CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY GIFT OF J. R. Anderson Co. Cornell University Library E 168.C28 1886 Triumphant democrac 3 1924 028 682 585 Triumphant Democracy OR FIFTY YEARS' MARCH OF THE REPUBLIC BY ANDREW CARNEGIE NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 1886 E ft Copyright, 1886, Bv ANDREW CARNEGIE. U,i,./. fil-^T-' ''J Press of J. J. Little & Co. Astor Place, New York. TO THE BELOVED REPUBLIC UNDER WHOSE EQUAL LAWS I AM MADE THE PEER OF ANY MAN, ALTHOUGH DENIED POLITICAL EQUALITY BY MY NATIVE LAND, I DEDICATE THIS BOOK WITH AN INTENSITY OF GRATITUDE AND ADMIRATION WHICH THE NATIVE-BORN CITIZEN CAN NEITHER FEEL NOR UNDERSTAND. ANDREW CARNEGIE. PREFACE. Born a subject of the Monarchy, adopted a citizen of the Republic, how could it be otherwise than that I should love both lands and long to do whatever in me lay to bring their people to a like affection for each other ! The lamentable ignorance concerning the new land which I have found even in the highest political circles of the old first suggested to me how delightful the task would be to endeavor to show something of what the Republic really is, and thus remove, at least in part, the misconceptions which still linger in the minds of many good people of Britain. I believed, also, that my attempt would give to Americans a better idea of the great work their country had done and is still doing in the world. Probably few Americans will read this book without being astonished at some of the facts elicited. During its progress I have been deeply interested in it, and it may truly be regarded as a labor of love — the tribute of a very dutiful and grateful adopted son to the country which has removed the stigma of inferiority which his native land saw proper to impress upon him at birth, and has made him, in the estimation of its great laws as well as in his vi Preface. own estimation (much the more important considera- tion), the peer of any human being who draws the breath of life, be he pope, kaiser, priest or king— hence- forth the subject of no man, but a free man, a citizen ! It is to the people, the plain, common folk, the De- mocracy of Britain, that I seek to show the progress, prosperity, and happiness of their child, the Repubhc, that they may still more deeply love it and learn that the government of the people through the republican form and not the government of a class through the monarchical form is the surest foundation of individual growth and of national greatness. To the whole body of Americans I have been anx- ious to give a juster estimate than prevails in some quarters of the political and social advantages which they so abundantly possess over the people of the older and less advanced lands, that they may be still prouder and even more devoted if possible to their institutions than they are ; and I have, also, been no less anxious that the influence of every page of this book might be to in- cline the American to regard with reverence and affection the great parent people from whom he has sprung, from whose sacrifices in the cause of civil and religious lib- erty he has reaped so rich a harvest, and to whom he owes a debt of gratitude which can never be adequately repaid. The work once decided upon, I naturally obtained all preceding books bearing upon the subject. As the Preface. vii pile of reference books, census reports and statistical works lay around upon tables and shelves, the ques- tion suggested itself, " Shall these dry bones live ? " I hope, therefore, indulgent readers, that you will not be warranted in accusing me of giving too much solid information. I have tried to coat the wholesome medicine of facts in the sweetest and purest sugar of fancy at my command. Pray you, open your mouths and swallow it in small doses, and like the sugar even if you detest the pill. One word, however, to the critical statistician, and let this be very clearly understood : al- though designedly written in as light a style as I am master of, mark me, no liberties have been taken with facts, figures or calculations. Every statement has been carefully verified and re-verified ; every calculation has been gone over and over again. My readers may safely rely upon the correctness of every quantitative state- ment made. Considered as a book of reference, what is herein stated is under-stated rather than over-stated. I acknowledge with great pleasure the almost indis- pensable aid received in the preparation of this work from my clever secretary, Mr. Bridge. I am also in- debted to Mr. John D. Champlin, Jr., for many valuable suggestions and for careful supervision as it went through the press. The books and documents and official reports con- sulted have been legion ; I cannot, therefore, undertake to mention them, but I have received more data from viii Preface. that marvellous work — " Scribner's Statistical Atlas " — than from any other source or, indeed, from any several sources combined. And now, if I have succeeded in giving my country- men on either or both sides of the Atlantic even a small amount of information about the Republic of my love, or brought them nearer together in the bonds of genial affection, or hastened by one hour the day in which my native land shall stand forth with my adopted land under the only noble political creed — that which proclaims the equality of the citizen — I shall have re- ceived an ample reward. The Author. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE The Republic i CHAPTER II. The American People 23 CHAPTER III. Cities and Towns 46 CHAPTER IV. Conditions of Life 74 CHAPTER V. Occupations 109 CHAPTER VI. Education 131 CHAPTER VII. Religion 152 CHAPTER VIII. Pauperism and Crime 165 CHAPTER IX. Agriculture i8o CHAPTER X. Manufactures 2n X Contents. CHAPTER XI. PAGE Mining ^4i CHAPTER XII. Trade and Commerce 265 CHAPTER XIII. Railways and Waterways 283 CHAPTER XIV. Art and Music 316 CHAPTER XV. Literature 342 CHAPTER XVI. The Federal Constellation 364 CHAPTER XVII. Foreign Affairs 398 CHAPTER XVIII. The Government's Non-political Work 414 CHAPTER XIX. The National Balance Sheet 446 CHAPTER XX, General Reflections 471 a- H a> o © '-I ^^ -t o ^3 a 8Si .-( I-H rJ o OS ' ) P O iH -* ' > S W 'O i-H ■ • «S O -* ^ ' ill?? ;sses ^ CO ;_■ cl *-* ?^ "K E ^ ■ Sj 3 oj 2 H <3 o S < ^ =3 =y 5 :^ ±: h2 o, ■g ^ E ^ " H H ^5 Z O ■^ o ^ ^ ■ ;^ <3 ^ t^ .53 -S M P O O CO CO (« o ■p 5» 'E 'S g B O a oi 3 G ^ ■ c , as c3 ■ ■■i K B ^ c; CO ^ ^ m 1-: a; a; o ;j jj m 3- «5 « i^^ 00 oi g 55 « gj jj jrf ^- $;f gj oj ] ?3 g-a o s' 8 9 -5 ^ & ffl % s ts « ^ >, i B 3 3 >^ T -M w be ?= o tri s a a> S a 2 ^1 g o o c rt- ^ o 2 j:: tfj V. o o <» ^ O W M §. i q (1, " i ^a a '" •—. ZZ p a s «- a ^ ^ s ;?i g H ■M to-*- - '^ ^ ^ ' o ^ 13 ; fe ^ "C nuLiii*^ 3 O ^ CO < ? ■* ^ 5 ( I CO to cocococoSScocoSjiyii-'.-i^rH k CD '*' s . £0 O ■ C CI ■ i^qi^'^^^'^i?^^gr3£^£?3SSt;SS8J5gg^gS TRIUMPH AN r DEMOCRACY. CHAPTER I. THE REPUBLIC. " Methinks I see in my mind a noble and puissant nation rousing herself like a strong man after sleep, and shaking her invincible locks ; methinks I see her as an eagle mewing her mighty youth, and kindling her undazzled eyes at the full mid-day beam ; purging and unsealing her long-abused sight at the fountain itself of heavenly radiance ; while the whole noise of timorous and flocking birds, with those also that love the twilight, flutter about, amazed at what she means." — Milton. The old nations of the earth creep on at a snail's pace ; the Republic thunders past with the rush of the express. The United States, the growth of a single century, has already reached the foremost rank among nations, and is destined soon to out-distance all others in the race. In population, in wealth, in annual sav- ings, and in public credit ; in freedom from debt, in agriculture, and in manufactures, America already leads the civilized world. France, with her fertile plains and sunny skies, requires a hundred and sixty years to grow two Frenchmen where one grew before. Great Britain, whose rate of increase is greater than that of any 2 Triumphant Democracy. other European nation, takes seventy years to double her population. The Republic has repeatedly doubled hers in twenty-five years. In 1 83 1, Great Britain and Ireland contained twenty- four millions of people, and fifty years later (1881) thirty-four millions. France increased, during the same period, from thirty-two and a half to thirty- seven and a half millions. The Republic bounded from thirteen to fifty millions. England gained ten, France five, the United States thirty-seven millions ! Thus the Republic, in one half-century, added to her numbers as many as the present total population of France, and more than the present population of the United Kingdom. Think of it ! A Great Britain and Ireland called forth from the wilderness, as if by magic, in less than the span of a man's few days upon earth, almost "As if the yawning earth to heaven, A subterranean host had given." Truly the Republic is the Minerva of nations ; full- armed has she sprung from the brow of Jupiter Britain. The thirteen millions of Americans of 1830 have now increased to fifty-six millions — more English-speaking people than exist in all the world besides ; more than in the United Kingdom and all her colonies, even were the latter doubled in population ! Startling as is this statement, it is tame in com- parison with that which is to follow. In 1850 the The Republic. 3 total wealth of the United States was but $8,430,000,- 000 (;£■ 1,686,000,000), while that of the United King- dom exceeded $22,500,000,000 (;^4, 500,000,000), or near- ly three times that sum. Thirty short years sufficed to reverse the positions of the respective countries. In 1882 the Monarchy was possessed of a golden load of no less than eight thousand, seven hundred and twenty millions sterling. Just pause a moment to see how this looks when strung out in cold figures ; but do not try to realize what it means, for mortal man cannot conceive it. Herbert Spencer need not travel so far afield to reach the "unknowable!" He has it right here under his very eyes. Let him try to "know" the import of this — $43,600,000,000 (;£'8,- 720,000,000) ! It is impossible. But stupendous as this seems, it is exceeded by the wealth of the Re- public, which in 1880, two years before, amounted to $48,950,000,000 (^^9,790,000,000). What a mercy we write for 1880; for had we to give the wealth of one year later another figure would have to be found, and added to the interminable row. America's wealth to- day greatly exceeds ten thousand millions sterling. Nor is this altogether due to her enormous agricultural resources, as may at first glance be thought ; for all the world knows she is first among nations in agricul- ture. It is largely attributable to her manufacturing industries, for, as all the world does not know, she, and not Great Britain, is also the greatest manufacturing A Triumphant Democracy. country. In 1880 British manufactures amounted in value to eight hundred and eighteen millions sterling ; those of America to eleven hundred and twelve mil- lions* — nearly half as much as those of the whole of Europe, which amounted to twenty-six hundred mil- lions. Thus, although Great Britain manufactures for the whole world, and the Republic is only gaining, year after year, greater control of her own markets, Britain's manufactures in 1880 were not two-thirds the value of those of the one-century-old Republic, which is not generally considered a manufacturing country at all. In the savings of nations America also comes first, her annual savings of two hundred and ten millions sterling exceeding those of the United Kingdom by fifty-six millions, and those of France by seventy mil- lions sterling. The fifty million Americans of 1880 could have bought up the one hundred and forty mil- lions of Russians, Austrians, and Spaniards; or, after purchasing wealthy France, would have had enough pocket money to acquire Denmark, Norway, Switzer- land, and Greece. The Yankee Republican could even buy the home of his ancestors — the dear old home with all its exquisite beauty, historical associations, and glor- ious traditions, which challenge our love— and hold it captive, * British returns do not include flour-mills and saw-mills, but sixty millions sterling, a sum far beyond their possible value, have been al- lowed for these in the above estimate. The Republic. 5 " The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces, .ir . ^ The solemn temples,'' ... aye, every acre of Great Britain and Ireland could he buy, and hold it as a pretty little Isle of Wight to his great continent ; and after doing this he could turn round and pay off the entire national debt of that deeply indebted land, and yet not exhaust his fortune, the product of a single century ! What will he not be able to do ere his second century closes ! Already the nations which have played great parts in the world's history grow small in comparison. In a hundred years they will be as dwarfs, in two hundred mere pigmies to this giant ; he the Gulliver of nations, they but Lili- putians who may try to bind him with their spider threads in vain. The shipping of the Republic ranks next to that of the world's carrier, Britain. No other nation approaches her for second place. In 1880, the carrying power of Great Britain was eighteen millions of tons; that of the Republic nine millions, being about one-half the mother-land's commercial fleet, but more than that of France, Germany, Norway, Italy, and Spain combined, these being the five largest carrying powers of Europe after Britain. The Western Republic has more than four times the carrying capacity of its European sister France, and quite four times as much as Germany. Her ships earned nearly twenty per cent, of the total shipping earnings of the world in 1880. France and 6 Triumphant Democracy . Germany each earned but a shade over five per cent. The exports and imports of America are already equal to those of either of those countries — about ;£'300,ooo,000 sterling. Nothwithstanding those facts, which are cor- roborated by Mulhall, and are known to be correct, the general impression is that the Republic, gigantic as she is on land, has very little footing upon the water. This is one of many popular delusions about the "kin beyond sea." But while she is next to Britain herself as a mari- time power, it is when we turn to her internal com- merce — her carrying power on land — that she reverses positions with her great mother. The internal com- merce of the United States exceeds the entire foreign commerce of Great Britain and Ireland, France, Ger- many, Russia, Holland, Austria-Hungary, and Belgium combined. For railway freight over a hundred and ten millions sterling are annually paid, a greater sum than the railway freightage of Great Britain, France, and Italy collectively, and more than is earned by all the ships in the world, exclusive of America's own earnings from ships. The Pennsylvania Railroad system alone trans- ports more tonnage than all Britain's merchant ships. In military and naval power the Republic is at once the weakest and the strongest of nations. Her regular army consists of but twenty-five thousand men scattered all over the continent in companies of fifty or a hun- dred. Her navy, thank God ! is as nothing. But twenty years ago, as at the blast of a trumpet, she called into The Republic. 7 action two millions of armed men, and floated six hun- dred and twenty-six war-ships. Even the vaunted legions of Xerxes, and the hordes of Attila and Timour were exceeded in numbers by the citizen soldiers who took up arms in 1861 to defend the unity of the nation, and who, when the task was done, laid them quietly down, and returned to the avocations of peace. As Macaulay says of the soldiers of the Commonwealth : " In a few months there remained not a trace indicating that the most formidable army in the world had just been absorbed into the mass of the community." And the character of the Republic's soldiers, too, recalls his account of this republican army of Cromwell's. " The Royalists themselves confessed that, in every depart- ment of honest industry, the discarded warriors pros- pered beyond other men, that none was charged with any theft or robbery, that none was heard to ask for alms, and that if a baker, a mason, or a wagoner at- tracted notice by his diligence and sobriety, he was in all probability one of Oliver's old soldiers." This was when the parent land was free from hereditary rulers and under the invigorating influence of republican insti- tutions. Thus do citizens fight on one side of the At- lantic as on the other, and, grander far, thus return to the pursuits of peace. Not for throne, for king, or for privileged class, but for Country. For a country which gives to the humblest every privilege accorded to the greatest, one says instinctively, 8 Triumpha^it Democracy. " Where 's the coward that would not dare To fight for such a land ! " Britons as republicans were of course invincible. What chance in the struggle has a royalist who cries, " My king!" against the citizen whose patriotic ardor glows as he whispers, " My country ! " The " God save the King " of the monarchist grows faint before the nobler strain of the republican, * " God bless our native land ! " Our king, poor triflier, may be beneath consideration. Our country is ever sure of our love. There be words to conjure and work miracles with, and " our country " is of these. Others, having ceased to be divine, have become ridiculous, and " king " and " throne " are of these. The twenty thousand Englishmen who met in Bing- ley Hall, Birmingham, to honor the sturdiest English- man of all, John Bright, dispersed not with the paltry and puerile " God save the Queen," but with these glor- ious words sung to the same tune : " God bless our native land, May heaven's protecting hand Still guard her shore ; May peace her fame extend, Foe be transformed to friend. And Britain's power depend On war no more." Worthy this of England, blessed mother of nations The Republic. g which now are, and of others yet to be. To hear it was worth the voyage across the Atlantic. Never crept the thrill of triumph more wildly through my frame than when I lifted up my voice and sang with the exulting mass the coming national hymn which is to live and vibrate round the world when royal families are as extinct as dodos. God speed the day ! A royal family is an insult to every other family in the land. I found no trace of them at Birmingham. The Republic wants neither standing army nor navy. In this lies her chief glory and her strength. Resting securely upon the love and devotion of all her sons, she can, Cadmus-like, raise from the soil vast armed hosts who fight only in her defence, and who, unlike the seed of the dragon, return to the avocations of peace when danger to the Republic is past. The American citizen who will not fight for his country if attacked is un- worthy the name, and the American citizen who could be induced to engage in aggressive warfare is equally so. Of more importance even than commercial or military strength is the Republic's commanding posi- tion among nations in intellectual activity ; for she excels in the number of schools and colleges, in the number and extent of her libraries, and in the num- ber of newspapers and other periodicals published. In the application of science to social and indus- trial uses, she is far in advance of other nations. lo Triumphant Democracy. Many of the most important practical inventions which have contributed to the progress of the world during the past century originated with Americans. No other people have devised so many labor-saving machines and appliances. The first commercially suc- cessful steamboat navigated the Hudson, and the first steamship to cross the Atlantic sailed under the American flag from an American port. America gave to the world the cotton-gin, and the first practical mowing, reaping, and sewing machines. In the most spiritual, most ethereal of all departments in which man has produced great triumphs, viz. : electricity, the position of the American is specially noteworthy. He may be said almost to have made this province his own, for, beginning with Franklin's discovery of the identity of lightning and electricity, it was an Ameri- can who devised the best and most widely used sys- tem of telegraphy, and an American who boldly un- dertook to bind together the old and the new land with electric chains. In the use of electricity for illuminating purposes America maintains her posi- tion as iirst wherever this subtile agent is invoked. The recent addition to the world's means of commu- nication, the telephone, is also to be credited to the new land. Into the distant future of this giant nation we need not seek to peer ; but if we cast a glance for- ward, as we have done backward, for only fifty The Republic. i r years, and assume that in that short interval no serious change will occur, the astounding fact star- tles us that in 1935, fifty years from now, when many in manhood will still be living, one hundred and eighty millions of English-speaking republicans will exist under one flag and possess more than two hundred and fifty thousand millions of dollars, or fifty thousand millions sterling of national wealth. Eighty years ago the whole of America and Eu- rope did not contain so many people ; and, if Europe and America continue their normal growth, it will be little more than another eighty years ere the mighty Republic may boast as many loyal citizens as all the rulers of Europe combined, for before the year 1980 Europe and America will each have a population of about six hundred mil- lions. The causes which have led to the rapid growth and aggrandizement of this latest addition to the family of nations constitute one of the most in- teresting problems in the social history of mankind. What has brought about such stupendous results — so unparalleled a development of a nation within so brief a period ! The most important factors in this problem are three : the ethnic character of the people, the topographical and climatic conditions under which they developed, and the influence of political institutions founded upon the equality of the citizen. 1 2 Trhi^nphaiit Democracy. Certain writers in the past have maintained that the ethnic type of a people has less influence upon its growth as a nation than the conditions of life under which it is developing. The modern ethnologist knows better. We have only to imagine what America would be to-day if she had fallen, in the beginning, into the hands of any other people than the colonizing British, to see how vitally important is this question of race. America was indeed fortunate in the seed planted upon her soil. With the exception of a few Dutch and French it was wholly British ; and, as will be shown in the next chapter, the American of to-day remains true to this noble strain and is four-fifths British. The spe- cial aptitude of this race for colonization, its vigor and enterprise, and its capacity for governing, although brilliantly manifested in all parts of the world, have never been shown to such advantage as in America. Freed here from the pressure of feudal institutions no longer fitted to their present development, and freed also from the dominion of the upper classes, which have kept the people at home from effective management of affairs and sacrificed the nation's interest for their own, as is the nature of classes, these masses of the lower ranks of Britons, called upon to found a new state, have proved themselves possessors of a positive genius for political administration. The second, and perhaps equally important factor in the problem of the rapid advancement of this branch of The Republic. 13 the British race, is the superiority of the conditions un- der which it has developed. The home which has fallen to its lot, a domain more magnificent than has cradled any other race in the history of the world, presents no obstructions to unity — to the thorough amalgamation of its dwellers, North, South, East, and West, into one homogeneous mass — for the conformation of the Ameri- can continent differs in important respects from that of every other great division of the globe. In Europe the Alps occupy a central position, forming on each side watersheds of rivers which flow into opposite seas. In Asia the Himalaya, the Hindu Kush, and the Altai Mountains divide the continent, rolling from their sides many great rivers which pour their floods into widely separated oceans. But in North America the mountains rise up on each coast, and from them the land slopes gradually into great central plains, forming an immense basin where the rivers flow together in one valley, offer- ing to commerce many thousand miles of navigable streams. The map thus proclaims the unity of North America, for in this great central basin, three million square miles in extent, free from impassable rivers or mountain barriers great enough to hinder free inter- course, political integration is a necessity and consolida- tion a certainty. Herbert Spencer has illustrated by numerous ex- amples the principle that " mountain-haunting peoples and peoples living in deserts and marshes are difficult to 14 Triu^nphant Democracy. consolidate, while peoples penned in by barriers are consolidated with facility." Nations so separated, more- over, regard those beyond the barrier as natural enemies; and in Europe the ambition and selfishness of ruling dynasties have helped to make this belief the political creed of the people. Cowper has seized upon this idea in the well-known lines : " Mountains interposed Make enemies of nations, who had else Like kindred drops been mingled into one." Europe has thus been kept in a state of perpetual war or of preparation for war among some of its several divisions, entailing much misery and loss of life as well as of material wealth, and retarding civilization. Besides the rivers, the great lakes of America, esti- mated to contain one-third of all the fresh water in the world, are another important element in aid of consoli- dation. A ship sailing from any part of the world may discharge its cargo at Chicago in the north-west, a thousand miles inland. The Mississippi and its tribu- taries traverse the great western basin, a million and a quarter square miles in extent, and furnish an internal navigable system of twenty thousand miles. A steamer starting from Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, four hundred and fifty miles inland from New York, and two thousand from the mouth of the Mississippi, passing through these water highways, and returning to its starting place at that smoky metropolis of iron and steel, will sail a dis- The Republic. 15 tance much greater than round the world. Nor will it in all its course be stopped by any government official, or be taxed by any tariff. The flag it carries will en- sure free passage for ship and cargo, unimpeded by any fiscal charge whatever, for the whole continent enjoys the blessings of absolute freedom of intercourse among its citizens. In estimating the influences which pro- mote the consolidation of the people much weight must be given to this cause. Fifty-six millions of people, occupying an area which includes climatic differences so great that everything necessary for the wants of man can be readily produced, exchange their products with- out inspection or charge. Truly here is the most mag- nificent exhibition of free trade which the world has ever seen. It would be difficult to set bounds to the beneficial effects of the wise provision of the national Constitution which guarantees to every member of the vast confederacy the blessings of unrestricted commer- cial intercourse. Not only from an economical point of view, but from the higher stand-point of its bearing upon the unity and brotherhood of the people, this unrestricted freedom of trade must rank as one of the most potent agencies for the preservation of the Union. Were each of the thirty-eight States of the American continent to tax the products of the others we should soon see the dis- solution of the great Republic into thirty-eight warring factions. If any one doubts that free trade carries 1 6 Tri2imphant Democracy. peace in its train let him study the internal free trade system of America. The railway system, although an artificial creation, must rank as even more important than the great natu- ral water-ways, in its influence upon the unification of the people. A hundred and thirty thousand miles of railways — more than in the whole of Europe — traverse the country in all directions, and bind the nation to- gether with bonds of steel. From the Atlantic to the Pacific, three thousand miles apart, or from New York to New Orleans, the traveller passes without change in the same moving hotel. In it he is fed and lodged, and has every want supplied. Seven hundred and sixty thousand miles of tele- graph, enough to put thirty girdles round the earth — the very nerves of the Republic — quiver night and day with social and commercial messages. The college-bred youth of Massachusetts is not separated from the pater- nal home and its associations when on his ranche in Colo- rado ; nor is the Eastern young lady removed from the home influences of New York when she marries the Southern planter and goes forth to create a similar home in Texas. Constant communication between the fami- lies and frequent visits animate them with kindred ideas and keep them united. They carry the Stars and Stripes with them wherever they settle, and preserve the unity of the nation. In the course of her short career the Republic has had The Republic. - 17 to face and overcome two sources of great danger, either of which might have overtaxed the powers and stability of any pohtical fabric, resting upon a less wide and in- destructible base than the perfect equality of the citizen. The infant state was left with the viper, human slavery, gnawing at its vitals, and it grew and strengthened with the growth and strength of the Republic until sufficiently powerful to threaten its very life. Coiled round and into every joint and part of the body-politic and sucking away the moral strength of the nation, the slave power, in an effort to extend its baneful influence, fortunately committed one morning what is, in the soul of every American, the one unpardonable sin. It fired upon the flag. Blessed shot ! for it was required to bring home to the national conscience the knowledge that not only were freedom and slavery antagonistic social forces which never could be joined, but that slavery as a political in- stitution was inconsistent with the republican idea. The shot fired that bright, sunny morning at the ensign, floating like a thing of joy over the ramparts of Fort Sumter, left the patriot no recourse. A thrill passed through the Free States, and once again for unity, as before for independence, men of all parties pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to uphold the Republic. How nobly that pledge was redeemed is known to the world. Not only until every slave was free, but not until every slave was a citizen, with equal voice in 1 8 Triumphant Democracy. the State, was the righteous sword of the Republic sheathed. The second source of danger lay in the millions of foreigners who came from all lands to the hospitable shores of the nation, many of them ignorant of the English language, and all unaccustomed to the exercise of political duties. If so great a number stood aloof from the national life and formed circles of their own, or if they sought America for a period only, to earn money with which to return to their original homes, the injury to the State must inevitably be serious. The generosity, shall I not say the incredible gen- erosity, with which the Republic has dealt with these people met its reward. They are won to her side by being offered for their subject'^v^ the boon of citi- zenship. For denial of equal privileges at home, the new land meets them with perfect equality, saying, be not only with us, but be of us. They reach the shores of the Republic subjects (insulting word), and she makes them citizens ; serfs, and she makes them men, and their children she takes gently by the hand and leads to the public schools which she has founded for her own children, and gives them, without money and with- out price, a good primary education as the most precious gift which even she has, in her bountiful hand, to bestow upon human beings. This is Democracy's " gift of welcome " to the new comer. The poor immigrant can not help growing up passionately fond of his new home The Republic. 19 and, alas, with many bitter thoughts of the old land which has defrauded him of the rights of man, and thus the threatened danger is averted — the homogeneity of the people secured. The unity of the American people is further power- fully promoted by the foundation upon which the politi- cal structure rests, the equality of the citizen. There is not one shred of privilege to be met with anywhere in all the laws. One man's right is every man's right. The flag is the guarantor and symbol of equality. The people are not emasculated by being made to feel that their own country decrees their inferiority, and holds them unworthy of privileges accorded to others. No ranks, no titles, no hereditary dignities, and therefore no classes. Suffrage is universal, and votes are of equal weight. Representatives are paid, and political life and useful- ness thereby thrown open to all. Thus there is brought about a community of interests and aims which a Briton, accustomed to monarchical and aristocratic in- stitutions, dividing the people into classes with separate interests, aims, thoughts, and feelings, can only with difficulty understand. The free common school system of the land is probably, after all, the greatest single power in the unifying process which is producing the new Ameri- can race. Through the crucible of a good common English education, furnished free by the State, pass the various racial elements — children of Irishmen, 20 Triwmphant Democracy. Germans, Italians, Spaniards, and Swedes, side by side with the native American, all to be fused into one, in language, in thought, in feeling, and in patriotism. The Irish boy loses his brogue, and the German child learns English. The sympathies suited to the feudal systems of Europe, which they inherit from their fathers, pass off as dross, leaving behind the pure gold of the only noble political creed : " All men are created free and equal." Taught now to live and work for the common weal, and not for the maintenance of a royal family or an overbearing aristocracy, not for the con- tinuance of a social system which ranks them beneath an arrogant class of drones, children of Russian and German serfs, of Irish evicted tenants, Scotch crofters, and other victims of feudal tyranny, are transmuted into republican Americans, and are made one in love for a country which provides equal rights and privi- leges for all her children. There is no class so intensely patriotic, so wildly devoted to the Republic as the naturalized citizen and his child, for little does the native-born citizen know of the value of rights which have never been denied. Only the man born abroad, like myself, under institutions which insult him at his birth, can know the full meaning of Republicanism. It follows, from the prevailing system of free edu- cation, that the Americans are a reading people. Aris- ing out of this fact we find another powerful influence promoting unity of sentiment and purpose among the The Republic. 21 millions of the Republic — the influence of the Amer- ican press. Eight thousand newspapers scattered throughout the land receive simultaneous reports. Everybody in America reads the same news the same morning, and discusses the same questions. The man of San Francisco is thus brought as near to a common centre with his fellow-citizen of St. Paul, New Orleans or New York, as is the man of London with him of Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, or Edinburgh, and infinitely nearer than the man of Belfast or Dublin. The bullet of the lunatic which killed President Gar- field, could it have traveled so far, would have been outstripped by the lightning messengers which carried the sad news to the most distant hamlet upon the continent. The blow struck in the afternoon found a nation of fifty-six millions bowed with grief ere sunset. So, too, the quiet intimation conveyed one evening by Secretary Seward to the Minister of France, that he thought Mexico was a very healthy country for the French to migrate from, called forth at every break- fast table the next morning the emphatic response — " I rather guess that's so ! " Fortunately, the Emperor was of the same opinion. It is these causes which render possible the growth of a great homogeneous nation, alike in race, language, literature, interest, patriotism — an empire of such over- whelming power and proportions as to require neither army nor navy to ensure its safety, and a people so 2 2 Triumphant Democracy. educated and advanced as to value the victories of peace. The student of American affairs to-day sees no in- fluences at work save those which make for closer and closer union. The Republic has solved the problem of governing large areas by adopting the federal, or home-rule system, and has proved to the world that the freest self-government of the parts produces the strongest government of the whole. CHAPTER II. THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. " From biological truths it may be inferred that the eventual mixture of the allied varieties of the Aryan race forming the population, will pro- duce a finer type of man than has hitherto existed, and a type of man more plastic, more adaptable, more capable of undergoing the modifica- tions needful for complete social life. I think that, whatever difficulties they may have to surmount and whatever tribulations they may have to pass through, the Americans may reasonably look forward to a time when they will have produced a civilization grander than any the world has known." — Herbert Spencer. Fortunately for the American people they are essentially British. I trust they are evermore to re- main truly grateful for this crowning mercy. The asser- tion of the historian of the Norman Conquest that the chief difference between the Briton and the American is that the former has crossed but one ocean, the latter two, is something more than a mere dictum ; it is capa- ble of actual demonstration. Two and a half centuries ago the American population was British with a very small intermixture of French and Dutch. In 1776, when the colonies informed the world of the great truth that " all men are created equal," and set up an independent republic, without king or aristocracy, or any other of the political evils of the past, the popula- tion had reached three millions. In 1840 it had grown, 24 Triumphant Democracy. almost entirely by natural increase, to fourteen millions of white people. There were then three million colored slaves. That these fourteen million whites were almost purely of British origin is shown by the small amount of immigration up to that date. Previous to 1820, when immigration returns were first made, it is estimated that the total number of immigrants to that date had not exceeded a quarter of a million, and most of these were British. Between 1820 and 1830 there arrived only a hundred and forty-four thousand ; and during the next decade six hundred thousand, nearly all British, for the German and other Continental exodus had not then begun. It was not till after 1840 that immigration began on a large scale. Beginning then in 1840, with an almost purely British race, let us trace the ingredients which up to the pres- ent time have gone to make the American of to-day, differentiated as he is and yet only British " with a dif ference." The total number of immigrants to the United States between 1840 and 1880 was a little more than nine millions, fifty-five per cent, of whom were British. Just note this surprising truth. Lead into one the rivulets which swell the American population from all other parts of the world, and out of the little British Isles comes a stream mightier than all the others in its flow. Glorious mother ! with her own heart's blood she feeds her child. The American People, 25 The position may then be stated in round figures * in the following form : Of almost purely British origin in 1840 .... 14,196,000 Increase at 3 per cent, per annum to 1880 . . . 11,850,000 sfSritish immigration 1840 to 1880, with natural increase estimated at 3 per cent, per annum upon each year's arrivals up to 1880. ...... 9,175,000 Total British blood 35,221,000 Other than British immigration, 1840 to 1880 with in- crease estimated at 3 per cent, per annum . . 7,506,000 42,727,000 Thus the American of to-day is certainly more than four- fifths British in his ancestry. The other fifth is princi- pally German ; for more than three millions of these educated, thrifty, and law-abiding citizens were received between 1840 and 1880, almost as many as from Ireland. From all countries other than Britain and Germany, the immigration is scarcely worth taking into account ; for during the forty years noted the total number was little more than a million; France and Sweden and Nor- way contributed about three hundred thousand each. But this non-British blood has even less than its pro- * These figures are arrived at by taking the number of native whites and of immigrants each year, beginning 1840, and adding three per cent., which is about the natural rate of increase. The number of native births and of immigrants arriving the following year is then added, three per cent, again allowed, and so on up to 1880. The figures have been care- fully verified, and it is believed that by this mode the truth has been reached, since the result corresponds with the census of 1880, which shows 43,475,000 whites. 26 Triumphant Democracy. portional influence in forming the national character, especially in its political phase ; because the language, literature, laws, and institutions are English. It may, however, safely be averred that the small mixture of foreign races is a decided advantage to the new race, for even the British race is improved by a slight cross. Give me a British foundation, the beef-eater, to begin with, the stolid or, — if you will — stupid mind of the Philistine of dear Matthew Arnold's aversion, only partially open to the sweetness and light of life, slow as an elephant, tough as a rhinoceros, awkward as a mule and just as cantankerous, but possessed of an honest, courageous, well-meaning, and above all, truth- telling nature. A strange combination of the lion and the lamb, this Islander, — savage and sentimentalist in one. " It's a fine day, let's kill something," roars the savage — his daily remark for months at a time, and his daily practice too, for even the best educated Briton (with a few exceptions of the Spencer, Balfour, and Arnold type) has not yet risen in his recreations beyond shooting half-tame birds, " for the fun of the thing." And yet their typical hero, dying on the deck of the Victory, murmurs, " Kiss me, Hardy," as sweetly as a woman, and passes to the abode of heroes with a warrior's kiss upon his lips. And Nelson's antipode, fat Jack Falstaff — to show how extremes meet — so true to nature is Shakespeare — " ababbled o' green fields," as he left us ! There's genuine tenderness and The Aynerican People. 27 love in all these island mastiffs. And theirs is the one trait par excellence without which we say to a man or race — " unstable as water, thou shalt not excel." The Briton is stable. What he sets about to do he does, or dies in the attempt. Concentration is his peculiarity. He may not gain very fast, but he is a veritable ratchet wheel ; every inch he gains he holds. There's no slip back in him. Nor does he lose in the race by lateral motion. The tortoise beats the hare, of course ; the hare zig-zags. No zig-zag in John Bull. He does not like to go round a mountain even when it is the easier way ; he digs through. The hunter who found tempo- rary safety when attacked by a bear in catching it by the tail and swinging round with the would-be too af- fectionate monster, called to his companions to come and " help him to let go." By this sign we know he wasn't a Britisher, for it never occurs to the true Briton that in the nature of things he can voluntarily let go of anything. He would have been in with that bear for the whole war, " bound to fight it out on that line if it took all summer," as General Grant put it. And note it, fellow-citizens, he was a Grant. There came in the Scotch blood of that tenacious, self-con- tained, stubborn force, which kept pegging away, al- ways certain of final victory, because he knew that he could not divert himself, even if he wished, from the task he had undertaken. His very nature forbade retreat. Thus stood the sturdy, moody Scotch-Ameri- 28 Triumphant Democracy. can of steady purpose, fighting through to the finish with no " let go " in his composition, as that English- American Lincoln did — for Uncle Abe's family came from Norfolk — in the wider field of national policy when he, too, " kept his course unshaked of motion." This master trait of the British race shows resplend- ently in Lincoln, the greatest pohtical genius of our era — greatest, judged either by the inherent qualities of the man, or by the material results of his adminis- tration. Even Bismarck's reorganization of Germany dealt with far less imposing, far less gigantic forces than those which Lincoln was called upon to control. Nor has Bismarck achieved the highest degree of political success; he has not harmonized — fused into one united whole the people he has consolidated, as Lincoln did. His weapons have been those of force alone — blood and iron his cry ; even in peace a master solely by brutal force. Lincoln was as generous, as con- ciliatory, as gentle in peace as he was always sad and merciful ; yet ever immovable in war. Bismarck excited the fears of the masses ; Lincoln won their love. The one a rude conqueror only; the other not only that, but also the guider of the highest and best aspirations of his people. With monarchical Bismarck " might made right ; " with republican Lincoln " right made might." That's the difference. Hence the fame of one is to be ephemeral ; that of the other immortal. The American fortunately has, in the German, The American People. 29 French, and other races which have contributed to his make-up, the lacking ingredients which confer upon him a much less savage and more placable nature than that of the original Briton. To this slight strain of for- eign blood, and to the more stimulating effects of his brighter climate (which caused an English friend once to remark that temperance is no virtue in the Amer- ican since he breathes champagne), together with the more active play of forces in a new land under po- litical institutions which make the most of men, we must attribute the faculty observed in him by Matthew Arnold, of thinking straighter and seeing clearer, and also of acting more promptly than the original stock, for the American is nothing if not logical. He gets hold of the underlying principle, and, reasoning from that, he goes ahead to conclusion. He wants everything laid down by square and compass, and in political in- stitutions something that is " fair all around," neither advantages nor disadvantages, but universal equality. Toleration in the Briton is truly admirable ; the leading Radical and the leading Tory-Democrat are found dining with each other, perhaps may be found in the same cabinet one of these days, since extremes meet. Well, the American is even more tolerant. Politics never divide people. Once in four years he warms up and takes sides, opposing hosts confront each other and a stranger would naturally think that only violence could result whichever side won. The morn- 20 Triumphant Democracy. ing after the election his arm is upon his opponent's shoulder and they are chaffing each other. All be- comes as calm as a summer sea. He fights " rebels " for four years and as soon as they lay down their arms invites them to his banquets. Not a life is sacrificed to feed his revenge. Jefferson Davis, educated at the National Military Academy and a deserter from the State, is allowed to drag on his weary life in merited oblivion. No drop of martyr's blood embitters the wayward South and breeds the wish for revenge. " We shall give mankind," said Secretary Seward, " an exam- ple of such magnanimity as it has never seen." He had no monarchy, no aristocracy, no military class urging sacrifice to appease its offended majesty ; he had the democracy behind him with its generous instincts preaching forgiveness, and hence no drop of blood was shed. The American never cherishes resentment, but is willing always not only to forgive but to forget, the latter not less than half the struggle, for as our humorist very justly observes : " the man who forgives but don't forget is trying to settle with the Lord for fifty cents on the dollar." Brother Jonathan pays the full dollar. The generally diffused love of music which charac- terizes America is largely the outcome of the German and Continental contingent for, with all the phlegm of the Briton, there is in the German a part of his nature" touched to fine issues." He loves music, is The American People. 31 highly sociable, very domestic at home, and at his best in the bosom of his family. Most valuable of all he is well educated and has excellent habits, is patient, in- dustrious, peaceful, and law-abiding. Another import- ant characteristic of this race is the alacrity with which they adopt American ideas. The vast majority have already done so ere they sailed westward. The German loves his native country, but hates its institutions. Prince Bismarck's yoke is neither light nor easy. Uni- versal military service, the blood-tax of monarchies, is calculated to set the best minds among the bone and sinew to thinking over the political situation, and O, America ! how bright and alluring you appear ta the down-trodden masses of Europe, with your equal laws, equal privileges and the halo of peace surrounding your brow ! What a bribe you offer to the most loyal- minded man to renounce his own country, to share a heritage so fair ! The emigrant may not succeed in the new land, or succeed as the Irishman did, who replied to the inquiry of his friend as to whether the Republic was the country for the poor man : " It is, in- dade ; look at me, when I came I hadn't a rag to my back, and now I'm just covered with them." Many new arrivals fail, many would succeed better in their old homes. America is only a favored land for the most efficient ; drones have no place in her hive, but in whatever the emigrant may fail, whether in securing wealth, or home, whether he remain poor or lose health. 22 Triumphant Democracy. whether his lot be happy or miserable, there remains one great prize which cannot escape him, one blessing so bright, so beneficent, as to shed upon the darkest career the glory of its entrancing rays and compensate for the absence of material good. Upon every exile from home falls the boon of citizenship, equal with the highest. The Repubhc may not give wealth, or happi- ness; she has not promised these, it is the freedom to pursue these, not their realization, which the Declara- tion of Independence claims ; but, if she does not make the emigrant happy or prosperous, this she can do and does do for every one, she makes him a citizen, a man. The Frenchman is not a migrating animal. It is much to the credit of America that it has attracted even three hundred thousand of these home-keeping Gauls. The number is so small that their influence upon the national character cannot be otherwise than trifling. They are the cooks and the epicures of the world and to them America may well be grateful for the standard maintained by the " Delmonicos," the French restau- rants of the principal cities. No country has experi- enced so clearly as this, till recently, that while God sent the victuals, the cooks came from another source. These were not from France, nor under French influ- ence in the former days. Even yet, west of Chicago, the cookery is shameful, but thanks to the French- man, the better modes travel westward rapidly. Na- The American People. 33 ture never furnished to any nation so great a variety of food, yet no civilized people ever cooked so badly. In women's dress, for the few male " dudes " affect English fashions, our Gallic brethren give evidence of their influence in the direction of good taste. The verdict of my English friends invariably is that the American woman dresses so well — so much better than her English sister. We must credit the French citizen with this flattering verdict. No other race than the French and the German (in- cluding Swedes and Norwegians, who are also Teutons) has reached these shores in sufficient numbers to im- press even a trace of its influence upon the national character. The inability of the American race to maintain it- self and its dependence upon immigration for its future have furnished texts for certain foreign writers. But the facts are against them. Of the fifty-six million Americans now living, seven-eighths, or forty-nine mil- lions, are native born. One-eighth, or seven millions, first saw the light in foreign lands. The colored popu- lation is about equal to the foreign born. The census returns show that the rate of increase among native- born Americans has been as follows: 1850 to i860, 32^ per cent.; 1870 to 1880, 31! per cent. In no Eu- ropean country does the rate of increase approach these figures, which are about the average rate of increase for the entire population of America, native 3 34 Triumphant Democracy. and foreign, which proves that the native American is as proHfic as the foreign born in America, while both are more proHfic than the inhabitants of any- European country. Notwithstanding the enormous number of immigrants which yearly flow into the country, the native births are seven to eight times greater in number than the foreign arrivals. Besides this, as we have seen, more than half of the foreign arrivals are British ; so that the American people are ever becoming more purely British in origin. The value to the country of the annual foreign influx, however, is very great indeed. This is more apt to be under than overestimated. During the ten years between 1870 and 1880 the number of im- migrants averaged two hundred and eighty thousand per annum. In one year, 1882, nearly three times this number (789,000) arrived. Sixty per cent. (473,400) of this mass were adults between fifteen and forty years of age. These adults were surely worth $1,500 {£yyS) each — for in former days an efficient slave sold for this sum — making a money value of $710,000,000 (^^^142,- 000,000), to which may be safely added $1,000 {£206) each, or $315,000,000 (.£'63,000,000) for the remaining forty per cent, of the host. Further, it is estimated that every immigrant brings in cash an average of $125 (.£'25). The cash value of immigrants upon this basis for the year 1882 exceeded $1,125,000,000 (;£22 5, 000,000). True, 1882 was an exceptional year, but the average The American People. 35 yearly augmentation of the Republic's wealth from immigrants, who seek its shores to escape the enormous taxation and military laws of monarchical governments, and to obtain under Republican institutions entire po- litical equality, is now more than twice as great as the total product of all the silver and gold mines in the world. Were the owners of every gold and silver mine in the world compelled to send to the Treasury at Washington, at their own expense, every ounce of the precious metals produced, the national wealth would not be enhanced one-half as much as it is from the golden stream which flows into the country every year through immigration. But the value of these peaceful invaders does not consist solely in their numbers or in the wealth which they bring. To estimate them aright we must take into consideration also the superior character of those who immigrate. As the people who laid the founda- tion of the American Republic were extremists, fan- atics, if you will — men of advanced views intellectually, morally and politically, men whom Europe had rejected as dangerous — so the majority of emigrants to-day are men who leave their native land from dissatisfaction with their surroundings, and who seek here, under new conditions, the opportunity for development denied them at home. The old and the destitute, the idle and the contented do not brave the waves of the stormy At- lantic, but sit helplessly at home, perhaps bewailing their 36 Triumphant Democracy. hard fate, or, what is still more sad to see, aimlessly con- tented with it. The emigrant is the capable, energetic, ambitious, discontented man— the sectary, the refugee, the persecuted, the exile from despotism — who, long- ing to breathe the air of equality, resolves to tear himself away from the old home with its associations to found in hospitable America a new home under equal and just laws, which insure to him, and what, perhaps, counts with him and his wife for more, insure also to their children the full measure of citizenship, making them free men in a free state, possessed of every right and privilege. The true value of the men who emigrate is well understood by the ruling classes of the old world, who make every effort to prevent the exodus of so many able-bodied citizens. This is not from any fear of a depletion of population at home, for it has been conclusively shown that emigration does not tend to diminish the rate of increase in the country emigrated from, provided, of course, that the drain be not in excess of the natural fecundity of the human race, but rather from a well-grounded knowledge that it takes away the best of the population, the very bone and sinew of the race. Fortunately for America, these efforts have proved of little avail, and the steadily flowing stream of Britons, Teutons, and Latins, is assuming greater proportions as the years roll on, and will be limited in future not by the emigrating The American People. 37 capacity of European nations, but by the superior attractions which the Republic can offer. So long as America presents to the world the spectacle of a coun- try with a strong yet free government, where social order prevails, where taxation is at a minimum, where education is every man's birthright, where higher re- wards are offered to labor and enterprise than else- where, and where equality of political rights is secured, so long will the best of the workers seek its shores. A portion of the stream may be diverted in time to other countries, when such offer equal advantages, political and material, but the United States have the advantage in this — that the current has set this way for more than half a century, and emigrants are apt to follow the course of those who have preceded them, those already established attracting their friends and relatives, and often providing the means for them to cross the ocean. Besides being ambitious, energetic, and industrious, the emigrant is physically a strong and healthy man. The halt, the deaf, and the blind are not prompted to leave their European homes, nor does the confirmed invalid often seek a grave in a foreign land. This influ- ence, which has been potent since the days of the Pil- grim Fathers, has resulted in a freedom from physical de- fect in America that is very noteworthy. Statistics show that the proportion of blind, deaf, and dumb to the total population is less than half what it is in Europe. 38 T7'i7iniphant Democracy. The capacity of America to absorb the population which is flowing into her, as well as the great natural increase of her people, cannot be more strikingly illus- trated than by a comparison. Belgium has four hun- dred and eighty-two inhabitants to the square mile, Britain two hundred and ninety, the United States, exclusive of Alaska, less than fourteen. In the ten years from 1870 to 1880, eleven and a half millions were added to the population of America. Yet these only added three persons to each square mile of terri- tory; and should America continue to double her population every thirty years instead of every twenty- five years as hitherto, seventy years must elapse before she will attain the density of Europe. The population will then reach two hundred and ninety millions. If the density of Britain ever be attained, there will be upwards of a thousand million Americans, for at the present every Briton has two acres and every American forty-four acres of land as his estate. These forecasts are not only possible, they are extremely probable. The progress made since 1880 in the settlement of new regions is putting every preced- ing period into the shade. It is simply marvellous, and even those who are in the midst of it have difficulty in realizing how great it is. Look at the great North-west. Scarcely a decade has passed since it was represented as a barren, icy plain, wild, inhospitable and scarcely habitable. The railway has changed it as by a wiz- The Amei'ican People. 39 ard's touch. Minnesota has more than a million inhabi- tants. The population of Dakota has quadrupled in five years, and is now half a million. Towns are spring- ing up with magical rapidity. Its wheat crop last year was thirty million bushels — twice as great as the whole crop of Egypt. Montana is barely known by name in England. Last year — in twelve short months — her population increased from eighty-five thousand to one hundred and ten thousand ; her cattle interests from four hundred and seventy-five thousand to eight hun- dred and fifty thousand, and her output of minerals from less than $10,000,000 to more than $23,000,000 (;^2,ooo,000 to £a^,6oo,oo6). Her taxable property is $50,000,000 (;^ 1 0,000,000). Wyoming, Idaho, Washing- ton, and Oregon, are being developed almost as rapidly. Other parts of the West have advanced at even a greater pace. The aggregate population of seven States tributary to Kansas City increased in one year (1879-80) from fewer than five and a half millions to more than seven millions. Since 1880, the value of cat- tle in the same region has advanced from $9,000,000 to $14,500,000 (;£'i, 800,000 to ;£'2,90O,ooo), and of sheep from $6,000,000 to $9,500,000 (^1,200,000 to iT 1,900,- 000). At these rates of advance the " Wild West " is rapidly becoming a thing of the past, and in a few years it will be a thickly-settled land. Figures are poor aids to the comprehension of great truths. The comparative chart printed herewith 40 Triumphant Democracy. by kind permission of its author, Mr. Edward Atkin- son, will help the reader to a conception of the pos- sibilities of this great continent. It represents the area of Texas in conjunction with the areas of other American States and European countries. How petty some of the latter seem beside majestic Texas ! And yet Texas is but one of the forty-six territorial divisions of the Republic. Observe Montenegro, which at various times has excited all Europe, and provoked enormous bloodshed ; it would hardly make a fly-speck on the map of Texas, and note that the whole United King- dom could be planted in this one State of the Union, and still leave plenty of room around it. Notice, too, gentle reader, how all the world's cotton could be grown in the State of Texas alone, without greatly affecting its capacity for other productions. It is scarcely overdrawing the picture to imagine that in a few decades two or three hundred million repub- licans will be living in amity, under one government, on the great American Continent. In view of these startling probabilities, it would seem advisable that the statesmen of the old home, instead of bestowing so much of their attention on the petty States of Europe, should look thoughtfully westward sometimes to the doings of their own kith and kin, who are rapidly building up a power which none can hope to rival. We must not pass without mention, our fellow- The American People. 41 citizens of African descent, who, as we have seen, are equal in number to the entire foreign population — one- eighth of the whole. These, as the world knows, were all slaves a few years ago ; but Abraham Lincoln, with one stroke of the pen, raised them from the condition of slavery to that of free men. They now exercise the suffrage just as other citizens do. There is not a privi- lege possessed by any citizen which is not theirs. The English poet says : " Slaves cannot breathe in England ; if their lungs Receive our air, that moment they are free ; They touch our country, and their shackles fall." No more can they exist in England's child-land ; and the Declaration of Independence, asserting the freedom and equality of men, is no longer a mockery. Grave apprehensions were entertained that freedom suddenly granted to these poor slaves would be abused. Those best acquainted with their habits, the Southern slave-holders, predicted, as a result of freedom, univer- sal idleness, riot, and dissipation. It was asserted that the negro would not work save under the lash of the overseer. None of these gloomy predictions have been fulfilled — every one of them has been falsified. There is now more cotton grown than ever, and at less cost. Under the reign of freedom the material re- sources of the South have increased faster than ever before. Indeed, so surprised were most Americans by the result of the last census that it was insisted ^2 Triumphant Democracy. mistakes had been made: the figures could not be right, and in some districts the enumeration was made a second time, with the result of verifying the former figures. The number of Congressmen to each State is determined every ten years by the population shown by the census. When the census of 1880 was made the general expectation was that the Northern States would increase their proportionate representation ; but the Southern States not only held their own, but actu- ally gained. The ninety-eight Southern representa- tives were increased by thirteen, while the one hundred and ninety-five Northern representatives gained only eighteen — only half the Southern ratio of increase. Even the unexampled growth of the North-western States was insufficient to give the Northern States a proportionately increased legislative power. So much for freedom versus slavery ! The universal testimony is that the former slaves rapidly develop the qualities of freemen and exhibit, in a surprising degree, the capacity to manage their own affairs. Many of them at once arranged with their former masters to work a part of the plantation upon shares. Others bargained for the purchase of strips of land. They are now quite orderly and well- behaved, and much more industrious than before. It seems to the writer but yesterday since he was compelled to listen to arguments from good men in favor of the system of slavery, as he is yet doomed The American People. 43 sometimes to hear defences of monarchy and aristoc- racy, and to hear them contend that it was best for the black race. Their contentedness and happiness under masters were always boldly asserted. A well-known judge in Ohio was noted for his defence of slavery, upon the ground that the slaves knew what was best for themselves, and should be allowed to remain in the condition which admittedly brought them a degree of happiness seldom, if ever, attained by laborers in the North. His conversion to the opposite opinion was suddenly brought about by an interview with a run- away who had crossed the Ohio River from Kentucky, and entered the village in which our friend resided. Said the judge to the fugitive : "What did you run away for?" "Well, Judge, 'wanted to be free." " Oh ! wanted to be free, did you ? Bad master, I suppose." " O no ; berry good man, massa." " You had to work too hard, then ? " "O no; fair day's work." " Well, you hadn't a good home ? " " Hadn't I, though ! You should see my pretty cabin in Kentucky ! " "Well, you didn't get enough to eat?" " Oh, golly ! not get enough to eat in Kentucky ! Plenty to eat." The judge, somewhat annoyed: "You had a good 44 Trhimphant Democracy. master, plenty to eat, wasn't overworked, a good home. I don't see what on earth you wanted to run away for." "Well, judge, I left de situation down dar open. You can go right down and get it." The result was a five-dollar note given to help the unreasonable slave who had left well-being behind to become a man. Henceforth the Judge was an ardent abolitionist, recognizing that " Freedom hath a thousand charms to show, That slaves, howe'er contented, never know." The proportion of the colored to the white element steadily grows less and less. In 1790 it was twenty- seven per cent, of the whole, in 1830 it had fallen to eighteen per cent., in 1880 it was only thirteen per cent. While the total white population of the country has risen from ten and a half to forty-three and a half millions in fifty years, the number of the colored popu- lation has only risen from two and a quarter to six and a half millions. This steady decrease results from two causes. First, the colored race receives no immi- grants, but is restricted wholly to native increase for its growth ; and, second, it has been proved that although their birth-rate is greater than that of the whites, it is more than balanced by their higher death-rate. The increase of colored people from i860 to 1880 was but forty-eight per cent., against sixty-one per cent, in- crease of the whites. The American People. 45 It is too soon yet to judge whether, with supe- rior knowledge and more provident habits flowing from freedom, this excessive death rate will not be con- siderably reduced ; but the conclusion seems unavoid- able that the colored race cannot hold its own numeri- cally against the whites and must fall farther and far- ther behind. Adaptive as man is, we can scarcely expect the hotter climate of the Southern States, in which the colored people live, to produce as hardy a race as that of the cooler States of the North. We close, then, showing in the Republic a race es- sentially British in origin, but fast becoming more and more American in birth, the foreign-born elements sinking into insignificance and destined soon to become of no greater relative magnitude, perhaps, in proportion to the native-born American than the foreign-born resi- dents of Britain are at present to the native born. The American republican can never be other in his blood and nature than a true Briton, a real chip of the old block, a new edition of the original work, and, as is the manner of new editions, revised and improved, and, like his prototype in the thousand and one ways, some of them grotesque in their manifestations, which link the daughter to the mother, who, seen together, im- press beholders not so much as two separate and dis- tinct individualities as two members of the one grand family. CHAPTER III. CITIES AND TOWNS. "It is indeed a thrilling thought for a man of the elder England to see what a home the newest home of his people is. The heart swells, the pride of kinship rises, as he sees that it is his own folk which has done more than any other folk to replenish the earth and to subdue it. He is no Englishman at heart, he has no true feeling of the abiding tie of kindred, who deems that the glory and greatness of the child is other than part of the glory and greatness of the parent." — Freeman. America forms no exception to the rule that popu- lation in civilized lands gravitates towards great centres. Though her immense agricultural development might have been expected to arrest this movement and divert population to the rural districts, such has not been the case. Despite the temptations to rural life offered by fertile land at nominal prices, towns have grown dur- ing the last half century much faster than the country. The dull, dreary round of life upon the farm is found intolerable by the young man whose intellectual facul- ties have been awakened by education. The active mind seeks companionship with other minds and the pleasurable excitements of city life. Most great men, it is true, have been born and brought up in the country, but it is equally true that very few great men have remained there beyond their teens. The country Cities and Towns. 47 is just the place for the extremes of life — at the begin- ning in childhood and early youth, when the body is to be nurtured, and also at the end, " when nature turns again to earth " in ripe old age and retires from the fray to " Ruminate in sober thought On all he's seen, and heard, and wrought." In 1830 only six and a half per cent, of the popula- tion lived in towns of eight thousand inhabitants and upwards; in 1880 the proportion had risen to twenty- two per cent. Thus, nearly one person in every four in America is now a member of a hive of more than eight thousand human beings. Fifty years ago this was true of but one in fifteen, for fourteen out of fif- teen lived in the country or in small villages. This is a stupendous change and marks the develop- ment of the Republic from the first stage of homogen- eity of pastoral pursuits into the heterogeneous occu- pations of a more highly civilized state. The nation is now complete, as it were, in itself, and ready for inde- pendent action. Its mechanical and inventive genius has full scope in the thousand and one diversified pur- suits which a civilized community necessarily creates, and which necessitate the gathering of men together in masses. The American, however, need not fear the unhealthy or abnormal growth of cities. He need not imitate the example of those who advocated legislative measures to 48 Tj'iumphaitt Democracy. prevent the growth of London, which Cobbett called a wart upon the hand of England. The free play of economic laws is keeping all quite right, for the town gained upon the country population only one-fourth as fast during the last decade (1870 to 1880) as in the pre- vious one. Oh, these grand, immutable, all-wise laws of natural forces, how perfectly they work if human legislators would only let them alone ! But no, they must be tinkering. One day they would protect the balance of power in Europe by keeping weak, small areas apart and independent — an impossible task, for petty States must merge into the greater — political is as certain as physical gravitation ; the next day it is silver in Amer- ica, which our sage rulers would make of greater intrin- sic value. So our governors, all over the world, are at Sisyphus's work — ever rolling the stone uphill to see it roll back to its proper bed at the bottom. That the country held its own so well in the compe- tition with the towns during the last decade is partly due to the fact that the enormous profits made under an improved system of agriculture held the rural popu- lation to the soil. The general depression of manufact- ures also checked settlement in towns, and forced popu- lation into the country. The commercial panic of 1873 drove hundreds of thousands from the crowded cities of the East to the unoccupied plains of the West. Train-load after train-load of native emigrants were to Cities and Towns. 49 be seen passing west to become farmers. With a re- turn to normal conditions we may expect to find the towns absorbing much more than an equal share. It is always a result of industrial depression in America that the towns are relieved of surplus popu- lation which in older countries remains in poverty and distress to swell the ranks of the unemployed. Horace Greeley's advice, " Go West, young man ! " is followed. One needs however to add to it, " and stay there," to complete the matter. The equilibrium is thus restored between producers and consumers, and prosperity to both follows. If there be too much food it is un- profitable to grow more cereals, and fewer people be- come farmers ; if the market be overstocked with man- ufactures, manufacturing becomes unprofitable and fewer engage in it. The population, meanwhile increas- ing at the rate of nearly two millions per annum, soon requires the surplus, be it food or manufactures. Amer- ica possesses hundreds of thousands of acres of virgin soil ready for the plough. Like the fabled Antseus, her power of recuperation lies in the earth : let her touch but that and her giant strength is restored. This will continue to be so until her population becomes as dense as that of Europe. According to Dr. Swainson Fisher, there were not, in 1835, five thousand white inhabitants in all the vast ter- ritory between Lake Michigan and the Pacific Ocean, a region half as large as Europe. Now it is covered with 50 Triumphant Democracy. an agricultural population, and contains many populous cities, including Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul, to say nothing of the cities of the Pacific coast. Of the State of Wisconsin, occupying a part of this territory, a member of the Wisconsin Historical Society wrote, thirty years ago : " In the summer of 1836, with a comrade, I camped at the head of Mendota or Fourth Lake, within six miles of the spot where the Capitol now stands (1856), at which time there was not within twenty miles of that point a single white inhabitant, and none within the present limits of Dane County, an area of twelve hundred and forty square miles, except one family." Dane County, then an uninhabited wilderness, con- tained in 1880 a population of more than sixty thou- sand, while Wisconsin itself had a million and a half. In 1880 the density of population in this young State exceeded that of Maine and nearly equalled that of such old settled States as Georgia, Alabama, and West Virginia. The United States had no city in 1830 which could boast a population of a quarter of a million. Even New York had but two hundred and two thousand. In that year there were but fourteen towns with more than twelve thousand inhabitants each ; in truth, but fifty- five years ago, the Republic could boast only of a few villages. In 1880 there were one hundred and seventy- six such towns, and to-day the number exceeds two hundred. Cities and Towns. 51 New York city in 1880 was the only millionaire in heads, though Philadelphia now claims that she has reached that distinction. The census of 1880 accredits the Empire City with fewer than a million and a quarter inhabitants ; but if the population within a radius of eight miles of the City Hall were included, she would be credited with fully two and a quarter millions. Brook- lyn, Jersey City, and other suburbs, divided from the city by rivers, are under separate municipal govern- ments, but they are none the less outgrowths of the great centre. Thus New York ranks next to monster London as a busy hive of human beings. Every decade sees an addition of half a million people to each of these two vast aggregations of humanity. The increase of New York in actual figures is equal to that of Lon- don, which makes the ratio of increase to population double. While London has taken since 1840 to dou- ble her population, New York, including the suburbs, has doubled hers in half that time. So that if the present rate of increase be maintained, forty years hence London will have doubled her present population once and New York twice : their populations will then be about equal. It is a neck and neck race between the two emporiums which the world of 1920 is to see, with the odds in favor of New York. It is easier for her to twice double her two than for London to double her four milhons, and besides, the goddess For- tune, true to her sex, may confidently be expected to 52 Triumphant Democracy. breathe her secret prayers for the younger aspirant. She is fond of youth and fickle, and really seems dis- posed to be off with the old love, dear old smoky London, and on with the new, bright, rosy, gallant New York. Let us hope she may illustrate another phase not inconsistent with her sex, and continue as hitherto to smile upon both suitors. If Jack has his favorite in every port, surely our goddess may be al- lowed one in the East and one in the great West. Of the fifty largest cities of the Union, the least with a population of 36,000 in 1880, fifteen had no existence in 1830; they were not born. Their sites were either the unbroken prairie or an Indian settlement, with a fort and a few log huts. Chicago is the most famous example. Fifty-five years ago it was a trading post, where trappers and Indians bartered their pelts for fire-water and ammunition. I knew one of Chicago's first settlers well ; and have often heard him speak of the little fort and the scattering log huts which marked the city's site some sixty years ago. There was scarcely a white woman in the settlement when he began trading with the Indians. In 1833 the streets of the projected town had been staked out, but no grading had been done, not even a dirt road thrown up. Such, however, was the growth of " this little mush- room town," as an early writer calls it, that in 1846 it was noted that " eight years ago (1838) the ground upon which the entire city of Chicago stands could Cities and Towns. 53 have been bought for a sum now (1846) demanded for a front of six feet on one of the streets." Tradition tells of an early settler who averred that he had seen the time when he could have bought the " hull tarnation swamp " for a pair of old boots. To the inquiry — " Why didn't you ? " he had the entirely adequate reply : " Ah, stranger, I hadn't the boots." How many chances in life do we miss just for the want of the boots. Moral : Get the boots. In 1840 the population of Chicago was 4,500; ten years later, 30,000 ; in ten years more, 1 12,000. It now exceeds 700,000. This splendid city, " the Queen of the West," leads the world in three branches of indus- try ; she is pre-eminent as a lumber market, as a pro- vision market, and, strange antithesis, as a manufactory of steel rails. Such a combination of "greatnesses" surely the world has not seen. Her statistics show the receipt of nearly two thousand million feet of lumber and nine hundred million shingles per annum. Her yearly receipts of grain approach two hundred million bushels. Twenty-six million bushels can be laid away in her twenty-eight elevators, — a store which dwarfs the ostentatious garnering of the ancient Pharaohs as much as her enormous shipments outnumber the sacks of corn which Joseph's brethren carried away. Last year she received nearly two million cattle, a million sheep, and five milhon hogs, more than twenty-five thousand animals per day. So that there marches into 54 Triumphant Democracy. Chicago every day in the year — Sundays and Satur- days included — a procession of victims, two miles and a half long — ten animals abreast. The cattle and hogs are mostly transformed into provisions before leaving Chicago. The year 1881 was an exceptionally good year for pork-packers, but a bad one for the hogs. Five and three quarter millions fell in Chicago alone, — an average of nineteen thousand a day : " The fittest place for man to die Is where he dies for man." The fittest place for a hog is evidently Chicago, for every minute of time, night and day — all the year round — thirteen of them, " die for man," at that place of slaughter. Chicago has moreover three steel rail mills within the city limits, and a fourth within thirty miles. Their combined capacity exceeds 500,000 tons annually — sufficient to put a light steel rail " girdle round the earth." There will probably be as many steel rails made in and about Chicago alone next year as one- half the total rail product of Great Britain. Her coat of arms should be : Barry of alternate steel rails and pine planks, proper ; over all, a pig rampant, gules. Motto, " The Whole Hog." San Francisco is another mushroom. In 1844 fifty people were settled in log-huts on a barren tract of the Pacific coast. A few whalemen and north-east traders Cities and Towns. 55 occasionally called at this settlement, and bartered food and clothing for tallow, hides, and horns. Grad- ually the embryo village grew ; and in 1847 certain plots of ground on the water front were sold, the prices ranging from ^10 to £20 per lot. Six years later, such was the rapid enhancement of values, infe- rior lots brought from £\6co to .^3200 ; from ;^20 to £,2,QOO in fourteen years ; four small building plots bringing ;^240,CXX3, equal to ^^60,000 per block. This was in the palmy days depicted by Colonel Mulberry Sellers, when you had but to lay out a town site into lots, every one of them a corner lot, and sit down and figure just how much money you wanted and then rake it in. Thirty-seven years sufificed to raise the settlement of fifty persons to a magnificent city with a quarter of a million inhabitants. The bar- tering of a few hides has grown into an annual trade exceeding twenty millions sterling. Jersey City, opposite New York, furnishes another example of rapid city growth. In 1840 the population was only 3,072 ; in 1880 it was 120,722. But Brooklyn, the corresponding suburb on the other side of New York harbor, has eclipsed every city, except Chicago, its population of 12,000 in 1830 having grown to 566,- 000 in 1880. The growth of Cleveland, Ohio, has not been slow. In 1830 it had only 1,000 inhabitants; now it boasts 160,000. The finest avenues of residences are in this city. After seeing all that the rest of the world 56 Triumphant Democracy. has to offer in that respect, I pronounce Euclid and Prospect Avenues in this lake city of Cleveland the grandest and most beautiful ; though the smaller Pros- pect Avenue in Milwaukee, and Delaware Avenue in Buffalo, and that in Detroit are very handsome indeed, and are open for second and third prizes. The city of Milwaukee, with a present population of 125,00x3, consisted in 1834 of two log-houses. In 1835 it was laid out as a village ; and the next year we find it described as a hamlet of about two hundred inhabi- tants. At that time the only roads leading into the city were a few Indian trails. Once in a while a wagon came winding through from Chicago. But even at this infantile age Milwaukee had begun to display the enter- prise which has continued to distinguish it. In 1840 the town could boast of one brick building — a small one-story dwelling-house. There were then eleven stores in the place. During the next ten years the population increased from 1,712 to 20,061. In 1841 began the shipment of grain — a trade which has since attained an enormous development. In that year four thousand bushels of wheat — the first ever sent out of Wisconsin — was exported ; but such was the imperfect provision for loading that this small shipment required three days to put on board ship. The trade thus begun, grew apace ; and three years later we find that Mr. Higby, a pioneer merchant, imported a grain ware- house from Sheboygan. The character of this structure Cities and Towns. 57 is shown by the fact that it was afterward carried about to several other places. The whole receipts for grain shipments at Milwaukee in that year did not equal those received in a single day fifteen years later, or, re- markable fact, in a single hour at present ! The receipts of grain at Milwaukee now approximate forty million bushels a year. It is taken out of ships and cars, car- ried to the top of the elevators, and weighed and poured into bags and bins at the rate of seven thousand bushels an hour, without any manual labor. Automatic machines are the giants who do the work. A unique man resides in Milwaukee, one so close- ly identified with its wonderful growth that he is thought of whenever that city is mentioned — Alexan- der Mitchell, who left Aberdeen, a young Scotch lad, some fifty years ago. He has one proud distinction of which he can never be deprived, for it can scarcely ever be expected in the history of the race that any develop- ment of material resources can equal that of the Ameri- can railway system. Alexander Mitchell has built more miles of railway than any man who has lived, is living, or who is ever to live. He began the work at Milwau- kee as President of the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway, a position which he still holds. It is scarcely necessary to add that the said Mitchell has not failed to hold on to a fair proportion of this gigantic property, for it has been noted that he is Scotch. When we reached Chicago with our Scotch guests two years ago we 5 8 Triumphant Democracy. found his special car— a much grander hotel than any saloon-carriage — waiting there subject to our orders. The conductor said his instructions were to go where we wished, stop and start on any train desired, and when we were done with him he was to return with his car to Milwaukee. We spent days in that car, visited St. Paul in the North, and Davenport in the West, and did not traverse one mile of line which that Scotch boy had not built, and over which his word was not law. "Scotland forever!" Mr. Mitchell is one of the dozen richest men in the world, a credit to Aberdeen, a credit to his native Scotland, a credit to his adopted America. A grand Republican he is, too. Staunch as Aberdeen granite there. No royal family or hereditary legislators for him, mind you. He is not the stuff out of which a " loyal subject " to another human being can be made ; or, if made, not the man to occupy that de- grading position long. He holds himself, as man, the equal of any monarch. A man whom all men honor. The adjoining State of Minnesota contained in 1880 about 800,000 people, of which 88,000 resided in the capital, St. Paul, and its twin sister town, Minneapolis. In 1885 the State population had increased to eleven hundred thousand — 43 per cent, in five years. Greatest wonder of all, however, is the five years' growth of the city of Minneapolis. In 1880 its population was 47,000; in 1885, 130,000, a gain of over 176 per cent.! St. Paul increased from 41,000 to 111,000 — a gain of 168 per Cities and Towns. 59 cent. Yet in 1848 this region was a wilderness, the en- tire territory, nearly twice the size of the present State, having only about 3,000 inhabitants. A trading house was built on the site of St. Paul in 1842, and round it gradually grew a small community of whites and half- breeds, engaged in barter with the Indians and trap- pers. In 1850 the population numbered 1,135. To quote the words of a writer of that period, " St. Paul is in the wilderness. Look where you will, the primitive features of the surrounding country remain unchanged, and the wild animals and Indians still haunt the grounds to which ages of occupancy have given them a prescrip- tive right." A few miles away, a group of houses might have been seen clustering around the Falls of St. Anthony. There, in 1848, a saw-mill was put in opera- tion by the aid of a temporary dam built across the east channel of the river. As the forests fell before the lumberman's axe, and emigrant farmers brought in the plough, flouring mills were built at the falls, and Minne- apolis emerged from the country-village state. Checked in their growth by the war in 1861, and more seriously by the Sioux massacre of 1862, Minneapolis and St. Paul experienced renewed prosperity in 1864 and 1865, and since then the two towns have gone forward, march- ing across the dividing forest to meet each other, and will eventually mingle their suburbs, and form a city a dozen miles across, with a population of a million souls. The child is living who will see all this and more. 6o Triumphant Democracy. As we have Alexander Mitchell dominating Mil- waukee, so no one can think of Minneapolis without recalling that notable family the " Washburn Brothers." Their career is typically American. These Washburns are a family indeed, seven sons, all of them men of mark. Several have distinguished themselves so greatly as to become part of their country's history. The fam- ily record includes a secretary of state, two gover- nors, four members of Congress, a major-general in the army, and another second in command in the navy. Two served as foreign ministers, two were State legis- lators, and one a surveyor-general. As all these ser- vices were performed during the Civil War, there were Washburns in nearly every department of the State, laboring in camp and council for the Republic at the sacrifice of great personal in- terests. All came forth from peaceful avocations to serve their country as their first duty. The Union saved, they are found to-day pursuing their industrial occupations as of old. The nation having no enemies to conquer, they turn their energies to the work of feeding it. Is not this turning the sword into the plough-share and the spear into the pruning-hook? Let the nation be endangered, or an emergency arise where, in the judgment and conscience of such men, they can perform a greater use in public than in pri- vate life, and they are once more upon the stage of action. The Repubhc has such citizens by thousands, Cities a7td Towns. 6i and yet the privileged classes of Europe assiduously spread the belief among the masses abroad that the Republic lacks pure and distinguished noble men to guide her councils. Believe me, fellow-citizens, no nation upon earth has such wealth of patriotism, men with such power to conceive, or such ability to execute, as rests quietly in reserve, but ever ready for emergencies, in this democracy. It is this reserve force which has kept the Republic steadily upon her course. It votes or fights as may be necessary, and never shirks a duty. When the ship of State is in smooth waters more important matters require its attention, and the governing power goes below ; but, mark you, when the wind blows this captain walks the deck. The Republic has never been allowed to sail far out of the true course, and never will be. Too much science on board, and too many independent observations taken and compared in the full blaze of the sun, not to find the true reckoning and follow it closely, steadily, to the desired haven. This reserve was seen forcibly during the four years during which the Union was imperilled. When a leader was needed one was found in an attorney's ofifice in Illinois, — a great, heaven-born leader, Lincoln. When foreign relations were necessarily dangerous in the extreme, and even our mother country stood threatening, Sew- ard proved himself a diplomatist of the first order. For Secretary of War a genius was taken from the 62 Triumphant Democracy. practice of the law in Pittsburgh. No man since the days of Carnot has waged war as did Stanton. " The armies will move now," said a friend, when his appoint- ment was announced, " if they move to the devil." I knew Stanton well, a Cromwell kind of man ; he walked straight to his end, either to triumph or to die. His life he could give and would give that the nation should live ; that was his duty ; victory might come or defeat, that was not his affair. When generals to lead the armies were sought for, the great leader came from a tannery in Galena ; the second from teaching in a college. All these were from peaceful occupations, and every one of them resigned power poor men. The families of several of them were provided for by private subscriptions among friends. Politics are but means to an end. When the laws of a country are perfect, and the equality of the citizen reached, there is far more important work to be performed at home than in legislative halls. Hence the ablest and best men in the Republic are not as a class found trifling their time away doing the work of medioc- rity. But let great issues rise and see who come to the front — a body of men superior to any found else- where in the world. Already Minneapolis is the greatest wheat market in the West, and unlike other large receiving points, four-fifths of all wheat received there is manufactured into flour before shipment. Last year one and a quarter Cities and Towns. 63 million bushels were often received in a single week. The total receipts of 1884 were nearly three times as great as those of 1880, aggregating twenty-nine million bushels. The milling trade has also increased at a prodigious rate. One-fifth of all the flour ex- ported from the United States is sent direct from Minneapolis on through bills of lading. The capacity of the mills is over thirty thousand barrels per day ; and one of the Washburn Mills alone has made over seven thousand barrels of flour in one day. Five and a quarter million barrels were manufactured last year — five times the output of 1876. Surely no worthy second of this can be found elsewhere. Yet flouring is not the only industry of this youthful giant. Three hundred million feet of lumber were cut by the mills last year, besides one hundred and thirty-six million lath and shingles ! Minneapolis justifiably boasts that she is " a city of mechanics." Her manufactures ex- ceeded twelve millions sterling in 1884, while her trade, exclusive of flour and lumber, reached almost an equal sum. The total receipts and shipments of Minne- apolis in the year 1884 comprised two hundred and forty-six thousand nine hundred and eighty-five carloads. A local statistician has reckoned that " if all these cars were made up into trains of twenty cars each they would make twelve thousand three hundred and forty- seven trains, requiring that number of engines to move them ; if cars and engines were continuously coupled 64 Triumphant Democracy. together they would make a train one thousand seven hundred miles in length ; or, if made into four trains, each train would reach from Minneapolis to Chicago; or the line of freight cars would be sufiScient to com- pletely fence in England and Scotland, and then form a wall across the middle of the country at its widest part. Some idea of the enormous amount of flour manu- factured by the mills of Minneapolis can be obtained if we estimate it at the rate of two hundred and fifty loaves of bread to the barrel, which would give us twenty-five loaves for each of the fifty-six million people of the United States. If the flour made by Minneapolis in one year were put into barrels and these set end to end and roped together, it would make a pontoon bridge from New York to Ireland. A similar phenomenal growth is going on in another region. In 1870, only fifteen years ago, except Superior and Duluth, the former a " straggling little hamlet ! " and the other " laid out on speculation in the woods on the lake shore," there was not a town, village, or hamlet westward on or near the line marked out for the Northern Pacific Railroad for more than a thou- sand miles. Between the head of the lake and the mining camps among the Rocky Mountains in Mon- tana, no abodes of civilized men existed, save two or three military posts and Indian agencies, and a few iso- lated trading stations. Northern Minnesota was a Cities and Towns. 65 forest into which even the lumberman had not yet penetrated, save for a few miles back of Lake Superior. At present the whole line of the railway is dotted with thriving towns. " The town laid out on speculation in the woods," is deserving of a moment's attention. Duluth, even in the embryonic state, displayed a precocity that brought upon it the ridicule of a famous orator. With scathing sarcasm, but unconscious proph- ecy, he dubbed it "the zenith city of the unsalted seas." There is a scream from the American eagle for you ; but is it not poetic ? The juvenile city is now the ter- minus of ten thousand miles of railway. Its receipts of wheat for 1884 approached fourteen million bushels. Saw mills are getting almost as plentiful as black- berries ; and in a single year they cut two hundred and five million feet of lumber besides eighty-five million lath and shingles. The clearances show that seven hundred steamers and nearly six hundred sail-craft arrived at Duluth in 1884. Banking transactions amounted to thirty-four million dollars a year. Storage capacity for grain is nearly ten million bushels. Lastly, the population of this magic city has bounded from two thousand five hundred in 1875 to eighteen thou- sand in 1884. Was ever the like known except in the triumphant Republic ? Indianapolis, with its present population of ninety thousand inhabitants, has also a history which the "oldest inhabitant " can recite from personal experience. 5 66 Triumphant Democracy. Practically its history as a city dates from the opening of the Madison Railway in 1847. Before that date it was but a small country town, so isolated that its trade was compared to that of the two boys who, when locked up in a closet, made money by swapping jackets. The slowness of its growth before the advent of the railway is shown by the following facts extracted from Holloway's " Local History." The town was laid out in 1 82 1. Ten years later three-fourths of the town site remained unsold. The legislature managed to get rid of most of the lots by putting a minimum price of $10 upon them, and when the sales were closed in 1842, it was found that the whole of Indianapolis had brought but $1 25,000 (;^25, 000). The city thus sold out was but a forest, except where a clearing here and there had opened the ground to the light. To get the streets cleared it was proposed to give the timber to any body who would cut it. A man by the name of Lismund Basye took the contract for Washington Street, expecting to make a " good thing " of such a superb lot of timber trees, and then began to calculate. There were no mills and his trees were of no use with- out them, so he rolled his splendid logs together and burned them as well as his fingers. The street thus opened, a hundred and twenty feet wide, is now Hned with fine buildings ; and a single block on this hand- some thoroughfare would now fetch more than the sum for which the whole city was originally sold. Indianap- Cities and Towns. 67 olis has claims to be considered one of the greatest railway centres in the world. Fourteen railways cen- tre there, and about a hundred and twenty passenger trains pass in and out of the city every day. Kansas City is another example of Western phenom- enal growths. Thirty years ago (1855) its population was three hundred ; in fifteen years (1870) it had in- creased more than a hundredfold, to thirty-two thou- sand ; by 1880 it had again doubled to sixty-three thousand, and at the time of writing it is about one hundred and twenty-five thousand. The assessed valua- tion of property has increased from $500,000 (iJioo,ooo) in 1846 to $34,000,000 (;^6,8oo,ooo) in 1884. The ex- changes, as shown by the returns of the city clearing- house, have advanced from $20,000,000 (;£'4,ooo,ooo) in 1875 to $177,000,000 (nearly ^36,000,000) in 1884. The business of the post-ofifice increased during the same period fivefold. About twenty-four million bushels of grain were received in 1884, against one million bushels in 1871. One and a quarter million hogs are annually turned into pork — about a fourth of monster Chica- go's herd, and fifteen hundred cattle are also weekly shipped as provisions. The trade in live stock is also very great ; nearly two and a half million cattle, hogs, sheep, horses and mules pass through its markets — a procession, five abreast, that would reach from Inver- ness to London. Numerous other examples might be cited. Alle- 68 Triumphant Democracy. gheny City, an off-shoot of Pittsburgh, has grown from a village of twenty-eight hundred inhabitants in 1830 to a city of seventy-nine thousand in 1880 ; while the population of Pittsburgh itself increased during the same period from twelve thousand to one hundred and fifty-six thousand. Buffalo during the same fifty years advanced from eighty thousand to one hundred and fifty-five thousand inhabitants ; Philadelphia increased from eighty thousand to nearly eight hundred and fifty thousand ; Cincinnati from twenty-four thousand to two hundred and fifty-five thousand ; Detroit from two thousand to one hundred and sixteen thousand ; Roch- ester from fifteen persons in 18 12 to eighty-nine thou- sand in 1880; Toledo from twelve hundred and twenty- two in 1840 to fifty thousand in 1880; Scranton from three hundred and sixty-three in 1840 to forty-six thou- sand in 1880. Of the growth of these towns we have an excellent picture in the following paragraphs, the first from the pen of Capt. Basil Hall, the " best-hated Englishman ' in America some fifty years ago, and the second by the Norwegian, Arfedson, descriptive of Columbus, Georgia : . " The first thing to which our attention was called was a long line cut through the coppicewood of oaks. This our guide begged us to observe was to be the principal street ; and the brushwood having been cut away so as to leave a lane four feet wide, with small stakes driven in it at intervals, we could walk along it easily Cities and Towns. 6g enough. On reaching the middle point, our friend, looking around him, exclaimed in rapture at the prospect of the future greatness of Columbus : " Here you are in the centre of the city ! " After threading our way for some time amongst the trees, we came in sight here and there, of huts partly of planks, partly of bark, and at last reached the principal cluster of houses, very few of which were above two or three weeks old. As none of the city-lots were yet sold, of course no one was sure that the spot on which he had pitched his house would eventually become his own. Many of the houses were in consequence of this understanding built on trucks, a sort of low strong wheels, such as cannon are supported by, for the avowed purpose of being hauled away when the land should be sold. At some parts of this strange scene the forest was growing as densely as ever ; and even in the most cleared streets some trees were left standing. As yet there had been no time to remove the stumps of the felled trees, and many that had been felled were left in their places ; so that it was occasionally no easy matter to get along. Anvils were heard ringing away merrily at every corner, while saws, axes, and hammers, were seen flashing amongst the woods all around." Columbus in 1832, only four years later: "It may already be called a flourishing town. The population exceeded two thousand, and among them were several that might be denominated wealthy. The number of inhabitants is augmenting monthly, and the increase of commerce, I was assured, was in the same proportions. Carpenters, masons, and workmen of evei-y kind, were never without employment, and could not erect houses fast enough. Streets, which in 1828 were only marked out, were now so filled with loaded wagons that it was next to impossible to pass. The principal street which traverses the city, following the course of the river, is like the rest, not paved, but has so many 7o Triumphant Democracy. shops filled with a variety of goods, such a number of neat houses, and finally, in the mornings, such a concourse of people. Christians and Indians, that it can hardly be believed that it is the same street which was only marked out in 1828. Most of the houses are of wood, and some of brick ; a few in the English style, others again in the Grecian taste." ■ • . If we compare the preceding accounts of the rise and progress of recently estabhshed cities with the slow movements of old Boston, the contrast is great indeed. Boston was first settled in 1630. Fifty years later the first fire-engine was procured, and the first fire-company organized — a sign of progress attained by a modern town in as many weeks. In 1704 appeared the Boston News Letter, the first newspaper ever published in the British colonies of North America. Now the printing press is set up almost in the first plank house erected ; and a town of a few miners must have its own news- paper. In 1 7 10, eighty years after the settlement of the town, a post-oiifice was established, and mails were forwarded once a week to Plymouth and to Maine, and once a fortnight to New York. In 1786 the citizens undertook their first great enterprise, and constructed a bridge over the Charles River ; so that Boston re- quired a hundred and fifty years to attain a position which is now often reached by modern towns of the prairies in as many months. Examples without number of phenomenal growth of cities and towns might be cited, for the line stretches Cities and Towns. 71 on, one seemingly miraculous till the other comes. From East to West, from North to South, up and down and across the map of the Republic the student may pass in imaginative flight, sure of meeting every- where these cities and towns which, springing up like mushrooms, have nevertheless taken root like the oak. A beautiful tribute to the mother land is found in the names of towns and cities in the new. As even on the crowded, tiny May Flower the stern Puritan found room to bring and nurse with tender care the daisy of his native land, so the citizen driven from the dear old home, ever sighs, " England, with all thy faults I love thee still." Surely, why not ? Her faults are as one, her virtues as a thousand. And having a new home to christen, with swelling heart and tearful eye, and a love for the native land which knows no end and never can know end while breath clings to the body, he con- jures up the object of his fondest love and calls his new home Boston, York, Brighton, Hartford, Stratford, Glas- gow, Edinburgh, Durham, Perth, Aberdeen, Dundee, Cambridge, Oxford, Canterbury, Rochester, London, Newcastle, Manchester, Birmingham, Chester, Coven- try, Plymouth, or other dear name of the place where in life's young days he had danced o'er the sunny braes, heard the lark sing in the heavens, and the mavis pour forth its glad song from the hedge row. There is scarcely a place in the old land which has not its namesake in the new. Take Pittsburgh, 72 Triumphant Democracy. which is itself named after the great Pitt, and within a few miles' radius the English visitor can walk the streets of Soho, Birmingham, and Manchester. All these were suburban places a few years ago, and now they are as crowded as their prototypes. Brighton, Rochester, Newport, Middlesex, Newcastle are only a few miles away. This love of the old household words is carried even farther. The Englishman travels through the Republic living in a succession of hotels, Victorias, Clarendons, Windsors, Westminsters, Albe- marles. He might think himself at home again except that the superior advantages of the new hostelries serve to remind him at every turn that things are not as he has been accustomed to. So that our household gods are not only the same in the new as in the old land, but we call them by the same names and love them. The exile's heart is always sad when he thinks of the one spot of mother earth which alone can be in the deepest sense his home. Who then shall keep apart the land of his home and the land of his domicile ? And what American worthy of the name but shall reverence the home of his fathers, and wish it God-speed ? When the people reign in the old home as they do in the new, the two nations will be one peo- ple, and the bonds which unite them the world com- bined shall not break asunder. The republican upon this side of the Atlantic extends his hand to his fellow upon the other. They clasp hands. Democracy cries Cities and Towns. 73 to democracy, " We stand for the rights of man, the day of kings and peers is past. Down, privilege, down. Ring in the reign of the people, the equality of the citizen." No peal so grand as that, save one, that which proclaims the substitution of peaceful arbitra- tion for war the world over. And that too is involved in republicanism. All parties in the Republic already stand pledged to the doctrine. Patience, my fellow- citizens, patience. Democracy goes marching on. The reign of the masses is the road to universal peace. Thrones and royal families, and the influences neces- sarily surrounding them, — the vile brood they breed — make twenty wars while Triumphant Democracy makes one. CHAPTER IV. CONDITIONS OF LIFE. "The ideal State is one in which every citizen is content with the laws under which he lives. If any body of men in a State agitate for a change of laws, dissatisfaction is proven to exist, and by this much is the State disordered and unenviable. To produce universal satisfaction is possible only by meting out to every citizen the same measures. The slightest inequality produces disturbance, for only under equality are the parts free from strain, and hence in repose. The State in equilibrium has then reached perfection in its political system." — Eigenrac. Amid so much that is marvellous in American his- tory, nothing stands out with greater prominence than the rapid amelioration of the conditions of life. A century ago the continent of America was for the most part a wilderness. A long strip of the Atlantic coast was sparsely populated, and a few towns were unevenly sprinkled over the narrow territory. But behind this the country was in the same wild condition as when the Pilgrim Fathers landed, a hundred and fifty years before. There were few roads through the backwoods, and the inhabitants of Massachusetts were as widely divided from those of 'Virginia as from those of the old home, all intercommunication of the colonies being by coasting vessels. After Independence (1776), however, the young nation, full of the enthusiasm and hot blood Conditions of Life. 75 of youth, vigorously applied itself to the development of the country. Canals and turnpike roads were built, and by 1830 there were open for use one hundred and fifteen thousand miles of highway, and upwards of two thousand miles of canals, the latter costing upwards of $65,000,000 (;;£' 1 3,000,000). Canals and turnpikes were then the mighty forces of civilization, the wonderful means of locomotion. Eight miles per hour by the mail-coach and six miles per hour by the express packet upon the " raging canal ! " What was the world coming to ! Notwithstanding this, the country was very back- ward, and there was little, considered in the light of modern comforts, to make life worth living. In the newspapers of the time, and in books written by trav- ellers, we get faint glimpses of the inconveniences under which the past generation labored ; but the full signifi- cance of many a little statement written fifty years ago, is not to be realized in these days of luxurious refinement and elegant ease. Here, for example, is an extract from Niks' s Register, March 20, 1830 : "A letter written in Baltimore has been replied to from Nor- folk in forty-one hours, a distance of about four hundred miles — by steam ! " The note of exclamation appended to the statement seems oddly incongruous in these days of telegraphs, telephones, and penny postage. The difficulty of com- 76 Triumphant Democracy. munication in those early days is further exempHfied by the statement in the American Quarterly Observer for July, 1834, that : "A package of books can be more readily sent from Boston to London than to Cincinnati. A book printed in Boston has been republished in Edinburgh before it has reached Cincinnati." And here are a few passages from Miss Martineau's "Society in America," date 1834-5 • ' ' The great cities are even yet ill supplied from the country. Provisions are very dear : . . . butcher's meat throughout the country is far inferior to what it will be when an increased amount of labor, and means of transport, shall encourage improvements in the pasturage and care of stock. While fowls, butter, and eggs, are still sent from Vermont into Boston, there is no such thing to be had there as a joint of tender meat. In one house in Boston, where a very numerous family lives in handsome style, and where I several times met large dinner parties, I never saw an ounce of meat, except ham. The table was covered with birds, in great va- riety, and well cooked; but all winged creatures. The only tender, juicy meat I saw in the country, was a sirloin of beef at Charleston, and the whole provision of a gentleman's table in Kentucky. At one place, there was nothing but veal on the table for a month ; in a town where I staid ten days, nothing was to be had but beef; and throughout the South the traveller meets with little else than pork, under all manner of disguises, and fowls." Miss Martineau, writing from Philadelphia, further remarks that, " All the ladies ot a country town, not very far off, were wear- ing gloves too bad to be mended, or none at all, because none had come up by the canal for many weeks. Conditions of Life. 'j'] " At Washing-ton, I wanted some ribbon for my straw bonnet ; and in the whole place, in the season, I could find only six pieces of ribbon to choose from. (She would find sixty shops to-day each filled with ribbon.) "Throughout the entire country (out of the cities), I was struck with the discomforts of broken windows which appeared on every side. Large farm-houses, flourishing in every other respect, had dismal-looking windows. Persons who happen to live near a canal, or other quiet watery road, have baskets of glass of various sizes sent to them from the towns, and glaze their own windows. But there is no bringing glass over a corduroy, or mud, or rough limestone road ; and those who have no other highways must get along with such windows as it may please the weather and the children to leave them." Even so late as 1845 this isolation was the lot of all who lived at a distance from the coast. Sir Charles Lyell, visiting Milledgeville, Georgia, in that year, re- lates that the landlady of the hotel regarded Lady Lyell as quite a curiosity because she did not know how to make soap ; and the good dame told her how the maids " make almost everything in the house, even to the caps I wear." And it appears from contempo- rary records that soap and candles were home-made for many years after, and homespun cloth was largely worn by the people. In the rural districts of New England at present many houses still have in their garrets the old family spinning-wheel and loom. William Cobbett, writing in 1823, of Long Island, says : •jS Trhi7nphant Demoa^acy. "There, and indeed all over the American States, north of Maryland, and especially in the New England States, almost the whole of both linen and woollen used in the country, and a large part of that used in towns is made in the farm houses. There are thousands and thousands of families who never use either, except of their own making. All but the weaving is done by the family. There is a loom in the house, and the weaver goes from house to house. I once saw about three thousand farmers, or rather country people, at a horse-race in Long Island, and my opinion was that there were not five hundred who were not dressed in homespun coats. As to linen, no farmer's family thinks of buying linen." The discomforts of life to those in settled districts were few and slight compared with those experienced by settlers who went West. Of these a writer in De Bow's Review, in 1825, says: " Their journey was made after long preparation, and was toil- some, slow, and expensive. They were compelled to bring their heavy tools and bulky implements of husbandry, their kitchen utensils and fragile furniture, by a difficult navigation and over heavy roads ; several years were required to make a small clear- ing, rude improvements, and enough coarse food for domestic use." And after all this effort the conditions of life often accorded with those indicated in the following laconic dialogue : " Whose land was that you bought?" " Moggs'." "What's the soil.?" " Bogs." Conditions of Life. 79 "What's the climate?" " Fogs." " What do you get to eat ? " " Hogs." " What do you build your house of ? " " Logs." " Have you any neighbors ? " " Frogs." Though this is a playful exaggeration, there were many settlers whose lot was scarcely more enviable than that of the man who lived amid the bogs he bought of Moggs. Far removed from all means of communication, the western pioneer was practically cut off from the world. No ubiquitous postal system en- abled him to keep up communication with his friends " down East," or in the " old country." Newspapers rarely penetrated into the wild regions where he lived ; and if he wished to visit his nearest neighbor he had to ride many miles across a rough and often hostile coun- try. The traveller on the western rivers occasionally saw a solitary individual, perhaps a woman, paddling up stream in a canoe to visit a neighbor twenty or thirty miles off. Letters to the settlers were sent to the nearest town, perhaps a hundred miles away, where they lay for months until the person they were destined for, or some neighbor, could find time to go for them. The rates of postage in those days were very high. A letter of one sheet was carried any distance not ex- 8o Trhimphant Democracy. ceeding thirty miles for six cents ; and this sum was doubled or trebled if the letter consisted of two or three sheets. For any distance exceeding four hundred miles the charge was twenty-five cents (one shilling) per sheet — a sum which then had double the purchas- ing power it has to-day. Primitive simplicity prevailed in municipal arrange- ments where these existed. A notice copied from the walls of the bar-room of the village inn at Sandisfield, Massachusetts, in 1833, well illustrates this: " All persons who have neglected to pay their taxes or bills committed to Josiah H. Sage, collector, are hereby notified that, in consequence of the sickness of the said collector, the bills are at my house, where those who are willing can have opportunity to pay their taxes if they improve it soon ; and those who neglect may expect to pay a constable with fee for collecting." Scavenging was done by pigs which were allowed to run at large through the streets. Sir Charles Lyell describes them as going about Cincinnati in large num- bers, no person in particular claiming ownership of them. Even in New York these scavengers were long tolerated on the side-walks because of their supposed usefulness. It was no uncommon thing thirty-five years ago for pedestrians to be thrust into the road by the dirty snout of some city hog ; a newly imported Irish- man declared, on being so pushed into the gutter, that it was " a sthrange counthry where the pigs were all loose and the stones all tied." Conditions of Life. 8i The streets of towns were usually unlighted at night. New York, however, used in 1830 thirty-five thousand gallons of oil for two hundred and ninety-nine street lamps, " besides gas." In a description of Cincinnati in 1 83 1 a writer in the New Eiigland Magazine says : "Every citizen, who ventures abroad when the moon is absent, carries his own lantern or runs the risk of breaking his neck. U is a curious sight to see the lights hurrying in all directions, pass- ing, repassing, and flitting to and fro, as if dancing at a masque- rade of genii." New York, in 1837, was destitute of a supply of good and wholesome water. There were numerous wells with pumps in all parts of the city ; but the pump water was generally considered deleterious. Rain water was largely used by the citizens, most of the houses being provided with good cisterns. A contemporary writer says : "Many parts of the city are now supplied with water for the table brought from the upper wards in casks. On the East and North Rivers, in some instances, it is pure, and in others its good- ness is but little better than the present well water. The tables of the wealthy are supplied from this source, while the poorer classes have to resort to such wells and pumps as are in their neighbor- hood. It has been ascertained that there are now brought to the city by water-carts, six hundred hogsheads, for which there is paid one dollar and twenty-five cents for each hogshead (or about one cent per gallon) amounting to $750 per day, or $273,750 per annum, for water from that source." 6 §2 Trhtmphajit Democ7'acy. It is not surprising that under such conditions New York, now one of the best-watered cities in the world, suffered several severe epidemics of cholera, which in 1832 "raged to a fearful extent, nearly depopulat- ing it." The water supply of New York is equal to that of monster London ; so that the New Yorker uses more than double the quantity of water used by the Londoner. The stupendous character of the works undertaken in America is shown by this water supply question of New York. A sub-way, averaging two hun- dred and fifty feet below the surface, large enough for a double-track railway, and more than thirty miles long, is now being constructed to increase the supply of the Empire City. Five miles are already done, and it is expected that the entire work will be finished in three years from the date of letting the contract. In a couple of years, therefore, the water supply of New York will be four hundred million gallons per diem, or four times that now consumed by London. The world has long heard of a projected channel tunnel between Dover and Calais. Here is a longer tunnel of equal size being quietly constructed, and scarcely any- thing said about it. Other towns were as badly off in regard to water supply ; a circumstance which acquires prominence when viewed in connection with the great fires which periodically destroyed large portions of the towns of the Union. Contributing to these frequent disasters was Conditions of Life. 8 o the imperfect apparatus at that date for extinguishing fires. So inoperative were the fire-engines, that in the report of a fire at New Orleans, in Niles's Register for May 8, 1830, it is related that though within one hun- dred yards of the Mississippi, little water was to be had. It was not until 1853 that the steam fire-engine was made a practical machine, and it was much later before it came into general use. Now, the equipment of the fire brigade of America is the most perfect in the world. Electric communication between all quarters of towns, and between many houses, and numerous fire- stations exist everywhere ; and a minute after a fire is reported by pressing an electric button, half a dozen steam fire-engines are speeding from different quarters towards the fire. In many towns the same pressure of an electric button, which is made to sound an alarm on gongs in a dozen different fire-stations, also starts ma- chinery which releases the horses from their halters, allows the harness to fall on their backs, and raises the stable-gates. In the early days, when men had an entire continent to bring into subjection, and when the work of doing this was doubly difficult through the imperfection of machinery, the business of life was work— work in its most Carlylean sense of intense, unrelaxed labor. Men had no time to waste in fashionable frivolity ; and even the graver kinds of amusement were, except in the older cities of the East, little indulged in. Mrs. Trol- 84 Triumphant Democracy. lope, a name long discordant to American ears, com- mented on this circumstance : "I never saw any people who appeared to live so much without amusement as the Cincmnatians. Billiards are forbidden by law, so are cards. To sell a pack of cards in Ohio subjects the seller to a penalty of $50. They have no public balls, excepting, I think, six during the Christmas holidays. They have no concerts. They have no dinner parties." To this emphatic " never" is probably required the Sullivan-Gilbert qualification "hardly ever." To say that the people of Cincinnati, fifty years ago, never went to balls, never attended concerts, never dined out, is obviously straining the literal truth. Still it is un- questionable that social recreations were few and far between in those days. Although facts prove that the general standard of comfort was necessarily very much lower in the early part of the period we are considering than now, there yet prevailed a degree of general well-being unknown at the same time in Europe. Arfedson, a Swedish traveller, who visited the country in 1832-34, has thus placed on record his impressions : "A European, travelling in this direction (New York State), cannot help admiring the general appearance of comfort and pros- perity so singularly striking. To an inhabitant of the Scandinavian peninsula, accustomed to different scenes, it is peculiarly gratifying to witness, instead of gorgeous palaces by the side of poor huts, a row of neat country houses, inhabited by independent farmers.'' Conditions of Life. 85 A Swedish servant, lately arrived in America, at the date in question, on looking round and perceiving the happy state so generally diffused, exclaimed, with surprise and characteristic simphcity, " Sir, have the goodness to inform me where the peasantry live in this country ? " In works on America written about this period, we everywhere find expressions of surprise at the absence of beggars. Sir Charles Lyell, inquiring in his " First Visit " in 1840, " to what combination of causes the suc- cess of national education is to be attributed," and replying to his own query, makes a statement which is here relevant. He says: " First there is no class in want or extreme poverty here, partly because the facility of migrating to the West, for those who are without employment, is so great, and also, in part, from the check to improvident marriages, created by the high standard of living to which the lowest people aspire, a standard which education is raising higher and higher from day to day." As a further result of this universal prosperity, there was less crime than in the older countries, where life was difficult. "The number of persons apprehended by the police of the city of London, in 1832, was seventy-two thousand eight hundred and twenty-four. The population of London being twenty times that of Boston, the same proportion would give for Boston, thirty- six hundred and forty-one, instead of the actual number, nineteen hundred and four. 86 Trmmphant Democracy. But probably the greatest contrast of all was that between the low status of the factory operatives in England and the high status of the same class in Amer- ica. In England, forty years ago, the factory hand was a mere machine — a drudge, ill-fed, ill-housed, addicted to low pleasures, with no hope on earth, and scant knowledge of heaven. In America the female opera- tives were usually farmers' daughters, who entered the factory to make a little money with which to set up housekeeping when they married. Their intellectual status is shown by the fact that at Lowell, Massachu- setts, a magazine was published consisting entirely of articles and poems written by girls employed in the factories. By a judicious superintendence their morals were cared for, none being permitted to live in un- authorized lodging houses ; and the result was that the girls of the Lowell factories were celebrated as much for their virtue as for their intellectual superiority. Un- fortunately all this is changed. Immigrant operatives from Europe came in, and supplanted those of New England ; and at the present time the condition of the American factory hand, though decidedly better than that of the European operative, is said to be not nearly so high as it was forty years ago. The glimpses we are thus able to obtain of this period of fifty-five years ago (1830), show us a people scattered for the most part along the Atlantic sea- board. A few aggregations of people at Boston, New Conditions of Life. 87 York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore had made good their claim to rank as cities. The roads of America, still, with some exceptions, the worst perhaps in the civilized world, were then only dirt lanes, almost impassable during the rainy season, but excellent in summer and during the hard frosts of winter. Stage-coaches ran between the cities at intervals which to us seem absurdly rare ; and sailing packets, propelled by steam, and on the canals express packets, drawn by horses, divided the passenger trafific with the stage-coaches. Enterprising pioneers had pushed westward beyond the Alleghanies into the Ohio valley, and even as far as the plains of Illinois. The emigrant travelled in his own wagons to his new home in the then " far " West. During the long and hazardous journey, his family lived the life of roaming gypsies. The people's dress was of the cheapest and simplest character. A rough casinet cloth was used for the best dress of the men, and few women out of the principal cities aspired to a silk gown. In 1830 cotton calico was worn by most women, even of the well-to-do class. The servant problem, to-day such a difficult one to the American housewife, was much easier of solution then ; for, as there were fewer foreign women avail- able for domestic service, native Americans had to be employed. These were not called servants, but " help ; " and it was the custom for them to sit at the family table, and in other ways to be treated as 88 Triumphant Democracy. equals and members of the family. Such an arrange- ment was hardly an inconvenience where so much simplicity of life prevailed. A repugnance then ex- isted to all distinctions in dress. No coachman was ever seen in livery, nor did servants dress in any prescribed fashion. Concerning this trait Miss Mar- tineau writes: "One laughable peculiarity at the British Legation (at Wash- ington) was the confusion of tongues among the servants, who ask you to take fish, flesh, and fowl in Spanish, Italian, German, Dutch, Irish, or French. The foreign ambassadors are terribly plagued about servants. No American will wear livery, and there is no reason why any American should. But the British ambassador must have livery servants. He makes what com- promise he can, allowing his people to appear without livery out of doors, except on state occasions ; but he is obliged to pick up his domestics from among foreigners who are in want of a subsistence for a short time, and are sure to go away as soon as they can find employment in which the wearing a livery is not a requisite." Such was the repugnance to livery that policemen dressed like ordinary citizens. Even New York city did not give its police a distinctive dress until 1845. Other cities followed later, until now it would be difficult to distinguish the police force in any American city from the metropolitan poHce of London. Coachmen's liv- eries are less gaudy in America than in Europe. We have not yet adopted powdered-haired coachmen and Conditions of Life. 89 flunkeys with stuffed calves, nor brilliantly colored coaches. I remember well that when the Pennsylvania Rail- road Company decided that conductors and passenger- train men upon its lines should be distinguished from passengers by a uniform official dress, serious doubts were entertained whether the requirement would not lead to universal refusal to wear livery. In this case, as with the police force, the obvious advantage of the men in authority being known at once by their uni- form was finally recognized by the employees. It is a sentiment well worth humoring, however, — this dislike to distinctive badges, except when clearly useful. Unless so, let republican citizens be indepen- dent and differ even in dress. There was scarcely a private carriage in Western cities in those days. People rode on horseback or in rude wagons, or, at best, in one-horse chaises. An old lady, living not long since, and one whom I knew well and honored, kept the first carriage in Pittsburgh ; and the lady who first had a coachman in livery (he was a colored man fond of display,) died only recently. If the dress, conveniences, and homes of the people were of the simplest character, so was the food. It was, however, very cheap. Eggs were three half-pence a dozen, and a leg of lamb cost only a shilling. For- eign wine was so rare and costly as to be almost un- known. The importations of wine in 1831 amounted go Triumphant Democracy. to only a million and a half dollars. Barter was a common mode of payment. Workmen, even in cities, received orders upon a store for their labor. Wages were generally low. Laborers received sixty-two cents (three shillings) per day, and two dollars (eight shil- lings) per day was long considered remarkably high wages, and was given only to very skilful workmen. Salaries were even lower in proportion. The late President of the great Pennsylvania Railway received only $1,500 (;^30o) per annum as late as 1855, when he was superintendent of the western division of the line. I was overwhelmed when, as his successor, I received £'^0 more per annum. Notwithstanding low wages, the regularity of work and the simplicity of life enabled the people to save considerable sums every year. Such as there was of fashion was in the direction of the plainest living, and in opposition to ostentation in residence, furniture, dress, food, or equipage. It was republican to be plain, simple, unaffected, and of the people. Kid gloves, dress coats, and silk dresses were hardly known west of the Alleghanies. There were no millionaires in those days. Men with fifty or a hundred thousand dollars (iT 10,000 to ^20,000) were spoken of throughout the country as the millionaire is now. Indeed, there are probably more millionaires in New York city to-day than there were men in the whole country in 1830 who were worth a hundred Conditions of Life. 91 thousand dollars. The first pianoforte manufactory was founded in 1822, but was so insignificant that in 1853 it turned out only fifteen pianos a week. Few carriages were made till 1840. Works of art were rarely seen. The first picture gallery of any consequence was that of the Pennsylvania Academy, Philadelphia, opened in 181 1. Other cities remained till a recent date with- out important art collections. Libraries existed in colleges and in the public buildings of the State capitol, but few collections of books were accessible to the people. Previous to 1830 only three or four cities had such libraries, and these were unimportant. In those days every village and country district had its universal genius who could turn his hand to any- thing, from drawing a tooth to mending a clock. The doctor of divinity had usually the functions of doctor of medicine as well. The doctor of the body had no brother doctor of the soul; he was both himself. The lawyer was attorney, counsellor, real estate agent, banker, and barrister in one. With increasing popula- tion, handicrafts and professions have become special- ized ; and communities, however small, are now gener- ally well supplied with men trained to their special vocations, to which they confine themselves. A community of toilers with an undeveloped con- tinent before them, and destitute of the refinements and elegancies of life, — such was the picture pre- sented by the Republic fifty years ago. Contrasted Q2 Triumphant Democracy. with that of to-day we might almost conclude that we were upon another planet and subject to different primary conditions. If the roads throughout the country are yet poor compared with those of Europe, the need of good roads has been rendered less impera- tive by the omnipresent railroad. It is the superiority of the iron highway in America which has diverted attention from the country roads. Macaulay's test of the civilization of a people by the condition of their roads must be interpreted, in this age of steam, to include railroads. Communication between places is now cheaper and more comfortable than in any other country. Upon the principal railway lines the cars — luxurious drawing-rooms by day, and sleeping chambers by night — are ventilated by air, warmed and filtered in winter, and cooled in summer. Passenger steamers upon the lakes and rivers are of gigantic size, and models of elegance. The variety and quality of the food of the people of America excels that found elsewhere, and is a constant surprise to Euro- peans visiting the States. The dress of the people is now of the richest character — far beyond that of any other people, compared class for class. The comforts of the average American home compare favorably with those of other lands, while the residences of the wealthy classes are not equalled anywhere. The first- class American residence of to-day in all its appoint- ments excites the envy of the foreigner. One touch of Conditions of Life, 93 the electric button calls a messenger ; two touches bring a telegraph boy; three summon a policeman; four give the alarm of fire. Telephones are used to an extent hardly dreamed of in Europe, the stables, gar- dener's houses, and other outbuildings being connected with the mansion ; and the houses of friends are joined by the talking wire almost as often as houses of busi- ness. Speaking-tubes connect the drawing-room with the kitchen ; and the dinner is brought up "piping hot " by an elevator. Hot air and steam pipes are carried all over the house ; and by the turning of a tap the tem- perature of any room is regulated to suit the conveni- ence of the occupant. The electric light is coming into use throughout the country as an additional home com- fort. Indeed there is no palace or great mansion in Eu- rope with half the conveniences and scientific appli- ances which characterize the best American mansions. New York Central Park is no unworthy rival of Hyde Park and the Bois de Boulogne in its display of fine equipages ; and in winter the hundreds of graceful sleighs dashing along the drives form a picture pret- tier than anything London can boast. The opera houses, theatres, and public halls of the country excel in magnificence those of other lands, if we except the later constructions in Paris and Vienna, with which the New York and Philadelphia opera houses rank. The commercial exchanges, and the imposing structures of the life insurance companies, newspaper buildings, g4 Triumphant Democracy. hotels, and many edifices built by wealthy firms, not only in New York but in the cities of the West, never fail to excite the European's surprise. The postal system is equal in every respect to that of Europe. Mails are taken up by express trains, sorted on board, and dropped at all important points without stopping. Letters are delivered several times a day in every con- siderable town. The uniform rates of postage for all distances, often exceeding three thousand miles, is only two cents (one penny) per ounce. In short, the conditions of life in American cities may be said to have approximated those of Britain during the fifty years of which we are speaking. Year by year, as the population advances, the general stand- ard of comfort in the smaller Western cities rises to that of the East. Herbert Spencer was astonished beyond measure at what he saw in American cities. " Such books as I had looked into," said he, " had given me no adequate idea of the immense develop- ments of material civilization which I have everywhere found. The extent, wealth, and magnificence of your cities, and especially the splendor of New York, have altogether astonished me. Though I have not visited the wonder of the West, Chicago, yet some of your minor modern places, such as Cleveland, have sufficient- ly amazed me, by the marvellous results of one genera- tion's activity. Occasionally, when I have been in places of some ten thousand inhabitants, where the Conditions of Life. 95 telephone is in general use, I have felt somewhat ashamed of our own unenterprising towns; many of which, of fifty thousand inhabitants and more, make no use of it." There is little difference between the municipal in- stitutions of the new and the old lands, but no contrast can be greater than that between their country dis- tricts. The unfortunate people of monarchies have reason to envy the American in many respects, but in none more keenly than for the perfection of his local township and county organizations. If my American readers were generally informed of the chaos prevailing throughout the country districts of England, they would be at a loss to understand how a people who speak the English tongue could have tolerated it so long. The Church has a certain share in local matters, especially as regards education ; and the clergymen, vicars, rectors, and curates are found upon the select boards which manage all local affairs. Then the " lords of the manors," the owners of lands, have also a share. The squire and the parson are really the powers which attend to everything, and manage all to their own liking. The palace of my lord duke is as- sessed to pay taxes less in amount than the moderate- sized villa of the new man, who is not in the ruling coterie. Every little country district has its "ring." For in place of one "ring" in the Republic there are twenty in the Monarchy. The offices are naturally dis- 96 Ttiumphant Democracy. tributed to the favorites of the landlords and the par- sons. The people of the district have no voice what- ever in the matter, since they are excluded from voting for county ofificials ; only those who are possessed of a certain amount of property, or who reside in large houses and pay large rents, and who are consequently of the ruling classes, are permitted to vote. The ma- jority of the people, therefore, have no interest in the community as a community. There is no soil for the growth of local patriotism. In the British towns, however, a pleasing contrast to this sad picture is presented. In these manhood suf- frage prevails and, in many if not all cases, women pos- sessed of property are also entitled to vote. The result is a degree of attention to municipal affairs upon the part of the best citizens of the towns which is rarely found even in America beyond the borders of the old settled States, if at all. The proceedings of the town council, including the speeches of every member, are regularly published at length in the local newspapers. Sometimes as miich as four columns are occupied by the report of this local parliament, and no reading is so much enjoyed, or excites a deeper interest in the com- munity. It is true, one outside of the boundaries smiles to read of really able men, the local manufacturers and merchants of the place, disputing upon the correctness of a charge of live pounds six and eight pence for repair- ing the town-house clock, or an increase of ten pounds Conditions of Life. 97 in the salary of the town clerk; but the Imperial Parlia- ment itself is not seldom engaged upon trifling matters, and it is this attention to details which insures a proper disposition of the public funds, and an excellent govern- ment of the municipality. The magistrates and town councillors are held in the highest honor, and one hears in Britain of Provost Matthieson or Provost Donald, premiership and local improvements being characterized as during this or that " administration." The resident of the town hears the names of prominent public men, but these are mere ab- stractions to him, and furnish no material basis for admiration ; but when the provost passes he sees in him concentrated glory, the pride of power, the " real presence " as it were. From the town councils the nation is drawing some of its foremost leaders. Mr. Chamberlain and Alder- man Kenrick began their education in that of Birming- ham ; Mr. Storey his in that of Sunderland, and the late George Harrison his in Edinburgh. My experience of the town community in Britain gives me the highest possible estimate of the power of the masses to pro- duce beneficial changes through the selection of men best qualified for the work. The time has not yet arrived for as complete and effective municipal institutions throughout the Repub- lic as those of Britain, but we see in the more settled parts that we are arriving at similar results. While, 7 ^8 Triumphant Democracy. therefore, the municipalities of the old land are not ex- celled by any in the new, and are upon the average better, the country districts of Britain have institutions which are a disgrace to a people. The stolid ignorance of the masses, their seeming contentedness with a life befitting the swineherds of early Saxon times, their dependence upon what they call their "betters," and the sycophantic vices which aristocratic rule ever pro- duces in the poor, are positively sickening to the American, who naturally contrasts the situation with that at home, and especially contrasts the men and women produced by the two systems. " You see then," says the narrow, uninformed Tory squire, as he shows his American visitor the condition of the masses around him ; " you see how utterly unfit these people are for what you call self-government and the equality of the citizen. Bless you ! if we didn't look after them they couldn't live." He does not often hear the proper reply, but I flatter myself he does sometimes. " Give these people all the rights and privileges you possess in this district, and before you die, unless you drop off suddenly, the result will sur- prise you. Never can they be transformed from practi- cal serfdom except by imposing upon them the duties of citizens, and then educating them to the proper per- formance of those duties. You are just like the foolish mother who would not permit her boy to go near the water till he had learned to swim. Throw him in. Be Conditions of Life. 99 at his side to see that he does not quite drown, but be careful not to assist too much. Don't bolster him up until he is exhausted and ready to sink." This same Tory squire will descant at dinner upon the mission his country holds for the improvement of inferior races throughout the world, wholly oblivious to the fact that it would be difficult to find among any subject race in any part of the world a more ignorant, debased, and poverty-stricken community than that which the auto- cratic system of his class has produced within a few miles of his own gate. No man can see so clearly the mote in his brother's eye and be so blind to the beam in his own as the country magnate of England. He feels, at least he professes to feel, for every people but his own. A short description of the republican country or- ganizations will probably be interesting to the British people, and even to the American who is too apt to enjoy his blessings without paying much attention to their sources. The subdivisions of States into coun- ties, and of counties into townships for purposes of local self-government, have not been made upon a uniform plan ; the earlier States present many points of differ- ence in these divisions, but the newer States of the West and Northwest, which combine much the greater area of the country, may be said to follow the same general mode. It is that alone which I think worth while to describe, since it is the recent and distinctively American practice. lOO Triumphant Democracy. Iowa is one of the most creditable communities in the Union, and I shall give a glimpse into her local governments. The genesis of these home parliaments is very simple. First comes a settler, axe in hand, who erects a log cabin, clears the ground, and plants what- ever seeds he may be blessed with. Then comes an- other and another who do the same upon adjoining land until a dozen or more families are near together. Two wants are now felt — roads or paths between these houses, and from the hamlet to the nearest market town or railway station, and a school for the children. There is no central authority to provide these, and finally the hardy settlers resolve to have a meeting and talk matters over. They vote to tax themselves and construct them. Somebody must be designated to assess the tax, somebody to collect it, some one to supervise the work, and some one to keep the accounts, etc. Here are the beginnings of the tax assessor, col- lector, county supervisor, and town clerk, and after a while to these are added the constable and the justice of the peace. Many a township record begins like that of Burling- ton in Calhoun County, Michigan. , ,., ii; " Organized in 1837, and held its first township meeting April 3 of that year, electing Justus Goodwin, supervisor ; O. C. Freeman, town clerk ; Justus Goodwin, Gibesia Sanders, and Moses S. Gleason, justices of the peace ; Leon Haughtailing, constable and collector ; established six road districts ; voted $100 to build a Conditions of Life. loi bridge across the St. Joseph River, and $50 for bridging Nottawa Creek ; voted $50 for common schools, and $5 bounty for wolf scalps." Ah, that S50 for common schools ! That was the vote of votes, gentlemen. Just see, wherever we peer into the first tiny springs of the national life, how this true panacea for all the ills of the body politic bubbles forth — education, education, education. Through all the history of the land runs this care for the golden thread of knowledge, upon which to string the blessings and achievements of an educated, triumphant Democ- racy. And will you note also that no mention is made of the " birth " or " rank" of these village Hampdens. It may safely be inferred that neither was thought of in that democratic meeting. The fittest and best man was what the occasion demanded, and no doubt wise choice was made upon the only sensible basis : " The tools to those who can best use them." The township is, as a rule, six miles square, as all the territories are divided into such areas by the gov- ernment surveyors. As population increases, twelve to fifteen townships band together and form the greater po- litical division, the county, the larger Home Rule circle. The county officials are usually elected for terms of two years, although in many States annual elections are held. Suffrage is invariably universal, and electoral dis- I02 Trnwiphant Democracy. tricts equal. All officials are paid, but their salaries are extremely moderate. The county town is selected, of course, in democratic fashion by a fair vote. By vote of the people are elected at short intervals not only all county political officials, including the sheriffs and other magistrates having authority, and the county superintendent of education, the road supervisors, and guardians of the poor, but the judges themselves, and why not ? Who are so deeply interested in the able and pure administration of, justice as the masses of the peo- ple, the poorer classes of the people who may be trusted to elect the men least likely to lean unduly to the side of the rich, the powerful, and the strong? If judges must have leanings, and being but human, they must be influenced, even unconsciously, by their en- vironments, by all means let their failings lean to vir- tue's side, which is with very rare exceptions the side of the poor and the weak. • ' Many counties at last form the third and largest cir- cle of Home Rule, the State, which in turn with other States constitute the Federal system of the Republic. Thus there are centres within centres of Home Rule, and the experience gained of their healthfulness in matters political is such as to bring about the gene- ral rule that the central authority shall do nothing which the State can do for itself, the State nothing which the county can do for itself, and the county nothing for the township which it can do for itself. As Conditions of Life. 103 sure as the sun shines, in proportion as government recedes from the people immediately interested, it becomes liable to abuse. Whatever authority can be conveniently exercised in primary assemblies should, therefore, be placed there, for there it is certain to pro- duce satisfactory results. Jefferson was indeed a far-seeing statesman, and he says: " These wards, called townships in New England, are the vital principle of their governments; and have proved themselves the wisest inventions ever devised by the wit of man for the perfect exercise of self-government and for its preservation." The American believes in Home Rule down to the smallest divisions, and has shown an admirable dislike of centralization. He will not call upon any authority to help him as long as he can help himself. Divide society into as many and as small divisions as you please, the smallest still remains a complete epitome — a microcosm of the whole. The council of a city is a perfect miniature of the Imperial Assembly. The ob- server recognizes its pocket editions of Cleveland, Glad- stone, Blaine, and Salisbury ; in the life of the city there stand the local Beecher and the local Spurgeon, the Spencer, Fiske, Huxley, Marsh, the Drs. Flint, Den- nis, Mackenzie, the Black and the Howells. Yes, it has even its Arnold, Holmes, Lowell, Browning, and Whit- man — all in miniature, no doubt, as befits the small stage upon which these tiny actors perform. Men and I04 Triumphant Democracy. women divide into a few classes, and in every village these classes exist, and the smaller the body the more clearly defined the line between them in society. Oh, yes, there is even society in these villages, and leaders of fashion too — all the absurd things as well as the good things are present, not one missing ; for as each grain composing the block of marble has within itself all that makes marble marble, so each gathering of men and women, no matter how small, has all that makes empires empires. Statesmen have but to allow free play to these forces to produce harmonious action. The American always does this in town and country. The Briton has pursued a different course, except re- cently in the towns, and the effect of exclusion from the management of their local affairs upon the charac- ter of the masses throughout the country districts has been deplorable. They are not yet men, they are in spirit only serfs. But as the right to vote for members of Parliament was granted them last year, and they have just voted en masse against the ruling class, the tide has begun to turn at last, and there must soon arise among them an irresistible movement for Home Rule within their own small divisions. The truest account I have found of the condition of the masses of the American people who live in the villages and small towns, as distinguished from the large cities and from the country, is that concerning New England in Professor Fiske's excellent little book, Conditions of Life. 105 "American Political Ideas." I give my readers this description, and certify of my own knowledge to its en- tire truthfulness : " As a rule, the head of each family owns the house in which he lives, and the ground on which it is built. The relation of landlord and tenant, though not unknown, is not commonly met with. No sort of social distinction or political privilege is associ- ated with the ownership of land, and the legal differences between real and personal property, especially as regards ease of transfer, have been reduced to the smallest minimum that practical conven- ience will allow. Each householder, therefore, though an absolute proprietor, cannot be called a miniature lord of the manor, be- cause there exists no permanent dependent class such as is implied in the use of such a phrase. Each larger proprietor attends in person to the cultivation of his own land, assisted perhaps by his own sons, or by neighbors working for hire in the leisure left over from the care of their own smaller estates. So, in the interior of the house, there is usually no domestic service that is not per- formed by the mother of the family and the daughters. Yet, in spite of this universality of manual labor, the people are as far as possible from presenting the appearance of peasants. Poor or shabbily-dressed people are rarely seen, and there is no one in the village whom it would be proper to address in a patronizing tone, or who would not consider it a gross insult to be offered a shilling. As with poverty, so with dram-drinking and with crime ; all alike are conspicuous by their absence. In a village of one thousand inhabitants there will be a poor-house, where five or six decrepit old people are supported at the common charge ; and there will be one tavern, where it is not easy to find anything stronger to drink than light beer or cider. The danger from thieves is so slight that it is not always thought necessary to fasten the outer doors of the io6 Triumphant Democracy. house at night. The universaUty of literary culture is as remark- able as the freedom with which all persons engage in manual labor. The village of a thousand inhabitants will be very likely to have a public circulating library, in which you may find Professor Huxley's Lay Sermons, or Sir Henry Maine's Ancient Law; it will surely have a high-school, and half a dozen other schools for small children. A person unable to read and write is as great a rarity as an albino, or a person with six fingers. The farmer who threshes his own corn and cuts his own firewood has very likely a piano in his family sitting-room, with the Atlantic Monthly on the table, and Milton and Tennyson, Gibbon and Macaulay, on his shelves, while his daughter, who has baked bread in the morning, is, perhaps, ready to paint on china in the afternoon. In former times theological questions largely occupied the attention of the people ; and there is probably no part of the world where the Bible has been more attentively read, or where the mysteries of Christian doctrine have, to so great an extent, been made the sub- ject of earnest discussion in every household. Hence, we find in the New England of to-day a deep religious sense, combined with singular flexibility of mind and freedom of thought." Such is the Democracy ; such its conditions of life. In the presence of such a picture can it be maintained that the rule of the people is subversive of government and religion? Where have monarchical institutions developed a community so delightful in itself, so intel- ligent, so free from crime or pauperism — a community in which the greatest good of the greatest number is so fully attained, and one so well calculated to foster the growth of self-respecting men — -which is the end civil- ization seeks? Conditions of Life. 107 " For ere man made us citizens God made us men.'' The republican is necessarily self-respecting, for the laws of his country, in full accord with the laws of God, begin by making him a man indeed, the equal of other men ; and believe me, my readers, the man who most respects himself will be found the man who most respects the rights and feelings of others. The rural Democracy of America could be as soon induced to sanction the confiscation of the property of their richer neighbors, or to vote for any violent or dis- creditable measure, as it could be led to surrender the President for a king. Free institutions develop all the best and noblest characteristics, and these always lead in the direction of the golden rule. These honest, pure, contented, industrious, patriotic people really do con- sider what they would have others do to them. They ask themselves what is fair? Nor is there in Britain so conservative a body of men ; but then it is the equality of the citizen — just and equal laws — republicanism, they are resolved to conserve. To conserve these they are at all times ready to fight and, if need be, to die; for, to men who have once tasted of the elixir of politi- cal equality, life under unequal conditions could possess no charm. To every man is committed in some degree, as a sacred trust, the manhood of man. This he may not himself infringe or permit to be infringed by others. io8 Triumphant Democracy. Hereditary dignities, political inequalities, do infringe the rights of man and hence are not to be tolerated. The true democrat must live the peer of his fellows, or die struggling to become so. It only remains for those still held in the toils of feudalism in the parent land to vindicate their right to rise to the full stature of equal citizenship, since by the greater part of the English speaking race this position has been already acquired through the Triumphant Democracy. CHAPTER V. OCCUPATIONS. " All nations have their message from on high. Each the Messiah of some central thought For the fulfilment and delight of Man : One has to teach that labor is divine." — Lowell. Such is the mission of the Republic, for there are few drones in the repubhcan hive, and these are not honored. If a man would eat he must work. A life of elegant leisure is the life of an unworthy citizen. The Republic does not owe him a living, it is he who owes the Republic a life of usefulness. Such is the republi- can idea. During the colonial period the industries of America were cramped and repressed by the illiberal policy of the imperial government. The occupations of the people were necessarily confined to those connected with the cultivation of the soil. The varied pursuits which now distinguish the Republic were unknown. "The colonies have no right to manufacture even so much as a horse-shoe nail," was the dictum of a leading English statesman ; and in accordance with this doctrine, the early settlers were hampered by restrictions which, but for their injurious effect on American industries, no Triumphant Democracy. would appear ludicrous to us of modern times. The manufacture of hats was forbidden ; the making of paper gave offence ; and even the weaving of homespun cloth for domestic use was regarded as indicating a re- bellious spirit. Iron could not be manufactured beyond the condition of pig; and none but British vessels were permitted to trade with the colonies. But do not let us reflect upon our mother-land for this. Even in pursuing this policy she was not behind her day. What were colonies for unless to be of direct ad- vantage to the country which created and fostered them ? Why should Britain undertake new outlets for her people and her commerce, if her children were to prove ungrateful and defeat the only end the parent-land had in view in nursing them into life ? Such was the accepted view of the time in regard to colonial possessions. It is to the credit of Britain that she now sees how futile is the attempt to extend commerce through colonization, or to interfere with the internal affairs of her children. She permits them to foster what they please, to trade freely with all nations upon any terms the colonies fix for her own trade with them. True it must be said that her offspring are not very grateful children ; they turn against their mother with surprising harshness. When desired financial aid requires it, our Canadian friends flatter the dear old lady into opening her purse-strings, to give the spoiled child what she begs. Canada is very dutiful upon such occasions, but she taxes her Occupations. 1 1 1 mother's products all the same to foster manufactures upon her own soil. The Republic boldly puts on a tariff and announces that she means to have within herself the manufacturing facilities which distinguish her parent, and to beat her in manufacturing if possible ; and she has become the greatest manufacturing nation the world has ever known. I like this boldness; having set up for herself and being a free and independent State, the Republic has a right to do as she pleases. Canada's hypocritical and ungrate- ful conduct merits and inspires only contempt. She has no business to tax her good mother's manufactures to protect her own, but if she does it, she should at least cease her loyal whine and announce in honest fashion that she intends to assume the responsibilities of national existence and no longer to rely upon her mother's assistance. But why talk of Canada, or of any mere colony? What book, what invention, what statue or picture, what anything has a colony ever produced, or what man has grown up in any colony who has become known beyond his own local district ? None. Nor can a colony ever give to mankind anything of value beyond wood, corn, and beef. If Canada and the Australian colonies were free and independent republics, the world would soon see the harvest of democracy in noble works, and in great minds, and for the mother of these nations the result would be infinitely better even as to trade. 112 Triumphant Democracy. Besides she would be far prouder of her progeny, which in itself is not a bad return for a fond mother like her. If Lord Rosebery were to succeed in his amusing Imperial Federation fad (which, happily, is impossible), these nations in embryo would be stifled in their cradles. Imagine the great democratic continent of Australia really subject to the little island, and to the funny monarchy and its antiquated forms. I have heard of the tail which wagged the dog, but it must have been a very big tail and a very small dog. Brit- ain will form a very diminutive tail to the Australia of the next generation. No ; the English-speaking continents of America and Australia and the parent, Britain, will be separate political communities, but one day linked together in a league of peace, one provision of which will be that all international disputes shall be settled by it. With the independence of the Republic came the natural reaction of the suppression of occupations just spoken of. The reaction has not quite spent its force even to this day, so hard is it to eradicate national bitterness which springs from oppression. With surprising energy the people began to turn their condition of colonial dependence into a con- dition of national independence, industrial as well as political. The long European wars which followed fostered the embryo industries of the Republic by hindering the importation of European manufactures, Occupations. 113 a result further assisted by a tariff ; and, though dis- aster followed this system of over-stimulation, the eventual condition reached was eminently satisfac- tory. By the year 1830 many industries were firmly established, and since that period their development has proceeded with a regularity which even the ter- rible Civil War was unable to check. The occupations of the people of half a century ago appear strangely primitive when contrasted with those of present times. Indeed, the difference is more like that of five centuries than of five decades. Take as an example the shoe manufacture at Lynn, Mas- sachusetts. Fifty years ago a visitor to this village would have heard the beat, beat, beat of many ham- mers issuing from small wooden sheds erected against the sides of the houses. These were the sounds of the disciples of St. Crispin working away, with last upon knee, and making perhaps one pair of shoes per day. During the summer the same men became farmers or fishermen, and the village ceased to resound with the shoemakers' hammers. The present city of Lynn, with forty-five thousand inhabitants, has numerous fine buildings of great height and length, which are the lineal descendants of the little wooden sheds of fifty years ago. In these, boots and shoes are made by the million, and with hardly any handling by the sons of St. Crispin. Machines now do all the cut- ting, the hammering, and the sewing. Massachusetts 114 Triumphant Democracy. is the shoe State par excellence. In 1835, according to Mulhall, there were in the State thirty thousand more bootmakers than in 1880, yet in the latter year the factories produced boots worth $70,000,000 {£i\,- 000,000) more than they did in 1835. Changes equally great took place in the nature of work in textile industries. In 1830, woollen, Hnen, and cotton manufactures were largely conducted in the household. In Hinton's " Topography of the United States " we read that " many thousands of families spin, and make up their own clothing, sheets, table-linen, etc. They purchase cotton yarn, and have it frequently mixed with their linen and woollen ; blankets, quilts, or coverlets, in short, nearly all articles of domestic use, are chiefly made in the family. It is supposed that two-thirds of all the clothing, linen, blankets, etc., of those inhabitants who reside in the interior of the country are of household manufacture. It is the same in the interior with both soap and candles." But many forces were at work revolutionizing the industrial methods of the day. The steam-engine was gradually replacing the water-wheel, or supplementing it when winter bound fast the rivers, thereby insuring to em- ployees regularity of work in factories, and releasing manufacturers from the incubus of idle capital during half the year. Then railroads and canals were rapidly increasing the facilities for distributing the products of manufacturing centres. Further great improvements Occupations. 115 in machinery placed manual labor more and more at a discount. Thus, in 1834, a spindle would spin on an average from one-sixth to one-third more than it did a few years previous. Indeed, it was said in 1834, " that a person could spin more than double the weight of yarn in a given time than he could in 1829." And so there resulted a complete change in the manner of life of the people. Instead of working with the old- fashioned spinning-wheel in country farm-houses, or the hand-loom in the rural cottage, spinners and weav- ers gathered together in large towns. And here we have one cause of the great growth of towns as com- pared with the country, which has been referred to in a previous chapter. A large proportion of the people fifty years ago were engaged in agriculture, another pursuit in which mechanical appliances have since worked a complete revolution. The transformation is shown with start- ling vividness by two extracts: - , " Among new inventions to increase the pauperism of England, we observe a portable steam threshing machine." — New York Evening Star, August, 1834. " Dr. Glin, of California, has forty-five thousand acres under wheat. On this farm is used an improved kind of machinery; each machine can cut, thresh, winnow, and bag sixty acres of wheat in a day." — Mulhall's Progress of the World, p. 499 (date, 1880). In view of such a contrast we hardly need the assur- ance of Mr. H. Murray, who, writing in 1834, says: 1 1 6 Triumphant Democracy. " Agriculture is in its infancy in the United States." The statement which follows is also interesting: "The country," he adds, " is covered with dense dark woods. Even the State of New York is still three-fourths forest." Since that period the expansion of agriculture has been phenomenal. The farms of America equal the entire territory of the United Kingdom, France, Bel- gium, Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Portugal. The corn fields equal the extent of England, Scotland, and Belgium ; while the grain fields generally would overlap Spain. The cotton fields cover an area larger than Holland, and twice as large as Belgium. The rice fields, sugar, and tobacco plantations would also form kingdoms of no insignificant size. And such is the stage of advancement reached by American agricul- turists, that Mulhall estimates that one farmer like Dr. GHn or Mr. Dalrymple, with a field of wheat cover- ing a hundred square miles, can raise as much grain with four hundred farm servants as five thousand peasant proprietors in France. Notwithstanding this, it is pleasing to know that not even with the advantage here implied are these gigantic farms able to maintain the struggle against the smaller farms owned and cultivated by families. The Republic to-day is, as it ever was, a nation of workers. The idlers are few — much fewer than in any other great nation. A continent lies before the Ameri- Occupations. 117 can, awaiting development. The rewards of labor are high ; and prizes are to be won in every pursuit. The family which strikes out boldly for the West, settles upon the soil and expends its labor upon it, may confi- dently look forward to reach independent circumstances long before old age. The mechanic with skill and energy rises first to foremanship and ultimately to a partnership or business of his own. As the country fills, these prizes naturally become more and more diffi- cult to secure ; but the very knowledge of this acts as an additional incentive, and impels men to "make hay ■\*hile the sun shines." The American works much harder than the Briton. His application is greater; his hours are longer; his holidays fewer. Until recently, a leisure class has scarcely been known ; and even now a man who is not engaged in some useful occupation lacks one claim to the respect of his fellows. The American must do something, even if disposed to be idle ; he is forced to join the army of toilers from sheer impossibility to find suitable companions for idle hours. One conversant with the mother and child lands is particularly struck with the difference between Britons and Americans in this regard. If a party of educated and agreeable gentlemen are wanted to join in a pleasure excursion, twenty are available in Britain to one in this high- pressure America. The American has always so much to do. Even when the family leaves home in the sum- 1 1 8 Triumphant Democracy. mer, the man returns to town every few days to ham- mer away at something. The English gentleman, on the contrary, seems always to have a few days he can call his own for pleasure. Ladies are equally available upon both sides of the ferry. The American woman seems to have quite as much leisure as her English sis- ter. I must not fail to note, however, the signs of change which begin to appear. A small number of the best men of this generation, especially in the Eastern cities, having inherited fortunes, now devote them- selves to public cares, not necessarily political, as a Briton would infer, and discard the lower ambition of adding more to that which is enough. The roughest and most pressing work, that of clearing and settling the land, has been done to a great extent ; and the in- fluences of refinement and elevation are now patent everywhere. It is thus that a free society evolves that which is fitted for its highest ends. The census of 1880 shows that the number of per- sons pursuing gainful and reputable occupations was over seventeen and a quarter millions, or thirty-four and one-half per cent, of the total population. This proportion is greater than that shown by the census of 1870. Each census is no doubt taken in a more thor- ough manner than the preceding one — the last being the most complete enumeration ever made of any people. But even allowing for this, it is evident that owing to the extensions of the factory system, the increased Occtipations, 119 division of labor, and especially to the greater number of occupations open to women, a larger proportion of Americans are now at work than ever before. The increased employment of women is very marked. In 1880 the ratio had increased to eleven hundred and ninety as against one thousand in 1870, nearly twelve per cent., while that of men increased only from one thousand to ten hundred and sixty-seven, less than seven per cent. It is clear that the American woman is steadily conquering her right to share with man many occupations from which she has been excluded. But her advance is, I fear, in no less degree indica- tive of a growing necessity to swell the earnings of the family. Lowthian Bell, when in America, remarked that he had heard always of great inventions made in manu- facturing by the Americans, and of their wonderful aptitude in this department of industry ; but he found after all that Britons had done a large part of this work. This is corroborated by the horse-shoe machines of Mr. Burden, a sturdy Scot ; Mr. Thomas, a Welshman, who first smelted pig-iron with anthra- cite coal ; Mr. Chisholm, of Dunfermline, Scotland, who has created the extensive steel rail and steel wire mills at Cleveland ; Isaac Stead, an enterprising Enghshman, who first wove tapestry in Philadelphia; Mr. Wallace, founder of the famous brass mill at Ansonia, and many others. It is, indeed, quite inter- I20 Trhimphant Democracy. esting to note how great a proportion of the manu- facturing of America is controlled by the foreign-born British. Forty-nine per cent, of all Scotch and English in the United States are engaged in manufactures— a ratio much higher than that shown by any other na- tionality. Immigrants from British America are also largely occupied in manufacture, the ratio being forty- four per cent. Native Americans are mostly engaged in agriculture, and contribute but nineteen per cent, of their number to manufactures. Forty-three per cent, of the Irish-born are engaged in personal and professional services. So it can still be claimed that Britons do the manufacturing of the world, and we must credit to our race, not only the hitherto un- equalled sum of products of our native land, but to a large extent the still greater sum of the Republic's. Only nineteen of every hundred Americans engage in manufacturing occupations against forty-nine per cent, of these tough Islanders — just three times as many in proportion to numbers — a ratio which is probably substantially maintained in their progeny. We must not let the Yankee claim all the credit for the manufacturing supremacy of his country. What would it have been but for the original stock? De- mocracy is entitled to all, for there is not in all the land one who is not a democrat. But, as between the native and imported democrat, the strain of British blood, never excelled if yet equalled, must be cred- Occupations. 121 ited with more than its due share. See, my country- men, of what your race is capable when reheved from unjust laws and made the peers of any, under repub- hcan institutions. Man is a thing of the spirit ; the Westerner who weighed two hundred pounds when drowsy, and more than a ton when he was roused, is exactly like the man born under a king, and de- nied equality at birth, compared with himself when he is invested under the Republic with the mantle of sovereignty. The drowsy Briton becomes a force here. The earnings of the people compare as follows with those of England, where labor is better paid than else- where in Europe: AVERAGE IN COTTON MIL1.S. AVERAGE IN WOOLLEN MILLS. s. d. s. d. In England . .197 per week. In England . . 26 7 per week In America . . 24 i " In America . • 43 3 " ARTISAN AVERAGE. s. d. In England .... . . .31 op er week. In America, New York ... 54 6 " In " Chicago .... 50 6 " " The average per annum of operatives of all kinds is ^35 6^-. \d. in England against ^73 in the United States. Messrs. Clark & Co. and Coates & Co., the exten- sive thread manufacturers of Paisley, Scotland, who 122 Triitrnphant Democracy. have similar mills on this side, have stated in evidence that the wages paid in their American mills are fully double those paid in Paisley. In all branches of the iron and steel manufacture wages here are fully double what they are in Britain. ■ • • The cost of living has been much greater in the Republic, not that the workingman cannot live here as cheaply as in Britain, but that he will not do so. Large earnings and certainty of steady employment lead to increased wants and to their gratification. The workers demand better houses and furniture, better food, better clothing, more books and newspapers, and spend their larger earnings to secure these. There are one hundred and seventy-five thousand pianos, organs and harmoniums annually made in America, and three- fourths of these remain in the country. Nothing is more suggestive than a fact like this, showing as it does that thousands purchase these instruments, which those in similar positions in other countries would never dream of possessing. The relative cost of living in Britain and America has been subjected to a great change during the past few years in favor of the latter. It is astonishing how cheap the food and clothing of the masses have be- come. The food of course never was as high as in Britain, for most of it goes from this side. It was in clothing that the American was at a disadvantage. Articles of similar kind are now asserted to be quite as Ocacpations. 123 cheap throughout America as in Britain. House rent has fallen very much indeed. The best authority we have is Mr. Jos. D. Weeks, Secretary of the Western Iron Association, an Enghsh- man by descent, who spent much time upon the other side investigating this important subject. I give his letter to me : " Pittsburgh, Pa., December i6, 1885. " My dear Mr. Carnegie : " Absence from the city has prevented an earlier reply to yours regarding relative cost of living in the United States and Great Britain. " The purchasing power of a dollar in the hands of an Ameri- can workman is considerably in excess of what its equivalent would be in the hands of an English workman. That is, a dollar will buy more food in the United States than 4^. \\d. will in Eng- land. It will buy considerably more flour (as you know but little bread is bought in this country compared with the amount bought abroad, most families here baking their own bread), more meat, provisions, bacon, ham, vegetables, eggs, butter, cheese, farm products of all kinds, tea, coffee, more oil, a little less sugar, in many parts of the country more fuel. As to dry goods and cloth- ing, it will buy more sheeting, shirting, prints or calicoes, and as much of many kinds of clothing such as workingmen wear, but in other cases less. House rents are higher here. It is, of course, to be understood that I am speaking, so far as relates to clothing, of the grades that most workmen buy. Of course imported cloths cost more, as does what is called high class tailoring. "I made a very careful estimate once with the following result ; 124 Trmmphant Democracy. ITEMS PERCENTAGE OF THE EXPENDITURE OF A FAMILY OF A WORKINGMAN WITH AN INCOME OF OF EXPENDITURE. From $300 to $450 Offo to .£90) a year. From $450 to $600 0^90 to ^i2o) a year. Subsistence .... Clothing Rent Fuel Sundry expenses . . Per cent, 64] ^r 97 20 r =" 3 3 Per cent. 63] 10-5 6J 5 5 Total .... 100 100 Note. — Above from Report Massachusetts Bureau of Labor Sta- tistics. " Now, I estimate that on subsistence the American working- man has an advantage of at least twenty-five per cent. ; on cloth- ing, nothing; on rent, the English worlcingman has an advantage of thirty-three and one-third per cent. ; and on fuel and sundry ex- penses I concede an equality. Then take the above table as repre- senting each one dollar expenditure of the American workingman. ' RELATIVE EXPENDITURE OF AN AMERICAN AND ENGLISH WORKMAN. Income $300 to $450 per year. Income $450 to $600 per year. A merican. English. A merican. English. Subsistence . . Clothing .... Rent Fuel Sundry expenses . 64 7 20 6 3 80 7 13 6 3 63 10.5 15-5 6 5 7i-n 10.50 10.37 6 5 Total . . . 100 no 100.00 110.62 Occupations. 125 " That is, if the relative modes of living in England and the United States of two classes of workmen are the same, it will cost ten per cent, more in England than in the United States. " But the English workman, as a rule, does not live as well as the American, and it is just here that the fallacy exists in the statement that it costs the American workman more to live than it does the English. It does, for he lives better, spends more money; but this is not the true basis of comparison. The real question is : In which country will one dollar, or its equivalent, purchase more of a given article of consumption of a given grade ? I answer un- hesitatingly, on the whole, in the United States. " Very truly, "Jos. D. Weeks." As a rule, the American workingman is steadier than his fellow in Britain — much more sober and possessed of higher tastes. Among his amusements is found scarcely a trace of the ruder practices of British manu- facturing districts, such as cock-fighting, badger-baiting, dog-fighting, prize-fighting. Wife-beating is scarcely ever heard of, and drunkenness is quite rare. The manufac- turer in America considers it cause for instant dismis- sal, and is able to act, and does act upon this theory, thereby insuring a standard of sobriety throughout the works. During all my experience among workingmen I have rarely seen a native American workman under the influence of liquor, and I have never known of any serious inconvenience or loss of time in any works re- sulting from the intemperance of the men. Even on the Fourth of July the blast-furnaces are run with ac- 126 Triumphant Democracy. customed regularity, and if the " glorious Fourth " be passed successfully, all other temptations are naturally harmless. It is upon Independence Day, if upon any day in the calendar, that the laboring citizen feels im- pelled to give vent to his feelings in violent demonstra- tions of irrepressible joy. This calls to mind the story of one of the principal iron masters of Western Pennsylvania in days gone by. Passing his mill on the Fourth, on his way to church as a patriotic duty (for in those times churches were open for service on that day, and preachers were accus- tomed to torture the American eagle till it screamed), he heard the sound of busy hammers clanking rivets up. Stopping his buggy, he listened a moment in doubt, then alighted and walked to the spot, to find a party of men hard at work repairing a leaking boiler. At work on the Fourth of July ! Degenerate republicans ! when he was on his way to church to thank God for establish- ing the inalienable rights of man. He was the son of an Englishman, and his father had left England because of his republicanism. He could not stand it, but cleared the mill of every man, swearing he would not have a man about him who would work a stroke upon the sa- cred day. His remonstrance to the manager was no less emphatic. " What are you doing," he roared, " repair- ing boilers to-day ? Aren't there plenty of Saturday nights and Sundays for this kind of work?" To his last day that manager never completely regained the Occupations. 127 respect and confidence of my dear old patriotic friend. This desecration of the Fourth, although forgiven, was never forgotten. The settlement with the offender, too, was only partial ; for my friend, while admitting that the manager was a competent man, always had a qualifying " but " at the end of the eulogy. And the " but," as we all knew, had reference to the one unpardonable offence. The human bees in the American hive work in four grand divisions. First, seven and three-quarter millions are detailed to tickle Mother Earth with the hoe, that she may smile with a harvest, and to tend the herds and flocks — the cattle upon a thousand hills and the sheep in the dewy fields, through which wander the com- plaining brooks, making the meadows green. A pleas- ant, healthful life is this, redolent of nature's sweetest odors, full of the rest and quiet of peaceful primitive days. These toilers grow the roses of life, and are to be much envied ; and if the farmer's life in America is a life of toil, it is none the worse for that. It is the idle man who is to be pitied. The farmer is the man of independent mind, " Who holds his plough in joy." ■I ■ fM.-' ' ■ ' ■ Next to these envied out-of-door workers comes the second division — the manufacturers, three million eight hundred thousand strong — about half as many as the devotees of Ceres, these hardy sons of Vulcan. Every form of inventive genius or of mechanical skill finds 128 Trmmphant Democracy. fitting occupation in this army. Variety of pursuit is of vital consequence to a nation, and we find it here. Pent up in mills and factories from morning to night, begrimed with smoke and dirt, amid the ceaseless roar of machinery, these cunning toilers fashion the things conceived by the mind of man — from pins to anchors. In this class are embraced those who literally live in the bowels of the earth, who down deep in unfathomable mines rob the earth of her hidden treasures, and drag them forth for the uses of man. It is notable, that while in agriculture only seven per cent, of the division are females, in this branch the ratio is no less than sixteen per cent. Women do so much of the lighter manufacturing work in America, more than six hundred thousand being so employed. This division excites our sympathy; their work is the least pleasing of all. Shut out from the sky, and closed in mine or factory, they seem banished from nature's presence. This is the class of whom we should think most in our Sunday regulations. On that one day let it be through nature that they look at nature's God. To shut up within walls on the seventh day the prisoners who have been incar- cerated all the six, would be cruel. Is there no reformer who will act upon the assertion that the groves were God's first temples, and take the toilers there in their only day of liberty? The annual camp, meeting in the wood is fast dying out, yet it had Occupations. 129 its advantages. Poor men and women got a glimpse of nature there. The service division, which comes next, slightly out- numbers the preceding class, for it reaches four mill- ions. The professions — the minister, the doctor, the lawyer, the author, etc., are all embraced ; fortunately, the " noble " profession of arms (that means the butch- ering of men) need not be counted in the Republic. The domestic servants are in themselves a host ; the Irish take to this branch much more generally than any other race. Of course, the percentage of females is here far greater than in any other of the main divi- sions, one million three hundred and sixty thousand domestic Amazons being enrolled, or one-third of the whole. The fourth and last industrial corps is that conduct- ing trade and transportation, numbering a million and eight hundred thousand, only sixty thousand of whom are females. These, combined, constitute the seventeen millions of working bees who make the honey of the national hive, in which there is no room for those who "toil not, neither do they spin." In that hive the drones are not stung to death at intervals ; they are not suffered to come to life. If a specimen happens to escape the massacre, and walks about doing no useful work to justify his existence, the public regard him much as the countryman did the "dude" (masher) whom he saw for the first time promenading Broad- 9 130 Triumphant Democracy. way : " Lor', what lots of queer game one sees when he leaves home without his gun ! " There is an inherited suspicion in the republican breast that the only thing good for the useless, idle, fox-hunting, pleasure-loving man, as well as for the State, if not to shoot him, is at least " to bounce him." When the fair young American asked the latest lordling who did her coun- try the honor to visit it, how the aristocratic leisure- classes spent their time, he replied : " Oh, they go about from one house to another, don't you know, and enjoy themselves, you know. They never do any work, you know." " Oh," she replied, " we have such people too — tramps." " Allah ! Allah ! cries the stranger — Wondrous sights the traveller sees ; But the greatest is the latest, Where the drones control the bees." It was evidently not the democratic division of the English people which the Eastern traveller visited, but the poor oppressed land of monarchy and aristocracy, where honest labor naturally ranks below hereditary sloth. ••■■V'^ ■ ■ ■''- - CHAPTER VI. • EDUCATION. " There being education, tliere will be no distinction of classes." — Confucius. "Education is the only interest worthy the deep, controlling anxiety of the thoughtful man." — WENDELL PHILLIPS. " The fair fabric of justice raised by Numa," says Plutarch, " passed rapidly away because it was not founded upon education." No truer reason can be given for the decay of everything good in a State. Upon no foundation but that of popular education can man erect the structure of an enduring civilization. This is the basis of all stability, and underlies all prog- ress. Without it the State architect builds in vain. Whether the sturdy Pilgrim Fathers were con- versant with the conceptions of the Greek thinkers who were filled with projects for universal education, whether they were versed in the speculations of Plato's " Republic " or Aristotle's " Politics," is doubtful ; but it is certain that they were imbued with the spirit which animated Luther and Knox in regard to the education of the masses. The true parent of modern education was the Reformation, for did not Luther himself say that if he were not a preacher he should be a teacher, 122 Trunnphant Democracy. as he thought the latter the more important office? John Knox demanded a public school for every parish in Scotland, and it was the Protestant State of Ger- many that first undertook the education of the whole people. Fortunate indeed for the world that the de- mand for religious freedom necessarily involved the priceless boon of secular education. The preamble to the Massachusetts school law of 1642 tells the story : " It being one chief project of that old deluder, Satan, to keep men from the knowledge of the Scriptures, as in former times, keep- ing them in an unknown tongue, so in these latter times, by per- suading from the use of tongues, so that all at least the true sense and meaning of the original might be clouded and corrupted with false glosses of deceivers ; and to the end that learning may not be buried in the grave of our forefathers, in church and common- wealth, the Lord assisting our endeavors : "It is therefore ordered by this Court and authority thereof, that every township within this jurisdiction, after the Lord hath increased them to the number of fifty householders, shall then forthwith appoint one within their town to teach all such chil- dren, as shall resort to him, to write and read, whose wages shall be paid, either by their parents or masters of such children, or by the inhabitants in general, by way of supply, as the major part of those who order the prudentials of the town shall appoint ; pro- vided that those who send their children be not oppressed by pay- ing much more than they can have them taught for in other towns." In 1700 the State of Connecticut enacted its system Education. 133 of public instruction, which embraced the following as its first obligation : An obligation on every parent and guardian of children, " not to suffer so much barbarism in any of their families as have a single child or apprentice unable to read the holy word of God, and the good laws of the colony ; " and also, " To bring them up to some lawful calling or employment " under a penalty for each offence. The right of private judgment presupposes a judg- ment to judge with. This presupposes knowledge, and knowledge is the result of education. Hence, the first duty of the State, as the Fathers saw it, was to educate the children thereof. Our Pilgrim Fathers carried with them from their old to their new home a realizing sense of the importance of this subject. It may well be said of them as Froude has said of the Scotch — " With them education was a passion," for scarcely had they got roofs over their heads in the forest before we find them establishing public schools and appointing schoolmasters. Here is a copy of one of the earliest records of Boston : "The 13th of ye 2nd month, 1635. It was then generally agreed upon yt our brother Philemon Purmount shall be intreated to become schoolmaster for ye teaching and nourturing of all children with us." Next year, only six years after the first settlement of Boston, four hundred pounds was appropriated 134 Triumphant Democracy. towards the establishment of a college. This sum exceeded the entire tax levy of the colony for the year. Eleven years later the State of Massachusetts made the support of schools compulsory and education uni- versal and free ; and we read that " in 1665, every town had a free school, and, if it contained over one hundred families, a grammar school. In Connecticut every town that did not keep a school for three months in the year was liable to a fine." Such was the policy adopted by the men of the people who sought these northern shores that they might estab- lish and enjoy the blessings of civil and religious liberty. Far different was the policy of the aristocratic ele- ment with which Virginia was cursed. Twenty years after the establishment of free schools by law in New England, Sir William Berkeley, Governor of Virginia, wrote : " I thank God there are no free schools or printing, and I hope we shall not have them these hundred years. For learning has brought heresy and disobedience and sects into the world, and printing has divulged them, and libels against the best government. God keep us from both." Even in the early part of the eighteenth century, says Sir Charles Lyell, " there was not one bookshop in Virginia, and no printing-presses," though " there were several in Boston, with no less than five printing ofifice,s, a fact which reflects the more credit on the Puritans, Education. 135 because at the same period (1724) there were no less than thirty-four counties in the mother country, Lanca- shire being one of the number, in which there was no printer." Thus are the ideas and methods of democracy and aristrocracy contrasted ! The former is ever seeking the education of the masses ; the latter from its very nature is ever seeking to restrain education to the few, well knowing that privilege dies as knowledge spreads. It was death to teach a slave to read. The instinct which led the slave-holder to keep his slave in ignorance was a true one. Educate man, and his shackles fall. Free educa- ation may be trusted to burst every obstruction which stands in the path of the democracy towards its goal, the equality of the citizen, and this it will reach quietly and without violence, as the swelling sapling in its growth breaks its guard. " Ballots not Bullets" is the motto of educated republicanism, and " Obedience to Law" its fundamental requirement. Owing to the incompleteness of early censuses it is not easy to ascertain the exact condition of education in 1830. But contemporary writers sometimes make estimates which are accessible. From these we learn that in 1831 the proportion of schoolchildren to popula- tion in America was fifteen per cent., or double the European average, and second only to that of Prussia. It would have been as high as twenty-two per cent, (much beyond the Prussian average) but for the slave 136 Triumphant Democracy. States, where the negro slaves were not educated." In 1832 a European visitor said : " The State of New York stands foremost on the list of school children. It counts in the proportion of one to three and one-half of the number of its inhabitants ; the New England States one to five ; Pennsylvania and New Jersey, one to eight ; Illinois one to thirteen ; Kentucky, one to twenty-five and so on. By way of comparison, I may just mention that Wurtemberg has one to six ; Bavaria and Prussia, one to seven ; Scotland, one to ten ; France, one to seven- teen and one-half; Russia, one to three hundred and sixty-seven." The condition of the country in regard to education in 1834 is summed up by a contemporary as follows: " In the New England States there are not less than five hun- dred thousand children educated at the common schools, and in 1830 there were four hundred and seventy-three thousand, five hundred and eight white persons in these States between the ages of five and fifteen, and allowing for the increase of population, we may say that the benefits of elementary education are universally diffused. " In the States to the south and west of New York, however, there is reason to believe that there were one million two hundred and ten thousand children without the knowledge and benefits of education." Many English readers will no doubt be surprised to learn that the general government has nothing what- ever to do with the education of the people. This duty belongs to the different States, and is fulfilled by them each in its own way. A system of public educa- tion is in operation in every State and Territory in the Union, and twenty-eight out of the thirty-eight States ; Education. 137 have provided normal schools for the training of teach- ers. There are ninety-eight of these institutions. All have recognized the duty of providing for every child a free common school education ; and in furtherance of this end the general government has frequently made liberal grants of public lands to the various States. Even as early as the Continental Congress the question of affording aid to education was discussed ; and in 1785, immediately after the close of the War of Independence, Congress passed an act reserving for school purposes the sixteenth section of each township of the public land of the Territories. When the Territories were ad- mitted as States they were made trustees of these lands. Under this and subsequent laws, twelve of the new States came into the Union possessed of mag- nificent educational endowments. In 1848, Congress granted an additional section in each township for the same purpose. Nearly sixty-eight million acres of land have been given in this manner to twenty-seven States. Further special grants of land have from time to time been made for the creation of State universities ; and in 1862 each State received a grant either of land within the State or an equivalent amount of scrip, for the purpose of establishing and endowing schools of agriculture and the mechanical arts. The total amount of land hitherto devoted by the general government to educational endowments exceeds seventy-eight millions of acres, an area greater than the whole of England, Scotland, and Ireland combined. 138 Triumphant Democracy. Throughout the history of the Republic great liber- ahty has been displayed in the grants for educational pur- poses. The people who cannot be induced to make the salaries of officials half as large as those of the officials of the petty powers of Europe, nevertheless urge their re- presentatives to vote millions upon millions for educa- tional purposes. The ratio of money spent on the army to that spent on education is in startling contrast to that of Europe. America is the only country which spends more upon education than on war or prepara- tion for war. Great Britain does not spend one-fourth as much, France not one-eleventh, or Russia one-thirty- third as much on education as on the army. Here are the figures, which the patient democracies of Europe will do well to ponder. How long yet will men, instigated by royal and aristocratic jealousies, spend their wealth and best energies upon means for slaughtering each other ! ANNUAL EXPENDITURES ON ARMAMENTS. EDUCATION, United Kingdom . France .... ^28,900,000 35,000,000 £6,685,000 3,200,000 Germany Russia .... 20,000,000 33,000,000 6,900,000 1,000,000 Austria .... Italy .... Spain .... Other European States . 13,400,000 18,900,000 6,300,000 8,300,000 2,900,000 1,100,000 1,200,000 2,100,000 £163,800,000 £24,085,000 United States . ;£9,4oo,ooo £18,600,000 Education. 139 Thus for every pound spent by Great Britain for the education of her people, more than four pounds are squandered upon the army and navy. The Republic re- verses this practice and spends nearly two pounds upon education for every one spent for war. Truly has Longfellow written: " Were half the power that fills the world with terror, Were half the wealth bestow'd on camps and courts, Given to redeem the human mind from error, There were no need of arsenals nor forts. The warrior's name would be a name abhorred ! And every nation that should lift again Its hand ag-ainst a brother, on its forehead Would wear forevermore the curse of Cain.'' While the New England States fully embraced the idea of free and universal public instruction very early in their history, the great State of New York adjoining them only reached this height after a struggle of many long years. It was not until 185 1 that the popular vote sanctioned the principle that the State must educate all its children. The State now spends eleven millions of dollars per annum (more than two millions sterling) upon education. A free college in the city of New York is filled with the best students from the public schools; a free normal college provides higher education for female teachers, and in every part of the State normal schools produce great numbers of accomplished teachers. i^o Triumphant Democracy. The amounts expended upon education by each State, per capita of school population, range from $18.70 (;^3 \i)S) in Nevada, to 85c. (3J. ^^id) in North Carolina, and 8ic. (3^. 4>^i^.) in New Mexico. It is an interesting fact that the States which spend vaoiX pro rata on education are not the old settled States of New England, but the young, vigorous States of the North- west. Thus Iowa spends almost double in proportion to its wealth what Massachusetts does ; and Idaho, not yet admitted as a State, excels all the States in this respect. Wisconsin, Minnesota, Kansas, and Nebraska are all far in advance of the New England States. The Southern States rank last, though not so far behind as might be expected. Indeed, several of them, such as Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and South Carolina, exceed the average of the New England States. The United States have not escaped entirely the religious difficulty in their march to universal free education, but fortunately opposition to the system has been confined to one sect — the Roman Catholic — all others having united in giving to it enthusiastic support. The dissatisfied Catholics have not been strong enough even in the city of New York, where they are much more powerful than elsewhere in the Union, to disturb the complete exclusion of dogmatical teaching which everywhere characterizes the public schools of America. A few verses from the Bible are generally read without comment in the schools as a Education. 1 4 1 public exercise once each day. At this no one takes offence, and every one, with the exception of the Ro- man Cathohcs, is satisfied, as all feel that the public school is not the proper place for religious instruc- tion. So vitally important to the child is education con- sidered throughout America that not even the rigid discipline of the Roman Catholic Church is strong enough to restrain Catholic parents from sending their children to the public schools. Remonstrances against this soul-destroying practice were recently made simultaneously in all the Catholic churches of Pitts- burgh, Penn., and so vehement were the denunciations hurled at offenders that the Commercial Gazette had a thorough canvass made to determine to what extent Catholics were availing themselves of the public schools. Statements were asked from the principals of fifty-six schools, and replies received from twenty- four. The others declined from conscientious scruples to inquire into the religious beliefs of the scholars. Most significant this of the complete toleration which prevails in this country upon the subject of religion, and surely not without value as proving to Britain how slight is the religious difficulty, if it be a difficulty at all, in the path of free secular education. For this reason, some of the strongest Catholic districts were unreported , nevertheless, it was clearly proven that one-half as many Catholic children attend the public 142 Triumphant Democracy. schools as the denominational schools, notwithstanding the fulminations of the priests and the command of the Vicar of Christ, the supreme pontiff, which is quoted in the recent attack in Pittsburgh against the godless pubhc schools. I was so much surprised at the result here stated, that before quoting it I apphed to the highest authorities for confirmation, among them, to my distinguished fellow-countryman, Mr. William Wood, who has long been one of the Commissioners of Education in the city of New York, and he not only affirms that the result at Pittsburgh may be taken to represent the average situation throughout the country, but that in New York and other large cities Catholic children receive their education even in greater numbers side by side with Protestant children in the State schools. So let the Church continue to issue its mandates against free, godless education in the Re- public. The Pope, being infallible, must be consistent, and this is his nineteenth century bull against the comet, and will probably be as efificacious as the older one. The public schools are supported mainly by direct taxation, and no tax is so willingly paid as "the school tax." In 1880, eighty-two and a half million dollars (sixteen and a half millions sterling) were raised for schools — four-fifths by direct tax, the other fifth being derived from rents, or sale, or proceeds of school lands. Education. 143 Following the public schools, in which every child is entitled to receive a common school education free of expense, we come to the various institutions for higher education, with which the State has nothing to do. These are mainly private schools, and depend for maintenance upon fees from scholars. Some of them are authorized by State legislative enactments to grant degrees and diplomas, but as the standards of States differ greatly, a school entitled in Tennessee to call it- self a university or college might not rank as either in Massachusetts. We must, therefore, caution our readers not to be misled by figures which show so many more colleges and universities in the former than in the latter. Schools higher than primary public schools in the United States number three thousand six hundred and fifty, and contain nearly half a million students. Of these, three hundred and sixty-four are universities and colleges, with fifty-nine thousand five hundred and ninety-four students. The number of public schools in the country is estimated at one hundred and seventy-seven thousand one hundred, making in all one hundred and seventy- nine thousand eight hundred and eighty-four schools, and the army of teachers number two hundred and seventy-three thousand, of whom one hundred and fifty-four thousand three hundred and seventy-five are women. A glorious army this. Let me quote from 144 Triumphant Democracy. the report which the Rev. Mr. Fraser made to the British Government some years ago : "American teachers are self-possessed, energetic, and fearless, admirable disciplinarians, firm without severity, patient without weakness ; their manner of teaching lively, and their illustrations fertile. No class could ever fall asleep in their hands. They are proud of their position and fired with a laudable ambition to main- tain the credit of the school ; a Uttle too sensitive of blame, and a little too greedy of praise, but a very fine and capable body of workers in a noble cause." The position of America in regard to reading and writing in 1880 is this: out of thirty-six and three- quarter million persons of ten years of age and over, nearly five million, or thirteen per cent., are unable to read, and six million and a quarter, or seventeen per cent., are unable to write. In 1870 the percentage was sixteen and twenty per cent, respectively so that the march against ignorance is still onward. The gain in the number able to write is significant. For every thousand inhabitants who could not read in 1870 there were but eight hundred and fifty-three in 1880, and for every thousand who could not write in 1870 there were but eight hundred and twenty-six who could not do so in 1880. In this improvement the colored population participated to almost as great an extent as the white, which encourages the friends of that race to look hopefully to their future. A satisfactory feature is the Education. 145 great reduction of illiteracy in the foreign born ele- ment, for of every thousand foreign born who were illiterate in 1870 there were but seven hundred and fifty-nine in 1880, which testifies to the well-known fact that the character of recent immigration has been far higher than ever before. Of course the native illiterate are found mainly in the Southern States and among the colored people. Of colored people more than ten years of age in 1880, no less than seventy per cent, were unable to write, while of the native white born (Southern as well as Northern) there were only eight and seven-tenths per cent, in this class. In the Southern States, taken as a whole, not more than sixty out of every hundred inhabitants over ten years of age can write. That the condition of the colored population is due to circumstances and not to any inherent lack of ca- pacity or disposition, we have the best evidence in the fact that while seventy-five and six-tenths per cent, of this class in the Southern States are illiterate, the Northern States of the North Atlantic group present an average of illiteracy as low as twenty-three and two- tenths per cent., or not one-third as great. Throughout the whole North, where the mass of the people reside, it may be said that the native born American, male and female, can read and write ; for the percentage returned as unable to do so does not exceed an average of five per cent. Five persons in 146 Triumphant Democracy. every hundred most of whom, no doubt, are mentally- incapacitated for instruction. If we compare the number of white males of twenty-one years and over who cannot read or write, with those of ten years and over, w^e see at once how education has advanced in recent years. The per centages of all the States rises a grade in every instance when those educated within the ten year per- iod only are considered, those showing between two and five per cent, of the latter, show between five and ten per cent, when the twenty-one years class is embraced. In other words, the children of to-day are more generally educated than those of the preceding decade. The average percentage of white males of twenty- one years and over who cannot read and write is seven and eight-tenths, and of white females to total white females is eleven per cent., only three more women than men in every hundred, showing that women in the Republic are not far behind. In 1870 the per- centages were as follows : male illiterates eighteen and twenty-six hundredths per cent., female illterates twenty-one and eighty-seven hundredths per cent. The decrease of illiteracy in ten years is one of the most surprisingly clear marks of the country's prog- ress. Schools for the superior instruction of women num- bered in 1880 two hundred and twenty-seven and con- Education. 147 tained twenty-five thousand seven hundred and eighty students. In 1870- there were but one hundred and seventy-five such schools and eleven thousand two hun- dred and eighty-eight students. These statistics show a rate of increase far beyond that of any other branch, and prove how rapidly women are being advanced in education. The average wages per month paid teachers in the public schools vary greatly in the different States. Nevada pays her female teachers %TJ {£1^ ?>s. od.), and her male teachers $101.47 (;^20 5^. 10^.), which is the highest ; Massachusetts $30.59 (.^6 2s. ^d.), and $67.54 (;^I3 10s. 2d.); South Carolina $23.89 (;^4 15^.7^.), and $25.24 (^5 IS. od.). The ratio of average attendance to school popula- tion by States in 1880 ranged from sixty-four in Maine to nineteen in Louisiana, and the average number of school days from fifty-four in North Carolina to one hundred and ninety-two in New Jersey. As we have already seen, the public schools of America cost in 1880 over sixteen millions sterling. This is very unequally distributed among the States. Virginia City, Nevada, spends most per head upon her scholars, namely $34.81 (almost £y). Then comes Sacramento, California, with $34 {£6 i6s.) per head. The city of Boston, Massachusetts, ranks third with $33.73 {£6 i^s.) per head, which is more than three times that expended by London. 148 Triumphant Democracy. While the American living is ever mindful of the cause of education he does not forget it at death, and often bequeaths large sums to his favorite school or college. In 1880 such benefactions exceeded five and a half millions of dollars (;^ 1,1 00,000). Now let us just pause a moment to ask how monar- chical and aristocratic institutions affect the minds of wealthy people in this respect. Great Britain is, next to her child, the richest country in the world. Her aristocracy, as a class, is by far the richest in the world. There is none comparable to it in the Republic. But who ever heard of a nobleman leaving large sums for the higher education of his fellows, or indeed for any public use whatever ? A great physician in London, Erasmus Wilson, dies and leaves a hundred thousand pounds, half his entire fortune, to the College of Physi- cians and Surgeons, to be used to extend its usefulness. Who can point to a member of the aristocracy who has risen beyond his own family, which is only another name for himself! The vain desire to found or maintain a family or to increase its revenues or estate is the ignoble ambition of a privileged order. What they give or leave as a class, with few exceptions, is " nothing to nobody." We can say of the average peer or aristocrat : The wretch concentred all in self, Living shall forfeit fair renown, And doubly dying shall go down To the vile dust from whence he sprung, Unwept, unhonored, and unsung. Edtication. 140 The few illustrious exceptions, all the more notable for their rarity, are wholly insufficient to redeem their order from the just reproach of grasping from the too indulgent State all that can be obtained, and using it only for aims which end with self. They can justly plead, perhaps, the influence of example in the highest quarters where surely better things might have been ex- pected — even thrones hoard for self in these days. But his is but the legitimate outcome of the monarchical and aristocratic idea. No fair fruit is to be expected from privilege. The Republic has a remarkable list of educational institutions bestowed upon it by its millionaires, among them Johns-Hopkins University, Cornell University, Vanderbilt University, Packer Institute, Vassar College, Wellesley College, Smith College, Bryn Mawr College, and the Stevens Institute. These have each cost several millions of dollars, Johns-Hopkins alone hav- ing an endowment of $5,000,000 (;^ 1,000,000), the gift of one man. Only a few days ago the announcement was made that Leland Stanford, President of the Central Pacific Railway and at present United States Senator from California, has transferred property valued at seven million dollars to establish a worthy university on the Pacific coast. The ratio of population to students enrolled by classes of institutions in 1880 shows that one out of every five attend the public schools, while secondary I go Trnimphant Democracy. education is received by one out of every four hundred and fifty-five ; university and college education by one out of every eight hundred and forty-two ; commercial and business education by oneout of everyone thousand eight hundred and forty-eight ; a scientific education by one out of every four thousand three hundred and twenty-one; a theological education by one out of every nine thousand five hundred and sixty- eight ; and a legal education by one out of every sixteen thousand and one. Such is the record of the educa- tional establishments of all kinds in the country as given by the census of 1880. The moral to be drawn from America by every nation is this : " Seek ye first the education of the people and all other political blessings will be added unto you." The quarrels of party, the game of politics, this or that measure of reform, are but surface affairs of little moment. The education of the people is the real underlying work for earnest men who would best serve their country. In this, the most creditable work of all, it cannot be denied that the Republic occupies the first place. It is and ever has been with all Americans as with Jefferson : " A system of general instruction which shall reach every description of our citizens from the richest to the poorest, as it was the earliest so shall it be the latest, of all the public concerns in which I shall permit myself to take an interest." There speaks the inspired voice of Education. 151 triumphant Democracy, which holds as its first duty the universal education of the people. Of all its boasts, of all its triumphs, this is at once its proudest and its best. We say to the old Monarchies of the world : Behold Democracy produces as its natural fruit an educated people. CHAPTER VII. RELIGION. "The religion of a people, prevailing at anytime or place, is the highest expression of which that people is then and there capable." The relation of the Church to the State is one of the problems which the Republic may he said to have solved. It is decided that it has no relation whatever. The State has as much relation to religion as to medi- cine, and no more ; and it might as well establish homoe- opathy as its medical system, as episcopacy as its reli- gion. It might as well undertake the health of the body as of the soul — indeed, far better, since it is a much less complex task. In the Republic the regulation of religious beliefs by the State would be regarded as absurd as the regula- tion of dress. It is not even admitted that the State has a right to patronize one form of religion — much less one sect — to the prejudice of other forms. Buddhism, Confucianism, or the crudest Fetichism, stand in exactly the same relation to the State as any of the sects which derive their creeds from the teachings of Christ. No form of worship, no religious creed is selected by the State for special favor. The " heathen Chinee " in New York may worship his ancestors with a restful consciousness Religion. 153 that the black-coated Christian, passing with gold- edged book to church, is not more favored by the State. And how does this system of perfect religious equality work ? Perfectly, as to all sects in general ; much better than the advocates of the State Church system in the mother-land could believe for the Anglican Church in particular, which is vigorous to a degree which might well be envied by the parent stem. So far from religion being neglected by the people, the number of religious edifices in proportion to population is far greater in America than in Britain, and the congregations frequenting them are quite as large. In England there are thirty-five thousand churches, or one hundred and forty-four to each one hundred thousand inhabitants ; in the United States there are ninety-two thousand churches, or one hun- dred and eighty-one to each one hundred thousand inhabitants. Of the latter, more than eighty thousand are owned by Protestants. The steps leading to this remarkable result display the same general character as every other kind of ad- vancement in America : progress by leaps and bounds. At the beginning of the century, students of Yale and Harvard were accustomed to call themselves by the names of French and German infidels ; and only a small proportion of the students in colleges were church members. All this has been changed. From 1870 to 154 Triumphant Democracy. 1880, Harvard, the most advanced of all universities, graduated more than fourteen hundred young men, only two of whom publicly registered themselves as " sceptics." In 1800, when the population of the United States was about five millions, the number of communi- cants in the various churches was three hundred and sixty-four thousand, an average of one to fifteen of the population. In 1880, with a population of fifty millions the number of Protestant communicants was more than ten millions, an average of one in five. If the mem- bers of the Roman Catholic Church be included, the proportion will be largely increased. The multiplication of handsome religious edifices is equally remarkable. Many American churches are noted for their beauty. All the large cities have examples of church architecture which would not discredit towns having a history as old as that of Coventry ; and in rural districts the church spire rises above the cottages and trees as frequently as they tower over the hamlets in the old country. One of the grandest churches of mod- ern times is undoubtedly the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Fifth Avenue, New York, a massive Gothic structure of white marble ; and in the same avenue are quite half a dozen other churches of great beauty and architect- ural merit. It is estimated that thirty millions, or nearly three- fifths of the entire population of the country, are within the pale of the Christian Church. Twenty-four millions Religion. 155 of these are Protestants, of whom the Methodist and Baptist claim the largest proportion ; next in numerical order come the Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Luther- an, Christian (Disciples of Christ), Congregational, Epis- copal, United Brethren, and a host of sects which it would tire one to enumerate. The buildings and other property belonging to these various bodies are estimated to be worth in the aggregate upwards of $350,000,000 (;£'70,000,000). The clergy in the United States, upwards of seventy- seven thousand in number, are maintained solely by the worshippers. The government, of course, gives nothing to any. There is no " dissent," because no sect is preferred. The leading part which religion played in the settle- ment of this continent had an effect which continues to mark the American of to-day. He is a church-going person and a liberal contributor to the cause of the Church, though he has outgrown the strict and narrow creeds of early days, and is religious, not theological. As late as 1705 aristocratic Virginia decreed three years' imprisonment, and many political disabilities upon any one who should a second time assert disbelief in the Trinity and the Scriptures ; but the govern- ment of New Amsterdam was rather more advanced, for in 1664 it decreed that no person who professed Christianity should be molested, fined, or imprisoned for difference of religious opinions. The revolutionary ic5 Triumphant Democracy. struggle quickened the march towards complete religious toleration. The fear that England would establish the Episcopal Church in America, if the colonies should be subdued, drew together all the other sects and all favor- able to religious equality, and therefore opposed to the claims of the English Church. "This," says John Adams " contributed as much as any other cause to arouse the attention, not only of the inquiring mind, but of the common people, and urge them to close thinking on the constitutional authority of Parliament over the colonies." And the intensity of colonial opposition to the State Church is shown by the special instructions of the Assembly of Massachusetts to its agent in London, in 1/68: "The establishment of a Protestant episcopate in America is very zealously contended for (by a party in the British Parliament) ; and it is very alarming to a people whose fathers, from the hardships they suffered under such an establishment, v/ere obliged to fly their native country into a wilderness in order peaceably to enjoy their privileges — civil and religious. We hope in God that such an establishment will never take place in America; and we desire you would strenuously op- pose it ! " In addition, therefore, to the dissatisfaction which the State Church produces at home, it is justly to be charged with being one of the chief causes which led to the loss of the colonies abroad. When the colonies triumphed and a Constitution had to be made for their government as a nation, there Religion. 157 was but one course possible. Since no sect could be given a preference, and especially not the Episcopal sect, which had been the least loyal of all to the cause of In- dependence, it followed that perfect equality must be established. The State must protect all religions alike ; and accordingly the Constitution provides that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Such is the charter under which Jew and Gentile, Christian, Mahometan and Hindoo stand equal and secure in their rights. The various States soon fol- lowed the spirit of this law, Virginia taking the lead. Provision for the support of the clergy was erased from their Constitutions, and yet the variety of healthy and vigorous religious life in the United States to-day is greater than anywhere else in the world. So much for a free Church in a free State. We are unable to make comparisons between the amounts contributed each year for religious purposes fifty years ago and those of to-day because the census returns are silent upon this point. At the time of the Revolution (1776) there were one thousand four hun- dred and sixty-one ministers and one thousand nine hundred and fifty-one churches, which gave one min- ister for every two thousand and fifty-three souls and a church for every one thousand five hundred and thirty- eight. In 1880 there was a minister for every six hun- dred and sixty and a church for every five hundred and 158 Triumphant Democracy. fifty-three. This shows that although the country has increased in population at a pace unknown before in the history of mankind, its churches and ministers have not only kept abreast of this movement but have actually exceeded it. Wherever the American settles he begins at once the erection of his school house and his chutch. The principal sects, according to the census of 1880, number as follows : Methodist. Baptist Presbyterian Lutheran . Disciples of Christ Congregational Episcopal . 3,286,158 2,430,095 885,468 569,389 556,941 384,800 336,669 The Roman Catholic Church claimed in 1883 to have 6,832,954 adherents of that faith in the United States, but church membership is not reported. This estimate includes all the members of those families which are in any way connected with it ; the adult membership may therefore be estimated at two-fifths of the above — nearly two and three-quarter millions. The American reader knows that in Britain the State continues to establish and endow one among the numerous Protestant sects which it calls The Church of England and another called The Church of Scotland; with delightful impartiality the State indorses the Religion. 159 Episcopal form as Tlie Church, i. e. the true, divine sys- tem, south of the Tweed, and is equally assured that north of that small river the aristocratic apostolic suc- cession becomes inoperative and the democratic Pres- byterian idea constitutes The Church. Parliament is supreme over both, and her Majesty is the defender not only of the faith, but of both faiths. In England she is a devout Episcopalian, in Scotland a Presbyterian ; but as all Scotland is of the latter faith, and the sects repre- sent only the minor differences which inevitably crop up among the polemical Scots in any institution, secular or religious, the State Church, although partak- ing of the nature of privilege, and hence insulting to the other sects as implying their inferiority, is not, in Scotland, to the same degree the irritating and almost intolerable grievance which it is in England. A Pres- byterian family in Scotland may not belong to the Established Church and yet retain its social position. In England it would be almost, if not quite impossible, for the " Church people " constitute society. Episcopacy is the only fashionable form of religion — the only form that is " good form." It is the rule, and exceptions to it are not numerous, for Episcopal clergymen in the country districts to decline to meet the ministers of other denominations who are not clergy at all in the estimation of these the only true successors of the Apostles. Instead of being a bond of peace among people in England, religion is made by a State-preferred i6o Triumphant Democracy. sect a bone of contention, and produces more discord than the Episcopal Church heals. These bitter quarrels do not even end at the grave ; most unseemly and discred- itable disputes occur even there over the right or non- right of the members of other churches to be buried among their own people in the only graveyard of the district. One cannot but marvel that a people so given to the observance of the outward proprieties of life should permit scenes which I am sure have not their like in even the most ignorant lands. A recent Burials Act of Parliament does something to remedy the evil but the matter is still far from being upon a proper footing. The sale of livings is another scandal which Ameri- cans will hear of with perhaps equal surprise. There frequently goes with a land purchase the right of ap- pointing the clergyman of a district, and as the emolu- ments may be great, this post has a marketable value. It ranks just as so many additional acres in appraising the estate, and we constantly see advertisements offer- ing for sale a clergyman's position to such and such a "living." It matters not what the character or attain- ments of the purchaser may be if in orders; if he has the cash and buys his appointment then he is the law- ful minister of the unfortunate congregation and it is powerless. This system results in another evil. The rich purchaser may not have the slightest idea of pursuing Religion. i6i hisholy calling. He buys a revenue of say one thousand pounds per year, and he hires a poor curate for one hundred and fifty pounds, and the difference is his profit upon the investment. One step further, if my American reader is in a state to believe anything more monstrous, in the path of this Established Church. The right to appoint a minister at the death of a present incumbent is often sold by public sale. A poor, faithful clergyman is old and must soon die. How much bid for his place, gentlemen ? Going, going, gone ! This is church life in England. I often wonder how one of our bishops of the Episcopal Church can cordially take by the hand his fellow-bishops of Eng- land, the receivers of the disreputable fruits of this sys- tem. Archdeacon Farrar has just been good enough to tell us he does not wish it disturbed. Of course not, but he is not in a position to judge impartially since he cannot be held to have quite clean hands himself. The evils of the State Church flow from its parent, the Monarchy, of which it is the legitimate offspring. Its archbishops and bishops residing in palaces and rolling in wealth are the religious aristocracy ; the thousands of poor curates who drag out existence upon pittances represent the masses. The revenues of the State Church exceed five milhon pounds sterling. The Church owns all kinds of property and is squeamish about none. An editorial in the London Times re- cently called attention to the charge that the Archbishop 1 62 Triumphant Democracy. of Canterbury, walking between certain of his residences or churches in London, would pass a hundred gin palaces erected upon land owned by the Church, upon which the rents were raised from time to time as the vile trade flourished ; but Church people who will sell the right to cure the souls of men naturally do not hesitate to sell the right to destroy their bodies, both strictly for cash. The present Church of England, of the Monarchy, is in the respects I have noted unworthy of fellowship with its purer offspring of the Republic. But my readers will not have failed to observe that all the evils which cling to it flow from its degrading connection with the State, as our own Episcopal Church abun- dantly proves that they are not inherent in the system. When the political aspect of the matter be settled as it is settled here, the branch of the Episcopal Church in Britain will become as pure as the other. After a trial of free and independent existence nothing is more certain than that a proposition from the government to give to the Protestant Episcopal Church of America the position in the State at present occupied by the Episcopal Church in England would be overwhelmingly rejected by that body as injurious to the life and usefulness of the organization, and de- rogatory to the true position of religion. If the Church of England enjoyed one year's freedom from State control, in like manner, it could never be induced to return to its present dependence upon the State. Religion. 163 As the British landlords stand to-day, who once stood bewailing the coming ruin from the repeal of the Corn Laws, as the American slave-holders stand, who once stood predicting a saturnalia of bloodshed in the South when the slaves were freed, — so will the English churchman stand who foresees the State Church ruined by separation from the State. Short-sighted man ! From the day the Church of England is free and inde- pendent of the State its power and influence will begin to grow with redoubled strength, and all the other sects will be stirred to increased effort. Indeed, an independent Church of England, which no longer implies the inferiority of others, may prove itself the power which is finally to absorb within its folds all the sects, and restore to Great Britain the unity of re- ligious form unfortunately lost when the political in- vaded the religious domain. The breadth of view, the large tolerance, the fading importance attached to mere dogmas of man's own creation, which characterize the present Church, appear admirably suited for a founda- tion upon which, after the scandals resulting from State control are eliminated, can be built a Church which will draw all religious people to its fold and become in reality as in name the Church of England. We do not yet see in the Republic a tendency to the obliteration of sects. We do see, however, that the prehminary stage toward this has been developed. The sects are mingling more and more one with another 164 Triumphant Democracy. in many great works. Co-operation embracing all the sects is noticeable. The Jewish rabbi, the Catholic priest and the Episcopal minister, and those of all the other denominations are constantly seen together occupying the same platform and. advocating the same measures. When this stage of progress toward unity is fully developed the next step is not far distant. Without Church-rate or tithe, without State endow- ment or State supervision, religion in America has spon- taneously acquired a strength which no political support could have given. It is a living force entering into the lives of the people and drawing them closer together in unity of feeling, and working silently and without sign of the friction which in the mother country results from a union with the State, which, as we have seen, tends strongly to keep the people divided one from another. The power of the Church in America must not be sought, as Burke said of an ideal aristocracy, " in rotten parchments, under dripping and perishing walls, but in full vigor, and acting with vital energy and power, in the character of the leading men and natural interests of the country. If judged by the church accommoda- tion provided and the sums spent upon Church organi- zations, Democracy can safely claim that of all the divi- sions of the English-speaking people, it has produced the most religious community yet known. CHAPTER VIII. PAUPERISM AND CRIME. " The poor ye have always with you and the criminal classes as well, but the poor can be made few and the criminals less vicious by proper treat- ment upon the part of the State. No test of the place a State occu- pies in civilization is surer than the lightness of its punishments and the care taken of its poor. A pitying spirit toward these unfortunate classes and not that represented by the grim authority of the law, is that which in the end lessens crime and pauperism, and best befits an educated com- munity ; for the end of all punishment and that alone which justifies it is not the vindication of the outraged law but the desired amendment of the offender. " — Thoughts of the Sages. In the old books, periodicals, and newspapers which have been searched for facts throwing light upon the condition of America half a century ago, frequent reference has been found to the comparative freedom of America from beggars and paupers. A writer in De Bow's Commercial Magazine at this period said : "Throughout the greater part of Virginia and Ken- tucky pauperism is almost unknown. I passed some time ago the poorhouse of Campbell County, Kentucky, . . . andthere was not a solitary inmate. And I have known a populous county in Virginia to have but one." And during a prolonged tour through the States by Captain Alexander, of the British Army, in 1832, " only one beggar was seen." But with many such indications of the absence of 1 66 Triumphant Democracy. poverty among Americans fifty years ago are found complaints that large numbers of European paupers were brought in. Thus we read in the New England Magazine for 1833 that " a memorial was presented to the General Assembly by the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore calling their attention to the evils arising from the influx of foreign paupers. The memorial states that the number of emigrants who arrived at the port of Baltimore in 1831 was four thousand three hun- dred and eighty-one, and in 1832, seven thousand nine hundred and forty-six ; a large proportion of whom were destitute of the means of subsistence. Also that of one thousand one hundred and sixty persons ad- mitted to the almshouse in that city in 1831, four hun- dred and eighty-seven were foreigners ; and that of this number two hundred and eighty-one had been in the country less than six months prior to their admission, and one hundred and twenty-one less than one week." The Philadelphia National Gazette stated in 1834 that " an active and intelligent guardian of the poor in that city has declared, that the support of our own poor would be an insignificant charge, and that more than three-fourths of the paupers in the almshouse are ex- ported from Europe. Sometimes a whole family will come almost directly from the ship to the almshouse." The New York Advertiser relates " that, in the course of the present season (1834) an Austrian armed ship has been despatched from that country to this, Pauperism and Crime. 167 with a large number of persons on board, who were of a character which the Austrian Government did not in- cline to suffer to remain within their own territories, and therefore sent them out, in the very imposing man- ner just mentioned, and landed them in the city of New York." Twenty years later there was the same cause of com- plaint. It is related in Booth's " History of New York " that " during the the winter of 1855 there was much suffering among the poor of New York, who, un- able to find work, paraded the streets with banners and mottoes appealing for aid. Soup kitchens were opened in every part of the city, where the hungry were fed from day to day. In the Seventh Ward alone, in one day in January, nine thousand persons were fed by public charity ; not one of whom it may be remarked in pass- ing was an American." And now again there is an outcry against the im- portation of paupers, which even yet has not ceased. But poverty was not the only charge brought against foreigners; they formed a large proportion of the crim- inal class. The criminal statistics of early censuses are so incomplete as to be untrustworthy ; but Mulhall's statement of present facts also represents the case in the past. He says: "It is remarkable that although foreigners compose but one-seventh of the population, they supply fourteen thousand offenders, or thirty per cent, of the total." 1 68 Triumphant Democracy. The proportion of paupers to total population is less in the United States than in any other country. Indeed, the difference is so great as to be almost incredible. Britain has a pauper army of more than a million, or one pauper to every thirty-four persons. America with her greater population has only a quarter of a million, or one pauper in every two hundred of her inhabitants. This statement is fairly representative of the difference between the Republic and other European nations; though in one or two cases the difference in favor of the Republic is even greater, as will be seen by the follow- ing : No. OF Persons Ratio TO Relieved. Population. United Kingdom, 1,037,000 33 per 1000. Italy 1,365,000 48 " Prussia, 1,310,000 50 '■ Austria, 1,220,000 35 '■ France, 1,151,000 32 •■ Low Countries, . 1,010,000 105 ■■ Spain and Portugal, . 596,000 30 ■• Scandinavia, 301,000 38 " Switzerland, 140,000 54 " 41 " 8,130,000 United States, 225,000 5 " Thus it appears that for every pauper in the United States, there are twenty-one paupers in Holland and Belgium, and six in the United Kingdom. Pauperism and Crime. 169 It should be further remarked that of the registered paupers maintained at pubhc expense in America more than one-third are foreigners. The native paupers con- stitute ten-hundredths per cent, of the native popula- tion ; the foreign paupers thirty-four hundredths per cent, of the foreign-born element, three times more than their due proportion. It is gratifying to note that the colored race shows the smallest proportion of pauperism, further dis- crediting the wild predictions of their idleness and dissipation so common before emancipation. Reduced to percentages of the whole total of each element, the white paupers are fourteen-hundredths and the colored nine-hundredths. The American poor-law system is very different from that which in England has done so much to foster the idle and improvident at the expense of the indus- trious and prudent. In many cities bureaus of charity connect the official with the private distribution of alms, and these often procure work for the indigent instead of giving them money. The recipients of re- lief in America have not been taught to look always to the State for pecuniary help ; and the union of public and private charity is useful in maintaining this desir- able state of mind amongst the poor. Where paupers regard charity as a right, they are apt to demand it in cases where they would hesitate to ask for favors. The cost of the system compared to that of Great 1 70 Triumphant Democracy. Britain, where fifty million dollars is annually spent on paupers, further commends it. The Republic spends on its poor not a third as much as England. The causes of the comparative freedom of America from pauperism are not far to seek. In a new country no one who is willing to work need suffer from poverty; and there is no class in America content to remain idle. Then the defective classes bear a smaller proportion to the population than is found in old countries where the conditions of life are harder, and lack of proper food and clothing and shelter results in imperfect de- velopment. The small proportion of deaf, dumb, and blind persons in the United States is also in a measure due to the healthful nature of the foreign element ; de- fective persons remain at home in Europe, and only the sound and vigorous emigrate. The potency of this factor is shown by the circumstance that while in the United States there is only one blind person in two thousand seven hundred and twenty inhabitants, and one deaf and dumb among two thousand and ninety-four, in Ireland the proportion is one blind in eight hundred and ninety-four, and one deaf and dumb in thirteen hundred and forty. Private charity does much to remove what trace of poverty and distress there is in America. Orphanages, industrial schools, blind asylums, institutions for the deaf and dumb, and other charities are very numerous and are increasing in number. The census returns show that there are Patiperism and Crime. 171 about as many inmates in these as in the public institu- tions. Charitable institutions classed as miscellaneous number four hundred and thirty. Besides these there are fifty-six institutions for deaf and dumb persons, thirty institutions for the blind, and thirteen schools for feeble-minded children. In the treatment of these three most important classes Democracy shows to much advantage. The re- ports of foreign writers seem to be unanimous in the opinion that in no other country is so much care and attention bestowed upon them as in America. Many of the prevailing improved modes of teaching have been first introduced in the American institu- tions. Thus America exhibits not only the least poverty, but also the best system of alleviating it. More than half the distressed within her borders are relieved by voluntary charity ; and this is ever encroaching on the fields of State charity. It is a decided gain to the world when compulsory charity, such as annually forces ten millions sterling from the pockets of the British tax- payer, is replaced by the charity which blesses equally him who gives and him who takes ; and this is a change which is rapidly taking place in America. It may safely be predicted that with the growing self-de- pendence which republican institutions foster, State charities will be substantially restricted to such as have reached beggary through gross misconduct. 172 Triumphant Democracy. The close relation which exists between poverty and crime has received verification and repeated emphasis since Quetelet first published the results of his inquiries. In England it has been repeatedly shown that hard times bring increase of crime ; and Dr. Mayr has shown that in Germany a rise in the price of flour is attended by an increase of robberies. Cheap food, on the other hand, is accompanied by diminution of crime. A scientific principle is thus added to sentiment in the song of " The English Roast Beef" — "The man that's well fed, sirs, Can never do ill.'' Accordingly we find that offences against property are fewer proportionately in the United States than in European countries. The influence of free and universal education, together with that of political institutions which at every point inculcate self-respect and stimulate am- bition, must be accorded much weight in keeping the Republic the freest of all civilized nations from pauper- ism and crime. Humanitarian progress in the treatment of criminals in America is wholly the work of the last half century. The present generation will scarcely credit the inhuman treatment which the delinquent classes received during the preceding generation. Here are a few examples, taken from trustworthy sources, which give us the sad picture of the past : Pauperis?}! and Crime. 173 "During more than fifty years (from 1773 to 1827) the enlightened State of Connecticut had an underground prison in an old mining pit in the hills near Simsbury, which surpassed in horrors all that is known of European or American prisons. "The passage to the ' Newgate Prison,' as it was called, was down a shaft by means of a ladder to some caverns in the sides of the hill. Here rooms were built of boards for the convicts, and heaps of straw formed their beds. The horrid gloom of these dungeons can be realized only by those who pass along its soli- tary windings. The impenetrable vastness supporting the awful mass above, impending as if to crush one to atoms ; the drip- ping waters trickling like tears from its sides ; the unearthly echoes — all conspire to strike the beholders aghast with amazement and horror. " Here from thirty to one hundred prisoners were crowded to- gether at night, their feet fastened to bars of iron, and chains about their necks attached to the beams above. The caves reeked with filth, occasioning incessant contagious fevers. The prison was the scene of constant outbreaks, and the most cruel and degrading punishments failed to reform the convicts. ' The system,' says the writer quoted above, ' was very well suited to make men into devils.' The prisoners educated one another in crime. The mid- night revels were often like the howling in a pandemonium of tigers, banishing sleep and forbidding rest ! " At Northampton, Massachusetts, a dungeon is described, only four feet high, without window or chimney, the only ventilation being through the privy-vault and two orifices in the wall. In Worcester, a similar cell was only three feet high and eleven feet square, without window or orifice, the air entering through the vault and through the cracks in the door. This was connected with a similar room for lunatics. At Concord was a cell of like construction ; and in Schenectady, New York, it is related that 1 74 Triumphant Demoa-acy. three men confined a few hours in such a dungeon were found lifeless, though afterwards ihey were revived. " Mr. Edward Livingstone, the great penal reformer of this coun- try, mentions, in 1822, that from fifteen hundred to two thousand per- sons of both sexes were committed to prison in each year in New York city, all being presumed to be innocent, and the large pro- portion really so, and were forced into association with old crim- inals, eating, drinking and sleeping with them ; then after having learned the lesson of crime they were turned out to practice it." These were the good old times we often hear of but never read about. The barbarity of the punish- ments which characterized the period immediately suc- ceeding the Revolution had been much mitigated before 1830, and the substitution of milder punish- ments has since gone on with the amelioration of the criminal's life in prison. Surer convictions and lighter sentences mark the progress of penal reform. In a century or two, the most potent deterrent to crime will probably be the simple notice in the press that " in the City Court yesterday the conduct of so-and-so was disapproved by the jury." A thoroughbred needs neither whip nor spur. An educated man born of educated parents is the human thoroughbred. The progress made in the treatment of youthful criminals is also to be credited to the half century we are considering. Before 1830 little or nothing had been done to effect a distinction or even a separation in jail between children and adult criminals. The result of unrestricted intercourse between them may be imag- Pauperism and Crime. 1 75 ined. The boy guilty of a first offence was lost ; the veteran in crime became his hero, and he only longed for discharge that he might emulate his exploits. Young girls in like manner were confined with the most hardened women, with similar results. Strange as it may seem to my readers of to-day, it was not till 1824 that the first reformatory, the New York House of Refuge, was built. Its influence for good was felt at once; and others were soon established, and in 1874, just fifty years after the initiation of the movement, there were thirty-four reformatories in the country, valued at nearly eight million dollars. The average number of inmates was eight thousand nine hundred and twenty-four ; while up to that date no fewer than ninety-one thousand four hundred and two boys and girls had been received, and nearly seventy thousand were reported as permanently reformed — saved ! " These useful institutions are an immense advance on the pris- ons which preceded them. The youth is no longer confined with the mature criminal ; the sexes also are separated ; and at night, as a general practice, there is but one child in each cell, or, if in a large dormitory, the children are carefully watched to prevent evil communications. They are all taught useful trades, and have regu- lar day instructions in schools besides religious teaching on Sun- day. After their term of sentence has expired, or previously if their good conduct permit, they are indentured with worthy and re- spected farmers and mechanics." Numerous societies exist in the large cities for the care of destitute children, the best known being the 1 76 Triumphant Democracy. Children's Aid Society of New York, the growth and success of which have been remarkable. It began its labors in 1853 and has provided more than thirty thou- sand homeless children with homes and work in the country. Its lodging houses shelter an average of six hundred per night. Its industrial and night schools ed- ucate and partly feed and clothe more than ten thousand children per year. Its great aim is to save the vagrant, homeless, and semi-criminal children of the city by draw- ing them to places of shelter and instruction and finally transferring them to selected homes in the country, there being almost an unlimited demand for children's labor in this country. The result of these efforts is startling. The commitments for vagrancy in New York city fell from two thousand one hundred and sixty-one in 1861 to nine hundred and fourteen in 1871, and of young girls for petty stealing from one thousand one hundred and thirty-three in i860 to five hundred and seventy-two in 1871, the population having increased in the interval seventeen per cent. Here is the true point at which to grapple with the difficulty, right in the be- ginning, before the innocent child learns the ways of its elder associates. America has not been backward in applying modern ideas in the treatment of prisoners. Her penitentiaries now compare favorably with those of other nations, while no nation probably has gone so far in substituting mild for severe punishments. Repugnance to the death Pauperism and Crime. 177 penalty is so strong that it has been abolished in several of the States. The large State prisons keep their pris- oners steadily at work together during the day, and separate them in the cells at night. In some cases the labor is sold to contractors who pay so much per man, but it is said that this sysem does not work well, as it brings outside influence into contact with the prisoners. It is more desirable that State officials should superin- tend and dispose of the work. Many of the prisons are self-supporting or nearly so, while that of Ohio yields an annual profit to the State. None of the prisons rank higher than that of this State at Columbus. In it the convict may by good behavior diminish his sentence five days a month, and may receive an allowance not ex- ceeding one-tenth of his earnings. At the end of his term, if he has gained the full commutation, he is re- stored to his rights of citizenship. No cruel or degrading punishments are employed, and no distinctive prison clothing is worn. The prison library is much used. Sunday school and prayer meeting are constantly at- tended, and there are two hundred well conducted mem- bers of the prison church. In the Massachusetts State prison the convicts established among themselves a society for mutual debate and improvement. Teachers and chaplains are appointed for prisons, libraries pro- vided, and in short these institutions are conducted upon the idea that it is not so important to punish the offender for what he has done as to improve him, so I 78 Triumphant Democracy. that he will not be likely to break the laws again. In no department of human effort has a greater change been made for the better in America than in the treatment of the vagrant and criminal classes. How to punish the ignorant and misguided offender is not so eagerly discussed as how to prevent his growing up in ignorance and sin, and thus becoming an offender; nor does the question how to punish the criminal rank with the much more important query how he can be re- formed. This is the first consideration, and he is sur- rounded with libraries, teachers, chaplains, to save him as much as possible from vile associates during his prison life, and save him if possible from himself. In Du Boys' "History of Criminal Law" we are shocked to read that in the fourteenth century three swine were tried before a legal court and sentenced to death for murdering a shepherd. " The whole herd was also condemned as accomplices, and that part of the sentence was only remitted on appealing to the Duke of Burgundy, whose pardon was granted with all the forms of Chancery." And Berriat Saint-Prix enumerates more than eighty condemnations to death or excommunica- tions pronounced from 11 20 to 1741 against every kind of animal from the ass to the grasshopper. To us such grotesque proceedings in the name of Justice are in- comprehensible. The next generation, or the next beyond, will probably read with horror of our inflict- ing the death punishment upon human beings. Two Pati-perism and Crime. 1 79 thousand years ago Confucius was asked by the king whether the unprincipled should not be killed for the sake of the principled. The sage replied by asking an- other question : " Sir, in carrying on your government why should you kill at all ? " Surely it is time for us to ask that question now. It is not the least sign of the Republic's position among nations that in many States the death penalty is already a thing of the past. The civilization of a people may be tested by the character of their punishments. The milder these are the more civilized the nation, as that home is to be rated highest in all the land in which the mildest sys- tem of parental government prevails, in which reproof takes its gentlest forms, and yet suffices. Judged by this standard the Democracy stands the test well. CHAPTER IX. AGRICULTURE. And they shall beat their swords into plow-shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks : nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learu war any more. — Isaiah. Ceres is the prime divinity of the RepubHc. To her the American makes his most profound obeisance. Upon him her sweetest smiles are lavished in return. In 1880 the principal nations stand thus in the value of their agricultural and pastoral products. At the head is the Republic, vs^ith $3,020,000,000 {£604,- 000,000), having marched in little more than a cen- tury from the foot to the head of the column. Russia, with her immense area and hundred millions of popula- tion, follows at a respectful distance with $2,545,000,- 000 (^509,000,000). Imperial Germany with her $2,- 280,000,000 (;^45 6,000,000) is so closely followed by La Belle France as to render the struggle for pre- cedence quite interesting, for France shows $2,220,- 000,000 (£444,000,000), $225,000,000 being the pro- duction of the juicy grape. Next comes Austria, with three hundred and twenty-two millions as the pro- duct of her extensive cornlands and Hungarian plains. And then, sixth in the row, comes the beautiful Isle of Agriculture. 1 8 1 the Sea, small but mighty, with $1,280,000,000 {£2^,6,- 000,000) — a prodigious sum for her small area. Italy, Spain, Australia, and Canada come last on the list, with a united product little more than half that of the Great Repubhc. What will the next decade show? Perhaps no change in the order in which the nations stand, but it is certain that further and further from her second, and more removed from any, will stand the Republic — God bless her ! No victory of peace was so long deferred, or so com- plete when it came, as the conquest of the soil. A hun- dred years ago agriculture was in little better condition all over the world than it was a thousand years before. Indeed it has been boldly asserted that the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, and Assyrians cultivated their soil better than any portion of the earth was tilled even a century ago. The alternation of crops was almost unknown ; and fields exhausted by frequent repetition of the same crop were allowed to lie fallow, as in the time of Moses. Drainage, where practiced, was of the rudest kind ; and in the sodden ground crops were thin and poor in quality, and unhealthy as food. Farming im- plements were of the most primitive type. The plough generally used was little better than that of Virgil's time, and only scratched the ground. The sower, with basket suspended by a cord round the neck, walked over the field throwing handfuls of grain on each side, as described in the parable, and as shown even now by t82 Trumtphant Democracy. pictures in rural almanacs. The reaping-hook, almost as old as the hills on which waved the ripened corn, was the only means of cutting it, while only the " thresher's weary flingin'-tree " of Burns enabled the farmer to separate the grain from the straw. i;_. In breeding and rearing cattle progress had been equally insignificant. The quality of food given to cattle was so bad that attention to breeding alone availed little in improving stock. The average weight of oxen and sheep sold in Smithfield market has more than doubled since the middle of the last century, a re- sult to be ascribed to improved feeding quite as much as to increased care in breeding. The primitive condition of agriculture in America a century and a quarter ago is well illustrated in the fol- lowing extract from a work by the Swedish traveller, Kalm. Speaking of the James River colonists, he says: "They make scarce any manure for their corn fields, but when one piece of ground has been exhausted by continual cropping, clear and cultivate another piece of fresh land, and when that is exhausted proceed to a third. Their cattle are allowed to wander through the woods and uncultivated grounds, where they are half starved, having long ago extirpated almost all the annual grasses by cropping them too early in the spring, before they had time to form their flowers or to shed their seeds.'' And the imperfect feeding caused the cattle to diminish in size generation by generation, till they grew so stunted and small, as to be appropriately called "runts." Agriculture. 183 The advance made in agriculture and cattle-raising during the last half century has been prodigious ; and much of it is due either to the creation by American in- ventive genius of mechanical appliances, or to enforced European inventiveness resulting from American com- petition. From the earliest times American statesmen have directed their energies to the advancement of agri- cultural arts. Washington, with a burden of care such as has been the lot of few, found time to superintend agricultural operations and experiments. The im- portance of agriculture to civilization formed the text of his last annual message to Congress ; and the last elab- orate production of his pen, written only a week before his death, was a long letter to the manager of his farms, containing thirty-two folio sheets of directions for their cultivation during several succeeding years. Most of Washington' s successors to the Presidency gave per- sonal attention to agriculture. One of the most dis- tinguished of them, Mr. Jefferson, invented the hill-side plough ; and Adams, Calhoun, Clay, and Webster for- got the anxieties of statesmanship in the peaceful pur- suits of the farm. Beginning thus early, the advance- ment of agriculture has continued to be the first care of American statesmen and the American people, with the result that the Republic leads the world to-day not only in amount of agricultural products but in excellence of agricultural methods. One-fourth of the total wealth of America is em- Triumphant Democracy. ployed in the cultivation of the soil, and that is about the proportion which agriculture contributes to the in- dustrial product. Statistics for 1830 being untrust- worthy, comparisons cannot be made with so early a period ; but taking the figures of the census of 1850, which was very complete, we find that in the short space of thirty years the amount of improved land more than doubled. The following table shows the extent and regularity of the progress made : Total acres in farm Acres improved Number of farms Average size of farms 1850 293,56o,6i4'407,2i2,538 113,032,614 163,110,720 1, 449.0731 3,044,077 203: 199 1870 407,735,041 188,921,099 2,659,985 153 536,081,835 284,771.042 4,008,907 134 It will be seen that the tendency is towards smaller rather than larger farms, notwithstanding the gigantic holdings which have been the fashion in recent years in some of the North-western States. The average farm has fallen in size from two hundred and three acres in 1850 to one hundred and thirty-five acres in 1880. As this result has been reached under a system of absolute free- dom we are justified in assuming that the cultivation of holdings small enough to be worked by one family with- out employing help is found to be the condition best fitted for survival. When the writer was in the North- west upon the huge estates there, sagacious agriculturists in the district predicted that the small farmer upon his Agrictdture. 1 85 eighty or at the most one hundred and sixty acres would eventually drive out the great capitaHsts who had under- taken to farm thousands of acres by means of others' labor. This is most cheering news, for it is manifestly better for the State that a race of citizens, each his own master and landlord, should inhabit the land and call a small portion of it his own, than that one man should be lord over thousands of acres and over hun- dreds of farm laborers. Political and economical ends fortunately unite in this the grandest of all branches of industry in the nation. The centralization which seems inseparable in manufacturing is not, we may console ourselves, to invade the realms of agriculture. The State is still to rest in security upon millions who possess and cultivate the soil divided into small farms. Such citizens are the very life-blood of the Re- public. The improved land in 1880 was but fifteen per cent, of the total area, but even then, according to Mulhall, it produced thirty per cent, of the grain of the world. The capital invested in farms and farming was $10,600,- 000,000 (;^2, 1 20,000,000), being more than three times as much as that invested in manufacturing, the next largest industry. The difference between " acres in farms," and " acres improved " is that the former in- cludes " woodland and forest," which although owned by the farmer has not yet been cleared for crops. This is on the average nearly one-half of the farm, so that 1 86 Trhtmpha7it Democracy. the productive acreage of the country may be, and no doubt soon will be, largely increased by the present farmers without adding greatly to the number of farms. The total number of acres under crop is two hundred and eighty-four million seven hundred and seventy-one thousand and forty-two, of which permanent meadows, pastures, orchards and vineyards comprise sixty-one million seven hundred and three thousand eight hun- dred and ninety-eight acres, the remainder being tilled land and land sown with grass in rotation of crops. It was a great survey at the beginning of the cen- tury to look back over sixty-five thousand square miles that had been brought under cultivation in the preced- ing decade. Between 1850 and i860, however, two hun- dred and fifteen thousand square miles had been turned into farms, and between 1870 and 1880 two hundred and ninety-seven thousand square miles. Thus in ten years territory equal in extent to Great Britain and France combined was added to the cultivated area in America. Even yet the progress continues. During the last year the sales of public lands to settlers exceeded sixteen million acres — an area as great as Belgium and Den- mark combined. In Dakota alone the new farms of 1883 exceeded six million acres — one-third of all Scot- land. In the face of such facts it is clear that the Americans are the great agricultural people of the world, and that no other race has spread so diligently and so profitably over so great an area. Agriculture. 187 In 1880 an inquiry was made for the first time in the United States into the tenure of farms — whether culti- vated by their owners, rented, or worked on shares, with the result shown in the following table : WORKED BY OWNERS. RENTED. WORKED ON SHAKES. Number. Per Cent. Number. Per Ceot. Number. Per Cent. Under 3 3 and under 10 10 '■ 20 20 " 50 50 " 100 100 " 500 500 " 1,000 1,000 and over . 2,601 85.456 122,411 460,486 804,522 1,416,618 66,447 25,765 60 63 48 59 78 84 87 90 875 22,904 41,522 69,663 84,645 3,956 1.393 20 17 16 13 7 5 5 5 876 26,529 90,816 223,689 158,625 194,720 5.569 1,420 20 20 36 28 15 II 8 5 This corroborates the current belief that the ma- jority of farms in America are cultivated by their own- ers, nearly three million of the four million farms being of this class. Eight per cent, of the total were culti- vated upon shares. The farms most frequently rented for money are the smallest farms, and their number steadily decreases. Only in the South does the system of renting, especially for a share in the proceeds, pre- vail to any great extent. The system has grown up since the war, in consequence of the subdivision of the great plantations, most of the lessees being colored people. It marks a temporary stage of development succeeding slavery, and is certain to pass away as the 1 88 Triumphant Democracy. renters are able to buy the land from the former owners, their old masters. The free play of individual forces tends to make the culivator of the soil its owner. There is no law of primogeniture or of en- tail in America, and the transfer of land is scarcely, if any, more difficult than the sale or purchase of a horse. The reputed value of farm land is $19.21 per acre, nearly ^^4, not much more than the rent per annum of some of the land in Britain. It ranges from $34 (nearly £"/) in the North Atlantic group of States to $7.35 (^i.io) in the States of the Southern central group. From 1850 to i860 the value of farms more than doubled, while population increased only thirty-five per cent. On account of the Civil War the increase from i860 to 1870 was less than that of population, but from 1870 to 1880 it rose thirty-seven per cent., which was seven per cent, greater than the increase of population, so that the tendency hitherto has been for land to in- crease in value even faster than the population. This has made the farmer of America highly prosperous during the past thirty years ; for even if he has only made a living for himself and family from the pro- duce and improved his land, he stands to-day with a property worth three and a half times its value thirty years ago. For every $500 (^loo) invested in his farm he has $1,750 (;^3So) to-day. Had he rented Agriculture. 189 his farm from some huge landlord this unearned incre- ment would have gone to the landlord, and the worker would have been left where he began except for the savings in money he might have been able to make. The rise of values going on around him, which he did so much to produce, would have been of no benefit to him. He would not have been half the man he is, nor worth half as much to the State. That State alone is absolutely secure from violent measures whose soil belongs to the mass of its well-doing citizens. Improved implements and machinery have revolu- tionized agriculture in America. Their value in 1830 is estimated at but $150,000,000 (^^30,000,000), in 1880 it exceeded $450,000,000 (;^90,ooo,ooo). The wide-spread use of machinery is mainly due to three causes, the scar- city of labor, which has in turn stimulated the fertility of American invention, and the readiness, amounting almost to anxiety, of the farmer to adopt the latest and best devices. Then the greater portion of the soil under cultivation is level and without obstructions, and admirably adapted for the use of machinery. It is no wonder that under such conditions America should be the foremost agricultural country of the world. No other country on earth has a chance in comparison. Even gigantic Russia grows not much more than half as much. Here is the record as given by Mulhall : I go Triumphant Democracy. ACRES PRODUCTION IN COUNTRIES. UNDER GRAIN. BUSHELS. United States . 118,000,000 2,698,000,000 Russia .... 158,000,000 1,585,000,000 Germany .... 43,000,000 990,000,000 France .... 40,000,000 840,000,000 Austro-Hungary 35,000,000 520,000,000 United Kingdom 12,500,000 445,000,000 Spain .... 15,000,000 300,000,000 Italy 18,000,000 270,000,000 Canada and Australia 14,000,000 140,000,000 Just cast your eye over the march of the last thirty years and satisfy yourself that the Republic has tra- velled with its seven-league boots on. In 1850 only eight hundred and sixty-seven million bushels were pro- duced ; ten years more, one thousand two hundred mil- lion ; ten more, one thousand four hundred million ; and finally ten more in 1880, two thousand seven hundred million bushels from the generous bosom of good Mother Earth. Of this aggregate one thousand seven hundred and fifty millions were maize, four hundred and sixty millions wheat, and four hundred and seven millions oats. The maize or Indian corn crop is therefore double that of wheat and oats. Maize, which is mostly consumed at home, is the staff of life for the hog, and horses and cattle are also fed upon it to a great extent throughout the country; neverthe- less the export trade has grown year after year. Twenty years ago not $10,000,000 (;i$^2,ooo,ooo) worth were sent abroad; in 1880 more than five times that sum. Agriculhire. 191 A grand sight is a field of corn on a hot day. I re- member being upon a train in southern lUinois which, on account of obstructions on the hne, had to he upon a siding for several hours. Nothing but corn was in sight over the great level plain. I wandered among the immense stalks, some at least fourteen feet high ; a heavy dew had fallen during the night, and the hot morning sun was now well up in the heavens. Crack after crack resounded like pistol shots. It was the corn bursting its coverings. I imagined I could actually see it grow ; I know I felt it do so. What would America do without its maize and cotton, the two pillars upon which its agricultural supremacy so largely depends! She is pretty sure of the future, however, for upon no other portion of the globe can these be grown to such advantage. England is more interested in the wheat than in the maize crop. Well, the increase in this indispensable cereal has been even greater than in any other crop. It is doubtful whether any agricultural growth was ever as rapid as that of wheat in this country during the past thirty years. Down to 1859 the Republic used to im- port wheat at intervals from Europe ; now she is the purveyor of the staff of life for mankind, producing one- fourth of the world's crop. In 1850 only one hundred million bushels were grown; in i860 the crop was one hundred and seventy-three millions, not bad, being an increase of seventy per cent, in ten years ; but in 1870 192 T^'iumphant Demoa'acy. the amount was two hundred and eighty-seven millions, and in 1880 we find the crop four hundred and fifty- nine millions. It exceeded five hundred millions of bushels last year. Twenty-five years ago (i860) the export of wheat and flour averaged between six and eight millions sterling. In 1880 $190,000,000 (;^38,ooo,ooo) worth were sent forth, of which Britain alone received $175,000,000(^35,000,000). The reported decrease in acreage under wheat this year (1885) on account of low prices will prove, in my opinion, to be only temporary, pending the adjustment to a standard of lower values. This great cereal will be grown, and delivered in British ports in constantly increasing quantities at prices even lower (if necessary) than those which have surprised so many eminent author- ities. The British Commissioners who recently visited us and reported upon the agricultural situation did not allow for the shrinkage of the excessive margins of profit which the growth and transportation and mer- chandising of wheat have hitherto yielded at every stage of the operation. I differ from most of the foreign experts and believe that a continuance of the present depression throughout the world will send plenty of American wheat to the ports of Britain at lower prices than those of to-day. We shall see. The Republic has never yet had to show what it could do when put to it. ; •, One is surprised to find that oats are so largely Agriculture. 193 grown in America, for so little is heard of that modest grain compared with its much talked of neighbor. The North-western States are admirably adapted to its growth, and instead of Scotch and Irish oatmeal being imported for human food, as it was until recently, the native article is found fully equal to it in quality. Such was proved to be the case at the last Paris Exhibition. Indeed, nothing surprised me so much as to hear my Scotch visitors to America three years ago declare that American oatmeal porridge surpassed the Dunfermline article. The other indispensable commodity for a Scotchman, however, they pronounced miserable ; nei- ther " Bourbon " nor " Old Monongahela " found favor with them. The verdict was that only by a stretch of politeness almost to bursting was the stuff worthy to take the revered name of whiskey. This, however, is a matter of taste, for more topers in the world prefer the republican to the queer Scotch article. The production of barley increases rapidly. The census of 1850 shows that only five million bushels were grown then. In ten years it had increased to sixteen millions, in ten more (1870) to twenty-nine millions, while 1880 shows forty-four millions of bushels. So much for bold John Barleycorn. The acreage under barley (1880) was a little less than two millions; yield per acre twenty-two bushels. The United Kingdom had then six hundred and sixty thousand acres more devoted to this grain, so the barley crop of America is 13 194 Triumphant Democracy. not yet equal to that of the old home, but its increase of growth here is extraordinary, for between 1850 and i860 it was two hundred and six per cent. It more than doubled in ten years. California is the leading State in barley and New York comes next. In the United States in 1880, one million eight hun- dred and forty thousand acres were sown with rye ; prod- uct, twenty million bushels. Rye does not figure in the returns for Britain, which are before me, the au- thorities saying that very little is now grown there. After all it is not maize, cotton, wheat, oats, barley, or rye which is ruler in the agricultural kingdom, but a more modest grass. Hay is the most valuable of all American crops; the amount cut in 1880 exceeded thirty-six millions of tons grown on more than thirty millions of acres. It has kept pace with its rivals, for in 1850, not quite fourteen million tons were grown. Even twenty years ago but nineteen millions were re- ported, so that it has nearly doubled in two decades. Sorghum is the only important plant of recent intro- duction. Though a stranger, it seems to thrive in its new home, and its cultivation spreads rapidly. In 1880 more than twenty-eight million gallons of molasses were made from it, more than half a gallon for every man, woman, and child in the country. We now come to the great Southern staple. King Cotton. An ancient and honorable potentate truly, for does not Herodotus tell us four hundred and fifty years Ag r {culture. 195 B. C. that the Indians were then weaving it into cloth, and did not Caesar cover the Forum and the Sacred Way, too, with awnings of cotton to shade the dignita- ries of the Imperial City from the rays of the sun? In 162 1 the first cotton was planted in America. It did not take kindly to the climate. Many experiments failed, although repeated at different times and at va- rious places ; and more than a hundred and fifty-seven years elapsed before a pound of cotton was exported. " In 1784, a small quantity of cotton was imported into Liverpool, where it was at first considered as an illegal transaction, as it was not supposed possible for it to have been the growth of any of the States of the Union ; and when, about the same period, a duty was proposed in the United States Congress on the import of foreign cotton, it was declared by one of the repre- sentatives from South Carolina, that the cultivation of cotton was in contemplation by the planters of South Carolina and Georgia, ' and that if good seed could be procured it might succeed.'" We ought never to give up readily a new thing, whether plant or idea, for success often lies just beyond the last failure. For the six years following the ex- ports to England were respectively one hundred and nine, three hundred and eighty-nine, and then eight hundred and forty-two bags. After Independence (1776) cotton began to attract special attention. Whitney's gin for separating the seeds from the fibre 196 Triumphant Democracy. removed the only obstacle to its almost unlimited pro- duction. A tariff upon the importation of cotton goods led to the manufacture of cloth at home, and cot- ton cultivation receiving a further impetus, America soon became the leading source of supply for the world. Not to go back further than half a century we find that in 1830, nine hundred and seventy-six thousand eight hundred and forty-five bales were grown; in 1880, the crop was five million seven hundred and fifty-seven thousand three hundred and ninety-seven bales, valued at S2 7 5, 000,000(^^5 5, 000,000). Of the 1 830 crop, $30,000,- 000 (i^6,ooo,OOo) worth was exported ; of the 1880 crop, $220,000,000 (;^ 44,000,000), of which England took nearly two-thirds. The latter, however, included manufactured cotton, of which in 1830 there was none. So that the value of the cotton exported exceeded that of wheat by $30,000,000 (i^6,ooo,ooo). Tobacco-growing still continues to prosper in Amer- ica, although surely the coming man is not to smoke. Chewing is already a thing of the past, and the pipe and cigar are doomed. Before many generations the smoker will be considered as disgusting as the chewer is to-day. America increased her crop eighty per cent, from 1870 to 1880, and six hundred and thirty-eight thousand acres are now devoted to the weed. Its value in 1880 was three and a half millions sterling. Brother Jonathan makes a fair division of his tobacco with the rest of mankind, for he sends just about half of it abroad and Agriculture. 197 smokes the other half himself. "Take a cigar," he says, and hands one to less favored nations, reserving only one for himself. Generous fellow, Jonathan ! We must not ignore the so-called fruit of old Ire- land, the potato, which however is a native, true Amer- ican, in origin. America does her share in growing potatoes, those apples of the earth. In 1880 she pro- duced two hundred and three millions of bushels, a little more than four bushels to every man, woman, and child. I do not believe I had my fair proportion, which for every adult must be six bushels, nor do I think any one in America will admit having devoured his share. He will rather dispute the census returns. As none were exported, we must pass as a potato-eating people, or suspect our fellow-citizens of Irish descent of having eaten much more than their share, which they probably did. The enormous quantity of fruit grown and consumed in America surprises the visitor. Notwithstanding its cheapness, the orchard products in 1880 were valued at $52,500,000 (;£" 10,500,000), and there was imported an average of six pounds of fruit to each person, worth altogether about $20,000,000 (;^4,ooo,ooo). The total value of the year's product of Uncle Sam's farm in 1880 was $2,225,000,000 (;^445,ooo,ooo), and it was not a good year for prices either. He has netted much more than that since — more than $2,500,- 000,000 (;^ 500,000,000). Indeed, Mulhall values the ig8 Truimphant Democracy. total agricultural products for 1884 at no less than $2,721,500,000 (i;' 544, 300,000). Let us now glance at the live stock upon his gigan- tic farm and their products, and see what he has to show us there. He first asks us to review his hogs, a motley mass ranging from the patrician Howard (he of Bedford, M. P.) down to the plebeian, long-snouted grunter, which must " root or die." Fifty-six and three-quarter mil- lions march past. Imagine their salute. Every man, woman, and child in the land owns one hog and a little more. Now comes his cattle with their glowering eyes, and the line stretches till nearly forty-six millions are counted. Eighteen and a half millions of them are milch cows, the most widely scattered and most equally diffused of all his beasts. Throughout America every family of three persons have one milch cow and a fraction of another one. He exhibits his sheep next, forty-five millions of them, and enough left over to stock an ordinary country. Not quite a sheep to every inhabitant, but pretty near it. Will it please you now to look at Uncle Sam's horses ? Trot them out. Twelve millions and a half of these useful, noble animals, ranging from the fastest trotters in the world, from " Maud S " with her record of a mile in two minutes, eight and three-quarter seconds, to the half-wild "tackey" of Florida. There they are, followed by more than two millions of mules .,,,, Agricultiire. " igg and asses, which close the long procession. The census proves that on the average every family in the country really owns a horse, a cow, four pigs, and three sheep, not a bad start for a young farmer. Were the live stock upon Uncle Sam s estate ranged five abreast, each animal estimated to occupy a space five feet long, and marched round the world, the head and tail of the procession would overlap. This was the host of 1880; that of 1885 would be ever so much greater, and still it grows day by day, and the end of its growth no man can foretell. Having reviewed the live stock, let me now conduct you to the dairy to see the butter and cheese depart- ments. Four hundred thousand tons of butter were made in 1880, an average of nearly sixteen pounds for every man, woman, and child in the country. Ah ! the Yankee's bread is buttered in more ways than one. In 1870, eighty thousand tons of cheese were made; in 1880, one hundred and twenty thousand tons. Since the introduction of the factory system, cheese manufacturing has increased enormously. The Ameri- can does not care for cheese as his progenitor does. What he makes he sends largely abroad to figure as Stilton, Cheshire, or Cheddar in Britain, for he manu- factures all brands, and you cannot tell the republican article from its monarchical prototype. The cheese ex- ported in 1 88 1 was worth more than three and a quar- ter millions sterling. The statistics laid before the Na- 200 Triumphant Democracy, tional Butter, Cheese, and Egg Association at its late meeting in Chicago represent that the annual value of dairy products in this country is $100,000,000 (;f 20,000,- 000) while the amount of capital interested in cows is said to be greater by $40,000,000 (;£'8,ooo,ooo) than that invested in bank stocks. What does the American do with all the products of this live stock and dairy ? First, he supplies his own wants — and these are great, for fifty-six millions of the most prosperous people in the world, every one of them determined to have the best he can afford, and accus- tomed to the most expensive food, consume an enor- mous amount. The surplus he exports, and Britain is by far the largest recipient, taking of many articles half of all he has to spare. In 1870 began a new traffic— the exportation of living cattle — of which $400,000 (;^8o,ooo) worth were sent to Britain; in 1880 this trade exceeded $12,500,000 (ir2, 500,000). The exportation of fresh beef was tried in 1875, and in 1880 the value of this article exported was $7,500,000 (;^ 1, 500,000). The American hog has been a prime favorite in Eu- rope during the past twenty years. In i860 the amount of hams and bacon exported was only $2,050,000 {;^4I0,- 000) ; in 1880 the demand was for more than $50,000,000 (.^10,000,000) worth. Britain takes the greater part. What a prejudice against American hams and bacon formerly existed there ! I remember walking one day Agriculture. 20 1 a through a curer's establishment in an English town where the pigs of the district were killed and who was supposed to deal only in the genuine home article. He furnished, no doubt, the much praised ham and sweet bacon of which my friends boasted as so different from the foreign article. A pile of half hidden boxes, marked Chicago, caught my eye. I called the proprietor aside and asked whether the contents were superior or inferior to the domestic. He smiled and said : " Sometimes the one and sometimes the other," adding, " We are queer folk ! " The American article now stands upon its merits, but many a ton of it is still sold as genuine English. $85,000,000 (.^17,000,000) is the annual revenue of Uncle Sam from his pigs. But little mutton is sent abroad. The value of the exports in 1884 was less than $300,000 (;if 60,000). But with the steady and rapid improvement in the breed of sheep which is taking place in America, we may anticipate at no distant date a large trade in this article, which Australia has found so profitable. Twenty years ago the mutton of America was not worth eating. It is still inferior to that of Britain, but it is growing better every year. Whether it can ever reach the grade of the best Scotch is doubtful, but the improvement in the sheep here is shown by the increase of wool, which is beyond the increase in the number of sheep. Between 1850 and i860 the increase of wool production was fourteen per cent. ; during the next dec- 202 Triumphant Democracy. ade it was sixty-six per cent., and between 1870 and 1880 no less than one hundred and forty-seven per cent. The average fleece in 1850 was but two three-tenths pounds; in 1880 it had nearly doubled (four four-tenths pounds). The fleece of a sheep in the North averages more than five pounds, but in the genial South the ani- mal does not need so warm a coat. If God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb. He also adapts the fleece to the climate, and sees that the Southern sheep is not over-burdened. In this matter of sheep's covering one agrees with the sage who said that, " Although the Lord does temper the wind to the shorn lamb, the Lord considers it man's business not to shear too close." Wool-growing in America shows the usual increase. In 1830 the fleece was but eighteen millions of pounds; in 1850, fifty-two million; in i860, sixty million, and in 1870, one hundred million. In the last ten years it has much more than doubled, for in 1880 the fleece weighed two hundred and forty millions of pounds. Could any one believe that America grows more than double the amount of wool grown in the United Kingdom! It surprised me to find that such was indeed the case, for the fleece of the latter in 1880 was but one hundred and twelve millions of pounds. As one travels through Britain, go where he will, he is scarcely ever out of sight or out of hearing of the omnipresent sheep. In English meadows and on heather hills the white specks dot the ground. In our coaching tour we seemed to pass Agriculture. 203 through endless herds of sheep on both sides of the road, while upon this side of the Atlantic we scarcely see the innocent creatures, and indeed what can be called a flock is the rarest sight. Yet the stragglers counted upon the three million square miles exceed the crowded flocks of Britain, whose pastoral beauties they so much enhance. Mulhall gives the average of wool per sheep in the United Kingdom as four pounds, and that of America as five pounds ; which is correct if the Southern sheep be not included. This is another sur- prise to me. I should have said the average amount of wool upon the British sheep far exceeded that of its seemingly less prosperous transatlantic fellow. It is ev- ident that America is more favorably placed for sheep growing than is generally supposed. Is there anything, I wonder, in the agricultural or live stock line in which she cannot excel ! Let me call the attention of my readers to the signif- icant fact that no articles of general consumption have increased in price in America during recent years ex- cept beef, mutton, and pork, which have advanced inor- dinately, the opening of European markets to American producers having naturally reduced the supply at home. With these exceptions the cost of living has been much lessened. The growth of this export trade is seen by the following figures. In 1870 the total value of ex- ports of meat in the hoof, fresh or preserved, was only $17,500,000 (.^3,500,000); in five years it had run up 204 Triumphant Democracy. to nearly $70,000,000 (;^ 14,000,000), and in 1880 no less than $117,500,000 (;^23, 500,000) worth were taken from the home market. America was not prepared to under- go this unexpected drain, hence the change in values. The export value of beef in 1870 was less than $20 (.£■4) per head, in 1880 it was not far from $75 (^15). Three and a half beeves were thus supplied ten years ago for the cost of one in 1880. A similar ap- preciation has taken place in the value of sheep, the price of which, $2 (8.r) per head in 187 1, rose to $4.25 {i^s) nine years later. In live hogs we have the same result, though these obtained their maximum value in 1874, when each hog exported cost more than $10 (.^2). Restrictive legislation in various countries having interrupted the trade, prices during 1880 averaged only $5 {£\) per head. But even had no hostile legislation been passed, the capacity of this country to supply in a short time any number of hogs required must have occasioned a rapid fall in prices. What has happened with hogs must happen soon with cattle and sheep. Look out for a great fall in these from the figures of 1880. The Republic was taken un- awares. Let us see what will be her response after a few years to the demands upon her ever growing herds. To conclude with a summary. The farms of America comprise eight hundred and thirty-seven thousand six hundred and twenty-eight square miles, an area nearly equal to one-fourth of Europe, and larger than the four ■ :: 'I Agriculture. 205 greatest European countries put together (Russia ex- cepted), namely, France, Germany, Austria and Hun- gary, and Spain. The capital invested in agriculture would suffice to buy up the whole of Italy, with its rich olive-groves and vineyards, its old historic cities, cathe- drals, and palaces, its king and aristocracy, its pope and cardinals, and every other feudal appurtenance. Or, if the American farmers were to sell out, they could buy the entire peninsula of Spain, with all its traditions of medieval grandeur, and the flat lands which the Hol- landers at vast cost have wrested from the sea and the quaint old towns they have built there. If he chose to put by his savings for three years, the Yankee farmer could purchase the fee-simple of pretty Switzerland as a summer resort, and not touch his capital at all, for each year's earnings exceed $550iOOCi>ooo (;£"i 10,000,- 000). The cereal crop for 1880 was more than two billions and a half of bushels. If placed in one mass this would make a pile of three and a half billion cubic feet. Built into a solid mass as high as the dome of St. Paul's (three hundred and sixty-five feet), and as wide as the cathedral across the transepts (two hundred and eighty-five feet), it would extend, a solid mass of grain, down Fleet Street and the length of the Strand to Piccadilly, thence on through Knightsbridge, Ham- mersmith and South Kensington, to a distance of over six miles. Or it would make a pyramid three times as great as that of Cheops. If loaded on carts, it would 2o6 Triumphant Democracy. require all the horses in Europe and a million more (thirty-three and a half millions) to remove it, though each horse drew a load of two tons. Were the entire crop of cereals loaded on a continuous train of cars, the train would reach one and a half times round the globe. Its value is half as great as all the gold mined in Cali- fornia in the thirty-five years since gold was found there. The corn and cotton fields of America form kingdoms in themselves surpassing in size some of those of Europe. In 1884 more than half a million animals were sent to Europe alive, while nearly a billion pounds of meat was sent over. And four years before the total value of meat on the hoof, fresh or preserved, sent to Eu- rope, was $1,175,000,000 (^235,000,000). It is hard to realize just what this muster really means. If the Atlantic could be crossed as the Red Sea was by Moses' host, and these animals were placed ten abreast, each averaging five feet in length, the procession would be fifty miles long. Such a line the Republic sends every year to Europe ; " the dead meats " being far beyond this, however, in value, for, as usual, here we find the dead as compared to the living in " the great majority." Of cheese one hundred and thirteen million pounds were exported last year (1884), while one-fifth that quan- tity of butter was sent to lay upon the bread which the Republic had sent to Europe. She is no niggard, this Greater Britain ; she scatters her bounties not only pro- Agriculture. 207 fusely but in palatable proportions. May her capacity for good works never grow less ! These enormous food exports suggest serious thoughts concerning the future. The populations of the Old World are fast increasing without any extension of soil or corresponding increase of productiveness. Since the beginning of the century one hundred and seventy-two millions of Europeans have grown to three hundred and twelve millions. This is an advance un- precedented in the history of the Old World. Without the enormous shipments of food from America and other places such an increase would probably have been impossible. The present consumption of food by Eu- rope is vastly greater than its production. The deficit per year of grain is three hundred and eighty million bushels, more than a bushel for every man, woman, and child in Europe ; while that of meat amounts to eight hundred and fifty-three thousand tons, six pounds for every man, woman, and child. The future growth of Europe, therefore, seems chiefly dependent upon sup- plies of food from abroad — mainly from America: every addition to the population must be fed for the most part from without. The United Kingdom is particu- larly thus dependent. Mr. Giffen estimates that twelve millions, one-third of the whole population, already live on imported food. It would be difficult to exaggerate the consequences of this fact, ever growing in importance. The social and 2o8 Triinnphant Democracy. economic changes involved may be of the most radical character. No doubt, as Mr. Caird and other eminent authorities state, that by better and more thorough cul- tivation the soil of Europe and especially that of Britain can be made- to yield an increase, but we assume that this can be obtained only at greater cost and to a small extent. The proportion of Europeans dependent for food upon the New World will probably increase from year to year. Happily there is no question as to its undeveloped resources, which are capable of extension quite sufficient to meet any possible demand for a period if not quite as far as we are tempted to look ahead, certainly quite as far as we can see ahead, which is a very different matter. When we think over the changes produced during fifty years' march of this Republic we must surely hesitate to speculate beyond what the next fifty years are to bring, and for fifty years ahead at least we can see that America can give Europe all the food it will require. Beyond that let posterity manage for itself. The man who is always telling you what he would have done " if he had been there" in any given emergency is he who never gets there. And none of my readers will ever " get there " to the day when the Republic cannot respond to any call made upon her for agricultural products. Millions and millions of fertile acres, under sunny skies and watered with refreshing showers, still lie before us only awaiting the plough, to respond with food for man. • Agriculture. 209 It is in the cultivation of this heritage and the build- ing up of the cities and of the roads and railways and telegraphs which must accompany this work and the erection of school-houses and churches throughout the land that the American people will find their proper development, not in chasing the fiction of the carrying of merchandise upon the high seas for which they must contend at a disadvantage. Much less should they call for the building of war ships. The present lack of a navy ensures the nation a dignified position. It is one of the chief glories of the Republic, that she spends her money for better ends and has nothing worthy to rank as a ship of war. To build a few small ships and call them a navy will invite comparison, and the " rascally comparative " must only make the Republic ridiculous, for she either wants the strongest navy in the world or none. If she builds the weakest she builds her ships for the stronger enemy to sink or capture, if she ever has an enemy, which is to be doubted unless she flaunts before the other powers great monster ships expressly designed to work them injury. There is an effort to produce a scare just now in regard to her defenceless sea coast ; any small power could attack her ports and levy contributions, it is said. So any man who walks down Broadway may be attacked by a disorderly fellow, but no one suggests that we walk about, therefore, in coats of mail. There is not a port of America which could not be efficiently closed, if necessary, against an 14 2IO Triumphant Democracy. assailant before he had time to reach it ; fortunately there is little prospect that the Republic will ever have an assailant if she remain unarmed. When nations provide themselves with arms ostensibly for defence, offence travels not far in the rear, accompanies it as shadow does substance. Shakespeare tells us " How oft the means to do ill deeds Make ill deeds done." I beseech my fellow Republicans to leave to the monarchies of the Old World the folly and the crime of building and maintaining these vast engines of destruc- tion, the mere possession of which tends to make war between nations which would otherwise have remained at peace. Of all the lessons which the Democracy has given, or is capable of giving, to people in less advanced stages of political development, this ranks supreme, that peace has its victories still more renowned than war. So far, the Democracy can congratulate itself that its country's reputation rests not upon conquest nor wars of aggression, but upon the nobler foundation of peace- ful, orderly, industrial development. Men and breth- ren, let us see to it that our Representatives do not tarnish this record by stripping the Republic of the majestic robes of golden Peace to array her in the panoply of barbarous War ! CHAPTER X. '' MANUFACTURES. "In a general way, it may safely be predicted that the nation which has the most varied industry is likely, all other things being equal, to be the most prosperous, powerful, and contented. Agriculture, though the first and most essential of all callings, is still far from yielding the best results from a commercial and industrial point of view." " England's Supremacy." — Jeans. " Labor is discovered to be the grand conquerer, enriching and building up nations more surely than the greatest battles," says Channing. Of this truth the Republic is proof conclusive, for she has become the greatest manufacturing nation of the world by labor, not by luck. " What men call luck. Is the prerogative of valiant souls." Since the earhest period in their history the Ameri- can people have devoted great attention to and mani- fested unusual aptitude for manufactures. The first colonists fully realized their importance ; and so ener- getically did they devote themselves to their develop- ment that by 1670, when the population numbered less than two hundred thousand, their progress had already begun to excite the jealousy of the mother country. Despite the restrictions which Great Britain 212 Triumphant Democracy. placed upon the colonial trade, the manufacture and commerce of America grew rapidly. The moral cost at which the advance was made, however, was very great. It may be guaged by the fact, certified by the Hon. David A. Wells, that the colonists were "a nation of law-breakers : nine-tenths of the colonial mer- chants were smugglers. One-quarter of the whole num- ber of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were bred to the contraband trade. John Hancock was the prince of contraband traders, and, with John Adams as his counsel, was on trial before the Admiralty Court in Boston at the exact hour of the shedding of blood at Lexington, to answer for half a million dollars' penalties alleged to have been by him incurred as a smuggler." The evils and sufferings caused by the narrow policy of the home government can be but vaguely conceived even in view of this wholesale demoralization of a gen- erous and otherwise law-abiding people. The efforts of the British to cripple the industries of America did not end, as might be supposed, with the success of the Revo- lution. Transatlantic manufacturers sought to continue their repressive measures long after Independence was achieved, and their methods of procedure took many a curious turn. Bishop, the historian of American indus- try, says: " It was supposed to be an object worth large sacrifices on the part of the English manufacturers to break down the formidable rivalship of growing but immature manufactures in America, by Manufactures. 213 means of heavy consignments of goods to be disposed of at auction, and upon the most liberal credits, to the merchants. That this policy had the approval of eminent British statesmen, is shown by the remarkable language of Mr. Brougham in Parliament, soon after the peace (1815), when he declared in reference to the losses sustained by English manufacturers in these transactions, that it was 'even worth while to incur a loss upon the first exportation, in order by the glut to stifle in the cradle these rising manufactures in the United States, which the war had forced into existence con- trary to the natural course of things.' " All this is of the past, and is only referred to as essential to a proper understanding of the subject under review. Britain did what she did because in those days nobody knew any better, as explained in the chapter upon occupations. The steady nature of the progress of American manufactures is indicated by the ever increasing ratio of manufactures to population. This is shown by Mul- hall as follows : PRODUCT PER INHABITANT. 1830 . • • ^1-8 1850 . ■ ^9-' 1870 . ■ <£21.2 1840 . • 57 i860 . . 12.2 1880 . 22.0 An increase of more than ten times the products per inhabitant in fifty years. It is interesting to note that as the country became more densely settled, the importance of manufactures relative to agriculture increased. In 1850 the capital invested in manufactures was only eight per cent, of 214 Triumphant Democracy. that in agriculture. In i860 it was thirteen per cent.; in 1870 nineteen per cent.; and in 1880 it reached twenty-three per cent., or nearly one-fourth that of agri- culture. In 1870 the value of the products of manufac- ture less that of raw materials was seventy-one per cent, of the value of agricultural products, while in 1880 the proportion had risen to eighty-nine per cent. So that great as the growth of agriculture in America has been, and the world has never before seen the like, that of manufactures has been even greater. No statement in this book will probably cause so much surprise as that the young Republic and not Great Britain is to-day the greatest manufacturing nation of the world, for she is generally credited with being great only in agriculture. The annual product of each operative has advanced in value from $1,100 (;^22o) in 1850 to $2,015 (;^403) in 1880; a result largely due to improvements in methods and machinery. This cause, joined to the increase in number of workers, resulted in an advance of total manufactures from $1,060,000,000 (;£'2 12,000,000) in 1850 to $5,560,000,000 (i^ 1, 1 12,000,000) in 1880 — an increase of nearly six hundred per cent, in thirty years. During the same period the increase of British manu- factures was little more than a hundred per cent. Their total in 1880 was but $4,055,000,000 (.^811,- 000,000). An industry which has attained gigantic proportions Manufactures. 215 during the fifty years under review, is that of flouring and grist-mills. Indeed if we judge by value of prod- ducts, this is the foremost industry of the United States; for the product of 1880 exceeded $500,000,000 (;£' 1 00,000,000). The capital invested in this industry was $177,400,000 (nearly ;£'36,ooo,ooo), there being in operation no fewer than twenty-four thousand flouring and grist-mills with a daily capacity of five million bushels — sufficient if need be to grind flour for not only the fifty millions of Americans, but for three hundred million Europeans, who annually consume one billion three hundred and forty-seven million bushels. The value added to the food by milling was thirteen per cent, of the cost of the grain. During the decade ending 1880 the capital employed in this industry in- creased forty-six per cent. ; the grain dealt with in- creased forty-seven per cent. ; wages increased forty- nine per cent. The number of hands employed how- ever diminished slightly — a circumstance due to im- provements in machinery. This is a growing character- istic of all American industries': the drudgery is ever being delegated to dumb machines while the brain and muscle of men are directed into higher channels. The industry next in importance, judged by value of product, is slaughtering and meat packing. Though of comparatively recent origin, this industry has attained enormous proportions. The capital employed in 1880 was about ten miUions sterling, furnishing employment 2i6 Triumphant Democracy. to more than twenty-seven thousand hands, whose wages amounted to $10,500,000 (^^'2, 100,000), an average of nearly $400 (;^8o) each. The beeves slaughtered numbered one million seven hundred thousand ; sheep, two million two hundred thousand ; hogs, sixteen millions. This was enough to give every man, woman, and child in America and Great Britain half a pound of meat thrice a week for a year. That this industry is to undergo vast developments is shown by the attention paid to the pastoral interests : farming stock increased thirty-three per cent, all round during the ten years ending in 1880. There were in that year nearly a hundred and fifty million cows, sheep, and hogs in the United States. It is at Chicago that the traveller sees the murderous work going on upon the grandest scale, for in 1880 five and three-quarter million pigs were turned into pork, and half a million cattle " packed." So rapidly is this industry increasing that in Chicago alone one million one hundred and eighty thousand and nine hundred cattle were killed last year. The perfection of the machinery employed is illustrated by the claim Chi- cagoans make for it, viz., that you can see a living hog driven into the machine at one end, and the hams from it safely delivered at the other end before the squeal of the animal is out of your ears. But, as Matthew Arnold said, when asked to see this verified, or at least the foun- dation upon which the story rests, " Why should I see Manufactures. 217 pigs killed ! Why should I hear pigs squeal ! " He de- clined. My readers can therefore see, if so inclined, one of the sights which a distinguished traveller missed, which is ever a great advantage. The iron and steel industries rank next in impor- tance, the product for 1883 being valued at $400,000,000 (^^80,000,000). The production of pig-iron has increased at a prodigious rate. The output for 1883 was five and a quarter million tons, more than thirteen times the quan- tity produced in 1840. With this unparalleled increase in quantity, there has gone a corresponding improvement in quality which has placed American iron and steel on a par with the best produced by the iron-king, Great Britain. In 1870 the United States was much below France or Germany as regards the manufacture of steel ; ten years later it produced more than these countries to- gether. America now makes one-fifth of the iron, and one-fourth of the steel of the world, and is second only to Great Britain. In steel, America will probably lead the world in 1 890, as may be seen from the following summary : 1850. 1870. i88i. Great Britain, United States, Germany, France, Tons. 49,000 22,000 Tons. 245,000 64,000 170,000 94,000 Tons. 1,780,000 1,374,000 865,000 418,000 2i8 Trmmphant Democracy. Probably the most rapid development of an industry that the world has ever seen is that of Bessemer steel in America. As the foregoing table shows, there were only sixty-four thousand tons of all kinds of steel made in 1870. Of this only forty thousand tons was Bessemer; twelve years later, 1882, the product was one million two hundred and fifty thousand tons. This is advan- cing not by leaps and bounds, it is one grand rush — a rush without pause, which has made America the greatest manufacturer of Bessemer steel in the world. Last year the Republic made one million three hundred and seventy-three thousand five hundred and thirteen tons, which was seventy-four thousand tons more than Great Britain made. In steel rails her superiority is even more marked. The output of Brit- ain was six hundred and forty-seven thousand tons against nine hundred and fifty-four thousand made in the United States. Pennsylvania wears the iron crown, nearly one-half the capital invested being there, while forty-six per cent, of the total product is contributed by it. Ohio ranks second. New York follows, with Illinois closely treading on her heels. The future outlook for the iron and steel industries of America is highly encouraging ; for iron-stone in greater or less quantities has been discovered in most of the newly-opened States of the West. The pro- duction of iron was commenced between 1870 and Manufactures. 219 1880 in no less than six States, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oregon, and Texas, and in New Hampshire in the East. These infant industries are rapidly de- veloping, but a great increase of population must take place near them before the aggregate product can reach a high figure. Pennsylvania will probably increase her iron and steel product in the future as fast as these new districts. Closely following the iron and steel manufactures comes the lumber trade, an industry peculiarly Amer- can. Since 1850 the value of annual product has increased fourfold, the capital employed having ad- vanced in nearly the same ratio. In 1880 this in- dustry gave employment to one hundred and forty- eight thousand hands, who received wages to the amount of nearly $32,000,000 (.£'6,400,000). The pro- duct was worth $233,268,729 (;£46,653,745). The prin- cipal seat of this industry is Michigan, a region which fifty years ago had not been invaded by the wood-cutter. The capital invested in the lumber trade in that State was nearly forty million dollars in 1880, or more than one-fifth of the total lumber investment of the country. The amount of superior timber cut in 1880 in the three principal lumbering States, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, was seven billion five hundred million feet. This is exclusive of many millions of railroad ties, staves, and sets of headings out of inferior wood. In the Southern States 2 20 Triumphant Democracy. more than one billion five hundred million feet of pine were cut in 1880; while it was estimated that there remained standing not less than two hundred and six- teen billion feet. But full statistics of the enormous quantities of wood available in the various States are unattainable. Texas is said to have twenty-one billion feet of loblolly pine, of which sixty-one and a half million feet were cut during 1880. At the present rate of cutting, the timber area of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota will last, allowing for growth, from twenty to twenty-five years ; but that of the South, which is four times as great, is said to be ample for an indefinite period. Enormous forests are being opened in Wash- ington Territory, Oregon, and Northern California. The cutting of trees may be conducted more methodically in the future than in the past, but there is little danger of the supply diminishing. There are vast regions in America where the raising of timber is the only cultivation possible, and other places where trees can be more profitably grown than anything else. This will always remain so, so that there need be no appre- hension either that the forests will be totally destroyed, or that the supply of merchantable lumber will fail. The quality and variety of American woods are almost too well known to need emphasis. The ash, cherry, maple, mahogany, walnut, and many other valuable varieties are exported to Europe, frequently cut and shaped, ready to be put together as finished work. Man ufachires. 221 The wealth of America's forests is illustrated by the collection of native woods in the New York Museum of Natural History, which comprises more than four hundred different varieties. The wealth of the Re- public would be but partially estimated if, upon Uncle Sam's great estate, we omitted the " growing timber," from the live oak of Southern Florida up to " the huge pine, hewn on, not Norwegian, but North-western hills." Foundry and machine shop products rank next in value. The value placed on these is more than $214,000,000 (^^42, 800, 000) ; so that the value of the iron industries of America, as indicated above, ought to be increased by this sum. Cotton manufactures have increased at a great rate in many lands, but nowhere so rapidly as in America. Those of England in 1880 were nearly six times greater than in 1830; those of America were eighteen and a half times greater. The competition of mother and child lands in this important industry is briefly shown by the following table, which also shows the small amount consumed by other countries : consumpt:on of cotton in million pounds. 1830. 1840. i860. 1870. 1880. Great Britain, United States, Germany, France, Various, 250 52 56 87 162 454 135 120 no 231 1,140 410 220 215 286 1,101 530 260 250 239 1,404 961 390 340 649 607 1,050 2,271 2,380 3,744 222 Triumphant Democracy. It appears from the above that the cotton industries of America have increased nearly three times as fast as those of the rest of the world. The mother land still leads finely in the race however. Grand, plucky little racer ! One dislikes to see a big, overgrown giant chasing you with his seven-league boots on; but do not be too much discouraged. He is your own son and bodes no harm. You taught him of what his strain is capable. The prize will still remain in the family. You who love primogeniture so dearly (every one to his taste) surely cannot grudge your eldest boy anything. At the beginning of the century, although the cotton crop was only one seventy-seventh what it was in 1880, only two per cent, of it was manufactured at home, as against thirty-one per cent, in 1881. In this, as in many other industries, we see the parent and child land in friendly rivalry absorbing the great bulk, and leaving the rest of the world nowhere in the race. Thus the two Nations combined take two-thirds of the whole, and leave but one-third for the rest of the world. The capital invested in cotton manufacture in the United States in 1880 was $208,000,000 (;£'4i, 600,000), the num- ber of operatives was one hundred and seventy-two thousand five hundred and fifty-four, who received in wages $42,000,000 (^^8,400,000). The value of the product exceeded $192,000,000, (nearly ^40,000,000). Compared with the figures of the previous decade, the Manufactures. 223 capital shows forty-seven per cent, increase, number of looms forty-nine per cent, increase, number of oper- atives twenty-eight per cent., and cotton consumed fifty-eight per cent. It is a noteworthy fact that the American method of cotton manufacture is the most economical of labor in the world. An American oper- ative deals with one-sixth more material than the British operative ; one-third more than the German, two and a half times as much as the French or Aus- trian, and five times as much as the Russian. This may be in part explained by the fact that the propor- tion of men is greater in American than in European factories ; though the superior nature of American machinery is the main cause of difference. The na- tive American, and even the acclimatized European, is not content to remain in any position which he thinks can be as well or better filled by a machine. If there is no such machine in existence, he sets his wits to work and invents one, and the patent laws of the country give him ample protection at a merely nominal cost. This is the chief reason why America produces more per head than any other country. The American woollen industry also has expanded greatly during recent years. Since i860 it has in- creased threefold, an increase six times as great as that of Britain, which, during the same period, was only fifty per cent. In 1880 the United States were 224 Triumphant Democracy. hardly behind Britain in product, the total manufac- tures being as follows : United Kingdom, United States, Million Pounds. 338 320 Pounds per In- habitant. 6.6 Value. ^46,100,000 43,000,000 Since 1880 the Republic has no doubt left her parent far in the rear. In 1883-4 about three hundred and ninety-six million pounds of wool were consumed in the United States, and three hundred and twenty- million pounds of this was grown at home. The wool production is now about six times greater than it was twenty-five years ago ; and already exportations are assuming important figures. Uncle Sam may be des- tined soon to clothe, as well as to feed, his European brother. The capital invested in woollen manufacture in 1880 was about nineteen million sterling. The hands em- ployed exceeded eighty-six thousand, who received wages to the amount of $26,000,000 (more than ;£'5,ooo,- 000), an average of nearly $300 (;^6o) each. Although between 1870 and 1880 the capital invested increased to twenty-one and one-half per cent., the number of establishments decreased thirty-one per cent. As ma- chinery is improved and elaborated, its cost tends to put small capitalists out of the competition and to increase Man ufactures. 225 the average size of the manufacturing establishments. That great improvement in machinery took place during the decade is shown by the fact that the value per hand added to the materials by manufacture increased seventeen and one-fourth per cent.; and that concen- tration of labor into larger establishments occurred, is shown by an increase of seventy-six and one-half per cent, in the average capital per establishment, and an increase of fifty-eight per cent, in number of hands per establishment. The manufacture of mixed textiles for 1880 reached a value of $66,250,000 (iJi 3,250,000). Silk manufac- tures employed capital to the amount of $19,000,000 (^^'3, 800,000), and labor to the amount of thirty- one thousand hands who received $9,146,705 (;^i,829,- 341) in wages. The net value of materials used was $18,- 500,000 (^3,700,000) and value of the products $34,500,- 000 (^6,900,000). Worsted goods were valued the same year at $33,000,000 (^^6,600,000) while hosiery and knit goods reached $29,000,000 (^5,800,000). In the carpet trade, which is of recent origin, we have another example of the concentration of capital and labor in large establishments. Since 1870 the decrease in the number of establishments has been marked. Yet has the capital nearly doubled, and the product increased eighty-three per cent, in the decade. For 1880 the pro- duct was worth $21,750,000 (^^4,350,000), and consisted of twenty-two million yards of two-ply ingrains, nine and 15 2 26 Trhi,inphant Democracy. one-half million yards of tapestry, four million yards of Brussels, and half that quantity of Venetian carpets. One is startled to find that more yards of carpet are manufactured in and around the city of Philadelphia alone than in the whole of Great Britain. It is not twenty years since the American imported his carpets, and now he makes more at one point than the greatest European manufacturing nation does in all its territory. Truly the old lands are fast becoming petty little com- munities ; their populations so small, their products so trifling, in comparison with those of the Giant of the West! The manufacture of boots and shoes is one of the oldest and most important industries of America. It is also one of the best developed — developed not simply in regard to size, but in perfection of methods. Here machinery seems to have reached its culmination. The human hand does little but guide the material from machine to machine, and the hammering, the stamping, and sewing are all done by the tireless energy of steam. It is no fiction to say that men put leather into the machine at one end, and it comes out a perfect fitting boot at the other. By means of such a machine, a man can make three hundred pairs of boots in a day, and a single factory in Massachusetts turns out as many pairs yearly as thirty-two thousand bootmakers in Paris. In 1880 America had three thousand one hundred of these mechanical St. Crispins, making new pedal coverings Maniifactures. 227 every four months for fifty million people. The old fashioned cobbler with last and " taching-end " is as surely doomed to extinction as the New Zealand Maori. Even the small capitalist who is willing to adopt the most approved methods when able, finds himself placed hors de combat by his stronger rivals. In 1870 America had three thousand one hundred and fifty-one bootmak- ing establishments, employing ninty-one thousand seven hundred and two men. Ten years later the workmen had increased to one hundred and eleven thousand one hundred and fifty-two, but the number of establishments had fallen to one thousand nine hundred and fifty-nine, a decrease of nearly thirty-eight per cent. Even yet machinery continues to be improved. In the decade ending 1880 the increased number of hands was but twenty-one and one-quarter per cent., but the increased value of products was forty-one and a half per cent. The increase of capital was forty-three and one-quarter per cent. How far the concentration of capital is destined to go, no one can foretell. The survival of the fittest means here the survival of the most economical ; and that large establishments are more economical than small ones is proved by the non-survival of the latter. It is probable that the only limit to the concentration of labor is that imposed by the capacity of the directing mind which presides over it. There are many other industries which claim by their importance some mention here ; but lest details 228 Trhmiphant Democ7^acy. should become tiresome to the reader there is ap- pended, in tabular form, a few particulars of the most important industries hitherto unnamed. But even the most conscientious reader is hereby specially permitted —and advised — to skip this table. The author did not make it, you know, and he is only sohcitous for the text. Manufacture. Estab- lish- ments. Capital. Hands. Wages. Value of Pro- duct. Leather Currying, Tanning, . . . Slrip Building, Paper Glass, .... Dyeing & Finishing. Sugar & Molasses, Printing & Publish- 2,319 3,105 2,188 692 21 I 191 $16,878,520 50,222,054 20,979,874 46,421,202 19,844,699 26,223,981 11,053 23,821 21,345 24,422 24,177 $4,845,413 9,204,243 12,713,830 8,525,355 9,144,100 $71,351,297 113.348,336 36,800,327 55,109,914 21,154,571 32,297,420 i55,484.9'5 90,789,442 68,640,486 68,037,902 64,951,617 38,173.658 209,548,460 32,004,794 27,997,591 22,653,693 13,863,188 Agricultural Imple- ments Carriages & Wag- ons Drugs & Chemicals, Clothing (Men's) Ready Made, . Clothing (Women's) Ready Made, . Railroad & Street Cars, .... Hardware, . . Sewing Machines, In this table the two items which will probably most excite surprise, are those which seem to tell us that the sober-suited male spends six times as much for his Ma n ufa ctu res. 229 clothes as the more gaudily dressed branch of the race. The explanation of this is found in the enormous devel- opment of ready-made clothing in the country. Let any one stop for a moment at the windows of one of these establishments, which generally occupy entire squares in most of the cities, and notice at what extremely low prices quite respectable clothing is offered, and if he be a British visitor few sights will more surprise him. Prices are not above those in Britain, and the clothing is better made ; the material may however not be quite so good, for a mixture of inferior stuff is suspected in the home product. Still it is excellent and serviceable, and is constantly improving in quality. There is seen in this branch another development of the wholesale idea, which gives America its good and cheap watches and many other things. In the manufacture of mens' cloth- ing men are divided into classes and a thousand suits are cut and sewed by machinery for each class from the same material. Only the misshapen man is nov/ compelled to be measured and fitted by himself. The garments adapted for boys' wear offered by these whole- sale manufacturers are so much more varied in style, and so much cheaper than can be obtained from smaller tailors, that this branch may be said to be entirely monopolized by the manufacturers. Prices are lower than those prevailing in Britain for similar garments. Not only the working classes but all except the few rich are fast becoming patrons of these ready-made establish- 230 Triumphant Democracy. ments which, it may be mentioned, do a strictly cash business. This in itself is one reason for their low prices, and it exerts a decided influence for good upon the habits of the poorer people. Here again we have that law of concentration which seems inseparable from man- ufacturing, the smaller being constantly merged into the greater factories. When we come to the dress of delightful, vain woman, however, we have a total arrest of this concentration. Her tastes or whims are so numerous, so diverse, that she must express herself in her dress, and sometimes very loudly too; still in this we can at least askthe world to judge between the monarchy and the Democracy with- out fear of the verdict. The American woman of all classes sets an example to her monarchical sister in dress. The full-blown wife of the local magnate from the provin- ces decked out in all the colors of the rainbow, and appar- ently with a ram-rod down her back, which extends high through her neck too, and probably divides into two prongs midway, one going down each leg to her feet, — that spectacle has no compeer upon this side of the water. Even the wife of the California miner who has "made his pile," or of the Pennsylvania speculator who has "struck oil," seems to submit herself to a tolerable dress- maker before she appears in public in New York or Washington. Still there is no possibility of success if the attempt were made to manufacture a thousand bon- nets or dresses of any one pattern; that any other woman Mamifacitires. 231 had one of these would render the next hideous, posi- tively offensive to the esthetic sense of the second pur- chaser. The guarantee required by the purchaser of a fashionable bonnet apparently is that it can be wor- shipped without breaking the commandment. There must be nothing like it in the heavens above nor in the earth beneath nor in the waters under the earth ; and in many cases there is not. For this reason, if it be a reason at all, we find the census reporting that men spend six times the sum that women do upon clothing. Were the receipts known and reported of the thousands of small retail dressmakers who supply the principal parts of women's dress we should no doubt find these figures more than reversed. The power used in manufactures in the United States is equal to three million four hundred and ten thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven horse power — a force capable of raising a weight of seventeen billion tons one foot high. Of this force sixty-four per cent, is steam power and thirty-six per cent, water power. The increase of total power between 1870 and 1880 was forty-five per cent. In the same time the increase in product of manufactures was fifty-eight per cent., another sign of improved machinery. The increase of power per hand in all branches of manufacture amounted to ten per cent., which indicates the extent of the transfer from manual to mechanical power during that period. 232 Triumphant Democracy. The transfer is still going on, and man is ever get- ting Nature to work more and more for him. A hun- dred years ago she did little but grow his corn, meat, and wool. Now she cuts the corn, gathers, binds, threshes, grinds, bakes it into bread, and carries it to his door. The wool she spins, weaves, and sews into garments, and then stops not until she has placed it within the future wearer's reach, be he ever so far away. Or she will carry him wheresoever his lordly desire may lead him. Across continents and under seas she flies with his messages. Ever obedient, ever untiring, ever ready, she grows more responsive and willing in pro- portion as her lord makes more demands upon her. Already she has taken to herself the drudgery which long burdened man ; and under triumphant Democracy she is ever seizing on other work to relieve him, and leave his life freer for happiness. In other lands men are not so happy. Instead of making conquests over nature, they strive for conquests over each other, incited thereto by selfish and conceited kings and self- styled noblemen. But the end is near. It is probable that it is by an industrial conquest feudalism and standing armies in Europe are to be overcome ; and that has already begun. America, blessed land of peace, is inundating the world not only with her pro- ducts, but with her gospel of the equality of man as man, and the old-time nations will soon be forced to divert their energies from war to peaceful work. ■ ' Manufactures. 233 The position America has acquired not only as a manufacturer of the coarser products but of more artis- tic articles is remarkable. In all articles of silverware, for instance, no nation competes successfully with her. A New York establishment, which dwarfs all other simi- lar establishments in the world, carried off the gold medal for artistic work in silver at the Paris Exhibition of 1855, and also of 1878 ; also the gold medal from the Emperor of Russia. Twenty per cent, of all its enor- mous manufacture of silverware is now sold abroad. In this branch, as in engraving, the republican workman has achieved pre-eminence. This is but the beginning of his triumphs in the higher branches of art. Others are as certain to follow as the sun is to shine, for the manhood and intelligence of the workman, his position of equality in the State, must find expression in his work. We have an interesting example of republican suc- cess in another branch of manufacture — that of watches. It is not very long since every watch carried by the American was imported. To-day America exports watches largely to most foreign countries and especially to Europe. These indispensable articles were formerly made by hand in small factories. Switzerland, that land of cheap labor, was the principal seat of the manufac- ture. Thirty-five years ago the American conceived the idea of making watches by machinery upon a gigantic scale. The principal establishment made only five 2 34 Triumphant Democracy. watches per day as late as 1854. Now thirteen hundred per day is the daily task, and six thousand watches per month are sent to the London agency. Three other similar establishments, conducted upon the same general plan, are kept busily employed. In short the Republic is now the world's watchmaker. Notwithstanding the fact that labor is paid more than double that of Europe, the immense product, the superior skill of the workman, and the numerous American inventions connected with the business, enable the republican to outstrip all his rivals. It will soon be so in all articles which can be made of one pattern in great numbers, for in such cases the enormous home market of the American takes so much more of any article than the home market of any other manufacturer that he is enabled to carry on the business upon a gigantic scale, and dispose of his surplus abroad. In confirmation of this view let us take the manufacture of thread, for which the two great firms at Paisley, Scotland, are so justly celebrated the world over. The pioneer firm began operations in Paisley in 1798, the other followed in 1820. They began to manufacture in the United States in 1866 and 1869 — ?iot twenty years ago. Yet their combined capital in works upon this side already about equals their capital in Paisley, the product of sixty years' growth. In other words, twenty years in the Republic has equalled sixty in Scotland. In twenty years more Clark & Coates will in all probability Manufactures. 235 consider their original home works in dear old monar- chical Paisley as but a branch of the main stem in the great Republic. Another illustration of the same character is seen in the manufacture of pig-iron. The writer well remembers raising a laugh not twenty years ago at the table of one of the Scotch iron kings, the Bairds, by prophesying that even their enormous product would soon be reached by a manufacturing concern in America. Where would the laugh be now ? The Bairds do not produce nearly as much to-day as the American concern, and next year the diifference in favor of the republican manufacturer will be much greater, as his capacity is constantly being increased to meet the swelling demands of the new country. So it is in every branch of manufacture, so rapidly is the child land dwarfing her illustrious mother. One has only to have faith in the Republic. She never yet betrayed the head that trusted, or the heart that loved her. In Mr. Pidgeon's clever book," Old World Questions and New World Answers," which is, upon the whole, the best book of its kind that I know of, we find the author unerringly placing his finger upon the one se- cret of the Republic's success, viz. : the respect in which labor is held. If I wished to indicate one of the sharp- est contrasts between men in the world, and few will deny my right to judge here, I should say that which exists between the artisan in monarchical Britain and 236 TrhiTHphant Democracy. republican America. I echo every word Mr. Pidgeon says : " Gloze it over as we may, there is a great gulf fixed between the ideas of Old and New England on this radical question of the dignity of work. Our industrial occupations consist, speaking generally, of mere money-spinning. The places where, and the people by whom, we carry them on, are cared for economically, and that is all. It is not in our business, but by our "position," that we shine in the eyes of ourselves and our neighbors. The social code of this country drives, yearly, numbers of young men, issuing from our public schools and universities, either into the over-crowded learned professions or into government clerkships, whose narrow round of irresponsible duties benumbs originality, and weakens self-reliance. Capable, educated girls are pining for a " career " in England, while posts, even the most important, are filled in New England by " young ladies," the equals of ours in everything which that phrase denotes, and their superiors in all the qualities that are born of effort and self-help. It is no one's fault, and I am not going to rail at the inevitable. We were originally a feudal country, and cannot escape the influence of our traditions. The man who does service for another was a ' villein ' in the feudal times, and is an ' inferior ' now ; just as a man of no occu- pation is a 'gentleman,' and a governess a ' person.' Use has made us unconscious of the fact that the 'dignity of work' is a mere phrase in our mouths, while it blinds us to the loss of national energy, which avenges outraged labor. " Let us look to it, while the battle of free trade rages across the Atlantic, as rage it soon will, that we import some American readiness and grip into our board-rooms and offices, some sense of the dignity of labor mto our workshops." Manufactures. 237 This writer truthfully gives the facts, but into the causes of this sense of the dignity of labor in the Republic, and its absence in the Monarchy, he has not ventured to seek. Let me supply this lack. If you found a State upon the monarchical idea which neces- sarily carries with it an aristocracy, by so much more as you exalt this royal family and aristocracy you inev- itably degrade all who are not of these classes. That is clear. If at the pinnacle you place people who are exempt from honest labor and despise it, whether such labor be that rendered by ministers, physicians, law- yers, teachers, or other professional men, or trades- men or mechanics ; if you create a court from which people in trade, and artisans, are excluded ; if you support a monarch who declines to have one in trade or a wage receiving man presented to her, thus entail- ing upon honest labor the grossest insult, what can be the result of the system but a community in which the dignity of labor has not only no place but one in which, as in Britain, labor is actually looked down upon ! This is the very essence of the monarchical idea. The Queen of Great Britain grossly insults labor every moment of her life by declining to recognize it. And all her entourage, from the Duke who walks backwards before "the Lord's anointed" for four thousand a year, down or up to the groom of the stole — whatever that may be — necessarily cherish the same contempt for those who lead useful lives of labor. 238 Triumphant Democracy. Mr. Pidgeon would cure this evil of his country by giving a better education to the people. So far, so good, but until this educated people goes to the root of the evil and sweeps away the present foundation upon which their government rests and founds in its place a government resting upon the equality of the citizen, he may legislate from June to January, year after year, and labor will still hold no honored place in the State. How can it ever be even respected so long as a mon- arch and a court and an aristocracy despise and insult it. " Nature rejects the monarch, not the man ; The subject not the citizen ; for kings And subjects, mutual foes, for ever play A losing game into each other's hand, Whose stakes are vice and misery.'' Never will the British artisan rival the American until from his system are expelled the remains of serfdom and into his veins is instilled the pure blood of exalted manhood. Ah, Mr, Pidgeon ! you should know that before you can have an intelligent, self- respecting, inventive artisan, like the American, the State must first make him a man. Of course we hear the response to all this from the ostrich class : Britons have done pretty well, have they not ? So far they have managed not only to hold their own in the world, but to successfully invade many provinces naturally belonging to others. Have not the British race come out ahead ? Granted, and why ? Manufactures. 239 Because until recently they have had as competing races those less free, and therefore less -men than themselves. Compare a Briton and his political liberties with a Ger- man, or with any Continental race and the law I indi- cate receives confirmation. The freer the citizen, the grander the national triumphs. Who questions that the overthrow of the doctrine of the divine right of kings and the supreme authority of Parliament have not exerted a powerful influence upon the national character. And when a new race appears which enjoys political equality, shall the law not hold good, and the prize fall to the freest and therefore to the best man ? And this is precisely what is going on before our eyes. Will any competent judge of the two countries upon this vital point dispute the immense superiority of the republican workman ? Will not Mr. Howard of Bedford, for instance, or Mr. Lowthian Bell, or Mr. Windsor Richards, or Mr. Edward Martin — all of whom have in- vestigated the subject — will they not tell their fellow- countrymen as I tell them, and as Mr. Pidgeon tells them, that the Citizen leads the subject. The theory of the equal status of the workingman in the State here lies at the root of his superiority, both as a citizen and as a skilled workman. We find that in handling a shovel (which few native Americans do), the British man in his cool climate can do more work than his fellow- countryman can do, or at least than he does here ; but when we come to educated skilled labor, the aver- 240 Triumphant Democracy. age Briton is not in the race. Nor will he be until he too is subject to no man, but the proud citizen of a commonwealth founded upon political equality. The stuff is in him, but the laws of his country stifle it at his birth, and prevent its proper development all the years of his life. The struggle for existence has already begun afresh, this time other weapons than the spear and sword. European nations must rid themselves of the weight they now carry if they would not fall further and further behind in the race. The people must first take their political rights, and secure perfect equality under the laws. This obtained, the rest is easy, for the people of all countries are pacific and bear nothing but good will to each other. Where ill will has grown it is the work of hereditary rulers and military classes, not responsible to the masses. From the jealousies and personal ambitions of these, the people are hap- pily free, and hence from their advent to power there must come a rapid diversion of force from international war into the peaceful channels of industrial development. The reign of the Democracy means ultimately no less than the reign of peace on earth, among men good will. CHAPTER XI. MINING. " Deep in unfathomable mines Of never-failing sliill, He treasures up liis vast designs And worlds his sovereign will." In preceding chapters the superlative form of ad- jectives has been so often appHed to America when contrasted with other lands, that many a foreign reader, who now for the first time realizes the magnitude and greatness of the Republic, may not unnaturally begin to feel dubious about it all. He may be inclined to believe that it is not a veritable nation to which such magnificent attributes are ascribed, but some fabled land of Atlantis. Nevertheless it is all real and true. The Republic is surely, as we have already seen, the largest, most populous, wealthiest civilized nation in the world, and also the greatest agricultural, pastoral, and manu- facturing nation. And now we have one more claim to make — it is the greatest mining nation as well. Greatest on the surface of the soil, as she undoubtedly is, her supremacy below the surface is yet more incontestible. Over every part of the vast continent Nature has lavished her bounties in a profusion almost wasteful. 16 242 Triimiphant Democracy. Beneath fields of waving corn, ripening in a perfect climate, are layers upon layers of mineral wealth. De- posits of gold, silver, coal, iron, copper are found in quantities unknown elsewhere, and the rocks yield every year rivers of oil. To crov/n her bounty and aid in its utilization, and, as if in pursuance of the law " To him that hath shall be given," Nature has lately blessed her with a gift as remarkable as it is rare — an agent rich in beneficial influences, and helpful to a degree which renders every other natural gift prosaic in comparison — natural gas, a fluid distilled by nature deep in the earth and stored in her own vast gasome- ters, requiring only to be led into workshops and under boilers to do there the work of a thousand giants. Let me describe this new wonder first. Seven years ago a company was drilling for petroleum at Murrays- ville, near Pittsburgh. A depth of one thousand three hundred and twenty feet had been reached when the drills were thrown high into the air, and the derrick broken to pieces and scattered around by a tremendous explosion of gas, which rushed with hoarse shriekings into the air, alarming the population for miles around. A light was applied, and immediately there leaped into life a fierce, dancing demon of fire, hissing and swirling around with the wind, and scorching the earth in a wide circle around it. Thinking it was but a temporary out- burst preceding the oil, men allowed this valuable fuel to waste for five years. Coal in that region cost only Mining. 243 two or three shillings per ton, and there was little in- ducement to sink capital in attempts to supersede it with a fuel which, though cheaper, might fail as sud- denly as it had arisen. But as the years passed, and the giant leaped and danced as madly as at first, a company was formed to provide for the utilization of the gas. It was conducted in pipes under the boilers of iron works, where it burned without a particle of smoke. Stokers and firemen, and all the laborers who had been required to load and unload coal, became superfluous. Boring began in other districts, and soon around Pittsburgh were twenty gas wells, one yielding thirty million cubic feet a day. A single well has fur- nished gas equal to twelve hundred tons of coal a day. Numerous lines of pipes, aggregating six hundred miles, now convey the gas from the wells to the manufactur- ing centres of Pittsburgh and Alleghany City and their suburbs. The empty coal bunkers are being white- washed ; and where in some works one hundred and twenty coal-begrimed stokers worked like black demons in Hades feeding the fires, one man now walks about in cleanly idleness, his sole care that of watching the steam and water-guages. The erstwhile " Smoky City " is now getting a pure atmosphere ; and one would little suspect that the view from the cliffs above the Monongahela River included the thousand hitherto smoky furnaces of the Iron City. Private residences in Pittsburgh are supplied with natural gas, and all heat- 244 Triumphant Democracy. ing and cooking are done with this cheap fuel. Already ten thousand tons of coal per day are displaced by it, and slack, which even before the application of natural gas was worth only three shillings per ton in Pittsburgh, is now almost worthless. At present gas wells in and around Pittsburgh are so numerous as to be counted by hundreds. The number of companies chartered to supply natural gas in Pennsylvania up to February 5, 1884, was one hundred and fifty, represent- ing a capital stock of many millions. Since that date numerous other charters have been granted. More than sixty wells have been drilled at Erie, Penn. Gas has also been found in small quantities in the States of Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Ala- bama, Kansas, Dakota, and California. It is used for manufacturing purposes upon a small scale in eight towns in New York, in twenty-four towns in Pennsyl- vania, and in five in Ohio, but so far the region around Pittsburgh is the only one in which the much-desired fuel has been found in abundance. New uses are con- stantly being discovered. Glass is made purer by means of the gas, the covered pots formerly used in the fur- naces being found unnecessary. Iron and steel plates are cleaned and prepared for tinning by passing a cur- rent of gas over them while red-hot. The old process of pickling in acid solutions caused partial corrosion of the plates, which required to be carefully cleaned from the acid. It is also useful in cleansing delicate Mining. i>' 245 fabrics. The dephosphorization of iron through the agency of natural gas is being attempted, with partial success. The attempts, however, have resulted in the formation of carbon, which has been found suitable for electric light carbons. In every department of industry discoveries are constantly being made which, if not so important as those named, are yet of great value. The gas at present running to waste within piping distance of Pittsburgh is estimated at seventy million cubic feet per day ! Closely allied to natural gas is natural oil or petro- leum, for gas is probably the distilled product of the oil, forced by subterranean heat and pressure out of the car- bonaceous deposits which abound throughout Pennsyl- vania. Though rock-oil was known to the early Chal- deans, and is referred to by Herodotus, Pliny, and other ancient writers, it was not utilized for manufacturing purposes until 1847, when Young, of Glasgow, made lub- ricating oil from petroleum obtained from Derbyshire, England. Then began in England and America the distillation of oil from coal ; and in i860 there were in the United States not less than forty factories producing about five hundred barrels per day. But these were doomed to speedy extinction ; for in the preceding year a company had been formed in Pennsylvania to drill for the oil which was seen oozing in various places, from the river banks and floating on the water. The Indians, by spreading blankets over the surface, used to collect small 246 Triumphant Democracy. quantities of this oil to mix with their war-paint and for medicinal purposes. Crude petroleum, under the name of Seneca oil, had, so late as thirty years ago, the reputa- tion of a universal curative. The quack advertisements which set forth the virtues of this medicine began: "The healthful balm, from nature's secret spring, The bloom of health and life to man will bring; As from her depths the magic liquid flows, To calm our sufferings and assuage our woes.'' It sold then for $2 i^s) per bottle. Alas for human credulity ! Since the oil, which once cured everything, brings but one dollar per barrel it has lost all virtue, and cures nothing. The first drilling in Pennsylvania resulted in a flow of ten barrels a day, which was sold for fifty cents a gallon. A period of wild excitement followed. Wells were sunk all over the country. Some were failures, but oil was often reached. Of one well it is recorded that it yielded four hundred and fifty thousand barrels of oil in a little more than two years, while another is said to have given not less than half a million barrels in a twelve- month. An oil property. Storey Farm, Oil Creek, with which I was intimately connected, has a remarkable history. When, about twenty-two years ago, in com- pany with some friends I first visited this famous well, the oil was running into the creek, where a few flat-bottomed scows lay filled with it, ready to be floated Mining. 247 down to the Alleghany River upon an agreed-upon day- each week, when the creek was flooded by means of a temporary dam. This was the beginning of the natural oil business. We purchased the farm for $40,000 (;£'8,000), and so small was our faith in the ability of the earth to yield for any considerable time the hundred barrels per day which the property was then producing, that we decided to make a pond capable of holding one hundred thousand barrels of oil, which we estimated would be worth, when the supply ceased, $1,000,000 (^^200,000). Unfortunately for us the pond leaked fearfully ; evaporation also caused much loss, but we continued to run oil in to make the losses good day after day until several hundred thousand barrels had gone in this fashion. Our experience with the farm may be worth reciting. Its value rose to $5,000,000 (;f 1,000,000); that is, the shares of the com- pany sold in the market upon this basis ; and one year it paid in cash dividends $1,000,000 (;£'200,ooo) ^rather a good return upon an investment of eight thousand pounds. So great was the yield in the district that in two years oil became almost valueless, often selling in bulk as low as thirty cents per barrel, and not unfrequently it was suffered to run to waste as utterly worthless. But as new uses were found for the oil, prices rose again, and to remove the difficulty of high freights, pipes were laid, first for short distances, and then to the seaboard, a distance of about three hundred miles. Through these 248 Triumphant Democracy. pipes, of which six thousand two hundred miles have been laid, the oil is now pumped from two thousand one hundred wells. It costs only ten cents to pump a barrel of oil to the Atlantic. The present daily yield of the oil- producing district is about seventy thousand barrels, and the supply, instead of diminishing, goes on increasing yearly. More than thirty-eight million barrels of thirty- three gallons each were in store one day in November, 1884. The value of petroleum and its products ex- ported up to January, 1884, exceeds in value $625,- 000,000 (;^ 1 2 5, 000,000). In the Pittsburgh district we find another mineral deposit of immense value, a remarkable coal seam of great thickness, which makes a coke of such quality as to render it famous throughout the continent. It is so easily mined that a man and a boy can dig and load nearly thirty tons in ten hours. In Chicago, and in St. Louis, in the blast furnaces of Pittsburgh and in the silver and lead mines of Utah, this coke, "compact, silvery and lustrous," is an important factor in the metallic industries of the Republic. It gives Pitts- burgh advantages which cause it to rank as an iron pro- ducer in advance of towns situated on the very beds of iron-stone. Well may the Iron City burst into song : " I am monarch of all the forges, I have solved the riddle of fire ; The amen of nature to need of man Echoes at my desire. Mining. 249 I search with the subtle soul of flame The heart of the rocky earth, And hot from my anvils the prophecies Of the miracle years blaze forth. " I am swart with the soot of my chimneys, I drip with the sweat of toil; I quell and scepter the savage wastes And charm the curse from the soil. I fling; the bridges across the gulfs That hold us from the To Be, And build the roads for the bannered march Of crowned Humanity." In the same lucky State of Pennsylvania are deposits of valuable anthracite coal, which, though including in all an area of only four hundred and seventy square miles, are of immense thickness. These deposits, which in parts vary from fifty to seven hundred feet thick, and average about seventy feet, make this wonderful region of greater value than many coal fields of ten times the area. Near Pottsville there is a thickness of three thousand three hundred feet of coal measures. The cubic contents of the anthracite coal field, allowing fifty per cent, for loss in working, is estimated at thirteen billion one hundred and eighty million five hundred and thirty-five thousand tons of merchant- able coal — a store capable of furnishing the present consumption, or thirty million tons per year, for four hundred and thirty-nine years. By that time 250 Triumphant Democracy. men will probably be burning the hydrogen of water, or be fully utilizing the solar rays, or the tidal energy, or using some undiscovered means of profitably getting heat and power by diverting natural phenomena. They will probably not feel the want of anthracite coal. At present, however, this fuel is especially precious on ac- count of its hardness, density, and purity, which render it available for iron smelting without coking, while to its freedom from smoke is due the pure atmosphere of Eastern American cities. The view from Brooklyn Bridge would delight a Londoner, used to the murky atmosphere of the English metropolis. He would see the roofs and chimneys of two great cities for miles, but hardly a particle of smoke to mar the purity of the bright air, or sully a sky which rivals that of Italy in clearness. In twenty-five States and Territories, distributed all over the continent, north, south, east, and west, from Alabama to Rhode Island and thence to California and Oregon, coal is now being mined, while it is known to exist in several others. The future value of this exten- sive distribution of coal can be but vaguely estimated ; but taken in connection with the fact that iron ore is found in nearly every State of the Union and is mined in twenty-nine of them, it is clear that its value in the near future will be enormous. A vast expansion is taking place in the coal industry : in 1850 the total prod- uct was but seven and a quarter million tons; in 1880 it Mining. 251 was seventy-one million tons, and in 1884 it reached ninety-seven and a half million tons. Including the local and colliery consumption the figures for 1884 approximate one hundred and seven million tons. That of Great Britain for the same year was one hundred and sixty million tons. The rest of the world produced only one hundred and thirty million tons ; so that mother and child lands together produced more than twice as much coal as all the world beside. To the world's stock of gold America has contribu- ted, according to Mulhall, more than fifty per cent. In 1880 he estimated the amount of gold in the world at ten thousand three hundred and fifty-five tons, worth 17,240,000,000 (^1,448,000,000). Of this the New World contributed five thousand three hundred and two tons, or more than half. Australia and the United States have competed keenly during the last thirty years for precedence, but it remains with the Republic. The struggle is thus indicated : MILLIONS STERLING. 1851-60. 1861-70. 1871-S0. 70 72 THIRTY YEARS. United States, .... Australia, .... 102 104 98 82 270 258 In 1881-2-3 the Republic was leading by $4,000,000 (^^800,000) per year. The world's production of gold during the above thirty years was worth $3,930,000,000 252 Triumphant Democracy. (;^786,ooo,ooo) ; so that Australia and America pro- duced together about five-sevenths of the whole. The yearly production of gold in the United States since 1880 has averaged $31,250,000 (;£'6,250,ooo), being one- third of the total product of the world. Of silver America has contributed to the world's supply even in larger ratio than of gold. Of the one hundred and ninety-three thousand tons estimated to have been produced during the last five hundred years, the Americas contributed one hundred and sixty-two thousand two hundred tons, or eighty-four per cent. Though this was mainly the product of Mexico and Peru, the United States of late years have come to the front. The following table gives the world's produc- tion since 1850 : - , MILLIONS STERLING. 1851-60. 1861-70. 1871-80. THIRTY YEARS. Spanish America, United States .... Germany and Austria, Various, 49 10 IS 7 64 16 18 12 70 68 20 22 94 53 41 81 no 180 371 The difference between sixteen and sixty-eight marks the increase of silver-mining in the Republic which has taken place in ten years — an increase almost in- credible. One of the most remarkable veins of metal Mining. 253 known is the Comstock Lode in Nevada. This lode, to which Mark Twain has given a European celebrity by his description in " Roughing It," is of great width, and extends over five miles. It is as if Oxford Street and Uxbridge Road were filled to the house-tops with rich gold and silver ore from Holborn Viaduct to Acton. In fourteen years this single vein yielded $180,000,000 (;£'36,ooo,ooo). In one year, 1876, the product of the lode was $18,000,000 (;^3,6oo,ooo) in gold and $20,500,- 000 (;£'4, 1 00,000) in silver — a total of $38,500,000 (^^7,700,000). Here, again, is something which the world never saw before ! Since 1880 the annual product of silver in the United States has averaged $46,200,000 (;^9,240,ooo). If the present rate of increase is main- tained until 1890, the next decade will show a hundred million sterling as the Republic's addition to the silver of the world. The increase from sixteen to sixty-eight in ten years is remarkable ; but it is more wonderful that the rate should be maintained. America also leads the world in copper, the United States and Chili contributing nearly one-half the world's supply. The product of the Republic has increased sixfold since i860. In that year the total product was five thousand three hundred and eighty- eight tons ; in 1870 twelve thousand six hundred tons; in 1880 twenty-seven thousand tons, and the yield for 1884 was no less than sixty-three thousand five hundred and fifty-five tons ! There's revolution for you ! From 2 54 Triumphant Democracy. six hundred and fifty tons in 1850 to sixty-three thou- sand ! On the south shore of Lake Superior this metal is found almost pure in masses of all sizes up to many tons in weight. It was used by the native Indians, and traces of their rude mining operations are still visible. One mine in this district, known as the Calumet and Hecla, produces nearly thirty per cent, of the whole copper output of the United States — about eighteen thousand tons in 1884. It paid its owners $4,000,000 (.^800,000) for two years' dividends. Copper mining is carried on in twenty-one States and Territories, and ore has been found in several others. This industry is rapidly developing, and doubtless before the next cen- sus the annual output will be double what it is now. In 1870 the importation of lead into the United States amounted to forty-two thousand tons. In ten years this had fallen to four thousand tons. Then the tables were turned and the United States, instead of importing lead, began to send it abroad, although in small quantities. In 1884 it was exported to the amount of twenty-six thousand pounds. This implies a rapid development of lead mining in the Republic. Indeed, in 1880, America was the first lead producing country in the world, though Mulhall places her slightly behind Spain. The progress of the industry is shown in the following table, which also indicates the stages of the competition : , ■ , ■ , Mining. 255 METRIC TONS. 1S3O. 1850. 1880. 1883. Great Britain, Spain, ...... United States (Mulhall), . United States (Whitney & Caswell), . 48,000 23,000 3,700 8,000 55,000 27,000 36,000 22,000 51,000 92,000 89,000 97.825 39.817 127,000 140,000 The difference in the two American estimates for 1880 is probably due to the fact that the census statistics of the production of lead are only partial. In Utah, for example, which is not reported as producing any, lead is mined and smelted in connection with silver. Its pro- duct in 1880 was fifteen thousand net tons, and that of Nevada sixteen thousand six hundred and fifty-nine. The product of Colorado alone was thirty-five thou- sand six hundred and seventy-eight tons. The lead district of the upper Mississippi and of eastern Missouri jointly produced twenty-seven thousand six hundred and ninety tons, while another district of south-western Missouri and southeastern Kansas is reported to have produced twenty-two thousand six hundred and twenty- five tons the previous year. So that even the larger es- timate would probably have to be increased, were accu- rate figures at hand. Caswell's estimate for 1884 is one hundred and forty thousand tons, of which one hundred and twenty thousand tons are de-silverized lead. Lead is produced in thirteen States, mainly in the West. Colorado wears a leaden rim to her silver 256 Trmmphant Democracy. crown, she alone producing twice as much as the lead mines of Great Britain. Indeed, a single mine at Lead- ville produces two-thirds as much as all Great Britain, although lead is here only a by-product of silver min- ing. The Horn Silver Mine in Utah produced, in 1884, forty thousand tons of ore, averaging thirty and nine one-hundredths per cent, of lead and thirty-nine ounces of silver, the latter alone nearly paying all the expenses of extraction, treatment, and marketing. Here again the owners got a million dollars for a year's divi- dends. The world's production of lead for 1883 was four hundred and fifty-four thousand tons. Of this more than half was produced by two countries — the Republic and Spain. Zinc is now produced in America in large quanti- ties. Previous to 1873 the amount obtained was very small; but in 1880 the year's product greatly exceeded that of Great Britain, being twenty-three thousand two hundred and thirty-nine tons, against fifteen thousand nine hundred and forty-seven. In 1884 the domestic product had increased to thirty-five thousand tons. The import of zinc into the Republic has fallen off in a corresponding degree, being but one-fifth what it was in 1873, while prices have been reduced about eighty per cent. The Republic already ranks third among the zinc producers of the world. The mineral resources of the United States comprise also quicksilver, the ores of chrome and nickel, cobalt. Mining. 257 platinum, indium, antimony, arsenic, etc., etc. Salt de- posits are worked in various States, and sulphur, graph- ite, and gypsum abound. Mineral phosphates are found in South Carolina, where they are worked into fertilizers for domestic consumption. Granite, marble, sandstone, and other fine building stones and roofing slates are abundant, and form the objects of large and profitable industries. The treasures of earth have been among the most important elements in the growth and prosperity of the Republic. Besides great and direct gains, there have been many indirect benefits resulting from the opening up and settlement of extensive regions. Large towns have sprung up with magic growth in the wilder- ness. Where miners settled, agriculturists and me- chanics soon came to minister to their wants. In this way some of the richest and largest towns of the West originated. San Francisco is the most notable instance. A later example is furnished by Leadville, which ten years ago was the centre of a barren, unin- habited region, the haunt of the catamount and grizzly bear. Now it is a town of wide streets and handsome stone buildings, court-house, hospitals, churches, schools, and all the attributes of a large civilized city. The sur- rounding district is populated by agriculturists. In ten short years the discovery of a rich lead vein has trans- formed the wilderness into an Arcadia. Where, a few years ago, the only sounds heard were the growl of the 17 258 Triumphant Democracy. coyote or the occasional whoop of the savage, the busy hum of a city, the lowing of cattle, or the beat of a steam crusher now wake the echoes of the hills. The Republic seems to stand like the variety shop- keeper in Colorado, who put up in his shop in a flaming placard, " If you don't see what you want just ask for it." We have only to want a mineral and seek for it, when nature places it before us. A few years ago there was not a pound of speigel (so essential for the Bessemer steel process) made in the United States. We had not the proper ores, we said. A hundred thousand tons were used every year and every ton was imported. To-day we have the ores from Lake Superior, from Vir- ginia, from Arkansas, and all the speigel we need can be made at home. So too with ferro-manganese. This is a metallic substance as essential for the manufacture of mild steel as speigel is for steel rails. Eighty dollars a ton was paid by our manufacturers up to last year, and every ton came across the sea. We needed the precious ore, and, presto, a rich mine appears in Vir- ginia and another in Arkansas. It has been tested and the former is pronounced to be the richest and purest in the world. "It will make ferro-manganese," said our manager. " Sure ?" " Yes, sure. " " Try it." Result : the Republic may be shut off to-morrow from foreign speigel and ferro-manganese and scarcely know it. Within her own broad bosom she has all the requisites for the manufacture of any kind of steel. Mining. 259 Tin is the only metal she now lacks. But let no one be surprised to read some day the announcement that all other deposits of tin in the world sink into insignificance compared to those just discovered in America. But even without this one precious mineral my readers will surely conclude from the story of the mineral treasures of the Republic which I have attempted to tell that this is indeed the favored land. That the reader may the better be enabled to esti- mate the extent of the enormous mineral treasures of the Republic, I will summarize in order the several principal deposits and contrast them with those of each country which ranks next to America in mineral wealth. We begin with the black diamond, coal, as the mineral which perhaps lies closest to the root of industrial suc- cess. How then is the Democracy provided with this indispensable treasure ? Well, — the coal area of the United States com- prises three hundred thousand square miles ; Great Britain's coal field twelve thousand. The whole of the world has but four hundred thousand square miles. The Republic therefore has twenty-five times the field of the parent land ; and, I am almost ashamed to con- fess it, she has three-quarters of all the coal area of the earth. For shame ! to leave only one-quarter for all the rest of the world ! In good round Scotch I say to her: "The deil's greedy but ye're misleard." So 26o Triumphant Democracy. it is, my readers — but " as sure 's death we canna help it." Let us see about the precious metals. Gold and silver have I none, was not written of this giant. She has contributed to the stock of gold in the world, es- timated at ten thousand three hundred tons, more than one-half the whole. Austraha has given her a close race during the past thirty years, but the Republic re- mains ahead. In silver the Republic begins to challenge even the fabulous mines of Mexico and Bolivia, still classed as Spanish America, from which most of the silver supply of the world has hitherto been drawn. In the ten years between 1850 and i860, these mines furnished more than half of all the silver produced. In the next decade, i860 to 1870, it was still the same, $320,000,000 (;^64,ooo,ooo) being their product, while the total was but $550,000,000 (;£■ 1 10,000,000). In these two decades the infant Republic produced only $50,000,000 (;^I0,- 000,000) and $80,000,000 (;^ 1 6,000,000) respectively. But with the discovery of the silver mines of Nevada and Colorado, which lay till then in the untrodden wilderness, the United States came rapidly to the front, and in the last decade, 1870 to 1880, she shows $340,000,000 (;^68,ooo,ooo) as against the $350,000,000 (;^ 70,000,000) of all the Spanish-America mines together. Germany and Austria produced about $100,000,000 (;^20,ooo,ooo), and various countries as much more. Mining. 261 Since 1880, the race is more and more to the Repubhc, for the average product of her silver mines since then exceeds $46,250,000 (;£'9,25o,ooo) per annum, one-third of the silver production of the world. Leaving the "yellow geordie " and the "white monie," as Bassanio did, let us see how it fares with the humbler, dingy, dull copper — the bawbee. The world's production of copper in 1883 was exactly two hundred thousand tons. Of this, America supplied more than one-fourth, fifty-two thousand tons ; the whole of Europe gave only seventy-one thousand tons ; Chili but forty-one thousand tons. Is it not amazing that one nation should in itself have each of the three metals in such abundance ! Aus- tralia has gold, and the Republic says to her, " So have I in value greater than yours." Mexico and Bolivia call, " Here stand we with the dazzling mines of Peru," and the Republic answers, " Our silver mines exceed those treasures." Chili has been the main source of the copper supply, and now the Republic leads her in her own special field. It was not copper after all that Bassanio preferred, but the dull leaden casket. Let us see then about this valuable article. The world produced in 1883 four hundred and fifty-four thousand metric tons, and of this the RepubHc contributed one hundred and forty thousand, more than a fourth. Spain comes next to her with one hundred and twenty-seven thousand, fol- 262 Triumphant Democracy. lowed by Germany with ninty-five thousand. Britain figures here for forty thousand tons, not a bad showing for so small an area. In zinc, the Republic is making fast strides. Its manufacture may be said to have begun about 1870, when only seven thousand tons were produced. The product in 1884 reached thirty-eight thousand tons ; the British product in 1883 was twenty-three thousand tons, but either of these is insignificant compared with Germany's contribution, one hundred and sixteen thousand tons. We shall see how long it will take the young giant to forge alongside of his great German competitor in this branch of manufactures ; twenty years may do it, or even less. Thus the Republic supplies one-fourth of the lead, one-fourth of the copper, one-third of the silver, one- half of the gold of the world. Monster of the Pactolean stream, must everything you possess and everything you touch turn to gold, that you may dominate the earth ? Thank God, these treasures are in the hands of an intelligent people, the Democracy, to be used for the general good of the masses, and not made the spoils of monarchs, courts, and aristocracy, to be turned to the base and selfish ends of a privileged hereditary class. The weakest nation may rest secure, Canada on the north, and Chili on the south, for the nature of a gov- ernment of the people is to abjure conquest, to protect Mining. 263 the weak neighbor from foreign aggression if need be ; never to molest, but to dwell in peace and loving neigh- borliness with all. The Republic is, indeed, the child of covetous, grasping, ever-warring Britain, but being re- lieved of monarchical institutions and the militarism which is their necessary following, she has thrown away the rude sword and scorns to conquer except through love. It is a proud record for the Democracy that the giant of the Western Continent is not feared by the pigmies which surround him, but is regarded with affec- tion and admiration in the day of prosperity, and as a sure and potent defender, upon whom they can safely call in the day of trouble. Had the monarchy retained possession of the coun- try how different must have been the result. Added to the inevitable wars of an aristocratic and military system, there would have been the hate of republics as republics, for no royalist ever would let a republic live if he could help it ; for though not generally wise, they are not quite so devoid of reasoning self-interest as to court self-extinction. Every weak nation upon the continent would have hved in fear. No neighbor ever liked the British. No neighbor ever can until the masses are known to them and make the government of England in its dealings with other nations a true expres- sion of themselves. The people of Britain are most lovable; its ruling classes are just what monarchy and privilege make of men and women — selfish, narrow, con- 264 Triumphant Democracy. ceited, and tyrannical, and wholly unmindful of others. For this reason, while the British have always been feared, they have never been loved by other races. All this will change, however, when the Democracy rules their country. The parent land will become in Europe what the Republic is upon the American con- tinent — the unselfish counsellor, the guide, the true and trusted friend, of its less powerful, less advanced nations. It is not by wicked conquest over other States, but by honest, peaceful labor within its own bounds and with the good will of all its neighbors that the Democracy builds up the State. CHAPTER XII. TRADE AND COMMERCE. " The great ships which pass between the old and the new lands are shuttles weaving a glorious web. Already ' Arbitration ' has been fully spelled out upon the pattern, and now comes the motto — ' Peace and Good Will Forever.' " The United States of America furnish the only exam- ple in the world's history of a community purely indus- trial in origin and development. Every other nation has passed through its military stage. In Europe and in Asia, in ancient times as well as in modern, social develop- ment has been mainly the result of war. Nearly every modern dynasty in Europe has been established by con- quest, and every nation there has acquired and held its territory by force of arms. Men have been as wild beasts slaughtering each other at the command of the small privileged classes. The colonies of America, on the other hand, were established for commercial purposes, and generally the land they acquired was obtained by purchase or agreement, and not by conquest. Devoted to industry, the American people have never taken up the sword, except in self-defence or in defence of their institutions. Never has the plough, the hammer, or the loom, been deserted for the sword of conquest. Never 266 Triumphant Democracy. has the profession of arms been honored above or even equally with other professions. Indeed, before the Civil War, soldiers were objects of popular ridicule ; and even now, when almost every American above forty years of age has either himself shouldered a musket, or has rela- tions who have fought for the unity of the country, the soldier of fortune— a type common among other peoples — is unknown. Such a man as the sanguinary author of " Under Fourteen Flags," a book descriptive of his butchering of fellow-men under fourteen different flags, would provoke among Americans feelings of repugnance and disgust. American regiments are regiments of workers. Emblazoned on their banners are not the names of cities sacked or of thousands slaughtered, but the names of inventors, civilizing influences, labor-sav- ing machines. " By this sign shall ye conquer " was also the divine prediction for them ; but the symbol was the plough, not the cross-shaped hilt of a sword. The two armies are those which the poet Holmes has so well contrasted : " One marches to the drum-beat's roll. The wide-mouthed clarion's bray, And bears upon a crimson scroll, ' Our glory is to slay.' One moves in silence by the stream, With sad, yet watchful eyes, Calm as the patient planet's gleam That walks the clouded skies. Trade and Coninie^'ce. 267 Along its front no sabres shine, No blood-red pennons wave ; Its banner bears the single line, ' Our duty is to save.' '' While the milHons of Europe have been struggling in the thralls of military despotism, the American people have been for one hundred years peacefully working out a career of usefulness. The result is that their industrial successes have placed them at the head of the world in wealth and power. While practically independent herself, America has become indispensable to Europe. Without her bountiful supplies of cotton, grain, and meat, millions of Europeans would lack food and clothing. The commercial history of the United States may be set forth in a few words. The net imports in- cluding coin and bullion, $22,500,000 (.^4,500,000) in 1790, were $75,000,000 (.^15,000,000) in 1830. And in the next term of fifty years, we find them bound- ing from this figure to $740,000,000 (;^ 148,000,000). The exports show even a more rapid advance, for these began in 1790 at $20,000,000 (^4,000,000) reached $60,- 000,000 (i^ 1 2,000,000) in the forty years to 1830, and during the past half-century, we find them $725,000,000 (.^f 145,000,000), so that in fifty short years, the foreign commerce of the Republic has increased elevenfold. The amounts of imports per capita of the population has increased during the last fifty years from $6.25 {£1 i)S) 268 Triumphant Democracy. to about $15 (;^3), while exports increased from $5 (^i) to $16.60 (;^3 6i-.). Let us see what the few leading articles are which go to make up this commerce. What did the Republic buy from the world in 1883 ? Sugar and molasses to the extent of $100,000,000 (^19,875,- 000.) Surely Brother Jonathan has a sweet tooth, for he spent more for sweet things than for anything else. For wool and woollen goods he spent $55,000,000 (;^ 1 1,000,000), for chemicals $45,000,000 (^^9,000,000). Even cotton goods, although he exports them him- self, he wanted from others, to the tune of $35,000,- 000 (;^7,ooo,000), some curious things in cotton, I sup- pose, which pleased his fancy, or her fancy, more likely. Silks he paid just a little more for, or $37,000,000 (;^7, 400,000) went for these. The Scotch say " She never bode for a silk goon that didna gat the sleeve o't." The American woman goes for the full goon and gets it, although now it is generally of domestic manufac- ture, no matter what may be the label. Raw silk to be manufactured is imported to about one-half the value of imported silks, which proves how very much more is made at home than is bought abroad, the value of the raw silk being many times less than the finished goods. His cup of coffee costs the American $42,000,000 (^8,400,000) per year, and tea, $17,000,000 (^3,400,000). These are the principal purchases he makes from others. Now what does he sell to these good friends whom he Trade and Com?nerci'. 269 honors with his patronage ? He does a thriving busi- ness truly in this department. First comes his cotton exports. The world bought from him in 1883, $250,- 000,000 (_£■ 50,000,000). Then his wheat department dis- posed of $120,000,000 worth (;^24,ooo,ooo), and in the form of flour $55,000,000 more (^11,000,000). Meat, eggs, butter, and other provisions kept not a few of his hands busy, for no less than $107,000,000 (,^21,400,000) had to be sent forward to satisfy the world's wants. Even petroleum to the extent of $45,000,000 (;^9,ooo,- 000) he sent forth to light the world ; and nasty tobacco to end in smoke cost his customers that year no less than $22,000,000 (;^4,400,OOo). Wood and its manufactures to the extent of $26,500,000 (;£'5, 300,000) was taken, a great deal of it, no doubt, in the shape of furniture. Iron and steel manufactures make a much better showing than expected, for he really ex- ported these, such as sewing machines, agricultural machinery and a thousand and one Yankee notions, to the sum of $22,500,000 (;£'4,50o,ooo). And finally Uncle Sam sends from his big farm some of his millions of live cattle and sheep, and gets $8,500,000 (;^i,700,- 000) for them. These products are drawn from several departments, which may be classed under the general heads of agri- culture, manufactures, mines, forests, etc., and tabulated as follows, with the amounts contributed by each : 270 Triumphant Democracy. Agriculture $550,000,000 I 110,000,000 Manufactures, 20,500,000 4,100,000 Mining, . . 56,250,000 11,250,000 The Forest 7,050,000 1,410,000 Tlie Fisheries, 7,250,000 1,250,000 All others 7,250,000 1,250,000 Thus does he, the young hopeful, lay under con- tribution all wealth-producing sources to swell his prosperous and rapidly increasing business with the world. We see that, notwithstanding the almost incredible expansion of home manufactures, the American citizen imports more and more from other lands. See him only fifty years ago patronizing other people to the extent of $6.25 {£\ Si-) per year, and now every man, woman, and child .spends $15 (;^3) for foreign goods. His tariff may be very high and quite outrageous in the opinion of many, yet he buys about three times as much per head under it as he did fifty years ago. It can not be so very bad after all, although it is none the less true that year after year America gains firmer control of her own markets for manufactured articles. Every year sees a decrease of these relatively to the total im- ports. In crude and partially manufactured articles imports are increasing; in i860, for instance, the pro- portion of these was only twenty-six per cent., but by uninterrupted advances every decade it rose in 1885 to forty per cent, of the total importations, while manu- Trade and Commerce. 271 factured articles fell from seventy-four to sixty per cent, of the whole. The balance of trade, to which, despite the teaching of economists, Americans still attach great importance, has during the last ten or eleven years been continually and greatly in favor of the Republic. In the space of fifty years foreign commerce has increased fivefold. It has nearly doubled since i860, in spite of the check it received during the war. It increased greatly in 1880, and reached its maximum in 1883; since that time there has been a falling off of fourteen per cent., due to the protracted period of depression. Up to the year 1876, with a few exceptions, the imports were in excess of the exports of merchandise, the maximum difference being reached in 1872, when the excess was $182,000,000 (^36,400,000). Since then the balance has been the other way, the highest figure being reached in 1879, viz.: $264,000,000 (;^ 5 2, 800,000). Taking the period from i860 to 1885, imports increased sixty-three per cent., while the increase in exports was one hundred and twenty-nine per cent. It is usual to speak of the Republic as without com- merce. Much dire prophesying of coming decay is indulged in because the sea-going commerce is now chiefly carried in foreign ships. The tendency is to limit the term " commerce " to the carriage of mer- chandise to and from other countries. So limited, America has indeed little to boast of. The change from 272 Triumphant Democracy. wooden to iron and steel ships cut her out of a large part of the carrying trade which no fiscal regulations or lack of regulations can possibly restore. For the same reason that water will not run up hill, ships cannot be sailed by dearer to cheaper countries. Had America ten thousand large ships, their crews from chief engineer to cabin-boy would be foreigners, because these can be secured cheaper in Liverpool or Antwerp than in New York. Americans can do better than sail the seas for the pittances earned by the men of the older lands. The first cost of ships must necessarily for the same reason be much more here than upon the Clyde. If the navigation laws were repealed to-morrow no American capital would purchase foreign-built ships for trade abroad ; and if they did the flag might indeed be the Stars and Stripes, but ship and crew would be British. The voice might be the voice of Jacob, but the hand would be the hand of Esau. In no sense would the commercial marine thus created be American or add to American wealth. For generations yet to come the at- tempt to become the chief carriers of merchandise, if made, must result in failure and render the Republic ridiculous. Here is the fable which meets the case : " Ah, ha ! " said the turtle to the lion, as the latter proudly walked the shore, "any kind of a beast can walk on the land as well as you do, but let us see you do this," and then it turned a somersault in the sea. The lion tried. Result, the turtle fed upon the lion for many days. Trade and Co77iinerce. 2'/;^ America has no business with ocean navigation till her continent is filled, and prices of labor and material are down to the European basis. Let her leave the stormy sea to the motherland, whose " home is on the ocean wave," and stick to land as her natural heritage. Columbia's home is on the fertile prairie. Notwithstanding all this, America still manages to do some of the carrying trade in her wooden ships, in the construction of which she has her rivals at a disad- vantage, because the timber is here. She carried in 1880 about $280,000,000 (^56,000,000), or more than one-sixth of her whole foreign commerce. The coasting trade of America, from which foreigners are excluded, presents a fairer showing, being thirty-four million tons. The total sea-going tonnage of the nation in 1884 was three million one hundred and eighty-one thousand eight hundred and four tons, which places her next in rank to Britain, and far ahead of any other nation. From the unique position of Britain as the carrier of the world, it follows that her people have uncon- sciously been led to attach far too much importance to the foreign trade as it concerns nations in general. Even in her own case it is trifling compared to her in- ternal commerce. Her railways alone carry three times as much as all her ships, foreign, sea-going, and domes- tic traffic combined. " The milkman who brings the daily portion of milk to him who dwells in city or town," says Edward Atkinson, the American Adam 18 2 74 Triumphant Democracy. Smith, " represents a commerce of vast proportions, almost equal in this country, in its aggregate value, to the whole sum of our foreign importations." The home commerce of America as compared to her foreign is as twenty-one to one ; and even Britain's gigantic foreign commerce is only one-sixth as great as the home commerce of America. The shipping engaged in this internal commerce has an aggregate tonnage of one million tons, which, added to the sea-going, gives as the total American tonnage engaged in commerce four million two hundred and fifty thousand tons, as against the seven million tons of Britain. The total American traffic with foreign nations is sixteen millions of tons. If every ton car- ried in foreign ships were carried in American ships, the additional trade would not be as great as the natural increase of her home commerce for a single year. Truly a paltry prize to contend for and make such a fuss about. The American coasting tonnage alone more than doubles the entire foreign trafific (thirty-four as against sixteen million tons), while the domestic com- merce by rail is reported as two hundred and ninety- one, and by steamers on lakes and rivers as twenty-five and a half millions of tons. Thus it appears that our internal commerce, of which so little is heard, is more than twenty times greater than the foreign trade. One ton of foreign to twenty tons of domestic com- merce ! Really there is no greater impostor than Trade and Commerce. 275 the distinguished stranger known as "Foreign Com- merce." The inter-dependence of our States, and hence the commerce between them, is shown in an interesting way by an illustration borrowed from my friend Mr. Edward Atkinson — " a homely illustration in a subject not fitted for poetic treatment, nor likely to appeal to the imagination, commerce in hogs. The great prairies of the West grow corn in such abundance that even now, with all our means of inter-communication, it can not be all used as food, and some of it is consumed as fuel. It often happens that the farmer upon new land, remote from railroads, can get only fifteen to twenty cents per bushel for Indian corn, at which price, while it is the best, it is also the cheapest fuel that he can have, and its use is an evidence of good economy, and not of waste. Upon the fat prairie lands of the West, the hog is wholesomely fed only upon corn in the milk or corn in the ear ; thence he is carried to the colder climate of Massachusetts, where by the use of that one crop in which New England excels all others — ice — the meat can be packed at all seasons of the year; there it is prepared to serve as food for the workmen of the North, the freemen of the South, or the artisan of Europe ; while the blood, dried in a few hours to a fine powder, and sent to the cotton fields of South Carolina and Georgia to be mixed with the phosphate rocks that underlie their coast land, serves to produce the 276 Triumphant Democracy. cotton fibre which furnishes the cheapest and fittest clothing for the larger portion of the inhabitants of the world. Here, then, is commerce, or men serving each other on a grand scale, all developed within the century, and undreamed of by our ancestors. The vast plains of the West, enriched by countless myriads of buffalo, can spare for years to come a portion of their productive force. Commerce sets in motion her thousand wheels, food is borne to those who need it, and they are saved the effort to obtain it on the more sterile soil of the cold North. Commerce turns that very cold to use. The refuse is saved, and commerce has discovered that its use is to clothe the naked in distant lands. Borne to the sandy but healthy soils of Georgia and South Carolina, it renovates them with the fertility thus trans- ferred from the prairies of Illinois and Indiana, and presently there comes back to Massachusetts the cotton of the farmers, the well saved, clean, strong, and even staple, which commerce again has discovered to be worth identifying as the farmer's, not as the planter's crop, made by his own labor, and picked by his wife and children." , , Much is said in Britain about the tariff policy of the Republic, but the results of that policy I fear are but little understood. The general impression is that the duties charged are so exorbitant as seriously to cripple trade between the old and new lands. So Trade and Commerce. 277 far from this being true, Britain has no customer to whom she sends so much of her manufactures, nor any with whom her trade increases so rapidly. This so- called highly protective and heavily taxed Republic imports more British goods than any other people. Here are the figures for 1883, which was a poor year for American business : Britain sent goods to India in that year valued at twenty-four millions sterling, to Germany nineteen millions, to France eighteen millions, and to the Republic twenty-seven millions sterling. The total importations of America that year were $725,000,000 (ii' 145,000,000), and of this vast sum more than a full one-third, or $250,000,000 (;^50,ooo,ooo) came from Britain and British possessions; $185,000,000 (;^3 7,000,000) came from Great Britain and Ireland proper.* To show how overwhelmingly the Republic buys from Britain, we have but to contrast its purchases from other lands. France, in 1882, supplied only $90,000,000 (i^ 1 8,000,000) worth of goods, and Ger- many but $56,000,000 (.^11,200,000) worth. The com- bined trade of these two principal sources of supply after Britain, exceeds but little more than one-half of Britain's sum including British possessions, nor do they * The difference in value between this thirty-seven million pounds and the twenty-seven million pounds reported as exports that year from Britain to the United States may be found in the differing values at the place of manufacture in Britain and value in America duty paid. 278 Ti'iumpliant Democracy. combined come near equalling the purchases from Britain proper, for together France and Germany sent but $146,000,000 (^^29,200,000), while Britain sent $196,- 000,000 (;^39,200,ooo). Britain could lose either France or Germany, and almost both combined as purchasers, and her trade would not suffer as much as from the withdrawal of the much abused American. Is it not time for the Monarchy to be just a little mindful of this fact, and to behave itself accordingly towards its dutiful off- spring, who year after year increases his patronage, and takes of her manufactures more than he takes from all the rest of the world ? The question of Free Trade in America is one which will not be within the reach of practical politics in the lives of those now living. To bring it about, one of two courses is necessary: either the revenue must be raised by increased internal taxa- tion, or the duty must be enormously raised upon the only necessaries of life which America imports largely, sugar, coffee, etc.; neither of these seem probable. A new duty upon the food of the people of Britain is just as probable as one in America ; even democratic President Cleveland in his first message to Congress, states that any reduction in the tariff should be made in the duties now imposed upon the necessaries of life. The tendency is all in this direction. The second course would be to raise revenue by direct taxation : this is the ideal standard, and the Republic in its Trade and Commerce. 279 march may some day work up to it, and give another advanced poHtical lesson to others ; so far no nation has ever tried even to approach it ; evidently it is not for our day or generation. What then is the possible and consequently the only probable outcome of tariff discussion. Nothing beyond a possible gradual reduction of duties at intervals of some years, say five or six per cent, each decade, but these reductions speaking generally will be made only upon such articles as can be manufactured profitably here, with lower than the existing duties, nor will the duties be lowered to a point which will cripple the home manufacture. The question is not now which policy is the better for a new nation. Free Trade or Protection, but how is the huge fabric of manufactures to be dealt with, the greatest in the world, as we have seen. It has been called into existence upon certain conditions and has accommodated itself thereto. The conservatism of the Democracy is so ingrained as to justify one in prophesying that great care will be taken not to dis- turb it unduly. I often hear surprise expressed in Eu- rope that the vast body of consumers should bear so contentedly the extra cost upon what they purchase, the result of heavy duties. The explanation is two- fold ; first, manufacturers are spreading rapidly over most of the States; the Southern States of Alabama, Tennessee, Missouri and others for instance are really protective States now from this cause, as are Minnesota 28o Triumphant Democracy. and Michigan in the North-west ; but the second cause lies much deeper. Prices of articles are no longer gene- rally fixed by the foreign but by the home competition. One instance may illustrate many other branches in which the consumers buy what they need very cheap, in many cases about as cheap as the European does, wholly irrespective of duty. The duty upon steel rails is say $17.50 (;^3 ii.f) per ton, market price in Britain, £i, ship's side Liverpool, total in New York, provided they were transported and laid down there for nothing would still be $42.50 or £% \os. The railroads of Amer- ica have had no difficulty in purchasing hundreds of thousands of tons at $28 (;^5 I2.y), and they know well that if any considerable portion of their requirements had to come from abroad the cost would very greatly exceed this. In clothing, which was formerly the article upon which the greatest difference in price existed between the two countries, the case is much the same. Some competent friends visiting us from England assure me that prices generally are as cheap as at home and in some cases even cheaper. Foreign competition has been recommended as the necessary and certain cure against exorbitant profits being exacted by the home manufacturer to the detriment of the consumer; very good, but precisely the same cure is found, from vigor- ous home competition. As far as the foreigner was concerned, as we have seen in the case of steel rails, the Trade and Commerce. 281 American manufacturer might have had forty-two dol- lars and fifty cents per ton for rails which he was forced to sell for twenty-eight dollars, which was only the Brit- ish price, twenty-five dollars, with a fair rate of trans- portation to New York and expenses incident thereto, without a penny added for duty. What forced him to do so and give the consumer rails for twenty-eight dol- lars ? Home competition. Even our monarchical friends in Canada bought steel rails from American mills last year, because the cost was less than was demanded for those of Brit- ish manufacture, although both were alike as to duty. I merely venture to give the facts bearing upon the present aspect of the question as far as the Republic is concerned, that those in Europe who bewail the hard fate of the consumer here may be comforted, for truly he is not paying the fair cost of his supplies plus the duty, but only the unprecedentedly low prices estab- lished by the close and unremitting competition of home manufacturers, and these prices, as has been shown in the chapter on manufactures, are with rare exceptions not much above those of Britain. It is for these reasons that the consumer is not troubling himself, and cannot be made to trouble himself, very greatly with the ques- tion of the tariff. Far be it from me to retard the march of the world towards the free and unrestricted interchange of com- modities. When the Democracy obtains sway through- 282 Triumphant Democracy. out the earth the nations will become friends and brothers, instead of being as now the prey of the mon- archical and aristocratic ruling classes, and always war- ring with each other; standing armies and war ships will be of the past, and men will then begin to destroy cus- tom-houses as relics of a barbarous monarchical age, not altogether from the low plane of economic gain or loss, but strongly impelled thereto from the higher stand- point of the brotherhood of man ; all restriction upon the products of other lands will then seem unworthy of any member of the race, and the dawn of that day will have come when " Man to man the world o'er Shall brothers be and a' that." CHAPTER XIII. RAILWAYS AND WATERWAYS. "And you will then (when the Colonies achieve independence) see how the earth will be beautified ! What culture ! What new arts and new sciences ! What safety for commerce ! Navigation will precipitate all the peoples toward each other. A day will come when we will go into a populous and regulated city of California as one goes in the stage- coach of Meaux." — Marquis D'Argenson. (1745.) The inhabitants of the tight httle island of Britain or of the miniature States of Europe can have no con- ception of distance as understood by the American. The vastness of tlie American continent gives a cor- responding width to the conceptions of space formed by its inhabitants. The State of New Yorlc is almost as large as England, while Texas is larger than France, or England and Germany combined. California has a greater area than Austria ; and some other States and Territories, known only by name in England, like Nevada, Colorado, Oregon, and Nebraska, have areas greater than several European kingdoms. The distance from New York to Chicago exceeds that from London to Rome, while San Francisco is farther from the Atlantic coast than Quebec is from London. The journey from Philadelphia to New Orleans is nearly twice as great as that from London to St. Petersburg ; while Jerusalem, Cairo, Cyprus, 284 Triumphmit Detnocracy. Constantinople, Astrakan, and Teneriffe are all nearer to Hyde Park corner than Salt Lake City is to Bos- ton, and Salt Lake City is only two-thirds of the way across the continent. During the Civil War the fron- tier defended by General Grant exceeded in length a line drawn from London across the Channel and Conti- nent to Constantinople, thence through Asia Minor and Palestine to the great pyramid at Cairo, and thence still on up the Nile as far as the first cataract. And this line, if drawn, would be many miles shorter than the journey from New York to the city of Portland, Oregon. These comparisons will help the British reader to conceptions which are as familiar to the American as the star-spangled emblem of his nationality. It will also help the European to form a slight estimate of the labor and cost by which there has been spread over this vast continent a net-work of railways which ramify it in every part. One hundred years ago America was almost as much a dark continent as Africa is now. A few adventurous pioneers and explorers had forced their way to the Father of Waters, and descended by it to the Gulf of Mexico, but a transcontinental jour- ney was unthought of until 1803, when, at the recom- mendation of President Jefferson, an exploring expedi- tion was sent to the Pacific under command of Captain William Clarke and Meriwether Lewis. It was consid- ered a wonderful feat when the little party under their charge penetrated the wilderness across the mountains Railways and Waterways. 285 and down the westward slope to the mouth of the Col- umbia River on the Pacific, two years and four months being required for the journey and return. Even in 1830 there were no facilities for internal travel. The States along the coast had constructed rough turnpike roads, and railways were just introduced ; but the heart of the continent was practically closed to all but the most adventurous. Two-thirds of all the mails were carried in lumbering stage-coaches, with bodies hung upon leather straps that they might swing freely in any direction without being knocked to pieces as they struggled over the corduroy roads. A trip in one of these vehicles tossed the trav- eller as if he were in a fishing smack upon the Channel in a storm. The other third was carried upon the backs of horses and in sulkies. Steamboats were car- riers over only a few small short routes, and there were only twenty-three miles of railway laid in all the land. All this was as late as 1830, just over fifty years ago. The discomforts of stage-coach travelling in America cannot even be guessed at in these days of palace-cars and forty miles per hour express trains. The books of early visitors are full of invective and complaints at the horrors of an American stage. The Norwegian, Arfed- son, wrote in 1832 : " A traveller intending to proceed thence (from Augusta, S. C.) by land to New Orleans is earnestly recommended to bid adieu to 286 Triu7nphant Democracy. all comforts on leaving Augusta, and make the necessary prepara- tions for a hard and rough campaign. If he has a wife and chil- dren unprovided for, and to whom he has not the means of leaving a suitable legacy, let him by all means be careful to insure his life to the highest amount the office will take ; for the chances of his perishing on the road are ten to one, calculated according to the following table of casualties ; 1 by horses running away, 3 by murder, 2 by drowning, 4 by explosion." Miss Martineau in 1834-5 thus describes her experi- ences : "The mail roads are still extremely bad. I found in travelling through the Carolinas and Georgia, that the drivers consider them- selves entitled to get on by any means they can devise : that no- body helps and nobody hinders them. It \Vas constantly happening that the stage came to a stop on the brink of a wide and a deep puddle, extending all across the road. The driver helped himself, without scruple, to as many rails of the nearest fence as might serve to fill up the bottom of the hole, or break our descent into it. On inquiry, I found it was not probable that either fence or road would be mended till both had gone to absolute destruction. " The traffic on these roads is so small, that the stranger feels himself almost lost in the wilderness. In the course of several days' journey, we saw (with the exception of the wagons of a few en- campments) only one vehicle besides our own. It was a stage returning from Charleston. Our meeting in the forest was like the meeting of ships at sea. We asked the passengers from the South of news from Charleston and Europe ; and they questioned us about the state of politics at Washington. The eager vociferation of drivers and passengers was like such as is unusual, out of exile. We were desired to give up all thoughts of going by the eastern Railways and Waterways. 287 road to Charleston. The road might be called impassable ; and there was nothing to eat by the way. " Even as late as 1850 Sir Charles Lyell says : "After comparing the risks it seems to be more dangerous to travel by land, in a new country, than by river steamers, and some who have survived repeated journeyings in stage-coaches show us many scars. The judge who escorted my wife to Natchez in- formed her that he had been upset no less than thirteen times." To the inconvenience of stage travelling, described in these extracts, must be added that of being jolted over corduroy roads, made of logs placed longitudinally across the road, with nothing to fill up the inequal- ities of surface. On roads where there was no com- petition the slowness of the stages was very exasper- ating. One writer says : " We scarcely averaged more than three and a half miles an hour ; and in urging the drivers even to this speed, had to submit to no little insolence into the bargain." The insolence of drivers is complained of by nearly all the English travellers at this period. Passengers had also to look after their own baggage, and to get out into the mud and rain to fasten it to the coach when the jolting had loosened the straps. The Democratic Review for September, 1839, says, that in 1835 the " speed of communication achieved by the express mail was deemed almost the acme of mail improvement ; " and as examples it mentions the fol- lowing : Triumphant Democracy. Days. Hours. F rom New York to Washington I 8 " " Richmond, Va., 2 13 " " Columbia, S. C, 6 3 Milledgeville, Ga., 7 '5 Mobile, Ala., . 12 12 New Orleans, . H Columbus, O., 4 i6 Indianapolis, Ind., 7 14 St. Louis, Mo., 13 lo Huntsville, Ala., II 22 " New Orleans to Montgomery, Ala., 3 21 " " Nashville, Tenn., 10 Louisville, Ky., '3 " " Cincinnati, O., 14 II Columbus, 0., i6 9 Pittsburg, Pa., IS 5 How diverse were the means of travel in those days is well illustrated by a journey from Troy to Chicago made in 1832 by Mr. Philo Carpenter. He took the Erie Canal to Buffalo, and thence went by lake steamer to Detroit. Four and a half days was then the usual time for this passage. From Detroit Mr. Carpenter went by weekly mail-coach to Niles, and then took passage from Niles to the mouth of the St. Joseph River on a flat- boat. Thence he was conveyed by two Indians in a bark canoe which they improvised, as far as the mouth of the Calumet, where one of the Indians was seized with a colic and they refused to proceed further. Our traveler then bargained with a settler for the use of a lumber wagon drawn by oxen ; and with this he event- ually reached Fort Dearborn, as Chicago was then Railways and Waterways, 289 called. The limited express now does this journey in twenty-four hours, and the traveler never has to leave his peripatetic hotel. After 1830 came the transition period, when primi- tive railways began to compete with canal-boats and stage-coaches. In the Philadelphia Public Ledger for May 22, 1S36, appeared the following advertisement, headed by a primitive looking engine and cars: " Fare Reduced to $12. — New Express Fast Packet Line, from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh — the only line exclusively for passengers, via Lancaster and Harrisburgh Railroads and Pennsyl- vania Canals. Leaves daily at 6 o'clock a.m. — through in three days. For passage apply to, at the office 51 Chestnut Street, below Third Street, John Cameron, Agent." And two years later in the same journal appears the following: "Fare Reduced! Leech & Co. 's packet line to Pittsburgh, via Railroads and Canals. Through in four and a half days."' Upon one of these canal-boats I saw arrive in Pitts- burg the first locomotive that ever came west of the Ohio River. The early railroads seem very rude judged by mod- ern standards: " Passenger cars were small vehicles, holding no more than from eighteen to twenty-four passengers, and not much, if any, heavier than the large stage-coaches. The iron (used for rails) was flat-bar iron, from half to three-fourths of an inch thick, spiked 19 290 Triumphant Democracy. on wooden sleepers which were lightly tied, and on tracks not per- fectly graded or heavily ballasted. The locomotives weighed from two to six or seven tons, and drew corresponding loads. Great weight and high speed would have destroyed the tracks. One of the dangers of travel was from ' snake-heads,' caused by the loosen- ing of the ends of the thin rails, which, bending up, were caught between the wheels and driven through the bottom of the cars, wounding or impaling any one who sat over the point of entrance. Instead of grading up or down steep declivities, cars were passed over the incline by counter-weights of box-cars, loaded with stone, which balanced them like window-weights, and made it easy to pass up one as the other went down. . . . Twenty miles a year were in those days rapid railroad building." The first railway trains were drawn by horses or mules, though locomotives were early introduced from England and duplicated in America. An account of the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad, printed in Wil- liam's Register for 1833, concludes with the words : "Passengers are carried upon this road in coaches, drawn by horses, and by the locomotive-engines, whose powers are not yet conclusively tried.'' And from a passage in the Charteston Patriot for April, 1830, it would appear that other means of propulsion had been tried. " Yesterday afternoon, a sail was set on a car on the railroad, before a large assembly of persons. It went at the rate of twelve to fifteen miles per hour, with fifteen persons on board. After- wards thirteen persons and three tons of iron were carried at the Rathuays and Waterways. 291 rate of ten miles per hour. Considering the haste, and imperfect manner, in which the sail was got up, the result was highly grati- fying." But the most curious of propelling machines was one invented by Detmold. This was an engine run by a horse walking on an endless platform like the early horse-ferries. This curious machine carried passengers at the rate of twelve miles an hour. Observe how the interior of the continent has been thrown open to civilization. A Santa F^ merchant wrote in 1830, "on the day of our departure (with wagon-trains drawn by mules) from Independence we passed the last human abode upon our route; therefore, from the borders of Missouri to those of New Mexico, not even an Indian settlement greeted our eyes." And when wagons instead of pack-mules were first used for internal transportation, the extraordinary nature of the change was sufificient to justify the following in Nile's Register for May 8, 1850: "A party of seventy men, with ieyi wagons, was recently fitting out at St. Louis, for an expedition to the Rocky Mountains ! What next ? " Nearly thirty years later a regular stage line was established, by the Pike's Peak Express Company, between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains. Transportation was effected by wagon-trains, and ox and mule-trains; and so perfectly did this line work, 292 Triumphant Democracy. that a distance of seven hundred miles was made in six days and nights. Then in the spring of i860 the owners of tlie Pike's Peak stage hne established what was known as the Pony Express, which served as a daily fast-mail line between the cities of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The scheme was a marvel of American enterprise. Previous to that time, over three weeks were required to convey mails by steamer from New York to San Francisco. This Pony Express made the distance between the railway terminus on the Missouri River and the Pacific in eight or nine days. Brave men and first-class stock were required, for Indians and highwaymen were often encountered, and the relay stations were sometimes burned, and the stock run off. Almost the entire distance of nearly two thousand miles to be traversed was one vast solitude. No de- lays were permitted, the mail-bags were kept constantly on the move during these long and lonely trips. Horses were changed at every station, and riders at intervals of from fifty to seventy miles. The rapid time made caused the government to send the mails overland. From such small beginnings has grown the magnifi- cent railroad system of America. When the success of the first road had been proved, others quickly sprang into existence ; and presently all over the inhabited portions of the continent men were digging, grading, blasting, tunnelling at a rate which has hardly suffered Railways and Waterways. 293 diminution, and has never ceased. The development of the resources of the country by means of these artificial highways has gone on with marvellous rapidity. Finally the idea of stretching a railway line across the entire continent began to take possession of the public mind. As early as 1846 the feasibility of such an undertaking had been discussed in Congress, and in 1849 the idea took tangible shape in the form of a bill introduced by Senator Benton. In 1851 surveying parties were sent out to decide upon a route ; but delays afterwards resulted from differences between the Northern and Southern States. When the war removed this obstacle acts of Congress were passed providing subsidies in gold and land to the corporations author- ized to build the road. Work was commenced in 1863, but only in a dilatory way. In 1865 the work progressed at a rate unheard of before. The rails were laid at the rate of two and three miles a day, and in one instance eight miles of track were laid. The line was com- pleted and thrown open to traffic throughout its entire length in 1869. Since then three other transcontinen- tal lines have been constructed ; and now every part of the great Republic is the neighbor of the other part. The Bostonian does not think of his fellow-citizens of New Orleans as one thousand six hundred miles away, but as distant only forty-odd hours. The New Yorker does not speak of the thousand miles intervening be- tween him and Chicago, but only of the twenty-four 294 Triumphant Democracy . hours required to get there. In one sense space has been annihilated in America, and time is now the only measure of men's separation from each other. American railways were built under charters for short distances, but as population increased these were consolidated and managed as great through-lines be- tween termini hundreds of miles apart. In time these main lines absorbed branch and connecting lines, and now there are several systems, each serving extensive districts. Of these the most important, the Pennsyl- vania, is a good example. Its net-work of lines aggre- gates five thousand four hundred and ninety-one miles, with more than a thousand miles of second, third, and fourth tracks : gross earnings in 1884 were $80,000,000 (;^ 1 6,000,000). The tonnage was sixty-three million tons, and the cost of moving perhaps the lowest in the world, being about four mills (less than a half- penny) per ton per mile. Certainly no rates for traffic in Europe are so low as the average received by the Pennsylvania Railroad. This line is solidly built, stone ballasted, and in every respect compares favorably with the trunk lines of Europe, if we except numerous road crossings at grade which would not be tolerated abroad. From its depot opposite New York four times per day through trains start for the great West, with sleeping- coaches which run through without change to Chicago, St. Louis, and Cincinnati ; in special cases when desired, the travelling party may pass on to San Francisco or to Railways and Waterways. 295 New Orleans without change. A " dining" or " hotel- car" is attached at proper intervals and every luxury supplied upon these peripatetic Delmonicos. The New York Central, Erie, and Baltimore and Ohio are sys- tems of similar character between the East and West. Chicago, the Western metropolis, has also its corre- sponding railway systems some of which are of great magnitude. The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy has three thousand three hundred and seventy-three miles, the Chicago and North-western three thousand two hundred and seventy-one miles, and the Chicago, Mil- waukee and St. Paul, the work of that man of Aberdeen, Alexander Mitchell, no less than four thousand eight hundred and four miles under its sway. It is with railways as with manufacturers ; consoli- dation into the hands of a few organizations seems the inevitable tendency. The saving and efficiency thus effected over the hundred former disjointed petty cor- porations, each with its officers and staffs, are so mani- festly great that nothing can prevent these consoli- dations. What the outcome of this massing of forces is to be is difficult to foretell, but that it is in accordance with economic laws is certain ; therefore we can pro- ceed without fear. We are on sure ground, hence the final result must be beneficial. If corporations grow to gigantic size and attempt to use their powers like giants, forgetting that they are the creatures and ser- vants of the State, we may safely trust the Democracy 296 Triumphant Democracy. to deal with them. There is no problem which an edu- cated people cannot and will not solve in the interests of the people when solution is demanded. The American railway system, starting fifty-five years ago at nothing, has reached, in 1885, one hundred and twenty-eight thousand miles of line. The whole of Europe has not so many, for in 1883 it had only one hundred and fourteen thousand three hundred miles, and the entire world but two hundred and seventy- nine thousand eight hundred and fifty miles. The rec- ord for the past ten years shows with what strides the iron road is girding the continent, for during that period no less than fifty-four thousand two hundred and eighty miles were built. When we read that in 1880 India, with its two hundred and fifty millions of people, added to its railways only two hundred and seventy-three miles, and the Republic, with its fifty millions, added in 1881 eleven thousand five hundred miles, we get some idea of the speed at which she rushes on. Tlie whole oj Europe has not built as many miles of railway as the Re- public has during some recent years, and in 1 880 the whole world did not build as many. It will be only a few years, probably not ten, ere the railway lines of America exceed in length those of all the rest of the world. The Repub- lic in one scale, and " The World " in the other, and " The World " kicking the beam ! Monster, you were called into existence only to redress the balance of the Old World, and within one short century we find you Railways and Waterways. 297 threatening to weigh it down ! The Republic against " the field " and no takers ! In no other country is travel so comfortable and luxurious. For this we are chiefly indebted to a re- markable American invention, the sleeping-car, without which such extended lines would have remained an im- perfect instrument for the consolidation of the people. Journeys between the oceans, requiring seven days and nights to perform, or even that between Chicago and other Western cities to New York and the East, which occupy but twenty-four to forty-eight hours' con- secutive travel, could have been undertaken only in ex- treme cases, had the unfortunate traveller been required to sit up, as in the old-fashioned cars. Well do I re- member that, when a clerk in the service of the Penn- sylvania Railroad Company, a tall, spare, farmer-looking kind of man came to me once when I was sitting on the end seat of the rear car looking over the line. He said he had been told by the conductor that I was connected with the railway company, and he wished me to look at an invention he had made. With that he drew from a green bag (as if it were for lawyers' briefs), a small model of a sleeping berth for railway cars. He had not spoken a minute, before, like a flash, the whole range of the dis- covery burst upon me. " Yes," I said, "that is some- thing which this continent must have." I promised to address him upon the subject as soon as I had talked over the matter with my superior, Thomas A. Scott. 298 Trhi')nphant Democracy. I could not get that blessed sleeping-car out of my head. Upon my return I laid it before Mr. Scott, de- claring that it was one of the inventions of the age. He remarked : " You are enthusiastic, young man, but you may ask the inventor to come and let me see it." I did so, and arrangements were made to build two trial cars, and run them on the Pennsylvania Railroad. I was offered an interest in the venture, which, of course, I gladly accepted. Payments were to be made ten per cent, per month after the cars were delivered, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company guaranteeing to the builders that the cars should be kept upon its line and under its control. This was all very satisfactory until the notice came that my share of the first payment was $217.50(^^43). How well I remember the exact sum ; but two hun- dred and seventeen dollars and a half were as far be- yond my means as if it had been millions. I was earn- ifig $50 (.£^10) per month, however, and had prospects, or at least I always felt that I had. What was to be done? I decided to call on the local banker, Mr. Lloyd, state the case, and boldly ask him to advance the sum upon my interest in the affair. He put his hand on my shoulder and said : " Why, of course, Andie, you are all right. Go ahead. Here is the money." It is a proud day for a man when he pays his last note, but not to be named in comparison with the day in which he makes his first one, and gets a Railways and Waterways. 299 banker to take it. I have tried both and I know. The cars paid the subsequent payments from their earnings. I paid my first note from my savings so much per month, and thus did I get my foot upon for- tune's ladder. It is easy to climb after that. A tri- umphant success was scored. And thus came sleeping- cars into the world. " Blessed be the man who invented sleep," says Sancho Panza. Thousands upon thou- sands will echo the sentiment, Blessed be the man who invented sleeping-cars. Let me record his name and testify my gratitude to him, my dear, quiet, modest, truthful, farmer-looking friend, T. T. Woodruff, one of the benefactors of the age. This brings us to another remarkable man, George M. Pullman, as great a genius in organization and administration as Woodruff was in his peculiar line. It did not take this typical American of Chicago very long to see what part sleeping-cars were bound to play upon the American continent ; and while a few cautious old gentlemen in Philadelphia were managing the origi- nal cars, in that dawdling temporising way which is so amusing, making ten bites of even the smallest cherry, this young man laid his daring plans. He would con- tract for twenty or thirty cars, while the Philadelphia people hesitated to engage for one. The result was that Mr. Pullman completely eclipsed them. I soon saw that we had a genius to deal with, and advised the old concern to capture Mr. Pullman. There was a capture, 300 Triumphant Democracy. but it did not quite take that form. They found them- selves swallowed by this ogre, and Pullman monopo- lized everything. It was well that it should be so. The man had arisen who could manage, and the tools belonged to him. To-day his company has a paid-up capital of about thirty millions of dollars, and its rami- fications extend everywhere. Mr. Pullman is a remark- able man, for he not only manages this business, he has created it. Before he appeared upon the scene a sleeping-car company had no rights which a railway company was bound to respect. Mr. Pullman has made the business respectable, and the travelling public are very much his debtors. Should Mr. Pullman's life be spared, I prophesy that the young contractor for ele- vating buildings in Chicago will leave a monument for himself in his new industrial town of Pullman which will place his name with those of Salt of Saltaire and Godin of Guise. A short roll of honor this, which contains the list of those who, springing from honest poverty, have made fortunes through honest toil, and then — ah, here comes the secret of the shortness of the list — and then turning back to look upon the poor workers where they started, have thereafter devoted their fortune and abihties so to improve the indus- trial system as to give to that class a better chance in life than it was possible for themselves to obtain. Mr. Pullman has made a start upon this toilsome path. His future deserves to be carefully watched. Railways and Waterways. 301 If ever aerial navigation becomes practicable it will like railways attain its highest development in America ; for here men's lives are too full of activity to permit lounging in parlor-cars drawn wearily by a locomotive at only forty miles an hour when it is possible for men to soar through the air and outstrip their own symbolic eagle in its flight. Nature has done much for America as regards facil- ities for transportation. Her inland seas, containing one-third of all the fresh water in the world, and her great rivers lay ready at hand awaiting only the applica- tion of steam to vessels to render them magnificent highways. A vessel sailing round the edges of these American lakes traverses a greater distance than from New York to Liverpool. The rivers of America are also the largest in the world. After the Amazon and the La Plata comes the Mississippi, with an outflow of over two million cubic feet per hour. This mighty river, which the Indians called in their picturesque language Father of Waters, is equal in bulk to all the rivers of Europe combined, exclusive of the Volga. It is equal to three Ganges, nine Rhones, twenty-seven Seines, or eighty Tibers. "The mighty Tiber chafing with its flood," says the Master. How would he have described the Mississippi on the rampage after a spring flood, when it pours down its mighty volume of water and overflows the ad- jacent lowlands ! Eighty Tibers in one ! Burns' pic- 302 Trimnphant Demoa'acy. ture of the pretty little Ayr in flood has been extolled, where the foaming waters came down " an acre braid." What think you of a tumbling sea twenty miles " braid " instead of your " acre," dear Robin ? The length of the Mississippi is two thousand two hundred and fifty miles, while its navigable tributaries exceed twenty thousand miles. The Father of Waters collects his substance from water-sheds covering an area of more than two and a half million square miles. The Hudson is navigable by large steamers as far as Albany, one hundred and fifty miles inland from the Atlantic. There are quite a dozen other rivers in which the like is possible. Many well-known sea-ports are considerable distances from the coast properly speaking. Such are Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans, and on the Pacific coast, Portland. The presence of inland ports, with extensive docks, piers, and large craft, is a constant source of astonishment to the European trav- eller. The sight of ships of three thousand tons burden, fifteen hundred miles from salt water, is sufificient to surprise one in whom the sight of rigged ships has al- ways been associated with the sea. Walking along the quays of the lake cities, Buffalo, Toledo, Chicago, or Duluth, one might well imagine himself at the sea-coast. These great natural waterways have been supple- mented, and connected with each other by artificial canals. There were in the United States in 1880, four thousand four hundred and sixty-eight miles of Railways and Waterways. 303 canals, which had cost $265,000,000 (;£'5 3,000,000). Nearly two thousand miles of canal had, however, been abandoned, having been rendered valueless by the superior facilities offered by railroads. Many of the canals still worked were reported not to be paying ex- penses, and part of these also will no doubt soon be abandoned. The freight traffic on canals in 1880 amounted to twenty-one million forty-four thousand two hundred and ninety-two tons, yielding a gross in- come of §45,000,000 (^9,000,000). The early history of navigation in America presents as many curious contrasts and interesting facts as do other divisions of the history of American progress. From beginnings which to us seem ludicrously small and crude, the greatest results have come. At the be- ginning of the century a successful steamboat had not been built. For twenty or thirty years inventors in France, Scotland, England, and America had been working and planning to apply a principle which they saw was perfectly applicable ; but lacking knowledge of one or two little essentials, they only passed from fail- ure to failure, yet constantly getting nearer and nearer to success. John Fitch and Oliver Evans are the names of the earliest representatives of America in this great struggle. After each experimenter had contributed some new light, an American engineer, Robert Fulton by name, gathered, in 1807, the multipHcity of lights into one 304 Tinitmphant Democracy. great flame, and made practicable by the help of all what each had tried in vain to achieve by himself. Fulton's " Clermont " was the first commercially suc- cessful steamboat ever built. A boat of one hundred and sixty tons burden, she was launched on the Hudson in 1807, and ran over a year as a passenger boat between New York and Albany. The first steamboat of the Mississippi Valley was built by Fulton in 181 1, and was called the " Orleans." She had a stern wheel, and went from Pittsburg to New Orleans, more than two thou- sand miles, in fourteen days. The next year Henry Bell, of Scotland, built the " Comet," of thirty tons, which plied between Glasgow and Greenoch, and in 1813 sailed around the coasts of the British Isles. In 1819 the " Savannah," three hundred and eighty tons burden, crossed the Atlantic from America, visited Liverpool, St. Petersburg, and Copenhagen, and returned. Nine- teen years later, the " Great Western," one thousand three hundred and forty tons, and the " Sirius," steamed across the Atlantic from England, and only two years afterwards, namely 1840, the present justly celebrated Cunard line was established, inaugurating an era of ocean travel which has revolutionized human life, and brought the old and new worlds within six days of each other. On a Sunday afternoon in August last, I sailed from Queenstown upon the Cunarder " Etruria," and on Saturday afternoon the noble ship was mov- ing up New York Bay. Just six days from harbor Railways and Waterways. 305 to harbor. That was my last trip across the ferry ; contrast it with my first, seven weeks upon a sailing vessel ! Internal navigation has an equally interesting his- tory. The earliest transportation by water was ef- fected by means of keel-boats. These drifted down well enough with the current, but had to be forced up stream with setting poles. The keel-boat was long and narrow, sharp at the bow and stern, and of light draft. From fifteen to twenty hands were re- quired to propel it. The crew, divided equally on each side, took their places upon the running boards extending along the whole length of the craft ; and each man, setting one end of a long pole in the bottom of the river, brought the other to his shoulder, and bending over it, with his face nearly to the plank, ex- erted all his force against the boat, treading it from under him. While those on one side were thus passing down in line to the stern, those on the other, facing about, were passing towards the bow, drawing their poles floating on the water. The keel-boatmen kept their rifles constantly within reach in case Indians should attempt to surprise them. Their journeys often lasted several months. These keel-boatmen, living a semi-barbarous life, developed traits more befitting the aboriginal savage than the descendants of Europeans. Human life with them appears to have had little more sanctity than the lives of the animals they shot on the 3o6 Tritnnphant Democracy. river-banks. The descriptions of the now extinct keel- boatmen, left by contemporary writers surpass in hor- rible detail anything ever written of Western cow- boys or miners. They have now disappeared before steamboats and civilization as completely as the wilder- nesses amongst which their lives were mostly spent. With other barbarisms of " the good old times," they have sunk into oblivion. R. I. P. One of the earliest packet lines we read about is the following : "On the nth of January, 1794, a line of two keel-boats with bullet-proof covers and port-holes, and provided with cannon and small arms, was established between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, each making a trip once in four weeks." . . • , The defensive acquipment of these keel-boats is very suggestive. Nothing enables one better to contrast " now " and " then." It is interesting to read how our fathers occasion- ally compared the comforts of their days with the dis- comforts of our grandfathers ; how proudly they spoke of improvements, and how delighted and content they were with accommodations which seem to us comfort- less and mean. Here is a characteristic sample, written about 1845, when steamboats, uncomfortable and slow, were everywhere replacing lines of stages or horse- packets. " In leaving Bangor, Maine, in a steamboat, though only for a short trip, I am thereby reminded of the difference which has taken Railways and Waterways. 307 place in our city, and througliout the country, in the mode of trav- elling between the present time and only twenty years since. I say twenty years, because it is about twenty years since I left the pa- ternal home, and in the good sloop ' Betsy' toolc passage for Bangor, where we arrived in safety after eight days' toil. The usual mode of travelling then, from Bangor, was by the lumber coasters ; in which passengers, male and female, were stowed away in the few berths in the cabin, or sprawled around upon the uncarpeted floor. There was indeed a semi-packet with a few extra berths hung round, with a narrow and rather scanty red bombazette frill. But mean as these accommodations may now (1845) be considered, they afforded the best means of conveyance between Bangor and Massachusetts, and during the rainy seasons in the spring and fall — the only con- veyance ; for instead of three daily stages west, as now, the mail was carried once a week only, and then on horseback between Bangor and Augusta. During the winter, to be sure, Moses Bur- ley conveyed the mail, and occasionally a passenger or two in a sleigh with a tandem team ; and during the summer in a ricketty covered wagon. . . . Then there was no small mail route to any of the towns above Bangor, and the old register in the monthly advertisement of the postmaster, of two fingers' long, enumerated letters for the whole region round about. These reminiscences have brought vividly to mind the appearance of the village as it was then. There were but five brick buildings erected, including the old distil house, that has since been removed to give place to the City Point Block. There were but eighteen stores — a few me- chanics' shops — one bridge, and that the Kenduskeay, where toll was required — the court-house, now city hall — a wooden gaol — three taverns, and a few dwellings.'' How delightfully confidential this old writer is ! He has long since been gathered to his fathers, and even his 3o8 Tri7iinphant Democracy. name is forgotten, but he must have been a good man, who took an intelligent interest in what he saw. Though steamboats offered greater facilities and comfort to travellers than sloops, or stages, yet they were miserably conducted, and often dangerous. In- deed, the frequency of collision and explosions was appalling. It became common to have " safety-barges " towed by the steamboat ; and an illustration of a boat of this character appended to an advertisement in the Commercial Advertiser for June i6, 1830, shows that the engine and boiler (and apparently the paddle-wheel) were placed right at the bow, as far away as possible from the passengers on the "safety-barge." In 1834-5 Miss Martineau found steamboat travelling in the West proverbially danger- ous. She says: "I was rather surprised at the cautions I received through- out the South about choosing wisely among the Mississippi steam- boats ; and at the question gravely asked, as I was going on board, whether I had a hfe-preserver with me. I found that all my acquaintances on board had furnished themselves with life-preserv- ers, and my surprise ceased when we passed boat after boat on the river delayed or deserted on account of some accident." Since that day the stringent regulations which pro- vide for governmental inspection of all boats, have made steamboat travel upon the rivers as safe as it is delightful. An excursion from St. Louis or Cincinnati to New Orleans upon one of the floating palaces which Railways and Waterways. 309 now traverse the lower Ohio and Mississippi ranks as one of the most enjoyable modes in which a holiday can be spent. The traffic floated upon these Western rivers will surprise many. Take the Ohio, for instance ; a compe- tent authority has stated that the total of its trade from its head at Pittsburg to its mouth at New Cairo, about a thousand miles, exceeded in 1874 $800,000,000, or ;^ 1 60,000,000, a sum greater than the total exports of the nation about which we hear so much. It is upon the Ohio that the cheapest transportation in the world exists. Coal, coke, and other bulky articles are trans- ported at the rate of one-twentieth of a cent., one-forti- eth of a penny per ton per mile. This is made possible by means of barges, many of which are lashed together and pushed ahead by a steam tug. The current, of course, carries along the floating mass. The steamer has little to do but to guide while descending and to tow the empty barges back. The records of 1884 show that there were owned in the city of Pittsburg for use on the river four thousand three hundred and twenty-three vessels, including barges, with a tonnage of one million seven hundred thousand tons. One hun- dred and sixty-three of these were steamboats. Twenty thousand miles of navigable waterways lie before these Pittsburg craft, and many thousand miles more are ready to be opened by easily-constructed improve- ments in the lesser streams. This work the general 3IO Triumphant Democracy. government is steadily performing year after year, as well as improving the existing navigation. Even to- day a boat can start from Pittsburg for a port four thousand three hundred miles distant, as far as from New York to Queenstown and half-way back, or as far away as the Baltic ports are from New York. Said I not truly, that Nature made Britain only as a small model and the Republic full working size? From what a small acorn has the mighty oak of river navigation grown ! Here is the very first proph- ecy of the coming events connected with the use of these great streams, and from whom, of all men, should such a prophecy more fittingly come than from a minister ? Here are the words of the Rev. Manasseh Cutter, D.D., LL.D., of Ipswich, Massachusetts, who was at once minister, scientist, statesman, and the agent of the New England and Ohio Company, which started at Marietta, Ohio. Blessed man, he it was who succeeded in getting passed the famous ordinance of 1787, which prohibited slavery in the old North- west Territory, and secured that fair domain forever to freedom. Here is the prediction he made in a pamph- let published in 1787: , : 1 . . " The current down the Mississippi and Ohio, for heavy articles that suit the Florida (Mississippi) and West Indian markets, such as Indian corn, flour, beef, timber, etc., will be more loaded than any stream on earth. ! ! ! ! It was found by late experiments that sails are used to great advantage against the current of the Railways and Waterways. 311 Ohio ; and it is worthy of observation thai, in all probability, steamboats will be found to be of infinite service in all our river navigation." That was written twenty years before Fulton's prac- tically successful application of steam to navigation, and a quarter of a century before the first steamboat which ever ploughed the Western rivers was built at Pittsburg. Six years after the prediction about steam- boats the country hailed, as a wonderful evidence of progress, the inauguration of a regular line of* sail and oar boats between Cincinnati and Pittsburg. Two boats were built for the line. They made the round journey every four weeks, so that every two weeks a traveller had a chance to start, and take a two weeks journey on the beautiful river. I wish, as I write, that we could do so now. This was our Nile in a dahabeah right here at home. Why do not we try it now ? What could be more delightful than the Ohio in a small boat moved by oar and sail ? We have not the time, we say. Ah, ladies and gentlemen, we have not the sense. But just listen to the precautions deemed essential, as late as the beginning of the century, which the ad- vertisement sets forth : " No danger need be apprehended from the enemy, as every person on board will be under cover made proof against rifle or musket balls, with convenient portholes for firing out. Each of the boats is armed with six pieces carrying a pound ball, also a number of good muskets amply supplied with ammunition." 3 1 2 Triumphant Democracy. So the tedium of the journey, you see, was likely to be relieved by a skirmish now and then with the noble savage, and our travellers were not expected not to shoot back from under their ironclad cover. The first steamboat troubled the waters in 1811. In 1810 we find Cramer s Magazine Almanac making the startling announcement : " A company has been formed for the purpose of navigating the river Ohio, in large boats, to be propelled by the power of steam-engines. The boat now on the stocks is one hundred and thirty-eight feet keel, and calculated for a freight, as well as a pas- senger boat, between Pittsburgh and the falls of the Ohio." It is gratifying to learn that in one year the " New Orleans," for such was the name, actually cleared $20,000 (i^4,000). No wonder the building of steam- boats rapidly increased. There is nothing so creative as a good dividend. The steamboats plying between New York and Bos- ton, and also upon the Hudson between New York and Albany, have always impressed the foreign traveller as unequalled. The dimensions of some of the floating palaces are noteworthy. The tonnage of the " Pil- grim," for instance, is three thousand five hundred registered tons, making her the largest inland steamboat in the world ; speed, twenty knots per hour. She car- ies one thousand four hundred passengers, and is lighted by nine hundred and twelve electric lamps. Miss Martineau has left a description of boat travel- Railways and Waterways. 313 ling on the Erie Canal in New York State. Compare the following with our floating palaces and Pullman " On fine days," she writes, " it is pleasant enough sitting out- side (except for having to duck under the bridges, every quarter of an hour, under penalty of having one's head crushed to atoms) and in dark evenings the approach of the boat-lights on the water is a pretty sight ; but the horrors of night and wet days more than compensate for all the advantages these vehicles can boast. The heat and noise, the known vicinity of a compressed crowd, laying packed like herrings in a barrel, the bumping against the sides of the locks, and the hissing of water therein like an inundation, start- ling one from sleep — these things are very disagreeable. " The appearance of the berths in the ladies' cabin were so re- pulsive that we were seriously contemplating sitting out all night when it began to rain so as to leave us no choice." This journey from Utica to Schenectady, a distance of eighty miles, took twenty-two hours, while the packet to Rochester, one hundred and sixty miles, took forty-six hours ; much longer than is now required to go from New York to St. Paul, Minnesota, one thou- sand three hundred and twenty-two miles. In the short fifty years under review, we have dis- placed the stuffy, slow, canal boat as a mode of travel for the limited express ; the small steamer with its safety barge for the floating palaces. If there is anything calculated to make man thank- ful for the blessings which he enjoys in this last quar- ter of the nineteenth century, it is the study of the con- 314 Triumphant Democracy. ditions of life under which our ancestors Hved. Not that we can form even an estimate of them. Discom- forts which would make life unendurable to us were unnoticed by them, and probably they suffered in many ways at which we cannot even guess. If the record of their miserable mode of life were complete, the picture would without doubt be even more repulsive than it is. Auguste Comte has gravely propounded a religion of humanity which he says is worshipful because of its victories over nature, and over the discomforts by which the life of primitive man was surrounded. There have been religions founded on less worthy grounds than these. Man has indeed played a wonderful part in the world ; and nothing can be more marvellous than the way in which he has subjugated the forces of nature, and yoked them to his chariot and his boat. But let us be modest, for as sure as fate those of the next generation, looking back upon this, our present life, are to contrast their happier condition with ours and pity us as we have ventured to pity our forefathers. The march of humanity is upward and onward, for all the countless ages to come. Improved physical con- ditions react upon mental conditions and some day man is to read with surprise that once there was upon earth a state of warfare between divisions called nations, that Europe once continually taught nine millions of men how best to butcher their fellows, and called this vile work a profession. The coming man will marvel that Railways and Waterways. 3 1 5 intemperance prevailed in these barbarous days, that there were paupers and criminals without number, and that even in Britain the many were kept down by the few, that the soil there was held and used by a class, and that a million sterling was taken from the public revenues every year by one family and spent in vulgar ostentation or riotous dissipation, a family which was an insult to every other family in the land, since it involved the born inferiority of all others. He is to read of all this as we now read of the armored keel-boat and the horse locomotive, and thank his stars he was not born as we have been before the dawn of civilization. " As one man's meat is another man's poison," so one age's civilization is the next age's barbarism. We shall all be barbarians to our great, great, grandchildren. We have not travelled far yet, with all our progress upon the upward path, but we still go marching on. That which is, is better than that which has been. It is the mission of Democracy to lead in this triumphant march and improve step by step the conditions under which the masses live ; to ring out the Old, and to ring in the New ; and in this great work the Republic rightly leads the van. CHAPTER XIV. ART AND MUSIC. " The study of art possesses this great and peculiar charm, that it is absolutely unconnected with the struggles and contests of ordinary life. . . It is a taste at once engrossing and unselfish, which may be indulged without effort, and yet has the power of exciting and to gratify both the nobler and softer parts of our nature, the imagination and the judgment, love of emotion and power of reflection, the enthusiasm and the critical faculty, the senses and the reason." — GuizOT. "Of all the liberal arts, music has the greatest influence over the pas- sions, and is that to which the legislator ought to give the greatest encour- agement. A well composed song strikes and softens the mind, and pro- duces a greater effect than a moral work, which convinces our reason, but does not warm our feelings, nor effect the slightest alteration in our habits." — Napoleon at St. Helena. Half a century ago, it was the fashion in Europe to decry anything American, and to sneer at even the sug- gestion of culture in the United States. A country with- out historical or poetical associations, devoid of all the sources from which the genius of the Old World had derived its inspirations — in short, a new country whose energies must for generations be directed in practical channels can not hope to compete, it was argued, in the fine arts with nations whose traditions and culture reach back for centuries. In 1824 a contributor to Blackwood's Magazme wrote : Art and Music. 317 " The fine arts, generally, are neglected by the Americans. By this I mean, that they, the Americans, do not themselves cultivate them. They have foreign musical composers and sculptors, among them, most of whom are indigent or starving, but none of their own. Architecture is hardly in a better state. I know of no capital American architect." The writer then makes one exception to his sweep- ing declaration — painting. " In this the Americans have made a surprising proficiency ; surprising, not only by comparison with what they have done in every other department ; but surprising (if we consider their num- bers, infancy, and want of encouragement), when compared with what we ourselves have done, or any other people, during the same period." He then cites, in support of this assertion, the names of Copley, West, Trumbull, Rembrandt Peale, Allston, Morse, Sully, Stuart, Leslie, Newton, and Chester Harding, but ends by qualifying his praise with the remark that the most celebrated of these men were educated in Great Britain, and some of them born there. Another class of critics went still further and as- serted that a genius for art was incompatible with a republican form of government. " It would seem," says a writer, of about the same time, in the London Quarterly Review, " that a high and refined genius for art is indigenous to monarchies, and under such a form of government alone can it flourish, either vigorously 3i8 Triumphant Democracy. or securely. The United States of North America can never expect to possess a fine school of art, so long as they retain their present system." Art indigenous to monarchies ! Did any one ever hear such an absurdity ? The great lav.' is that each shall produce fruit after its kind, but this genius makes a monarchy produce the greatest of all republics, the re- public of art. In art, the source of that which gives the finer touches to human life, all is republican ; there is no trace of hereditary privileges within its bounds ; it is as free, as unstained of these injustices as the American Republic itself. Art asks not, " Wast thou cottager or king, Peer or peasant ; no such thing." Who knows or cares who Michelangelo's father was ; or what was Beethoven's birth, or whether Raphael was an aristocrat, or Wagner the son of a poor actuary of police ? Just imagine monarchy in art — a hereditary painter, for instance, or a sculptor who only was his father's son, or a musician, because born in the profes- sion ! What claims from birth have Liszt, Rubenstein, Gliick, or the Scotch laddies from their heather hills, the sons of shepherds and tradesmen ; the Millaises, Orchard- sons, Petties, Hunters, and Blacks, but from the re- publicanism of art. Our rulers these, in art, by virtue of the universal suffrage of their fellows. The royal vio- linist's parentage gives him no place in art which he has Art and Music. 319 not earned, nor do the creditable etchings or sculptures of the royal princesses advance them one iota beyond the merit of their work. Nor is it in the power of Vic- toria, nor can it be her wish, to advance them one step in the republic of art, were she twenty times their mother. " A king can make a belted knight A marquis, duke, and a' that," but let him try his hand upon creating ranks in the commonwealth of art, of music, and of literature, and where is he ! The aristocrats there are better born than he himself because heaven-born ; " nobles by the right of an earlier creation, priests by the imposition of a mightier hand." Millais and Leighton, Benedict and Sullivan were knighted by the monarch, but these rulers in art and music have not yet recog- nized Her Majesty or any of her family in their repub- lics beyond the stage of " Honorable Mention." The Queen dispenses her degrees, even to a peerage, for brewing beer or playing court lackey. In the republics of- art and letters, as Her Majesty finds, our rulers are much more fastidious. The standard is different. If Art be, as she is, a most jealous mistress, she is as just as she is exacting and no respecter of persons. There is nothing monarchical about her. Nay, when the monarch leaves the tinsel of ofificial life and rises to real work in the higher domain of art, her drawings are pro- nounced good, and by so much she is an artist. Her 320 Triumphant Democracy. books — for letters, too, like art, are republican — are most creditable in this, that a queen should have thought about making a book at all ; for it is true all the same that " a book's a book although there's nothing in't," and the effort to write a book is in itself praise- worthy. Whatever a person of high rank achieves in the higher realms of art deserves handsome acknowl- edgment. The royal family of England to-day should receive, and I pay them the compliment to believe they do receive, more genuine satisfaction from their literary and artistic labors than from their rank, and would value distinction in the republics of art, music, and letters, if acquired, beyond rank in society — which can confer no honor, because purely accidental ; for such, my readers, is the effect of this republican atmosphere in letters and art upon all who once enter its charmed circle and breathe its sweet influences, that even these royal peo- ple, exalted by a fiction in political life, would be the first to repel with proud indignation the slightest inti- mation that their works were to be judged by any lower standard than the republican test — by the suffrage of the people, in comparison with the performances of the sons of shepherds, delvers, weavers, and ditchers, their equals in the Republic. This is highly creditable to them. Such as have contributed, however humbly, to art, music, or literature — beginning with Her Majesty herself — are to be held in special honor. They have their places in the republic of art. Were the Prince of Art and Music. 321 Wales animated, like them, with the true spirit of art and letters, it might extend to his ideas about position, and then he could not accept the throne except by a vote of his fellows calling him to it, as the person best fitted to serve the State. He would scorn place granted for any reason but for his ability to serve. His motto can only in this way be lived up to. Death levels all ranks ; the republics of art and of let- ters do no less. Contestants for place in these gracious commonwealths are stripped of all distinctions and start upon equal terms. The equality of the citizen is the fundamental law upon which is founded all that brings sweetness and light to human life. Thus, my friends, art is republican, literature is republican, religion is re- publican. (No hereditary privilege in the church.) Every good is republican. That alone which is value- less, hurtful, and unjust is monarchical ; but fortu- nately, as we have seen, the poison of hereditary rank is confined to very narrow limits, beyond which it is not recognized. This curious writer, who would have monarchy allied with art, built his theory upon the exploded idea that only monarchs and the aristocracy, which flutters around courts, could or would patronize the beautiful. That theory is unfortunate, in view of the fact that the best patrons of art are the Americans, and the mon- archy, at least, is not conspicuous for its treatment of art or artists. Music and art, like literature, flour- 21 322 Triumphant Democracy. ish in our day, not by the patronage of a class, but from popular support. Nothing flourishes in our day but through the support of the people — monarchy itself must play to them and please them for its daily bread. One breath of popular displeasure and it becomes a thing of the past. It seems strange, in the light of the present, that any one could read history so awry as to lead him to the conclusion that monarchy favors art or literature. But it is too late to render necessary any refutation of such assertions. Tirhe has proved its falsity, and we may now safely relegate it to the curiosities of litera- ture. But there is a modicum of truth in the assertion of the writer in Blackwood of sixty years ago, that the Americans did not then cultivate the fine arts. A few painters, whose names are still pointed to with pride by their countrymen, had enlivened the drear monotony of our art horizon, but they were Americans in little more than the accident of birth. Most of them were born under the British flag, and the art of all was but a reflection of foreign schools and methods. Nor does this militate against their skill as artists, nor against the right of Americans to include them among their countrymen. It is well to remember that France had no art till Da Vinci and Primaticcio showed the way ; and that in England Holbein, Lely, and Van Dyck made possible a Reynolds and a Gainsborough. It is perhaps a little remarkable that these early American A^'t and Music. 323 painters, who won as much credit abroad as at home, should have left little inspiration behind them, for it is certain that those who immediately succeeded them did not attain to a similar reputation. Perhaps this is to be accounted for in the fact that the energies of the people were directed by the exigencies of their sur- roundings into more practical channels than the pursuit of the beautiful. In the building up of a new country there is little time for art cultivation ; the establish- ment of a political and social system and the develop- ment of industrial resources must precede and furnish the foundation on which the superstructure of art may rise. Nature must be conquered before she can be admired. Men must be fed and clothed ere they can moralize. About the beginning of the period to which we have constantly referred — of fifty years ago — American art began to rise from its dark age, as we may charac- terize the period immediately succeeding that of the colonial painters. Up to that time there had been no training schools, no public galleries of any consequence, and but a small audience capable of appreciating good work. In 1826 the National Academy of Design was organized in New York, under the presidency of Samuel F. B. Morse, as the successor of the American Academy of Fine Arts, which died after the fire of the same year had destroyed its art collection. Similar institutions had been founded early in Philadelphia and in Boston, 324 Ti'iuvtphant Democracy. but the National Academy has always exercised a paramount influence in the development of American art. About ten years later the American Art Union, an incorporated institution for the distribution, by lot, of works of art, came into existence, and during more than a decade aided much in educating the people, and in bringing into notice many artists who might otherwise have found it difificult to win recognition. But this gain was loss ; the influence of the lottery system must have transcended a hundred-fold any pos- sible advantage gained through it by art. Happily the day for such gambling is over, but we meet with the evil still, where one would least expect it. There is a moral in the story of the poor parishioner, who re- gretted to his minister that he could not pay his quarter's pew rent. " Been gambling in stocks, I suppose," said the minister, testily. " No, sir, not that." " Well, specu- lating in oil, then." " No, sir ; I went to your church fair, sir, and was roped into so many lotteries." Tableau. Several small public galleries like those of the Athenaeum in Boston, and of the Historical Society in New York, and a few private collections were found in different parts of the country, which all exercised a considerable influence in raising the standard of popu- lar taste. People began to buy pictures, and, as was natural, began by buying very poor pictures. Euro- Art and Music. 325 pean dealers, taking advantage of the comparative ig- norance of the country in art matters, flooded the principal cities with alleged examples of the old mas- ters, which found a ready sale thirty or forty years ago, but which gradually disappeared as their worthlessness was understood, and now it would be difficult to find one of these early art treasures of America in any re- spectable house unless it may have been preserved among the rubbish of the garret. The experience thus gained was of the utmost value. The American, with his quick perception, soon learned to distinguish between the good and the bad, and though his taste may in some cases seem a little "loud " to the European con- noisseur, he seldom buys anything which is absolutely worthless. He is recognized now in the European markets as one of the shrewdest, as well as one of the most liberal buyers. Throughout the world, whenever art treasures come under the hammer, the American will be found in competition with nobles, and even with crowned heads, and he is no mean competitor, for he carries a pocket full of dollars, and is not afraid to spend them where he is sure of getting his money's worth. Thus, during the past twenty years, there has been a constant flow of works of art to the United States. There is no city of importance in the country which has not its public gallery of painting and of sculpture, as well as many private collections in the houses of its citizens. These latter are often put on 326 Triumphant Democracy. exhibition as loan collections, and exert a most bene- ficial influence in creating a taste for art. Of course the United States can scarcely hope to form art collections comparable with those of the Old World, unless some unforeseen revolution should break up the great museums of some of its capital cities, when we might hope, and, indeed, expect, that many of their treasures would gravitate westward. But while the old masters are thus denied to us, we have some con- solation in knowing that a large proportion of the best modern works are brought to this country. I have ex- cellent authority for the assertion that the United States now possesses more and finer examples of the modern French and Gei'man schools of painting than are to be found in Europe. The modern Spanish and Italian schools are also well represented, the English school not so well, American taste gravitating rather to the realism of the French than to the romantic idealism of the British school. It is useless for the critics to attempt to explain the extraordinary disproportion between the influx of Brit- ish and French art into America by the assertion that the fine art dealers in the United States are mostly of French and German origin. Even if this were true, the dealers would not hesitate to import Enghsh pictures if there was a market for them. They purchase largely of English engravings, because there is a demand for them, and they can be had at a price which leaves a Art and Music. 327 good margin for profit ; they do not buy English paint- ings because they are held at prices much higher than in proportion to the talent displayed than are the works of French and German artists. This is sufficient in itself to account for the numerical preponderance of these two schools of art in the United States and for the gravitation of American taste in their direction. I would not draw any invidious comparison, but I am not sure — if I am called upon for a further explanation of the phenomenon — that the prevailing fashion of buying French paintings may not have a still more serious justification, for whatever the London critics may preach concerning the decadence of the French school, the Salon is still, as it was under the Empire, the highest art tribunal in the world. The foreign reader must not infer from what I have said of the American predilection for the French school of art that the Americans have no painters of their own. They have good painters in all departments of art, while in several branches thej' are able to compete with any other country in the world. Their landscape school is unexcelled and in marine painting they are fast approaching the standard of the British school. In portraiture they are equal to the English and French painters, and in some respects they excel the latter, being free from the academic tricks which de- tract from the dignity of Gallic art. In genre they are not far behind the French and German painters. In 3 '2 8 Triumphajit Democracy. history and allegory they are as yet weak, though several of the younger painters, now studying under French and German influences, show signs of phenom- enal ability which may soon bring America to the fore in these departments also. It may be urged with some show of justice that these painters are Americans in little more than birth and name, and that they ought properly to be classed among the French and Germans, under whose guidance they have been educated and have won their laurels. But if so strict a rule of classifi- cation were adopted we should have to give Poussin and Spagnoletto to the Italians and, to take a more mod- ern case, send Alma-Tadema back to his home in the Netherlands. Art is cosmopolitan and should have no country. Whatsoever land possesses the best schools and the best facilities for instruction through the pos- session of the master-pieces of the past, that land will attract students from every other part of the world ; and so long as the great galleries of the Old World exist so long will American students cross the ocean to study what can never under any present possibility be found at home. America has developed within the past half-century a school of sculpture which has won recognition both at home and abroad, though a visit to the national capital and to the public squares of some of the larger cities would scarcely induce such an opinion. Many of her sculptors have been educated under Ital- Art and Music. 329 ian influences, but have drawn their inspiration rather from the antique than the modern ItaHan school. Some who stand foremost at home to-day have not en- joyed the benefit of foreign instruction, and their works, consequently, possess more of the flavor of the soil, so to speak, than do those which have been ex- ecuted in strict accordance with the academic rules transmitted from antiquity. It is possible that these may develop in time into a purely American school of sculpture which shall be recognized and take its place as such in the art history of the world. In the sister art, architecture, though America's brief century of existence has not brought to light any transcendent genius like him who created the Taj Mahal or elevated the dome of St. Peter's, there has been suffi- cient advancement to meet the requirements of the coun- try. American architecture in the past cannot be said to have had any individuality, but to have been rather the result of external influences, the reflection of the art developed in Europe through centuries of growth. Like all imitations, the imported style was generally exaggerated, and often applied to uses for which it was never intended. Thus, a half-century ago the Greek style was the prevailing fashion, and not only public buildings, like the custom-houses of New York, Phila- delphia, and Boston, but also churches, town-halls, and even dwelling-houses were constructed in the semblance of classic temples. In the suburbs of any of the East- 330 Triumphant Democracy. ern towns may still be seen white painted wooden dwellings, with pretentious porticoes of Ionic or Cor- inthian columns, combined with the absurdity of mod- ern windows and green blinds. The Greek style in time gave way to the Gothic, and the classic temple was superseded by a nondescript building modelled or supposed to be modelled after the mediaeval cathedral. Some good churches were built in this style, the most successful one being Trinity Church in New York, erected in 1840-45 ; but, as the Greek style had been before, it was soon applied to uses utterly foreign to its purposes, and all kinds of buildings, including dwelling-houses, were decorated with Gothic gables, pinnacles, and battlements. This fashion in turn had its day, and in time the Gothic was restricted mostly to ecclesiastical edifices, while domestic architecture went through a variety of trans- formations involving all the styles known to the ages. In some of the larger cities, New York especially, the exigencies of space gave rise to narrow dwellings built in uniform blocks, generally of brick, faced with brown sand-stone, from which they were called " brown-stone fronts." Some of these long blocks of narrow dwel- lings, which caused the Grand Duke Alexis to remark that " the Americans live in bins," are really very hand- some, especially in Fifth Avenue, New York, a street of city residences unequalled elsewhere in the world. During the past two decades a change has gradually Art and Music. 331 been wrought in the style of city dwellings, and the uni- form Italian brown-stone fronts have been superseded by a variety of styles, each building having a marked individuality which distinguishes it from its neighbors. Many of these new residences will bear favorable com- parison, considered architecturally, with any in Europe, and in internal conveniences and modern appliances have not their equal anywhere. This is as true of the dwellings built of late years in other places as of those in New York, and the day is not far distant when every considerable town in the United States will have palatial residences rivalling those of the Old World. The architecture of municipal and mercantile build- ings in America is in a great degree, like domestic archi- tecture, the reflection of foreign examples, modified of course to some extent by new requirements. Some of the more pretentious structures, though perhaps amen- able to criticism as works of art, are notable examples of their kind and will bear comparison with similar buildings in Europe. The Capitol at Washington, though displeasing to Mr. Fergusson's critical eye, is yet a noble building and notwithstanding its short- comings better adapted for legislative uses than the British Houses of Parhament ; and the later public buildings at Washington, especially the French Renais- sance structures for the use of the War and State De- partments, are unexcelled. Many of the State capitols, notably those of New York, Connecticut, Ohio, and 332 Triumphant Democracy. other Western States, are worthy of any country. In mercantile architecture the Americans are abreast of, if not in advance of the rest of the world. The stores or shops of all of the larger cities are equal to any in European capitals, and the magnificent structures erected by insurance, banking, and other corporations, are fit for the uses of even the merchant princes of Democracy. There is nothing elsewhere in the world to compare with these structures. Buildings equally fine are to be found in that great Western city, Chi- cago. One block there has thirteen stories, the highest hardly less elaborate in decoration or less perfect in its appointments than the lowest. Indeed, the rental of offices high up is greater than that of those nearer earth. Lifts shoot skyward with a swiftness that leads the unaccustomed aeronaut to think he has left part of his anatomy on the ground floor, and they drop down again with equal rapidity. The thirteenth story is thus made as accessible as the third, while it possesses the advantages of purer air, and less noise. " Music, heavenly maid," early visited America, but finding no congenial abiding place among the sons of toil who were battling with the wilderness, returned to quieter scenes, to await the cessation of the struggle. She has now taken up her permanent abode in the Re- public; and finds herself at home even in the far West, among the roughest scenes the continent can show. Art and Music. 333 The history of music in America is a record of spir- ited enterprises and discouraging failures alternating with almost rythmic regularity. Artists of the first order, like Malibran, made a temporary success even fifty years ago ; but it is only recently that a regular opera has been established in any American city. Some of the most successful performances took place in New York half a century ago ; yet at periods it was almost impossible to get together half a dozen fiddles. A Ger- man who visited New York in 1828, wrote : " The orchestras are very bad indeed, as bad as it is possible to imagine and incomplete. Sometimes they have two clarinets, which is a great deal ; sometimes there is only one first instrument. Of bassoons, oboes, trumpets, and kettledrums one never sees a sight. However, once in a while a first bassoon is employed. Only one oboist exists in North America, and he is said to live in Baltimore. In spite of all this incompleteness they play symphonies by Haydn and grand overtures; and if a gap occurs, they think ' this is only of passing importance,' provided it rattles away again afterwards. . . . It is a self-understood custom that the leader, •mXh his violin, takes part in every solo. Hence one never hears a solo played alone by one person. This is probably done in order to get a fuller sound." This was three years after Garcia's Italian opera ap- peared in New York, and several amateur musical clubs had long been in existence. The practical and unro- mantic character of the English people long delayed acceptance of the opera in Britain. As Addison amus- ingly says: 334 Triumphant Democracy. " There is nothing that has more startled our English audience than the Italian recitative at its first entrance upon the stage. People were wonderfully surprised to hear generals singing the word of command, and ladies delivering messages in music. Our countrymen could not forbear laughing when they heard a lover chanting out a billet-doux, and even the superscription of a letter set to a tune. The famous blunder in an old play of ' Enter a king and two fiddlers solus ' was no longer an absurdity, when it was impossible for a hero in a desert, or a princess in her closet, to speak anything unaccompanied with musical instruments." In America the same cause continued to operate at a much later date. A native critic has Written a passage about his countrymen similar to the above. Speaking of the opera-goers of fifty years ago, he says : " If the inquisitive American looked in a critical way at the in- tellectual meaning of the Italian opera, he found little to satisfy his mind. On the contrary, he found it ridiculous — if he succeeded at getting at the plot of the fantastic libretto — to see an actor making such a fuss about killing himself or anybody else on account of some unsuccessful love affair, but who could not accom- plish his bloody design on account of too much singing. He wondered why two lovers, having a secret to tell each other, should go about shouting it out in endless repetitions and endless ca- denzas. He became impatient with a troop of soldiers, thundering ferocious threatening war-songs, but who, having so much to sing, could not move a step from their posts. All these things puzzled him, were a mystery to him, and annoyed and bewildered him. They on the whole, appeared to him ' much ado about nothing.'" Viewed in this matter-of-fact way, the opera does seem absurd ; and we need not wonder that it long re- Art and Music. 335 ceived scant recognition by our practical, long-headed people, who ask the why and wherefore of everything which claims their approval. At the present day, how- ever, opera is flourishing like an indigenous plant, and New York supports two great opera houses, besides numerous theatres for opera comique, etc. Every im- portant city has its opera house. Miss Nilsson found in a young Western town the best building for sound she had ever known. Jeffrey's "American Guide to Opera Houses and Theatres " contains particulars of nearly four thousand such buildings distributed all over the continent. Opening it at random, I find amongst hundreds of others the following: " Centralia : On Chicago, Kansas City & Denver Short Line of the C. & A. and W. St. L. & P. Railroads. Population, one thousand five hundred. " Threlkeld's Opera Hall. Good stage and scenery. Terms reasonable. " People's Theatre. First-class stage and scenery. Stage twenty-five feet by forty-eight feet. Piano. Rent, twenty dollars, etc." Take Oshkosh, away out in Wisconsin, two hundred miles from Chicago, with a population of twenty-two thousand ; " New Opera House. Stage, forty-two by seventy feet ; seats one thousand one hundred. "Turner House. Stage thirty by fifty ; seats eight hundred. "Wacker Hall. Thirty by fifty-four ; seats one thousand one hundred.'' 336 Triumphant Democracy. Here is Paris in Texas: "Babcock Opera House. Seats one thousand. " Paris Opera House. Seats four hundred and fifty." Idaho was a wilderness a few years ago, as was Montana. Now I see Eagle Rock, Idaho, with a total population of only seven hundred, has "Chamberlain Hall, with organ. Seats six hundred. "Glen's Hall. Seats three hundred.'' Butte City, Montana, has " New Opera House. Seats eight hundred. " Thomas' Ampitheatre. Seats one thousand five hundred. "Grand Opera House. Seats one thousand." But its population is ten thousand, so that it does not rival Eagle Rock, with its seven hundred population and Temples of the Muses to seat nine hundred. The theatres and opera houses of the principal cities in America are, of course, much superior to those in Europe, because they were built recently and have improvements unthought of years ago ; besides, the greater wealth of the country justifies greater expendi- ture upon everything. Musical societies are found in every Western town of importance. Milwaukee, with a history of only half a century, had its Musik Verein thirty-six years ago. In 185 1 this enterprising club performed the " Creation," the " Seasons," parts of the " Messiah," and parts of Rossetti's " Jesus in Gethsem- ane." Every year since it has performed works of like Art and Music. 337 character. The city has been a centre from which musical cuhure has radiated throughout the North-west. Cincinnati is another such centre. Situated midway between the Eastern cities and New Orleans, it has since early days been specially benefited as the calling- place of itinerant operatic and dramatic companies. St. Louis, Louisville, Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit, Buf- falo, Pittsburg, Denver, San Francisco, New Orleans, are all prominent examples of Western cities in which music is generally cultivated. My experience in the two lands leads me unhesitat- ingly to accord the palm to the old home for vocal music. There is no society in the Republic to compare with those which delight the masses with vocal music in the monarchy. To hear one of the best choirs in Britain sing an oratorio is one of the greatest delights. Their voices seem smoother, and, above all, the enun- ciation is perfect. Th& American voice is thin to begin with — the effect of climate, I fear — and to this is added the abominable practice of slurring over or cutting off troublesome syllables. The American woman is the most intelligent, entertaining, and most agreeable in the world. If she had her English sister's voice and enunciation she would be perfect ; but these she has not. There is a " snippiness" about her words which follows her even in oratorio. The men, of course, being more deliberate of speech are not such great sinners in this respect. America has still much to learn from the 338 Trutmphant Dejnocracy. parent land in vocal music. I wish she would begin to take lessons soon. On the other hand, America leads Britain in instrumental music — probably owing to the large infusion of the German element with which it is blessed. I have heard several competent foreign musicians pronounce the Thomas orchestra superior to that of Richter in London, or to any other orchestra in Europe, and I have sufficient faith in this opinion to challenge the best London orchestra to a contest. Let us have an international orchestral trial, our performers going to London to play upon alternate nights with Richter's fine band, and theirs coming to New York next season for the return trial. To excel in instru- mental music would be another feather in the cap of Democracy. Even to prove a worthy second to Rich- ter's orchestra would not discredit us. The cause of music could not but be benefited by the friendly family match. This year witnesses an ambitious attempt to found a national Conservatory of Music which may rival the academy founded last year in Britain. The enterprise is in excellent hands and promises to give the Republic a new institution of which it may justly be proud. A school has already been started and pupils are being re- ceived. It is held that the time has passed when the gifted sons and daughters of the Republic should find it necessary to go abroad for the highest musical instruc- tion. Even more daring is the attempt to produce Art and Music. 339 American opera, which is now being made by these en- thusiastics of the National School of Music. So far its success has surprised the public. The operas are, of course, the work of foreigners, but they are sung in English — or must we not begin to call it the American language ? " Oh ! " said a distinguished lady to another the other evening as she listened to the opera in her own language, " it's so queer to understand the language of opera, isn't it ! " " I always did, dear !" was the response. Sooner or later, the new idea is bound to conquer. The Republic will produce not only a National School of Music, but in time develop a national music itself, for it is impossible that so numerous and so rich a people and one so unusually fond of music should long remain without an institution of the highest char- acter for musical culture. We hail this present effort, therefore, with great pleasure and commend it to the support of the American people upon whom, and not upon any governmental aid, it must fortunately depend. The material progress of the Republic is not the only progress made during the triumphant march of the Democracy. In art and in music the nation is advancing with a rapidity which belies the assertion that the tendency of Democracy is to materialize a people and give it over to sordid thoughts ; that the unrestrained exercise of personal liberty ends only in the accumulation of dollars. Republicanism does not 340 Triumphant Democracy. withhold from life the sweetness and light which mainly make it worth living. Hard, unremitting toil quickly seeks appropriate relaxation. The history of music and art in America is in miniature their history throughout the world. First came struggles with nature — hard- fought battles, with corresponding adaptation of tem- perament. Then with victory came leisure, and human nature was moulded into harmony with its milder con- ditions; and then as Dryden says: " At last divine Cecilia came, Inventress of the vocal frame ; The sweet enthusiast, from her sacred store. Enlarged the former narrow bounds, And added length to solemn sounds. With nature's mother-wit, and arts unknown before." Unless the greatest and best of the race are wholly at fault in their estimate of the influence exerted upon men by art and music, we may accept the taste for these with which the Democracy can safely be credited, as an augury of promise. Life in the Republic is be- ing rapidly refined — the race for wealth ceases to be so alluring. Ostentation in dress or living is " bad form." In due time fashion may decree that its devo- tees must be neither loud nor extravagant. Music and art create the taste for the most refined, not for the coarse expression of our surroundings. It is now cer- tain that in love of art and music the Democracy even Art and Music. 341 to-day is not behind the Monarchy, and evidence is not wanting that it is entering more and more into, and elevating, year after year, not only the few, but the great masses which make up the national life of the Republic. CHAPTER XV. LITERATURE. "He hath never fed of the dainties that are bred in a book ; he hath not eat paper, as it were ; he hath not drunk ink ; his intellect is not re- plenished ; he is only an animal, only sensible in his duller parts." — SHAKESrEARE. This was not written of the omnivorous American, for he has eaten paper, as it were, and drunk ink ever since he was born. These are his daily food. As far back as the year 1836, which brings us to the beginning of the fifty years under review, a writer in the Philadel- phia Public Ledger for March 25, describing the extent of newspaper reading in America says : " In the cities of New York and Brooklyn, containing together a population of three hundred thousand, the daily circulation of the penny papers is not less than seventy thousand. These papers are to be found in every street, lane, and alley ; in every hotel, tavern, counting-house, shop, and store. Almost every porter and drayman, while not engaged in his occupation, may be seen with a penny paper in his hand." This was the year when in England the newspaper tax was reduced from 4 pence (8 cents) to a penny (2 cents) per copy, when the usual price of London papers was 5 pence (10 cents) or 6 pence (12 cents). The great Literature. 343 mass of the people, even if they could read, could only obtain a news-sheet by sharing among many the cost of the luxury. The majority of the intelligent had to be content with hearing articles read from papers to the company in a hall or coffee-room. Several factors have conspired to make the American people great newspaper readers. The Puritan settlers were active political partisans. Everything which concerned gov- ernment was of deepest interest to them ; and it was among such as they that the first manuscript news-letters had their largest circulation. The descend- ants of these hardy pilgrims inherited that jealous regard for the rights of the citizen which in the six- teenth century manifested itself in political non-com- formity, and in the eighteenth century was the propel- ling force of the American Revolution. Every man, woman, and child of New England at that trying time habitually discussed politics and sought news with an eagerness that we never feel, except under the stimulus of a great political crisis. In 1800 the young Republic had two hundred newspapers, of which several were dailies. In 1810-11 disputes with England revived men's interest in politics, an interest which became doubly keen when war was declared, and every able- bodied man took from its nail his trusty flint-lock in preparation for battle. Conceived in political tribula- tion, born amid the throes of a severe political struggle, and nursed in the midst of political excitements, the 344 Triumphant Democracy, young American nation developed an aptitude for gov- ernment which repubUcan institutions have ever since tended to strengthen. Where every man is a voter, every man is a pohtician ; and a nation of politicians is the journalist's favorite field. A further cause is the education which during the century has been so widely diffused. Teach a man how to read and you at once invest him with the appetite for reading. And what can be of greater interest than the world's history read in contemporary lights? Again, newspaper taxes have never existed in the United States. As a consequence journalism attained maturity in America earlier than in Europe. These combined factors have made the American nation greater newspaper readers than any other people. The Republic has aptly been called the editor's Paradise ; for certainly except in the "wild West," where revolvers are jocularly said to be as necessary to editors as ink-stands, journalists do have pretty much their own way. In 1880 the number of periodicals of all classes published in the United States was eleven thousand three hundred and fourteen. Of these more than four- fifths are devoted to news, politics, and family reading. The remainder are technical publications, relating to trade, industry, the professions, science, etc. More than three-fourths of the whole are weekly publica- tions, ten per cent, are monthlies ; daily newspapers form rather less than ten per cent. Ten thousand five Literature. 345 hundred and fifteen periodicals are published in the English language, and six hundred and one in German. The remaining percentage is contributed in the follow- ing languages, in this order : French, Scandinavian, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, Welsh, Bohemian, and Polish. There is, moreover, a Portuguese paper in New York, a Chinese paper in San Francisco, and a Cherokee one at Tahlequah, Indian Territory. In none of these lan- guages does the proportion of periodicals reach one per cent, of the whole. The combined issue of the peri- odical press exceeds thirty-one millions. The copies printed aggregate, in a year, one billion three hundred and forty-four million, giving an average of two copies a week to every family. - i - ■ . The growth of American newspaper literature is no less astonishing than the growth of so many other things American. The first census of the press was taken in 1850, though Mulhall gives an estimate for 1840. The number of newspapers in 1850 was about eight hundred and thirty ; ten years later it had in- creased to two thousand five hundred and twenty-six. In i860 it reached four thousand and fifty-one ; in 1870 five thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, while ten years later it had nearly doubled, reaching the number of eleven thousand three hundred and fourteen, or more than four times as many as in 1850. In cir- culation the increase has been even greater. In 1850 the average circulation per issue was five million one 346 Triumphant Democracy. hundred and forty-two thousand one hundred and seventy-seven ; it leaped to thirteen milHon six hun- dred and sixty-three thousand four hundred and nine in i860; to twenty milhon eight hundred and twenty- four thousand four hundred and seventy-five in 1870, and in 1880 it reached the enormous number of thirty- one million seven hundred and seventy-nine thousand, six hundred and eighty-six. The morning newspapers of the principal cities consist of eight pages, hke those of London, and are sold at the same price, 3 cents (i penny.) The republican sheets are characterized by greater vivacity than the monarchical— more spicy news, and, above all, a much more attractive mode of displaying it. A leading English editor once remarked to me : " We have no ' editors ' who rank with the American, but many writers who excel yours." This was a just criticism. We see, however, in nothing more strongly than the newspaper press of the two countries, the ope- ration of that law of assimilation which tends to make their products alike. The American press is rapidly acquiring greater dignity, and the British press more sparkle. They will soon be as like as two peas, and the change toward each other will improve both. There are many things other than the press, in which a mix- ture of the old and new would be equally advanta- geous. The falsest impressions of a country are created in Literature. 347 the minds of foreigners by its newspaper press, because people forget that the press deals in the uncommon, the abnormal. A column is given to some startling monstrosity, a three-headed calf, for instance, but it doesn't follow that American calves, as a rule, pos- sess more than the usual number of head pieces seen in Europe. An unruly refugee with twenty aliases kills a Texan rowdy in a bar-room, farther away from New York than Cairo is from London, and the press on both sides of the water gives the fullest details. It isn't a corollary at all that human life is not respected in the Republic. A defaulter absconds, and the world is filled with the news, not a word is said about the thousands of men in positions of trust who guard their charge to the last penny. My experience with newspapers upon both sides of the Atlantic has shown me how incorrect ideas are instilled of the one land in the other by the press. A New York sheet, referring to the meeting of a few hair-brained cranks in Hyde Park, a motley crowd, whose appearance made me feel as Falstaff did about his soldiers, " I'll not march with them through Coven- try, that's flat," lays this episode before its readers headed in large type : " A GRAND Republican Rally." And many readers think the Prince of Wales has not the ghost of a chance. I wish it were so indeed, and I honor these cranks very much — all real reformers are cranks in their day. 348 Triumphant Democracy. Pym, Hampden, Cromwell were, and John Bright him- self was a very pronounced one till he brought the nation up to his level ; now he is a regulation states- man in " good form." But truth compels me to say that the republican rally in Hyde Park was not much of a rally ; it was like the great ball which the Princess wished to give in Ottawa upon court lines of etiquette and could not. In Canada, society was all in vulgar trade. There was not enough left to make a ball at all. In like manner, a Socialists' procession marches through the streets in Chicago, probably not an American in the array^a parcel of foreign cranks whose Communistic ideas are the natural growth of the unjust laws of their native land, which deny these men the privileges of equal citizenship, and hold them down as inferiors from their birth — and forthwith European papers alarm the timid and well-to-do masses of Europe by picturing this threatened assault upon property as the result of republicanism, the truth being that in no other country are the rights of property held so sacredly as in America. Legislation to fix values of anything here, as values of land are fixed in Ireland, for instance, would be decried from one end of the land to the other. The only true and abiding conservatism is that engendered by republican institutions — conservatism of what is just, what is good — for these no party seeks to destroy. In like manner the books of travel written by .1. Literature. 349 visitors to any land must in their very nature be mis- leading. What strikes the stranger is not the thousand and one matters which are alike to those at home, nor the thousand occurrences which are common to him at home or abroad ; it is the one exceptional matter, thing, or event which he notes down at once and says, " I can work that up — it is so strange." Very true, only it may be just as exceptional, just as strange to the native. The false impression is conveyed to the public, for whom he writes, by implying that it is the common and usual custom, or occurrence. Few travellers know how to arrive at the real every-day life of people, and yet from this alone is a just estimate of that people to be obtained. As the two divisions get to know each other better, they will understand that in the main, human life is very much the same on both sides of the Atlantic. It is after we cross the Mississippi and come to the "great West" — that new region which the hardy pioneer is rapidly bringing into civilization — that life takes on different features. As might be expected the difference in the press there gives us the best idea of the chasm which still divides the settled State from the unsettled Territory. . •. ■ • ' ^ When a party of prospectors have found a mineral vein in the West, about the first thing they do after de- ciding to build a city, is to start a newspaper. With characteristic Western eccentricity this is named the Leadgulch Screamer, or the Peek-a-Boo Avalanche. Then 350 Triumphant Democracy. a press and type are brought in, the most literate of the gang invests in a table, an arm-chair, and an inkstand, and being already furnished with a revolver, he begins to " run " the paper. As the town grows, competing editors come in, and soon the struggle for existence sets in with an acerbity of feeling not excelled in those poetic " Dragons of the prime Who tore each other in their slime.'' Specimens of " slime " are carefully collected by European bookmakers and quoted as representative of American journalism. After the rough pioneering has been done, the gentler evidences of white civilization soon manifest themselves. Fine streets lined with handsome buildings and towering churches spring up on the site of the wilderness ; and literature takes upon itself a milder form. Present editors in Western towns which have originated and grown in this way, are men of culture, often graduates from Eastern universities; and these are not the men who pen the articles so largely quoted from by bookmakers. Dickens's amus- ing representation of the editorial combat in " Pick- wick " will keep in memory the fact that a few years ago British editors used inks of concentrated gall and venom. In periodical literature the child land has for a few years excelled its mother. In Harper s Magazine and the Century the art of editing has joined the arts of Literature. 351 printing and engraving and has surpassed anything before known in the history of periodical literature. These magazines, which for years have been educating the American people in principles of true art and in- stilling a love of pure literature, have done more than all the rest of the world's periodical publications to raise the artistic standard of printing. Not in America alone, but in England, has their influence been potent for good ; and undisguised imitations of these magazines now appear even in Germany, which not many years ago seemed to have a monopoly of good engravers. It is in vain that any English or German magazine can hope to rival its Republican compeer ; not because the necessary talent and skill do not exist, or at least, that it could not be created, but simply because it will not pay to employ it. The American publisher prints a quarter of a million of copies. This number has even been exceeded. The expense for art and matter, dis- tributed among this huge edition, is a trifle per copy. What is the poor publisher to do who has not forty thousand subscribers? And this not one shilling maga- zine has in Britain or Germany. He yields the race perforce to the republican. Harper's and the Century actually sell more copies in Britain than any Brit- ish monthly pubHcation of equal price. Truly their venture in England is a strange and startling success. Let us note here that as population grows faster in the new than in the old land, more and more sure is it 352 Triumphant Democracy. that the American publisher can afford to expend greater sums upon his magazine, which means that the native publications must encounter fiercer warfare than ever. Periodicals of high order for the girls and boys of a nation are of vital consequence. The world has not anything comparable to the St. Nicholas or Harper s Young People. Every friend to whom I have sent them in Britain has substantially said: "We have nothing like these. Our children watch for their arrival as for a great treat. They are devoured." •> ■ ■ • It was all very well for the Democracy to supply the monarchies with pork and flour, cheese and pro- visions, the necessaries of life ; a coarse, material tri- umph this, but what are we to say to this exportation of food for the mind ? If Democracy is successfully to in- vade the higher province, and minister to the things of the spirit as well as to those of the body, before it is more than a century old, what is the Monarchy to set forth as that in which it excels? It is, at all events, to take the crumbs which fall from the republican magazine table. That much is settled, and it is with special pride we note the triumph of Democracy in these branches of art. The thanks of the Republic are due to Harper's and the Cenhiry for a successful and I hope a perma- nent and a profitable invasion of Great Britain. May their circulation never be less on either side of the Atlantic. American journalists have become noted all over Literature. 353 the world, as indeed have Americans generally, for en- terprise and energy. American foreign correspondents have revolutionized their profession. Until Stanley was sent into equatorial Africa by the New York Herald to find Livingstone, such extraordinary missions were unknown ; but English journals quickly followed, and O'Donovan, brave, bright, and young when he fell in the Soudan, was sent by the Daily News to Merv. The " Jeannette " expedition was a newspaper enterprise. The Bengal famine, the condition of Ireland, the Tunis- ian difficulty, the Burmah dispute, the exploration of Co- rea, all these and many other matters have come within the scope of the modern foreign correspondent. It is interesting in this connection to see how the Anglo-Saxon race leads the world in journalism. Of twenty-three thousand newspapers in the world about half are American. Other papers published in English raise the total to more than thirteen thousand, leaving to the rest of the world — Germany, France, Italy, Spain, India, etc., only ten thousand to divide amongst them- selves. The English language, gauged by those who speak it, is leaving the rest of the world even more hope- lessly in the rear. At the beginning of the century our tongue was spoken by twenty million people and occu- pied only fifth place, coming behind even Spain and Russia. It now occupies first place, being spoken by more than a hundred million, while French and Span- ish have not yet reached the fifties. Since 1801 the 23 354 Triumphant Democracy. English language has advanced from twelve and nine- tenths to twenty-seven and one-tenth aliquot parts of all European languages. Of three hundred and sixty- eight million people now speaking the European lan- guages, one hundred million speak English. Of course there is little question here as to the coming universal language. The world is to speak English, think Eng- lish, and read English. The only question is, whether it will be aristocratic or democratic English, Queen's English or People's English, and there is not much question about that. When we recollect the great amount of hard manual work which has been spent by the American people on the subjugation of their vast continent, it is a matter of surprise that literature and the gentle arts generally should also have attained such development. The hew- ing of wood, clearing of forests, the breaking of prairie- lands, railroad building, and canal digging are not con- ducive to development of the sort of brain which runs into books ; and during the early years of the country, when brawn rather than brain was in demand, book- making received scant attention. The change conse- quent upon the cessation of the struggle with nature in New England was well described by Cullen Bryant at a publishers' celebration in 1855. He said: "After his (Cotton Mather's) time, in the hundred and fifty years which followed, the procession of American authors was a straggling one ; at present they are a crowd which fairly choke the Literature. 355 way ; illustrious historians, able and acute theologians, authors of books of travels, instructive or amusing, clever novelists, brilliant essayists, learned and patient lexicographers. Every bush, I had almost said every buttercup of the field, has its poet ; poets start up like the soldiers of Roderick Dhu, from behind every rock and out of every bank of fern." An idea of this increasing literary activity may be obtained from the fact that in the publication of origi- nal American books the year 1853 shows an advance of eight hundred per cent, in less than twenty years. In the twelve years ending 1842 there were published one thousand one hundred and fifteen works, six hun- dred and twenty-three of them being original. In the single year of 1853 seven hundred and thirty-three new books were published, four hundred and twenty of which were original American works. From these facts a well-known pubhsher of that period concluded that literature and the book trade had increased ten times as fast as the population. In 1884 more than four thousand books were published in the Re- public. To enumerate the tons of paper used for printing may be considered a curious way of estimating the literature of a nation. Still it has been done, and the result is interesting. About one hundred and seven thousand tons of paper are annually used in the United States, against ninety-five thousand tons in the United Kingdom, and seventy thousand tons in France. 356 Triumphant Democracy. Canada, subject and dependent, contrasts unfavorably with the Repubhc in every way, but in none more than this. She uses but four thousand tons of paper a year — only about two-fifths of the Republic's ratio to population. The amount annually spent on books and newspapers by the Republic is $90,000,000 (;£' 18,000,000) against $80,000,000 (;^ 16,000,000) spent by Britain. It is not fifty years since a British critic asked, sneer- ingly: " Who reads an American book?" To-day the same critic, if he be living and up with the times, will have to reverse his question, and ask : " Who does not read an American book ? " A glance at the British trade catalogues will show how many American pub- lications are reprinted in Great Britain, for the British publisher does not hesitate, in the absence of an inter- national copyright law, to appropriate any successful American work, although he is apt to call his Yankee brother hard names for pursuing a similar policy in re- lation to British publications. The works of popular American historians, American poets, and American novelists are all reprinted in England, and are as well- known there as at home. Indeed, it has been said that Longfellow is more widely read in Britain than the lordly Poet Laureate himself. The very successful enterprise of Mr. Douglass, the Edinburgh publisher, is a case in point, the series of American stories which he republishes, having had a wonderfully large sale. Two American lexicographers have contributed to the .>r'^' Literature. 257 world two of the best English dictionaries, and the standard Greek lexicon, pubhshed by the University of Oxford, is printed from American plates, edited and made in New York. Some idea of the American demand for books may be formed from a few illustrations. The ninth edition of the " Encyclopjedia Britannica," now in course of pubHcation, has more than fifty thousand subscribers in the United States, probably more than five times as many as it has in its own home. Besides this, an unauthorized edition, a reprint, has had a large cir- culation. Let us pause here a moment and try to take in the full significance of such a fact as this. The "Britannica" is the one distinctively national work. One would think it was published surely for Britain; but no, it is not for the parent land, but for the Repub- lic that this treasury of all knowledge is prepared. Its purchasers are not in Old but in New England — five to one. Thus at every point we stumble, as it were, upon startling proofs, that the dear old home is becoming the satellite of the republican giant whose mass is too great to be resisted. Its power of attraction begins to draw the smaller body out of its monarchical orbit into the great sweep of the republican idea — the equality of the citizen. The same firm which imports the " Ency- clopaedia Britannica " in the United States, Charles Scribner's Sons, of New York, are the publishers of the great " Statistical Atlas of the United States." 358 Triumphant Democracy. Nearly eighty tons (one hundred and fifty-seven thou- sand five hundred pounds) of paper were used in print- ing the first edition of this work, which is one of the wonderful books of the century — wonderful even in America. The " American Cyclopedia," published by D. Appleton & Co., New York, has also had an enormous circulation, more than a hundred and twenty thousand sets, of sixteen volumes each, having been sold by subscription, at the average price of a hundred dollars the set, making in the aggregate more than $12,000,000 (;£'2,400,ooo). The same firm have printed more than fifty million of " Webster's Spelling Book," and still print and sell a million copies every year. " Picturesque America," a costly work in two large volumes, has also had a phenomenal sale, more than a hundred thousand copies having been disposed of. Mr. Blaine's book, " Twenty Years in Congress," has more than two hun- dred thousand subscribers, and General Grant's " Per- sonal Memoirs " more than three hundred thousand. The sums realized by each of these writers will exceed $250,000 (.^50,000) ; the latter will probably double that amount, and I have seen an estimate which placed Mrs. Grant's prospective profits at $700,000 (;^I40,000). Milton was glad to get five pounds for " Paradise Lost." Even Macaulay's celebrated check for twenty thousand pounds, received for his " History," dwindles into insignificance compared with the princely com- Literature. 359 pensation awarded to its favorites by the triumphant Democracy. It is much the same with all standard British publi- cations — all have a larger circulation in the Republic than in the Monarchy. Spencer, Tennyson, Smiles, Morley, the Arnolds (Matthew and Edwin) all have larger constituencies in New than in Old England ; indeed, the first named, Herbert Spencer, was discov- ered and appreciated by American readers before he was recognized at home. And here let me, in passing, drop a tear over the one sad blot which disgraces the Republic. Her laws do not give protection to the foreign author. For this I have neither palliation nor excuse. It is, since slavery is gone, the one disgraceful thing of which, as a nation, she is guilty. It brings the blush of shame to my cheek as I think of it. There are now signs that the public conscience is awakening to the duty of removing the stain. A fair copyright act would probably have been passed by Congress at its last session but for the jealousies of publishers and the somewhat impracticable attitude — if they will permit one of their humble members to say so — of our Copy- right League. Authors are not as a class distinguished, I think, for practical good sense in legislative matters. Something must be conceded to publishers on this side, and something must be conceded by publishers on the other. It is asking too much, or, at least, more than is likely to be granted, for publishers abroad, who own a 360 Triumphant Democracy. copyright on a popular author's works which they have enjoyed for many years and paid for only on the basis of the home market, to insist upon reaping a new har- vest on such works in America. If the money would go to the author or his representatives the idea would not be so unpalatable. In like manner publishers here insist that an author taking out an American copyright should publish his work in America as well as in his own land. It is a publishers' quarrel. Had the authors on both sides the power to adjust it the Republic would soon be relieved from the just reproach of stealing the work of men's brains — the most valuable work of all. Ere a new edition of " Triumphant Democracy " be called for, I hope to be able to record that a fair copyright act has been passed. Libraries have multiplied very rapidly. Fifty years ago there were few large collections of books in America, except in the universities and collegiate in- stitutions. Of other libraries prior to 1820 only ten are enumerated, and these were mostly of inferior grade. Since that period libraries have sprung into being in nearly every township or village. They dot the coun- try almost as thickly as the public schools ; while State libraries have been formed in every territorial division of the Union. The spirit of local patriotism which characterizes equally the native American and the new settler, and Literature. 36 1 which leads each to think that the particular spot of God's earth on which he lives is the best, is a spirit which prompts numerous great public works. The dwellers in a new settlement are animated by an amaz- ing energy and spirit of self-sacrifice in matters con- cerning their " city." Public works of all kinds are undertaken with feverish eagerness. Men subscribe money for the adornment and improvement of their town as readily as they would for their particular home. One is constantly surprised to find all the evidences of advanced civilization in cities of which the foundation was laid but as yesterday. Libraries, schools, club- houses, churches, theatres, court-houses, bridges, of the most elegant designs, are found in towns which had no existence a few years ago. Take St. Paul as an ex- ample. This young and enterprising city owns no less than three public libraries — the State library, with ten thousand volumes ; the Historical Society's library and "museum, with twenty-two thousand volumes ; and the Free Circulating Library, with twelve thousand vol- umes, to which additions are being constantly made. It is estimated that there are twenty-three thousand school libraries in America, containing forty-iive million books — twelve million more than all the public libraries of Europe combined. Other educational establishments increase this number by two and a half million volumes ; and thirty-eight State libraries contribute over a million more. The Congressional library, the Astor, the Boston 362 Triumphant Democracy. City, the Philadelphia, the various mercantile libraries, the Watkinson Reference at Hartford, and many others will raise the grand total to much more than fifty mill- ion volumes, a book almost for every man, woman, and child in the United States. More than three hundred libraries contain ten thousand volumes each, twelve contain more than a hundred thousand volumes each, and two contain four hundred thousand volumes each. Even this statement but feebly shadows forth the truth as to the books and periodicals of the country as com- pared with those of other lands, for the American is not only a reader, but he is above all other men a buyer of books. Circulating libraries are not so gener- ally used as in Europe. It is when you enter the home of the American farmer or artisan that you are struck with the number of books and magazines you see — the two or three shelves and often far greater number filled with them — all of which are his own, except per- haps the few stray borrowed volumes which most col- lections contain, and which are conscientiously counted as belonging to another, to be returned some day, but somehow that some day never arrives. There must be a special punishment in store surely for such as do not return these treasures to their rightful owners. (This hint is not without a purpose.) The universal propen- sity of the American, young and old, for reading and writing, has sometimes seemed to me to lend counte- nance to Dogberry's dictum that while a good name Literature. 363 was the gift of. God " reading and writing came by Nature." These do seem to be part of the nature of the American. Triumphant Democracy is triumphant in nothing more than in this, that her members are readers and buyers of books and reading matter beyond the mem- bers of any government of a class, but in this particular each system is only seen to be true to its nature. The monarchist boasts more bayonets, the repubhcan more books. We know which weapon is the more effective in these days. "The paper bullet of the brain " is the moral dynamite of triumphant Democracy — the only dynamite which the peaceful and law-abiding republi- can ever has occasion or can be induced to use. CHAPTER XVI. THE FEDERAL CONSTELLATION. ■ .' " As far as I can see, the American Constitution is the most wonder- ful work ever struck off at one time by the brain and purpose of man." — Gladstone. " We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created free and equal, and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Round this doctrine of the Declaration of Independ- ence as its central sun the constellation of States re- volves. The equality of the citizen is decreed by the fundamental law. All acts, all institutions, are based upon this idea. There is not one shred of privilege, hence no classes. The American people are a unit. Difference of position in the State, resulting from birth, would be held to insult the citizen. One and all they stand Brutus-like and " Would brook The eternal devil to keep his state As easily as a king." Government of the people, for the people, and by the people is their political creed. The vote of an Emerson or a Lincoln weighs no more than that of the poorest negro. The President has not a privilege The Federal Constellation. 365 which is not the birthright of every other citizen. The people are not levelled down, but levelled up to the full dignity of equal citizenship beyond which no man can go. The first voice of the people may not be always the voice of God. Indeed, sometimes it does seem to be very far from it ; but the second voice of the people — their sober second thought — comes nearest to it of any tribunal, much nearer than the voice of any class, even that of the most highly educated, has ever come in any government under the sun. Hence there is no voice in all America which has the faintest authority when the ballot speaks. It has often been objected to this republican theory of the State that under it a dead level of uniformity must exist. The informed traveller, who knows life in America, can be relied upon to dispel this delusion and to certify that nowhere in all the world is society more exclusive or more varied than in republican America. Certainly it is far less so in Britain. The difference is that while in monarchical countries birth and rank tend to override personal characteristics, re- publican society is necessarily founded upon real char- acter and attainment. " Natural selection " has freer play. Congenial persons associate with each other, uninfluenced by birth or rank since neither exist. Nor has wealth of itself nearly so great an influence in society in America as in Britain. It is impossible, in 366 Triumphant Democracy. the nature of things, that it should have, because it is much more easily acquired, and, what is much more telling, much more easily lost. The law of acquisition is indeed as free to act in the Republic as in the Mon- archy, but then the law of dispersion is also allowed full force in the former, where primogeniture and entail are unknown and the transfer of land is easy. There are but three generations in America from shirt sleeves to shirt sleeves. Under such conditions an aristocracy of wealth is impossible. The " almighty dollar " is just like the restless pig which Paddy could not count, be- cause it would not stand still long enough in one place to be counted. Wealth cannot remain permanently in any class if economic laws are allowed free play. The Federal constellation is composed of thirty-eight stars, the States, and eleven nebulae, the Territories, which are rapidly crystallizing into form. The galaxy upon the national flag has grown during the century from thirteen to thirty-eight stars, and "the cry is still they come." Every decade new stars are coming into view, and ere long the entire cluster of nebulae will be added to the Federal constellation. They are to come forth as the new star in Andromeda came in the fullness of time. A new State sweeps into the Federal constellation every now and then like " A star new-born, that drops into its place. And which, once circling in its placid round, Not all the tumult of the earth can shake." The Federal Constellation. 367 The question arises, " How is it possible to govern successfully under one head, not this nation, but this great continent of nations ? " The answer is, " Through the federal or home rule system alone is it possible." Each of these thirty-eight States is sovereign within its own borders. Each has its own constitution, its own parliament consisting of House and Senate, its own president, courts and judges, militia, etc., etc. All the rights of a sovereign State belong to it, except such as it has expressly delegated in common with sister States to the central authority, the National Government at Washington. One provision ensures solidity. Should a dispute arise between a State and the central government as to what powers are or are not delegated, the decision of the Supreme Court of the nation is final and binding upon all. The theory is that all their internal affairs are mat- ters for the States to deal with and determine, all exter- nal affairs are for the nation ; all local matters are for the States, all general matters for the nation. The di- vision is easily made and maintained. The Constitution defines it in a few clauses by stating what the National Government has charge of, as seen in section eight (appendix). Any powers not here expressly delegated to the nation remain in the States, to 'be exercised in any manner they choose. The Supreme Court of the nation stands ready to inform States or nation of their respective powers. 368 Triumphant Democracy. With the exception of the claim made in the interest of the slave-power, that a State had the right to secede from the Union, no serious question between State and nation has ever arisen. It is difficult to see hov/ any can arise, since that has been definitely decided in the negative. The integrity of the nation having been assured, all other questions must be of trifling import and readily adjustable by the Supreme Court, which has proclaimed the nation to be " an indestructible Union of indestructible States." The differentiations shown in the laws of the various States, which have resulted from the perfect freedom or home rule accorded them in their internal affairs, prove that the political institutions best suited to each com- munity are thereby ensured, since they must necessarily be healthful growths of the body politic. Genuine out- births of the people themselves, and therefore certain to receive their cordial and unwavering support. The number and extent of these differences in laws are sur- prising. The customs and habits of cold, cultured, old Massachusetts find expression in laws not best adapted for tropical, agricultural new Texas, just as the laws of England would be found less desirable for Scotland or Ireland than those which have been evolved by these communities, and vi^hich would be still more freely evolved by home rule, under their slightly different environments. These stars, the American States, revolve each upon The Federal Constellation. 369 its own axis, within its own orbit, each according to its own laws, some faster, some slower, one at one angle and one at another, but around the central sun at Wash- ington they tread the great national orbit under equal conditions, and constitute parts of one great whole. Here, then, we have the perfection of federal or home rule in its fullest and greatest development. The suc- cess of the American Union proves that the freest self- government of the parts produces the strongest govern- ment of the whole. Let us proceed to note, in the order of their impor- tance, the various branches of the National Government. We begin, of course, with the SUPREME COURT OF THE NATION. Beyond and before, and higher than House, or Sen- ate, or President, stands this final arbiter, sole umpire, judge of itself. More than once Lord Salisbury has said that he envied his transatlantic brethren their Supreme Court. Speaking at Edinburgh on Novem- ber 23, 1882, he said : " I confess I do not often envy the United States, but there is one feature in their in- stitutions which appears to me the subject of the great- est envy — their magnificent institution of a Supreme Court. In the United States, if Parliament passes any measure inconsistent with the Constitution of the coun- try, there exists a court which will negative it at once, and that gives a stability to the institutions of the coun- 24 370 Triumphant Democracy. try which, under the system of vague and mysterious promises here, we look for in vain." He is right, and as he becomes more conversant with the results of political institutions founded upon the equality of the citizen, as I trust he may do, he will, in my opinion, find reason to envy many other of these more highly developed and in reality deeply conservative institu- tions, as much as that which now excites his admira- tion. The powers of the Supreme Court seem at first sight almost too vast to entrust to any small body of men ; but it is to be noted that these powers are limited by the fact that it can neither make nor exe- cute laws, nor originate anything. It only decides dis- putes as to existing laws, should such be properly brought before it, and its judgments are in all cases confined rigorously to the points submitted. It can- not interfere beforehand with any act of the govern- ment, nor with any act of the President, but can decide only whether such acts or orders are or are not con- stitutional, and the reasons for such decision must be publicly stated. Thus limited, its decision is final. Unless and until decided to be unconstitutional all acts of Congress or of the President are valid. As may be inferred, the mere knowledge on the part of legislative bodies that their acts are subject to the decision of the Supreme Court, keeps them strictly within constitutional bounds. There is no use, even were there the disposition, to enact any law which is The Federal Constellation. 371 not reasonably certain to be sustained. Therefore the regulative power of the court upon great questions remains practically in abeyance. The power is there, which is all that is required. The questions bearing upon State relations, which it is called upon to decide, are few, and generally of minor importance. As, how- ever, all causes which involve considerable sums be- tween citizens of different States can be appealed to this court, it is kept busily engaged upon matters of large pecuniary interest, but of no political conse- quence. The court consists of nine judges, who hold office during life, subject, however, to impeachment by Con- gress for misbehavior or removal for inability to serve. Vacancies are filled by nominations made by the Presi- dent to the Senate for confirmation, no appointment being complete until confirmed by the Senate. The salary of the judges is $10,000 {£2,006) per annum, and the Chief Justice receives $5°o (;^ioo) more. They can retire at seventy years of age upon full pay during life. What pittances, I hear my monarchical friends exclaim. Perhaps so, but does any court in the world command greater respect than this Supreme Court ? Are abler, purer lawyers, men clearer in their great office, to be found elsewhere? Certainly not. Even my Lord SaHsbury regrets that there is not such a tribunal in Britain. When I see the quiet dignity of the Supreme Court Judges in Washington, their plain living, free 372 Triumphant Democracy. from vulgar ostentation, their modest but refined homes, and think how far beyond pecuniary considerations their aspirations are, how foreign to their elevated natures are the coarser phases of position in modern society, I cannot but conclude that it would be most unfortunate if the emoluments of their positions should ever be made so great as in themselves to constitute a temptation, as they are in Britain. The American judge in the Supreme Court has no compeer. The pomp and parade which surround the entrance of a judge in Britain, the sordid pecuniary prize which he has secured by the appointment, his gilt coach, and all the tinsel of feudalistic times which is allowed still to survive under the idea that it adds to his dignity, but which borders upon the ridiculous in these days of general refinement — all this tinsel would seem most unfitting to the republican judge, detracting, not adding to, the in- herent dignity of his great position. The Supreme Court sits in Washington ; but each of the nine judges visits for a part of the year one of the nine circuits into which the country is divided, and assists the circuit judges. The circuits are again divided into districts, each of which has its own court and judge. These are all national courts, the judges of which are approved by the Senate upon the nomina- tion of the President, and hold office during life or good behavior. The whole forms the national judiciary, to which every citizen has the right of appeal in any cause The Federal Constellation. 373 involving the citizens or corporations of another State. We come next to the LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. This consists of two Houses, a House of Represen- tatives and a Senate, which meet at Washington twice a year upon fixed dates, March and December. The House is composed of three hundred and twenty- five Representatives. Every State sends members in exact proportion to its population as shown by each decadal census. The number of members is not reg- ularly increased. The number of population to each Representative is raised ; thus in 1870 every one hun- dred and thirty-eight thousand inhabitants returned a member; in 1880 it required one hundred and fifty- four thousand. After a census is taken the popula- tion is divided by number of members, the quota re- quired to return a member being thus ascertained. Each State is then informed of the number due to it, and arranges its electoral districts accordingly. Thus every ten years electoral power is fairly, because equally, ad- justed to the satisfaction of all. By so simple an auto- matic device the question of representation is removed from politics, and settled forever upon the rock of fair and equal representation. It never can be settled in a free State until equal electoral districts are reached. Educated man demands equality, nor can he rest until he has obtained it. This secured, he becomes quiet and 374 Triumphant DemocT-acy. contented. Representatives hold office for two years, their term expiring with each Congress on the fourth of March of every second year. As members are always eligible for re-election, and as the practice is to return men of ability from term to term, the new House is always under the guidance of experienced legislators. Members are paid $5,000 (;£'i,ooo) per year and travelling expenses. The power of the purse is as tenaciously held by the House in Washington as in London ; all money bills originate in it by express provision of the Constitution. Alike in this, the two Houses present an entirely dif- ferent appearance ; on entering the House at Washing- ton the visitor is struck by the contrast. Instead of the uncomfortable benches at Westminster and the lack of all facilities for reading or writing, the newer House presents its members all sitting in good easy chairs, at separate desks, like so many good boys at school ; they are busily at work with their correspondence, or con- sulting books of reference. Pages answer their call. They attend to their legislative duties when fresh dur- ing the day. When a division is called, instead of wast- ing twenty minutes, and requiring every member to get up and walk past tellers, the business is done in a few minutes without disturbance ; the clerk calls the roll of names alphabetically, and each member nods or shakes his head, or calls out "aye" or "no." A record is kept, and result announced, and business The Federal Constellation. 375 proceeds. How simple. Business is not often ob- structed in the House. When an orator exhausts its patience he is made to sit down by a call for the ques- tion, and unless he gets a majority in favor of hearing him further, he is ruled out. Yet neither party com- plains that this rule has worked serious injury ; no party seeks to change it. It has not prevented full discussion, and it has enabled the House to transact business properly. Next in order follows that one American institution which has received the unqualified approval of every man who has given an opinion upon the subject. I never heard even a British Tory utter a word in its disparagement. I cannot imagine what a man could say except in praise of the UNITED STATES SENATE. Proud, indeed, may the man be who can style him- self " Senator." To this august body each of the States sends two members, six years being the term of office. These are elected by the legislatures of the States, and hence reflect the popular desire. Senators are, of course, the adherents of one or other political party, as it obtains sway in the various States. As the terms of service are so arranged that only one-third of the Senators retire, unless re-elected, every two years, the tendency is for the Senate to respond somewhat less 376 Triumphant Democracy. promptly than the Lower House to the changes of pubhc opinion. The Senate has large powers ; all laws must be passed by it as well as by the House. No treaty with a foreign power is valid without its approval by a two- third vote ; all ambassadors and agents to foreign powers must be approved by it. Much has been said about the patronage of the President ; but he cannot appoint a postmaster unless the nominee is passed upon and confirmed by this august tribunal. It has been said by more than one political writer that the American Senate is the ideal second chamber of the world. Some assert that it is the only second cham- ber which possesses real power and is permanently fixed in the hearts of the masses. It is certainly re- garded in America as a great promotion to be elevated from the House to the Senate, and it is none the less certain that the entire nation regards the Senate with pride and affection. All officials in America being paid, the salary of a Senator is the same as that of a Repre- sentative, $5,000 (;^i,ooo) per year and travelling ex- penses. Lord Salisbury will be envying this American insti- tution as well as the Supreme Court ere long, mark you, for his own second chamber gives unmistakable evidence of decay, and in good time he may even come to see that an elected President is preferable to a hereditary ruler. We cannot despair of his reaching The Federal Constellation. 377 finally to the full measure of the political equality of the citizen, since he begins so well with the chief American institution, the Supreme Court. Here is indeed a lucky hit. Since these words were written a member of Parliament sends me con- firmation of this prophecy. This hopeful student of republican institutions, my Lord Salisbury, has said in a recent speech: 1.1 - . • " The Americans, as you know, have a Senate. I wish we could institute it in this country. Marvellous in efficiency and strength ! " So, another American institution envied ! Truly this former Saturday Reviewer is a more promising pupil than Mr. Gladstone himself, and almost equal to Lord Rosebery. Nothing easier, my lord, than to get a copy of the American Senate. The secret of its mar- vellous strength and efficiency is an open one. You know it well. The Senate springs from and rests upon the suffrages of the people. There is not a trace of hereditary poison in its veins to steal away its power. In an elective assembly such as this, a man of real power like Lord Salisbury would be twice the man he is when leading a set of hereditary accidents. Having already obtained Lord Salisbury's endorse- ment of the Supreme Court and the Senate, I am en- couraged to go a step further and commend for his ap- proval the institution he should next endorse, a Par- liament of duly paid members elected by equal electoral 378 Triumphant Democracy. districts for a fixed term of two years. Until this is secured the government of Britain must remain ex- posed to every passing gust of popular emotion, and hence exercise no steadying effect in periods of excite- ment. A British ministry does not govern, but bows to the clamor it should withstand. And upon my Brit- ish readers let me once more impress the truth that in all the elements of true conservatism, in all that goes to make up a strong government, a power competent to maintain justice and to defeat attacks upon the rights or property of others, and when necessary, to keep the ship of state with its head against the wildest hurricane, the American system, as I must compliment Lord Salisbury upon being one of the first European statesman to discover, is infinitely beyond the monar- chical. The man who knows both well, and has property in both lands, may be trusted to tell his inquirers that his republican title gives him much the less uneasiness. This is further demonstrated by the highest place being accorded by the world to the American national debt. WAR AND TREATY-MAKING POWER. In two vital respects the powers of the executives of the old and new English lands differ. First, no treaty with a foreign power is binding until ratified by the Senate. Indeed, as we have seen, no Minister can be appointed to a foreign power until approved by this The Federal Constellation. 379 chamber. This vote of the Senate has several times kept the administration from entering into injudicious arrangements. Even General Grant and his cabinet committed themselves to the acquisition of San Do- mingo. Recently the late administration was led into a very questionable treaty with Spain. The temptation for a few men, and especially for one man, to char- acterize his administration by some brilliant stroke calculated to dazzle the populace at the moment, or to appeal to the national vanity, is a source of real danger in all popular governments. Not what is permanently valuable, but what is presently telling, is apt to be con- sidered. Against this danger, for which the monarchical system has no provision whatever, the republican op- poses the cool, deliberate decision of an impersonal judge, the Senate. No man's " glory " is brightened or dimmed by the decision. What is for the lasting good of the nation is thought of — not what will bring tem- porary popularity to a cabinet or save a ministry. It must surely be a prejudiced mind which does not feel that the advantage is here upon the side of the younger land. The second vital difference is even of deeper import than that just recited. In the Republic, war can be declared only by the two Houses of Congress, approved by the President. Before the sword can be drawn both branches of the legislature must be wrought up to the pitch of this extreme and momentous act. The House, 380 Triumphant Democracy. the Senate, and the Executive in the person of the President, must consider, discuss, and decide the ques- tion under surroundings of the deepest solemnity, and with the nation — the world — anxiously looking on. Every Representative of the people, and every Senator, may speak in his place and record his vote for or against. Public attention is thus fixed and concen- trated upon the crisis, and public discussion enlightens the people. Time, precious time, which ever cools the passions of men and works for peace, is thus gained, and every official, every member of the legislature, publicly assumes the fearful responsibility of engaging in the slaughter of his fellow men. If ever war be pro- claimed by the Republic, which God forbid, since all her paths are peace, it will not be the act of one branch or another of the government, but the solemn public act of all, legislative and executive. Contrast this with monarchical countries, in which a few excited parti- sans, sometimes only one or two real actors, who sit in a close cabinet chamber, commit the people to crim- inal war — sometimes to prolong their own tenure of office, or to promote some party end. My American readers may not be aware of the fact that, while in Britain an act of Parliament is necessary before works for a supply of water or a mile of railway can be constructed, six or seven men can plunge the nation into war, or, what is perhaps equally disastrous, commit it to entangling alliances without The Federal Constellation. 381 consulting Parliament at all. This is the most perni- cious, palpable effect flowing from the monarchical theory, for these men do this in " the king's name," who is in theory still a real monarch, although in reahty only a convenient puppet, to be used by the cabinet at pleasure to suit their own ends. Next to the sap- ping of the roots of true manhood in the masses, by decreeing their inferiority to other men at birth, this is the most potent evil which exists to-day in the British Constitution, and it is chargeable solely to the monarch- ical system. It does not rank with the first evil, how- ever, being mainly material, while the other is of the spirit, injury to which is the gravest misfortune which can befall a nation. But this vital truth not one of the so-called " practical " statesmen of Britain sees or will consider, or, perhaps what is nearer the truth, will venture to tell. Not one of them, apparently, has a soul above cheap corn, which is worshipped as the highest good. Indignities to the spirit of the masses, by which manhood is impaired, they seem to argue, may safely pass unnoted, so long as their bodies are fed. And yet better, far better, for a nation that its food for the body should be dear, and equal citizenship be the birthright of the soul. " We have many evils to remedy in our political system a million times greater than the Monarchy," once said to me a prominent statesman and possible prime min- ister. I looked pitifully upon him, his eyes Winded 382 Triumphant Democracy. with the dust of conflict and his mind so absorbed with trifling party results that he could neither think nor see an inch before his face, much less study cause and eff'ect. Could he do so, surely he would realize the truth that in the royal family, as in a nest, lie the origin of all the political evils which afflict his native land and which he deplores; all that this able, earnest, patriotic man is laboring to remove is only the legiti- mate spawn of this one royal family institution, and is never to be met with except where a royal family ex- ists to breed it. Resolve that the head of the State shall be elected at intervals and thus found govern- ment upon the true idea — ^the political equality of the citizen — and all the political wrongs of the few against the many fall as if by magic. Were I in public life in Britain I should be ashamed to waste my energies against the House of Lords, Church and State, primo- geniture and entail, and all the other branches of the monstrous system ; I should strike boldly at the royal family, the root of the upas tree from which spring all these wrongs. Surely the Democracies of Europe have no question to consider more vitally important than the war power. How many useless wars in the past would have been avoided had the republican method prevailed ! How many in the future would be prevented by its prompt adoption. The masses are ever more pacific than their rulers, ever more kindly disposed to those of their clay The Federal Constellation. 383 in other nations, than the rulers are to theirs. The people do not share the jealousies of their rulers. If the war power lay in the hands of the representatives of the people in Europe, as it does in America, there would be fewer wars. The position of the Republic upon this question of war is still further advanced by the fact that both polit- ical parties, by special clauses in their declaration of principles, have pronounced in favor of peaceful arbi- tration of international differences. Thus, before Amer- ica can have recourse to arms, no matter what party be in power, her adversary must first be offered arbitra- tion and decline it. We envy not the nation which shocks the moral sense of mankind by refusing this olive branch of peace when presented. Of all the desirable political changes which it seems to me possible for this generation to effect, I consider it by far the most important for the welfare of the race that every civilized nation should be pledged, as the Republic is, to offer peaceful arbitration to its oppo- nent before the senseless, inhuman work of human slaughter begins ; and for all the just and good meas- ures by which the Republic has won my love, next to that by which she has made me her own citizen, and hence the peer of any man, kaiser, pope, or king, thus effacing from my brow the insult inflicted upon me by my native land at birth, which deemed me unworthy the privileges accorded to others— next to that, for 384 Triumpha7it Democracy. which I will fight for her, if need be die for her, and must adore her forever — I thank the Republic for her position in regard to international murder, which still passes by the name of war. THE EXECUTIVE POWER. THE PRESIDENT. The executive power is lodged in a President, who for four years, the term of his office, is the most power- ful ruler in the world. He is not only first civil magis- trate, but he is commander-in-chief of the army and navy, and of all the military forces of the nation, in- cluding the militia of the States whenever called upon by him. More soldiers would respond to his call than to that of any other ruler in the world. The number of men who in case of war might be enrolled in the militia approaches seven millions, almost every able man of whom would consider it his duty to shoulder his musket and march at the word of his commander- in-chief, the President. What are French, or German, or Russian hosts compared to this of the Democracy ! Even man for man, as soldiers, they would not com- pare with the educated Republican. But this great army costs the States but little ; it is always engaged in the pursuits of peace, and only to be called upon should emergency arise. The President's control over the forces is not merely nominal; R is real. When the most popular general in the army, during the Civil War, had fought his way to victory, and had the enemy The Federal Constellation. 385 at his feet, it was feared that unsatisfactory terms for his surrender might be made. The following telegram was therefore sent, which, though bearing the signa- ture of the Secretary of War, was written without blot or erasure by President Lincoln himself. I have seen the telegram : "Washington, March 3, 1865, 12 p.m. " Lieutenant-General Grant ; " The President directs me to say to you tliat he wishes you to have no conference with General Lee, unless it be for the capitu- lation of General Lee's army, or on some other minor and purely military matter. He instructs me to say that you are not to decide, discuss, or confer upon any political question. Such questions the President holds in his own hands, and will submit them to no military conferences or conventions. Meanwhile you are to press to the utmost your military advantages. "Edwin M. Stanton, " Secretary of War!' The General, of course, obeyed. Only a few days later General Sherman, just fresh from his " March to the Sea," entered into a convention with General John- ston which had political bearings. A telegram was promptly sent to General Grant instructing him to cancel General Sherman's agreement, and this was done. Suppose, if any one can suppose so lamentable an abdication of duty, that in a weak moment the American Government had sent a Gordon to arrange terms of peace, and that he disobeyed his instructions or had presumed to declare war upon his own account! 25 386 Triumphant Democracy. In the President's opinion a simple order like the fore- going would scarcely have met the case. He would have had the insubordinate arrested, court-martialled, cashiered, and probably shot — no, not shot, but con- signed for life to some lunatic asylum. President Lincoln could have court-martialled General Grant, or General Grant when President could have court-mar- tialled General Sherman, or either President dismissed either general when at the height of that general's power, or arrested him, as Richelieu did his conspiring general, " at the head of his legions," without raising a murmur of popular dissent. The people would have reserved their judgment till the next election, and probably have enthusiastically approved, as indeed the British will approve if they ever see it — such a display of masterful power over all others by their elected Chief of the State. No soldier has ever dreamed of questioning the supreme authority of the President, nor has the nation ever shown the slightest jealousy of its exercise. Why should it, since the President is not above its reach, but is only its own duly appointed agent for a specified term ; when that expires he transfers his powers to his successor and seeks again the ranks of private citizen- ship. One returns to Congress as the representative of his district, another resumes the practice of law, a third becomes a farmer. Neither sinecure, place, nor pension is bestowed upon an ex-President. He has been The Federal Constellation. 387 supremely honored by his fellow-citizens. He has in turn done his duty. The obligation is upon his side, and he remains profoundly grateful for the distinction con- ferred upon him. The State owes officials little ; they owe the State much. Such is the Republican idea. The salary of the President is now $50,000 per annum (;!r 10,000). An ofificial residence is provided for him at Washington, and a country house within a few miles of that city. At stated times for some hours each week the President receives such respectably dressed and well-ordered people as choose to call upon him. Being the servant of the people in a country where all citi- zens are equal, the humblest has the same right to call upon him and shake his hand as the most distinguished, he being as much the servant of the one as of the other. By many such significant customs the powerful President is reminded of what it would indeed be im- possible for any one in the land to forget, that the sovereignty of the Republic resides not in the servants of the State but in the citizen, in every one of whom rests an equal share of it. The feelings and desires of the citizen it therefore behooves all ofificials to consider. The President selects of his own will and without interference the members of his Cabinet, as the British Prime Minister does. They are removable at pleasure. The President being his own prime minister, the Cabinet officers are of equal rank. One difference between the two countries in regard to the Cabinet is that, while the 388 Trhmtphant Democracy. British Cabinet sit in one or the other House and com- municate orally with it, in America the members of the Cabinet do not appear in person before the legislature, but report to it in writing. This is, however, simply a matter of convenience ; there is nothing but custom to prevent them from appearing and making their state- ments in person, although they could not take any part in the proceedings of the legislature. At first the President appeared and addressed Congress at the beginning of each session, but the plan of placing before it a written message as often as deemed nec- essary has been preferred. The people would not favor a change to the British practice, for the separa- tion of the executive and legislative departments is held to be of much importance. Either House can call at all times upon the President for information upon any question connected with affairs, but as the call has to meet the approval of the House, the gov- ernment is freed from the petty annoyances which it is in the power of any injudicious member to in- flict under the British system of nightly questioning. The President, in like manner, has free access to Con- gress, and, indeed, it is his duty to report to it from time to time upon all matters of which, in his opinion. Congress should be advised. He is also invited to recommend measures for its acceptance. The President represents the nation in its relations with foreign countries, and receives all ambassadors. The Federal Constellation. 389 It is he alone who has the power to pardon offences against the laws of the United States. He also has a veto power over the acts of Congress, which, however, is invalid should the measure vetoed be passed again by a two-third vote in both Houses. He is eligible for re- election, and several have been elected for two terms, or eight years in all, as Washington was, but he having declined re-election for a third term lest the office should seem too permanent, it has become the custom not to elect beyond two terms. The Americans have indeed shown wonderful sagac- ity in the selection of their Presidents. Considered as a body, it would be impossible to equal them in charac- ter, ability, education, or manners, by any body of men ever born, appointed, or elected to any other station. They furnish a striking contrast to the occupants or heirs of thrones in every particular. When Britain was disgraced by its George HI., the Republic had Wash- ington ; and until Queen Victoria ascended the throne the comparison had certainly always been in favor of the Republic. It is the fashion in all things to praise the past and claim that " there were giants in those days," but it is nevertheless true, in my opinion, that the Presidents of the Republic in our own times have been worthy succes- sors even to Washington, Adams, and Jefferson of the past. Grant has a firm place in history among men possessed of great ability. Garfield's career from a 3 go Triumphant Democracy. poor school teacher to the Presidency is exceedingly difficult to parallel, while the political genius of Lincoln has never been surpassed. It is always well to remem- ber that there are giants in our own day too. The election of the President and Vice-President is not by a direct vote of the people but by a vote of the States in an electoral assembly in which each State has as many votes as it has Senators and Represen- tatives in Congress, that is in proportion to its popu- lation. It has been claimed as an advantage of the Monarchy that, having a permanent head of the State, the excitement and expense of a general election every four years is avoided. But, it may be answered, the hereditary head of Britain is not a political head at all. An automaton would do just as well, for it could certainly be used as a model to set the fashions in clothes, and probably could be made to lay foundation- stones, or open fancy bazaars with little less careful coaching and attention than it is generally necessary to bestow upon the live figurehead; besides it would be much less expensive. The real ruler of Britain is elec- ted just as often as a President of the Republic is, for it is a curious fact that Parliaments last an average of four years, which is the Presidential term. Even as I now write, the appeal is being made to the British people, Gladstone or Salisbury, as clearly as in the late Presi- dential election it was Cleveland or Blaine. It is a fic- tion, therefore, that the Monarchy has any advantage, The Federal Constellation. 391 if it would be an advantage, which I dispute, over the Repubhc in this respect, for they are situated precisely- alike ; they each elect a ruler every four years. The excitement and the expense of a general election is far greater in the Monarchy than in the Republic, and in both equally the head is elected. Besides this. Mem- bers of Congress are elected by the States along with the Presidential ticket, just as Members of Parliament are elected when Gladstone or Salisbury is chosen. So that in one sense the election of the President costs nothing whatever, as State elections have to be held whether a President is to be elected or not, and voting for the electoral ticket when voting for Representa- tives involves no additional expense. Of course, more money is spent in Presidential years, but this is the personal contribution of zealous partisans and not a charge upon the State. It will surprise Britons to know that no sums comparable to what they spend on political contests are ever spent by the Americans. The total sum expended by the national committees of all the parties, even in the last exciting Presidential contest, did not exceed $600,000 (;^i20,ooo). The republican election, moreover, is conducted with far less riot and disturbance than unfortunately characterizes the appeal to the electorate in older Eng- land. An American is surprised and shocked at the rowdyism often shown at public meetings in Britain. He is accustomed to have both sides granted a respect- 392 Triumphant Democracy. ful hearing. I have never seen any public meeting in America broken up by gangs of the opposite side, nor a pubhc man denied a hearing. In this respect the ex- ample of the younger political community might well be followed by the elder. When the people of Britain, however, obtain their full political rights, there will be less exciting questions to discuss than those which now press for solution, and political gatherings will then be more peaceably conducted. It must not be forgotten that when a vital issue like slavery was under discus- sion in America the right of free speech was often vio- lently assailed, as it still is in Britain. When the surroundings of the President and the royal ruler are contrasted, republican simplicity stands out in strong relief. The President walks about as an ordinary citizen, wholly unattended, and travels, as a rule, upon ordinary trains ; arrives in New York and registers at a hotel without previous announcement. Beyond a brief mention of the fact in the next morn- ing's papers nothing is published about him. As I write he has gone to Buffalo, the city of his former residence, in order to cast his vote at the election for Governor of the State of New York. It will weigh just as much as and no more than that of the mechanics or laborers whom he will find surrounding the polling- booth. Although, go where he may, he will be met with quiet evidences of universal and sincere deference as President, there will be no parade, no cheers. The The Federal Constellation. 393 equipages of the President in Washington have fre- quently been so common as not to rank with those of the wealthy residents, and never in any instance have they been the richest or best. All the Presidents have been poor men. I have known three of them so well as to state, of my own knowledge, that they left ofifice without means enough upon which to live respectably. Of every American President it may be said aS" it was said of Pitt : " Dispensing for years the favors of the State, he lived without ostentation and died poor." They have all left ofifice poor and pure. One turns from the dignified, simple life of the republican ruler to that of the nominal head of Britain, feeling that there he meets a coarser and less finely developed civilization. The parade and vulgar osten- tation which surrounds at every turn the nominal ruler of the parent land is indeed in striking contrast. The cost to the State is as ten thousand to six hundred thousand pounds. The entire family, mother and his " sisters and his cousins and his aunts," are supported, and bands of retainers who are supposed to dignify the throne. The state processions strike an American as grotesque masquerades, and the official coaches in which royalty moves about provoke the enquiry, "What circus has come to town ? " One instinctively looks inside for the clown. This much for the crowned king. But the contrast is not all in favor of the Republic, for when the real ruler, the uncrowned king of Britain, is com- 394 Triumphant Democracy. pared with his fellow-ruler here, then the palm for true dignity cannot be awarded to America. Nothing can exceed the simplicity of the surroundings of the prime minister of that great empire. His salary is only one- half that of the President. His official residence is a shabby, dingy, old brick house, instead of the noble Executive Mansion standing in its own park at Wash- ington ; it is simply No. lo Downing Street, and is as shabbily furnished as a New York boarding-house. Mr. Gladstone lives and Mr. Disraeli lived as sensibly as our Presidents, and set just as healthful an example, which, however, counts for little in Britain, since the Prime Minister is not, like the President, the first personage in society. Indeed, when the Liberal Party is in power the Prime Minister can scarcely be said, in one sense, to be in society at all. He is proscribed, and has no in- fluence upon it. But his day approaches ; the Democ- racy will soon require that the man who has the people of England at his back shall no longer tolerate a king before his face. Wherever he appears in Britain, as in America, he will take precedence. " He shall stand BEFORE kings." The children of the Prince of Wales (the Prince himself, if he be unwise), and the children of all of the present dukes and lords of the empire are no longer to follow in the train of the pretender but in that of the only real, the elected king. It is so in the Republic, and what is here is to be yonder. What America does to-day, Britain reaches in the next gen- The Federal Constellation. 395 eration. We must reverse the old proverb, " as the old cock crows the young one learns " ; now-a-days, it is the young cock which leads the crowing. The old one does the learning. Room, then, and first place for the elected monarch of Triumphant Democracy in Britain ! We have now passed in review the three branches of government, judicial, legislative, and executive, for which the Constitution provides. The ease with which this instrument has not only done the work over the country for which it was originally designed, but with which it has without repeated change quietly enveloped in its operation a combination of forty-nine different political communities, occupying an area of three mil- lion square miles, and comprising most of the English- speaking race — this is not to be spoken of without wonder. With one exception — the dispute as to the right of a State to withdraw from the Union — a serious difficulty has never arisen. It seems as if there could be no limit to its powers of absorption. The whole world could to-day come into the American Union as equal States, and develop peacefully, each after its own fashion, no man being less a Briton, a Frenchman, a German, a Russian, or a Chinaman, but all becoming possessed of a new title, proudest of all, " citizen of the world." This wonderful Constitution stipulates for a republican form of government. All the Democracy has to do is to discard hereditary rulers as useless, danger- ous, and therefore to be abolished. Sure is it that they 396 Triumphant Democracy. have deluged the world with wars, put man against his fellow, and sought no end but their own aggrandize- ment. Not less sure, that they must ever stand in the way of the brotherhood of the race which it is the mission of Democracy to foster. How easily within our grasp, fellow-citizens of the world, seems the day when " The drum shall beat no longer, And the battle flags be furled, In the pariiament ot man, The federation of the world." '• ' We may not look, however, for quite so wide and complete a Union. Oceans divide the races, and this fact will keep them apart, for permanent political aggre- gations must ever be conterminous ; but as far as the continents of the world are concerned there is no insuperable obstacle to their union each into one nation upon the federal system. The American continent is evidently destined to be so ruled. The European con- tinent is slowly consolidating, for there are but five great powers to-day instead of the hundreds of small ones which existed before the Napoleonic era. A league of peace to which each continent will send delegates to decide international differences is not quite so far in the future as may at first sight appear. This would remove from the world its greatest stain — war between man and man. The Federal Constellation. 397 To all communities who are tending towards further consolidations and to every man who can truthfully exclaim, " My benison with those Who would make good of ill and friends of foes," we commend a close study of that great work of triumph- ant Democracy, which Mr. Gladstone has pronounced " the most wonderful work ever struck off at one time by the brain and purpose of man " — the profoundly conservative and yet radically republican American Constitution. CHAPTER XVII. FOREIGN AFFAIRS. " Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none." — Jefferson. As we have endeavored to point out, there is a great difference between the old and new lands in the management of their domestic concerns. This differ- ence becomes radical in the domain of foreign affairs. Indeed, it is no longer a difference : it is a complete reversal. What the old land does the new land avoids; what the one land does not, the other does in dealing with other nations. The consequences of the two diverse policies are seen in diametrically different results. The huge debt, the constant war, or fear of war, and the international jealousies which surround the parent land contrast strangely with the freedom of the Republic from all these ills. The excuse made by British states- men for the unfortunate contrast presented is that the Republic has no strong neighbors, and no colonies or dependencies far distant from its shores which it is bound to guard. I am persuaded that the cause of difference lies deeper than this. No nation is so temptingly placed as the Republic for becoming en- Foreign Affairs. 309 gaged in aggressive warfare. The materials lie around her upon every side. Had America been cursed by mon- archical institutions, which ever breed strong military classes, to whom, as to the royal family and the court, peaceful avocations are discreditable as compared with military operations, there can be little question but that the American monarchy would have involved it- self in endless disputes, treaties, and entangling alliances with other powers, necessitating large standing armies and fleets, from which would have come endless wars, or fear of war. The Republic began early to pursue the paths of peace. The messages of each succeeding President enforced the words of Jefferson, which we have placed at the head of this chapter, and the sayings of American statesmen abound with kindred senti- ments. Washington, in his farewell address, gave the key-note upon which all subsequent changes have been rung. He says: "The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is, in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as httle political connection as possible. * * * So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop." Madison's view of the Republic's mission was: " To cherish peace and friendly intercourse with all nations having correspondent dispositions ; to maintain sincere neutrality towards belligerent nations ; to prefer, in all cases, amicable dis- cussion and reasonable accommodation of differences to a decision 400 Triumphant Democracy. of them by an appeal to arms ; to exclude foreign intrigues and foreign partialities, so degrading to all countries, and so baneful to free ones." Adams speaks of " The pestilence of foreign influence, which is the angel of de- struction to elective governments." Jefferson further lays down as " our first and funda- mental maxim," " never to entangle ourselves in the broils of Europe. Our second, never to suffer Europe to intermeddle with cis-atlantic affairs." And so was reached the great doctrine, bearing the name of Monroe, declaring to the powers of Europe that " we should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety." "Our policy in regard to Europe," the Monroe message continued, " is not to interfere in the internal concerns of any of its powers ; to consider the government de facto as the legitimate government for us; to cultivate friendly relations with it, and to preserve these relations by a frank, firm, and manly policy ; meeting, in all instances, the just claims of every power, submitting to injuries from none." This chapter could be filled with extracts from the Presidents' messages and from other sources, all preach- ing the same important lesson, that the Republic must be at peace with its neighbors and with the world. I need not, however, dwell upon the past. It is with the present we have to deal. , , . , , Foreign Affairs. 401 Let me give then a short statement of the course re- cently pursued by the Monarchy and by the RepubHc in the management of similar emergencies in their relations to other States. The one has a canal through Egypt to guard, and the other a railway across the Isthmus of Panama, that the traffic of the world may be unim- peded. A few months ago word was received in Wash- ington that a disturbance had broken out at one end of the railway in the Republic of Colombia, and that there was grave danger that railway communication across the Isthmus would be interfered with. A force was at once despatched to the scene, and the admiral sailed under the following instructions, which were published in the newspapers that the nation and the world might see and understand all. .. - . [Telegram.] " Navy Department, Washington, April 3, 1885. " Rear-Admiral James E. Jouett, U. S. S. " Tennessee," Pen- SACOLA, Fla. ; " In addition to the force under your command in the Steamships 'Tennessee,' ' Swatara,' 'Alliance' and 'Galena,' all of which should be at Aspinwall upon your arrival, you will be re-enforced by about two hundred marines, dispatched to-day from New York by the steamship ' City of Para ' with tents and camp equipage. To provide for contingencies further supplies will be sent at once. " The duty you are called upon to perform calls for the exercise of great discretion. The object of the expedition is the performance by the United States of their engagements to preserve the neutral- 26 402 Triumphant Democracy. ity of and keep open the transit from Colon to Panama, and fur- ther to protect the lives and property of American citizens. "The circumstances as understood, from which the necessity of the expedition has arisen, are in general, that a steamship belong- ing to Americans has been seized at Colon by an armed force and goods in transit taken from her, her officers and the American Con- sul imprisoned, and the transit across the Isthmus interrupted. With the consequences involved in these past acts you are not con- cerned. Your sole duty is confined to seeing that a free and unin- terrupted transit across the Isthmus is restored and maintained and that the lives and property of American citizens are pro- tected. " If on your arrival at the Isthmus order shall have been restored and the Colombian authorities are adequate to the protection of life and property and the maintenance of the free transit, you will interfere in no respect with the constituted authorities, but report and avv^ait orders. You have no part to perform in the political or social disorders of Colombia, and it will be your duty to see that no irritation or unfriendliness shall arise from your presence at the Isthmus. " The exercise of humanity towards American citizens in exigent distress must be left to your sound discretion. . . '. ' " W. C. Whitney, " Secretary of the Navy?'' Note how careful that promising young statesman, Mr. Whitney, is to limit the operations of his admiral to the maintenance of the free and uninterrupted com- munication which his government had guaranteed ! How solicitous that the authorities and people of Co- lombia should be so treated that no unfriendliness or irritation could possibly arise ! The admiral found, Foreign Affairs. 403 upon arrival, that the disturbance was over, and soon re- turned. Not a shot was fired. Now the great point here is that not a voice was raised in all America sug- gesting that any part of Colombia should be held, or annexed, or that the people of that State should be in any way interfered with. Consequently no suspicions were aroused, no enemies created. American interests were not pleaded as a warrant for continued occupation. The great and powerful Republic was at Colon as the friend of its small and weak sister, but upon no ac- count to interfere with her even for Colombia's own seeming good. Colombia might manage or, seemingly to America, mismanage her own affairs as to her seemed possible, or best. The admiral would no more have thought of interfering than he would had he been on the shores of Ireland and doomed to stand and see a poor tenant farmer evicted, or upon the shores of Scot- land and had seen a poor crofter abused. If the quar- rellers in Colombia had attempted to interrupt railway communication across the Isthmus he would have pro- tected that, and in so doing would have received the thanks of all the good people of Colombia. President Cleveland refers to this episode in his re- cent message to Congress. For the benefit of the un- fortunate people of the Monarchy, and more especially for that of its statesmen, I quote the passage in full : " Emergencies growing out of civil war in the United States of Colombia demanded of the government at the beginning of this 404 Triumphant Democracy. administration the employment of armed force to fulfil its guaran- tees under the thirty-fifth article of the treaty of 1816 in order to keep the transit open across the Isthmus of Panama. Desirous of exercising only the powers expressly reserved to us by the treaty, and mindful of the rights of Colombia, the forces sent to the Isthmus were instructed to confine their action to ' positively and effi- caciously ' preventing the transit and its accessories from being 'in- terrupted or embarrassed.' The execution of this delicate and responsible task necessarily involved police control where the local authority was temporarily powerless, but always in aid of the sov- ereignty of Colombia. The prompt and successful fulfilment of its duty by this government was highly appreciated by the government of Colombia, and has been followed by expressions of its satisfaction. High praise is due to the officers and men engaged in this service. The restoration of peace on the Isthmus by the re-establishment of the constituted government there being thus accomplished, the forces of the United States were withdrawn.'' Leaving for the present the Colombian difficulty as peacefully settled without one trace of dissatisfaction upon the part of the weaker power to plague the Re- public hereafter, let us see how the Monarchy man- aged a similar task imposed upon her. England was apprised that a rebellion against the in- famous ruler of Egypt had broken out and, being bound with France to exercise dual control, she besought that country to interfere jointly with her in suppressing this righteous uprising of an oppressed people. The gov- ernment of France was anxious to do so, but the people of France unmistakably pronounced against this — a proof that Democracy is beginning at last to show its Foreign Affairs. 405 legitimate fruit there. Instead of sending an expedition to guard tlie canal, which, by the way, never was en- dangered, the government sent a large force to Egypt and began an aggressive campaign to prevent the people of Egypt from having such rulers as they desired. From that unfortunate day to this Britain has gone deeper and deeper into trouble. Already $100,000,000 (;^20,- 000,000) and thousands of lives have been sacrificed ; and for what? Absolutely nothing. The criminal side of the question has so shocked the moral sense of the best portion of the Liberal Party that Mr. Gladstone has deemed it necessary upon the eve of an appeal to the nation, to confess that the Soudan campaign was a mistake. It was worse than that, Mr. Gladstone ; it was a crime, which would sully your fame forever were it not known that you had no part in it, but were over- ruled by the aristocratic element which you thought essential to keep in your Cabinet. It may be argued that Britain was bound to interfere and support upon the throne a sovereign against the wishes of the Egyptian people, though this seems a strange position for so advanced a nation to occupy ; or it may be said that Britain had neither right nor wish to interfere with the internal affairs of Egypt, but only wished to guard the canal. It matters not which position is assumed, the fact remains that the policy pursued has not produced the desired result upon either hypothesis, and the end arrived at is in lament- 4o6 TriuTnphant Democracy. able contrast with the different policy pursued by the Republic. The strong Republic sees clearly from the start what end it has in view, and aims solely for that end. The weak Monarchy, ever subject to the popular breeze, the creature of circumstance, can have no de- cided policy. The British Constitution makes Britain the Micawber of nations, always looking for " some- thing to turn up." The Republic has complied with its treaty obligations and retired from the scene, with the thanks of its weak neighbor. We are yet to learn what is to be the end of the management of the Mon- archy. So far no contrast could be more striking than that between it and that of the Republic. Let us pause here a moment to contrast the posi- tions of the two admirals upon their respective stations at Colon and Alexandria. The republican official had every interest in maintaining peace. The responsibility of firing a shot was appalling. Behind him stood his superior, the Secretary of the Navy, every line of whose cautious but explicit instructions seems to regard hos- tilities with aversion. Behind the government, the admiral knew, stood the American people, loath to hurt the feelings of a weak neighbor and determined never to interfere with its internal affairs. No possible reward, no glory, would fall to this admiral from en- tangling his country in war. He would have been held to the strictest accountability for every drop of blood shed, and the verdict of public opinion at first would , Foreign Affairs. 407 have been disposed to go decidedly against him. On the other hand, the surest mode of earning the thanks of Congress and of his country was so to conduct him- self so as to secure peace without firing a shot. So stood Admiral Jouett, the man of war converted into the messenger of peace. This is the attitude of the Democracy. How was it with Admiral Seymour, the servant of a monarch ? Let him refrain from bombarding from be- hind his iron walls the few miserable defences in Alex- andria Bay, and never in his history perhaps would such an opportunity occur again to rescue his name from obscurity. If he decided to be patient and remain at peace, half-pay and oblivion would be his reward. He knew that if he began to bombard the Egyptian defences the ruling class, which alone could reward him, would applaud. Even the Queen, a woman, who should shudder at war and not publicly parade her interest in slaughter, would publicly congratulate him, and the Prince of Wales and all the aristocracy which move round the court, together with the military and naval classes who flourish only through war, would extol him to the skies. The government tempted the man to fire. All the forces behind him urged him on ; while, as we have seen, all the forces behind the repub- lican admiral held him to peace. Admiral Seymour might have thus reasoned : " Ne- gotiate this trouble peacefully, I remain poor and ob- 4o8 Triumphant Democracy. scure. There is no danger ; I am perfectly safe behind these iron walls ; just open my guns and fame and honor and rank and wealth are mine." He yielded. Mr. Gladstone himself stood up in Parliament and advo- cated a peerage and a pension to the admiral who was bribed to begin the bombardment of Alexandria. For- tunately, not even Mr. Gladstone could force the Lib- eral party to grant the pension. Admiral Seymour re- ceived in cash his thirty pieces of silver. Fellow-countrymen, what would you think of a judge upon the bench deciding his own cause, where a verdict for the defendant meant to the judge obscurity and half-pay, and a verdict for the plaintiff meant a peerage and twenty-iive thousand pounds ? Yet this was precisely the position of Admiral Seymour at Alex- andria, and it is practically the position occupied by every British commander to whom is committed the issue of peace or war in the " exercise of his discretion." Need we marvel that while the Monarchy becomes in- volved in war after war, the Republic settles similar problems in peace and with the good will and cordial friendship of the power with which she has to deal ! Let us proceed just a step further and show the policy of the Democracy upon this subject of inter- vention or complications in the affairs of other States. The President's message from which I have just quoted refers to a treaty offered by Nicaragua, which proposed to give America the necessary land upon Foreign Affairs. 409 which to construct a canal of its own across the Isthmus — a tempting bait this to a Monarchy with imperial am- bitions. But listen to the response of the republican President : " Maintaining, as I do, the tenets of a line of precedents from Washington's day, which proscribe entangling alliances with foreiga States, I do not favor a policy of acquisition of new and dis- tant territory or the incorporation of remote interests with our own. " The laws of progress are vital and organic, and we must be conscious of that irresistible tide of commercial expansion which, as the concomitant of our active civilization, day by day, is being urged onward by those increasing facilities of production, trans- portation, and communication to which steam and electricity have given birth ; but our duty in the present instructs us to address ourselves mainly to the development of the vast resources of the great area committed to our charge, and to the cultivation of the arts of peace within our own borders, though jealously alert in pre- venting the American hemisphere from being involved in the po- litical problems and complications of distant governments. There- fore, I am unable to recommend propositions involving paramount privileges of ownership or right outside of our own territory, when coupled with absolute and unlimited engagements to defend the territorial integrity of the State where such interests lie. While the general project of connecting the two oceans by means of a canal is to be encouraged, I am of opinion that any scheme to that end to be considered with favor should be free from the features alluded to.'' Statesmanship in Britain would have required some life-long diplomat to negotiate for the privileges offered and the seed of many serious questions of the future 4IO Triumphant Democracy. would have been laid, the abused people of Britain being led to applaud the strong statesman who had promoted British interests and enlarged the bounds of the em- pire. A little common sense in the Democracy ensures the Republic a continuance of peace. But now and then the seeds of future trouble present themselves in more specious garbs. The Congo Basin attracts at- tention at present, and here is a paragraph bearing upon that subject, also in the same President's message which I have quoted. " A conference of delegates of the principal commercial nations was held at Berlin last winter to discuss methods whereby the Congo Basin might be kept open to the world's trade. Delegates attended on behalf of the United States on the understanding that their part should be merely deliberative, without imparting to the results any binding character, so far as the United States were concerned. This reserve was due to the indisposition of this government to share in any disposal by an international congress of jurisdictional questions in remote foreign territories. The re- sults of the conference were embodied in a formal act of the nature of an international convention, which laid down certain obligations purporting to be binding on the signatories subject to ratification within one year. Notwithstanding the reservation under which the delegates of the United States attended, their signatures were attached to the general act in the same manner as those of the plenipotentiaries of other governments, thus making the United States appear, without reserve or qualification, as signatories to a joint international engagement imposing on the signers the conser- vation of the territorial integrity of distant regions where we have no established interests or control. Foreign Affairs. 411 " This government does not, however, regard its reservation of liberty of action in the premises as at all impaired ; and holding that an engagement to share in the obligation of enforcing neutral- ity in the remote valley of the Congo would be an alliance whose responsibilities we are not in a position to assume, I abstain from asking the sanction of the Senate to that general act." The President does not even consider it worth while to submit the question to the Senate. It is so manifestly opposed to the traditions of the Democracy, whose business is to mind its own business and teach by example, not by interference. The sanction of the Senate not having been obtained, of course the action of the mistaken delegates is of no effect, and the Re- public lets the imperial nations involve themselves in dangerous alliances upon the Congo. We are soon to hear, no doubt, of disputes between these nations upon this very subject. When these arise, the republican method can be once more referred to with satisfaction. I have mentioned three questions, all occurring in one year, through any one of which future wars might have arisen, had the Republic not known better than the Monarchy how to manage its foreign affairs. No, my readers, it is not because America is so happily placed as to be excluded from the necessity of interference, or that she is not bound by guarantees and alliances with other powers, or freed from the necessity to en- gage in wars as other nations do, but, as the instances just cited abundantly show, her envied position is 412 Triumphant Democracy. the natural result of resolute refusal to adopt the measures which must and always do lead inevitably to wars. The Democracy does not escape these terrible catastrophes by luck, but by careful adherence from year to year, and in every emergency, to a sound policy. The American people are satisfied that the worst na- tive government in the world is better for its people than the best government which any foreign power can supply ; that governmental interference upon the part of a so-called civilized power, in the affairs of the most barbarous tribe upon earth, is injurious to that tribe, and never under any circumstances whatever can it prove beneficial, either for the undeveloped race or for the intruder. They are further satisfied that, in the end, more speed is made in developing and improv- ing backward races by proving to them through ex- ample the advantages of Democratic institutions than is possible through violent interference. The man in America who should preach that the nation should interfere with distant races for their civilization, and for their good, would be voted either a fool or a hypo- crite ; such a classification need not be confined to this side of the Atlantic. There was nothing unkind in Mr. Leonard Courtney's policy of allowing the Egyptians " to stew in their own juice." This policy would have been permanently best for them. Mr. Courtney was the true statesman. We ask careful readers to reflect upon what has been Foreign Affairs. 413 here shown, and consider whether the success achieved in the management of domestic questions is not admir- ably supplemented by the wonderful results attending the foreign relations of the Democracy. To the people of my native land I say, do not believe your statesmen when they attempt to excuse their failures and their follies by stating that the Republic escapes similar re- sults because isolated from other nations while Britain is not. This is not true. The " silver streak " should act as an isolater more complete than any the Republic has ; for the Republic has no such barrier either north or south. It is not further isolation which is re- quired, but a government isolated from monarchical and aristocratical influences. When this is obtained there no difficulty will be found in the way of adopting the policy of the Triumphant Democracy, which avoids all entangling alliances, since the ally of one nation necessarily proclaims himself the enemy of others. Britain will then stand as the Republic stands, " The friend of all nations — the ally of none." The lesson which the Democracy teaches the Monarchy is that proper attention to its own affairs and freedom allowed to other nations to manage theirs in their own way, is the best and surest means to secure progress in political development throughout the world. Thus saith the Democracy. No nation can give to another any good which will compensate for the injury caused by interference with the sacred germ of self-government. CHAPTER XVIII. THE government's NON-POLITICAL WORK. " Politically and socially the United States are a community livings in a natural condition and conscious of doing so. And being in this healthy case and having this healthy consciousness, the community there uses its understanding with the soundness of health ; it in general sees its politi- cal and social concerns straight, and sees them clear. " — Matthew Arnold. The man of ability in Britain is too often tempted into the political field. The rare talent for organization and administration of the American, on the other hand, usually finds a far more useful field in the management of affairs, much more important than politics, in a land which has finally settled all fundamental political prob- lems and now rests at peace upon the rock of the political equality of the citizen, while the parent land is tossing about upon unruly seas, knowing no rest. I have often admired the various non-political bureaus at Washington as being strictly American — something which the Democracy has evolved far superior to any similar bureaus ever produced by monarchical forms of government. This is probably the ablest and purest service in the world. I had intended to visit Wash- ington to examine the various branches of this work and write an account of them, but the time could never be spared. The happy idea occurred to me to The Governmetifs Non-political Work. 415 send my secretary, Mr. Bridge, to perform the task, with a request to write up the subject and see what he could make of it. He has done so well that I cannot do better than incorporate his account, which is as follows : One of Matthew Arnold's clear-thinking Yankees has said, with epigrammatic brevity, that whenever three Americans get together they organize : one becomes sec- retary, a second treasurer, and the other a standing com- mittee of one to watch the executive. And, surely, this is more than a saying. A people trained to govern itself, even in the most minute affairs of local life, must of necessity develop a great capacity for organization and administration. Thus we find in America that groups of men with allied interests invariably have an organi- zation to watch over the common weal. But for or- ganization of the completest and most comprehensive character it is needful to see what the Federal Govern- ment is doing at Washington. A visit to the numerous departments and bureaus there is like a journey with " Alice in Wonderland." There in offices, some dingy, some magnificent, one may see, lying on tables or on shelves, the charts which indicate in every particular the nation's life and health, its pulse-beats and respira- tion, its changing appetite and desires. Nay, the whole world, the universe itself is told to " put out its wrist," that the experts may know how it is doing. The present condition of crops in California or in Egypt ; the degree 41 6 Truimphant Democracy. of cloudiness in Dakota or Maine ; the number and con- dition of hogs in market at Kansas City, or in transport to Chicago; the appearance of grasshoppers in Georgia; the wheat in store at Duluth or New York ; the number of bales of cotton at Bombay or Mobile ; the present position in mid-Atlantic of a water-logged wreck, or a buoy adrift ; a drought in Arkansas ; the southward flight of cranes in Dakota ; the change made yesterday in the revolving light in the bay of Nagasaki, Japan ; the coal at present available for ships at St. Helena ; the relative cloudiness of the planet Mars — these and a thousand and one other matters, as diverse as can be imagined, are noted, docketed and labelled, every change being recorded almost as soon as it takes place. Let me give an example. The Agricultural Depart- ment has in its service about ten thousand persons, dis- persed all over the continent and a few throughout the world. Their service is mainly voluntary. From their reports is compiled a monthly record, which is exhibited in chambers of commerce and published in newspapers, giving the area and condition of crops throughout the world ; cost of transportation to home and foreign markets; prices prevailing on farms and in principal cities; stocks on hand; requirements of consumption ; sources of supply, etc. Thus the American farmer or merchant can always ascertain the amount of acreage in particular crops ; the con- dition of the crops as regards growth, maturity, and The Government's Non-political Work. 417 probable yield; the number and local value of horses, cows, sheep, oxen or other cattle ; the prices of labor in different localities ; or any other data bearing on his work. Further, seeds are distributed and planted all over the vast continent, and the results of differ- ing soils and conditions carefully noted, and deduc- tions drawn as to the appropriate environment. Then the habits and life-history of insects and birds injurious to vegetation and the best means of destroying them are subjects occupying the attention of a separate divi- sion of the Department. In this work, specialists are at work in the field and laboratory ; and the results of their labors, printed in special reports, are dispersed by the numerous local agricultural societies and institutions with which the Department is in intimate communion. In its own garden the Department cultivates new va- rieties of fruits and plants, for dissemination through- out the country. In this garden, Chinese sorghum or sugar-cane was first grown in America, and the Chinese yam was introduced by the same means. The tea plant is another example, and the domestic product is largely consumed by the families who raise it. A Western orange planter writes to the Department : " The Bahia orange sent to California ten years ago is conceded to be the best variety produced in this State. It is the largest size and finest flavor, and sells higher than any other kind. It is worth to California all that the Department of Agriculture has ever cost the country." 27 41 8 Trmmphant Democracy. Amongst other work of the Department may be named the analyses of grains and fruits to determine their nutritive value, and analyses of soils and fertilizers; the microscopical study of plant diseases, especially fungi ; the diffusion of knowledge concerning the uses of forest-trees in relation to agriculture ; the investiga- tion of specific diseases amongst cattle, and efforts to pre- vent or cure. In brief, everything that relates directly or even remotely to farming comes within the scope of the Agricultural Department. So complete is its supervision, that one examining its work is impelled to the belief that the American farmer has only to follow his instructions, and the government department will run his farm and see that it pays. The United States Signal Service is another great organization, which, by its electric veins spread over a continent, receives crude material, assimilates it, and sends it back pulsating in a rich, life-giving stream. From Cape Breton Island to southern Oregon, and from San Diego, California, to Havana, an area three thousand miles long by two thousand miles wide, em- bracing one hundred and fifty intermediate stations, messages are simultaneously flashed over the wires to Washington twice a day, reporting all atmospheric phenomena. An hour afterward the little room of the assistant signal officer in G Street, Washington, holds in its dingy precincts a chart which indicates barometric pressure, direction and velocity of wind, temperature, The Government' s Non-political Work. 419 dew-point, rainfall, and cloud areas of every part of the six million square miles covered by its net-work of telegraphs. A stranger dropping in at midnight of January 9, 1886, would have been told that local snows were falling in the lake regions ; that the tempera- ture had risen in the Gulf States ; and that the rivers had risen a foot at Cincinnati, Cairo, and Memphis, and fallen five feet at Chattanooga ; that cautionary off- shore signals were exhibited from Wilmington to New York, and cautionary signals from New Haven to East- port. He would probably have been shown the track of the storm which brought to Washington the lowest barometric reading ever seen there ; and the chart being prepared under his eyes would show him the same storm disappearing into Labrador. A few hours later the finished chart, reproduced by telegraph, would be in the office of every important newspaper, every post- office, thousands of railway stations and chambers of commerce throughout the land from San Francisco to Boston, and from Minneapolis to Key West in the Gulf Stream. The people of New England would know on receiving the morning paper that for the next thirty- two hours they were to have cold, fair weather, with a rising barometer ; while those of Los Angeles, in lower California, and Jacksonville, Florida, would be glad- dened to know that the cold wave was passing away. In Minnesota railway officials would learn by the same report published in their newspapers, or hanging in the 420 Triumphant Democracy. ticket-office, that there would be no immediate need of snow-ploughs, although traffic would be slightly impeded by local snows. The skipper who contemplated leav- ing New York and sailing coastwise would hesitate on reading, at the breakfast table, that cautionary signals were displayed ; and influenced by the report of some army surgeon or amateur meteorologist away in Dakota, he might possibly decide to spend another day at home. All sorts and conditions of men are affected by this chart. One postpones a journey ; another, cal- culating on the arrival of grain in Eastern cities, sells before the market falls ; emigrants decide to go West by the Southern Pacific route ; physicians relax their restraints as the improving weather admits the invalid to the fresh air. An amusing illustration of the extent to which the warnings of the Weather Bureau are read and heeded was lately afforded by a mistake made by a Western observer in his report of local temperature. He reported about forty degrees instead of four. The result was that the officer who makes the predictions concluded from his data that a warm wave was on its way east. Thirty million of people living east of the Mississippi forthwith left overcoats at home, and put on goloshes in preparation for a thaw, which never came. The unlucky weather prophet at first excused the tardy arrival of the warm wave by saying that Western railways were blocked with snow, and arrivals The Government s Non-political Work. 421 of all kinds were delayed. But as the days passed and no warm wave appeared, the newspapers launched forth an avalanche of ridicule — -the American's mode of complaint — at the untruthful prophet ; and presently everybody in America was talking about the young lieutenant in Washington, who, oblivious to complain- ings and ridicule, went on drawing his isobars and isotherms, and making his calculations and predictions. It implies great faith in this weather prophet, when people complain that he ought to have corrected the error made by the local observer in Colorado or Nevada. It has come to this : that the weather prophet must not only predict correctly from his data, but even cor- rect the data if these are wrong. Considering the haste with which the weather charts and predictions are pre- pared, it is surprising how few errors are made. Eighty- three per cent, of all the indications made last year for the Atlantic coast were justified ; while on the Pacific the verifications averaged eighty-seven per cent. Of two thousand eight hundred and sixty-four cautionary signals displayed at ports, two thousand three hundred and one, or eighty per cent., were justified. Cold-wave signals were justified in about the same proportion, eight hundred and fifteen out of nine hundred and forty-six having been verified. The Signal Service engages in much special work. It furnishes the Farmer s Bulletin with meteorological information that is of special interest to the agricultu- 42 2 Triumphant Democracy. rist. This is an official publication, and the govern- ment has taken every available means to put it into the hands of the class for which it is intended. The rise and fall of rivers are watched, and timely warning given by telegraph of coming floods. The people of the Western plains receive similar warning of the approach of local storms, and the agriculturists, ranchmen, and others generally have twelve hours to prepare for the coming " Norther." The bureau has also undertaken the task of announcing the coming of locusts, grasshoppers, and other insect scourges. Frost-warnings for the benefit of. the sugar industries of Louisiana and the orange growers of Florida have of late years made the Service popular in the South. The bureau has a very complete local service in the cotton belt which supplies infor- mation daily as to temperature and rainfall in every part of the district. Then once a month the Service publishes a review of meteorological observations made in every part of the world, including Siberia, Greenland, Iceland, Borneo, Turkestan, Japan, China, and some places whose names are suggestive only of desolation and savagery. An important extension of the Signal Service has been made to the sea-coast. Stations are placed at in- tervals along the coast, and connected by wire with each other, and with Washington. Here storm-flags and danger warnings are made visible to vessels moving off the coast. A ship sailing from the equator to New The Government s Non-political Work. 423 York as she passes Cape Henlopen may inquire by sig- nals whether any hurricane is impending ; and if so, whether she has time to reach Sandy Hook, or must take shelter behind the Delaware breakwater. Or a vessel bound south from New York may inquire at the capes of the Delaware whether any storm is likely to strike her before she can make Cape Hatteras, and re- ceive full answer by telegraph from the chief signal ofifi- cer at Washington without interrupting his voyage. General Hazen, the chief signal officer, very properly thinks this division of his work of superlative impor- tance. He says : " The time is not far distant when the possession of a coast not covered by sea-coast storm- signal and Signal Service stations, watching as sentinels each its own beat of sea and shore, and ready to sum- mon aid by electric wires, will be held as much an evi- dence of semi-barbarism as is now among civilized nations the holding of any national coast without a sys- tem of light-house lights." The achievements of the Signal Service are surpris- ing even to those who know of its numerous observing stations spread over a land area nearly twice as great as that of Europe. But what shall we think of similar achievements on the ocean ? If we are amazed at the extent of meteorological observations conducted on land, what will be our feelings on learning that similar work is being done on the sea, and predictions given for use of mariners ? I have before me a remark- 424 Triumphant Democracy. able chart prepared by Commander Bartlett, of the Navy. And here mark the difference between a government by the people and a government by a class : naval offi- cers in America do not receive their highest rewards for bombarding a defenceless Alexandria, or sacking a Tamatave. Their honors flow from life-saving services; and shall it not be said that the Schleys and Bartletts of America are greater than the Seymours and De- Courcys of semi-civilized Europe whose " glory is to slay ? " The European method is to " make a soli- tude, and call it — peace ! " The American reverses the process, and by the gentle arts of peace makes a teeming city of the solitude and a garden of the wilderness. To return to the chart, however. Here, at a glance, we have the safe transatlantic route, carefully drawn to avoid the ice, which in January hardly came further south than latitude 53°. The sailing route to the equator, calculated to give ships the benefit of the trade-winds, is also as clear as careful drawing and good printing can make it. The prevailing winds for the month are indicated, as well as the direction of ocean currents ; while special symbols mark the position of wrecks, buoys adrift, water-spouts, and localities haunted by whales. Directions for the use of oil in heavy seas are printed in the corner of the chart. Derelicts drift- ing about in the tracks of vessels are observed, and their The Government's Non-political Work. 425 changing position marked from month to month. Here, for example, is a water-logged schooner, the " Twenty- one Friends," which, despite its name, has been more threatening than twenty-one enemies. The vessel was abandoned off the coast of Virginia on March 24. Being lumber laden she continued to float ; and by April 28 had drifted twelve hundred miles. During the summer months she pursued her solitary course across the Atlantic, ever followed by watchful eyes in Washington. On September 20 she was apparently making for Queenstown, but suddenly headed off for Cape Finisterre, where she was seen early in December. She has probably ere this been towed into a Spanish port. Several other floating wrecks have been watched by anxious eyes in the hydrographic ofifice, which, una- ble to send out and destroy such dangers in the track of commerce, could only give warning by indicating, as nearly as possible, their position. This wonderful chart is soon to give the positions of fogs in the north Atlan- tic. Thus the ferry between the old and new lands is ever being made safer. The weather predictions are, of course, only proximate, being largely based on the peri- odicity of meteorological changes in the north Atlantic. Here are examples of the weather indications given, copied from the chart for January, 1886: " The storm area on the north Atlantic is at its maximum. Between the coast of the United States north of Cape Hatteras, and that of Europe, north of 47°, a gale of wind may be expected once 426 Triumphant Democracy. in six days. These gales are most violent when the wind is be- tween S. W. and N. W,, but a large percentage do not develop a force of more than 10. " Heavy northers may be expected along the Gulf coast of Mex- ico and Texas as often as once in ten days ; some may extend as far east as Key West, and south over the Caribbean Sea to Aspin- wall. " There is little danger of ice in the routes of transatlantic steamers.'' And then come recommendations in regard to pas- sage off Cape Horn, which admirably show the deduc- tive methods of modern weather prophets : " In the summer season — that is, during the long days — there exists a barometric minimum over the vast plains of Patagonia ; in consequence of the constant indrift due to this atmospheric condi- tion the centres of depressions which travel from the Pacific to the Atlantic are deflected toward the north, causing violent storms in 1 the region of Cape Horn and Tierra del Fuego. It is, therefore, desirable, after passing Staten Land, to stand to the southward as rapidly as possible to the 59th or 60th parallel, if the ice permits, where the influence of the navigable semicircle of the atmospheric whirl will be felt, in which relatively light north-east and south-east winds prevail and are favorable for making the passage into the Pacific.'' " Here's fine revolution an' we had the trick to see 't." The Fuegians, who live in this inhospitable region, believe, as Fitzroy tells us, that storms are sent by evil spirits to punish the wicked ; and here Captain Bartlett with unconscious iconoclasm says their The Government's Non-political Work. 427 cause is only a " barometric minimum " in Patagonia ! Tliese scientific experts are rapidly taking all romance out of life with their classifications, and technical phraseology. If the Fuegians get a sight of Captain Bartlett's chart they will at once become a religionless race, for it is obviously vain to attempt to propitiate a barometric minimum. The monthly publication of this encyclopaedic chart is but a small part of the work of the Hydrographic Office. Branch offices are maintained at the principal ports to give information to mariners concerning routes, to adjust barometers and chronometers, to ex- amine old charts, and point out their errors. Nearly eleven thousand persons received nautical information last year from the officers under the hydrographer ; and nearly twelve thousand vessels were boarded and information collected from their log-books. Then every week notices to mariners are published and cir- culated all over the world, announcing changes in lights, buoys, and everything affecting navigation, whether at Kodono-Sima, in the Japanese inland sea, or in the Swash Channel at New York. The enor- mous work entailed by this may be guaged from the fact that there are about twenty thousand buoys in the world, and every change in color or position is immedi- ately reported to the hydrographer, who at once an- nounces the change to every American consul and to hundreds of mariners throughout the world. So, too, 428 Triumphant Democracy. with the Hght-houses of the world, which are so numer- ous that a list of them fills six volumes of nearly three hundred pages each. This list, by the way, was com- piled in the Hydrographic Office ; and twenty days after receipt of the "copy," a three-hundred edition of this six-volume work returned from the govern- ment printers, ready for distribution in the navy. In this office the navy store of charts is kept ; and every change referred to above is made on these charts by hand. The office likewise prints a great many charts itself ; and of these the -plates are regularly corrected to date. Altogether this Hydrographic Office is one of the wonders of Washington. If it were better known, it would probably be more subject to the invasion of sight-seers at the capital than the Washington monu- ment. But it goes quietly along, working out its own salvation, and that of thousands of poor sailors who never heard of Captain Bartlett, the " Cherub that sits up aloft, To take care of the life of poor Jack." In the same building is the Office of Naval Intelli- gence, where a chart is published, indicating from month to month the supply of coal at all the coaling stations of the world, and also the means of telegraphic communication accessible to mariners wherever they may find themselves. In natural sequence should here come an account of the life-saving service, which, in America, is not an The Government' s Non-political Work. 429 institution supported by voluntary contributions as in England, but is a department under the government. As a result of this difference, it is claimed that the American service is more efficient than that of Brit- ain ; that a discipline almost military in its severity is necessary to obtain the best results where groups of men are working under the conditions usual at wrecks. This is a healthful and worthy rivalry. Let this be the only form of contention between the mother and her child land. Details of this excellent organization are not called for here. Lord Salisbury's encomium is as applicable to the iife-saving service as to the Senate — " marvellous in its efficiency and strength." An important work done by the United States Army is the improvement of rivers and harbors. Here again, under republican institutions, the profession of arms has been turned to noble account. To do battle with shoals and snags would be considered poor work for the Burnabys and Hobarts of Britain ; but in the Republic it has ever been held that to save life is a higher function than to destroy it. Great America's army, no larger than that of insignificant Roumania, is set to battle with nature, not with patriotic barbar- ians defending their own land. In the Signal Service, in the improvement of rivers and harbors, in the sur- veys of Western Territories, the Republic finds for her soldiers work which, while injuring no nation, brings them honor, and the country security and comfort. So 430 Triumphant Democracy. extensive is the work done by the little army of the Republic, that in this division of rivers and harbors improvements alone, the year's report covers over three hundred pages. Upward of a hundred million dollars have been spent by the engineer corps on rivers and harbors since the beginning of the government ; and the present annual appropriation for this purpose is still very large. The light-house board, a division of the Treasury Department, has also done much important work in a like direction. It has control of nine hundred light- houses and light-ships, a thousand beacon lights on Western rivers, and more than four thousand buoys, fog signals, and other minor aids to navigation. It employs two thousand five hundred light-keepers, crews of light-ships, etc. Here again American ingenuity is conspicious. Many dangerous reefs are marked by a whistling-buoy which can be heard more than fifteen miles. The rougher the sea the louder this automatic syren sends out its warning voice. This " Yankee no- tion " has been adopted by Europe. Still tending to the facilitation of commerce is the Coast Survey, a division which has supplemented its regular function by much special scientific work. It has originated methods of determining longitude ; ex- plored the Gulf Stream ; solved the problem of tides in the Gulf of Mexico, where only one tide occurs in twenty-four hours ; studied the laws governing tidal The Government's Non-political Work. 431 currents, and the best methods of controlHng them so as to aid navigation by deepening channels ; and achieved many other valuable results. The International Fisheries Exhibitions in London and Berlin have given a European renown to the work of the United States Fish Commission. At the closing of the London Exhibition, the Prince of Wales stated that " in many things pertaining to the fisheries, Eng- land is far behind the United States." And Professor Huxley has expressed his belief that no nation " has comprehended the question of dealing with fish in so thorough, excellent, and scientific a, spirit as that of the United States." The Rev. W. S. Lach Szyrma, of Newlyn, England, has made a trite comparison. "At the Paris exhibition he considered Europe as a man in full vigor, Asia as a decrepit old man, America as a boy, Australia as a baby. In the present Fishery Exhibition the case was different. America was the gem of the exhibition." That these encomiums were justified is proved by the fact that at London the United States exhibit secured fifty gold medals, forty- seven of silver, thirty of bronze, and twenty-four di- plomas. At the Berlin Exhibition America again headed the list, securing six gold medals out of ten. No wonder Europeans are astonished. "If there be," wrote, in 1879, Sir Rose Price, author of " The Two Americas," " any race of people who exhibit more shrewdness than others in their ability to grasp and manipulate the apparently 432 Triumphant Democracy. indistinct elements of what may lead to a commercial success, or be of ultimate benefit to their nation, those people are the Ameri- cans. No government throws away less money in useless expend- itures, and no representative assembly more narrowly criticises waste ; yet the Americans subsidize considerable sums of their national revenue for the purpose of restocking the rivers of the Eastern States by artificial culture, and with praiseworthy consid- eration their government supports several ably-conducted estab- lishments from which fish ova are distributed gratis to all those who choose to apply. The very railroads assist this enterprise, and some by moderating their tariff, and others by generously convey- ing the ova free of charge, give every possible encouragement to what their common sense tells them must lead to so much national good. To expect an English Government to exhibit the same amount of foresight, or to practice a similar generosity, would be to credit them with virtues which have yet to be developed. The American example, however, should not be lost sight of." The extent of the operations of the Fish Commis- sion can only be barely indicated here. One fact alone shows the gigantic nature of its operations : it has planted German carp in thirty thousand separate bodies of water, distributed through all the States and Terri- tories in the Union. The American Navy adds to its numerous non-com- batant functions the principal astronomical work done in the United States. It daily gives to every important city the correct time, and furni.shes some data for the government publication, The Nautical Almanac. The naval observatory has acquired a just celebrity by its discovery of the satellites of Mars. The Governmetit's Non-political Work. 433 The Patent Office and museum is another important division of the government at Washington. Here are many thousand models of inventions of every possible kind. The list contains over four hundred different patents of a nut-lock. The policy of the Republic is to make the patent law the encouragement of inventors and not the means of revenue; with such good results that more than three hundred thousand patents have been issued since 1836. Last year the total patents issued exceeded twenty-four thousand — nearly eighty per cent, more than in 1880. Forty years ago the aver- age number of patents issued annually did not exceed five or six hundred. If one wishes to realize the extent and versatility of the American inventor, it is needful to visit the enormous museum at the Patent Office. Miles of shelves and cases are filled with models, while acres of drawings and designs adorn the walls or lie hidden away in drawers. English visitors are usually greatly impressed with what they see there. Herbert Spencer could not withold his admiration. He says: " The enormous museum of patents which I saw in Washington is significant of the attention paid to inventors' claims ; and the nation profits immensely from having, in this direction (though not in others), recognized property in mental products. Beyond ques- tion, in respect of mechanical appliances, the Americans are ahead of all nations." One of the most important factors in the diffusion of knowledge among men is found in the system of 28 434 Trimnphant Democracy. international exchange carried on by the Smithsonian Institution. Originally intended for the distribution of its own publications, the Institution by degrees ex- tended its privileges to learned societies of both hemis- pheres, and at present it forms a medium of scientific intercourse between about seven hundred home insti- tutions and four thousand establishments distributed over all parts of the inhabited globe. The publications of any learned society in the world, whether in Japan, Norway, or California, if sent to Washington, will be distributed throughout the world, without cost to the sender. In 1885 about eighty thousand packages of books were thus sent from the Smithsonian Institu- tion, containing in some cases its own publications, in others United States blue books, or the transactions of various learned societies, in America and elsewhere. Many railv/ay and steamship lines carry these pack- ages gratuitously. In this work the Smithsonian Insti- tion stands alone. It is probably the most effective means of diffusing knowledge ever attempted, for it circulates to the ends of the world the knowledge which, put into volumes of transactions and blue-books, has hitherto been relegated to the shelves of public libraries. The ofificial publications of the results of these bu- reaus are so numerous, that the United States Govern- ment is the largest printer and publisher in the world. In the book of estimates for the next fiscal year, just The Governmeiif s Non-political Work. 435 sent to Congress, $1,380,000 (;£'276,ooo) is asked for wages alone. There are on the pay-roll four hundred compositors. Fifty proof-readers are constantly em- ployed, besides one hundred and fifteen press feeders and thirty-four ruling-machine feeders. The estimates call for one hundred thousand reams of printing paper, or forty-eight million sheets, equal to seven hundred and sixty-eight million pages. Of the annual report of the Commissioner of Agriculture, three hundred thousand copies are distributed. The reports of the Geological Survey, the Bureau of Ethnology, the re- ports of the Commission of Fish and Fisheries, the Bulletins of the National Museum, and hundreds of other documents and reports are sent free and postage paid almost to everybody or anybody. For the prepa- ation of this chapter more than seventy separate gov- ernment publications were obtained, the whole forming a perfect encyclopaedia of governmental methods and results, of progress in art, science, and material re- sources ; and this little library did not cost its collector a cent. Indeed, in some instances the books were sent free from Washington to New York. Such liberality is unparalleled. The Republic is clearly no niggard. Much other extra governmental work is done either by the government or, as in the case of the Smithsonian Institution, under its direction ; but further details are not called for here. However opinions may differ as to the propriety of a government engaging in every kind of 436 Triumphant Democracy. non-governmental work, there can be no difference of opinion as to the excellent methods and important re- sults of these bureaus in Washington. Most of them are models of equipment and method. Of the hundreds of thousands of packages sent out by Mr. Boehmer of the Smithsonian Institution not one has been lost. These ofifices are outside the influence of politics, and run on from year to year as freely and frictionless as if political parties were as distant as the satellites of Mars, or as deep down in the sea as the protoplasmal jelly fish about which these men of scientific light and leading write and print monologues at the public expense. Another fact elicited is that American progress is not limited to increasing crops or growing herds. In the higher domain of mind, in the alleviation of suffering, in the saving of life, in the facilitation of commerce, in the exploration of the world and the universe, in every- thing which tends to give life breadth as well as length, to make it more complete and more worth living, the Republic has contributed a very large quota. This high estimate of the value of the government bureaus has often been concurred in by foreigners. More than one celebrated Englishman has lamented to me that his country should be so far behind in similar work. It is the cue of the ruling classes of Europe to misrepresent the government of the Democracy. They would have the people believe that it is weak, corrupt, The Government's Non-political Work. 437 and inefficient ; but those who examine the subject carefully know it to be surprisingly strong, pure, effi- cient, and marvellously able. In none of the depart- ments named in this chapter have politics the slightest influence. No politician could be found willing to apply any test but the suitability of the man for the work to be performed. These departments are gener- ally under the control of permanent army and navy officers, who, I think my readers will not fail to note, are put by the Republic to much higher uses than the performance of their " professional " duties. If we leave the general work performed under gov- ernmental control and consider what the people do for themselves, we are even more strongly impressed than ever by their extraordinary power of administration. Take the city electrical service as an illustration. Police officers, fire-engine houses, hotels, cab stands, railway stations, banks, offices, and private houses are in direct electrical communication ; and telephonic com- munication is rapidly becoming no less general. The American fire department again is admittedly the best known. The horses are trained to rush out of their stalls into the shafts at the sound of the alarm, a single motion causes the harness to fall upon their backs. The men slide down posts from their bedrooms to the stable floor to economize time. The ambulance corps is unknown beyond the Re- public. Its headquarters are at the principal hospitals. 438 Triumphant Democracy. Electric communication apprises the attendant of an ac- cident, as in the case of the fire-engine; the ambulance with its soft bed, in charge of two surgeons, is instantly dashing through the streets, sounding its bell which no- tifies every vehicle to turn out of its path. In a short time the injured is lying upon a bed under charge of competent surgeons and is conveyed as rapidly as possible to the hospital. London physicians who see this American plan never fail to lament that even Lon- don has not yet attempted to produce any organiza- tion of like humane character. This remarkable talent for organization which the American people possess probably was never more clear- ly displayed than in the Sanitary and Christian Com- missions instituted by private citizens during the Civil War. The military rations of the government com- pared to those of any other government are to say the least exceedingly liberal — all well enough for professional soldiers, but for the patriotic volunteer who went forth from his home to defend the Union as a duty, that was quite another matter. Nothing was too good for him. The people demanded that as far as possible every luxury should be his; and to provide this committees were appointed in the cities and contributions solicited. The movement resulted in the two general organi- zations named above, which distributed more than $25,- 000,000 (i^5,ooo,ooo) worth of extra supplies among the soldiers during the struggle. The Govei^nment' s Non-political Work. 439 The collection, transportation, and distribution of these supplies, which embraced everything from easy chairs for the wounded to delicacies for the sick, were admirably performed. Bret Harte gives a poetic description of the enthusi- astic reception accorded by the troops to the wagons of the Commission as they pushed to the front filled with the tender offerings of a grateful people. " HOW ARE YOU, SANITARY ? '■ "Down the picket-guarded lane Rolled the comfort-laden wain, Cheered by shouts that shook the plain, Soldier-like and merry ; Phrases such as camps may teach, Sabre-cuts of Saxon speech, Such as ' Bully ! ' ' Them's the peach ! ' 'Wade in, Sanitary !' " Right and left the caissons drew As the car went lumbering through, Quick succeeding in review Squadrons military ; Sun-burnt men with beards like frieze, Smooth-faced boys, and cries like these, ' U. S. San. Com.' ' That's the cheese ! ' ' Pass in, Sanitary ! ' " In such cheer it struggled on Till the battle front was won, Then the car, its journey done, Lo ! was stationary ; 440 Triumphant Democracy. And where bullets whistling fly, Came the sadder, fainter cry, ' Help us, brothers, ere we die, Save us. Sanitary ! ' "Such the work. The phantom flies, , ,, Wrapped in battle clouds that rise, But the brave, whose dying eyes. Veiled and visionary. See the jasper gates swung wide, See the parted throng outside — Hears the voice to those who ride : , , ' Pass in, Sanitary ! ' " But while these supphes were pushed forward to the front the attentions bestowed upon regiments pass- ing to and from different fields of action were not less characteristic. I was then Superintendent of the Penn- sylvania Railway at Pittsburg, through which, perhaps, more troops passed than through any other city. "So- ciety " there determined that every regiment should be fed — banqueted would be nearer the correct word. No hungry volunteer should ever pass through that city without being made to feel that a grateful people wished to do him honor. This being resolved upon, the young ladies, the daughters of the rich men, the millionaires, resolved that by no menials' hands should the defenders of their country be fed ; they would organize and divide the duty among themselves, and with their own hands The Governmcnf s Non-political Work. \/\ t serve the men. The City Hall was placed at their dis- posal, tables and cooking arrangements provided, and the work began. Every night the list of ladies and gentlemen subject to call during that night was posted in the Hall. It mattered not at what hour a regiment or detachment of troops was to arrive, a telegram from my office apprised the City Hall, the men on duty went the rounds, one, two, three or four o'clock in the morn- ing as the case might be, and one after another of the ladies were called and escorted through the darkness to the Hall. One of the sights of my life — I can scarcely recall the scene without my eyes filling with tears even to- day — was to see a regiment of bronzed men (such splendid fellows, as unlike professional cutthroats as black is unlike white), to see them marched into' the Hall, seated at tables loaded with the finest food, and then to witness their amazement as it dawned upon them, which, of course, it soon did, that the young women serving were not paid servants, but the darlings of society who had risen in the night and come forth to do them this honor. The meal ended, the colonel rose and asked for three cheers for the Pittsburg Committee. Imagine how the boys in blue responded ! But when, as was usually the case, there seemed something still lacking, some irre- pressible longing which must find vent, and some one from the ranks called out, " Three cheers and a tiger for 442 Triumphant Democracy. the young ladies of Pittsburg "—I hear their yell yet. I have seen enthusiastic crowds and heard ringing cheers, but of all the outbursts I ever heard, that of the bronzed veterans in honor of the young ladies of Pittsburg takes the palm ; and mark you, men so treated went to the front determined to fight as they cheered. How could they fail, when the women of the land of their love came forth and said " Night or day, we are proud to be your servants." Six hun- dred and sixty-four thousand troops were fed in Pitts- burg in the manner I have described. The funds were always forthcoming, and at one fair held in the city for the Sanitary Committee, $300,000 were netted (;£'60,000). The age of miracles may be past. Matthew Ar- nold is authority for the statement that the case is closed against them, but to all those who extol the past and dwell upon its heroes and heroines, intimating that our own age is less heroic than some age which has preceded it, let us make answer, that for one true hero who existed in any age, a hundred surround us to-day ; and as for heroines, the world has scarcely ever known what one was until the present age. Woman didn't know enough, as a rule, to be heroic until America educated her properly. There are a thousand heroines in the world to-day for every one any preceding age has produced. I thought twenty- odd years ago, and I am still of opinion, that there The Government' s Non-political Work. 443 were more heroic young ladies in Pittsburg alone than the whole world could have produced not so very long ago, and Pittsburg was but one of many cities equally stirred to its depths. I have seen the American peo- ple, young, middle-aged and old, men and women, dem- ocrat and republican, touched upon the vital chord, and have heard and felt the response. Let no mon- archical enemy of America — and all monarchists are her enemies — ever again flatter himself that the unity of the Republic does not command at all times the lives, the fortunes, and the sacred honor of the Ameri- can people. , , , When the Americans determined to hold a Centen- nial Exhibition they went to work at it in the same business fashion ; not a governmental ofificial was called upon. They organized in Philadelphia, and the result was that not only was the display the best ever made in any country, according to the judgment of the for- eign visitors, but the exhibition was visited by more people than ever before visited an exhibition. The fa- cilities for transportation were such that the millions were moved on time and without accident. And, more marvellous than all else, the Centennial was so managed that it paid all expenses. An advance made by the gov- ernment was repaid in full. The government had nothing to do with the management; it was exclusively an affair of the people and conducted throughout by them. This universal self-dependence is manifest every- 444 Triumphant Democracy. where and in everything. I stood with Archibald Forbes on the State Department steamer at Yorktown, Virginia, when the centennial anniversary of the surren- der of CornwalHs was celebrated. We saw the disem- barkation of some thirty thousand militia troops and a grand review. Mr. Forbes remarked, " What surprises me more than anything I have seen to-day, is the absence of a body of officials to take charge of the masses and assign them to places, etc. Every American seems to understand just where he is to go, what he is to do, and how best to do it, and then he quietly goes and does it, and all comes out successfully. There is nothing like this in Europe." Such is the universal testimony of competent foreign observers. The cause of this self-governing capacity lies in the fact that from his earliest youth the republican feels himself a man. He is called upon to participate in the management of the local affairs of his township, county, or city, or in his relations with his fellows, in his church, trades-union, co-operative store, or reading-room, or even in his musical or dramatic society, base ball, cricket, or boating club. Everywhere he is ushered into a democratic system of government in which he stands upon an equal footing with his fellows, and in which he feels himself bound to exercise the rights of a citizen. Those with talent for management naturally rise to command in their small circles ; and upon great public oc- casions, when thousands of such circles are massed, the The Govcrnineni s Non-political Work. 445 orderly habits prevailing in each circle render possible the easy and proper management of the vast crowd. We can confidently claim for the Democracy that it produces a people self-reliant beyond all others ; a people who depend less upon governmental aid and more upon themselves in all the complex relations of society than any people hitherto known. At the same time their individual talent for organization and admin- istration has been so concentrated as to produce through official channels various departments of universal bene- fit to the commonwealth, none of which have ever been equalled, and some of which have never even been at- tempted under monarchical government. We look in vain throughout the world for such beneficent organiza- tions connected with the government of any country as those described in this chapter. So far, therefore, from the government of the people falling behind the gov- ernment of a class in the art of government, we are amazed at the contrast presented between the old form and the new in favor of the new. The truth is that the monarchical form lacks the vigor and elasticity necessary to cope with the republican in any depart- ment of government whatever. CHAPTER XIX. THE NATIONAL BALANCE SHEET. "A national debt is vicious in principle, deceitful in its effects upon the State which borrows, hurtful to posterity which must pay, and tend- ing to lead rulers into useless wars and extravagant expenditure of pub- lic money." — Thomas Spencer. National debts grow troublesome. Year after year the burden they lay upon the productive energies of nations becomes harder and harder to bear. The twelve years between 1870 and 1882 have eclipsed all others in the amounts added to the already sorely burdened masses of Europe. Russia has saddled herself with $1,365,000,000 (^£'273,000,000) more debt in these short twelve years, an average increase of nearly $115,000,000 (^^'2 3, 000,000) per annum, a load fit to weigh an empire down. France's obligations have swollen to $2,215,000,- 000 (;^443, 000,000), and even Spain must be in the fashion and add $525,000,000 (iT 105 ,000,000), and Italy, not to be behind in this mad race, has contracted $740,- 000,000 (;^ 148,000,000) more, and even poor decaying Turkey has found credulous capitalists to lend her $90,000,000 (;^ 1 8,000,000) during this period. The ag- gregate of these obligations in Europe has increased, since 1848, from $14,940,000,000 (;£'2,988,ooo,ooo) to $20,935,000,000 (;^4, 1 87,000,000), and most of this in- crease has been consumed in wars which have left The National Balance Sheet. 447 matters much as they were or would have been, if never waged. Such is the inevitable result of anti-dem- ocratic rule. Britain alone, let us record it to her credit, is the only power which has resolutely reduced her debt. It is less by $465,000,000 (^^93,000,000) in 1884 than it was in 1857, while her wealth has enormously increased. It is easy to meet deficits by the proceeds of new loans, but it were well that nations should be of opinion with the Chinese laundryman of New York who refused to give a note bearing interest. " No notee," said our heathen Chinee, " notee walkee, walkee allee timee, walkee no sleepee." Nations forget this peculiar- ity of new issues ; sleeping or waking the load of interest swells noiselessly on Saturdays and Sundays alike. The Republic emulates her mother's example and cuts down her debt with unexampled rapidity. It is a curious fact that these, the two English-speaking nations, should be the only ones who resolutely set their faces strongly in the debt-discharging direction. The other races appear content to borrow as long as they can and let the future take care of itself. We are not without ominous signs that in some instances the strain upon their resources cannot be increased further without danger. Perhaps the Democracy is soon to awaken to the truth that these vast accumulations of debt have their real source in the rule of monarchs and courts, whose jealousies and dynastic ambitions, stimulated by the great military classes always created by them, pro- 448 Triumphant Democracy. duce the wars or continual preparation for wars which eat up the people's substance and add to their burdens year after year. A nation with a large standing army and navy is bound to make wars. •, ,i,, One great advantage which the Democracy has se- cured for itself in America is its comparative freedom from debt. The ratio of indebtedness to wealth is strikingly small. Including all debt, municipal, State, and national, it is but four and one-twentieth per cent., the national debt alone being less than three and a half per cent, as compared with eight and three-quarters per cent, in Britain ; eleven and a third per cent, in France ; twenty-two and a quarter per cent, in Italy ; twenty-four and a half per cent, in Spain ; and twenty- five and a half per cent, in Portugal. This was in 1880; since then the reduction of the national debt and the increase of wealth have been so great that it is close upon two per cent. — not one-fourth that of Britain, nor one-fifth that of France. Contrary to the general impression, the debts of the various States which comprise the Union are trifling, being but six-tenths of one per cent, upon the valua- tion. Several States have no debt, others have rev- enues from public lands sufficient to pay the entire expenses of the State government. The municipal debts of the cities of America are likewise very small compared to those of Britain, being only one and two- tenths per cent, upon the valuation of city property. The National Balance Sheet. 449 Taking all the State and city debts of the Union and rating them according to valuation of property, both combined do not amount to one-fifth of the city debt of Manchester, nor to one-tenth the debt of Bir- mingham, while Liverpool owes in proportion to its wealth, £^o ($250) for every £\ ($5) owed by the cities of America taken as a whole. If we add to the municipal debts of America, the State, and also the national debt, Liverpool's municipal debt alone is still seven times greater than all of these combined. Even the city of Manchester, which does not rate high as a debtor, owes in its corporate capacity alone in pro- portion to its wealth two and a half times as much as the ratio of indebtedness of all American cities, all State debts, and all debts of the national govern- ment. ... The cities of Great Britain owe $765,000,000 (.^153,- 000,000) ; those of America, notwithstanding their greater number, population and wealth, only $575,000,- 000 (^ 1 15,000,000). If to the American municipal debt we add the debt of all the States we have only $865,- 000,000 (;^ 1 73,000,000) for city and State debt as against $765,000,000 (^153,000,000) in Britain for city debt alone. The following are given by Mulhall : DEBT TO VALUATION. DEBT TO VALUATION. Liverpool, Manchester, 32.5 10,0 Birmingham, Leeds, 21.8 15.8 29 450 Triumphant Democracy. London, which is in debt only three per cent., finds a worthy compeer in Philadelphia whose debt is even a fraction less. New York stands with Manchester at ten and four-tenths. America has no city so deeply involved as Liverpool, Birmingham, or Leeds. But in the case of Liverpool I am reminded of Artemus Ward who met in London a gentleman from that city who told him " there were some docks or something which he should have seen ; " and in regard to Birmingham, no one who has been privileged to examine the work which that model of municipal life is doing will think the debt unwisely incurred. It is evident, however, that with all the push of the American, he is distanced by his illustrious ancestor in the race for debt in his corporate capacity. The republican has so managed that the annual charge for all debt against him per head is not one- fourth of that which his brother in Britain has incurred. Every Briton owes of national debt, $110 (^22); every Frenchman, $120 (^^24) ; every Italian, $90 (;>{!' 1 8) ; while the American owes but $30 {£6). Every Canadian owes of public debt alone m proportion to wealth, $6.15 (;^i 4s 6d) ; every Australian, $16.15 (^3 4-^ 6^)) while, as we have before seen, the American, with all his resources and rosy expectation, has burdened himself with only $3.49 (14^), and is rapidly paying that off. This is but one more added to the proofs that lie open at all points to any one who will take the trouble The National Balance Sheet. 451 to examine and compare the facts that the masses made equal politically under the sway of Democracy are not prone to wild excesses. They have developed in the United States into one of the most conservative communities in the world ; conservative of their pow- erful government, of their Supreme Court and of their Senate, and of all that makes for the security of civil and religious liberty, of the rights of property and the constitutional right of each individual citizen to the pursuit of happiness in his own way, subject only to the limitations that he interfere not with the enjoy- ment of the same right by others. Let the student of American institutions direct his attention to this fact, and see whether the Republic be not a very con- servative Republic indeed. Nowhere is so well under- stood the difference between liberty and license. In 1835, just half a century ago, the Republic was not only free from debt but had a surplus in the treasury. How to dispose of this surplus was a matter of grave concern. No wonder. For assuredly there existed no precedent in the history of the world — and statesmen are the slaves of precedent — to throw light upon the novel question, not how a nation can wipe out its debt, that would be hard enough, but how a nation is to get rid of its surplus. Even as late as 1857, only twenty-eight years ago, the debt was but $29,000,000, not ;^6,ooo,ooo. To-day the interest-bear- ing debt is about $1,500,000,000 (^^300,000,000). 452 Trmmphant Democracy. My readers may be ready to suggest that in no de- partment has the Republic made greater progress than in running into debt. Only twenty-eight years ago in debt thirty millions of dollars, and to-day fifty times that sum. It is quite as extraordinary an increase as is seen in her growth of wheat. Even the growth of the Bessemer steel industry does not much exceed it. And as we have had to award her the prize for rapid development in numerous branches over the mother land, let us hasten to credit the latter with setting an example to her precocious child, for the debt of Britain during the past thirty years has not only not increased, but has been reduced $310,000,000 (^^62,000,000). The explanation of the increased debt of the Re- public is, of course, found in the civil conflict between slavery and freedom. The two systems were antagon- istic, and the irrepressible issue had to be met, sooner or later. Either the equality of the citizen was or was not the foundation of the State, there was no middle ground. It has been decided, but the cost was fright- ful. That part of it unpaid at the close of the strug- gle which could be represented by dollars, and that much the smaller part, amounted to $2,770,000,000 (;£' 5 54,000,000). Unadjusted claims subsequently paid made the total debt more than $3,000,000,000 (.^600,- 000,000). Thus stood the account in 1866, twenty years ago. The annual interest charge was no less than $146,000,000 (nearly ^30,000,000), being two mil- The National Balance Sheet. 453 lions sterling more than that of Britain. Many were the predictions throughout Europe that the masses who held full and unlimited sway would never take such a load upon their shoulders, and patiently endure the taxation necessary to carry it, much less pay it off. Much of the debt had been contracted at excessive rates of interest (six per cent.), and at periods when less than fifty per cent, in gold was obtained for the bonds issued. Universal suffrage could never be brought to pay back in gold the par value of such issues. It would require a government of the educated and enlightened few, a monarchy for instance, to keep its financial honor untarnished. In Britain such ideas prevailed, especially among financiers. Mr. Gladstone gives them expression in " Kin Beyond the Sea : " " In twelve years she (America) has reduced her debt by one hundred and fifty-eight million pounds, or at the rate of thirteen million pounds for each year.* In each twelve months she has done what we did in eight years ; her self-command, self-denial, and wise forethought for the future have been, to say the least, eight- fold ours. These are facts which redounded greatly to her honor ; and the historian will record with surprise that an enfranchised nation tolerated burdens which in this country a selected class, possessed of the representation, did not dare to face, and that the most unmitigated Democracy known to the annals of the world resolutely reduced at its own cost prospective liabilities of the * This rate of payment is little more than half the rate which has prevailed since 1880. 454 Triu7nphant Democracy. State, which the aristocratic, and plutocratic, and monarchical Government of the United Kingdom had been contented ignobly to hand over to posterity." The financiers of the Continent, and especially of Germany, knew the character of Democracy better, and profited accordingly. Many fortunes were made by investments in American bonds, which rapidly doubled in value. The most notable case in my own experience was that of an uncle in Scotland who had always, like John Bright, believed in the Republic, and had implicit faith in the American people in general, and perhaps in his nephew in particular. At the darkest hour of the conflict, when gold was worth nearly three times the value of currency, this staunch friend of the Republic remitted me a considerable sum of money, saying: "Invest this for me as you think best, but if you put it in United States bonds it will add to my pleasure, for then I can feel that in her hour of danger I have never lost faith in the Republic." Three times the value of his gold when remitted, and double the value of his patriotic investment since, has rewarded his faith in the triumph of Democracy. Starting then twenty years ago, 1866, with $3,000,- 000,000 (;^6oo,ooo,ooo) as the national burden, with an annual interest charge of nearly $146,000,000 {£2(^,- 200,000), what has the Democracy done up to January I, 1885? It has paid more than half of the huge sum and re- The National Balance Sheet. 455 duced it to less than $1,500,000,000 or ^£'300,000,000. Here is the last monthly statement : Debt, less cash in Treasury, January i, 1886, . $1,443,454,826 Debt, less cash in Treasury, December i, 1885, 1,452,544,766 Decrease of Debt during the month, . . . 9,089,940 The interest charge has fallen from $146,000,000 (;£'29,200,ooo) to $51,000,000 (i^ 10,200,000). In two successive years of this period the reduction amounted to $270,000,000 (;{^ 54,000,000), but this rate being con- sidered too rapid, taxes were repealed and large sums voted for increased pensions to the sailors and soldiers who crushed the rebellion. The American has to continue for only twelve years more to reduce the national debt as he has for the past twenty years in order to wipe it out entirely. It may confidently be predicted that ere the close of this cen- tury, extraordinary events excepted, the last bond of the Republic will be publicly burned at Washington with imposing ceremonies, amidst the universal rejoicings of the people. The Democracy seems destined to set an example in many ways to the monarchies of the world, not the least important being that of a people reso- lutely pursuing the policy of reducing its debt until the last dollar is paid, that its resources may remain unimpaired to meet the emergencies which may arise to affect its position among the nations. Where is the monarchy which can vie with this Democracy in con- servative finance or thoughtful care for its country's 456 Triumphant Democracy. future? Mr. Gladstone says the parent land ignobly hands her debt over to posterity. From a position so discredited that six per cent, bonds did not net more than half their par value in gold, the government of the people has risen in the estimation of the capitalists of the world to so high a point that its bonds bearing only three per cent, command a premium. What the world thinks of De- mocracy is this : that beyond the credit of any nation, even higher than that of Great Britain, stands the obli- gations of a government founded upon the equality of the citizen. A leading Liberal Cabinet Minister (not Mr. Glad- stone, nor Mr. Chamberlain, for they know America not much but still a little better), once asked me whether, in a contingency which then threatened to arise in the Republic, namely, a contested Presidential election (and which did indeed arise and passed away harm- lessly), there would not be a revolution which would involve the stability of our institutions. My reply was, " Have you noticed today's quotations of American three per cents.? " " No," he said, " what are they?" " Higher than your's ! " I said, and looked straight at him. That was all, but it was sufficient. Whenever a man, even a Liberal Cabinet Minister, begins to doubt the stability of a government of the people, for the people, and by the people, — and there are Liberal Min- isters whose faith in the Democracy is as a grain of The National Balance Sheet. 457 mustard seed — ask him why the credit of this new Democracy stands before that of the old Monarchy ? Why would the world lend this Democracy more money and upon better terms than it would lend the best government of the few ? Why does the world pay for American three per cents, more than it will pay for the British three per cents. ? The answer is obvious. Because the reign of the whole of the people of a State is more secure than the reign of any class in a State can possibly be. A class may be upset, nay is sure to be sooner or later ; the people are for ever and ever in power. THE REVENUES OF THE GOVERNMENT. It was often said up to the breaking out of the slave-holder's rebellion in 1861, that the American did not know that he had a national government. Cer- tainly as far as taxation was concerned he had little to remind him of the fact. In 1830 the total revenues collected were not quite $2 per head (8j) ; in 1840 they had fallen below $1.25 (55-), and even as late as i860, twenty-five years ago, the American enjoyed all the blessings of government at a cost of $1.75 {.7^) P^r annum. This was collected principally from customs and sales of pubhc lands. There was no such thing known as an excise or internal tax, so that the citizen never was visited by a revenue officer of any kind. The American was born, lived, and died and was never asked 458 Triumpha7it Democracy. to contribute a cent to his government. Unless he lived at a seaport and visited the custom-house he probably never saw a man whose duty it was to collect a national tax. In this blessed year of i860, the total national revenue was only $56,000,000(^^11,200,000). In 1866 it reached its maximum or $558,000,000 (;^ii 1,600,000). After i860 war taxes were necessary and the repub- lican became aware of the fact, well known every- where else, that it costs money to wage war. Inter- nal and excise taxes were resorted to, and the citizen made the acquaintance of the revenue officer in full force. For the first time his revenues were made sub- ject to an income tax, fairest of all taxes in theory, most odious of all in practice. It was, however, a grad- uated income tax which exempted the masses, but ex- acted five per cent, upon the largest incomes. During the six years from 1861 to 1867 enormous sums, from $400,000,000 to $500,000,000 (^80,000,000 to ^100,000,- 00c), were raised by taxes by the general government. The republican might have fancied himself enjoying for a time the blessings of the British Monarchy, for the taxation was about equal, each nation drawing about $400,000,000 (;£■ 80,000,000) per annum from its people. With the collapse of the Rebellion the Republic began to set its finances in order. Taxes were rapidly re- duced, and among the first to go was the income tax. Then followed the reduction or repeal of one internal tax after another till finally to-day, with the exception The National Balance Sheet. 459 of the taxes on whiskey and tobacco, producing in the aggregate $145,000,000 (^29,000,000), but few of a trifling character remain. With these exceptions the republican knows nothing of internal taxation. His acquaintance with the revenue ofificer has almost ceased ; once more he is free. He has neither income tax nor legacy duty. We beg the careful attention of thoughtful moder- ate men to the fact that although the income tax was paid wholly by the few, yet the masses upon whom it had no direct bearing urged its repeal, because it was proved in practice that the honest were assessed while the dishonest escaped. Thus we get one more proof that the masses can always be trusted to act fairly and to correct injustice. Since 1866, twenty years ago, when the national rev- enues from taxation amounted to a sum equal to $17 {£!) 8.f) drawn from each man, woman, and child in the country, they had fallen in 1880 to less than $7 (28^) and of this more than %\ {a^) per head went to reduce the debt. The taxes are collected in America much as in Britain ; about equally from foreign imports and from home products, although the recent rapid repeals and reduction of internal taxes in America have some- what disturbed this division. In 1880 for instance the foreign products contributed more than the domestic, foreign giving $190,000,000 (;^ 3 8, 000,000) and domestic 460 Triumphant Democracy . $125,000,000 (;^2 5,000,000). If it were not for the seem- ingly immovable determination of the people not to permit the manufacture of whiskey and tobacco to escape special taxation as articles, the free use of which should be discouraged, this difference between the pro- duction of taxation upon home and foreign products would soon be much greater ; for to sweep away the entire department of internal revenue and thus reduce the number of government officials and free the citizen entirely from their supervision is a temptation hard to resist by the American people. THE COST OF GOVERNMENT. We have seen that in 1880 the general government was in receipt of about $335,000,000 (say ;^67,ooo,ooo), but notwithstanding great reductions made in taxes, both tariff and internal, the receipts of 1882 and 1883 reached $400,000,000 (.^80,000,000). As the official figures for these years are obtainable, we shall use them instead of those for 1880. How, then, does the Republic get rid of her eighty millions sterling per annum, a revenue about equal to that collected by the British Government? Here is the record for 1883. First, of course, for interest upon the national debt ; this required $50,000,000 (.^10,000,000). And what think you is the one greatest charge upon the State ? For what does the Republic spend most money? Republics are proverbially ungrateful, The National Balatice Sheet. 461 you know, so says the monarchist. Well, this Repub- lic certainly does not spend five millions of dollars per annum upon a single family and its appurtenances, nor lavish fortunes at one vote upon its high officials, or members of an aristocracy. Still it spends more money in pensions to the soldiers and sailors who served it in its hour of need than upon any branch of the service ; more than upon army and navy combined, more than the interest upon its debt, more than upon anything else. To reward these men — not one man or a few high officers alone, as is the case in Britain and elsewhere in Europe, but every man, private as well as commander, in settled proportions as to rank — the Republic spent, in 1883, no less than $66,000,000 (ii' 13,200,000). The Democracy may be trusted to insist, when they have the power, that the poor private who fought shall not be neglected when the State dispenses its rewards. I heard Mr. Cowen, the Radical — nay, the republican Member for Newcastle, in a speech in the House of Commons favoring the grant to Wolseley and Sey- mour, hold up to scorn the American Republic for the shabby manner in which it treated its servants. The difference here is just the difference between a mon- archy and a republic, between the rule of the people and the rule of a class. In the monarchy the officers are unduly rewarded by their class, who are in power, whether called Liberal or Conservative, still their class, while the private, who has few or none of his class as 462 Triu-inpliant Democracy. legislators, is neglected. In a Republic the first care is for the masses in army or navy, the privates, and their widows and orphans ; the officers come after, though both share liberally. So in all legislation, the good of the millions first, the luxuries of the few after- ward. This statement is worth emphasizing. The Re- public gives more each year as rewards to the brave men, and their widows and orphans, who defended the integ- rity of the nation when assailed, than she thinks it worth while to expend in maintaining all her military or naval forces. If republics are, as a rule, ungrateful, at least we find a notable exception to the rule in the case of the greatest republic of all. The truth is, that republics are only prudent in giving to the rich few, and prodigal to a fault in lavishing upon the poorer masses. This is a failing which leans to virtue's side. Time after time, since the close of the war, the pension roll has been en- larged and the payments increased. It seems as if the people could not lavish enough upon, or sufficiently testify their gratitude to, their soldiers and sailors who have been injured or have become disabled in their service. Even as I am correcting the proofs of this chapter the House of Representatives has passed by a vote of four to one an act to increase the pensions to soldiers' and sailors' widows twenty-five per cent, —from S8 (;^i I2.y) to $10 (;^2). To the charge that republics are ungrateful, the re- ply is that the one Republic gives more beyond their The National Balance Sheet. 463 regular pay to its citizens who have served in army or navy than all the other governments of the world combined. Next in cost comes the War Department, which, al- though of ridiculously small dimensions compared with that of other civilized nations, I regret to chronicle, cost in 1883, no less than $49,000,000 (;^9,8oo,ooo), which was exceptionally great. The cost averages about $40,000,000 (i^8, 000,000). The Navy Department absorbed $15,000,000 (^3,000,000). As the army consists of but twenty-five thousand men, we cannot look for any reduction there till the vast unoccupied Territories are peopled. A strong- armed police force is required to keep the Indians in order, and the almost equally troublesome aggregate of restless spirits from all lands who naturally gravitate to the semi-civilized life which precedes the reign of law and order. In the States, as distinguished from the Territories, the American rarely sees a man in uniform, whose profession is the scientific killing of other men. The war expenditure, one is delighted to record, em- braces the improvement of harbor and rivers, and upon this highly useful work many of the officers are con- stantly engaged. The engineer corps has rendered ex- ceptionally valuable services in this department. An annual appropriation is made for improving rivers and harbors, $6,000,000 to $10,000,000 (ii' 1,200,000 to £2,- 000,000), and charged to the War Department, which 464 Trmmphant Democracy. sum should fairly be deducted from war expenditures, for this is not for destructive purposes, but emphati- cally in the interest of peace. The American people annually spend upon the three hundred thousand Indians scattered over the land about $6,000,000, equal to $20 (;^4) per Indian. They are as kindly treated as practicable. A commission of well-known philanthropic men of national reputation is appointed by the President to supervise all matters re- lating to these poor, unfortunate tribes. The success of the Indian policy may best be judged by the fact, that out of the total number of three hundred and ten thou- sand no less than sixty-six thousand are reported civil- ized, the proof of civilization being that they pay taxes ; and of all the proofs possible to adduce, we submit this is the most conclusive as to their civilization. The political economist, at least, will seek no further but rest satisfied. It is, indeed, surprising that one-fifth of all the Indians have abandoned their nomadic habits and embraced civilization. It is clear that the real live war-whooping Indian is being rapidly civilized off the face of the earth. We shall soon search as hopelessly over the piairies for the "noble redman "as we should do over Scotch moors and glens for the Rob Roy of Scott. Under the head of miscellaneous come a thousand and one items of expenditure which embrace every- thing not under heads before given. The total is about The National Balance Sheet. 465 $68,000,000 (about i; 1 3,600,000) in 1883. The principal items are for the agricultural, meteorological, and edu- cational departments and the various bureaus which by their varied and useful functions cause such astonish- ment and admiration in foreign visitors to Washington. As the Republic pays every official who renders ser- vice it may be interesting to compare the cost of this plan with that of the Monarchy which depends upon the gratuitous services of its legislators. Here is the account : THE REPUBLIC. The President, ..... The Vice-President, .... Seventy-four Senators ($5,000 or ;^i,ooo each), ...... Three hundred and twenty-five Represen- tatives ($5,000 or ^1,000 each), T> 50,000 9,000 370,000 1,625,000 J2, 054,000 £ 10,000 1,800 74,000 325,000 ^410,800 THE MONARCHY. The Queen, ..... Prince and Princess of Wales, Other Members of the Royal Family, $3,100,000 600,000 600,000 .,300,000 i;6i9,379 120,000 1 2 1 ,000 .£860,379 Members of the Cabinet are paid about the same in both countries. I have known well-informed Britons who believed that the cost of government in America was greater 30 466 Triumphant Democracy. than their own. The figures given prove that the amount paid by the Republic for the four hundred offi- cers and legislators who form her governing body does not amount to half as much as the Monarchy squan- ders upon one family which has neither public duties nor official responsiblity, and which sets an example of wasteful and showy living to the injury of the nation. One scarcely knows at which to wonder most, the fatuous folly of the people in permitting this great sum to go to one family, which is really one of the scandals of our age, or that any well educated family possessed of even ordinary sensibility can be found to take from a people, many of whom are sorely pressed for the necessaries of life, this enormous amount of their earnings and waste it upon their own mean and coarse extravagance. No fact more clearly proves the corrupting tendency of privilege or caste upon those unfortunately born under it. They must grow callous and unmindful of all but themselves. It will puzzle my American readers to imagine how such enormous sums can possibly be spent upon one family. Sir Charles Dilke has charged that public funds, not embraced in the preceding figures, are squan- dered to the amount of ;^ 100,000 ($500,000) per annum upon yachts for Her Majesty's use, while, mark you, she has not been half a dozen times a year in a yacht dur- ing her entire reign. The sum spent by this model queen for useless pleasure-boats alone is greater than The National Balance Sheet. 467 the American pays his President and Vice-President, the Cabinet officers, and all the Judges of the Supreme Court combined ! One marvels, when such abuses are revealed, that any member of the royal family is safe in open day. We should expect that public indignation would at least concentrate in one universal hiss. How long would Americans tolerate an abuse like this, think you ? " Turn the rascals out," would again be the cry, and the delinquents would know better than to stay to be driven. The next Cunarder would have them booked, under assumed names, bound for happier climes. But the story does not stop here. This family finds in every marriage of their children a fresh plea for de- manding more money, and at every death they saddle the nation with the funeral expenses. The royal mother of her people cannot be induced to support her own children during life, or even to bury them decently at death, as long as the public can be further bled. All this is no reflection upon the royal family of England, for all other royal families do the same. They are as good a royal family as anywhere to be found. Certainly the queen is personally one of the best women who ever occupied a throne. It is the fault of the system that such callousness is bred in those who would other- wise be good people. The system, not its victims, is to blame. The royal family is only one of many evils with which monarchical institutions infest a State. The Financial Reform Almanac states that within the last 468 Triumphant Democracy. thirty-three years the dukes, earls, and marquises, with their relatives, the inevitable brood of royalty, have taken from the exchequer more than ^66,000,000 ($330,- 000,000), an average levy of two millions sterling, being as great as the entire sum spent by the government for the education of the people. John Bright told the peo- ple that the government was only a system of out-door relief for the aristocracy, and he was right, as usual. It is well for the American people to get a glimpse now and then of the blots of other lands, that they may duly appreciate their own comparative purity. When- ever an American is met abroad with the assertion that government in the Republic is corrupt, he can safely say that for one ounce of corruption here, there is a full pound avoirdupois in Britain; for every "job" here, twenty yonder. Just look at some of the " jobs : " The Prince of Wales is colonel of this or that regi- ment, and draws salaries for duties he does not pretend to perform. He has many mean modes of drawing money from the public. He is made a field marshal ; one brother gets a high command in India ; the Duke of Edinburgh gets command of the Channel fleet ; the Duke of Cambridge, although commander-in-chief, does not scorn to draw a salary as Ranger of Richmond Park, and royal favorites by the score monopolize sinecure positions. One nobleman gets ;^4,ooo ($20,000) per year for walking backward before her Majesty upon cer- tain occasions, and so on through a chapter of "jobs," The National Balance Sheet. 469 so long and irritating that no American could patiently read through it. When the Democracy gets firmly in the saddle we shall see a change in all this, a purifying of the Augean stables of Monarchy. The corruption then exposed will surprise the republican. I do not believe that there could be found to-day a family whose head is in public life and honored by the Republic which would accept and use as the royal family accepts and uses the inordinate sums granted to them. The tendency of republicanism is to promote simplicity and a standard higher than that of showy living. President Cleveland in his inaugural message expresses the feelings of the people when he says : "We should never be ashamed of the simplicity and prudential economies which are best suited to the operation of a republican form of government and most compatible with the mission of the American people. Those who are selected for a limited time to manage public affairs are still of the people, and may do much by their example to encourage, consistently with the dignity of their official functions, that plain way of life which among their fellow- citizens aids integrity and promotes thrift and prosperity." The Monarchy thinks show grand ; the Republic votes it vulgar. To sum up all, the government of the people in eighteen years has reduced its debt at the average rate of $55,000,000 (^11,000,000) per annum and the interest charge of its debt in that period to one-third its cost. It has abolished and reduced taxes from time to 470 Triumphant Democracy. time, until there remains of internal taxation only the taxes upon whiskey and tobacco stamps, etc. The in- come tax has gone with the others. Such a record the world has not seen before. The answer to doubters of the stability of Democ- racy, like Sir Henry Maine, is here : December, 1885, Republican three per cents., . . , 103I Monarchical three per cents 99^ Were the consols of America perpetual like those of Britain, and not redeemable at a fixed date, their value would be still higher. The triumph of Democ- racy is palpable in many departments. In educa- tion, in population, in wealth, in agriculture and in manufactures, in annual savings, as we have seen, it stands first, but to the conservative mind surely the last domain in which the Democracy could be ex- pected to excel even Great Britain is that of credit. It has been the boast, one of the many proud boasts of the dear parent land, that her institutions were stable as the rock, as proved by her consols, which stood pre-eminent throughout the world. Now comes her republican child and plucks from her queenly head the golden round of public credit as hers of right and places it upon her own fair brow. It has been my priv- ilege to claim many victories for Triumphant Democ- racy but surely the world will join me in saying none is more surprising than this, that its public credit stands before that of Great Britain and first in all the world. CHAPTER XX. GENERAL REFLECTIONS. " The plain truth is, that educated Englishmen are slowly learning that the American Republic affords the best example of a conservative De- mocracy ; and now that England is becoming democratic, respectable Englishmen are beginning to consider whether the Constitution of the United States may not afford means by which, under new democratic forms, may be preserved the political conservatism dear and habitual to the governing classes of England." — Dicey. Politics are not the incessant theme in the Republic which they are in the Monarchy ; this difference has its rise in two causes : First. No party in America desires a change in any of the fundamental laws. If asked what important law I should change, I must perforce say none ; the laws are perfect. These being settled as desired by all, it follows that a vital question can arise but seldom. The " outs" are left to insist that they could and would administer existing laws better or more purely than the " ins." A politician may safely be challenged to state wherein the Democratic and Republican parties of to-day differ. If one of the " outs " he will say that the " ins," having had control too long have become corrupt, and that, as a new broom sweeps clean, a change is desirable. But ask him which if any of the national laws or forms he would change, and he is dumb. 472 Triumphant Deinoc^^acy. Second. The nation having by universal suffrage and equal districts committed to certain men the man- agement of affairs for a short term, public sentiment says, let them have their innings and let us see how they succeed. We shall soon judge them by their fruits. They cannot be put out till their terms expire, therefore there is no sense in our becoming excited over politics until the time comes for an election. The party in opposition cannot be stirred to action when it is impos- sible for it to obtain power. Therefore the political ex- citement which always exists in Britain, breaks out in the Republic only once every four years. One hears more political discussion at a dinner in London than during the whole season in New York or Washing- ton. It is often charged that politics in the Republic are generally in the hands of men of position and character inferior to those of similar position in Britain. This is quite true. Until the final form of her political in- stitutions is reached in Britain, the important work to be done will attract able men. When the Civil War in America revealed the need for able men, America's best came forward and met the need. A notable change took place in the men who went to Washington. In the usual routine of national life in America the only political work to be done is such as young, briefless lawyers and unsuccessful men of affairs can easily per- form. They have to follow public opinion, and are General Reflections. 473 mere agents. When great issues no longer divide the British people, the same result may be expected. Able men not influenced by personal vanity and desirous of leading lives of the greatest possible usefulness, will be unable to persuade themselves that attention to the ad- ministration of laws already fixed is the highest field, and will leave it to those of inferior nature or of less experience and ability. The highest ability and purest character, though lost to politics, will not, however, be lost to the nation, but really constitute, in a fuller sense, more vital parts of it, and enrich it more than they do now, when the final settlement of laws which is still to be made by the Democracy absorbs so much of their precious time. The difference between the House of Commons and its offshoot in Washington, which is productive of the most far-reaching effects, but which has hitherto received but little public attention in Britain, is the payment of its members. This difference is fundamen- tal. Pay members, and the people are then properly represented. Parliament is then the people's House. Refuse to pay members, and Parliament is primarily the House of the rich, and but imperfectly represents the masses. It is because this is the case that both Liberal and Conservative are found deprecating the payment of members, for it is still true that "Triumphing Tories and despairing Whigs Forget their feuds to save their wigs." 474 Triumphant Democracy. There are too many members of Parliament, both Liberal and Conservative, who owe their places to the fact that they can live without work to render any change easy. No other reason can be assigned against their payment, because members of the Cabinet and other great officers of State are paid as in America. Why should a Cabinet Minister receive a compensation and a Member none ? It will hardly be contended that an ordinary Member of Parliament would be disgraced, or his tone lowered, by accepting remuneration for his services as do Mr. Gladstone and the Marquis of Salis- bury. When the day arrives in which poor, but emi- nently capable, men can enter public life in Britain, there will be little left of aristocratic institutions. Un- til they can do so even the House of Commons is the house of the rich as the House of Lords is the house of the landlords. The people are represented by neither. In the Republic, as we have seen, every man serving the State is moderately compensated. But mark also this, no man is compelled to take it. Every one is free to serve the State gratuitously if he so desire. The immense advantage resulting from the periodi- cal election of ofificials is that they are less influenced by every passing wind of popular frenzy. They will more readily adopt a policy which their superior knowl- edge tells them will eventually produce good results, although at the moment excited popular opinion may be in opposition. They at least are firm and are able General Reflections. 475 to steer steadily. They do not lose their official heads until their term of service ends. The Ministers and Members of Parliament in Great Britain are like so many agile performers on the tight rope ; no one knows the moment they may fall, nor worst of all the cause which may throw them. The nation kept in a state of unhealthy suspense from day to day cannot unreserv- edly do its best work, because all eyes are turned to these performers. There is every morning the chance of a grand spill and no one wants to miss it. The fatal defect of the British Constitution, since the power of the Throne has gone, is a weak executive liable to be swept along by any gust of opinion. It cannot await the return of sober reason for the calm and settled con- clusion of the people. It is the second and not the first will of the people which is the voice of God. As a consequence the members of the government do not hesitate to plead that they are not to be held responsi- ble for such and such acts because public opinion de- manded them ; as if they had not been designated by the people expressly to withstand popular excitement and to do not what was popular but what was best, re- gardless of clamor. Such an excuse would be held in the Republic to disgrace a government. The influence of this condition of affairs upon the politicians of Britain is bad in every respect. They are tempted to sacrifice so much in order to retain place, that instead of producing a body of men whose 476 Triumphant Democracy. first and last thought is for principle, the tendency is to produce men who are pliable to a degree, and ready to adopt any measures necessary to maintain their own party in power. We lately saw the Conservative Party passing Liberal measures rather than resign office, and a short time ago we saw the Liberal Party adopting Tory policy in the Soudan simply because they were afraid that if they did not they might lose office. The most adroit, and must we say it, least scrupulous party managers and not the truest statesmen are the likeliest to receive and to retain power. In these days when much is said against the dangers of Democracy, De Tocqueville's wise saying should be remembered : " Extreme democracy prevents the dan- gers of democracy." Not only is the Republic, with its fixed terms of office, its Supreme Court, and two cham- bers with real power a much more conservative form of government than the monarchy, since the power passed from the aristocratic few into the masses, but the people themselves have become, under republi- can institutions, a much more conservative people in their political institutions than their progenitors — con- servative in the sense that they desire no change. The national Constitution illustrates this. Since its adop- tion in 1787, it has only been twice amended, and for many years there has not been one word added or erased, and the recent amendments made have resulted solely from new questions created by the overthrow of General Reflectioiis. 477 slavery — on no other point has a word been changed. On the other hand, the British Constitution has been so tampered with from time to time as to become almost unrecognizable as its former self. Well may Tennyson write (I honor him by omitting " My Lord "): "As to any 'vital' changes in our Constitution — I could wish that some of our prominent politicians, who loolc to America as their ideal, might borrow from her an equivalent to that con- servatively restrictive provision under the Fifth Article of her Con- stitution. I believe that it would be a great safeguard to our own in these days of ignorant and reckless theorists." Theories of the power of the people obtain in Britain which are unthought of in America. Such an Act as the recent Irish Land Bill, which took from the owners of property the right to let it in open market and enjoy the resulting revenues, would not find a party to advocate it, much less a House of Representatives to entertain it ; and, even if passed by both Houses and ap- proved by the President, the Supreme Court would be bound to make it void, for a change of the Constitution would be necessary to render such an act legitimate. Property ! property ! property ! has been the cry of the owning and governing classes of the Monarchy, yet the sacred rights of property are to-day much more secure- ly guarded by the Democracy of the Republic than they can possibly be in the Monarchy. The capitalist and property owner is more secure in the enjoyment of his property in the new than in the old country. In land, 478 Triumphant Detnocracy. for instance, he has most citizens sustaining him in his right, for the millions own the soil in small parcels. Prop- erty in land stands, and always has stood, upon the same footing as any other kind of property. Therefore land proprietorship has not been rendered odious by unfair advantages conferred upon it. Its sale is free ; and it is taxed upon its value as other property is. It can be taken at a valuation for railways or other pubHc purposes. There is neither primogeniture nor entail. The free play of the law of dispersion has been found quite sufficient to prevent the troubles which afflict Britain in its management of the soil. When land is free and subject only to the general laws regarding property, its owners will rest in peaceful possession, but never till then. The cable informs us that in Mr. Gladstone's plan for home rule special means are to be taken to prevent unjust laws being enacted by the majority in Ireland against the landlords ; and even so philosophic a man as my friend, Mr. Morley, is said to second the idea. With all due respect to these great men, I beg to point out that no surer means of making landlords more odious if possible than at present ever entered the human brain. It betrays a positive lack of knowledge of human nature. Give exceptional security or pro- tection or privilege to any class, and it becomes at once a target for the bitter hostility of all other classes. Should unusual guarantees be provided, I venture to General Reflections. 470 predict that instead of healing existing sores, these measures will become the seeds of graver ills to follow. Only what is equal rests in repose, and produces good fruit. There cannot be repose, i. e. equilibrium, with- out equality of the parts. We see the question of a graduated income tax coming to the front in the Monarchy. The Republic had this when immense sums were required to meet the cost of the Civil War, but one of the first taxes aban- doned at the close of the struggle was the income tax. It was not reduced or made uniform, it was abolished ; nor has there ever been a movement to re-impose it. The masses favored its abolition although it was paid by the few, for all incomes below $2,000 (;^40o) per annum were exempt. I know of no temptation ever placed before a Democracy, to put the burden of the State upon the shoulders of the few rich citizens, as was contained in the suggestion not to inaugurate a new, but only to resist the repeal of this existing tax. They approved its repeal because it was shown that although theoretically the justest of all modes of taxation, in practice the honest citizen paid it and the dishonest escaped, and that to enforce its honest collection a thorough system of espionage and minute examination would be required not in harmony with the spirit of free institutions. The republican is jealous to a degree of the presence of a Government official armed with power to trouble him about anything. 480 Triumphmtt Democracy. Since the Republic adopted the Civil Service Reform, it can no longer be charged that at every change of administration the petty officials lose their places, which never was the case to the extent popularly be- lieved in Britain, for the staff were necessarily retained. I know of no remaining charge against the Democracy except international copyright and the alleged corrup- tion of local politics. As before explained, the " outs " must accuse the " ins " of corruption, since the policy of the one party is that of the other. There is rarely any other reason for a change to be alleged, but, as Mat- thew Arnold very justly observes, charges of personal corruption in America take the place of personal abuse in Britain, Salisbury being a " liar " and Gladstone a " madman " as these gentlemen are held to be respec- tively by their most violent opponents. The question arises, if American officials — politicians, I should say, for the officers of the courts and the army and navy are beyond suspicion — if these be venal, where are those who have made fortunes by politics? I have known many hundreds of public men, but scarcely ever one who was not actually poor. When the tenure of office is short, and the chance is great that one of the opposite party will succeed and overhaul all accounts, malfeasance in office must be rare. So it is. Very few defalcations occur. In the case of legislators, who may be bribed to vote for measures, it is to be noted that but little private bill legislation is known. General Reflections. 481 A general railway law in the States, and general laws by which questions are decided, leave but httle room for personal aggrandizement. By this means legisla- tion throughout the country is kept substantially pure. Comparing the National Legislature at Washington with the British Parliament, I am persuaded that at least as many votes are given from other consid- erations than those of honest conviction in the lat- ter as in the former. True, the bribe is not the same in both cases ; pecuniary considerations have less weight in the older land, but there is no radical differ- ence whether members' votes are obtained by expected social rank or favor, or expected pecuniary gain. A longed-for title, even so poor a one as that of baronet, is not less a bribe than so many dollars. The nature reached by the dollar may be the lower man of the two, but he is at least not quite so silly. There is more sense in dollars than in titles — " patents of nobility " — at which the judicious laugh behind the wearer's back, whispering to each other : " Pity the weakness of a poor old man." Viewed thus broadly, there is as much cor- ruption in politics in the mother as in the child land, only its form varies to suit the taste of its victims. The trouble with the Liberal Party in Britain is that it leaks at the top; no sooner does a commoner do good work in Parliament and acquire a position as a Liberal member, than he gets a bee in his bonnet. He or his wife and family longs to leave the ranks of the people 31 482 Triumphant Democracy. and receive a title. I know several worthy men who have deliberately sacrificed their proud position as English gentlemen, which is equal to any, to enter the ranks of aristocracy at the very lowest round of the ladder, some of them not even upon the ladder at all. By so doing they necessarily admit the idea of rank, and con- fess themselves the inferiors of all the other degrees of the class. These men insult the people from which they sprung by leaving them for the aristocracy. By accepting rank the newly made baronet gives an implied pledge that his earnest Liberalism is at an end. He is simply bribed, and henceforth is a muzzled dog. If not, he is a traitor not only to his own class, but to the aristocracy he seeks to enter upon false pretences. By this sad aberration the Liberal Party is constantly denuded of its able men. A man born in the aris- tocracy may be respected, a commoner who accepts a new title rarely is, although he may be excused. The query of the old Duke, although not upon everybody's lips, is in everybody's thoughts: "How shall I treat these new men ? They are not noblemen, and they have ceased to be gentlemen." Not until the Liberal is far too proud of his manhood to place himself beneath any order whatever, will the Liberal Party hold assured sway, or even very greatly deserve to do so. The republican member could not be paid to change his name. The monarchist will generally pay largely in service for the ornamental appendage. The one is General Reflections. 483 entirely free from all temptations to sacrifice conviction for social position, for this no government or ofificial can influence in the slightest degree. The other must be possessed of rare independence indeed to escape the corrupting social influences which radiate from mon- archical institutions. If we compare the Senate with the House of Lords the most prejudiced mind must surely grant the palm to the republican assembly, for such a spectacle as a body constituting the land-holding class, so completely as to be justly called the House of Landlords, legisla- ting upon land in its own interest, is not seen else- where. It is not a rare act for a member of the House in Washington to rise and beg to be excused from voting, because his personal interests are affected by a bill. Several presidents of national banks have done so when financial questions were being voted upon. We do not recall the name of any member of the lords who has refrained from voting upon meas- ures connected with the land. Even the bishops in that assembly may confidently be expected to vote against their coming expulsion instead of asking to be excused to act as public legislators to promote personal ends. I have spoken strongly of the Supreme Court, and of the courts in general of the nation. The judiciary of the United States is pure and able, and possesses the confidence of the people to a degree equal to that justly reposed by the British people in their judiciary. 484 Triumphant Democracy. Thirty years ago a few foreign-born citizens, known as the Tweed Ring, succeeded in casting such reproach upon two of the city judges of New Yorlc, as in the eyes of foreigners to envelop the entire judiciary of the country in a haze of suspicion, and at a later date, a disreputable railway owner, long since dead, corrupted another city judge. Even to this day, I find lingering traces of the bad effects of this in Britain. It is necessary to explain to them that New York city being then really controlled by the foreign-born vote, it was sometimes easy to elect as city judges very un- suitable material. These, however, it must be noted, were only city magistrates, their decisions being sub- ject to appeal to higher courts. The discovery of this corrupt ring led to prompt corrections. The leader was required to surrender his property, imprisoned in the penitentiary and died there. Others fled abroad and lived in hiding. Had the people failed to rise and throw party considerations to the winds and sweep away the disgrace, we should indeed have reason to doubt the wisdom of popular institutions; on the con- trary they rose en masse, and, incensed beyond measure, swept the rascals from place. Since then the city gov- ernment has been comparatively pure. Using the fact that three city magistrates in this foreign city of New York had become the tools of a corrupt ring as a foundation for general charges, I have heard people announce that in America the courts were General Reflections. 485 not pure. This has no greater foundation than what I have stated. A moment's reflection will convince one that it would have been impossible for the commercial and manufacturing interests of the nation to develop so enormously were there not in every State pure and in- corruptible tribunals to render justice between man and man. The truth is, that in settled parts of the Repub- lic courts of justice are quite as pure as those in corre- sponding situations in Britain, and justice is much more cheaply and more expeditiously administered. In the semi-civilized Territories of the West, where society is beginning to crystallize, there are, of course, all kinds of courts, from the rude but generally strictly just vigi- lance committee to the improvised judge, who sits upon the plain pine board bench in his shirt sleeves, and has not the strictest ideas of either judicial dignity or integrity. It is of this kind of court that the story is told of the trial of a man charged with the most hei- nous of all crimes there — the stealing of a horse, the murder of a man in a street row being insignificant in comparison. The judge asked him if before sentence of death were pronounced he had anything to offer to the Court. "Wall, Judge," said he, "I haven't much, but if a hundred dollars would see me through, I think the boys" (looking appealingly around) "would raise it for me ; " and they would have done so, no doubt, had the judge's words been meant as the prisoner construed them. In due time all this will pass away, and the courts 486 Triumphant Democracy. now in the wilds of Dakota or Montana will develop into tribunals as free from suspicion as those which else- where grace the settled districts. If a man, knowing both countries well, had, unfortunately, to seek justice through the courts, he would certainly elect to bring his action upon this side of the Atlantic. The verdict would be much more promptly rendered and the cost much less. In neither land, I make bold to say, would there arise in his mind the faintest suspicion of the honor of the judges who weighed and decided his cause according to the law and the evidence, and this, I sub- mit, is much to say for both branches of the English- speaking race. Throughout this book my readers will have noted how frequently reference is made to the conservative nature of the political institutions of the Republic, and to the resulting trait of deep and abiding indisposition upon the part of the people to enter upon novel meas- ures or untried fields of legislation. Lord Salisbury's sagacious mind has evidently been struck with all this. The close and critical study of the Constitution, and the various branches of the American Government, which it has been necessary for me to undertake in the preparation of this book, has not shown me what I did not know before, but I feel bound to say that, in a much fuller and clearer light, the conservative character of these have been presented to me, and per contra that the essentially democratic structure of the General Rejiections. 487 British Constitution, with which I have naturally com- pared the former in my progress, has been shown to me in a remarkable degree. The political power of the non-elective monarch being of the past, although the social power is demoralizing upon the character of the people in every aspect of its operation, we are face to face with a government without fixity of tenure, and consequently without power as against popular tumult, exposed to every passion of the populace. As long as the populace did not elect the Members of Parliament, these were not compelled to give way to their tempo- rary moods, but now, when manhood suffrage practically exists, these members are the servants of the masses, and will conform to their every whim. As a stanch republican with infinite confidence in the voice of the people, one who advocates the election of judges by uni- versal suffrage, and who knows no civil rights which he is not perfectly willing to subject to the will of the majority, I warn the people of Britain that the masses are prone to be carried away temporarily by passion, and that it may be found necessary to interpose some shield between the sudden, fierce outburst of an ex- cited population, and the officials subjected to the strain, not to thwart the sober judgment of the people, but to give it time to judge. This the Republic has in the fact that its executive and legislative officials are not subject to removal by the popular voice. They serve their appointed term, and they submit for approval or 488 Triumphant Democracy. disapproval the results to their masters. With fixity of tenure in office, a Senate of which only one-third is changeable each two years, and a Supreme Court com- posed of judges approved by the Senate, and holding office for life, and retiring upon a pension, by whom all legislative acts are subject to be approved or rendered nugatory, our conservative friends will have no diffi- culty in reaching the conclusion that so far as security and sound government go, they have strangely missed the truth that the most democratic and ultra-republican community upon earth is much to be envied by the un- fortunate supporters of an antiquated monarchical sys- tem which new conditions have robbed of all its virtues, leaving behind only forms bereft of power, to prevent liberty from degenerating into license, popular tumult from overthrowing governments, or to prevent the peaceful enjoyment of property from being ruthlessly disturbed. I speak thus earnestly because I was a sad witness from an advantageous stand-point of the su- preme weakness of the government in regard to the late Egyptian War, and especially of its virtual abdica- tion of authority in committing to a man wholly un- suited to perform delicate tasks, the issue of peace or war in the Soudan, not because he was, in the judg- ment of the Cabinet, the best agent, but because a whiff of manufactured popular opinion seemed for a moment to demand the appointment. In like manner responsibility for the Soudan has been disclaimed be- General Reflections. 489 cause the popular opinion demanded it. I speak thus, not of any one government or another, Liberal or Con- servative. The evil is in the system. In the Republic no similar weakness is discernible. The government is secure and can consequently afford to do not what is popular at the moment, but that which will, from its good results, become popular by and by. Some of my Radical friends may esteem this strange doctrine for a republican to preach, but such are yet to learn that the equality of the citizen in a State is the surest anti- dote for violent revolutionary measures, and brings about, in many ways, deep and universal solicitude for calm, orderly administration. The privileges enjoyed by the masses are, in their estimation, far too precious to be disturbed. The Republic has seldom elected a popular orator, and never elected a public agitator as President. Believe me, the masses are only revolution- ary when deprived of equality. Here is the record of one century's harvest of De- mocracy : 1. The majority of the English-speaking race under one republican flag, at peace. 2. The nation which is pledged by act of both par- ties to offer amicable arbitration for the settlement of international disputes. 3. The nation which contains the smallest propor- tion of illiterates, the largest proportion of those who read and write. 490 Triumphant Democracy. 4. The nation which spends least on war, and most upon education; which has the smallest army and navy, in proportion to its population and wealth, of any mar- itime power in the world. 5. The nation which provides most generously dur- ing their lives for every soldier and sailor injured in its cause, and for their widows and orphans. 6. The nation in which the rights of the minority and of property are most secure. 1 - ; ".: ,<,, 7. The nation whose flag, wherever it floats over sea and land, is the symbol and guarantor of the equal- ity of the citizen. 8. The nation in whose Constitution no man sug- gests improvement ; whose laws as they stand are satis- factory to all citizens. 9. The nation which has the ideal Second Chamber, the most august assembly in the world — the American Senate. 10. The nation whose Supreme Court is the envy of the ex-Prime Minister of the parent land. 11. The nation whose Constitution is "the most per- fect piece of work ever struck off at one time by the mind and purpose of man," according to the present Prime Minister of the parent land. - 12. The nation most profoundly conservative of what is good, yet based upon the political equality of the citizen. 13. The wealthiest nation in the world. General Reflections, 491 14. The nation first in public credit, and in payment of debt. 15. The greatest agricultural nation in the world. 16. The greatest manufacturing nation in the world. 17. The greatest mining nation in the world. Many of these laurels have hitherto adorned the brow of Britain, but her child has wrested them from her. The precocious youth may be tempted to para- phrase Prince Henry's boast to his father, and say to the world, " England is but my factor, good my lord, To engross up glorious deeds on my behalf, And I will call her to so strict account That she shall render every glory up.'' But please do not be so presumptuous, my tri- umphant republican, I do not believe the people of Britain can be beaten in the paths of peaceful triumphs even by their precocious child. Just wait till you measure yourself with them after they are equally well equipped. There are signs that the masses are about to burst their bonds and be free men. The British race, all equal citizens from birth, will be a very different antag- onist to the semi-serfs you have so far easily excelled. Look about you and note that transplanted here and enjoying for a few years similar conditions to yours the Briton does not fail to hold his own and keep abreast of you in the race. Nor do his children fail either to 492 Triumphant Defnocracy. come to the front. Assuredly the stuff is in these Island mastiffs. It is only improper training and lack of suitable stimulating nourishment to which their statesmen have subjected them, that renders them feeble. The strain is all right, and the training will soon be all right too. Much has been written upon the relations existing betvi^een Old England and New England. It is with deep gratefulness that I can state that never in my day was the regard, the reverence of the child land for the parent land so warm, so sincere, so heart- felt. This was inevitable whenever the pangs of sepa- ration ceased to hurt, and the more recent wounds excited by the unfortunate position taken by the Mother during the slave-holders' rebellion were duly healed. It was inevitable as soon as the American mind became acquainted with the past history of the race from which he had sprung, and learned the total sum of that great debt which he owed to his progenitor. It is most gratifying to see that the admiration, the love of the American for Britain is in exact proportion to his knowledge and power. It is not the uncultivated man of the gulch who returns from a visit to the old home filled with pride of ancestry, and duly grateful to the pioneer land which in its bloody march toward civil and religious liberty " Through the long gorge to the far light hath won Its path upward and prevailed." General Reflections. 493 It is the Washington Irvings, the Nathaniel Haw- thornes, the Russell Lowells, the Adamses, the Dudley Warners, the Wentworth Higginsons, the Edward Atkinsons — the men of whom we are proudest at home. Thus, in order that the republican may love Britain it is only necessary that he should know her. As this knowledge is yearly becoming more general, affection spreads and deepens. ' So much for the younger land's share of the ques- tion. And now, what are we to testify as to the feelings of the older land toward its forward child ? My ex- perience in this matter covers twenty years, in few of which I have failed to visit my native land. I had a hard time of it for the first years, and often had occa- sion to say to myself, and not a few times to intimate to others, that " it was prodigious what these English did not know." I fought the cause of the Union year after year during the Rebellion. Only a few of the John Bright class among prominent men, ever and ever our staunchest friends, believed, what I often repeated, that " there was not enough of air on the North American continent to float two flags," and that the Democracy was firm and true. When the end came, and one flag was all the air did float, these doubters declared that the immense armies would never disband and retire to the peaceful avocations of life. How little these ignorant people knew of the men who fought for their 494 Triumphant Democracy. country ! They were soon surprised upon this point. I had to combat upon subsequent visits the general belief in financial circles that it was absurd to hope that a government of the masses would ever think of paying the national debt. It would be repudiated, of course. That danger passed, like the first. Thert followed prophecies that the " greenback dodge " would be sanctioned by the people. That passed too. But well do I remember the difference with which I was received and listened to after these questions had been safely passed and the Republic had emerged from the struggle, a nation about to assume the front rank among those who had disparaged her. • ,( i i-.,i I fear the governing classes at home never thor- oughly respected the Republic, and hence could not respect its citizens, until it had shown not only its ability to overwhelm its own enemy, but to turn round upon France, and with a word drive the monarchical idea out of Mexico. And then it will be remembered that it called to account its own dear parent, who in her official capacity had acted abominably when her own child was in a death struggle with slavery, and asked her to please settle for the injury she had in- flicted. This was for a time quite a staggering piece of presumption in the estimation of the haughty old mon- archy, but, nevertheless, it was all settled by an act which marks an epoch in the history of the race, and gives to the two divisions of the Anglo-Saxon the General Reflections, 495 proud position of having set the best example of the settlement of " international disputes by peaceful arbi- tration " which the world has yet seen. From this time forth it became extremely difficult for the privi- leged classes of Britain to hold up the Republic to the people as a mournful example of the folly of attempt- ing to build up a State without privileged classes. Their hitherto broad charges now necessarily took on the phase of carping criticism. America had not civil service ; it turned out all its officials at the beginning of every administration. Well, America got civil service, and that subject was at an end. Then the best people did not enter into politi- cal life, and American politicians were corrupt; but the explanation of the first part of the charge, which is quite true as a general proposition, is, as I have shown, that where the laws of a country are perfect in the opinion of a people, and all is going on about to their liking, able and earnest men believe they can serve their fellow-men better in more useful fields than poli- tics, which, after all, are but means to an end. " Oh, how dreadful, don't you know," said a young would-be swell to a young American lady—" how dreadful, you know, to be governed by people you would not visit, you know." " Probably," was the reply, " and how de- lightful, don't you know, to be governed by people who wouldn't visit you." All of the indictments against the Republic have about disappeared except 496 Triumphant Democracy. one, and that will soon go as the cause is understood, for international copyright must soon be settled. During the period covered by this sketch of my ex- perience, Britons have begun to read and hear more and more about the Republic, and, I am happy to say, to run over and see for themselves what the main division of the race is about. The former visitor in- variably made the mistake of taking the semi-English semi-foreign New York city for the country. He had seen most of what was to be seen if he had spent a week or two here. So he thought ; but the really able Britons like Morley, Huxley, Froude, Freeman, Farrar, Irving, Rosebery, Bell, Richards, Pidgeon, Salt, Rogers, Seeley, Bryce, Spencer, Arnold and others, who are all personages at home, and many of them personages any- where, this class knows that until the Alleghany Moun- tains are crossed the real native is rarely to be met with. And certainly not unless the visitor has access to the homes of those who figure little or none in political life, can he see the best people of the land, or understand the foundation of personal worth upon which the State mainly rests. All this, these good friends of ours know quite well, and, upon the whole, I think the Americans may be quite satisfied with the impression they have made upon this class of British visitors. Their reports about America — as far as I have heard them, direct or from those to whom they have been spoken — have ever been flattering, so that to-day I believe the affection General ReJlecHons. 4^7 with which the repubhcan regards the old land is in a fair way to be reciprocated. When the example of a nation is quoted by the leading men of another in grave crises as the best means of rousing their own people to creditable action, we may safely infer that its position in their esteem is at least secure. The instances in which the Republic is now-a-days called upon to serve as the inspirer of the old land are too numerous to mention, but only last evening I read a speech, made by Mr. Chamberlain, who is certainly nearer to the Premiership of Britain than any one except Mr. Gladstone, from which I ex- tract the following : .: .. -• -;. •• "To preserve the Union the Northern States of America poured out their blood and treasure lilce water, and fought and won the contest of our time; and if Englishmen still possess the courage and stubborn determination which were so lately the ancient charac- teristics of the race, and which were so conspicuous in the great American contest, we shall allow no temptation and no threat to check our resolution to maintain unimpaired the effective union of the three kingdoms that owe allegiance to the present sovereign.'' Note the IF, my fellow-citizens. " If Englishmen still possess the courage and stubborn determination which were so conspicuous in the great American con- test !" Americans have been praised for their energy, their devotion to education, and to religion, their in- ventiveness, their resolute payment of debt, and for other qualities, but who could have believed that a 32 498 Triumphant Democracy. leading statesman of Britain would cite their high cour- age and stubbornness to the old bull-dog race of Britons. Mr. Chamberlain, however, in my opinion, does the original race injustice. Men decreed by the laws of a State unworthy at birth to be equal citizens thereof, have no reason to fight very hard and sacrifice much for its maintenance. Give them the rights of the American, my dear Mr. Chamberlain, and you will then see in Britain what patriotism means. There is not yet in Britain a government ^/"the people but a government and a people. Government is always thought of by the masses as something not of, but apart and above, them- selves. Americans may not be able to understand this, but it is quite natural in a country where government is based upon the idea that its head springs from a higher source than the voice of the people and is beyond their control, descending from parent to child by right of birth. Yet so advanced a man as Mr. Chamberlain, it will be observed, speaks of the three kingdoms which owe allegiance to the sovereign. He does not seem to realize that just as long as the people owe allegiance to anybody but themselves, so long will he look in vain to his countrymen for the love and devotion to their coun- try which is found in the breasts of Americans for theirs. They have not equal reason to love the land which gave them birth. The Republic honors her children at birth with equality ; the Monarchy stamps hers with the brand of inferiority. General Reflections. 4gg The following from the most powerful Liberal organ in Britain, the Spectator ij^%ce:vci\)&x 26, 1885), also in- vokes the action of the Republic as an example for the original race. • .; ;, , " Democracy ought to be strongest of all in its insistency that properly represented parts of the body corporate shall not set the body corporate at defiance and set up for themselves. It was found equal to this strength of purpose in the United States, and we trust that it will be found equal to it in the United Kingdom. The trial was severe, and the conflict was long; but the tenacity of the Democracy triumphed at last. We believe that it will be so with us. If we show indecision, if we show weakness, if we show that the spirit of determination to put down the Secessionist tendencies of the day is not high within us, we shall undoubtedly be giving the first serious signal of national decay. We do not believe that it will be so. We believe that Great Britain, directly the situation comes out clearly before her, will nerve herself to as strenuous a policy as that which secured the integrity of the American nation in the great crisis of i86i." Democracy was found equal in the United States and we trust it will be found equal in the United Kingdom ! The Democracy triumphed and we believe it will be so with us; we BELIEVE that Great Britain will "nerve her- self to as strenuous a. policy as that which secured the in- tegrity of the American nation in the great crisis of 1861!" If the old land, you see, only comes up to the standard set by the new, it is all that is even hoped for, but under monarchical institutions it is impossible they can ever reach the standard. 500 Triumphant Democracy. Monarchical institutions emasculate even educated men, and the ignorant masses in greater degree. There is probably not a man of the rank of Cabinet Minister in Britain, no not one, but would have bowed, and that low and repeatedly, if desired, to Gesler's cap, and smiled to think he had done himself no injury by so doing, since it was not a " practical question." Of course men can kiss the hand of the Queen, as one is proud to kiss the hand of any good woman, but how will it be when the Prince of Wales holds out his hand, and Messrs. Chamberlain and Morley, Collings and Illingworth, Trevelyan and Fowler, and others are required to kiss that ! I am not sure but that even these Radicals may find it no stain upon their man- hood to incur this degradation, but the first man who feels as he ought to feel, will either smile when the hand is extended at the suggestion that he could so de- mean himself, and give it a good hearty shake, or knock his Royal Highness down. I have heard of ladies of high rank who say they never would kiss the Prince's hand, but they need not trouble themselves upon this score, for the Prince will make himself immensely popu- lar by reversing the process and kissing their hands in- stead. He is a gallant gentleman. It is not the man we declaim against but the effect of the customs, fit only for serfs, by which monarchy is surrounded, and which tend to keep men — even Radicals — subservient. The masses of Britain always have been, and are General Rejiections. 501 now with the Republic to the core. Their warmest sympathies and intensest admiration are bestowed upon the Republic. This sentiment has already reached the educated Liberals ; the more pronounced the liberal- ism, the more affectionately is the freer land regarded. The position of the country and its recent amazing strides, the peace and content which everywhere pre- vail, and, beyond all, the regard for law and order and for the rights of property, the unmistakable conserv- atism of the American people upon which I have dwelt, are fast making a decided impression upon the hitherto timid and misbelieving but educated people of the Conservative party. They cannot quite account for it, and are not yet open to the truth that political institutions, which make all citizens equal, necessarily produce the virtues which I have recounted ; but as no other explanation is seemingly possible, we may soon expect them to advance to its admission. Tory De- mocracy may not, then, be an apparent misnomer, after all. I should like Americans to observe how rapidly the thinkers of Europe are discovering the merits of their institutions and example. Several of Britain's foremost men have recently visited the country. The historian Freeman came first. Listen to what he says : " Your Constitution above all has gone through the most fright- ful of trials, and it has stood the test. I remember twenty years ago how shallow people were crying out that the principle of a 502 Triumphant Democracy. federal system was proved to be worthless because certain mem- bers of a pardcular confederation wished to separate from it. I can only suppose that they fancied that no revolts, no separations, no dismemberments, had ever ta]