r ,^ s^' s « s^ ^ JX^ LI BRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. OIKT OK Received ^dO .1% .iSgX. . A ccessions No . 4^ ^ ^ (i . S/ie/f No. c€* i — >%^ db Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007'with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/echoesofSunsetclOOsunsrich ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB COMPRISING A NUMBER OF THE PAPERS READ, AND ADDRESSES DELIVERED, BEFORE THE SUNSET CLUB OF CHICAGO DURING THE PAST TWO YEARS. Compiled by W. W. CATLIN, CHICAGO, JULY, 1891 J UUJ^ 1^ Howard, Barters & Co., 28 Sherman Street. Chicago. UFIVERSITr] l\* si"* ^S8s(> PREFACE. Through the courtesy of the gentlemen represented here I am per- mitted to present to the public a few of the papers read before the Sunset Club during the past two years— and one or tw^o articles which were pre- pared but. for some reason, not submitted at the Club meetings. With a few exceptions these "'talks " have not been revised at all, ap- pearing here without correction. The general discussions indulged in at the meetings are not given here, because of lack of space to give them in full— and to give them in part would not be satisfactory. On pages 3 to 7 will be found several extracts from an article in The Chicago Herald of April 26, 1891, which will probably be of interest to those readers of this modest volume wiio are not familiar with the aims and ob- jects of the Sunset Club. W. ,W. Catlin. Ill INDEX, A Critique of the Sunset Club. page. Frederic W. Boot. 9 The Duties and Privileges of the Public Press. C. C. Bonney 12 l!f ewspapers ; Their Eights and Duties. ' Slason Thompson 18 The Eights and Duties of the Newspaper Press. James H. Eaymond.-. 23 The Press As It Is. M. M. Trumbull 31 Newspapers ; Their Eights and Duties. Williston Fish 34 What Shall We Do With Our Criminals ? Judge J. P. xVltgeld 37 What Shall We Do With Our Criminals ? Charles E. Felton 45 What Shall We Do With Our Criminals ? Charles II. Ham 51 Party Allegiance. Franklin MacVeagh 55 Party Allegiance. W. W. Catlin 60 Land Taxation, As Proposed By Henry George. Edward O. Brown ". 63 Land Taxation, As Proposed By Henry George. M. L. Scudder 73 Subsidies And The Tariff. Edward S. Taylor 77 Subsidies And The Tariff. Frank II. Scott 82 Nationalism, As Proposed By Edward Bellamy. David B. .Jones 89 Nationalism, As Proposed By Edward Bellamy. Jesse Cox 92 Nationalism, As Proposed By Edward Bellamy. J. Seymour Currey 98 Municipal Control of Heat, Light, Etc. Augustus Jacobson 103 Municipal Control of Heat, Light, Etc. Clarence A. Burley 110 1 INDEX. Municipal Control of Heat, Light, Etc. page- Bronson C. Keeler 115 Our Public School System. Augustus Jacobson 122 Our Public School System. George Howland 126 Our Public School System. H. D. Garrison, M. D 131 The Sunday Question. E. Nelson Blake 138 The Sunday Question. Robt. Lindblom 137 The Sunday Question. Luis Jackson 141 Pensions; Civil and Military. A. C. McClurg 147 Pensions ; Civil and Military. C. C. Bonney ^... 151 The State ; Its Functions and Duties. C. S. Darrow 155 Ttie State ; Its Functions and Duties. I. K. Boyesen 160 The State ; Its Functions and Duties. Geo. A. Schilling 165 The Uses and Abuses of Speculation. George J. Brine : 169 Drones and Parasites. Arthur J. Eddy 175 Drones and Parasites. T. J. Morgan 179 Money and Its Functions. Clinton Furbish 183 Money and Its Functions. Lyman J. Gage 188 Foreign Trade and Reciprocity. Franklin MacVeagh 195 Foreign Trade and Reciprocity. Ransom W. Dunham 200 The Red Flag. Williston Fish 203 The Red Flag. H. D. Lloyd 205 Succession Tax. Cyrus D. Roys 206 Our Jury System ; How Can It Be Improved ? Sigmund Zeisler 210 Our Jury System ; How Can It Be Improved ? I. N. Stiles 217 What Shall We Do With Our Indians ? Franklin II. Head 222 What Shall We Do With Our Indians V D. M. Riordan 227 'TJITI7BIISIT7] "THE NOTED SUNSET CLUB OF CHICAGO," The following extracts are from an article which appeared in The Chi- cago Herald, Sunday, April 26, and are reprinted through the courtesy of the publishers : The -now notable Sunset Club of this city has just completed tlie most successful and profitable season it has experienced since its organization two years ago this spring. Its limited membership of 1,100 is completely filled ; the subjects under discussion have proved of absorbing interest ; the meetings have been largely attended, and as an educational factor the club has grown to exert a most potent influence, that, with each recurring season, is sure to become more powerful and widespread. * * * The object of the Sunset Club has already been outlined. The require- ments for membership are simple : Any genial and tolerant fellow may become a member on approval of the Executive Committee. The pro- gramme pursued by the Club is a dinner every other Thursday at 6:15 o'clock, followed by short talks upon the topic previously announced by the secretary. The only expenses incident to membership are an annual as- sessment of $2 for stationery, printing and the like, and $1.50 for eacli dinner of which the member partakes. NO PRESIDENT, NO PREACHING, NO DUDES. A newspaper wag has termed the Sunset Club " an unprincipled Club " because there is a total lack of rules, regulations, by-laws and a constitu- tion, but after reading the subjoined *• declaration of principles " as form- ulated by " Father " Catlin, this would seem to be a misstatement. They are as follows : No Club House No Accounts No Profanity No Constitution No Defalcations No Fines No Debts No By-Laws No Stealing No Contribution No Stipulations No combines No President No Long Speeches No Parliamentary Rules No Bores No Dress Coats No Personalities No Steward No Late Hours No Dudes No " Encores'' No Perfumed Notes No Mere Formalities THE NOTED SUNSET CLUB OF CHICAGO. No Preaching No Gamblers No Meanness No Dictation No Dead Beats No Vituperation- No Dues No Embezzlers Simply No Litigation From Foreign Retreats Tolerant Discussion And Rational Recreation. While there are no parliamentary rules followed, there are one or two simple rules enjoined from which there can be no appeal. Paramount among these is that which positively prohibits any member from being called upon for a speech. There may be famous guests present at a meet- ing whose views on the subject under discussion would be eagerly heard by the assembled members, but no one may ask the chairman to request any individual in attendance, be he guest or member, for an expression. It may seem discourteous, but the rule was made so that no member might be forced into speaking on a subject with which he was perhaps unfamiliar, yet who might consider himself bound to rise and say something, often irrelevant, thus absorbing much valuable time. After the two leading speakers have attacked the chosen subject from both sides, any member or guest may speak as the spirit moves him, but no one may be selected by the chairman for this purpose. * * * THE NAPOLEON OF THE SUNSETTERS. * * * The duties of the secretary are onerous and are purely a labor of love, for Mr. A. A. McCormick, the present able and popular incumbent of that position, will accept no emoluments, although the Club has repeat- edly offered to make the office a salaried position. But the gentleman is wise enough to see that to accept pay would have a tendency to defeat many of his plans that now redound to the good of the Club. Under the existing circumstances, upon the secretary devolves the en- tire arrangements for each meeting, with the single exception of choosing the subject for discussion, which is in the hands of a committee. * * * The subject being decided upon, the next and most difficult work is to arrange for the speakers who shall discuss both sides of the question. The names of these gentlemen are never announced in advance, so that the members often meet in total ignorance of the identity of the two leaders who are to take part in the discussion, the subject of which has been previously announced. Experience has shown that this plan heightens the curiosity of the members and greatly aids in the interest of the gather- ings. * * * IT TEACHES HUMANITY TO ALL. That its meetings have a wonderfully humanizing effect is certain. When men of pronounced anarchistic and socialistic views, wliose per- sonality is unknown outside their immediate following, but whose names are familiar to every newspaper reader, are seen at the Sunset Club gather- ings, and their more conservative brethren are thus brought in direct con- tact with them and see that, like themselves, these leaders are real human beings, faulty in judgment, mayhap, but terribly in earnest, it engenders a THE NOTED SUNSET CLUB OF CHICAGO. certain respect ,in their hearts that in no other way could have been at- tained. Let any serious trouble arise to-day in Chicago in which men of opposing views are pitted against each other, and a solution of such diffi- culty would be far easier now and in the future than could have been pos- sible prior to the organization of the Sunset Club. * * * PRINCIPLES, NOT PERSONALITIES. Personalities are rarely indulged in at the Sunset Club gatherings. This was never better exemplified than at the meeting when the Ked Flag was the subject of discussion. It was the best attended dinner the Club ever had, and when the discussion was opened an intense feeling was de- veloped, the speakers on both sides showing by their earnestness how deeply they were stirred. And yet throughout the evening not a single personal invective was offered on either side. It was a question of prin- ciples, not persons, and the self-command exhibited by the speakers was most admirable. The effect of the dinner-table talk that precedes the discussions is seen in the broadening charity entertained by the members toward those of opposite faith. This amicable exchange of views is a great educator in many ways ; it provides not only recreation and development but a plat- form that is absolutely unrestricted, save for personal invective. A vote is never taken among the members following a discussion. The sentiment may be as 99 to 1, and yet that solitary member is never made to feel how very lonesome he is in his opinions. If converts to a question are made tlie result is never publicly known. The germs of truth are sown and if they take root and flourish it is well ; the opposition may never realize how badly it is worsted. * * * WHY THE LADIES ARE FRIENDLY TO IT. The Twilight Club of New York (after which the Sunset Club was largely modeled) restricts its speakers to five-minute talks, but the Sun- set has improved on this plan by allowing each leader twenty minutes to present his views, after which a general discussion is invited, each speaker being limited to eight minutes. The dinner is usually over by 7:30; cigars are then lighted; the chairman announces the names of the leading speakers, and promptly at 9:30 the meeting adjourns. By closely adhering to this rule the gatherings never become tedious, nor do the ladies find any objections to a Club that brings its sessions to a close at an hour that permits the members to return home in time for family prayers. * * All sorts and all conditions of men belong to the Sunset Club. An- archists, socialists, single-tax men, democrats, republicans, mugwumps, sons of America, Europe, Asia and Australia, agnostics, athetics, chris- tians and free-thinkers are alike enrolled on its membership list. It is the only Club of the kind in Chicago where all meet on a level. At the dinner tables one may see a learned divine touching elbows with a fervid follower of the red flag, a railroad magnate hobnobbing with a labor agitator, a financial potentate side by side with the lowly clerk. Its discussions have THE NOTED SUNSET CLUB OF CHICAGO. the effect of making the radicals less radical and the conservatives more liberal in their views. It is the broadest organization in the world, and as its founder truthfully observes is " the only Club where men" of the widest, opposite and most radical views meet on the same platform and discuss questions in which they take a vital interest without once displaying any bitterness or descending into personality." WORKING FOR THE GOOD OF THE MAJORITY. The Club never passes resolutions. It aims to discuss living subjects of vital interest to the people, and in this way really performs the work of a citizens' committee. There is no partisanship in the Club; the object is to arrive at what is best for the good of all and the discussions look solely to this end. * * * An idea of what has been discussed by the members of the Sunset Club since its inception may be gained by scanning the titles of a few of the sub- jects over which the Sunsetters have lovingly lingered. A dozen or so are selected and given here: "Speculation, Its Use and Abuses;" "Party Allegiance;" "Single Tax;" "Socialism;" "Anarchy;" "The Sunday Question;" "Our Public School System;" "Newspapers, Their Rights and Duties;" "Subsidies and the Tariff;" "Strikes and Lockouts;" " Pensions, Civil and Military ; " " Ballot Reform ; " " Money and its Func- tions;" "Our Jury System; How Can It Be Improved?" "Municipal Civil Service Reform ; " " Foreign Trade and Reciprocity," and many more of an equally interesting nature. It can be readily seen that not the same set of members are in attendance at each meeting. Different subjects call out different people, and in this way the interest is constantly changing, as the topic attracts or repels the hundreds of members. This is one of the secrets of the Club's success and of its constantly increasing membership. As the founder of the Club so pertinently puts it, '' No man can attend the meetings of the Club for one year without becoming a better citizen, more liberal in his views, a deeper thinker, more tolerant of the judgment of others and more alive to his own weaknesses and defects. It is a grand educator, where men of originality may freely air their views and be cer- tain of a respectful hearing." And to belong to this Club there are no restrictions. In the liumorous language of Secretary McCormick : Any genial man, If he chooses, can, When he pays his dues. Join and air his views. Edmund Clarence Stedman, the poet and critic, speaking of the Sunset Club in a letter to its Secretary, A. A. McCormick, says : "I am impressed by the thoughtful and really significant character of the discussions. The Club is plainly not only an educator in the matter of THE NOTED SUNSET CLUB OF CHICAGO. social intercourse and relaxation, but in the most vital questions and prob- lems of the day." He closes the letter with the following quatrain as a suggestion for a motto for the Club : At set of sun one lone star rules the skies, Night spreads a feast the day's long toil has won: Eat, drink, enough— no more; and speak, ye wise; Speak, but enough— no more, at set of sun I A CRITIQUE OF THE SUNSET CLUB. By FREDERIC W. ROOT. That any one should have the hardihood to take to task the sayings or doings, or omissions, or anything else of a Club that has afforded us so many pleasant liours may seem impossible. But Emerson teaches us to show our friendship for an individual by a certain noble enmity toward him ; so supported by that phase of philosophy, I shall venture to censure the Sunset Club with such severity as shall survive the struggle between my pride in the organization and a stern sense of duty toward it. This censure is not on account of lapses from strict fidelity to that palladium of our rights and immunities, that Magna Charta of our liberties and pleasures, that declaration of independence of dull care and daily routine, that official deliverance in inspired verse beginning : '■No club house, no constitution, No debts, no contribution." Which assures us with poetic fervor that there shall be "no encores." iJfo ; I am not about to chide the club for setting at naught this more or less rhythmical and moderately rhymed instrument, in yielding to the encore of Katlonalism a-la Bellamy, demanded November 21st, and responded to two or three months later. Though the provocation is great, I shall also refrain from characterizing in scathing terms the behavior of the club in talking so loudly during dinner as to disturb the musicians. My forbearance will be appreciated by all who were present upon the evening of the newspaper discussion, when the insistance of the conversa- tionalists was such, that at length the cornet man, who is usually able to drown any amount of conversation, put up his iustrument and went home, a broken and discouraged being. Neither were the talkers moved to greater considerateness by the feline wails of the clarionet which, deserted by its sonorous colleague, redoubled its efforts ; unmoved they beheld the second artist, dispirited by defeat, also depart leaving two violins and a double bass, droning out an impotent protest against the wit and wisdom, which still arose in a genial roar from the dinner tables below. As I have said, it is not this which occasions these criticisms ; I shall take far higher ground from whicli to launch them. My complaint is that woman has been both neglected and maligned at our meetings. That she has been excluded from them is doubtless for her good ; for her lungs are wont to 10 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. rebel at our favorite mixture of one part air to two parts tobacco smoke. Yet her presence would at times be of great advantage to our delibera- tions ; as where questions of tariff turn upon proper protection of hoop- skirts and bustles, articles concerning which her word would be final. (This has no reference to her custom of having the last word, anyway.) The neglect which I refer to is in the persistent refusal of our members to embroil themselves in a discussion of female suffrage, which our chival- rous Secretary has more than once urged upon them. Like an Irishman at the Donnybrook Fair, he has looked forward to a most entertaining " shindy, " and with a view to this, has trailed his coat tails up and down in our midst. But noone would step on them. We have also neglected the fair sex in other ways; as excluding from our program all topics which might in some special degree have her wel- fare as their object; for example: Shall the hired girl boss the houseV or. Where should a man spend his evenings? Now, neglect is bad enough; but the gravamen of my indictment has regard to the guilt of actually maligning woman kind. At the meeting devoted to cranks, there was a grand scramble among the speakers for the honor of being numbered with this species of the human race. No eulog- ium was too glowing for the crank. He was held up as the repository of all the genius and energy of a nation and was exhibited as the main-spring of society. Such revered names as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln were cited among the list of cranks. Now at this meeting where it was so abundantly proven that whoever was not a crank was of an inferior order of being, it was deliberately affirmed that women are not cranks! No one arose to hurl back the calumny, and it has remained for the present writer to do a tardy justice and insist that women are cranks to the full extent that men are. We settled the matter with that definite- ness and finality with which all questions are disposed of in the Sunset Club, that a crank is one who is accustomed to bring all his mental force to a focus upon one point. Dr. Holmes describes the operation of the ordinary mind to be on three planes simultaneously; and illustrates by supposing himself at a reception, where a lady occupies one-third of his mind with topics relative to the feminine toilette, while at the same time, his eye catching sight of a family portrait, another third of his thought criticises the hereditary nose, and all the time the remaining third of his mental machinery is speculat- ing upon whether or no he will be late to his next engagement. Such a mind, possessed by one who calls at your office on business, would compel him to realize all sorts of circumstances tending to regulate the length of his stay, etc. But who does not know how easily a woman who calls on a similar errand can prevent her thouglit from wondering from a single plane or be distracted from her special focus by any such circumstances as a half dozen other people waiting to see you, or periodical inquiries from an employe as to when you will attend to certain matters that are pressing. The fact that your desk may be wiiite with unfinished correspondence or your brow dark with worry and haste neither impedes nor hastens her nar- rative ot what she said to her husband upon some occasion quite uncon- A CRITIQUE OF THE SUNSET CLUB. 11 nected with the business upon which she called, or of her hopes and aspira- tions for her eldest daughter who resides many hundreds of miles from the scene of action. If our members deny that such concentration entitles one to enrollment in the glorious company of the cranks, then the Sunset Club has contributed few recruits to the noble army of the martyrs, and all our elaborate definitions fall with a dull thud. I might multiply sketches from life in support of my claim for justice to woman in this respect. But it is hardly necessary ; for I feel assured that the speakers who denied the honors of crank-hood to the sex, labored under the delusion that they were paying a compliment. Now that I have shown the matter in its true light, doubtless they and all right-minded persons will take my view of it. Such aberrations occasionally occur in the club. Claiming all honor for the crank and then denying the title to those whom we would most honor, was not unlike asking that our Merchant Marine be subsidized, and at the same time advocating a tariff that should discourage Foreign Commerce. THE DUTIES AND PRIVILEGES OF THE PUBLIC PRESS, By HON. C. C. BONNEY. • This is a great subject. A volume would hardly suffice to treat it in all its different aspects and relations. In so brief an article as the present occasion requires, nothing better can be done than to mention or indicate some of the more important principles involved. The Modern Public Press is one of the marvels of the Xew Age. The great newspaper of to-day is one of the most astonishing products of the evolution of free government. It is an outgrowth of free speech. The right to speak with the voice to the ear, involves the right to speak to the eye with the hand, liepressed thought perishes. It is only the thought that is expressed in word or deed, that lives and multiplies, and produces results. To understand the duties and privileges of the Public Press, we must note the foundation on which it rests, and the nature of the service it was created to perform. The Constitution of the United States provides that " Congress shall make no law * * * abridging the freedom of speech or of the Press." [Con. U. S. Amend. I]. In commenting upon this provision, Mr. Justice Story, next to Chief Justice Marshall the most distinguished of American Judges, says : " That this amendment was intended to secure to every citizen, an abso- lute right to speak, or write, or print whatever he might please, without any responsibility, public or private, therefor, is a supposition too wild to be indulged by any reasonable man. "This would be to allow to every citizen a right to destroy at his pleasure the reputation, the peace, the property, and even the personal safety of every other citizen. A man might, out of mere malice and revenge, accuse another of the most infamous crimes ; might excite against him the indignation of all his fellow-citizens, by the most atrocious calum- nies ; might disturb, nay overturn all his domestic peace, and embitter his parental affections ; might inflict the most distressing punishments upon tlie weak, the timid and the innocent ; might prejudice all a man's civil, politi- cal and private rights ; and might stir up sedition, rebellion and treason, 12 THE DUTIES AND PRIVILEGES OF THE PUBLIC PRESS. 13 even against the government itself, in the wantonness of his passions, or the corruption of his heart. '^ Civil society could not go on, under such circumstances. Men would be obliged to resort to private vengeance, to make up for the deficiencies of the law ; and assassinations and savage cruelties would be perpretrated with all the frequency belonging to barbarous and brutal communities." "It is plain, then, that the language of this amendment imports no more than that every man shall have a right to speak, write, and print his opinions upon any subject whatsoever, without any prior restraint, so, always that he does not injure any other person in his rights, property or reputation; and so always, that he does not thereby disturb the public peace, or attempt to subvert the government." It is neither more nor less than an expansion of the great doctrine recently brought into operation in the law of libel, that every man shall he at liberty to publish what is true, with good motives, and for justifiable ends. And with this reasonable limitation, it is not only right in itself, but it is an inestimable privilege in a free government.'''' " Without such a limitation, it might become the scourge of the Repub- lic, first denouncing the principles of liberty, and then by rendering the most virtuous patriots odious through the terrors of the Press, introduce despotism in its worst form." [Story Com. Con. U. S. Sec. 1880]. An emnient English Judge, Mr. Justice Best, in speaking of the liberty of the Press, said : " Where vituperation begiyis, the liberty of the Press ends.''"' [Rex. V. Burdett, 4 B. & A. 95]. Judge Cooley, another distinguished jurist, in commenting on the liberty of the Press, as guaranteed in the Constitutions of the several States, of the Union, says : " The liberty of the Press merely means, the right of publication with- out previous permission from the government, leaving full responsibility for every utterance of a blasphemous, obscene, scandalous, false or mali- cious nature. The liberty is to speak or publish what is not harmful in its character." [Cooley on Constitutional Limitations, 420, 423]. In discussing the liberty of the Press in his standard treatise on the law of Slander and Libel, Mr. Townshend, among many other things to which there is not now space to refer, says : "This freedom or liberty properly understood, means only that for which Milton put forth his eloquent plea," "unlicensed printing." The liberty of the Press consists in printing without any previous license, sub- ject to the consequence of the law. The licentiousness of the Press, is a Pandora's box, the source of every evil. The liberty of the Press is con- nected with natural liberty. The use and liberty of speech were anteced- ent to Magna Charta, and printing is only a more extensive and improved kind of speech. The liberty of the Press, therefore, properly understood, is the personal liberty of the writer to express his thoughts in the more im- proved way invented by human ingenuity, in the form of the Press. The liberty of the Press consists of the right to publish, with impunity, the truth with good motives and for justifiable ends, whether it respects govern- 14 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. ments, magistracy, or individuals." [Townshend on Slander and Libel, Sec. 252, and authorities cited]. Mr. Townshend also says, in the same Section, that " at present the law takes no judicial cognizance of iiewspapers, and independently of certain sta- tutory provisions, the law recognizes no distinction between a publication by the proprietor of a newspaper, and a publication by any other indivi- dual. A newspaper proprietor, he says, is not privileged as such, in the dissemination of news, but is liable for what he publishes in the same manner as any other individual." Elsewhere he says that "criticism may be divided into criticism of persons, and criticism of things. * * * Every action, every- thing one does, is naturally and necessarily the subject of comment. * * * But such comments must be made in good faith, justly and hon- orably. [Ibd, Sec. 254]. But as respects the person , except so far as his personality is necessarily involved in the acts which are the subject of comment, there is no privilege of criticism. * * * ^he essential questions in every case of criticism are : 1. Does the matter upon its face concern a thing ? 2. If it does, was it composed and published in good faith? [Ibd, Sec. 255]. The same writer says : Privileged communications comprehend all statements made in good faith, in the performance of a duty, or with a fair and reasonable purpose of protecting the interest of the person making them, or the interest of the person to whom they are made. [Ibd, Sec. 209 and cases cited]. But while there is a general right to publish a report of judicial pro- ceedings, or of a public meeting, such a report must not include matter which is blasphemous, or defamatory of an individual. [Ibd, Sec. 229, 235]. And the common rule is stated to be that publications of matters pre- judicial to persons seeking employment, credit, or public office, must be limited to those who are interested ; must be relevant to the subject matter, and necessary to be known by the persons in interest for their own protec- tion. [Ibd, Sec. 247]. The doctnne that the law takes no judicial cognizance of newspapers should be distinctly overruled. The doctrine that a privileged publication should be strictly confined to persons directly interested in the subject matter^ should be as distinctly modified. For neither of those doctrines, as above stated, can now be regarded as sound law, because they are irreconcilable with other doctrines of our jurisprudence which are too firmly established to be shaken. Let us first see what the modern public newspaper really is, and what relation it bears to public and private business. It is, first of all, a com- mon gatherer, a common carrier, and a common supplier of news. It is the principal means of information to the people, in relation to prices, pur- chases, sales, and transportation. It is as truly a means and instrument of commerce, internal, inter-state and foreign, as the railroad and the telegraph. THE DUTIES AND PRIVILEGES OF THE PUBLIC PRESS. 15 The Public Press is, at the same time, the principal means of com- munication between the municipal, State and JS'ational governments of the country, and the people of the respective jurisdictions. It is as much an agency of public inter-communication as the Post Office. To say that the conduct of a modern newspaper is merely a private business, is wholly to mis-conceive its relation to private and public affairs. It is universally admitted that the business of carrying persons and prop- erty, whether by stage-coach, canal-boat, railway or steamship, is A public EMPLOYMENT ; of which the law takes judicial cognizance, and to which it affixes certain well-defined duties. The common carrier is compelled to render equal and impartial service, and is forbidden to exact more than a reasonable compensation. He is regarded as contracting with every person whom he undertakes to serve ; and also as bound, by a duty, imposed by the law, to render the proper service. He may be sued by the customer in an action for a breach of that contract, or in another form of suit for a viola- tion of that duty. [Angeli on Carriers, Ch. iv]. The commerce powers of the general government were defined in the Constitution long before the advent of the railway and the telegraph, but when those marvels of inventive genius came into operation, the Supreme Court of the United States held them to be within that power, as instru- ments and agencies of trade and commerce. In the Florida Telegraph Case, 96 U. S. R. 9, the court says: The powers granted by the Constitution to Congress, are not confined to tlie in- strumentalities and service " known or in use when the Constitution was adopted, hut they keep pace with the progress of the country^ and adapt them- selves to the new developments of time and circumstances. They extend from the horse with its rider to the stage-coach, from the sailing-vessel to the steamship, from the coach and the steamboat to the railroad, and from the railroad to the telegraph, as these new agencies are successively brought into use, to meet the increasing demands of increasing population and wealtli. * * * r|^Y^Q electric telegraph marks an epoch in the progress of the time. * * * It has changed the habits of busi- ness, and become one of the necessities of commerce. * * * Goods are sold and money paid on telegraphic orders. Contracts are made by telegraphic correspondence, cargoes secured, and the movements of ships directed. The telegraphic announcements of the markets abroad, regulate prices at home. * * * xhe telegraph is not only im- portant to the people, but also to the government, by which the depart- ments at Washington are kept in close communication with their various agencies at home and abroad." Turning from these views of the Supreme Court in relation to the tele- graph to the modern newspaper, we readily see how^ largely each depends upon the other. The news collected by the telegraph ^from all parts of the world, is, for the most part, distributed to the people by the Public Press. A thousandfold more are contracts, sales and purchases made ; affairs arranged, journeys taken, and relations extended, limited, or modified, on the news furnished from day to day by the Public Press, than on direct telegraphic communications between the parties. That the telegraph is a 16 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. public agency we agree ; that the Press is even more a public agency of commerce and government, cannot be successfully denied. But another important consideration demands attention. The Public Press is within the leading doctrines of the Granger Cases, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1876. In Munn v. Illinois, 94 U. S. 113, the court held a grain warehouse to be a thing of .public interest and use, and as such, subject to public regulation. The court says : " When private property is devoted to public use, it becomes subject to public regu- lation. * * * It is not a matter of any moment that no exact precedent can be found. * * * The power to regulate common carriers rests upon the doctrine that they exercise a sort of public office. * * * Such regulation is proper, whenever a calling affects the pub- lic interest, or private property is employed in a manner which directly affects the body of the people." [Ibd, 128-133]. That the calling of publishing a newspaper affects the public interest, more than keeping a warehouse, is a self-evident proposition. The news- paper is, therefore, not merely private property, but is a public agency ; and he who controls and directs it exercises " a sort of public office." The commercial unity of the country is another important element to be considered in arriving at a just conclusion on the merits of the case. It is a false assumption that a producer or merchant of one class, is not inter- ested in the affairs of any other. The success or failure of any branch of production or trade, is universally known to exercise a powerful influence on every other. Hence, every merchant, manufacturer or producer in the country, has a sufficient interest in all branches of business in which the people are engaged, to render it entirely proper to report through the Pub- lic Press, from day to day, the events of the business world, including finan- cial failures, and new business arrangements. Of course mistakes will sometimes occur, in the use of every human instrumentality, and when they do happen, notwithstanding a high degree of diligence, substantial justice can be done, by a prompt and conspicuous explanation and correction of the error. A false statement made with malice or from gross negligence, should be severely punished, and the utmost possible reparation be com- pelled. The Duties and Privileges of the Modern Public Press, are therefore, briefly as follows : 1. It is the duty of the Press to exercise its public office of collecting and distributing useful information, with the utmost diligence, fidelity and zeal. 2. It is the duty of the Press to confine its work to the publication of what is true, and may be printed with good motives and for justifiable ends. 3. It is the duty of the Press actively and earnestly to defend, protect and advance the general welfare ; and to act with justice and equity toward all persons and interests. 4. It is the duty of the Press to take extraordinary pains to guard against the publication of false or erroneous statements ; and if still acci- dentally made, to correct them as soon as discovered, in the most conspicu- ous efficacious manner. THE DUTIES AND PRIVILEGES OF THE PUBLIC PRESS. 17 5. It is a privilege of the Press, to print such information as the gen- eral welfare of the People may, from time to time require. 6. It is a privilege of the Press to comment upon measures and events, and in a just and honorable spirit to criticise the same. 7. It is a privilege of the Press to be protected by the law in the per- formance of its important duties, being liable in damages for any violation thereof. 8. It is a privilege of the Press to be regarded under the law, as a public officer and servant, entitled to just protection and respect ; and liable for any wilful or grossly negligent publication of any false, scandalous or defamatory matter. It is as already mentioned, a difficult task to deal with so great a subject in so small a space, and many important considerations must necessarily be left without mention on this occasion. In conclusion it may be said that the law of the newspaper will not rest where it now stands. Its evolution will proceed with accelerated force, and the time will come when the rights, duties, liabilities and privileges of the Public Press will be as clearly defined, as well understood, and as effi- ciently regulated, as are those of that other public servant, the comnaon carrier. NEWSPAPERS; THEIR RIGHTS AND DUTIES, By SLASON THOMPSON. It is the ungrateful fashion of the hour to rail against the daily News- paper. Wherever two or three men are gathered together, — whether on the street, at the club, or in the saloon, — the faults of the Press are an un- failing subject for raillery, criticism, and condemnation. Millionaire, monopolist, and professional anarchist raise their voices in unaccustomed harmony as each berates it for pandering to the interests of the other. There is an incongruous concord in the epithets they fling at the " Dema- gogue Press " and the " Capitalistic Press. " It is represented as the tyrant of this age which doth bestride the world like an irresponsible colossus ; the fecuntl child of the father of lies multiplying mendacity with electricity, steam, and perfecting presses; the heartless inquisitor into the sacred privacy of the living ; the ghoul that respects not the cherished memories of the dead. So general is this sweeping and indiscriminate arraignment of the Press by the people who talk and write, not for publication, that I think it is fair to assume that there is a conspiracy to destroy the influence of the Press for good, to which I think a great many good people are unwittingly accessory. It is easy to understand why the evil-doer should rail against the daily Newspaper. He dreads its eternal vigilance in pursuit of news a hundred-fold more than he does the bull's eye of those guardians of peace, of whom the legend runs *' we never sleep." Neither is it difficult to account for the unconcealed contempt in which criminal corporations, their managers, attorneys, and agents hold the daily Press. Without its garrulous watchfulness the way for greedy schemes at public expense would be greased by ignorance, and the price of public officials would be cheap through the removal of the costly risk of detection. We have not far to go to lay the finger of exposure on the reason why all things selfish, all things sordid, all things petty, mean, and of bad report, belie, belittle, and berate the Press. They belong to that great sec- tion of humanity that loves darkness and hates tlie light. Nor does it give us of the Press any very deep concern that every criminal that walks the streets unwhipped of justice, every lawyer who fattens upon liis ability to make the worse appear the better reason ; every quack who practices upon NEWSPAPERS; THEIR RIGHTS AND DUTIES. 19 the immutable gullibility of mankind, every merchant who prospers upon false weight, short measure, and misrepresented quality ; every capitalist who grinds the face of industry, every politician who steals the thunder of patriotism to further his schemes of personal spoliation ; every pharisee of literature who sells his delusive word-castles for what they will bring ; every indolent huckster in theories who teaches that man was not born to eat his bread in the sweat of his face — in short, it matters little that these and their entire kind join in the hue and cry against the Press. Its high- est honor is their blame ; it should begin to suspect itself if it won their praise. But it is a matter of the deepest concern to the Press and of infinitely deeper concern to the community, if to the snarling chorus of crime, greed, *and phariseeism, there is added justly or unjustly the condemnation of honest, unselfish, and unbiased intelligence. The belief that as a general rule the average Newspaper of to-day does not transgress the limits of its rights any more than it is in human nature to o'erstep that which is not definitely forbidden, brings me to consider what are the rights of a ]!^ewspaper. These I take first and foremost to be a faithful record of, and a fair commentary on, the happenings of yester- day, nothing extenuating, setting down naught in malice. This may per- haps be more properly termed the purpose of a Newspaper than its right. But with this end in view comes the right to treat the brief abstract of yesterday's doings, so that it will attract the most attention to-day and leave the most vivid impression for to-morrow. And here is where the much maligned element of sensationalism comes in. Some kind of sensa- tionalism is as necessary to the life of a Newspaper, as courage to a soldier, beauty to a woman, or power to motion. Without causing some kind of sensation in the minds of its readers every day, the daily Newspaper be- comes stale and flat to its readers and unprofitable to its proprietors. In its character as a chronicler of daily life the Newspaper is like unto a history and it must not permit the necessity for sensation to pervert history. It therefore seeks out those happenings which, the experience of mankind has taught, attract the most general attention of mankind. We of the Press are constantly confronted with the daily accusation and proof that newspapers give up a disproportionately large share of space to the dark and seamy side of life. Crimes, famines, plagues, pestilences, man's barbarity, and woman's' frailties, jostle each othei for space and prece- dence in the columns of our most " highly esteemed contemporaries ;" while as general rule accounts of the doings of the virtuous, healthy, and happy are thrust into out-of-the-way corners or entirely omitted. But here again it is the sensation which any given event will create that governs its im- portance in the editor's mind. Let any discovery of science, any deed of heroism, any gift of charity, any convention of clergy, any achievement of genius, become in any way a phenomenon, likely to appeal to the general craving for something new, and the editor will turn with thankful avidity from the sensations of darkness and crime to those of sweetness and light. For the benefit of that profession which dwells most bitterly upon the un- limited space devoted to base-ball, prize-fights, and horse racing in the 20 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. Newspapers compared with the brief mention of sermons and the doings of the clergy, I would recall a couple of verses from the ISew Testament, which aie often cited for another lesson tliey teach. Christ was criticized by tlie Pharisees and scribes for receiving and eating with publicans and sinners, and he spake unto them in this parable : " What man of you having a hundred sheep, and having lost one of them doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness and go after that w^hich is lost until he find it ? And wiien he hath found it he layeth it on his shoulders rejoicing. And when he cometh home he calleth together his friends and his neighbors, saying unto them, Kejoice with me for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you that even so there shall be joy in Heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over the ninety and nine righteous persons w^hich need no repentance." Tlie point of this, as likewise of tlie parable of the w^oman and the ten pieces of silver, lies in the application. It is always the thing which is lost, or about which there is doubt, chance, or surprise, that attracts the attention of men as of angels. We take a very mild interest in the millions that travel safely by land and sea, but let a train run over an embankment, or a ship founder in mid-ocean, and the eyes of the w^orld devour with startled eagerness the details of the horror. Why ? Because it creates a sensation and not because to the great world of readers the wreck of a train or the loss of a ship makes much more difference than the fall of a sparrow, or the sinking of a pebble. But I suppose the greatest difference of opinion between the publish- ers of Newspapers and the critics exists over the right of New^spapers to ransack the earth, to drag family-skeletons from their closets, to invade the privacy of homes, and push the inquisition of the interview into the affairs of individuals in the unceasing search for sensation. It may be difficult to define where the rights of the public to information, and of the individual to privacy begin and end; but it is understood and acted upon in every Newspaper office in this country every day in the week, and every hour of the day. And with all respect to the criticism, mostly inspired by the agonies of galled jades, I think the wonder is not that the right is abused, but that it is so seldom abused. Of course, we can all recall in- stances where gross injustice has been done by the Paul Pryism of the Press, but the rights of the public have to be governed by the broad prin- ciples of universal good and not by the hardships, or even the heartbreaks of particular cases. Eestrict the right of the Newspaper to follow virtue into its santuary and you cannot commission it to track crime into its secret haunts. Forbid the reporter to enter the drawing-room of the rich, the office of the lawyer, or the study of the learned in pursuit of information, aye, even of gossip, and j^ou cannot authorize him to search the tenements of the poor, or the back alleys of vice for the relief of the distressed, or the detection of guilt. Liberty of inquiry and investigation is necessary to the full exercise of the highest office of the Newspaper — the exposure of all manner of public rascality and rapacity. It is this tliat makes it a terror to bad and designing men who systematically foster tlie idea, derived from a legal axiom, that it is better that ninety and nine knaves should escape NEWSPAPERS; THEIR RIGHTS AND DUTIES. 21 exposure than that the private feelings of one honest citizen should be dis- turbed by seeing his name in print. I admit that the daily Newspaper is in some respects a vast clearing- house of worthless gossip, but so long as this gossip is free from scurrility and free from malice, little if any harm is done. All history that is not taken up with the rise and fall of dynasties in blood, intrigue, and infamy, or with the dry narration of human progress, is gossip ; and it is through this gossip that we derive our truest notions of the manners, lives, and characters of our ancestors. In, the State of Illinois the rights of Newspapers are defined and limited by a law which, if justly administered in the courts, w^ould be ample pro- tection to them and every citizen. Broadly, their right is to tell the truth under all circumstances, where the community is to be served, avoiding malice, falsehood, and gratuitous scandals. As for the duties of Newspapers I believe they are coextensive with their rights. They should be conducted as quasi-public institutions, with temperance, boldness, and truth, for their guiding principles. Any pub- lisher who looks on his Newspaper as a private enterprise to be conducted merely as a sew^er for the world's filthiest news and as a purveyor of corrupt, sordid, and hypocritical opinions— because it pays to conduct such a Newspaper — is a public enemy. And every citizen who as a subscriber Or advertiser patronizes such a Newspaper is particeps criminis. Let there be no mistake about this. The publisher of such a Newspaper has the excuse that in a corrupted wx)rld filth and falsehood pay. If there were no mar- ket for his tainted and damaged goods he would reform. But to one accusation involving the motives or probity of a publisher, you have a thousand charging Newspapers with an absolute incapacity for telling the truth. The old saw that " All men are liars," has been revised to read " All Newspapers are liars." From ex-President Cleveland and the ex-Minister to St. James down to the lowest pimp that rails against the liberty of un- licensed printing, the alleged mendacity of the Press is a by-word. Now one of the first duties of the Newspaper is to Tell the Truth. It is a duty enjoined by law and established by expediency. From the youngest reporter up to the editor-in-chief, all the members of the Newspaper staff are impressed with the necessity for accuracy of information and state- ment. You may smile your incredulity. But it is the truthful reporter that wins the confidence of his chief, and it is the accurate editor who comes to be relied on by the publisher and by the public. There is no place in the w orld where veracity commands a higher premium and mendacity is at a more general discount than in a Newspaper office. No man can get on in tliis business whose reports whether of a horse race or a transit of Venus takes liberties with the fractions of time or truth. To any one practically conversant with the difliculties of obtaining accurate accounts of the most common place event, the general truthfulness of the reports in the News- paper excites admiration and not mistrust. Do you realize that no two men ever see the same thing from the same point of view ? The base line of vision in no two men is precisely alike. No two meii hear the same thing in the same way. No two stenographic reporters take down the same 22 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. thing with the same signs, and no two men transcribe their notes without variations. I do not believe that any two men in this liall lieard my last sentence in identically the same words and tone in which it was uttered. I know, no man is able to write his own thoughts on paper as he thinks them, and the law libraries of the land are glutted with decisions of courts try- ing to construe documents to give effect to the real intentions of granters, lessors, testators, etc., etc., all set out with the expensive verbiage of the ablest lawyers in the world. And so I am amazed at the general truthful- ness of hurried Newspaper writing, rather than distressed over its occa- sional misstatements. Of course, I do not pretend to defend or excuse the wilful misrepresentations of party organs, or of editorial controversialists. These must be charged up to the debasing tendency of politics and the general cussedness of human nature, which is the same in the editor of a country Newspaper, as in a John Milton, a Sam Johnson, or a Lord Mac- aulay. Briefly put the right of a Newspaper is to get and print all the news, and its duty is to please, instruct, and increase its readers. THE RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF THE NEWSPAPER PRESS. By JAMES H. RAYMOND. " i hold every man a debtor to his profession from "the which, as men, of course they seek to Receive " countenance and profit ; so ought they of duty to " endeavor themselves by way of amends to be a help " and ornament thereto." Bacon—Maxims of the Law— Preface. Newspapers seldom make apologies and never make decent ones. I shall, without apology, follow their practice in saying just what I please, though I utterly disregard them as ensamples in two respects ; first I write with an individual responsibility for what I say, and second, I shall endea- vor to be true to my conscience and to the facts. There is in this country a small and, in a small degree, an eminently respectable "Independent Newspaper Press," as to which some of the' remarks to be made, concerning criticism of public men and measures, do not justly apply ; but that Independent Press is so culpable in its sensa- tional publication of crimes and casualties, and in its unmerciful dealings with personal characters and private reputations, as to make it not at all worth while to stop in the discussion, as it proceeds, to note such excep- tions. I am to deal with some of the rights and duties of the Newspaper Press which, so far as I need to note, is bound by a queue of unintelligent labor to the patronage strings of one or the other of the political parties. Every branch of this subject should, in review^sand in public addresses, be treated only from the standpoint of tlie true interests of the public. The public has no concern with the question now being debated in caustic print, whether the Newspaper or the Periodical Press uses the better gram- mar and the better rhetoric, nor with the present struggles for place and patronage between the Newspaper, the periodical, the religious, the literary, the trade and the hybrid publications ; nor has the public any interest in the questions of etiquette and professional courtesy between proprietors, edi- 23 24 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. tors and reporters, if indeed the shadow of such a thing exists. Even the intense warfare now going on between editors to obtain office, or rather— for such has been the complexion of the matter for the last few months of the present national administration — the villifying struggles of editors to prevent rival editors from obtaining office, has no engaging interest to the public, specially when these matters are compared with the tryanny, abso- lute, practically irresponsible, cruel and, in morals, criminal, now being exercised by the Newspaper Press upon three certain lines in which the nation, each state, each community and every individual is directly or in- directly and most interestedly concerned. The Newspaper Press needs no adulation as to its mechanical achieve- ments, its diffusion of knowledge, its expositions of the status of society and civilization, its educational influences upon the masses, or its checks upon designing men and pernicious measures. It sits upon a throne of imperial power, but as a rule, whenever an opportunity for gain from the baser portion of the populace is presented, it rises from the throne of its power and points a two-edged sword against the defenceless breast of any man or measure, with a remorseless energy and, as yet, an irresistible fury. And I think I am not overstating the case in saying that there is a solemn demand from the high chancery of Heaven, in behalf of the liberties of the people, that this sword shall be forever sheathed and that this throne shall be destroyed so far as this advertising usurper may exercise any tyranny over morals or measures, or men. Nor am I overstating the case in saying that the preservation of the inalienable rights to life, to liberty and to the pursuit of happiness has come, in these latter days, to be, for the future, dependent upon an abso- lute destruction, either by statute law, or by public sentiment or by both, of this as yet unpunishable tyranny. The three respects in which this tyranny is universally exercised, from the rising to the setting of tlie sun, and from the proprietor and managing editor to the police reporter, to which public attention should perhaps be specially directed, are in : First. Its criticisms of proposed public measures, its criticisms of pub- lic officers and its attempted dictation of political appointments. Second. Its sensational publication of crimes, misdemeanors and casualties, and Third. Its utter indifference to personal character and to the value and sacredness of private reputations. To these considerations let the discussion be confined. That a dangerous, absolute and practically irresponsible tyranny, in these respects is now being exercised by the Newspaper Press— dangerous alike to personal peace and to the public weal— let him deny who has the temerity to do so. It is quite sufficient for proof to appeal to the common judgment that it has become quite wholesome advice, never reply, much less to antagonize, any statement in a Newspaper, even though written by the most evil-minded and malicious street reporter, unless you own, control or edit a paper having substantially the same circulation. When in the litany the priest says, " From all evil, sedition and privy conspiracy," good THE RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF THE NEWSPAPER PRESS. 25 men and true reply " Good Lord deliver us," they, in this country, have principal reference, if it be not a thoughtless prayer, to the Newspaper Press. In this "cwt bono^^ stage of the development of our beloved country we can not stop to consider the causes which have produced this irre- sponsible tyranny. They will be accurately stated by the future historian, but we must, as a matter of self preservation, stop to consider the cir- cumstances which now confront us, for they constitute a public disease for which radical remedies must be devised and immediately administered. Attempting to name some of the symptoms, I shall suggest three pre- scriptions and shall leave it for others to prescribe the rest of the remedies. First, as to the treatment by the Newspaper Press of proposed public measures, and as to its criticism of public officers and its assumed dicta- tion of political appointments. I venture to assert- 1st — that except as to local offices* the Newspapers have not in recent years secured the election of any man to office ex- cept by virtue of a sudden spirit of spleen and scandal upon the eve of an election ; 2nd— that in forty years there has not appeared in a Daily News- paper, having a large circulation, an honest and impartial criticism or review of any public measure proposed by a member of the opposite politi- cal party ; 3rd— that their criticisms of public officers are dictated and wholly inspired by party politics, and are always personally unjust, poison- ing the public mind, to the utmost of ability and opportunity, concerning the character, record and acts of officeholders, high and low, of an oppos- ing political faith, without any reference to propriety, to personal rights or to the principle of humanity ; and 4th— that the recommendations of the Newspaper Press pro and con of persons to be elected, or appointed to office, are almost altogether based either upon the personal relations of the managing editor to the candidates or upon pay, to be made either in patron- age or in money. This is a severe indictment ; but is it not a " true bill?" If it is, then are we not justified in saying of the political part of the Newspaper Press, that it is a blackmailer of persons and an iconoclast as to the peculiar in- stitutions of our republican government? Is it not true that fear of the unprincipled methods and publications of the Press, prevents many of our best qualified citizens from becoming candidates for offices of public trust and honor? If that be so, then the present license of the New^spaper Press (I will not debase the word liberty by using it in this connection) has be- come an unmitigated evil, requiring radical talk and radical remedies, and, as to which, talk about corruption in practical politics (which it, to a con- siderable extent, is responsible for) and talk about civil service reform seem quite pedantic. II. In dealing with the publication of sensational reports of crimes, misdemeanors and casualties we come to a more qualified subject. Tlie darkest side of humanity, the brutal cruelties of prisons, alms houses and asylums, and the real places for the exercise of charity, mercy ♦Citizens' movements sometimes, even in large cities, make Newspapers " deal justly and love mercy" and tlxrougb them consummate temporary reforms, 26 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. and loving kindness, (only partially, yet strongly, depicted by Dickens and others), would not be known by the well-to-do and the well disposed, ex- cept for the publication by the Newspaper Press of crimes, misdemeanors and casualties. Ignorance of these matters does not promote charity or virtue, for charity and virtue are the fruits of the tree of knowledge. To shut the public eyes to all that is cruel and criminal would increase crime, would stop all reform in penal and reformatory methods and institutions, and would prevent most of the deeds, now being performed, of charity and true beneficence. I do deplore the impudence of Newspaper reporters which does not respect distress or even death, and which, on the slightest chance of obtain- ing "a scoop," will eagerly violate ev^ry conventionality of society and every private sentiment. We must admit, however, that the detective work which Newspaper reporters have arrogated to themselves, and have, in important cases, well performed, has resulted in tracking crime to its haunts, in calling public officers to the performance of their duty, and in giving to the public information concerning crime and the ways of crimi- nals, which information, is absolutely necessary to an honest public senti- ment, to personal protection and to an intelligent exercise of charity. Notwithstanding all this, it remains that this detective work and the resulting information concerning the permutations of crime, is used by the Newspaper Press of to-day for mercenary ends, in a merciless manner, with sensational headlines and is so clothed in reportorial language of imagery and rhetoric, as to practically defeat that which should be the ob- ject of the Press in this regard. Casualties are magnified to keep railroad companies and others in fear. The ordinary acts of the most depraved are made to occupy prominent space. A stream of criminal filth, which in no sense contributes even in the slightest degree to public reforms or to pub- lic charity, is poured through the daily Press, which should, by secluded channels, pass through the private records ol; the constable's office " to the sea which never gives up its dead." It is the habit of some Metropolitan Newspapers (all busy people wish it was an universal habit), to print in short paragraphs upon the first or upon the editorial page a summary of the news of each issue. An exami- nation made under my direction shows that of these items in one of the best of American Newspapers, having one of the largest circulations, 26.2 per cent, were of individual murders, suicides and incendiaries of the most ordinary kind, the publication of which could not add anything to public knowledge, charity or reform. Turning from the summary to the body of the paper, we find that the reports from this ever present army of reportor- ial detectives of this debasing stuff, occupies a still larger percentage of the print. But there is a still more serious side of still greater public concern to this branch of the subject. The law of suggestion and imitation in crime has been abundantly established.* As the savage of Australia, even Avhen partially civilized, fears to walk behind you, so great is his propensity to *For many instances and some good inductive reasoning see " Madness and Murder' by W. A. Hammond, M. D., No. Am. Review, vol. H7, p. 6:^6. THE RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF THE NEWSPAPER PRESS. 27 kill tlie defenceless, so the depraved and the desperate of the most civilized communities need but the suggestion of the Newspapers to imitate the crimes which every issue of every Newspaper now makes for them easy and attractive reading. In these days of anarchism, socialism and dynamite, with the resulting decrease in protection to life and property, this fulsome pub- lication the next morning of every accident, crime and misdemeanor is a matter of mighty public concern ; and I repeat under this head also, that we are here confronted with a matter of immediate and universal import- ance to personal peace and to the public weal. So far as I have noted, only two apologies have come from the ranks of the fraternity. The first is in substance this, and I quote* from an able and prominent editor, giving also, for it is in point and well said, the pre- face to his apology. His preface is : "It is one thing to report and describe crime for the purpose of legiti- mate knowledge, and quite another thing to set it out with sensational embellishment for the purpose of gratifying an ignoble taste for scandal, a morbid love of horrors or a corrui:j^i"g passion for the details of impurity. The sin of the Press against good morals and good taste in these matters is great and widespread." His apology is that editors : "Employ that method, not because they like it, for they would prefer to observe the proprieties of life. So long as the demand for such News- papers exists, the people at large must divide with the proprietors and editors of these journals the opprobrium and the responsibility of their offence. The Newspapers which offend against decency and morality, de- serve the heaviest condemnation of society ; but so also do those who buy and read them. They are partners in their guilt and offensiveness." The speciousness, not to say the meanness, of this argument is shown in the other apology w^hich, for each owner and editor says, " I must do it and do do it because every other owner and editor does it." So universal is this evil that it is impossible for the reader by purchases to discriminate in favor of public decency and public morality. Where, then, is the justice in the attempt to divide the responsibility for this de- plorable and dangerous condition between the Newspapers and the public? I shall dismiss this part of the subject with the remarks (1) that the responsibility is nov7 entirely with the Newspapers ; (2) that no voluntary correction is to be expected by them, and (3) that some radical remedies of self protection should be devised and applied by right thinking people, and be put into operation without unnecessary delay. III. Page upon page and book upon book, would not suffice to give a comprehensive understanding of the tyranny, which for years has been exercised by the Newspaper Press over any individual character or reputa- tion which its caprice selects for attack. If an army of men were to patrol this whole country and to relate the stories of ruined reputations, resulting from the reckless tyranny of Newspapers, the half would not be told. Every man and woman stands as in a clearing of small radius in the woods, from the circumference of which a circle of deadly guns are pointed, held by Newspaper reporters who are skulking behind trees. The guns are *Proc, NfJ-tional Prison Congress, 1886; p. 145. 28 - ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. loaded to kill, and from the circumference are never pointed to defend. If, as sometimes happens, in the case of an individual friend or a political favorite, an editor steps to the center to defend the innocent individual, then the fusilade is greater than before, and as a rule the individual thereby becomes the greater sufferer. Instances of unjust and unwarranted aspersions, by innuendo or other- wise, upon private characters and personal reputations are almost as fre- quent as the issues of a Daily Press ; and the worst of it is, that the indivi- dual never has a complete remedy, no matter how complete his subsequent vindication may be. The public has been educated in the false belief that an attack by the Press upon an individual, means a greater or less degree of corruption or other badness in the individual, and nothing can com- pletely wipe out the stain left by the attack, even though it be never so un- warranted and merciless. A single illustration of an actual instance, which illustration is not strained or an exception, will suffice. A depraved woman attempts to blackmail an upright minister of the gospel. The Newspaper scavengers get hold of it. The managing Editor of a Metropolitan Daily deputizes a brilliant reporter to investigate and write it up, wliich means that if the reporter can make up a sensational report at the expense of tlie minister without involving the paper in damages for libel, he is so to do. The reporter spends a week in gathering material, and on the night before the morning when the paper is to issue and after several columns of culumny have been set up, lie admits to me that his investigation demon- strated to him the absolute innocence of the man charged, and he gloated over the fact that his report would be fuller and stronger than the other contemporaneous reports in the other morning papers. A subsequent quasi apology by this Newspaper, and subsequent complete acquittal by every ecclesiastical authority and also by the civil courts, but slightly availed to right the wrong done. Having every opportunity to judge during an ac- quaintance of many years, I have not the slightest distrust as to the inno- cence of this minister, but, though now fully trusted, respected and followed by his parishioners, his life is shadowed and its usefulness seriously impaired by an inexcusable and devilish attack, the like of which is of daily occurrence in the Newspaper Press. Nor is any one free from liability to such attacks, be the foundation therefor, or the provocation thereto, small or great. Burns' warning is worth repeating : " Hear, land o' cakes and brither Scots " Frae Maiden Kirk to Johnny Groats, " If there's a hole in a' your coats "I red ye tent it; " A chiel's amang you taking notes, "And, faith, he'll prent it." Though without any personal cause therefor, I have been for many years possessed by an intense indignation at the attitude of the Newspaper Press toward all individuals, whether humble or prominent ; and when we remember that individuals make up the public, we must at least sympathize with him who wrote of Newspaper editors and reporters, in their attitude THE RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF THE NEWSPAPER PRESS. 29 toward, or rather their recklessness concerning, personal reputations as " vipers whose treacherous fangs sting the hands that feed them." Acknowledging the value, importance and necessity of the Kewspaper Press ; acknowledging that, with all its tyranny and mendacity, it is a per- manent institution which, whenproperly regulated, will produce only good, and great good, and not expecting a perfect regulation which shall eradi- cate all error and injustice ; and even, for its and our own comfort, ac- knowledging, as all must, that our present civilization and our present state of progress in all sciences and arts, would not have been attainable without its contributions, yet, without possibility of cavil or contradiction, it remains that in its treatment of public men and measures, of crimes, casualties and misdemeanors, and of any person who may give slight op- portunity for its onslaught, it has been for years, and now is, merciless and mercenary, occupying an usurped throne of tyranny which threatens alike the peace of all honest people and the preservation of popular government. But to the present remedies : First. If these conclusions be in substance correct, " Let the people say Amen " upon every possible occasion ; then fear and favor will work wonderful reforms. Second. The recently enacted- state statutes prohibiting the publica- tion of the details of capital punishments, constitute but an entering wedge to further, proper and legal enactments limiting the publication of crimes, misdemeanors and casualties, the limitations of which further enactments cannot here even be suggested. It is, however, plain that this part of the present evil needs, and can only be cured by legislative action; but. Third. I apprehend that, by law, taking out of all public prints the impersonal, cowardly " we," will be the next step and a long step, and in all respects, a right step toward the goal of deliverance. Among themselves the moral responsibility for what is published con- cerning public men and measures, crimes and individual concerns ought not to be carelessly divided between the street reporters, the city editor, the night editor, the managing editor, the publisher and the proprietor.* The impersonality of Newspaper publications is cowardly and an in- centive to viciousness. Let me indicate a long argument by simply saying that, having in mind as much of the literature upon this proposed remedy as I have recently had access to, I have " interviewed " Newspaper owners and edi- tors on the question. " "Why should not everything (excepting impersonal editorials, but including criminal reports) be signed first by the initials of the writer and again by the initials of the superior, if there be one, who authorizes the publication?" The most sensible, logical and business re- ply Ihave received was in substance this : " Oh, that must not be, for then we would not dare to be as severe as we are now ; and further, there is no scale of prices for editorial or reportorial work on Newspapers, and if the authorship was in every case known, the writer and not the paper would *See Anonymous Journalism, etc., by Judge Altgeld, Belford's Mag., Vol, III, p. 708. 30 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. get the benefit, for then he would be able to command the real market value of his brains. The probable reason why there is not a great national strike on the part of all Newspaper editors and reporters for the privilege of printing at least their initials at the end of all their productions is, that they would not dare to put them there. The premise, the argument and the conclusions I hope are apparent. I must reluctantly close my plea in behalf of public morals and of personal reputations by charging home upon the Newspaper Press the greater responsibility for unfairness and impurity in politics, a partial responsibil- ity for the present extent of crimes and immorality, and a meanness and mendacity concerning personal reputations which lias never had a parallel in the list of public evils. Then let the people be valiant to so say, let the sensational publication of crimes be stopped by law, let the writer be held responsible for, and ob- tain the benefits of what he writes, and let it be made a criminal offense to publicly attack private character, except under circumstances which demand it for some specific public purpose. THE PRESS AS IT IS. By general M. M. TRUMBULL. The address of Mr. Slason Thompson, editor of America, to the " Sunset Club " last Thursday evening, was a strong and eloquent plea for the modern Newspaper as a truthful chronicler of events, an honest advo- cate and critic of measures and men, the incorruptible censor of wrong- doers and wrong, the scourge of the guilty, the defender of the innocent ; a moral guide whose end is : " To hold, as 't were, the mirror up to nature ; to show virtue her own feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time, his form and pressure." This was not the exact language of Mr. Thompson, but substantially it answers very nearly the description he gave of the Daily Newspaper of our time. There was not a man at the banquet who did not feel that Mr. Thomp- son was defending an Ideal Press, the Newspaper as he would like to have it, not the Newspaper as it actually is ; a Newspaper which, as he himself portrayed it, " shall publish a fair record of the happenings of yesterday, with a fair commentary on them ; and that shall extenuate nothing, nor set down aught in malice." That good character came from the higher ethics of the Press. It does not fit the Newspaper of the present, but of the future. Let us hope that Mr. Thompson may live long enough to see such a Daily Newspaper as he issued from his imagination and presented to the Sunset Club. By way of contrast, will Mr. Thompson kindly look at the picture of a real Newspaper exhibited for public scorn in the columns of America, July 18th, 1889. The Newspaper exposed by America formerly existed in Chicago, and still exists here under the same name, but under different management. The story of its mercenary, cold, and heartless methods is told by a lady who for several years was a writer for the paper. It is fasci- nating in its picturesque details of editorial cruelty and greed. After showing us a glimpse of the libel factory whose business it was to blast the reputation of men, to break the hearts of women, and to till innocent homes with agony, the lady says : 31 32 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. At one time, I remember handing in an article that was published with- out close scrutiny, and brought me a severe reprimand for its criticism of a prominent man. " But it is ^rwe," I persisted, " and I have been told the was never afraid of the truth." '' That man pays the five-hundred dollars per year to let him alone, and nothing must ever again be handed in derogatory to Mm." At another time 1 was told to write something caustic about Mr. H. H. Honore. " Why ! What has he done?" I asked. " He's rich enough to pay the to let him alone, and he will do it if he's properly attacked." ''He is my friend," I answered. "Nothing could tempt me to write anything against him." "The recognizes no individual preferences. Consider your en- gagement with the ended until you are willing to obey orders." And it ended. Yet an editorial afterward appeared so closely imitating my style of writing, that my most intimate friends thought I had written it against one who had possessed always my friendship. The above sample may not be an exact type of the present-day News- paper, but is a faithful portrait of many Newspapers which hold high rank in the Daily Press. Is it not a truer pattern than the model exhibited by Mr. Thompson? In his forcible address Mr. Thompson said : " It is the fashion of the hour to rail against the Daily Newspaper." If this is true there must be some good cause for the fashion. People do not rail against the black- smiths, or the shoemakers ; and why should they rail against the News- papers, if they are correctly described by Mr. Thompson ? With fine contempt, he specifies the classes who rail against the Press. He says : " The law-breaker, the selfish corporation, the criminal unwhipped of justice, every quack, every dishonest lawyer, every merchant who gives short weight, every huckster in theories joins in the hue and cry against the Press." That is very severe, but surely Mr. Thompson will admit that the railers thus defined by him, do not set the " fashion of the hour," nor fairly represent the multitude, who he says, "find in the faults of the Press an unfailing subject for raillery, criticism, and condemnation." He must have recognized this when preparing his address, for he said : " But it is a matter of deepest concern to the Press and of infinitely deeper concern to the community, if to the snarling chorus of crime, greed, and phariseeism, there is added justly or unjustly the condemnation of honest, unselfish, and unbiased intelligence." Fortunately, the good and honorable people of the community are in the majority, and these are the classes who rail against the Newspapers ; not against their valuable features, but only against that destructive power of the Press which is used for evil. If every quack is a critic of the Press, why do the quacks of all kinds patronize the papers, and why do the papers patronize them ? How shall we account for the columns of quack-advertisements which appear in the Newspapers every day? The censure of the Press by " selfish corpora- tions " is not heavy ; a great deal more censure comes from the victims of THE PRESS AS IT IS. the " selfish corporations," because those corporations are defended and assisted by the Press. It is doubtless true that many law-breakers criticize the Press, but the fashion of railing at the Newspapers, which Mr. Thompson condemns, is made by people who do not break the law. As to the '' hucksters in theor- ies," they would have no customers were it not for the popularity given to their merchandise by the Press. There is no more hearty and wholesome reading to be found anywhere than the lashings given in the columns of America to the Press for its servile habit of huckstering for votes, offices, and patronage. No more scornful indignation can be found in our journal- istic literature than has been expressed in the columns of America against the mercenary and servile Press for huckstering with that ignorant impor- tation which is so dangerously hostile to our civil and religious freedom. The rights of a Newspaper are limited by the moral code and the usages of enlightened society. Every right is attended by its correspond- ing duty. A person, who in his pride as a gentleman scorns to calumniate his neighbor, will sometimes as an editor practice the trade of slander for an income. No doubt, a Newspaper has a right to publish the news of the day, but that right is limited by the duty to publish only the truth, without malice and for justifiable ends. This duty lies heavier on editors than on any other class of men. The ordinary person who bears false witness against his neighbor in private conversation, does comparatively little injury, while an editor, who prints a lie in his Newspaper, may thereby tell it to fifty- thousand men. Conceding the right of the Newspaper to publish the news, and to comment on men and affairs, yet the right of the citizen must be considered also. He may defend himself from an assault upon his character, as from a blow against his life. How far the man who buys a Newspaper is parti- ceps criminis in the mischief it may do, is a question of responsibility which every man must answer to his own conscience. The reckless editor, who publishes helter-skelter news and gossip, regardless of private character, or family-happiness, is well described in the Scriptures. As a madman who casteth firebrands, arrows, and death, so is the man that deceiveth his neighbor, and saith, " Am not I in sport?" NEWSPAPERS! THEIR RIGHTS AND DUTIES. By WILLISTON FISH. I read a piece here the other evening— that I liked so well— that I thought I would like to read another. If I knew no more about some other things than I know about Newspapers, their rights and duties, I would have to be a missionary. I owe an apology to my hearers for venturing to discuss the matter. Still I am not unhappy. Those of you who have ever written for the magazines, will understand the rapture that a man feels in going profoundly into a subject that he knows absolutely nothing about. Presumably the Newspaper we discuss comprises all sorts— not only those having the publication of news as a principal object, but all regular publications dealing in matters of general importance. It is a broad step from the daily which gives us all the news for a cent, to the elegant maga- zine which for thirty-five cents gives us an advertisement of an electric hair-brush ; but, properly, the term Newspaper includes the two. Mr. Catlin has stated to me that for purposes of discussion he wishes to include also the journals of Philadelphia. I was in Philadelphia some time ago, and each morning I would buy a New York paper to see what was going on in New York and also in Philadelphia. I would read, say, of a suicide in Philadelphia. This would be at 7 A. m. Now in the p. m., about 7 again, I would find a crowd of excited people before the Philadelphia Newspaper offices drinking in this same intelligence from the bulletin boards. I have had more or less experience with the Newspapers of the country, and I have pronounced views as to their rights. They claim the right to retain a contributor's postage and reject his article. If a paper seciu'es a large staff of intelligent contributors, hard-working and prolific, its fortune is made. This is not a right but a wrong. A young man of my acquaintance sent a poem all over the country, but could not find an apreciative editor. The poem had some Greek words in it. Finally to give himself a severe shock, but not wishing to kill himself outright in a busy season, he sent the poem to a paper in Milwaukee. He received the shock. The wild pirate of the Cream City journal w^rote back that the young man had made an error in a Greek accent. It happened that this young man had another poem that no other paper in the world would take, and he sent it to a Chicago Magazine. The Chicago editor wrote back that he would accept the poem if it was free ; 34 NEWSPAPERS; THEIR RIGHTS AND DUTIES. 35 but he qualified the flattering acceptance by adding that he should have his assistant editor make changes in it. This was Tuesday night, and I have just received a wire from ISTew York that the young man was on his way to Chicago. I hope no blood will be shed. I shall advise sand-bagging. The most mooted points in journalism of to-day, are whether to issue a Sunday edition, and whether to print advertisements as reading matter. Now I think tliat a Sunday edition may very properly be printed for those who wish to read it ; but if people are trying to force a Sunday edition onto anybody else, they are doing wrong. This is a free country. Advertisements may well be printed as choice reading-matter if the edi- tor is one whose brain cannot compass anything more readable. There are people who object to reading-notices on the ground of their deceitfulness. But I never detected any deceit in a reading-notice. They seem to me — but why should 1 go into this, and argue and reason it all out? Charles A. Dana made quite a buzz when he came to Chicago and deprecated reading- notices ; but I could stand here and say them yea or say them nay, and no one would care. This is not fair. We ordinary men can only say that a thing is so or it isn't so ; and seems to me that if we strike it right, there ought to be a furore about it. There is a good deal of the immoral and meretricious about to-day's Newspapers ; a great deal of the wicked and undesirable. Perhaps not so much of the undesirable as we would like, but still too much. Every time I read a paper on the street cars, I blush vividly because people look over my shoulder at tlie big head-lines, and think that I am reading doubtful articles. Why should I be held responsible for what people think ? And why should they allow it to influence their minds V It is the right of journals to print their own names in big letters, and the names of contemporaries in small letters. Thus the Waytown Jay- back may say that the '' Waytown Jayback (in display capitals) has sent a reporter to Cheyenne with instructions to visit the barber shop and gather Eastern news from a copy on file there of the ''New York Herald " (in lower case minion.) Such typographical conduct is permitted by the rules of journalism, but an editor might make quite a name for himself by follow- ing the rules of modesty. But then we all might do that. Many Newspapers think they have a right to contain editorials. This is a tremendous wrong. But you will notice that many papers contain these editorials. Now they will head a column, "The State of Trade;" or, " Among Bulls and Bears ;" or, " The Political Outlook ;" or, " The Nude In Art." And with effrontery they will place these vain writings in plain view — in fact often on the editorial page. Have these men been set apart as monitors, counsellors and instructors? If so they have not been set apart far enough. Concerning the duties of Newspapers, I have said nothing. But there is many a duty resting on them. When I recall the young man that I told you of I think that resting on some, there ought to be a prohibitive duty. I would teach them to neglect my this young man's writings. The right of papers to lie about their circulation can no longer be doubted. The lie should properly be lied in the presence of a notarial seal. 36 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. On the other hand a right which all papers seem to assume, to domin- ate the intelligence of their readers, has not in this country any existence. In Old England the Times— the " Thunderer," they call it— is conceded this right, and people over their lie awake with a splitting headache, and their minds a prey to anxiety, wondering and fearing what the Thunder-r-r-er will have to thunder in the morning. The Thunderer for all of us over here, could go to thunder. It seems strange that people should care much about it. Over here if a paper doesn't say what we think, we invest another cent, and buy a paper that will say it, and say it as if it meant it. If you have money enough you can get a paper to express your views to a nicety, so the street car men tell me. WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH OUR CRIMINALS? By judge J. P. ALTGELD. No man can examine the great penal system of this country without being. astounded at its magnitude, its costs and its unsatisfactory results. There are in the United States upwards of 2,200 county jails, several hundred lock-ups or police stations ; between fifty and sixty penitentiaries, with work-shops, machinery, etc. The first cost of the erection of all these buildings and shops has been estimated at upwards of $500,000,000, which is dead capital, the interest at 5 per cent upon which sum alone will annually amount to $25,000,000. To this must be added- the sums annually appropriated out of the treasury to feed the prisoners, pay the officers, judi- cial and executive, and keep up and maintain all of these institutions, which sums have been estimated at upwards of $50,000,000, to say nothing of the costs paid by the accused ; there are in addition to the many thousands of policemen and detectives, about 70,000 constables in this country, and about as many magistrates. There are upwards of 2,200 sheriffs, and in the neighborhood of 12,000 deputy sheriffs. Then come the grand juries, petit juries, judges and lawyers; next the keepers and their numerous assistants for all of these prisons. Making about a million of men, partly or wholly supporting their familes from this source, and as I am on the list I may speak with freedom and say that as a rule they are comfortable, are anxious to hold on, and ready to defend the system which gives them and their families bread. As a rule keepers of prisons like to see their prisons well-filled. A glance at this system almost suggests the question whether society has any other object to care for, or mission to accomplish, than simply to maintain this machinery. Looking at its workings we find that there are in the neighborhood of 75,000 convicts in the various penitentiaries. As the average sentence is about two and a half years the whole number on the average is, therefore, renewed once every two and a half years ; so that there are in the neighborhood of three-quarters of a million of men, living in our midst who have had a penitentiary experience. We next see that upwards of 5 per cent of the entire population is arrested by the police and other officials every year; so that there are about three million people 37 38 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. arrested and " run in " every year. Assuming that one-third of them are what are called " repeaters," that is, have been arrested before, it would still leave two millions who are for the first time each year broken into what may be called a prison experience ; and yet, notwithstanding the vast army of men employed, the millions annually expended, the numerous arrests, the large number imprisoned, crime is said to be increasing, and our whole penal system is pronounced to be a failure both in this country and in Europe, where they have similar systems. And the question is asked by thoughtful men : What shall be done ? Society must be protected. If the present system is a failure what shall we substitute ? It has been but a few years since the general public gave this question any consideration. Heretofore the only remedy ever suggested or thought of was the application of brute force. In all of the past centuries, and in every country on the globe, methods of punishment for the preven- tion of crime have prevailed which were the embodiment of brutality and of fiendish cruelty. The prisoners were often transformed into either rav- ing maniacs or wild beasts, while the keepers of prisons became fiends in human form ; and in all times, and in every country on the globe, this system of human torture was a failure. Brutality never yet protected society or helped humanity. There was a time in England when men were hanged or burned for trivial offences ; but instead of deterring, the very shadow of the gallows seemed to produce a crop of fresh offenders, and the glow of human embers invited new victims to the stake. One difficulty with our system is that it proceeds on the idea of expia- tion, that is, paying for having violated the law. In feudal times every violation of law was a source of revenue to the feudal lord, or to the king. The fine was paid to him, or whatever penalty was paid, went to him, the more serious of offences being followed by a confiscation of property. The imposition, then, of a fine was one of the means employed by the strong to plunder the weak. IS'ow we have advanced until theoretically we declare that crime should not be a source of revenue, and that it is only for the protection of society that punishment can be inflicted ; yet when we come to impose penalties, we proceed upon the theory that if the offender pays for or expiates the violation then that ends all. He can go right on and violate the law a second time and if he pays the penalty all is wiped out. Instead of inquiring into the history, the environn\ent and the character of the offender, and then applying a treatment wiiich will in reality protect so- ciety, we simply fix a price upon each infraction, and we treat those who are not vicious, but have been unfortunate, and have been guilty of some slight offence in almost the same manner that we treat the vicious who have been guilty of graver offences ; and we put both in a condition in which it is next to impossible for either to make an honest living when they have been once imprisoned. I desire to consider the subject rather from a practical tlian from a theoretical standpoint. The first important question that arises when we are brought face to face with the workings of our system, is, where do tliese people who are arrested, all come from V What is the environment which produces them ? As we have not the time to inquire extensively into home WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH OUR CRIMINALS? 39 I conditions, or the training of the youth, we will start at once at the point wliere they are first brought to our view, and that is in the Police Court, and we will soon see where they come from. The report of the Superintendent of Police of Chicago, for the year 1888, sliows tliat in that year the police officers of Chicago alone arrested and carried to the lock-up 50,432 people, 40,867 of whom were males; 9,o65 of whom were females. The great majority of them were under thirty years of age ; nearly 9,000 were under twenty years of age ; a little over 30,000 of them were American born ; the otliers were made up of various nationalities. The same report shows that 10,263 were common laborers; 18,336 had no occupation ; 1,975 were house-keepers. Some of you may ask : What were these people arrested for, and what was done with them V Well, the same report shows that upwards of 15,000, or nearly one-third, were discharged in tlie Police Court, because it was not proven that they liad violated any law or ordinance ; and out of the whole number arrested only 2,192 were held over on criminal charges. The rest were fined for a violation of some ordinance, generally on the charge of disorderly conduct. The police magistrate having no power to try a charge of crime or grave misdemeanor, it follows that every case of that nature had to be sent to the grand jury ; and I repeat that out of the whole 50,000, only a little over 2,000 were held over ; and the records of the Criminal Court show that of these more than two-thirds fell to the ground because no offence could be proven. Bearing in mind that those arrested were young ; that they come from the poorer classes, from those who are already fighting an unequal fight in the struggle for existence, I ask you what effect do you suppose the act of arresting them upon the street, possibly clubbing them, then marching them to the lock-up, and shoving them into a cell, what effect did all this have upon the 15,000 who were not shown to have been guilty of any offence, who had violated neither law of God nor statutes of man? They were treated while under arrest as if guilty of highway robbery. Did this treatment strengthen them and make them better able to hold their heads up, or did it tend to break their self respect— to weaken them ? Did it not embitter them against society and a system which had done them this wrong V Will they not feel the humiliation and degredation as long as they live ; and will that very treatment not mark the beginning in many cases of a downward Criminal career ? But we will follow the subject a little further. You are aware that when a fine is imposed in the Police Court, if it is not paid the defendant is taken to the House of Correction, that is, the Bridewell, which for all practical purposes is a penitentiary. It has for many years been in charge of Ml-. Charles E. Felton, who is one of the most experienced and most in- telligent prison managers in the United States. In his report for that year, he says: ''In the year 1888, the number of prisoners was 10,717. The average daily number imprisoned was 764i. The average duration of im- ])i'isonment was but 26 1-10 days. Of the above who were received during the year all save 96 were convicted for petty offences, the executions under which they were imprisoned showing their offence to have been chiefly dis- orderly conduct, or other violation of municipal or town or village ordi- 40 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. nance, mere petty misdemeanors, punishable by fine only, the imprison- ment being the result of the non-payment of the fine." Eeflect upon this a moment, 10,717 were imprisoned during the year, and out of this number only 96 were convicted of Criminal offences. The others, in the language of Mr. Felton, were guilty of mere petty misde- demeanors, punishable by fine only, and they were imprisoned because they could not pay this fine. OJE these 10,717, 1,670 were women and girls. Speaking of their social relations, Mr. Felton's report says that 2,744 were married ; 7,184 claimed to be single ; 2,121 had children. It also shows that nearly 4,000 had no parents living ; upwards of 1,600 had only a mother living, and 822 had only a father living, showing that one-half were with- out proper parental supervision. Several years ago Mr. Fred L. Thompson, Chaplain of the Penitentiary at Chester, Illinois, made a personal inquiry of 500 convicts in regard to their early environment, and the result showed that 419, or upwards of four-fifths were parentless, or without proper home influence before reach- ing 18 years of age. Also that 218 never had attended school. Mr. Thompson sums up an interesting report in these words : "I have come to the conclusion that there are two prime causes of crime, first : Tlie want of proper home influence in childhood, and second, the lack of thorough well diciplined training in early life,^'' I will only add, it is the boy and girl who grow up on the streets, or amid squallor and misery at home, whose path seems forever to wind toward the prison door, and whatever system will train the youth, or will let light into tlie hovels, cellars and garrets where children are growing up, will reduce the ranks of Criminals. The fact that all save 96 of the inmates of the Bridewell for that year, were there because they could not pay a fine, shows that they came from the poor, the very poor — the unfortunate. And as they had. not been charged with any serious offence, and as the treatment wiiich they got in the Bridewell in 26 1-10 days would not build up or strengthen character ; could not educate the mind or train the hand, and inasmuch as the treat- ment there, as in all prisons, of necessity tends to weaken self-respect, and as all of these had to go out of the prison absolutely penniless and friend- less, for they were sent there because they were penniless and friendless, I ask what were these people to do when they came out V What could they do to make an honest living V Take the 1,670 women and girls who were sent there because they had not the money with which to pay a small fine, and had not a friend upon earth to pay it for them, can any of you suggest what they could go at when they were turned out of the Bridewell, and found themselves on the corner of Twenty-Sixth Street and California Avenue ? There was absolutely nothing left for them except to go back to their old haunts, go anywhere they could get something to eat, and a night's lodging. And the prison experience they have had only degraded them, weakened them, and sunk them lower into depravity. The same may be said of the men and boys confined there. The city is full of men who have not been imprisoned, and who during a large part of the year can get nothing to do. It was estimated that this winter there were 60,000 men in Chicago out of employment. This being so, what sliow WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH OUR CRIMINALS? 41 is there for a boy, or a young man, coming out of the Bridewell to earn an lionest living? And if imprisonment in the Bridewell has not helped them, but on the contrary, has, as a rule, injured them, wherein has society been benefited by the fact that it imprisoned 10,717 people on an average of 26 1-10 days because they liad committed trivial offences ? But some of you will ask, well, what have you to suggest V Society must be protected. We must preserve order. To which I reply, unquestionably, society must be protected at all hazards, and we must preserve order and protect life and property. But I insist to begin with, that it is unneces- sary to arrest and lock-up people who have committed no offence, merely to preserve order. That the 15,000 who were not shown to have committed any offence in that year should never have been arrested and " run in " by the police ; that arresting thetn neither tended to protect society nor to pre- serve order, but was a wrong, in many cases, an outrage, for which society in the end must suffer ; that the trouble is, that there has grown up in our police force a feeling that their efficiency is to be determined largely by the number of people they run in, which is all wrong. Again, police officers too frequently feel that when they have arrested somebody that it is then incumbent upon them to make a case against him, and hence are reckless in their swearing ; so that it frequently happens that juries in Criminal Courts decline to give much credit to the testimony of a policeman. Police- men should feel that their standing is not to be determined by the number of people whom they may happen to arrest, but rather from their ability to preserve law and order ; to protect life and property, by making but few arrests. I am satisfied further that of the 28,000 who were fined in the Police Court, the greater majority had better been let go, the offences being so trivial that in fact it would have been better for society in the long run if no arrest at all had been made. Tlien in my judgment, we should adopt here a system which has been in operation in Massachusetts for over ten years, whereby the city is divi- ded into districts, called probation districts, and in each district there is appointed a probation officer, whose duty it is to visit the prison every day in his district ; get the name of the prisoner ; go to his residence ; see his family ; acquaint himself, so far as is possible with the history and character of the prisoner, his home infiuences and general environment, and if it is found that he is not vicious, and if the charge against him is not of such a heinous character as to require that he be confined, the probation officer recommends to the justice or to the judge, as the case may be, that if tlie accused is guilty, instead of sentence being pronounced, the case be con- tinued from term to term, for the period of a year, sometimes more. This done, he is released ; the probation officer assists him in getting employ- ment, where this is practicable, assists him with counsel and advice, keeps a supervision over him for the period of a year, requiring him to report from time to time, and if he does not do well, the probation officer orders him arrested, and he is then sentenced. This system has been in operation in Boston for upwards of ten years. The city of Boston was divided, as I understand it, into three districts, and 42 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. I have here the reports of the probation officers covering a period of ten years. In one district during the year 1888, there were 1,139 prisoners taken charge of by the probation officer. Of this number twelve ran away, or about one per cent. • Fifty-two had to be surrendered because they did not do well ; but all of the remainder did well, led sober and industrious lives. During ten years in one district, 7,251 prisoners were taken charge of by the probation officer. Of this entire number during the ten years only 107 ran away, a very remarkable fact, which is to be borne in mind in con- sidering the best method of dealing with people who have violated the law. Only a little over one per cent, ran away. Of the 7,251, 473 had to be re- turned for sentence. All the remainder did well. I will simply say that tlie results in the other probation districts of Boston were of the same character. In speaking of the saving to both the prisoner and to society by this method of treatment, the officer reports that had the lowest sentence possi- ble been imposed, the aggregate time of all the prisoners which would liave had to be spent in prison during the ten years would have amounted to 1,715 years, which was saved to society and to the accused, while the saving in expense to the public by not imprisoning amounted to many thousands of dollars per annum. The fact of having an intelligent and humane man acting as probation officer, visiting the home of the accused and assisting his family with counsel and advice, can scarcely be over-estimated ; in many cases it will save not only the children but also the parents from a criminal career. One of the probation officers of Boston, in speaking of those who were saved from imprisonment in his district, says : '' Generally they have since lived good, orderly lives, and have been a blessing to their families, and where they were married kept tlieir homes from being broken up, and their children from being sent to charitable institutions. In many cases they liave changed from lives of vice and crime to become good citizens." If we were to make our system what the law really intends it should be, and that is, protect society against crime, and would put a stop to the prac- tice of arresting and breaking into prison experiences those who have been guilty of no offence, and would, further, put a stop to the practice of run- ning in all who may have been guilty of some trivial offence, and would apply the Massachusetts system of probation in cases wliere the officer felt it could be safely done, for in many cases it could not be done, we would so greatly reduce the number who would have to be sent to prison that tliey could then be detained, not for 26 1-10 days in the Bridewell, or from one to three years in the Penitentiary, and not under the conditions tliat exist now in our prisons, where reformation and instruction is almost an im- possibility ; but they could be detained until, in the judgment of a compe- tent board, the accused had acquired such habits of industry and had developed sufficient strength of character to go out and make his way in the world ; and then he should be assisted in getting a position, so that he would not at once find himself penniless, friendless and homeless. They should be sent to prison on an indeterminate sentence, nearly in accord with the system that has now for a number of years been in vogue in the Elmira prison in the State of New York, where prisoners must remain at WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH OUR CRIMINALS? 43 least a year, and can be kept a number of years if in the judgment of tlie Board it is not safe to let them at large. Here prisoners go through a regu- lar course of instruction, having regular hours of labor, and the treatment is of such a character as is calculated to develop and build up the man. And the management, instead of knowing nothing about the man, as is the case now with us, is put in possession of his whole history, all the informa- tion that can be gathered in regard to it, and whenever it becomes satisfied that the man can with safety be given his liberty, the management first secures him employment, and exercises for a period of at least six months a sort of general supervision over him. If he does not do well they can take him back. If he loses his place they assist him in getting another; and if he does well for a period of a year, he is discharged. And at differ- ent times men who had been discharged and then suddenly found them- selves out of employment, rather than beg or steal, voluntarily came back to the institution and asked to be taken in until they could get another job, and here again, there were scarcely any desertions by those who were on parole. Under such a system as this, hardened and dangerous Criminals would not be set at liberty every two or three years, as they are now, to go out and prey upon society ; but they would be kept confined until they could be safely set at liberty ; while, on the other hand, the good intentioned who had got into trouble would not need to be confined behind brick walls until they became hardened, stolid, brutalized and desperate, as is now the case. In addition to this there should, in my judgment, be given every con- vict in prison an opportunity to earn something over and above the cost of keeping him. I know this involves difficulties, but none but what can be overcome. He should be not only permitted to earn something, but he should be required to earn something to carry to his credit before he is again set at liberty ; so that when he leaves the prison doors he will have something to sustain him for a while ; and this should not be paid him at once, but in installments, so that he cannot lose it at once ; or if he has a family to sup- port, he not only should be permitted to work but required to earn some- thing while in prison for the support of his family. You will see by such a system as I have outlined, the number we would have in the end to imprison would be greatly reduced ; and these, too, could be so separated that the great majority could be set to work, if necessary, outside of the prison. They could farm ; could be made to work the roads ; could be made to do any kind of work, because the temptation to desert would then be practically taken away. I must say, however, that the tempta- tion to desert is not so great at any time as many people suppose. Major McClaughrey, who was for many years Warden at the Joliet Penitentiary, several years ago told me that he was then carrying on a small farm near the Penitentiary and working it with convicts, and they had had no trouble at all upon this point, and that he had repeatedly urged the State to buy him three or four hundred acres, and said if they would do so he could work it with the prisoners, and could raise not only wiiat was needed for his institution, but for other State institutions, and that he had no fear at all of desertion. 44 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. If that is true at present, then under a system whereby the prisoner was made to feel that he was doin^ something for himself, instead of simply wearing his life out for the benefit of some wealthy contractor, very little would need to be feared upon that point, and the number of prisoners who were serving long sentences, and who were considered dangerous, and therefore to be kept at work in the prison, would be so small by the time they were divided up among the various industries which are now- carried on inside of the prison, the number in each industry would be so small that we would hear no more about prison made goods coming in com- petition with free labor. The question of prison labor would solve itself. We would thus save thousands of boys from a prison experience, and a possible criminal career. We would put an end to the practice of degrad- ing and breaking down women and girls by repeated imprisonments for trivial offences, which never does any good. We would prevent the really vicious and hardened Criminals from being turned loose upon society every year or two. Both the convict and society w^ould be the gainers. WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH OUR CRIMINALS? By CHARLES E. FELTON. Thanking you for the compliment of having invited me to address you, and appreciating your wish that I confine my remarks to the time limit- twenty minutes — I will not make an extended introduction. There is a distinction between sin and crime and misdemeanor ; still, an affinity exists between each. Adam sinned ; Cain killed his brother — com- mitted crime ; and we may have driven a horse across a bridge, in this would-be rapid-transit city, faster than a walk, or on a boulevard at a" rapid pace, and subjected ourselves to a liability to imprisonment, had we been arrested, and not paid the fines imposed. Criminals are born and made. Those who were born Criminals are not much at blame. Those who are made Criminals are more accountable; still, often, the cause is, the neglect of their parents in caring for and properly developing them in their youthful life. The people, however, must protect themselves against both classes. I remember a child, many years ago, with mother in prison, and not sufficiently aged to creep, who would steal and secrete a thimble or a spool of thread, if placed nearby, and your eyes were not watching its action. You would find the article nicely secreted under, or within the folds of, the child's dress. The mother was a shop-lifter, by profession, and was imprisoned three several times, a year each, and had three children born to her while in prison. Topsy like, they were horn wrong. Later, they were Criminals. Hereditary taint is difficult to eradicate. The proverbial "black sheep" is generally but the repro- duction of one of like color " away back," not always. We pay special at- tention to the breeding of animals, keeping their pedigrees, but none to the breeding of man, regardless of geneology, or of the effects of our neg- lect. The result is, with animals, the production of improved stock, for reason of our care ; with man, the production of defects— mental, moral, and physical— for reason of our neglect. It is not altogether how the twig is bent, the parental root of the tree must be of the right species. You may improve the shape of an oak ; but even by griifting, it will not produce the lusciously-flavored tropical orange. Nor will the orange tree, in an un- favorable climate or environment, produce acceptable fruit. Apply this to man. 45 46 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. It is not a good way to make mankind better to blend, by marriage, the good with the bad. We have asylums filled with idiots and insane and blind fellow-beings, and those who are dumb. The feeble-minded and other de- fects should be cared for tenderly always; but do not let them propagate. You will not wrong them ; and you will prevent misery in others, in years to come. And with Criminals, as far as you can, prevent the transmission of criminal tendency, by curtailing reproduction. With the feeble-minded, what possible benefit can come from educating them? Every advance made with a mental imbecile only vitalizes his senses in the wrong direc- tion, and makes him unhappy, if continued until he realizes his imbecility. It is not humane to so develop him ; and the effect is otherwise bad. Not so with the insane — the effort should be to restore reason ; and with the blind and deaf and dumb, to so develop the other senses as to increase their happiness and usefulness; and with the criminal, to create in him a respect for the laws ; still their species should not be reproduced. [Read papers upon the care of defects, written by Hon. Charles H. Reeve, of Plymouth, Ind. Our subject is a different one. It is, " What shall we do with our Criminals?" That means, those we now have.] First, catch them. That work belongs to a police organization. Not catching them, crime multiplies, and Criminals increase in numbers. It is a burlesque on. government that compels men who have been robbed or in- jured to seek the aid of private detective agencies, to secure the detection and arrest and prosecution of the criminal. Crime is an offence against the people, not specially against the person injured. Detective agencies would have no life or being, if police departments were efficient. " Persons living in glass houses should not throw stones." I live in a glass house: hence, my criticisms must be of systems, not of special administrations at home. Police organizations should contain none but competent men — men of varied talent, and adapted respectively to the several brandies of police work, each member to fit a certain place in the organization itself. In a government like ours— a government of states— there is not, but should be, an efficient system of exchange and of interchange of work with other states and other cities. As now prevailing, the boundary lines of a state are the limits of authority ; and the boundary lines of a city are the limits of responsibility. Only when crimes of extraordinary character are com- mitted, do the authorities pursue Criminals beyond their local jurisdiction, at public expense. This is wrong. It encourages the criminal. With a reformed system, there would not be a necessity for private detective agencies in a city; and crimes would be more certainly punished. But the present defective system of appointment and administration will con- tinue, until political and personal interests are ignored, and the thinking public gives thought and direction to this subject. In large cities, there are too many arrests made of petty offenders by the police, men charged with violation of city ordinances — misdemeanants. Look into a police court in a morning, where a single justice must, not in- frequently, inquire into, continue, hold to the criminal court, convict, or discharge, often a hundred or more prisoners, before lie closes his morning's work; and listen to the almost farcical examinations made. I received in WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH OUR CRIMINALS? 47 a single day, from one court only, one hundred and thirty-eight male prisoners, for disorderly conduct. The real offence, if it could be called an offence, was, sleeping in cheap lodging-houses. The arrests were absurd, and the imprisonment of the men was an outrage ; and I secured their early release by mayor's order— so-called pardon. There were men among them who were as honest as I am, and possibly, in wish, as industrious, but not as favored. One man, as one type, had been sick in a hospital at St. Louis, and was convalescing. He was a painter by trade ; and could not find work at St. Louis, and came to Chicago. He had but sixty-five cents on his arrival here. He obtained a lodging in a ten-cent house, and was arrested with others. 1 asked him why he did not go to a better place ? And he asked me in return, what he could have done on the following night, if he had spent all his money in a more expensive lodging-house, and not found work V "Should I beg? or steal? I have never done either. My illness caused my poverty ; and because of it, I am in prison." I found employment for him in a decorative painting house, and he be- came a favorite with the manager, and was a long time employed by him. He was not a criminal ; still he was in prison. Second, convict our Criminals. To do that, among other things, we should reform some of our police court ways, and our jail system. Our laws are good enough ; but so long as crimes are compromised by changes from criminal charge to charges for violation of city ordinances in justices' courts, and prisoners in jails are permitted to associate together in congre- ■gate ; to receive visits and communications from outsiders at pleasure, with but little if any supervision or restriction, and to " fix " witnesses and sometimes jurors, the conviction of Criminals will be very uncertain. The present jail system of construction and administration in this state should be changed. The separation of prisoners should not only be possible, but it should be compulsory. Jails should be constructed with that end in view. The individual-treatment cellular system should be adopted. Sheriffs are elected by the popular vote. They have the custody of the prisoners in jails. While running for office, candidates assume obligations to obtain votes. When elected, the sheriff appoints all subordinates. County boards fix salaries, and determine the perdiem price to be paid to the sheriff for dieting pi'isoners. Often, from the head down to the humblest subordinate, the one most prominent object is the acquisition of money. The honor of holding a position is of little moment. The recommendation by a member of a county board to a sheriff, for the appointment of a subordinate by the lat- ter, if honored, is equivalent to a favorable vote upon the dieting allowance. Hence, selection of subordinates, with reference solely to character, com- petency, and honesty, are not often made. Remove from officials who are employed at crime prosecution the allurements of money-grabbing, and it will aid the people much in convicting Criminals. It should be declared a misdemeanor or crime, for an official— the sheriff or his subordinates ; a chief of police or his subordinates; a police station-house keeper, clerk, or bailiff ; or the superintendent of a house of correction or other prison, or his subordinates, — to accept a fee, present, reward, or other compensation than salary and necessary expenses while transacting his official business, for any 48 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. work done for a prisoner who is under arrest, detention, or conviction. Officials should be authorized and directed by law to do all things that are necessary and proper to be done for those in their custody, at public ex- pense — not by assessment upon, or present or compensation from, prisoners or their friends. Two things should not be tolerated— association of pri- soners in congregate in jails, and traffic between officials and prisoners, anywhere. In relation to the methods in our police courts. Lads are brought into court for "nipping wipes," or "snatching pocket-books" or "tapping tills," or other like crimes; and adults for stealing robes, or holding up drunken men, or other violation of statutory law. Justices often com- promise those and other like crimes, by consenting to pleas of " disorderly conduct" — a fiction, of course. That is wrong. It defeats justice. It encourages crime. It assists in the criminal development of many who might, under other treatment, be reformed. The criminal lad should be sent to an industrial reformatory — the expense of his care to be paid by the neglectful parents ; or being very vicious, he should be committed to a state reform school. The adult criminal belongs in a state convict prison. The fear of censure by grand juries for sending to jail what they determine to be petty offenders is largely the reason why our justices consent to changes of charges from criminal to mere violation of city ordinances. Justices are more intelligent upon crime treatment than are grand juries ; and they should not be deterred from duty by the fear of criticism by the latter. These crimes are not petty. The man who steals a lap-robe would sand-bag you as quickly. Locked up in jail, and convicted of the crime he has com- mitted, he would receive a definite term of imprisonment in a correctional institution, or in a state prison. His crime being compromised by a justice, and he being fined for disorderly conduct, he early secures his liberty by payment of a fine, and is again a menace to the security of the public. Third, punish tlwm. How? By imprisonment? Kot always; but I shall speak only of that branch this evening. Imprisonment simply for punishment would be but a waste of time. Its purpose should be, the protection of the public for the time, and the reformation of the imprisoned, if possible. With juvenile offenders, the effort should be, the proper development of the lads, morally, intellectually, physically, and industrially. Taken when young enough, and placed in a well conducted reformatory, there is great hope in a large majority of cases. With adult first-offending Criminals, there is also great hope. But with habitual Criminals, it is a lottery, and tickets are not for sale in this state, nor as yet in Dakota. Our state prisons are prisons of detention, not of reform. Men in them may occasionally, but not often, come to themselves, determine that crime-life does not pay, and cease to continue in it ; but that is a selfish motive, and does not come from a change of heart, or a more acute sense of duty and right. In sentencing a convict, judges may well be governed largely by the character and environment of the culprit. If a young man, of good family, but who has been profligate, and wasted his father's means, and has, metaphorically, eaten of the husks that the swine did eat, and has just entered into criminal life, a short term of imprison- WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH OUR CRIMINALS? 49 ment, for reformative ends, would be preferable under our state system. But with a convict whose antecedents are bad, whose mind is vicious from hereditary taint, and whose infancy and boyhood and manhood have been in environments that were low, debasing, and lawless, the courts would seldom err in extending the maximum sentence for the crime for which convicted. But we need such changes in convict prison construction as will make it possible for prisoners to reform. As with our jails, as I have mentioned, separation— non-contact— should be possible— should be the rule. Adopt the individual treatment system— a room for each prisoner— he being visited only by his teacher, his priest, his industrial instructor, his physician, and the officers of the prison — and companionship with other prisoners may be made impossible. His room and the yard attached is his home. In it he eats, sleeps, studies, and works, and recreates ; and he may become better. Certainly he will not be made more criminal for reason of his isolation. Under that system, a single year may secure a thorough change in the man ; while under the congregate system— that in vogue in this state— ten years might not be sufficient. Under the individual treatment system, in its en- tirety, classification is imperative. Under our system — the congregate — classification is impossible. In several states parole laws exist. They are useful as an incentive to personal development by individual effort. But where they exist, the laws usually direct maximum sentence, with a possibility of reducing the im- prisonment, by effort, by good conduct, industry, advance in education, etc., at least to the minimum of the crime. For instance, if the punishment authorized by statute for any given crime was, in the discretion of the judge or jury, not less than two years nor exceeding ten, the sentence would be ten years, but the imprisonment might be but two years, being governed, of course, by the results of the effort of the imprisoned. But when liber- ated on parole, ticket-of-leave, for a breach of the conditions of the parole — good conduct— the prisoner may be returned to prison to serve the balance of the maximum term. He is a prisoner at liberty until finally discharged by order of an examining board. Continued good conduct for a limited time usually assures that favor to him. But with all Criminals, the public should be protected against their relapse, when paroled or discharged. To that end, I obtained the passage of an act by our state legislature for the identification of habitual Crim- inals. It contemplates their description being taken under the Bertillon system of measurements, when in prison for crime. Under it, with a central office, in which the measurements and histories of the Criminals in all state prisons are filed, any recidivist may be identified in a few moments. Take his measurements anew ; report them by telegraph to the central office, and under a system of indexing it has, the officer in charge will, in five minutes time, report to you his name and aliases and prior imprisonments, and the authorities are thereby enabled to prosecute him more successfully, and punish him under the habitual criminal act. The only real punishment to the average convict is the restraint from being at leisure. In this country, prisoners are better fed, better housed, 50 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. and better cared for in general, than are many of our law-abiding working people ; and their employment is less arduous, and they go to their slumbers at night time without a thought as to provision for their temporal require- ments on the morrow. They are served by others at the expense of the state ; and are wonderfully apt at " kicking" if, in most minute detail, they are not served with the very best the law allows, not requires. Gratitude is a characteristic that our Criminals rarely possess ; still, when liberated, aid them by giving employment or otherwise ; but do not lead them into temp- tation, by giving them the combination to your safes, nor easy ingress to your bed-chambers in the night time, else they fall again into criminal ways. Still, remembering that they are human beings, our fellow-men, try to develop in each one a better life. Not being able to do that, and they re- lapsing into crime-life, we. must protect ourselves by returning them to prison, and continuing their incarceration therein as humanely as their con- duct will admit, and as long as may be necessary for our protection and their thorough reformation. WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH OUR CRIMINALS? By CHARLES H. HAM. What shall we do with our Criminals ? I answer, stop making them; We make rogues as fast as we turn out carpet-tacks, and wonder why our prisons are full. I agree with Mr. Kuskin, that we should seek to develop men, rather than attempt to deal cunningly with vagabonds. Dr. Mandsley declares that, in the world's struggle one must be strong enough to control circumstances, or pliant enough to bend to them, or cunning enough to effect an advantagious compromise ; or he will go mad, commit suicide, or become a criminal, or a pauper. And the same line of investigation leads Dr. Morselli to the conclusion that, " It is the burning fever of modern civilization, which, like Saturn in the fable, devours its ow^n children. In Les Miserables, Victor Hugo depicts modern society as more cruel than any tyrant of ancient Greece, and through the sublime patience and fortitude of its victim, pleads the cause of the erring and unfortunate. But millions of men have wept over the imaginary woes of Jean Valjean with no tear or thouglit for the real sufferings of thousands of fellow- creatures, doomed to despair by an unblest environment. But it is not alone the erring and unfortunate who, drifting aimlessly, fall into crime. We make Criminals by insisting upon our rights while we neglect our duties. In the fierce struggle for supremacy we forget that every right has its reciprocal duty, and that every duty repudiated not only inflicts an injury, but reacts disastrously upon society. In the Tale of Two Cities Dickens describes a scene on a Paris street, where an aristocrat whose carriage has run over and killed a poor child, flings to the stunned and weeping parents some small coins, and drives on with no more feeling than if his victim had been a dog. But the cruel incident was knit into the warp and woof of the curious record of Madam Defarge ; and the revolution followed, and the heads of the French tryants fell, and their blood drenched the ground. 51 52 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. That was France one hundred years ago. But we, in America, here and now, are preparing honest men for crime, by acts of wholesale in- justice. The history of Railway manipulation in the United States is a story of rapacity so lawless as to suggest a state, rather of semi-barbarism, than of high civilization. The stock watering of Vanderbilt, the wrecking operations of Gould, the construction schemes of the Credit Mobilier, and kindred enterprises — these colossal atrocities, remaining unpunished, are sufficient to debauch the moral sense of a whole people. What, indeed, shall we do with our Criminals, when the most heinous of crimes are committed under the sanction of law, and strange solecism, those who have most injured society, are the most highly respected, and the most envied of our citizens ! Consider the Pacific Railway irregularities ! In 1868 Mr. Charles Francis Adams said of them : " Every expedient which the mind of man could devise was brought into play to secure to the capitalist the largest possible profit with the least possible risk." And the fact that Mr. Adams now represents the company in its effort to avoid pay- ing its just debts to the United States not only augments the force of his caustic indictment of twenty years ago, but serves as a grim commentary on the mutation of private judgment under the stimulus of corporate demand. This, however, is only one of a hundred forms of abuse through which the public sense of right and wrong is corrupted. There is a subtle moral poison in the greed that seizes the city street, and devotes it to private use, which turns patriotism to gall. The tired laborer who, after a days toil, pays two prices for a passage home, as he clings to a street car strap, and jostles, and is jostled by the crowd, feels the full measure of the injustice of which he is the victim. But when the monopoly, which grinds the faces of its employes, and grinds the faces of its patrons, too — when the soulless corporation asks to have its grip upon the streets extended, to a hundred years, it finds a legislature compliant to its avaricious demand. Are such franchises, with millions in them, voted away for nothing ? Oh, no ! That the legislators who do such things are corrupt, that they are bought with a price, is as well known to the public as if it were published from the house-tops. But notwithstanding this common knowledge that the people are de- frauded by fellow-citizens chosen to act in their behalf, we meet and gravely inquire what it is best to do with men who have been convicted of safe-breaking, larceny and arson, as if these crimes were not as legitimate a fruitage of legislative frauds and corporate turpitude and extortion, as the green plumed and tasseled corn is of the yellow kernel planted in the teeming soil ! The promoter of a recent scheme to appropriate the Lake Front to private use declared that the capitalists of Chicago were not only ready but eager to embark in the enterprise. Only one man, he boasted, had the moral courage to repel the offered bribe, saying, " not if ten thousand dollars would secure the entire property would I touch it !" The railways crush. WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH OUR CRIMINALS? 53 mangle and kill hundreds of men, women and children in the streets of this city every year, rather than incur the cost of fencing, raising or sinking their tracks— tracks literally stained with the blood of human sacrifice ; and it does not occur to us that such carelessness of life and contempt of justice will breed Criminals I Kecently the Chicago public witnessed a curious spectacle— two street railway companies disputing tlie ownership of a street, one company demanding a hundred thousand dollars of the other company, for the use of the street. And not the least curious feature of tlie spectacle was the fact that it did not seem to occur to any one that the public had any interest, whatever, in the controversy. Why is it that we disregard these palpable invasions of public rights ? Is it because we would, ourselves, like to share in the profits of them ? We all know of their exist- ence. We talk of them without emotion. We are not moved, thereby, to indignation. We eat and drink, and are merry, while injustice stalks abroad in the land — great rogues go scot-free, and little ones are clubbed and beaten to prison. We do not shun the sharper, nay, if he succeeds we embrace him. This is the way we make Criminals. Is there no such blessed thing as ethical culture ? Is the moral sense of the community put forever to sleep ? We are like Dickens' aristocrat. The child crushed under his chariot- wheels was nothing to him. Is it nothing to us that there is an eternal struggle of man against man ? That in this struggle our brotherhood is for- gotten ? that the glitter of gold blinds us to all the beatitudes ? The dead child was nothing to the haughty aristocrat, but the avenging spirit of revolution found him out, in his castle, behind the gorgon heads, and there he lay, white and cold— another monster turned to stone ! Kature is not mocked. A Nemesis tracks every transgression to its hid- ing-place. Justice in her robes of office, holds court in every fibre of the body and soul of man; and retribution, physical, mental and moral, is as sure as the sands of life are to run. We are careless of definitions. We speak lightly of fraud, but a fraud is often worse than a crime. The synonyms of fraud constitute a brood of the vilest evils, deception, deceit, guile, subtlety, craft, wile, sham, strife, circumvention, stratagem, trick, imposition, cheat. Two hundred years ago a great English Divine called attention to what he termed "the high malignity of fraud," because he said: "In the natural course of it, it tends to the destruction of common life, by destroy- ing trust and mutual confidence." A luminous exposition ! The founda- tions of our civilization are being undermined by the high malignity of fraud; for every cheat in the community is a breeder of Criminals. During its last fiscal year the Bureau of Justice, tried 325 court cases, of which it won 300. The ordinary lawyer's docket shows as many cases lost as won, but the Bureau wins thirteen cases where it loses one, a very significant fact. It shows that there is a vast preponderence of justice on the side of those who appeal to the Bureau, and, hence, that oppression and injustice are common in this highly civilized community. The Bureau is barely two years old. Doubtless only a small minority of the cases where cruelty and extortion are practiced, by the strong upon 64 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. the weak, are brought to its attention. There are, then, thousands of cases in this city annually, in which the wages of labor are withheld by dishonest employers. The moral effect of such nefarious conduct is far-reaching and terrible. To rob the laborer of the meagre price of his toil is to rouse in his soul the bitterest resentment. Put yourself in his place, if you can, and try to imagine what in- fluence it would have upon your views of life, and sense of duty to your fellow-creatures. It would be difficult indeed for any member of this com- pany to conceive of his children crying for bread. But try it once, and try, then, to imagine the moral effect of being defrauded of hard-earned wages. Who believes that, under such circumstances, he would be proof against the temptation to commit crime ? This is one of a hundred ways in which we make Criminals. Am I still asked '' what shall we do with our Criminals V" I reply, edu- cate them, and educate the classes whence they spring. The crime age is twenty-four years. Xot till the age of eighteen years, should any child leave school. Does any rational mind conceive it probable that the boy who is properly trained in school, till the age of eighteen years, will be- come a criminal at twenty-four ? Such a supposition is preposterous ! In- dustrious men do not commit crimes, and if work is made the basis and the crown of education, as it ought to be, and must be, the boy who leaves school at eighteen will possess a guarantee of remunerative employment in the skill of his hands and the cunning of his brain. Work and education are the twin ministers of reform in the Elmira institution for the reclamation of Criminals. They are the sole source of progress and reform in everything. Let our prisons be converted into schools, and our schools made the workshops of Immauity, and ('rime will soon cease out of the land. When we have shown our Criminals that we are just, we shall have taken a long step towards their reformation. PARTY ALLEGIANCE. By franklin MacVEAGH. There are two ways of looking at Party Allegiance. One way is to ac- cept it as allegiance pure and simple, that is, literal allegiance, and to in- sist that a man shall have to his Party the same permanent relation, and the same rigid and constant duty, that a subject has to his king or country. Tliis duty is called allegiance ; every evasion of it is called treason ; and the guilty man is a traitor. Men who take this view and live up to it (and do not merely insist upon other people living up to it, and scolding hard if they fail to) become necessarily the liegemen of their Party or of what is now the same thing, the machine element in their Party. As vassals of the Party they become the property of those who get control of the Party, that is, the heads of the machine, and their successors, heirs, and assigns for- ever. I am not referring to the shrewd chief men of our parties, nor to those who have merely a keen eye to the main chance, but to the simple- minded laymen, some of whom do indeed play at leadership, but all of whom have to satisfy themselves, since they are not without a conscience, that through this extreme form of fealty and self-abnegation they are ful- filling some inscrutable duty. The other way to look at Party Allegiance is less mediaival, and smacks less of the feudal system. It has more of the wisdom of the serpent in it and not so much of the harmlessness of the dove. This other view is that the duty of a man to his Party forbids literal allegiance altogether, and that the relationship must be a much more voluntary one and therefore much more intellectual ; this being demanded by tlie highest interests of individual life and character. It points out, too, on the other hand, that the nature of political parties is such that they depend for tlieir usefulness upon a basis of voluntary membership ; for they must, like the sea, have a tide, an ebb and flow, to keep them wholesome, without wliicli they become as mere Dead Seas bearing Dead-Sea fruit. These ideas have no flavor of the Middle Ages. They do not fit the phrases of the feudal system. The two sorts of people who correspond to these opposite views differ about as Bourbons and progressive people differ. The original French Bourbon, the prototype of certain of our fellow-citizens, is useless for pur- poses of reform, not because he is a bad man, but because he is constitu- 55 56 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB: tionally incapable of leaving his Party for a single moment. In contrast to this the progressive people, the world over, look upon parties as mere aids to progress, and believe that they should prove their claims to support anew year by year. Political parties must not be permitted, they say, to live merely upon the savings of other years, and certainly not upon the wealth of a previous generation. They must not eat the bread of idleness and un- productiveness because their independent and progressive fathers laid up abundant treasures. Such treasures are not the private wealth of political successors, but the common property of all the people. We all know these two political classes as they exist in our own country. The men composing them commingle in tlie other relations of life. They are almost indistinguishable outside of politics. To the casual observer they are quite indistinguishable in business life, in professional life, and in society. But in politics they are inexorably classified and differ radically. Of the first class I have myself known many a man— nay, know many a man— who in every relation of life outside of politics is, to all appear- ances, as normal and sane as anybody else; and who in all these relations thinks freely and independently, seemingly regarding himself as a person entitled, in all these attitudes, to be his own master, his own boss ; and yet, observing the same man when confronted with questions which might in- volve his allegiance to his Party, and subject him to the horrible charge of treason, I have seen his intellectual apparatus absolutely refuse to act, and mere ancient habit take its place. His mind would first become imme- diately clouded and then stop altogether. His irresistible impulse was to submit himself to some one else's judgment and control— usually to the control of some very inferior man or set of men. Those functions of the brain which in normal cases produce political thought and embrace and cherish political ideas, and those tendencies of character which normally produce independence, became suddenly paralyzed. It was not unlike the case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Now the mark of the other type of citizen is the continuity of his sanity. He is no less normal in one relation of life than in another. He thinks about politics and parties as bethinks about business or professional problems. He is one and the same man during a campaign and in an off year. His intellect works alike upon all questions, and works always inde- pendently ; and his conscience works alike upon all questions and works al- ways independently. His moral and intellectual perceptions do not inter- mit. It does not enter into the heart of this man to regard himself as another man's vassal. Neither will he believe or make believe that a party nomina- tion can change a leopard's spots. He votes with his Party, or if need be with some other Party, because it seems to promise the defeat of unworthy men, or to elevate worthy men, or to carry forward the ideas that he cherishes in the quiet of his own fireside, when his mind and conscience are most free and pure and wise. Let me ask now, since we have gotten our two kinds of men into mind, which of them is the more useful in politics. There is a curious hallucina- tion upon the part of the submissive, self-abnegating, elements of a Party PARTY ALLEGIANCE. 57 that they are distinguished from other men as being " practical"— al- though all must admit that they are entirely without influence— and that the people who liave minds of their own in politics and take an actual and more or less influential part on their own responsibility are somehow only theorists. They think you must be led by "the boys," and led to your de- struction, in order to be practical and therefore useful. Let us see. For, after all, usefulness is the real test in public affairs. This is not, I am aware, so set down in the philosophy of the machine politicians. But happily for us the machine politicians do not have it within their power to change the foundations of the moralities. They can only for a while con- fuse them. They can only for a while fill the air with the moral confusion of partisan cries. They can only for a while substitute partisan morality for real morality, and vacuity for the prevalence of ideas. Over and above the dust raised by these partisan liege-lords and liege-men, that cannot rise very high, there is the untroubled air in which resides an abundant con- stancy of truth. And who are the more useful— they who would prevent the free reason and the independent action of the voters, and thus stagnate political life downward to the standards of the machine, or they whose example, of in- dependent judgment and action tends to keep political ideas alive and poli- tical thought active ? Who is the more useful— he who holds his Party to a strict responsibility, or he who is held to a strict responsibility by his Party? He who never moves from his place in the ranks of the Party no matter what the Party may be standing for or who its leaders or candidates may be, and has nothing better to boast of than such loyalty as that, or he whose independence is notice to his Party that it must do right or fail ? He who, rock-rooted in partisanship, would make his Party a fixed, motionless caste, or he who, holding that ideas are above partisan habit and that his duty to his country is above the impulses of partisanship, keeps parties in that wholesome state of ebb and flow without which party government would soon be impossible ? He whose example teaches the youth of the nation that Party is above country, or he who would teach them to sit at the feet of the great Washington and listen to his solemn warning against " the bane- ful effects of the spirit of the Party?" He who sometimes plays at inde- pendence and sometimes, to quote President Lincoln, " thinks he is think- ing," or he who is really independent and really thinks ? Which of these, I ask again, is the more useful citizen? Where lurks the greater danger to the Eepublic— in the spectacle of a freely-acting vigorous public conscience, or in the spectacle of a public con- science stifled by exaggerated partisanship? Will the youth of the nation suck poison from the example of men who refuse to support candidates they know to be rogues, or from the example of those who wink at the de- pravities of public men? Where then lies political safety, and where is public usefulness to be found, if not in the energy and courage of independ- ent citizenship? Do they reside in the paralysis of the citizen? We have heard a great deal about " reform wMthin the Party." That kind of reform rarely gets outside of the Party. Decoyed there, it is gen- erally murdered. 58 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. This pretence of reform is the narcotic of politics. It serves to deaden what might rise into a clamor of conscience. Reform within the Party is a chimera over which many of us have wasted years. In certain stages of a Party it is possible enough. At such times, however, we never hear of reform within the party or of reform without the Party; we hear of — reform. But there comes a time when a Party will respond to nothing but a club ; and we can be perfectly sure that such a time is at hand when the cry is that reform must be done within the Party or not at all, or when the cry is that something which notoriously needs reforming must be reformed only by '' its friends." Reform must be for reform's sake : it is not a flower that will grow from the stalk of an exaggerated Party Allegiance. For it is a law of Party which neither you nor I can repeal or amend, that usefulness is in direct ratio to the independence of the membership. And the only way yet discovered to get usefulness out of a hide-bound Party is to scare it out or beat it out. Leaving the question of usefulness, a single word as to the estimation in which the independent citizen is held. Some peace-loving and approba- tion-loving people dread the unpopularity of deciding political questions for themselves. Is independence unpopular? Let us take the experience of the most pronounced independent— the mugwump. No one could be more railed against by politicians and the organs, it is true ; but when they gather all their wrath for a climax of severity they only say that the mug- Avump thinks himself " holier than thou." Well, might not even a politi- cal tenderfoot endure that? The mugwumps are, it must be admitted, strange and incomprehensible to the honest hide-bound partisan ; but, after all, it is only to the comparatively few machine leaders that they are actual poison. And then the mugwump is a crusader, and somewhat gallops about and rattles his armor, and must expect to get hurt. But it is not necessary to make such a rumpus as the mugwump has made in order to be a man of useful independence. One may be a party man and independent at the same time. The tests of a man's independence in politics are that he shall be incapable of becoming a mere party slave or nonentity, that his sanity and courage shall not intermit in the presence of political responsibilities, and that he shall give his partisanship into the safe-keeping of his intelligent patriotism. Such a man will never lack the respect and approval of the wise and good. However all this may be— whether it is right or wrong to believe in a Party Allegiance that is limited and an independence that is habitual— I believe the fact to be apparent that both are growing aiul gaining every day. Going no farther for instruction than the last two elections in Chicago— the Presidential election last autumn aiul the Municipal election this spring — it seems as if one might see that we are rapidly getting on toward the normal condition of free citizenship. As yet neither Party, it is true, knows how to interpret the new meanings of victory and defeat; but the people are developing an independence that will teach the parties every- PARTY ALLEGIANCE. 59 thing in the end ; and our politics will return to the level of the nation's high responsibilities. It is fortunate for the great world of political humanity that the possi- bility of such redeeming independence resides in our people. We have a great Government to administer and to protect. But more than this, we have accepted the leadership of democracy, and have great and delicate experiments to carry forward in its behalf. There is no child's-play in American citizenship, nor any commonplace in the American franchise ; for w^e are the trustees of democracy and free government, and on our faithfulness hang their sacred hopes. PARTY ALLEGIANCE. By W. W. CATLIN, One of the previous speakers referred rather sarcastically to the Mug- wumps and Civil-Service Reformers as "theorists," and seemed to deem that statement an effective argument against their views, but I beg to remind him, and all who think as he does, that "theories" frequently de- velop into undisputed facts. When Rousseau's book, "The Social Compact," was first issued the French nobility dismissed it as a " mere theory ;" '-and yet," says Carlyle, "the hides of the French nobility served to bind the second edition of that work." In the play of "Joshua Whitcomb" there is a character named Cy Prime, an old dyed-in-the-wool Democrat, who insists upon voting for General Jackson long after the latter's death, upon the ground that " General Jackson dead is a good deal better than any other man living." Well, I don't agree with Cy in regard to that matter, though I find that the same feeling still exists in the minds of many people regarding one or another Political Party. I look upon a Political Party as simply a means to an end, and because I find myself in sympathy with a given Party to-day I do not by any means intend that fact as a notice that I have entered into a covenant of marriage with said Party which shall continue " as long as we both shall live," though that construction is frequently put upon it. I believe that personal independence is vastly more essential to tlie development of wise legislation tlian subserviency to Party dictation ever can be. A Political Party is formed to carry out a policy of government, and its organization is effected for the purpose of setting forth its princi- ples and urging men to aid in establishing them by voting for its candidates. But as parties are simply men in the aggregate, and -as men change more or less as they grow in years and experience, it becomes necessary to hold a periodical convention for the purpose of deciding wiiether or not any changes are necessary in the Party's declaration of principles, and if so to make the alterations in such a way as best to meet the changes in public sentiment which have occurred since the last election. Then the Party is ready for a new campaign. It may be that I have voted with that Party in the past, but for reasons satisfactory to me (either a change in the Party 60 PARTY ALLEGIANCE. 61 platform, or in my own views as to the most important issues before the people now) I decide to vote with the opposing Party. What is the result— to me ? You all know, or you will if you try it. The Party to which I formerly " belonged " (I notice that partisans usually speak of a voter in a Party as " belonging '' to the Party, as though he had sold himself, body and soul, to it) the Party to which I formerly " belonged," I say, will proceed to expose to the world my mental decrepitude and moral depravity until I begin to feel like apologizing to mankind for living, while the Party with which I at present sympathize will praise my clear vision and commend my political independence. Now it occurs to me that if allegiance to Party is to be commended, and if it is a great wrong for a man to leave the Republican Party and vote with the Democratic Party it is just as great "treason." as it is sometimes called, for a Democrat to leave that Party and vote with the Republicans ; and yet both parties use all possible efforts to win converts from each other. There must be "an Ethiopian in the hedge " here somewhere ! Party desertion, as it is called, if bad at all, is equally wrong in the adherents of all parties; and if it is right to denounce a man for leaving one Party and voting with another, it is certainly shameless hypocricy for the Party uttering the condemnation to be at the same time using its utmost efforts to entice to its support voters of other parties. And how utterly illogical it all is, too ! If a man once a Republican is always a Republican, and Democrats ditto, what is the use of a convention and a long campaign, costing millions of dollars, preceding each election ? The very influences used to keep the voters of one Party solid in its interest would also tend to hold the voters of other parties as unanimous in support of theirs. It might save a great deal of worry and expense, I will admit, but I think the result would be that eyery man would vote the ticket headed by the name of the Party whose brand he wore, and would teach his children to do likewise ; and it would soon become a question of whether more Demo- crats or Republicans became voters than died, and would eventually reduce itself to a question of the propagating qualities of the members of the two great parties. In fact, however, all the money is spent, all the agitation carried on, and all the abuse on the one hand and flattery on the other, made use of, to attract the support of the unanchored voters— those who are influenced by the issues of the time ratlier than the mandates of Party leaders. I sincerely believe that it would be just as logical for me to take the Burlington road every time I want to travel, simply because I like the road and its management, and utterly regardless of the destination I want to reach, as for me to proclaim Allegiance to one Political Party without regard to its relations to issues that now exist or may soon arise. Solomon said : " There be three things which are too wonderful for me ; yea, four which I know not : The way of an eagle in the air ; the way of a serpent upon a rock ; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea ; and the way of a man with a maid;" but if he were alive now, and familiar with our Party politics, I feel sure that his list of wonderful things would be revised and enlarged ; and I have sometimes thouglit Job 62 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. had some of our Party manipulators in mind when he said to his alleged friends and comforters, " No doubt ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you." I believe in Allegiance to truth rather than to Party, or even Country, and the ability to discern truth is more frequently a development than an inherited faculty. I maintain that whatever mental capacity I possess is to be used for my guidance, and is not to be subordinated to the opinion of some one else at the behest of some Party leader with whose views 1 may have no sympathy whatever. .1 do not say that I am always right and my opponents wrong, but simplj that I believe I am right, and so believing will vote as I think. It seems to me that the fundamental idea in our Govern- ment is that each man should maintain his personal independence— and especially his freedom of thought— at all hazards, and in so doing learn to recognize not only the right but the duty of every other man to do likewise. Parties rise and fall, develop and decay, as the result of the forces which call for, and then dismiss them, but truth never changes. If a man is true to himself he is never false to Party, Country, or God, and, in my judgment, when we urge upon people the imperative necessity of Alle- giance to Party we are very likely to teach them to subordinate all else thereto. I believe in advising men to base their political opinions solely upon principles, and they will then have little trouble in finding their places in the ranks of the Party whose course is toward the goal they want to reach, though it does not follow that they will always vote with the same Party. For instance, as a free trader I might have thought my chances as good in the Republican Party, five years ago, as in any other, but last year I would have had about as much chance there as a snowball in the infernal regions. Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes says, " tlie great end in this world is not so much where we stand as in what direction we are moving;'" and I think Emerson pointed the way toward real progress and true consistency when he said, " I will utter what I believe to-day, even though it contradicts all I said yesterday." LAND TAXATION ; AS PROPOSED BY HENRY GEORGE. By EDW. 0. BROWN, I shall not follow the example of several of the speakers at former meetings of this Club by saying that it is contrary to my inclination that I am one of its appointed speakers. Some natural embarrassment in address- ing what I fear will be so critical an audience, of course I have, but I will frankly say that since the subject is that which it is, I feel both honored and gratified in being asked to open the discussion. I am glad to be able to set before you things which I believe with all the strength of religious con- viction are of the highest importance and interest to us all. The subject, as announced, is "Land Taxation as proposed by Henry George," and this, I take it, means exactly what would be meant had it been announced as the " Single Tax." This expression— " the Single Tax "— while on the one hand it is a convenient and concise name for the proposed reform, is in another sense almost a misnomer. For of taxation upon the present lines, taxation direct or indirect, we who are believers in the new political economy, would have absolutely nothing. Of taxation which takes away from men against their will that which in any true sense is their own, that which they have made, that which is the product of their industry and energy, their thought and labor applied to natural opportunities to which they have had access ; or of taxation which imposes obstacles and burdens upon the natural and praiseworthy desire of men to exchange with each other these products of their own labor; of tariffs and income taxes, and internal revenue taxes and poll taxes, et id omne genus— I, for my own part, have no reform to suggest, except that reform implied in Hamlet's advice to the players '' Oh, reform tliem al- together." When a few weeks ago the subject of speculation was discussed here, I thought that if only we recognized wliat was properly the subject of indi- vidual property, what alone morally could be, and what alone therefore legally ought to be property, the basis for a right conclusion upon that sub- 63 64 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. ject could easily enough be reached. I believe so, too, of this subject of taxation. I doubt philosophically, the right of any government to take for the use of the community, or for any other purpose, from individual men, against their will, that v^^hich properly belongs to those men as individuals. On the other hand, there are things which the community, as the com- munity, collectively owns. These things the community, by its organized expression in govern- ment, has a right to dispose of for its own proper purposes. It is at the best, but force and brute strength which makes a man give up, for purposes of which he may entirely disapprove, at the will of a ruler, of a majority, or of any power outside of himself, a portion of that value which his ow^n individual effort has created, l^o legal fiction of a social compact can evade that conclusion. It is from this fact, it seems to me, that there springs that impatience of taxation which has everywhere been the origin of liberty. It is from this fact that even in the freest of governments there exist those evasions and subterfuges with w^hich men otherwise hon- orable, will always greet the tax collector. It is from this fact that, among any people, whatever may be their political theories, freedom of trade and freedom of speculation in the face of laws made to restrict them, are never accounted crimes. And even if we admit that such taxation as I have spoken of is within the rightful function of government ; even if we admit that it is necessary, it will remain an evil still. That the results of taxation of industry are mischievous and deleterious to its development, all history shows. The hopeless condition of the French people before the Revolution, the abject misery of the Egyptian peasant of to-day, was and is but the result of taxa- tion. You may say they were caused by the overwhelming amount of the taxation ; but that which in one degree produces the utter ruin of industry, must in a lesser degree even discourage and injure it. In the seventeenth century machinery used in manufacturing (crude enough undoubtedly it was), was in the south of England subjected to local taxation, in the north it was exempt. The result to-day is the almost purely agricultural character of the south of England, and those magnificent centers of manufacturing industry like Birmingham and Manchester in the nortli. So says Professor Thorold Rogers, the greatest of English authorities upon such subjects. I am told that in our own country exemption of machinery used in manu- facturing from local taxation in Philadelphia, has made it one of the great manufacturing centers of the world, and that to-day, using this as an argu- ment, the mayor of Minneapolis is urging upon the common council the advantages of such exemption there. And so I say that a tax upon that wiiich is properly a man's property, on that which he produces, a fine, therefore, on his industry and energy and thrift, cannot be anything but an evil. Even if it be a necessary evil, in order that greater ones, springing from disorder and anarcliy, may not exist, it will be an evil still. But what is the proper subject of individual property ? What is it that a man can own, as his owm, in his individual riglit V One of the greatest of English thinkers, two hundred years ago, stated the basis of LAND TAXATION; AS PROPOSED BY HENRY GEORGE. 65 property with philosophic accuracy. That which may be rightfully indivi- dual property is the results of man's labor and energy applied to natural opportunities. Those results should be the man's very own ; his own, to consume, to sell, to give away, to bequeath, nay, to destroy, if he so likes. But how about the natural opportunites themselves? the field, the meadow, the prairie, the mine, the quarry, and the sea— the land, air and water V From them all men must derive everything they have, but man- kind made them not. They were here before any man now living came ; they will be here when all men now living are dead. They are not the product of any man's industry, or skill, or energy. They are the creation of God, and of Him alone. They cannot be, then under any true system of economic philosophy, the subject of individual property. Individual men, indeed, claim to own the land, if not the air and sea; but to whom •does the land really belong? Did God create the iron mine for the heirs of John Smith, who squatted on the crust above its surface a century ago, or did He create it for all the children of men V Do the green prairies of America belong to all men, that can and will use them, or to the descend- ants of some English Lord, who live on the sweat of other men's brows ? Does not the earth belong in usufruct to the living, as Thomas Jefferson a century ago declared ? Is it true that our native land is not so far our land, that we have a right to fill a flower pot from its surface ? We are land animals and can live nowhere else ; are we to live upon the land only at the sufferance of individual men who claim to own it ? This idea never has been and never can be accepted as the true one. Fictions concerning social convention, social compact, vested rights, the trusteeship of the land owner, the iron necessity which compels a system philosophically unjust, a thousand other manufactured sophistries are in- troduced to justify the continuance of the present system of land tenure, but nothing is, or can be urged in justification of any natural right on the part of individuals to the ownership of the soil. In some sense then it is admitted by all that it is to the community of the living that the land belongs, and by land, we mean, all natural oppor- tunities. If then land— that is natural opportunities— belongs to the com- munity, then land is the just and natural source, is it not, of the necessary revenues of tlie community ? If it is not to individuals, but to the whole mass of the people that the land belongs, then without injustice and with- out violation of natural right, the people, as a whole, may, by any proper expression of their will, take and use those opportunities. That they should do this is the theory, and the whole theory, of the advocates of the Single Tax. Remove, we say, all the burdens that rest so heavily on industry and energy ; remove the tariffs and the excises, the taxes on houses and crops, and farm improvements ; the taxes which everywhere fall upon the laborer who is willing and anxious to work, and gather the income necessary for all the purposes of government, as it now exists ; yes, for all those purposes and a thousand other grand beneficent ones properly within its function, from those natural opportunities which belong to the people in their collective capacity, and are not the true property of indivi- ECHOES OF THE SUNSET [CLUB. duals. Abolish, in other words, all other taxes whatsoever, and levy a tax, if you will call it so, on land values. On land values, pure and simple, mind you ; not on improvements of any sort or kind, for improvements are the property of the men who made them, and those to whom they have given them. But this land tax, if you call it so, should and would in reality he the fair RENTAL of the land. How simple and how just it is, and how practicable, too ! The land belongs to the community. It belongs to all the people who live upon it. But since improvements must be made upon it, since labor and energy must be continuously and persistently used upon each particular part of it to make it so yield its useful products, as that it shall reach even a propor- tion of its highest profit, and as no person will bestow these things upon land to which he has not a tenure, stable, permanent and continuous ;• therefor, no people above the grade of tent-dwellers and herdsmen can use land in common^ nor will civilization advance without security of possession and fixity of tenure. Assurance of permanency and continuity of tenure for their use, is necessary then to the -best use of almost all natural oppor- tunities ; how necessary, the miserable state of cultivation, in rack-rented localities where the man who uses the soil is alw^ays in imminent danger of eviction, will attest. But the conclusion so often drawn that because the man who uses land must have assurance and permanency of tenure, therefore to the derogation of natural justice and in the face of God's own law, he, his heirs and assigns must have the absolute private ownership, is in the highest degree absurd. As a matter of fact, the vast proportion of the men wlio use the land directly do not own, nor claim to own, a single inch of it. They pay the rental value of it, they pay much more than the true rental value of it to other men, who do so claim to own it. The Single Tax means only this : These men and all men who use as individuals the land which belongs to all, who have the privilege of mono- polizing and using for their own advantage any portion of that which is the inheritance of the entire community, shall retain their tenure as long as they choose, provided only they shall pay the rental value of what they use, not to those individuals who claim to own it by authority drawn in the last resort from some long dead European king, but to the cnmmimiti/ which does own it in very truth and deed. And thus without the use of the ugly word "confiscation,'' and with- out running counter to present institutions, but in the direction of exist- ing customs and speech and thought, by a practicable, obtainable reform we can, if we adopt the Single Tax, abolish all burdens and taxes upon in- dustry and capital, and by taking ground rents for the use of the State in- stead, can. without formal interference with tenure, take back for the community, for all the people, that of which they have so long unjustly been deprived. To the extent alone that this abolished all unnecessary and unjust taxation of capital and industry (and President Cleveland never said a truer word tlian that " aZi unnecessary taxation is unjust taxation"), it LAND TAXATION; AS PROPOSED BY HENRY GEORGE. 67 would be a reform in governmental and economic methods, more benefi- cial and far-reaching, as I believe, than the world has known for cen- turies. But such a relief to the burdens of industry and true capital, great as it would be, is but the beginning of the results that from this great reform would revolutionize for their infinite improvement the social conditions of the world. Do you say it would ruin the land-owners and the landlords ? I tell yoLi it would really injure no one but those men who, for speculation, hold land unimproved or improved only to an imperfect extent. Their contribution to the community would be at once increased to the amount of which they are depriving it, and their hope of realizing in the future from the increase or rise in value which they have done nothing to bring about would be destroyed. Do not talk of vested rights. Vested wrongs, though they be centuries old, do not become vested rights. Captain Kidd could leave no vested right to a career of piracy to his descendants. Kor could even great and good men like Washington and Jefferson leave a true vested right in human slaves to their children. I decline to believe that James the First or Second could give away to the ancestors in title of the man who claims to own the land on which stands the house I live in, the rights of my children to-day to the land of America. It was not a robbery of the human race that took place once for all, when parceling out the land in individual ownership began, or when, from tenure philosophically correct, there came tenure unjust and ruinous. It is a fresh and continuous robbery that goes on every day and every hour. And what is the result of that robbery ? If you say that our proposition will injure some landlords and some land owners, who would reap where they did not sow, and gather where they did not scatter, I ask you whom it would benefit? And I will answer it for you, too. It will benefit those whom this robbery of their heritage has debased, and embittered, and em- bruted. It will benefit those little children that this robbery has taken from play and school and compelled to work — those 'young, young chil- dren that are weeping, weeping bitterly in the play-time of the others, in the country of the free.' It will benefit those families, crowded eight and ten persons together, into a single squalid room, herded like swine. It will benefit those lads and girls, who might be useful men and women, who are reared now through the effect of this robbery for the penitentiary and the brothel. It will benefit those young girls who shiver as they sew for bread ; those tattered and barefooted children who make their home in the streets. It will benefit those classes in manufacturing districts who are stunted and deteriorated by want— classes in which female virtue is all but lost, and family affections all but trodden out. It will benefit those men who now are traveling thousands of miles for some place to locate their families; for a home, and finding none ; it will benefit those men, who, though it is as iron in their souls, are obliged to depend upon the labor of their women and children in addition to their own to eke out a miserable existence ; it will benefit those who are freezing and starving to- day in our great cities ; it will benefit those who work for the merest of pit- tances, sixteen and eighteen hours a day ; it will benefit the millions of 68 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. I unemployed men of America, from whom is recruited the daily increasing army of paupers and criminals. These are the people that our reform would benefit, not only because all legitimate industry by one tremendous bound would show instantan- eous relief from unjust taxation, but because of its elfect on that which keeps these people w'retched, the iron law of wages, a result of other laws of supply and demand and of human nature that make it inevitable that employers will not pay what they can, but what they must, and make wages always therefore tend to the low^est point at which men can live and reproduce the race. The tendency of wages now to this point is the inevi- table result of laws as natural and as universal in application as the law^ of gravitation itself. To attempt to restrain their operation for any great length of time by legislation as to hours of labor, or even by trades-union organization is futile and desperate. The one thing, and the only thing which can and does prevent wages reaching this lowest point, is the ability of men to evade wage-w^orking altogether and to apply directly and for their own benefit their labor, mental and physical, to natural opportunities. The ability of men to do this depends upon their ability to get to the land and to work on it for themselves. We often hear the wage worker, discon- tented with his lot, advised to go upon the land. The advice in one sense is sound enough, but the pertinent inquiry remains, under our present sys- tem, upon what land? Upon whose land? The half-starved wretches, clustering now in thousands around Oklahoma, the emigrants of whom we have read, who have searched three thousand miles of country for a suita- ble homestead and been obliged to return without it, find it difficult to answ^er these questions. It is true that, as bad as things are in America, it has been easier in our comparatively sparsely settled country, which has always had an enormous public common domain, for men to get upon the land, in other words, for men to apply their labor to natural opportunities without seeking employment from others, than it has been in other countries older and more densely crowded. To this fact alone is it due that wages have kept higher, all things considered, here than elsewhere. But even here, through our wasteful way of investing settlers with private titles, the end has well nigh come. Practically for the Avage-workers of our large cities it was long ago reached. Hence is the tendency to-day of wages always downward ; hence is the army of the unemployed ; hence the hundred thousand tramps who trudge by and through many an unused field, where they would willingly work if they were not warned away; hence the nameless misery, to which I have alluded, which exists in the crowded hovels of our great cities. To relieve this misery, noble and good men and women have ever been striving; but it has been palliatives only, mistaken sometimes for reme- dies, which they have endeavored to apply. The human mind, thank God, is so constituted that we cannot see this misery in individual cases without desiring to relieve it, and hence comes charity, which is beautiful, and in individual cases beneficient both to giver and recipient. We must rever- ence the spirit which organizes great cliarities and gives them great en- LAND TAXATION; AS PROPOSED BY HENRY GEORGE. 69 dowments, but we must remember that it is justice first and cliarity afterwards, which is demanded of us. And we must remember, too, alas, that under the operation of the iron law of wages that I have described, if we make it possible through charity for individuals to live upon a less wage for their labor, we infallibly tend to make other men's wages, who are not recipients of cliarity sink to that point. We hear very much of the necessity and advantage of educating the poor in thrift, economy and tem- perance, but thrift, economy and temperance can only avail one man in so far as they make him superior to the general level. If by their diffusion, the general level is brought up to a higher point, the increased application under this same law of wages will secure but the old rate, and he who would get ahead must work harder still. Enthusiastic and able men have fancied and have preached that in co- operation will be found the solution of the problem of how the laborer could get a just return for his labor ; but co-operation can do nothing but reduce the cost of bringing commodities to the consumer, and increase the efficiency of labor ; and increasing the productive power, under our present system, means no increase in the wage of the worker. It means only that the so-called owners of land, the source of all wealth, can command a greater return for the use of that land. And the same objection of their inefficiency, must be made to all the suggestions, which, without disturb- ing the present central feature of our economic system, the monopolization of land, propose better fiscal and economic legislation and the abolition of bad and injudicious laws. I agree most heartily with those who would abolish tariffs and give us unrestricted freedom of trade. But freedom of trade in the end, wiiile it vastly increases the aggregate wealth of a country, and while it does delay its unequal and unjust distribution, cannot in the end prevent that injustice. For again, the same rule as. to wages and the wage worker prevails. And again, it is to the landlord that the ulti- mate advantage accrues. " Come with me," said Richard Cobden to John Bright in 1841, when the agitation for the repeal of the Corn Laws began, '• and we will never rest until it is impossible in England for wives and mothers, and children to die of hunger." They carried their labors under the compact then made to a successful determination. To the immense material advantage of Great Britain the Corn Laws were long ago re- pealed, but hunger still exists in London, and women and children die of it. Under our present system, if all men became temperate, and virtuous and industrous ; if, upon all other subjects than this vital one of the land, bad laws, bad customs and bad political economy were abolished ; nay, if the skill and energy of mankind were increased one hundred fold ; nay, if God made ten blades of grass to grow wherever one grows to-day, the result will be the same. Rent would increase and wages would tend to the starvation point. Xow, a few years ago there came to the well nigh hopeless seekers for that w hich should relieve what has aptly been called, the deep melancholy of our existence, the revelation of a new gospel, the gospel of fair play ! And this new gospel was no palliative, no nostrum to check the progress of disease. It was in truth a remedy striking at the fatal germ. All the fO ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. dreary fallicies of the Malthusian theory, the starvation limit, the possi- bility of overproduction, vanished for those who received it, as at the touch of the magician's wand. That which had been known as the "dis- mal science " became a joyous one. A great hope dawned upon the world ! What was this gospel V Simply this : since to make it possible for all men to use natural opportunities for themselves will keep wages from fall- ing, make it possible ! And this the Single Tax, believe me, will do ! Kot alone, nor chiefly because it is a reform in fiscal methods ; not because it is a "tax •' in a true sense at all, but because, by taking away the temptation to withhold land from profitable use, it will throw open millions of acres to those industrious people who desire to use them ; because by taking ground rents from those who do not own them and by giving them to those who do — the community at large — it will enable the State to take care of the weak and unfortunate, because it will stimulate the improvement of all land and destroy speculation in it. It would make it unprofitable and therefore economically impossible for men to hold land at all without im- provement. Forcing improvement thus upon the land owners, it would compel the useful employment of labor. Instead, therefore, of laborers competing with each other for employment, employers would be every- where competing for laborers. For, into the labor market would have come as a competitor, the demand of labor itself ; the ability, in other words, of laborers to utilize for themselves natural opportunities. Indus- trious men and women would no longer have to w^ander long distances and waste their means in looking for better opportunities ; they would not be obliged to swell the ranks of the wage workers when those ranks were already overcrowdeded ; they would not be forced, when this resource even failed, to become useless tramps. In language which I believe well war- ranted, Mr. George says: " With natural opportunities thus free to labor, with capital and improvements exempt from tax, and exchange released from restrictions, the spectacle of willing men unable to turn their labor into the things they are suffering for, would become impossible, the recur- ring paroxysms which paralyze industry would cease. Every wheel of pro- duction would be set in motion. Demand would keep pace with supply and supply with demand. Trade would increase in every direction and Wealth augment on every hand." And even this is not all. The moral change in the world, w^e may well believe will be as great. No longer believing that the hell of poverty yawns but half concealed under the feet of our children, we shall lose our- selves that lust of gain, which the Romans called " the last corruption of men." We shall cease to regard God as a mill wheel or a spinning jenny, and to turn ourselves into cold calculating slaves of mammon and the world. Consider, then, I pray you, the new economic system that is offered you I Do not suppose that because objections to it rise spontaneously to your minds and to your lips that they cannot be answered. Do not sup- pose that objections to it, which I doubt not will be skillfully and ably pre- sented to you to-night, cannot be answered. Of course, even if I could LAND TAXATION; AS PROPOSED BY HENRY GEORGE. 71 anticipate them all, you would not expect me to touch upon them. The time allotted to me here is necessarily and wisely limited. It is not, of course, the place nor the opportunity for me to discuss the objections to this sweeping and radical measure. I know what some of these objections are, of course. They have been before now reduced to print and thor- oughly and completely met. One writer says that the income from the Single Tax would not be suffi- cient to meet a tithe of the ordinary expenses of the State ; that under the system proposed the revenue would be insignificant. Another writer says that the income derived from the Single Tax would be so great that cor- ruption would necessarily follow. Another ignoring the fact that all the experience of civilization in the matter of land held upon ground leases is against him, says, that without the hope of the unearned increment which belongs now to the individual ownership of land, men would not improve it and civilization would come to a standstill. Another declares, in the face of the actual experience in numberless cases, that the taxing power could not separate the value of land from the value of improvements. Another, in the teeth of all sound political economy, says, that the Single Tax upon land values would be ineffective, because it could be added by the owner to the rents of his tenants, as though landlords did not exact to- day the utmost rent that they can obtain. It has been said that farmers would suffer by the proposed reform, and thoroughly and completely tlie revenue and fiscal statistics of a dozen States, carefully analyzed, have dis- proved it. As I have said, I cannot discuss these objections here, but I beg you not to believe in their truth without consideration, because men say tliey are so. If you hear these objections or any others, or if they spring spontaneously to your minds, examine them, investigate them, think of them ! Kemember that Americans ought to love fair play ! And remember, too, the interests at stake. Kemember it is not true conservatism which cries, '' peace, peace, when there is no peace ;" that it is but cowardly supineness which would pass the so-called labor question ))y, with a hope that the present system of things will last for our day and generation ; that it is a blasphemy, which would in the mockery of reli- gious words lay upon God the responsibility of the wretchedness and misery of the world to-day ; that scoffs, and sneers, and pointless jokes, are not the things with which any sincere effort to relieve the poor and weak, and the suffering, whose wrongs call for a solution, should be met. llemember that it is said that he who keeps the poor from his desire, and turns away the stranger from his right, and plunders the heritage of the needy, shall be called to answer to the God of the poor in the day when lie shall arise to shake terribly the earth ! And remember, that we, who believe in this reform we deem so great, believe that, should this movement succeed, we may have for the first time in the history of civilization a world joyous, bright and happy ; a world where men and women may go singing, not weeping, to their work; a world where the groaning millions may be forever free ; a world where will be realized the prophecy of the Hebrew seer : " Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myr- 72 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. tie tree ; men shall build houses and inhabit them ; they shall plant vine- yards and eat of the fruit of them ; they shall not build and another inhabit ; they shall not plant and another eat." All that we ask is, that with earnest and sincere endeavors you shall make an effort to reach the truth concerning this great matter, remembering that we claim to ask only the restoration of the disinherited to their natural rights, and for the establishment of society on the basis of justice. We desire liberty, equal- ity, fraternity ! In the eloquent words of Mr. George, " Liberty, the full freedom of each, bounded only by the equal freedom of every other ! Equality — the equal right of each to the use antrenjoyment of all natural opportunities, to all the essentials of happy, healthful human life. Fra- ternity—that sympathy which links together those wiio struggle in a noble cause, that would live and let live ; that would help as well as be helped ; that in seeking the good of all finds the highest good of each !" LAND TAXATION; AS PROPOSED BY HENRY GEORGE. By M. L. SCUDDER. " Land Taxation, as proposed by Henry George," seems to me a too favorable description of Mr. George's pet theory. By taxation we mean the means of raising the necessary revenue for conducting the operations of government. Taxation is as old as government. We are all familiar with it. We have all been taxed. No reasonable man who lives in civilized society and enjoys the benefits and protection of government should expect to escape taxation. He may complain that the sums contributed by taxation are wrongly and unprofitably expended, but that he should be called upon to pay for the benefits which he enjoys is not a proper subject of complaint. I object, therefore, to applying this well worn and respectable name to Mr. George's new and untried theory. Mr. George's proposition, as I understand it, is not to tax the property of the citizen, such reasonable appropriation for the cost of maintaining government, as it should equitably bear, but to deprive him entirely of all revenue on a certain class of property, in order that the government may have funds to distribute for the support of its needy citizens. That I may not misrepresent him, I have taken the following from " Progress and Poverty." "Neither on the ground of equity or expediency, is there anything to deter us from making land common property by confiscating rent." " We should satisfy the law of justice. We should meet all economic requirements by one stroke, abolishing all private titles, declaring all land public property and letting it out to the highest bidders, in lots to suit, un- der such conditions as would sacredly guard the private right to improve- ments." " What I therefore propose — is to appropriate rent by taxation." Now, in so much as the ta^iation of rent or land values, must be neces- sarily increased, as we abolish other taxes, we may put the proposition into practical form, by proposing to abolish all taxation save that upon land values." This is not taxation within any meaning of the term to which we or any people are or have been accustomed. This is confiscation. Mr. 73 74 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. George calls it elsewhere the nationalization of the land. But disguised under whatever name, it is taking property for public use without making compensation therefor, which is contrary to our written constitution and to the fundamental ideas of all just government. Mr. George evolves his theory of the nationalization of land from a course of reasoning which is highly fallacious, but apparently from its effects on certain classes of minds highly seductive. Without attempting to confuse you by an explanation of Mr. George's deductions from Ricardo's theory of rent, I think 1 can briefly atate the argument as follows : All wealth is created by labor, therefore everything which is held in possession by man, which, has not been created by labor, is not properly wealth. He who takes possession, holds and enjoys any material thing not created by his labor, or the labor of some other man for which he has given some product of his labor in exchange, commits a wrongful act. According to this theory the man who appropriates, holds, and enjoys any natural product has deprived the community of its enjoyment, and should make recompense to the community for tlie enjoyment which he is enabled to derive thereby to the full value of its use to him. This, I think, is a broad and fair statement of Mr. George's doctrine. The surface of the earth being the most conspicuous thing not created by labor, to which man has attached value, has appropriated and enjoys, Mr. George selects it as the chief object for the application of his theory. Now, I am not able to say that his theory is not correct, if any one can prove to me the premise with which he starts : namely, that all wealth is created by labor. I have noticed that thisdogma is generally believed and accepted by those who discuss the theories of Political Economy, but I have never yet seen any attempt seriously and practically made to show its truth. It is commonly said that everybody knows that this is so. That all wealth is created by labor is accepted as an axiom, but no one has made any attemp to prove it, and I think that the wise conclusion in regard to Mr. George's theory, on the part of those who wish to be sound in their opinions, is towait until some one of his followers devises some logical method for proving that this, his fundamental premise, is true. If some one of the confident advocates of the nationalization of all land will give this matter careful consideration and search for some transactions in actual life, some series of purchases and sales of any one commodity that have been conducted on the basis that labor has created all value, and will wait before proclaiming the George doctrine, until they have evolved some practical conclusive proof, I think there will be a great lull in this dis- cussion, and that we will be saved a great deal of breath, which miglit be more usefully employed than in refuting Mr. George's popular conclusions. There is another dogma which Mr. George and his followers are fond of enunciating, and which they make the basis for some of their most persuasive rhetoric, and from which they derive much sentimental sup- port; namely, the assertion that in our age and especially in this country, the rich are constantly growing richer and the poor poorer. When they make this assertion they offer no proof of its truthfulness, it is assumed, LAND TAXATION; AS PROPOSED BY HENRY GEORGE. 75 and their discussions go on from this point to arouse every philanthropist to a condemnation of existing society. If this is so, if the poor are grow- ing poorer and the rich richer, if society is separating itself into upper and lower grades which are growing gradually apart, and we are becoming a people made up of two classes, on the one hand the oppressors holding all the property, and on the other hand the slaves, who are ground down and do all the work, it is certainly a matter of sufficient gravity to deserve careful investigation and should not be brought forward and asserted with- out abundant proof. There is no time for me on this occasion to enter into a discussion of this question, but it seems to me that any man of ordinary common sense traveling through our country, or even exploring the streets of Chicago, will find abundant evidence that the wealth of the country, the comforts and means of enjoying life are possessed by the people; and that the great majority of the people are rising constantly in their ability to command these comforts and means of enjoyment. The square miles covered with small homesteads which make up our city ought to be a sufficient answer to any wild assertion that the poor are growing poorer. And the lives of our rich men— that is, our men of large means— if carefully scrutinized, ought to assure any fair-minded man that riches, in this country at least, are accumulated mainly by men who started poor, and are the reward of dilligence and conspicuous ability. ^ow, as to the theory of Land Taxation, leaving Mr. George out of the account. The collecting of revenue for the purpose of State and local government by a Single Tax on land, was thought of, discussed and advo- cated before Mr. George was born. Quesnay proposed the Single Land Tax more than one hundred years ago, and supported it by arguments which were fallacious, but not in the same way that George's arguments are. Quesnay argued that all wealth is derived from land, therefore levy all taxes on land. George says all wealth is created by labor, therefore tax land. Quesnay's argument is the better of the two. iiiit besides this, there are strong arguments which have been ably presented in favor of collecting the revenue necessary for the operation of government from land and its improvements alone, and there are weighty reasons why this is the most economical and fairest method for the collection of such funds as are needed for this purpose. I may briefly outline these : " I think it will be recognized as a reasonable and just statement that economy in assessment and collection of taxes can be best served by avoiding, so far as possible, arbitrary action on the part of the officers of government entrusted with that duty. Injustice arises in the levying of taxes when officers are permitted to exercise favoritism, and when oppor- tunity is afforded to the citizen to conceal his property subject to taxation. It is desirable therefore that the property subject to taxation should be of that simple nature that it may be easily found, and that all men may be able to estimate its value. There is no property which answers these con- ditions as well as real estate. If it can be proved that taxes levied on real estate alone will be equitably adjusted through the community, I think ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. it may be said that the fairness of this form of levying taxes will be estab- lished." Alexander Hamilton said in the Constitutionalist: "The genius of liberty reprobates everything arbitrary or discretionary in taxation. It exacts that every man, by a definite and general rule, should Iniow what proportion of his property the State demands. Whatever liberty we may boast in theory, it cannot exist in fact while (arbitrary) assessments con- tinue." The tax on real estate conforms to these conditions. It is tlie fairest in its application and most economical in collection of any of our taxes. The American people have never been fairly aroused to investigate and formulate a theory of taxation. Taxes in this country have generally been so light that they have been paid without their burden being felt, and the system of taxation has often been crude and wasteful, simply for the reason that the people have been so much occupied in making money that they could not afford to give time for the correction of small abuses. The period following the war was that in which taxation was most lieavy, but the relief came from these burdens so rapidly in growing prosperity that correct theories were not formulated as to taxation, and many abuses still disfigure this branch of our government. It may be worth while for us to note that in Illinois the machinery of government is largely supported by the tax on real estate. Nearly three times more is contributed by its citizens for the support of State and local government, from taxation of real estate than is derived from taxation of personal property. In the city of Chicago the revenue derived from taxes on real estate is more than four times that derived from taxes on personal property. In the State of Pennsylvania the proportion of State and local revenue derived from real estate is still larger. Owners of Illinois real estate now bear the greater part of the expenses of local and State government, and there is no general complaint that too little is spent in this way, or that our officials are too economical or too honest. The Illinois land owner has now some- thing left by way of income. Suppose that this large sum, the residue of income from real estate after paying taxes, was turned into the public treasury, all other taxes might be abolished and still tliere would be an enormous surplus. Does any wise or practical man think this sum would be prudently and profitably expended, or that the poor would be any better off for it V In discussing the feasibility of taxing real estate exclusively for the support of government, it is not necessary happily to consider Mr. George's theories at all. It may be found best, most economical and most fair that we should collect our government revenue from our land and improve- ments thereon, but this will not imply any assertion as to the correctness of Mr. George's visionary propositions, or any admission that property in real estate is not as justly held by individuals as that in any form of per- sonal possessions, and that its tenure is not as just and as unassailable as that which the laborer claims in the commodity which he controls, namely his own labor. SUBSIDIES AND THE TARIFF. By EDW. S. TAYLOR. Subsidies and Tariff is the bewitching: topic for the evening's talk ; it is a theme theorists ever delight to dwell upon, political economists have for generations founded arguments thereon adapted to all sides of every question, affecting either our domestic or foreign relations ; it is a subject whicli for more than half a century has paved the pathway to the political graveyard, wherein lies buried the hopes and the ambitions of unnumbered eminent statesmen, both of the past and present. It is my purpose in our interview to speak of the tariff as a business proposition, considering its relation to the country, its prosperity and its toil. In its practical applica- tion it has been demonstrated that a tariff on importations is the easiest, perhaps the least burdensome mode of raising a revenue for the ordinary expenses of government, thus rival alien industries are made to contribute to tlie national support, and the very act which exacts such tribute mantles home industry with protection, stimulates production, and augments the prosperity of the people. A tariff is essential for the maintenance of the government — all parties recognize the necessity. The question is, shall a tarifif be imposed for revenue only, or as well for the encouragement of enterprise and the protection of toil. A tariff for revenue only seeks to impose the lowest duty which will secure the largest revenue, hence in- creased importations are a necessity, and the impost is laid not upon arti- cles whicli come in competition with our product, but mainly upon non- competing articles, thus opening our home markets to the ruinous rivalry of foreign clieap products wiiich represent the poorly paid toil of the Old World. The history of this country, the wealth of its resources, its wonder- ful development and progress under a protective tariff, coupled with the in- ventive spirit and enterprise of its people, prompts me to favor protection. I believe in the freedom of exchanges between our own people, and so far as necessary to secure such freedom would deny unrestrained exchange with the people of other countries. I w^ould suffer no meritorous Ameri- can industry to languish which could be promoted by a reasonable protec- tion, either by bounty, subsidy or impost. To-day the voice of lamentation is heard throughout the land, almost universal is the warning at the de- cline of American shipping, and the absence of our flag in foreign ports ; 77 78 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. strangely, in contrast with the characteristic energy of our people in other fields of development and progress is their indifference to our standing as a nation in the maritime service. It is a matter of regret that American vessels freighted with the wealth of our products should not float the monarchs of the deep. For a generation few vessels flying our flag have borne our exports to the people beyond the sea. Forty yearsJago we carried ninety per cent, of our foreign trade, to-day less than ten per cent. Many things contribute to this; it is partly due to the changed character of con- struction from wood to iron, and the lower cost of both material and wages in the ship building yards on the Tyne. Yet the most potent cause of the decline is the withdrawal by our Government of its discrimination as to right of entry, and the refusal of governmental aid to maintain its ocean supremacy. Would you see our merchant marine restored ? Our supremacy re-established upon the deep ? It can be done, the people of this country have but to speak through their representatives in Congress a single word— that word, subsidy. The magic of that utterance will build an American fleet which flying our flag can command the carrying trade of the sea. The common defence, the general welfare and our country's honor alike, demand the speaking of- that word. France pays for the en- couragement of foreign commerce — either by subsidy or for transportation of mail— $6,750,000 ; England, $4,250,000 ; Spain, Italy, Germany, Brazil and the Argentine Republic from $1,500,000 to $3,500,000 annually. The United States contributes less than $500,000, ninety per cent, of this amount goes to foreign ships for transportation of American mail. Under the provi- sions of the Tonnage Bill, now before Congress, at a cost to this Govern- ment of far less than what France, England, or the Republic of South America pay, American enterprise could put twenty steamers upon tlie sea, the equal of any which now float, any two of which, as Admiral Porter says, would be more serviceable to the country in time of war than all the crusiers which composed our navy three years ogo. I favor a sub- sidy for the re-establishment of the merchant marine, that our floating commerce may anchor in the harbors of every nation, our flag float ov^r the waters of every sea. Originally a tariff was a rule or policy prescril)ed by the Government primarily to regulate trade. It was a commercial toll levied on some specific alien industry which came in competition with a like domestic industry. The revenue derived from such impost was but an incident, the main purpose being to regulate or prevent ruinous competi- tion, thereby aiding enterprises, which, without such protection would perish. The principle of protection is neitlier illogical or unnatural. We seek by law to preserve the public health, to promote the public morals, to give security to the citizen in his personal and property rights. All ac- quiesce in the wisdom of such enactments. The development of the diver- sified industries of any people is as essential to the prosperity and inde- pendence of that people, and to the maintenance and stability of their institutions, as is the health, the morals, or the property interest of the citizen. A nation is prosperous in proportion as the energy of its people is utilized; properly encourage and stimulate varied occupations and you best utilize the individual energy. Experience teaches us that under a tariff SUBSIDIES AND THE TARIFF. 79 encouraging manufactures, such development of diversified pursuit has ever been stimulated, while invariably under a low tariff there have been periods of great depression. Productive industries in existence under a protective tariff have not only vastly multiplied their capacity, but enter- prise thus protected has entered into new fields of development, so broad- ening and increasing its operations that now there is manufactured in this country every article adapted to the comfort or necessities of man. Equally for our comfort in time of prosperity, equally for our defence in time of war. Again, protection produces competition, and has so quick- ened the inventive genius of our people that economy in production has reduced the cost of all articles in common use, without reducing the wages of the labor which has aided in the production. In the higher remuner- ated toil of this country we find an incontrovertible argument in favor of protection— scarcely an operative in England owns his home. In busy Leeds with a population of more than three hundred thousand, there is not, as I am advised, a single artisian, or-wage worker, owning the house in which he lives. In Philadelphia two hundred thousand wage earners own their homes. In the city of Rockford, that busy hive, there are sixteen different lines of industry, and ninety per cent, of the wage workers there own the dwellings they occupy. The mechanics and operatives in the States of Rhode Island and Connecticut own more property than all the wage workers in the Old World. The toil of this country from forest and field, factory and forge, demand with one voice that the valuable market here made by sixty-five million people shall, through protection, be preserved for the product of home industry. It is doubtless true that in instances a liigh tariff may work injury to specific interests, or be ill adapted to cer- tain sections, yet, in measuring] the general prosperity, we behold so mar- velous a development and progress that we say the greatest good to the greatest number justifies the policy. A people situated as we are, with resources so varied and vast, possessing all that is needed to make our- selves absolutely independent of every other people, equally in peace or peril, have a home market more valuable than any market abroad ; protec- tion secures such market to American labor and American enterprise, and under such policy the United States has prospered as has no other nation. One of the greatest of living statesmen, Bismarck, has declared, " it is my deliberate judgment that the prosperity of America is due to its system of protective laws," and urged Germany to imitate the tariff system of the United States. It is often suggested that a tariff for revenue only would cheapen the cost of living. Would it not necessarily cheapen the value of labor, and reduce its purchasing power ? Cheap labor everywhere means cheap food and cheap clothing. Contrast the comforts of the wage worker of this country with the cheap labor abroad. In such a contrast neither patriotism or humanity would reduce the conditions and surroundings of our wage earners to the conditions and surroundings of those of England or of continental Europe. We further illustrate the blessings of cheap labor by referring to the Ryots of India, who earned but ten cents a day : they have poor food and scant, if any, clothing, and to the Peons on the Haciendas of Mexico, who earn but a shilling a day, living on Tortilla and / ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. Friholi, and when night overtakes them, throw their serapas about them and lie down on the ground to sleep. Cheapened cost of living, conse- quent upon free foreign competition with American labor, would neither promote the happiness or prosperity of the people, or indicate a high state of civilization. A policy desirable for one country may not be equally beneficial for another. Our boundless extent of territory, if as densely settled as is Great Britian, Belgium, Germany or France, would have a population ten, perhaps fifteen times greater than we now have ; with our present population we have a home market for more than ninety per cent, of our production. England consumes less than 40 per cent of her pro- duct, and must market 60 per cent, abroad, or bankruptcy menaces her people. These different conditions suggest that as a nation, we should adopt a policy that would subserve the interest of our own people, rather than endanger requited toil, by sharing our markets with aliens to pre- vent idleness and starvation abroad. The selfish attitude of England to- ward other nations which have fallen under her power, is history, and strongly admonishes against the policy of legislating for the benefit of foreign labor at the expense of her own. Her imperious policy of an open market for her product touched with blight the land of the Nile, shaded those portions of India and China where force secured her sway, and banished prosperity from beneath the shadows of Gibraltar ; her restrictive legislation palsied all American industries in colonial times, and has for nearly a century shrouded the industries of Ireland with the pall of death. There was a time when Ireland yielded the sceptre of industrial power, her air was vocal with the din of her busy life ; the fame of her fabrics reached remotest realms; within the century England gained dominion there, and abolishing the Irish Parliament, prescribed from Westminister the poisonous policy which stilled Irish industries and strangled both pros- perity and hope. To-day, from Cork to the Causeway, and from the West- ern Highlands to the Irish Sea, scattered everywhere over that beautiful island, are mute monuments of abandoned industry and perished liopes. The Shannon which floated oceanward, the freighted evidences of activity and toil, now flows undisturbed from source to sea, its waters unruffled by the wheels of commerce, un vexed by the impulse of trade. I would avert in this country the ruin which England's policy of Free Trade would bring to all branches of gainful occupation. I believe a tariff affects wages. All our products are the creation of toil. The value of any article depends upon the amount of labor bestowed upon its construction. It is so with the bread you eat, the coat you wear, the house you occupy. Take for in- stance a bar of iron ; it was valueless as the ore slumbered in the moun- tains, labor mined it, and gave it its present form, and the bar is worth four or five dollars. Labor converts it into horseshoes, it becomes worth fifteen or twenty dollars. Again submit it to the manipulation of labor, and you have needles wrought out of that bar worth two hundred and fifty or three hundred dollars. Again* touch it with toil, and you have knife blades, and that bar of iron has become worth twenty-five hundred dollars. Again subject it to the touch of toil with its trained eye and its skilled hand, and that bar is converted into watch springs, and has become worth f SUBSIDIES AND THE TARIFF. 81 more than its weight in gold. Such is the value imparting the life-giving power of labor— invincible, majestic, commanding— I bow to the omnipo- tence of toil. In proportion as you inundate this country with the products of foreign cheap labor, you reduce the purchasing power of our compen- sated toil. I speak not in defense of existing laws. I believe a judicious revision and reduction would be wise. I should favor the adaptation of a tarilf to the ever-changing conditions or demands of the times, but would nevertheless in making such change, insist that protection, the prop of our prosperity, remain unshaken, undisturbed. SUBSIDIES AND THE TARIFF. By frank H. SCOTT. During the last fifteen years the word "subsidy" has not had a pleasant sound to the ears of the American people. It recalled a great humiliation, a story of corruption in high places, the smirching of clean reputations, the discovery of venality in those entrusted with the custody and distribution of the nation's wealth. Political leaders, ever quick to adjust their views to the public temper, joined in the general denuncia- tion of subsidies, and declared themselves unalterably opposed to them. Whatever other schemes might be devised to reward the faithful, or to keep down a rapidly increasing and troublesome surplus, whether by ap- propriations to improve the channels of streams, which could only be made useful to commerce by macadamizing their beds and using them as roads, as one Congressman put it, or by maintaining an army of pensioners at a cost almost as great as that of the maintenance of the most extensive standing army in Europe, yet, until recently, propositions to encourage private enterprise by the direct appropriation of the people's money have been studiously avoided. But while public indignation is intense and sweeping in its outbursts, yet in the presence of individual interests, and the pressure of every day cares, it soon fades into forgetfulness or indiffer- ence. And so it is that again suggestions are heard from party leaders, that after all subsidies may not be such bad things, and that the popular feeling was, if excusable, yet not wise. An effort is clearly being made to lead back the popular mind to that attitude of tolerance toward subsidy schemes, from which it started, with affright by reason of events of the early seventies. Mr. Blaine has recently given expression to the following opinion : " Navigation is the weakest of the great interests in the United States, be- cause it is the one which the J^ational Government has constantly refused to protect. If since the civil war the United States had spent in protect- ing her shipping, merely the annual interest on the great sum which Eng- land has expended to protect her ocean traffic, American fleets would now be rivalling the fleets of England, as they rivalled them before the war on every sea where the prospect of commercial gain invites the American Flag." 82 SUBSIDIES AND THE TARIFF. 83 This expression comes very aptly from a plumed knight. The charac- teristic which most distinguished the gentlemen with a fancy for wearing feathers in their hair, from the time of Sir Launcelot to that of Sitting Bull, was not a nice observance of the rights of the rest of the human family, nor an embarrassing respect for the sovereignty of logic, but the possession of what is nowadays called nerve. It is that quality which ex- hibits itself, for instance when some healer of one or the other of the new schools, having brought his patient to the brink of the grave, charges the death to the physician who is called in. in extremis, in order that it may be possible to secure a burial certificate. Mr. Blaine first deplores that condition of our merchant marine, which the founders of the political school, of which he is the leader, deemed de- sirable and endeavored to bring about. Second he attributes that condi- tion to tlie fact, as he alleges, that the National Government has refused to protect navigation, while the truth is that that interest was among the first objects of its blighting solicitude ; then he assumes that England has expended large sums merely to protect her ocean traffic, and that to such payments the supremacy of England on the seas is due. In the same arti- cle Mr. Blaine expressly charges the decay of our merchant marine to the influence of the American free-trader, and our " impotent fear " of the word subsidy. Stated plainly his position is, that the decline of our mer- chant marine is due to the failure of the Government to subsidize it, and that we will regain our rank as a maritine power if only the subsidy sys- tem shall be adopted. The issue is boldly made and should be as boldly met. The reply is that that decline which he deplores is largely due to the policy of protection, so-called, of which Mr. Blaine is the foremost cham- pion, and that the remedy which he so much desires, can never be found while that system is maintained. In passing, it may be permissible to sug- gest that the inquiry would be an interesting one, why the lack of a mer- chant marine should be regretted by a party whose great high-priest declared, that the transformation of the Atlantic Ocean into an unquench- able and impassable sea of fire, would be the greatest blessing which could befall our country, and whose teachers assured us that a flourishing foreign trade was the poorest measure of a nation's prosperity. Can it be that a monoply of the home market does not after all afford sure prosperity to all industries, which may either grow naturally, or be forced into life, upon our soil ? And that the twenty-five times larger market of the world is a thing to be desired? True, it is still maintained that the measure of the pros- perity of our cousins across the sea, is the sure measure of our adversity ; but have not those who tell us this suddenly discovered for the people of the South American Republics, alien to us in blood, in tradition, and in education, a tender regard, and a conviction that nearer commercial rela- tions to them, would contribute to the material welfare of all ? But the question before us. Mr. Blaine says that the decline of American shipping is due to the fact, that it is the one interest which the National Government has constantly refused to protect. A judge, inter- rupting a lawyer, said " Mr. Smith that is not the law." To which Smith replied, " No, but it was the law before your honor last spoke." If Mr. 84 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. Blaine's statement is history, then it became such when Mr. Blaine made it. Before his utterance, history said that in 1789, it was enacted that all foreign built ships should be excluded from registry under the American Flag ; in 1792, it was further enacted that no foreign built vessel should take any part in the coasting trade of the United States. Those laws are in full force to-day. Here the United StatJBS endeavored at least to protect American shipping. ]S^ot very good protection, you may say, but it was the same kind which the government has given to other American industries, and Mr. Blaine at least should not be heard to question the quality. If he meant that our Government has constantly refused to protect navigation by granting subsidies, again he must make the history to support the state- ment. In 1847, in 1852, and in 1865, our legislators took a hand at the game of making commerce, by diverting the people's money to the bank accounts of private ship owners ; while the success of none of our efforts in that direction was so flattering as to warrant another early attempt the scandal attendant on some of them should claim for the popular fear of sub- sidies, which excites Mr. Blaine's contempt, at least a charitable tolerance. In our brief experience at subsidizing, we never established a single line which was prosperous for any length of time ; but we did succeed in bring- ing down to 40, shares of stock in the Pacific Mail which, before the sub- sidy contract, had sold above par. Mr. Blaine upbraids the Congress which, " a few years since twice refused to give even $135,000 per annum, to secure an admirable line of steamers from New York to the four largest ports of Brazil, but he considerately refrains from adverting to the funeral of that admirable line to Brazil, which died a natural death fifteen years ago, after ten years of governmental sustenance ; or to the funeral oration of the owners of that admirable line, who said in effect that until the manufacturers of America could produce as cheaply as those of the rest of the world, and until our merchants should be permitted to buy where they would sell, it would be useless to try to make a commerce out of a steam- boat with a subsidy attachment. That our loss of prestige on the seas is not due to such cause as is asserted, is affirmed by sound theory, and by the history of our past. Commerce which can exist at all, exists by its own inherent energy— works out its own salvation. Governments may impede it — they cannot make it. A trade which cannot produce its own tools, is not worth the price of the tools. Such ships as commerce needs and can maintain, the needs of commerce will produce. In so far as this statement rests on theory, it must be expected that it will be met with a sneer by the protectionists. Indeed, in the same article Mr. Blaine affects contempt for what he is pleased to call " a theory evolved in a closet, without sufficient data, and applied to an inexact science." He pins his faith to the " western farmers' instinct as against Mr. Gladstone's philosophy." Something like this was said in the debate on the Mills bill by the author of that measure for presuming importers to be criminals until they have proved their inno- cence — the McKinley bill. His avowal was that he would rather trust to the every day experience of a peddler, than to a professor. A congressional committee has been engaged for weeks in listening to SUBSIDIES AND THE TARIFF. 85 theories evolved — where ? In a closet ? Since protection's champion pre- fers that name for the thinkers workshop. Oh, no, in counting houses, iron mills, quinine factories, and on sheep ranches. On sufficient data ap- plied to an inexact science ? By no means ; on the results of an inspection of the individual theorists' bank, and profit and loss accounts. Neither Mr. Blaine nor any of his followers have been heard to question the suffi- ciency of the data, or doubt the value of the results. The conclusions of the conscientious student, with no axe to grind, or personal ends to sub- serve, upon a science admittedly complex and baffling, are to be laughed at as mere theories. The conclusions of the manufacturer, who knows the science only as it touches his individual pocket, are to be given respectful attention, and legislation is to be shaped in accordance with them. Weak indeed must that cause be, which flatters common ignorance by calling it common sense ; which must remove the thinker from its path by a sneer. In the domain of science the man without data has no place, and he who asks him to determine without knowledge, by using his common sense, bids him make a fool of himself. It is the same application of common sense by which Brother Jasper determines that the " sun do move " be- cause he sees it move. It is the same common sense which is expected to declare that because the country has increased in wealth during the exist- ence of a high tariff, the prosperity was due to the tariff. By the same logic our prosperity up to 1860, w^as due to slavery, and the marvelous growth of Chicago is due to the bad smell of its river. But since they prefer or claim to prefer experience rather than theory, let the argument be upon that basis. That a flourishing merchant marine does not depend on the giving of subsidies, the very statement of Mr. Blaine which I have quoted suggests. He says, that with subsidies American fleets would now be rivalling the fleets of England as they rivalled them before the war? And did they then rival them before the war ? That they did, is written on every page of our history up to 1860. Was it by reason of subsidies ? No, but against every opposition of foreign country, and our own blundering navigation laws. New" England shipping had its beginning in 1631 with the building of the •' Blessing of the Bay." The growth of the merchant marine and the commerce of the colonies excited the wonder of the civilized world. Before 1724, English ship carpenters complained of the competition of the Ameri- cans, and in 1760 the colonies were building new ships at the rate of about 20,000 tons a year, most of them sold in England. Burke pictured the commercial condition of the colonies in the most eloquent language of liis greatest speech, and while declaring that when speaking " of the com- merce with our colonies, fiction lags after truth, invention is unfruitful and imagination cold and barren." He at the same time implored Parlia- ment, "in particular not to arrest the noble course of their marine enter- prises." The growth up to this time had certainly been not only without subsidies, but in the face of the most unnatural opposition from the mother country. After independence w^as achieved the United States rapidly claimed the seas as the scene of their greatest glory. The number of entries of British ships in 1800, was not one-fifth of those that entered 86 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. in 1790, while in the same decade the entries of American ships increased thirteen times over. And thence on our shipping increased, until it was the pride of our country that our flag was carried to every sea, and that our sailors were the best in the world. Our fleets did rival England, and it never occurred to the owners to ask the government to pay them for doing it. In 1856, 79 per cent of the tonnage from foreign ports was carried in American ships. What more convincing proof can we require that subsi" dies are not necessary to the existence of a flourishing and successful mer- chant marine V What measure of honest pride might not we entertain in contemplation of the glorious achievements of American enterprise, dar- ing and energy, which made our country peer of any nation in the world upon the seas, if only the view ended with 1860. What chagrin and humil- iation must we not feel as we study the lame conclusion of our maritime history. With the resources which nature gave us we led the world. By our own act we resigned our proud position and took a humble place among the stragglers. If, by its growth, our merchant marine astonished the world, its decline was no less startling in its rapidity. In 1860 two- thirds of our commerce was carried in our own ships ; in 1885 but one-fifth. During four years prior to 1861, the tonnage of American steam vessels entering our ports averaged 41 per cent. During the four years prior to 1887, it averaged but 16 per cent., and this, too, during a period when the shipping of every European country largely increased. We may well ask why. Shall we not stultify ourselves if we say that the want of subsidies destroyed that which came into being and flourished without subsidies V We must seek further, and it need not be far. The period of the decline of our shipping interests was the period of our high tariff. The early laws declared that no American could fly his country's flag at his mast head, unless his ship was built in the United States. It remained for the Solons of 1860 to place a large tax upon iron and steel, and the manufacturers thereof used in ship building just at the time when wood was giving way to metal and sails to steam. Prior laws had said we should not buy abroad ; these laws made it impossible to build at home ; and yet Mr. Blaine says the decline of our merchant marine is due to our "' impotent fear " of the word subsidies. We support a vast army, garrisoned in custom houses at every port of entry. on the shores of our country to wage war on the commerce of every nation desiring to trade with us, and with whom it is our interest to trade. By taxing his raw material we drive our manufacturer out of competition for the markets of the world. And yet Mr. Blaine can find no better reason for the decline of our shipping than the lack of subsidies and an impotent fear of the word, and dazzles us with a Congress of Nations in the interests of trade. It should be clear then that the present condition of our shipping is not due to the constant failure of the government to protect navigation, for as we have seen government has endeavored to protect it. The decline since 1860 has not been due to the lack of subsidies, because the growth itself prior to that time was without their aid. That our experience has not been peculiar, a study of history will disclose. It has been the experi- ence of the nations that ships do not make commerce, but that commerce SUBSIDIES AND THE TARIFF. 87 brings into being ships. Whenever it has been attempted to create a com- merce by paying for the building or operating of ships out of the public treasury, there has resulted only failure. True, Mr. Blaine says, ''that England has taken possession of the seas, because she has never been affrighted by the word subsidy." England has had no need to be affrighted by that word, because in her vocabulary it means payment for public service, and not gratuity to private enterprise.' With colonies scat- tered all over the globe, with vast governmental and military institutions, inter-dependent upon each other, and requiring constant and expensive intercourse, she has necessarily spent large sums for public service ; but she pays for service alone, and lets the work to the highest and best bidder. Nov will it do to say that the result has been the same as though these payments had been gratuities, for explanation would still be needed for the undoubted fact that but few of the English lines have engaged in this public service, or received the government's patronage, while many of the most prosperous British lines have never received a dbllar of public money. England has taken possession of the seas, because, in spite of her high priced labor, she knew that she had nothing to fear from intercourse with every land ; she has bought where she could buy cheapest and sold where she could demand the highest price, and an immense merchant marine has been the necessary result. Let us look further than England. The two most successful steamship lines from the Continent are from Hamburg and Bremen, and they receive no pay from the government other than moder- ate postage rates. But if illustrations are not lacking of the truth that subsidies are not necessary to successful marine service, they are also at hand to show that the granting of subsidies and the building of ships therewith, do not in- sure a successful merchant marine. France, in 1881, established a subsidy s.vStem, based both on tonnage of ships built and number of miles sailed. What was the result ? French tonnage increased over one hundred per cent in two years ; but as Mr. Wells says, the French learned that ships are the children, and not the parents, of commerce. Ships increased, but commerce did not proportionately. Competition became vastly greater, freight rates fell, and companies which had paid dividends before the sub- sidies, paid them no longer. France had for her vast expenditure only a demoralized merchant marine. Austro-H angary tried the same experi- ment with like results. What reason have we to believe that the same system applied to our own marine service will have any different effect V If from neither the history of our own country, nor the experience of other nations, we can rind any support for the assertion that our prestige on the sea will be regained by adopting a subsidy system, by what means then may we expect to regain that prestige? How, but by undoing our own work, and establishing again the same conditions under which we ac- (juired our supremacy V Let us not, in the same breath that we cry out for more ships, declare for the prohibition of foreign commerce. Let us no longer deplore the fact that we have not our share of the world's trade, while we forbid our manufacturers to buy their raw material where it is to be had at tlie least cost, Having killed our shipping by our marvelous 88 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. system of taxing the many for the benefit of the few, let us not commit the absurdity of attempting to bring it to life by a new taxation. This is a case where the hair of the dog cannot be good for the bite. The founda- tion of the protective system is^the belief that the good fortune of one nation is the misfortue of another ; that comfort, prosperity, and happi- ness in the English workman's home, means privation and poverty and despair in the home of his American cousin ; that nations must constantly be engaged in industrial warfare, and that those who believe differently are secretly in league with the enemy. As the logical end of such a conflict, the time must come when the people of earth will be like shipwrecked sailors, tossed to and fro by the waves, from whose breasts privation has so banished human instincts, that each regards hungrily his fellow's flesh. If that theory be true, which Heaven forbid, it should need no sentimental considerations to show a nation where its welfare lies. Self-interest should dictate the preservation and not the waste of the wealth "which nature has given. What then shall be said of that system, which encour- ages the destruction of forests and impoverishing of mines, the rapid waste of all natural resources, to meeting necessities which admittedly can be supplied at less cost from without our border ; which debars us from ex- changing that which costs us little, and which we do not need, for that which we must have, and to produce w^hich would cost us much V What have we to fear from open rivalry in the world's marts ? Is it our high rate of wages ? If they are high, it is because the products of a given amount of labor are proportionately large, and not because of a system which robs the wage fund derived from profitable pursuits to pay for labor in other industries which cannot support tliemselves. Is it lack of natural resources ? Has not nature been busy in storing up upon this continent her richest treasures, untouched by the necessities of mankind, while millions were feeding on those of the old world ? Let the American people have free raw material, permit them to buy where they would sell, accord the same free entry to foreign wool which we ask for the native hog, and a commerce will arise such as has blessed no nation in the history of the world. We will then no longer seek to devise a means to sustain a merchant marine. The commerce which demands it will maintain it, and its cost will be but a small incident in the mighty volume of trade. Give us free American ships and remove the tax from the American flag, and the American flag will float from tlie mast head of American ships over every water of the globe. NATIONALISM,- AS PROPOSED BY EDWARD BELLAMY. r By DAVID B. JONES. Revision is certainly on the rampage in this, as well as in the Old World. The condition of the age is well illustrated by that of the goat which was found in an express car upon an eastern railway. Failing to find the usual marks upon the goat indicating his destination, the express- man inquired of those who had placed him there, and one of them ans- wered : "I don't know and he don't know, and he's eat up his tag and nobody knows." If this age ever had a tag indicating its destination it certainly has eaten it up and it is now traveling at a fearful rate, but what its destination is nobody knows. The land where " nobody knows " is the paradise of the dreamer and the fanatic. They are constantly looking for something to revise. They have revised the devil, poor soul, into a mere reminiscence ; and the only reason we have not had a public demand for a revision of the ten commandments is the fact that they have been so long and so universally revised for private use. In this off-hand revision of the traditions of the past and the tried experiences of our race, we can find a very useful hint in the frequent comment which could be heard in Dr. McCosh's class rooms at Princeton, when some member of the base-ball or foot-ball team was called upon by the doctor for a statement of the doc- trines of Hume or of Berkley, or some of the ancient philosophers. After listening with evident and growing impatience to the student's wild and daring revision, the doctor would put a period to the recitation with an em- phatic "No sir ! Sit down sir, Hume was not a fool." During the preva- lence of the epidemic for revision we should remember with the old doctor that the past was not all fool. It is certain that the sufferings and miseries of the masses are not of recent origin. It is true that history makes scant mention of their suffer- ings, but we know that in every age, as slaves and serfs, they must have bitterly tasted the truth of the saying that " man that is born of woman is short of days and full of trouble." No one can read ancient or modern history without seeing beneath its pageantry and show of power the misery of those who supported the burden of ^it all ; without seeing their wistful and longing look as they seem to stretch out their arms with the 89 90 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. world-old cry "redeem us — redeem us." But until the very recent past their cry died upon their own lips or merely burdened the air with their sorrows ; while now the daily press acts as a mighty sounding board which catches up and multiplies a million fold the cry of suffering, and it can now be heard above the tumult of tire world's strife and struggle. It is not strange that man's pity should becloud his mental vision when every morn- ing the press brings before his eyes the multiplied miseries of our race ; it is not strange that he should lose some of his reverence for the past, if after all his infinite sacrifice and pain, it can bequeath to the present noth- ing but modified forms of sacrifice and pain. But before we can reasonably and rationally consider a proposed cure for these miseries and sacrifices we should know something of their cause. Whatever we may think of the scriptural story of its origin and source, we must admit that the declared conditions of life as given in that story con- tinue to be its conditions down to the present hour—" In the sweat of thy face thou shalt eat bread " — Why is it V Can it be due entirely to man's cupidity, or is it because contest is an essential condition of progressive existence ? Human wit and experience up to the present time have de- vised two working systems, and only two — the system of slavery and the system of free competition. Both of these systems are in accord with the universal law of struggle and survival. This is nature's organic law, its constitution, from which there is neither escape nor appeal. Nationalism must make way for its free exercise and execution or its proposals will be null and void. Man cannot continue to be progressive when the element of contest has been taken away from his condition. Adam and Eve tested Nationalism under its most perfect ?-nd primi- tive form, and its sated and sinless existence was weighed in the balance and found wanting. It could not satisfy human nature when that nature was at its best, and in a double sense the race owes its deliverance from extinction to its most famous and far-sighted woman. The earth could not long support the human race under those conditions, and famine would have anticipated the flood. If we ever find ourselves again in the Garden of Eden or in the Boston of Bellamy's dream, it is certain that many of us, I think most of us, will be found eagerly looking about for another apple tree whose fruit can restore us to the activities and delights, yes, and the sufferings and sorrows of this savage and sinful life. Believing as I do that contest is a necessary condition of progressive existence, the most we can do is to establish methods by w^hich this contest can be carried on ; the most and best we can do is to establish rules of war. Man cannot sever himself from the system of creation ; he is just as much bound by the law which governs the animal creation as if he were nothing but a brute, and he must conform to the law which makes struggle a matter of universal necessity. Some have attempted to show that Socialism has its foundation in Christianity, but they forget that Christianity is not concerned with the conditions of life, and that Christ's teacliings if followed would be found entirely consistent with all forms of government and all economic condi- tions. Christ was concerned with the development of character and not at NATIONALISM: AS PROPOSED BY EDWARD BELLAMY. 91 all with the material conditions under which men live. Christian Socialism, therefore, is merely socialism, and is no more justified by the New Testa- ment than many other doctrines and forms of government which have made and are making the same claim. If men and women were all Christ- like in character and conduct, the present system would work as well as any other and almost any other as well as this. But most men and women are seasoned sinners, and the problem is to find the best system for them as they are. The tendency of socialism would be to make the tramp or the convict the prevailing type of character ; and it is not of the tramp or the convict that Christ said " Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of these, ye have done it unto me." Men cannot secure their rights by surrendering all their liberty ; and mankind is not groping its way backward into bond- age but onw^ard into liberty and light. Science, sanitary and economic conditions have done much and can do more to improve the health and happiness of mankind. But the microbes of wrong and injustice, of cruelty and violence, cannot be destroyed by any external system of govern- ment or code of laws. Legislative lymph can only make us more or less comfortable for a time. The malady remains and will alw^ays remain till men are more just. It is the quality of justness more than brotherhood that the world is most in need of. Justness is an individual quality and can never be imposed by the State. The State can only restrain and regu- late. It can impose the external conditions of brotherhood, but it would do this by striking down the growing quality of justness in the hearts and minds of men. 'V^ Of THE*^ :4 I7BIISIT NATIONALISM; AS PROPOSED BY EDWARD BELLAMY. By JESSE cox. Nationalism as proposed by Edward Bellamy in his ''Looking Back- ward " advocates the organization of labor by the State for the purpose of carrying on production for the equal welfare of the entire people. The mere details of Mr. Bellamy's scheme, while they seem to be entirely in consonance with reason and good sense, are not essential to the general principle of National and Inter-national co-operation, insisted on by him and all other Nationalists, as furnishing the answer to the social and in- dustrial problems whicli it is nearly universally admitted, are demanding an almost immediate solution. Continuously ever since the latter part of the eighteenth century, the essential principles of the doctrine of Nationalism, under different names, and in different forms, have been advocated by earnest men, and accepted to a greater or less extent by many of all classes. But never as at the present time has the public interest in these principles been so widely awakened, nor the popular movement for their adoption so extended. This is true both in Europe and America : and this significant fact suggests the inquiry as to the causes which have produced this awakening of inter- est, and the resulting important popular movement in favor of co-opera- tion under the State. Popular discontent is always the proximate cause of any important movement for a change in social and economic conditions ; but the causes of this discontent must be sought in the economic and social conditions themselves, to which the masses are subjected. This discontent undoubt- edly arises either because of changes in the conditions which make them to press upon the people more severely than before ; or because of the in- creased wants and desires of the people, growing out of a higher educa- tion, and the presence of comforts, luxuries and advantages, from the enjoyment of which the masses are debarred. No doubt both of these causes are efficient in inducing the effort to establish a better state of things ; but history has established the fact that the majority is naturally NATIONALISM; AS PROPOSED BY EDWARD BELLAMY. 93 conservative, and even inert, and that it is only when their condition be- comes intolerable that the people are roused to radically change existent, industrial and social conditions. Influences of tremendous force are always present to prevent any change. It is always the real or fancied interest of a powerful class to prevent any change by which the masses benefit ; and this class, having the control of the means of subsistence of the people, can, by means of the immense power thus vested in it, influence not only the action, but even the opinion of their dependents against any proposition to change existing systems, however bad they may be. The machinery of government, too, is a mighty obstacle in the path of change. Having been fitted to support and carry out the existent system, it is not adapted to a new one ; and it can be, and always is, used as a powerful instrument against it. But all these seemingly insurmountable obstacles to change yield be- fore the pressure of economic necessity. When an economic system be- comes inadequate to sustain life ; and even when the struggle for existence under it becomes so severe that life itself becomes a mere burden to the great majority, then is its downfall assured, however strongly it may be defended ; and it is succeeded either by a better system or by actual biir- barism. It is sufficient to refer to the downfall of the Roman, Egyptian and Babylonian Empires, and of the feudal system, to substantiate this statement. The terrible overthrow of the feudal system in France in the latter part of the last century, by a people seemingly so poor, powerless and demoralized as were the French people at that time, suflSciently de- monstrates that no power of the privileged classes, or of the machinery of government, is strong enough to overcome the resistless force of popular desperation. If then to-day in civilized countries, there is an impending economic necessity for a change of the industrial system, either that change will be brought about, or else civilization will perish. And startling as the propo- sition may be, it is not at all improbable that the latter alternative may come to pass. That an imperious economic necessity for a change in our industrial system is now impending, may be demonstrated by an inquiry into present economic conditions and tendencies. In this and all other countries where modern science, invention and methods have been applied to production, tlie productive power of labor has been enormously increased over what it formerly was. The capacity of the productive forces is now so great that no one can determine its limit; and if these forces were properly and economically organized, their results would be infinitely greater than even their present product. Space prevents the giving of more than a few ex- amples of this wonderful productiveness. Edward Atkinson estimates that owing to the complete organization of labor, and the effectiveness of machinery on the great bonanza farms of Dakota, the labor of one man for a year is sufficient to produce 5.000 bushels of wheat. As the total yearly wheat crop of the United States averages less than 500,000,000 bu.shels, the labor of 100,000 men would thus, under proper organization, be sufficient 94 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. to produce and prepare for market the entire wheat erop of the United States. Yet the number of ^en engaged in agriculture in this country in 1880, was seven and a half millions. It is estimated on good authority that the labor of one man in agriculture, working with the best machinery and under proper organization, is sufficient to produce at least as much as would have required the labor of twenty men fifty or sixty years ago. In transportation by railroads the labor of one man equals that of fifty-four men working with horses and on country roads. In the production of textile fabrics, the increase of productive capacity has been almost incalculable, the labor, in some instances, of one hundred and fifty persons being equal to that of one hundred thousand at the begin- ning of this century. Whoever will take the pains to investigate, though but very slightly, the vast increase in the productive capacity of labor in the last fifty years, will not doubt the correctness of the estimate, that in nearly all lines of industry the labor of one man is equivalent to that of from fifteen to thirty at the forepart of this century. The introduction and extensive use of steam as a motive power is alone almost sufficient to account for this in- crease. This enlargement of labor capacity appears in almost every de- partment of production. Those who care to pursue the subject further are referred to "the report of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics for 1886 " called " Industrial Depressions ;" Edward Atkinson's " Distribu- of Products ;'' and Moody's " Land and Labor." The concentration of production in large establishments is another ex- tremely effective means of increasing the capacity of the productive forces. In a large factory, not only can the best machinery be employed but labor can be perfectly organized ; and the saving effected by this larger and more perfect organization of labor alone, amounts in many instances to a saving of fifty per cent, of the labor employed in small production. It is as impossible to check the tendency to the concentration of pro- duction in large establishments, as it is to prevent the use of labor-saving machinery. The object of both is to save labor ; that is, to cheapen pro- duction by saving the wages of labor — an object necessitated by the con- tinual intensifying of competition. The necessary effect of this immense and continually increasing pro- ductive capacity of labor is, under the present system, two-fold. In the first place less labor is required to supply the market demand than before, and consequently less wages are, in the aggregate, paid to labor. Indeed, this is the very object of the introduction of labor-saving machinery and processes, which should be more appropriately called wages saving ma- chinery and processes. In consequence the purchasing capacity of the workers is thus reduced, and their consuming power is proportionately de- creased. As the workers constitute the great body of consumers, the effect of this reduction of their purchasing power is to proportionately and ruinously reduce the market demand for the products of labor. This effect is not, as is commonly supposed, counteracted by the cheap- ening of products due to the saving of labor (or wages), in their produc- NATIONALISM; AS PROPOSED BY EDWARD BELLAMY. % tion. For this cheapening is due to the very cause which reduces the purchasing capacity of the masses of consumers, namely the saving, or more correctly, the non-payment of wages, w^hich alone give the workers a purchasing capacity, and consequently enable them to contribute to make up the market demand. All production is in the long run limited to the market demand. If production exceeds this to any considerable extent, it must be stopped un- til the demand catches up ; otherwise the product would be wasted and bankruptcy ensue. The purchasing capacity of consumers is the limit of the market de- mand ; and therefore this same purchasing capacity is the limit of produc- tion. To decrease this purchasing capacity by any means, is to proportion- ately decrease the market demand and to consequently lessen production. No matter, therefore, how great may be the capacity of the productive forces, their operation must always, owing to the operation of the causes above explained, be thus limited by the purchasing capacity of the masses ; and under our unfortunate system, the more this productive capacity is in- creased, the smaller will be the amount of wages paid ; and consequently the greater will be the reduction of this purchasing capacity and the less the demand for products. It is tlierefore, under the present system, the capacity to realized abundance, which causes poverty. All the economic phenomena of to-day prove the truth of these propo- sitions. Notwithstanding our unbounded productive capacity, the actual yearly product in the United States is, at retail prices, only about fifty cents in value per day per head of the population. The inequitable division of this amount leaves millions in penury. Even if it were equally divided among all the population it would not raise any one above poverty. And the reason of this small production is, not that the country is not capable of producing more, yes, ten times more, but because a greater production is not warranted by the market demand. The average wages are but $300 per year for those who work ; but millions of able and willing workers are constantly kept in compulsory idleness and receive no pay at all. Factories run, it is said, on the average but six months in the year. In all parts of the world the cry goes up for a market for products. Almost every country struggles by its tariff legislation to retain its home market for its home producers. Commercial and agricultural depression is universal, and profits and interest, except where they are kept up by artificial combi- nations, are everywhere decreasing. Tlie anxiety of the man of business is how to dispose of his products ; and armies of salesmen are employed to capture markets and displace competitors. It is estimated that it costs from ten to twenty per cent of the products to merely sell them— that is to say— of the ten billion of dollars worth of yearly product, from one to two billions worth is consumed in merely sell- ing it. Another effect of the increased productive capacity without propor- tionately increased demand is, that the production so presses upon the markets that the result is what is indefinitely called " over production ;" 96 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. that is production in excess of the market demand. Of course there is no production in excess of the Vants of the people. This excessive production-^^ reduces profits that it is only the man who has large capital and can do a very large business who can sustain himself. It is for this reason that the large capitalist producer, whether farmer, manufacturer or merchant, crushes, and must continue to crush, and sur- vive the smaller one by underselling him. Hence business concentrates itself continually in few and fewer hands. The trust and combine are only a manifestation of this tendency and mark the transition period from small to large production. The greater capitalists in the trusts and com- bines will sooner or later freeze out the smaller capitalist, who are forced to combine with them ; and commercial depostic power will be vested in the hands of a still more limited circle than at present. Thus with the enrichment of the few and the impoverishment of the many, will inevitably come that same state of things which has heretofore caused the destruction of systems and of empires. Demoralization and depession will cause the starving multitudes to seize upon property and plunder and destroy. The whole modern and commercial system is a thing of confidence. It may be justly said that capital is confidence. Once let that confidence be destroyed by vandalism and our civilization is at an end. It may be destroyed in an hour ; and then the delicate and intricate commercial system being gone, those who survive it will be able to gain a living only by tilling of the soil in the rude manner of barbarians, until civilization shall again, after hundreds of years perhaps, slowly arise. Such are the inevitable tendenceies of our present system of produc- tion for profit. Under it there is absolutely no means of increasing the purchasing capacity of the producers, and hence no means of increasing, with increased productive capacity, the market demand, which is the life of production. There must be under that system a motive for capital to invest itself, and that motive is and must be profit. To realize this profit, there must be a profitable remunerative market, which can be obtained only by taking from the producer more than is returned to him in exchange for his pro- duct. In this way only can profit be realized. The producer, therefore, is necessarily allowed to consume only a small part of what he produces, and the employing classes have not the capacity to consume the rest. Hence there must be production in excess of demand, and all the evils above de- scribed necessarily follow. Labor-saving machinery appliances and com- petition intensify the evil. The end is at hand. Civilization can scarcely endure another ten years of such development as the last twenty-five years have produced. Either a remedy must be applied, or civilization will perish. There is but one true remedy. All others are not even palliatives. 2he purchasing power of the producer must he made equal to his producing capacity. That is, men must be allowed to have and consume the equivalent of what they produce. In no other way than this, can the productive forces be allowed their full scope to produce enough to give to every one the full- NATIONALISM; AS PROPOSED BY EDWARD BELLAMY. ^ 97 est possible results of their beneficient and unlimited power. This power, this productive capacity, w^hen unrestricted, is certainly amply sufficient to give to every one, men,. women and children, every known comfort and de- sirable luxury. To accomplish this result, it is necessary to establish a system under which each individual can co-operate with every other on equal terms ; securing to each the full equivalent of his production. This can be done only through the agency of the whole people acting together as a corporate unit, and carry on production for the equal benefit of all. The State is the corporate unit which alone can do this. For any organization of the peo- ple less than a complete and universal one, such as is found in the State, must inevitably fail, because of the very disadvantages which operate un" der the present system. Mr. Bellamy has demonstrated how complete arid simple, and yet how effective such a State organization of industry can be made. He has met every objection which cavilers have raised against it. The suffering peo- ple who have read his book, hail it with delight as a new evangel, the economic gospel of brotherhood, which shall relieve mankind from the horrible burdens which have so long made life well nigh unendurable to the many, and undesirable even to the privileged few. Those who erroneously believe that the present system has always been as it now is ; who argue that the degrading antagonism of interest which make all men enemies of each other, are necessary to provoke human effort, and produce even the present stinted product of labor ; who, shut- ting their eyes to the tremendous and increasing obstacles in the way of human happiness under the present system, dream that that system can forever continue as now ; and that all hope of any considerable human betterment in the near future is illusory and chimerical ; those who even desire a fraternal commonwealth, yet are unworthily incredulous of the success of the effort to establish it ; all these should learn that it is econo- mic necessity which establishes and overthrows industrial systems ; that when such necessity demands a change it enforces such demand with a reward for obedience, and the most terrible penalties for disobedience. If, therefore, necessity points to Nationalism as the only remedy for present and coming evils, then the theoretical, fancied objections made to it are but wasted breath. Man cannot stand still. He must progress or retro- grade. And he has now reached a point where he must choose the forward or the backward path. There is no middle course. Our industrial system is too old and too rotten to bear patching ; we must erect a new one or suffer the penalty for our refusal to do so. I NATIONALISM; AS PROPOSED BY EDWARD BELLAMY. By J. SEYMOUR CURREY. " Socialism proposes that all production and all distribution shall be done by the State, the State to direct everything and everybody ; people are to eat what is set before them, wear what is issued to them, and to do tlie tasks assigned them." This is the language of Colonel Jacobson in his recent book " Higher Ground," and may be taken as a fair statement of its aims. Socialism moreover proposes antecedent to this to divide all property equally among the individual members of society and remunerate equally. In some of its aspects Nationalism resembles Socialism, but without its impracticable features and proposes reforms that will be gradual and carefully tested at every step as to their practicability. The advocates of Nationalism strongly insist that competition is an evil, and the industrial and social system based on it must give way to a system based on the nobler principle of association. Quoting from a " Declaration of Principles" found in the " Nationalist," it is said : " The principle of com- petition is simply the application of the brutal law of the survival of the strongest and most cunning. Therefore, so long as competition continues to be the ruling factor in our industrial system, the highest development of the individual cannot be reached, the loftiest aims of humanity cannot be realized. * * * The present system proves itself wrong by the immense wrongs it produces ; it proves itself absurd by the immense waste of enigrgy and material which is admitted to be its concomitant." But they say further : " But in striving to apply this nobler and wiser princi- ple [association] to the complex conditions of modern life, we advocate no sudden or ill-considered changes ; we make no war upon individuals ; we do not censure those who have accumulated immense fortunes simply by carrying to a logical end the false principle on which business is now based." It cannot be denied that many departments of human activity and in- stitutions of general scope and bearing are or would be more beneficial to the poorer members of society were they controlled exclusively by the State. It cannot be doubted that the postal system is of much greater utility than if subject to the vicissitudes of competition. For the govern- NATIONALISM; AS PROPOSED BY EDWARD BELLAMY. 99 ment to control the postal service of the country is ^Nationalism. Could it be done as well by any private firms or companies ? The public school sys- tem is another instance of the vastly superior method of public to private conduct of a great institution. Why should not the telegraphs and rail- ways be similarly conducted ? The street car lines of our cities should be controlled by the municipality where such lines are operated. They make use of public streets and possess special privileges — all for private gain. If they were conducted like the systems of water works— that is by the muni- cipality—the people could ride for half the present rates and perhaps less. The railroads of the country if under governmental management could carry passengers at least, and perhaps freight, at a much lower rate, and tlius by increasing the business make better returns which would operate towards a continued reduction of fares. Many associate Socialism with Nationalism. As Lord Salisbury re- cently said, all legislation nowadays is socialistic. " Viewed as a whole," says a writer in the American Cyclopaedia, " socialistic doctrines have dealt with everything that enters into the life of the individual, the family, the church, or the State, whether industrially, morally or spirit- ually. The origin of all is to be sought in the desire to ameliorate the con- condition of the less favored classes, and in the attempt to overcome by association the deprivations to which individuals, especially those without rank, culture and capital are exposed." If benefits to the masses of the people are obtained by furnishing service of tlie character referred to at court, if this is socialistic, it is a good thing. The poor and defenceless portions of society are finding many champions in these days, but no method of alleviating their condition has been proposed more effective than furnisiiing such classes good service in transportation at cost. Tlie proposals of Colonel Jacobson in providing manual training for tlie youth of all classes, are entitled to the most careful consideration, and his plan, it is hoped, will be given a fair trial. It will not conflict with any of the plans of the Nationalists and indeed will coincide admirably with them. Supposing the public control of railways be found successful, it would in all probability open the way to the public control of some of the leading industries. This is the proper method of bringing about reforms. Only one step at a time should be taken and a thorough test of its practicability and adaptation to our people and institutions made ; and so long as we are controlled by public opinion, this is the only way of making progress in reforms that we can or should hope for. Those reformers who impatiently demand all they happen to deem desirable for themselves or their fellow men, seldom secure effective or lasting support for their ideas. " Calm demand brings all good things .in time ; impatient demand drives them away." Therefore the proverb, " make haste slowly," is the motto of the Nationalist as it is of all other well regulated enterprises. The undoubted success of State management of the post office, public schools and water works, is an argument for believing that the telegraph and express business, transportation, gas and electric lighting, would all be better for the people under State control. It has been shown by several writers of late that systems of gas and electric lighting are being operated 100 ECHOl^S OF THE SUNSET CLUB. in certain cities with marked success in the line of reduced charges. State control of railways is in) full operation in Germany and Austria, and not- withstanding the shorter distances, the numerous frontiers and custom houses, and the different nationalties through which they pass, they are very successful. Would not State control in this country be far more suc- cessful where the railways are free from the obstacle referred to, and with their long runs of thousands of miles in continuous stretches ? Argu- ments, similar to those used to justify " trust " methods, might be made at length to show why great systems of industry could be conducted by one central management ; but with the difference, however, that the trusts benefit a small number of interested persons, while under State control the public would be benefitted. Take any of the great industries now con- trolled by combinations and pursue this reasoning with regard to them. They are all necessaries of life— carbon oil, sugar, white lead, twine, etc. Would it not be a boon to all to have these things furnished at cost, and a much lower cost than is now possible, and with a government guarantee of excellence ? The saving to the people of cheats, short weights and adul- terations, now made necessary by trade competition, would be enormous. The item of salesmen's expenses alone is so great that even approximately moderate estimates are perfectly staggering, and this could be saved. But all this as thus outlined is a very different thing from the people " eating what is set before them, wearing what is issued to them, and doing the tasks assigned them," as Socialism contemplates. jISTationalism is directly in the line of self-help and thrift. It gives play to the individual and emphasizes character. All the State is asked to do is to give to every one a fair chance and we must own that many never have even half a chance. The tendency of poverty is to make still poorer ; the tendency of wealth is to greater accumulation. Many a man in the lower walks of life has never realized even mentally any of the finer possibilities of life— never had a conception of them. I do not refer to the outer show, the ostentation, the pomp and circumstance surrounding wealth, but the blessedness and nobility of retirement and seclusion, the freedom from a thousand small annoyances of life made possible through its possession. Fine taste in literature, art and music, the broad horizon of a man who travels to far countries, the joy of friendship, tlie charms of society, clean- liness and ease ; these are characteristics of the better provided portion of mankind which are little understood by the masses of the poor. They see a vast difference in condition and they envy their more fortunate neigh- bors. But what is it that this man looking up from the depths would de- sire ? Not fine pictures, nor a library, nor society, nor mountain climbing, nor converse with well-bred associates ; none of these. His desire is more likely to possess the mere exterior of the circumstances surrounding the well-to-do-classes ; the horses and carriages, the yachts, tlie jewelry, the mansion, the showy office, the reputation of being rich, the society of those who will talk of affairs about money and money-getting. Tliese are in his mind and constitute his heart's desire. I have taken as a type the rich man whose tendencies are towards re- finement, and of the poor man, all of whose impulses and faculties have NATIONALISM; AS PROPOSED BY EDWARD BELLAMY. 101 been warped, cramped, and even atrophied by the unfavorable nature of his condition and environment. While by no means the rule the types I have taken are found most numerously in the classes in which I have placed them, and thus I escape the criticism of those who could cite any number of instances against the showing. ' Now, it seems to me, it is not enough to help the poor man to secure some of the externals of the rich, even if his comfort would be thereby in- creased. That may be only a delusive sort of progress. It may be only putting a beggar on horseback to ride to the deyil. The average man's ambitions and hopes are not usually very high or noble ; they are nearly always in the direction of self-indulgence. It is therefore of great import- ance that the poorer classes must be first elevated to that condition of mind in which they can intelligently wish for the things that are really for their betterment. It is on this line that Nationalism will manifest its beneflcient influ- ence. The necessary requirements of the masses will be furnished them at the lowest cost of production, without abatement in weight or quality, per- fectly honest in every service, conveying at the same time the most valua- ble lessons in probity and fair dealing. The great advantage possessed by the ordinary accumulator is his superior shrewdness and cunning, qualities which are by no means worthy ones to inculcate to the poor or the ignorant.- Furnish the masses with examples of square and honest dealing, becoming a matter of course through years and generations, and vice and crime will diminish and tend to disappear. Mr. Bellamy has carried us on the wings of fancy to alluring scenes where the beneflcient results of reformed society are seen in bright perspec- tive. As a romancist, he has introduced us to a world of wonders wrought under the magic influence of an all-prevading golden rule. He has worked out the details in a truly surprising manner, though in many of their minor circumstances they may be open to criticism. But the wonder is that after laying down the general principle he could picture forth with such particularity as he does the various phases of the workings of the sys- tem as he has conceived it. The practical details of the system would doubtless be very different in the reality, but the credit is due to Mr. Bellamy for a most useful impetus given to the thought of the day on sub- jects connected with the welfare of the poorer classes, and for a system of reform that can be reduced to a few general principles easy of comprehen- sion and simple in plan. It is not the purpose of this paper to urge accept- ance of all of Mr. Bellamy's proposals of reform, if the picture of twentieth century society on the combined Nationalist and Socialist basis can be so called. The equal remuneration to all the adult members of society is Socialism. The control of all industries by the nation is Nationalism. The two may be combined, possibly, but I go no further in advocating Mr. Bellamy's ideas than showing some of the good results, as they appear to me, of Nationalism. It has occurred to me that those who favor Nationalism as a remedy in whole or in part for the social ills and inequalities that we all recognize, have not sufficiently appreciated the value of co-operation as a stepping 102 ECHOES Of THE SUNSET CLUB. stone to such a consummation. Co-operation does not receive the attention it deserves. It works quietly, attracts no vociferous champions to its cause, wears a work-a-dav air, and is decidedly humdrum and common- place. There are many tilings that are called co-operative and which are so only in name, that it needs a little study to properly understand it. But on this subject I will not enter at length, but merely speak of some of its characteristics. Co-operation, as it is practiced in England, where it has been in existence for some forty years, is a system benefiting every indi- vidual with whom it comes in contact, both pecuniarily and morally. By its methods every person's transactions with a co-operative store receives a share in the profits of the establishment, and at the same time some recog- nition of his humanity. A portion of the profits are regularly applied to procuring various means of instruction, reading rooms, night schools and teachers, lectures and libraries are supplied in a quiet way and in a right spirit, gradually doing away with discontent by obviating its cause, and im- planting desires and aspirations within the reach and possibility of those with whom it has to do. Thus a co-operative store becomes a center of a moral force and of financial probity and fair dealing. Let anyone consult on this subject Holyoake's " History of Co-operation," and he will find a new world of wonders open to him, a "fairy tale of science" indeed. Compare this with Bellamy's "Looking Backward," and work out men- tally the consequences that would follow an intelligent combination of co- operation and Nationalism. MUNICIPAL CONTROL OF HEAT, LIGHT AND INTRA-MURAL TRANSPORTATION. By col. AUGUSTUS JACOBSON, Wlien the Chicago Water Works were started in 1849, the commis- sioners began operations by issuing bonds for $250,000. One of the com- missioners went east to sell the bonds, and he found that circulars printed in Chicago had preceded him stating that the bonds never would and never could be paid ; that if the bonds were sold no interest upon them would ever be paid ; that it would bankrupt the city to pay the interest to say nothing of the principal. These circulars were written, printed and scattered broadcast by men whose ox was in danger of being gored, some of whom are still amongst us. The bonds were sold, a lot upon which to begin operations was bought for which $8,000 was paid. This lot upon which the Rookery Building stands is now leased by the city to private parties for ninety-nine years, at an annual rental of $35,000. The build- ing upon the lot cost between one and two millions and has a rental value of $375,000 a year. The tenth floor of the building, alone, rents for $30,000 a year to the Illinois Steel Company. The city now owns a water plant, as appears from the statement of the finances of the city of Chicago for the year 1888, including lands, buildings, 750 miles of water mains, land and lake tunnels, crib, pumping engines and machinery, valued at $12,390,463.95— the actual cost. The ac- tual value is probably much greater, as there is a good deal of real estate. This vast siim has been earned and saved by the city's own employes in furnishing water to the City of Chicago. Whatever profit there is in the business the inhabitants of the city take. Gas works were started in Chicago about the same time as the water works. The gas works were started by men who had very little money of their own. The city itself could have borrowed the money and would of of course always have furnished gas cheaper than it has been furnished. The original capital of the oldest company was $100,000. Its earnings have been enormous. By the use of the earnings and without the addi- tional contribution of one dollar by the stockholders, the capital was 103 104 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. raised from time to time to $5,000,000, while enormous dividends were de- clared and paid. There were half a dozen companies at last. We have had what is called comp(^tition, and that has ended in combination. At $1.25 per thousand feet, (our people, as you know, say that the gas bills are about the same that they were when gas was $2.50. Finally a gas trust was organized, and now owns everything and runs roughshod over city and citizens. The Supreme Court has annoyed the gas trust a little, but we may safely depend upon the gas people for eventually getting the better of the Supreme Court. We may trust them for getting round the decisions of the Supreme Court. Street railroads began to be built in Chicago just before the war. A five cent fare was charged then and a five cent fare is charged now. The street railroads w^ere started in a very small way, largely on borrowed capital, by men who had very little money of their own. The city itself could have borrowed the money and would now be owning plants which are worth probably fifteen millions of dollars, already stocked and bonded for more than twice that, and which will eventually be worth a hundred millions ; and if the city, instead of private individuals, now owned the street railroads, the fare would probably be three cents instead of five. Yes, without investing anything but the credit of the city, we might now be owning plants which are stocked and bonded for nearly a hundred millions of dollars upon which we pay interest and dividends. And then we should never have had the corrupting influence of the gas companies and the street car companies in our municipal affairs ; we should never have had the litigations of the street car companies and gas companies which have cost the city and citizens untold money ; and we should never have had the whole business of the city stopped by strikes of the street car men. Repeatedly within my recollection the whole business of the city lias been stopped by strikes of the street car men jjecause they were over- worked and underpaid. In spite of the inconvenience to citizens of being forced to walk to and from their business the citizens have generally sided with and encouraged the striking employes, simply because the citizens re- member the thousands of impositions practiced upon them by the street car companies, and rejoice in every opportunity to hit back at them. Who ever heard of a strike of the employes of the water department V Who ever heard of any litigation caused by the water department V Who ever heard of anyone wronged by the water department ? It is all our own fault. If we had had gumntion enough we might now be owning our own gas works and we might now be paying out only one dollar for gas where we pay out three. If we had had gumption enough we might now be owning our own street railroads and we might now be paying out three cents for fare where we pay five. The gas plant all contributed to the gas people by the citizens of Chicago is now worth perhaps ten millions ; that is to say, it could be dupli- cated for that sum, but the stocks and bonds of the gas trust amount to nearly forty-five millions that we know of, upon which we pay interest and MUNICIPAL CONTROL OF HEAT, LIGHT, ETC. 105 dividends. If the Chicago City Water Works were in private hands like the gas works, it would probably be capitalized for from fifty to seventy- five'millions of dollars, and we should be paying interest on such capital- ization. Now, contrast Chicago on the gas question with this little bit of history of the City of Wheeling, West Va., given by Mr. Keeler in the November Forum : " Wheeling, where the works are a model of excellence, bought the plant from a company in 1868, for $176,000. The price of gas was then $2.50. From the profits the debt was paid. The works have since been rebuilt with modern improvements out of profits without a dollar of taxa- tion. They are now worth $500,000, and there is a handsome surplus in the bank to their credit. In 1888, with the product selling at seventy-five cents per 1,000, the department lighted free of charge the streets, markets, school houses, engine houses, city hall, public buildings, hospitals, the Orphans' Home, and the Young Men's Christian Association rooms, and yet turned into the city treasury $27,166 net cash. Its seventy-five cent rate is now the lowest for gas in the United States, and it is due solely to the fact that the works are modern and out of debt, that they are owned by the city, and that there is no stock upon which dividends must be paid." In arguing for the establishment of municipal gas works in Chicago, the Chicago Tribune said recently : " Where a business from the nature of things does not permit of competition, and must be a monopoly in what- ever hands it is placed, that monopoly should be in the hands of the whole people, for the benefit of the whole people." "Government function begins," says Mr. Keeler in the Forum, '' where monopoly begins and where free competition ceases." Why should a municipality not manage a dry goods store, a grocery store, or a grist mill ? Because these things are not in the nature of a monopoly. Any one Who has money enough, can without the consent of the public start one of these affairs. He needs no special privileges from the public. But to furnish gas and street railroad transportation the pub- lic street must be used and public consent must be obtained. These affairs are in their nature monopolies. There is not a city in the United States where there is competition in selling gas. Where combination is possibe competition is impossible. The furnishing of gas to the citizens of Chicago is and must remain a monopoly. If the city owns tlie gas, the city will furnish the largest quan- tity of gas for the smallest price, because every inhabitant of Chicago will be benefited thereby. Any private corporation will give the least gas it can for the greatest sum in order to put money into the pockets of its stockholders. And between public and private monopoly there is no mid- dle ground. You have to choose between paying $2 or $3 to private indivi- duals, or paying only one dollar for the same quantity of 'gas and retaining the other money in yoiu' own pocket. We are told of the dreadful dangers that lurk in attending to our own business. There is a danger. But it is not a danger to city or citizens 106 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. generally ; the danger is all to the few people who are now manipulating municipal concerns for their own private profit. It is the fashion of the people who want to exploit the public for their own personal benefit, to say that private enterprise can do everything more economically than the public can carry on its own business. There are in different parts of the world over five hundred gas plants owned by municipalities, eight of them in this country. No municipality owning its own works could be induced to let the business go into private hands. Abroad, the ownership of gas works is as common as is here the ownership of water works. In consequence people abroad get tlieir gas much cheaper than we do. Mr. Keeler, whom I have already quoted, says that the average price paid for gas per thousand feet in England is seventy- one cents, on the Continent $1.20, and in this country $1.75, and when the municipalities furnish their own inhabitants witli gas, it is of a better quality, and 13 per cent cheaper than when furnished by corporations organized for profit. Mr. Roome, of the Manhattan Gas Company, New York, some years ago testified before a legislative committee, that the cost of gas to the Manhattan Gas Company, the cost to consumers, and the dividends to stockholders were as follows : Cost Gas to Co. Cost to Consumer. Divs. to stockhold- ers, per cent. 1875 $1 20 1 13 70 70 70 66 $2 50 2 50 2 25 2 25 2 25 2 25 35 1876 15 1881 22 1882 25 1883 25 1884 25 And these dividends were on heavily watered stock. The New York Tirms says, that upon an investment of $750,000 in 1823, the stockholders of the New York Gas Company have received in benefits $22,171,336, according to expert Yalden's statement, or dividends at the average annual rate of 47.6 per cent for sixty-two years, and all the time while these dividends were being paid the plant was growing. In 1871 the property was estimated at $4,000,000, and in 1883 it was probably worth still more, but in that year the company being on good terms with tlie assessor, the plant was assessed for taxation at $61,430, while it paid divi- dends of 40 per cent and upwards on the actual investment. In the light of these figures, it is not difficult to see why the men who own and manage gas and street railroad corporations for private profit, are so anxious lest we should get into trouble by managing our own gas plants and street railroads. It is not difficult to see why they think it so dread- ful, so subversive and so socialistic even merely to think of it. Tliese cor- poration saints fear that if we undertake to manage our own affairs, out of it will grow corruption. Neither here nor in Europe has there ever been a case of corruption in the matter of city water works. Neither here nor In Europe has there I MUNICIPAL CONTROL OF HEAT, LIGHT, ETC. 107 ever been a case of corruption in the matter of city gas works, except in tlie solitary case of Pliiladelpliia, and tliat was a case of corruption of the whole City Government and was speedily remedied. Our gas trust people and oiu* street railroad people are precisely the ones upon whom we rely to watch over and maintain municipal purity and freedom from corruption. Are they not ? Let us look into this matter of private management and public man- agement. Let us glance very briefly at the largest interest managed by tlie people for the benetit of the people. Up to the year 1845, postage in this country for a single letter carried not over 30 miles was 6}4 cents ; over 30 and under 80 miles, 10 cents ; over 80 and under 150 miles, 123/^ cents ; over 150 and under 400 miles, 18^ cents, and 25 cents for any distances over 400 miles. In 1845, the rate was lowered to 5 cents under and 10 cents over 300 miles. In 1851 letter post- age was lowered to threfe cents, and in 1883 it w^as finally lowered to 2 cents. The millionaires made by corporations organized for profit are every- where and numerous. Where are the millionaires made by the post office department ? The millions wiiich might have constituted the post office millionaires are in the pockets of the people w^here they ought to be. In the matter of the post office the people have managed their own business for their own benefit. Every day we reap the reward of the wisdom of the fathers who started us right. Inasmuch as a large business can always be done more economically than a small one, it is safe to say that hereafter, as heretofore, as popula- tion increases, and as the post office business increases, postage will go down still lower. The man is already of age whose letter will go for half of one cent all over the United States. Being managed by the people for the benefit of the people, the rule of tlie post office department is to do the greatest possible service for the least amount of money. The rule of all corporations organized for profit, in order to fill with money, the pockets of their stockholders, is to render the least service for the greatest amount of money — to charge as the railroad men put it, all that the traffic will bear. Contrast the management of corporations for profit with that of the post office department. Contrast it with the management of the Treasury of the United States, which has given us the place of honor among the nations of the earth. Our cities are growing as they never grew before, and in nearly all of them are growing gas companies that are watering stock to reap where they have not sow^n, and to gather where they have not strewn. If we are ever to put sCn end to this state of things we must begin now. Every day we postpone dealing with these questions will make their settle- ment more difficult. The people who own gas works and street railroads say, that for a municipality to own and manage these things for itself is impractical. What a familiar sound that has? "You are impracticable." That is what the slave holders said to the abolitionists. It is what the tories said 108 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. to the patriots in the time of the revolution. " Three millions of people," said they, ''to undertake to fight the British Empire !" " What an absur- dity !" " And to govern themselves." " What an absurdity !" Just before the resumption of specie payments by the United States, the president of one of \|he largest national banks in New York, said that the United States could not resume specie payments ; that it was impracti- cable ; that it was dangerous to attempt it, and that he himself would give a million of dollars to be first in line to get gold for greenbacks, the morn- ing the government should undertake to resume. Resumption took place and it did not prove to be dangerous for the United States. But it was dangerous to the gold gamblers. It finished them, and that was the dan- ger they had been thinking of all the time. What the gas people and street railroad people mean by saying that it is impracticable, is that if we manage our own municipal affairs it will be impracticable for them to make any money out of us ; but that is a calamity w^hich the rest of us could contemplate with some degree of resignation. Our gas trust people and our street railroad people in Chicago, are simply an incubus upon the city. They are to us what barnacles are to the ship ; they are to us what the wolf is to the flock of sheep ; they are to us what the gold gamblers were to the greenbacks ; they are to us what the absentee Irish landlord is to Irish farming. The Irish farmer would get on very much better without the absentee landlord. These people are to the city of Chicago what the slaveholders were to the cotton crop — a hindrance and a nuisance. Without us, said the slaveholders before the war, there would be no cotton crop. The war did away with the slave- holders, and now the cotton crop is twice as large as it was before the war. The slaveholders bore no relation to the cotton crop, except to eat up the proceeds. . Just so with our gas trust people and our street railroad people. If we could once get rid of them, we should get along very much better without them and their methods. Let me quote from Abraham Lincoln a few words I find in one of the January magazines : "I see in the near future a crisis arising that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. By a result of the war, cor- porations have been enthroned, and an era of corruption in high places will follow and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign, by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed. I feel, at this point, more anxiety for the safety of my country than ever before, even in the midst of war." Let me quote from a recent article in the Chicago Tribune: ''From time immemorial until a comparatively recent date, commerce was divided into two classes— the merchant marine and the pirates. At one time, not very long ago either, piracy seemed to have the advantage. At last public sentiment was thoroughly aroused, and as if by magic piracy was driven from the seas. Since that time honest enterprise and legitimate invest- ment have been unmolested by the corsair. In this country, however it MUNICIPAL CONTROL OF HEAT, LIGHT, ETC. 109 may be in foreign lands, every sea of enterprise and investment is infested witli pirates. The black flag flaunts defiantly in every port. Our business world is to-day divided into two clearly-defined classes— the accumulators of honestly-gotten wealth, and the spoilers who prey upon that wealth un- der color of law. Very little is to be feared from burglars, pick-pockets, forgers, sneak thieves, and the like who lay themselves liable to the crim- inal law by their operations. Where they steal a few pennies the land pirates grab millions, helped by the cunning unscrupulous lawyers to evade the criminal law as it now stands. It is by intelligent, careful and persistent use of the ballot, that the community must protect itself from the Captain Kidds of the period." Let us begin this work. We live in a city set on a hill that cannot be hid. All other American cities will take courage from our example. Let the world see that we are citizens of no mean city. Let us take the ad- vance. Let us be the pioneers. Let us take the skirmish line in the battle that is coming on. Already the ground trembles witli the coming onset. Already we hear the trumpets and the bugles and the shoutings of the captains. I see the robber barons moving towards their Appomattox. The very air is full of victory— victory of the people, by the people, and for the people. I MUNICIPAL CONTROL OF HEAT, LIGHT AND INTRA-MURAL TRANSPORTATION. By clarence A. BURLEY. We are by tljis question at once led to the subject which has in various forms been up for discussion before in this club, viz : The proper func- tions of government ? This subject is too wide for consideration in the time allotted, and there is another view of the question before us, which is less remote. This proximate question is ''How will the municipality do the work ?" But there is some limitation necessary before considering even this question. What kind of a municipality is meant ? If it is an ideal one —such as those pictured by many from the time of Plato's Republic down— the answer will be that it makes no difference whether the muncipality furnishes such things or not. If it does it will be all right. If it does not the ideal corporations in the ideal city will do it just as well as the city could — will realize only an ideal profit — say 5 per cent — and turn all the rest into the city treasury. On the other hand the answer may be far different if it is an ordin- ary every day city, such as Chicago. A city composed of poor people and rich, selfish people and generous wise and foolish, a body of people strug- gling to get what they want in the easiest way — each of them, uncon- sciously, an example of the physical axiom that things move in the line of least resistance. In such a community how will the municipality do such work ? How is such work done by our political executive agents in this country ? Is our Court House and City Hall a model of convenience and of economical building V Its plan in its origin was not the best of the many bad designs subnjitted. But few rooms in it are properly lighted. The presence of unlimited foul air is secured by a complicated system of venti- lation. Useless liallways occupy some of the most needed interior space. The county wing was built of such bad stone, that all projecting ledges (never of any use or beauty) had to be cut back, and then the stone painted to preserve it ; and there was more than the suspicion of a job in the painting. Useless porticos liad to be taken down leaving fine granite no MUNICIPAL CONTROL OF HEAT, LIGHT, ETC. Ill columns supporting nothing, and serving no purpose but to darken the in- terior. Philadelphia has a woeful tale of extravagance to tell about its City Hall. And the history of its gas business is such a commentary on this whole question, as would seem to settle it. The fact that the gas ring was turned out is not a sufficient answer to meet the case of millions stolen, and tlie people footing the bills. The efficiency with which New York expends money for getting its w^ork neglected is well-known. It is more than hinted that its new acque- duct has cost unnecessary amounts of money, and that its construction is far from being above reproach. The new acqueduct in Washington— a city governed by the united wisdom of all this country— shows what can be done in the way of throwing money into holes in the ground to no pur- pose whatever. There are two notable exceptions to this tale of extravagance, but they are mainly notable for the fact, that the authorities in the cities in which they occurred had nothing to do with the construction, and were power- less to stop the good work. Albany, where the City Hall, one of the. best examples of Kichard- son's work, was built by a committee of disinterested cititizens, with an appropriation made so small that it was thought the committee would in disgust decline to act. And Baltimore, where another public building was put up for less than the amount appropriated. Such are a few examples of the economies accomplished by our execu- tive agents. It has come to be accepted as a fact in the community, that a city, a county, a State, or the Federal Government itself, can get no work done without paying more for it than individuals would, and that there is always a steal in it somewhere. As to merely administration business the tale is the same. To begin at home — what a beautiful example was shown us not long since in the boodler cases. Kew York has had its Tweed ring. And the Philadelphia gas ring again. Consider what is usually thought a successful public ad- ministration—the post office. The cost of this is usually measured by the annual deficiency, but if you will add interest on the money invested in lands, buildings, etc., an expense always to be considered in individual affairs, the annual expense assumes alarming proportions. How effi- ciently this work might be done by private enterprise is approximately shown by our express companies. ' Look at the telegraph system recently undertaken by the government in England. It is run at a loss instead of at a profit as expected, and the complaints of lack of efficiency in the service, and its slowness, are very bitter. Compared with our own tele- graph companies, making large profits, the comparative cost to the people, when you consider the great distances traversed in this country, is about tlie same and our service is vastly more efficient and quick. It is no great stretcli of tlie imagination to contemplate the ease with which a syndicate having '' inflooence " would get street cars, gas and elec- tric lights, making their property valuable, but which additional plant would yield nothing to the city— neither is it difficult to imagine the weary waiting of tliose not possessing the " inflooence." 112 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. I have nothing to say against the success of the water supply in this city, for as I figure it there is a considerable return on the investment tak- ing things at cost. It is useless to wonder, but it is nevertheless a curious speculation as to how many years a private concern would have pumped wind. What the return will be after the completion of the new tunnels the cost of which is entirely problematical— no one can say. There are some enthusiasts so blind to the blessings about them, that they have begun to deny the authority of that old Jacksonian voice of the people, voice of God, axiom : '' To the victors belong the spoils." They heretically doubt that a fellow of the winning party can do better clerical work than one of the losing party, and they demand that offices—Federal, State and Municipal — shall be filled according to certain rules proposed by them. It is not the time to discuss the feasibility of their scheme, but it must be admitted that their desire for a change arises from the presence of a great evil. Do we wish to magnify that evil ? Shall we double or quadruple the places to be filled, when we cannot now keep party place hunters out of the offices to the great detriment of the public service ? If there be those who consider our own City Government sufficiently good to be entrusted with the management of more executive work than it now has, with the addition of innumerable more places for patronage, I do not agree with them. If there be any who think the City Governments of Xew York, Brooklyn, Boston, Albany, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburg (where five alderman have just been convicted of conspiracy to defraud), Cleveland, St. Louis, and other large cities are so to be trusted, I do not agree with them. If it be said that with a proper civil service these things can be done by the municipality to advantage, it may be answered that it is not yet established that Civil Service Keform will reform, and if it were sure that it would, the reform seems as yet a long way off— and further, that the ad- vantage to the community is more than doubtful. Even our water system, if it were subject to rent and taxes, usual charges of a private enterprise, would be run at a loss. The methods necessarily adopted in conducting a city's business are cumbersome and expensive. Consider for example the elaborate system of ordinances, special assessments, advertisements for bids, awarding them, inspection, rebates, etc., by which our street im- provements are made. Even if there is no dishonesty the city pays more for its purchases than any one else. But must the people be subject to the extortions of corporations, monopolizing the rights of furnishing gas, electricity and transportation ? Franchises of great value are granted out of which corporations make im- mense gains from the people who have granted them. Undoubtedly this is an evil, but it does not necesarily follow that the evil is to be cured by having the city do the work — certainly we shall have a worse evil if the people are still to pay just as much for the service, and only succeed in pensioning innumerable professional place seekers, without increasing the city's revenue. The solution of the matter lies rather in the direction of allowing MUNICIPAL CONTROL OF HEAT, LIGHT, ETC. 113 private enterprise to undertake the work, but with such restrictions about privileges granted that the public shall be protected. To this suggestion the answer is anticipated that these great corporations use money freely, and literally buy their franchises as they want them by corrupting the Common Council, That is unfortunately true, as for instance the Broad- way road. But how honestly would these same men who sell franchises manage the business if put into their hands V Is it not as rational to sup- pose that restrictions can be put upon the granting of corporate franchises, as to suppose that men who are known to be dishonest in one case will be honest in the other ? Such restrictions are imposed upon corporate franchises with success in England. Gas companies have been chartered to furnish gas at not to exceed a certain price, and with the provision that not more than certain dividends can be declared to stockholders, unless a proportionate redaction in rates be made, and the idea has proved successful. A license tax on gross earnings can be enforced. Quality can be inspected and insisted on. The service given can be regulated. One of the difficulties at present is that a franchise which in its nature is a monopoly is granted without pro- per care and without restrictions ; then this monopoly is left at the mercy of a corrupt Municipal Government, which grants similar charters to others or has to be bought off. Is it strange that under such circumstances the service is poor ? What are the evils to be feared in the municipality undertaking such work ? 1. Costly inception of the enterprise and improper plant to begin with. 2. Costly and dishonest management. 3. Unnecessary and unremunerative extension to meet the require- ments of those having political influence — and this may be to favor the rich, or to give employment to labor for political purposes. 4. An enormous increase of political patronage by the number of places to be filled. 5. The use of a vast number of employes for political purposes. 6. The fostering of the spirit of place seeking, already too strong among us. On the other hand what evils are there : 1. Too high rates to consumers. This can be easily controlled by pro- per care in granting franchises. 2. Inferior quality or means of transportation. This comes within tha police powers of a city, and can alse be regulated by charter. 3. Undue and excessive profits by a corporation. It is not difficult to regulate this by tax on gross earnings or otherwise. From the consideration of these matters it would seem that there are grave objections to having the municipality undertake this work — at any rate under the present aspect of the political management of large cities. There is no doubt, on the other hand, that great harm is done by the care- less granting of privileges to corporations, but of the two the latter seems to be best capable of control ; and it would appear that light, heat and 114 ECHOBS OF THE SUNSET CLUB. transportation will be most advantageously furnished by private enter- prise, controlled, however, by proper regulation of their franchises so that the public is well served, and with some provision for a tax which will give the public a retrlrn after the enterprise has been fairly remunerative. In the remarks hitherto attention has been confined to such munici- palities as the one we are in. It is true that in smaller places light and heat have been furnished to advantage. But the experience of such a community can not be compared to a municipality like this. It would be like judging of the results of an elective judiciary in New York, by what takes place in Vermont. In the latter State honest and capable men are elected, and continue to be re-elected for life. In New York the record is far different. As to the remote question of "what are the proper functions of government "—the answer has been already to some extent implied. As a general principle it might be said that those functions are whatever will best serve the people. But that is begging tlie question. MUNICIPAL CONTROL OF HEAT, LIGHT AND INTRA-MURAL TRANSPORTATION. By BRONSON C. KEELER. The more carefully that one considers the subject, the clearer it be- comes that every business, in its nature a monopoly, is properly a govern-, mental function. Specifically is this true of the municipal ownership and operation of water works, gas works, electric lighting plants, street railways, heating and cooling plants, and telephone lines. It is a curious fact that when Laissez Faire opposes progress, the objections which it urges against the change are precisely the objections to which it is itself the most amenable. The assumption by municipalities of these works would not be paternal ; the present system is the paternalistic one inas- much as it is a confession that the people are not capable of attending to their own affairs, but are compelled to throw themselves helplessly into the hands of their superior fellows. Neither would it produce corruption un- duly. The present system of private ownership is what brings about the corruption in city government which so alarms us. Even an occasional instance of corruption in municipal government is no argument against the public control of these franchises. The only cure for license is liberty. Show me a case of flagrant dishonesty in municipal affairs and I will show you an instance of where the city has farmed out to private enterprise a function which belongs to the city itself. But the most futile objection is that it tends towards Socialism. The ob- jectors forget that government itself is a socialistic scheme. The time was, if a man considered himself aggrieved by another, he took a club and made the settlement of the difficulty a matter of private enterprise. Civilization has changed all that. Our courts, army, navy, pOst office, mints, assay offices, hospitals, steamboat inspection, maratime regulation, signal service, lighthouses, river commissions, taxes, registrations in bankruptcy, national banks, national parks, schools ; fire, water, sewer and street commissions; our city comptrollers, auditors, treasurers, registers, inspectors of weights and measures, recorders of deeds, boards of public improvements, harbor and wliarf commissions, park commissions, our public buildings, inspectors 115 116 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. of boilers and of elevators, our boards of health, jury commissions, inspec- tors of milk^nd of plumbing, the police patrol, the quarantine and small- pox hospitals! insane asylums, houses of refuge ; our lumber, grain and in- surance inspectors ; the militia, and all such things are socialistic. The cry of socialism is raised too late. It should have been commenced about four centuries ago. Lord Salisbury said recently with much truth and significance that the time had gone by when men were to be deterred from investigating economic theories by being called hard names. Sometimes an absurdity appears clearer when studied in another rather than in our- selves. In Germany, government performs all the functions which we see it perform here ; and in addition the imperial, or as we should say the federal, branch owns and conducts the railways, telegraphs, telephones and express business ; besides life, accident, sickness and old age insurance. The several state governments own and operate banks; iron, coal, peat, salt, copper, lead, cobalt and silver mines — the largest silver mine in Europe, the Himmelsfurst, being one of them— they also own and operate lime quarries, blast furnaces ; metal, smelting and ultramarine works ; forests, saw mills, lotteries, irrigating works, pearl fisheries, watering places, vineyards, wine cellars, mineral springs, breweries, drug stores, hotels, fire insurance bureaus, daily newspapers* and porcelain factories.f The municipal governments ow^n and operate water works, gas works, street car lines, banks, fire insurance, pawn shops, forests, lotteries, quar- ries, clay pits, eating houses, hotels, saloons, theatres, markets, bath houses, cemeteries, cattle yards, slaughter houses and wiiarves. All tliis is done successfully, and with the full consent of the ruling classes. Yet the men who desire to extend this system are forbidden to assemble. Karl Marx, their first great teacher, was driven from home and died in a foreign land. His disciples have been hunted through Europe, and his followers have been shot down in the streets of the great cities. There is no country in the world in which the saying " To accept a principle and to damn the advocate " is so exemplified as in Germany in its relation to Socialism. It is time that we cease to be frightened by this bug-bear. If it be econom- ically sound as a theory, it will live in spite of our opposition ; and if not, it will die despite our efforts to keep it alive. The only rational course is for us to consider it philosophically. Without discussing further the theory of municipal functions, let us consider the practice ; instead of debating what ought to be done, we will review what has actually been accomplished in this direction. *The Leipzig Zeitung, not an official organ merely, but a daily newspaper like the Chicago Tribune, is owned and conducted by the government of Saxony. tThe famous Dresden china is made in a factory which is, and has been for one hun- dred and eighty years, the property of the Saxon state. It is the finest and the largest porcelain factory in the world, employing eight hundred persons. So, too, the famous Sevres china and the Gobelin tapestries are made in factories which have for nearly two hundred years belonged to the French government. In that time generations have lived and died, kingdoms have come and gone ; and revolutions, republics, anarchy and empires have followed in the fantastic whirligig of fate, but the porcelain and the tapestry factor, ies have gone right on. MUNICIPAL CONTROL OF HEAT, LIGHT, ETC. 117 There were in the United States February 1, 1889, about 1,700 water work plants, and reports from 1,634, show that of this number 715, or 44 per cent., were owned by tlie cities in which they were located. Without exception, all the large cities own their plants. Private ownership obtains only in the smaller cities. The reason for this is, that in the denser com- munities the social unit is more sharply outlined, the social organism is more distinctly evolved, and therefore the social functions are more easily recognized. Very rarely is it the case that cities having a population of 10,000 or more have water works owned by a private company. To learn which is the preferable system, one needs only to go to two adjacent cities, one of which has private works and the other municipal— like Fredonia and Dunkirk, ^. Y., or Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, 111., or to any city like St. Paul, in which the works were originally owned by a private company, but are now owned by the municipality— and make inquiry. He will be told that under municipal ownership, better service is had for less money. This was long since recognized in Europe. Across the w^ater? London is the only city of any size in which the water works are owned by private enterprise. All through the United Kingdom and on the Conti- nent, municipal ownership is the rule — in Germany every city owning its works, and private ownership being unknown — and the opposite is so rare as to even cause remark. How well the principle is recognized in this country, is shown by the storm which was raised a few years ago in Chicago, when there was a proposal to permit a private company to erect a high-pressure plant — a thing much needed — in the heart of the city. And why should the theory not be equally true of lighting plants ? The principle is tolerably well recognized, taking the world all through. More than fifty cities in the United States, own their electric lighting plants, either wholly or in part, prominent among them being Aurora, 111, Bay City, Mich., Hannibal, Mo., Little Rock, Ark., Michigan City, Ind., and Topeka, Kan., not to mention Chicago, which is within the per- sonal acquaintance of the reader. In Europe the municipal ownership of electric lighting plants is far more common than it is in this country, and the results are equally satisfactory. As for the municipal ownership of gas works, the most satisfactory argument will be to give a complete list of all the cities in the world, which owned their gas works on January 1, 1890, with the prices of gas so far as they were obtainable. Such a list is here given, and if after reading it, any man declare that municipal owner- ship of gas works is an " experiment " or "• impracticable," he must be liard to convince : United States— Philadelphia, $1.50; Richmond, Va.,$1.50; Alexan- dria, Va., $1.62; Danville, Va.,, $1.50; Charlottesville, Va., $1.50; Wheel- ing, W. Va., 75 cents; Bellefontaine. O., $1.00; Henderson, Ky., $1.50. England and Wales— Aberavon, 95 cents; Ashton-in-Makerfleld, $1.08; Atlierton, 80 cents; Abergavenny, 78 cents; Audley, 90 cents; Bangor. $1.20; Barrow-in-Furness, 84 cents; Batley, 78 cents; Bethesda, $1.50; Bi^verley, 90 cents ; Bingley, 68 cents; Birkenhead, 70 cents; Bir- mingham, 52 cents; Birstal, 78 cents; Blackburn, 74 cents; Blackpool, 68 cents; Bollington, 80 cents; Bolton, 64 cents; Bradford, 53 cents; Bridg- 118 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. north, $1.14; Brighouse, 50 cents; Briton Ferry, 72 cents; Burnley, 54 cents; Bu^slem, 76 cents; Burton -upon-Trent, 68 cents; Buxton, 76 cents : Bury, 58 cents; Carlisle, 60 cents; Carnarvan, 96 cents; Chorley, 78 cents ; Cleckheaton, 69 cents ; Clitheroe, 84 cents; Cockermouth, 96 cents; Colne and Marsden, Lancashire, 68 cents; Congleton, 75 cents; Conway, $1.08; Coventry, 72 cents; Darlington, 52 cents; Darwen, 78 cents; Denton and Haughton, 80 cents ; Devizes, 80 cents ; Dewsbury, 72 cents ; Droitwich, 94 cents; Dukinfield, 80 cents; East Dereham, $1.08; East Retford, 80 cents; Evesham, $1.00; Ellesmere, $1.18; Festiniog, $1.32; Fenton, 48 cents; Halifax, 52 cents; Haverfordwest, $1.20; Haverhill, $1.30; Haworth, 78 cents; Hereford, 84 cents; Hey wood, 90 cents; Hinckley, 90 cents; Hindley, 86 cents; Horncastle, 76 cents; Huddersfield, 63 cents; Ilkeston, 62 cents ; Keighley, 60 cents ; Knaresborough, 60 cents ; Lancaster, 60 cents; Leeds, 42 cents; Leek, 58 cents; Leicester, 56 cents; Leigh, 72 cents; Lincold, 64 cents; Llandudno, $1.14; Longton, 72 cents; Lynn, $1.00 ; Lytham, 84 cents ; Macclesfield, 72 cents ; Malvern, 96 cents ; Man- chester, 64 cents ; Mansfield, 76 cents ; Marple, 80 cents ; Marsden, York- shire, 80 cents ; Mary port, 72 cents; Middlesbrough, 62 cents; Middleton, 90 cents; Millom, 80 cents; Milton, 90 cents; Mossley, 74 cents; Milford, $1.08; Newbury, $1.08; Neath, 90 cents; Nelson, 66 cents; Newcastle- under-Lyme, 72 cents ; Newton-in-Makerfield, 54 cents ; Nottingham, 52 cents; Oldbury, 63 cents; Oldham, 54 cents; Oswaldtwistle, 66 cents; Padiham and Hapton, 75 cents ; Penrith, 74 cents ; Ramsgate, 76 cents ; liipon, 80 cents ; Rochdale, 78 cents ; Rotherham, 54 cents ; St. Mary Church, 96 cents ; St. Helen's, 70 cents ; Saffron Walden, $1,10 ; Salford, 72 cents; Silsden, 90 cents; Skelmersdale, 90 cents; Smethwick, 60 cents; Southport, 66 cents; Sowerby, 70 cents; Spalding, 90 cents; Stafford, 72 cents; Staleybridge, 76 cents; Stockport, 60 cents; Stoke-upon-Trent, 54 cents; Stratford-upon-Avon, 76 cents; Stockton-on-Tees, 60 cents; Sutton- in-Ashfield, 80 cents; Teignmouth, $1.00; Tipton, 52 cents; Tow Law, 95 cents ; Tredegar, $1.08 ; Tyldesley-with-Shakerley, 82 cents ; Ulverston, 90 cents; Wallasey, 72 cents ; Walsall, 50 cents ; Wantage, $1.00; Wombwell, 78. cents ; Workington, 70 cents ; Ynyscynhaiern, $1.30 ;. Warrington, 84 cents; Wells, 80 cents; West Bromwick, 52 cents; Widnes, 48 cents; Wigan, 67 cents. Scotland— Aberdeen, 90 cents; Alloa, 90 cents; Alva, $1.20; Ar- broath, $1.00; Ardrossan, $1.00; Burntisland, $1.20; Broughty Ferry, 95 cents ; Dumbarton, 84 cents ; Dumfries, 90 cents ; Dunbar, $1.50 ; Dundee, 88 cents; Elgin, $1.40; Forfar, $1.05 ; Glasgow, 72 cents; Gourock, $1.10; Greenock, 90 cents ; Hamilton, 80 cents ; Inverness, $1.00 ; Johnstone, $1.05; Kilmarnock, $1.00 ; Kirkintillock, $1.00; Paisley, 72 cents; Perth, 90 cents ; Peterhead, $1.43 ; Port Glasgow, $1.08 ; Renfrew, $1.00 ; Wishaw, $1.00. Ireland— Belfast, 72 cents ; Limerick, $1.14 ; Newry, $1.00 ; New- townards, $1.10 ; Tralee, $1.20. Prussia— Berlin, $1.08 ; Cologne, 82 cents ; Wiesbaden, $1.62; Breslau, $1.15; Stettin, $1.50; Danzig, $1.15; Magdeburg, $1.75; Goettingen, $1.22; Elberfeld, $1.48 ; Altena, Andernach, Apenrada, Barmen, Bielefeld, MUNICIPAL CONTROL OF HEAT, LIGHT, ETC. 119 Bochum, Bonn, Boppard, Brandenburg a. H., Braunsburg i. Ostpr., Brieg, Bromberg, Bunzlau, Burg b. Madgeburg, Charlottenburg, Delitzsche, Demmin, Duisburg, Dulken, Duren, Dusseldorf, Eberswalda, Eckern- foei-de, Elbing, Emden,* Emmerich, Eschwege, Essen, Euskirchen, Eilen- burg, Finsterwalde, Forst, Freiburg i. Schl., Fulda, Furstewald, Glatz, Gnesen ; Goerlitz, $1.62; Gottesburg, Graudenz, Greifswald, Grottkau, Guben, Gumbinnen, Guterslob, Hadersleben, Hainan, Halberstadt, Halle a. S., Hamm, Hanau, Ilattingen, Havelberg, Heide, Herford, Hildesheim, Homburg v. d. H., Hoerde, Husum, Huckeswagen, Insterburg, Jauer, Julich, Kassel, Kempen a. Kh., Kempen, i. P., Kiel, Kirn, Koblenz, Koes- feld, Kolberg; Koenigsberg i. Pr., $1.35; Koeslin, Kottbus, Kreuzburg \. O.- Schl., Krotoschin, Krossen a. O., Kulm, Landeshut i. Schles., Laubau, Leer, Lennep, Leobschutz, Liegnitz, Lippstadt, Loewen, Lcewenberg i. Schles., Luben, Lunen, Malstatt-Burbach, Memel, Menden, Merseburg, Minden, Montjoie, Muhlhausen i. Th., Mulheim a. Rh., Munster i. W., Namslau, Nauen, Naumburg a. S., Neisse, Neumunster, Neuruppin, Neu- stadt i. O.-Schl., Neuwied, Nienburg a. W., Oberlahnstein, Oels, Ohlau, Oschersleben, Osnabruck, Paderborn, Perleberg, Pless, Posen, Preetz, Pritzwalk, Pyritz, Quedlinburg,* Rathenow, Ratibor, Rees, Remscheid, Rendsburg, Rheine, Ronsdorf , Rybnik, Sagan, Schsenau. Schrimm, Schwedt a. O., Schweidnitz, Schwelm, Schwerte, Schwiebus, Siegburg, Solingen, Sommerfeld, Sonderburg, Sorau i. K.-L. ; Spandau, $1.50; Spremberg, Sprottau, Stade, Stargard i. Pom., Steele, Stendal, Stolp, Stralsund, Strehlen, Striegau, Thorn, Tilsit, Tondern, Treptow a. R., Torgau,* Ueter- sen, Verden, Wandsbeck, Wattenscheid, Weissenfels, Werl, Wernigeroda, Wetzlar, Witten, Wittenburg, Wittstock, Zeitz, Ziegenhals. Bavaria — Rosenheim, Deggendorf, Landshut, Duerkheim, Franken- tlial, Germersheim, Ludwigshafen, Lambrecht, Pirmasens, Speyer, St. Ingbart, Amberg, Weiden, Ansbach, Fuerth, Nuernberg, Weissenburg, Aschaffenburg, Schweinfurt, Wuerzburg. WuRTTEMBURG— Calw, Aaleu, Crailsheim,* Ellwangen,* Gmund,* Heidenheim, Heilbronn, Hall, Ravensburg, Ebingen, Kirckheim unter Teck, Nurtingen, Rottenburg, Tubingen, Boblingen,*' Cannstatt, Esslin- gen, Feuerbach,* Ludwigsburg, Stuttgart,* Ulm. The prices range from 95 cents to $1.56 per thousand feet. Saxony — Every gas making plant in the kingdom belongs to the city in which it is located, private ownership being unknown. The price in Leipsig is $1.20, and in the other places it is about the same. Baden— Karlesruhe. $1.21 ; Mannheim, $1.21 ; Heidelberg, $1.42, Frei- burg, $1.35 ; Sforzheim, $1.21 ; Baden, $1.62 ; Badenweiler, $1.62. There are some other cities in Germany which. own their works, among them Hamburg and Lubeck. Hamburg leases the operation, the revenue in 1887, therefrom, being about $765,000, with the price of gas $1.20. Lubeck also owns its electric lighting plant, and the United States consul writes that both works are operated by the city with great profit. Hesse— Darmstad, $1.48 to $1.75 ; Mainz, $1.35 ; Giessen, $1.48 ; Worms, *The operation of the works is leased. 120 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. $1.00 ; Offenbach, $1.35 ; Bingen, $1.48 ; Friedberg, $1.68 ; Bacl-:N'aiiheim, * $2.22^ GraI^d Duchy of Saxony— Weimar, $1.35; Eisenbach, $1.35; Jena. Switzerland— Bassel, $1.37; Berne, $1.37; Brienne, $1.37; Zurich, $1.58; St. Gall, $1.53; Winterthur, $1.64; Chaux de fonds, $1.64 ; Thoime, $1.90. Denmark— In Assens, Aalborg, Elsinore, Fraderiksberg, Odense, Banders, and Viborg, the gas works are owned by one company, having its headquarters in Copenhagen. In all other cities the works are owned by the municipalities. The price charged by the company is from $1.00 to to $1.88. In the other cities it ranges from $1.07 to $1.30; in Copenhagen it being $1.21. Norway— Christiania, $1.14; Bergen, Christiansand, Trondhjem, Drammen. Sweden — Stockholm, Goteborg, Malmo,* Upsala, Lund, Sundsvall, Linkoping, Landskrona, Karlstad. The price varies from $1.10 to $1.52. In Stockholm it is for lighting $1.52, for cooking $1.14, and for machinery 76 cents. In Goteborg it is for lighting and cooking $1.22 ; and for ma- chinery 91 cents. The gas works are also owned by Brussels, Casena, Italy, Bucharest, Koumania, price $1.70 ; and Yokohoma, Japan. Averaging the countries up, gas is made for less money and sold for less money in those cities which own their own works than in those where the works are operated by private enterprise. This is true the world over. When we come to intramural transportation, we find a more restricted field. No city in the United States owns its street railway lines, but the franchises will soon begin to expire, and the people ought to see to it that the cities then assume their proper functions in this respect. In Sydney the trams, wliich are worked by steam, are owned and operated not by the muncipality, but by the general Government of New South Wales. In Paris they are owned by private companies, but on the expiration of the franchises they revert not to the city, but to the National Government of France. In Berlin the franchises expire in 1911, when they revert to the city. Only thirty-six municipalities in the world actually own their street railway lines. Of these twenty-nine are in England, three are in Scot- land, and four are in Germany. The most notable are Liverpool, Birming- ham, Manchester, Shefiield, and Newcastle-upon-Tyne in England, and Glasgow in Scotland. Note the word own', for of the thirty-six, only three— Iluddersfield, England, and Kopernick and Wiesloch in Germany— also operate their lines. The operation of all the others is leased to com- panies, the cities owning the tracks, and the companies providing the equipment. In England there is against the operation of tramways by municipalities an old parliamentary inhibition, to which Huddersfield is an exception ; but the public sentiment in the other direction is growing so rapidly, that the removal of the inhibition is merely a question of time. *The operation of the works is leased. MUNICIPAL CONTROL OF HEAT, LIGHT, ETC. 121 and recent reports from that country indicate, that on the expiration of the contract in Glasgow, tiie city will undertake the operation of the lines. At present the leases are made upon terms which bring into the municipal treasury handsome revenues, and still leave to the lessees a satisfactory return on their capital. I close this cursory paper by propounding a conundrum for the curious : Thousands of cities in the world own their water works, hundreds own their gas works, ten own their street car lines. Why is this ? OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM. By col. AUGUSTUS JACOBSON. "An ounce of prevention is wortli^ pound of cure." There is no other land on eartli where so much money is given away as in the United States. Nearly all rich men look upon it as a duty to do something for benevolent objects. There are bequests in this city not yet carried into effect of at least eight millions — two or three millions for the Newberry Library, one million for the Lewis School, three millions for Crerar Library, and othel: benevolent objects. No land can compare with ours in munificent bequests. But as a rule these bequests are not in furtherance of any good, sound, public policy. As a rule a bequest estab- lishes the •' Jones Chair," the " Smith College," the " Brown Library," or the "Robinson Hospital." A great deal of money is thrown away on colleges where there are no students, on libraries where there are no readers, and on hospitals where there are no patients. Very little of it goes where all the people get the benefit of it. In the North American Beview for June 1889, Andrew Carnegie says, that $950 out of every $1,000 bequeathed for charity, is bequeathed unwisely, and might as well be thrown away ; and in the December number of the same review, he reiter- ates and amplifies the statement. The collateral inheritance tax of New York yielded for the year 1887 $ 561,716.00. 1888 736,084.88. 1889 1,075,692.25. Up to the 5th of December, 1889, the collateral inheritance tax of Pennsyl- vania had yielded for the year $1,378,453.71. This tax being on collateral inheritances, only reaches but a small number of estates. The collateral inheritance law of Pennsylvania was enacted in 1826, and is an old rock-rooted State institution. The best equipped lawyers of the State have tried to upset it, but it has withstood all their onslaughts. The law of New York was enacted in 1885. The lawyers of New York have tried their best to upset it, but the law stands and w^ill continue to s£and. In both States the proceeds of the tax are used for general revenue purposes. The tax is 5 per cent on all collateral inheritances. An estate of $250 is exempt in Pennsylvania, and one of $500 is exempt in New York 122 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM. 123 In 1884, 1 began to advocate that inasmuch as parents cannot with the means at their command give such an education to their children as the necessities of modern life demand, that the money must be found to pay parents or persons standing in the place of parents for the time of their children while attending school. Under twelve years of age cliildren will generally be kept at school be- cause their earning capacity is nothing. My proposition is that the com- pensation should begin at twelve and end at twenty for boys and girls alike. 12 to 13 $ 50.00 13 to 14 75.00 14 to 15 100.00 15 to 16 125.00 16 to 17 150.00 17 to 18 175.00 18 to 19 ■ 225.00 19 to 20 300.00 The course of study should include manual, scientific and literary training — the best that could be devised — the very best would be none too good. Tliis would give us a population of intelligence and efficiency such as the world has never yet seen — a population that could be reasoned with ; a population that would quickly see its own interest, and seeing would pur- sue it ; a population that w^ould peaceably and speedily right all its wrongs. The setting free of four millions of black people was the greatest work of this century, but this proposition means a yet greater work, because it would truly emancipate both black and white. Once begun here all the world would follow. It means the raising up indefinitely of the world's toilers. It means not that the exalted shall be humbled, but that the humble shall be exalted. The house of our civilization would cease to be divided against itself. It would be all intelligent, efficient and compara- tively well-to-do. All anxiety as to the perpetuity of republican institu- tions w^ould immediately cease. The expense would be enormous, but the money would not be lost. It would stay right here amongst us and render every business more produc- tive. To raise the money I have advocated a graduated succession tax upon estates. Its collection would cost little or nothing— the experience of Pennsylvania and New York shows that. In war times we had both a graduated income tax and a succession tax, so that neither a graduated tax nor a succession tax is new to the American people. The Pennsylvania and New York laws establish a graduated tax, because a small estate is exempt while a larger one is taxed. The graduated succession tax would not upset the country. We know it wouldn't, because we have already seen it in operation. The tax which I propose would be graduated— small on small amounts and larger as the amounts increase. }4 per cent on all estates less than $25,000. % per cent on all estates above $25,000 and less than $50,000. % per cent on all estates above $50,000 and less than $100,000. 124 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. 1 per cent on all estates above $100,000 and less than $200,000. and t-hen one per cent more upon every additional hundred thousand dol- lars, up^to fifty per cent on five millions or any sum above five millions. No accumulation, no tax; small accumulation, a small tax ; large accumu- lation, a large tax. Upon an estate of less than $50,000, the tax could not exceed $250. Upon an estate of $199,000, the tax would be $1,990. Upon an estate of $500,000, the tax would be $25,000. Upon an estate of a mil- lion, the tax would be $100,000. Upon an estate of five millions and up- wards, the tax would be one-half of the estate. To give an illustration let us take the estate of the late John Crerar, which for purpose of administration was valued at $3,550,000. The .tax upon that sum at thirty-five per cent would be $1,242,500, which would keep at school for one year upon the plan proposed 8,283 children between twelve and twenty years of age. It is said that every man should be allowed to do what he likes witli his own. No, that he cannot do even now. The law interferes with him at every step, and tells him what he may do and what he must not do. That supremely cunning lawyer, Mr. Samuel J. Tilden, made a will under which libraries were to be established, but the law steps in and says that he attempted to do it in a manner contrary to public policy ; his will goes for naught, and his relatives take all his money. Public policy limits a man in what he may do with his money. If the law which I propose were now applicable to John Crerar's estate, 8,283 children between twelve and twenty would get out of his estate food, shelter and raiment during a year's schooling and preparation for active life, and after providing for this there would be still an abund- ance of money left wherewith to pay all the Crerar legacies and establish the Crerar library, and I say that such an application of the money would be in futherance of a good, sound, public policy. The late Alfred Cowles left $950,000 to be divided among his three children. The tax which I propose would take from the $950,000, $85,500 to educate the children of the people, leaving $864,500 to be divided by the three children of Mr. Cowles, which would abundantly provide against all the rainy days that can come in their lives. The Cowles estate is an ideal estate. It was gathered by hard work, saving, keen and shrewd enterprise. But after all Mr. Cowles could not have gotten together so large an" estate if he had not lived in a growing community, wliich helped all his enterpises to flonrish. Every man who came to Chicago increased the revenue of Mr. Cowles. For this element in his fortune the $85,500 return to the community, would be none too large to help on the general welfare. And what is true of the Cowles estate is of course true of all other large estates. And if this much can be said of the Cowles estate, what might not be said of the estates of the stock waterers and Standard Oil magnates ? The education proposed would abundantly pay for itself. This nation is now on the very depths of poverty compared to what it would be if every child in the land were educated in the manner proposed. Stanley says there are forty millions of people on the Congo, all of OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM. 125 them naked and poor. He says that the country in which they live is one of endless natural wealth. In the midst of all this wealth the Africans are in the depths of poverty, simply because they are ignorant. This country with all its immense resources was once in the complete possession of the Indians. The Indians did not get rich. They were not even comfortable. They starved and froze to death, simply because they did not know anything. We took their inheritance and with what little we know% see what we have done. That increase of knowledge brings increase of wealth must be clear to every one. If, instead of our present population we had a land full of Russian Moujiks, or of natives of Spain or Arkansas, we should not be troubled with a surplus. It is not what is in the earth, nor in the material things that are on the earth, that the wealth of a nation lies. It is in the training of the brains of the people ; it is in the intelligence of the people that the wealth of a nation lies. The training of the hands and brains of the people is so much added to the producing plant of the nation. The brains of the peoph^ are the motive power of all the motive powers. To support one poor boy or girl at school, and give him or her a good education and a fair start in life, has always been looked upon and is now looked upon as a noble deed. If it is a good thing to do for one child why not for all ? The very best thing to do in the way of charity is to do the thing which will help to do away with the necessity for charity. liaising the in- telligence and skill of the people would develop endless new employments, and thereby the necessity for charity would diminish. With the law changed as I propose, the waifs would all disappear from the streets and be found at school. Ko truant officers would be needed. The complusory education law would be a needless, antiquated, dead let- ter. The poorer the man the more certain would he be to educate his children. The orphans and the fatherless would be educated. The chil- dren of drunkards would be educated. Thus started in life, the intelli- gent and efficient young would take care of and provide for the old and infirm belonging to them. Of the misery of the world w^hose origin is in want, one-half would disappear. If there were more justice there would be less need of charity. The most important thing to be done about charity is to do away with the necessity for it. OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM. By GEO. HOWLAND, Superintendent Chicago Public Schools. Had the Sunset Club desired any curt criticism, or severe strictures upon our Public Schools, it surely would not have called upon me, for as my venerated grandmother used to say : " It Is a vile bird that fouls its own nest ?" The pleasant pursuit of fault-finding would have been left to some other agreeable gentleman, who might find in our Public School organization a ready-made agency, for foisting upon the public some favor- ite fad of their own, full-fledged from its birth. I have been in grave doubt whether the club desired an opinion upon the merits, or demerits of the schools of to-day, or the information and facts upon which an intelligent opinion might be based. The Public School, as a department of the City Government, has at- tained proportions, which may well command the careful consideration of every thoughtful citizen. The teachers' pay roll for November in the old city was $145,577, in the recently annexed territory $53,316— total, $198,462. There are now, includ- ing the annexed districts, 174 square miles; in the old city 1,820 teachers, and 91,000 pupils; in the annexed districts 720 teachers, and thirty odd thousand pupils ; in the old city 91 schools, in the new territory 103. The Public Schools of this city, as you all know, are under the imme- diate control of a Board of Education of fifteen members, five of whom are appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the council for a term of three years ; the best method I think yet devised. In some cities, as in New York and Philadelphia, local committees are elected for the several wards. This plan, of course, brings the schools into the realm of ward poli- tics, where the saloon is a perpetual caucus by night and by day, and naturally overrides all other influences. The mayor, as an appointing power, feels his responsibility, and rarely fails to appoint a good working majority of reliable men, men of honor and integrity, and for the almost ten years of my occupancy of my present position, there has been no ex- ception to this. The controlling majority of the Board of Education has 126 I OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM. 127 ever been composed of men of honor, honesty, integrity and untiring de- votion to the welfare of the schools, and the true interests of the city. The thought, the labor, the time some of the members of the Board have given to the schools, their progress and welfare, have been simply phenome- nal, and deserving of all praise. The business of the Board, the buying of school-sites, the erection, furnishing and repairing of school buildings,- is attended to, as it should be, by the several committees of the Board. The true work of the school, the instruction, training and education of the pupils, is done by the principals and teachers under the supervision of our superintendent and five assist- ant superintendents. At present the city is divided into five districts, one for each assistant superintendent, while the superintendent is at liberty to visit any and all the schools as occasion demands. Every school and ever teacher at her work is visited, as a rule, once a month by the proper officer ; her modes of instruction and discipline are carefully observed, suggestions made, faults corrected, and needful advice given ; but each assistant superintendent is expected also to make at least one visit to every school in the city during the year, that the Board may have the benefit of their combined wisdom and judgment. All assignments of teachers to positions in our schools are made by the superintendent from a list of those holding city certificates adopted by the Board, generally upon the recommendation of the superintendent. No person can be assigned as a teacher, who has not passed a scholas- tic examination by the superintendent under the direction of the Board. The practical efficiency of the teacher must be determined by her work in the school-room. But our teachers are not appointed blindly. All those, graduates of high schools and others, who have passed the examination, but have had no experience, are assigned as apprentices, or cadets as we call them ; one or two to each school, where under the special supervision of the principal and the skilled teachers of the several rooms, they are given classes to teach, and in the absence of teachers, act as substitutes. For the first two months of this service they receive no pay. After this, those who give good promise, receive 75 cents per day, and four months later, if not assigned, $1.25. Teachers, when assigned, receive $40 per month, and are advanced about $75 per year till the sixth year. In the lowest primary grades, in the crowded districts, we have double divisions, one class coming for the morning session, and one for the after- noon. From an educational standpoint a half-day is enough for the little six-year olds, and with two teachers in the room alternating in class and individual work, we may well have 8,000 or 10,000 half-day pupils with little or no detriment. But all this, the number of schools, the number of teachers, the amount of their salaries, the cost of buildings, and the devotion of mem- bers of the Board, is of no account, unless the work of the schools is such as to warrant this outlay of time, thought and money. What are we doing to-day in our schools for the education, training. 128 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. and advancement of our children to make them better and more useful citizens ? J In the first, second and third grades we are teaching our pupils to read, to become familiar with words, those symbols of thoughts and ideas without which little progress is possible. There is something of numbers, of writing and drawing, something of sound, form and color ; but the one important thing is to enable the child to read intelligently, that he may engage in his later work with success. The fourth grade is a kind of a transition period. The pupils are still learning to read, as a proximate end, enlarging their N^ocabulary, acquiring a nicer discrimination in the use of w^ords, and getting a better control of their powers, and at the same time using their powers in the investigation of subjects, for the expression of their views, and for the simple formu- lating of their conclusions upon any topic of scientific, literary, or historic interest. In the grammar grades they are to learn the application of their ever increasing knowledge to the business of life, that they may meet the ordinary requirements of the grocer, the plumber, the merchant, the book- man, and the carpenter or gasman, with a readiness and accuracy that shall command commendation. Reading here is not so much an end as a means. The pupils should still make the selections from the best prose and poetic writers his careful study, should learn something of the principles of rhetoric, the rules of versification, and the laws of language and grammar. The United States, as a nation, the leading facts and features of its history, the relation of the individual States to the General Government, tlie nation ; the eminent men and women who have helped to make its history, and the few import- ant steps in its progress should be carefully taught, and accurately learned ; and also the histories of England and France, as closely connected with our own, should be made plain, xind especially should they acquire that love of good books, which is in itself a liberal education. In the high schools are presented the elements of the more important sciences in the true spirit and mode of investigation ; some of the foreign languages, and what is more valuable still, is given an outlook into the various fields of learning, that shall aid them in determining the branch of industry, or study, to which they may afterward devote their energies with happiness and success. We have also in all the grades from the first to the last, carefully graded exercises adapted to give nicety of perception, accuracy and delicacy of touch, and to give the mind ready and complete control of the eye and the hand, those two organs which make us of any practical use to the world. There is a course in drawing from dictation, from models, from ob- jects, construction, industrial and mechanical, optional for all who choose to take it. In geography, history and physiology, there is very much free- hand graphic and illustrative work. In the earlier grades the pupil has mouldings, cutting of paper and wood, and some carving. Much has been said and written of late about the crowded condition of our schools, and the exclusion of pupils from a chance for an education. Xo pupils are excluded from school, but some can go but half a day, one session, but, as I OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM. 129 I have said before, there may be ten thousand such with no harm from an educational standpoint, though in a domestic view many parents would prefer the Public School to a nursery. But few buildings have been erected during the last two years, and we are feeling the pressure some- what. This year, however, fifteen or eighteen new buildings have, or will be completed, and plans are preparing for ten more next year, which is about as large a number as can be well or reasonably built in one year. With an increase of 50,000 a year in our population, 10 per cent of whom are in the Public Schools, some eight large buildings are needed to meet the wants of our natural growth, aside from the rural regions that are fast fastening themselves to the skirts of their great mother. There are a few districts that hardly contain land enough for three- story structures, sufficient to hold all the children. One have I in mind of two squares from which 900 pupils are in our schools. In connection with our high schools the board has established a so-called Manual Training School, with a three years' course. The pupils attend the high schools dur- ing the morning session, and go to the manual school from 1:30 to 4:30 o'clock. The course of study and w^ork is w^ell on a level with the school on Michigan avenue and Twelfth street, and with the St. Louis school ; and much excellent work is done which would command the approval of^ any intelligent visitor. It is not behind the school of the Commercial Club, but it does not take a strong hold on the pupils of the high schools, with a three years' coarse, having an attendance of about sixty. One of the greatest troubles with the children of our large cities is, that they have nothing to do out of school. The country boy has a thou- sand things about the house, the barn, the farm, to quicken his interest, develop his thought and broaden his nature, and accustom him to habits of industry and usefulness. He needs no manual training. In the city the boy out of school roams the streets, frequents the alleys, and drops into the saloons — or worse still, the candy store for cigarettes and whisky drops. Anything which can lessen this risk is all important, but the introduction of the carpenter's and the blacksmith's shops falls far short of the remedy. There are those who regard manual training as the panacea for all the ills of society — physical, mental and moral. But the men of best physical, manly development and proportions are not seen among the laborers along our streets, in the shops or the workyards ; nor there do w^e meet the quickest, keenest thought, the brightest wit, or the truest purpose ; and as for morals, no man familiar with the daily conduct and conversation of laborers and workmen will care to press that argu- ment. No body of mechanics or workmen can be found to compare in one of these respects with the members of our high schools and colleges. That all these schools— trade schools, industrial schools, art schools and schools of science — are needed, and will soon come from public ex- pense or private endowment, I have no doubt; but this work does not come, in any large sense, within the provision of the Public School. In my opinion our public schools are good, doing in most cases excel- lent work, and growing better and better, as I trust they will do for long years to come. 130 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. \ I do not wish to tresspass upon your time, and will close with what I ^ave written in my forthcoming report to the Board of Education, as the (summing up of my thoughts. The work of the year has been, I think, encouraging. We have tried to accomplish the purpose of the public school, as concisely stated by Dr. Hasen : " Instruction in the conventionalities of good behavior, the mas- tery of the means of intercommunication on instruction in the current intellectual views of the world ; or in other words, instruction in all matters of moral conduct and principal; the development of language, grammar and rhetoric ; and the knowledge of geography, history, science and litera- ture, without which no one can lay claim to a liberal, or even a common, school education. Under the careful and prudent supervision of the schools by the assistant superintendents we have secured a more uniform excellence, a higher ideal, a better discipline, and simpler, truer and more practical methods of instruction. The discipline is becoming more humane, less re- pressive and more inspiring, and the instruction more natural and fruitful, the relations of teacher and pupil closer and more sympathetic, the pupil's love of teacher and school more common, and the intellectual and moral tone of our schools higher and sweeter. OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM. By H. D. garrison, M. D. The present system of public instruction, is so far superior to that in vogue forty years ago, that I feel more inclined to indulge in the praise than in adverse criticism ; nevertheless, the system is by no means what it might and should be, at this time. The teachers seem to be generally painstaking and competent to teach what is before them in the text books, and a few of them are able to add something to the brief statements therein, but most of them seem to draw the line at this point. "The text books, while certainly much better than most of their predecessors, are still very defective in containing a large amount of mere trash, and still more defective, in not containing a vast amount of useful information, which a child could imbibe with profit, while getting all the advantages that come from the mental will and discipline derived from covering the fictitious stories now supplied them. For example, on looking into the in- troductory Fourth Keader, in use in our schools, I find five full pages de- voted to an account of how Robinson Crusoe saved the life of his man Friday ; while six pages are devoted to Gulliver's Travels in the Land of the Giants. In five other pages we are informed how a judge pardoned a kitten, while six pages of '' gush " follow the title An Old Fashioned Girl. Sandwiched among these stories are a number of beautiful sketches of history and natural history, which as far as they go, save the book from utter condemnation as a school book. In place of all this " wishy-washy " stuff, which, to a greater or less extent, runs through all the readers, I would suggest brief sketches of the discoveries and conclusions of modern science, together with important historical sketches. Familiar descriptions of the important heavenly bodies, as the Sun, Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and the fixed stars, would be eagerly read by children, while some account of the nature of sound, heat, light, gravitation, etc., if given in simple terms, is not at all beyond their comprehension. Again, mention of the causes, now in action and which, in the past have brought the surface of the earth into its present variegated condition, would convert every child into an observer, an em- bryonic geologist and meteorologist. It is true, that many of these sub- jects are taught, in some detail, in the high schools, but how few pupils 131 132 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. ever pass through them, besides, what is learned in the lower grades will only make the higher courses more easy. My idea is simply this, let use- ful information, and especially science, supplant " slush " in all of our text books and in oral instruction. The excuse for the introduction of most of the flimsy articles, is their beautiful style, and I freely grant, that in that respect, they generally possess much merit ; but the style of such scientific men as Huxley, Tyndal, Darwin, Lubbock, and a host of scienti- fic writals, has not been excelled by ancient or modern authors. One of the most serious charges, that I have to make against our system of public instruction, is the fact that both teachers and text books, systematically suppress certain great facts. The great age of the earth, and the anti- quity of man, are facts well-known to every author and teacher worthy of the name, and yet, how carefully are these and other similar facts con- cealed. The doctrine of evolution has been before the people over thirty years, and is now accepted by scientific men throughout the civilized world, and yet, even our high school teachers, when they (rarely) refer to the subject at all, either damn it with faint praise, as " a plausible theory only." " not yet established," or flatly denying its 'truthfulness. Scientific men, however, recognize that the principle of evolution is the very spirit of science, and as Professor Worthen once said to the writer, " without evolu- tion there is no science." But what is the value of science ? Just this, without the blessings shed upon mankind by science in all its ramifica- tions, we would, if we existed at all, be in the midst of the deepest bar- barism conceivable. THE SUNDAY QUESTION. By E. nelson BLAKE. The committee has given us this question in the broadest possible shape, but the phase of the question now before the people everywhere in our country, is the Sunday closing of the dram-shops. Its agitation in our city has brought it into this room, and the question in all our minds is : " Ought the law for the closing of the liquor-shops on Sunday to be enforced V^' I say, yes. If it is not to be enforced let it be repealed. Let there be no promise to the ear that the heart does not propose to keep. But it can be enforced, and it should be enforced. And right here I wish to express my conviction of the debt, that the friends of law and order owe to the press of our city, and more especially to the Daily News, for the noble stand it has taken in arousing the public mind to the great importance of this question. Ought the laws of the State to be enforced ? What a question ! Who says no V Only those who break them ; only those for whose control the laws were enacted ; only those who were breaking the spirit of the law be- fore its passage, and whose conduct called for its passage. The representa- tives of the people, in legislature assembled, pass the law. The executive elected by the same people hesitates to enforce it. It was on the statute book when he asked the people's vote for his position ; it was there when he took the oath of office, and it is one of the statutes he took oath to en- force. Who shall say : "I will enforce this statute, but I will not enforce tliat ?" Is the enforcement of this statute in question liable to work injury or hardship to the great majority of the people V Who shall suffer from its enforcement ? Who shall gain ? This statute of our State, in its broadest scope, is only in harmony with that law of God which all legislators and jurists in all civilized countries have recognized, and which the wisest physiologists have declared cannot be broken with safety or impunity. The command of God to observe the day of rest, is as bind-' ing as that against theft or murder, and the violation of this command is as much a sin against society as the violation of the others. This law of the seventh day for rest, is like all of God's commands— for the highest good to His creatures— and neither individual, nor State, nor nation, can break one of them without paying the penalty. In erecting these tower 133 134 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. ing buildings around us the builder, with square and level and plummet in hand, respected the law of gravitation, or he would have failed. In your diet, or your exposure to climate, you must consider the laws of health. In all your calculations you must consider the times and the seasons. But these you may say are the laws of nature. True, but the laws of nature are the laws of nature's God, and he has not read history aright, who has not learned that "righteousness (right doing) exalteth a nation." The great highway of time is strewn with wrecks of nations, whose people have thought they could ignore the God of the universe. His moral law is as enduring and sure as His law of nature. " Six days shalt thou labor" is as eternal and binding as is motion or gravitation. There is no divine law that is not conceived and enacted for the best interests of all man- kind, and the law of this State for Sunday closing of liquor-shops, and other dangerous places is conceived, and enacted for the highest good of the people of the State. No one will accuse our General Stiles of being a " puritanical Sabba- tarian," but on this question he is quoted as saying: "I would enforce the law in regard to closing tippling houses on Sunday, not to make it a day of religious observance, but a day of public calm," and right here let me disarm anyone who may follow me from using the charge of puritanism (not that I fear to be called "puritanical"), for if I were that Czar of Chicago whom you discussed on your first night, I would not attempt to compel the observance of the good, but I would labor to prevent the per- formance of the bad. I would use law only to close places open in defiance of law. No man believes more firmly than does the friend of Sunday obser- vance, that you cannot legislate goodness or morality into a community, but that you can and ought to legislate dangerous places out of existence. They believe with Judge Story, that " the duty we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be dictated only by reason and convic- tion, and not by force or violence." But the " Personal Rights League " rushes in and lifts up its hands in frenzied terror, and exclaims: "You must not interfere with our per- sonal liberty." You must not meddle with our constitutional rights. Our constitution guarantees to every man life, liberty, and the pursuit of hap- piness, provided he doesn't abridge or interefere with some other man's life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. The Englishman's house is his castle ; this building is Mr. Kinsley's, and our law respects his sole right to it. But he must not fire it, or make a nuisance of it to endanger or im- peril his neighbors. To close a gambling place or to " pull " a house of prostitution, is interfering with some one's personal liberty, yet who ques- tions the right of society to do it ? But neither one is as harmful to life or property or good order as the open liquor-shop on Sunday. The open dram-shop on that day of rest, is the greatest curse to our city now exist- ing ; more prolific of crime than all other sources combined, and every Monday morning's roll of crimes, is a standing charge against the iniquity of such foolish breach of law. Last Monday morning in Judge Prindi- ville's court-room, three little newsboys were arraigned for disorderly con- duct. At midnight on Sunday they were found by an officer drunk on the THE SUNDAY QUESTION. 135 street, and all the information the justice could elicit from them was, that they all went to a " grand opening." Yes, an opening that's a gate- way of hell. About the same hour a man received his death wound while going from such a hole with his can of liquor, and the two ruffianly as- sailants are now in custody awaiting the result of their crime. Let not this question be mixed and confused with any other part of the " Sunday Question." Let not the liquor-seller retreat behind the Sunday newspaper, or the street car, or the mail train ; for while I have my own opinion con- cerning all Sunday desecration, an opinion in which some of you might not join, yet here is a point where we all can agree, where the friend of law, religion, peace, quiet, and safety can all unite for the common good. The law is very plain and explicit. It not only gives the right, but makes it the duty of the executive officer of a town or city to enforce it, and he is liable to penalty if he does not do it. He need not wait for some com- plaint to be brought to him. He and his public officers are the conserva- tors of the peace, and as such, have the power to arrest, with or without process, of all persons found violating any criminal law of the State, as well as ordinances of tlieir own municipality, and the criminal code of this State declares that whoever keeps open any place where liquor is sold or given away on Sunday, shall be fined not to exceed $200. The workmen of the world are arising and demanding an eight-hour day of labor, and some want a week of only five of such days. But there is one class of our fellow-citizens who are abused, and oppressed by exact- ing task-masters in whose behalf I have never heard a voice raised. The loud voices of the pleaders for the right of " wage slaves," have never yet been lifted against the wrongs of the over-worked bartender, whose work is like woman's, "never done." When all others have their eight-hour days, with Saturday half-holidays, and total cessation of labor on^ Sunday, then give the same to the bartender. Let the brick-layer and the bar- tender fare alike, and not a week of five and a half days to one, and a week of seven days to the other, i^ot a day of eight-hours to the one, and a day of eighteen to twenty-four hours to the other. But then the liquor-dealers will tell you Saturday nights and Sundays are their best seasons, and they cannot close then. In a Khode Island factory town, a certain employer paid to his employes on Saturday afternoon, $700 in new bills that had been secretly marked. On the following Monday, $400 of those marked bills were deposited in the bank of that town by the liquor retailers. Such a division of earnings would have suited a Pistol or a Fal- staff. Who can wonder that the dealer's family fares sumptuously, while the drinker's families starve. In a late Sunday niglit meeting where this question was being con- sidered, one speaker said that the open liquor-shop afforded a warm bright, retreat for the laboring man who had no other place to go. A local paper in commenting editorially on the fact says, with a triumphant wave of its editorial pen : "' Supposing these places are closed, where are these people to go ?" Well, they couldn't go to any worse place, and if they were to spend their money which supports these places, and fix them up a place of their own, they could have more comfortable quarters with far less of dan- 136 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. g^r^to life and morals. Churches are spoken against as too expensive places for the poor man to resort to. Yet what church takes four-sevenths of the most devoted worshiper's earnings. At the corner of Monroe and Morgan streets in this city, on the street level of the Second Baptist church building, there is a cheerful bright room, with a large library of books of all kinds, with tables covered with standard periodicals, with writing materials, open every night except Sunday, from six to ten, free to all. Supposing these tempting places with there alluring glitter, and deadly facination were not open, the victims or devotees would find some other more suitable place to attend, and by saving their money from those sink-holes, they might be able to make their own homes more attractive to their wives and their children, as well as to themselves. THE SUNDAY QUESTION. By ROBT. LINDBLOM. ^ To me it seems strange that there should be a Sunday question, any more than a Monday or Saturday question, but my friend Catlin suggests tliat people in general do not entertain my views, and that this is an oppor- tunity for me to be a missionary. This is my excuse to those in front of, as well as to those behind, me. The Sunday question can be viewed from two sides, to-wit : In its re- ligious and moral aspects. I was going to add its legal aspect, but as legal enactments are supposed to be for the advancement of morality, the moral really embraces the legal aspect. The religious aspect of the Sunday question is based upon the assump- tion that the United States of America is a Christian nation ; that the na- tion has a right to legislate about religious matters ; that Sunday is the Christian Sabbath, and that in view of this it is proper to enact laws for the observance of Sunday according to the notions of the Christians, or rather according to the notions of those Christians who happen to be in the majority ; for it should not be forgotten, that from the Greek Catholics up to the Unitarians, there are as many shades of diiferent opinions upon this as there are upon other matters of Christianity. This assumption really deserves very little discussion. To those who have given the subject un- biased consideration, the absurdity must be patent, and those whose prej- udices blind them to the absurdity of the case would also be deaf to the logic of arguments. The facts are that this is not a Christian nation in any sense, and never can be. The constitution expressly prohibits all legisla- tion based upon religious discrimination. The Jewish Sabbath has as many rights as the Christian Sabbath— no more, no less. Neither is this country Christian by the test of numbers. There are many more people outside the Christian churches than inside of them, and the outsiders are largely tainted by infidelity. There is neither legality nor justice on the side of those who wish to compel all men to observe Sunday in the same manner as they do. I dismiss the religious aspect as unw^orthy of intelligent dis- cussion and will devote myself to a consideration of the moral aspect of it. Governments liave the undisputed right to declare some days legal holidays, so that those who choose to do so, can relax from their ordinary business cares and suspend for a day their business obligations and respon- sibilities. In all Christian countries Sunday has been observed as such a day of rest, and at the same time as the Sabbath day. 137 138 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. The founders of this country came mainly from countries where Sun- day was thus doubly observed, and the framers of our Constitution had imbibed this Sunday observance with their mother's milk. What was more natural than that these men, knowing the absolute necessity for rest, should fix upon Sunday as the proper legal holiday once in every week. Public opinion assented to it, and has never yet resented the establishment of Sunday as a day of rest; but it has not, nor ever will, assent to its establishment as a religious holiday with compulsory observance in viola- tibn of the Constitution. ( This is the line on which this question must be fairly debated and set- tled if it must be settled again. The framers of our Constitution, well knowing how easy it would be to confuse the character of the Sunday, took special pains to engraft upon the corner stone of the republic the fact that this is not a Christian country. I intend to be absolutely fair in all I say, and fairness claims that con- sideration should be given to the arguments advanced by those advocates of Sunday observance who base it upon the necessity for one day of rest in every week. I believe in that theory. I believe that rest is absolutely necessary to healthy activity. I believe that we work too much and rest too little. I believe that if the work necessary to supply all wants was more equally distributed we could all have more rest, and those who now do no work would be rested by doing their share, but I deny the proposi- tion that any set of men can define what constitutes rest to every other man. What is rest to one is labor to another, and if we are to set apart one day in each week as a day of rest, it would fail of its object, were we to prescribe any certain mode of conduct for everybody on that day. If anything, we ought rather to relax on that day the laws of conduct which society imposes, so as to extend the utmost liberty of action, consistent with order, and the rights of others, on that day of rest. Let me illustrate : The brain workers when they seek rest shoulder a gun and walk thirty miles over bad roads to kill one little inoffensive bird, or they sit in a small boat a whole day cramped up, under a burning sun, to catch 5 cents worth of fish, and call it rest ; while the professional hunters and fishermen take their rest in their home smoking and snoring where the wind does not touch them. The farmer who has worked with no excite- ment whatever for six days, would feel rested to indulge in the excitement of a friendly game of seven up or whisky poker ; while the professional gambler would get rested driving out in the country looking at the land- scape. The mechanic who works in the dirty shop and sleeps in a crowded home feels rested by spending his day in a park, and a glass of beer and some music don't hurt his feelings at all, while the respectable people who drink champagne at parties or clubs all Aveek, feel rested by going to church for a comfortable hour of inactivity. Tlie preacher and his hired men feel rested by actually exerting tiiemselves on the day of rest, and when they want rest they get up in the mountains or out on the ocean. So you see it is absolutely impossible to say what rest is really made of. What is food for one is poison to the other. But one thing is THE SUNDAY QUESTION. 130 I sure — hardly anybody can enjoy rest of any kind without somebody else working, and it would seem the essence of simplicity to let individual taste dictate whether to rest while the majority works, and work when others rest. I believe they should have a right to do as they please, so long as they do not interfere with the equal rights of others. I believe that the church-going people should be protected against dis- turbances ; I believe the park-going people should be protected against in- terference ; and if society has declared that beer drinking should be licensed— and that consequently it is not a crime— then orderly beer drink- ing on Sunday should be protected. The aim should be to extend to every- one, on the day of rest especially, all the personal liberty consistent with everybody else's personal liberty. If a picnic party should place a brass band outside of a church I would say that the personal rights of the members of that church were in- fringed on. If a band of evangelists should try to interrupt the pleasures of a picnic party, the rights of the latter would be violated. The church people are entitled to protection in their mode of Sunday observance, but their rights extend no farther. It would be tyranny for them to demand that anybody should surrender his right to the same privilege and the same protection, simply because his ideas of Sunday observance differed from theirs, and because they naturally assumed that theirs was the proper one. I do not impeach the motives of the advocates of Sunday as a religious day. They are actuated by the purest motives. The leaders of the inqui- sition were governed by the noblest impulses of their day ; they were men and women of pure character, and the purer their character the more bit- ter their warfare against what they considered impurity. The insincere man or woman will never rise to the dignity of a persecutor. Our fore- fathers who burned heretics did so as humanitarians, for the benefit of the human race and the glory of God. They were good men and women and they believed they were just. History is full of saintly tyrants, who were tyrants because they could not tolerate vice, and were saints because they represented the highest ideal of the prevailing notion of duty and justice. I do not question the motives of either party to this controversy. The church-goer and the agnostic all aim at the same thing. Both desire the improvement of society. The church people imagine that they can ad- vance morality by observing forms, while the agnostic simply aims to inculcate knowledge. The latter knows that knowledge is impossible with- out leisure and rest, that with knowledge our ideas of justice and the rights of others expand, and that morality is practically stationary, so they aim to secure as much real rest as possible, in order that our natures may have a chance to expand unhampered by fetters, so that we will reach, as soon as possible, that higher plane of existence, where duty does not bid us persecute others because they differ from us, but where duty commands us to respect the rights of others. Ignorance has made demons of truly good men and women. Ignorance is to-day the basis of the clamor for Sunday laws. The liberals simply don't \yant to observe Sunday in the same manner as the orthodox, neither do they want to compel the ortho- dox to change their mode of observing it. Nobody has tried to close the 140 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. churches or to drive the coachmen, waiting outside the churches, from their post of duty. No serious complaint has been made about Sunday worshippers being disturbed — certainly no greater than the complaint against the infernal racket raised on the day of rest by the clanging bells. The liberals simply demand the same right as the orthodox. Nothing more, nothing less. If either party imterferes with the peaceful enjoy- ment of others' rights, then the police power should interfere, not before. I believe that disorderly and filthy saloons should be suppressed on Sundays as well as all other days, and that it is immoral to countenance them on six and close them on the seventh. I believe that rest means the right to do as you please, and that this right should not be interfered with, except to protect others in the enjoyment of the same rights. I believe that the Christian Sabbath has no more right than any other Sabbath, and needs no more protection than any^th^r day. If it really be God's special day, God is able to protect it without the aid of the police. I believe in obeying the laws, but I also believe in that high privilege which rests upon the right of every man and woman to bring unjust laws before the bar of public opinion, as well as before the highest constitutional judicial tribunal, and, if in order to bring it there, it becomes necessary to disobey some law, then that right exists as a duty. History is full of crimes com- mitted in the name of peace and order. The annals of human sufferings are records of oppression in the name of morality. Eliminate from the discussion the assumption that legislation in favor of a religious Sabbath is permissible, and the question of morality must also be eliminated. It certainly cannot be asserted seriously that any act permissible on Saturday, under the code of morality, is immoral on Sun- day. To say that would be to assert that morality is subject to the modifi- cation of time and place, instead of being universal and unchangeable. Two Christians on each side of the world might thus be doing the same thing at t5 o'clock Sunday morning or evening, and one of them commit a sin while the other did not. Peace, order, law and morality is the aim of the Christian as well as the Pagan. They both want the same thing, and if they would just go and help themselves without borrowing any trouble about the manners of the other party, considerable time and comfort might be saved. If my friends— the Christians— want to pray and sing, and ring the bells early in the morning and stop kissing the wife and the baby in order to con- form to the Connecticut laws, well, let them do it. We Pagans think it is bad taste, but we don't want to call in the police to stop that bell or make that man behave himself as well on Sunday as he did yesterday. We simply ask the privilege of being as happy on Sunday as on any other day. No advocate of a secular Sunday has ever proposed to curtail any of tlie old-time privileges of that day, but we simply insist that those rusty chains shall not imprison us against our will. Nobody objects to an orderly Sunday, but the friends of liberty pro- pose to stand guard near its goddess, to see to it that, under tlie pretext of morality, no insidious attacks are made on her principles of equal justice to all men, regardless of their religion and creed. THE SUNDAY QUESTION, By LUIS JACKSON. Whether it took six days or sixty billion days to create the world is a question that has no bearing on the economic necessity of resting from labor at fixed times. It has been conceded by economic science that one day of rest in seven is barely sufficient to enable our overworked millions to recuperate, and that more rest is desirable. The correct translation of the Hebrew word Sabbath is Rest-day ; the word has no other meaning, notwithstand- ing all attempts at contortion. To me, Sabbath,^ 8nnday and Rest-day are synonymous terms, and will be so used in this article. The Sabbath existed among the Hebrews many centuries before the Ten Commandments were sent to the publishers. Prior to this it existed in the form of a fifth day of rest, observed more or less from time to time among the people of Accad. The Hebrews, however, deserve the credit of having been the first nation to establish a seventh day of rest by legislative enactment ; copied from their statute books the Sabbath became a component part of Chris- tian and Mohammedan civilization. The legal Sabbath of the Hebrews was unquestionably establised, in the first instance, as a local police regulation intended to guarantee to the wage-worker a day of rest, and its utilization as a day of morals was an after-growth. The Christian Sunday, a continuation of the Jewish Saturday idea, was legally established by Constantine. Prior to this it existed among the early Christians, and the adoption of the day of Sunday is explained in the following way : When the early Christians and Jews worshipped on the Saturday, unseemly squabbles ensued as both parties left their re- spective meeting houses ; to prevent these quarrels Sunday was adopted ; it is also said that Sunday was adopted to spite the Jews, and yet again it is said that the heathens having already a " Sun " day for Sun worship Christianity adopted Sunday as a compromise in order to Christianize more effectively. The identification of Sunday with the resurrection was an after-growth, as Gentile, as well as Hebrew, priests seem to have been able at all times to elfect combinations of ideas in order to impress them on the people. 141 ^^/ 142 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. Whether Sunday was adopted from love, spite, or policfy, makes no difference to the people of the nineteenth century. We were not there at the time and had no voice in the proceedings, but have concluded that the day of rest is the thing wanted ; its seventh part of time principle is good, and whether as a mere matter of form it is observed Friday, Saturday or Sunday makes no particle of difference. We are here to enjoy it. Sunday is in effect the Hebrew Sabbath idea ; it is the day observed by the majority in Western civilization. It has the sanction of the moral law of to-day, and that itself is an all sufficient warrant for its maintenance. The Fri- day of the Mohammedans is the same idea, a continuation of the Hebrew Sabbath on another day. The time will come when economic necessity will compel the adoption of a uniform day throughout the civilized world. For instance, the elec- tric motor railroad will soon run from Paris to Calcutta. On Thursday an official will leave Paris, and reaching Constantinople Friday, service of a writ will be invalid, because it is the Rest-day ; on Saturday he will reach Jerusalejajofi^ service of writ refused^ by the Grand Rabbi because it is his . ftuhday ; reaching Calcutta on Sunday he will find the British Governor's office closed because it is his Sabbath. Fifty years of our pro- gress are as a thousand years of the past. The nations will meet, fanati- cism will be swept aside, a congress, as in the matter of a universal postal union or meridian, will come to a compromise, Wednesday may be de- clared the uniform universal day of rpst, the millions will be happy and the real God, if such insignificant enactments come to his notice, will approve. The Sabbath must first and foremost be regarded as a Rest-day with- out reference to the questions of Judaism, Christianity, God or the Devil. The use of the day for the promulgation of morals is a highly important but secondary consideration. Our first duty as citizens is to guarantee a day of rest to the wage-worker. Viewing the Sunday, in the first instance, as exclusively a principle of rest from secular labor, it will not be surpris- ing that I, a Jew, have in many writings advocated (a) the transference of the Hebrew Saturday Sabbath to Friday in Mohammedan Countries and to Sunday in the West, by a congress of representative Jews, in the year 1900 ; [h] the transference of the Christian Sabbath in India, by the British Government, to Friday because there are but 40,000 Christians, mostly in official positions, as against millions of Mohammedans. The Rest-day of the Indian peninsula ought to be uniform in order to promote the good of all. There is no concession to Sectarianism in either of these propositions at all, nor will intelligence ever consider it such. It is a concession to civil- ization in order to promote civilization. If all the world were circumcised and kept the Saturday Sab^^th, it would no more prove the truth of the Bible, or the existence of a God, than if all the world were baptized and kept the Sunday Sabbath, would it prove the truth of the immaculate con- ception. Furthermore, the United States, and all other nations, should pass a simple law, declaring Sunday, the national day of rest, a civil institution, without reference to any sectarian Mieory wliatsoc^vei-. THE SUNDAY QUESTION. 148 A seventh day r6st from secular labor is essential both for body and mind. A day of rest established, improved moral as well as physical results must follow. If even there were no religious meetings on the Rest- day, the effect of family and social reunion on that day would in itself assist in elevating the human race. Having endeavored to make it plain that my view of Sunday is primarily an economic one, a few words of per- sonal explanation may not be deemed out of place. (As a Jew I repre- sent myself and no others, except by mutual consent, nor are any other Jews permitted to represent me.) A first Great Cause, under any name we choose, is admitted by all.^J Here I stop. All else is assumption and presumption. All intelligent criticism is chiefly directed against a " prescribed God." Alleged authoritative theology is combatted. There never was and never will be anything supernatural in human history. Order, not mystery, per- meates the universe. Admitting a first Cause I further believe in nothing, but hope in everything. A future state is not compatible with reason, though it may charm lingering sentiment. Besides, the future state idea was not founded in original Judaism ; it was evolved among the Pagans, and afterwards adopted by the Hebrews, and consequently by the Christians. The Bible is a splendid allegory. It was a very creditable piece of work for its day, and while its romantic fables and local ideas may be set aside, it is nevertheless remarkable that, though surrounded by brutal savages, some of its writers, in psalm and in song, evolved moral ideas un- excelled by poets living in an age of progress and surrounded by civiliza- tion. Catholicism kept the Bible a sealed book for 1,500 years ; Protestant- ism opened it to the masses but 300 years ago. Since it opened to the public, morality has materially advanced. The Bible was first disseminated among the masses of Italy last year. Biblical criticism should be con- ducted with justice. I remember reading Anthony Trollope's Autobio- graphy, wherein he states that when the '• Fortnightly Review " was founded, it was decided to admit critical articles of every nature. He, how- ever, wished criticism concerning the Divinity of Christ excluded. Most probably he also meant to protect the Old Testament, otherwise (and this is after all the general policy of advanced Christians) the Adam and Eve story could be blown to smithereens, and very properly so ; the serpent and the miracle stories could be relegated to romance, and very properly so ; but the altogether improbable story of the immaculate conception of Jesus was not to be criticised or censured. The New Testament was to be above criticism, the Old Testament only was to be discounted. St. Matthews faulty introduction, however, does not detract from the resplendent virtues of Christ as a man, any more than did his image in tlie torture chamber of the inquisition imply that in the flesh he would have elected to be its presiding genius. Doubt sometimes takes possession of the mind, and in many cases Sunday and other good institutions handed down by religions are under- valued. When at a certain period of life the bank of the Red Sea of Doubt is reached, with the forces of darkness pressing upon us, as the Egyptians pressed on the Israelites, we must not become terrified, nor seek 144 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. a return to mental slavery ; nor enter into useless combat ; nor contem- plate a watery grave ; but must obey the command whether originally one of factor of fiction, " speak to the children of Israel, that they go forward ;'' that sea will then divide and we shall reach the promised land on earth. 1 think the Jews never troubled themselves about the nature of God. That question being unfathomable it was regarded as a '' settled " question. To return to the question of Sunday rest it is argued by some that any day of individual selection will suffice and that no uniform day is needed. Those who advance this argument belong to a class too crude to discern the complex and co-operative nature of civilization, and too contracted to comprehend the laws of economic science, dictating that the preservation of Sunday depends on its uniform observance. Machinery runs six days for the millions ; all must work and rest together. The next question that presents itself is, how should we observe Sunday? Sunday should be devoted to spiritual and physical recreation. ^yj^ I Should we attend Divine service ? Divine service is only acceptable when j^ I it tends to human service. We should not go to pray, or to worship, or to ^ \ beg alone. Such ideas keep us on a par with Pagans ; but we should go to ^jy^ * hear moral instructions and to learn, be strengthened in, and encouraged Ky'^ to, discharge our duties to home, country, and all mankind. Churches are doing very little to help in placing Sunday on an intelli- gent plane. If the Sunday pulpit is to help to preserve Sunday and to ele- vate the nation, it must not abnegate common sense. If the Protestant church preaches nothing but illogical sermons on " salvation," if the Cath- olic church continues to fling Latin prayers at an English audience, and if the Orthodox Jewish church continues to direct a stream of Hebrew, a language now useless and relegated to philology, at an English speaking generation, it is no wonder that the pulpit looks like a relic of barbarism, and it will take a long time for its hearers to comprehend that the Great Temple has already been recreated for American Gentile and Jew at Washington, D. C. The capitol building at Washington and the parlia- ment houses of the world are the Zions to which an intelligent God seeks that the eyes of all the people be directed. The average citizen commences to pray the first thing on Monday morning by kicking the banana peel from the sidewalk, and ends, to com- mence again, by giving the dog water late on Sunday night. His life is, or ought to be, a moral prayer of action. Religious denominations are doing very little in the way of preserving a day of rest. A day of rest entirely devoted to materialism will not sus- tain itself for long/ ^J What is offered to the great artisan classes of Amer- ica between sermons of the " Salvation Army " type and a day of material pleasure ? Tiie trouble is that, with the exception of a few men of the Archdeacon Farrar, or Colonel Ingersol, type, (for both are preaching the same moral doctrines, though their methods are distinct), the church and the synagogue have too few men capable of filling and intelligently understanding the requirements of a nineteenth century pulpit. A newspaper paragraph accuses Cardinal Gibbons of saying that he tliinks that the labor problem will be solved first in this country, " for here THE SUNDAY QUESTION. 145 we submit everything of that nature to the test of reason, common sense and thorough criticism, and truth is evolved from the full and free dis- cussions of the social questions." So we do, and the sooner his and all churches apply this truth to the conduct of their Sunday .services, the sooner will they become a moral factor for the better preservation of a day of rest. The masses want spiritual recreation on Sundays in the form of moral instruction founded on reason. The man who keeps Sunday because he fears Hell or hopes for Heaven is in tlie eyes of a just God only a mercenary. The man who says he does not know of a God, but keeps Sunday because he wishes to guarantee to his neighbor and posterity a day of rest, will walk the golden stairs of this life to the end of his days. If the public for the next few years be given an intelligent conception of Sunday the whole battle will be won and all minor problems will be solved. " I do not work Sundays nor do 1 wish anyone to work for me on that day," guides me in all the phases of the question. The public should be encouraged to demand a day of rest on principle. Every man ought to have too much self-respect to work seven days a week, and should remem- ber that if he works on that day his personal conduct alone is responsible for making a thousand men work on the Rest-day in the near future. The effort of the next few years should be directed to engender among the people a proper respect for Sunday as a day of rest for our fellowmen's sake. Colonel Ingersol has publicly stated that as a day of rest he would like two Sundays per week. Christians, Jews and Agnostics should unite to preserve Sunday as the Rest-day on the common platform of " love thy neighbor as thyself." There are but few minor and local problems that require settlement, and these can be intelligently disposed of, but space does not permit entry into them here. I think in our modern congested city life street-cars are neces- sary on Sundays. To insure to such employes a day of rest, I would provide an interim Rest-day, say Wednesday, (a fixed and not an optional interim day, so that corporations and employers would learn that so and so many men would be off just on that day.) In regard to amusements I would remember that the political, social and moral status of the people of Continental Europe, with their Sunday revelry, is not as high as the political, social and moral status of the Puri- tan element in this country with their Sunday of austerity. In this matter of observance I sliould like a happy mean. The Puritan Sunday can be modified so as to become a day of earnestness and joy, but it must not be transformed into one of revelry. It has lielped to make us earnest men capable of self-government. As to Sunday trading I would not permit the stores of Jews or Gentiles to be open on Sunday under any pretense what- ever. The saloon is a Christian institution ; it never had a place in the economy of the Jews, and though liquors are consumed by Jews, there is no sucli animal as a Jewish drunkard. Education settled that problem with us 3,000 years ago, yet I must not creep out of my responsibility as a citizen on this question, and would be inclined to permit beer or wine (as 146 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. refreshment) to be sold in or near the public parks on Sundays, because for many years I have never seen a drunken man in Fisher's Garden. I would close all the down town whiskey dens. Countenance that which enobles, discountenance that which degrades, always endeavoring to employ as few as possible. As to the Postoffice, 1 would close it from Saturday night to Monday morning, so that the Government sets a good example to the people. In fact, wherever I could discountenance Sunday labor I would do so, without any concern for the opinions of those who fail to under- stand that if Sunday work has to be done, some one has to do it, though it does not concern them so long as they have not 'to do it. They are mis- taken in believing themselves to be men of liberal opinions; they are illiberal. A day of rest based on principle and manhood, not on hope, fear or favor, is wanted, and during the next few years efforts should be made to get the public to view it in this light. The Sabbath is the bulwark of our national life and liberty. It is the crown of labor, and intelli^ehtly observed by all the people will safeguard and exhalt the nation. X Sabbath of peace, of joy and of comfort is what every responsible American citizen is desirious of establishing and in the interest of which he ought cheerfully to make the highest sacrifice. PENSIONS I CIVIL AND MILITARY. By general A. C. McCLURG. It is time that such a body should assemble to discuss from points of common sense, without embarrassment or prejudice, subjects which come before us to-day. The Sunset Club, in spite of its name, is accustomed to pour the full light of the noonday sun on subjects which it discusses. It is unfortunate that I, a green recruit, should lead the assault to-night. That is not according to my traditions of the service. It was the custom that the veterans should lead. I think this is a most important question. I have looked at it mainly from the military standpoint. If I should be found uttering sentiments against pension legislation as it now stands, I beg no one will think for a moment that it is from want of sympathy with the soldier. If any one treads the streets for whom I have an exalted opinion, it is the man who went through three years of fiery trial ; not the man who enlisted for thirty or ninety days ; not the man in the rear, but those who went courageously, straightforwarly and quietly through the storm of shot and shell, and whom no money could have induced to do so ; went through it not knowing whether to-morrow they would be alive and scarcely daring to hope that three years from that time they would survive. No money could have bought that service ; and that is what makes my heart heavy that it should be reduced to a basis of dollars and cents. The war of the Rebellion never could have been won upon that basis. I have not had time to prepare statistics, and I do not think that is the way to speak of the subject to-night. But we do know that already previous legislation had provided for the deserving and suffering soldier in almost every particular. It touched on every sort of disability and wound, providing liberally. But the bill passed in June last enacts that every man who served ninety days in the army or navy is entitled to a pension, provided he declares himself unable to earn a living to-day. Is not that reckless legislation ? There were soldiers of various kinds. Those, such as I have alluded to, who went to the front every time and suffered and fought through three years. Others were mustered into the service who never performed a day of honest service to their country. They were merely mustered in and mustered out. They have not half the claim upon the country that many a man has who honestly and from a sense of duty staid at home and bore his sliare of the burdens of the war. We are apt to think every man 147 148 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. who went into the service was a hero. Many of them were, and many of them never survived to hear what we ought to say of them. 13ut there are men here to-night from among those who went to the front and staid at the front, and were in the front leading forlorn hopes, who know there were others who never were where they ought to have been. A company's roll would have 101 men on it, and thirty or forty would be ready for duty. I was familiar with the roll of an army corps which numbered over 47,000 on paper. That was in the days of Missionary liidge, of Peach Tree Creek, and of Atlanta. On paper there were over 47,000, but for duty less than 20,000 men. To day those 27,000 who were not present for duty are entitled to pensions just as much as the 20,000 who were present for duty. The legislation of last June confers a pension upon every man who can simply show that he served ninety days and who claims to-day he is not able to earn a living. Is it right? Is it honest? Have we not allowed senti- mentality to run away with us? Have not the politicians and pension attorneys brought us to this ? Within two days I have talked with a United States Senator wh'6' said that this law was not demanded by the soldiers, but was the result of the demand of the pension attorneys, which I believe is susceptible of proof. To illustrate the pace at \vhich we are progressing, I would mention that the pensions of 1888 amounted to the enormous sum of eighty million dollars. General Garfield, before he was President, spoke of the pension expenditures, which then amounted to not more than $39,000,000 annually, as then, probably, at its height. He believed that we could reasonably expect a gradual decrease. General Garfield passed away, but the pension attorneys live. In 1890 the expenditure for pensions had risen to $106,000,- 000. On the first day of this session of Congress there was introduced a bill appropriating for the present year $135,000,000 for pensions, and it is the belief of those best informed that there will be deficiency even then. A dispatch from Washington, dated November 16, says : " Under the Dependent Pension bill, passed June 27th, 1890, 530,000 new claims have already been filed. The total annual expenditure these claims call for, exclusive of all others, is at the lowest possible estimate $49,000,000. By the end of another year the total number of claims filed under the act will probably amount to 900,000. Out of a total enlistment in the war of 2,700,000 men, here are 900,000 new applicants for pensions under this late law. The total annual expenditure whicli these will cost is estimated at $64,800,000 exclusive of all others. Xinety-six per cent, of these claims w^ere filed through attorneys. At the rate allowed by law of $10 for each case, the fees of the attorneys under this act will amount to $8,640,000. By the end of another year the operation of this new act, toge- ther with the old acts, will increase our pension expenditures to more than $200,000,000 per annum. And this new act was not passed at the demand of the old soldiers, but mainly at the instigation of pension attorneys. When the bill passed last June was under discussion in Congress we were told that the greatest number of claims of all kinds that coukl be possibly filed under it from now^ to the end of time was 300,000, and that 175,000 was more likely to be the figure. Instead of that in the lust four and a .PENSIONS: CIVIL AND MILITARY. 149 half months of its operation 530,000 claims have actually been filed, and they are coming in at the rate of nine or ten thousand per week. We were told that $4(),()00,000 a year was the largest amount that could possi- bly be called for by the bill, and $30,000,000 would more probably be the Ihnit. Instead of that, claims have already been filed representing an annual payment of nearly $50,000,000. It was asserted that the additional expense would be so slight that it would not be necessary to make extra appropriations when the bill passed, but that the amount called for could be paid out of the general pension fund. Instead of that there will be a deficiency this year in the pension account of $20,000,000, and it is a grave question if the revenues of the country will be sufficient to meet these and other expenses of the Government. Last year the pension attorneys of Washington divided more than $2,500,000 of clear and easy profits. This year they will divide about $3,000,000 upon the claims already filed. Next year it is likely to be four or five million dollars." The Senator to whom I alluded told me these pension agents of Wash- ington were rolling in wealth. One of them publishes a paper called 2'he National Tribune, in whicli every measure for pensions is earnestly advo- cated. But as a pension agent, rumor says he has received for years past from twenty-five to forty-five thousand dollars per year ; and he is not by any means the only one. In The Chicago Tribune of yesterday there was quoted a dispatch sent to The New York Herald from Washington, which says : " Pensions, more pensions, no end of pensions. The instant Congress is in session again, behold the insatiable pension attorney making a grand grab for more. Pensions meet us witli the first assembling of Congress, and leave us, only when the gavel falls for the last time. Even before President Harrison's message could be read to-day two grab games were nicely started. Up sprang one J. H. Pickler, a Representative from South Dakota, and introduced again the Service Pension bill, and on top of that a bill providing that no pension paid by the United States shall be less than $6.00 pet month. " The service bill, you remember, gives every man who served in the United States army or navy during the Civil War and was honorably dis- charged a pension at the rate of one cent a month for every day he was in the service, no matter whether he was ill or well, maimed or whole, rich or poor. The estimated cost of this delectable scheme is about $70,000,000 a year. Making $6 a month the lowest limit for pensions would increase the present pension expenditures about $8,000,000 a year. Total for one day's pension bills, $78,000,000. " But you need not be disturbed about this. Why? Because there is no Democrat and no tax-paying citizen and no friend of national credit who is one-half as sick and disgusted and weary of all this pension legis- lation as the Republicans themselves. They are reaping a full crop from their reckless pension-giving of the last few years, and the harvest is bitter." I have eutirely abstained from introducing anything like politics here. I haven't any feeling about politics. I want to present realities and get at things as they are. We all want to get at the facts, not as Democrats, or UNI7ERSIT7'i 150 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. Kepiiblicans, or Mugwumps, but to know what the facts are and vote accordingly. The dispatch then goes on to give interviews with several members of the present Congress. Mr. Cutchin, of Michigan, who was a soldier, and has been the friend of all sorts of pension legislation hereto- fore, says : " Every one who knows anything of my public career knows that I am the friend of the soldier. Whenever there has been a deserving soldier asking for a pension I have been willing to grant it to him. I find, how- ever, that some of the taxpayers in my district do not approve of my course. They manifested their disapproval in the recent election and aided to defeat my re-election. Aside from that I am convinced that we have gone as far in the matter of pensions as the Nation's finances will admit. I am not sure that we have, enacted all the pension legislation we ought to enact for ten years to come. As regards revising the pension list, that would prove a delicate task as well as a difficult one. But on the question of further pension legislation we must call a sharp halt. Finan- cial prudence demands it." Another Kepreser\tative from Michigan, Mr. E. P. Allen says : " In the matter o^ pension legislation my opinion is that the law recently passed has brought us up to the danger line. It is time we called a halt. I served in the late war. My sympathies are with the soldiers. There was great and prolonged kicking in my district because I distributed so many offices among the old soldiers. I lost Republican votes on account of my action in that respect, so that what I say on that subject cannot be misunderstood nor my motive misconstrued. I want every deserving soldier to have a pension, but we have gone as far as we can for a long time to come." Representative James O'Donnell (Rep.) of Michigan, says : " During my recent campaign many ex-soldiers voted against me because I did not favor a service pension instead of the general disability bill that passed just before we adjourned. A service pension I think will pass at some future stage of legislation, but not right away. We have probably gone as far in pension legislation as we ought to go for the time being. I was a soldier in the late war and all my sympathies are with the deserving soldier, but there is reason in all things. The finances of the country will not permit of Congress taking a step forward in pension legis- lation. A halt is demanded by the taxpayers. The condition of the Treasury and the revenues of the Government must all be consulted, and although it is a difficult question to deal with, I think Congressmen ought to show the necessary moral courage and make a bold stand for what is just and fair between the soldier on the one hand and the taxpayer on the other." No honest patriotic American citizen begrudges a liberal pension to the man who actually deserves it. No man would go farther than I to give a pension to such men. I do not think their pensions are as large as they ought to be. But those righteous pensions are dragged down by the pen- sions we give to the ten men who do not deserve one, losing sight of the one wjlio does. Give pensions liberally to those who deserve them ; but in the name of patriotism and justice do not give them to the deserters. PENSIONS J CIVIL AND MILITARY. By HON. C. C. BONNEY. ¥ov tlie military pension as a reward of heroic courage, of faithful service or as compensation for disability incurred in the service of the country, I have only words of approval and applause ; but for the military pension as a means of getting rid of the surplus revenue, and influencing the so-called soldier vote, I have only words of unsparing condemnation. But allow me to say a few words on behalf of that heroic civic army with- out whose perpetual service there would be no free institutions for the military army to defend. Wars are only occasional, and will, we trust, become more and more rare, till at last the nations shall beat their swords into plowshares, and learn war no more. But the civic soldier, upon whose constant fidelity free institutions depend, is he whose service is required every day of every year, through all the century, in the conduct of government for the protection of the people. The experiment of free government is not yet complete. We have demonstrated its power against foreign foes and domestic insurrection, but it still remains to prove its permanency against monopoly and corruption in our midst. It is an axiom that the powers which control a people are in fact their Government. What are those powers ? Everywhere throughout this Republic the oligarchy rules. It is not the people at large who determine political candidacies and elections. It is not the great body of the people that control supply, distribution and consumption ; but in every part of the Republic small numbers of men sit in parlors to dictate the terms upon which the American people shall obtain and enjoy the comforts and the necessaries of life. How can the people cope with these vast interests in their midst ? It is no longer a problem how to deal with a foreign foe or domestic insurrection ; but it is still a problem whether the people under our form of government shall be able to control their domestic in- stitutions and govern their own affairs as in their judgment their best in- terests require. The people can act only by select men. The beginning of political wisdom is to know that the people in a large country cannot act en masse ; that they must necessarily act by select men, who are everywhere the people's representatives in all that concerns their important interests. I 151 152 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. The American people must conduct their affairs, promote their interests, perpetuate liberty and justice, and provide for the common defence and general welfare by men selected out of their midst, and into whose hands the highest interests of mankind are intrusted. To what sort of men those interests are intrusted in this country now, I need not pause to say. All the world knows the class of men to whom the American people, in city. State and nation, intrust the administra- tion, conduct and guidance of their best interests. Here and there rises a patriot and statesman worthy of all confidence. But while you see one commanding the admiration of all mankind, you see around him so many others of a different character, that the observant stranger would wonder what had come to pass in this Republic, where the people are supposed to govern by their wisest and their best. We here meet with a great practical difficulty. Most of the American people start in life without fortune. We have little inherited wealth. For the man starting out to build up his own fortune by his labor through the best years of his life there is little time left for devotion to public service. If one come among his fellows with large inherited wealth, he lacks that experience, and sympathy with the masses, which are indispensable to an understanding of the best means by which the public good can be promo- ted. We are in the midst of the relentless conflict of competition. The business world is ruled by the masters in this terrific strife. The con- testants struggle to wrest from each other that which may bring fortune and repose. This taxes the utmost energies of our business men. Look around you and find a wise and able judge, or senator, or toiler in any other department of public service who has given the flower of his life to the discharge of public duties, and you will see that in precisely the same measure in which he devoted himself to the discharge of his official duties he has disqualified himself for the struggle for pecuniary inde- pendence. Was there ever a soldier, from Washington to Grant, who dis- tinguished himself by his military service, showing that all his soul was wrapped up in the patriotic defence of his country, who could compete with a Field, a Pullman or a Yanderbilt in the strife for wealth ? No, the faithful performance of his public service, in military or civic life, marks the disqualification of the man for the struggle for land and gold. What then ? If the rising American, stirred by ambition and gifted with genius, surveys his country, he sees as a reward for the success- ful struggle for private advancement, peace, dignity and honor in old age. The bank president, the merchant prince, the leader in every great pecu- niary interest, looks forward to an old age of plenty and independence. He enjoys honorable distinction among his fellow men. How is it with the men who serve the public, from the highest to the lowest station ? Does any position of honor and dignity await them in their declining years? I recall the instance of a man who was distin- guished as a judge, who was able as a member of Congress, who devoted the flower of his life to the public service ; and when his hair grew white with advancing years, he said in despair, " Look at me ! a miserable, political pauper! Unable to compete with younger men, I go a very sup- PENSIONS: CIVIL AND MILITARY. 153 pliant and beggar to the feet of the official power and ask to be put into some little place where I may be permitted to gain my bread, with the hope that 1 may die before it shall be taken from me." This boasted Republic of ours offers the least inducements to the rising generation to enter its service and be faithful in it. On the other hand it offers every inducement to the genius of the country, as represented in its young men, to devote themselves to the service of personal interest, in order that they may enjoy the honors and distinction of a green old age. Fortunately, there has been growing the while a better public opinion ; and now the judges of the highest court in the land have their retiring pensions after a given term of service. We have even come to think pen- sions for the faithful policeman, who has served the public in a great city like this for perhaps twenty years, are just and deserving. And when the American Teachers' Association met last fall at St. Paul, they advocated the extension of the same policy to the teachers of the land. There are limits to gratuitous service. Pure patriotism may, in any emergency, volunteer service for the common good, and always does. Charity vohmteers gratuitous service according to the exigencies of the case. But the limits of charity and patriotism are soon reached. Especi- ally should they soon be reached in a country which stands before the civi- lized world as the richest and most productive and powerful of all the nations of the earth ; powerful in its resources of men and treasure and exhaustless capabilities of production. Let us look to our mother country and we will find that the secret of that wonderful vitality, which has extended her empire all over the earth, is in her treatment of her civil servants as well as military heroes. Her greatness is not so much due to her military roll of honor, glorious as it is, with Wellington and Nelson, and others I may not pause to name, as it is to the fact that from the earliest days England has pledged her honor to all her children, native born or adopted, that if they serve her with fidelity and distinguished service, she will see to it that their old age is secure from want, and free from the terror of the almshouse. England has in her crown of eternal glory no brighter honor than this, that whether it was an inventor, an artist, an orator, a statesman, or a naval or military hero, she has always been ready to recognize his distinguished service, and place him upon her civil pension roll, that he might pursue the bent of his genius for the service of his country. She has always been as ready to do that, as to do any other act by which her greatness might be promoted. The only course for this country is a similar one, if it would secure like results. It would not be wise in a Republic to pay princely salaries ; to give the man who is now conducting the affairs of a grest bank or railroad com- pany a salary of perhaps twenty or thirty or forty thousand dollars a year, as means of drawing him from the private interests he serves to give the country the benefit of his abilities. That would be unrepublican. We must keep within moderate compensation while the service is being performed. But the service cannot be made efficient, the Republic can- not endure, unless it can secure the faithful service of the best and lo4 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. ablest men within its borders. It can secure that service by pledging to our rising generation its faith and honor, that he who serves his country in any distinguished way, whether in literature, or art, or statesmanship, or war, shall not come to suffering and want in his old age. The principle of the pension is not charity. It is not bounty. It is justice and honor. And this rule, which applies as well to the military as to the civil service, would keep from the list every man wiio is not worthy to be the associate on the roll of heroes with honorable men. 1 scorn the military pension when given to a man who has no good claim to stand side by side with the brave man who imperiled his life in the battle's front for the defence of his country. Let us make the pension roll, botli civil and military, a roll of honor and dignity and glory. Nor is it to be feared that such a civil service pension as I advocate can be seriously abused, because the country takes, nothing on trust. It awards him a pension only for something worthy which he has done. And when by some great achievement, no matter in what field, one has reflected honor and gloi^yonjiis country and made it forever his debtor, what else should the country do than say to him : You shall at least be saved from the disgrace of beggary in your old age. Folly in the public service is too expensive for the American people. They can indulge in many luxuries, but not in long-continued folly, such as we have pursued in withholding just rewards from public benefactors. Why is it that the demagogue is so much to the front everywhere in American public life ? He is a man to whom neither salary nor pension is any object. He thrives by the vile arts of corrupt politicians. The scoundrel who gets into public office for the purpose of thriving by theft, cares neither for pension nor for salary. He is able to take care of himself in such a position without resort to either. But if our people would have a higher and better service they must seek it. They can have it only by pledging their honor to reward the faithful service of those who can serve it best. Let this be done, and we shall realize wdiat it is to have a government of the people, by the people, that is by the very best of the people, the very flow^er and genius of the people. I do not think there is anything now before the American people which so much involves their welfare, which would do so much to insure the perpetuity of our free institutions, as a thorough and enduring reform of the civil service. And I believe that reform to be impossible without the aid of the Civil Service Pension. THE STATE j ITS FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES. By C. S. DARROW. I Tlie idea of the State had its birth in that instinct of man that draws him irresistably to his fellow man. Before man reached his present posi- tion, while he was yet a brute, there was planted in his nature a certain instinct, the influence of which he could not avoid, that caused him to asso- ciate with others of his kind. The very life of mankind and the continu- ance of the human race depend upon the strength of this instinct. If we could imagine that in some mysterious way the human race should be dis- persed over the surface of the globe, each one given an equal piece of ground, its members would instantly commence a slow and painful pilgrim- age to come together once again as they are now. They would build again the villages and the cities of the present time ; man would unite with man and form the same sort of organizations, the same sort of society, that exists all over the world, in different forms, to-day, because nature has decreed that in no other way can the human race be preserved; it is only possible to save its life when men congregate in communities, as they do now. So long as man chooses to unite with his fellows, he must recognize the fact that if he would live with others he must be willing to observe such rules of conduct as will allow others to exist by his side. In no other way is it possible for men to dwell together. If I were transported to the midst of a mighty forest, or some great plain, there, solitary and alone, I might exist independently of all other people ; yet, in my isolated condi- tion, I would be the abject slave of the powers of nature ; it would require my whole time and strength to gain a precarious livelihood, and even then a few short years would see the end. But, if I seek to unite my strength with that of my fellow men, if I seek their aid and co-operation in the struggle of life, then must I submit to be bound by such rules, whatever tliey may be, as will allow others to exist as well as me. When I do this to a certain extent I free myself from the powers of nature; it becomes easier for me to live ; I can obtain the food, clothing, and shelter that I need, to better advantage than when wandering alone in the midst of the forest or the plain. But I must submit to certain restrictions, the restrictions that are necessary to allow a number to dwell together in unity and peace. 155 156 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. I expected that the gentleman who preceded me would have said some- thing about the doctrine of laissez faire. Those who believe in our present State ; those who believe no State whatever ; generally speak of this. It seems to be the foundation stone of certain schools of political economy. The doctrine of laissez faire— let alone, let every one do as he wishes- leaves the government with few functions or with none. From the time when man first stretched out his hand to unite with his fellows, until to-day ; from the time when he made the first rude and barbarous law, even though it were the law, "Thou shalt not kill,'' from that time onward no man has believed or practiced the doctrine of laissez faire. The doctrine is inconsistent with any law whatever. The only individual who has the logical right to advocate it is the man who says that we should look to the laws of nature and nothing else ; and that no individual has the right to make a law to govern any other individual in the world. If you say that society, in its aggregate capacity, has the right to make any law whatever, you can only support that claim of right upon the ground that because^f it society as a whole is better off ; and when you have said that you must W one step farther and say that any law, any organization, any rule of action, that conduces to the life of the whole is within the province of the State, and properly its function. We have had various ideals of the State. There have been those who have elevated the policeman's club and said: "Behold the State" — the State which our sons and daughters should obey, respect and love — but, from the days of Socrates and Plato until now, the greatest and the wisest and the best have not mistaken the police powers of the State for the State itself. We are told that sometime in the future co-operation may be possible. The course of civilization is toward co-operation. The course of civiliza- tion is from the time when every man's hand is turned against his neigh- bor, toward that time when each is seeking by every effort he can put forth, not only his own good, but the good of all the rest. It may be slow, it may be a long and toilsome journey, but all we claim is, that slow as it may be, it is the course of civilization, and that the time will come — unless civilization be a lie — when the strifes, bickerings, and warfare that now exist among men will be melted and fused into the gentle and humane forces of co-operation and mutual aid. Why should the State have any powers whatever V Suppose the gentle- men in this room should represent a state organized for a certain purpose. If I raise my hand, armed with a dagger, to kill my brother, what reason, what right, has any other gentleman in the room to intei'fere ? Why should you do it ? Is it not my inalienable right to do with my own hand what I will ? Has anyone the right to prevent it, excepting him who might interfere for his own defence V What right have you at the further end of this room to stay my hand when I seek the life of my fellow at this end ? You have just this one right — just this one reason — that society never knows whose turn may come next. You know that if society does not interfere, if you do not stay my hand, that all the rest may suffer one after another, and thus all become the abject slaves of the most power- THE STATE; ITS FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES. 157 ful. Society has the right to organize to prevent any individual member from usurping a power that is detrimental to the whole. You may trace all the police powers of the State back to this common source. I care not if it be the simple law, " Thou shalt not kill," in the end it will be found to rest upon one reason and one alone, and that is that the whole com- munity may best be served by the enforcement of that rule. Any law that subserves the common good, any human regulation whatsoever that is for the interests of the race, has the same basis, no more, nor less, than all other laws that man can possibly devise. I would that I might picture to you two views of the State. I wish that I might picture them so plainly that they would leave a lasting im- pression on your minds. Two views of the State that we find existing side by side in the life of the present— for the civilization of to-day, is made up of the good and the bad of the past as well as the aspirations and hopes of the future. I would picture one ideal of the State with the school room filled with happy children, learning to be wise and useful citizens of the State that is to come; with the library that is bringing culture and peace and joy to all the citizens of that State ; with the parks laid out for the pleasure of the whole people of that State ; with magnificent roadways made for your comfort and mine ; with the Tostofiice, transacting the busi- ness of the State ; with other business institutiions which are as much the proper function of the State as any that it now performs. I would picture to you another view of the State, a view that was painted on the canvas of that wonderful artist Verestchagin. He pictured the State as some men see it ; the State of the believer in laissez faire ; the State of him who believes that the function of the State is to say, "You must," or " You shall not." He depicted it in three scenes. The first was the State of Ancient Rome. The cross with its victim upon it ; the blood trickling to the earth. He pictured the State of India, with men lashed at the cannon's mouth, waiting to be scattered to the four winds of Heaven. This was the State of India, which the children of that land were called upon as a sacred duty to love and to admire. ' lie pictured tlie State of Russia. In a bleak plain, while the snow is falling, a scaffold has been erected, upon which human lives are taken. Tliat is the State of Russia which the Russian people are asked to venerate, love and obey. We have a portion of that state in America too. We have a portion of the new and a portion of the old ; a portion of the good and a portion of the evil. Not long since the State of Illinois erected a scalfold in tlie C3ity of Chicago, and they led up its steps a poor, weak, ignorant boy, a child of African descent ; of that race which has in all ages received persecution and cruelty from men of our color and our race, a boy who never knew the State, a young boy who in all the darkness of his childish life had never known the pressure of a kindly hand, or the tones of a gentle voice. The State of Illinois laid its hands upon this'boy but once, and then it strangled him to death. The State of the future will look at him (no matter what his crime), and they will say : " Before you arraign him at tlie bar of justice, find what the State has done for him?V You shall fulfill your obligations to the boy before you take his life." 158 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. Go out into the highways and byways, meet those who have never known happiness, who have never known instruction, who have never known the sound of gentle voices, and give them a chance for their future and their life. Gentlemen, the two ideals of the State are inconsistent. Abraham Lincoln one said that freedom and slavery could not stand side by side, and so I say that the school room and the gallows were never meant for the same land or the same age. If we would build the State upon the broad foundation of intelligence, of reason and of justice, we will leave the school room where it is and broaden and enlarge the functions of the State. But if you expect that through the coming years men and women and children shall be kept in line by the policeman's club, or the fear of the gallows, then we have no room for the school room, the library or the public park. Gentlemen ; the ideal of the State, that it is not the policeman, that it is not the jail, that it is not the court house, that it is not the police power, is old. It has been indorsed, as I have said, by the wisest and the best men that have ever lived. The wisest and the greatest, and the most humane haVe lent their energies and their lives to this cause. You may find amongst its believers and supporters, amongst those who have shared this higher ideal of the Sj:ate, Socrates, Plato, Buddha, Jesus, Hugo, Carlyle, Emerson. The good and great of every age and land have never yet mistaken the police powers of the State for the State itself. One would think, from some things that gentlemen say of the State, that it is a superior being, standing beyond us, with a club raised above our heads to strike us when it will. One would think it was superhuman. But, gentlemen, it is not. The State is the men and the women and the children who compose it. The State is 'the good thoughts, the gentle deeds, the worthy actions of all who make it up. The State is you and I and every other individual who lives within it. The other day I saw some men erecting a building. I looked and thought I beheld the emblem of the State. I saw surrounding the struc- ture as it rose, a scaffolding upon which the workmen stood; a scaffolding which was plainer to the view, than all else ; a scaffolding made of rough boards and scantling, unattractive to the eye. But within it I saw grow- ing, brick on brick, stone on stone, a magnificent edifice, to be the future home of men and women and children who should live within its walls. I fancied I saw the believer in the doctrine of laissez faire, who looking at the building mistook the scaffolding for the structure within ; who mistook the rude instrument with which the workmen were enabled to perform their labors for that structure itself, the structure that should shelter from cold and storm, and give comfort and happiness to its inmates; they mis- took the rough exterior for the edifice tliat should be the future home of men and women and little children, giving joy and happiness to those beneath its roof. But for me there was no mistake. 1 saw the emblem of the State. I saw that scaffolding like the police powers of the present, like the jail and the club and the court house, and the criminal statutes of to-day. I saw its use in building up the grand and beautiful home of THE STATE; ITS FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES. 159 humanity. I looked at it growing toward the heavens, and I said, " How can men make a mistake like this V" 1 thought that one day when the last stone shall be placed upon it, when the walls shall be frescoed, and the building is complete in all its beauty, then this scaffold will fall to the earth and rot away; and so, gentlemen, the State of the future, that State that has been growing through all the ages of the past ; that State whicli is growing to-day ; that State upon w hich the best men of our race have left their imprint ; that State commenced back in the ages when man in his ignorance and weakness first readied out his hand to feel the sym- pathetic touch of his brother man ; which has been growing,' day by day and year by year down all the centuries until now ; that State will only be complete in the days to come when all the people shall be wielded and fused into one homogeneous mass, and when men shall dwell together as liarmoniously as the stars pursue their course in the heavens above. In that day when the State shall be complete, when order shall come out of chaos, when no longer the strong and the great shall trample on the weak ; when even the smallest and the poorest of these little ones shall have an equal portion, when the State shall be completed, then the scaffolding upon which we have been working, within which we shall have erected this glorious temple, these law^s, barbarous as they are to-day, but which enable us to construct the State of the future; this scaffolding will fade away, and the stately structure of the future State will stand in all its beauty, in all its grandeur, in all its perfection, and be the sheltering home of all. THE STATE J ITS FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES. By I. K. BOYESEN, As in the evolution of matter, the process has been from the simple slightly organized and homogeneous, from single similar cells sustaining little, ir^ny, relation to each other up to the more highly organized, com- plex and \lieterogeneous in which each constituent part of a body co-oper- ates with and is co-ordinated to the other ; so in the development of bodies, politics. States and nations, has the process been from individuals in a state of nature sustaining slight relations to each other, through simple and loosely organized communities to the more complex and diversified, though incompletely co-ordinated, sociological relations of the present. Government was much simpler when it was considered as springing from Divine authority, and the rulers were inspired, consecrated by God, or otherwise derived and possessed absolute power and authority, and there was much more homogeniety in the parts when the governed were classi- fied into two simple classes— soldiers, and those who provided support for kings and soldiers. Government as an end in itself, with the individuals governed considered simply as means contributing to that end, has always been a much easier problem, than government as a means of affording the highest happiness and greatest liberty to the individuals constituting a State. Many problems were easily solved and disposed of in the days of the theocratic government when very few were to be consulted, which, when all have to be consulted, prove very troublesome. When in the course of development we repudiated the idea of the authority of govern- ment emanating from any source but the governed, and that the end of government was any other th^n the well being of the governed, we com- plicated rather than simplified the problem and art of government, and at the same time took it from the hands of those who had some experience and judgment in government, and conferred it upon those who had no experience, and would have to gain judgment through experience. It M^ould seem that under the circumstances we ought not to experiment with our inexperience any more than necessary, that the more governing and regulating can be left to those for whose sake the governing and regulat- ing is to be done the better. If laws are but the regulations adopted by the mass of individuals constituting the State for tlie regulation of their 160 THE STATE; ITS FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES. 161 public affairs, and government consists in carrying out these rules and regulations, we ought not to expect to find any greater wisdom in those rules and rugulations or the persons chosen from the mass to carry them into effect, than the average wisdom of the mass from which they emanated. Strange to say, however, a large proportion of people do expect in this case to find the whole greater than the sum of its parts. The Divinity which we have denied to kings seems to have been transferred to majorities, so that what v(iis foolish, ignorant and absurd yesterday, becomes w^ise and expedient to-day, if consecrated by the approval of a majority of ignorant and inexperienced individuals. The popular phrase " Vox Populi Vox Dei," is by very many held as a part of their faith in democratic institutions. Although popular major- ities have continually repeated the mistakes and stupidities perpetrated by their royal predecessors, and we have all learned to despise and condemn the royal blunders, and wonder how^ any government could be carried on by such ignoramuses, still we continue to believe in the omniscience of their imitators— the majority. When commerce and agriculture were depressed during royal rules, and it was thought necessary for the govern- ment to take a hand and aid home industry, and make more money, some kings caused the coin of the realm to be clipped or reduced, thus making, as it was thought, more wealth, issued assignats and resorted to other equally direct and philosophical methods of creating wealth. To encourage trade they granted monopolies and exclusive charters. When the increased amount of nominal money thus produced by coin clipping, and issuing assignats, proved unable to purchase any more goods or things of valu-e than the actual value of the purchasing medium, the rulers fixed values by law, and made it a felony to refuse to sell for the prices thus determined ; but human nature proved more potent than the most absolute monarch, for the necessaries most desired disappeared from market, were hidden, and could not be purchased at all. These experiments at creating value by law, of making something out of nothing, or making "two" equal to " four," and punishing those whose mathematical apprehension was un- equal to comprehending that " two " could be equal to " four" have been repeated by popular majorities in this country. Most of the States of the Union have in the course of their history fallen victims to the delusion that nominal and actual value are always identical, and that to call a piece of paper equal to a certain value makes it so. New Jersey has even tried to fix prices by law^ and make it an offense to ask more than, or refuse to sell at, the price fixed. The Congress of the United States has passed laws fix- ing the value of a given number of grains of silver, and has for many years imitated tlie royal and imperial methods of stimulating commerce by granting monopolies and exclusive charters. The royal method of en- couraging home industry was by a charter, reciting that it had pleased some benign majesty to encourage some loyal subject in fostering trade, and therefore, the aforesaid loyal subject was granted the exclusive right to sell or trade in certain articles of merchandise, or by laws forbidding export of domestic or importation of foreign goods. All these economic absurdities have been exploded and exposed, and the " corn laws," and the 162 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. " edicts from the council," and " monopolies by royal grant," stand as typi- cal illustrations of the ignorance and intellectual crudity of the past, the consequence of which brought distress and suffering to the people, and cast discredit upon the governments responsible for them, yet under a government of the people, by the people, and theoretically for the people, we are indirectly repeating the same economic absurdities under the guise of revenue legislation, and fostering of home industry, whereby we, as effectually, prohibit importation, limit exportation, and create monopoly by government. While framing one act to further strengthen, fortify and perpetuate monopolies by additional barriers against competition, the same Congress is engaged in formulating laws to prevent their formation, and to the majority, as represented in Congress, this seems wise, politic and con- sistent. These imperfections of government by the people, do not show- that popular government is not the best, and in the end the wisest govern- ment devised or possible, as unfailing political judgment, and foresight into the consequence of political acts, apparently plausible and admirable, would be possible only in Utopia, but they do show the limitations of even the majority, and if it errs in those functions, conceded to be within the necessary scope of government, and can perform those functions, with but very limited success, it ought to follow, that its scope should not be extended to subjects which do not necessarily fall within the function of government. Democratic government proceeds upon the theory, that a majority of citizens in a State, have attained to such a civilization and self-control, that they can regulate their conduct with due regard to their own interests and the rights of each other, to life, liberty and property, and the primary object of government is to preserve these rights of the individual against the aggressions of such members of the State as refuse to recognize and regard them. Fundamentally, this is the basis of all government, and taxes, laws, courts and armies exist for this purpose and object. It must be conceded that civil government has yet to make great advancement before it can be said to adequately fulfill this primary func- tion, and yet this function is very simple compared to that of regulating the conduct of the individual citizens in those matters which do not directly, but if at all only indirectly, affect the rights of other. Still more delicate and intricate is the management of commerce and trade by government and legislative regulation. So long as government undertakes only the protection of the citizen against wrongful aggression by others and the preservation of his inherent rights, it has in the first place, the aid of the individual injured and his active support in its efforts, and it antagonizes none but the lawless and criminal, and every success in enforc- ing such rights strengthens the government, while in dealing with the social wrongs which do not directly operate upon others, such as intemper- ance, government not only has not the aid of an individual directly injured, but has the bitter antagonism of a large element of iaw^ abiding citizens, who deny the right of the majority to impose its views of private morality upon tlie minority. The work of bringing the violaters of such law^s before the public tribunals for punishment is therefore left to inform- I THE STATE; ITS FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES. 163 ers, often fanatical and hired spies, generally unscrupulous, and always despised by the public at large, and by its very success in enforcing such laws, when enforced, the law is made odious, and faith in and loyality to the government weakened. Where strictly enforced, such laws are the soon- est repealed ; where not enforced, they are inoperative, but they nevertheless undermine public respect for law and government, and are often available for private ends and frequently for persecution. The one essential basis for a successful democracy must be the equality of all before the law, and a feeling of all citizens that all laws are for their equal benefit, and that no person or class of persons are favored or peculiarly protected. This is peculiarly necessary in a country where the people have no common ances- try, language, traditions or literature, but the patriotism and loyalty of a large proportion of the citizens have to be acquired and are not inborn. When government enters the fields of private enterprise, and with its strong hand alters the conditions of commerce, creates artificial prices by law, aids some enterprises and destroys others, establishes conditions that make fortunes for some and ruin or injuriously affect others, the feeling is naturally engendered by the ones injuriously affected that the govern- ment is unjust, corrupt and influenced by favoritism and private interests. The natural scientists have demonstrated how^ apparently slight and unnoticed causes in their remote effects are continually in the chain of causation, producing marked and material change in animal life and social conditions. The conditions of social and industrial life are as subtle and sensitive as those of animal existence, and our knowledge, if anything, more limited concerning the former, we most frequently observe only what is apparent on the surface, and by our rude and ignorant hands disturb conditions of existence, and set in operation a chain of causes that we do not comprehend. In the industrial world the change in the cost of produc- tion of a single item, entering into a manufacturing industry, may affect the welfare of thousands beneficially or injuriously, and the conditions of those individuals so affected wall operate in turn upon others. The wisest assem- bly of law makers on the earth cannot forsee the effects even directly, much less remotely, of such artificial alterations in the conditions of indus- tries, and when evil effects are observed the causes are not always appar- ent, or the effects easily or effectively remedied by the slow process of popular election and legislation. When the demands of private interests are heard and considered in framing legislation over public policy, good government is more seriously threatened and anarchy more advanced and furthered, than by the speeches and bombs of fanatical malcontents. The wisest and purest government is unequal to the task of adjusting and dealing fairly with all the private and public interests involved in artificially altering the conditions of commerce. Under these circumstances it would seem that the safest policy would be to let private enterprise and energy establish and maintain their own conditions of industry. The prosperity of the mass of the people, thus produced and fostered by their skill, energy and intelligence, not by favor of law, will be the prosperity of the country and be enduring and general. 164 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. Those who have such unlimited faith in the agajregate wisdom of the people represented in a Legislative Assembly, ought to liave, at least, an equal faith in the intelligence of the individuals making up tlie aggregate, which the Legislator or Congressman only represents by way of delegation. It is a recognized principle in physics, tliat in transmission of power from the point where it generated to the point where it is to be applied, there is a material waste of such power, and the farther transmitted the greater waste, and this principle seems to be applicable in the transmission of intelligence, and to furnish an explanation of the exceedingly small quan- tity of that article observable at the points where this delegated and trans- mitted popular intelligence is supposed to be applied to legislation and government. As an economic principle, therefore, I am in favor of tlie conservation of this intelligence by leaving it, as much as possible, to be directly applied by the individual to his own affairs, as thus saving the vast waste evidently taking place by its transmission and delegation. That this is the ultimate end and limitation of government need not be maintained. That individualism and competition involve waste of energy and wealtli is uncontrovertible, but one must be capable of co-operation on a smaller scale ,^„as-inidividuals, before we can expect to apply it with success to governmenir THE STATE; ITS FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES. By GEO. A. SCHILLING. In considering the problem of human government the relation of man to Iiis fellow man in organized civilized society, his security to life and the pursuit of happiness, we approach a subject not new ; but we approach it with keener intellects and a more wide-spread desire, than was ever before manifested in the history of civilized man. In this relation of thought there are three fundamental schools to-day, claiming the atten- tion of mankind, and vieing with each other for supremacy. 1st. The " Zame^ /azVe " school, represented so ably this evening by Mr. I. K. Boyeson, contends that the only true function of government is the protection of the citizen in his life and property ; that is, that the exist- ence of compulsory government is justified, and the forcible collection of taxes insisted upon, on the ground that all citizens are to receive protec- tion against murder, arson, theft, the violations of contracts and the obli- gations affecting the rights of citizens in their relation to eacli other. In all other matters the true consistent follower of this school says to the government : " hands off " — let alone. Each citizen is to be undisturbed in his pursuit of happiness and success. Were all those who claim fellowship in this school possessed with com-age, foresight and fidelity, less fault could be found ; but the large mass of its followers are confused, inconsistent and cowardly. Many of them say that the " let alone '' policy is only a general rule full of important exceptions, calling from time to time for governmental regulation and interference. Thus, some are in favor of compulsory edu- cation and public taxation for free libraries ; while others, favor govern- mental regulation of money, child labor, eight hours, etc., etc., while scarcely any one of them has the courage to attack the fundamental cause, that which vitiates the law of "equal freedom," that which gives a privileged few the power to subjugate and rob the many, that which more than all else produces those social inequalities and repeatedly suggests to them the necessity of State interference, in behalf of the weak and helpless— I mean land monopoly. It is monstrous to talk about letting things alone, after the few have secured possession of the earth with all its life sustaining forces through the sanction and protection of government, thereby creating a condition 165 166 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. under which the large mass of people can accumulate no property ; hence have none to protect. 2d. The Collectivists, or State Socialists, represented by Mr. C. S. Darrow, believe tliat the true function of government is not only to protect life, but to secure the citizen against want by assuming control (through the government) of all the industrial activities of society, productive and distributive, as well as all the educational agencies, that contribute to the intellectual development of its citizens, thereby creating one vast central- ized political bureaucracy, under whose wise or unwise, just or unjust, liberal or tyranical conduct, under majority rule, all the people will find work and wages. The third school are the Individualists, or Anarchists, to which I belong. The Anarchists believe that society has within itself the potency of carrying forward, through voluntary asssociation, all of the moral, intel- lectual and material interests of mankind. '' Governments, (says our friend Salter) are established to protect the weak against the strong," and yet it is a notorious fact that the strong and cunning in every government (not excepting our own) succeed in getting to the top, and lay hold of its machinery for personal and class aggrandizement, at tlie very expense of the weak, which it claims to protect. Let us note more specifically what are the functions of the State, and examine in detail the efficiency with which the State to-day discharges its public trusts. There is no institution in America that is more sincerely cherished than our " free common school;" to question the propriety of the State taxing its citizens for educational purposes is to excite the wrath and indignation of a vast number of patriotic men and women, and yet the fact is, that in Chicago, we have signally failed to provide adequate school facilities for thousands of our children, while the funds really expended are misapplied in teaching foreign languages, music, etc., at the expense of a thorough primary education. But foreign languages must be taught, particularly the German, so that our political bosses will not incur the wrath of \,his section of voters, though thousands of our youths are deprived thereby of an education in the language of their country, and are sent forth from the school weak and ignorant to pursue the struggle for existence. What has the State done for, and how has it discharged its responsibility toward, the weak, the blind and the insane ? Is it necessary to show the impotency of our County Government in caring properly for the unfortu- nates thrown upon its hands ? Repeated investigations have shown that these very unfortunates, who should excite the highest feelings of the com- munity, have been made the means of public plunder, fed on putrid meats, stale bread and rotten vegetables, so that contractors and officials might divide more spoils, not to speak of the brutal treatment they have received at the hands of the "toughs," appointed by the commissioners, not for their fitness, but to reciprocate for services rendered on the political field. Some years ago, I, in company with a number of associates, collected data as to the economy and efficiency of the State in the collection of THE STATE; ITS FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES. 167 debts, and we found to our amazement that for every dollar collected about one dollar and fifty cents are expended through the requisite legal proceedings to accomplish the result. Were you to put the slow and expen- sive methods of the State to the test of private business enterprise, you would not tolerate them. Were I to apply to any of your business men for a situation, the first question you would settle is, "do I need him ?" If after a montli's trial, you discover that the wages paid me were out of all proportion to the services rendered, you would undoubtedly discharge me ; but when you deal with our governmental agencies, your patriotism prompts you to be very lenient; yet there are some signs of discontent. Some time since the grocers and butchers of this city organized an association for mutual protection against "dead beats." I verily believe, that were all laws for the collection of debt abolished, such voluntary asso- ciations would suffice to compel men to pay bills contracted, or be starved to death through the general refusal of credit. This is not a mere theory ; the utility of this principle is tested daily in our midst. The Chicago Board of Trade compels its members to submit to a com- mittee of arbitration their grievances growing out of violation of con- tracts. Each year vast interests are adjudicated, aggregating thousands of dollars, to tlie general satisfaction of its members. Some years ago, I had a conversation with the then President of the Board of Trade on this sub- ject. Said I, "Mr. Hutchinson, in the settlement of such vast interests three important elements are involved. First, the cost of settlement; second, the dispatch with wiiich it is settled ; and third, the degree of equity reached in the settlement. Will you please tell me what is the rela- tive proportion of these three factors, wlien settled by the committee of the Board, as compared with the settlement of a like case in the courts of law." His reply was, that he had " never considered it closely, but would judge that the cost was about one cent, to the courts' dollars ; as to dis- patch, it held about the same proportion ; while on the question of equity, the members of the committee of arbitration were experts— familiar with every detail of business transacted on the Board, and it only required a knowledge of the facts for these specialists to determine with the largest degree of certainty the equity to be meted out." Here, then, we have evi- dence of the largest commercial institution in our city enforcing contracts and adjudicating questions of equity between its members, as much superior to the methods of the State as the electric light is superior to the tallow dip. One of our Cook County judges told me some time since, the reason why the Board of Trade adjudicated its own matters was because so much of their business transactions were unlawful that they could not get redress in the courts. Let this be as it may, it does not affect the merits of my argument nor disprove the superior efficiency of the Board in settling ques- tions Of dispute. At this time there is much agitation about government control and ownership of railroads and telegraphs. Why ? The answer is, " to get rid of monopoly." But does not this create a government monopoly more oppressive and less efficient than the ones we complain of V There is no 168 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. reason to believe that the government would bring to the administration of transportation and communication any less stupidity or villainy than it has manifested it its other departments. Nepotism and political hust- ling are the marks of merit recognized by the ''boss" in political life. The converse is true with private enterprise. Nearly all of our railroad oflBcials to-day are men who have given the best years of their lives to the railroad service. Can the same be said in behalf of our postoffice, or water department ? I think it is safe to say that were our raih'oads and telegraphs dominated by the same reckless principle in their administra- tion, as displayed by government, these companies would eitlier be com- pelled to double rates, or go through bankruptcy. But why multiply instances ? The evidences of State perfidy, extravagance, incapacity and inertia, are all about us. Everything it touches, it paralyzes. Why then extend its functions, or presume that it has any ? Do those who advocate this general scheme of governmentalism, realize that its fulfillment would be the vortex in. which our ship of social and industrial progress would find its doom V So long as progress consists of the specialization of function, every interference of government with the free industrial activity of its citizens, must ever clog the wheels of society, and fetter its march to a higher and better life. History does not show that progress received its impelling force from either governments or majorities ; the former always brutal, reaching out for more power ; the latter, stupid and resigned to the custom and habits of the time ; the individual alone seeing ahead of his day — whether in the domain of religion, politics or science— follows that light, breaks through the crust of established habit, wars against the State, and tlie superstition of the masses, and oli ! how oft luis he been sacrificed on the alter of human liberty by those he sought to emancipate ! THE USES AND ABUSES OF SPECULATION. By GEO. J. BRINE. Speculation, in its commonly accepted sense, is understood to mean the purchase, sale or production of some form of property, in expectation of a profitable return as the result of a change in its price or value. Hence, the object of Speculation may be to increase the supply of a par-, ticular article, which at one time may be silk goods, at another " shoddy," in one instance steel rails, in another steel traps. It may mean the build- ing of a railroad or the compounding of a patent medicine that is to heal all nations, and of which it may be said in the language of the irrepres- sible Colonel Sellers : " There's millions in it." The speculative spirit, in the sense now being considered, will hesitate at no enterprise however gigantic, nor deem unworthy of its consideration the most trifling undertaking, provided the "nimble dollar " promises to attend upon the accomplishment of either. Millions of treasure were ready to make the trial for an ocean-connecting canal at Panama ; while the man who devises a possibly popular toy need not ask twice for money to put it on the market. The element of chance, the possibility of failure — whether through changing fashions, financial or economic disturbances, or political move- ments of world-wide influence— may retard or even make retreat the timid souls " who fain would climb but that they fear to fall ;" but not so those resolute spirits whose successes are half w^on by the very courage with which they set about their ventures. Weighing well the cost of the under- taking and the obstacles that may be met, they move out into new fields of commercial enterprise or along the lines of those already tried, undeterred by the failures that weaker men have made. It has been said that all trade is based upon Speculation, and, in a sense, this is true. While the ordinary buying of goods by a retail merchant is not regarded as specula- tive dealing, yet, even his operations become so in many ways. To what- ever extent he increases his stock in any department, in anticipation of advance ;n price or of increased demand, to that extent his purchases are entirely speculative. If he finds no necessity for the investment of his surplus earnings in his business, then he must seek some other channel 170 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. wherein they may be profitably placed. The problem this tradesman has then in hand is one that meets those engaged in every form of industry. And it is one that will be variously solved as the temperaments and capaci- ties of men differ. One will select a mortgage security and be satisfied with a low rate of interest, looking to the certainty of repayment rather than the profit. With him the smallness of the return is compensation for the smallness of the risk. He can not be set down as a speculator. But he who borrows from this lender must be engaged in some form of business promising larger results, holding out to him possibilities of greater pro- fits—whether it be the operation of a railway, the conducting of a bank, the building of houses or the buying of lands— a business in which he undertakes larger risks, meets and traflics with the business world, brav- ing all its uncertainties with the result either of a heroic failure or a rich success. Of course, the manifold industries that are thus conducted upon borrowed capital may differ, in part at least, in their speculative charac- ter ; but they differ in degree only. All are speculative ; some merely less so than others. And so it must be seen that it is these industries and these enterprises, speculative though they be in some degree, that employ the savings of those whose so-called prudence prevents them from engag- ing in trade in a larger way than the certainty tlieir shops afford. Hence, it is apparent that Speculation, thus illustrated, is of benefit to all classes. The fact that disaster often befalls it does not disprove its necessity nor its utility. The evils attendant upon Municipal Government do not war- rant its abandonment, nor does the fact that laws at times work hard- ships, call for the repeal of all statutes. It is, however, when the speculator, professional or occasional, takes hold of stocks, securities, bonds or breadstuffs that he is most decried. And yet how many lines of railway there are the shares of which were far below par that have been lifted into prosperity by his efforts ? How many towns have been establisJied and how many others have been added to, peo- pled and improved through his foresight ? How often has the grain from a year of plenty been stored and saved to meet the necessities of a scant harvest through his operations ? If the speculator profited by these have not others also V Both grain grower and consumer have been benefited. The farmer must every year sell in advance of consumers' demands. Who is there to buy in such cases but the speculator ? The total volume of grain stored in the warehouses of the country represents the amount sold by producers in excess of consumptive requirements. Thus capitalists and speculators stand readjKto take, and do take and care for such surplus pro- ductions for months before the domestic miller or foreign buyer requires it. They are only able to do so through the agencies of exchanges and Boards of Trade, the facilities they afford and the aids systematic inspec- tion laws furnish. Who makes these great public markets for the purchase and sale of breadstuffs V Who renders it easy for the producer to find at any moment of the day a buyer in an open market at a price fixed by sharp competition — a price he may almost know within a minute after it is named, though he be a thousand miles away ? These same speculators and capitalists. If his fields promise a large yield and the prices for the month THE USES AND ABUSES OF SPECULATION. 171 in which his harvest falls, though yet sometime away, is attractive, who makes that price and renders him able to obtain it ? These same specu- lators. And he is thereby given a longer time in which to market his crop and can do so at a minimum cost. It is only possible to furnish the grain grower these privileges by bringing the large quantities of grain sold in excess of immediate consumptive demand near to the capital required to hold it and to the exchanges which supply the facilities for its purchase, sale and general distribution. The uses of Speculation as directed and employed in these purposes, are as legitimate and beneficial to the people as the business of the grain grower himself. Dealers in coffee, cotton, petroleum and like artices of large produc- tion and in universal demand are compelled to establish like exchanges in connection with which warehouse and storage facilities are supplied, wherein surplus stocks are cared for. These furnish the same facilities for the prompt and easy transaction of business and are the necessary results of the same speculative and commercial conditions. If the coffee merchant hears of probable damage to crops in coffee growing countries, see signs of political disturbances that may interfere with or cut off supplies, he buys in larger quantities in anticipation of enhanced values ; and when the evils he foresaw actually occur, his accumulations are distributed to consumers. Thus from year to year are the world's productions equalized, the grainaries kept from being swept to their floors and famine prices prevented. The professional speculator, ever on the watch for every influ- ence that may disturb prices, presents phases of character not without a humorous side. The professional operator in stocks or grain is sui generis. He is the product of conditions that surround him. He knows more about the weather than " Old Probabilities " himself. He understands the poli- tics of Europe from the partition of Poland down. He is a diplomat and could give points to Bismarck on the Schleswig-Holstein question, while in France the movements of Boulanger are as familiar to him as though he were himself born under the tri-color. As for Russia, she can not post an extra sentinel upon the Austrian frontier, repair a baggage wagon or borrow a dollar but he sees " war's red front " uprising and wheat on the rapid road to two dollars per bushel. He knows the world's consumption of breadstuff s for each day and knows exactly where it is, whether on sea or land. He can name the precise period when exhaustion of supplies will provoke hunger and the very month when the children of the earth will be crying for bread. In finance he can inform you just where an unlimited coinage of silver will lead us and will discuss bi-metalism with the volubility of an entire debating club. He knows what reciprocity with Brazil means and what it would mean should either Canada or Cuba desire to share its privileges. He can tell you with almost axiomatic certainty the stocks that are a purchase for a " turn," and at the same time name those that are a " sale." He watches the health of the great railway magnates while living and can recite the terms of their wills upon their death. From the price of ex- change on London to the price of beets in Holland he turns with equal exactness. In short he is the Admirable Crichton of trade, and though, 172 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. unlike his predecessor, he may lack the ability to dispute in twelve lan- guages, he makes up for it by his efficiency in one. The evolution of this type of speculator may perhaps be set down as amongst the abuses of Speculation ; yet his varied accomplishments may suggest the educating influences of his calling. But no estimate of the uses of Speculation, which is based upon the eccentricities of some of its followers, or the recklessness of others, is either intelligent or fair. Kor is the objection, that at times combina- tions are made for the purpose of manipulating grain or stocks, worthy of the importance often claimed for it. Efforts in this direction frequently react upon the very parties who undertake them and bring loss or disaster instead of profit. Even though they be successfully conducted their influ- ence is seldom felt outside the doors of the exchange wherein they occur. Of course they attract attention, become the subject of popular comment and meet, not improperly, with adverse criticism. Yet, because their opera- tions have for a very limited period— once in a year or in several years- disturbed the ordinary course of prices, the business methods which make such operations possible are abused and often characterized as criminal. It is forgotten that during all the long periods of time between such dis- turbances, the affairs of these great public markets have moved along quietly and to the benefit of every class and portion of the community. Millions of bushels of grain, millions of pounds of meats and every form of food supply have been bought, sold and distributed— thousands of shares of stocks and all forms of securities have been bought, sold and trans- ferred—all so noiselessly done, so far as the outside world is concerned, all so efficiently, promptly and necessarily done that only those of the general public interested in them can appreciate the magnitude of the transactions the much criticised speculator is here systematically conducting. The exchanges of New York, Chicago, London, Paris or elsewhere represent the commercial growth not only of the countries where they are located, but the commercial development of the world. The smallest investor turns to them for information respecting almost every proposed or contemplated investment. There he finds listed and dealt in, the shares, bonds and securities of every manner of corporate enterprise. Through their agencies are collected every kind of information he needs and must have, in order to intelligently act. Having selected some security he desires he can there make his investment upon payment of a commission, triflingly small as compared with the services he has received. These exchanges are but one^fotm of that sub-division of labor wiiich makes civilization possible, with trade and commercial growth one of its inci- dents. Suppose the man thus coming to the exchange learns of a railway that has by improvident management been operated at a loss or unduly burdened with debt, or through crop failures or other misfortunes its shares have declined. Now, if of a speculative mind, he will estimate its present condition and after the collection of all possible data he may con- clude that it may be turned into a paying property. He, with others unit- ing for this common purpose, buys its shares, changes its management, and THE USES AND ABUSES OF SPECULATION. 173 finally re-establishes a line of great value to the public as well as to them- selves. While some may say that this would be an investment merely, it is plain that it is unquestionably a speculative one. During the civil war the Government was compelled to issue bonds bearing high rates of interest in order to secure purchasers. Capitalists, as well as those of small means, readily recognized the risks attendant upon such investment. The Government might not succeed in its efforts— the war might be prolonged and the federal credit become exhausted, and that unfortunate day arrive, as was once suggested, when it would cost a hundred dollar treasury note to buy a breakfast. At such time the element of chance was large and invited Speculation; but the speculator, both foreign and domestic was willing to meet it and to his great profit. Now, when the Govenment can borrow money at three per cent the purchase of its securities becomes a mere investment and the speculative element is wholly eliminated. But when a prolonged war demanded an expenditure largely in excess of the income of the nation, then it was the willingness of the money lender to assume great risks that not only assured success but averted both bankruptcy and repudiation. It must, therefore, be admitted that condemnation of Speculation is unwarranted if such condemnation be based upon isolated instances of disturbance, for which opportunity is given during the times of financial trouble or in times of war. Because in such periods prices are unduly depressed or enhanced it does not follow that Speculation is itself wrong. The operations of a combination to advance or depress the price of gold, or of grain, are not to be confounded with ordinary speculative invest-* ment. Such combinations are possible only because unusual conditions in trade exist, and are taken advantage of but by few. Shall the trade in grain, cotton or oil be confined to transfers for cash only— be restricted to purchases for immediate delivery, for the sole reason that at rare intervals " corners " have occured ? Is it possible to wholly avoid risk and chance and still carry on the commerce of the world ? Will you stop buying or holding stock in Fire Insuranc Companies because another Chicago fire may destroy your investments in a day ? Certainly not. These companies, will continue to write you a policy and stand always ready, as has been said, to bet you a hundred to one or even better, that your warehouse or residence will not burn down within the year. The agent of a Life Insur- ance Company will consult his tables, tell you that you are due to live a definite number of years, and for a consideration will back up his figures and pay over the stake should you die the very next day. Isn't there some Speculation about this ? And, if so, is the business wrongful be- cause it is so ? Evils have arisen from it, so much so that the law has interfered to correct them, and among other things, requires an insurable interest to exist in the policy holder. If the merchant's cargo has been long at sea, and his insurance has been neglected or run out, the undewriter will assume or renew the risk at an increased premium, though the ship be long overdue. The Bank of England has recently guaranteed securities held by a house of world-wide repute— securities largely issued by a foreign State whose financial affairs were seriously involved. This action was in I 174 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. some degree speculative, and just in proportion as it was such was it in keeping with that commercial spirit that has made the City of London the monetary center of the world. From all the foregoing the conclusion is drawn that it is difficult to say in what affairs of trade Speculation has no part. It is the spirit of commercial life forever inviting men into new ventures or into increased activity in old ones. It is the hand-maid of commerce, the inspiring genius of whatever of prosperity and success attend upon the energies of mankind. DRONES AND PARASITES. By ARTHUR J. EDDY. Why should we concern ourselves about " Drones and Parasites ?" We have none among us. Every member of the Sunset Club is a worker, more than a worker— he is a thinker, more than a thinker— he is pre- eminently a speaker. We gather here at the close of our day's labor in our working clothes, with grimy traces of toil upon our hands and sundry flakes of soot upon our brows, to refresh ourselves physically and mentally. I look about me and see bankers, judges, lawyers, brokers, members of the Board of Trade— all workers, tremendous workers, successful workers, in the great struggle for wealth. There is no doubt about their being workers. Here and there I see a doctor, a minister, a mechanic, an artisan. It is my con- viction that they too are workers, perhaps not such powerful workers as the bankers, the judges, lawyers, brokers and so on, but still in a humble sort of a way workers. We have no Drones and Parasites — not even one as a curiosity. Still, there are such beings in the world and they manage to live and thrive upon what the workers produce, to secure a portion — quite a large portion — of the wealth produced and earned by others. We bankers, judges, lawyers and brokers realize that. Are not our scanty earnings depleted by the leeches which adhere to the body politic ? But let us be just even to Drones and Parasities. Words are usefull in just the proportion that each has an independent meaning and significance. I have observed to-night a disposition to use the terms "Drones" and "Parasites" indiscriminately as including one and the same class. That cannot be. A drone is not a parasite— a parasite is not a drone. The very words indicate different characteristics. If we are to get rid of either Drones or Parasites we must distinguish them, under- stand them, instead of denouncing them indiscriminately. I always sus- pect denunciation. It is easy — it is cheap — it is always in proportion to a man's ignorance of what he is talking about. Every rich man is not a drone. Because one man has more brains than another that does not necessarily make him a parasite. If some men save and accumulate w^ealth while others spend and squander, if some by their abilities com- 175 176 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. mand and earn more than others, if some prefer homes to saloons, books and works of art, and all that is good and beautiful in the world to what is low and degrading, the former are not therefore Drones and Parasites and the latter toilers and workers. That wealth is not justly and fairly distributed, that some have more than they should have, than they ever could fairly earn, that others have less than they should have, less than they have actually earned, are facts we all admit, facts with which social philosophers and economists are struggling in search of some remedy ; but these inequalities do not necessarily stamp those who have more as thieves and outcasts. It is still possible to catch a certain amount of cheap applause by juggling with figures and statistics and census returns, the reliability of which has been more than questioned. It is very easy to startle those who have never given the matter more than a passing thought by parading some marvelous contrasts of wealth and poverty, of large incomes and low wages. But do those figures prove anything ? Absolutely nothing more than if the figures are true, then the facts are so. How the fact^ came to be so, whether or not they should be so, whether or not they may be made different on these points, the vital, the interesting, the all- important points, the figures are as silent as so many rows of blocks. Apparently to most minds the most impressive truth that can be uttered and comprehended is that two and two make four, and anything like an investigation of causes and effects is lost. Listen to the applause which everywhere— even here— invariably greets an imposing and sounding array of figures, and the applause is always in proportion to the numerical size of the figures and the skill of the speaker in making his contrasts. Granting that wealth is not fairly distributed, that many are rewarded out of all proportion to what they do, that others seem to live without doing anything useful, and that the burden of these inequalities falls in the end upon the producers, let me define as briefly as I can Drones and Para- sites and wherein they differ radically. In every community there are two classes— the producers, the non- producers. The producers are those who by their efforts either, directly or indirectly contribute to the production of wealth, to the doing of something useful. The non-producers are those who neither directly nor indirectly con- tribute to the production of wealth, to the doing of something useful. Just where the line should be drawn in any given community depends upon our definition of the term wealth, upon what we consider doing something use- ful. Some confine wealth to material things, others include credit, good will of business, skill, education, and even the good health and strength of workmen. But whatever our definition of wealth, whether broad or nar- row, whatever our understanding of the doing of something useful may be, there are in every community many who neither directly nor indirectly contribute to produce any valuable result, and who in one way or another derive the whole on a part of their income from the producers. There are but three ways in which the non-producers can get anything from the producers— by gift, by lawful means or by unlawful means. Those DRONES AND PARASITES. 177 who secure wealth from the producers without earning it fall naturally into three classes corresponding with the three means of getting wealth : First, the incapaUes are those who either by reason of infancy, old age, sickness, helplessness, generally are eitlier partially or wholly inca- pacitated for work and who live upon what is voluntarily given them by the producers. Second, tlie droms are those who are able to do something but who by the operation of some law, institution or custom are assured an income without work. The laws of succession to property— of inheritance— are an illustration. By their operation the favored children of one generation may live in idleness upon the proceeds of the labors of the preceding. They may, if they choose, be drones in the great hive of human industry, simply because society by its laws and customs gives them wealth produced by others. The great institution of private ownership of land in many instances guarantees to tJiose who work not princely incomes, rents pro- duced by tenants. Patent treaties and laws often guarantee to an inven- tor wealth out of* all proportion to the time and labor spent upon his invention, and upon the lucky labors of a few months or years he may live in idleness, a drone all his life. Governments grant pensions to those who could if they would earn their own living. Protective tariffs guar- antee to favored individuals returns greater than they are entitled to. So it is that by law in one way and another individuals and classes are favored at the cost of the rest of the community, to the loss of the pro- ducers. So it is that great fortunes are accumulated and passed from generation to generation steadily swelling the number of drones who live upon what others produce. It is plain that as to a portion of his income a man may be a worker, as to another a drone, so to speak. That is to say, a man may inherit a fortune or secure it in some of the ways suggested through the operation of favoring laws, and still he may be a hard worker. He is not personally a drone, but perhaps all the wealth he has received by law without earning will some day be spent, and perhaps spent idly and foolishly, by drones. Third, parasites are those who gain a livelihood by unlawful means. They include the criminal classes generally, all who prey upon society, the thieves, the gamblers, the tricksters, the shrewd and dishonest speculators, and possibly some will insist the speculators who are not so shrewd and dishonest. Of these three classes the incapables — the helpless of all ages, ranks and conditions in life — these we shall have with us always. To them we shall give and give generously so long as life shall last. There is nothing to be saved there. The parasites, too, bid fair to remain with us, at least so long as the gambler, the trickster, the speculator, finds his natural complement — the fool — so long as there are unscrupulous as well as weak and foolish naen and women. But as time goes on and the world gets wiser and better let us hope that there will be a saving here, that in proportion to the increase of the producers the parasites will become fewer and fewer, and secure an ever decreasing share of the wealth produced. 178 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. It is among the drones that the greatest saving may in time be made. For the present it is more than folly, it is simply vituperation, to denounce those who enjoy the benefits and advantages of laws and customs estab- lished and maintained by society. Is an Astor to blame for inheriting millions from his father, for drawing rents upon his lands ? Society by its institutions and laws says it shall be so. In time society may say it shall all be different, no more inheritance of large fortunes, no more rents, no more monopolies, no more protective tariffs. All these questions are now agitated by economists, by socialists, by nationlists everywhere. I make no suggestions, advocate no changes. My opinion if uttered would be simply — my opinion. I believe too firmly in the great law of evolution of progress to be discouraged. It may be that things as they are are the best they can be for the immediate present, man and his suroundings con- sidered. Existing laws, institutions and customs, have been of slow growth and development and are probably best for the time being, but believing as I do that things are changing for the better, though slowly, that taking the world as a whole each succeeding generation will be in advance of the preceding, I am hopeful for the future and confident that in all things those who come after us will be better off than we are. I am content to-night if I have succeeded in pointing out the differ- ence between Drones and Parasites, a distinction which has its origin in the manner in which they secure their wealth from others. With the dis- tinction clearly in mind, it will be easier to discuss such reforms and changes as may possibly in the far distant future secure a fairer distribu- tion of wealth and eliminate both Drones and Parasites. DRONES AND PARASITES. By T. J. MORGAN. I believe it is generally understood that I am not here as a professor of biology or as one trained to instruct, but as one whose peculiar ideas may furnish matter for an interesting and profitable discussion. I assume also that the Drones and Parasites assigned to my tender mercies are of those of the human kind rather than those of the vegetable or lower animal world. Indeed, were they of the latter my task would be the easier, for they could not talk back no matter what my accusations, neither could they give plausible reason for their existence, and as there is no essential difference between Drones and Parasites I shall, for convenience, use the latter term alone. The sense in which I use the word parasite is a living thing endowed with the power of independent self-support, which under certain favorable conditions, either voluntarily assumed or super-imposed, attaches itself for its existence to some other living thing, draining it of vital force for its own use or aggrandizement, the ultimate result being the physical and mental injury or the destruction of both the parasite and its victim. Human parasites, possessing as they do the power of self-support, can- not claim that Providence has ordained or prescribed that their susten- ance should be provided by others, nor will I admit that any effort, mental or physical, spent in fitting themselves for the position of parasite, or the energy expended in maintaining such position, either justifies or excuses their existence. Under present conditions the parasites and their victims are so closely allied as to render their theoretical separation very difficult. It will serve my purpose to make broad, general, divisions and not attempt to particular- ize too closely ; therefore I will set aside those portions of humanity whose parasitical character is acknowledged and indisputable. First, the crim- inal class, whose number has increased from one in every 3,445 of our population in 1850 to one in every 855 in 1880. Second, the tramps or unemployed class, the proportion of whom has increased in recent years from one in every 120 to one in every 60. These parasites are a new species, the development and increase of which threatens the most alarm- 179 180 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. ing consequences to some of the otber parasites not yet mentioned. Tliird, the professional gamblers and prostitutes, whose number I am un- able to approximate. If I closed my classification here and limited my remarks to the enumeration of the evils inflicted upon humanity by these parasites there would be small chance for a discussion, but inasmuch as I believe that these parasites, numerous though they be, are the least dan- gerous of the species, as they are but the involuntary product of other parasites, fewer in number, but infinitely more hurtful to the human family, I will pass them by and proceed with my classification. The essentials of human life, and therefore the foundation of society, are food, clothing and shelter ; hence, it becomes obligatory upon man to provide himself with these essentials. The isolated savage furnishes the simplest illustration of the ability of man alone and unaided to make this necessary provision, and every effort of society towards a higher life depends upon the individual effort to make more certain and less difficult the production and enjoyment of these essentials of life. Everything that prevents the willing individual effort from producing and securing food, clothing and shelter, is detrimental to society, and those who secure these three to themselves by utilizing the productive efforts of others must be classed as parasites. Those who perform their duty in producing the essentials of life may be divided into two divisions : First, the farmers, laborers and artisans, without whom society could not exist ; and second, the inventors, scientists and teachers, who form a most important auxiliary to the first-class. To these two classes rightfully belong all the benefits of civilization, all the results of co-operative production. The fact that these classes do not possess what I claim belongs to them is proof that the powers, which should be helpful and auxiliary, have been twisted from their rightful pur- pose, and are used to enable parasites to fatten on the vitals of the people. From the Census Keports and the State Bureaus of Labor Statistics, we learn that the daily reward of the farmer who furnishes society with food is 82 cents ; of the miner who keeps society from freezing and whose pro- ducts are so otherwise indispensible is 71 cents ; and the laborer, mechanic and artisan who builds your homes and makes all those necessaries to human comfort and welfare, is $1.02. We learn that over one million per- sons of these two classes in this country are denied access to the abundant resources of nature, awaiting transformation by labor into the essentials of human life ; that 12,000 working people die yearly in Kew York City alone of slow starvation ; that the average life of the worker is but twenty- four years, while that of the well-fed parasite is fifty-three years ; that while a criminal in jail is provided with 800 cubic feet of air space, that of the law-abiding worker in mine or factory is half that amount, and in the crowded tenement is still less; that of the 28,000 children born in New York City in the tenement districts 10,000 die annually ; that of the chil- dren of the poor in the same city 500 die needlessly each week, or 26,000 in the year. New York being a typical city this sacrifice of life among the producing classes dwarfs into insignificance the destruction of life inci- DRONES AND PARASITES. 181 dent to the great national and civil wars of nations, and arises from the poverty and dependence of the workers ; and this poverty is not caused by a lack of productive force or by the niggardliness of nature, but from the fact that parasites absorb the products of industry. The estimated wealth of the nation produced by the working-classes is divided between those who are the producers and the non-producers, or parasites, as follows : TABLE OF TUE INCREASE OF YOUR NATIONAL AVEALTH AND ITS DISTRIBUTION. Year. Dollars. Producers share per cent. Parasites share per cent. 1850 8,000,000,000 16,000,000,000 30.000,000,000 48,000,000,000 61,500,000,000 62K 43^ 32 2-3 24 17 37K 56M 67 1-3 I860 1870 1880 76 1890 83 The daily drafts upon the productions of the workers of this country by a certain well-known parasite alone is estimated as exceeding the daily earnings of 16,000 workers. The rapid growth of human parasites, the involuntary species— the unemployed especially— by their numbers, and the voluntary kind not by their number but by their voracity and marvelous powers of absorbing the sustenance of the people, is arresting the attention of the public and compelling a recognition of the danger that menaces the human race. The great trading class, when considered in relation to their eco- nomic value, are classed as doubtful, their functions partaking more and more of a parasitical character. You will now no doubt be able to class yourselves as producers or as parasites under my broad separation of society, those who are of the first- class of producers, or of the second-class or auxiliaries, are all right. Traders are a doubtful class and all the rest are parasites— for instance : The Waverly Hall Socialists have declared that that most respectable of institutions, the Board of Trade, is nought but a gambling hell. This may afford you amusement, but when you realize that this declaration of Socialist cranks is fast becoming the popular idea ; that the* Farmers Alliance of this and other States have most emphatically indorsed these utterances of the Socialists, and are using most uncomplimentary language against a large and heretofore very respectable class in the community, it becomes a much more serious matter to the parasites, among which the members of the lioard of Trade must be classified. The fact that we understand its character as a medium of exchange does not save it, or those who are a part of it, from this classification. Many parasites believe that they are important and essential parts of our social economy. Such belief no doubt is held by Yanderbilt and Gould, together with the lesser parasites of their kind ; yet, if all of these were swept from the earth and none were left but the artisan, mechanic, laborers 182 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. and their auxiliary, the scholars, inventors, scientists and philosophers, so- ciety would be sustained and civilization would be developed with still greater rapidity. When society abolishes private irresponsible ownership in the essen- tials of human life — the land — and displaces the present planless system, or lack of system, of production and exchange, and organizes the social func- tions on a scientific basis, the parasite of the present, like the Robber Baron and slave owner of the past, will disappear. MONEY AND ITS FUNCTIONS. By CLINTON FURBISH, I am j^latl the Chairman has made allusion to the hero who has just passed away, because it brings to my mind something that cannot be left out of the discussion of Money and its Functions. It reminds me that at a banquet recently given in Chicago, where were the wealth and intelligence of this great city, there came a man who had fought against the principle for which I stand to-night, and asserted that while the war progressed this people made fiat money, and fiat money saved the nation. That is from Chauncey Depew's speech, and it is true. For when the hero of whom the Chairman spoke passed in review with his army which he was bringing back from the South, men w^ho had bared their breasts to the rebel bullets received pay for those services in the crisp greenback— the fiat money of the Government. And if it is not money to-day, before that cortege ends in St. Louis, call the long roll and pay off Sherman's Army. For if they were not paid in greenbacks, they have never been paid yet. It happened once over in Michigan when one party in that State had made a fusion with the naughty Greenbackers, and the other party, the same year, in the State of Alabama, with the naughty Greenbackers, that the honorable Senator from Michigan was addressing an audience of Republicans, and he announced that the platform was open, and any gentleman was allowed to ask any question he saw fit. During the course of the speech one gentleman arose and hun|? on to a post and said he wanted to ask Mr. Chandler just one question. Chandler said, "Let it go" lie said, " Sir, you have told us about fiat money and gold and silver being the God-given money of the world. Will you tell this audience who made gold and silver money ?" Chandler understood his audience, if he did not the question, and he responded, " God Almighty made gold and silver money." And the applause w^as deafening— so much so that many thought the Greenbacker would take his seat. But he hung on to his post and said, " There is one more question I want to ask : If God Almighty made gold and silver money what is the heavenly unit of value in which we settle our accounts?" I tell that to illustrate two points; first, the deplorable ignor- ance upon fundamental principles which led an audience to applaud a statement which any boy in a grammar school in Chicago could refute ; 183 184 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. the second is the faith and credence given to men in liigh station in this country. Kegarding the first, it is not necessary to make allusion ■ before the Sunset Club, whose members come here to listen to arguments and not to accept dicta. But it is necessary in this city, and in all parts of the country, to allude to this for another reason. It is an unfortunate habit of the people of this country to look rather to the size of the bank account than the size of the hat. I suppose if Jay Gould were to die to-night and leave Jack Yattaw fifty million of dollars, and it was heard of in a Chicago newspaper office before ten o'clock to-morrow morning, every newspaper would print two columns and a half of Black Jack Yattaw's views with regard to the passage of the silver bill— provided they didn't sink Jack Yattaw's bumboat when they climbed in to get the first scoop. And it would be telegraphed from one end of the country to the other that Jack Yattaw didn't believe in the passage of the silver bill. Added to that influence which affects every one of us, there comes to us to-night a greater danger. For, added to the power to which I have referred, you have to listen to a gentleman whose high character in this community at once entitles him to more than ordinary respect. You will hear from one who, if he fitly represented the men for whom he speaks, there would be no occasion for fear but that society would meet and settle the problems that lie before it with the least possible disorder and confusion. And because of that I want to call attention to the fact that I chal- lenge, first, in opposing the existing system— eliminating, as I have tried to do by that single sentence all personality from this discussion— I challenge the men who stand for mono-metalism, or bi-metalism, as a basis for the currency of this country, and would see if they have any standing in court at all. You represent many professions and industries. I appeal to the members of the Board of Trade. Did you ever 'know a gentleman who never was right, and always wrong ? Would you take your pointers from him ? If you did you would be w^orse off than the tall man. Are you law- yers ? Did you ever hear a man always parading his opinions, and never right ? Always losing his case and pressing to the fore for another V You would look upon him as a pettifogger. Now test the authority and right of men who stand to-day for a coin basis for currency, and see what stand- ing they have in court by the record. Turn back to 1861, when our friend who to-day lies dead had not yet shouldered his musket. You will remem- ber that the country was in danger. You will remember that there was a bill passed by the lower House of Congress authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to issue legal tender notes. It was asked for by every repre- sentative body of tlie producing classes. But if you will search the record you will find from the words of Thaddeus Stevens, a portion of which I will quote to-night, the statement that the moment the lower House of Congress, fresh from the people, had passed that bill, there came to Wash- ington lobby after lobby, men who had it amended in the Senate, until when it went back to the House its own parent didn't know it. The House refused to concur and appointed a committee on conference, with Thaddeus Stevens as Chairman. They contested the matter until further contest was vain. Let me quote : "I remember the grand old Commoner with his MONEY AND ITS FUNCTIONS. 185 hat in his hand and his cane on his arm, remarking to myself and another after the first conference, as he shed tears over the result : ' We had to yield. The Senate was stubborn. We did not yield until we found the bankers must be gratified or the country would be lost ; and we sought to save the country in spite of the cupidity of its wealthy citizens.' The crime perpetrated in the Senate, or that blunder which was worse than a crime, has taught the American people more than all the war would if the House bill had been adopted as first passed." It was the first fiat bill passed in this country. The Senate bill was passed to create a coin system on which were to be issued the greenbacks to pay the soldiers fighting across the Potomac. I have quoted to you the words of Stevens, that grand old Commoner of Pennsylvania, as I have them from the lips of William D. Kelley, the pig-iron Protectionist of Pennsylvania. The rest of it you will find in Kelley's speech, and also in the Congressional Record, and every line of it is true. Now, what were the conditions ? We were then facing an extreme danger. Never once from the time of the firing upon Sumter until the surrender of Lee at "Appomattox did the men recognized as the capitalist bankers of this country— they who say they understand what is necessary for men who raise chickens — never once did they stand by the Govern- ment, never did they fail to oppose every law passed by the people, until they obtained their pound of flesh, and after the war closed doubled it once by repudiating silver ; doubled it a second time by contracting the currency ; and then fastened its talons upon the vitals of the country by a bond which should hold good to the end of time, if not paid with a high premium. I challenge any gentleman here to find a single instance in which the bankers did not oppose the measure demanded by the people. First they would not take the legal tender notes, the old demand notes, excepting upon special. deposits, until 20 per cent, premium put a little sense into the New York bankers' heads, and they took them. They opposed the National Bank Bill until after a clause was fastened to it for the benefit of the National bankers— a clause which does not stand upon the statute book of any other civilized nation in the world — that no other citizen but themselves should issue their own notes for the purpose of aid- ing exchanges which they saw fit to make. Enough for the advocates ; now for the system. Trace it back along the same line, and you will find that at every step the producer has been robbed, and the men who staid at home enjoying the protection of the home guard have been enriched, while the soldiers received rag money. The bondholders received coin money for their bonds, and thus violated the contract made by the Government of the American people for the purpose of doubling the value of the bonds which they held. That much for the system. And what do we propose V Simply this, that we will go back to funda- mentals. We will demand simply that the tool of trade which scientists tell us has saved more to the people than any other invention, or any other dozen of inventions, should be brought down to a scientific basis ; that it shall cover the wants of the American people, and shall rest upon the fiat of 65,000,000 of people. It has been sufficient to carry not only this Government V ^ OP thk'^^' (a2TI7EE3n: 186 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. but every other of which history speaks. It has been the resort of every people in time of need. It stands to-day imprinted on our bonds, command- ing 20 per cent premium ; if it will command a premium of 20 odd per cent on your interest bearing bonds, it is good enough to transact your business with. But the gentleman says we want a foundation ; we want something to rest upon, something to put our confidence in. xVnd then they start out for their summer vacation and go off among the hills and valleys, and look at the work of the great Architect of the universe, and they see the broad bases of the mountains, while the peaks are in the air. They come back to their counting-rooms and consult the law, and find under the coin basis system they have a pyramid, at the bottom of which is a ten dollar gold piece, and above that one hundred dollars in currency, and on top of that one thousand dollars in bonds, and on top of that ten thousand dollars of municipal indebtedness, and on top of that one hundred thousand dollars of corporate and individual indebtedness. And then he stands there and looks at his mountain. The sheep and the goats couldn't climb up it, and he wonders why God didn't make his mountain that way. You tell us you know how to lay a basis which will inspire confidence. You couldn't in- spire the confidence of a goat in that mountain, because they wouldn't climb it, and couldn't ; but they do climb the other. And then comes my Silver friend — silver-haired, and inspiring respect — and he tells you that w^e want two metals. He wants us to go to Colorado and dig a hole in the ground and take out the silver, and then go to Wash- ington and dig another hole in which to put it. Cart the silver across the continent and put it in the hole in the ground at Washington, and then issue money on it. He knows all about it, just the same as the gold bug. I would like to propound to my friend, the fellow who digs the hole in the ground in Colorado, why don't you dig your hole and plant your money in Colorado all at the same place ? And then some fellow will come along and ask you : Why did you dig that first hole ? That is what we want you to do ; to spread the basis, not only over the whole of Colorado, but all over the country, to base it upon the powder of this Government to collect its revenue— a basis which was pointed out to this people by the earliest Democrats who ever spoke. It was given to you by Madison and Jefferson. 1 do not mean to insinuate that Jefferson knew half as much as the fellow who opens the door of the Sunset Club, for I don't think he did. If we have not learned anything in the hundred years we had better go to a woman's school and try to learn something about political economy, rather than try to make money by gambling in products. And there is a broad basis. That broad basis is the power of this people to collect a revenue. Some of you know I believe the revenue should be collected. I will not use the expression which might mean the same thing, that the notes of the Government should be based upon its power to collect taxes, but that the basis of issuing notes rests on the power of the Government to collect revenue. It rests upon the power of the Government to collect a revenue beyond a tax, wider than a tax, taking more than you can conceive is necessary for a tax, because it takes that value which the community created, which belongs to the community, MONEY AND ITS FUNCTIONS, 187 the taking of which will kill monopolies, and the result will answer the anarchist who says there is no freedom under Government. We will prove there is no possibility of freedom without Government. Taking it that way, you have what ? At the very first step there is the necessity for a revenue, to construct the roads of which I spoke here before. Roads are a necessity of the community. When you have made your contract for a road you are forced to use money. When you took the first step the action of the community brought, as any other action of a number of individuals must bring, a blessing in the form of a surplus for your exertion. Issue your money from your Government for services rendered. It goes from the Government, and passes from hand to hand, in the transfer of commo- dities, and returns in the form of revenue to that Government, forming the only possible honest and fair basis of circulation, and stops forever the power to maintain a corner in gold or silver. But I am told they won't take it abroad. Well, my friends go back to Lycurgus's time and he will tell you that is the reason why we should use it here. There is no possibility of using money abroad. You may use money as much as you please, but the more coin you use in this country the less you will export abroad, " if you have the balance of trade in yo-ur favor." But if you had been buying wheat at 101 and selling it at 99, you will have the balance of trade against you. That is the way to get rich, according to the political economy of to-day— to export more than you import, and keep getting richer until your creditor comes around, when you will find you are getting poorer. You have a balance to pay ; ship your coin and pay it. You will find by studying your own or any other history, that whenever a nation has advanced beyond barbarism, its every step can be marked by the relief of the people from the use of coin as money. The highest civilization of to-day, measured by our standard, is in England and America, which use less silver and gold proportionately than any other countries in the world. You will find that wherever the money has been reduced to gold and silver it has robbed the poor for the benefit of the rich. It justifies the action of the second Greenbacker, addressed to the first gold bug when he came down to the plain of Arabia and rebuked the men who made the golden calf for the children of Israel to worship. You will find that you have a track of poverty along its trail. This Greenbackism is a cause that will not down. It may not involve the demands of sockless statesmen in Kansas, but it will be the scientific solu- tion of this question that will stop the discussion. But when it comes, and you stop monopoly, and you have given men a chance for free compe- tition, you need not stop the windows to keep from your ears the sound of little children on the street begging for bread. You need not stand on your door steps, listening to the chime of bells which ring to people who go to bed supperless. You need not pass by little children who go supperless to bed, and without breakfast in the morning, on your way to church to wor- ship God. You will not go by your bake shops and see these little wan chil- dren gaping through the glass, and longing for that which is crumbs from your table and food for your dogs. But the time will come when all men shall have exact justice, and the gold bug will be buried with his fathers. MONEY AND ITS FUNCTIONS. By LYMAN J. GAGE. I came here hoping to learn. If I have learned anytliing it is that money is rags, and its function to pay soldiers. Such is not my under- standing of Money or its Function. When I came I didn't know which side of the chairman 1 was to be on, whether I was to be put forward as a sacrifice to be slaughtered by my friend Furbish. I am sure he would have slaughtered me if he had the last say. But whether it was to be my func- tion to reply and criticise him I did not know. For the last office I did not come prepared. For the first office I am more prepared. It seems to me that the subject is a serious one, and needs to be seriously treated, and that twenty minutes is altogether too short a time to treat it in. The man who wishes to treat it in that way, or speak his thought in that time, will fail. For that reason I have put down in written form what I have to say, and with your permission I shall say it, trusting that what I shall thus- say will be the best reply I could possibly make to my friend who has just taken his seat. I shall endeavor to avoid all technical terms and speak in the simplest manner possible. We are all deeply interested in getting a practical comprehension of what money is in its essential nature. Let us study it in the past, for the past can in all things teach us knowledge. It is perfectly clear that, through all time, since man produced any- thing by his skill or industry, he has been in the habit of exchanging that portion of his labor, which he did not need for his own use, for some por- tions more or less great of such things as other men by their skill or indus- try were able to produce beyond their own needs, but differing in kind from his own. These products were originally directly exchanged for each other. But it came about in the evolution of ideas, manners, and customs of all people sufficiently advanced to be called civilized or semi-civilized, that some one product of human skill or industry possessed a quicker and more universal exchangeability than any other. For it in certain quanti- ties all men became willing to exchange whatever they had to exchange, whether the product of their labor or their labor service. MONEY AND ITS FUNCTIONS. 189 At different periods and among different people, this one peculiar thing was not constantly and everywhere the same. At one time or place it has been a beaver skin ; at another time or place, shells or beads ; at another, cattle or slaves; at another, iron, copper, or brass; at another, siJver or gold. Now, by reason of this peculiar and universal exchange- ability, the price or exchangeable power of all other commodities came to be expressed by the quantity of this one peculiar commodity for which they could be exchanged. It was natural that a name should be attached to the peculiar thing, and that name was money. The books will give all the reasons which led to the natural selection of these various things designated as money. I shall content myself with one or two. First, and fundamentally, they were such things in their respective times and places as would universally minister to the comfort or pleasure of those who possessed them. Secondly, they were in their respective times and places relatively the most convenient, not only for the purpose of universal exchange, but for preservation against further needs. It has been by the free play of human choice, ending in a con- sensus of action, that money has been thus evolved, never by conventional agreements made in advance. In modern times, among civilized nations, silver and gold have super- seded all other commodities as money, but they do not differ in their essen- tial characteristics of desirableness in themselves (either for utility or ornament) from those other commodities which in ruder times, among more primitive people, were equally entitled to the appellation, money. It does not need a moment's thought to satisfy us that it was by a true survival of the fittest that gold and silver finally obtained universal recogni- tion as money, and superseded all other forms of it. Beaver skins were universally desired, both for comfort and ornament, but too long kept they were liable to moth and mildew, and their value was thus diminished or destroyed. Cattle were liable to disease and death, and were expensive to care for. Finally copper, iron, and brass were too easily produced and united in themselves the disadvantages of bulk as well as weight, with small value. Silver and gold are not easily destroyed. They are almost infinitely divisible, their purity or fineness is readily determined. As society has developed, their desirability for use and ornament has not diminished. Since they are practically indestructible, easily hidden and guarded, they, of all things, are the most convenient for their possessor to keep for such future needs of exchange for other things as he may then desire. With this general statement thus made, I will ask and answer a few questions, which will lead by the shortest route to the end of my subject : Question. Would not some other thing than silver or gold have been just as useful, just as exchangeable, and just as much entitled to the name of money, if these had not been selected ? Answer. Yes, perhaps so. But it is sufficient that these two Society has adopted, and in such a matter the individual may well go with the crowd. Q. Would silver and gold be now rightly entitled to the name of 190 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. money, if they were not coined at the mint and the value of the coin determined by law ? A. Yes. They would exchange as freely as now, and would then as now, be entitled in every sense but a technical legal sense, to the name of money. The coinage does not give the metal any value that the metal did not before possess. The law determines the fineness and quantity which a given coin shall contain ; gives a name to the various coins respec- tively, and therefore treats of them as money, not recognizing in its phraseology gold and silver in the form of bullion as money. But as bullion is as readily exchanged, and (in international trade) more to be desired than coin, and as the value of the coin derives its power from the quantity and fineness of the metal it contains, and not from the stamp of the Government machine, I repeat that essentially gold and silver bullion are as much entitled to the name of money before being coined into dollars, or sovereigns, or francs, as afterward. I know that here is a vital point of dispute ; that because the law in speaking of money treats only of what it has stamped as such, philoso- phers are able to confuse us very much by attributing to the stamp the money value which really lies imder it. The law recognizes, gives sanction, or forbids, but it is powerless to create. Q. Does not the legal tender sanction which the law places upon the issues of its mint, give a new and original value to such legal tender coin V A. No. The laws of legal tender give a standing interpretation to the language of a contract, where such words as dollars, pounds, francs, are used and thus notifies both parties to a contract in advance, of what the law will require if they fall into dispute. ^ Q. Must it then be denied that under no condition, nor within any limits, the legal tender quality conferred upon a thing gives that thing a value which it would not otherwise have ? A. No. I admit, for argument's sake at least, that if the Govern- ment should decree that doughnuts shall be legal tender for debts, a doughnut for a dollar, then (if doughnuts did not become too plentiful) they would be largely enhanced in value while they were in demand to satisfy existing contracts or pay existing debts, but I do say that as under such conditions all existing contracts would be soon cancelled and no new ones created, except upon the basis of the natural exchangeable value of dougnuts, they would soon cease to be in demand, and possessing in themselves only the value of doughnuts, they would sink back to their natural doughnut value. But the operation sketched ought not to be recognized as a creation of value, even of a temporary kind. It is really a robbing under the guise of law. Governments can confiscate and destroy — they cannot create value. Q. How, then, is it that 412i grains of silver, coined into a silver dollar, will exchange in the market for 25 8-10 grains of gold, while as bullion, the same quantity of silver will only exchange for about two- thirds of as much gold ? A. There is one simple answer which completely explains the dis- MONEY AND ITS FUNCTIONS. 191 parity. Great ingenuity is displayed in making some ottier explanation — scientific perhaps, but hard to comprehend. The one I submit is simple ; any one can understand it, viz : For some years past and at the present time, the United States Govern- ment has been, and is, in the receipt of an income through tariff duties and excise dues, of about $1,500,000 per day. This large revenue it dis- burses in payment of the interest and toward the principal of its debts, for pensions, and general administration expense. Upon its debts, and to whomsoever desires, it pays gold coin on the basis of 25 8-10 grains to the dollar. From whomsoever desires to pay money into the treasury through the excise dues, it will receive as of equal value gold coin or silver dollars containing 412i grains each. Thus it practically buys that amount of coined silver, giving in consideration an exemptiom from the payment of 25 8-10 coined gold. If it would receive nickels or dimes in satisfaction of such dues in a similar way, they would become exchangeable for about a dollar in gold each, if it were certain that the Government could continue thus to receive them with one hand, while w ith the other it continued to pay, as now, in gold. The operation is in fact a virtual exchange to the extent the community now desires, of gold coin and silver coins on the basis of their (theoretical) legal value, instead of their commercial or natural relative value. The difference some one now does, or will here- after, pay. Q. Cannot the Government continue this forever, and thus forever preserve a higher value to the silver coin than its equivalent in silver bullion ? A. No. Because with the continued coinage of silver in the present ratio of the coinage of gold, about three to one— that is to say, fifty-four millions of silver, against say twenty millions of gold, per annum-^he proportion of silver payment to the Government will steadily increase, until the treasury department will be obliged to either pay in silver or buy gold in exchange for it. With free coinage of silver this result will be the sooner reached. Whenever the Government is thus compelled to suspend its present course in the respect just pointed out, the real commercial relation between the gold and silver coin will begin to appear. Then silver coin and silver bullion (coinage being free) of the same weight and fineness, will be alike in value, the same as gold coin and gold bullion now are. Q. Then you do not believe that the free coinage of silver as now proposed, would enhance the value of silver bullion, and restore the old relations of 16 to 1 between gold and silver ? A. Free coinage of silver would no doubt give to 412i grains of silver bullion nine-tenths fine, as much value, i. e. purchasing power, as would be contained in the coined dollar ; and if the Government or some other power rich enough, would forever give gold for silver in the ratio of 1 to 16, then the old rates of 16 to 1 could be maintained. But we have already perceived (if it be the truth) that our Government cannot do this. It may be added, that so long as the Government is willing to accept silver at a fixed ratio, thus creating an artificial value for it higher than its natural 192 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. value, silver will, as sure as water seeks its level, flow from all parts of this country and also from foreign countries into the United States Treasury driving out the gold, and the Government will have to pay the difference. Even if the Government had the financial abiltty to bear the loss, it would be a foolish use to make of it, since all its power is derived from the people, and is used at their cost. The fact is, that the value of all tilings— that is, their exchangeable quality for other things— is determined, and ought to be determined, by the free play of human action. Efforts made by powerful bodies, govern- ments, corporations, syndicates, or trusts, to interfere with the free action of men in these regards, is injurious to all. The statement is as true when applied to gold and silver as it is of other things. Neither gold nor silver have value different in kind or differently derived, from other things. They are good for use and ornament. They will exchange for other things ; but the relation in which they will exchange for other things, never continues for any long period the same. Kor is there anything in their nature by which (under any rule that can be stated) they should, in law or morals, continue to exchange for things in a fixed ratio to each other, of 15 to 1, or 16 to 1, or any other ratio. In fact, except within nominal limits, they never have thus been practically related. In every country where the effort has been made to make a fixed ratio practically operative, that effort has finally failed.* One of the two metals has always been the real money of account, the real instrument of exchange in the great industrial movements ; the other has operated in an auxiliary and subordinate capacity. Perceiving this to be the fact. Great Britain in 1816 gave up the experiment, made gold the sole money of account, and coined silver for subordinate use only. In our own country, from 1792 to 1873 our mints were open to free coinage of silver and gold, part of the time in the ratio of 15 to 1, and part of the time in the ratio of 16 to 1 ; but in the whole period of 80 years, only 8 millions in silver dollars were coined. The mints of Mexico and Japan ace both open to gold, but silver being the only medium of exchange, it alone goes to the mint. The Latin Union, so-called, made a league, limiting the coinage of silver, hoping thus to preserve in pratice a theoretic ratio ; but they were obliged to break it, and suspend coinage of one of the metals. If we wished to secure the free exchange of these metals at a fixed ratio, it would be necessary to make an agreement with all the commercial nations of the world. No doubt the silver producing countries would *Tbe ancient historians tell us of early times in Arabia and in Germany when silver was worth the same as gold, weight for we ght. The ratio fixed by Spain in 1197 was 10-^4 to 1. Then in 1546, being dominant in the world of commerce and finance, she fixed the ratio at 13V2 to J. In the next century (1688) one hundred years after the defeat of the Spanish Armada, Portugal, then prosperous, wealthy, and dominant, fixed the governing ratio at 16 to 1. Then in 1717 England fixed hers at 15.02 to ! ; France in 1726 at 141/2 to I ; Spain in 1775 at 15»4 to 1 in the Peninsula, though 16 remained the ratio in her American colonies. In 1785 and in 1803 France adopted the Spanish ratio of 151/2 to 1.— Prof. Stackpole. MONEY AND ITS FUNCTIONS. 193 gladly agree. We could well afford to. In 1850 this country produced silver to the value of $50,000. In 1890, the annual product was about fifty millions gold value. But there is much reason to doubt that non-silver producing countries would enter into such a compact. Great Britain cer- tainly will not. Well, then ! If it be impossible to maintain the practical use of two kinds of money like silver and gold at a fixed ratio, which of the two is it the wiser to use ? The answer must depend on circumstances. If a country is isolated from others, has no commercial relations outside of its own boundaries and desires to establish none, then it may be said that it is quite an indifferent matter which of the two shall be the recognized money. Either will do. But if a country has trade and commerce beyond its own bound- aries, and desires to encourage and extend such trade, then its interests require the use of that money wiiich is current in the market where its foreign trade is settled. At the present time the market is Great Britain. If the United States of America is to take that position in the world's progress, which we confidently hope for, it must be by the extension of its trade and commerce with other ^arts of the world. Whatever favors this, favors our nation's development. Whatever hinders this, restricts and hampers our progress. At the present time, and for an indefinite period in the future, all our foreign commerce, amounting now to fifteen hundred millions of dollars per annum, is of necessity, transacted under the Eng- lish standard of gold, for London is the settling-house where all these foreign payments are made. If we ship flour to Brazil we must take our pay in London. If we buy sugar in Cuba, we must pay in London. If in our domestic affairs we degenerate to the silver basis, as we certainly will if the present compulsory coinage of silver goes on, or if those who seek to open our mints for the free and unlimited coinage of silver shall have their way, we shall then have voluntarily surrendered the standard that puts us on a parity with other commercial nations in the struggle for the world's trade, and shall have adopted a standard, whether theoretically superior or not, which will put our foreign trade and commerce in a most disadvantageous position. Q. Ought there not to be more money in circulation V Is there now enough for the wants of trade ? A. The question can not be answered by either an absolute Yes or No. In the beginning— if in such a matter there could be a definite point of beginning— the quantity would have been of no consequence, or, in the words of Bonamy Price : " Any would have been enough, because the price of things would have become related to the volume of money, whether that volume were great or small ; and once established in their fair rela- tion to each other througli their common relation to money, it would make no difference whether their price was what we would now call high or low. But the truly ideal money would increase in a ratio commensurate to the increase of things to be exchanged, minus the quickness of exchange which time might bring." 194 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. It is not probable that either gold or silver, or both in use together as the bimetalists desire, would form the ideal money. In this sublunary sphere, the ideal is seldom reached. I am not aware of any well-ascertained data by which the question : Is there money enough ? can be definitely answered. There has been an increase in volume within the last fifteen years much greater in ratio than the ratio of increase in the volume of things to be exchanged. There are those who affirm that there is not half enough. My own opinion is, that there is enough ; that the price of things has become related to tlie exist- ing stock, and that witli the economies that have been secured and will no doubt be further gained in the use of money, there need be no present fear of a proper supply. A reasonable amount of good money is better than a larger supply of an inferior kind, since either has to be bought and paid for by honest labor. So far in these remarks I have not made any reference to paper money, so-called. What I have now to say, can soon be stated. There is a distinct and radical difference between gold and silver money, or any com- modity used as money, and paper money. There ought to be a clearer dis- tinction in the names applied to them. Gold and silver (not to speak of obsolete forms of money) are real money. They carry their exchangeable value in themselves. Paper money derives all its power from its relation to real money. It has no value in itself, can serve no purpose either of use or ornament. Paper money is a promise, an order, a warrant which entitles the holder to real money when asked for by him. Thus related and kept effective, paper money is an immense economy. By its use, a con- siderable portion of an otherwise larger stock of real money can be exchanged for things which directly minister to human needs. I might also speak of checks, drafts, bills of exchange, and promissory notes, which in modern times operate in exchange of commodities. They might be called, one or two degrees removed, a kind of paper money. They perform, in a limited way, the same functions as paper money per- forms in a larger way; and, like paper money, they economize the use of real money. Economize it as they may however, they cannot wholly super- sede it— certainly not in this or in any immediately following generation. There are theories that this can be done. If they could be realized they would save mankind much toil now expended in securing and maintaining, as an instrument of trade and commerce, the bulky and weighty commo- dities—silver and gold— which mankind now seek and cherish as real money. FOREIGN TRADE AND RECIPROCITY. By franklin MacVEAGH. Protection is in trouble. It needs help. Hence the McKinleys and the Blaines. There would not be all these efforts at rescue if there was no peril : for the active friends of protection do not hunt where there is no game. The main causes of the trouble are worth mentioning. First there is the alarming clamor of the people for the cheap goods which protection used to promise as the result of protection, but which it is now 'the life and death struggle of protection to forestall. This makes a part of the trouble. But another cause is even more serious. It is nothing less than a threatened breaking down of the protection system by its own weight. It is confronted by over production and the exhaustion of the home market ; and the specter of its own cheap goods rises at its feasts. And then there are also the first rumblings of a moral revulsion that heighten this critical situation — of a storm of indignation against the defilements of legalized spoliation. And now^ come the rescuers of protection. The first recourse of the life-saving crew was to trusts. But while trusts tempor- arily limit production and ward off cheap goods they are a makeshift, for extreme profits will attract capital. The thing fatal to trusts, however, is this : That while they may ward off one danger they aggravate the others, turning the people's mildness into anger. Protection is bad enough ; but this is protection protected by trusts. The next effort of the rescuers was the McKinley Bill. The idea here was the enlargement of the home market by the most stringent possible exclusion of all foreign goods. But this new policy was strangely frantic. Like the trust scheme, it saw but one of the difiiculties to be overcome ; and took no precaution against the rising tide of the popular demand for reform. Finally, when all is promising failure, Mr. Blaine appears — reappears. Shrewder than Mr. McKinley, Mr. Blaine is fully aware of both dangers— the exhausted market and the exhausted people. He proposes his lively plan of recipro- city both to widen protection's market and to rehabilitate the perishing superstition of the farmer and the moral unconsciousness of those good citi- zens who have been supporting protection for partisan reasons. Will the protectionists adopt reciprocity ? If they don't they are lost ; for the bald principle of a permanent, prohibitory and perpetually rising tariff aided 195 196 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. by trusts, which is the simplest meaning of the McKinley Bill, has no chance. And if they do accept reciprocity, they are lost. Is then the case of protection hopeless ? My friends, gunpowder can't save it. Let us see, specifically, why reciprocity cannot rescue protection ; and incidentally, why reciprocity cannot itself succeed. Reciprocity sounds well and is proposed, with a certain theatrical effect; but it is illogical, not very moral, and exceedingly oppressive in intent; utterly superficial and hopelessly impossible in plan; and, as an answer to the hightening aspirations of this expanding nation, petty beyond measure. In the first place, it logically undermines the very foundations of pro- tection. It undertakes to extend its area, but in doing so it surrenders all of protection's intellectual claims. These claims are that it is possible, profitable and the only wisdom for our nation to live within itself ; and that mutual foreign commerce is contraband in peace and war. When therefore we quit our isolation or admit the necessity of free trade with other nations, even if they scarcely count, we admit the impossibility of our system, and give up whatever made it an intellectual proposition. This might explain the hesitancy of the protectionists to follow Mr. Blaine ; for reciprocity would be but the first halting place, the first refuge in the retreat of a beaten system. In the next place, it abandons what is left of the moralities of protec- tion. The surrender of a scientific basis does not worry reciprocity; it doesn't mind retreat, if it can avoid submission. It is willing to throw overboard the principles if it can save the spoils— to bankrupt the charac- ter of protection to save a mere remnant of its days. Better for protec- tion to go down with its old flag flying. It must, in any event, soon pass away. Let us hope for the honor of the country that it may pass away while there still lingers about it some suggestion of a disinterested theory, some of its old pretensions to patriotism. Its memory might then have something of the happy fortune of its mediaeval prototype. There having been a subtle something in that age when tariffs were levied by the barons of the Rhine, which relieved the baron's conduct of the external aspect of robbing, the ruins of their castles have come down to us through the cen- turies, touched more and more by the forgiving lights of romance. If any one is surprised that reciprocity means only the rescue of pro- tection, and that, by the overthrow of its philosophy and morality, it is simply because reciprocity catches the ear, and because the word has had a liberal meaning. But there are two kinds of reciprocity— liberal recipro- city, meant to help the people, and protectionist reciprocity, meant to help the protectionists — genuine reciprocity, which would make goods cheaper, and this kind of reciprocity, which would make goods dearer. This kind seeks new markets for our high-priced goods, and would thus prevent them from becoming cheap in our own country. It is full of tricks, and is simply a bribe for South American nations to lend themselves to the sup- port of our tottering system, and attempt to enlist Southern mercenaries, Latin Hessians, to aid our inadequate force to keep down the rising liber- ties of this people. And thus for a new period of waiting— until oiii- pro- FOREIGN TRADE AND RECIPROCITY. 197 tected industries are too large for these new markets, as they already are for ours— cheapness is to be again deferred. That is the purpose of protectionist reciprocity. It must fail. The scheme is hopelessly impracticable for two reasons — because it is an attempt to make water run up hill, and because it is too late. How an attempt to make water run up hill ? It must be remembered that our farm products are not in the question : they need no reciprocity of course, for they already mingle with all the farm products of the world. But our pro- tected manufactures cannot compete ; and it is these high priced goods that we propose to substitute for the low priced goods of Europe, not by competition but by hocus-pocus. That is our task. Is it not to make water run up hill V Is it practicable V Would you like to undertake this job of hocus pocusing the South Americans V And can we also induce these nations for the sake of this no-advan- tage, for the sake of the privation of having only one coat where they might have two, voluntarily to isolate themselves from the trade centers and the money markets and the civilization of Europe V This too, would have to follow because no respectable treaty-making power would consent to make a treaty inferior to ours. Can we hope to have them deny them- selves England, France, Germany and their mother countries, all to help us to bolster up our troubled protection ? Strange as it may sound, it is literally true that the South Americans' could have no motive for all these heavy pecuniary sacrifices and priva- tions, and for all the dreary isolation of their lives, except that of bene- volence toward our unbenevolent oligarchy. If, Mr. Chairman, there ever was a time when they might have received something back, it is now too late. For what under the sun have we left to offer them in return for all tliis suffering and self-denial, except the rewards of a future life ? What is there left for us to reciprocate with ? Delightful as it might be to separate ourselves still further from the nations that are most civilized, and choose as our intimates these simpler nations which are nearer to nature, it is too late. We have nothing left to reciprocate with, having already taken our tariff off all of the few things the South Americans have to sell, except a certain cheap grade of wool ; and if our Latin friends will wait a sliort year or two we will, without the slightest expense to them, take the tariff off that too. Our infant wool manufacturers are already in full cry after that particular fleece. Yes, Mr. Chairman, reciprocity has waited too long. W^e hear some criticism by the Blaine people of the form which recipro- city took in the McKinley Bill ; but what could the poor bill do ? It could not offer to take duties reciprocally off, for ours were already off. It could only threaten to put them reciprocally on. This, it is true, is an inverted reciprocity ; but one ought not to be disappointed to find reciprocity with South America inverted. The sad truth, as we all know, is that these duties on coffees, sugars and the like, being purely revenue duties, were thought to be of no use to protectionists. They went into the Govern- ment's pockets— not into the protectionists' pockets ; their exchange value 198 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. was not understood. They were therefore taken off by the protectionists to avoid reducing protective duties— to protect protection. Now protection, having thus eaten its cake, of course has not kept it. But why is the unhappy McKinley to be blamed for not having the cake which protection ate V But it is too late, any way; for the protectionists are now divided among themselves. Not alone are there McKinley men and Blaine men with uncomplimentary opinions of each other, but many protected manu- facturers are weary of protection altogetlier. In a little while the politi- cians and editors are likely to be the only protectionists left. The cry for free wool and free ore and free coal coming up from the very inner circle of protectionism, proves that protectionist reciprocity has come too late. And it is too late because the people are getting wild about cheap goods. To Mr. McKinley this seems ignoble ; but it portends the judg- ment-day. No new deception will deceive. The gammon of high prices has had its day, with its occult theories that the more you pay for goods the better you are off. A game will assuredly sometimes end where you always pay the dealer in hard cash, and, for return, you must yourself do the imagining that, in some other relation of life, you get your money back with a profit. And finally, it is too late because that other influential delusion has begun to fade, to-wit: the delusion that protection must be maintained because Lincoln freed the slaves. The truth is that, having been given plenty of rope, protection is about to hang itself ; and adroit as Mr. Blaine is, he is helpless to grant a reprieve. But why should this great, young, abounding nation, this favorite heir to all the riches of nature and the chosen apostle of freedom— why should it longer be restrained by the nar- rowness, the selfishness and the isolation of, protection, or waste its dignity and forget its mission in schemes of petty reciprocity ? It is right to break down our Chinese wall, of course ; but we do not need reciprocity tqf: that. The greatest material achievement that now lies before us— the climax of our national strength — is the achievement of a world-wide diversified commerce ; but we need no treaties for that. Take the taxes from our ships and set them free to accept the favoring winds of heaven, and take the taxes from our goods, and wherever there is a sea there will be our flag, and wherever there is a port there will be our commerce. In such commerce there abide the untold riches of the future — and abides what is far more to be desired than the sum total of riches, their juster distribution. But, Mr. Chairman, there is something in such a commerce more inter- esting than its wealth. Its profounder interest rests in this, that its direc- tion is toward the only adequate companionship for our great people, which is the entire company of the civilized nations, and toward one of the lofty and fixed ideals of humanity — the perfectly free and habitual intercourse and companionship of civilized mankind. And to this companionship, in spite of prejudice and political tradi- tion, the nobler tendencies of nature and progress are urging us forward. The rebellious enterprise and invention of man are rapidly eliminating FOREIGN TRADE AND RECIPROCITY. 199 time and space, those chief supports to the political obstacles which pre- vent the friendship of nations. Nay, all the untrammeled forces of nature and of life, whether simple or complex— steam and electricity, the disin- terested drift of intellect, the spontaneous impulses of sentiment, the thirst for knowledge, the noble impatience with the provincial, all which stirred the Greeks to overrun the boundaries of Greece, all which justified the conquests of Rome, all which let light into the Dark Ages through the rifts broken by the Crusades, all which burst the bonds of custom and flooded the world with the light of the Fifteenth Century, all which now consitiites the equalizing and fraternalizing spirit of Democracy — are bending to the task of bringing mankind into free communion. And sooner or later we shall all know each other, help each other, trade with each other and learn from each other. And out of the natural unrestricted companionship of the world there will come to all a prosperity impossible to a system of repression, a civilization impossible to a system of isolation, and a manhood impossible to those who deny the brotherhood of man. FOREIGN TRADE AND RECIPROCITY. By ransom W. DUNHAM. I hardly know wliy your committee selected me to speak upon the sub- ject of Reciprocity and Foreign Trade ; unless some hint may have been given to them that I have not been entirely in accord with my own politi- cal party on this subject. I do not however, agree with my friend Mr. MacVeagh when he states that protection is in trouble. On the contrary, I differ strongly and wholly from his ideas on this subject. Protection is not in trouble ; nor has it had any trouble. But protection run mad has received a severe criticism from the American people. Now, that is a proper thing for me to say, although it may not agree with the sentiments of many with whom I have always acted and do to-day act. The principle of protection simply is this, that it is better for this country to take care of itself and its people than to take care of other countries and other people. In other words the first duty of a man is to his own family. And then if there is any necessity of assisting his neigh- bors, he can consistently do so after he has taken care of and protected his own. Let the people of this country stand by that doctrine which has so well protected them. The time allowed here to discuss the tariff question is so short that it can not be done properly. My friend, Mr. MacVeagh, gives us quite a severe arraignment of the reciprocity plan. And not con- tent with receiving it from Mr. MacVeagh, we must also have it from our Chairman in a little stronger illustration. If you will take my word for it, when the reciprocity plan is adopted and has become the working system of this country, there will be no mule to kick. If we can induce South America, the West Indies, Mexico, and Canada to take our products and give us in return what we cannot produce, then we have bettered ourselves. But if we are going to open our doors and take in the products of Europe, the manufactured articles of Europe, to the extent that will prevent our manufacturing institutions from giving employment to our labor, then you have not bettered this country, nor have you helped our people, nor have you helped our Government, nor have you helped freedom or free men. Now then, I believe in the doctrine that was once promulgated in this country, to do the greatest good to the greatest number. And when we reach the time when it becomes necessary to reduce our revenue, then let 200 FOREIGN TRADE AND RECIPROCITY. 201 us reduce it upon the articles where we will feel it the least and benefit us the most. You can take the article of sugar. Not over twenty-five to fifty tliousand people in this country are interested in its production, while sixty-three millions want it free. We cannot produce what we want. We cannot begin to produce it. We have never done it, and we never can. Therefore I say, let it come in free. I believe that to be the true protec- tive doctrine. But when you come to reach the manufacturing interests of this country, the woolen mills, the cotton mills, the iron interests, if by admitting the goods from Europe it will result in reducing the prices of our labor, then their arrival is not desirable. I do not believe it is necessary to have a tariff higher than it ought to be to keep out those goods. I do not believe that it is necessary to make that tariff so high that the manufacturer shall profit unreasonably ; but I would have it high enough to permit him to pay a liberal amount of his profits to* his laboring men and be well rewarded for the use of his capital. One of the greatest troubles of the tariff question is that there are too many men in this country working for the interest of their pockets. They want the tariff made for their particular benefit. One man wants free raw material to help him manufacture, while he ignores the justice due the manufacturer who produces that raw material. Therefore I say, that the difficulty is, there is too much pocket business in it. A former Senator from the State of Illinois who is now dead made the statement less than ten years ago, that within ten years the manufacturers of New England, although at that time demanding protection, would be against the protective party because they would want free raw material. The late election demonstrates the truth of his assertion. From the manufacturing districts of New England comes the strongest opposition to the present tariff laws. Local self inter- est supplants principle. Now then, I believe it to be true and it cannot be denied, that the most prosperous times this coontry has ever seen have been during the high tariffs. When we have had the low tariffs we have not had that prosperity which we needed or that prosperity which came with the high tariff. And when I say the high tariffs, I am free to say that I do not mean a tariff higher than is necessary to protect us, but a tariff that will take care of our labor, take care of our interests, manufacture our goods at home, make our laboring men prosperous, and give to the manufacturer himself that fair remuneration for the use of his money, that he ought to have, and no more. Now if we will stand by that doctrine, look after all material interests, look after our labor, then we are friends of our whole country, for a tariff that is sufticient to protect labor will protect us all. I do not believe the cheapest goods are the best. I can buy a suit of clothes for ten dollars, but I insist, and every gentleman present will agree, that a suit costing sixty dollars will look better and last longer than the ten dollar suit. Why do you pay the high price— simply because you will have the foreign suit. In buying the foreign suit you support that tariff that enables our manufacturers to sustain themselves and give employment to our people. Some claim Government has no right to tax my goods to benefit others. I insist that one man or his interest shall not stand in the 202 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. way of what is best for the whole community. Under the protective sys- tem this country has prospered to an extent that the world has never before seen. The growth and prosperity of the last twenty-five years more than equals all our previous history. Free trade might do better, but history is against it, hence, why try a dangerous experiment? It occurs to me now that I have wandered from our subject, but with my time almost gone, I will leave it for other gentlemen to bring us back to the real duty of the evening. Let me say in conclusion that we neither want a Chinese wall nor foreign trade that leaves us in an impoverished condition, but that reciprocity that takes our productions and returns some- thing we cannot produce, is the plan that will bring to our doors a large measure of prosperity. THE RED FLAG/ By WILLISTON FISH, For the third time this season I rise to get my grip on this intelligent audience. You may consider it your third attack of the grip. We are discussing to-night, in our usual able manner, the Red Flag. We have all seen and shuddered at the Red Flag of xVnarchy. If there are any liere who have not shuddered, I will state that it is now everlastingly too late. The Red Flag of Anarchy is no more. Our investigation to-night is a post-mortem. I am not a lover of the Red Flag— of the plain Red Flag. It does not suit the complexion of the country. I pretend to no special information or trained taste in flags — I have never been a flagman — but were I called upon to design a flag for the United States, that should be a good flag, I would not make it all red. I do not know just how I would proceed, but I think that in choosing my colors I would have a fair proportion of blue — of azure blue — which might be taken as signifying hope ; and I would have a fair proportion of white — which might be taken as signifying virtue and cleanness ; and of red I would have just enough for glory, but not enough for barbarism. And perhaps I might add a few stars. It seems to me that this would make a fairly good flag. No doubt in New York such a flag would seem strange and outlandish, but I would as soon have it as any other flag. And I would call it the Stars and Stripes and fling it to the breeze. Gentlemen, this is not idle visionary talk. I have been a soldier under the Stars and Stripes, and, gentlemen I never did a blamed thing. I was accounted a splendid officer. O the thrill of the true soldier when he gets his package from the New York tailor, and finds that the stripes on his trousers are the widest and most flaming in the regiment! There, there is the spur to professional ambition. Gentlemen, every throb of the life-blood of the true soldier belongs to his country. When his country calls he goes, no matter what the duty— reveille, tattoo or drill— and so he continues until he marries and leads a rich father-in-law to the altar. Some young officers save their money, invest it, and become rich themselves. But, for the most part, they wait for the rich heiress and let nature take her course. *It Is to be regretted that the two leading papers on this subject ^ere not preserve by their authors and consequently are not available now. 203 204 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. Mr. Catlin has such a shiftless way of announcing the subjects of dis- cussion, that he leaves us a good deal at sea, and I have often noticed that when other gentlemen and myself are doing our best to speak here we rarely know what we are talking about. This is entirely Mr. Catlin 's fault. This Red Flag may be the Red Flag of the late Anarchists or the Red Flag of the auctioneer. They are something alike, sometimes they are produced by similar causes. We see the auction flag budding forth where people have not been able to provide for themselves, where they have lived beyond their means ; we see it waving above worthless property to which attention can not be attracted by any less violent means. The Red Flag of the auctioneer waves above stocks of miserable, useless, tawdry goods, and the Red Flag of the Anarchists waves above stocks of miser- able, useless, tawdry opinions. And there is another likeness between these flags, that they are both put forth sometimes as false signs of distress. Some trading concerns make a business of appearing bankrupt in order to grow richer, and there are many m«n in comfortable circumstances who put forth the Anarchists' flag in the same way. This is a large country but there is room for only one flag. 1 am for the Stars and Stripes. I wish every man here when he lays his head on the curbstone to-night to feel assured that my voice is for the preservation of the Union. If war of factions should be precipitated, let it come! I repeat it, let it comel And let it bring its friends! I trust that I shall not prove a laggard in the fray. When some Rebecca leans from the castle casement to report to the chief how goes the fight, I trust that I may be named with honor. "Ha," will say Front-de-boeuf, "where is the strange knight now ? Does the false craven blanch from the helm when the storm is the highest?" " No, he blanches not," the maiden will reply, " he blanches not. He has hired a substitute and is looking first-rate." Gentlemen, I am nearly done. I am runing dry. Act the true part ; let thy apparel be rich but not gaudy ; look not upon the wine wdien it gives its color in the cup, nor upon the Red Flag when it gives its color to the bum's nose, nor when it waves over the cheap stock. Do not buy the ice-water set for $13 nor the diamond scarfpin for $10.50. Good things do not come so cheap. Do not believe that by listening half an hour to an agitator under the Red Flag you can imbibe enough ideas to safely begin remodelling the world. Good things do not come so easily. If we were living in the state of communism that seems to some so desireable ; if we were living even in the ideal, Utopian state at which Mr. Bellamy thinks he hints, it would be as easy then as now to argue that things were wrong. It would be easier for the argument would be just. And when some orator rose to ask that nature's broad laws of existence and progress be no longer hampered and turned awry by the narrow rules of man ; to ask, then, that we be no longer the puppets of an institution but only the creatures of nature as we were made ; to ask that to every man be restored his old right to eat that he gets and wear that he makes, and thank no one and no Government, there would be such a round of applause as never greeted any theorizing orator since the world began. THE RED FLAG. Chicago, January 14, 1891. My Dear Mr. Catlin : I did not know that you were expecting an article from me on " the pet vanity " of bulls, Chicago policemen and millionaires. The very word flag means red as it comes from the same root as flame. C. Osborne Ward calls attention, you remember, in his Ancient Lowly, to the interesting fact that red in flags, emblems, decorations, has always been the color of the poor, the slave, the workingmen — blue and white the colors of the aristocracy ; blue blood on earth, white-robed angels in Heaven. The red, white and blue of the American flag has a hospitible democracy in its mingling of the signs of classes that is good enough for me. But if any one wants to fly the ancient red cap of the slave as a banner I would prevent the proudest government on earth, if I could, from interfering with him. Discontent has a better right to a hearing than content. Every new civilization began as a discontent, and we can afford to tolerate the wildest dissents, from everlasting to everlasting, on the chance of hearing the voice of a Christ or an Emerson at intervals of a thousand years or so. The Chicago police- man who violates the domicile of a poor woman to tear down the flag which is her protest against the oppression of the weak by the strong, is only giving us a pitiful rehearsal of the folly of those who have been con- spicuous and odious all through history— the successful protestants who deny to others below them the right to protest. It is the spirit opposite to that of Ruth, for it says : " My God shall be thy God." I don't see how I can find time to write you an article on this subject, interesting as it is. I am up to my eyes in work. * Yours very truly, II. D. Lloyd. 205 SUCCESSION TAX, By CYRUS D. ROYS. It is very commonly asserted that legislation is so regulated as to make the rich richer and the poor poorer. If this statement could be re-phrased so as to read, " the effect of legislation has been to make the rich richer and the poor poorer," I should be in full sympathy with it. This result has not been obtained by any desire on the part of the rich to create legislation that would injuriously affect the poor ; but, is the acci- dent of a business life so imperative in its demands that it has no time to consider the wants and necessities of others. I think it may safely be stated that the wealthy in America have a most profound sympathy with the poor, and would hail with delight any legislation that would beneficially affect their interests. But they liave been so absorbed in the effort to accimiulate that they have left the inter- ests of the working classes to be protected by clergymen, philanthropists and professional legislators. It may safely be stated that those who have accumulated wealth represent a larger degree of intelligence than those who have not. In other words, accumulation, as a rule, represents an intellectual force which is capable of taking care of its own. The faiku-e to accumulate, as a rule, represents that want of intellectual force which is able to protect and enlarge its own interests. This intellectual force which is capable of accumulation, understands its own wants and necessities, and without any desire or purpose to injure others, it secures such legislation as will best advance the interests it has in charge. The otlier, and negative element of society, has not the quick capacity to fully realize its best necessities. Nor has it the means or precience to secure legislation in its own behalf. To do this, requires a thorough knowledge of the conditions upon which organized society is based, and the methods which are best adapted to perpetuate it. Therefore, it is not strange that the effect of legislation has been to advance the interests of the rich, and not in any manner to improve the condition of the poor. It is not possible to formulate a law which will operate as a universal panacea for the misfortunes of society. The best that can be done, is to 206 SUCCESSION TAX. 207 take up a specific wrong and right it. It has been a favorite lullaby song of politicians of every shade and complexion, that the luxuries of life should be taxed for the maintenance of government ; so that those who are too poor to obtain any but the necessities of life should not be required to bear the burdens of the State. But no adequate effort has ever been made to formulate this expressed sympathy. On the contrary, the effect of our legislation has been to actually make the poor pay tribute to the rich. In other words, that class of securities which represents the surplus wealth of the nation goes largely untaxed, while the homes of the poor are taxed at their full value. Our assessors, as a rule, are neither worse nor better than other men, and in the performance of their duty, they see the home of the mechanic, and by ascertaining the value of adjacent property immediately mark it down at its full value— we will assume $1,000. It is a home accumulated by hard labor and sacrifice, and following the assess- ment role to the Treasurer's office, they go once a year with medley of coin, accumulated again by hard labor and sacrifice, to pay their tax on the full value of that little home. The assessor finds a man on the avenue whose home abounds in luxuries. It represents a mere fraction of his accumulations. His surplus wealth is laid up in safety deposit vaults in stocks and bonds. This home the assessor values at less than one-third its actual value. But he never gets a glimpse of that surplus wealth which is laid up in the vaults of the safety deposit, and this goes untaxed. So that as a rule the entire accumu- lations of the poor are taxed at their full value, while only a mere fraction of the wealth of the rich pays its tribute to the maintenance of govern- ment. It does not require any assertion to show that this condition of things is unjust. Nor should it require proof to support the assertion that the surplus wealth of a nation should bear its burdens, and the homes of the poor should be relieved of taxation. That condition of society is always best where you can count the largest number of homes, and in a government like ours we increase its strength and perpetuity by so much as we increase the number of its homes. Every home creates an individual interest in the safety and per- petuity of the State. Therefore, it is the duty of legislators to encourage such honorable ambition. But, when out of toil and sacrifice, in sickness and in health, the poor are compelled to take their last dollar and lay it down at the foot of the tax gatherer as an additional sacrifice that they make to the maintenance of government, knowing that the adjacent vaults hold millions of untaxed securities— the knowledge of the fact does not encourage them in building or refining their homes. But distrust and unrest broods over their hearth-stone ; and, if sickness or other misfortune creates temporary distress, the Socialist and Anarchist will find an easy convert. This condition, therefore, is a specific wrong, and I believe that a Succession Tax is a specific remedy. The homes of the poor should never be taxed. There is surplus wealth more than enough to meet all the demands of the State. At present this surplus wealth is largely untaxed , 208 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. because under our present system of assessment it cannot be reached. Under a Succession Tax every dollar of this surplus wealth would pay tribute to the maintenance of government; Our present system of assessments is crude, cumbersome, and so expensive as to be extortionate. It should be abolished. My present im- pression is that all taxes should be collected through the Probate Court. In this manner the salary of the assessor and his army of assistants would be saved. It would be no more expensive for tlie Probate Court to admin- ister upon an estate of ten millions, than it would to administer upon an estate of as many thousands. At present we do not know when our prop- erty will be sold for some unknown or forgotten tax, or for some special assessment. We are all the time exposed to the voracious demands of the tax shark. I would abolish this possibility. I would levy no taxes upon a man's estate during his life-time. I would permit him to have the use of his accumulations so as to enlarge his business to any extent, and not burden him with the fear that his property will be sold without his know- ledge ; but, when he is ready to " Wrap the drapery of his couch about him, "And lie down to pleasant dreams." I would have the estate pass into the hands of the Probate Court, and such an amount as would fairly represent the taxes he ought to have paid, if paid annually during his life-time, together with an additional per cent (for the purpose of meeting the deficiency occasioned by relieving the poor from all taxation), and when the estate is closed the Probate Judge can certify this amount to the County Treasurer to be covered into the general revenue of the State and municipality. The objection has been raised that the surplus wealth cannot be reached and therefore a Succession Tax of this nature is impracticable. But, in my judgment, the man who raises this objection only asserts the fact that he himself has not given the matter sufficient thought to deter- mine in what manner the end could be accomplished. It is a fact to-day that in administering upon estates the heirs can collect no dividends upon stocks until they have first been scheduled in the Probate Court and duly transferred by its order, and over the signature of the duly appointed administrator or executor. This is true also witli registered bonds. So that in every instance an estate which enters Probate must surrender all its stocks and bonds, and the Probate Judge may know to-day exactly what amount should be deducted from these to represent the tax which such estate should pay to the support of government. The larger class of bonds, of course, are those which pass by delivery. These need ^lot pass through the Probate Court ; but in all instances where the heirs can agree among themselves such bonds may be divided, and the Probate Court will be as ignorant of their existence as the assessor is: But this difliculty can be overcome by each State passing a law that all bonds shall be registered. And in such case the heirs can collect neither interest nor dividends until the entire amount has been scheduled in the Probate Court, and duly transf ered by SUCCESSION TAX. 209 its order. It will not require excessive ingenuity to devise other methods by which the entire wealth of an estate can be scheduled and the proper tax be deducted by the Probate Judge. There is an additional reason why a graded Succession Tax would promote the public interest. Experience has taught the English people that the accumulation of large estates in the hands of a few was inimical to the best interests of the Kingdom ; and for this reason the law of primogeniture has been so modified as to compel a more general distribu- tion. We ought to learn something from another's experience and recog- nize the fact that rapidly accumulating millions in the hands of a few constitutes a menace to the State. OUR JURY SYSTEM ; HOW CAN IT BE IMPROVED? By SIGMUND ZEISLER. The question as to how our Jury System can be improved is too broad to permit of a complete answer in the course of a short after dinner dis- cussion. We all cherish the institution of trial by jury as the palladium of our civil rights, but to shut our eyes to its vices and defects would be like some parents' idiotic love which sees no room for improvement in their children. If we do love free institutions, if we would save trial by jury from the undermining influence of popular discontent, it becomes necessary to devote serious attention to those vices which tend to diminisli its usefulness and ideal value. To undertake to consider all the faults of the system in its present shape would require the preparation of a large sized volume. I shall therefore simply suggest some of the needed reforms, and, at the request of our secretary, elaborate upon one only. And first let me say that no amount of reform legislation will radically improve our Jury System, as long as citizens shirk jury duty. Men of character, independence and intelligence, men who would make ideal jurors, have a way of their own to avoid jury service. Go through the list of our millionaires and tell me if you ever heard of a single one of them sitting on a jury. These gentlemen are too busy earning the neces- saries of life to spare a little of their time for one of the most sacred duties of citzenship— the preservation of the purity of the administration of law. They are the first to raise a howl at a failure of justice, but the last to bring a personal sacrifice for its prevention. There is one extenuating circumstance to be mentioned in their favor. Under our present system a man is always taken by surprise when sum- moned for jury service. Under the system of continental Europe the jury list for every term of court is drawn in advance for a whole year, and pub- lished, and each juror notified of his term of service. The advantage to business men is apparent. Our Jury System can further be improved by a change of the law regarding causes for challenge. Especially the rule which disqualifies per- 210 OUR JURY SYSTEM; HOW CAN IT BE IMPROVED? 211 SODS who have formed or expressed an opinion based upon information other than original evidence is, in these times of rapid dissemination of news, an absurd anachronism, a disgrace to the civilization of the country. It furnishes an easy method to escape jury duty, it invites fraud and perjury. Any man wishing to avoid service need only swear that his mind is firmly made up, and there is no method known in the present stage of the science of psycho-physics to determine whether he speaks the truth or not ; the rule makes every man the judge of his own qualifications. Tlie result of all this is that in many cases a criminal is judged by men truly liis peers; that in others, street loafers and saloon bummers are called upon to decide intricate questions of commercial relations or usage ; and that, in general, jurors are much below that standard of intelligence whicli the cases submitted to them seem to require. The business of examining panelmen as to their qualifications should be taken from counsel and intrusted to the presiding judge. Lawyers ask innumerable, complicated, unintelligible, catchy questions, calculated to confuse the panelman, or to get the benefit of an exception to an adverse ruling of the court. An enormous waste of time, unheard of and simply impossible in any other civilized country except our own, is the result. I only need to remind you of our experience in some of the causes celehres in Chicago within the last few years. In the Anarchist case twenty-one days, in the McGarigle case five weeks, in the Cronin case seven weeks, were consumed in the selection of the jury. I would also favor the entire abolition of the practicing of summoning talesmen by special venire. It is vicious in itself and a powerful aid to those who practice the art of jury-packing. I think that the function of finding the facts and that of applying the law to them should be strictly divorced, the first to be the province of the jury, the second to- be the province of the judge. Instead of giving to the jury instructions as to the law, which often they do not understand and sometimes deliberately disregard, I would submit to them simple questions as to the existence or nonexistence of the material facts in controversy. AVhen the facts are thus found, the judge ought to deduce the legal con- clusions and pronounce the judgment of the court. I now desiie to direct your atfention to one evil of our Jury System which seems to me to deserve especial consideration, and the removal of which would be equal to depriving all the rest, in a great measure, of their power for mischief. I refer to the rule requiring unanimity in the verdicts of juries. The opponents of reform point to the ancientry of the rule as one of the strongest arguments in its favor. In this age of enlightment and progress it is seriously contended by some that the judicial wisdom and legislative policy of the Middle Ages deserve to be revered as authorities and as safe rules of action. Nobody would dream of citing the views of philosophers, political economists or masters of state craft, or the writers of Chemistry, Astronomy, Physics or Technology of five hundred years ago, as authorities to-day upon those various subjects. But lawyers and judges and law givers do not seem to realize the absurdity of going back to 212 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. the Middle Ages for ideals and authorities. And while all the rest of the world is moving onw^ard, the law and lawyers are hemmed about as it were by a wall of musty and rusty precedents. In all the countries which have in modern times adopted trial by jury . as a part of their judicial systems, and to that class belong most of the countries of the European Continent, unanimity is not required. Without tiring you by attempting accurate details, I will state that as a general rule a two thirds majority is necessary and sufficient for a valid verdict. In Scotland, where trial by jury in criminal cases is an indigenous institu- tion, the jury consists of fifteen, a simple majority of whom decide. In British India, since the adoption of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1882, the judge has power to enter judgment in accordance with the opinion of six out of the twelve jurymen. And in the Bahama Islands under their Code of 1848, in all criminal cases other than capital, and in all civil cases, a valid verdict may be returned by two-thirds of the jury. I have cited the last few provisions in order to show that even among English speaking people the rule of unanimity is not universally followed, and that it has been departed from in recent enactments in countries whose legislation either directly emanates from or is influenced by the Parliament of Great Britain. And it may be stated with absolute certainty that there is not a single country anywhere, except England and the United States of America, in which the verdict of the jury is required to be unanimous. Even in this country there are three States in which by modern enactments a three-fourths majority is sufficient for a valid verdict in civil actions. They are California, Nevada, and Texas. In the latter State, Texas, the verdict of a three-fourths majority is also valid in trials of criminal cases below the grade of felony. The requirement of unanmity ignores the fact that all men are not constituted alike. As men differ in physical constitution, and at best only bear a resemblance to one another, so they will differ in their mental and moral make-up. A great many causes tend to produce sharp contrasts in the operations of the minds of different people. Different minds present innumerable shades and degrees of intelligence, education, strength of character, power of observation, and judgment of human nature. Tlie opinions of men are influenced to a great extent by their preconceived ideas upon matters of religion, ethics, politics, etc. Their judgment is influenced by the peculiar experiences of their lives, by their habits of thought, by their vocations and businesses. A man's mind is the result of the countless impressions received during a lifetime ; and as our experi- ences and our impressions, our associations and our surroundings, are different, so our minds and the operation of our minds will become differ- ent. Add to that the necessary imperfections of human testimony, brought about by imperfect means or deflcient faculty of observation, want of clear recollection, or the corruption or bias of witnesses. Is it possible that all men shall have equal power of discerning truth from falsehood ? Is it reasonable to expect that the same evidence will have the same effect upon twelve dilferent minds, where there is a controversy upon the facts, each version being supported by proof? Again we find that many jurors OUR JURY SYSTEM; HOW CAN IT BE IMPROVED? 213 are easily led away by the eloquence or sophistries of able advocates, or by statements outside of the evidence, while others are able, readily, to dis- tinguish between evidence and mere claims, between facts and fiction. There is hardly an important question that occupies the human mind or heart, be it in the field of ethics or philosophy, politics or political economy, art or music, or in any other department except that of the exact sciences, on which there are not two opinions, each strongly advocated and supported by apparently sound reasoning. Think of the differences of opinion upon such questions as free trade and high tariff, centralized power or State rights, the problem of the emancipation of labor, etc. Why. then, should it be astonishing that twelve men, taken from different walks of life, should reach different conclusions from the same premises ? Remem- ber the difficulties often experienced by a judge in deciding controverted questions of fact ; will twelve men, coming perhaps from weighing butter or measuring calico, have less difficulty in weighing evidence and measur- ing the credibility of witnesses than a trained chancellor? It is the height of absurdity. So long as the jurors shall be taken from the common mass of humanity their opinions will differ in every case in which the evi- dence does not all tend in one direction. Consequently, w^hen the jurors do not all honestly agree, the issue must be left altogether undecided, the trial must be a nullity, or a verdict will be returned, which, though having the appearance of unanimity, is in reality the result of compulsion, or the effect of a compromise which does justice to nobody. We want truth. Everybody will admit that the due administration of the law requires that each juror shall be free to decide according to his own convictions. The word " verdict," vere dictum, means truly spoken ; but a verdict which is the result of an enforced agreement is intrinsically untrue, is a legalized falsehood. The juror who has agreed to a verdict against his real conviction is compelled to prostitute his solemn oath by the declaration in open court that this " was and is his verdict." There was a time when people were convinced by the " persuasion " of the rack and the gibbet, the stake and the dungeon. We all glory in a civilization which looks upon such methods as barbarous ; and still we maintain a system under which dissenting jurors are often convinced by methods differing only in degree, but not in principle, from those of the Spanish inquisition. For though jurors nowadays are not subjected to the strange logic of cold, hunger and darkness, as in former times, still their practical imprisonment during deliberation, for hours or days, with all the deprivations incident thereto, will make many a juror change his position for the mere sake of going back to his work, to the circle of his family, to his business, and to his accustomed surroundings. And why should we hesitate to accept a verdict in which a small minority do not concur V If you exhibit a physical object to the view of twelve men, eleven of whom pronounce it to be blue while one claims that it is black, will any sane person doubt for a minute that the one man is color blind ? And if at the end of a trial eleven men say " guilty," and one says " not guilty," can there be any less doubt that the one man is color blind morally or intellectually ? Whatever you choose to call the 214 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. particular defect, be it corruption, stubbornness or stupidity, the one man or the small minority is abnormal, and presents a case of mental aberra- tion. Deny this and we might as well open our insane assylums and our penitentiaries, and in the place of their present inmates shut up all the rest of the people as either intellectually or morally warped. Experience teaches that in most cases the jurors' minds are finally made up before they retire for deliberation. The juror who does not leave the jury box with a strong opinion one way or the other is a weak minded creature who will vote with the majority every time, and whose judgment is therefore of little account. That one or two jurors should be able to bring about a real change in the opinion of the majority is probably a case of the rarest occurrence, though they might by persistency and superior powers of endurance succeed in tiring the majority into submis- sion against their conviction. If, on the other hand, the minority yield, it is perhaps because they have become convinced of the soundness of the judgment of the majority which would simply prove its correctness; or their submission is due, not so much to deliberation, as to intimidation, exhaustion, weak-mindedness, or fear of censure, in which cases their enforced concurrence adds little weight to the verdict of the majority. The absurdity of the requirement of unanimity is that it gives one mind weight equal to that of eleven ; its unsoundness, that eleven honest and intelligent men may be defeated by one fool or crank ; its moral deficiency, that it constantly holds out a premium to the professional jury- manipulator. Men conversant with the art of packing juries are probably found at the bar of every large city. That attempts at jury-bribing are constantly made is a fact to well-known too be called in question. Under the unanimity system, as Bentham says: "Any one juror gained and properly armed with the necessary degree of patience, suffices." This makes the temptation to resort to bribery very great indeed. But if a majority of, say, nine were sufficient for conviction it would require the bribing of at least four jurors for any purpose of corruption, a thing not so easily accomplished. So far as criminal cases are concerned the principle of unanimity is usually defended upon the ground that if among the twelve there is one juror whom the evidence has failed to convince of the guilt of the prisoner there exists such a reasonable doubt as ought to preclude a conviction. If this sentimental argument were sound then it should follow as a logical conclusion that the accused should be acquitted whenever one juror believes him not guilty. But no ; the absurdity of the unanimity rule is carried so far that even if eleven men vote for acquittal and one holds out for conviction, and there is hardly any doubt of the innocence of the defendant, he cannot be acquitted ; the law requires that he be again put in jeopardy. There are unfortunately no statistics of mis-trials resulting from dis- agreements ; but the number is enormous. In any case involving compli- cated questions of fact, not supported on either side by any but circum- stantial evidence, it might easily happen that no decision could ever be reached. For instance, I know of a suit for damage against a railroad OUR JURY SYSTEM; HOW CAN IT BE IMPROVED? 215 company, now pending, in which four successive trials have resulted in disagreement. A similar result in a criminal case would be a matter of greatly aggra- vated seriousness. Suppose that in the trial of the Cronin murderers, recently held in Chicago, the one juror, instead of forcing the others to a compromise, had held out for acquittal, and the jury had been discharged on account of their disagreement ; this would liave necessitated a new trial. How many men in Cook County, nay, how many men in the State of Illi- nois, would be competent for jury service in such new trial ? With the ex- ception of illiterates, I do not believe that one out of a thousand men can be found who did not eagerly scan the daily papers throughout the trial for the report of the evidence, and who had not formed a decided opinion as to the guilt of the accused, based upon reports of sworn testimony. All these men would be legally incompetent. It might take years and cost a million dollars to procure a jury ; the fear of being kept in practical im- prisonment for so long a time would prompt men, even if perchance com- petent, to disqualify themselves by untruthful answers ; and if one hundred competent men could possibly be discovered in Cook County during a search of years, the defendants could peremptorily challenge every one of them. In other words, a disagreement of the jury in the Cronin trial would have meant the eventual escape from, all punishment of the perpetrators of a brutal murder. But the escape of criminals in itself is not the most serious consequence of such a failure of justice. Another result more to be dreaded, more to be deplored, is its demoralizing elfect on the community. It tends to de- stroy the faith of the people in the power of the arm of justice, and in the efficiency of the safeguards provided for the security of the citizens— that faith which is the very foundation of free government. It tends to embolden the criminal classes, to breed contempt for the law, and to encourage the preachers of anarchism. Just observe the inconsistency of our system. We exact unaniniity in juries ; but appellate tribunals, which often have to pass on controverted questions of fact, are allowed to decide by simple majorities. Suppose that an appellate court of seven judges affirms a conviction of a lower court, but that three judges dissent for the avowed reason that the evidence fails to convince them of the guilt of the accused, still the judgment of the bare majority rules. Legislative measures, involving the welfare and happiness of the people at large, the adoption or rejection of the most vital constitutional amend- ments, questions of peace or war affecting the lives and prosperity of mil- lions of people, are determined by bare majorities. Unaminity is not re- quired in grand juries, though upon their decision depends whether men's lives shall be put in jeopardy. And it occurs to me at this moment that not a mere majority, but a mere plurality, decides whether in this great, magnificent city, we shall have economic and honest government, or whether Chicago shall be the home of thieves, cutthroats and gamblers. Unanimity is not required to impeach the President of the United 216 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. States. In a trial before the English House of Lords a majority is suffi- cient, provided it consists of at least twelve. A person tried by that tribu- nal may be sentenced to death by an assembly consisting of twenty-three peers, twelve of whom upon their honor declare him guilty, while eleven declare him not guilty under a like sanction. In spite of all these analogies we continue to place it in the power of one corrupt or foolish man to polute the fountain of justice, to defeat the ends for which courts are organized, to upset the judgment of eleven honest and intelligent men, and to make jury trials a mockery. The rule of decision that we should adqpt, when we have once abolished the principle of unanimity, is a matter with which our legislators will have to concern themselves when the way is once paved by constitutional amend- ments. I, for one,- after giving the question considerable thought, influ- enced partly by the successful working of majority rules in European countries, am in favor of a two-thirds majority verdict. In criminal cases, unless at least two-thirds of the jury agree upon a verdict of guilty, the de- fendant should be acquitted, and in capital cases I should favor a proviso that the death penalty should not be inflicted unless the jury should unani- mously agree upon a verdict of guilty. These, of course, are simply sug- gestions. My main purpose has been to point out the general principle of reform. Some change must certainly be made, otherwise the entire insti- tution of trial by jury may eventually fall into disrepute, and possibly into desuetude. OUR JURY SYSTEM j HOW CAN IT BE IMPROVED ? By gen. I. N. STILES. I wish very much a question of reform might be discussed more at length than at a dinner table, atone dollar and a half a plate, or, as is more usually the case, seven or eight dollars a plate. I do not understand that the principles of this club make it necessary that one speaker, following another, should feel himself under any obligation to antagonize the posi- tion taken by his predecessor. 1 certainly shall not attempt it. So much has been said by the gentleman who has just taken his seat, evidencing such careful thought and reflection, that I should despair entirely, if such were my disposition, to antagonize his position in the main. That reform is necessary in our jury system I deem beyond question. It is tacitly admitted that, to a great extent, our present system is a failure, and that the object sought, the attainment of truth, is not achieved. But it has come down to us through a long period, and there seems to attach to it a sort of reverential feeling, to such an extent, indeed, that in nearly all our States the constitution provides that the right of trial by jury shall not be abridged. The time will not permit, nor the occasion, to go back to the origin of trial by jury. Unquestionably in its beginning it was a crying need, and the Jury System has at various times been the instrument of a vast amount of good. It should be borne in mind that the Jury System, as it exists in Illinois, has never been anywhere near enforced so far as Chicago is concerned, according to the spirit of the law. The theory of the law is that jury service should fall equally on all our citizens who can understand and speak the English language, under sixty years of age, of sound judgment, and a few more qualifications. That is the theory of the law. But in practice that duty falls upon a very limited number of our citizens, and that limited number made up, for the most part, of the comparatively unintelligent portion. Gentlemen, what is needed in tliis reform, as in all other reforms, is 217 2,18 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. to impress the people at large with the idea that it is the duty of us all, of men who have met with a share of success in life, to devote some portion of their time and ability to the public good. And there are very few posi- tions in which a man can better prove his devotion to the public good than by serving at the proper time as a juryman. During a careful examination into the matter made by me some years ago, I discovered, among other things, that if the Jury System was administered according to the law, and a juryman having served once during the year should be excused from fur- ther service dming that year, so that the burden should fall equally on all our citizens, no man would be called upon to serve as a juror oftener than once in eight years. It seems a shame that men should be excused from jury service on the plea of pressure of business. According to the rules now obtaining in our courts, a juror is not requested to serve, at least in civil matters, more than about two weeks at a time, and then that panel is discharged and a new one is called. Is it too much to ask of a citizen that once in eight years he shall devote two weeks of his time to serving the public as a juror ? I quite agree with the gentleman whom you have already heard that there should be with as little delay as possible a change in our laws by which the verdict of less than the whole twelve could be received in any case, civil or criminal. It is a strange sort of thing that only in our juries is there required to be a unanimous concurrence of opinion on the part of a tribunal consisting of more than two. In all our courts, in all our boards of arbitration, in all legislative bodies, the conclusion reached by the majority is conclusive. In the Supreme Court of the United States, the highest tribunal in the land, the opinion of the majority of the court be- comes binding. And lawyers who have watched the matter closely will be able to call to mind a very great number of cases that have been decided by the Supreme Court of the United States by a bare majority of one, and, as has been suggested by Mr. Zeisler, while in the trial of a case by a jury the verdict is required to be unanimous, yet on the appeal of that same case a bare majority of the Appellate Court or the Supreme Court, as the case may be, is sufficient to decide the question. It seems to me that that pro- position is too clear to require additional argument. Again, it is an important question whether at the proper time we could not afford to dispense with the Jury System altogether. There are a great many objections to it. Jurors, even when selected from the best classes of our citizens, are often from education and training, and experience in life, very much less fitted to pass upon even questions of fact than are the judges, whose training in life particularly tits them for that position, l^ut let me say this in behalf of the Jury System. There are cases which have occurred to every lawyer of experience, where it was certain, to his mind at least, that the conclusion reached by the jury was the just conclusion, and the conclusion reached by the court greatly the other way. Let me give an illustration from my own experience. A case was tried before a court and jury here against a gambling firm. These gamblers have firms, you know, gentlemen. If they are not stopped pretty soon they will have a trust. A confidential employe of an insurance firm, both bookkeeper and treasurer, OUR JURY SYSTEM; HOW CAN IT BE IMPROVED? 219 acquired the habit of gambling, and as most of us know, without being gamblers, that increased upon him. He visited the various Open gambling saloons which are now in this city, wide open too, at both ends. He went so far that not only did he gamble away his own money, but that of his employ- ers also. The time came when he was either discovered or made a dis- closure himself, I don't know which. He was put upon his trial in the Crim- inal Court, and the surroundings and circumstances were such that the judge felt inclined to suspend the sentence with the hope that the man might be reformed and a wife and little children protected. His employers sought to recover the money that had been gambled away. They brought a civil suit for that purpose. The young man appeared as a witness. He was forced to admit on cross examination that he was, in the language of the astute counsel on the other side, a self-convicted thief. Well, he told his st^ry, and in such a way that it appeared to the jury and to many others to bear upon it the evidence of absolute truth, how he had acquired the un- fortunate habit and had gambled away some fifteen hundred dollars of his employer's money. On the other side the testimony of a string of gamblers was produced, which consisted in their stating that they had frequently seen the young man at the house of A. B., that he was a very "high roller," and that so far as they observed he always went away winner. That was the testimony of six or eight, or ten witnesses against the one young man. The jury, not containing amongst its members any Jack that could be turned from the bottom, and who tried to determine the real truth of the matter, reached the conclusion that the story told by the young man was true, and that the story of the gamblers was, in the main, false ; and. they found a verdict for the plaintiff of $1,500, which was collected with costs. Now, what are the probabilities as to what that upright judge, now dead, would have done (as conscientious a man as ever sat upon the bench, and averaging fairly with other judges that we have had before and since in his legal acquirements). What is it probable that he would have doneV He would have reasoned thus, according to the rules which obtain in the legal profession : This case must be governed by the rules of law in reaching a conclusion upon the facts. It must be decided by the preponderance of the evidence. It is true that this man has told a story which seems to be probable on its face, and in accordance with the surroundings. His manner impressed me as that of a truthful man ; but here are eight wit- nesses who have sworn against him. How can this court, sitting here as a judge, say that they have sworn to a lie? And the probability is great that if that case had been submitted to the judge justice would have been de- frauded of her due. It is easy to criticise jurors, but gentlemen, our judges need criticism. A great deal has been said of the time consumed in certain cases in empaneling juries. Our judges should be taught to abridge the claimed privileges of counsel to go all over creation in their inquiries of jurors to determine their fitness for that position. We need more backbone on the part of our judges. I know of no way in which their backbone can be strengthened except by the force of public sentiment. Nor do I know of a more powerful influence for reform than united public sentiment. 220 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. Then, again, if the jury system is ever abolished it will be a long time ahead. What ought to be done, is one thing ; what can be done, is another. I am myself a great believer in the old maxim that half a loaf is better than no bread. One step toward that result, if it be deemed desirable to abolish the jury system, would be to accept a verdict of less than the whole twelve. There is one difficulty in the way, which those of us who practice at the bar are confronted with, at least w^e were seven or eight years ago. There grew up on the part of some unscrupulous lawyers — and an unscrupulous lawyer will never have any difficulty in finding an unscrupulous client — nor will unscrupulous clients have any difficulty in finding unscrupulous lawyers — an idea tliat one stubborn juror could succeed in producing a non-agree- ment of the jury and consequently a new trial. But as time progressed and it was discovered that notwithstanding there was a disagreement still in due time the case came up for another trial, and that system was improved to this extent. They took into their employ two or three gentlemen who would insist in certain cases upon a verdict for a very much less amount than the plaintiff ought to have received. In such a case, although justice was not absolutely defeated, practically it w^as defeated. Take for instance an accident happening on a railway, in a case where the plaintiff was entirely without fault— such cases do arise, gentlemen— assume that the injury was of a very serious character, as for instance the loss of a leg or arm. Now the game of these employed jurors would be to agree to a ver- dict for the defendant, but stand out on the question of damages, and it is somewhat surprising to find a number of gentlemen of intelligence and supposed to be honest, who rather than stay in the jury room all night, or remain a little longer from their business, would agree on an outrageous verdict. Now it seems to me that a law requiring only the concurrence of say two-thirds of the jury would go far toward remedying that state of affairs, go far, indeed, toward preparing the public mind for the time when the jury system may be abolished altogether. I am not prepared to say that I am one of those who insist on the immediate abolition of the jury system. We must grow up to that. Like many other things, that is a condition that must be evolved, not created. Very much more might be said on the defects of the jury system, but 1 am still of the opinion that the greatest trouble arises from the failure of our citizens to take that interest in public affairs which they ouglit to take. They are pursuing the ellusive dollar ; it is, "Get there, Eli," in the matter of accumulating a fortune. It is surprising the tricks and methods adopted by these gentlemen who cannot find time to sit as jurors, to avoid jury service. Who ever heard of a millionaire, with here and there an honor- able exception, serving on a jury, unless it be in times of great public ex- citement, as in the case of the grand jury that indicted the boodlers some years ago. Then it seemed a matter of willingness and cheerfulness on the part of our citizens to sit as grand jurors. If w^e will but impress it upon the mind of every citizen, our neighbors, friends and acquaintances, that it is the duty of every one to contribute from time to time, as we go through life, to the public good, we shall accomplish much. One man may do it by drawing his check— the man who has more money than he has OUR JURY SYSTEM; HOW CAN IT BE IMPROVED? 221 time ; another by giving time where he has more time than money. You may be sure that all of us may discover, either at election time, or in jury service, or in various other ways, methods by which we can contribute to- ward the public good ; and when that sentiment becomes, as I hope it may, universal, the need of reform will be reduced to a minimum. WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH OUR INDIANS ? By franklin H. HEAD. 1 have not been able to prepare anything in the way of a set speech, full of eloquence, such as those with which you are used to be entertained. In fact, I should have had a great deal of hesitation in coming before you at all, without more preparation, were it not for the fact that 1 have at different times spent several years on our extreme Western frontier, and in that way mixing among the people with whom the Indians live, and hearing the talk and knowing how Indian affairs have been managed, I have had a fair opportunity to become somewhat familiar with certain phases of the question, and I will state some conclusions at which I have arrived, as a matter of personal observation which may throw some light on the subject. One of the first things to be got at in the discussion of tlie question is to find out what the question is— what is the problem that is to be settled about Indians ? The last census does not purport to be at all accurate in its enumeration of the Indians, but it is simply an approximation. It is re- ported, however, by Porter, that the Indians in the United States are sup- posed to number about 230,000. Of this number 50,000 or 60,000 are located in the Indian Territory, and many of these who have been moved there, like the Choetaws, Chickasaws and Pottawattomies raise stock and culti- vate land, and iji a great measure take care of themselves. So they are not a factor in the Indian question. That reduces the number of roving wild Indians down to something like 175,000. This includes men, women and children. So you see that the total number of Indians who make all this hullaballoo in the newspapers and Quaker meetings, and all auound, is considerably less than the population of Chicago on the ^orth Side. Now these 175,000 souls are savages. They are treacherous, revengeful, jealous, suspicious of each other, and of everybody else, white or red. They are extremely poor, and have all the vices which are apt to grow out of a condition of extreme poverty. They have been brought up for count- less generations imbued witli the idea that every kind of labor is absolutely degrading. They treat their women as slaves ; make them do all the work that is done, and sell and trade them off as they would their horses and cattle, and in every way are simply barbarians. 222 WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH OUR INDIANS? 223 Now the question is, how to take care of these 175,000 people and transform them into citizens who will in some way take care of themselves. And as they have never displayed any great aptitude for being presidents of Sunset Clubs, or lawyers, or poets, the general theory has been to make farmers of them, that they may get a living by stock raising. The settle- ments of the whites have become so widely scattered over the whole country that game has to a great extent been exterminated, and the Indians can no longer live by hunting. They are forced to get a living some other way. They must be taught to farm, to raise their own provisions and beef, or be fed at the public expense. Now, no one would entertain the idea perma- nently of keeping these people paupers. So the theory is that they ought to be taught how to take care of themselves, how to become farmers and stockraisers, and this is really the question we have had before us for the last thirty or forty years. As I look at it, there is nothing the Government of the United States has ever undertaken to do, in which it has made such an absolute and utter failure in every respect, as in the treatment of Indians; that is, in its method of trying to make them civilized human beings. I find by the re- ports of the Treasurer of the United States that in the year 1890 there was paid out by the Government the sum of $7,000,000 through the Interior Department for the matter of looking after the Indians. We demonstrated in our last war that volunteers can shoot just as well as regulars. So in time of profound peace, as at present, we seem to have no occasion for a standing army, and the only reason for keeping up an organized army to such an extent as it is kept up now^ is that it is necessary to take care of the Indians. Substantially, the whole of the army is stationed in the Indian country, and substantially all the expense of the War Department is in looking after the Indians. The United States Treasurer's report shows that in 1890 the expenses of the War Department were a little over $44,000,000, and it is safe to say that at least three-quarters of this was expended in keeping w^atch of the Indians, or $33,000,000, which, added to the $7,000,000 directly paid out, would make $40,000,000 paid last year by the people of the United States to protect our frontier settlements from the Indians. We all chipped in our share in the shape of taxes, to take care of this 175,000 men, women and children scattered over this great Western country. That would be enough to pay their initiation to the Sunset Club, board them at the Palmer and clothe them at Ely's. Now, that is a great deal of money to spend, and this expenditure is not any larger than it has averaged the last fifteen or twenty years. We might be willing to pay these bills if we felt that we accomplished anything. But when w^e look over the condition of the Indian tribes in this territory, it takes a very sanguine man to see that there has been the slightest improve- ment in any respect within the memory of man. There are certain tribes in the Indian Territory who are in a way agriculturists. But this has not been accomplished by our present Indian policy. Those tribes were brought from New York and Ohio and other States east of the Mississippi, where they lived surrounded by white people for one or two generations, on small reservations. They had seen the whites going along in their industrious 224 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. ways, getting a living, and saw there was some way of getting property without stealing it, and when they moved into the Indian Territory they carried out this idea which they had before they went there. But the wild Indians, wiio are the principal burden of expense to the Indian Bureau and army, are just as wild, just as untamed, just as suspicious as they ever were. Any Indian in that 175,000 — any man — would lose caste in his tribe, and would be ashamed beyond measure if it were known that he went to some white man and hoed corn and dug potatoes to get enough money to buy a pony. But if he went on a six months' campaign and stole it from a white man or some other Indian, he would be looked upon as a hero by his comrades. They still have the idea that there is no other w^ay of acquiring property so honorably as to steal it. When we look over the immense amount of money, time and labor expended in this matter, we cannot but see that the system is a most fearful and humiliating failure in every way. How shall we remedy it V It is easy to find fault with the existing system, and perhaps I may point out what are some of the errors in our management of the Indians. They are like children or any other ignorant people ; they don't know much about principles ; they are governed largely by personal influences. At one time and another many good men have been sent among the Indians in the shape of agents, and there have been a great many of the other kind. A great many conscientious, good men have tried to do good work among the Indians. A good man will go there and stay two or three years. By that time he has got a little smattering of their language, and begun to win their confidence. And when he gets to the point where he can do some- thing he is removed, and a new man sent out to begin over again. Eota- tion in office in any branch of the public service is in most cases unfortu- nate. But it is particularly so in the Indian service, where good men ought to be secured in some way, and then kept there ; because they get the confidence of the Indians after awhile, and can handle them and do something with them. Another great trouble has been the character of the men that have been sent among the Indians to manage them, the Indian agents. Now, knowing the constant horror of an Indian at the idea of doing any work, if a man is to go among them and try to make them believe labor is respect- able and honorable, that man must be willing to w^ork himself. He doesn't want to go out and sit in a rocking chair, and tell the Indians it is a good thing to hoe corn. If any of those present had the task set before him, of taking 500 Indians, and trying to turn them into decent citizens, he would get a good practical farmer to go and live with them. That man would go out every morning and take hold of the plow and hoe corn, and do the general work of a farm, and show those Indians that labor was not degrading. But when we look over the class of them hanging around the departments at Washington and besieging members of Congress to get them appointed in the Indian service, I think you will agree with me that few of the class who are looking for the job, are men who are anxious to go out and mHk cows and hoe corn, and dig potatoes, and raise peas and beans. That is WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH OUR INDIANS? 225 not the kind of work a man wants who has carried the sixth ward for his member of Congress. We send men who preach to the Indians about work. But the Indian is very much like a white man in his ability to dis- tinguish the difference between preaching and practicing. He believes just about as large a part of what the agent tells him, that it is honorable and good to work when the agent never does it himself, as we would under the same circumstances. The fact that the only Indians who have ever become civilized at all, became so by living in constant communication with and surrounded by white people who were farmers and doing work, ought to teach a lesson. We know that all the tribes, substantially, in the Indian Territory, who are in any way civilized and earn their own living, have come there from other parts of the country, where they have been thus taught both by precept and example. There is a great deal of talk about the wrong done the Indians, and of course there are cases of hardship, but at the same time this matter is largely more theoretical than real. There is no propriety in leaving a large amount of terrritory that is good for anything else, in the possession of people who will make no use of it, and that is the case with the Indians. They don't cultivate the land ; they don't make any particular use of it. And while it is all right to let them occupy it as long as we don't want it, there will very few people be found willing to take the position that great areas of fertile land should be left uncultivated and waste after it is needed by the white people for settlement. The result, therefore, is that treaties are never kept; they were never intended to be kept, and in this case never ought to have been made. For after they are made nobody ex- pects them to be kept. One of the worst features of our method of treat- ing with the Indians is that we proceed as if they were independent nations, and treat with them with all the formality which we would use if we were treating with England or France, whereas they are nothing but little bands of bare-legged savages. The treaty has to come before the Senate and be ratified, giving them a great reservation. It is an absurdity on the face of it, and nobody expects it will be kept. We will turn over to the Indian a certain amount of territory for a while, but when it is wanted for settlement or development the Indians will never be allowed to stand in the way, any more than anybody else would be. If there was any other class of people who made a large district of country worthless, Inhere would be some means devised to enable that country to be developed, and its re- sources to be brought into play. And that will always be the case with the Indians. So the idea of making treaties is an absurdity, and should be done away with. They should be made citizens and treated the same as other citizens, and made amenable to the same laws. My remarks are necessarily informal, and at random, but I have given you some of my views of the evils of the present system. ;Now for a remedy. We do not want to take the Indians away from civilization, which has heretofore been the plan. It has been such an utter and con- spicuous failure that that part of the theory should be abandoned. They should be brought toward civilization, where they can see people at work, and see the results of industry ; see that it is easier to raise a horse or cow 226 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. ^ than to steal it and take the chances of being shot. It would be easy to do this, to bring them toward civilization. The Indians are mostly all corraled at Pine Eidge and a few other points, and General Miles with his army could bring all the Indians in the northern part of the United States into the Indian Territory within a month, if there was any occasion. Then divide them into bands of four or five hundred, and put each in charge of a practical farmer, who w^oald go out and do a regular day's work in his shirt sleeves, and in a little while the Indians would see that labor is not degrading. It is not much work to raise enough corn and potatoes to live on for a year. The Indians would find that it would be easier than to go back to the old savage way. That would be, in my judgment, the way of settling the Indian question. I think the entire expense of supporting every Indian in the United States in the Indian Territory, where there is good land in abundance, giving each one a farm of 160 acres, and putting a good man with him to show him how to work, and giving him cattle and watching him as a farmer for ten years, would cost less than the In- dian service costs every year, and there would be some show of accomplish- ing something. The disastrous feature of our present system is that after twenty or thirty years of trial, and an enormous expenditure of money, we are just where we were when w^e started. The Indians are as wild, as untamed, as ever. WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH OUR INDIANS ? By D. M. RIORDAN, When one undertakes to speak or write on the subject, " What Shall we do with our Indians ? " he is facing a problem, which I consider beyond the power of any living man to solve. 1 consider the question the most vital that exists within our border to-day ; the most vital in its effect upon our national honesty and fair dealing, and the one in which our national dishonesty, cruelty and injustice have been most persistently and strikingly manifested. It is painful to me to go over the dark and bloody page upon which the history of our dealings with the Indians has been recorded. Ob- scure layman as I have been in the matter of dealing with these persecuted people, my knowledge of the full history of the crimes committed by the United States toward them is exceedingly limited, of course ; but from what has come within my own observation, I have often shuddered with abhorrence at the refinements of cruelty in the laws framed by ourselves to cover up the infamy of our dealings with the Indians. In attempting to define an Indian Policy, the policy of humanity out- lined by the founder of Christianity would cover the whole ground, as a matter of course, if it could be applied ; but equally as a matter of course, it cannot be, and will not. And when one comes to the question of an In- dian Policy in its practice, I do not know that there is any single Indian Policy that can deal wisely and justly with all Indians, except the funda- mental one, embraced in the Golden Eule. The kind of treatment that would be wise and proper (if it were just) for the Pueblo Indian, who lives in a permanent dwelling in a town, would not apply, of course, to the Indians living on the plains; nor would the policy that might fit the wants of the Indians living within the Indian Ter- ritory apply to a tribe living on the deserts of Arizona. In like manner, the regulations that would fit the Papago and Pima Indians living in the southern portion of this Territory, where they have irrigable fields, could not be made to apply to the Supai Indians, living in a rocky canyon to the northwest of us ; nor to the Utes, living in the moun- tain fastnesses of Southern Colorado. It becomes then, a question of Indian Policies, not policy, unless, as I say, the Golden Rule is made the policy, and its application in practice is adjusted to fit the requirements of each case. *Of Flagstaff, Arizona. For many years an Indian Agent. 227 228 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. I believe each individual Indian ought to be treated as an individual, on precisely the same plan and under the same laws, and with the same show for his life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness that each one of us demands for himself. I just now recall a paragraph, taken from the old Dutch Law of 1636, which I found in an old book entitled "Humane Policy or Justice to the Aborigines of New Settlements." This paragraph reads : " The Aborigines shall be undisturbed in their liberty, and never enslaved ; they shall be gov- erned politically, and civilly, as ourselves, and enjoy the same measure of justice. Good rules shall be made for teaching them, and especially their children, the truths of religion, and the usages of civilized life. And care shall be taken to withdraw them from heathenish customs ; and from indo- lence, the mother of want, to the cultivation of the soil ; and to such social habits as their condition and their capacity may bear." This seems to me to be a very clear and concise statement of what ought to be done. May I be permitted to here quote the views of one who would perhaps, be classed amongst those who are often regarded as amiable sentimental- ists and harmless enthusiasts : " In attempting to seize the salient features of the Indian question, nothing, perhaps, stands out more strongly than the absence of intercourse between the Indians and our people ; the isolation of the Indian on his res- ervation. The reservation is an island of darkness : on it the Indian is an alien in the midst of our national life. It is now apparent that this sharp line between them and us is due, not exclusively to the race differences, al- though, of course, largely a result of them, but also to the Indian's peculiar position before the law. " The early colonists treated the Indians as separate, independent na- tions. This was not so much a policy as a necessity, the whites at that time being weak and scattered, while the Indian tribes were organized and strong. Their position after the revolution, under our Government, was substantially the same. While in Canada the Indian was an individual subject to the Crown, under the protection and liable to the punishment of the general law, in the United States a policy directly opposite was pursued. We con- tinue to treat them at arm's length, as autonomic tribes, yet deny them cer- tain privileges usually considered inseparable to national life. We recog- nize in them but a usufructuary right to land, or only a title by occupancy ; the fee, or actual title, being either in the United States or in some one of the several States." Purchasers from them could, of course, only acquire this Indian title. But although the tribes had merely this right of occu- pancy, our Supreme Court held that they could not be deprived of it except by their ow n consent. " And while, on the pages of our reports we find judicial declarations of the rights of the Indian, and many humane and admirable sentiments as to the way he should be treated, on the pages of our histories we can find little but his wrongs. " This policy of treating with the Indian tribes as separate nations was continued until 1871. In that year, a statute was passed, declaring that ' No Indian nation or tribe within the territory of the United States shall WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH OUR INDIANS? 229 be acknowledged as an independent nation, tribe or power, with whom the United States may contract by treaty.' " While since this statute we have ceased to consider them as nations (in many respects independent), able by the dignity of that nationality to treat with the United States as an equal power, we have yet retained the policy of regarding them as tribes, or bodies of men, and as tribes have con- tinued to contract with them. Their present legal position is an unique one. They are not citizens, nor do the general naturalization acts apply to them. An Indian can acquire no title to land unless he relinquishes his tribal re- lations and settles among the whites. Until he renounces tribal relations, an Indian has no standing in our courts. If he does leave his tribe, he acquires no citizenship, but the rights of an alien, his children, of course, being citizens by birth. " Such in a most general way, is the position of this people. The simple question before us is. How are we to deal with them ? While it is contended on the one hand that there is in the Indian a cruelty, treachery, and want of moral perception, which makes it impossible for him to be civilized, and, further, that it is the universal law of human progress that the lower race shall go down before the higher — it is urged on the other that we have abun- dant evidence of the Indian's capability of civilization, and that the real difficulty is in our neglect and oppression. '' On even a slight examination of the question this, at least, seems plain : The Indian is separated from the rest of our population by two great barriers — tlie difference of race and the difference of his political position from every other man's in the community. These two things have from the first worked together to make him a stranger in his own country. The bar- rier of race induced us to put him in a WTong political position, and that wrong political position has perpetuated the barrier of race. If these peo- ple are ever to be assimilated, they can be assimilated only by breaking down these two barriers. We must bring them as nearly as we can to the level of our civilization, and place them in our position politically. It is evident, also, that in the nature of things, this isolation cannot continue. The rush of Western settlement grows more and more ; an enormous army pours continually into our Eastern seaports to spread itself over the West. How can we keep these still places in the midst of the current, a bit of the stone age in the crush and fever of American enterprise ? Yet this people is there — a hard, undeniable, stubborn fact ; and it is increasing, a spot of red in the white of our civilization which 'will not out.' We are thus brought face to face with that uncompromising alternative which everyone who rationally considers this question must recognize. We must either butcher them or civilize them, and what we do we must do quickly. The. first would, of course, never be tolerated by our people ; the other is that to which our Government has committed itself. " This civilization, then, is not a sentimental undertaking for the bene- fit of the Indian — it is a national necessity. We must make them self-sup- porting, industrious and peaceable. We must in the order of things, for own interest, assimilate and civilize them." So much for an enthusiast and sentimentalist. 230 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. And in sharp corroboration I venture to append the views of one of our ablest and most active Army Officers, and an Indian fighter of renown. lie says, " I believe it to be true : " That while the management of the Indians by the General Govern- ment is probably better for them than State control would have been, it is, through the fault of a system of Government which pays little attention to the rights of those who have no votes, no representation, and no redress in the courts, a complete failure as a policy. '' That the Indian is in a stage of advancement, common at some time in their history to all nations and peoples ; that the efforts made for his ad- vancement in civilization have so far failed of beneficial result, not from exceptional stupidity, or barbarism, or other peculiarity of the subject, but because they have been ill-directed, and because there is more money to be made of him by leaving him as he is. " That the ' treaty system ' means simply Government stultification ; that the Indian tribes are not independent governments, and cannot be made so by any trick of rhetoric ; and that it is only a legal cover for deceit, chicanery, and fraud. " That our trade and intercourse laws are obsolete and ineffective for good to the country, or for protection to the Indian, but active and effectual for swindling and pauperizing him. " That the Indian is absolutely our prisoner, debarred by our act from means to support himself ; and by the rules of war, and the common law of humanity, must be supported by us. " That the selection of a Governor and agent of the Indian tribes, simply because he is an eminently pious man, is an absurdity in itself, a fraud on the Indians, and a disgrace to the Government. " That no man will work simply for the love of work, and that, if the Government really desires the advancement of the Indian, it must give him an object, an incentive— a farm in severalty. '' That the ballot in this country is the best protective, and that the Indian, whether worthy of and fitted for it or not, should have its protection. •' That if given the ballot, the question as to whether or not he should be removed from State limits, will lose its importance. '' That the isolation of Indians on reservations is bad policy, tending to maintain the present antagonism between the wiiite and red races, which closer residence and more freedom of intercourse would allay. " That it is not to the interest of any Government to encourage the growth within its borders, of communities not owning allegiance to it, or the increase of a population of aliens ; that the independent nations in the Territories are not in accord with the spirit of our institutions, nor consistent with our national dignity and honor ; that they should be abol- ished, and all the inhabitants made citizens of the United States. " That the setting aside of forty-one millions of acres of magnificent country for the exclusive occupancy of a few thousand Indians, is a wrong to both white and Indian, a wrong to the future of our country, an attempt which will and ought of right to fail. " That every legitimate effort should be made to break up tribal rela- WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH OUR INDIANS? 231 tions, to encourage individual independence, and a sense of responsibility to a law instead of to a chief. " These specifications of omission and commission, with numerous other similar to, or arising out of them, constitute the ' Bill of Indict- ment ' against the United States for its treatment of its Indian population — a population now a constant cause of anxiety, trouble, and expense, but which, if properly managed, would have been to the country an element of strength and pride." So much for an experienced Army Officer. Isn't it remarkable how nearly two different observers, viewing this question from entirely different standpoints, but simply trying to be fair, agree upon essentials ? It would seem then, as if the issue was civilization or extermination. And let me say right here that I would consider the latter, quickly, hon- estly and openly done, infinitely more honorable than our present modes of procedure. But if we are to civilize them, we must educate ; not necessarily cram them with a mass of indigestible facts, but teach them to educe enough to make them self-sustaining, intelligent factors in our civilization, and to finally cause them to disappear as separate or alien communities. And the education should be purely secular until we, oiu'selves, are as consistent in our religious beliefs as we are in matters of secular training. When the question of education comes up, it is almost always accom- panied (unconsciously in many cases) by the idea of religious training. The two seem inseparable to many very worthy people. We profess to be a Christian nation, but we are not all Christians, and those who are, do not all believe in the same doctrines. To the Indian this seems the strangest absurdity. One man comes to him and preaches predestination and infant damnation. Another preaches a simpler faith, with his hat on. Another says the Indian must be immersed. Still another says all these don't amount to much, but the Indian must sing and sing loud. Finally one comes along and tells him he must not eat meat on Friday. Yet all preach Christ and the Sermon on the Mount. Now the Indian has a consistent, clearly defined belief in the constant and direct management of all the affairs of this life as well as the next, by the gods. It is the All-pervading, Imminent God of St. Jerome in another form. We may call it the Indian's belief, superstition, idolatry, or what not, but we cannot remove it or change it until we give them another which is consistent, and which is accompanied by consistent prac- tices in our own daily lives. The growth of the plants he knows, the movements of the stars and of the sun, the changes of the seasons, every- thing, even down to the putting of the saddle blanket on his horse, is con- trolled and directed by this unseen, but ever-present, omnipotent power. Is it any wonder he goes back to his sun-dance or his fire-dance or heeds the counsels of his medicine man when our men or our methods prove to be such inconsistent and lamentable failures V The Indians are, in my judg- ment, ripe for practical education, but as far as possible should be let alone in their beliefs until we can teach them by example as well as by precept. That they can be educated, that they are bright and intelligent and sus- 232 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. ceptible of proper direction, every Indian school in the country, no matter how poorly managed nor under what control, will bear me witness. The necessity of educating the Indian, as well as the obligation, has been re- peatedly recognized in our promises to them. But how terribly short our performances have been. Measured by the only standard our grasping age and busy nation seems to know, the U. S. Government owed the Navajo tribe over $800,000.00 in unfulfilled obligations in the matter of education alone, when I left them about seven years ago. The amount is considerably over a million now. " The injury,'' says Capt. Pratt, of the Carlisle Indian School, '' done by the United States Government to the large number of Indian boys and girls who have grown up during the present generation by withholding this promised and valuable training, and the actual injury and loss to the country from their having been an ignorant, pauper, peace-destroying, life- disturbing and impoverishing instead of an intelligent producing element, could not be stated in figures." Coming squarely up to an answer to the question, " What shall we do with our Indians V" I believe with General Dodge we ought to : 1st. Abrogate all existing treaties. We don't keep them anyhow. We should wipe them out. 2d. Abolish all •' trade and intercourse " laws now on the statute book and give the Indians the same rights in trade as are enjoyed by the citizens of the United States. 3d. Give the Indians farms in severalty where the local conditions will permit of successful farming, not, however, requiring the rigid continued residence our homestead laws demand; but encouraging by judicious guidance the formation of permanent homes, and where practicable village settlements. 4th. Give the Indian the ballot and the rights and duties of citizen- ship, and make him amenable to the local laws as an individual as soon as tlie country in which he resides shall have been organized into a county. • One particular proposition, that of land- in-several ty, a measure which has been so strenuously advocated by many sincere friends of the Indian, might, perhaps, be touched upon here. I do not believe it can be made to fit all localities. A hundred and sixty acres of land in a country where the soil is fertile, the rains ample and reliable, and where there are running streams, would, under ordinary conditions, grow sufticient food to supply the wants of an ordinary family, and that family's neighbor might have the adjoining one hundred and sixty acres upon which he, too, might raise what was needed for his support. i^ut I cannot see how that system can be applied to Indians living in places where no streams exist, where there are a few mountain and canyon springs, and the remainder is a rocky, sandy desert ; and in places where water is sixty miles apart. The one who happens to have the spring is all right, but what about the fellow on the adjoining quarter-section, and the next spring from ten to sixty miles away ? I believe, if the Indians had a written history, that the record of their gallant, but wholly unavailing struggle, against the unjust and over- WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH OUR INDIANS? 233 whelming odds that have crowded them from the Eastern sea to a narrow and constantly narrowing strip in the center of the Continent, would equal anything in history, as a story of superb courage and manly deeds. I say this in full view of the barbaric cruelties that have been perpetrated by some of the Indians, in retaliation for the terrible outrages we, as a people, have practised upon them. But even these retaliations in many cases have been greatly exaggerated. I have been down in the Apache country during the period of three different outbreaks; when Victorio, Cochise and Geronimo were ravaging the country ; and settlers and troops in both Territories and Northern Mexico were doing their best to stop their depredations. The papers of the entire country were filled with the atrocities of the Apaches, but not one word could be found in print about the four thousand Apaches who staid at home and were busily engaged in digging ditches and in planting crops, and in some cases raising hay and grain, which was sold to the very troops that were engaged in pursuit of their brethren. Twenty or twenty-five men, as near as I can learn, were all the Apaches had on the war-path at any one time, but those twenty-five men managed to keep a good many hundreds of our people industriously engaged for years in the arduous task of catching them. I have traversed .this entire region unarmed ; in fact, I have scarcely ever deemed it necessary to carry arms in Indian country, unless when I was approaching white settlements. And I certainly have felt less trepidation in the heart of the wilderness without a white man near, than I have in walking the streets of Chicago or New York after twelve o'clock at night. From the meager reports of the present troubles with the Indians in the Northwest, which we get from our local papers, I believe that they were caused by the failure of the Government to keep its agreement, and by the ambition of some military officers for some opportunities of distinction, which would entitle them to promotion before they were retired; "for revenue only." With reference to the failures of the Government, it is simply repeating a trite and incontrovertible statement, which is confirmed by the experi- ences of others, to say, that the Government has never yet carried out any agreement that it made with the Indians. I don't believe that we ought to make a treaty with them at all ; but if we do make one, we ought to carry it out. Our treaties, however, are made as a general thing for the purpose of evading the present exigencies, and are not intended to be car- ried out. I sat in the committee room of the Committee of Appropriations of the House of Kepresentatives at Washington, some years ago when the Indian Bill was under discussion. A clause in the Bill provided for the carrving out of our treaty agreement with some of the very Indians that are now on the war-path in the Northwest. For this purpose, we had agreed to furnish fifteen thousand dollars annually. One Representative urged that the sum named in the bill be made five thousand dollars; setting up as a reason that there was an election approaching, and that they would '" have to econo- mize on something." Another member, with a little more conscience, sug- 284 ECHOES OF THE SUNSET CLUB. gested, that the clause as it read was in accordance with the provisions of a treaty agreement, and that we ought to carry it out. The first member still demurred, and finally clinched the matter with the remark, "Let's make it five thousand, and if they make any fuss we'll lick 'em." For a condensed statement of our practical Indian policy, I would feel willing to back that sentence against anything in the language. The name of the member who made this remark is Ilolman of Indiana. Wliile I was in Washington at that time, I met the agent who was in charge of the Pine Ilidge Agency, one of the scenes of the recent troubles ; that agent had made a recommendation, that as he was in a position to teach the Indians farming, and other methods of civilized support, he would undertake to remove the necessity of the sending of such large quan- tities of food supplies to his Agency, if the Government would permit him to use more farmers, and give him more tools to work with. The answer to that was, the increase of the appropriation for the Pine River Agency to five hundred thousand dollars, and a cut down of the Agent's salary. The inference was too plain, and he resigned. In my own case, they did a similar thing; I made the recommendation that they send no food supplies, but get me farming tools and let me hire men who could teach the Indians how to use them. They increased the ap- propriation sixteen fold, and reduced my salary five hundred dollars a year. Same inference, same result. Not because the salary was reduced, but be- cause they insisted on sending what was not needed, and withholding the really useful things. My recommendations were based on the fact that the tribe had over a million sheep, and was worth, head for head, as much as its wliite neighbor's in this world's goods ; so they did not need the food. But I did w^ant them to have tools and schools; good working schools. It will be readily seen that the question of furnishing or not furnishing what is needed is governed largely by the interests of the individual who is furnishing it. It is undeniably true that much good has been done toward uplifting this oppressed and degraded race by persons wiio are directly or indirectly in the employ of the Government; but my observation has been, that in such cases the good has been done by the individuals ; not through the help of the Government, but in spite of the Government's interference. Two notable instances of wise, humane, strong and just work that have come under my notice, are the labors of Capt. Bullis at the San Carlos Agency in this Territory, and that of Miss Grace Howard amongst the Dakotahs. We may as well make up our minds to the fact that the Indians are not disappearing, and will not disappear from natural causes, even in tiie face of our advancing civilization. We may exterminate them partially, as we did the heroic band who were led by Nez Perce Joseph ; who lost fifty per cent of their number by siieer homesickness after their removal to the Indian Territory. Or we may inveigle them into a surrender by fraud as Crook did Geronimo, and send them to die in the swamps of Florida. But they are a vital living fact with which we have to deal ; and the most vital so far as our national WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH OUR INDIANS? 235 honor is concerned. And we can only cause tlieni to disappear by extermi- nation or absorption. The latter course involves some measure of preparation. The Indian is fairly entitled to that standing in the courts which is fieely given as a right and necessity to every other man. He is fairly entitled to citizen- ship, and it is clearly to our interest to make them quiet, self-supporting citizens. It will never be accomplished, however, by tormenting the Indians into an outbreak to gratify the personal avarice or ambition of a few individ- uals. I overheard two men discussing the probability of an outbreak, one evening a few weeks ago. in our store. One of them hoped ''the Indians would break out because it would make times lively and money plenty for awhile." I have heard that remark, in substance, many times before. I do not know that I have answered in this paper the question '' What shall we do with our Indians?" but I have tried to indicate some of the things I think should be done. Tiie question has been answered a hundred times, and the answers of honest and thoughtful men who have investi- gated the subject, are substantially the same. I sometimes feel that if it could be so arranged that this big, awkward and unjust machine that we call the Government, could be prevailed upon to take its hands off the Indians and let them alone, that would be one step in the right direction. In my twenty-two years of life in Indian country, I have seen a great many cases of controversy between Indians and white men ; and I have never known of a single one in which the Indian was not right. Not a single one. It is easier of course to point out the disease than to prescribe a remedy, and I can do no more in such a disjointed and hastily prepared article as this, than to undertake to outline a few personal experiences and personal opinions. In the preparation of the paper, I have diawn freely upon the expres- sions of sincere and able men who have given earnest attention to this subject. And, in so far as my own convictions were found to be confirmed by their views, I have adopted their language as being clearer and better than my own. If it has suggested a new thought, or awakened an old one, or will lead even in a remote degree to a wise and just solution of the Indian problem, I shall feel abundantly rewai ded. ;UiriVBRSITT] UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW 30m-6,'14 YC 27273 Hii .573 4^??^