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 THE GIFT OF 
 
 MAY TREAT MORRISON 
 
 IN MEMORY OF 
 
 ALEXANDER F MORRISON
 
 THE REVOLUTIONARY 
 TENDENCIES OF THE AGE 
 
 THEIR CAUSE AND THEIR 
 ULTIMATE AIM 
 
 G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 
 
 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 
 
 
 LONDON 
 
 
 27 
 
 West 
 
 Twenty-third Street 
 
 24 
 
 Bedford 
 
 Street, 
 
 Strand 
 
 
 
 ^t 
 
 gnicIitrbockEr "$ 
 
 cess 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1897 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 I v 
 
 1 1 \ / y 
 
 \ r 
 
 ' r- r 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 ■ ;' i i
 
 Copyright, 1897 
 
 BY 
 
 G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 
 Entered at Stationers' Hall, London 
 
 ■Cbc ttnickcrbocftcr press, 'Wew JJorh
 
 CO 
 
 cc 
 
 u. 
 O 
 
 t 
 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER. PAGB 
 
 I. Introduction i 
 
 II. A Survey of the Existing State of Things, in 
 Respect to the Division of the Good and 
 Fair Things of this World .... 9 
 III. An Inquiry into the Cause of the Existing 
 
 State of Things 24 
 
 en 
 
 ?>■ IV. The Diffusion of Knowledge and the Revolu- 
 
 M TiON IT IS Producing 40 
 
 cc 
 
 % V. Premonitory Signs 47 
 
 VI. Modern Democracy the Result of the Diffusion 
 
 2 of Knowledge 52 
 
 7> VII. The Triumph of Democracy, so Far, a Triumph 
 
 Qg OF Mere Forms 57 
 
 % VIII. The Tendencies of the Times Point to the Sub- 
 
 <sl STANTiAL Triumph of Democracy ... 82 
 
 < IX. What Course Shall Enlightened Democracy 
 
 Follow? 115 
 
 X. The Principle of Rewards 138 
 
 XI. The Necessity of Restriction . . . .153 
 
 XII. Conclusion 166 
 
 ::3891
 
 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 OF THE AGE : 
 
 THEIR CAUSE AND THEIR ULTIMATE AIM. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 IN the midst of the blue waters of a distant 
 sea, lies an island of wondrous beauty. 
 Rising gradually from the shores are hills, and 
 back of these are mountains which pierce the 
 sky. 
 
 So long had the good people who dwelt on 
 this island lived as they now lived; so fixed 
 were their thoughts and customs, that they 
 learned to look on the laws which governed 
 them as part of the eternal and immutable sys- 
 tem of the universe. Thus, while many were 
 familiar with discomfort, and suffered at times 
 great misery, it occurred to but few that their 
 unenviable existence was the result of human
 
 2 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 regulation's; aii(\.'t{iit: ji -change in these might 
 improve. tlieir..f.onclltion,-.^ How, tliey asked 
 them'§eiv6?,-'*'c6iilci -tliey"' alter that which had 
 always existed — yes, as far back as the memory 
 of man could extend ? In winter, with ice on 
 the waters and snow on the fields, the sun gave 
 less warmth than their shivering bodies desired. 
 Could they remedy this? The sun was so 
 distant were it not useless to complain ? 
 
 And the people kept on in their way — the 
 same old way — thinking it was the only way. 
 They wondered at nothing. A stranger, how- 
 ever, coming from a far-a-way land, and wander- 
 ing over the island in search of information, 
 wondered at many things he saw. Wherever 
 he travelled, he observed that the same con- 
 ditions prevailed : the picturesque hills and 
 fertile valleys were reserved for a few manors, 
 while the unattractive plains were covered with 
 huts, built closely together. These had no ver- 
 dure around them ; nay, no more land than was 
 required for them to stand on. 
 
 Prompted by curiosity, the stranger inquii-ed 
 at many of the humble doors why, for no ap- 
 parent reason, so noticeable a difference existed 
 between the habitations of men who were all 
 of the same race. But he inquired in vain.
 
 OF THE AGE. 
 
 Leaving the plains, he strolled up the hill- 
 sides, among the terraced gardens, the flowers 
 of which filled the atmosphere with fragrance. 
 Between the groves of trees he espied lakes 
 over whose crystal expanse sailed pleasure 
 boats wafted by the breezes from the eastern 
 seas. In the centre of lawns played fountains 
 whose waters, shooting heavenward, fell like 
 myriad brilliants scattered in the sun. Birds 
 of rich and varied plumage were attracted to 
 the spot ; and while some flitted in the air to 
 catch the refreshing spray, others, hidden in the 
 foliage, sent forth melodious notes to express 
 their joy of living. Wise birds — and more for- 
 tunate than many islanders — to choose such 
 abodes ! 
 
 Approaching the summit of a mountain, the 
 wanderer saw, seated on a rock, a hermit, lost 
 in meditation. 
 
 "Forgive me, good hermit, for disturbing 
 your thoughts. I am a stranger in these parts, 
 and would fain learn from you why it is the 
 manor-houses, few in number, are surrounded 
 by abundant verdure, while the huts, too nu- 
 merous to count, have not a plot of grass." 
 
 " You disturb not my thoughts, O stranger ; 
 mine travel the same path as yours. The hut-
 
 4 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 dwellers liave no verdure because they own no 
 portion of this island whereon to cultivate it. 
 E\eu were they l(jrds of many fields, of what 
 avail would these be without water to make 
 them fertile ? " 
 
 " And have they not water sufficient to irri- 
 gate land \ " 
 
 " Alas ! " exclaimed the hermit, " they deem 
 themselves fortunate in securing enough where- 
 with to quench their thirst. Think not, however, 
 that water is scarce. From time immemorial it 
 has been flowing, in generous streams, from the 
 mountains into the valleys ; yet the plains of 
 the hut-dwellers are arid." 
 
 " And why is this thus ? " inquired the 
 stranger. 
 
 The hermit's eyes flashed as, rising from the 
 rock, he pointed his withered hand to the regions 
 beneath : " Ask the greed of the few ; ask the 
 folly of the many ! I, years ago, saw the in- 
 iquity of that which now causes you to wonder. 
 I i)roc]aimed it to all who would listen, and 
 urged them to action ; but the untutored people 
 failed to grasp the meaning of my words ; and 
 the lords of the manors, alarmed at my doctrines, 
 exiled me to the forest and the mountain, as a 
 wild beast, dangerous to human life."
 
 OF THE AGE. 5 
 
 Taking his companion by tlie hand, the hermit 
 led him to a point from which they could dis- 
 cern, in the distance, a mighty cataract dashing 
 over rocks into a lake below. The cataract was 
 unapproachable, and the lake, surrounded by a 
 massive wall, was closely guarded. 
 
 " See, O stranger, that bountiful supply of crys- 
 tal water, springing from the breast of Mother 
 Earth. Yet you and I, her thirsting child- 
 ren, cannot wet our lips therewith. Observe 
 those conduits of solid metal, winding like paths 
 down the mountain side. Each one empties in 
 a reservoir attached to the various manors. It 
 is this delicious water which irrigates the fields 
 and gardens, and brings forth the luxuriant 
 verdure which charms the eye, the luscious fruit 
 which delights the palate, the vines from which 
 are pressed the wines which stimulate fancy. It 
 is the elixir of life. And the lords have a mono- 
 poly thereof. They allot to the hut-dwellers, 
 who are their slaves, sufficient to keep them alive, 
 and no more, and this is given them, not as their 
 right, nor yet in a spirit of benevolence, but 
 that they may retain strength to do the work 
 of the morrow. Those who toil not must thirst. 
 Thirst is quenched only in exchange for labor 
 performed ; hence those who are unable to find
 
 6 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 a master willing to buy their labor, must beg of 
 their neighbors or die. And this, mark you, 
 when an abundance of the life-sustaining fluid 
 is made to supply lakes for pleasure boats to 
 sail on, and fountains for birds to flutter in." 
 
 " This is indeed strange," said the wanderer. 
 
 " Yet you know not half the strangeness there- 
 of," replied the hermit. " Consider that not- 
 withstanding this plenty, this superabundance, 
 many of those who enjoy it are constantly 
 accumulating, constantly striving for more. Not 
 only do they restrict to a minimum the allowance 
 of those whose labor and assistance are essential 
 to them — of those who built, maintain and guard 
 the wall around the lake, the conduits leading 
 therefrom, and the reservoirs into which they 
 empty — but they combine, and scheme, and 
 resort to innumerable, and often questionable, 
 methods to draw from their neighbors' supply, 
 and thus increase their own." 
 
 " What — having more than they require, their 
 greed instigates them to draw from others ? " 
 
 "Ah — that were little harm if, after surfeit- 
 ing themselves ; if, after satisfying the wants of 
 their steeds and their hounds, they permitted 
 the surplus, the overflow, to run where it should
 
 OF THE AGE. y 
 
 naturally gravitate — to the thirsting toilers be- 
 low ; if they allowed them a little verdure, a 
 few flowers, and the joy that these bring." 
 
 " How many are there who dwell in the manor- 
 houses?" asked the stranger. 
 
 " A thousand." 
 
 " And how many in the huts ? " 
 
 " A million." 
 
 " A million fools ! " 
 
 " You re-echo my words," exclaimed the her- 
 mit exultingly. Then, in tones wherein hope 
 blended with sorrow, he continued : 
 
 " Many weaiy years have elapsed since I told 
 them of their folly ; but, alas ! I was one of them 
 — a poor prophet in his own poor land. Go you, 
 O stranger, and speak to them. They may listen 
 to your voice, for I have heard it said new 
 lights have come to them of late. Ask them, 
 the children of this luxuriant isle, why they 
 thirst when the mountains are belching forth 
 water, and the reservoirs are ovei'flowing ; ask 
 them why they allow their toil to prove so 
 fruitful to those who toil not, and so baiTen to 
 themselves ; ask them, and ask them loudly, 
 why they tolerate in some the sin of waste, 
 while others know the bitterness of want. Go,
 
 8 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 O stranger, amongst them. Perhaps the soil is 
 more recei^tive, the seed more ripe. Plant it 
 in their midst. May it grow, may it fructify ; 
 may it bring plenty to all men."
 
 OF THE AGE. 
 
 CHAPTEK II. 
 
 A SUEVEY OF THE EXISTING STATE OF THINGS, EN" 
 
 RESPECT TO THE DIVISION OF THE GOOD AND 
 
 THE FAIR THINGS OF THIS WORLD. 
 
 THE Lord of the Manor is a fortunate 
 mortal. This earth, a valley of tears to 
 so many, is to him a charming abode. Indeed, 
 it would appear as though all that was best and 
 fairest thereon was created for him, since his 
 surroundings are the most delightful known, 
 and the life he leads the most desired by man. 
 He has more manors than one. Wherever 
 nature is most attractive, there he casts his tent. 
 When the cold winds blow, and snow covers 
 the land, he takes wing for the sunny south, 
 where the sky is blue and the air is balmy ; he 
 seeks the shade of the palm-tree and the olive, 
 and he dreams of many things — but not of the 
 rigors of winter. Ere the heat of summer 
 comes, he wanders back to his northern home, 
 to partake of that which the south can no
 
 lO THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 longer afford — the more exciting life, and the 
 cool, refreshing breezes. "Wherever he goes, 
 pleasure attends him, luxury surrounds him. 
 Men, human like himself, follow all his move- 
 ments and await, with anxious eye, the sign of 
 command to do his bidditig; they supply all 
 his wants and relieve him of any task that 
 might require effort or produce fatigue. His 
 home is a palace, rivalling in magnificence that 
 of princes. He points T^'ith pride to the tapes- 
 tried walls and to many works of art, of price- 
 less value, representing the inspirations, also 
 the labors, of the gifted of nature. His halls, 
 ablaze with light, resound with the merry 
 laughter of fair dames and their cavaliers. 
 They eat from golden plates, and drink from 
 crystal goblets, while strains of entrancing 
 music combine with the vapors of wine to give 
 biilli to enchantment. Sometimes austere, from 
 surfeit of indulgence, he is more often a prince 
 of good fellows, a scoffer of all that smacks not 
 of merriment, a reveller at the banquet of life, a 
 gaml)ler and a careless loser, a generous and 
 a general lover — taking pleasure in strange ad- 
 ventures, in surpassing romances, in daring, gal- 
 lant, sometimes conscienceless, intrigues ; and, 
 withal, deeming the earth his play-ground, and
 
 OF THE AGE. II 
 
 holding in contempt all humanity which is be- 
 yond the pale of his own charmed circle. 
 
 Here let us pause and reflect. 
 
 To live as the Lord of the Manor lives, in 
 stately style, requires, as is obvious to all, great 
 riches; for without these, the pleasures and 
 luxuries he enjoys would be beyond his reach, 
 as they are beyond the reach of all who are 
 poor. It is no less obvious that it requires 
 effort, great effort, to create riches. Certainly 
 wealth, and that which it affords, cannot spring 
 from idleness; and the Lord of the Manor is 
 idle. Yet he has of all things in abundance — 
 in abundance which leads to satiety. 
 
 How does a condition so strange as this 
 arise? Who is this particular man that he 
 should occupy a position so exalted, so excep- 
 tional, so enviable among men ? Since wealth 
 can only be produced by effort, was he once a 
 mighty worker, now enjoying the fruit of his 
 labor ? Is he a valiant warrior, the hero of 
 many victories, resting on his laurels ? Is he, 
 by birth or by election, the ruler of his fellows, 
 and as the representative of these, surrounded 
 by high state, pomp, and splendor? Is he a 
 mental prodigy, or a model of physical pro- 
 portions, to be thus discerned and honored
 
 12 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 amone: the multitudes ? Is he the benefactor of 
 the people, their idol, since they allow him the 
 undisturbed enjoyment of privileges and ad- 
 vantages which are denied the majority of the 
 people ? 
 
 No, he is none of these. Observe him well; 
 he is in appearance, in speech, in manner, in 
 knowledge, not unlike a thousand other men 
 who pass by, but dare not enter the manor 
 gates. And yet, though he is neither worker, 
 ruler, nor warrior ; neither eminent in mind nor 
 perfect of body ; neither magistrate, philosopher, 
 nor benefactor, he lives as though he were 
 entitled, in his single person, to the dignities, 
 emoluments, and privileges all these combined 
 might be entitled to. He has every advantage 
 conceivable; he enjoys every comfort, every 
 luxury, every pleasure. The roadways of the 
 earth are open to him, and he travels through 
 continents as through his own domains. And 
 wealth, which is the means of securing all this, 
 comes to him without effort, physical or mental, 
 on his part ; it comes to him as does the sun- 
 shine to the fields, as does the dew to the 
 flowers. 
 
 But does not the golden radiance in which 
 the fields bask ; does not the freshness which
 
 OF THE AGE. 1 3 
 
 the flowers draw from the silvery dew, imply 
 the working of mighty forces in distant spheres 
 beyond ? Is there not, somewhere in our solar 
 system — in the very heart thereof — a power 
 which toils to produce that which the fields 
 and the flowers enjoy and profit by without 
 labor or effort on their part ? And so likewise, 
 does not the radiance in which the Lord of the 
 Manor lives; do not the splendors and lavish- 
 uess which surround him, imply the working of 
 mighty forces somewhere ? Some, surely, must 
 exert themselves in some quarter or other, to 
 obtain these results, for they cannot be ob- 
 tained without exertions. Aladdin's lamp does 
 not shine save in the thousand and one nights 
 of the far Eastern skies ; the fairy's wand does 
 not gratify extravagant wishes, erect noble 
 castles, and provide sumptuous feasts, by its 
 mere waving in mortal's feeble hand ; nor, how- 
 ever favored the Lord of the Manor may be, 
 does nature, for his benefit, suspend her eternal 
 laws, and produce effect without cause, wealth 
 without labor. 
 
 Since, therefore, wealth is only produced and 
 maintained by toil, and since the Lord of the 
 Manor toils not, and yet receives and spends 
 great wealth, there must, of necessity, exist a
 
 14 THE KF.VOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 band of hardy men who exert themselves to 
 produce and maintain this wealth ; and yet 
 allow him, fortunate mortal ! to reap the main 
 benefits thereof; allow him, while they labor, 
 to spend his days in indolence — sailing over 
 limpid waters, fishing in quiet brooks, hunting 
 in shady forests, travelling through distant lands 
 — eating, drinking, feasting, loving — dreaming 
 not of, caring not for, those who weave for him 
 his purse of Fortunatus. 
 
 In this way, and in this way alone, can we 
 account for the otherwise unaccountable fact, 
 that the Lord of the Manor, passing his time in 
 leisure, enjoys those results which, it is claimed, 
 are the fruit of labor. 
 
 -;^ x- -x- * * 
 
 The Lord of the Manor who, in common 
 parlance, is the opulent landowner, is indebted, 
 for the advantages he enjoys, to no ingenious 
 devices. The methods he employs are simple. 
 His land is productive ; but he has such vast 
 fields it is quite impossible for him to make 
 them productive by his own efforts ; moreover, 
 he has no disposition, and, further still, there is 
 no necessity for him, to do so. Favored among 
 other men in being the possessor of many acres, 
 why should he not be still further favored
 
 OF THE AGE. 1 5 
 
 among them, by not having to submit to the 
 same conditions as they have to submit to — 
 work and worry to live ? 
 
 In the attainment of this end, circumstances 
 favor him admirably. He and his brother land- 
 owners own so much land, there is little or none 
 left for the remainder of humanity. Men have 
 the desire to live ; life, unfortunately, is not 
 self-sustaining ; hence, to live, men must culti- 
 vate the soil and draw therefrom the wherewith 
 to sustain life. Herein it is that the Lord of 
 the Manor is master of the situation. The 
 majority of men having no land, and yet being 
 dependent thereon for their maintenance, must 
 do one of two things : either starve or appeal to 
 the owner that his fields may be cultivated to 
 furnish them the necessaries of life. From this 
 there is no escape. Their necessities will com- 
 pel them to appeal to him, and their necessities 
 are his opportunity. He, not unwillingly, grants 
 their request ; but on one condition : the culti- 
 vation of the soil shall be considered a privilege, 
 the granting of which shall require that the 
 cultivator of the land surrender to the owner 
 thereof a goodly portion of its produce, or its 
 equivalent. 
 
 The privilege of cultivating the soil is not
 
 1 6 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 the only one which the landowner has the 
 power to grant. Men have not wings like the 
 birds ; nor have they fins like the fish ; hence 
 they cannot soar in the air, nor dwell in the 
 water ; but must, perforce, if they live at all, 
 live on the earth — they must occupy space 
 thei-eon sufficient to hold their bodies. But 
 since they own no portion of this earth, how 
 can they occupy any portion thereof without 
 infringing on the rights of those who own it ? 
 Here, once more, the landowner comes to the 
 rescue. He, who owns the land, will provide 
 sufficient for the mass of bodies which are sent 
 to dwell in this world. Not only will he pro- 
 vide the land, but he will draw from the wealth 
 accumulated from the rental of his fields, and 
 he will build houses in the cities ; and there 
 will the multitudes find a place of rest, a place 
 of shelter — but always on the same condition 
 as imposed on those who cultivate the soil : the 
 privilege granted must be paid for in the shape 
 of rent. 
 
 Thus it is clear that to occupy space on this 
 earth sufficient to domicile the body ; to draw 
 from this earth the produce necessary to sustain 
 life, is, to vast numbers, a privilege, not inher- 
 ent to them as men, as inhabitants of this
 
 OF THE AGE. 1/ 
 
 planet; not dispensed to them by the ruling 
 powers of the universe; not granted to them 
 by the government, the laws of men ; but ac- 
 corded them by certain individual members of 
 the race, who demand, and obtain in exchange 
 therefor, a tribute, known as rent. 
 
 Rent, to be paid — and its payment is manda- 
 tory — must be earned ; to be earned implies 
 labor ; and it is for the payment of rent, in its 
 various forms, that multitudes toil. The fruit 
 of this toil constitutes the revenue of the Lord 
 of the Manor; and the extent of this revenue 
 determines the size and the magnificence of his 
 mansions, the number of persons who compose 
 his retinue, the abundance and delicacy of his 
 table, the luxury of his surroundings, the power 
 he controls, the position he occupies in life. 
 
 This, then, is the condition of things : men 
 are launched into this world in large, in ever 
 increasing numbers ; men have necessities — the 
 two most essential of which are space to hold, 
 and food to sustain, their bodies. The Lord of 
 the Manor, and his class, being possessed of the 
 surface of the earth, are therefore possessed of 
 that which, alone, can satisfy these require- 
 ments; they hold in their hands the granting 
 of that without which life would be impossible ;
 
 l8 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 and they grant tbis to the multitudes only on 
 condition of the payment of tribute — tribute 
 sufficient to enable them to satisf}^, without la- 
 bor on their part, not only their necessities, but 
 any desire, any whim, their fancy may suggest. 
 * * -x- * * 
 
 The Lord of the Manor is not the sole bene- 
 ficiary in this admirable scheme of tribute-levy- 
 ing. He has associates who share, in a more or 
 less degree, and with slight variations, the same 
 conditions of life which he enjoys. 
 
 While a certain portion, however small, of 
 this earth is essential as a domicile for each in- 
 habitant thereof ; while a certain amount of food 
 is necessary to sustain him, there are other things 
 which, in the civilized state, are required by 
 man. These are the products of nature in a 
 form other than the raw material. Some are 
 converted into raiment to cover the human 
 body ; others into a more wholesome and agree- 
 able substance for consumption. The conver- 
 sion of these into their new forms, and their 
 distribution to the masses who required them, 
 was not to be a philanthropic operation. To 
 trace the history of this operation is to trace 
 the origin and the development of the manu- 
 facturer and the merchant, who play such an
 
 OF THE AGE. 1 9 
 
 important part in our day. The first took 
 charge of those products which either had to be 
 prepared before being consumed, or had to be 
 manufactured before they could be worn ; the 
 second undertook the distribution of all these. 
 Both had in view the disposing of same at a 
 profit. 
 
 As population increased and, in consequence, 
 as the demand for the means of subsistence 
 augmented; as science progressed and made 
 new discoveries in the methods of extracting 
 the produce and of converting it into the forms 
 necessary for consumption or for wear ; as new 
 and more rapid means of transportation and 
 distribution were put in operation, the manu- 
 facturer and the merchant were enabled to 
 handle and control ever increasing quantities of 
 material. The more they handled and con- 
 trolled, the greater the profits they realized. 
 These profits accumulating, soon gave them 
 wealth beyond their necessities. The owner- 
 ship of this accumulated wealth was one of the 
 causes which brought into existence the class 
 known as capitalists — money-kings — who, hav- 
 ing acquired, by means of profit in dealing in 
 the produce of the soil, riches as considerable as 
 those acquired by means of rent, by the owners
 
 20 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 of the soil, were destined to become powerful 
 rivals of the latter. 
 
 The money-king, with his capital, found him- 
 self in the same position as the Lord of the 
 Manor with his land ; he had more than he re- 
 quired for his personal use. But this, far from 
 being an incumbrance, reHeved him, on the 
 contraiy, of an infinity of anxieties; above all, 
 it relieved him of the necessity to labor. 
 
 Men must have money ; for under the com. 
 plex system which the needs of society gradu- 
 ally developed, money became essential in the 
 transactions of life, in the production, and 
 more especially in the exchange, of the neces- 
 saries of life ; and there is, in consequence, 
 a constant demand, an endless striving, for it. 
 Not only this, but no property can be acquired, 
 no edifice erected, no enterprise inaugurated, 
 without its assistance. Men, therefore, requir- 
 ing money, to whom should they naturally go, 
 to satisfy this need, but to him who has more 
 than he himself requires ? 
 
 The money-king thus becomes a personage of 
 note, wielding immense power. He takes his 
 place by the side of the Lord of the Manor ; and 
 as though it were the result of association, he 
 adopts the methods employed by the latter.
 
 OF THE AGE. 21 
 
 Having taken due precaution for its protection 
 and return, he lends the capital of which he 
 has surfeit and which he, personally, cannot 
 employ. As for the use of land, tribute is 
 paid to the one, in the form of rent ; so for the 
 use of gold, tribute is paid to the other, in the 
 form of interest. 
 
 Interest has to be paid, as has rent — and its 
 payment is no less inexorable ; to be paid, it 
 must be earned ; to be earned implies labor. 
 Thus labor becomes instrumental in making 
 capital, as well as land, productive, and in fur- 
 nishing revenues to their respective owners. 
 
 * * * -Sfr •x- 
 
 The field continuing to prove an attractive 
 and lucrative one, there still remained mer- 
 chants, manufacturers, and others who, each in 
 his sphere, continued their occupations — not, 
 however, without casting an envious eye on 
 their fortunate brothers who had been crowned 
 money -kings. This eye was not solely envious, 
 it was discerning. They admired the methods 
 of the great landowner, of the successful capi- 
 talist, and took note of the results. Not only 
 they admired these methods but — imitation 
 being the highest form of flattery — they were 
 tempted to imitate them. Since the multitudes
 
 22 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 seemed disposed to toil to support the few in 
 leisure, wliy should not the merchant prince, 
 and for that matter all industrial princes, join 
 the royal circle, and wear crowns of their own ? 
 Moreover, their undertakings had become so 
 stupendous, and their management so onerous, 
 that while clinging to the profits, they became 
 more and more anxious to be relieved of the 
 anxiety and labors which the superintendence 
 of their affairs and the amassing of their wealth 
 entailed. Furthermore, was not expansion, 
 the exploitation of vaster fields, the crushing 
 out of petty rivals — who, like flies tormenting 
 lions, were a source of discomfort and annoy- 
 ance — a consummation to be desired ; one likely 
 to result in greater profits ? More capital might 
 be required — but were not the allurements 
 offered overwhelming ? The joint-stock com- 
 pany — an impersonal, a soulless corporation — 
 was conceived ; it took its place among the 
 realities of the world ; it was destined to de- 
 velop, to find favor, to become a powerful fac- 
 tor in the affaii-s of men. By its operation, the 
 merchant-prince, as well as all others who, by 
 whatsoever means, have accumulated riches, 
 are accorded the most coveted of privileges. 
 Leaving responsibility and the supervision of
 
 OF THE AGE. 23 
 
 operations to managers and subordinates, they 
 gather in profits as the Lord of the Manor 
 gathers in rents, as the money-king gathers in 
 interest — all of which helps increase the stock 
 of wealth, for the comfort and glory of the 
 elect of Fortune. 
 
 Thus the example first set by the Lord of the 
 Manor — the example which awakened the envy 
 and stimulated the ambition of many — came to 
 be successfully followed by the money-king and 
 the merchant prince, and other children of Mam- 
 mon who constitute that galaxy of fortunate 
 mortals who live without work when all others 
 must work to live ; who enjoy the fruits of 
 labor without the fatigues of labor ; to whom 
 the ownership, the sovereignty of this world is 
 accorded as though it were their natural, their 
 legitimate due. Thus the surface of this earth 
 is possessed by one class; its produce is con- 
 trolled by another; and although these two 
 combined constitute but a small proportion of 
 the race, all the forces of humanity are put into 
 operation to render this planet — called man's — 
 a fair, an attractive abode, wherein they may 
 spend their days in pleasure and leisure.
 
 24 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 CHAPTEK III. 
 
 AN INQUIRY INTO THE CAUSE OF THE EXISTING 
 STATE OF THINGS. 
 
 NATURE has allotted this earth, with all 
 its luxuriance, its richness, its verdure, 
 its variety and charm of scenery, to man, as an 
 abode ; but she has imposed, as a condition of 
 his tenancy, the payment of a tribute — call it 
 rent, if you will — failing which, death is the 
 penalty. This tribute is Labor. 
 
 There is nothing more evident than that to 
 maintain itself on this globe, mankind must 
 work. It is an edict of the Universal Power 
 from which the race, as a whole, cannot escape. 
 Nor is the opportunity furnished to forget the 
 inexorableness of this edict. Multitudes toil to 
 extract nourishment from the earth to feed hu- 
 manity, and nourishment being consumed as it 
 is extracted, multitudes continue to toil to ex- 
 tract more, and this again is consumed. As it 
 is mth food, so is it with raiment. Millions of 
 hands work to clothe the race, but raiment, like
 
 OF THE AGE. 2$ 
 
 food, though in a minor degree, must be re- 
 newed. So, likewise, must the race be sheltered 
 — and though man build his home of rock, 
 time will compel him to repair the damages 
 which the hand of Nature has inflicted. Air, 
 fire, water, and the needs of existence constitute 
 eternal elements of destruction and consump- 
 tion, which demand eternal labor to restore and 
 to reproduce what is being destroyed and con- 
 sumed. Were the army of workers to cease 
 their efforts for a single year, countless num- 
 bers would suffer ; were they to desist for a 
 decade, the race would perish or be reduced to 
 the savage state. 
 
 Without labor, humanity would be bread 
 less ; without labor, humanity would be clothe 
 less ; without labor, humanity would be roofless 
 Unless cultivated, the richest soil remains un 
 productive ; unless manipulated, the finest ma 
 terials remain unwoven; unless disturbed by 
 mighty forces, the quarries of the mountains, 
 from which our palatial structures are built, 
 would slumber in their recesses. Nineveh and 
 its splendors, Babylon and its suspended gar- 
 dens, Athens and its temples, Rome and its 
 memory-inspiring monuments, Byzance and its 
 domes and minarets — all the proud cities of this
 
 26 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 world were raised from the earth by the hand 
 of Labor. The tapestries which adorn ancestral 
 halls, the canvases on which the painter's art 
 breathes life, the marble to which the sculptor's 
 chisel has given human form, are the children 
 of Labor. The strides of civilization, the light 
 of science, the course of progress ; wealth, art, 
 and all the marvellous machinery which throbs 
 and pants like living beings, can be traced to 
 Labor. 
 
 The world is, and must remain, a vast work- 
 shop. All nature toils ; the universe is em- 
 blematic of action ; action is emblematic of life, 
 of power ; and yet there are men who deem 
 toil debasing ; who boast of never having toiled ! 
 There are men who, by some strange dispensa- 
 tion, are exempt from work ; and, stranger still, 
 the multitudes, who feed, who clothe, who pro- 
 vide shelter for mankind, allow those who are 
 indolent to enjoy the richest results of labor ; 
 they allow them to sit at the banquet of life and 
 partake of its plenteousness, while they, sons of 
 toil, are awarded the crumbs. 
 
 On what grounds, it may be asked, does the 
 human race, which holds its lease of this earth 
 direct from Nature, and pays to her the tribute 
 — the rent — she demands, pay, in addition to
 
 OF THE AGE. 2/ 
 
 this, tribute to certain individuals of the race, 
 without due consideration, without good and 
 valid cause ? Are these certain individuals the 
 rightful owners of this earth; are they the 
 anointed masters of men ; are they the superi- 
 ors of their fellows — the lights of mind, the 
 giants of body ? Do they hold from Nature the 
 exclusive power to share in her rights and par- 
 take of her tribute % If not, how come they to 
 be possessed of this fair earth ; how come they 
 to control the produce of the earth ; how come 
 they to be exempt from labor and yet to enjoy 
 the best this earth affords ; how, above all, 
 come they to hold the vast multitudes who in- 
 habit this earth, in subjection to their will and 
 pleasure ? 
 
 This they do ; and for this there must be 
 some great, some prevailing, cause. 
 
 * •» * -JC- * 
 
 If the mass of men, representing the larger and 
 more powerful interest, took possession of this 
 planet, controlled its destinies, claimed the best 
 and the fairest as their share, and held the few 
 in subjection to their will and pleasure, there 
 would be no problem to solve; the cause of 
 such a condition of things would be apparent 
 to all. But there is a problem to solve, a cause
 
 28 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 to detect, when the reverse of this prevails — 
 as does prevail on our globe. 
 
 Casting our eyes over the face of the earth, 
 and contemplating productive labor associated 
 with poverty, and non-productive idleness as- 
 sociated with wealth, we are led to inquire how 
 this state of things, so detrimental to the wel- 
 fare of the larger and more powerful portion of 
 the race, originated in the past and was perpet- 
 uated, through the centuries, to the present day. 
 We would know why it is the many have sub- 
 mitted to the few, the strong to the weak ; why 
 those who cultivated the soil and drew there- 
 from all its variety of nourishment, fed on crusts, 
 while the indolent had surfeit of its choicest 
 fruit ; why those who weaved the finest cloths 
 were draped in rags, while rich purple hung on 
 idle shoulders ; why those who, with the rough 
 material of the quarries, built majestic palaces, 
 lived in huts, while those who could not hew a 
 stone, dwelt in palaces. 
 
 One class, not producing wealth, could not, 
 on the general ground of equity, claim the 
 wealth which another class produced. Hence, 
 from this standpoint, it does not appear that 
 the leisure element had right on their side. Nor 
 had they might. The laboring element was, 
 by far, superior in numbers and in strength.
 
 OF THE AGE. 29 
 
 There was, so far as the eye could discern, no 
 edict of nature, no law of man, to enforce this 
 state of things. Yet the many, apparently hav- 
 ing right on their side, and certainly having 
 might, submitted to it as though they deemed 
 all the powers of heaven and earth combined to 
 insist on its enforcement. Surely for this there 
 must have been a cause — a great, prevailing, 
 cause. Nor is it a weighty task, requiring 
 elaborate search, to discern this cause. Those 
 who have the appearance of right to animate 
 them ; those who have power to sustain them, 
 and yet fail to use their power to enforce their 
 right, must be slaves to Ignorance. 
 
 As man's superior intelligence places him 
 above, and gives him dominion over all other liv- 
 ing things; as it allows him to harness the 
 physically more powerful ox and horse to his 
 purpose ; and, more than this, as it enables him 
 to discover and control the blind forces of nature, 
 and use them for his benefit ; so, likewise, when 
 various bodies of men crystallized into the social 
 state, those who had superior intelligence rose 
 above, and held sway over, the ignorant ; they 
 harnessed them, as they harnessed the ox and 
 the horse, for their purpose, and used them, as 
 they used all else, for their benefit. 
 
 Herein can we detect and trace the origin of
 
 30 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 the subserviency of the many, in whom the intel- 
 lectual development was small, to the few, in 
 whom the intellectual development was rela- 
 tively large. It is owing to this that some rose 
 hisfher than others, mastered and controlled 
 them, and used them for their own advantage ; it 
 was due to their ignorance that the multitudes 
 cultivated the earth and allowed the choicest 
 fruit to those who cultivated it not ; that they 
 weaved the finest cloths and yet were draped 
 in rags ; built palaces, and yet dwelt in huts. 
 ***** 
 
 To wander back, through the labyrinth of 
 centuries, into the darkness of the Past, for the 
 purpose of measuring the density of that dark- 
 ness, were indeed an undertaking in which to 
 lose one's self would be inevitable, were it not 
 that we are enabled to borrow from the Present 
 certain signs which may serve as guide-posts ; 
 also light, which will render our path less diffi- 
 cult. 
 
 If printing, that simplest, yet grandest, of 
 inventions, was instrumental in facilitating the 
 spread of thought, in awakening discussion, in 
 stimulating learning, in diffusing knowledge; 
 if steam, with its marvellous propelling power, 
 has rendered travelling more easy and rapid and,
 
 OF THE AGE. 3 1 
 
 in consequence, brought the mental advantages 
 which observation and personal contact with 
 various races and their customs afford, within 
 the reach of greater numbers ; if electricity, 
 with its instantaneous flash, communicates to 
 the entire world the course of events in every 
 portion thereof ; if it makes known the theories 
 of philosophers, the discoveries of scientists, the 
 speeches of statesmen, the doings of govern- 
 ments, and places before each man, in every 
 corner of the globe, a succinct universal history 
 of the previous day ; if, under such favorable 
 circumstances as these, ignorance is still to be 
 met with ; if, in the enlightened times in which 
 we live, ignorance is, in some quarters, still 
 dense ; what, we may ask, must it not have 
 been ere the beneficial uses of printing, steam, 
 and electricity were revealed to man ? What 
 must it not have been when the population of 
 this globe was subdivided into small groups 
 of men — without a single book among them ; 
 perhaps not a single wise man among them — 
 interested only in the daily humdrum of their 
 own monotonous life ; unaware of the doings, 
 yes, of the very existence of the vast world 
 around and beyond them ; little to discuss, less 
 to speculate on, nothing tangible to hope for •
 
 32 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 lying prostrate before idols their own hands had 
 wrought ; reverencing, in solemn manner, the 
 beasts of the earth, then worshipping with ard- 
 ent soul the fire of heaven ? Unclean, untutored, 
 unspeakably ignorant — ignorant of all which we, 
 to-day, have knowledge of ; living in ages — dark 
 ages — wherein it is difficult to imagine even the 
 reflected light of the sun as shining on the 
 gloomy abode of man — these primitive mortals, 
 these argonauts of Humanity, turning their 
 longing eyes to the firmament above, may have 
 dreamt of immortality ; but, while mortal, they 
 were like the brutes who contested with them 
 the mastership of this earth — unconscious of 
 the true nature of their surroundings ; satisfying 
 their material appetites as best they could, 
 while their intellects were undeveloped, inert, 
 enshrouded — but, fortunately, not dead. 
 * -jfr * * * 
 
 Let us invoke Fancy — which, though never 
 ranked among the many gods to whom the hu- 
 man knee has bent, has the power of creating, 
 destroying, or altering all things at will — and 
 picture to ourselves this fair earth of man, embel- 
 lished as we see it to-day, with its verdant 
 fields, its luxuriant gardens, its hamlets, vil- 
 lages and cities, its noble structures and majestic
 
 OF THE AGE. 33 
 
 palaces, revolving through space — a silent, de- 
 serted planet. No, neither silent nor deserted. 
 The song of the bird in the forest, the roar of 
 the lion in the desert, the soft music of the 
 rippling streams, the mournful sounds of the 
 rolling waves, are still heard as of yore ; but 
 the voice of man is hushed, his race is extinct. 
 With man has vanished his laws and his tradi- 
 tions. 
 
 Having destroyed the old, let Fancy picture 
 the creation of a new race, similar to the one 
 that is gone, save that all its members are 
 equally enlightened, and free from the thraldom 
 of custom which, tyrant-like, imposes itself as a 
 second nature on all who come within its reach. 
 
 Were it not useless to ask, unless indeed 
 offence to reason were intended, whether, in 
 disposing of that which they found on this 
 earth, and which seemed to correspond with 
 their wants, these newly-arrived mortals would 
 allot that which is most desired by all to a 
 privileged few, for all time, while the multitudes 
 would not only be given that which is least de- 
 sirable, but would be compelled to toil, so that 
 their favored companions might be maintained 
 in a state of repose and luxury? If, instead of 
 universal peace and happiness, the end aimed at
 
 34 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 were general turmoil and discontent, and all the 
 evils which these engender, such a course would 
 be wisely pursued and the contemplated result 
 unavoidably attained. Not the forbidden apple 
 of Eden, but the golden apple of Discord would 
 introduce sin and calamity to the unfortunate 
 race, while Iniquity, usurping the throne of 
 Justice, would drive Harmony far from the 
 haunts of men. 
 
 Who, among these new lords of creation, 
 would be so bold as to suggest so perilous a 
 course, with no custom to serve as guide, no pre- 
 cedent to point to as authority? What man, 
 no matter what his greed, his arrogance, would 
 venture to seize upon more than he could use, 
 while his companions had less than they needed ? 
 
 On what grounds, these would ask, do you 
 propose disposing of things as though we were 
 of a different race, and as such should submit 
 to different conditions ? Why should you, who 
 have but one body to feed, one body to clothe, 
 one body to shelter, claim numerous loaves, nu- 
 merous garments, numerous houses, while we, 
 with many bodies, are exposed to hunger, to the 
 chill of the night and the rigors of the storm ? If 
 we were destined to eat less than you, surely 
 our capacity for food would be less ; if it were
 
 OF THE AGE. 35 
 
 ordained that we required less shelter and fewer 
 garments than you, there would be distinguish- 
 ing signs to indicate this fact. If the discerning 
 power which gave four legs to the horse, that 
 he might travel long distances, and mighty 
 wings to the eagle, that he might reach high 
 altitudes, had intended that we should toil, 
 while you indulged in leisure, would it not have 
 given us more feet, more hands, more strength, 
 than to you ? Nature has not overlooked the 
 requirements of animals ; nor has she been blind 
 to those of men. Why, then, should the greed 
 of the few be allowed to interfere with her pro- 
 visions for all ? Why should you claim the 
 lion's share, while we are condemned, like curs, 
 to wander in search of bones ? If reason and 
 equity are to be ignored, and physical strength 
 is to be the test, why should not we, the more 
 powerful of mankind, secure the coveted prey, 
 as do the more powerful beasts ? 
 
 But Fancy, however subtle its tricks, however 
 potent its sway in the realms of Fiction, must, 
 perforce, retreat when confronted by Reality. 
 
 The race which first inhabited this earth, 
 though superior in intelligence to all else living 
 thereon, was an infant, and consequently an 
 untutored, race. Hence there was no equitable
 
 36 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 allotment of what was found on this earth. 
 There was no division having for object the en- 
 couragement, the development, of energy, indus- 
 try, and genius. There was not, for obvious 
 reasons, any system, based on social experience, 
 tending toward the general welfare. There 
 were no guiding stars, no benevolent spirits, to 
 indicate the course men should pursue; to 
 direct them in their intercourse with each other ; 
 to assist them in laying the foundations of a 
 social structure, which should offer shelter and 
 protection to all. 
 
 The earth had sprung from the womb of chaos, 
 and there was yet much of chaos clinging to 
 the earth. Order and harmony were yet to come 
 forth to perform their duties toward the new- 
 born race, and assist in its nursing, education, 
 and final development. Things were left to 
 shift for themselves; and men roamed about, 
 as did the beasts of the fields, attracted here 
 and there by such products as nature offered 
 freely to satisfy their necessities, and maintain 
 their existence. 
 
 But, as the child is gradually weaned from 
 his mother's breast, and must, in the course of 
 time, depend on his own efforts to secure nu- 
 trition, so the human race was gradually weaned
 
 OF THE AGE. 37 
 
 from the nourishment which mother earth offered 
 spontaneously. The land had to be cultivated, 
 and the food to sustain man drawn therefrom 
 by man's own exertions. The shelter which the 
 forest trees afforded was doomed to prove insuf- 
 ficient, and the skins of animals, which covered 
 the body, to be cast aside for less primitive gar- 
 ments. New energies were called into play ; 
 also new faculties ; all tending to the arous- 
 ing, the development of intelligence. Those 
 whose minds were most active, most receptive, 
 most inventive; those who had the gift of 
 initiative, were destined, at that early period, to 
 lead the others, and eventually to master them. 
 What wonder, then, that, proving themselves 
 more capable than their fellow-men, they should 
 have claimed advantages over them ? What 
 wonder, as centuries elapsed, and order and har- 
 mony began to conquer the lingering elements 
 of chaos, and force mankind to adopt the social 
 state, that those among them who could step 
 forth with the mark of superiority on their 
 brows, the evidence of superiority in their 
 thoughts and in their deeds, the facility of ex- 
 pression, and the power of argument, on their 
 lips, should have been accorded leadership; 
 should have claimed more loaves, more garments, 
 
 428987
 
 38 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 more houses, than those whose inferiority of 
 miud required that they should be guided and 
 commanded — that they should follow and obey ? 
 Nor does it appear that the latter, in accepting 
 these conditions, considered that a wrong was 
 being done them. Oppression will drive even 
 the weak to resist the strong. It is, therefore, 
 not probable that a conscious injustice would 
 have been long tolerated by a large body of 
 men capable of crushing those who inflicted it. 
 Moreover, the advantages of wealth and of 
 power were ever before their eyes, and unless 
 so blinded as not to see them, the incentive to 
 acquire these advantages was not missing. 
 Hence, they had power ; they had incentive ; 
 yet they failed to use their power, and the 
 incentive failed to move them. 
 
 Is it not safe to conclude, under these circum- 
 stances, that the early submission of the majority, 
 as a hody^ to the minority, is irrefutable evi- 
 dence of mental inferiority on the part of the 
 former ; that if there was not an equal division 
 of the wealth of the world, it was because there 
 was a natural inequality between men, which 
 justified the unequal division ; that while — 
 owing to the subsequent introduction of arbi- 
 trary laws tending to maintain the status quOj
 
 OF THE AGE. 39 
 
 and exclude new-comers — intelligence did not 
 always succeed in rising to the surface, igno- 
 I'ance, with rare exceptions, was a heavy weight 
 which kept its unfortunate victims in the lower 
 levels of life ?
 
 40 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE AND THE 
 REVOLUTION IT IS PRODUCING. 
 
 AS we contemplate the history of the Past, 
 the almost interminable vista of dark- 
 ness, during which the mass of men seemed to 
 slumber, is not the only one which arrests our 
 attention. There flashed, now and anon, across 
 the sombre firmament of Ignorance, a genius 
 who, like a meteor shooting through space, left 
 a trace of radiance in his wake. There arose, 
 from among the multitudes, students and phi- 
 losophers, scientists and dreamers, striving for 
 knowledge, panting for truth. But their soar- 
 ing minds dwelt mainly among the stars, or 
 contemplated the mysteries of Fate and the 
 blind forces of nature far more seriously and 
 assiduously than they did the physical powers, 
 and the legitimate aspirations, of man. They 
 advanced theories, claimed principles, built sys- 
 tems, which they deemed eternal, and which
 
 OF THE AGE. 4 1 
 
 subsequent generations saw levelled to the 
 ground and scattered to the winds. Once in a 
 while, fragments of the whole remained, and 
 helped increase the small store of positive 
 knowledge ; but how infinitesimal was this 
 when compared with the mass of fiction, of 
 falsehood, of superstition — piled heaven-high — 
 the accumulations of ages of ignorance ! 
 
 The students, the philosophers, the scientists, 
 the dreamers, were few, while those whose 
 minds were inert were numerous. Scarcely did 
 these hear the sounds which emanated from the 
 elevated regions of Intellect; and those who 
 did, grasped not their meaning ; and, slaves to 
 custom, they kept plodding on their weary 
 way, as they had plodded for centuries past. 
 
 Thus while a small band — stimulated by a 
 hidden power, which seemed to urge them on ; 
 and often receiving, as sole reward for their 
 labors, the smile of the great and the patroniz- 
 ing favors of those who shared in the division 
 of the good and the fair things of life — were 
 striving to make advances in the intellectual 
 world, the mental, as well as the material, con- 
 dition of the masses remained unaltered. Pro- 
 gress, however small, however slow, was made, 
 or attempted, in every science, save in that one
 
 42 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 whicli concerned the sjeneral welfare of the 
 race. 
 
 True, an occasional voice was heard, a daring 
 hand was raised, in the endeavor to arouse the 
 multitudes from their lethargy and to improve 
 their condition ; but the impulse had not fully 
 matured ; development was incomplete, and the 
 efforts, crushed in their infancy, were unpro- 
 ductive of results. 
 
 Similar, however, to Nature's mighty, though 
 silent, operations, marvellous things were being 
 prepared by unseen, unheard, human forces. 
 The time came when phenomena, unprecedented 
 and full of meaning, began to manifest them- 
 selves. The stagnancy of centuries was dis- 
 turbed ; mental activity became prevalent ; ex- 
 pectancy beat in every pulse ; hope swelled in 
 every breast. All eyes wandered to the horizon, 
 as though in search of something that must soon 
 appear, and lo ! a rising orb was seen to drive 
 the shades of night from the long-darkened fir- 
 mament; an unknown light spread over the 
 face of the earth, penetrated the souls of men, 
 and gave new color to all things. A cycle was 
 completed, and evolution made a step forward 
 in its mysterious course. A new day was born 
 for Humanity. An epoch was at hand wherein
 
 OF THE AGE. 43 
 
 memorable events were to be recorded in the 
 annals of Time ; for the sun of Knowledge had 
 risen, and the reign of Ignorance was measured. 
 
 w • w w Tr w 
 
 In the last century, the world witnessed the 
 commencement of the period — distinguished 
 above all others — when the formerly limited 
 sphere of learning, of investigation and enlighten- 
 ment, was to be enlarged ; when the barriers 
 which excluded the mass of men from that 
 sphere, were to be removed ; when the inestima- 
 ble value of Printing was to be finally realized ; 
 when its long deferred triumph was to be 
 celebrated ; when its empire, and the momentous 
 changes which it implied, were really to begin. 
 
 Not only were great truths discovered, but 
 great falsehoods, inherited from the earliest 
 ages, were unmasked and eventually cast aside 
 with the idols of antiquity; Philosophy took 
 new wings and soared to strange and heretofore 
 unexplored realms; Science expanded its do- 
 minion and sought fresh fields of discovery ; it 
 advanced, step by step, until it burst, in the 
 increased fulness of its development, into the 
 glorious rays which illumine our present day, 
 and brought into deeper contrast the dimness of 
 the past. The age of Fiction and Sentiment
 
 44 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 seemed to be vanishing ; that of Reality and 
 Utility to be approaching. The conditions of 
 society, the relations of its members and of its 
 institutions to each other and to the state, the 
 prerogatives of kings, the rights of men, and 
 other kindred subjects came to the surface, and 
 occupied the minds of all. The thoughts of 
 the wise and of the benevolent were sent forth 
 to the multitudes, and found an echo in the re- 
 motest hamlets. The dissemination of ideas pro- 
 voked discussion ; discussion stimulated inquiry ; 
 inquiry sharpened intelligence, and intelli- 
 gence, directed in a new course, began to open 
 the eyes of the people to the fact that the un- 
 favorable conditions to which many of them had 
 long submitted, were not the result of divine 
 dispensations — eternal and immutable — but of 
 human regulations, ephemeral and changeable. 
 
 And what are we called upon to relate as the 
 foremost result of the diffusion of Knowledge ? 
 A solemn, an awe-inspiring protest against the 
 ancient state of things. Murmurs arose which, 
 feeble at first, grew louder and more frequent. 
 From many quarters, sounds, like those of the 
 clarion, were heard, and, wherever heard, men 
 were stirred to action. The land became like a 
 vast camp aroused from a heavy sleep. The ele-
 
 OF THE AGE. 45 
 
 ments of discontent gathered ominously ; they in- 
 creased with appalling rapidity, and finally broke 
 out into a surging storm between the conflicting 
 sections of society. The world witnessed a 
 revolution, more universal, more pregnant with 
 eventual results to the race, than any convulsion 
 of nature. 
 
 The problem before us is, therefore, a clear 
 one ; the solution of which is correspondingly 
 clear. 
 
 In examining the constitution of the social 
 body, we have seen the strange spectacle of the 
 more numerous and powerful portion of society 
 submitting to conditions detrimental to them- 
 selves and beneficial to the smaller and weaker 
 portion ; we have become convinced from the 
 brief and cursory survey given (and a more 
 profound and elaborate survey could but result 
 in deepening the conviction) that this state 
 of things could never have obtained, had not the 
 majority been less knowing, less intelligent, 
 than the minority. 
 
 Ignorance, then, was the cause ; the abject 
 state was the effect. Since ignorance is vanish- 
 ing, must not the conditions which sprung from 
 ignorance also vanish ? The cause disappearing, 
 can the effect remain ? Will not the awakening
 
 46 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 of the human race which led to the scientific, 
 industrial, social, and political revolutions, lead 
 to that one which, from a material standpoint, 
 will prove most beneficial to the people — an 
 economic revolution ? In fact, is not the latter 
 the logical, the inevitable, sequence of the 
 former ? 
 
 The answer to this is to be found in the 
 tendencies of the times ; it is revealed in the 
 pages of history, which show that ever since 
 means were adopted to diffuse knowledge, a 
 movement, sometimes demonstrative, explosive, 
 destructive, more often subdued and silent, but 
 none the less objective, has been developing 
 against the order of things whereby — owing to 
 certain laws, customs, and traditions, and not 
 to natural superiority — the desired things of this 
 world are concentrated in the hands of the few 
 and excluded from the many. 
 
 If the horse, more powerful than man, were 
 to become as intelligent, would he consent to be 
 harnessed under the same conditions as for- 
 merly ? Would he submit to unfair treatment 
 from one mentally his equal, physically his 
 inferior? It would be unwise to expect this of 
 the horse ; it would be folly to demand it of 
 man.
 
 OF THE AGE. 47 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 PREMOlSriTORY SIGNS. 
 
 WHEN earth-pervading, heaven-aspiring 
 Knowledge, weary of its solitude and 
 seclusion, escaped beyond the gloomy walls of 
 cloister and the dingy garrets of student and 
 philosopher; when, realizing its freedom, it 
 wandered into peaceful village and crowded 
 city, and became a thing of note, of observa- 
 tion and discussion ; when, in its progressive 
 course, it met the opposition of its arch-enemy. 
 Ignorance, and following an irresistible im- 
 pulse, cast down, with haughty defiance, the 
 gage of battle; then, on this planet named 
 Earth, was inaugurated a warfare in which no 
 flag of truce was to be raised, no armistice dis- 
 cussed, no treaty of peace signed — a duel to 
 the death between Knowledge and Ignorance. 
 The intellectual revolution against the reign 
 of Ignorance is, by nature, destructive as well 
 as constructive in its tendencies. It has been 
 going on for many years, imperceptible to the
 
 48 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 ordinary eye, subverting or altering all previous 
 notions and creeds, systems and institutions ; 
 expanding the horizon of the human mind, and, 
 in respect to social and economic matters, point- 
 ing unmistakably to the gradual disappearance 
 of those conditions w^hich sprung into existence 
 in unenlightened periods of the past. 
 
 Do we not already contemplate, in many 
 lands, the ruins of the forms of the old order ? 
 Have we not seen the adoption of forms fore- 
 casting a new system, not yet in existence, but 
 which the logic of events is destined to bring 
 into existence — shadows, as it were, of events 
 to come ? 
 
 In the historic hall where, in the midst of 
 national perturbation and expectation, the 
 French States-General met, a century ago, the 
 Commons insisting on the same privilege as 
 that enjoyed by the First and Second Estates, 
 of remaining covered in the presence of the 
 King, was a petty thing in itself ; but how 
 pregnant with meaning, how fruitful of inci- 
 dents ! 
 
 From that date on, many changes were 
 wrought which indicate the advent of an era 
 strikingly different, in many respects, from the
 
 OF THE AGE. 49 
 
 one that is vanishing. These changes bear, all 
 of them, the imprint of a dominant purpose, 
 and betray the underlying tendency of the 
 movement of the times — namely, the restric- 
 tion of the undue advantages enjoyed by the 
 few, and the increase of opportunities for the 
 many to rise ; in other words, the lessening of 
 the great contrasts in the conditions of men. 
 
 If this was not the case, why should the 
 towering influence of the Crown have been torn 
 down, and the sovereignty of the people pro- 
 claimed ? Why should titles of nobility, which 
 implied differences in the social world, have 
 been abrogated, and the name of citizen applied 
 to all ? Why should certain laws and usages, 
 which gave privileges to some and denied them 
 to others, have been abolished ? Why should 
 the great and the wealthy have eventually 
 abandoned, in public, the gaudy dress and 
 adornments which were the insignia of superior 
 position in life ? Lastly, why should the peo- 
 ple, unless they resented, and wished to destroy 
 offensive contrasts, have adopted, as the national 
 device, the all-significant words, which adorn 
 the edifices of man as well as the temples of 
 God- 
 Liberty, Equality, Fraternity ?
 
 50 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 And following events down to our day, do 
 we not realize, as enlightenment increases, an 
 increasing tendency to free the mass of the 
 population from the disadvantageous situation 
 they formerly occupied ? Have not the so-called 
 middle classes risen to the point to which they 
 long aspired ? Have they not achieved a sub- 
 stantial, a magnificent, victory, while the world 
 has resounded — till the sound has grown weari- 
 some from its monotony — with what is fondly 
 termed the triumph of Democracy ? Is not the 
 body of voters growing gradually larger and 
 larger, thus increasing the number of those who 
 are admitted factors in government ? Was not 
 a long and bloody war, involving thousands of 
 lives and millions in money, considered oppor- 
 tune and justifiable in the emancipation of 
 slaves ? Is not serfdom abolished ? Have not 
 the foremost nations of civilization come face to 
 face with something more than the mere spectre 
 of socialism, which, aiming to relieve mankind of 
 all the ills and iniquities which have oppressed 
 them in the past, proposes the complete subver- 
 sion of the existing order of things ? 
 
 Actual changes there have been, in truth, in 
 one direction at least, and glaring presages of 
 changes in many directions ; while it is obvious
 
 OF THE AGE. 5 I 
 
 to all that things have progressed to the point 
 where the all-absorbing question of tlie times is 
 no longer the divine rights of kings, but the 
 human rights of the peoples of the earth.
 
 52 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 MODERN DEMOCRACY THE EESFLT OF THE 
 DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 HOWEVER clear the cause of the polit- 
 ical and other disturbances which agi- 
 tated Europe and America a century ago, — and 
 which constitute the most remarkable period of 
 all history — their effect cannot fail to perplex 
 us if we look at them as independent move- 
 ments. If, however, we consider them, as they 
 should be considered, as initial steps in a vast 
 forward movement, as mere incidents of a general 
 revolution, still in progress, still to fulfil its pur- 
 pose, perplexity gives way to easy comprehen- 
 sion. 
 
 Men, at that time, though unprepared to solve 
 the crisis which came upon them, were neverthe- 
 less resolved to meet it with the courage and 
 the lights they then possessed. Human affairs 
 had reached a stage when innovation was found 
 to be necessary. The spirit of change was 
 abroad ; also the powers to effectuate a change.
 
 OF THE AGE. 53 
 
 Event followed event in rapid succession ; so 
 likewise suggestions of what changes to make ; 
 and formulas innumerable from innumerable 
 quarters. 
 
 The agitation spread, in a more or less marked 
 degree, over the civilized portions of the world. 
 It resulted, generally, in a realization of the 
 power of the people and, consequently, in a 
 fuller recognition of their rights. It proved 
 conclusively that there was, on the face of this 
 earth, a set of men, other than princes and 
 privileged orders, who were entitled to recog- 
 nition and, if need be, could demand, and en- 
 force, recognition. 
 
 One result was hailed by the multitudes with 
 emotions of joy and hope, and was watched by 
 the ruling classes with alarm and distrust. The 
 former thought it would, more than aught else, 
 promote their elevation ; the latter apprehended 
 that its success implied their downfall. This 
 result was the adoption, after many reactionary 
 attempts, of the popular, in lieu of the former, 
 system of government. 
 
 Obviously, the objections on the dominant 
 side were based less on the mere change of 
 form, than on the fear lest the newly accredited 
 sovereign people — the makers of governments,
 
 54 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 of laws, or the unmakers thereof — with their 
 recently acquired knowledge, their numbers, 
 their right and their might, should not remain 
 content with the semblance of sovereignty, while 
 certain favored citizens enjoyed the substance, 
 the real power, and all the advantages these 
 bring. 
 
 Two powerful republics were established : 
 one in a country whose people had, for genera- 
 tions, been familiar with monarchical institu- 
 tions ; the other in a Land of Promise which, 
 since the native Redskin had laid down the 
 sceptre, had been considered the fairest colony 
 of the vastest empire of the earth. 
 
 These two republics were, unlike the more 
 ancient ones of Italy, democratic in form. It 
 was freely declared that the machinery of State 
 was not to be used, as formerly, for the benefit 
 of a few, but for the benefit of all the governed 
 — thus acknowledging the supremacy of the 
 nation. Herein we detect premonitory symp- 
 toms of an attempt to eliminate one of the 
 effects which had sprung from the ignorance of 
 the people, and to confer on them some of the 
 advantages which their new acquirements en- 
 titled them to. 
 
 The advent of Democracy, not by the sudden
 
 OF THE AGE. 55 
 
 cowp of au ambitious leader, anxious to win 
 popular favor; not as a political experiment; 
 but as the inevitable consequence of a new con- 
 dition of things which is daily becoming more 
 and more palpable, is, in itself, evidence of the 
 intellectual progress of the people, and indicates 
 beyond doubt that their enlightenment must 
 result in their elevation, just as their ignorance 
 had resulted in their abasement. 
 
 It was natural that, as knowledge spread, a 
 revolt should have been inauo;urated against 
 the absolutism of monarchy, which implied pop- 
 ular subjection, and in favor of its substitute, 
 which implied popular emancipation. Hence 
 it was that, in the two countries referred to, the 
 system of government adopted was democratic 
 in form. Be it observed, however, that it was 
 democratic in form only — not in substance. 
 Had it, from its incipiency, been the latter as 
 well as the former, then would have been ac- 
 complished, in a remarkably short period, the 
 most remarkable revolution conceivable ; then 
 would social evolution have progressed at a 
 rate totally incompatible with the magnitude 
 and importance of the change to be wrought ; 
 then would Humanity, still in the infancy of its 
 new life, have accomplished a task which time
 
 56 THE REVOLUTIOXARY TENDENCIES 
 
 and experience alone could accomplish ; then, 
 contrary to all phenomena attending great 
 movements, would a people who had long been 
 iirnorant, and submitted to the conditions which 
 ignorance imposes, have sprung, in one bound, 
 into a state of complete enlightenment, and 
 enjoyed the conditions which enlightenment 
 demands. 
 
 To have expected this, would have been to 
 look for the cessation of those laws of nature 
 which require the gradual development of all 
 things — from the blade of grass to the mighty 
 oak — and especially of those things which are 
 destined to last, to brave the storms of the ele- 
 ments and the ravages of time. 
 
 As the seed of Democracy had to be planted 
 ere it could grow, so is it necessary that its 
 growth shall reach a certain point before it 
 bear fruit.
 
 OF THE AGE. $y 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE TBIUMPH OF DEMOCEACY, SO FAR, A TEmMPH 
 OF MEEE FORMS. 
 
 WHILE the ancient regime has been 
 changed in various respects and, if we 
 consider how slow, how gradual, as a rule, are 
 all human innovations, changed with marvellous 
 swiftness ; while events, some foreseen, others 
 unlooked for, have come to pass — undoing much 
 that had been done ; nullifying much more — 
 flux and reflux in the great movement forward, 
 in the widespread revolution which the stimu- 
 lus to learning has inaugurated in the affairs of 
 men ; yet if we, at the end of this nineteenth 
 century, cast a glance of scrutiny over those lands 
 where the triumph of Democracy and the sov- 
 ereignty of the people are most loudly pro- 
 claimed, we find, wherever we gaze, a state of 
 things strikingly similar, in its essential respects, 
 to that which existed prior to these changes. 
 No haughty monarch, no frivolous court, it is 
 true ; but now, as then, we see vast riches in
 
 58 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 the bands of the few, and dire poverty facing 
 the many ; we see, now as then, an enormous 
 distance dividing the two extremes in the social 
 sphere — zenith and nadir — one so high as to 
 dazzle the sight of those below ; the other so 
 low as to be scarcely noticed by those above. 
 "VVe realize, in one word, that while the spread 
 of knowledge and the consequent awakening of 
 intelligence, created a tendency to bring about 
 an equitable levelling of conditions, this tend- 
 ency has, so far, touched mainly the surface of 
 things ; we find that the forms of the old order 
 have been annulled, while the substance re- 
 mains ; and that the forms of a new order have 
 been adopted, while the substance is still absent. 
 There has been a levelling in titles, thefe has 
 been a levelling in dress, there has been a level- 
 ling, more apparent than real, in the application 
 of the law ; there has been a levelling, absolutely 
 fictitious in its results, in the distribution of 
 political power ; but as regards the ownership 
 of this earth and its riches (and reflect w^ell, O 
 Keader, how more important than all others is 
 this last, on this planet of ours !) there has 
 been little or no attempt at levelling. Contrasts 
 in everything are less glaring, save in wealth — 
 the great, the dominant power — which pur-
 
 OF THE AGE. 59 
 
 chases everything this world produces, every- 
 thing this world can give. 
 
 Thus, while the fair land which once knew 
 proud princes and resplendent courts, now 
 knows princes and courts no more, while the 
 land which once witnessed the most brilliant 
 array of nobles of which history relates, uow 
 looks on their descendants as they would on 
 the ruins of a dead age ; while the land which 
 was once familiar with feudalism, with class 
 distinctions and high privileges, rose from the 
 smoke of battle and the blood and turmoil of 
 revolution, bearing on its standard, which it 
 aimed to make the standard of the world, 
 "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity," there are still, 
 in this fair land, geniuses who, being slaves to 
 poverty, must doff the cap to fools who are 
 masters of wealth ; there are so-called plain 
 citizens who would not surrender the title to 
 their possessions for all the titles of nobility of 
 ancient and modern times ; there are distinctions 
 of condition based in no sense upon merit, 
 natural superiority, or public service. In that 
 which is most essential to the material welfare 
 of man ; in that which decides whether his life 
 shall be one of ease, of comfort, of luxury, or 
 one of labor, of anxiety, and want, there has
 
 6o THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 been no equitable levelling, no destroying of 
 glaring contrasts. 
 
 In the face of these facts, there are those 
 (whose vision is as restricted as that of the 
 peasants who imagine the mountains of their 
 valley to be the limits of the earth) who be- 
 lieve and proclaim that the events referred to 
 are the limits of human possibilities ; that the 
 advent of Democracy implies the actual triumph 
 of Democracy ; that because political independ- 
 ence has been achieved, monarchy abolished, and 
 republics established, the mirmmim honum of 
 nations has been attained ; that the surging 
 wave of revolution which has swept over the 
 land, has expended itself, and having landed 
 man on the highest possible plane of human 
 prosperity and contentment, he has every reason 
 to be satisfied with things as they are ; and, con- 
 sequently, it were futile for him to hope or to 
 strive further to improve his condition. 
 
 Strange illusion ! and yet not strange when 
 we consider that w^e live in a world sw^ayed for 
 ages by forms, and guided by words ; a world 
 incapable, at first sight, of distinguishing be- 
 tween the shadow and the reality of things, 
 between the meaning of phrases and the fulfil- 
 ment of their meaning.
 
 OF THE AGE. 6 1 
 
 If under monarchical absolutism the King's 
 power was paramount to that of his subjects ; 
 if the people's welfare was subordinate to that 
 of the sovereign and of the privileged classes ; 
 if the laws favored the latter and were mainly 
 for their benefit and protection ; then the tri- 
 umph of Democracy over monarchical absolutism 
 implies that the people's power shall not be 
 subordinate to that of any individual, nor their 
 welfare to that of any class ; it implies, above 
 all, that the spirit of the laws shall tend toward 
 the greatest good of the greatest number. 
 
 The triumph of Democracy, if it be a sub- 
 stantial and not an imaginary one, means not 
 only that there shall be no privileged nobility 
 and clergy, as formerly, but that no set what- 
 ever of citizens shall enjoy inordinate, and 
 especially unearned, advantages over their 
 fellow-citizens ; it means deviation from that 
 system of government which tolerated gross 
 inequalities in the conditions of men, regardless 
 of their merits ; it involves the securing to all of 
 fair opportunities in the race for the prizes 
 of life ; it implies the discontinuance of that 
 state of things which allowed the accident of 
 birth, the favoritism of princes, or the caprice
 
 62 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 of Fortune, to become instrumental in raising 
 a few immeasurably above all others ; which not 
 only assured the few the enjoyment of great 
 wealth and great favor with government, but 
 permitted them, at their death, to transfer these 
 to heirs ; and which, by maintaining all privi- 
 leges and advantages in the hands of a class, 
 aimed to make them perpetual, and thus per- 
 petually exclude the majority of men from par- 
 ticipating therein. If Democracy does not mean 
 the cessation of these conditions, it means noth- 
 ing ; if it does not aim to accomplish this end, 
 it is a sham, an illusion, a misnomer. 
 
 This state of things having existed under 
 monarchical rule, it was, it is fair to assume, to 
 destroy it that monarchy was abolished in cer- 
 tain countries, and democratic rule substituted 
 in its stead. It w^as because the French nation, 
 long restless under the yoke of tyranny, had 
 become more fully informed of the abuses and 
 iniquities of the system under which they lived, 
 that they rose in a body to overthrow it. In- 
 deed, so resolute were their efforts to eradicate 
 the ancient evils ; so heroic, in appearance, were 
 the remedies applied; so fierce was the strug- 
 gle against their oppressors, that the world, 
 unaccustomed to the sight, stood aghast, and 
 looked on in amazement.
 
 OF THE AGE. 6^ 
 
 Proud in the display of their power, rejoicing 
 in the victory they imagined they had achieved, 
 the people returned to their workshops and 
 their fields, and awaited the coming of the 
 Golden Era. 
 
 The Golden Era never came ; and no wonder ! 
 
 This mighty revolution, with its vast up- 
 heaval of passions and moral forces ; its demoli- 
 tion of prisons and overthrowing of thrones ; its 
 denial of God and deification of Reason; its 
 days of terror and scenes of horror ; its wild 
 shouts of exultation and weird hymns of tri- 
 umph ; this revolution, so far-reaching in its 
 conceptions, so universal in its aspirations for 
 the emancipation, for the welfare, of Humanity 
 — what did it accomplish ? Obviously not that 
 which it set out to accomplish; certainly not 
 that in which the welfare of Humanity was most 
 seriously involved : a fairer division of man's 
 earth and its wealth. True, Monarchy was 
 erased and Democracy substituted in its place ; 
 but a change of name could not effect a change 
 of condition. Diogenes apostrophized as Croe- 
 sus would still remain poor, and Croesus as 
 Diogenes be none the less rich. 
 
 The people ceased to be the subjects of 
 haughty kings ; they remained subject to 
 haughty laws. They won a crown, but no do-
 
 64 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 minion ; acquired sovereignty, yet retained their 
 poverty. 
 
 Aside from such natural advantages as the 
 country may afford, do the masses of to-day, 
 under democratic rule, differ strikingly from the 
 masses under kingly rule ? Do the favored few 
 enjoy less w^ealth, less luxuries, less influence? 
 The glories of monarchy have departed, but the 
 miseries of the people remain ; the contrasts 
 which offended their sense of right and aroused 
 their just resentment, are still visible on all 
 sides ; they are as overshadowed to-day by an 
 opulent class as they were formerly by a noble 
 class. Kapaciousness, in the upper circles, far 
 from diminishing, has increased ; greed is al- 
 lowed to run unbridled by any law. The 
 favorites of Industry have outstripped the fa- 
 vorites of Royalty. They, too, are permitted to 
 feed on the public, and grow rich at their ex- 
 pense. They, too, dwell in palaces, are sur- 
 rounded by magnificence, and display their 
 affluence as though to mock those from whom 
 they draw their revenue. They realize profits 
 and amass fortunes which bring out, with re- 
 newed vividness, the difference between the two 
 elements of society, the rich and the poor. 
 Now, more than ever, is accumulation and waste
 
 OF THE AGE. 65 
 
 seen on one side, want and suffering on the 
 other. The artificial is dominant and Mammon 
 is king. On him has fallen the mantle of sov- 
 ereignty ; before him the respectful bearing ; 
 to him the obsequious bow. Everything is 
 brushed aside to make room for the Majesty of 
 Wealth. 
 
 Wherein, then, so far as actual, tangible, ef- 
 fects go, consists the much talked of superiority 
 of the republican over the monarchical system ? 
 Is it that the civil list of a president is trivial 
 compared with that of a prince ; his functions 
 less imposing, his surroundings less magnificent ? 
 Here, at least, is a lesson rich in meaning, if not 
 in results. Here is a tacit admission that reck- 
 less extravagance, in certain quarters especially, 
 is an audacious contrast to, and a constant 
 mockery of, the poverty of the people. But 
 what, beyond a mere moral lesson, is taught by 
 curtailing the expenditures of one individual, 
 and making him, who should shine above all 
 others, a solitary example of the sin of extrava- 
 gance ? He is denied a royal revenue and the 
 splendors of a court ; the nation over which he 
 rules — with a power and responsibilities greater 
 than those of many modern sovereigns — is 
 termed a Republic ; and it is claimed, in conse-
 
 66 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 quence, that gigantic strides have been made in 
 the art of government. In what respect ? Titles, 
 which in themselves are harmless, are abolished ; 
 the privileges of excessive wealth, which are 
 a public danger, are maintained; shadows 
 are attacked, substances are left untouched ; 
 Monarchy is overthrown as the oppressor, the 
 Republic is acclaimed as the benefactor, of the 
 people ; yet this people-loving, this king-hating. 
 Republic, shelters a host of proud money-kings 
 who, conscious of power derived from state 
 support, lord it over the land ; it tolerates, in 
 the face of struggling multitudes, a class of fa- 
 vored citizens who enjoy princely incomes and 
 indulge princely excesses ; it suffers them to 
 form combinations whereby they are enabled 
 to exercise the sovereign right of levying on the 
 govenied, and taxing them, in various ways, for 
 their personal support and aggrandizement. 
 
 If this be the triumph of Democracy, in 
 what direction shall we look for the apotheosis 
 of Plutocracy ? 
 
 The people, the sovereign people, are still 
 ruled by laws inherited from the Past, when 
 they had no voice in government ; the latter's 
 main purpose is the preservation of existing 
 economic conditions, and the protection of prop-
 
 OF THE AGE. 6^ 
 
 erty as at present distributed — the greater 
 and better portion of which is in the hands 
 of a class, and is being there concentrated. 
 Wander through Republics, Monarchies, and 
 Empires, the world over ; everywhere will the 
 same dominant purpose be found. 
 
 Who, then, dares assert that government is 
 for the benefit of the majority, when its first 
 concern is wealth, of which the majority have 
 little or none ? What matters it, then, to these, 
 who presides over their destiny, a potentate in 
 royal robes, or a crownless chief, so long as 
 their destiny, under whatever rule, remains 
 unchanged ? 
 
 A popular government is one based on the 
 popular will ; it is an instrument whereby the 
 will of the people, in the form of laws, is en- 
 forced. Where, on the face of this broad earth, 
 is such a government to be found ? Where the 
 one, however democratic in name, which is not 
 an instrument, as are monarchies, to protect the 
 interests, the privileges, of the few? Where 
 the land, the happy land, whose laws provide 
 the greatest good for the greatest number ? 
 
 Yet the majority are said to rule. 
 
 Eccentric majority !
 
 68 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 Society, in the so-called blessed lands where 
 Democracy reigns, is, it is claimed, an associa- 
 tion of men under a government having for 
 object the welfare of all the members consti- 
 tuting said association. The welfare of all is 
 the logical purpose of association ; it is the first 
 object of government. If, then, the aim of a 
 Democracy be the welfare of all, or of the 
 majority of, the members of the society of 
 which it is composed, is it not pertinent to ask 
 whether it is consistent, under its rule, to allow 
 a few of the members to accumulate, out of the 
 general wealth, more riches than they can dis- 
 pose of, while others, no less intelligent and far 
 more industrious, have less than they need ? 
 If its purpose be the supj^ression of a favored 
 class, and the elimination of all distinctions and 
 privileges, unmerited and unearned, is it not 
 relevant to inquire whether it is consistent, 
 under its rule, to tolerate the existence of a 
 class who enjoy the distinction and privilege 
 of being born to a life of leisure and luxury, 
 when the majority of men, members of the 
 same association, are born to a life of labor 
 and discomfort ? If its object be the establish- 
 ment of fair opportunities for all, is it not 
 proper to ask whether fair opportunities exist
 
 OF THE AGE. 69 
 
 where the advantages of inherited wealth are 
 pitted against the disadvantages of inherited 
 poverty ; where the few are armed from head 
 to foot for the contest of life, while the many 
 have nothing to shield them but their native 
 ardor and intrepidity? Is it consistent with 
 the purposes, the principles, of Democracy — 
 which has cast aside Aristocracy, and affects 
 to hold it in contempt — to permit a few favor- 
 ites of Fortune to live and act as though they 
 were exalted by nature above their fellow- 
 men, and to enjoy such a position of vantage that 
 they are enabled to play an important, though 
 often concealed, part in the management of 
 public affairs, in the election of legislatures, in 
 the control of government; and, under the 
 segis of modern Democracies, to wield a power 
 greater, in some respects, than that of the priv- 
 ileged classes under the Aristocracies of old ? 
 
 It is obvious that if the promoters of these 
 Republics, which were to open before an aston- 
 ished, if not admiring, world, a new and better 
 era of government, had any special object in 
 throwing off the old form of government and 
 adopting the new, it was an object they deemed 
 unattainable under monarchy, since they em- 
 phatically repudiated monarchical principles and
 
 70 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 teudencies. This object, under popular govern- 
 ment, could be no other than the advancement 
 of the general interests in opposition to the 
 personal interests of the King and of the privi. 
 leged classes, which were paramount under for- 
 mer governments ; any other object than this 
 could have been attained without change of 
 government and without flourish of trumpets. 
 But casting aside the high-sounding phraseology 
 of declarations and proclamations, which char- 
 acterized those days, and considering only the 
 plain facts, the results, as they stand before us, 
 what shall we say of the promoters of these re- 
 publics ? Were they, with all their courage, 
 lacking in the boldness required to strike off 
 those features of the old order which time and 
 custom had ingrafted on social institutions, but 
 which were, nevertheless, the most objectionable 
 features thereof ? Were they so closely linked to 
 the former regime, that the bandage had not 
 fallen from their eyes, and they were blinded to 
 the true state of things ? Or, alarmed at the 
 spirit of revolution and innovation which was 
 in the air, and fearing it might engender excesses 
 dangerous to the public weal, were they induced 
 to use their influence to confine it considerably 
 within its logical bounds, rather than allow it
 
 OF THE AGE. J I 
 
 to trespass beyond these ? Is it not, on reflec- 
 tion, clear that the time, as stated elsewhere, 
 was not fully ripe for the complete change; 
 that they merely sowed a seed which the future 
 would see grow and bear fruit ; laid foundations 
 on which others would be called upon to build, 
 and did for their generation what the conditions 
 of the period permitted ? It is certainly difficult 
 to reconcile, at first sight, many of the inconsist- 
 encies which pervade their proclamations, and 
 render nil, or contradict, in some of their most 
 material points, several of the declarations they 
 enunciated concerning the rights of the people. 
 Thus, after declaring that all men are born and 
 continue equal in rights, they gravely affirmed 
 that property (which all men have not) is an 
 inviolable and sacred right, of which no one can 
 be deprived. 
 
 One man is born in penury, with all that pen- 
 ury implies ; another is born in affluence, with 
 all the advantages affluence brings ; one has be- 
 fore him a future of competition, of labor, of 
 striving to maintain existence ; the other, by the 
 operation of the laws of inheritance, is destined 
 to partake, without labor, of all that is most de- 
 sirable in life ; one has rights which, being 
 shared by all men, none will envy ; the other
 
 72 THE REVOLUTIONARY TEXDENCIES 
 
 enjoys privileges which, being denied the ma- 
 jority of men, the majority will covet ; yet both 
 are said to be born and to continue equal in 
 rights ! The princely estates owned by the 
 heirs of mistresses of kings, are theirs by sacred 
 right ; the domains occupied by men whose an- 
 cestors received them as a reward for violating 
 the domains of political neighbors, are theirs by 
 inviolahle right ; but what property, however 
 small, can many worthy sons of worthy sires 
 claim as their risjht ? 
 
 Social distinctions were declared to be purely 
 conventional, and as such w^ere seriously con- 
 demned ; but what greater social distinction can 
 exist than that between the poor and the rich 
 man ; between the man who is compelled to 
 dwell in a hut, and the one who inherits a 
 palace ; between the man who, to live, must 
 work for others, and the one who is only con- 
 tent to live so long as he can get others to work 
 for him ? 
 
 The promoters of the Revolution, while claim- 
 ing to aim at the abolition of all abuses, allowed 
 that one which towered above all others, and 
 which, more than all others, called for restric- 
 tive action, to stand unmolested, a threatening 
 danger to the rights, peace, and happiness of the 
 larger portion of the nation.
 
 OF THE AGE. 73 
 
 And are not our modern republics, with their 
 proud boast of equality, their virtuous contempt 
 of privilege, blind to the inequalities of wealth 
 and the privileges of inheritance ? 
 
 The right to own property is one which, as 
 things now stand, the few inherit and the many 
 must contend for ; it is a right, similar in condi- 
 tions, to a free-for-all race, but where all save the 
 favorites are heavily handicapped ; it is like a 
 contest for prey between a hawk with swift 
 wings and a hawk with clipped wings ; it is a 
 lottery in which nine out of ten of the rich 
 prizes are allotted, in advance, to certain indi- 
 viduals, while for the tenth there are a million 
 competitors. The blanks are numerous, and 
 most of the minor prizes are so insignificant as 
 to be unworthy the name. 
 
 Everything in sight, in the most desirable 
 portions of the globe, is now held ; what is not 
 in sight is being diligently looked for by those 
 who have the means to make searches, and the 
 power to hold and develop whatever may be 
 found. Where, then, are they who have no 
 property to look for any ? What, beyond bare 
 subsistence, are they to compete for, to labor for? 
 Of what avail is their energy, their intelligence, 
 their genius? Though told that they are born 
 equal in rights with other men, they cannot
 
 74 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 even hope to share equally with other men in 
 the possession of this fair earth and the fruit it 
 sends forth. 
 
 When one man is entitled to own a score of 
 mansions, while many have no roof to shelter 
 them ; to be lord of endless acres, while thou- 
 sands have not a burial plot ; to indulge in 
 waste, while multitudes are wanting ; is it not a 
 privilege which partakes of the nature of flagrant 
 abuse ? When it is further considered that this 
 privilege is unlimited ; that it is unrestricted by 
 any law ; that it is made perpetual by inherit- 
 ance, can it be claimed that the government 
 under which such a state of things exists, is 
 popular in principle or democratic in practice ? 
 When this excessive, and often unearned, priv- 
 ilege is enjoyed by a small minority of the 
 governed and, under the conditions above re- 
 ferred to, is declared to be a right, " sacred and 
 inviolable^'' is it not the sublimity of irony to 
 allude to the rights of the majority ? 
 
 If the will of the majority of the governed be 
 the paramount law, surely that law, to be con- 
 sistent, should conform with the interests of 
 the majority ; the interests of the majority, if 
 considered, call for the improvement of their
 
 OF THE AGE. 75 
 
 condition ; the improvement of their condition 
 demands, as an initial step, legislation which 
 shall curtail the privilege, now enjoyed by the 
 minority, of absorbing such a vast quantity of 
 that which is essential to ameliorate one's situa- 
 tion in life, that all others are deprived of the 
 opportunity of acquiring a reasonable share 
 thei'eof. 
 
 This legislation has not been forthcoming. 
 Indeed it would appear, from the condition of 
 things, that it was the few who controlled the 
 making of laws, since the laws favor the few ; 
 and that the many had no voice in framing them, 
 since they are the least benefited thereby. Thus 
 are we brought face to face with the incongru- 
 ous situation of the majority holding supreme 
 power in the state, and consequently holding 
 the means to dispose of things according to their 
 interests, while the minority enjoy, in apparent 
 security, all the advantages which supreme 
 power can command. 
 
 Ever since the opening of the democratic era, 
 the legislators of nations have been actively en- 
 gaged revising old, and devising new laws. They 
 assemble, with much solemnity, in imposing halls, 
 and gravely discuss those matters which are sup- 
 posed to concern the public weal. Generation
 
 'J^ THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 after generation of brilliant men — men of wealth 
 and high position — have contested the honor of 
 representing the people and legislating in their 
 behalf. Years upon years of study, research, 
 and debate have been required to accomplish 
 their task. Volumes upon volumes of reports, 
 amendments, repeals, and enactments stand as 
 evidence of their legislative labors. If, however, 
 we examine critically this stupendous work of 
 learned law-givers ; if we analyze it to probe its 
 nature, and reduce it to its simplest expression, 
 we find its component parts to be nothing more 
 than various kinds of dust, scientifically pre- 
 pared for the people's eyes. 
 
 The mysterious councils of Zeus and his 
 Olympian group were wont to impress the 
 simple-minded Ancients with profound awe. 
 To the more enlightened Moderns they are, 
 however, a source of innocent merriment. And 
 so, no doubt, will future historians refer to the 
 meetings of those who now preside over our 
 destinies, and point, not without humor, to the 
 elaborate and protracted disputations, intended 
 to deceive expectant mortals into the belief 
 that momentous measures are being advocated 
 in their interest. 
 
 There have been endless discourses on various
 
 OF THE AGE. J 'J 
 
 subjects which may have increased the pride, 
 but in no way augmented the income, of the 
 masses of the population ; there have been dis- 
 cussions on tariffs, on finances, on political 
 matters, foreign relations, and on various taxes 
 to be paid by the governed for the maintenance 
 of government ; but where, in the mass of legis- 
 lation enacted, do we detect the much-needed 
 economic reforms which, alone, can materially 
 benefit the people at large ? Where do we dis- 
 cern a serious attempt to establish something 
 of a politic, something of an equitable, disposi- 
 tion of the property, of the goods, of the 
 commonwealth ? 
 
 All the legislation enacted since pseudo-pop- 
 ular parliaments have met, cannot compare, in 
 point of vital importance, with the laws and 
 usages still in force, whose origin antedates 
 popular government. Yet the legislators meet 
 regularly, at a great expense to the nation, and 
 profess to legislate for the people. Far from 
 promoting the interests of the latter, have they 
 not attempted to mislead them by their impres- 
 sive verbosity ? Have they not, in imitation 
 of the Barons of old, usurped the cloak of au- 
 thority, and clothed themselves therewith % 
 Have they not given closer attention to their
 
 78 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 personal welfare and advancement, than to 
 those of their constituents from whom they 
 hold power? 
 
 Well may it be asked, What have you, rep- 
 resentatives of the people, done for the people ? 
 What action have you taken to curtail the 
 privileges of the minority and promote the in- 
 terests of the majority ? What laws have you 
 enacted whereby all men can discern, as they 
 can day from night, the dividing line between 
 the two great epochs of government by the will 
 of the Absolute Monarch, and government by 
 the will of the Sovereign People ? 
 
 •»■**** 
 
 But does the responsibility for this inactivity 
 rest with the legislators alone ? 
 
 When the people acquired political power, 
 they w^on a mighty weapon from their oppres- 
 sors; but, like the South Sea Islander who 
 playfully seized a pistol and deemed it a toy, 
 they ignored its real uses; they have, so far, 
 overlooked the sole purpose for which it was 
 won — the advancement of their interests, the 
 improvement of their condition. They are still 
 held in subjection by the golden weapon, whose 
 efficacy is so potent that, in the hands of the 
 few, it awes the multitudes, and keeps them.
 
 OF THE AGE. 79 
 
 tHe so-called makers and destroyers of govern- 
 ments, at a distance — liat in Land, head bowed, 
 awaiting orders from their masters ; they, the 
 rulers of to-day, have not yet changed, except 
 in name, the rule of yesterday, when they were 
 under the dominion of despots; the spirit of 
 the governments they overthrew still hovers 
 above, still dominates, them; w^ealth, the great 
 purchasing power, is as far from their reach 
 under the existing system as it was under the 
 tyrannical systems of the Past ; the hated per- 
 sona] master is dead, but his impersonal succes- 
 sor, imperious Capital, still lives ; they are his 
 sei'vile subjects ; they are harnessed to his gor- 
 geous chariot, victims of his pride and arrogance. 
 Of what avail is it, then, that they should 
 have revolted against despots, changed regimes, 
 and marched in triumph to legislative halls? 
 Have they not permitted those laws to stand 
 which allow the greatest privileges to the small- 
 est number ? Have they not, by their inaction, 
 left the greatest number where they have always 
 stood — in the vast arena of the world, face to 
 face with the wild beast, Hunger — while the 
 fat patricians, robed in purple, recline at their 
 ease, and look from afar at the battle of life ? 
 Have they not, by failing to denounce and re-
 
 So THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 ject them, given the stamp of approval to the 
 fundamental principles of the form of govern- 
 ment they repudiated ? Have they not main- 
 tained the usages and traditions which empower 
 the favored of Fortune to accumulate beyond 
 their needs, and compel others, the unfortunates, 
 to suffer from want ? 
 
 If arbitrary rulers were overthrown by popu- 
 lar clamor, arbitrary laws are kept in force by 
 popular silence, implying assent. These laws, 
 whether written or unwritten, are the real op- 
 pressors, since they unduly favor the few ; yet 
 they, which alone can change the condition of 
 the governed, remain unchanged. Being un- 
 repealed, it is no less the duty of the repub- 
 lican executive to see them enforced, than it 
 was formerly the duty of the royal executive. 
 This being the case, is it not evident that the 
 people's notable increase of power has not re- 
 sulted in a corresponding increase of benefit ? 
 What have their votes, repeatedly cast, secured 
 for them that they did not previously possess ? 
 Notwithstanding their commanding numbers, 
 they are domineered over by a haughty caste ; 
 notwithstanding their supreme will, they are 
 subjected to the will of others; they wander, 
 in straggling bands, over highways they have
 
 OF THE AGE. 8 1 
 
 traced, through vast and beautiful realms ; 
 they linger in cities they have built, within 
 the shadow of palaces they have raised ; they 
 encounter on all sides wealth, luxury, and 
 abundance ; they hear sounds of revelry and, 
 midst majestic splendors, witness regal enter- 
 tainments ; and they, the sovereign people, are 
 begging for labor, grateful for bread to eat, 
 for a roof under which to sleep — living proofs 
 that 
 
 " Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." 
 
 The hour has not yet sounded — and yet it 
 is not distant — when they will awake to the 
 knowledge that political rights were fought 
 for, and won, to secure economic rights ; when 
 they will be convinced that their claims to sov- 
 ereignty must remain chimerical so long as the 
 supremacy of wealth is real, and its powers un- 
 restricted; when they will demand that popular 
 government cease to be a fiction, and become 
 in fact, what it is in name, the people's, and 
 not a class', government. Not until that hour 
 has rung, shall Consistency and Reason cease 
 revolting at seeing the flag of Democracy float 
 over the land where Mammon is King.
 
 82 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE TEl^DENCIES OF THE TIMES POINT TO THE 
 SUBSTANTIAL TRIUMPH OF DEMOCRACY. 
 
 SINCE, under our present Republics and 
 popular governments, there still exists 
 a class which enjoys the undue advantages and 
 privileges which great wealth and unrestricted 
 inheritance give; since the condition of the 
 body of the people, no matter how industrious 
 and educated they may be, still stands in bold 
 contrast with that of opulent citizens ; since the 
 competition for the prizes of life is notoriously 
 unequal and unfair and, consequently, all are 
 not given the same opportunities to rise ; since 
 the democratic legislature is such only in name, 
 as is shown by its failure to inaugurate legisla- 
 tion tending to better the situation of the na- 
 tion at large; since political power in the hands 
 of the people is, as yet, a mere form, as is evi- 
 denced by their failure to secure therewith the 
 supremacy which is within their reach ; it is 
 manifestly premature to refer, at the present
 
 OF THE AGE. 83 
 
 time, to the glorious triumph of Democracy and 
 its wonderful achievements. 
 
 But are we to infer from the foregoing that, 
 Democracy having proved a failure in the past, 
 its cause is to be despaired of in the future ; 
 that because the people, though more enlight- 
 ened, are still subjected to former unfavorable 
 conditions, they will always so remain ? 
 
 Astronomers assure us that if a distant star 
 — colliding, may be, with some wandering comet 
 — were to be scattered through the universe in 
 infinitesimal fragments, its rays would still con- 
 tinue to vibrate through space and be visible to 
 our eye many years thereafter. So, likewise, 
 the evils which emanated from the depths of 
 intellectual darkness must be expected to hover 
 over the earth, and be felt for some time after 
 that darkness has disappeared. But one thing 
 is certain — and let its inevitableness be impressed 
 on the minds of all men — as when the star be- 
 came extinct, its light was destined to grow less 
 and less, and finally to fade away for ever, so 
 when Ignorance is stamped out, will its gloom 
 be gradually dispelled, and the conditions which 
 emanated therefrom vanish for all time. 
 
 The events which startled the world during
 
 84 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 the last century, were but indications of the 
 dawn of a new day ; they were the first spas- 
 modic movements of an awakening from a 
 protracted sleep; they were the first cry of 
 Humanity in the new life, the new career, that 
 then opened before it ; they were the initial 
 steps towards the fresh fields which are being 
 opened and prepared for the nations of the 
 earth. 
 
 The man who, under the influence of a power- 
 ful opiate, has been slumbering for a long time, 
 does not, on first awakening, become fully con- 
 scious of his condition, or familiar with his sur- 
 roundings; he looks around, with half -open 
 eyes, in a semi-bewildered state ; the day, to 
 which he has so long been unaccustomed, dazes 
 him ; if he attempts to rise, his head will reel, 
 his steps will be uncertain, he will stumble and 
 fall. He does not grasp the succession, the order 
 of events, of things, or their true relation to each 
 other; he has not complete control of his 
 thoughts ; hence his actions, his words, will ap- 
 pear inconsistent, eccentric. Such was the con- 
 dition of those nations which, under the influence 
 of that most powerful of opiates, Ignorance, had 
 been sleeping for centuries, when Knowledge, 
 acting as an antidote, aroused them from their
 
 OF THE AGE. 85 
 
 lethargy, Repeated convulsions of the social 
 organism gave evidence of a revival, an awaken- 
 ing ; but the new light which had appeared 
 dazed them ; their movements were erratic ; 
 they rose and then fell, and rose and fell again. 
 They had not fully collected their thoughts, con- 
 sidered their situation, or planned their course. 
 The result was that while they acted, their 
 actions did not produce the anticipated effects. 
 The conditions which surrounded them were so 
 novel, the changes so sudden, the turmoil so 
 great, the opposition so concentrated, the senses 
 so excited, the passions so aroused, that judg- 
 ment lost its bearings, and the people became 
 bewildered. They were, as has been seen, more 
 impressed by forms than by substances, and di- 
 rected their heaviest blows at the former. But if, 
 in their half-awakened condition, they thought it 
 was names, titles, outward forms, which brought 
 to their possessors the advantages of life, there 
 was some excuse for their so thinking ; since in 
 many notorious instances the two were synony- 
 mous. Those whose fame had spread through- 
 out the land ; those who basked in the sunshine 
 of the monarch's favor ; those who lingered in 
 the delicious shades of the court of Versailles ; 
 those whose mansions, whose estates, whose sur-
 
 86 THE REVOLUTIO^TARY TENDENCIES 
 
 roiindings, surpassed in grandeur and in extent 
 all others, were, in the public mind, intimately 
 associated with the resonance, tlie glamour, of 
 high-sounding names, titles, distinctions. Hence, 
 in attempting to reduce the contrasts between 
 the various sections of society, in endeavoring to 
 establish greater eguallty, what wonder that the 
 people should have aimed their shafts at the 
 high places where titles and distinctions were 
 intrenched, and attacked those forms with which 
 they had always associated contrasts ? 
 
 Nor should it be ove-rlooked that the class 
 who possessed wealth, without enjoying royal 
 favor, and who were held in contempt by the 
 privileged nobles, were not adverse to the abol- 
 ishing of contrasts in forms — wherein they had 
 no share — so long as the contrasts in sub- 
 stances, in which they participated, remained. 
 This class played a significant role, not only in 
 subverting monarchy and the nobility, but in 
 misleading the multitudes. They thought, only 
 too justly, that by attacking the forms which 
 the people had learned to look upon as the cause 
 of their abasement, they would be blinded to 
 the substances which were the real cause thereof. 
 In other words, they concluded that by cutting 
 short the reign of kings, they would be able to
 
 OF THE AGE. 87 
 
 inaugurate their own. How admirably they 
 have succeeded in this needs no illustration. 
 
 Moreover, the gathering together, the con- 
 solidation, the drilling, of the multitudinous 
 bodies which, before they could act wisely, con- 
 sistently, had to act in concert, as though they 
 had but one body, one mind, one will, one pur- 
 pose, was a task not for a single, but for many 
 generations to accomplish successfully. The in- 
 novations which the first victories of Knowledge 
 over Ignorance were destined to achieve, could 
 not, in the nature of things, be brought about 
 instantly; the social fabric, with its complex 
 and innumerable ramifications and connections, 
 which it had taken centuries to construct, could 
 not be altered in a day. 
 
 It were no less unreasonable to expect the 
 triumph of Democracy at its birth, than to have 
 expected Caesar or Napoleon to perform, in their 
 extreme youth, the marvellous deeds which 
 crowned their manhood. They had within 
 them — undeveloped, but yet growing — the qual- 
 ities, the material, essential to the making of 
 great conquerors, great rulers ; but these qual- 
 ities, this material, had to await the period of 
 their full development ; further still, they had 
 to await the advent of opportunity.
 
 88 rilE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 But while others might have filled the place 
 of the mighty conquerors and rulers, nothing 
 on this earth can take the place of Democracy ; 
 for the latter means the supremacy, not of one 
 man, not of one dynasty, but the supremacy of 
 mankind, of the human race, in the control of 
 the affairs of this world, in the disposal of its 
 riches, in the awarding of its prizes. It has, 
 what neither Caesar nor Napoleon had, the right 
 of succession ; it has legitimacy. Its advent to 
 the throne depends not on fortuitous circum- 
 stances, but upon the inexorable logic of events. 
 Although still in its youth, it already wears the 
 crown and bears the title of sovereign. It 
 awaits its majority to enter into full power, and 
 control the revenues of its vast dominions. 
 These revenues are still enjoyed by Plutocracy ; 
 but is not this enjoyment doomed, as is the in- 
 fluence of the moribund potentate, whose days 
 are numbered ? Are they not enjoyed as is 
 wealth by him of whom the demands of equity, 
 the edicts of law, and the superior rights of 
 contestants, require its near transfer ? 
 
 ***** 
 
 To contemplate the history of the last century 
 and a half ; to study the great national move- 
 ments in the most advanced countries ; to trace
 
 OF THE AGE. 89 
 
 their course, their undercurrents, leads one, 
 irresistibly, to the conclusion that the easy 
 communication of ideas, and the consequent 
 dissemination of knowledge and broadening of 
 intelligence, which are noticeable during that 
 period, created a tendency to restrict the undue 
 advantages enjoyed by the few, to extend to the 
 many increased opportunities to rise, to eradicate 
 the glaring contrasts in the positions of men. 
 
 This tendency to satisfy, to exhaust, itself, 
 has still a long road to travel ; has still much to 
 accomplish. Will it be content with abolishing 
 the semblances of the ancient reo;ime, and re- 
 taining its realities ; with withdrawing power 
 from the political king, and transferring it to 
 the financial king ; with humiliating the aris- 
 tocracy of birth, and elevating the aristocracy 
 of wealth ; with distributing votes among the 
 masses, and concentrating riches in a few hands ? 
 Will the tendency to change the old order and to 
 improve the condition of the people, stop there 
 where the old order is most in need of change, 
 there where the people's condition is most in 
 need of improvement ? 
 
 It is evident — and it is well to bear constantly 
 in mind — that the French Kevolution, which did 
 so much to stimulate modern tendencies, was
 
 90 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 not an independent event, the commencement 
 and end of which can be clearly defined. Nor 
 was it a culminating event. It was intimately 
 linked with occurrences preceding it, and was 
 no less intimately linked with occurrences fol- 
 lowing it. It was but an episode of a vast 
 revolution, long preparing, and which is going 
 on to this day, the culminating issue of which 
 will be the abolition, not of Monarchy, not of 
 titles of nobility, not of certain forms of govern- 
 ment, but the abolition of the state of things — 
 relating to the division of the land, of the 
 wealth, of this world — which found its origin 
 in the ignorance of the mass of men, and which 
 ever-increasing enlightenment is rendering more 
 and more intolerable, less and less likely to 
 endure. 
 
 No matter what the apparent cause, or what 
 the immediate effects were, the underlying, the 
 fundamental cause of the explosion of 1789 was 
 economic ; and considering that it was but one 
 of many incidents produced, and to be produced, 
 by the same general cause, the ultimate effect 
 must be economic. 
 
 Paris — the chief centre from which new 
 knowledge emanated, and also the main centre 
 of the disturbances which led to the outbreak —
 
 OF THE AGE. 9 1 
 
 was, above all, a monumental city of glaring con- 
 trasts. On one side was magnificence, wealth, 
 and luxury ; on the other was squalor, poverty, 
 and misery. In one quarter the air resounded 
 with the whirling of wheels of rich equipages, 
 in which was enthroned Laziness, driving 
 through the Avenues of Pleasure ; in another, 
 where the ear was deafened by the turning of 
 the wheels of Industry, were men, women, and 
 children, panting, sweating, struggling in the 
 great race of Life — hopelessly excluded from 
 the lists wherein leisure and comfort are the 
 prizes. Here was light in all its glory, and 
 darkness in all its intensity ; here was a little 
 world in itself which, unlike the great earth, 
 revolved not ; a world in which there was no 
 rotation of morning and evening — each hemi- 
 sphere receiving in turn the rays of the sun ; 
 each submitting in turn to the shades of night. 
 One side alone knew sunshine ; the other was 
 in perpetual gloom. 
 
 This it was that helped awaken the spirit of 
 Revolution which, with drawn sword and flam- 
 ing torch, wandered over the long-submissive 
 land ; this it was that caused the proud descend- 
 ant of le RoiSoleil to be dragged from his 
 resplendent throne, and sacrificed by his angered
 
 92 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 people. Thus, it was thought, the light of day- 
 would expand, and penetrate regions it had never 
 reached before. The sunshine the monarch and 
 his favorites once claimed as their due, was dif- 
 fused indeed — but not in the domain of Dark- 
 ness. There, as before, was gloom ; elsewhere 
 was light — less glaring, because less concen- 
 trated, but glaring nevertheless. A king had 
 disappeared ; a thousand had taken his place, 
 and were sharing his splendors — a band of 
 merry satraps, each with his festive court, and 
 courtiers, and followers, and many subjects. 
 
 Paris was but a symbol of the world. The 
 contrast emphasized there, existed everywhere. 
 The example it held up, the lesson it taught, 
 were universal in their application. The peo- 
 ple of the great city felt that things were not 
 as they should be. There was something 
 wrong, they knew not what ; there was a 
 remedy, they knew not where. They resorted 
 to revolution ; they rose in their might ; they 
 wielded their power ; and yet, strange magic ! 
 they, themselves, were overpowered. Another, 
 and another, revolution ; and still the wrong is 
 not righted. What, then, the cause ? It cannot 
 be the monarch — he is dethroned, his descend- 
 ants are banished, his courtiers dispersed, his
 
 OF THE AGE. 
 
 93 
 
 palaces demolished ; his princely personality 
 casts no longer its brilliant light in one direc- 
 tion, its dark shadow in another ; yet the people 
 are overshadowed ; the ville lumiere is in dark- 
 ness. 
 
 The kings of France lived, if ever kings did, 
 in stately style. Their palaces were numerous 
 and beautiful ; their gardens, dotted with foun- 
 tains and pavilions, were the smiling abode of 
 Pleasure ; the forests, alive with bird and game, 
 resounded with the horn of the royal hunters 
 and the bark of their hounds. At night, what 
 scenes of revelry, of merriment ; what gather- 
 ings of fair dames and gay cavaliers ; what ban- 
 quets, what feasts, what graceful dances, what 
 entrancing music, giving birth to tender passions 
 — too easily gratified ; too easily forgotten ! 
 
 Accounts of the magnificence of the court of 
 Versailles spread over the world — stimulating 
 imitation on the part of some, awakening envy 
 in the breasts of others ; all of which added to 
 the fame and glory of France. Certainly, there 
 was no occasion for the people to object to these 
 things, in themselves. On the contrary, the 
 more lavish the expenditures of their kings ; 
 the more courtiers, the more armies, the more 
 ships, the more power they could boast of, the
 
 94 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 more reason the people had to be proud, the 
 more reason they had to exult — for did not the 
 greatness of theii" princes reflect greatness on 
 themselves ? But the day came when, far from 
 finding pride in the lavish expenditures of their 
 rulers, they felt shame and indignation ; for 
 they were made conscious of the contrast be- 
 tween the gay revellers of the palace and the 
 weary inhabitants of the huts. A new light 
 had come to them, and they were, in a measure, 
 informed as to the cause of this state of things. 
 Hence they rebelled. They overthrew the 
 kingly rule, and humiliated the nobles. 
 
 This was done, not because the Bourbons had 
 held supreme sway ; not because they had lived 
 in palaces and were surrounded by an array of 
 brilliant followers ; it was done because, to keep 
 up the royal state, the nation was impoverished ; 
 it was because the manner of life, the condi- 
 tions, the surroundings of the kings and the 
 nobles, considered in their relations to the man- 
 ner of life, the conditions and surroundings of 
 the majority of the people, were found to affect 
 these adversely ; it was because the regal splen- 
 dors and extravagance were maintained in the 
 face of the poverty, and at the expense, of the 
 masses.
 
 OF THE AGE. 95 
 
 Nor is it to be supposed that the subjects of 
 the king would have objected if the latter had 
 exercised the power of the most despotic of 
 rulers, provided that power had been exercised 
 to insure them a fair subsistence, and the enjoy- 
 ment of those emoluments they claimed as the 
 due of their toil, and as their reasonable propor- 
 tion of the riches produced by them. Where 
 the people so blind to reason, so indifferent to 
 their welfare, as to hesitate between an Empire 
 with a despot at its head, whose aim is the dis- 
 semination of wealth and its advantages, and a 
 Republic which tolerates a privileged class of 
 citizens who, protected by law, are striving for 
 the monopoly of all that wealth brings ? As 
 well expect an intelligent man to prefer an inn 
 where the fare is poor and scanty, but whose 
 sign is the cap of Liberty, to one with a crown 
 and sceptre over the entrance, where a rich feast 
 awaits him. 
 
 It is manifest, therefore, that the dismissal of 
 Royalty was not due to purely political causes. 
 Furthermore, it would never have been resorted 
 to, had it not been thought that, under a differ- 
 ent regime, different conditions would have en- 
 sued. How could it be expected that the mere 
 removal of a king, or of a score of kings, could,
 
 96 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES. 
 
 in itself, prove advantageous to the people, un- 
 less the king himself stood in the way of their 
 advancement, and unless the nev^r order, v^rhich 
 it was proposed to adopt in lieu of the old one, 
 aimed at their promotion and welfare ? Why- 
 overthrow a government which is accused of 
 being the cause of the misfortunes of the nation, 
 unless for the purpose of freeing the nation of 
 those very misfortunes ? Why dethrone a prince 
 whose extravagance is ruining the country, un- 
 less the object be to allow the inhabitants 
 thereof to apply to themselves that which the 
 prince wasted ? 
 
 Under the circumstances, the subversion of 
 Monarchy, and its eventual substitution by De- 
 mocracy, was the most insane, the most purpose- 
 less, the most inconsistent, the most eccentric, 
 the most incomprehensible, of acts, unless in 
 doing so the people contemplated benefiting 
 themselves in the manner alluded to ; nor is it 
 reasonable to come to any other conclusion than 
 that — however concealed by artificial and ex- 
 traneous excitements — the real cause of the 
 Revolution was economic and not political, and 
 that whatever political changes were aimed at, 
 were aimed at to secure economic effects.
 
 OF THE AGE. 97 
 
 These economic effects are still to be realized. 
 Lulled, at first, into the soothing belief that the 
 hasty demolition of forms meant the early re- 
 moval of the cause of their grievances; lured, 
 later on, by the delusive hope that the fairy -like 
 development of newly-discovered forces, the ex- 
 pansion of Industry, and the consequent fabu- 
 lous increase of wealth, might induce Fortune 
 to cast some of her flowers in their path, the peo- 
 ple have seen many years slip by, without any 
 material change being effected in their position. 
 But is not this change bound to be brought 
 about ? Are not the economic effects referred 
 to already beginning to manifest themselves ? 
 Are there not indications that the tendency to 
 restrict the undue advantages of the few, and 
 increase the opportunities of the many, which 
 seemed, for a time, to be dying out, is taking 
 new life, and making itself felt with renewed 
 force ? Is it not evident that the revolution, 
 the general revolution, caused by the spread of 
 Knowledge — and of which the upheavals of the 
 last century were but incidents — far from being 
 ended, is still progressing towards its legitimate, 
 its only, issue ? 
 
 Glance over the field — everywhere are signs, 
 glaring to the observing eye. The restlessness
 
 98 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 of the masses, the mutterings of discontent, the 
 cries for reform, for change, which are becoming 
 more and more regular, more and more general, 
 in America as well as in Europe, are but fore- 
 runners of what is to follow. 
 
 In what country, be it a Democracy or a 
 Monarchy, is not uneasiness felt at the progress 
 of what is known as the conflict between Cap- 
 ital and Labor, or what might be better termed, 
 the conflict between Wealth and Poverty ? 
 The fact that republics are not exempt from 
 this uneasiness, is proof that they have not 
 solved, any more than have monarchies, the one 
 and all important question affecting the welfare 
 of the governed. 
 
 Royalty being overthrown, or subdued, with- 
 out the desired end being attained ; and it be- 
 ing therefore obvious that royalty alone was not 
 the cause of the evil, the people, still having 
 grievances, are turning their attention in another 
 direction. Capital is now threatened; nor is 
 the threat an empty one. The formidable chain 
 of organized labor, binding together powerful 
 bodies of determined men, is not destined to 
 continue merely defensive. Resistance to 
 abuses is inevitably followed, in the course of 
 time, by insistence on rights. Nor should it
 
 OF THE AGE. 99 
 
 be forgotten that, independent of organized 
 labor — wliicli constitutes a mightier army than 
 any the world has yet seen — there are legions 
 of silent and inactive protesters against the 
 iniquities of the existing system, who await 
 but the opportunity to make their influence 
 felt. It would be a grievous error to suppose 
 that the element of discontent is by any means 
 fully represented in any of the recognized 
 political parties. The millions of voters in 
 imperial Germany, monarchical Italy, and re- 
 publican France, who, every election, send an 
 increased number of socialist representatives to 
 the legislative halls of their country, form but 
 a small contingent of those who will, before 
 long, raise their voices against the usurpation 
 of the rights of Intelligence, against the abuses 
 of inheritance, and the long tolerated tyranny 
 of inordinate wealth. Even as matters now 
 stand, is not Berlin — the home of the war-lords 
 of Europe — also the home of the socialist ? 
 Though one of the great financial centres of 
 the Continent, do not the avowed enemies of 
 Capital sit as her representatives in the Reich- 
 stag ? Does not Paris, with her lingering 
 memories of regal splendors, now count among 
 her rulers, men who oppose the despotism of
 
 100 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 Wealth no less than the despotism of Princes ? 
 And Rome, and Vienna, and London, and the 
 populous cities of the great American Common- 
 wealth, are they not familiar with the turbu- 
 lence which springs from dissatisfaction and the 
 strain in the economic relations of the classes ? 
 
 Signs — where, indeed, are they not seen ? 
 Voices — where, by day or by night, are they 
 not heard ? And yet there are those who see 
 not ; there are those who hear not. 
 
 In the ancient city of hanging gardens, 
 Belshazzar, indulging in higli revelry, sur- 
 rounded by satraps, wives, and concubines, 
 was not blind to the writing on the wall. 
 Struck with awe, he commanded the feast to 
 end ; he sent for men of lore, to interpret the 
 mystic words ; he recognized in them portents 
 of his impending fate. In the Babylons of 
 modern times, Mammon, surrounded by min- 
 ions and courtiers, attended by slaves of form 
 divine, is still feasting in gilded halls. En- 
 trancing are the strains of music, sweet the 
 fragrance of flowers, exhilarating the golden 
 wine which flows from crystal goblets ; but 
 he, drunk with pleasure, dazed by the glamour 
 of his environment, sees not the writing on 
 the wall. Yet there it is in flaming letters :
 
 OF THE AGE. 1 01 
 
 Mene, mene, tehel, upharsin — 
 
 Thou art weighed in the" baia?ice mdi'sxt 
 found wanting ; thy kingdom awaits division. 
 * * * ■ ^•\ \ , A ; ' '» , * i '",''? "'1 \ S'\ 
 
 Tides in the affairs of nations, once they set 
 in, do not vary from day to day, like those of 
 the ocean. There may be periods of surging 
 tumult or of peaceful calm ; there may be flux 
 or reflux; but the movement, whether back- 
 ward or forward, is destined to follow to its 
 limits the course which the inexorable Fates 
 have traced. 
 
 For centuries, the tendency was to reduce to 
 a minimum the rights of the people, and in- 
 crease to a maximum those of the ruler. One 
 was crushed, the other exalted; one was a 
 trembling subject, the other supreme master. 
 Now the tendency is reversed ; the tide is set 
 in the opposite direction. It is in the higher 
 quarters that restrictions are being exacted, 
 while they are being relaxed there where op- 
 pression was formerly practised. Those who 
 were exalted, are being lowered — masters no 
 longer, but servants of the State ; those who 
 were crushed, are being exalted — subjects no 
 longer, but sovereign people. 
 
 The tide which has turned against princes
 
 1 02 THE REVOLU TIONA R V TENDENCIES 
 
 and nobles, must overtake, in its resistless course, 
 all tliose who. nq\',' »enjoy undue advantages and 
 pri\dleges. " The financial king will have to 
 su^InittQ the' Hternutive presented to the polit- 
 ical king, of reduction, or destruction, of his 
 powers ; of bowing to the general will, or hav- 
 ing his crown removed by other hands than his 
 own. He will have to consent to the elimina- 
 tion of those abuses which he has fostered, and 
 which are the cause of the people's just remon- 
 strance. He will have to accede to a reorgani- 
 zation which will tend to give fair opportunities 
 to all in the contest for the prizes of life. He 
 will have to surrender to others a portion of 
 that which he now monopolizes — the sunshine 
 of this broad, this fair, earth. 
 
 If, when pressed by necessity, the people 
 resisted extravagance in one who was, by law, 
 their master, mil they tolerate it long in those 
 who are, by law, their equals ? If, when but 
 half conscious of the iniquities that weighed 
 upon them, their action was so determined, is 
 it difficult to foresee what they will do when 
 their illusions have vanished ; when full knowl- 
 edge has dawned upon them; when they dis- 
 cover that the tyranny of great wealth is no less 
 oppressive than the tyranny of despots ?
 
 OF THE AGE. 103 
 
 And, in imitation of the autocrats — their pre- 
 decessors in the control of this world — are not 
 the plutocrats compassing their own ruin ? The 
 ambition to consolidate their power, to increase 
 it, to deprive others of any share therein, and 
 to use it for the exclusive advantage and aggran- 
 dizement of themselves and their minions, caused 
 the fall of mighty dynasties. What seemed to 
 be their triumph was, in reality, the forerunner 
 of their downfall. Like that of the setting sun, 
 their glory was greatest as it was about to de- 
 part. So, likewise, the reign of Mammon, now 
 at its apogee, is on the verge of its decline. So, 
 likewise, are those who have the greatest inter- 
 est in maintaining it, bringing about its subver- 
 sion. They are provoking, stimulating, consoli- 
 dating, the forces which are antagonistic to their 
 supremacy. They are, in their blindness, hurry- 
 ing forward the economic revolution which 
 means the collapse of their power, the end of 
 theii* rule. 
 
 The accumulation of wealth in one quarter ; 
 its scarcity in another, have disturbed the social 
 balance. Some rise to dizzy heights ; others 
 fall to perilous depths. The very foundations 
 of the social structure are being worn out by 
 the consequent fi^iction. Such a state of things
 
 104 ^^^ REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 prohibits the possibility of equilibrium. It is 
 this lack of equilibrium which threatens to up- 
 set society. The policy of accretions in the 
 hands of the few is persisted in, not^vith standing 
 the fact that the number of people to be pro- 
 vided for is continually growing larger. Popu- 
 lation is ever on the increase. The majority of 
 the population being poor, the majority of the 
 increase must be poor. This is cumulative in 
 its effects in the same manner as the hoarding 
 of riches is cumulative. Hence, while wealth 
 is being concentrated, the population which is 
 dependent thereon is expanding. Thus, matters, 
 instead of tending toward an adjustment, are 
 daily drifting therefrom. Those who are least 
 in need of wealth are growing wealthier ; those 
 who are most in need of it are growing more 
 numerous. The inevitable result is at hand ; 
 the civilized world is drifting into two camps ; 
 the few, with their opulence, on one side; the 
 many, with their poverty, on the other. Tests 
 of strength are becoming more frequent ; skir- 
 mishes have ceased to cause wonder. Under 
 such circumstances as these, it requires no 
 prophet to foretell that the mists of the Future, 
 on rising, will reveal emissaries of Peace and 
 Compromise emerging from the ramparts of
 
 OF THE AGE. 1 05 
 
 Capital, or the world, in turmoil, resounding 
 with the alarm of battle. 
 
 The issue must be met ; it cannot be averted 
 any more than can thunder when electric clouds 
 clash. Should the pressure not be lessened; 
 should the storm, long gathering, break forth, 
 ruin and devastation will sweep over the land ; 
 the social structure, vulnerable in many points 
 — constantly agitated, because unevenly bal- 
 anced — will not withstand the shock. 
 
 In the olden days, when human affairs were 
 in the early stage of development and the mass 
 of men were ignorant, the unevenness of condi- 
 tions was consistent with the then existing state 
 of things ; but the time is at hand when undue 
 preponderance will prove as much an element 
 of disturbance in the economic, as it is in the 
 physical, world; when it will be an offense 
 against laws self-armed with retribution to all 
 infringers thereof. Disturb the equilibrium of 
 the heavenly bodies, and chaos will pervade the 
 universe ; the marvellous organization of ages, 
 extending through space, will crumble before 
 the fatal influence of anarchism ; all order, all 
 system, all harmony, will vanish. 
 
 Can man expect his frail edifice to stand con- 
 ditions which would cause the mighty fabric of
 
 I06 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 Nature to fall ? Can he hope to defy laws, to 
 
 resist a force, before which all else must bend ? 
 
 % ft % % * 
 
 Two monarch s, whose interests are diametri- 
 cally opposed, cannot long occupy the same terri- 
 tory ; not any more than can fire and water 
 occupy the same space. We are approaching 
 the period when enlightened Democracy and 
 privileged Plutocracy — the Sovereign People 
 and the Majesty of Wealth — will be made to 
 realize the fact that their paths lie apart ; that 
 their interests are antagonistic ; that they are 
 two powers which cannot, should not, exist un- 
 der the same head. If Democracy lives, Plutoc- 
 racy must fall ; if Plutocracy lives. Democracy 
 must fall ; if Democracy falls, the great civili- 
 zations of the West mil crumble ; the hidden 
 forces which have toiled for centuries will have 
 toiled in vain ; cause and effect will be discon- 
 nected. 
 
 Democracy, in its full, and as yet unfulfilled, 
 sense, implies the supremacy of the people and 
 the predominance of their interests ; just as 
 Monarchy, in its full sense, implies the suprem- 
 acy of the monarch and the predominance of his 
 interests ; just as Aristocracy, in its full sense, 
 implies the supremacy of the aristocracy and
 
 OF THE AGE. lO/ 
 
 the predominance of their interests. But though 
 the supremacy of Democracy is recognized, we 
 see the strange spectacle of the interests of Plu- 
 tocracy being predominant. The first enjoys 
 sovereignty ; the second all the fruit of sov- 
 ereignty. 
 
 Nor does the anomaly, which the existing 
 state of things presents, end here. Plutocracy 
 is, beyond contradiction, pursuing a course 
 which is detrimental to the general welfare. 
 Enjoying prerogatives inherited from despotic 
 ages, it has acquired a power dangerous to the 
 State ; claiming undue privileges, of an artificial 
 nature, it has infringed on the natural rights of 
 the community ; parading itself as of superior 
 origin, it has, in imitation of the favored classes 
 of old, sought to stamp the remainder of man- 
 kind as an inferior creation ; arrogating to itself 
 the luxuries and pleasures of life, it deems 
 drudgery the lot of all beyond its pale ; schem- 
 ing incessantly for its own aggrandizement, it 
 enlarges the sphere of poverty and consequent 
 discontent ; producing moral as well as physical 
 distress, it is awakening in the people a frame 
 of mind similar to that which animated them in 
 1789, and incited them to rebellion ; inciting the 
 people to rebellion, it threatens government
 
 I08 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 itself. Yet, paradoxical as it may appear, the 
 latter, as at present constituted, is powerless to 
 an-est this evil course. Its first, its imperative, 
 duty is to enforce the laws as they now stand. 
 The main purpose of existing laws is to protect 
 property. The bulk of property being in the 
 hands of the minority, it is manifest that laws, 
 and consequently government, are mainly for 
 the benefit of the minority. It is the latter, 
 representing accumulated w^ealth, who, by their 
 greed and aiTogance, are inciting the people to 
 rebellion, and are thus menacing the State ; yet 
 the State is compelled to protect and uphold 
 them, and thus become a factor in the revolt 
 against itself. 
 
 What power is there, in heaven or on earth, 
 which, if appealed to, could save that which is 
 impelled to take arms against itseK, and carries 
 in its system the germ of self-destiTiction ? What 
 genius, however inventive, can devise argu- 
 ments to defend the consistency of a government 
 w^hich, representing the interests of the majority 
 of the governed, is bound, by law, to sustain 
 the rapacity of the minority ? What, with all 
 the good- will conceivable, can be urged in favor 
 of laws which, in their actual form, can offer no 
 relief to great numbers suffering from the asso-
 
 OF THE AGE. 1 09 
 
 elation of poverty, the sting of iniquity, and the 
 oppression of a dominant class ; and are com- 
 pelled to gather under their protecting wing 
 that same class which, surfeited with wealth, is 
 striving to acquire more ? 
 
 How long can the absurdity of this paradox 
 remain obscured to the people ? How long can 
 they remain blind to its glaringness ? On this 
 will depend the duration of the present incon- 
 gruous state of things, so offensive to right and 
 reason; on this will depend the fixing of the 
 date when the great, the practical, change will 
 take place ; when the two rival monarchs, 
 Plutocracy and Democracy, will part company ; 
 the first to wander back among the ruins of 
 Antiquity and Ignorance ; the second to step for- 
 ward and occupy, with undisputed power, the 
 throne which Progress and Enlightenment have 
 prepared for its triumph. 
 
 Vi* vT w W w 
 
 Not the least notable feature of the revolu- 
 tion which is progressing ; not the least striking 
 evidence of the tendencies of the times, is the 
 transfer of political power from the king and the 
 privileged classes to the nation at large. This 
 power, wielded by the sovereign, was the most 
 visible sign of authority in the land ; it towered
 
 no THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 over and above the multitudes ; it impressed the 
 popular eye ; it occupied the public thought ; 
 it was the subject of public comment. Hence, 
 when Monarchy fell, it was natural that this 
 power should be inherited by those who were 
 destined to be the successors of kings : the 
 sovereign people. 
 
 New causes produce new^ effects. Political 
 power in the hands of the masses is a new cause, 
 born of the modern intellectual development, 
 the inevitable effects of which are beginning to 
 be felt, but, as already stated, by no means 
 adequately understood. 
 
 Humanity craves for power. It is, in some 
 form or other, the dominant passion of the race. 
 It is the chosen guide to victory in the universal 
 battle of life. Man loves it in nearly all its as- 
 pects, and seeks it even elsewhere than in him- 
 self. He dives deep into the mysteries of the 
 Unknown, in quest of hidden agencies. From 
 the domain of Nature he has wrested marvellous 
 forces, which he has made his own and enslaved 
 to his daily purposes. Nor is he yet satisfied. 
 Stealing fire from the heavens, propulsion from 
 the winds, electricity from the clouds, currents 
 from the earth, are but initial steps in the 
 ambitious course in which, with " Excelsior "
 
 OF THE AGE. Ill 
 
 for his device, he strives to ascertain, maybe to 
 use, the powers which formed and sustain the 
 universe. 
 
 But if man craves for power, he craves it for 
 a purpose ; if he seeks it, it is because it is use- 
 ful to him ; it is because it advances his cause, 
 serves his interests, helps improve his condition. 
 This it is which constitutes the might of wealth ; 
 this it is which emphasizes the impotency of 
 poverty ; this it is which makes all men strive 
 for riches. 
 
 Without a purpose, visible or latent, power 
 cannot be said to exist. What, then, is the 
 purpose of political power ? To what use will 
 it be put by the people, who are now masters 
 thereof ? Let those who believe it to be an 
 idle phrase, a pleasing sound, intended to flatter 
 the ear of the multitude, be undeceived. It is 
 a formidable weapon, the use of which is au- 
 thorized by law, with which they will go forth, 
 some day, to claim a share of Mother Earth's 
 inheritance. 
 
 Princes and privileged classes, when this 
 same power was vested in them, were not loth 
 to use it to their own advantage and advance- 
 ment. What marvel, then, if its new possessors 
 should imitate their example ?
 
 1 1 2 THE RE VOL UTIONAR Y TENDENCIES 
 
 If given the ballot, the masses may be ex- 
 pected, sooner or later, to agitate for a fairer 
 division of the wealth of the land; if given 
 education in conjunction with the ballot, they 
 will surely demand and obtain that division ; 
 nay, it is a direct invitation to the many to par- 
 take of the royal feast now spread in Mammon's 
 halls. 
 
 The mental improvement produced, in recent 
 years, by the education of the masses, must in- 
 evitably be followed by a corresponding im- 
 provement in their material situation. It is a 
 change of conditions, which calls for a change 
 of laws ; it is a turning-point in the transitional 
 affairs of men. This being the case, the pur- 
 pose of the political power of the people cannot 
 long remain latent ; nor can it long be resisted 
 once it asserts itself. Indeed, under Democra- 
 cies, resistance to this power would be a breach 
 of the first, the supreme, law ; with the sover- 
 eign nation as the high-offended party, it would 
 be a flagrant case of lese-majeste. 
 
 The actual magnitude of the power of steam 
 and electricity was unknown in the first stages 
 of their discovery. In time, study and obser- 
 vation, as well as necessity, revealed the univer- 
 sality of the new forces ; their influence began
 
 OF THE AGE. II3 
 
 to be felt in every quarter of the globe ; their 
 uses becanie well-nigh unlimited ; old methods 
 were abandoned, new ones adopted. Changes, 
 of which the imagination, in its wildest flights, 
 had never dreamed, were visible on all sides. 
 Enemies of innovation were routed ; skeptics 
 were ridiculed ; critics were silenced. The most 
 far-seeing genius of former ages, revisiting this 
 mundane sphere, would have deemed himself 
 in a land over which the enchanter's wand had 
 passed. The aspect of cities was altered ; the 
 country was transformed. Structures, novel in 
 appearance, dotted the plains and reached nearer 
 the sky than the spires of churches, and the 
 trees of the forest. Labor, which formerly re- 
 quired human effort, was performed as though 
 by magic. Highways of steel ran from ocean 
 to ocean, spanning immense continents, regard- 
 less of mountains and rivers. Distances which 
 had demanded days to cover, were reached in 
 a few hours. The electric wire encircled the 
 earth, and communication with the remotest 
 points became instantaneous. Time and space 
 were conquered ; the world was revolutionized. 
 And so is it with political power. It is a 
 new force in the hands of the multitude. Its 
 vastness, its possibilities are, as yet, imperfectly
 
 114 ^^^ REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 appreciated. But the people are not idle ; they 
 are studying, they are observing; above all, 
 they are, by means of education and by force 
 of necessity, becoming familiar with its uses. 
 When these are fully understood and mastered ; 
 when they are put into intelligent operation, 
 there will be a hum in the air to which the ear 
 is at present unaccustomed ; there will be inno- 
 vations which conservatism now opposes with 
 steadfast stubbornness, which skeptics now pro- 
 nounce impracticable, which critics now ridicule 
 and condemn as subversive; we shall witness 
 in the economic world a revolution no less re- 
 markable — and in time, no less beneficial — than 
 that produced in the industrial world by the 
 agency of steam and electricity.
 
 OF THE AGE. II5 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 WHAT COUESE SHALL ENLIGHTENED DEMOCEACY 
 FOLLOW ? 
 
 AS the people become more enlightened, in- 
 dications of the eventual disappearance 
 of the conditions which sprung from ignorance 
 multiply. These indications have, in recent 
 times, increased to such an extent, and assumed 
 such a definite aspect, that the nature of the 
 movement they portend can no longer be ig- 
 nored. Democracy — being gradually instructed 
 and fully equipped — is now a moving, living, 
 thinking force, whose influence is universally 
 felt, and whose power must become the domi- 
 nant power — not in name merely, but in fact. 
 This supremacy will be used to advance the 
 interests of those who enjoy it ; it will, neces- 
 sarily, call for a readjustment of the affairs of 
 this world on a basis consistent with the new 
 condition of things, and which will differ ma- 
 terially from that which prevailed when the 
 people were densely ignorant, and which pre- 
 vails, in its main features, to this day.
 
 Il6 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 What, then, shall be the basis of the new ar- 
 rangement ? Since a change is inevitable, in 
 what shall the change consist ? 
 
 It is a common impulse to oscillate from one 
 extreme to the other. The momentum which 
 propels us, having exhausted itself in one direc- 
 tion, becomes instrumental in propelling us in 
 the opposite direction. We swing from love to 
 hatred, from calmness to anger, from hope to 
 despair, without stopping, at so important a 
 juncture, to consult wisdom, which would, be- 
 yond peradventure, urge him who suffers the 
 pangs of unrequited love, to avoid further 
 misery and seek consolation in paying court to 
 indifference ; would whisper to him whose calm- 
 ness has been provoked to the point of anger, 
 that tempered indignation will disarm his ad- 
 versary quicker than a surrender to passion ; 
 would direct deceived hope from the sombre 
 path of despair, and guide it to the peaceful 
 abode of resignation. 
 
 If then, in personal matters, wisdom raises a 
 warning finger to impulse, how much more im- 
 pressive must be its warning in matters which 
 concern the race ? 
 
 Those who, protesting against the abuses of 
 the existing system, advocate its annihilation,
 
 OF THE AGE. WJ 
 
 are of the opinion that we should swing — some 
 say slowly, others swiftly — from the absolutism 
 of capital to absolute socialism. It is in this 
 direction they are endeavoring to guide Democ- 
 racy when, realizing its power, it shall have 
 overthrown Plutocracy and assumed supreme 
 control. 
 
 Ere adopting this course, it were well to 
 pause. The fear is lest Democracy, in com- 
 pletely subverting the existing system, should 
 damage its own cause. Victories there are 
 which might prove more disastrous than de- 
 feats. Disastrous, indeed, would be the vic- 
 tory which would consist in having demolished 
 the present social structure, without having pre- 
 pared a better one for the protection of the 
 race ; futile would be the ejfforts to improve 
 man's estate, if, in the attempt to do so, he is to 
 be considered — not as he is, with his foibles, 
 his propensities, his ambitions, but as he might 
 be — an ideal being, a creature of the imagina- 
 tion. 
 
 To him who can take wings and soar beyond 
 the realms of prejudice and self-interest ; to 
 him who can look down on humanity as being 
 swayed by the highest and purest motives ; to 
 him who is convinced that the proclamation to
 
 Il8 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 man of the moral and tlie physical law, will 
 ensure the strict observance of those laws ; to 
 him, absolute socialism is not only the most per- 
 fect and most equitable of systems devised by 
 mortal, but also the most practicable. Indeed, 
 who can fail to accord it praise, and concede to 
 its devisers and followers honesty of purpose 
 and sincere love of mankind ? 
 
 The conception of socialism is the natural 
 outgrowth of the evils of capitalism — which 
 evils it proposes to eradicate. While the ex- 
 isting system betrays many inconsistencies, in- 
 justices, and imperfections, socialism aims at 
 universal consistency, universal justice, univer- 
 sal perfection. Surely, no purpose could be 
 higher, nobler, than this. But so beautiful, so 
 elevated, is the conception of absolute socialism, 
 that it partakes of the ideal, and one is tempted > 
 to question its applicability to real men, living 
 in a real world. It is to be feared that its per- 
 manent adoption would imply less of a social, 
 than a moral, revolution, and that man's nature 
 would have to undergo changes far more diffi- 
 cult to obtain than any to which his institutions 
 would have to submit. 
 
 Absolute socialism, though eminently just in 
 principle, is to be condemned because, in prac-
 
 OF THE AGE. 1 19 
 
 tice, it would, by destroying the stimulus to 
 energy and genius, prove detrimental to the 
 race. Plutocracy, which is virtually supreme 
 to-day, is to be no less condemned ; for it is not 
 only not just, but is nearly as detrimental to 
 the race at large as absolute socialism would 
 be, if adopted ; and, moreover, it is in direct 
 opposition to the spirit of Democracy, whose 
 interests are destined to become paramount. 
 
 What, then, is to be done ? On one side we 
 have a system which, so long as it is burdened 
 with its iniquitous favoritism, should not, and 
 cannot endure; on the other, a proposed, and 
 the only seriously proposed, substitute, which, 
 while claiming to favor all, would prove ruinous 
 to some and beneficial to none. One is destined 
 to fall by the weight of its own defects ; the 
 other cannot be raised owing to the frail foun- 
 dation on which it would rest. 
 
 To attain its end, to fulfil its mission, is it 
 necessary for Democracy to go to extremes, and 
 completely subvert the actual order? Should 
 it, casting aside its proud claim to enlighten- 
 ment, disregard the admonitions of wisdom, and 
 follow its blind impulses ? However superficial 
 in its superstructure, the existing system is not 
 without solidity in its foundation. It is not
 
 120 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 faulty in its conceptioD, but in its execution ; 
 not in its piineiples, but in their application. 
 Should it perish, should it be condemned in its 
 entirety, because certain abuses — great and rep- 
 rehensible, it is true — have invaded its sphere? 
 Should emulation, which might be made to 
 encourage industry, and keep in play the ener- 
 gies which are the mainspring of the race, be 
 cast aside as detrimental to mankind, because 
 a few have overstepped the equitable lines of 
 competition, and arrogated to themselves more 
 and richer prizes than the general welfare would 
 suggest, or than justice should tolerate ? Should 
 we sacrifice benefits which ai'e within reach, to 
 grasp blindly at that which our better sense 
 tells us is undesirable and, as we are at present 
 constituted, unattainable, if it were desirable ? 
 Shall we resort to a course of demolition and 
 devastation, when by altering or by pruning 
 we can attain the desired end ? Shall we fore- 
 go the actual order and forfeit all its possible 
 advantages, or do away with its glaring con- 
 trasts and excessive favoritism — which are its 
 main, if not its sole, defects — and thus make it 
 consistent with the aims, the spirit, of enlight- 
 ened Democracy ? Shall we take steps, and 
 decisive steps, to arrest the greed of the few
 
 OF THE AGE. 121 
 
 and mitigate the wants of the many ; to curtail 
 the privileges of some and recognize the rights 
 of others ? Shall we, in one word, attempt 
 what is possible, because in the realms of Real- 
 ity ; or venture on the impossible, in the allur- 
 ing but impenetrable fields of Idealism ? 
 
 jjs Hi * ♦ * 
 
 The basis of the new arrangement should be 
 the one on which true, and not the present 
 fictitious. Democracy rests; the change to be 
 wrought should consist in putting into practice 
 those popular principles, so loudly vaunted, 
 which now exist only in theory. 
 
 True Democracy does not necessarily imply 
 government by the people ; but it does emphat- 
 ically imply government for the people. It 
 requires that there shall be no class enjoying 
 undue privileges, unearned advantages, over 
 others. It demands the enforcement of laws hav- 
 ing for object the welfare of the greatest possible 
 number of those living under that government. 
 
 In the fulfilment of this purpose, every ob- 
 stacle should be removed, every precaution 
 should be taken. No interference, from what- 
 soever quarter, should be tolerated ; no personal 
 interests, however cherished, should be per- 
 mitted to stand in the way of general interests;
 
 122 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 no claims, however pressing, should be allowed 
 which come in conflict with the public weal. 
 
 A strong executive, armed with full authority, 
 and with imposing power to enforce that au- 
 thority, is by no means foreign to the democra- 
 tic idea. Once laws — clearly stated — aiming to 
 benefit the nation at large, to promote their 
 welfare and protect their interests, have re- 
 ceived the people's sanction, and are the ad- 
 mitted expression of their will, no executive 
 can be too strong to enforce that will. His 
 powers, his functions, being strictly limited to 
 this, he becomes the personification of the 
 people ; his voice becomes their voice ; his 
 strong arm becomes their arm; his majesty 
 becomes their majesty. 
 
 Since it is the people as a whole, and not a 
 class, who are to derive the main benefit under 
 democratic rule, the question arises, Wherein, 
 mainly, are the people to be benefited ? The 
 manifest answer to this question is that they 
 can best be benefited by having within reach all 
 the means available to improve their condition. 
 This is not only the chief end they are striving 
 to attain, but it is in this respect that their 
 circumstances differ mainly from those of the 
 existing privileged classes. Indeed, the improve-
 
 OF THE AGE. 1 23 
 
 ment of their condition is the most general 
 and at the same time the most reasonable 
 and legitimate of all the desires of civilized men. 
 It is the incentive which has exercised the 
 widest influence on the race; the one which, 
 more than all others, has hastened the turning 
 of the wheels of progress, stimulated the spirit 
 of invention, caused the fields of science to be 
 explored, made grateful the task of study and 
 easy the effort of labor. It is this desire, in 
 some form or other, which underlies every action, 
 suggests every undertaking. The ultimate ob- 
 ject of industry, of commerce, of the arts and the 
 sciences, is the production, the handling, the per- 
 f ectionment or discovery of means to render our 
 sojourn on this globe as agreeable as possible. 
 The millions of hands who cultivate the soil and 
 toil in factories ; the army of miners who pene- 
 trate the bowels of the earth in search of its 
 treasures ; the daring men who plunge into the 
 depths of the ocean to bring forth the coveted 
 pearls ; youth and age bending over desks ; 
 authors burning the midnight oil ; artists labor- 
 ing in their studios, scientists in their laborato- 
 ries, statisticians in their libraries, multitudes in 
 their garrets — all are animated by the hope of 
 improving their condition.
 
 124 ^-^^ REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 What, then, are the requirements of a people 
 in the furtherance of this commendable ambi- 
 tion ? Those which are, perhaps, the most gen- 
 erally referred to, are industry and education — 
 without which, certainly, no nation could pro- 
 gress. It is obvious, however, that in established 
 communities, at least, these two, alone, cannot 
 always accomplish the desired end ; since, as we 
 have seen, the masses who are most industrious, 
 partake of conditions far less desirable than those 
 of certain classes who boast of their indolence ; 
 and there are men of superior mental training 
 whose positions are to be pitied, while others, 
 with inferior or purely ornamental educations, 
 occupy the most enviable positions in life. 
 
 Inasmuch as a large portion of the population, 
 with education and industry, are not only una- 
 ble to better their situation, but have to struggle 
 constantly to maintain existence, while a small 
 portion, who are strangers to toil and to whom 
 education is a mere adornment, partake of con- 
 ditions which, from a material standj^oint, it 
 would be difficult to better, it is manifest that 
 the latter have at their disposal something which 
 the former have not ; something, the possession 
 of which implies an enormous advantage in pro- 
 moting the improvement of one's condition,
 
 OF THE AGE. I25 
 
 since it, alone, can bring about results which 
 industry and education combined often strive 
 vainly to attain. This something, so marvel- 
 lously effective in its operation, so all-sufficient to 
 its possessors, is v^^ealth. This, in the complex 
 adjustments of our social organism, is the most 
 potent factor in bringing about an amelioration 
 of the circumstances of individuals ; for, as al- 
 ready stated, it matters not under what form of 
 government — constitutional or despotic, monar- 
 chical or republican — man lives, his environment 
 is likely to be little affected thereby ; whether 
 he be Jew or Gentile, Protestant or Catholic, 
 does not determine what advantages he shall 
 enjoy ; whether he has political rights or not, 
 does not, 'per se, improve his condition in life ; 
 but whether he be poor or rich does most ma- 
 terially affect his condition. He may change 
 his divinities, or his rulers, or his opinions, 
 and these will in no wise change his station ; but 
 let the size of his purse be changed one way or 
 the other and lo ! he and his surroundings are 
 immediately altered, and the world is to him as 
 a new world ; his powers, his actions, his de- 
 sires are amplified or restricted ; he appears as 
 a god amongst men, or as a menial amongst 
 gods. So manifest, indeed, is the superiority
 
 126 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 which wealth gives its possessor; so great is 
 the contrast between the opulent and the poor 
 class, that there is some excuse for the impres- 
 sion which prevails among certain members of 
 the former, that they are of a race superior to 
 the latter. 
 
 To the child of Fortune is given the golden 
 key which opens to him the wide world. He 
 is a free man — free to do what fancy suggests ; 
 free to wander where pleasure calls him. He 
 is enabled to secure all physical and all men- 
 tal enjoyments and attainments. Circumstance 
 forces him into a superior position — too seldom 
 appreciated, too often abused ! — the occupancy 
 of which calls for little praise ; for, with the 
 means at his command, it would be difficult not 
 to occupy it, even when not inherited. Respect, 
 consideration, distinction, yes — and love, are 
 within his easy reach. Abundance, supei*fluity, 
 attend him on every side. He is given of all 
 things till overtaken by satiety. Leisure and 
 luxury, so craved for by many, to him become 
 monotonous. He grows weary of the indulgence 
 of those pleasures of which the multitudes never 
 taste. 
 
 The poor man, on the contrary, though he 
 hears much of sweet liberty, is a slave to adverse
 
 OF THE AGE. 127 
 
 circumstance. His hands are chained, his move- 
 ments circumscribed, his wishes ungratified. 
 He is, at times, made to feel the stinging lash 
 of contempt, and bear the haughty treatment of 
 domineering masters. He searches, often in vain, 
 for an outlet for whatever reserve of effort, 
 energy, and ambition he may possess. Intelli- 
 gent, educated, may be refined and cultured, yet 
 unable, through lack of capital, to work for 
 himself, he is not always allowed the privilege 
 of working for others. He gazes at this im- 
 mense earth, and yet cannot lay claim to a single 
 inch thereof. He lingers at the threshold of 
 the highways of the world and, not having the 
 wherewith to pay toll, finds the gates closed to 
 him. In his case, the struggle is less to develop 
 and perfect latent mental powers, than to sus- 
 tain material existence. He is forced into an 
 inferior position ; nor should any odium be at- 
 tached to him on this account, for there are 
 innumerable and often insurmountable obstacles 
 in the way of his rising. No matter what his 
 capacity and ability, the occasion to use these 
 being denied him, he must walk his lowly path. 
 Birth and circumstance, which combine in favor 
 of his afifluent rival, are allied against him, and 
 compel him to strive for that which is freely
 
 128 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 proffered the otlier. Yet both are human, both 
 draw life from the same source, both dwell 
 under the same azure roof ; both may be equally 
 favored by the hand of nature ; but, surely, 
 both have not been equally favored by the laws 
 of man. 
 
 The advantages which the few who control 
 ofreat wealth have over those who own little or 
 none, are too evident to require being elabo- 
 rately dwelt upon. The opportunities which 
 riches offer in the acquiring of knowledge, of 
 culture and refinement, as well as the comforts 
 and luxuries of life, are sufficient proof that 
 they are powerful instruments in improving, not 
 only our mental, but our material, condition. 
 
 Under existing arrangements, wealth is the em- 
 bodiment of power. Without it, all the crowns 
 and sceptres of the earth would be mere baubles. 
 Its possession or non-possession decides whether 
 one's position shall be high or low, considered 
 or despised ; it determines whether our bodies 
 shall enjoy plenty or suffer want ; whether 
 'our minds shall know peace or endure strife ; it 
 ordains whether our sojourn on this planet is to 
 be one of pleasure or of misery, one of toil or of 
 leisure ; it regulates the quantity and the quality 
 of those things desirable, or necessary, one may
 
 OF THE AGE. 1 29 
 
 acquire ; it prescribes how much liberty one may 
 claim ; how much of that indefinite thing, called 
 Time, one may call his own ; in fact, it decides 
 how much of this world, and that which it con- 
 tains, one may possess. 
 
 Since, then, wealth can accomplish so much ; 
 since the extent of its ownership affects the con- 
 dition, the position, the happiness of every in- 
 dividual of a nation ; since it is the admitted 
 means of satisfying man's most natural, most 
 reasonable, most legitimate, desire — that of im- 
 proving himself and embellishing his environ- 
 ment — it is manifest that democratic rule, aiming 
 to benefit the people at large, far from allowing 
 a class to monopolize wealth, should devise 
 means to secure its distribution among the 
 greatest possible number, consistent with the 
 general good. 
 
 ***** 
 
 Whatever else may be said of this earth, she 
 is generous in her resources, and responsive to 
 the needs of those who live thereon. She has 
 immeasurable wealth which she yields liberally 
 to man's labor. For untold past centuries she 
 has sent forth fruit for the nourishment of her 
 children, and seems disposed to do so for untold 
 centuries to come. She is certainly an earth of
 
 1 30 THE RE VOL UTIONAR Y TENDENCIES 
 
 plenty; nay, we have known periods when 
 man, pressing his suit for her favors, received 
 more than he could well dispose of. Nor has 
 the race been negligent in utilizing the materi- 
 als which nature seemed to hold in reserve for 
 their benefit. In every quarter of the globe is 
 found evidence of the stupendous work accom- 
 plished by man — not only to sustain life ; not 
 only to secure the useful, but the beautiful. 
 In this task his genius has contrived to lend 
 assistance to his hand ; it has helped increase 
 a thousand-fold the power of production, and 
 as a result we see an increase of a thousand-fold 
 in the wealth of the world. 
 
 But notwithstanding the bounteousness of 
 nature and the never-slacking labor of man ; not- 
 withstanding the almost fairy-like assistance 
 which newly-discovered forces and appliances 
 lend to human efforts; notwithstanding the 
 facility with which new riches are produced, 
 and their almost incredible growth during the 
 past century, the majority of the peoplfe are still 
 poor, and many of these are in actual want. And 
 this is due, to a very considerable extent, to the 
 gross inequality in the division of wealth. The 
 latter is absorbed by the few, hence it cannot 
 be applied as a means to improve the condition
 
 OF THE AGE. 131 
 
 of the many. Whatever increase there is in 
 productive power; whatever increase there is 
 in riches; whatever advantage is drawn from 
 the sciences, the arts — from progress in any 
 form — the minority derive the main benefit 
 thereof. 
 
 Labor-saving machinery, which implies that 
 humanity, as a whole, will have to labor less, 
 should, one might think, be welcome to all 
 humanity. As a matter of fact, it is really wel- 
 come to very few ; and these few, odd as it may 
 appear, are not workers; therefore the labor- 
 saving machine does not reduce their work. 
 But it is welcome to them because it increases 
 their revenue ; because they can secure from one 
 machine results it once required many hands to 
 secure. 
 
 Multitudes of men look upon many modern in- 
 ventions as their worst enemies, for they deprive 
 them of the opportunity to labor, and by labor 
 alone can they live. Thus, that which should 
 cause the whole of mankind to rejoice, causes 
 large numbers to despond ; that which should 
 be hailed by them as a blessing, is considered as 
 a curse ! 
 
 So long as laws fail to prohibit the unreason- 
 able and unjust inequality in the division of the
 
 132 THE REVOLUTION'ARY TENDENCIES 
 
 goods of this earth, they constitute a cause 
 which must have the inevitable effect of at- 
 tracting riches toward the rich, and repelling 
 them from the poor. This, under existing 
 economic conditions, is as certain to occur as, 
 under existing physical conditions, certain bod- 
 ies are attracted to others, while others are 
 repelled. Material progress might advance by 
 leaps and by bounds, and wealth accumulate to 
 a fabulous degree ; the sands of our shores 
 might be turned to grains of gold ; the moun- 
 tains might be transformed into solid masses of 
 iridium ; but while the laws stand as they now 
 stand, progress and wealth will continue to follow 
 the fixed channel traced for them, and increase 
 the beauty, luxuriance, and delights of the 
 oasis of the favored band, while leaving the arid 
 plains, whereon the multitudes dwell, as desolate 
 and unattractive as formerly. For this is the 
 natural result of prevailing laws, and, these 
 laws enforced, their effect cannot be avoided. 
 
 Thus, while men are associated in a social 
 body, and are ruled by laws theoretically for 
 the benefit of all, the fact is that the majority 
 of men, thus associated, are the recipients of 
 the fewest benefits. Society, instead of being 
 based, as is often claimed, on the principle that
 
 OF THE AGE. 1 33 
 
 its working should redound to tlie advantage 
 of the greatest possible number, and that the 
 interests of a portion thereof should not be 
 paramount to the interests of the whole, is 
 based, practically, on the principle that its 
 working should redound to the advantage of 
 the smallest number, and that the interests of 
 the whole are insignificant as compared with 
 those of a portion thereof. The entire spirit 
 of society — its customs, laws, government — is 
 tainted with this purpose. The proof of this 
 lies in the fact that the majority of the mem- 
 bers of the social body are kept in a state of 
 constant activity, so as to sustain the minority 
 in a state of constant leisure ; they are kept in 
 a state bordering on misery and want, so as 
 to sustain the few in a state of luxury and 
 abundance. 
 
 And this is termed a competitive system, and 
 is praised as such ; whereas, be it observed, the 
 principal defect of the system, the defect from 
 which flows all the evils and abuses which ren- 
 der it vulnerable, is that, no restriction being 
 placed on the greed and selfishness of men, a 
 small number of these have been allowed to 
 acquire a monopoly of the most valuable prizes 
 of life ; and owing to no limit being placed on
 
 1 34 THE RE VOL UTIONA K Y' TENDENCIES 
 
 inheritance, the enjoyment of these prizes is, to 
 a o-reat extent, excluded from competition for 
 all time. This has caused society to be divided 
 into two classes : one, by far the more numer- 
 ous and more powerful, composed of poor men 
 who, to maintain themselves, are compelled to 
 compete with each other for work ; the other, 
 numerically weak, composed of rich men who, 
 to amuse themselves and gratify their vanity, 
 first crush those who interfere with their game, 
 and then proceed to compete with each other 
 for greater wealth. 
 
 As operated at present, the system is, in its 
 most serious aspect — that is, the maintenance 
 of life — competitive for the poor, not for the 
 rich. The latter form a class apart, and belong 
 to a system which, in its nature and require- 
 ments, is the reverse of competitive. Having 
 all, aud more, than they need, they are not 
 forced to enter the lists of the battle of life ; 
 the mandate which w^ent forth from the gates 
 of Eden, to the human race, does not apply to 
 them ; they toil not by the sweat of their brow, 
 yet have they, in abundance, of bread and of 
 fruit, of the good and the fair things of this 
 earth. Not only are they guaranteed protec- 
 tion in the enjoyment of their possessions, but.
 
 OF THE AGE. 1 35 
 
 owing to partial and over-indulgent laws, their 
 offspring, and theirs, whether worthy or not, 
 are made to inherit their wealth, their station 
 in life, and all the benefits these insure. 
 
 It might be thought that, in a world where 
 the majority of its inhabitants have to struggle 
 for bare subsistence, these favored mortals 
 would be satisfied with a condition of thing's 
 which, exempting them from the burden of sur- 
 rounding hardships, raises them to an exalted 
 situation from which, as demi-gods, they can 
 look down on the masses of suffering human- 
 ity. Not so, however. Though there is no 
 necessity for them to enter the already over- 
 crowded field of competition, there are many 
 who enter there nevertheless; and they enter 
 it armed with every advantage. The wealth 
 they control decides, in advance, the contest in 
 their favor; equipped from head to foot, they 
 push aside and overwhelm those whose main 
 strength is required to keep body and soul 
 together. Moreover, they have contrived, by 
 artful manoeuvring, to draw all the glory and 
 profits, while leaving to subordinates all the 
 worry and fatigue, of their vast undertakings. 
 
 Into such a state has the existing system fallen, 
 that many of those who, by force of circum-
 
 136 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 stances, are impelled to enter the field of com- 
 petition, are practically shut out ; whereas those 
 who have every incentive to withdraw, remain 
 therein, animated by a spirit of greed, the result 
 of which cannot fail to be disastrous to their 
 fellow-creatures. We see the many laboring 
 much, and securing in return little or nothing 
 beyond subsistence ; we see the few laboring 
 little, or not at all, and securing nearly every- 
 thing men contend for. The majority of the 
 members of the social organization, which is 
 supposed to advance the interests of all, are 
 compelled to devote their lives, their energies, 
 to the advancement of the interests of the 
 minority. 
 
 It is not religious, dynastic, or political griev- 
 ances, but the unfair division of wealth and the 
 unfair competition for wealth, which enlighten- 
 ment is making clear to all, which have called 
 into existence the modern subversive tendencies ; 
 it is the contemplation of a few men burdened 
 with riches, when millions are suffering from 
 poverty ; it is the accumulation for the benefit 
 of a small number of that which should be 
 made to benefit large numbers ; it is the undue 
 inequality between the classes ; it is the defect 
 in our constitutions which allows the greed for
 
 OF THE AGE. 1 37 
 
 gold to have unlimited sway, which has engen- 
 dered the opposition to the existing system, and 
 brought forth cries for its destruction; it is 
 these which, driving the people to extremes, 
 have given birth to anarchism, communism, so- 
 cialism, and the spirit of discontent and restless- 
 ness, which is the spirit of the age ; and it is 
 these which must be done away with, if our in- 
 stitutions are to be saved and social order pre- 
 served ; it is in these that enlightened Democracy 
 must bring about a change in the fulfilment of 
 its duty, its mission.
 
 138 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE PRINCIPLE OF REWARDS. 
 
 IF it is certain that wealth is essential to im- 
 prove man's condition, it is no less certain 
 that unless man produce and maintain it, no 
 other power in the universe will do so. 
 
 Wealth does not spring from nothing ; nor 
 does it maintain itself. Now man is, by nature, 
 sluggish ; he requires a stimulus to urge him to 
 action, to exert himself. If activity be not en- 
 couraged, indolence will prevail ; if indolence 
 prevail, not only will new wealth not be created, 
 but that which already exists will gradually 
 vanish, and the race will inevitably fall back to 
 that stage where subsistence would be their 
 only aim. 
 
 It would, therefore, be a task, as superfluous 
 as it would be inconsequent, to attempt the dis- 
 semination of wealth without providing, at the 
 same time, for its production and maintenance. 
 
 While the accumulation of riches in the hands 
 of the few, being detrimental to the welfare of
 
 OF THE AGE. 139 
 
 the many, is essentially undemocratic ; while it 
 is an impediment to general progress and is an- 
 tagonistic to the spirit of the times ; while no 
 more serious misfortune could befall a nation — 
 especially if it be one whose intellectual condi- 
 tion is such as to justify the expectation of its 
 attaining a higher development — than that its 
 resources should be monopolized by a small 
 class, to the exclusion of the mass of the peo- 
 ple ; while no greater danger could face a gov- 
 ernment, and threaten its legitimate power, than 
 that of a grasping Plutocracy whose aim is, and 
 always will be, to make its own interests para- 
 mount to all others; while this, and much 
 more, may be urged against the possession of 
 inordinate wealth, it by no means follows that 
 the possession of all wealth should be condemned 
 as pernicious to the general welfare. As well 
 denounce the use of food because its abuse calls 
 for our reprobation. Eating is beneficial ; glut- 
 tony is injurious ; but is eating to be discoun- 
 tenanced because some men are gluttons ? And 
 is all ownership of wealth to be condemned 
 because a few men own excessive wealth ? 
 
 If a too great disparity in the possession of 
 the good and the fair things of this earth is 
 dangerous, and is to be avoided, it is no less true
 
 I40 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 that a too great equality would prove no less 
 dangerous, and no less iniquitous. Equality in 
 the enjoyment of wealth, to be consistent, to be 
 just, should be the result of equality in the 
 production of wealth. This, for many reasons, 
 is manifestly impossible. Some men have con- 
 siderable capacity, mental and physical, for 
 labor ; others have little or none. If it were 
 decreed that all should share alike in the pos- 
 session of the general wealth, those of superior 
 ability might secure greater results, and yet en- 
 joy no greater benefits, than those of inferior 
 ability. This, far from encouraging them to 
 exert themselves, would have the contrary ef- 
 fect. Moreover, all participating equally, many 
 would be tempted to give way to their natural 
 inclinations, and shirk work which is repulsive 
 to them. A state of things more iniquitous, 
 and more disastrous to the general welfare, 
 could not be conceived. The effect upon the 
 production of wealth, and the consequent effect 
 upon the condition of the people, is easy to 
 foresee. Retrogression and decay would be 
 unavoidable. 
 
 The acquiring of riches, within certain bounds, 
 could, on the contrary, be made to serve a most 
 beneficial purpose ; it could, in its particular
 
 OF THE AGE. I41 
 
 line, perform a function no less vital to the 
 social body than that which nutrition renders 
 the individual body ; it could be made to act as 
 a stimulus to human energies, and keep alive 
 those forces which are essential to man if he is 
 to pursue a forward course. In other words, if 
 that which is most to be dreaded in respect to 
 the future of the race, is to be fought ; if that 
 which is most to be desired, is to be encouraged, 
 wealth should be reserved as a precious prize 
 which, while its contest would be open to all, 
 none could claim who had not proved himself 
 worthy of its possession. The advantages it 
 secures, and the opportunities it offers for the 
 gratification of the desire to ameliorate one's 
 condition, are sufficient guarantee that the full- 
 est mental and physical efforts of mankind 
 would be exerted in its acquirement. 
 
 No matter what may be said against the ex- 
 isting system — and the preceding pages have 
 not been devoted to the singing of its praises — 
 it has one redeeming feature, and one which, so 
 long as man is constituted as he is to-day, will 
 have to be the pivotal point in any social ad- 
 justment which is destined to last. This cardi- 
 nal feature is the principle of rewards — of 
 admitting those who have exerted or distin-
 
 142 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 guished themselves above all others, to the 
 enjoyment of certain advantages, both as a 
 recognition of their services and as an incentive 
 for others to follow their example. Indeed, so 
 closely allied is this principle to civilized man's 
 desire to improve his condition, that what was 
 said of the one may well be said of the other. 
 Whatever is recorded as progress ; whatever 
 advance has been made in the development of 
 intelligence, in the expansion of knowledge, in 
 the application of energy, in the growth of in- 
 dustry, in the perfectionment of the arts and 
 sciences, can be traced to the system of rewards 
 — or, rather, we are constrained to say, to the 
 system which admitted of the hope of reward ; 
 of the prospect of improving one's circum- 
 stances, one's condition in life. This hope, 
 though seldom realized beyond a certain sphere ; 
 though, to the multitudes, distant like the 
 heavenly stars, yet served as a beacon light to 
 direct mankind in the gloomy paths of labor, 
 in the accomplishment of arduous tasks, in the 
 fulfilment of high ambitions. It was the un- 
 seen, and hence deemed mystic, agent, which 
 gradually overcame the barriers of primitive 
 ignorance and barbarism, and forced ajar the 
 gates leading to the glories of modern enlight-
 
 OF THE AGE. 143 
 
 enment and civilization. It gave birtli to, and 
 kept alive, the energies, the genius, of the race ; 
 it raised man above the beast, and distinguishes 
 him, above all else, from the beast; nay — so 
 great, so far-reaching is its influence — has it 
 not opened to him a vista, entrancing, alluring, 
 which leads from mortality on earth to immor- 
 tality in the empyrean realms above? 
 
 Withdraw the prospect of recompense, and 
 the great motive power of the civilized world 
 will be annihilated ; the incentive to physical 
 energy, the spring of mental activity, will be 
 destroyed ; the hum of human progress will be 
 silenced ; industry will slumber never to wake 
 again ; effort, except to subsist, will be synony- 
 mous with folly, and ambition as sterile as the 
 chasing of rainbows; a gloom, unrelieved by the 
 faintest, the most distant, glimmer of light, will 
 pervade the universe. 
 
 So universal is the hope of reward, so thor- 
 oughly is it an integral portion of our being, 
 that though it plays an all-important r6le in our 
 destinies, we are, for the most part, as uncon- 
 scious of its existence as we are of some of the 
 vital parts of our body, without which, however, 
 life would be impossible. But though many 
 may be unconscious of its existence, none is free
 
 144 ^^^ REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 from its influence, none can escape its talismanic 
 power. 
 
 The little ribbon, the prize, the medal, the 
 wreath of laurel, the diploma, the honorable 
 mention, stimulate the youth to strive for the 
 first place, when, without these, he might follow 
 his natural bent, and give way to indolence. 
 Later, he is animated by the thought of the 
 material good he might eventually derive from 
 his studies. When man's estate is reached, what 
 is it sustains him in the struggle of life ; what 
 is it incites him to labor, to the acquirement of 
 knowledge and experience, to perseverance in 
 the face of obstacles, but the hope of reward, 
 for himself or for those to whom he is attached ? 
 In the shop, in the factory, in the counting- 
 house, in the fields, in the mines, in the labora- 
 tory, in the studio, in the world of letters, in 
 the sphere of diplomacy — everywhere — in the 
 civil service, in the army, in the navy — what 
 stimulates attention to details, to duty, to good 
 and effective work, to improvements, save the 
 hope of recognition, of promotion, and may be 
 the winning of one of the prizes of life ? 
 
 The greatest of all religions — that one which 
 has swayed the more civilized nations of the 
 earth for nearly twenty centuries — is based on
 
 OF THE AGE. I45 
 
 the principle of reward and punishment. And 
 it is questionable whether any creed, in any 
 clime, or with any people, could endure long, 
 unless this principle were held up as an incen- 
 tive to good and a moderator to evil. If, then, 
 virtue, the peaceful charm of which we have all 
 experienced, is not sufficiently its own reward, 
 how can it be averred that labor, the hardships 
 of which most of us are familiar with, can be 
 its own recompense ? 
 
 Undoubtedly there are some who, in their 
 thoughts and actions, are uninfluenced by any 
 ulterior considerations ; who love and practise 
 virtue for virtue's sake ; but these are rare ; and 
 social institutions are organized not for the ex- 
 ceptions, but for the generality of mankind ; 
 just as prohibitory laws are enacted, not for 
 those who are naturally inclined to good, but 
 for those who are, or might be, disposed to 
 evil. And as in the moral world, not only has 
 vice to be restrained, but virtue has to be stim- 
 ulated ; so, in the physical world, not only has 
 indolence to be combated, but industry has to 
 
 be encouraged, by the expectancy of reward. 
 « * * * * 
 
 Owing to the peculiar and unique advantages 
 it affords, and which have already been dwelt
 
 146 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 upon, wealth is almost universally recognized 
 as the chief reward for which genius, industry, 
 and ability contend. Under existing conditions, 
 however, wealth is held to such a considerable 
 extent by a small number, that there is little or 
 none left to be awarded to the many other con- 
 testants for its possession. Moreover, as has 
 been seen, this small number occupy such a 
 vantage ground in the field of competition, that 
 they are virtually masters of the situation, and 
 the majority of men, no matter how intelligent 
 and industrious they may be, far from being able 
 to appear as equally equipped rivals, must, on 
 the contrary, submit to being subordinates or 
 dependents — and this with little hope of ever 
 being anything else. 
 
 Thus while the principle of rewards is recog- 
 nized under the actual order of things, its equi- 
 table application is a rare occurrence. It exceeds 
 the bounds of all reason in some instances, and 
 does not approach even the limits of common 
 justice in others. There are a few favored 
 mortals who enjoy the princely rewards earned 
 by the energy and abilities of ancestors who 
 lived centuries ago, while there are many who 
 possess unusual ability, and exert untiring en- 
 ergy, and yet are denied the most trivial requital.
 
 OF THE AGE. 147 
 
 Some are allowed numerous mansions and parks, 
 large retinues of servants and assistants, horses, 
 carriages, and yachts, and a revenue which per- 
 niits them to secure all the comforts, all the 
 luxuries, all the pleasures this world can afford ; 
 while others, whose mental and physical capaci- 
 ties may be equal, or superior, deem themselves 
 fortunate, as things go, in the occupancy of a 
 single room, and in being able to procure the 
 mere necessaries of life. In other words, it 
 is a principle which is flagrantly abused and 
 frequently ignored ; it is distorted to such an 
 extent that it is scarcely recognizable ; it is con- 
 sidered in some rare cases, overlooked in many, 
 and in all, is applied regardless of equity, 
 expediency, or actual merit, and, worse still, 
 with a total disregard of the rights or claims 
 of other contestants. Leaving out the cases 
 where inheritance comes into play, and where, 
 of course, it is practically overlooked, it oper- 
 ates as does the roulette^ haphazard, stopping 
 here and there by chance; awarding fabulous 
 sums to some, and sending others off with 
 nothing. 
 
 This proceeding may be admirable in connec- 
 tion with a game of chance ; it is lamentable in 
 connection with the application of a principle
 
 148 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 — a sacred principle — on which rests the welfare 
 of the human race. 
 
 It is the persistent misapplication of this 
 principle which is the most serious charge 
 which can be brought against the existing sys- 
 tem. It is against the abuse of this principle — 
 on the observance of which the happiness and 
 progress of a people depend, to a great extent 
 — that modern Democracy is called upon to 
 enter a solemn, a persistent, an effective pro- 
 test. 
 
 Once we fairly realize what wealth is — what 
 it can bring to man, what it can accomplish for 
 him — we cannot escape the conviction that its 
 unfair division, and the unfair competition for 
 its possession, is the greatest injustice which can 
 be inflicted on a nation, and one which it is im- 
 possible to associate with an enlightened people 
 having the power to remedy it. 
 
 We have seen that the race's sojourn on this 
 earth is conditional on the performance of cer- 
 tain labor ; we have seen that food, raiment, and 
 shelter can only be obtained and maintained 
 by constant toil and application ; and that, with- 
 out these, mankind would become extinct, or be 
 reduced to a condition similar to that of the 
 savage tribes who dwell in huts, use skins as
 
 OF THE AGE. 1 49 
 
 garments, and sustain themselves on roots, herbs, 
 and the animals and birds of the field and forest. 
 In the earlier periods, mere subsistence was 
 considered, and accepted, as sufficient reward 
 for the performance of labor; indeed, in our 
 time, it is so considered by the ignorant, as it 
 is by the beasts of burden. But lo ! man 
 awakens, and, by the light of intelligence, he 
 beholds that this is a beautiful world — a vast, 
 a prolific, a luxuriant world ; he realizes that 
 there is more than mere subsistence to strive 
 for ; he becomes conscious of greater comforts, 
 of sweeter pleasures, of broader action, of higher 
 planes, of a more perfect mental development, 
 of a deeper joy of living ; and he finds that 
 these, and not mere existence, are the prizes to 
 be sought, to be fought for. Though he enjoys 
 them not, he feels the capacity to enjoy them ; 
 nay, he has a secret sentiment that he has a 
 right to share in them ; and as, notwithstanding 
 his efforts, his abilities, his aspirations, they 
 seem to be beyond his reach, he uses his intelli- 
 gence, newly awakened, to inquire into the 
 manner of their awarding. They are prizes, 
 hence they must be rewards. Rewards for 
 what ? Inevitable inquiry — yet fatal to those 
 who have long held the unearned monopoly of
 
 150 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 prizes ; fatal inquiry to tliose who display an 
 accumulation of prizes in the presence of the 
 weary legions who deserve many, but have been 
 denied any ! 
 
 In days of ignorance, in days of tyranny, the 
 awarding of prizes may have been left to the 
 hand of favoritism ; in days of ignorance, in 
 days of tyranny, the advantages of life may 
 have been heaped blindly on a few, regardless 
 of merit, virtue, or valor ; regardless of equity, 
 expediency, or policy ; regardless of the rights 
 of others ; but in an age of enlightenment, 
 in an age of popular government, favoritism 
 should make way for impartiality ; the compe- 
 tition of prizes should be free ; the awarding of 
 prizes should be just ; or, at least, they should 
 be so distributed that an unwarranted accumu- 
 lation of them in one quarter, to the evident 
 detriment of another, would be impossible. 
 
 This, as regards the welfare and progress of 
 the people, should be the chief aim of Democ- 
 racy. It should strive to stimulate the activi- 
 ties, mental and physical, of the race ; it should 
 promote the production of wealth, the advance- 
 ment in the arts, the sciences, the letters; it 
 should devise means to embellish the world ; 
 it should encourage the spirit of invention, of
 
 OF THE AGE. 151 
 
 improvement in the mode of living, of perfec- 
 tionment in every branch ; it should raise the 
 standard of ambition, of conduct, of duty ; it 
 should guide man to better, nobler, aims — to a 
 broader, higher, life ; and, since heaven is offered 
 as a reward for virtue, how better can this 
 higher state on earth be reached, than by stim- 
 ulating its attainment by an equitable system 
 of terrestrial rewards, and giving all an equal 
 opportunity to secure the crown of recompense 
 — the prize of perseverance, industry, and 
 genius ? 
 
 If the system of rewards, as practised at pres- 
 ent, with all its defects and abuses, with its 
 unfaii' working and obnoxious application, has 
 succeeded in doing so much to promote pro- 
 gress, and advance the welfare of humanity; 
 what might it not accomplish in the same line, 
 if freed fi'om these defects and abuses, if prop- 
 erly, equitably, applied ? 
 
 If the vast accumulations of wealth were set 
 free from the narrow channel in which they are 
 at present confined ; if they were released and 
 offered to the world as compensation for actual 
 energy, actual industry, actual genius, all the 
 dormant faculties of the race would be awak- 
 ened, all the latent powers would come into
 
 152 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 play ; there would be an activity, a movement, 
 a revival — both of body and of mind — such as 
 has never before been witnessed. The principle 
 of emulation, of reward, established on a legiti- 
 mate, consistent basis, would produce results 
 which would brush aside the criticism of scoif- 
 ers and the sneers of sceptics ; it would silence 
 its now clamorous enemies ; it would appeal to 
 the reason, to the sense of justice, of all men.
 
 OF THE AGE. 1 53 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 THE NECESSITY OF RESTKICTION. 
 
 A MORE general and equitable distribution 
 of the wealth of the nation, implies re- 
 striction in its possession, and necessarily calls 
 for a disturbance of that ownership which has 
 been described as exorbitant, and as antagonis- 
 tic to the public weal. 
 
 The precedent for this is duly established. 
 Its authenticity is unquestioned, its prominence 
 overshadowing. In regulating and curtailing 
 the prerogatives of kings and the privileges of 
 nobles, the ground was merely broken for regu- 
 lating and curtailing those of the opulent class. 
 The distribution of the economic power now 
 controlled by this class, is as essential to satisfy 
 the economic rights of the people, as was the 
 distribution of political power, once monopo- 
 lized by the sovereign and the lords, to satisfy 
 their political rights. In fact, the enjoyment of 
 the latter is, if anything, less consistent with 
 the purposes of Democracy — which should aim
 
 154 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 to benefit the greatest possible number — than 
 the enjoyment of the fonner. 
 
 Political power, disseminated, loses much of 
 its efficiency ; whereas wealth, concentrated, re- 
 tains all its efficiency. In one instance, frag- 
 ments of what was once a puissant unit, are 
 scattered liberally among the people, and are, 
 in consequence, rendered worthless, unless the 
 greater portion of them can be reunited, and 
 thus applied as a means to an end ; in the other 
 instance, riches, whose potency is apparent, and 
 whose possession, to a certain extent, is essen- 
 tial to one's welfare, are allowed to accumulate 
 in the hands of a few. 
 
 What do the much vaunted political rights, 
 as they are now used, amount to with the ma- 
 jority of those who enjoy them ? There are 
 many who would exchange them for a loaf of 
 bread ; there are thousands who, when the oc- 
 casion presents itself, sell them for a piece of 
 silver ; and there are not a few who are so little 
 impressed with their value, that they seldom, 
 if ever, exercise them. 
 
 Political rights, like any other rights, are 
 valuable in proportion to their power to main- 
 tain one in the enjoyment of something already 
 possessed, or to secure something desired but
 
 OF THE AGE. 1 55 
 
 not yet possessed. If every poor man in the 
 country were given one hundred votes, while 
 every rich man were deprived of any voice what- 
 ever in government, but with the understanding 
 that he was to be left in absolute possession of 
 his millions, which would be the more privi- 
 leged, which would be the more deserving of 
 envy — the citizen with his hundred votes, or the 
 citizen with his hundred thousand a year ? The 
 rich man would not begrudge the poor one all 
 the political rights, all the political honors, which 
 might be showered upon him, provided their 
 financial positions remained unchanged. And 
 for excellent reasons. Who would exchange 
 material advantages for empty honors ? Who 
 would not forego titles for the substantial 
 pleasures of life? Who would cling to that 
 which, under the circumstances named, could 
 bring nothing, in preference to that which could 
 command all things ? 
 
 One thing is clear. The successful movement, 
 above referred to, against the monopoly by 
 a few of political and other privileges and ad- 
 vantages, was a preliminary step towards the 
 fuller recognition and the broader application 
 of the doctrine — the justice of which is univer- 
 sally conceded — that personal interests, even
 
 156 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 those of kinoes and nobles, should be subordinate 
 to general interests. 
 
 From time immemorial there have been, in 
 all civilized countries, laws of a restraining 
 nature, based upon the principle that indivi- 
 duals must curb their propensities, their pas- 
 sions, their desires, whenever, by gratifying 
 these, the interests of society might be adversely 
 affected. Robbery, forgery, rape, and arson are 
 forbidden, because the committal of these crimes, 
 if permitted, would prove injurious to the wel- 
 fare of the people in general, though they might 
 advance the interests of those committing them. 
 
 A man is starving ; as he drags himself along 
 the streets, he sees within easy reach the where- 
 with to satisfy his hunger ; but the law stands 
 between him and the loaf of bread ; it warns 
 him that it were wiser to let his hunger con- 
 sume him, than to attempt to reduce it by seiz- 
 ing the loaf. In enforcing this regulation, the 
 state considers that it is benefiting the com- 
 munity. It is for their welfare — the welfare of 
 the many as opposed to that of the individual 
 — that this particular subject must restrain his 
 desire, his hunger. In other words, the first 
 law of nature — that of personal self-preservation 
 — is made subordinate to the code of laws which
 
 OF THE AGE. 1 57 
 
 was adopted for the preservation of society. 
 The man who is starving cannot steal a loaf of 
 bread to preserve his life, because stealing is 
 destructive to society. The principle is clearly 
 established and recognized that individual in- 
 terests — no matter how pressing — should not, 
 in any case, supersede general interests. And 
 yet, how limited, in our day, is the application 
 of this excellent principle of restriction. The 
 law which prohibits the gratification of the poor 
 man's hunger at the expense of his neighbor, 
 should, to be logical, prohibit the gratification 
 of the rich man's greed at the expense of his 
 neighbors. If it is just and politic that indi- 
 viduals should be restrained whenever their 
 actions tend to affect adversely the morals and 
 welfare of the community, certainly a check 
 should be imposed on those who, by accumula- 
 ting wealth far beyond their needs, are instru- 
 mental in producing poverty and the crimes and 
 vices which poverty engenders. If personal 
 self-preservation, or self-gratification, must make 
 way for social preservation, then it should be 
 required that the opulent surrender a portion of 
 their riches to save the social organization. If 
 the principle of subjection to restrictions for the 
 general good is one whose application is essential
 
 158 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 to the welfare of society, then the doctrine of 
 limiting incomes should be recognized, and it 
 should be embodied in laws under the same 
 head as those which compel men to forego, 
 under penalty, certain inclinations, and the in- 
 dulgence of such passions as might inflict injury 
 on others. 
 
 The Mussulman, true disciple of Mohammed, 
 considers a plurality of wives a luxury ; but the 
 extent to which he may indulge this luxury is 
 necessarily regulated by the extent of his wealth. 
 If very rich, he has a harem ; if in moderate cir- 
 cumstances, he has one wife ; if poor, he has 
 none. Great wealth, therefore, gives him privi- 
 leges which, it must be admitted, are a serious 
 menace to the general welfare ; since a few men 
 of large means might attract to their sides, as 
 wives or odalisques, all the fair maidens in the 
 land. What, then, would be the fate of those 
 who, living in the same countiy, under the same 
 rule, were unable to procure wives? What, 
 under such conditions — surfeit on one side, want 
 on the other — would become of morals, of so- 
 ciety, of the state itself ? Let the empires of 
 the East, where no god but Allah is worshipped,
 
 OF THE AGE. 1 59 
 
 where no prophet but Mohammed is recognized, 
 answer. 
 
 The Christian, who deems himself more civil- 
 ized than the Mussulman, is not permitted to 
 practice polygamy. Why so ? Certainly not 
 from lack of love of luxury ; and perhaps not 
 from lack of an inclination towards polygamy. 
 Many reasons are advanced. Some refer, not 
 irrelevantly, to the effect it would have on in- 
 heritance and division of property; but the most 
 plausible reason is that the sexes, being nearly 
 evenly divided, the inevitable result of some 
 men securing a plurality of women, would be to 
 deprive many of having any. It was, therefore, 
 deemed impolitic to permit a certain class to 
 enjoy a privilege, the nature of which could not 
 fail to prove pernicious to the general welfare. 
 
 There are, however, other things needful, 
 other things desirable and enjoyable, in the 
 division of which a less equitable, a less politic, 
 spirit is shown. Indeed it would seem that to 
 compensate for this single limitation, unlimited 
 privileges in other respects were granted the fa- 
 vored of fortune. Restricted in the possession 
 of but one legal wife, they are restricted in little 
 else. The extent to which they may enjoy the 
 advantages of life, is regulated only by the ex-
 
 1 60 THE REVOLU TIONA R V TENDENCIES 
 
 teut of their wealth. There being no limit placed 
 on their wealth, whatever riches can purchase is 
 theirs, though others may be wanting in the essen- 
 tials of life. Their ambition, allowed full sway, 
 knows no bounds, and their greed is beyond 
 the reach of satiety. Everything facilitates 
 their task ; everything tends in their direction. 
 There is a strange power whereby gold is drawn 
 towards gold. The greater the accumulation, 
 the greater the attraction. Thus the quantity 
 keeps on increasing while still increasing the 
 attraction for more to be attracted. There are 
 men, in many countries, who annually add more 
 than a million to their possessions. If the same 
 process of accretion were applied to land, and 
 circumstances permitted its continuance, it is 
 evident that a man, acquiring title to several 
 million acres every year, need only live long 
 enough to become possessed of the earth. Con- 
 sidering the vast holdings of certain individuals, 
 the rapid and enormous increase of their wealth, 
 the strenuous and unobstructed efforts they are 
 making to add constantly thereto, and the re- 
 sultant power thus obtained, there is no reason 
 why a few men should not combine and hold 
 absolute sway over dominions, rivaling, in di- 
 mensions and richness, those of mighty states.
 
 OF THE AGE. l6l 
 
 As it is, they constitute a power, a veritable 
 Plutocracy, whicli, so long as it lasts, renders 
 ridiculous all pretensions to the supremacy of 
 Democracy. 
 
 Let it not be thought, however, that the les- 
 sons of the past are completely lost to memory. 
 The overthrow of certain mighty kings, the 
 reduction of others to mere figureheads, are not 
 mere romances, without historical meaning, 
 without portent of the future. If the power 
 of princes is subject to limitations, surely that 
 of citizens is not beyond restrictions. The 
 principle which should guide Democracy — the 
 principle on which all just government should 
 be based — of subordinating the individual to 
 the general welfare, of allowing each one the 
 freedom to seek and promote his personal in- 
 terests, only on condition that they interfere in 
 no way with the interests of others, requires, 
 and will obtain, a broader application than at 
 present. Eestricting the prerogatives of rulers, 
 and the privileges of nobles and clergy, is not 
 sufficient. Distributing votes and concentrating 
 wealth will not fulfil public aspirations. Pro- 
 hibiting personal hunger to satisfy itself at the 
 expense of public morality, while allowing per- 
 sonal greed to satisfy itself at the expense of
 
 1 62 THE RE VOL U TIONA R V TENDENCIE S 
 
 the public welfare, does not meet the require- 
 ments of equity. Limiting a man to the posses- 
 sion of one wife and according him unlimited 
 possession of all else, is, assuredly, but a feeble, 
 and far from successful, attempt to secure a fair 
 division in the many things subject to division. 
 No one can doubt that if, in one of the great 
 modern republics, a few citizens were granted 
 the privilege of having as many wives as they 
 chose to gather under their roof, it would be 
 decried, not only as undemocratic, but as an 
 excess of luxury derived from semi-barbarous 
 nations. But it is not considered undemocratic, 
 in certain quarters, to allow a few citizens the 
 privilege of accumulating untold millions, and 
 indulging in the excess of luxury which these 
 aiford. Yet the injustice of this unrestricted 
 privilege is no less palpable, and the results no 
 less disastrous, than would be those attending 
 unrestricted polygamy. The latter is prohibited 
 by law, and thus the inordinate inclinations of 
 many are somewhat held in check. But why 
 does restriction end here ? Money is, by uni- 
 versal consent and usage, the medium of ex- 
 change for all things. The landowner exchanges 
 his land, or its use, for money ; the farmer ex- 
 changes his produce, the merchant his wares,
 
 OF THE AGE. 1 63 
 
 for money ; tlie laborer, the clerk, the employee 
 of every description, exchange their services for 
 money ; the writer exchanges his literary efforts, 
 the poet his eifusions, the artist, the sculptor, 
 their inspired productions, for money ; nothing, 
 from the commonest comfort to the rarest lux- 
 ury, can be purchased without money ; without 
 it, bread cannot be obtained ; it is as necessaiy 
 to existence as is water, as is air; it is, in the 
 fullest sense of the word, an essential of life to 
 whomsoever lives in a civilized community. 
 Yet we see some who have a superabundance 
 of this essential of life ; many who have barely 
 sufficient thereof ; others who have none. 
 
 It is obvious that if there was less superfluity 
 in some quarters, there would be less want in 
 others; and that greater numbers would be 
 brought within the sphere of comfort. Not- 
 withstanding which fact, there is no country — 
 however boastful of its popular institutions , 
 however jealous of its democratic constitutions 
 — which has on its statute books laws providing 
 that money — the essential of life — shall be so 
 distributed as to benefit the greatest possible 
 number. There are no restrictions on its accu- 
 mulation, nor on that of any property, its equiv- 
 alent. In one city — in what is termed a com-
 
 164 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 momoealtli — there are a score of men who have 
 between them a thousand million dollars, while 
 a million souls cannot claim a thousand apiece. 
 These score of men enjoy privileges, and wield 
 a power for weal or for woe — political, finan- 
 cial, and social — greater than those of the mill- 
 ion souls combined. And this preponderance 
 of privileges and power is allowed them by a 
 government which is supposed to guarantee to 
 all the enjoyment of equal rights, the enjoy- 
 ment of equal opportunities. 
 
 Call this state of things what you will, but 
 call it not Democracy; claim for it what ad- 
 vantages you please, but claim not that it is 
 advantageous to the nation at large ; defend it 
 on whatever grounds you choose, but defend it 
 not on the ground of equity, of morality, or of 
 expediency. 
 
 If we reflect well, there is nothing more nec- 
 essary to prevent the individual interest from 
 subordinating the general interest ; there is 
 nothing more essential to secure a fairer distri- 
 bution of the prizes of life ; there is nothing 
 more indispensable to promote the public wel- 
 fare, to meet the demands of the times, and give 
 consistency to popular government, than regu- 
 lating the distribution of wealth, and providing
 
 OF THE AGE. 1 65 
 
 against its accumulation in the hands of the 
 few. In no other way can an equilibrium, guar- 
 anteeing stability, be established ; in no other 
 way can the irrational extremes, immoderate 
 extravagance on one side and absolute want on 
 the other — two evils long deplored, too long 
 tolerated — be obviated; in no other way can 
 the vices to which are traceable the decline of 
 progress and the degeneracy of nations be sub- 
 dued; in no other way can the area of pros- 
 perity expand and thus welcome a larger body 
 of participants ; in no other way can the ad- 
 vancement, the improvement, moral and physi- 
 cal, of the people, be accomplished, and the tri- 
 umph of Democracy achieved.
 
 1 66 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 IT is not the subversion of the existing sys- 
 tem, but the elimination of the abuses and 
 defects which render it vulnerable and threaten 
 its continuance, which enlightened Democracy 
 should advocate. There should be no attempt 
 to attack or diminish the legitimate authority 
 of government, but an attempt should be made 
 to point out its inconsistencies and to bring its 
 spirit into harmony with its form. It is not 
 private ownership of property, but its accumu- 
 lation in the hands of the few, to the detriment 
 of the many, that should be condemned. No 
 rights of individuals should be opposed save 
 those ill-conceived ones which are, in fact, 
 infrino-ements on the riajhts of others. No 
 thouo;ht should be more distant than that of 
 assailing the refined, the cultured class. On 
 the contrary, the aim should be to increase this 
 class, till the majority of men are refined and 
 cultured. Lastly, far from exciting the masses
 
 OF THE AGE. 1 67 
 
 to disregard prevailing codes, it should be 
 maintained that all laws, however unjust, re- 
 main laws, and should be respected, till legally 
 repealed. If this be disregarded, anarchy be- 
 comes law. In one word, the people, enjoying 
 supremacy in government, and being entitled 
 to the benefits which that supremacy entails, 
 should use the power which is vested in them 
 — and which allows them to frame the consti- 
 tution under which they are to live — to alter 
 the conditions which unduly favor some and 
 unduly oppress others ; they should require 
 that those regulations, by means of which all 
 the advantages of life are transmitted, for all 
 time, to heirs of a certain class, to the exclusion 
 of all other classes, however intelligent and in- 
 dustrious, be amended ; they should insist that 
 the scope of inheritance and accumulation be 
 restricted, and that of opportunity ex23anded. 
 And in doing this, it will be, not a privilege, 
 but a right, they demand ; it will be, not for 
 mercy, but for justice, they contend. 
 
 Opposition is to be expected. It is natural 
 to resist the withdrawal of privileges long en- 
 joyed. No matter how iniquitous these may be, 
 their possessor will see iniquity only in being 
 deprived thereof. The slave-owner, overlook-
 
 1 68 THE REVOLUTIONARY TENDENCIES 
 
 ing the fact that he was robbing human beings 
 of their freedom, considered himself robbed of 
 his slaves when these were emancipated. No 
 tyrant was ever divested of the power he 
 usurped, without denouncing the act as unjusti- 
 fiable and tyrannical. And so the man of opu- 
 lence who, by various means, has amassed a 
 vast fortune at the expense of others, will pro- 
 test vehemently against having to surrender a 
 portion of his riches. He did not raise his 
 voice against the nefarious methods which en- 
 abled him, or his ancestors, to despoil the com- 
 munity with impunity ; but he will proclaim as 
 unjust the laws which compel restitution ; he 
 will lament the degeneracy of the age, and 
 deplore as inhuman the action which, though all 
 humanity benefit thereby, restrains his grasping 
 propensities, and cries halt to a selfish ambition 
 which recognizes no limits. 
 
 Since times and conditions are changed ; since 
 ignorance — which, in the past, accounted for the 
 lowly position of the mass of men — is rapidly 
 disappearing ; since mental superiority — which, 
 in the early development of society, justified 
 the elevation of the few over the many — is no 
 longer the exclusive boast of a small circle.
 
 OF THE AGE. 169 
 
 but the shining distinction of ever-increasing 
 numbers, by what grace of God, by what right, 
 human or divine, do you, O Favorite of For- 
 tune, lay claim to the Sovereignty of this Earth ? 
 What becomes of your once recognized privilege 
 to lord it over mankind ? What remains of the 
 foundation on which rested the titles to the 
 rich estates you occupy ? You refer to ancient 
 law and ancient custom ; but remember there 
 is no law, no custom, which is not of man's 
 making, and is not subject to man's unmaking. 
 You point to the sacredness of inheritance ; 
 but others will point to its abuses, and ask 
 whether your claims in this respect are more 
 valid than those of certain kings — of Charles 
 of England, of Louis of France — whose exalted 
 pretensions saved neither their thrones nor 
 their heads. You demand the reward of su- 
 perior genius ; but you demand it at the expense 
 of a host of victims, as did the victorious war- 
 rior who, on the ruins of fallen monarchy, built 
 a mighty empire and, laughing at inheritance, 
 proclaimed himself a modern Caesar. Forget 
 not, however, that his vast dominions, con- 
 quered and ruled by his dazzling genius, were 
 wrested from his control ; that his imperial
 
 I/O THE REVOLUTIONARY TEXDEXCIES 
 
 crowD, the most resplendent the world had 
 seen, was exchanged, against his will, for that 
 of a Mediterranean islet; and that, as you 
 will, he rebelled against the substitution of 
 the smaller for the greater realm. He who had 
 ruled over France disdained to rule over the 
 petty island kingdom ; he sighed to reconquer 
 the glories of the past ; to breathe once more 
 the entrancing atmosphere of yore. He sailed, 
 on the ship of Destiny, from Elba to Waterloo ; 
 from Waterloo to St. Helena. There, alas! 
 no crown awaited him ; no sceptre ; no dominion, 
 however small. The sun of Empire had set ; 
 the last shadow of grandeur had vanished. The 
 ambition which knew no limit, the spirit which 
 panted for universal conquest, was confined 
 to a solitary rock in the stormy wastes of the 
 Atlantic. 
 
 Thus ended the career of one who aspired 
 to the sovereignty of the earth. 
 
 Do you, O Money-king, claim a genius more 
 commanding, an influence more weighty, than 
 that of the haughty conqueror of Europe, who 
 had proud princes for courtiers, rich kingdoms 
 for provinces ? Face to face with the superior 
 forces, the paramount rights, of others, to what
 
 OF THE AGE. I/I 
 
 star will you turn, to what power will you 
 appeal, for exemption from a fate whicli at- 
 tended the greatest of mortals ? 
 
 Pause and reflect. 
 
 The choice is yours : Elba or St. Helena ? 
 
 THE END
 
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