^ *«'«o'* <^ -^^ rtV „ « a "^^ A> *^ M O '^^ . u * * '^O' » •». o • * 'o 'V^'^'^ * "bi^ kp-r. o • / 1 / «.h^ ""f. . ^V ^-^ o^^^^X^^- V ^ *v^T' A . ^. A^ .: 0> *'..s* /V « o ♦- O ^-'^- ^o 0-^" ,c:^% ^^_ u> ^ <'»• ^oK ^ ^^0^ ! w y^ C^ "^oV ^^'o^ :^ The Downfall of Humanity A Drama in Three Acts BY WILLIAM WILEY SCOTT Author of "The Crowning^^ BOSTON RICHARD G. BADGER THE GORHAM PRESS Copyright, 1920, by William W. Scott All Rights Reserved MADE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Thb Gorham Press, Boston, U. S. A. ^'IN 10 1921 HISTORICAL It is said there is nothing new under the sun, equally true should it be said there is nothing secret upon the earth. Murder will out; so will the contents of treaties and secret agreements between nations; likewise also secret constitutions. When many concern themselves with a purpose or object nothing will long stay hidden; hence it is that the world to-day knows many if not all the declarations and articles incorporated in that most wonderful constitution ever written by any part of mankind, and which bears the title, "A Constitution for the Government of the World." Before that ancient city lost its former cognomen, there gathered at St. Petersburg a delegation of rep- resentatives from every country: There were dele- gates from England, Germany, France, Spain, Rus- sia, America; there were delegates from the old cities of Asia; there were delegates from the new cities of South America, and at least one delegate from every small country around the globe. These came not with pomp and ceremony and beating of drums. They gathered from the mysterious by- ways and the quiet night-ways, straying hither and straggling thither as though their coming bore with it no greater purpose than that of tramping the time away. Upon the arrival of a certain designated day, or rather a certain designated night, these dele- gates were called into convention. Their place HISTORICAL of meeting was in a large underground chamber in a deep, damp basement of a badly dilapidated build- ing located in a poorly lighted and not an over highly respectable part of what is to-day the city of Petrograd. Here, day after day, or rather night after night, this unprecedented representation held convention for the purpose of evolving a constitu- tion of rules by which all mankind could be gov- erned. They styled themselves the "World's Re- formers," or ''The Great International Convention of Boloskivers." After many days of arduous labor spent in much perspiration and the consumption of large quantities of dark, heavy liquor, the following constitution was adopted and thereupon ratified and thereby and then declared to be in force and effect and thus to remain henceforth and forever. All law, or laws, of every kind and nature, ever before enacted by whomsoever, which do not con- form to this constitution, were then and thereby de- clared to be and were revoked, cancelled and annulled, and declared to be of no further force and effect, being both obsolete and unconstitutional. Notwithstanding the many weighty problems of this august body let it forever be said that, to its everlasting dignity, it was harmonious. Let future historians write it down as such. No discording word jarred the serene tranquility of the smooth and peaceful working of this great convention, and at no time, while in session, were more than half of the delegates sound asleep from too copious use of dark liquor, and even this number of sleepers were greatly reduced by an order from the Chair pro- hibiting the use of anything but black beer while the HISTORICAL convention was in session. However, dear reader, do not think we mean here to speak lightly or even intimate that any nation on earth was not fully represented. Be you a native of Asia, Europe or America, don't feel yourself slighted. You were represented — your country was represented. The Sergeant-at-Arms prodded up each slumbering dele- gate when any article was presented for discussion and adoption. Every country's vote was cast with wide-open eyes. Neither take too lightly to heart the deep import and far-reaching purpose of this historic gathering which is here so briefly chronicled. For you the future may be pregnated with astounding events which date their inception back to this memorable gathering. Even already, in the span of a half dozen short years, empires have crumbled, crowned heads gone down! And, as yet, there has not been scarcely an attempt to bring into full force and effect the powerful principles and by-laws of this frightful constitution. Only a limited number of the by-laws are to-day operative in the world ; the Great Seal has. not been broken. When the Great Seal, which contains the full text of this powerful instrument, is removed and the full force and effect turned upon humanity, who can picture the black- ness which will spread over the earth? The Downfall of Humanity Place — Washington, D. C. Time — Future Act I Scene I. This scene takes place in a great room in the Hall of CommonSj a building erected over the ruins of the City of Washington, D. C.j the city having been destroyed by the Boloskivers. In this scene Father Time is called upon by the Son of Man to know what caused the downfall of humanity. Son of Man. Oh Father Time, from thy wisdom, the greatest of all wisdoms, reveal unto me thy humble servant that which has caused the downfall of humanity. Whereof, Father Time, this great calamity? Father Time. Bring hither the Black Book, the Bill of Death, and I will read to thee. 'Twas written many years ago, but lived to cause the downfall of humanity. Bring hither the Black Book and listen to its words. (Father Time reads the words of the Constitu- tion and By-Laws of the Boloskivers). 9 10 THE DOWNFALL OF HUMANITY THE CONSTITUTION OF THE GREAT WILL PREAMBLE We, the Boloskiver delegates of the World as- sembled, in order to form a World Union, establish justice, insure equal rights and full privileges, and to secure an equal division of the World's goods, dp ordain and establish this Constitution of the Fed- erated Boloskivers of the World. Article I All law is hereby declared vicious and inimical to the welfare of man and should be and is hereby cancelled, repudiated and set at naught and void, and the very word law itself, a misnomer, is hereby expugned henceforth from all language relative to the conduct of human affairs. Article II Be it enacted, therefore, that instead of the word law, which shall forever hereafter be null and void, all power shall issue from the will of this Consti- tution and the makers thereof and be forever desig- nated as the "Great Will." Article III -^ _,' enac of the Great It is hereby enacted and constituted, as the spirit the Great Will, that property of every nature ACT I n whatsoever, all lands, money, stocks and bonds, jew- els, railroads, ships, minerals beneath the earth's surface and all animals that graze thereon, and also all rnanner and kind of property that bears title or titles, said title or titles are hereby revoked, cancelled as being unconstitutional and in violation of the Great Will. The ownership of said proper- ties and all thereof shall be vested in the defenders of the Great Will to be divided by them equally among all peoples of the earth share and share alike ; each and every share to be, in monetary value, as great and no greater than the shares held by any person who is entitled to the blessings of the Great Article IV Be it hereby enacted that it shall comply with the- Great Will that any person who is eligible to an equal division and permitted to participate in the division of the world's goods, may, at the request of his personal desires, select his portion in money, or bonds, or stocks, or lands, or any other commodity available of the earth's goods. Article V On and after the date of breaking the Great Seal, it shall be in accord to the Great Will that any per- son or persons refusing to peacefully surrender and deliver up their property or properties and all there- of, for the purpose of division, shall be shot, and all persons who may be found in possession and owner- 12 THE DOWNFALL OF HUMANITY ship of property to the amount of one million dol- lars or more, shall be shot an5rivay for their past high crimes against humanity. Article VI The Great Seal, which cloisters the full powers of this convention, shall be opened when the now existing laws and customs of the nations of earth are broken down. Article VII It shall be the command of the Great Will that all defenders and eligible members be known as Boloskivers and the individual member as Bo, and it shall be the sacred duty always of each Bo to propagate Boisms or Bolosskiism in every part of the earth. Article VIII It shall be the duty of all Boes, when an oppor- tunity is present, to associate themselves, in every country, with any and every labor organization or labor unions. In these unions, it is the special wish of the Great Will that you spread Boism — some- times called propaganda. Urge less work and more pay, always more pay, regardless of whether the business will stand the tax; destroy the business; get a strike; strike, we want strikers; unsettle the accursed institutions and you will thus greatly hasten the day of the opening of the Great Seal. ACT I 13 Article IX Inasmuch as war and excitement, misery and dis- traction, are great aids to our cause, the Great Will makes it the bonded duty of all defenders to urge war at all times and industriously assist in the cre- ation of entangling alliances, jealousies, distrust and inflame the public mind. We prosper in war in that it furnishes a fertile field for the spread of Boism and hastens the opening of the Great Seal. Get war and thou shalt be happy in the getting and obtain the blessings of the Great Will. i Article X ) In thorough accordance to the Great Will, and in the desire of the spirit thereof to hasten the speedy opening of the Great Seal, it is hereby en- acted and imposed as a faithful duty upon each and every loyal defender to practice sabotage. Let all foolish ones who do not see the great coming light and agree with us feel the heavy hand of the Sabot. Burn their crops, burn their homes, burn their stock, burn their families; burn, burn, burn: If one or more of our members be arrested and amend- ed to the toils of that hateful custom called law, burn and spread terror and Boism; and if said hateful custom called law can not be, by spreading fear, fashioned to cloak our various wishes, burn. If one of our members be in the toils, do not stop burning 'til justice is frightened our way — our brand of justice. 14 THE DOWNFALL OF HUMANITY Article XI Be it known that one of l..^ prime ends to be attained by the Great Will in the opening of the Great Seal is to free the world from slavery. Since man shed his hair and tail and evolved himself from monkeydom and invented money, he has been in slavery — money slavery. These bonds, money bonds, must be broken. On an average throughout the world it takes one thousand slaves to support one money pirate. These pirates must be shot, one and all shot, likewise their families shot for the poisonous money taint oft travels in the family sys- tem. Article XII Furthermore, be it enacted to contribute to the essence of the Great Will that all Boes not only encourage war on any and every ground, but they shall also diligently study the use of all war appli- ances: study air-craft, poison gases, liquid fire, and any and all means and appliances which the ignor- ant-wise ones are inventing to destroy themselves with. Train well in these destructive arts and soon one Bo may be able to withstand an army. The day of the opening of the Great Seal is very near; they, the foolish-wise, are helping us to pre- pare; ay: the foolish governments; likewise, the money fools are helping. Article XIII It shall be the purpose of the Great Will, after the opening of the Great Seal, to eliminate all de- ACT I 15 fects and correct all j)hysical ailments of the hu- man race by scient Uy breeding it, as a whole, up to a higher staiidard. Hence, a white male specie shall always be matched to a black or yellow female specie; likewise, also, to purge away that obnoxious insanity called religion, a saint shall be matched to a sinner. All defective children shall be shot at birth. It is only by this wise course and process that the world can become equal in thought and habit and humanity become amenable to single control. To this rule of cross-matching, however, saveth the Great Will, there shall forever be one exception: That relative to that race known as the Jew. With the Jew, naught but in-matching shall be accorded by the Great Will, and all female chil- dren shall be shot at birth, thus gradually eliminat- ing from earth this time-old race of money pests. No monetary equilibrium can be maintained while the Jew exists. Moreover, it shall be and hereby is the express command of the Great Will, that that superfluous and time-worn institution called marriage, be forever banished from the face of the globe, and relegated to oblivion, along with those other matters of trash called government, power, and all other rot that enslaves man and cramps and retards the human race from full and vigorous de- velopment. Article XIV It shall be the duty, at all times, when oppor- tunity is present, of our wise members of Boes to join those societies who are wont to call themselves i6 THE DOWNFALL OF HUMANITY churches, and therein said Boes shall propagate the spirit of the Great Will. Be it known that noth- ing will wreck a government so quickly as having religious fanatics pick it to pieces with constitutional amendments against every manner of man's sins. Get amendments. Let us meddle these pestiferous churches into the business of State and we readily destroy the affairs of both Church and State. Get more amendments: Amend man from the cup; amend him from the pipe; amend him from the oath ; amend him to the Sabbath ; amend him to the curfew; amend him further and further from hu- man liberty and soon he will burst the bonds and wreck vengeance upon the amenders and straight- way join our ranks. Nothing destroys law so quickly as an overdose of law. Get whim laws and fad laws; let us have laws, many laws; laws pro, laws con, and laws contraiwise. Mix the church with affairs of state and raise a stench in the nos- trils of reason and thus hasten the day to breaking the Great Seal. ARTICLE XV Boes, be it known unto you that it is the com- mand of the Great Will that your attitude toward the press, except that part of it which belongs to us and is known by its motto **Oh Reason We Hail Thee," be one of variation to suit occasions as they may arise. When Boism gets a favorable hearing, applaud: when a jolt, frown. The press is a good disturber, assist it to remain as such ; it is also a good quieter and should be dissuaded from such a course. Part of the press, however, we may, for the ACT I J7 present, look upon with grave concern; but rest assured, dear Boes, that when the Great Seal is broken all the press shall be shot. Article XVI Boes, it is the Great Will that you study ma... Man IS a savage. Jar the thin veneer of civilization trom his frame and man will stand forth in all his savage grandeur. To keep man thus, direct his thoughts m collective channels. See to it that he thmks collectively. Individual thinking is danger- ous to our cause. Teach man to think in mass and we prosper in our cause. We then put one of our number at the head of the mass to direct the course of human events. It is the system of single thought that constructs and does things not to our liking Down with the system of single thought. Article XVII Be it enacted that in full compliance with the ingly high tax be always encouraged, especially against the poor peoples of all countries. Nothing IS more conducive to our prosperity nor is there any- thing under the sun which will more speedily bring tLs"'r^°T"^ the Great Seal than burdensomf thev wfll^^ . ^°' "^"^f ^'^ '^^y ^°^^ ^"d soon tney will come to our ranks. Article XVIII . Know ye, of our clan, one and all and take warn- ing that contentment among the masses is not pro- 1 8 THE DOWNFALL OF HUMANITY pitious to our cause; therefore it is a command of the Great Will that all Boes constantly endeavor to create great political excitement among the popu- lace, making them believe that they are duped and swindled of their rights and are being constantly fooled ; that some other governor or government would be better for them ; anything for excitement and unrest. This can best be done by assisting to office wide-mouthed demagogues and one-sided poli- ticians. This gentry can be readily distinguished by their lugging forth many great reform bills, and great burdens of all kinds of foolish legislation and their constantly harangueing the peoples about the wrongs they are suffering. Assist to office these fools and use them as tools, but above all things never scandalize our order of Boes by allowing one of these to become a member, and be it faithfully known that when the day is come and the Great Seal is opened this bunch of skunks, one and all, will be shot. Article XIX The Great Will has ordained that the color of our flag shall be red, signifying that much blood must flow before the opening of the Great Seal; however, on that day this emblem shall float from every flagstaff throughout the entire world, and if any there be who do not salute this flag they shall be immediately shot, for be it known by all that this flag heralds the dawn of equalization : equaliz- ation of wealth, equalization of opportunities, equal- ization of blessings and happiness, and the eradi- ACT I 19 cation of all special privileges; the eradication of all government and every one of those thousands of brands of religions which delude men; eradica- tion also of that fanatical idea much prevalent that there is such a place as a Hell. Article XX It is especially provided in the wisdom of the Great Will that on the day of breaking the Great Seal woman shall forever take her proper place in the world at the feet of man. Those who are not shot in infancy and allowed to live, shall be taught to be man's helpmeets and properly minister to his wants and desires and also to bear many children; all females not so bearing a goodly number shall be shot or tortured to death as a warning to those com- ing in the future. Article XXI It is hereby made a special act of the Great Will that we receive unto our membership all races, creeds and colors, except that antique prodigy known as the Jew. With the Jew among our number monetary equilibrium can never be effected or main- tained. Provided further, however, if a Jew re- nounce that hateful quality he calls religion, he may then temporarily join us until such time as we see fit to shoot him. Article XXII Be it known, now and forever, Boes, that it is both the spirit and command of the Great Will that 20 THE DOWNFALL OF HUMANITY all members use bombs, fire and poisons to destroy property and life of men and stock of those foolish ones who do not see the great light and bow to the Great Will. Father Time. This Book of Death was written many years ago, my son, and to-day the actors are on the stage. See them, they come, they come. {Exit Father Time and Son). Scene H Golkalk. Sabat, hear ye, old Time has turned the great fortune wheel much to our favor ; the great day has passed its dawn, the glorious day of opening the Great Seal. The Boloskivers have triumphed this little old world around. Come, Sabat, whip thy lazy will along; the day wears on, and yet we have a few more trivial pests we must speedily bid a blessed rid- dance. These are cooped close about and ready at hand. The one Is the last remnant of the law ; the other is the last remnant of the church. The church has swallowed up the law and stands ready to deliver both unto death. Right well have our emissaries wrought in combining the twain. Together they shall demit themselves of life most graciously. And now, dear Sabat, bring forth that last rellce of law, bring forth His Honor, the Judge. ACT I 21 Sabat. Ay: ay: fond master, thy words fall like music through the portals of mine ears. I will haste Sparticus, the slave, to fetch hither the Judge. He is the law, he is the law, we shall have no more of him. Sparticus, at our feet, and now, produce the law. {Enter Sparticus leading the Judge). Golkalk. Ha! Ha! thy Honor, wouldst thou speak, ere thou weepest and die? Thy day hast come, no more wilt thou know two laws; one for the great and one for the small. Thou, oh Court, art the law, for thou art the minister of the law. Laws fail of law when not admin- istered. Impart thy wisdom ; is it not lawful to break an unlawful law? Who shall say this law or that is lawful ; who be the judge if not thee? Ah, there is the rub; the marker or the maker. Law is a thing of power and burden- some; an over-burden of laws sinks beneath the very waves it would calm. Thou, oh Court, art too numerous; thy business at law too great; we will have no more of thee. Down with the law. Sabat. Yea, down with the law; the knife, the torch. Thy head shall be fed to yonder vul- tures; thy body to the denizens of the deep. Wouldst thou say a parting word before this knife cleaves thy throat? The Court. Where power has gone mad it is a wanton waste of words for reason to speak. Golkalk. Away with him ; away with the law for- 22 THE DOWNFALL OF HUMANITY ever. Bring forth that last barrier to our full happiness and complete freedom in the domin- ation of the world's affairs. Bring forth the Bible dabbler, who calls himself a minister. Hear ye, Sabat, hark ye well, and in full truth deliver thyself. Answer me, are all dead, save this last one; all churches burned to the ground ? Truly then 'tis a happy day ; we shall have an end to Biblical domineering on earth; bring this remnant forth. Let us behold the manner of mortal cloth wherein immortality filters through? Sabat. Sparticus, hie thee to the clergy and fetch hither the last talent in sacred raiment wrapped about ; hither to the end ; hither for the end ; hither haste the end of that which has been, ay, since time began, one of the greatest powers that ever swayed man — the power of delusion. Hither the end of this mystery. Henceforth let the eye of reason search out the paths for man. Let freedom reign in reason's kingdom. No more shall dire prophecy lug forth its pack of trouble against the current. i {Enter Sparticus leading Rev. Mereman). Golkalk. Stand forth, thy Reverence, expound. Impart to us the reason why thy holiness builds so many brands of church, erected all to one lonely God? Can all spires point to a single center, and doest thou not teach thy several flocks to vow each that the other stands in the wrong? Canst thou save thyself at contrari- ACT I 23 wise? How many art thou, one thousand or more? How many Gods? one sayest thou; then this riddle thou canst explain. Speak, thy last words, speak. Thou hast become political. In the wreck of things political, destruction is measured by the yardstick of intelligence. Rev. Mereman. Father, forgive them; they know not what they do. Golkalk. Away with him; away, away; perish religion from the face of the earth. A greater day had passed its dawn; the noontide of reason draws on apace. This day the Great Will supplants the law ; the Great Will super- sedes the church; the Great Will, henceforth, the Holy of Holies: All hail the Great Will. Let delusions waft themselves away upon their phantom wings. Those temples of worship all burned to earth, sayest thou, Sabat? and they who mourn, and they who weep, and they who dole out solace at the shrine, Sabat, where are they? Sabat. Burned at the stake or shot, your sweet honor, burned or shot. Golkalk. And all law of the land, every vestige gone sayest thou, and its lovely army of votar- ies, where are they? Sabat. Gone, sweet Golkalk, gone; shot and burned ; their very ashes scattered to the fore- winds. Gone, shot and burned. Golkalk. And those human vultures, the master money kings and millionaires, where are they, Sabat, where are they? Fail not in truth Sabat, to render unto me your answer, for this 24 THE DOWNFALL OF HUMANITY day the world's goods shall be justly divided, and not one of this clan shall remain in the land. Sabat. They are on this earth no more, Great Golkalk ; gone one and all. Shot and burned ; ay, and their families shot and burned. All gone, shot and burned, all save one, the Jew. We have the Jew here, securely locked in the great iron cage. For the Jew, death carries a poor sufficiency of justice. We shall feed him his own gold. To satiate the appetite of his metallic conscience he shall have served him each day one farthing; thus his days may end in golden misery. Would I speak by riddles, all the world loves a Jew. Golkalk. Gone is the law; gone is the church; gone is the government; to each a long and hearty farewell. The field of all human en- deavor is yet young. We shall now divide, share and share alike, all the world's great wealth! Many and bloody are the hard years, Sabat, through which we have wrought and fought to reach this blessed day. This is the day of World freedom; this is the day of the World's equality of wealth. This is the bright and shining day that poverty packs up her troubles and moves from earth. All hail to the day that every man's fortune is equal to every man's fortune. Sabat, are we all of one accord : are there any yet left who do not join full well with our Great Free Will; any remaining who still have a yearning for things that were; any whose mind, with each caprice of the weather, plays at change? ACT I 25 Sabat. None, sweet Golkalk, none. All shot and • burned. Weil sayest thou that bitter and ■ black has been our progress; we have slain one half the human race. Here, on this memorable spot, where we rear our temple of power, is where once stood the proud capitol of America. This was their arena where gladiator met glad- iator and stabbed to the death their govern- ment. No Caesar in a Senate-house 'ere re- ceived more cowardly blows. Personal ag- grandeur and jealousy of parties over-floodeci the interest of the people. To-day that proud capitol is a monument in ashes, a tribute to political corruption. Ay, indeed right well did our faithful Boloskivers plan when we sent to their legislation hall millionaires and schem- ing lawyers whose consciences were left in their mothers' wombs. There stands not a capitol on earth to-day. The lords of law with the lords of wealth went tumbling with their buildings of grandeur to the same ruins. The world stands even: Man stands full abreast to liberty ; none there are to restrain him. Old customs have gone down ; a new era has arisen. The world holds wealth for all her children ; each man shall be a man of power. Let the golden chaldron be brought among the faithful defenders of the Great Will. {Enter entire troop with repositor.) Golkalk. Sabat, speak, what wilt thou say touch- ing the contents of this sacred repositor? 26 THE DOWNFALL OF HUMANITY Sabat. Therein lie the ashes garnered from the bodies of the money lords of the world that was; well mingling with them are the ashes of all that forth cried itself to be the church, and withal well salted by the ashes of all that was wont to proudly proclaim itself to be the law. Well mixed forever be their ashes. Golkalk. Sabat, thrust thy hand to the bottom of that wholesome dish and raise to the light of day the Great Will. To-day we break the Great Seal. {Sabat thrusts in his hand and raises the sealed parchment.) Golkalk. Break the seal and read, Sabat, read, that the world may know and be wise unto freedom forever. Sabat. (Reading). Henceforth forever, man shall know no law, nor religion, nor restraint by neither man nor God. Happy be man, thus sayeth the Great Will. Golkalk. Bring forth the great lockers. (The great lockers are wheeled in). Golkalk. Sabat, speak, what canst thou say as touching the sacred contents of the great lock- ers? Sabat. When thou denominate these as sacred, oh Golkalk, thou speakest well. This is the shrine around which cling, leachlike, the hearts of the human race. These lockers contain the stocks ACT I 27 and bonds, deeds and titles to the world's wealth, and here also is contained the moneys of the world. Golkalk. Then divide, Sabat, rendering to each in the land share and share alike, but, dear Sabat, {aside) let thine hand search out two sizes of shares; the larger shares for thee and me. {Enter NemOj who has had no share). Nemo. Give unto me my rightful share; give unto my child a share likewise. Golkalk. Woman, read the Great Will; the law is gone. Thou art henceforth slave. Down with thee, slave. A servant unto man's desires shalt thou ever be; the law is gone, the law is forever gone. Hie thee hence, concubine; go. The Great Free Will rules the World. Nemo. And my child's share; shall my child not share in this world's goods? Golkalk. Woman, thou hast no child; thy child belongs to the state; 'tis state property. Hear thee, woman, thou too art state property. The law is gone. This is the mandate of the Great Will. Hail and glory to the Great Will; go and obey. Nemo. Property of the state, sayest thou? Then why the state if the law be gone? Whereof be there a state? Golkalk. The Great Will, woman, the Great Will; cease thy babbling or thou shalt be shot. 28 THE DOWNFALL OF HUMANITY Nemo. By whose authority may I be shot, and whence cometh thy authority if all be equal? Golkalk. The Great Free Will ; the Will of they who command. Nemo. My child was born in wedlock; my child is mine. Golkalk. Wedlock, sayest thou, wedlock woman. Knowest thou not that the Great Will has ban- ished wedlock from earth? Foolish woman thy child shall be snatched from thy bosom {taking away the child). Here Sparticus, send this child *to the Isles of Java; and this woman, give her unto this black to live unto him and bear him children. Go black, go woman with thy other half ; let the races be mixed ; there shall not be a difference on this earth. The road to a better people is a road through blood. Avaunt, dogs; ye are equal all. {Exit all). Scene III. {Golkalk bedecking himself with the rainment of state in private office). {Enter Spores). Spores. Golkalk, the great, hear ye, there is a robber abroad in the land. The notorious rob- ber, Boaz, is killing the people and taking their wealth. He makes slaves of those who submit rather than die. Can this lawless one not be brought to Justice? Golkalk. The law is gone. Spores. He scatters suffering and terror through all the countryside and has collected unto him a mighty army who, through fear, do his hel- ACT I 29 lish bidding. Hast thou no means to reach jus- tice in the working of thy schemes? Golkalk. The law is gone. Spores. Woe be to man when the law is gone. {Enter Faunshaw) . Faunshaw. Golkalk, while I slept on yesternight, my wealth slept poorly. Some thief filched away that which thou gavest me. My wealth is gone. Send an officer. Bring back my wealth. Golkalk. The law is gone. Spores. The law is gone, then wherein shall we find protection? {Enter Nita — a ragged girl). Nita. Please your honor, is this the great Bo Gol- kalk? Golkalk. Speakest well, my lass; what wilt thou? Nita. My mother lies dying in our home. My father lies dead by her side. My mother craves not these worldly bonds and deeds you sent her; she would have her Bible you took away. Take these back, oh Golkalk, and spare to her the comforts of that old Bible for just one dying hour. 'Tis more than all the world to her dying soul. Give back the book, oh Golkalk. Golkalk. The Bibles of the world repose in ashes; the book is gone. Nita. Gone, oh God, gone; the book gone, gone, merciful angels of heaven, then all is gone. Hope shut out from death's dark hour; no solace anywhere; death doubles its sting amid 30 THE DOWNFALL OF HUMANITY wealth's gilded halls. Thou hast, oh Golkalk, taken from man the most precious of all heri- tages: the right of man to know the will of God. Bring back my mother's Bible or let me die. Golkalk. The church is gone. Faunshaw. Come, Spores, let us be on our way. There are happy days ahead ! I feel their touch warming the courses of my veins. We are all equal, Spores, equal of any other man. All with wealth alike Spores, we shall work no more. My wealth stolen: ah, that's of trivial account. Where there is no protection all are equal. Thou labored in days past. Spores, and so did L Thou a teacher in an university and I the janitor who carted the ashes away. But now the old pile reposes in ruins ; we are living in a new and greater day. Thee taught me and I agreed with thee, Spores, that all men should be equal and have an equal share in all; glor- ious thought we cuddled happily to our hearts, and longed for the beauties of this golden hour when we could cast care away, and work no more. Work? No: it would be disgraceful to work for another. We are their equal; we cannot be their servants. In a wilderment, I love to agree with myself. In wisdom we are marvels; we have tweedled down great things to small; the elephant to the ant. Come, Spores, brag up thy past wisdom. We took God's arrangement into our own hands. We are lords. Spores, money lords, one and all. Turn these human passions free and let them ACT I 31 gambol as lambs over the green. Canst thou not see the unwisdom of the wise? Ah what fools, in those days, we were in well-doing. Where's thy cheer, Spores, you do not laugh. What trouble can stray across the brain of a money lord? What, thy wife! Golkalk taken away thy wife to live unto him, a concubine. Come good man, smile; this is but a trifling incident of ultra-socialism, thy pet theme which thou taught unto thy classes, even sometimes surreptitiously. Ah 'tis that that makes thee sad ; could not see adown the future to where ultra-socialism fruited into Boism, the triumph of the Boloskivers. Cheer thee up good man, what we teach will one day come back to us and tell its own tale. Come, let us be merry; our ways are of our own making. We but followed our thoughts with selfish tread. My brain reels drunkenly in the glory of these scenes. Bring on the dancers; the dance, the dance. {Enter woman waltzing with a skeleton hugged to her breast). Faunshaw. Behold, Spores, the dance of death! Fill thine eyes with gladness, Spores, and tune thine heart to the music and grace of motion. Dance on fair dancer, dance on. Thy arms hold all that is left of man when motherhood is dishonored : Dance on. Ring loud the gongs in hell; the day is come. Man lives with too much freedom filled. Bolshevism rules around the world ! Curtain ACT II Time — Two years later. Scene I — Golkalk's mansion on the Potomac River Golkalk. Sabat, where is my slave, Sparticus. Sabat. Don't Sabat me. I am thy equal. Let it please thee to address thy equal as Bo Sabat, therefore sparing me the slight trouble of burning down upon thine own head this great house which thou hast so graciously stolen from the right- ful owner. Golkalk. {Aside). His brain has been locked up in a whiskey cell for these many years, shut out from the light of reason, compassion, and the sense of honor. Golkalk. Bo Sabat, where is my slave? Sabat. Gone on a strike, Golkalk, gone out on a strike. The habits thou taughtest him in days of yore linger in his system still. Verily he rates himself the equal of any man. He will not work. Golkalk. All the world is a prison; let the dogs stir around. The lash shall duty teach him at the whipping post. This wanton manner of conduct shall be reported to the high coun- cil, the lashing squad. This kind of thing shall cease. We must have subordination. To the whipping squad send this slave by the next train. 32 ACT II 33 Sabat. The train does not go; the trainmen have their equal share of this world's goods. In wealth they are the equal of any man; they will be the servants of no man. They will not work. The wheels rust idly upon the rails; the fires slumber drowsily; the steam is gone. Golkalk. The boat, Bo Sabat, the boat. Sabat. The boat sleeps peacefully in her berth. To the wine and gaming tables the sailors have gone. They too have wealth and will not work. Golkalk. My car; my flying machine ; bring them hither. This slave must have transportation to the lashing squad. Sabat. Thy aviator in fair company with thy chaffeur are away with their wealth upon pleasure bent. They will not work. {Enter slave girl with market basket). Slave girl. Master, I return thee thy money; the markets are closed. What thou wouldst have I cannot buy. With their great share of wealth they are satisfied. They will not work. The merchants have gone a pleasure seeking. The plow stands idle in the field ; the weeds have carried the gardens away. The farmer with his wealth has gone a pleasure seeking. He will not work. There is no corn in the mill and the vintor refuses to vint more wine. Thy money, master, has become a trash ; it will not buy. {Enter second slave girl). 34 THE DOWNFALL OF HUMANITY Slave girl. Master, thy child sleeps of a distemper near unto death. Golkalk. Fetch hither my physician, slave, be quick. Slave. Master, thy physician has great wealth, his shop is closed. His pursuit is pleasure in a foreign land. Golkalk. The phone, the phone; give me the phone. Slave. From the board the keys are drawn; the linemen have let the lines go down. Right merrily they join voices around festive boards; their wealth they care only to enjoy. They will not work. Golkalk. My child must have care; my child, my child. {Enter Faunshaw) . Faunshaw. Is not the child the property of the State? Then let the State cure its own ills. Golkalk. Away fool. Trifle me not at this sol- emn hour. Save my child. I will pay; I will pay. Faunshaw. Pay, pay; ah, ha; sweet is the music in the jingle of thy coin; a funeral dirge in leaden sounds. I care not for thy pay; others care not for mine. Wealth is dead when it fails to buy. {Enter little school girl). Schoolgirl. Master, there is no school; the teach- ers have gone. They need not the paltry pay ACT II 35 for which there Is no demand. They have their full share of the world's goods and will serve no more. School, dear master, school is out. Golkalk. Fie on school! I will have my wants or murder every man. Wine ! Wine ! My head reels. Wealth, oh wealth hath thou failed me; gone to dross in my hands? Pleasure, Pleas- ure, sweet maiden, come unto me. The wine of joy, we shall wring it from a tear. A ser- mon preach through all the world ; our hearers be but one and that ourself. Honor in wealth, sayest thou? Away with such manner of heathenish trash ; mouthed by one and mocked by another. Where are they; where are those Boes, those boon companion Boes, who helped me pile this misery upon myself? Sabat. Out murdering their fellow man, and in lawless style gathering in shares that belong to them not; ay, not money alone do they steal; they steal the soul and make slave of the body. Glorious is the work of the Great Will. Boaz, the Terrible, has one thousand slaves who do his every bidding. Faunshaw. Is not this the freedom vouchsafed of the Great Will ? Is not this full human liberty without the restraint of law? Is not this the ripe-fruit of ultra-socialism? Is not this the Bolshevism for which Sabat and Boism spilled half the world's blood? Is not this human liberty without human law ? Is not this Chris- tian privilege without the Cross? Hated law, didst thou; hated the church, didst thou; de- 36 THE DOWNFALL OF HUMANITY stroyed the law, didst thou; destroyed the church didst thou? Go now, revel in thine own self-made hell. I Scene H — Nitas humble home I (Enter brother). Brother. Dear sister Nita, I starve of hunger. From us our portion of goods has been stolen. There is no law; there is no work. I have searched the country over and can find no place to turn my hand. The mines are closed; the mills are closed; the factories are closed; there is no work in the land. Nita. Sit thee here dear brother, and take my por- tion of herbs and roots; 'tis all I have for food. Nature strives to supply when man de- serts his post. Brother. Thanks to Nature's God for these. Any land looks well to the man who has long fared the seas. Dear sister, to obtain food for our sustenance I shall join the slave farms ; it is the only way. It is a hard way ; 'tis a bitter way, but there is left no other way. Nita. Brother, that is not a wise way; it is not the way of wisdom. Brother. Who can say who is wise, or even what wisdom is, and analyze this portion and that and denominate the good? Hunger of the stomach hath power to control the brain. Nita. Is it so bad as that? Are there many slave farms? ACT II 37 Brother. Yes, sister; there are slave farms throughout all the world. 'Tis the system now. The ruthless outlaws take away the people's goods, and force the owners into the bonds of slavery. There they toil without pay or wage, producing food for which they receive treatment both frightful and hellish. Yes, it is the system without law; 'tis the sys- tem of force; a system estranged from God's mercy. It will ever be the system 'til there is law and government in the land. We are living in the blackest of all black ages. The . red flag waves over every land. Nita. Brother, did you not once upon a time be- long to a great and powerful labor union? Brother. Yes, dear sister, I did. Nita. And where is that great labor union now? Brother. Destroyed, dear sister, destroyed by its very own self. Discretion we threw to the wind and received with open arms all who would come and join. The Bolshivers, wolves in sheep's clothing, came among us in great numbers. With a dimness of the eye, we saw only one side of the world's industries. We were taught that we were creators of all and rightfully owned the management of all. We were called upon to fight for all. We failed to comprehend that we were but one of two partners, the welfare of whose firm pended in reason by both concerned. The wolves among us howled for fight; we fought; we destroyed. We placed not at our head men of reason and temperance; we placed the radicals there. We 38 THE DOWNFALL OF HUMANITY i examined not the other side; we called it all our own affair. It were well with us 'til our super-seers grasped for more than the business would bear. Strife, tumult and mad ravings estrayed our feet from wisdom's ways. We saw not through our own eyes, neither heard we with our own ears. Yes, sister dear, our union was great and powerful, and with reason and moderation as our guides the world would be safe and sane to-day. But alas, alas, Bolshe- vism came. {Enter Faunshaw). Faunshaw. They come, they come; Boaz and his band. There is no time to be lost. We must flee to the hills. Nita. I will not leave my home. Why come they here? Faunshaw. It has gone abroad that there is a Bible here, likewise a flag that wears not the color of red. These they seek, and this their hellish mission. If found within these walls, we shall be made prisoners all. It is a violation of the commands of the Great Will, and the penalty is death. We would have but a single day to live. Nita. There is a world of time in a single day; another such world may never roll around. These sacred treasures shall yet live for man and home. This trust I shall defend. Faunshaw. Woman, why fly into the face of death? ACT II 39 (Nita hides flag and Bible in secret spot). {Enter Boaz and his band). Boaz. Speak, woman, is there a Bible here Is there a traitor's flag? Come, out with the truth. Nita. Wouldst thou have the truth where there is no Bible? Is not the truth dangerous to thee? Boaz. Slaves, search. Nita. Slaves, search. Faunshaw. Boaz, what wilt thou have here? Wilt thou take the life of those who have harmed thee not ? Boaz. Not life, but body and soul; slaves I want, of paltry service are the dead to me. Faunshaw. Spare this woman to her home. Boaz. We love not the word spare. What, slaves, no flag, no Bible found ? Then these may live, but serve us they shall. We must prosper. Nita. Why filch a noble word to clothe a wicked design ? Boaz. Come, slaves, come one and all. We go this night to take prisoner the great Golkalk. At arms I am stronger than he; his slaves shall be mine. Onward slaves, I shall be King. Faunshaw. When the strong destroy the strong, how shall fare the weak ? Unfettered by law, man is lower than beast. Scene III — Golkalk's great farm on the Potomac River 40 THE DOWNFALL OF HUMANITY {Enter Boaz with drawn dagger), Boaz. Awake, Golkalk, awake from thy dreams of peace and plenty. Thy day of power has found its end. Thou art my prisoner. Golkalk. What, thou too, brother Boaz! Boaz. Don't ''brother" me; I know no brotherly love. There is none in the Great Will. Come, arise to a prison cell. Slaves, bring forth the great cage. {Enter cage). Sabat. The Jew, the Jew. The cage is the Jew's home. Let us have the Jew's blood. Boaz. I command here. Out with thee Sabat, no more blood. The Jew shall be my slave. Come forth Jew, upon thy bended knees. {Nita releases the Jew and Boaz thrusts Golkalk into the great prison cage). Boaz. There end thy days, Golkalk, as a dog, and die. Thy slaves are mine. We live in an age without government. Happy be thee in thy self-made paradise. All hail the Great Will. Sabat. Arise, Jew, to the exalted station of slav- ery. Boaz. Away with the cage, away with Golkalk to the blackest dungeons of the castle, there to live his Utopian dreams. Golkalk. Oh God, have I swam rivers of blood but to reach a prison cell? Give back my free- dom, and I will ask nothing more of the world. ACT II 41 Nita, Ah, how few our worldly wants when we come to die. Great Golkalk, didst thou not say in thy wonderful wisdom, "there is no God?" Why now cry out "Oh God, oh God?" Faunshaw. Come, Nita and thy brother, come. They move the cage and gather the slaves. Now is our time, come. All is propitious; this is the glad moment. Let us steal away under cover of this friendly night and flee to foreign parts. The clock strikes the hour of one, come. Nita. Hold, Faunshaw, ere I go. The slave who wears a scar above his eye, has hidden beneath his shirt my Bible and my flag. It was he who found them; I importuned him to report no find. Within even the breast of a slave there reposes a warmth for law and God. Send quickly the slave to the garden wall where I my treasure may reclaim. {Slave meets Nita at secluded spot and is in act of handing her Bible and flag when Boaz suddenly appears ) . Boaz. Ha, ha, the Bible; ha, ha, the flag! Now I shall—" 1 (Nita whips out a small revolver and fires. Boaz never finishes the sentence. Nita and her party de- part through the night, waving aloft the Bible arid the flag). Curtain ACT III Time — Some Years Later Scene I — The caverns of the Mammouth Cave, Kentucky, Habits of primitive man All characters dress in skins of animals. Imple- ments and customs are those of the crude cave man of pre-civilization. Cave Father. Come hither my son ; hark and heed thy sire's words. Mine days are almost gone. Mine eyes see dimly, mine ears are dull, and mine step too feeble to cross the hither land. Mine many years come heavily down upon me, how many I do not know. They bear me soon back to the shades of the hunting lands beyond. The Great Spirit has dealt to us as unto a kindly friend. Our enemies are few, though of them many there be who are dead. Times and times at war with them, we stand to-day as master among the caves. Just beyond the hills, their caves are there, the caves of the Seminoles. In bitterness and hatred vile, these are our greatest enemies, the Seminoles. Among their tribe there resides a maiden rare of form and fair to behold. I would that she grace the cave of a noble brave; yours, my son. Fare forth with war-club this enemy among; strike her down; bear her here beneath the harvest 42 ACT III 43 moon. We, the Choctaws, are greater than the Seminoles. Take warriors bold, with many a stone; slay down their ranks into their inner fold ; bring home this lass. Her blood shall we add to the Choctow race, thus please the spirits in the shades beyond. Son. Sire of mine, thy wish stands to great favor with thy son. Among the enemy in deadly strife ; we shall go a wiveing. Scene II Seminole cave. Choctaw's son steals into cave at night, striking sleeping girl over the head with club and stunning her, throws her across his back and bears her away. Chief. Up Seminoles, up and to war. The Choc- taw hath stolen our little Silver-Eyes. Jll Seminole Warriors. To war, to war. Scene III The chamber of the cave occupied by Nita. She sleeps in a nest made of leaves and moss, crudely rocked up around the edges with rough stone. A cave man, with club in hand, is stealing stealthily near her berth. Faunshaw. Stay thy savage hand, cave man, touch not the sleeping girl. Away with thee or all will not be well. Nita. (waking). What goes wrong that arouses me from slumber's sweet embrace? 44 THE DOWNFALL OF HUMANITY Faunshaw. The cave man would wive thee with a club. To save thee, fair sleeper, I awoke thee from thy slumbers. Nita, And from my paradise of dreams, oh Faun- shaw ; in my dreams I wandered back to happy childhood days and things that were before the fall of man. There, oh there, so vivid, like liv- ing things again, they come upon the tablet of memory. There, Faunshaw, there; see that care-free girl — the kitten and the great house- dog romping on the lawn — the neighbor boy peering slyly over the hedge — the great farm- house with porticos — the father from work returning — the wife's welcome smile — the child in arms with kisses covered — the maid, the man; the cows — the birds that flit from tree to tree — the corn, the grass, the flowers — the geese, the chicks, and the little wee swine — the goat, the lamb and the kine — there, the village just across the fields — the cars, the bustle, and the flyers — and the river that runs below, where the boats go with their com- merce laden — and great ships in the air from everywhere hastily destined — to the sound of the bell of the village school, the children in groups hasten — and the whistles of the fac- tories call to labor the men, the merchant, the miller, and many — the lawyer, the court and the executor with transgressors are dealing — ministers and priests with Bible in hand, the troubled ones consoling — gay parties laugh in picnic dells — the world full of mirth is flow- ing. ACT III 45 Faunshaw. Come, awake fair dreamer. Those are things that were before the fall of labor and of law. No land can live without a law. From this cave went man forth a million years ago to fight the fight with man; and losing in the fight, returned. The greater enemy of man is man. Naught but scars remain on memory's tablet, it were better to say, and think thee upon things that are real. It were safer to tread among serpents than to walk among men : hell is created in the heart. Oh, dreamer, my thoughts ramble, my head reels, my heart trembles at the awful reality of the over-press- ing now. Has the race of man run its bloody course? Is the end of all drawing to a close? The cave witch, here comes the cave witch. She will know and give us light. Speak witch. What sayest the Oracles? Answer, is the race of man drawing near its doom? Is there hope, a ray across the dark span? Your voice trembles ; you say yes ; all yet will be well with man? Come muse, bring forth the raiment for the thought; in words of thanks I would tell to all the world. Witch. The great codes of Truth and Nature are made up of but few principles, and these are very plain and simple. Nature has left that man mcomplete who cares only for self. There are scattered in every path blessings enough, if garnered, to make of life a success. Without the clouds, the sun its welcome would lose; without life's pains, the heart would scarce gather gladness. If only ways trod by man 46 THE DOWNFALL OF HUMANITY ( were of his own planning he would scarce ar« rive at a happy goal; a hand unseen points this way and that, else many fall; who of us sees the abysses we miss? There is no greater mercy than that of providence which restrains from wanton sin, though the hand lay heavily for a while. Every man is a genius undevel- oped ; who the greater none can tell. He who has lost faith in man has lost all. There is in life nothing just right, save a mother's love. Faunshaw. And whence shall come the leader that our feet may again find the paths? Witch. As for man's managing man, he has made a veritable mess; let woman take the turn in hand. Nita. And shall the church rise again. Witch. That is a dishonest shadow cast by the man who knows no God ; law follows timidly his footsteps. The world can never be stripped of prayer. Yes, child, the temple will rise again. Faunshaw. And the academic tabernacle, shall it rise again? Witch. In the paths of wisdom of to-day, youth hath outstripped the aged and think that they are wise. The great ocean of knowledge lies undiscovered. We but trace the rivulets in the highest mountains of ignorance. The light will dawn and man yet know what wisdom is. That that is good can never die. Faunshaw. Are we yet like the animals in reason dumb; who will know when reason comes? Witch. Read the pages of history upon the tables ACT III 47 of these walls. There in strata find the animal in life in lower form; and there, above, he lived his life of troubles, yet still he climbed, losing more of selfishness, the weight wherein that held him down. And still there, farther above, written by the hoary hand of Time, we see the dawn of reason; he cares for an- other ; a little of good permeates the clay ; man is rising higher, the eye turns in search for a Deity. Man will yet find wisdom's ways, then man will live for man. Faunshaw. Witch, thou mayest gain wisdom from the Oracles ; mayhap thy sayings are sometimes wise ; perchance they bear a fair report of the future and of things to be. 'Tis the ox that's down that needs a lift and not the calf unborn ; can thee tell straight away how we may obtain food? Witch. Set up a government, establish law and work. Scene IV Nitas brother in a canoe upon lake within the cave. He is babbling to the cave-fish that swim around his canoe. Brother. Ah, ha, finny one, wouldst thou love to gain thy sight and turn thy ways alike man? Why choose darkness to search for food? Is there a stain upon thy family tree? Carest thou not to behold the beauty of the stars and moon? No music here save the plaint of 48 THE DOWNFALL OF HUMANITY yonder owl. Be thou child or sage, I know not, but this I do know, the two ends meet again. Tis sweet to criticize when the burden is upon the back of another. Hast thou the trinity of government — law, religion and labor? Nita. Oh Faunshaw, my poor brother has gone mad, raving mad. The solemn stillness of these caverns has turned to ruin his noble brain. He babbles to the fishes his time away, out on yonder lake. For this madness is there no antidote? Faunshaw. Mad, thy brother mad? There is ever something wrong; perchance it were better that he babble on. All mankind is mad in greater or less degree. He who is maddest none can say. There is something wrong. Is the human reason a sounding void? Man wants and wants and wants continually. Let thy brother babble to the fishes for yet a little while, perchance their silence will teach his reason to return. The world is mad and I am mad; we differ only in degrees. Life's a mad race for this or that ; my madness runs to love ; Nita dear, I would wed thee. Be mine, my own; a wife to me, given in vow to me alone until death shall lay its claim. Nita. Thou wouldst woo in a land where there is no law? Ah, there yet remains honor among men. There is hope; there is hope for land and home. Faunshaw. But thy answer, will it be yea? Mine heart will not be still, I fail of words, my love ACT III 49 for thee consumes me like unto a burning flame. Nita. Naughty Faunshaw; is love thy club? Faunshaw. I gamble all upon the throw. Nita. Thy warmth persuades me fairly well, but there is no law. Faunshaw. Love will ever find a way; yes, there is a law at hand, I the happiest of mortals among men. You, dear Nita, saved the Bible. {Faunshaw brings forth the Bible and places it upon the altar, a stone. Nita and Faunshaw place their hands upon the Bible). Faunshaw. This unto us a law shall be in marriage and matrimony; our witness the watchful eye of Deity. {One hand resting on the Bible, Nita, with the other raises above her head the flag — '*Star5 and Stripes"). Nita. And I shall wed beneath a government. {Marriage ceremony) . \ Faunshaw. Thou art mine, and I thine. Nita. Forever so let it be. Faunshaw. This flag is a symbol of authority. No government can survive without it. Nita. This book is a symbol of honor. No home can survive without it. Both. Let there again be a government on earth. 50 THE DOWNFALL OF HUMANITY {Enter Nemo with her child). Nemo. Is there protection here? Nita. Yes, beneath this flag. {Enter the Jew). Jew. Is there protection here? Faunshaw. Yes, beneath this flag. Nita. Beneath this flag we form a government. Your oath to uphold it we command. Swear, Jew. Jew. I swear. Nita. Swear, Gentile. Nemo. I swear. Nita. {Waving the flag). The flag that is loved by the Jew and Gentile alike; the flag that is honored around the world. Curtain A I (j^ c*"' • feu. ^, 4 "