappiness ; but how to check the increase is a very ticklish question. CAVEAT PATRIA. 31 The doctrine of Malthus has some very good points ; closing the door to immigration is another radical measure, which every nation certainly has a perfect right to take. It is in the power of man to diminish the natural growth of the population, and, if he will, to cause the extinction of the entire human race within fifty years, thus giving Nature a chance to reconcen- trate the immense vital fluid disseminated among fifteen hundred millions of human beings, and create some more perfect specimen than the present man, truly and justly classi- fied as an " animal " of the order bimana (two-handers), by an eminent natural historian, even if under the high-sounding epithet of homo sapiens, the ' * wise man ; " it should have been the " cunning " man. There is in the wild and rugged regions of Norway a pecu- liar species of little animal of the rodent kind, not unlike our chipmunk, called the " lemming," or wandering rat. These animals live in burrows and feed on roots, nuts and such other substances as may from season to season come in their way. They increase and multiply like the common rats, rabbits and cholera bacilli to such an extent that every three or four years the food at their disposal is entirely insufficient ; and, as they are not in the habit of devouring each other, called by some mysterious means, they all gather in one place, and hold a congress of deliberation, the result of which is that a large sec- tion, consisting of hundreds of thousands of these noble little animals, are detached from the main body, just as many as are deemed superfluous, and take up their funeral march in regular military column over mountains, through vales and gorges, fording rivers, generally in a straight line, to the nearest sea- shore, where they drown themselves in self-sacrifice for the benefit of their fellow-lemmings. What a sublime lesson to greedy, selfish and hoggish man ! In a thousand of us how many would we find to volunteer to go to even so easy a death as drowning in the sea in order to relieve the distress of the others, or save them from destruction ? Perhaps one quarter of one dozen ! The founding of an entirely new party in this country, a party honest and sincere, free from the ridiculous obligations 32 CAVEAT P ATRIA. and fanatical prejudices of the hitherto existing three factions, has now become a matter of paramount public necessity for our ill-governed and plundered people. There is no time to lose ; this great and difficult task must be undertaken at once, if we intend to save the magnificent Republic bequeathed to us by those magnanimous and disinterested patriots of the revolutionary period. With never-diminishing admiration and gratitude we look back to such names in our history as Washington, Franklin, Adams and Jefferson. In the earlier times of this government there were great statesmen, Webster, Clay, Calhouti, Cass, Marcy, Sumner and a host of others. Alas ! the race has died out, and nowadays there are no more patriots, hardly any but political frauds, interested schemers, corrupt, ignorant officials, with a few exceptions, of course. We had better erect a golden calf of heroic proportions on the public square of each city, since it is a fact that all patriotism has been relegated to the background to make room for the Almighty Dollar. Many of our millionaires go abroad to spend their fortunes ; their daughters hunt for foreign titled husbands in preference to an honest, plain, American country- man. A sprig of an ancient New York millionaire race even goes so far as to purchase a newspaper in England, and to manage it in the interest of the British aristocracy. What glory or enjoyment can there be in an act of apostasy of this kind? How different from the glorious and unique example given by the immortal George Peabody ! He made his im- mense fortune in London as an honest banker, and that is say- ing a great deal ; he founded hospitals, dwellings for the poor, and richly endowed many public institutions in the great metropolis, simply to show his appreciation of the hospitality extended to him as an American, and of the wonderful success he had met with. Then he returned to the United States, bringing his eleven millions with him, and distributed them in a most liberal and generous manner even yet in his lifetime, unlike those harpies who want to control their ill-gotten wealth even beyond the grave by signing wills full of restrictions and ridiculous clauses. It is indeed an immense satisfaction for those remaining behind on earth that the departed cannot take anything with them, thus sharing the common lot, 1 ' Naked we came into the world, and naked must we leave it." CAVEAT PATRIA. 33 But the formation of the new party is not sufficient, be its intents and purposes ever so noble and good. The most im- portant reform in our national organization, surpassing every other measure, must be a law to make all official positions tenable during good behavior, accompanied by physical and mental ability, unless the office itself is abolished by law and the requirements of the public service. Appointment for life is already the rule in the army and navy, in the case of the Fed- eral judges and the Supreme Court. The Presidential Cabinet and other high offices, already subject to election from time to time, must, of course, be excepted. It is these unwholesome periodical changes in the official spheres that produce such pernicious results every four years in the exercise of the Fed- eral Government, and every two years in that of the State governments. The sword of Damocles hanging continuously over the heads of chiefs of departments, clerks, messengers and other employees, not excepting the judiciary officers, causes the utmost confusion in all branches of the Government. What effect or influence can the coming in or stepping out of the different superannuated political parties possibly have on the efficiency of the clerks in the Treasury Department, for instance ? Politics can have no bearing whatever on the daily routine duties of the clerks. It is quite sufficient that the President and members of the Cabinet, as well as the members of Congress, are subject to the changes of elections ; but, for the sake of decency and propriety, let the sub-officials stay where they are. The civil service law has been productive of some good, but it is not far-reaching enough, and should by all means be modified at once. A nice army and navy would we, or any country under the sun, have if the commissioned officers were to be subject to election every four years ! Dis- order and chaos would be the inevitable result of such an absurd measure. If the permanency of these officers, the pride and support of all nations, is a recognized necessity for the efficiency and welfare of the service and the security of the country, the other branches of the Federal and State governments are just as much entitled to stability in office. It takes years of hard study and constant training to produce good employees in civil as well as in military branches ; why 34 CAVEAT PATRIA. then raise the cry of persecution, and apply the barbarous maxim of " vce victis" whenever a new party comes into power ? By making the officials entirely dependent on the success of the party they originally belonged to, we deprive them of that independence of character and reliance on their future subsistence which they ought to be able to enjoy for the benefit of the public service, leaving alone their personal happiness. A man should remain in office as long as he is competent and behaves himself. When he has served a cer- tain number of years, he is entitled to be retired on half pay for the rest of his life, the pension ceasing with his death. Such is the system in old England and most civilized countries, and they have every reason to hold fast to an institution that insures faithful, honest and capable officials in all the branches of government. Stability in office once instituted by law we would also be spared the dangerous dis- turbances in the body politic, and the disgraceful scramble for positions occurring every few years, besides relieving our Presidents, Cabinet officers and members of Congress of the onerous and harassing obligation of repaying their constit- uents for ' ' services rendered ' ' during the election period. The continued conflict of authority and the lack of recourse for a final settlement of any question, judicial or political, are another sign of dissolution. When we come to witness that even a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States of North America, the highest and most august tribunal on earth, is disregarded and not instantly carried out, as was recently the case with the Chinese certificate imbroglio, and the dis- graceful wrangling between the corrupt and interested parties, then indeed can the cry of " Caveat Patria" not be heard too often. It is not to be wondered at if, in the present condi- tion of the governing powers of this once great and almost perfect Republic, one State of our Union threatens to secede ; another to sever commercial relations with the East ; still another that wants to coin its own money. And what has become of our so much boasted of patriotism? In the same manner in which the race of our famous statesmen has CAVEAT PATRIA. 35 died out, the race of true patriots has become extinct, with the exception of the army and navy, where patriotism is still to be found, and we hope ever will be found. What is patriotism ? It is the first and most far-reaching virtue man can exercise. Patriotism is not alone the sim- ple platonic love of our country, whether native or adopted. It is principally the desire, the willingness, to work with all our might for her welfare and prosperity, and, if need be, in times of danger and calamity, to offer our lives and fortunes in her defense. If patriotism has been a national virtue, wide- spread at the time of the Revolution and during the several wars this country has passed through at an increasing ratio, we see but few traces of it left nowadays. The almighty dol- lar, cynicism and selfishness have taken the place of true patri- otism. How else are we to explain the startling symptoms cropping up in every direction ? Take for example the Gover- nor of a State wanting to wade in blood up to the bit of of his horse's bridle ; another Governor sending an insulting message to the head of the nation without any other provoca- tion than that of an importunate request, couched in suitable official terms. No wonder Hdison says that the United States are fast becoming an insane asylum full of cranks, if such things are permitted to take place, making all due allowance for liberty of press and speech. From the earliest period of our brief history as an independent nation, we have seen symptoms of the basest ingratitude on the part of the legis- lative bodies, akin to a lack of true patriotism. The great and noble Washington served his country's cause, during the war of the Revolution, without the hope of fee or reward. It is a fact that he did not even have a salary as Commander- in-Chief of the army ; Congress simply allowed him a part of his expenses. Any visitor to the archives of the Treasury Department may see the original itemized account of General Washington's allowances, and will assuredly be astonished at the meager figures. He subsequently served the country as Chief Magistrate for two terms, and, if any man ever deserved posthumous honors, it certainly was George Washington, but they were a long time coming. Instead of erecting to the great soldier, patriot and statesman, who earned the glorious 36 CAVEAT PATRIA. title of " Father of His Country," a brazen column surpassing even that of Marcus Aurelius in Rome in beauty and colos- sal proportions, the great man's tomb at Mount Vernon, within a few miles of the national capital, humble and plain as it was, was allowed to go to decay, owing to the shameful ingratitude, not so much of the people in general, as of that of Congress, whose imperative duty it was, at a time when the national treasury was replete with surplus funds (during Pierce's administration), to appropriate a hundred thousand, nay, a million of dollars, to restore the venerable shrine, pur- chase the surrounding domain, and erect a pantheon or temple fit to contain immortality. It is said republics are ungrateful. May be, in the case of the United States of North America, but not in France and Switzerland, where the mortal remains of great men have hardly been consigned to the grave when magnificent monuments and statues are erected in their honor. When France presented the unique, colossal Statue of Liberty to the United States, it took many months of wrangling and improper debates over the miserable appro- priation to be allowed by Congress to supply the pedestal. And yet such an ornament in the harbor of New York is a subject of joy and delight to all who have the good fortune of beholding the eighth wonder of the world. We are very prompt in making claims and collecting them, but, once the coin in our coffers, the rightful claimants can wait until doomsday to get their portion, to wit, the Frenc' spoliation claims, the Alabama awards, and many minor cases, our chronic politi- cal disease, procrastination, delay, want of jurisdiction and no final winding up of any matter. It is different in private busi- ness to a certain degree, provided, however, that this is kept clear of lawyers and the courts. We have but few national holidays, the principal ones being Washington's Birthday and the Fourth of July. These sacred anniversaries, reminding us periodically of the birth of the father and of the country, ought ever to be celebrated with the most ardent enthusiasm and a lavish expenditure of public and private funds, and so they were in former years. But the CAVEAT P ATRIA. 37 people seem to have exhausted both, and have become apathetic, if not entirely indifferent. In this respect, too, we can go and learn something in Europe. On the eve of a national holiday one or more bands of at least fifty pieces each, instead of the proverbial dozen or two, called a fine military band in cities, where good musicians are to be found in abun- dance, should parade the principal streets with an escort of military and torchlights, playing patriotic and jolly marches, in order to amuse the people and prepare them for the com- ing day, when a reveille of drums and fifes resounding through the streets at daybreak is again in order. Above all, business should be entirely suspended on such days, places of refreshment and decent amusement alone excepted, thus compelling the greedy merchants and shopkeepers to take some little interest in ' ' the day we celebrate. ' ' Public officers and bankers require no such compulsory measures ; the former because they are only too glad to get an outing, and the latter because a day of suspension in the hand- ling of the mammon does not interfere in the slightest degree with their immense profits. Bankers, after all, have the finest time of all professions. They open at ten, close at three, and take things remarkably easy, until some fine morning the president or cashier has taken French leave with a portion of the plunder, when there is howling and gnashing of teeth and great wailing in Israel. In September last year the one hundredth anniversary of the laying of the corner-stone of the capitol at Washington was duly celebrated, the President of the United States delivering a beautiful oration, from which we beg leave to extract the following : "If the representatives, who here assemble to make laws for their fellow-countrymen, forget the duty of broad, disinterested patriotism, and legislate in prejudice and passion, or in behalf of sectional, selfish interests, the time when the corner-stone of our capitol was laid, and the circumstances surrounding it, will not be worth commemorating. The sentiment and traditions connected with this structure and its uses belong to all the people of the land. They are valuable promoters of patriotism in the discharge of public duty and steadfast7iess in every struggle for public good. They also 38 CAVEAT PATRIA. furnish a standard by which our people may measure the conduct of those chosen to serve them. Inexorable application of this standard will always supply proof that our countrymen realize the value of the free institutions designed and built by those who laid the corner-stone of their capitol, and that they appreciate the necessity for constant, jealous watchfulness as a condition indispensable to the preservation of these institutions in their purity and integrity. ' ' What an immense pity that such appropriate and instructive words should generally fall on barren ground and be carried away by the wind of indiffer- ence. A most flagrant case of utter lack of patriotism, leaving aside humanity, was evidenced' but recently, when the vener- able, the victorious corvette Kearsage, the destroyer of Captain Semmes' Alabama, went on the rocks at Roncador Reef, a few hundred miles from Colon, the Atlantic terminus of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. Although this famous company had one of their steamers available at the Isthmus ready to sail immediately in order to rescue the shipwrecked crew of the Kearsarge, a whole day and night were spent in telegraph- ing from Pontius to Pilate about the conditions, convenience and price, whilst the crew was, for good reasons, presumed to be in the greatest danger of perishing in part or all ! The proper course would have been to dispatch the mail steamer immediately for the relief of the crew of the ill-fated old man-of- war, and negotiate about the price afterwards. We feel quite confident that the Government would have made a most liberal allowance for the act of salvage performed by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, and the whole transaction would have had a more creditable aspect in the face of the country. The great Roman orator Cato Severus, previous to the second Punic war, closed all his speeches with the inevitable phrase, " Cceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam /" (and finally I am of the opinion that Carthage must be destroyed), and Carthage was destroyed. In humble imitation of that famous exclamation of Cato, we now close this chapter of general warning with the renewed cry of " Caveat Patria!" II. LAW AND JUSTICE. THE foundation of society and the pillar of all human organ- izations and institutions is the family. Customs, rules and regulations were first laid down in the remotest periods by the patriarchs, or heads of the families, for the observance of peace and order in the inner home circle. Implicit obedience was rendered to the head of the family, and from his decisions there was no appeal, for he even held the power of life and death over his children. These interior regulations, however, differ- ing very frequently from those of another family, were not sufficient in themselves to control the relations with each other, and it was soon found absolutely necessary to frame rules for the government of the tribes, which finally merged into States and nations. This evolution was the origin of laws and justice. It is not our intention to review the different systems of legislation since mankind formed into States, nor to enter into wearisome details of the relative merits of the Hebrew, Greek and Roman law, although we feel tempted to eulogize the latter in particular ; for Roman law has withstood the changes wrought by centuries better than any other, excepting the ten commandments, and it would have been a blessing to mankind if more of the old Roman laws were still prevailing. Liberty is a very relative and still more elastic conception. Absolute and unrestrained liberty of individual action is impossible, because man would be in incessant con- flict with his neighbor ; and, as man and his neighbor only too frequently differ on many, if not on all, subjects, there would not be any peace, security or harmony, but for the power and strong moral influence of what is called law ; the more or less well-considered, digested rules for the personal relations of men with each other in the first place, and for the government of the masses in the second. Some laws are just, wise and bene- ficial, others arbitrary, unfair and oppressive. These laws are changed from time to time ; but no nation has as yet been able 40 I,AW AND JUSTICE. to rise to that pinnacle of perfect legislation, and its cousin- german, jurisprudence, which the progress of culture and learning would seem to indicate. France, Belgium, and especially that beacon light of rational liberty, Switzerland, undoubtedly excel all other nations in this respect. The English laws, and their offspring in these United States of North America, are by far too complex, and so replete to overflowing with superfluous and meaningless verbiage, that neither the exponents of the law, nor the attorneys, and much less the unfortunate public, are able to comprehend them fully or even approximately. If law is the regulation of the relations of men in private as well as in public, justice is the effect of the law and the execution of its inexorable mandates. Justice is figuratively represented as a woman, blindfolded, holding a pair of scales in her right hand and a naked sword in her left ; in our country a pair of crutches should be added to the equipment, for justice with us, we are pained to say, is not only blind but lame too. In the present age, and with our so-called advanced civiliza- tion, the general education of the people, productive of soft- ened and enlightened thoughts and ideas, a different kind of legislation must necessarily prevail than that of the dark and middle ages. Legislation nowadays is comparatively easy, but there are too many impediments thrown in its way by the stupidity, ignorance, malice and selfishness of a great many of the public men intrusted with this all-important task ; hence our laws are defective in many points, and lack that funda- mental virtue, equity ! In the United States of North America we have a super- abundance of laws, and such is this superabundance that the laws necessarily come in conflict with each other ; and neither judge nor jury nor attorney nor Supreme Court can fully determine what is right and wrong, meet and reprehensible, in many cases. This in itself is bad enough, but then we come to the difficulties that beset the litigant in civil as well as criminal cases from the very commencement of a suit, the chicanery and intrigues of the lawyers, the lack of energy and power on the part of the judges, even presuming all these LAW AND JUSTICE. 41 functionaries to be honest and learned in their profession, the vacillation and caprice of the juries, and last, but not least, the endless procrastination and appeals, resulting in the shelv- ing of the cases, be they ever so pressing and important, by the highest tribunals of the State and Federal Government. In this respect we shall be obliged (and the obligation implies no hardship) to frequently quote France and Switzerland, in which countries justice is swift, sure, equal for all, retribu- tion prompt and inexorable, and corruption of very rare occur- rence. In justice to old England, we are pleased to add, that bribery and corruption are seldom found there in judicial and other public circles. We happened to look into the case with our own eyes, whilst investigating the different departments of the respective governments of Europe, winding up in Wash- ington, D. C. One immense drawback in the administration of justice in our country is the diversity of the laws in the different States of the Union. If you cannot get married in Maryland for some reason in conflict with the local laws, you go to New Jersey ; if a license is refused in California to young people under age, they hire a tugboat, go to sea beyond the limits of the State, and a complacent captain performs the ridiculous ceremony. You cannot get a divorce in your own State, and you go to South Dakota, or to any other State, to obtain it anyhow. A lottery is authorized by the laws of one State, and it is considered a heinous crime in the other States to even have a poor little ticket in your possession, and so forth. Such a chaotic state of legislative affairs is apt to produce great disorder and confusion. A uniformity of the civil and criminal codes all over the country should be brought about by all means, and the sooner the better. The immense extent of our national territory, and the already too great diversity of our people and their interests, make a speedy unification of the general laws a most desirable necessity. Marriage, divorce, bankruptcy and criminal occurrences are subjects of national interest, not only pertaining to the several States, but affecting the whole population of the country. State 42 LAW AND JUSTICE. autonomy is quite flattering to the pride of the inhabitants of the State, but this body politic is not competent to make laws regarding the general welfare ; we have a Congress for that, and the more power is given to that body and the Fed- eral Government the better it will be for the maintenance and security of this great Republic. To further hinder the proper administration of justice, and to put endless obstacles in the way of litigants, plaintiffs as well as defendants, we have a class of men whose original purpose and object was and should be to aid, assist and defend the injured, the offended, the despoiled, and the unfortunate accused, to be their friend and protector before the law, to assist them with their learning, experience and knowledge of the statutes, and to protest against any arbitrary ruling or too harsh sentences by the courts. We mean the lawyers. Taken in this light, the profession of the lawyer would be one of the most genteel, noble and generous callings that can fall to the lot of man. The legal profession, too, is highly esteemed, honorable and respected in most countries of Europe, and also in many of the Spanish- American republics, Mexico for instance, for the simple but very powerful reason that the action of the lawyers there is well controlled and checked by wise laws and specific rules, laid down by the judiciary tribunals of the higher grades. Their number, too, is limited, the conditions of admission to the exercise of the important and honorable calling, and the preparatory and complementary studies, being by far more severe than in this country, the dis- grace of malpractice, corruption and bribery more complete, the punishment for infraction more severe. This country, unfortunately, is flooded with lawyers and physicians, the most favorite professions ; and they are turned out from colleges, universities and law offices in immense numbers periodically, even before they have attained one-half of the proficiency required in other countries, and proven by public examination, before they can be admitted to practice. Moreover the statutes and rules of our courts allow the lawyers by far too much free- dom in court and out of it ; they have but little respect for the honorable judge, in fact consider themselves far superior to him in learning and social position. There are many and LAW AND JUSTICE. 43 brilliant exceptions of course, and we have personally known some of them ; but many of our lawyers pretend to dictate to the court, show but little reverence for the majesty of the law, and very often indulge in unbecoming, disrespectful language toward their opponent, the witnesses, and even the judge himself. A fine is sometimes imposed, but seldom paid, because the offending attorney is mighty prompt in apologizing and retracting when it comes to the shekels, or to imprisonment for contempt. Speak about the " majesty of the law ; " where is it? History shows us that in some countries lawyers were con- sidered a dangerous and undesirable class even in early times. Thus, for instance, King Alfonso el Sabio (Alfonso the Wise), ruling over Leon and Castile from 1252-1284, issued a decree, that, if any, but one lawyer should be allowed for each province of the realm; and at the annual legislative sessions of the Basque Provinces no lawyer was permitted to approach within thirty miles of the place of meeting. This King Alfonso X, as his epithet implies, was one of those rare monarchs who cared for the welfare of his people above all other things, and framed a number of admirable laws ; amongst these a code called ' * Las Siete Partidas ' ' (the Seven Parts) is the most famous. He was charged with impiety on account of his say ing, that, "if he had been present at the creation, he could have given some useful hints for the better ordering of the universe." A considerable reduction in the number of lawyers admitted to practice, and a still more considerable increase in the pro- ficiency of the candidate and his age to qualify him, would be most desirable and conducive to the ends of justice and the public welfare. Speaking of contempt of court, we are reminded of an inci- dent that occurred in the court of a small town in France but a couple of years ago, exemplifying summary proceedings free from any interference or obstructions, such as are continually practiced by our attorneys. A prisoner had just been sen- tenced to one year simple confinement in jail for some minor offense. He quickly stooped down, took off one of his wooden shoes, and, before the guards could prevent it, threw it at the head of the judge, who fortunately dodged the ugly missile. 44 Ixy and religious instruction, but they really civilized the heathen, taught him to read, write and work a trade, the cultivation of the soil, the raising of cattle, and thus became real bene- factors for those poor, innocent people. Many Jesuit mis- sionaries suffered martyrdom after undergoing unheard-of hardships, privations and other calamities. There was some- thing admirable and heroic in the sacrifices made by those fathers compared to which the exploits of our present missionaries seem ridiculous. There are also quite a number of Chinese missions in this country supported by anonymous contributors, like the sup- porters of the Salvation Army. These Chinese missions receive adults and children of the wily Mongolian hosts and endeavor to bring them over to our Christian doctrines. In some cases they are successful, but the great majority of proselytes only visit the missions in order to learn to read and write English, get board and lodging, clothing, etc., for the time being. You might just as well go to the top of Mount Blias and endeavor to blow against a northwesterly gale, as try to convert a Chinese, male or female, to a creed which they abhor and despise as they do the white and black races. They think theirs is the true religion and their civilization, manners and customs superior to ours, and for all we know they may be right. The white man pretends to be of higher value than all the other four races, simply because his skin is not colored ; very often his liver is white too. Where is the brotherhood of man, the equality of the races created by the Lord? Regarding the missionaries sallying forth from these United States, we repeat that the Government should make it known unto them, that they will not be protected as such if they get themselves into trouble in foreign countries in consequence of their intrusive religious interference, but only as simple American citizens, subject for the time being to the laws and regulations of those countries, whilst they sojourn in them. This would avoid a host of international complications and be RELIGION. 141 nothing but fair and just to all concerned. Of course the missionaries and their protectors think differently. At different times donations and bequests by will have been made to churches by the generous and pious ; especially is this the case with the Catholic Church, which owes its worldly possessions in a great measure to such bequests. A lady of great wealth some years ago donated a very large sum of money for the erection of a Roman Catholic university, which was a most munificent act on her part and no doubt most highly appreciated by the Catholic clergy and people in general. The erection and endowment of a Catholic university for the higher instruction of the candidates for holy orders, and for the cultivation of profane sciences in general, is quite proper, as a matter of course. We have seen the magnificent struc- ture in the suburb of the national capital and admired its proportions and architecture ; but we cannot help to disap- prove of the fact of that university having been placed in Washington instead of in any other part of this great country. The Government should not have allowed it ; it has no business there if it does have an object. The Federal Dis- trict, as an entirely sacred and neutral territory, ought to have been kept absolutely free from any such institution, religious or profane, no matter which. It was very poor policy on the part of the heads of the church to fix on the District of Columbia, and incomprehensible carelessness on the part of the Federal Government to consent to it. This university, or any other university, should be located in some quiet, beauti- ful spot, far removed from the turmoil of politics, the attrac- tions of a great city and the too easy intercourse with the profane world. Whether the church intended to be near the seat of the National Government for any political purpose, with the ulterior view of exercising a certain influence on Congress and the departments, or whether that university was merely located at Washington to participate in the prestige surround- ing even its mere name, we are not able to say. Religion, however, must forever be kept aloof from politics, and politics 142 RELIGION. from religion in this country, if we do not want to see it go to pieces ; for this very reason religion and sectarian doctrines cannot be associated with our public schools on an}^ account and under any circumstances. For the same reason it is improper that a Protestant chaplain should be appointed to offer prayers in Congress ; no chaplain is needed there at all ; the Presi- dent of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Repre- sentatives ought to be fully qualified to offer prayer at the opening and closing of the sessions, and these prayers are sure to rise to precisely the same altitude from the surface of the earth, as those of an ordained, professional clergyman. The Kastern portion of the Protestant clergy are continually meddling with politics and endeavoring to influence legislation in State and Federal affairs, especially the Methodists, who, true to their anomalous denomination, never tire in advocating prohibition measures, Sunday law ordinances and even pro- Chinese laws, because they want to save the souls of half a dozen Mongolian brethren and have a few score of missiona- ries canvassing in the celestial empire who might come to grief. Why do not these sanctimonious people content them- selves with the salvation of their own souls and receive into the bosom of their church those that voluntarily present themselves for that high honor, instead of pretending to interfere with the actions and rights of their fellow-citizens of different religious and political opinions ? Live and let live! Confine yourselves (by "yourselves" we mean every creed, sect and denomination) to the services within the walls of your temples and other sacred houses of worship, and never lose sight of that really Christian spirit of toleration, forbearance and kindly indulgence so repeatedly preached by your Saviour himself ! Provided a Roman Catholic fulfills the light duty imposed upon him to attend church on Sundays, he is at liberty to visit public places of recreation, amusement and instruction, such as public libraries, museums, picture galleries, even thea- ters, concerts and other lighter entertainments, things a hard- working laborer and dependent employee cannot do during work days. The mind is cultivated and the spirit relaxed RELIGION. 143 thereby after six long days of hard toil, and there cannot possibly be any harm in innocent, decent recreation on Sunday any more than on week days, if it please the Puri- tans, who think they are still living in the times of Cromwell and Queen Anne. Nobody will interfere with those austere zealots if they remain at home and celebrate the Sabbath in their own way by prayer, psalm-singing and fasting. Many Americans, not Roman Catholics, but just and sensible people, are of the same opinion, especially those who have had an opportunity to witness the way the Sabbath is observed in continental Europe. Of late years England has relaxed her Sunday laws, and large numbers of jolly people enjoy their outing, music, etc., by steamer and rail in Hampton Court, Richmond and other pretty places, and in the public parks of London, where bands furnish beautiful music. Ever since the furnaces for the incineration of the dead, called in technical language "crematories" have been invented in Europe and subsequently introduced in this country, a great deal has been written and spoken for and against a system of disposing of the increasing number of dead, which is beyond any doubt superior to the prosaical process of burial in a coffin in the earth. The reasons in favor of cremation are many and well founded, all the cant and sophistical arguments of the proprie- tors of graveyards and protests from religious sources notwith- standing. We have personally inspected the world-famed crematory of Milan, in Italy, and one recently opened and in full blast in San Mateo County, not far from the city of San Francisco, and we find immense consolation in the idea of cremation instead of the slow and unsatisfactory dissolution in a coffin, be it ever so richly adorned with silver mountings and surmounted by a magnificent headstone of alabaster, which latter accessory can be used for a pot of ashes just as well. But, leaving aside the personal, poetical and sentimental part of this process, so generally in vogue with the ancients, who certainly knew somewhat more than we presumptions men of the present time, there are very powerful reasons why 144 RELIGION. cremation should be practiced generally and not as an exception. In the first place, the numbers of deaths increase at the same ratio as the births ; the cemeteries are generally quite near the towns and cities, some even in the very suburbs, as is the case in San Francisco, where residences are being built close to their walls. The ground set apart for the cemeteries is generally level, diggable, and consequently of value and might be used for other purposes. Very soon they are filled by graves, and new tracts have to be found for the purpose ; these, too, will fill in the course of a few generations, and then more are required. Twelve to fifteen hundred millions will be buried within the next sixty or seventy years, in obedience to the inexorable law of nature, that makes no exception and calls for us all, when the hour-glass has run down. The accumulation of such immense numbers of decaying bodies must necessarily produce some kind of emanations through the thin layer of six feet of earth, even if grass and an abundance of plants, trees and shrubbery absorb the greater portion of these emanations; the balance will contaminate the pure air, in spite of all that is alleged to the contrary. Some cemeteries are situated on gentle slopes, others on the side of a mountain ; the rain-water filtering down to the valleys will be more or less impure. Cemeteries should be remote from human habitations at the very least half a mile ; the ground intervening should be converted into boulevards and parks. Now the process of cremation has the following overwhelm- ing advantages : It is cheaper and can be stripped of a great deal of the sad and heartrending scenes and ceremonies attend- ing a ground funeral ; the services can be held over the body at any church, if it is desired, and subsequently at the crematory, where a sort of chapel, or pantheon, is built for that purpose ; there are no grave-diggers, no spades, no strap, no boards required ; the coffin, which should be of the plainest sort, as it will be destroyed, is placed on a raised platform in the chapel; at a given signal it slowly disappears into the vault below ; the corpse is removed, wrapped in a shroud saturated with alum and rolled into the crib of the furnace, heated to such a degree that within a couple of hours, without any smoke or flame whatever, all that is mortal has been RELIGION. 145 destroyed and passes as gases through the flue high into the air, with the exception of two or three pounds of pearly white ashes remaining at the bottom of the crib, which are handed to the family or friends for final disposal, at their option. A hundred thousand funeral urns would not overcrowd a moderate-sized pantheon, or "columbarium," as they are called, which means pigeon-house, on account of the many small recesses prepared for the reception of the urns. The whole process of cremation is cheap, neat, expeditious, full of poetry and almost devoid of the distressing and weary features of ordinary burial ; moreover, the relatives and friends, upon beholding the last resting-place of the ashes of a cremated person, are entirely free from the awful thought which will penetrate their minds involuntarily, that his or her body is slowly decomposing in the coffin, and that at some time the poor bones might be tossed about in a dump-cart and removed for causes of the enlargement of the town, expropriation by law, or heartless speculation. The clergy, especially the Roman Catholic, are opposed to cremation, as being contrary to the doctrine of the resurrection of the body in flesh, blood and bone. Their argument is ill founded ; the Supreme Being has the power to resurrect the body from from two or three pounds of ashes just as well as from a shapeless mass of sad remains. The objections raised by some on judicial grounds, in cases of poisoning and crime, and by others for fear of being burned alive, have no serious foundation, because it is the duty of the respective authorities to ascertain such facts before the bodies are granted the necessary permit. There may be liberty of conscience in our blessed country, because no man, no law, no human power, can actually exercise any control over a person's conscience. Conscience is the criticism or approval of the thought and act ; the latter arise in the brain, whilst conscience resides in the heart. There may be license in religious matters, but the term ' ' religious freedom ' ' cannot properly be considered to exist, as long as a harmless portion of our people are harassed, persecuted and punished for the exercise of their religious doctrines. We 146 RELIGION. refer to the Mormon sect, who have settled a vast and desolate region in the center of the United States of North America, almost inaccessible fifty years ago and now converted into finely cultivated territory, in which, owing to the hard work and economic talent of the disciples of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, there is less want, misery and privation than in any of the other Territories and States. After these hardy and meritorious pioneers had created their gigantic work and it became known that, instead of the sandy and stony desert, there would be found a second Canaan, then came a rush of Philistines and other Gentiles to participate in the blessings enjoyed by the Mormons ; and after a while they had to be tolerated by these and even placed on a footing of equality. Alike to the snake that bites his benefactor after warming it in his bosom, the Gentiles and Philistines began to be aggressive, to find fault with the doctrines of Mormonism, their fiscal arrangements, and particularly with polygamy, not for any reasons of morality, but for reasons of their own. Polygamy is, or was, one of the principal tenets of the Mormon church. In the earlier stages of mankind, the patriarchs, afterwards the Hebrews and many other distinguished tribes, had a plurality of wives. These patriarchs are supposed to be the most ancient and favorite saints in the Christian paradise, after living at a time when the I/ord was said to have appeared on earth in person repeatedly and to have given warning to the erring people of their wrongdoings. There is nothing in our original Constitution prohibiting polygamy. If a statute was enacted subsequently restricting the number of wives to one, it was aimed specially at the Mormons and is therefore " special legislation " and a wrong perpetrated on these people. We are by no means in favor of polygamy ; one wife is quite sufficient, and in many cases even one too many ; but the Mormons are undoubtedly in their right as a religious congre- gation to adhere to their original doctrines. I^et the Christians, who find fault with them and do not live in glass houses, throw the first stone, which they did. Why did they not stay away from Utah altogether, if the doings of the Mormons were not to their liking ? Why go and bring discord and trouble into a community that had performed great things in the way RELIGION. 147 of settlement and cultivation of a desert, that has the prior right of possession and has done no harm whatever to those who invaded their territory almost as enemies ? There is one powerful argumentum ad hominem in favor of the Mormons, which we heard frequently expressed in the City of the Saints of the lyatter Day, and which is, that we Christians practice polygamy on a vast and illegitimate scale, compared to which simple bigamy is but a mild offense. Reply, if you can ! We Christians have polygamy, bigamy, monogamy and polyandry, terms implying a plurality of wives, two wives, one wife, and the latter, polyandry, more than one husband for one wife. Polyandry among uncivilized nations is rare ; still there are tribes at the foot of the Himalaya Mountains in India, where three or four husbands, most frequently brothers, have but one common wife for reasons of economy and on account of poverty. The subject of secret societies does not properly belong under the head of religion, but we will make brief mention of these societies before closing the present chapter. There is not a country under the sun that can boast of as many secret orders, societies and organizations as the United States of North America. They are counted by the hundreds ; almost every grown man belongs to some one or more of them ; in fact it has almost become a distinction not to be a member of any society. Properly speaking, very few of these societies have any particular reasons for secrecy, for passwords, grips and countersigns. Most of them have no other object than charity, benevolence and also social inter- course ; they do a great deal of real good in their peculiar way and relieve the public in general of a considerable share in the dispensing of aid and assistance to the sick, the needy and otherwise unfortunate. Many give sick benefits, weekly allowances, funeral expenses, endowments to widows and orphans, etc., etc., acts that can only merit the applause of the well-inclined. The childish habit of wearing all sorts of crosses, stars, shields and badges indicative of the order they belong to and of the rank they may hold in it, is no discredit 148 RELIGION. to the exhibitors of the same ; but the public appearance of secret societies in pompous paraphernalia, bright and gaudy uniforms, with plumes, swords and banners, is of very doubt- ful taste and propriety, a fact which the good sense of the members ought to point out to themselves. Yet there is no very great harm in it. Passing in review the secret societies of the Yclampus Vitus, the Red Men, the Odd Fellows, the Free Masons, the Knights of Labor, of Honor, of the Golden Calf, of Pythias, of the Mystic Grove, the Druids, the Ancient Order of Architects, the Alien Sons of the Silver East and a host of others too numerous to mention here and which are all perfectly harmless, we come to three secret bodies that are not only an anachronism in a country like ours, but one of them a positive danger at the present time, and still more so in the future. This society is the natural off- spring of former secret political organizations that have ceased to exist as recognized bodies, but whose germ has not been destroyed during many years of comparative rest. This organization is religious as well as political; its main tenet is intolerance, and, whether it be intended or not, they originate hatred and contempt among our people, thus further increas- ing the already numerous political, social and economical problems awaiting solution. The shafts of this abnormal organization are principally directed against a certain religion and against the foreign element in general, even the natural- ized, honorable and peace- abiding citizen. The native-born population can boast of but a short line of ancestors ; their nativity is of quite recent date ; it does not in most cases go back beyond one or two generations. Kven the conceited descendants of the "Mayflower'' 1 and the successors of Hendrick Hudson have little to boast of in this respect. The foreign addition to the otherwise weak native population has hitherto been of immense benefit to the whole country, bringing skilled artisans, strong hands and large sums of money to swell the national wealth, until during the past twenty years or so the greedy, egotistical and unpatriotic millionaires and owners of immense manufacturing establish- ments have thought fit to import hordes of ignorant laborers with their wretched families from the cheapest and most REUGION. 149 miserable portions of Europe and Asia, to compete for the lowest possible wages with the more independent laboring classes already in the country, until Congress found it neces- sary to interfere and close the gates to those classes, a measure that should have been taken twenty years ago already. It is entirely wrong on the part of the above-mentioned association to ostracise the foreign element ; it is unpatriotic and impolitic. These are not the ways and means to remedy the evil, if evil there be ; the remedy lies in restrictive naturalization and limited immigration ; but that portion of the foreign element which has become naturalized is entitled to all the rights and privileges of the native-born citizen, except the faculty of being elected President of the United States, which is perfectly correct. Some forty years ago, in Florida, we were very much struck and amused by a friendly debate between a native-born American lawyer and an intelligent jeweler from the northern part of Germany, the latter being already master of the Eng- lish language. The lawyer alleged pre-eminence over the jeweler by virtue of his nativity on American soil ; but the latter successfully proved to him, that the native superiority was illusory, by telling him simply, that when he, the foreigner, came into this country, he was a man in the prime of youth, strong, healthy, in possession of a genteel calling, clothing and a sum of money and able to earn an honorable living, whilst the native-born lawyer had come into the country a helpless, naked baby, requiring a mother to nurse him and parents to feed, clothe and keep him up to the age of eighteen years, and that he was probably unable to earn a dollar before he was twenty years old. The force of this logical " argu- mentum ad hominem" caused the bystanders to burst into hearty laughter at the expense of the native-born lawyer, who, however, was a gentleman and declared himself defeated. The place of birth, after all, is a mere accident. Napoleon the Great was born at the foot of the stairway of his father's house in Ajaccio on the island of Corsica, on a piece of carpet, and not everybody has the means or pluck of his sister-in-law Hortense, Queen of Holland, to journey from The 150 RELIGION. Hague to Paris at a time when railroads were unknown, to give birth in France to the "Man of Sedan," the great emperor's nephew. Too much circumspection, toleration and friendly feeling cannot be exercised by the native-born element toward the many millions of foreigners who have come to live and die in this country and who have acquired citizenship, be they Irish, French, German, Italian, Spanish, or of any other acceptable nationality. Nothing can be gained by open or covert hostility to these people ; after all their original nationality is apt to disappear completely in their progeny, who even lose their parents' language. The only remedy is in legislative restric- tion ; the country is in need of it ; let the national Congress provide. VII, FINANCE. \ f ATHEMATICS may be an abstract science, yet it is the 1V1 most positive of all. The combination of figures and their intricate relations between each other are as infallible as the truth on which they are founded. No argument, be it ever so strong and brilliant, can prevail against the naked truth of honest figures. Three times three is nine and will ever be so to the end of time. By the aid of figures and their manifold combinations, gradually reduced to permanent and absolute rules in arithmetic, geometry, algebra and trigo- nometry, devising man has been enabled to calculate the revolutions not only of our little earth, but also those of many of the celestial bodies moving in the infinite firmament millions of miles away ; the distances from our old globe ; the rapidity of the rays of light from the sun ; the return of comets, eclipses, transits, etc. , etc. Mathematics is the greatest and most useful of sciences, dry as its study may appear to the multitude, and full of so many difficulties that but few select minds succeed in acquiring a perfect knowledge of it. And yet even this science is perverted by wicked man, and truthful figures are used by us to represent lying and hypocritical statements in almost all branches of human industry and institutions. Thus for instance the figure ten is misused by the hunter to indicate the number of hares killed by him in one day, when he really shot but three, or none at all ; a merchant is quoted in the secret mercantile report as possessing a capital of fifty thousand dol- lars, when he is actually not worth over twenty thousand ; an insurance company advertises the whole country over, that its capital stock is one million dollars, when perhaps the whole of the stockholders put together are not worth over half a million ; a newspaper trumpets over the State, that its daily circulation is fifty-three thousand, and it really issues but thirty thousand, and so forth. In all such cases figures are employed to conceal and disguise the truth, and here we have " figures without facts, ' ' instead of facts and figures. 152 FINANCE. There have been written countless books, pamphlets and newspaper articles about the financial affairs of the world in general and those of the United States of North America in particular. The matter they contain and the material from which they are gleaned are of but little interest to the public in general, because they are dry and tedious ; consequently they are read by but a few and even then seldom comprehended and appreciated, even if their arguments were well founded, and positive facts and figures given. It would be an easy matter for the writer to compile a few hundred pages of commentaries on the financial condition of this country and to worry and fatigue the worthy reader by dry and tedious stuff, but such is not our object in this little volume ; on the contrary, we will endeavor to be as clear and concise as possible in the development of our views on such an all-important subject. There have been many serious financial crises since the foundation of this great Republic, as far back as the time of General Jackson, but they were always easily overcome. At the time of the Centennial celebration of our Independence the finances of the country were still in a most satisfactory condition, the national debt gradually diminishing. But the brightest period of all was that of President Franklin Pierce, when the national Treasury showed a cash surplus of over twenty millions of dollars, for which there was no earthly use, and that, notwithstanding the low tariff of import duties ruling at the time, and the total absence of internal revenue, which was a later invention. There were then in our national Congress men of honor and trust, inspired with true patriotic ideas and having full and implicit confidence in that gentlemanly and honorable Presi- dent, Franklin Pierce, to an extent that seven millions of dol- lars were placed at his disposal, with power to expend the same in any manner he might see fit as most conducive to the public benefit. The result was the purchase from the Repub- lic of Mexico of the celebrated Mesilla Valley, a portion of land projecting into the territory of the United States, and which for some reason had been allotted to Mexico, when the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was made between the two countries after the Mexican War. The sum paid to the FINANCE. 153 commissioners of President Santa Anna at Washington was seven millions. We recollect that the Mexican commissioner who took this sum of double eagles to New Orleans for shipment to Vera Cruz, being in serious doubt about ever getting his com- mission of one per cent from the close-fisted dictator of Mex- ico, took seventy thousand dollars from the millions, placed his receipt in one of the boxes, and shipping the balance to Vera Cruz quietly went to Europe to rest on his laurels. Great was the impotent rage of Santa Anna, who soon after was overthrown, driven from the country, and remained an exile until his death. The causes that have, produced the present industrial, com-* mercial and monetary crisis may be summed up as follows : The powerful syndicates and mighty corporations sprung up in consequence and after the close of the war of the Rebellion; the immense national debt left at the end of that great but fatal struggle; the corruption in official circles and the vast field for robbery and plunder left by the confused financial con- dition of the country at the same period, by the settlement of war claims, damages, bounties, back pay, pensions and the sale of war material; the system of stock exchanges and the public sale at auction of real and imaginary stocks, bonds and other values; the immense number of temples of mammon called * ' banks, ' ' which are weighing so heavily on all classes of the community except themselves and their satellites, the brokers and usurers; the shameful and ruinous extravagance in dress and style of living so generally prevailing, and the consequent waste of material; the heavy taxation of the poor, as compared with what little is paid by the wealthy; the wild, reckless, and often criminal spirit of speculation that has taken possession of vast numbers of our people; the steady drain of coin for tickets in foreign lotteries; and last, but by no means least, the Chinese invasion, which has caused a clean loss of perhaps a thousand millions of dollars to our unfortunate and shiftless country. We ask, what country on earth could have withstood such awful odds against its continued prosperity, other than these United States, without being utterly bankrupt, a calamity which is sure to reach us, nevertheless, at no remote period, if we do not take prompt and effectual measures to close 154 FINANCE. the gap through which our national vitality is flowing, by radical, wise, and peremptory legislation. Taking up the disastrous financial results of the Chinese invasion, a class that never bring a cent to this country, but always send and take away, we will quote an extract from the statement of a high Federal officer, published about six months ago in a daily paper, and which has not generally become known, because few persons read articles of this kind, when they are being treated to the sensational, indecent and immoral stuff so prevalent in the papers of this day. The article in question embraces a period of thirty years, when the Mongolians were first brought to our Pacific Coast to filter from there all over the country. " In 1860 the census showed a population of Chinese in this country of 100,000; in 1870, 213,000; in 1880, 105,000; and in 1890, 106,000. In these four decades the total Chinese population was 524,000, which would give an average of 131,000 for the thirty years. During these thirty years the laborers among the Chinese have averaged one dollar a day for their services. Deducting the liberal allowance of 31,000 for the merchants, physicians, women, etc., etc., we have 100,000 men, who have worked continuously for one dollar a day, Sundays included, which they do not observe. Allowing them twenty-five cents a day for the expense of each, this liberal allowance leaves a net income of $ 75,000 a day, which is an absorption of $2, 250,000 of our money every thirty days, or twenty-seven millions of dollars per year. Thus their net earnings during the thirty years above stated amount to the astonishing sum of eight hundred and ten millions of dollars, every cent of which has gone to China, where all gold and silver coin mysteriously disappears after a while, and no one seems to know whatever becomes of it. But this wage-earning is not all the loss we have suffered ; the balance of trade between the United States and China has been in favor of the latter country, absorbing something like one hundred and fifty millions more. In 1892 alone the Celestial Empire absorbed $41,825,181 of the wealth of the United States. * ' The foregoing estimates of the Chinese population of this country are taken from the official United States census ; but FINANCE. 155 it is well known by those who do not desire to be blind, like the Kastern sympathizers with the "poor, persecuted and down-trodden" heathen, that a great many more came into the country than have ever been counted on the official records. This clandestine portion has not been taken into consideration in making the estimates of moneys sent to China. The only benefit we derive from the Chinese is the import duty charged on the goods brought to this country. The money paid to the laborers of other nations coming here is expended in building houses, buying land and improving it, and in purchasing the production of American farmers and manufacturers ; con- sequently their money remains in the country. Moreover, it will never be known how much gold has been realized by the smart Chinese by mining in the gold fields, and which they have also taken away. There are about one thousand three hundred millions of money in the United States at present in circulation, and at the rate the Chinese absorb our coin, there will soon be but little left for our own use. For many years every Chinese steamer has returned with hundreds of Chinese, each one of them carrying away on his person from ten dollars to three thousand dollars in gold." The foregoing facts are undeniable; they are "facts and figures" to prove and not to mislead. The admirers of the Mongolians and those interested financially in their presence, will, as a matter of course, entertain different views ; but they are of no value in the case on account of bias. We consider the Exchanges for the transaction of stock dealing and the sale at auction (it is nothing else) of bonds, securities, grain, produce, pork and other stuff serving for purposes of speculation in public, as a great factor in bringing about financial troubles and periodical monetary and business crises, a drawback to all legitimate transactions in that line and an unceasing temptation to restless manipulators of that which does not belong to them , which often does not exist and which they seldom ever see, besides encouraging unlawful speculation on the part of men who want to grow rich as fast as possible, regardless of all consequences to their 156 FINANCE. competitors and outsiders. Not many years back everybody in Chicago, the servant girls not excepted, bought and sold ' 'pork, ' ' which existed only in their imagination, raised to fever- heat by the vampires connected with the Exchange. The pandemonium that reigns in these pits is something inde- scribable for the passive spectator, and the question might in all honesty be asked, whether the brokers, who shout themselves hoarse in bidding, offering and selling, are really human beings or a flock of wild parrots of Brazil in congress. The ostensible object of an Exchange is to supply a. central place for the better and more convenient meeting of merchants that want to buy or sell bona-fide goods, stocks and agricultural products, and for the legitimate brokers, who are intrusted with their business. These legitimate transactions can all be effected in a decent, quiet way ; the system of bidding for anything at auction, which they are at present operating, should be abolished by law. If anybody is desirous of selling anything and does not know to whom to apply, or cannot personally attend to the business, let him engage the services of a legitimate and licensed broker, whose profession it is to find purchasers and sellers of merchandise and securities for a fair and lawful commis- sion. The Government should not allow any article to be sold that does not exist, nor have such imaginary article cried out at public auction in the so-called Exchanges, and insist on the transfer and delivery of the article sold. Abolish margins, shorts, bulls, bears and all the other outrageous abuses practiced in those iniquitous establishments and trade will be more regular, honorable and safer than under the present system, with fewer failures. Remove and destroy the opportunities and temptations offered to business men in those temples of Moloch and there will be no more stock-gambling, no more defalcations, breaches of trust, imprisonment, ruin and suicide. Not less damaging to the public welfare is the vast, plethoric system of banking at present so general in these United States of North America. These institutions are very appropriately FINANCE. 157 called "banks," since so many are founded on sand, others surrounded by fog, and thousands have been stranded by them. Like an immense octopus of thousands of suckers the banks have taken possession of everything worth having. There is hardly a village of a thousand inhabitants but must have its bank. We know of one settlement in California in which the first building erected, besides a few board shanties, was one of brick for the inevitable bank and this building was raffled. As the patient spider sits in the center of its wonder- fully constructed net, waiting for the flies that are sure to get entangled in it and to become his prey, so sits the crafty banker in his private office, bloated with conceit and vanity, haughty and insolent to the poor white trash, cringing and abjectly reverential before the man of property and cash, sup- ported by the minions in the public office, who have more or less similar qualifications to those of their imperial master. These men are generally well fed, still better dressed, and their work is of a kind that will not weigh heavily on their consti- tutions, even if a small amount of brains and some automatic care is necessary to make a good bank clerk. The banker-in- chief of course is entitled to fat emoluments and the pay of cashier, tellers and clerks is by no means insignificant. It fre- quently happens, that even these liberal salaries for a few hours of very easy and clean work, are not sufficient to gratify the desires and to come up to the pretensions of these gentlemen. In that case their fingers are stretched a point, and if the required additional sums cannot be procured by clever manipu- lation of the accounts, a number of bags are confiscated, or a few checks forged, which answers the same purpose. Frequent as these occurrences are, it is only a wonder that they do not occur oftener, considering the mild penalties attached to them and the comparatively small dishonor in the community, if the purloiner, defaulter or forger can manage to put some, if not all, the plunder into a safe place. In that case he will always be a " gentleman ' ' and the crime is soon forgotten by his indulgent friends. Taking into consideration the enormous expenses of build- ing and fitting up a bank, the fat salaries paid to presidents, cashiers, tellers, clerks and porters, and other incidental 158 FINANCE. charges, it is curious to see where all this money comes from. It is not the wealthy class which contributes the most to the profits and benefits of a bank, but the business man of the far larger middle class, the crippled merchant and the unfortunate farmer ; all have to contribute to the support of the octopus that grows and fattens on the lifeblood of the community. In former times the banking business was almost exclusively in the hands of the Jews, who were debarred from most other callings. These unfortunate exiled, perse- cuted and despised people exercised corresponding retaliation by availing themselves of every possible ways and means to hoard up and conceal money, charge enormous interest, and, knowing that they could hardly reckon with the protection of the law for the collection of money loaned, they demanded triple securities from the Gentiles. The Jews have developed a remarkable talent for money-making from the earliest times, when the sons of Jacob thought it more profitable to sell their brother Joseph into captivity than to kill the harmless youth. Subsequent grain transactions in Egypt came but to prove this peculiar quality of that ancient race. Nearly all the gold in those times was in the hands or under the control of the Jews, which is in fact still the case to a considerable extent. Moreover not a ducat or sequin passed through the fingers of the usurer, but a small particle was filed off the rim of the coin. This process rendered it necessary to weigh the gold coins when in circulation, because they had become of different sizes from the original dimensions. Now- adays this system of mutilation is but little practiced, but the profit is there all the same; the circumcision of the coin has been replaced by the shaving of the paper. Not a cent goes into a bank, nor comes out of it, that does not leave a direct percentage, or indirect benefit, becoming tangible after a little while. The foolish people look upon the banks with a great deal of awe and admiration and consider them most indispens- able and useful institutions. To have an account in the " Cucumber National Bank, Limited, of Gopherville, " is con- sidered a matter of pride and honor, and many are the daily allusions made by the business people to deposits, bank time, overdrafts, notes, discounts, hiring of money, etc. ; even the FINANCE. 159 smallest payments are made by cheque. To sign or indorse a cheque is an act of immense pride and gratification. There is nothing more cold, heartless, devoid of all humane feeling and inexorable toward an unfortunate debtor than a commercial or a savings bank; they have no more pity than the wolf in a Russian forest. We willingly admit that some banks are useful when sup- plied with the necessary working capital in real cash, and not two-thirds on paper, working and profiting only with the funds of the depositors, who thus run great risks. One bank for every town of 30,000 inhabitants is more than enough. The only really useful function of a bank is the safe-keeping of the people's superfluous money in its vaults, and a bank ought by rights to get a small percentage for storing such money, whilst it should not be permitted to touch any of the coin thus depos- ited, except by formal consent of the owner and by a mutual agreement concerning time and interest. The Bank of England, the Bank of France, the Bank of Ire- land and others are not only perfectly safe, but very useful and necessary institutions. They act partly as the national treas- ury of the country, receive deposits of certain amounts on time and pay a moderate periodical interest on these ; they watch and regulate the exigencies and wants of the money market, and fix the rates of exchange inland and on foreign countries. These banks alone are empowered to issue notes to a limited amount notes backed by the fortune of the whole nation, and not like the indefinite notes issued by most of our banks, secured only by a few miserable dollars. The people of the United States of North America have gradually but surely been educated to the use and love of paper money, especially in the Eastern and Atlantic States. Gold is looked upon with suspicion and often reluctance; the soft, dirty, unfragrant paper-rag is preferred, not so much because it is easier and lighter to carry in the pocket, but because it is a part and portion of a bank, because it has been handled and signed by the divine banker, and because it rep- resents a fictitious double value. Gold, and particularly silver, 1 60 FINANCE. are looked upon with contempt, when compared with bank- notes, greenbacks, and Treasury notes. The American Gov- ernment notes, it is very true, are works of art, of exquisite design and perfect execution, as long as they are new and have passed through but a few and clean hands; when worn and greasy they become objects of abomination. The Bank of England issues the plainest notes of all, a white piece of paper, note size, with the plainest black lettering and few words in the text, being blank on the back. Still these notes are the most difficult to counterfeit on account of the specially fabricated paper and certain, almost imperceptible, peculiarities. No English banknote is issued for less than one pound ster- ling. The Bank of England, as the most competent authority on the subject, regulates the amount and circulation of coined silver, and not the English Government direct. Whenever more silver coin is needed of any denomination, the Bank of England makes a requisition for it, with the approval of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on the mint, and such silver coin is furnished to the Bank of England, but to nobody else, under any circumstances. Considering the plurality of banks in our country, a positive detriment to commerce and financial stability, steps, should be taken immediately to reduce their number as fast as their present concessions and privileges terminate, and not to issue any more charters. In our humble opinion the banking business, on a strictly national and not local basis, should be in the hands or under the control of the State and Federal authorities. No paper money should be issued and in circulation other than United States notes of no smaller denomination than ten, one hundred and one thousand dollars. Congress alone can authorize such issues, as the publ?o convenience and demands of the national Treasury may from time to time require. All private and national banknotes should be withdrawn and destroyed immediately and ihe bonds deposited by them as security with the Treasury returned. In this manner, radical as it may appear to the timid, biased and interested, the value of silver would at once increase to such an extent, that all the silver bullion and silver coin at present lying useless and dormant in the yard of the FINANCE. 161 Treasury at Washington, like sacks of potatoes, and in the Sub-Treasuries and Mints, would scarcely be adequate for the circulation created by the destruction of the smaller banknotes and greenbacks. This is the simplest solution of the ticklish silver question, and no arguments, polemics and subterfuges by the bankers, brokers, usurers and party legislators can prevail against it ! We have nothing whatever to do with the systems and standards in Europe, or in any other countries. This great country produces everything it needs for the maintenance, comfort and happiness of its inhabitants ; our surplus of every kind is at the disposal of other nations, if they are in need of our goods and products, provided they are willing and able to pay for them in such coin, as we ourselves demand and have the fullest right to exact. On the other hand we must submit to a like procedure, if we are obliged to purchase anything from them, or wish to obtain articles of luxury, art treasures and other fancy articles. If anything should be hoarded up and handled with the greatest care and strictest economy by the Federal Government, not for purposes of speculation and control, but for the sake of preservation, it is the United States gold coin and gold bullion. The actual total amount of gold, coined and uncoined, now existing on our globe (that in the bowels of the earth, of course, not included) is not sufficient, if handled and circulated, to last over two centuries. Arts, manufactures, jewels, ornamentation and the filling of teeth absorb a large quantity of the precious metal, the child of the sun by its dazzling brightness and non-corrosive properties. The supply of gold is not large and the output of the mines insignificant, since the apparently inexhaustible gold mines of California have proved to be perishable like everything else on this earth; consequently we are bound to make the largest possible use of silver as a circulating medium, whether we like it or not ; whether it injures the accursed usurer, combination of goldbugs and Wall-street cormorants or not. Our mints ought to coin more decent silver money than that issued of late years ; there is too much base alloy in our coins that turns them to a blackish hue very soon, and the emblematic heads on some of them are deplorable 162 FINANCE. * designs. It is said that the United States silver coins are changed now and then in order to reproduce the likeness of some notable woman, wife, daughter or sister of some high functionary. Whatever truth there may be in this allegation, it is a sad but indisputable fact, that the figureheads on our - latest issues of silver coin, and also the humble nickels, are vulgar- looking and quite unartistic. The head on the half and quarter dollars is all face, neck and jaw, without any forehead and receptacle for the brain. Send for some Swiss silver and nickel coins as models and try to improve. Our silver coin of 1830 to 1840, with the classic features of a stately, mature woman wearing the Phrygian bonnet, emblematic of absolute freedom, was pretty near perfection ; but, for some reason which it would be hard to explain, whenever we have anything excellent, useful and beautiful, it must needs be altered, or even destroyed, to make room for a pretended " improvement " that originated in the limited brain of some fool at the head of the corresponding department ; to wit, the periodical changes of postal stamps and other unnecessary metamorphoses, which only create expense and trouble. The traffic in coined gold as an article of merchandise must be stopped and the coin restored to its original purposes. If the Government finds that gold is shipped across the ocean to and fro for the nefarious purpose of speculation, or to create a scarcity and depression at any time, such shipments must be prohibited, or at least strictly controlled. When, years after the war of the Rebellion, the national credit had been restored, the indebtedness fully established and the public finances regulated with that energy and promptness so very characteristic of the American people when once they really desire to do anything well, the so-called greenbacks or legal tenders, as they were called in a facetious and sarcastical manner, would not go any higher than seventy-five cents, in spite of the best efforts of our Government, then in the hands of men of honor and talent. This strange state of affairs was brought about chiefly by the wretched, selfish and unpatriotic clique of bankers, speculators and schemers against the national credit, who had shipped nearly all our gold to Europe for bond speculation FINANCE. 163 and concealed the rest in their vaults. The Federal Govern- ment took in nothing but greenbacks in payment of import duties and internal revenues, and consequently found itself at an immense disadvantage. A radical and stringent measure became necessary and a law was quickly passed, that all import duties were payable in United States gold coin. The tide turned at once and in a short space of time the Government had most of the gold stored in the Treasury and was emancipated from the deadly clutches of the bankers and speculators, until it chose to fall into their power once more. No gold should be allowed to be exported except in payment for goods purchased abroad, other equivalent received and for the expenses of travelers. Such apparently arbitrary measures must from time to time be resorted to for the salvation and preservation of the general good, as opposed to the machinations of egotistical cliques, trusts and other dangerous combinations. We must not be at all surprised at the tenacity with which the banks cling to the privilege of issuing their own banknotes, since they make a clean profit of at least ten per cent on the amount, the moment it is placed in circulation. One-tenth part of these notes become lost, burned, or otherwise destroyed and are therefore never presented for redemption. The same thing may of course be said of the national currency ; but in this case the profit arising from the loss of the notes benefits the entire nation and not individuals, which is a horse of quite another color. All legitimate banking, when limited to the depositing of and drawing money by cheques, the safe-keeping of cash, securities and Treasury notes, etc., etc., the loaning of money on such, and on nothing else, with a moderate interest for the Government, should be exclusively in the hands and under the most rigorous control of the Government and carried on by the Sub-Treasuries now existing and other agencies to be established for the purpose in large towns and cities only. No deposit for less than one hundred dollars, nor cheques of a less amount, should be allowed. In this manner bank failures, defalcations, usurers' interest and the other numerous evils of 164 FINANCE. the general banking profession would be completely prevented and permanently abolished. In fact, it would be by far more conducive to the general security and to the prevention of fraud and failures, if the stupid system of credit were abolished altogether, or at least modified so that credit be only given at the risk of the confiding banker, merchant, or business man without any recourse to law, swindling transactions excepted. The giver of credit would then be particularly careful as to whom to trust, and a great number of disastrous transactions stifled in the bud. If God's ground and lands were unsalable and untransferable in the manner indicated in a previous chapter, there would also be no mortgages, no foreclosures, no ruin of individuals and families. Real estate sharps, land cormorants and insatiable owners would then have to seek for other means of enriching themselves. The main sources of revenue for the Federal Government are the import duties on foreign goods and the taxes on cigars, tobacco, liquor, beer, playing cards, etc. The internal revenue taxes were found necessary during the war of the Rebellion, and have been continued with some modifications for the sup- port of the Government in all its branches, the payment of an abnormal amount of pensions, interest on bonds, and the extinction of the national debt. The harmonious workings of the Treasury Department, almost perfect as to control, vigi- lance and accounting, have been too frequently disturbed by the changes of administration, the pretensions of privileged and influential classes, and the stubborn resistance offered by the interested capitalists, importers and manufacturers to every beneficial measure introduced in Congress. For three long months the Senate of these United States of North America a body that should shine like the constellation of the Southern Cross in the political and financial firmament of the world has been quarreling, wrangling, debating, fooling and jawing about a question already so thoroughly known by the people as well as the senators, so thoroughly sifted by speech and the pen and so well defined in the minds of everybody, that three days of study by the Committee on Ways and Means, and FINANCE. 165 three of debate, should have been amply sufficient to arrive at a decision, one way or the other. Under the circumstances, it might well be asked whether an indignant people would not have been justified in marching on the Federal Capital in order to disperse such an ill-disposed and incompetent body with sticks. The advocates of the suppression of the Senate from the national legislation must have rubbed their hands with glee. The action on the Tariff Reform is retarded in a similar man- ner by the Senate, a portion of whose members, by reason of the long term they have served in that august body, consider themselves infallible and superior in experience and knowledge to their less fortunate colleagues. They will not listen to rea- son and argument, nor to the dictates of the nation's wants, but persevere in malignant stubbornness and strict party atti- tude. Reform in the attributes and working of the Senate is most urgently needed,- or that body should be abolished alto- gether. With very few exceptions every article imported into this country should be subject to import duties. It is neither necessary nor politic to levy, for instance, ten cents a pound on sugar, coffee, tea, rice and other staples; but a trifle ought to be collected on all of these. It is a quota easily borne by the final consumers, and nobody will complain but the trusts and combinations. With a low tariff we were very prosper- ous forty years ago; there is no earthly reason why the same condition should not exist at present. No tax can be more just and equitable than the income tax. Persons earning a bare living might be exempt from it; but commencing with an income of $1,200, a light tax should be levied on this amount, the rate increasing with the progression of the figures, so that a man deriving an income of ten thousand dollars a year shall contribute ten per cent to the support of the Government. These classes pay three times as much in other countries. When an estate is probated and divided among the heirs of say five thousand dollars, the Government might collect one per cent; on ten 166 FINANCE. thousand, two ; on twenty thousand, five per cent; and so on at an increasing ratio, until twenty-five per cent is reached, as the maximum. The heirs who get possession of an amount of property they did not possess nor earn, have no reason to complain. Whilst writing the present lines we see that the President has found fit to veto the bill passed by both houses for the coinage of the so-called ( ' seigniorage ' ' silver. This outland- ish term refers to a sum of fifty-five million dollars, represent- ing the difference between the nominal value of the dollar and its real value at the actual market rate. This bill had been care- fully elaborated by the defenders of poor, despised silver, to off- set to some extent the effects of the Sherman law, by virtue of which the public Treasury was bound to purchase four million ounces of silver in bullion monthly, to be piled up like so much pig-iron in the Treasury yard, of no use to the Government nor to anybody else. The absurdity of such a law is self-evident, yet it took mighty efforts on the part of the sensible portion of Congress to procure its repeal. The dollars thus obtained by the aforesaid ' ' seigniorage ' ' law were very properly intended to defray the expenses of the Government. Moreover, if the coin- age of such a vast sum of silver could not be operated by our mints quick enough, the Secretary of the Treasury was author- ized to issue notes of the species called ' * Silver Certificates ' ' for the amount yet uncoined. The coining of these fifty-five million dollars once terminated, the Secretary was to go on coining the balance of the silver belonging to the Government and now lying piled up in Washington. These additional dol- lars were to be kept in the Treasury to gradually redeem the notes issued for the purchase of the silver bars, which were to be finally destroyed. This bill, the principal object of which was to place in circulation the largest possible number of silver dollars, has been vetoed by the Chief Magistrate of the nation in a long, tiresome message to Congress, the prolixity of which does not convince any person of common sense that the Presi- dent knows more about the financial question in general and the silver question in particular than three hundred men, per- haps less acquainted with jurisprudence than with their par- ticular duty toward the people. We do not pretend to impugn FINANCE. 1C7 the motives of the President for taking such singular action, but he certainly did expose himself to the galling criticism of the majority and to the allegation that this unfortunate veto had been dictated to him by the owners of gold in New York and elsewhere. The wife of Caesar must be above suspicion. Now the whole tedious, disgusting and apparently never- ending struggle is to be gone through again. Such is the sad result of the veto power vested in one single individual in a great and free republic. The whole secret of the silver question lies concealed in the fact, that the bankers, brokers and owners of gold are opposed to the coining and circulation of the dollar of our fathers, because these dollars would replace their banknotes and deprive them of the double benefit of a fictitious increase of their capital and the double interest derived from this ficti- tious capital and the bonds deposited by them with the Treas- ury. The coinage of the silver reserve, however, would not give all the relief needed and expected by our poor and inno- cent population, unless the banks are forced to withdraw all their notes within a given period and are prohibited ever there- after to issue any more paper money an operation the Federal Government alone should have power to perform by special act of Congress, whenever Treasury notes are needed, and under no circumstances should there be any lower denomination of notes than ten dollars. The affection for paper money, however, which in Kurope is issued by the Government only (the Bank of England and Bank of France are quasi Government institutions), is not limited to our people alone. During our travels in Austro- Hungary and Italy, our gold pieces were frequently refused by small busi- ness people, who were better acquainted with the more abun- dant notes and therefore preferred the latter. We have endeavored to be brief and condense as many points as possible in this chapter. Knough has been said and written about the ticklish financial and gold and silver stand- ard questions to almost fill the immense library at the Vatican in Rome. Impartiality and bold frankness are lacking in most of the works on the subject. VIII. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. WE MUST now beg the kind reader to accompany us figura- tively to the Capital of the United States, the seat of the Federal Government, the beautiful, neat and genteel city of Washington, in order to pass our comments on the Federal authorities in the same impartial, but fearless manner with which we have treated the previous subjects. A more appropriate and honorable name could not have been selected for the National Capital than that of the great and patriotic Washington. A peculiar charm surrounds the Capital on the banks of the Potomac and a prestige enjoyed by no other city in the country, arising from the fact, that here reside the Chief Magistrate of the nation, his Cabinet, the Supreme Court, the heads of the different Government depart- ments and a host of employees, all generously remunerated. Congress meets here during many months of the year in the stately capitol ; the public buildings are fine specimens of architecture, symmetry and strength ; the streets in admirable condition, the broad avenues planted with shade trees and an air of aristocratic gentility pervading the place, vulgar traffic and commercial transactions being there relegated to the back- ground. Above all towers the great Washington monument, five hundred and fifty feet high, in the form of an immense obelisk, but which ought to have taken the shape and propor- tions of a column, with a colossal statue of Washington to crown it. Washington may be counted the third handsomest capital in the world after Paris and Vienna ; yet its natural beauty is greatly marred by the dull reddish brown color of her brick buildings ; the houses should be painted in light colors, like one of the business streets, and the effect with the masses of green foliage would be enchanting. Another incon- venience is the presence of an immense number of colored people, about one-third part of the whole population of the District of Columbia, the majority of whom ought to have FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 169 been induced to choose another field for their labors instead of remaining in the capital city after the war of Secession. Washington is undoubtedly the best-governed city of the United States, for the powerful but simple reason, that there is no board of aldermen, no common council, consequently no municipal obstruction, no stealing and pilfering as in other cities. The District of Columbia is governed by a commission of three, appointed by the President, with the consent of the Senate, for a term of three years. One of these commissioners must be an officer of the United States Engineer Corps above the rank of captain ; the other two civilians. These latter receive $5,000 per annum, whilst the officer has only his army pay. The civilians must give absolutely secure bonds in the penal sum of $50,000. These commissioners have control of affairs concerning the city of Washington and the Federal District and are subject to the powers conferred on them by Congress. The commissioners appoint the trustees of the public schools, who serve without any compensation. It is a great pity that the capital of the United States should have been located so close to the seacoast, instead of being situated more in the center of the country, five or six hundred miles inland. Its position is too much exposed in case of a foreign war and possible invasion of the vandals of modern times. The area of the District of Columbia is about sixty square miles. The plan of the city of Washington was laid out by President Washington himself, with the assistance of a French engineer of the army, the work being subsequently completed by Ellicott. The city was laid out at right angles, but is trav- ersed by a number of avenues at oblique angles, it is said, for strategical purposes in cases of invasion or rebellion, Washing- ton having been a farseeing man. The streets average one hundred feet in width and the avenues one hundred and fifty feet, making in all thirty-three miles of the most perfectly built and level thoroughfares to be found anywhere on the globe a perfect paradise for bicycle riders, of whom thousands are met on the streets shooting about for business or pleasure purposes. Washington is about four miles in length and two and a half in width. 170 FEDERAL, GOVERNMENT. In the Orient, where, the Mohammedan creed predominates, it is considered a duty of great religious importance to undertake a pilgrimage to Mecca, in Arabia, where the tomb of the Prophet is situated. The journey to Mecca is connected with immense difficulties and great hardships; it may be said that one-third of the poor pilgrims never return to their homes. In a like spirit, and considering the ease and perfect comfort with which we Americans can reach the national capital, our people ought to do their utmost to visit Washington at some period of their life, and also the shrine where the Father of his country is entombed. In consequence of the exposed position of the city of Wash- ington, and considering that it contains such costly public build- ings, the priceless archives, accounts and records of the Govern- ment, from its inception to the present day, the navy yard and cannon foundry and other public property worth many hundred millions, the place should be strongly fortified, not only against a coup de main on the part of a foreign invader, but also to pro- tect it against the sudden eruption of a rebellious mob, which is so easily organized and armed in our country. A series of detached forts in telegraphic, heliographic and ballistic com- munication with each other, armed with the most improved heavy artillery and lightly garrisoned in time of peace, would be sufficient, with half a dozen light batteries to protect the buildings in the city and command the streets. It is all well enough to allege the improbability of a foreign war or of an internal rebellion. Such things have happened before and may occur again quite suddenly and unexpectedly, if we are to believe certain symptoms in the horizon. As the saying is, ' ' One pound of prevention is better (and cheaper) than one ton of cure." The destruction, burning, or sacking of the national capital would be an irreparable, appalling loss to our country and the world. Better appropriate twenty millions for the defense of the capital and commence the great work at once. It will take tnree years to accomplish it, the topography of the Federal District being unfavorable and requiring skillful as well as scientific military engineering to insure a perfect system of defense. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 171 The Constitution of the United States, adopted on the iyth of September, 1787, is a masterpiece of an organic law, a " Magna Charta " redounding to the highest honor of the noble and patriotic men who framed, approved and signed it. It was one of the grandest acts of peace ever performed since history affords us plausible records. This Constitution is sometimes read in public on the 4th of July each year, together with the no less famous Declaration of Independence, made eleven years previous, and also read by the pupils of the schools ; but we may venture to say that scarcely one in a hundred remembers anything about it. Reference being frequently made in these humble lines to the text of the Constitution, we deem it useful to the kind reader to append a copy of it ; also one of the Constitution of the Swiss Confed- eration, which is no less admirable, and the perusal of which will no doubt greatly interest him or her. Our American Constitution had evidently been used as a model by Switzerland, when that famous Confederation con- solidated more closely in 1848, after their short war of secession ( ' ' Sonderbund Krieg " ), and adopted a new char- ter. This was revised and perfected in 1874 by the insertion of a number of clauses, which might in turn be copied by our own great country without dimming our glory in the slightest degree, because our Constitution of 1787 has been the great beacon light by which the Republics of France, Switzerland and most of the Spanish-American States have been guided, when they framed their own free organic law. Nothing, however, is perfect in this defective world. At the time of elaborating our old Constitution a hundred and seven years ago, its provisions were adequate for all require- ments of the period and as complete and perfect as any human work can be ; still the changes of the times, circumstances, conditions of men and the requirements of the nation in general, rendered it necessary to make additions to the original Constitution at various periods, in the shape of amendments proposed by Congress and ratified by the different States composing the Union. Since the last amendment has been added to the venerable document, new events have taken place on the social and political chessboard of the nation, 172 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. and further amendments, some of quite a radical but neces- sary nature, would seem to be in order to all well-meaning, honest and patriotic minds. A careful perusal of the appended Swiss Constitution will at once point out the particular clauses bearing on our own case and which are worthy of our earliest and most serious consideration. It is no humiliation, no disgrace, no impropriety, to imitate and adopt that which we find superior in our fellow-beings, much less so in our sister nations, especially the republics. Unfortunately ''jingoism," or rather, as it is called in this country, " spread-eagleism," is too prevalent here, and we generally consider ourselves superior in everything to other nations, when some of them can teach us humiliating lessons, to witness, the Peru- vian, Chilean and Sandwich imbroglios, into which we were led by the ignorance and stubbornness of those responsible for our false position and the moral hits we received on these and other occasions. In diplomacy for instance we cannot hold a candle to the smallest Spanish-American republic, because these have trained men, knowledge of human nature, winning ways and manners, besides other diplomatic qualifications, in which we are sadly deficient. We will return to this subject later on and give it proper ventilation, as it is of great im- portance also. The glorious Republic of Switzerland ("Schweizerische Kidgenossenschaft ") originally consisted of twenty-five differ- ent republics, and is now consolidated into twenty-two Cantons. Her new Constitution was approved by the Cantons and adopted on the 29th day of May, 1874. The Swiss Government is undoubtedly as perfect as anything human can possibly be. As a matter of course, this state of perfection is the result of six hundred years of practical experiments. After passing through the vicissitudes of war, foreign, civil and religious, exposed to the attacks of the surrounding powerful nations, who coveted those portions of Switzerland bordering on their States; internecine rivalries and fierce struggles; the resistance of the powerful landed, secular and monastic clergy to all innovations and progress, the valiant and patriotic Swiss peo- ple came out victorious and covered with glory from all these FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 173 dangerous struggles and complications, and alike to the phoe- nix, their republic has emerged from the trying flames puri- fied, consolidated and perfected. No wonder that these people love their mountains and institutions! The Federal Assembly of Switzerland is composed of the National Council of 147 members (one for every twenty thou- sand inhabitants), elected for three years by direct vote of the nation, and the Council of States, consisting of forty-four mem- bers, likewise elected for three years by direct suffrage in part of the Cantons and by the legislative authorities in others. These two legislative bodies, in turn, elect the Federal Council, consisting of seven Swiss citizens, which is the executive authority, also for three years. They also elect the President of the Confederation from the bosom of the Federal Council, for one year, and the members of the Federal Tribunal (Supreme Court), of fourteen members and nine substitutes, for six years. The President cannot succeed himself and steps out at the conclusion of his year; but he may be re-elected at some future period. President and Vice- President are elected annually, in January, from the members of the Federal Coun- cil, which is, in fact, the Cabinet, who have the title of " Chief of Department," and exercise the same functions as the Secre- taries composing our own Cabinet. The President may select any department he chooses, except those of War and Finance, which he cannot hold whilst he is President. The seven departments are : Interior, Military, Justice and Police^ For- eign, Finance and Excise, Industry and Agriculture, and Posts and Railroads. Every Swiss citizen who has attained the age of twenty years is entitled to vote and eligible to office, the clergymen alone excepted. Here are three wise provisions in the Swiss Constitution : the Presidential term of but one year and no immediate re-elec- tion; the inability of the President to occupy the position of either Secretary of War or of the Treasury; and the exclusion of all clergymen from the legislative assemblies. The servants of the Lord are thus relegated to their proper sphere. Switzer- land has had enough of ecclesiastical troubles and does not want any more. For the same reason she has persistently refused to allow an apostolic delegate to reside at her capital 174 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. or anywhere in her territory. Some thirty years ago a papal ablegate came to Bern in spite of the government, and was politely reconducted to the Italian frontier. The powers of the President of the Swiss Confederation are very limited, not at all in comparison with the immense faculties exercised by the President of the United States of North America, who is sometimes called ' ' the King in a clawhammer coat ; ' ' for verily his attributes are superior to those of the Queen of England, the Kings of Belgium, Denmark, and several other monarchs. In the first place he is not only supreme commander of the army and navy, but also of the militia of the different States, when called into the service of the United States ; he need not take actual command in the field in time of war, yet all orders emanate from him and he appoints and removes the commanders at his pleasure ; he grants reprieves and pardons ; he makes treaties with foreign nations, subject to the ratification of the Senate ; with the approval of the same body he appoints the Secretaries of the Departments, Ambassadors, Ministers, Consuls, Judges of the Supreme and Federal courts and a host of other officers of the Federal Government, and so forth. Such powers were well vested in and safely confided to such men as Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Monroe, Pierce and Lincoln; but in the hands of more than one President of the United States of North America they were badly abused and misused. Therefore these powers should be restricted, especially that of vetoing any law passed by a majority of both houses of Congress. The presumption that one single individual should know more about a measure or question that has been studied, sifted, ventilated, discussed and thoroughly examined for weeks and sometimes months, by the respective committees, and subse- quently by hundreds of men supposed to possess some intellect, and that has been adopted by a majority of these men, is absurd in the highest degree. The only valid apology that could possibly be given for the anomalous veto power vested in the President might be that of undue haste 011 the part of Congress in passing an act ; but our Solons in Washington, FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 175 like their compeers in the State Legislatures, are not generally afflicted by excess of zeal ; on the contrary, delay and procrastination are their organic defects. The Constitution should be amended so that the President shall sign all bills passed by Congress within seven days, as a matter of form only and courtesy to him as Chief Magistrate; but in extraordinary cases only shall he have the privilege to return a bill to Congress with his brief and pertinent remarks, requesting that body to reconsider the bill and vote on it once more, but a simple majority vote> and no limit of two-thirds, shall be sufficient to decide the whole matter, and the President be bound to affix his signature immediately upon the second passage of such bill. Of all the high gubernatorial stations on earth, some of which are "way up," as the vulgar saying is, including that of the Dalai Lama of Thibet, that of President of the United States of North America stands foremost in rank, honor and dignity. The man who does not recognize that fact is to be pitied. The Czar of Russia, who is the autocrat, secular and spiritual ruler over a hundred millions of people, extending over a larger territory than the United States, the master over the life, death and property of all his subjects, may be considered the most powerful ruler on earth; but, be his glory ever so great, it cannot compare with that of the Chief Magistrate of our own country. The latter does not inherit his station by the so-called divine right of succession, which is but an accident of birth, but he is chosen as first man in the country on account of his qualifications and his personal value, and he rules over seventy millions of free and intelligent people, not over serfs, slaves and ignorant men. The rank of President of the United States is often underrated and not sufficiently appreciated by the people in general, and sometimes by the incumbent himself. Such an exalted, honorable and exceptional station should be surrounded by the highest respect on the part of everybody ; no personal, insulting, or sarcastical, ridiculing articles con- cerning him should be allowed to appear in print, nor any caricatures made of his person, whilst in the presidential chair. His person during the four years of his term must be sacred to 176 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. all, high and low ; if we have cause to dislike and not to esteem the individual, his exilted rank above all of us must inspire reverence and respect ; else we befoul our own nest. The President of the United States is entitled to the fullest and most ample protection of his person and that of his immediate family at all times and in all places during his administration. In beautiful and perfect Switzerland no standing army is necessary, even the police being almost superfluous, as the people are sensible, patriotic and orderly. In France and other countries the President has a staff of army officers, called his " military household," performing the functions of aids, secre- taries, ordnance officers, guards, etc. This is quite proper and useful besides. If in the now well-regulated and tested Republic of France such military protection is found appro- priate and necessary, it is no less so in this country, so full of ill-disposed and crazy individuals, for whom nothing whatever is sacred. We reflect with sadness on the infamous assassina- tion within twenty years of two of our Presidents, the great, immortal Lincoln and the unfortunate Garfield, a stain that will never be wiped from our national scutcheon, because we did not, and do not now, sufficiently and properly protect our Presidents. The President should have a military household of one colonel, one major and four captains of the army for protection of his person and the better service and dignity of his high office. Do not talk about Republican simplicity nowadays ; those times are passed long since. Steps to that effect should have been taken long age, ever since the kind, gentlemanly and honorable Franklin Pierce was brutally assaulted on the steps of the capitol and rotten eggs broken on his head. We have too many miserable wretches and irres- ponsible cranks, who hover around the White House and even openly threaten the inmates. Still more, a military guard of twelve soldiers and one officer should be stationed at the White House and a sentinel placed at the different entrances, said guard to be relieved once in four hours. Had poor Lincoln and Garfield been accompanied by one officer only, in uniform, with sword and pistol, they would not have been assassinated. We owe that much to the men who consent to take charge of the exalted but highly difficult FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 177 station at the head of this powerful nation. The other public buildings in Washington, too, ought to be protected by a mili- tary guard each and sentinels, relieved once in four hours. There is no saying to what follies and excesses certain dangerous and crazy elements may resort ; it is better to pro- vide in time against such contingencies and thus prevent their occurrence. When the population of the United States consisted but of a few millions, and the recent exploits of generals and civilians during the revolutionary period were household words, and the statesmen personally known, so to say, to every citizen, the choice of a President was no great difficulty and could be safely intrusted to the people at large. The provisions of the Con- stitution, too, were evidently intended to secure the election of the fittest candidate and the one who secured the majority of the electoral vote. These provisions have been entirely perverted ; the electors are no longer presidential voters, but mere dummies. The presidential elections of our day are farces ; we have no choice of men but the two or three candidates set up by the corrupt party conventions, composed of schemers, pro- fessional politicians and office-fiends, with a scanty alloy of honest and patriotic men. The nominations of these candidates take place amidst noise and uproar and scenes of a more or less undignified and indecent character. But few of the people know anything of the nominees for presidential honors but what they read in partial and biased newspapers, which either blacken the candidates completely, or praise them to the skies. Therefore it is not the people, as originally intended by the Constitution, that elect our Presidents, but a clique of politicians ; the people have no choice in the matter. And then consider the upheaval, disturbance and disorder reigning all over the country for a year or more previous to the real election. The game is not worth the money. The President and Vice- President should be elected every four years by the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress assembled, by a majority vote, from their own number. This process would not only bring immense relief to the country in general, but would un- doubtedly insure the election of the proper man, because the 178 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. Senators and Deputies (as they ought to be called) have a far better opportunity to see and become acquainted with the candidates than the general public, who are mostly fooled and deceived in a shameful manner. It is only a wonder we have stood it so long ! No President should be allowed to succeed himself, though he may be re-elected at some future period if he has done remarkably well during his first term. The presidential messages are too long altogether ; they lack clearness and conciseness, and instead of subserving the public interest, create confusion and frequently contempt on the part of Congress. The President should hand in a summary but clear report of his doings during the year, accompanied by the respective short reports of the members of the Cabinet, and suggest such measures as in his opinion and judgment may be necessary and useful. This document ought to contain but one-tenth part of the usual yearly messages to Congress, which are read and thrown in the congressional waste-basket, there- fore losing their object and purpose entirely. The salaries of the President and Vice-President are pretty fair. If the former is economically inclined, he can easily lay aside one-half of his salary as a reserve fund for later years. On the other hand a larger amount ought to be appropriated for the representation fund of the Presidential office, the public festivities and entertainments at the White House, etc., etc., such as are in harmony with the power, wealth and dignity of this great nation. After having filled the exalted station of Chief Magistrate of this mighty Republic during four years, the prestige of which will cleave to him as long as he lives, the fortunate ex-President should retire to private life and not engage in any vulgar and inferior profession. Some of our Presidents have not had sufficient regard for their dignity in that respect, and, to the great mortification of the sensible portion of their fellow-citizens, returned to ordinary though not dishonorable pursuits, one of them again becoming a member of a law firm and even consenting to plead in open court ; another one acting as lecturer in a university for a consideration. George Washing- ton and several others followed the illustrious example of Cincinnatus and returned to their farms. Charles V., the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 179 mightiest emperor of his age, the ruler of one-half of the then known world, Germany, Hungary, Bohemia, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, part of Africa, America (then recently discovered) and a portion of India, became weary of the burden of such a mighty realm and abdicated in favor of his son and his brother, retiring to a monastery in Spain, where he died after six years of seclusion ; there was dignity in that act. The most appropriate and dignified way of dispos- ing of our retiring Presidents would assuredly be to create them members of the Senate for the rest of their lives. In this way they would not only occupy a most honorable position with regard to their own dignity and the satisfaction of the nation, but their emoluments as Senators would keep them from want, if they should retire poor, like Jefferson and others after him. But these are not the only reasons for seat- ing them in the Senate, if we take into consideration that a four years' term in the Presidential chair must necessarily give them the vastest experience and a precious fund of knowledge of all our national and foreign affairs, that would prove more valuable than that of any twelve ordinary Sena- tors combined. There are seldom more than one or two ex-Presidents in existence, when they retire from office, and the trifling emoluments coming to them, as Senators would be hugely compensated by their further most valuable services to the nation. During the course of several official visits to Washington, the writer has had ample opportunity to observe the principal departments of the Government and to study their different systems, thus gathering most valuable information. People who complain of u red tape," know but little of the mighty and complicated machinery required to run such a Govern- ment. The system of accounts, control and routine in the differ- ent departments is almost perfect and would be still more so were it not for the continual changes in officials brought about by the alternations of the political parties. Long before the elections approach the officials become agitated, anxious and afraid of the sword of Damocles suspended over their devoted heads, or the "political ax," as it is sometimes called in 180 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. official slang. This is absolutely wrong, as we have endeav- ored to show in a previous chapter, and a positive injury to the public service. One of the commendable features that lend such supe- riority to the American Federal Government and facilitate its workings to an amazing degree, is the liberal system of printing carried out by the Bureau of Printing and Engraving belonging to the Government. Everything that can possibly be printed in the shape of account, record and other books, blanks of all possible forms, etc., is turned out by that great and useful institution for the better service of the Government, and the printing, binding and engraving are of the best and finest kind. In this manner a great deal of time and labor is saved in the depart- ments at Washington and in all the Federal offices throughout the country, and the work in general is more uniform and correct than it would otherwise be. We have found the officials in Washington from the highest to the lowest grades, with but a few exceptions, gentlemen of courtesy and marked attention to their duties. There is one drawback, however, to give it a mild name, greatly hampering the transaction of the public business, which is the vast number of feminine clerks infesting the different depart- ments. There must be some seven hundred in the Treasury Building alone and thousands more in the other buildings. There are continual frictions, jealousies and petty acts of unpleasantness between a portion of the women themselves and the sterner male clerks. We have witnessed it and heard the opinion of chiefs of divisions as well as plain clerks on the subject, which is decidedly against the presence of the women; but they are powerless and have no choice, most of the women being forced on the Departments by the Senators, Represen- tatives and other persons of great political influence. There are some very quiet, competent, elderly ladies employed as clerks, etc., but the great majority are unfit, have no business there and should be discharged. The Government of the United States should not be managed, even indirectly, by women ; we believe there are still able men enough left to take care of it in the most efficient manner. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 181 The department officials in Washington and in the other Federal offices throughout the country are faithful and honest, all that is said by the people to the contrary notwithstanding. Fraud, embezzlement and defalcation are difficult and of rare occurrence ; the control by the auditors, controllers and special agents is very strict and complete. Still black sheep will be found in a large flock, and in this connection we have to find fault with the lengthy trials, languid process and inade- quate punishment of the offenders, thus again pointing out the great defects in the entire judicial system of the country, commencing from the Supreme Court down to the justices of the peace, marshals, sheriffs, lawyers, etc., etc., all included. Law and the proper execution of it is the true base on which all good government is constructed, else it must sooner or later go to pieces. If our feeble efforts, as expressed in this book, lead to any kind of reform in this direction, we shall not have labored in vain. We feel convinced that the entire right- minded portion of our population coincides with our opinion on this subject, if not on any of the other theories we made so free as to express. With great reluctance we must now enter on another most important subject relating to the Federal Government, which i ; the Senate and House of Representatives. There is no fault to find with the manner of electing the members of both Houses, but there is much to. blame in the manner of carrying out the important mandates of the people, who have elected and sent them to Washington, paying a high salary, traveling expenses, etc., for very poor services. Experience has shown, during the past twenty years, that we have too many Senators; one Senator from each State would make a sufficient number to transact the^ business incumbent on that exalted body, expedite matters and reduce the public expenses. At the time of the election of a Senator by the respective State Leg- islatures, one or two substitutes should be elected, in case of the death or inability of the Senator, to replace him at once, which would obviate the improper practice of a Governor ap- pointing an objectionable person to such an important position for an unexpired term, that might extend to a number of years. 182 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. The Senate should be deprived of the power of originating bills, but restrict itself to examining all bills passed by the House of Representatives, accept or reject them. If accepted, the bill should go to the President for his signature (no veto), and if rejected, be returned to the House for reconsideration; and here is where the required two-thirds vote would be in order. As long as bills can originate in both Houses of Con- gress and are amended, returned and again amended by one or the other, or by both, playing the game of shuttlecock, so long will our legislators never accomplish their work, clean up the entangled mass of accumulated matter and give that satis- faction to the revenue-paying citizens to which they are justly entitled. As it is, neither the Senate nor the House do their full duty and do not come up to the rightful expectations of the nation. The moment a man enters the sacred portals of the Senate, he should leave his strong party feelings behind him, adopt loftier views and ever bear in mind that, even if he has been sent there by his political party against the wishes of his opponents, he has now become the exalted servitor of the whole nation, whose welfare should be considered above all other things. Unfortunately this is but rarely the case with our Senators. Political differences, party shades and sectional prejudice have some causes to exist in the Lower House, though even there they should not predominate ; but the United States Senate ought to be, above them and absolutely impartial, or better have no Senate at all. Supposing that the initiative for introducing bills, or proj- ects for legislation, should be taken from the Senate, and its functions in this respect restricted to passing on bills already approved by the House of Representatives, there would still be plenty of work to perform by the Senate : the examination of treaties with foreign countries; the appointment of Ambas- sadors, Ministers, Consuls and agents abroad, of the Judges of the Supreme Court, of all United States Court Officials, army officers, and of all other higher employees of the Government, established by law; besides a host of other executive matters, all of which require the approval of the Senate, before they can go into effect. In case any Senator should have a useful and FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 183 beneficial measure to offer, he would find no difficulty what- ever in getting a bill introduced into the lower House and duly supported; but no bill ought to originate in the bosom of the Senate. The evil results of this dual initiative have been practically proved, and our people are tired of the procrastina- tions, lack of conclusions and general tomfoolery prevailing in Congress. We want prompt and good legislation instead of waste of time, words and money. Article I of the Constitution of the United States of North America contains a clause reading : ' ' Each House may deter- mine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its members for dis- orderly Behaviour, and, with the concurrence of two- thirds, expel a Member." This clause would seem as plain and effective as anything can be, but the two Houses of Congress have not yet framed all the necessary rules that are urgently needed at the present time. Disorder reigns but too fre- quently in the Senate as well as in the House; many members conduct themselves in a shameful and undignified manner during the sessions; others absent themselves without leave and neglect the sacred duties they have voluntarily imposed on themselves, and for which they draw ample pay and emol- uments; others do not deem it worth while to attend at all during a whole term, or condescend to do so only for a few weeks, to cover appearances. There seems to be no way of enforcing the many rules laid down by the different assemblies of Congress. It frequently happens that members, not content with using vulgar, profane and unbecoming language toward each other and of failing in the respect due to the presiding officer, if not to their colleagues, indulge in threatening atti- tudes and even personal encounters. If such conduct is already disgraceful in a primary election meeting, it becomes a most serious offense in the sacred precincts -of Congress, and the offenders must be severely dealt with. But it seems, after the most disgraceful scenes, a simple apology is deemed suffi- cient and general!}' accepted. Offensive and disorderly Sena- tors and Congressmen must be reprimanded, fined, suspended, or expelled, according to the magnitude of the trespass. 184 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. During the course of our extensive travels we have attended the sessions of legislative bodies in Mexico and Central America, the Reichsrath in Vienna, the Parliament of Rome, that of England, France and Switzerland, and we have listened to fiery and violent debates on all sorts of subjects before the Houses; we have also witnessed disgraceful proceedings in two of them, especially in France in the Chamber of Deputies, which we will relate presently ; but our own Congress, which, as a matter of course, we have not neglected, bears the palm in disgraceful scenes and disorderly conduct. There may be mitigating circumstances in favor of the House of Representa- tives, the members of which are generally younger men and less experienced in the ways of parliamentary discussions and rules ; but when it comes to the Senate there is no excuse whatever for such an exalted body to overstep the limits of public decency and propriety and indulge in rowdy and disorderly conduct. The Senate often presents scenes of great confusion and disorder ; the member who has the floor is hardly listened to; some members are writing notes and letters, others reading, others chatting, others going in and out, as if the Chamber were a pigeon-house. The speakers should be compelled to step on a special tribune, if they have any speeches to make , and not be allowed to address the Senate from their desks. This desk business is a great nuisance and should be done away with, as it distracts the honorable gentlemen from the attention due to the matters in hand and gives them all sorts of opportunities to divert themselves. Take away those desks and oblige the Senators to listen, or at least sit quiet during the sessions, as they did in the times of Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. We are only surprised that the honorable gentlemen do not go one step further and provide lounges and rocking-chairs besides the huge desks with which they are supplied already. If they want to do any writing let them go to the rooms set apart for that very purpose. Speaking of rules of procedure and government within the sacred legislative chambers, those in force in the French legislative bodies, especially the frequently turbulent Chamber of Deputies, in so striking contrast with the dignified and FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 185 well-regulated Senate, are excellent and would come extremely handy for our Congress, in which both Houses seem to rival in excesses. The penalties there are : first, being simply called to order; second, called to order with inscription on the minutes; third, suspension for one or more sessions, with or without pay; and last, expulsion. We happened to be present at a stormy sitting of the Chamber in Paris, when a recalcitrant Deputy, disregarding the repeated calls to order, was condemned by the President, with the approval by vote of the Chamber, to exclusion from fifteen sessions and loss of one-half of his pay for two months. A dose of this kind of patent medicine would bring great relief to our Congress ! When in the French Chambers the disorder becomes too great and cannot be abated by ordinary means, the President puts on his hat, which signifies an immediate suspension of the session, and leaves the hall. There have been exceptional cases, when the punished member refused to leave the Chamber; the remedy then applied was suspension of the session, evacuation of the Chamber by all members and subsequent removal of the fool by the Colonel in charge of the palace, aided by a sufficient guard. Our own Capitol in Washington should be amply protected by a military guard, commanded by an officer under the orders of the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House, in order to provide against all emergencies and the intrusion of tramps, fools and other obnoxious elements, that come to interrupt the peace of the assemblies. If our Senators and Representatives absent themselves on private business for more than one week, they should not receive any pay. No member of Congress of either House should be arrested at any time during his entire term of office, except for overt criminal acts, and the consent of the respective House should be necessary to try him in any court. Such tricks as "no quorum," filibustering, tests of endurance and other subterfuges to defeat prompt action on the part of the two Rouses, are a disgrace to the bodies and should be stopped by stringent rules also. We have an unusual number of millionaires in Congress. These people seldom seek the honor except for selfish purposes, 186 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. to work for and attain certain objects in favor of their cor- porations and private speculations, with but little concern for the general welfare. Some of these millionaires seldom attend the sessions, but they never fail to draw their unearned pay and emoluments ; they should at least have decency enough to relinquish these. It is a great mistake to think that the Senators should be elected by direct vote of the people. We have already bother and trouble enough in the elections, as they are now carried on, and verily believe that a State Legislature is far more compe- tent to choose the proper person for the Senate in Washington, than the mass of the people, who know him only by hearsay and by the one-sided reports of biased newspapers. The same powerful reasons already stated for the choice of President by Congress assembled, obtain in the case of the Senators. In France, too, a strong movement is on foot to abolish the veto power of the Senate. It is not deemed proper that a Senate elected by restricted suffrage should have the right to hinder and embarrass the action of the lower House, elected by uni- versal vote and four times superior in numbers to the Senate. In England the Government itself has given the signal of revolt against the House of L,ords, and that body will certainly be either thoroughly modified or abolished altogether, though the latter alternative would be contrary to the traditions of Great Britain and of questionable benefit. The Federal Government places its condemned prisoners in the State correctional institutions and pays board and lodging for them, military prisoners excepted, who are located in military prisons to serve their sentences. Separate prisons ought to be erected for the civil portion of the nation's offenders, which might be guarded by a detachement of in- fantry and be thus kept on an independent footing. There are a number of periodicals in Washington recording current Government events, but their news is not official and authentic. To our knowledge only the Patent Office has an official organ, called the " Official Gazette ; " however, it deals only on matters relating to inventions. It would be much FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 187 better for the Government and the public, if an "Official Gazette" or "United States Monitor" were published daily, or even weekly only, containing no advertisements of any kind, no leading articles, no commentaries, but simply the actual proceedings of Congress when in session, the movements of army and navy, appointments to and changes in Government circles all over the country, the doings of the Supreme Court and the various departments, and such other items as may be deemed meet and proper to be communicated to the people. Such a publication would be an immense success, and the expenses largely covered by a hundred thousand subscriptions, the very least, besides obviating the great annoyance entailed on the various officials on the part of indiscreet and insatiable reporters hanging around the Departments. Matters that should forever remain secret for diplomatic and international reasons, or only be published at the proper time, have frequently leaked out prematurely. Presidential messages and other important documents have been purloined, to the great mortification of the parties concerned, whilst the guilty reporters and their employers were gloating over their indecent success and the doubtful means by which it was achieved. In matters of State not everything can be communicated to the general public. For these patent reasons an " Official Monitor" would be the very best thing, and the news published in it sufficient for all hotiest purposes. From this the papers could copy all they want, and need not be at all ashamed to get such official news second-hand. It matters very little whether it be known a day or two later than by the present loose and entirely unreliable system. To-day an item of more or less importance is telegraphed; to-morrow it is contradicted or modified, and the reader remains in doubt about the real facts. The Diplomatic and Consular service of the United States is very defective and of shameful irregularity ; every sensible man knows it. In this manner the efficiency of such an important service is not only greatly impaired, but we also expose ourselves to the unfavorable criticism of other nations. 188 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. Commencing with Benjamin Franklin down to a recent period, we have had diplomatic agents abroad that were an ornament to our Government and second to none of other countries as to their brilliant official and personal qualities; but the great majority were only partly fit for such honorable positions, and not a few a disgrace to the nation. The writer became person- ally acquainted with several American diplomats abroad who were brilliant exceptions ; two of them the sons of two of the greatest men in our history, and another one most eminently qualified as a gentleman and scholar for the distinguished office intrusted to him ; all three becoming special favorites not only with the Governments they had been accredited to, but also with the highest classes of society. Unfortunately we had to meet, on the other hand, several sad specimens of American Ministers, Consuls- General and Consuls, representing our great country, who had better have remained at home in their proper sphere than to have been called from their second- class law office, country editorial chair or bigoted pulpit to assume important diplomatic functions, of which they had no more notion than a cat has of a chronometer. We will here relate a strange diplomatic incident that happened years ago in one of the Spanish-American Republics, the writer being present as Secretary of Legation. Our Minister had arrived at the capital after a week's travel on horseback, wearing a black dress coat and glazed cap. His reception at the palace took place the following morning, when his luggage had not yet come up ; but he did not hesitate to present himself before the President, his cabinet, the high functionaries and diplomatic corps, in that travel- stained dress-coat, looking extremely shabby. Not accustomed to the ceremonies usual on such an occasion, our Knvoy stopped in the middle of the Audience Hall, and, not knowing what to do with his glazed cap, deposited it on the floor by his side. The situation was ridiculous and very painful, but the President came to his relief good-naturedly and overlooked the breach of etiquette. Similar incidents have happened in other capitals, in which American diplomats were the conspicuous actors. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 189 Some persons are born diplomats ; but notwithstanding this advantage, long and careful training is necessary to fit one for this delicate and honorable career. For this reason the diplo- matic service in other countries is treated as a distinct branch, in which candidates enter the lower grades, become Attaches, Secretaries of Legation, Vice-Consuls, Consuls-General, Envoys and Ambassadors, according to their more or less rapid advancement and their individual merit and qualifications. An American Consul, Minister, or Envoy should know either the language of the country he is sent to, or in place thereof, French at least, which is so universally spoken in official circles ; if not, they have to submit to the humiliating intervention of interpreters, and the object of an interview with the foreign official is in peril of not being properly accom- plished. Several of our diplomatic agents to Spanish- American Republics were quite successful and well received on account of some knowledge of the Castilian language, which enabled them to converse with the officials without the aid of an interpreter. It is an immense mistake to recall our ministers and consuls after every political change, in order to give their positions to incompetent and often unworthy persons, as a compensation for electioneering services or pecuniary contri- butions in favor of their party. We have quite a number of foreign missions for which there is not the slightest need ; these should be suppressed. In such countries a Consul-Gen- eral, or simple Consul, would amply suffice for the limited diplomatic business that might perhaps turn up at some time. In cases of serious complications a Special Envoy might be in order, to be recalled as soon as his mission is accomplished. Three or four ministers for the whole of Europe should be sufficient, with the necessary staff of secretaries and attaches well versed in the necessary languages and in general diplo- matic matters. Several attempts have been made in Congress to reform and improve the diplomatic and consular service, so as to render it efficient, useful and ornamental at the same time ; but all these efforts were in vain and will be fruitless as long as the periodical ' ' removal cancer ' ' is gnawing the political vitals of this great country and as long as " Vce victis ' ' is the motto 190 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. (' ' To the victor belong the spoils"), without the slightest regard to the merit of the candidates for office and the advancement of the public service. Newspaper opinions and admonitions on public matters are of very little benefit; the people have become indifferent to their erratic and chameleon-like utter- ances. ' ' No person in the diplomatic service of the United States shall wear any uniform, or official costume, not previously authorized by Congress, ' ' is one of the rules of this branch of the public service. We have personally heard several of our foreign envoys complain of this provision, which has become traditionary in our customs. Perhaps it would be better for the State Department to follow the universal custom and adopt some sort of distinguishing costume for our diplomatic agents abroad. Benjamin Franklin invented his famous black velvet suit for court service in Paris and wore a light sword ; but those were the times of knee breeches and pigtails, by far less stupid, ridiculous and impractical than the male dress of the present period. It is indeed inconceivable how it was reserved for the nineteenth century with its inventions and progress to invent and adhere to such a system of wearing apparel, including the horrible stovepipe hat and the long pantaloons, after mankind had been dressing decently for five thousand years. If there is any august tribunal on our globe from which there is no appeal but to the Creator, whose decisions are seldom known to mortal man in his lifetime, it is the Supreme Court of the United States ; if it is not, it ought to be ! The framers of our unique Constitution have made the appoint- ment of the Supreme Justices "ad vitam" precisely for the purpose of placing them above the vulgar vicissitudes of party politics, and thus make them permanent, unattackable and beyond even the suspicion of corruption. Had they been able, in the purity of their hearts and the honesty of their purpose, to foresee what disgraceful elements would creep into even the Supreme Court and tarnish its splendid glory, they would have surrounded it with still greater protection from FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 191 any such possible contamination. The United States Supreme Court consists of nine members, one of whom bears the title of Chief Justice and presides. Their pay and emoluments are quite sufficient ; neither do they seem to exert themselves to any extraordinary extent, taking their duties, business and things very easy ; too easy altogether, considering the enor- mous mass of business which has accumulated during so many years, and which they will never get through, unless relief comes in some shape by modifying their functions and by increasing their number to thirteen, a lucky number for the United States of North America at least. The United States Supreme Court has jurisdiction over controversies of a civil nature where a State is party, but not between a State and its citizens, or between a State and citizens of another State, or aliens, in which latter cases it has original but not exclusive jurisdiction ; jurisdiction over suits against ambassadors, or other public ministers, or their employees ; it has power to issue writs of prohibition in the District Courts and writs of mandamus to any United States Court ; appeals from the decisions of these courts ; and in brief, judicial power in all cases in I^aw and Equity arising under the provisions of the Constitution, the statutes of the United States and the treaties made. The theory and practical working of this august tribunal are thus fully prescribed by the fundamental code of the nation ; but times alter circum- stances, and when it is seen that our Supreme Court is no longer able, on account of the limited number of nine justices and the immense increase in the public business, to perform ifs duties properly, reform has become absolutely necessary in this the highest and most sacred department of the Federal Government. There should be a limit of age for the retire- ment of the justices on half pay, or when they become physically or mentally incapacitated to perform their duties. There are several members of the Supreme Court who should have resigned years ago for the latter causes. The comments made in the third chapter of this book on the functions of the Supreme Court properly belong to this division ; but it is not necessary to repeat them here, 192 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. further than to again emphasize the necessity of prompt decisions by all courts, commencing with the lowest State court and ending with the highest tribunal of the land. By this process alone, and by none other, can the majesty of the law be upheld, and that awe, respect and implicit obedience to all the statutes be insured, which form the strongest basis of all governments. Delays, procrastination, chicanery and subter- fuges in judicial matters only irritate the people and bring the law into disrepute, at the same time affording the so-called 1 ' legal profession ' ' the desired opportunites and a golden harvest. The Supreme Court has the power to nullify and set aside such acts of Congress as are contrary to the spirit and text of the Constitution. This is perfectly in order ; but our Supreme Court should derive its information concerning the unconstitu- tionality of a bill passed by Congress from other sources than from the spiteful protest and foolish arguments of any legal shyster, who, at the end of all his resources in a case, often resorts to this subterfuge, the same as he is accustomed to do with the " insanity" plea; it is he who is generally insane, not the client. There is one case unforeseen and not provided for in the Constitution of the United States of North America. In the present seemingly endless conflict between the principal political parties and with the unpleasant prospect of further complications arising, with the sad example set by the present Congress, the action of one or the other House may at any time become paralyzed, if not entirely blocked, or as the parliamen- tary slang has it, "deadlocked," without any prospect of one side yielding to reasonable argument or the stronger voice of true patriotism. What then ? The Supreme Court of the United States should have the power, upon the demand of the President, supported by the Senate, or the House of Representatives, to dissolve the impotent, dissenting, or mutinous body and immediately order new elections in order to restore peace and harmony in Congress and expedite the transaction of business put in jeopardy by the impotent House or Senate. A contingency of this sort is hardly likely FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 193 to happen; still, is it not much better, if a case of such tran- scendent importance, equal to a national calamity, should occur, to have the remedy already enacted, than to risk chaos and confusion, as in certain Presidential elections, that came pretty near resulting in a new sanguinary civil war of gigantic proportions and the disruption of our great Republic ? IX. UNITED STATES ARMY. "\TJ1TH a sigh of relief and a feeling of satisfaction we have VV now reached the last chapter of our self-inflicted task: the United States Army. As the traveler, after crossing a high and rugged range of mountains, deep gulches and ravines, swift and dangerous torrents, emerges finally from his hard- ships and fatigue and sees before him the goal of his weary journey, so do we rejoice to have reached the object of our taste and inclination, the Army. Here we have hardly any fault to find, although we will pass the necessary comments. Of the few stable and permanent institutions of this great Republic the Army is the most important in all respects. Our people in general know but little of the United States Army : now 'and then a brief notice of some change of superior com- mand, promotion, or retirement of officers ; more frequently the sarcastical, unjust and arbitrary criticism of our newspapers on some event or other in garrison life, if it be sensa- tional enough to attract the attention of the reporters. It is therefore a most agreeable duty for the writer to give the kind and indulgent reader some information, at least, on this very interesting subject. Of the United States Navy we have made mention already and have but little to say ; it is a branch of the public service of which we do not know enough to discuss it fairly and intelligently. We may say,however, that we have had frequent opportunity to visit United States men-of-war in different foreign ports, and that we had the honor of being acquainted since our youth with naval officers, several of whom rose subsequently to high rank in the Navy, and those yet living will remember the episodes. The officers of our Navy are gentlemen in the fullest sense of the word and second to none of other navies in scientific and technical knowledge. We seldom hear of the loss of American war vessels. The officers of our Navy acquire a particular polish and courteous manners by their travels abroad and contact with high officials, as UNITED STATES ARMY. 195 well as of refined society, in foreign countries. Promotion, however, is too slow and makes it almost hopeless for a Lieutenant to ever attain the rank and emoluments of Cap- tain, before he is himself too old to enjoy such an improved position for more than a few years. We require a great many naval officers of the fullest competency in case of foreign com- plications ; such officers cannot be supplied by the merchant service nowadays with the complicated contrivances of the modern war ships and scientific artillery, torpedoes, etc. There is a remedy for more rapid promotion ; leave only the younger, strong and able officers in active service on board the vessels and assign the older to shore duty, where there is almost as extensive a field for their most valuable services, enhanced by years of practical duty on board, as there is in the active line. The Navy Department at Washington and the yards in different parts of the country can easily absorb five hundred officers for shore duty, available in case of danger. They would be more useful than the many civilians employed in these departments. No officer of the Navy should be assigned to shore duty unless he has done at least ten years of sea duty, tempered by an occasional leave of absence of a couple of months, according to the nature of his service. In former years, Lieutenants of our Navy were granted leave of absence to enable them to take command of steamers conveying the United States mails, their govern- ment pay ceasing during such leave. This practice might have been continued in order to give more of the younger officers active sea practice. The writer has had the good fortune to study, in an official capacity, the principal military systems of Europe and several American Republics, and to admire the appearance, organi- zation, outfit, armament and vast numbers of the European troops. But a few years ago he witnessed the massing of an army of 120,000 men with 600 pieces of field artillery within a square of less than two miles in the southeastern part of France. With these vast armies, however, we have nothing to do in this work. Their numbers are excessive. 196 UNITED STATES ARMY. Bven admitting that a numerous standing army is necessary to uphold the governments of Europe, and to guard against the latent dangers of uprisings, revolutions, sacking and plundering on the part of the "disinherited of fortune," as Victor Hugo calls them, the number of troops of the line kept under arms is still by far in excess of what is needed for the defense of the frontiers and protection of life and property. Here again the Swiss Republic takes the palm. Before entering on the subject of our own Army we think it proper and of interest to the kind reader to give a brief account of the admirable military system of Switzerland, which, however, would not be suitable to any other form of government but a democratic Republic, or perhaps a completely constitutional monarchy, in which the ruler is but an hereditary President with absolutely limited powers. There is no standing or regular army in Switzerland, nor does she need any. Yet every citizen is a trained soldier, classified and assigned, available at any time, if he is called into service, and a formi- dable factor to count with. He not only allies personal physical vigor to the necessary military training, but is also possessed of valor, endurance and above all, the most ardent patriotism. These inestimable qualifications of the Swiss have been illustrated hundreds of times in their history. If these hardy mountaineers in the middle ages were able to repel all invasions of hosts superior in numbers, means and armament, and to win such brilliant and overwhelming battles as Morgarten, Sempach, Nafels, Grandson, Murten, etc., etc., when their country was small and hardly united, without resources and allies, what must not be their present power, closely united in one solid body, amply supplied with means and fitted out with the most improved armament? Certainly not inferior to their might and strength of former times, and their incomparable natural defenses have not been altered. Switzerland is bordered by Germany on the north, Austria on the east, Italy on the south and France on the west. The neutrality and inviolability of her territory have been guar- anteed by these powers ; neither is there any desire on the part of either of them to encroach on the rights of Switzerland, UNITED STATES ARMY. 197 or to covet a portion of her territory, all points on which the glorious little cradle of modern liberty will allow no interference of any sort and under any pretext whatever. Prussia tried to despoil Switzerland some forty years ago by laying claim to the Canton of Neufchatel, but the scheme would not work ; and only recently the Imperial Government of Germany made some unjust demands on her with regard to the anarchist question, only to find out that the Swiss are as firm in the support of their rights as are the foundations of the famous Mount Pilatus near Lucerne. Notwithstanding the lack of a regular standing army in Swit- zerland and the absence of garrisons in her capital and large cities, the country enjoys absolute internal peace and security; a handful of policemen and gendarmes is sufficient to preserve order. This is in most striking contrast with most of the other capital cities of Kurope. Paris, Vienna, Berlin and Rome for instance have an average garrison of ten thousand troops of the line at least, at all times. Supposing for a moment that these garrisons were withdrawn for some reason, with no prospect of a speedy return, the lower classes would rise at once, proclaim a republic and probably sack and plunder banks, stores, depots and government buildings ; enough blood would be shed in a few hours to flow in the gutters. The military establishment of Switzerland, efficient for all effects and purposes as it is, has the overwhelming advantage of cheapness, as compared with the exorbitant budgets of other States. In the fiscal year of 1892, for instance, the military expenses of the Confederation were 52,756,008 francs (about ten millions of dollars) for an army of two hundred thousand available men, and in this amount were included several millions extra appropriations for fortifications found to be necessary to complete the system of the national defense, amongst which may be counted the magnificent works on the St. Gotthard mountain toward the Italian frontier. The only real danger to Switzerland exists in the hostile disposition latent among the powerful neighboring States, France on the one hand and the triple alliance on the other. Germany, Austria and Italy combined and sincerely faithful to their compact, would no doubt be a most formidable foe to 198 UNITED STATES ARMY. combat ; yet, with the aid of a powerful French army, Switzerland might again destroy such vast invading hosts and these share the sad fate of Duke Leopold of Austria and Charles of Burgundy, whose armies were not only utterly defeated by the Swiss, but themselves slain like common troopers on the battlefield. The principal and almost exclusive military aim of the Swiss Government is to secure a perfect system of defense, to insure, and if need be enforce, her neu- trality and the inviolability of her territory,which, moreover, is so admirably adapted by nature, on account of her mountains and passes, to resist a tenfold superior enemy, the Swiss soldiers being supported by the most ardent patriotism, and what is still more valuable, the deadly skill of these people with the rifle. Woe unto the army that ventures into such a trap and at the present time ! For the reasons just stated the army organization of Switzer- land differs entirely from the systems prevailing in other countries of Europe. If she does not require and cannot afford the questionable luxury of a standing army, on the other hand nothing has been neglected by the Swiss Government, in accordance with the Federal Constitution, to render the system of organization and means of defense as complete and perfect as possible. Here we have no useless experimenting, ex- travagant and foolish waste of funds; the military questions are studied by thoroughly competent . and honest officers, reported on, and quick resolution and action follow right off. A comparatively small force only is necessary in time of peace to train and prepare all the citizens liable to military service, and yet this small force permits the formation of a powerful army in case of war or internecine troubles. The Military Department of the Federal Council, residing in Bern, the capital of the Confederation, exercises the supreme military authority in the Republic and over the local military authorities of the several Cantons. Every able-bodied man having attained the age of twenty years is liable to military service, cripples, blind, and weak constitutions alone excepted. The military training is short but careful, and embraces all that is necessary to make a staunch and well-disciplined defender of the soil ; the young UNITED STATES ARMY. 199 men take to it very willingly and with the evident satisfaction of fulfilling a sacred duty ; the short period of drilling and theoretical instruction, as well as the temporary change of residence and habits, afford them recreation and enjoyment. The new recruit first enters an establishment called the School of Recruits for a period of from two to three months, according to the arm of the service he has been assigned to. Their instructors are highly competent, experienced and humane officers and non-commissioned officers, who have also charge of the repetition courses that take place every third year, when the men are called out again; these repetition courses last but a few weeks. The officers, as a matter of course, meet more frequently and for longer terms, their instruction being much more complicated and elaborate than that of the men. During their term of active service the soldiers are found and paid by the Government. The total military liability is thirty years ; of these, thirteen years must be rendered to the first class (" Auszug "), twelve years in the reserve (" Landwehr "), and five years in the ban (" I^andsturm "). The latter class comprises all able-bodied Swiss citizens from the age of seventeen to fifty years, who have not been called in, or who have been discharged from the other two classes. The time of service for the officers is much longer, since they are subject to duty in the last reserve up to the age of fifty-five years. All those who have been exempted from military service are obliged to pay a military exemption tax, the amount of which varies according to the circumstances of each individual. The officers of the Swiss Army receive their first training in the Officers' Preparatory School, after which the study of special branches of the service is assigned to them, the final ordeal of examination being very strict. No less efficient schools are provided for the education and proper training of the non-commissioned officers in each division district. All these establishments are of the highest standard, earnest study and no tomfoolery being the rule and practice there. The early military training of the young men of Switzerland is still further promoted by a number of military schools and academies, which are much frequented, and by the no less important and quite numerous associations of sharpshooters, 200 UNITED STATES ARMY. who practice continually on targets of different kinds and have acquired for the Swiss the formidable reputation of being the first shots in the whole world. In case of war the Swiss soldiers would not have to waste as many bullets as their opponents, and the proportion of ten thousand of these latter slain, against seven hundred Swiss, as in former times, would most likely be repeated on all occasions. The officers, moreover, attend frequent meetings called for the purpose of exchanging views, for scientific discussions and good-fellowship. There being no need of a standing army in Switzerland, as is more or less the case with the surrounding States, including the mighty French Republic, the number of permanent and professional soldiers is limited to the quantity required for the fundamental formation of the army, the corps of instructors, the guarding of depots, barracks, arsenals and magazines, and the permanent Staff of Officers, whose special duty, aside from the general supervision of the service, is the study of arms, equipment, accouterments, ammunition, ordnance and all matters appertaining to the art of war and fortification. This staff is one of the most efficient that can be found in any country, and the Confederation may be justly proud of it. The Swiss Army has no Generals ; the highest military rank is Colonel ; in case of war the Federal Assembly elects a Commander-in-Chief with the title of General, which remains with the incumbent ever afterwards. Brigades and divisions are commanded by Colonels. Switzerland is divided into eight divisionary districts, each of which furnishes one division of the first draft ("Auszug"), consisting of twelve battalions of infantry, one battalion of sharpshooters, one regiment of cavalry of three squadrons each, one brigade of artillery with six batteries, one battalion of engineers and the requisite number of train, medical and camp service. The reserve troops (" Landwehr ") are organized in a similar manner in eight divisions, which, added to the eight divisions of the first draft, makes the formidable total of sixteen divisions of troops of the line, which on a war footing is about two hundred thousand men. The third ban ("L,and- sturm"), only called out in extreme emergencies, would amount to as many more. UNITED STATES ARMY. 201 The Swiss armament is always up to the most improved system. Two years ago the troops were supplied with a new rifle of small caliber, of deadly effect in the hands of such superior marksmen. The field artillery is of the Krupp pattern, consisting of 8.4 centimetre cast-steel ring- guns. The heavy or fortification artillery of twenty-five companies is not included in the above formation of divisions. Foreseeing the possible, though not very probable, danger of an invasion of her territory, in spite of the guaranteed neutrality, on the part of foreign troops for purposes of strategy, or simple transit only, the Swiss Government has gone to work quietly for the past ten years to strongly fortify the principal passes and strategical positions. The magnificent fortifications of the St. Gotthard, for which no expense has been spared, are nearly completed now. The Swiss soldiers on the streets and in the ranks do not present that stiff appearance and proud exterior of the soldiers of several of the other European armies, the Germans being in the front in that respect, bound by a discipline of iron and steel. Nor are their uniforms as shiny and handsome ; but in point of real military qualifications, force of endurance, solid valor and patriotism of the most ardent kind, the Swiss cannot be sur- passed. Theirs is an army of free citizens, not coerced into the service nor paid as hirelings, but looking upon their com. paratively light and short service as an agreeable sacrifice to their country. When the employees of commerce and trades and the laborers and farmhands are called into the service for the first and rotary exercises, their places are kept open for them until their return home, their wages going on just the same, as injustice they ought to go on. The uniform of the Swiss Army is somewhat like that of our own United States Army: Dark-blue tunic and pantaloons of a lighter blue ; their head-cover, a sort of kepi with two visors, may be strong and practical, but it is not very pretty. The officers wear shoulder straps similar to those used by our own officers in undress, by which their relative rank may be distinguished. A peculiar feature of the Swiss Army is a band of red cloth with a white cross (the banner of the Confedera- tion) worn by all around the left arm, in full dress. 202 UNITED STATES ARMY. The foregoing brief description of the Swiss army organ- ization will no doubt suffice to give our military as well as lay readers a pretty correct insight into its superior solid system . Ever since the formation of the United States of North America it was found indispensable to maintain a standing army for the protection of the new country in case of war and to keep the then numerous tribes of Indians in proper check. There have been almost continual and bloody Indian wars up to the past decade, the most protracted and difficult of which was the Seminole War in Florida, finally terminated by the surrender of Billy Bowlegs, their chief. These wars alone would have kept our little army and its officers in almost constant activity, even if the war of 1812, the war with Mexico in 1846-47, and the recent gigantic struggle with the Southern Confederacy had not come in as between-acts to keep our soldiers in proper training. As compared with the armies of other nations, that of the United States occupies a unique and exceptional position. It is the best-dressed, best-fed and above all best-paid army in the whole world. The yearly expenses of this little army are therefore as great as those of an army ten times its strength in Europe. Although recruited exclusively by the enlistment of men, who present themselves voluntarily for the lengthy term of five years, either to escape misery, when out of work, or from patriotic, ambitious, or any other motive, the fact stands forth bright and undeniable, that our army is well disciplined, reliable, enduring and as brave as any other. This has been amply proved on a hundred occasions, especially during the Mexican War, when a small army of a little over thirty thousand men invaded that country in three distinct columns, two of which converged from considerable distances and under grave difficulties to the capital of Mexico, whilst the third operated in no less a brilliant manner in the northern part, under General Taylor. The victories were hard fought and decisive, the Commander-in-Chief, Major-General Winfiela Scott, his subordinate Generals, officers and men earning ma/i/ UNITED STATES ARMY. 203 and well-deserved laurels. They were duly rewarded by a grate- ful country, the soldiers receiving each one hundred and sixty acres of land as a bounty, after the close of the war. Yet, strange to say, in spite of the recent glorious campaign in Mexico, the United States Army in the fifties was looked upon with any- thing but favor by the American people. A private, or non- commissioned officer in uniform, on the streets of the cities was subject to jeering and insulting remarks, sometimes even to acts of personal violence ; the officers very seldom were seen anywhere except in civilian's dress, and if they had to appear at all in uniform for courtmartial and other military duty among the citizens, the uniform was partly disguised by civilian cl3aks and other pieces. It is difficult to explain this senti- ment, except that in those times men only enlisted in the army when they had no other resource left and often with the fixed purpose of recuperating and deserting as soon as possible, in spite of the awful punishment meted out to deserters, of which we shall make mention later on. After General Franklin Pierce had been elected President of the United States against his powerful political competitor and former commander in the Mexican War, General Winfield Scott, this old veteran took his defeat very much to heart and moved the headquarters of the army from Washington to New York City, occupying a small, modest red brick house with green blinds, where we more than once had the distinguished honor of conversing with the venerable veteran, though then a mere boy. The pay of enlisted men was then much smaller, the fare poorer and, by way of compensation, the discipline much more rigorous than at present. Washington himself was a strict disciplinarian and allowed no nonsense in that respect from either officer or private ; and this was absolutely neces- sary at the time of the Revolutionary War, with his scanty resources in troops, material and funds. The difference between the army of now and forty years ago is quite marked, as a natural and logical result of the great struggle of the Rebellion, which caused nearly two millions of men to take up the profession of arms for four years and diffused a strong military spirit among the entire population. Whilst in former times the army consisted for the most part of Irish, German 204 UNITED STATES ARMY. and English enlisted soldiers, with but a few native Ameri- cans, the latter element is at present much more numerous, the ancient prejudice against the profession of arms having been removed and the service rendered more tolerable, with some chances for the promotion of enlisted men to the rank of Second lyieu tenant. Before 1854 no mustache or beard of any sort was allowed in the United States Army, with the exception of an apology for side whiskers, that were not to reach below the tip of the ear. Dragoon soldiers and officers, however, were permitted to wear mustaches, and so was that elite corps of cavalry, subsequently abolished the regiment of Mounted Rifles. It took nothing less than an Act of Congress to enable the poor soldiers to wear their beard as they pleased, ' ' provided it be neatly trimmed and not too long." It is a source for congratulation that there are at least three stable, fixed and permanent institutions in this country, not subject to periodical changes of their "personnel" by the elections and to the dangers of the political ax, much as our stupid and unscrupulous politicians would like to control even these few independent organizations. They are the Federal Supreme Court, the Army and Navy, and if this Republic is to continue to exist for such a period as human institutions are susceptible of, they had better remain so in future. Our Army could be still more perfect and efficient were it not for the frequent meddling and unnecessary interference of generally incompetent civilian committees on military affairs in both houses of Congress. The organization of an army, its improvement, progress and welfare, must be left to the initiative of an able General Staff Corps, which however, we do not possess in this country, and not to the incompetent caprice of congressional committees, whose sphere ought to be confined to examining the projects sub- mitted to them as a matter of form, and to recommend or refuse the corresponding appropriation, if it be a question of funds. Too sudden and frequent changes in the service will lead to uncertainty and disorder, that can only impair its required efficiency. UNITED STATES ARMY. 205 We have nothing but praise for the officers of the United States Army, many of whom are veterans of the late war, and would not now be active officers were it not for good and val- uable services rendered, and, in a great number of cases, for gallant and meritorious conduct in the face of the enemy. The officers of the United States Army are mostly graduates from the famous Military Academy at West Point, on the right bank of the beautiful Hudson River, occupying a strategical point of unusual natural beauty, and founded by General Wash- ington. None but graduates of the highest qualifications, who have been efficient enough to pass the rigid and inexorable ordeal of the examination as prescribed by law, can enter the army as Second Lieutenants from that Academy. The requirements of admission to West Point in themselves are no trifle. During the four years of the most arduous studies and incessant military training, to which the cadets are subjected without distinction of any sort, the Government is generous enough to furnish them not only with free instruction, board, quarters, etc., but allows them a monthly salary of $45 in addition, the pay of a Captain in other countries. The reason no imperfect officer can graduate from our national Military Academy is, that a cadet who has not attained a certain percentage at the semi-annual exami- nations, is discharged at once as unlikely to be of much further use in the Army. The military training imparted at West Point embraces the combined study of the four arms : infantry, cavalry, artillery and engineering, to which the successful officers are assigned according to their standard of merit. There is one great drawback, however, to the further and more enlarged practical instruction of the young officers, which is the limited number of men they are called to com- mand, at posts, where there are seldom more than from fifty to a few hundred men together ; and thus the careful, costly and brilliant education they have received at the hands of a most munificent and generous Government cannot be brought to great avail, and larger operations in tactics with a full regiment of one arm at least, if not with brigade formations, are of rare occurrence, and a great pity it is. 206 UNITED STATES ARMY. After the four j r ears of gratuitous and even compensated instruction at West Point, the officers are only required to serve four years in the Army before they can resign ; this term is too short, and eight years of active service at least should be required of them before being allowed to with- draw. We note another adverse factor in the career of our officers : They marry too young; the cares of a rising family absorb too much of the time properly belonging to the welfare of the service and their continued advancement in the military science, besides in many cases crippling their resources. It seems that a system of perfect sureties on the part of the intended wife of an officer under the rank of Major, to provide an independent income for the lady, should be introduced, the same as in most European armies, without which the officer should not be permitted to inctimber himself with a wife and family until at a later period, when his rank and emoluments allow him that luxury. The military man must expect and be prepared to make many sacrifices. We also note that our officers are overfond of donning civilian's dress. This is all right when on leave of absence or for any special purpose, but it should not be the rule ; the uniform and sword should be worn on all occasions of military duty, even if in the midst of the "Philistines," or civilians. The American officer has no reason whatever to shirk his uniform in public; on the contrary, he ought to be quite as proud, and prouder, of his distinguishing handsome and honorable dress than any European officer. The latter can only appear in public in uniform, with sword or saber, unless on leave of absence for a longer period. Promotion in time of peace is so very slow that the officers of the rank of Lieutenant and Captain find it very tedious to wait for the uncertain promotion for so many years, and can- not be blamed for becoming discouraged. Ten years of steady service as Lieutenant and ten years as Captain should be the utmost limit, and then they ought to be promoted. The same as in the Navy, all offices in the War Department of any importance should be filled by officers and non-commissioned officers taken from the army ; this would greatly relieve the number of officers in the active service and give chances for UNITED STATES ARMY. 207 more rapid promotion. The officers thus detached for office duty in the Department might be required to meet at certain fixed periods for scientific discussion and further instruction in military matters by competent staff officers, as in Switzerland. The discipline in the Army at the present time is, in our humble opinion, too mild to be fully efficient and to promote the best interests of the service. In the time of the stern but just Washington, it was no sinecure to be a soldier. Deserters were flogged and the letter D branded on one of their cheeks in the face, thus making them forever objects of public scorn. In the fifties, simple deserters from the Army were sen- tenced to ball and chain for a number of months and then reinstated. A repetition of the offense was punished by fifty lashes on the bare back and shaving of the head, beard and eyebrows, in which ridiculous predicament they were drummed out of the service at the point of the bayonet, the letter D having been previously branded on one side of their seat. These summary proceedings have been done away with ; yet the crime of desertion should be most severely punished even in time of peace, by long forced labor in a mili- tary prison, and by death in war time. Desertion from the ranks is a very nasty and dishonorable crime. There may be mitigating circumstances for it in the armies of Europe, where everybody is conscripted into the service for a number of years, whether he is willing or not, treated with great severity under iron rules, miserably paid and roughly fed. But in this country the men present themselves voluntarily, obtain all the required information, are cautioned against the consequences of the engagement and not deceived in any manner by the recruiting officer and surgeon, who nowadays are very par- ticular whom they receive as recruits. The men are treated with great fairness and justice ; cases of harshness and arbitrary treatment by the officers and non-commissioned officers are very rare and easy of redress; clothing, food, quarters and pay are superior to those furnished in any other army ; hence there is no excuse for desertion, which in the United States Army becomes a base, mean and ungrateful act. 208 UNITED STATES ARMY. The term of enlistment is five years, and this is too long; three years would be a fair and equitable period. A private soldier is formed and made efficient in six months ; perfection is obtained in six months more. Re-enlistments of good men should be strongly encouraged by additional pay, a distinctive stripe on the sleeve and promotion to a higher grade, if they are worthy and competent. The present rule of limiting re-enlistments is injurious to the service. Somewhere in 1855 Congress passed an act providing for the promotion of a limited number of non-commissioned officers to the rank of Second Lieutenant, thus opening a new field for ambitious and worthy young men. This law has been repeatedly modified. By the act of July 3oth, 1892, specified in General Army Orders No. 79 of November 26th, 1892, this privilege is extended even to the private soldiers. The educa- tion of the officers graduated from West Point being so very complete and elaborate, it is but right and fair to these that the aspirants for commissions in the army should be possessed of many and corresponding qualifications. The conditions under which they can be promoted are numerous and strict, and render it no easy task to attain the anxiously desired aim. The limitation of re-enlistments to ten years, introduced by one of our late civilian Secretaries of War without due study, reflec- tion and consultation with Army Officers, who are properly posted on such subjects, is injurious to the service and deprives it of many finely trained and experienced soldiers, who would gladly remain under our honored flag and are driven out under the present rule. It would be by far better if the Secretaries of War and the Navy were technical men, selected by the President from the retired list for military capacity and administrative talent ; civilians only spoil the mess. We will now, for the information of the kind lay-reader, give a table of the United States Army, which, according to the latest roster, is composed of the following forces, numbering in all about thirty- five thousand officers and enlisted men : i Battalion of Engineers, consisting of 5 companies of 145 men each; UNITED STATES ARMY. 209 5 Regiments of Artillery of 1 2 batteries of about 1 20 men each ; 10 Regiments of Cavalry of 12 troops of about 70 men each ; 25 Regiments of Infantry of 10 companies of about 70 men each. Two of the Cavalry and two of the Infantry regiments are colored men under white officers. This small army for such an immense country is commanded by three Major- Generals, one of whom is commanding the whole army, and six Brigadier-Generals; thus forming three divisions of two brigades each, although the organization prescribes that two regiments of infantry or of cavalry form a brigade. These formations, however, in our army are merely nominal, the whole force being distributed and scattered promiscuously all over the vast region, in what appears to be an inextricable confusion, but which it is not by any means. The Administrative Department of this army consists of the following Staff organizations, the whole body being, as a matter of course, under the superior direction of the Secretary of War, and consequently that of the President of the United States, in the first instance : Adjutant-Generals Department ', comprising i Brigadier- General, 2 Colonels, 4 Lieutenant-Colonels and 13 Majors, all of Cavalry rank. Corps of Inspectors- General : i Colonel, i Lieutenant-Colonel and 2 Majors, all of Cavalry rank. Quartermaster's Department : i Brigadier-General, 6 Colonels, 10 Lieutenant-Colonels, 12 Majors, 30 Captains and 16 military storekeepers, with the rank of Captain. Subsistence Department : i Brigadier- General, 2 Colonels, 2 Lieutenant- Colonels, 8 Majors and 16 Captains. Corps of Engineers : i Brigadier- General, 6 Colonels, 12 Lieutenant-Colonels, 24 Majors, 30 Captains, 26 First Lieu- tenants and 10 Second Lieutenants. Corps of Ordnance: i Brigadier- General, 3 Colonels, 4 Lieutenant-Colonels, 10 Majors, 20 Captains, 16 First Lieu- tenants, 10 Second Lieutenants and 13 ordnance storekeepers, i with the rank of Major and 12 with that of Captain. 210 UNITED STATES ARMY. Medical Corps: i Surgeon- General with the rank of a General of Brigade, i Assistant Surgeon-General with the rank of Colonel of Cavalry, i Chief Purveyor and 4 Assistant Pur- veyors with the rank of Lieutenant- Colonel, 60 Surgeons with the rank of Major, 150 Assistant Surgeons with the ranks of Captain and First Lieutenant, and 5 medical storekeepers with the rank of Captain of Cavalry. Pay Department : i Paymaster-General with the rank of Colonel of Cavalry, 2 Assistant Paymasters-General with the rank of Colonel, 2 Deputy Paymasters-General with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, and 50 Paymasters with the rank of Majors of Cavalry. Signal Service : Chief Signal Officer with the rank of Colonel of Cavalry, and the requisite number of assistants. Bureau of Military Justice : This consists of i Judge- Advocate-General with the rank of Brigadier-General, i Assistant Judge- Advocate- General with the rank of Colonel of Cavalry, and 8 Judge- Advocates with the rank of Major. The chiefs of all the preceding several departments and corps exercise their power subject to the supervision and direc- tion of the Secretary of War. All these departments are admirably organized and perform their functions in an able and satisfactory manner, greatly aided, as in the civil service of the Government, by the liberal and exhaustive system of printed forms and blank-books, so happily prevailing in official circles, and which remains unsurpassed as yet in any country. Each Chief of Department is supposed to be fully competent to fill his responsible office, whether his knowledge has been acquired through active service in the line, or through simple routine and gradual promotion in the department itself. They all concentrate in the War Department, of whom the Secretary is the acknowledged head; but he is generally a civilian, knowing but little about military affairs, and thus necessarily depending on his technical advisers and subordinates. The real, intelligent and unerring authority is wanting; such a one as is not only well acquainted with one particular branch of the service, but with all of them at the same time, and with every detail, from the command of an army corps to selecting UNITED STATES ARMY. 211 a barrel of flour for the Commissary Department. The United States Army has no General Staff, in the true sense of the word, a consolidated corps of officers, of all arms, whose duty it is to watch over the whole Army, to examine all inventions and improvements at home and abroad, the armament, accouter- ment, clothing, provisions and quarters of the troops, tactics, strategical observations, the location of posts, barracks, forts and other fortifications; and, in short, all and every matter touching the Army, directly and indirectly. The formation of such a General Staff at the seat of the Government we consider of great importance. It would be of very easy accomplish- ment, for the powerful reasons that the great majority of our army officers are splendidly qualified for staff positions, on account of their manifold knowledge in all the four different arms, and the particular scientific training they receive at the Military Academy; and, secondly, because several component parts of such a General Staff are already in existence, under different names, and could be speedily concentrated and reorganized without any difficulty and particular expense. The General Staff may not issue direct orders to the Army, but would be a most important factor of the whole military system and an auxiliary and adviser to a civilian Secretary of War. The Adjutant-General's office, like all the other chief de- partments of the Service, is located at Washington. It has charge of the organization and management of armies. Through it all orders, general and special, affecting our mili- tary establishment, are issued; it keeps and preserves the records and archives of the whole Army ; it has charge of the recruiting and mustering services, and keeps all the great variety of rolls and returns of the troops ; discharges ; final statements ; pay accounts ; consolidated reports for corps, divisions, brigades and regiments. Statements of service are furnished by the Adjutant-General's office to the Auditors of the Treasury, Commissioner of Pensions, Paymaster-General, Commissary-General, Quartermaster-General and other chief administrative officers, to enable them to properly prepare and provide the necessary funds and material, as well as to keep 212 UNITED STATES ARMY. that strict minute and scrupulous control over accounts of all kinds, for which our Government is so justly celebrated. Frauds and collusion are very rare in the Army, the officers being gentlemen of a high sense of honor ; still, when such offences do occur, the culprit should be more severely punished than by mere dismissal from the Army and perhaps a short term of confinement, as is generally the case. There is a cere- mony in use in the European armies, called military degrada- tion, somewhat in the style of our former " drumming out of the service;" the delinquent in full uniform, be he officer or non-commissioned officer, is placed in the center of a square formed by the assembled troops, and a sergeant breaks his sword, throwing the pieces before him, and tears off his epau- lettes, buttons and insignia, an act that must strike terror into the hearts of the strongest, and which must be worse than a hundred deaths. This awful punishment is, however, only inflicted for crimes, such as desertion, embezzlement, theft, acts of aggression toward a superior in rank, treason, etc. The Statute limits our army to 30,000 enlisted men, but at present there are only about 25,000 men in the Service, in- cluding Indian scouts and the hospital service. This is owing to the proverbial stinginess of Congress, not less than to its lack of discrimination, that body having limited the appropriations for the support of the Army, whilst the Nation's money is wasted for less important branches. There are thirty post-chaplains in the Army, with the rank of Captain, presumably of but one religious denomination, but they render useful services as school-teachers to the children of the garrisons. The uniform and clothing of our troops are of good material, carefully examined and selected, the collar of coats, blouses and pantaloons being handsome and appropriate. The blouses of the officers and men might be a few inches longer, and the plumes, or panaches, on the helmets dispensed with, or made of some better material. The helmets themselves should be of a lighter pattern, and the famous fatigue-cap of a different shape, with a higher crown ; the present cap sits flat on the UNITED STATES ARMY. 213 head, without any ventilation, is very uncomfortable in warm weather and liable to create premature baldness. Whilst the full-dress uniform has many characteristics to distinguish the different arms of the Service at first glance, it is not so with the fatigue-dress. Infantry, cavalry and artillery in fatigue- dress can only be distinguished from each other by the brass ornament on their caps ; this is not sufficient ; there should be a colored stripe of some sort on the shoulders or the collar, and a narrow cord on the seam of the pantaloons, to indicate the arm of the private as well as the officers and non-com- missioned officers. By some strange caprice the facings of the infantry are white again, as they were forty years ago ; the subsequent light blue was much better and less liable to get soiled. The useless aiguillettes might be done away with and only worn by field and staff officers ; they are an incumbrance and a useless expense. The accouterments, saddles, harness and other trappings of the cavalry and artillery are very neat and appropriate; but it is very singular that only the officers have saddle-cloths to cover the ugly-looking blanket under the saddle; some sort of a woolen or linen cloth should be used by the troopers also. The sight of the bare, folded blanket projecting from under the saddle does certainly detract from their otherwise very credit- able appearance. The soft, gray felt hat worn by the cavalry on the road and in camp is very appropriate and serviceable, although it gives the men a semi-citizen appearance. Our honored military readers will please overlook these few and innocent comments on the uniform of the Army; but, seeing very little else to find fault with in our splendid little military organization, we could not resist the temptation to criticise something. Since the Government of the United States of North America has found it absolutely necessary to maintain a standing army from the earliest time of its autonomy, and since it forms an important part, nay, perhaps the most important part of our public organization, everything points out the necessity of keeping that standing, regular army in the highest degree of perfection and efficiency . Our experience in this respect at the 214 UNITED STATES ARMY. very commencement of the great Civil War, taught us a severe lesson. Had there been a sufficient force of regular troops at the disposal of the War Department when active hostilities broke out, the defeat of Bull Run and Manassas Gap would have been avoided. We doubt very much whether the war would have been continued by the South if these battles had been such signal victories for the Northern troops as they were for the Southern. At all events, the moral effect would have been immense, a settlement of the controversy rendered more easy and probable from the commencement, instead of the increased animosity, that soon became a deadly hatred and caused the whole country irreparable losses. From the earliest periods of history we have seen what a small body of well-trained, disciplined troops can accomplish against even immense hordes of ferocious, unorganized barbarians, be their valor ever so great. The victories of Alexander in Asia, of Caesar every- where, of the Spaniards in America, the English in the East Indies, of the allied forces of England and France, less than ten thousand men in all, defeating and routing a Chinese army of three hundred thousand men in the very heart of their own country, and many other instances of the superiority of disci- pline and training. It was only after the Northern troops had become properly organized and trained, as well as it could be done under such ' trying circumstances, thanks only to the immense resources at the disposal of the Federal Government, and to the greater independence and authority given to the Northern commanders, that they began to accomplish more satisfactory results and succeeded in crushing the Confederacy. The great Republic of the United States may be involved in a foreign war at any time, notwithstanding our sincere desire for peace and our willingness to submit eventual difficulties to friendly arbitration. It is true, we are rich and full of resources; we may form useful alliances ; in case of danger our people may rise " to the fisc of certain Cantons, shall fall to them but gradually, and shall not attain its sum total until after a transi- tion period of several years. The Cantons which, at the time Article 20 of the Constitution enters into force, shall not have fulfilled the mili- tary obligations imposed upon them by the old Constitution and Federal laws, shall be bound to carry them out at their own expense. Art. 2. The provisions of the Federal laws, of the Compacts and Con- stitutions, or Cantonal laws contrary to the present Constitution, cease to be in force through the fact of the adoption of the latter, or of the pro- mulgation of the laws provided in it. Art. 3. New laws concerning the organization and jurisdiction of the Federal Tribunal do not go into force until after the promulgation of the respective Federal laws. Art. 4. A delay of five years is granted to the Cantons to introduce free primary public instruction (Article 27). Art. 5. Persons who exercise a liberal profession and who, before the promulgation of the Federal law provided in Article 33, have obtained a certificate of competency from a Canton, or from a joint authority representing several Cantons, may exercise such profession throughout the territory of the Confederation. 266 SWISS CONSTITUTION. Art. 6. If the Federal law provided in Article 32 bis is put in force before the expiration of the year 1890, the import duties collected by the Cantons on spirituous liquors, in conformity with Article 32, shall be abolished upon said law going into force. If in this case the shares coming to these Cantons or communities, from the sum to be dis- tributed, are not sufficient to compensate for the abolished duties, com- puted after the annual average net proceeds of these duties during the years from 1880 to 1884 inclusive, the deficiency of the Cantons or com- munes thus losing shall be covered, up to the end of 1890, from the sum that would fall to the other Cantons, according to the number of their population, and only after this deduction shall the remainder be distributed among these at the pro rata of their population. 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