dential nomination be sought by such a man and with such methods, and not raise an issue of morals in politics in which the whole country will take a vital interest? No American who has faith in his country and in its capacity for self-government believes it possible that, if such a candidate were to succeed in forcing his nomination upon a party, he could be elected. The moral sense of the country would be so aroused by the insult that it would sweep away all party lines, and unite all honest men in a grand committee of safety to defend the nation's honor from so base an assault. It would be a national disgrace for a great party to confer a nomination upon such a candidate, for its doing so would be a confession that half the voters of the country were in slavery to machine rule; but when the righteous indignation of the people made itself heard at the polls, the disgrace would be wiped out forever. Regularity and Independence. THE most useful word in the vocabulary of the man who makes a mere business of politics is "regularity." The "regular" politician, when he sincerely desires votes for his side, is eloquent in calling upon every man of character, principle, and independence to cease voting for the other party, and to come and vote for the politician's party. In fact the calls to national conventions of all parties are largely made up of such appeals,1 and are based upon the idea that a human being not only can, but should, think independently and vote independently. It is only when this independence becomes troublesome that men of independence of character are covered with the politician's inelegant abuse. And yet there is nobody more irregular than a regular politician of the unprincipled sort. He is essentially and brazenly irregular. His very rules are often constructed for entirely irregular purposes. While making certain apparent use of rules, his whole scheming is against rule; that is, he lends all his energies to falsify public opinion; he misrepresents majorities; he is autocratic, tyrannical, and purely self-seeking. The securing of fair dealing and just regularity is the very life and intent of rules; whereas this is exactly what the regular politician labors, through his use of regulations, to avoid. We say through his use of regulations; but it is notorious that nobody can break his own rules with more effrontery than the most pedantic of regulars. As for independence, there is no one, in a sense, so independent as the regular politician. It is he (with the assistance, perhaps, of a little group of cronies) who decides-often with complete indifference to public opinion-what shall be the "principles" of a party, and who shall be its candidates at any given election. When the regular politician, therefore, denounces independence and irregularity, he does it with his tongue in his cheek; and yet there are good men who are innocently beguiled by this sort of talk at every election. We are not of those who denounce the idea of party. Every good movement, every valuable idea in human progress, tends to the formation of a party and the breeding of partisans. Primarily a party is nothing other than the association of men to put into practice some principle of government to which they are attached. It is only when party names are degraded to mere pretexts for plunder and means of selfish aggrandizement that they become a menace to the public good; and that this is the tendency of all large political associations history proves. It happens that in the career of every great party a moment arrives when the mere machine politician endeavors to use an organization sacred to a purpose and a cause for ends solely personal and corrupt. In other words, a moral crisis is sure to arrive in the course of every political association. Then comes throughout the length and breadth of the land a sure test of clear vision and integrity. One of the saddest sights at such an epoch is the pitiful and apologizing use of clean reputations for the bolstering of sordid causes; the alliance of fair and cherished fames with all that is sinister in the forces that influence the destinies of a people. Look around, and look back over the political history of America! It is always so. The weakly good, and the cynically and selfishly decent, just at the time when designing and corrupt manipulators should be opposed by all the strength of public opinion, lend their names and services to the cause of immorality, and conspire with evil men for the degradation of government. But discouraging as is this melancholy phenomenon, there is always deep encouragement in the spectacle presented in moral crises such as we have described of brave and cool-headed independence, of unselfish devotion to principle, of right feeling showing itself often in unexpected places, of wide-spread enthusiasm for moral ideals, and for sound and elevated views of public duty. 1 See "Partisan Recognition of the Independent Voter," Topics of the Time for October, 1890. OPEN LETTERS. The German Emperor and the Russian Menace. tack him at the earliest convenient opportunity. It is not the Czar who is urging war. Those who know that monarch well scout the idea. He loves peace and quiet, and does not wish to be disturbed. How long he can make his personal wishes prevail we cannot say, for he may have to choose between war and disquieting agitation. His ministers, who see more clearly than their master, realize that the economic condition of Russia has been going from bad to worse under a system of protection and repression that has no parallel in mod session, when England interfered. The Russians returned from the war expecting to receive at the Berlin Congress, in a diplomatic way, all that they had given up on the battle-field. In this they were mistaken, and their ambassador returned from Berlin to tell his people that the fruits of the war of 1877 had been lost to them through German perfidy. From that day to this hatred of Germany has been preached as the national gospel of Russia, and in this hatred have been included Jews, Poles, Swedes, Finns-in short, all the unorthodox whose civilization draws inspiration from the western neighbor. "Russia for the Russians!" is now the cry, and the orthodox Russian Church shouts louder than any one in the congregation. The famine which spread over part of Russia last year does not abate this cry of revenge. On the contrary, there is not a peasant who does not believe that in some mysterious way the heretic Jew or German is responsible for his misery, and for that matter German and Jew are one to him, for both are unorthodox, both unRussian. With this aspect of the case in mind, it seems strange indeed that the government of Russia should be acting in a manner to alienate the sympathy of subjects on her western frontier. It is possible that the Czar's ministers disapprove of the extreme measures taken in the Baltic provinces to expunge the German language and the Lutheran faith, but they know the power of the orthodox clergy, and dare not resist the only expression of what has to pass for public opinion. The famine in Russia is real, although it is equally true that there is always a failure of crops somewhere in a country so vast. I lost no opportunity during the height of the newspaper discussion of the subject to make inquiry in proper quarters regarding the nature and extent of the alleged distress. The Government seems incapable of giving friends of Russia any satisfactory idea of the situation, and, worst of all, does not inspire any great confidence in the breasts of sympathizers. One day a minister reports that the famine is of no serious character; soon afterward the press announces that twenty millions of people are perishing. In any event, the situation is not cheering, famine or no famine. If, however, a famine really exists on a large scale, then is there all the more reason to expect war. The peasant suffers first; next suffers the storekeeper, who supplies the few things the peasant cannot make himself; next suffers the wholesale dealer, who gets no more orders; next suffer the merchant and the banker of the capital and the seaport; at last suffers the only one worth considering—the Government, which feels it finally in the confession of hundreds and thousands of police officials that the peasant has been taxed to his last copeck. At this point the news becomes serious, for the Government is a costly one, and only money can sustain it: money for the interest on a huge public debt; money for the huge military machine; money for the police; money for the imperial family; money for secret service; money to maintain political jails; money to guard prisoners on the way to the mines of Siberia. When the Government finds that money is wanting to sustain its prestige, and that empty stomachs are growling, it may choose war as the lesser evil. Germany is not blind to the dangers that threaten her, particularly from France. She will have one army on the Khine, another on the Vistula. Von Moltke clearly foresaw the intention of Russia to attack, and never failed to urge upon William I. the military necessity of forcing the war as soon as possible. His reasons, of course, were purely military. Russia," he argued in 1875, "is arming against us; each year she becomes more formidable. We, on the contrary, remain stationary. Our duty is to fight now, while the heroes of 1870 are still fresh, and not wait until they are retired from active service." Von Moltke saw more clearly than Bismarck. William I. was old, and relied on his prime minister, who kept telling him that Russia was Germany's natural ally; that Russia must be humored at any cost. On the part of the venerable William I. there were strong family reasons dictating friendship for the Russian Czar; but this does not explain Bismarck's apparent indifference to the fact that, for the last fifteen years, Russia has been cultivating hatred of Germany, second only to that prevailing in France. The present German Emperor foreshadowed Russia's attitude of to-day three years before he came to the throne. He has been nearly four years in power, and has not only not declared war, but has not made a single warlike demonstration of a practical kind. His military family, if I may use the expression, are ready to anticipate the blow of Russia; but Germany keeps the peace because her Emperor is too conscientious to precipitate the conflict. Personally he is deeply pained by the hostile attitude of the Russian government; his efforts in the direction of closer commercial intercourse have been met by sullen objection; he has been treated with personal discourtesy by the Czar; his own people are outraged by the daily account of persecution to which Germans in Russia are subjected; he knows that the line of the Narew, the Niemen, and the Vistula is fortified by a chain of strong forts, and that Kirghis Cossacks patrol all the roads crossing his frontier. He is perfectly well aware that France is ready to coöperate with Russia, and that her forces are better organized than ever before. The German Emperor is not unpopular in Germany. This fact cannot be too strongly presented, because many important consequences flow from it. He has done many things to disquiet moderate Liberals; has done things indicating a disposition to assume responsibility which might better be shared with Parliament. He has made many impromptu speeches which a prime minister would cheerfully have recalled; he has written texts which a strictly constitutional ruler would wish relegated to privacy. Granted all this and much more, for the sake of argument, let us come to what he has positively done, in order to understand why, in spite of this, he is Emperor in the German heart as well as in the German army. He has shown himself accessible to complaints from all classes of the community, and has interested himself in remedies; he has abolished the special laws against socialism with most excellent results; he has removed much of the irritation on the French frontier; he has met the grievances of the Polish Prussians in the same spirit; he has shown a liberality in dealing with the press and platform agitators unknown in Bismarck's day; he has inaugurated a commercial policy which, if not free trade, is a complete denial of the principle that one class has a right to enrich itself at the expense of another; he has drawn together the trade relations of Germans so wisely that Vienna, Budapest, and Berlin seem now like sister cities of a free federation, and has spread the blessing of commercial freedom more widely than was ever before known in Europe; he has instituted legislation for the benefit of wage-earners and wage-payers, not as a socialist, but in the spirit of arbitration and fair play. In all of this he has moved independently, fearlessly, moderately, and in opposition, not merely to the teachings of Bismarck, but to the school of politicians created for him by that master of medievalism. Not only this, but he has interfered energetically on behalf of the soldier in the ranks; has insisted upon his troops being treated with proper respect by officers, and particularly by corporals and sergeants. He has vigorously put down gambling and fast living among his officers; he has at last interfered on behalf of the overworked schoolchildren, and is the first to say that a teacher shall not cram the pupil's brain at the expense of general health. All this sounds as though a stroke of the pen could make such reforms real, but it is not so. All academic Germany sets its face against school-reform, and the utmost exercise of tact and persistence is necessary on the part of the Emperor to make his proposals bear fruit. These instances suggest some of the reasons why Germans respect their Emperor. There are others of a negative kind. For instance, we have yet to hear of anything he has done for the gratification of selfish tastes. He is a plain liver; he has never indulged in the vices sometimes associated with royalty; no officer in his army can say that the Emperor taught him to gamble; in his family he is exactly what a German would wish him to be; and the keenest sportsman could not wish a better companion. Finally, he is a thorough soldier: he has served from the ranks up; he can do sentry duty with a guardsman, and can also manoeuver combined army corps according to the principles of strategy and modern tactics. He has his faults, and none sees them so well as the German general and the German parliamentarian. But he has elements of strength and popularity which vastly outbalance any faults so far discovered-and this is what outside critics are apt to ignore. He has sources of strength totally closed to the Czar. The Kaiser is a man of flesh and blood; he feels as a German; his work is in harmony with the spirit of German progress; his failings, such as he shows, are German. There is no German who does not admire him in his private relations, even though differing from him in matters official; and we all know that in times of political danger the people are drawn to the man of strong personal character rather than to the cautious and colorless figurehead. The forces behind William II. are such as have never been cultivated in Russia, whose Czar lives in hourly dread of assassination, and whose people are so many items of an official budget, so many units in a military report. The German Emperor walks about the streets of his towns as fearlessly and naturally as any other man, although the life of his grandfather was twice attempted. One day, in November of 1891, he was walking with a guest through the narrow and crowded thoroughfare of a city not far from Berlin. The sidewalks were narrow, and, as the Emperor is a fast walker, he frequently had to step out into the street to pass other pedestrians, and especially clusters of people who stopped for a chat. His companion, who had been in Russia, was struck by the democratic manner in which the German Emperor rubbed in and out amongst porters, fish-wives, peasants, and the rest of the moving crowd, chatting the while, and acting as though this was his usual manner of getting about. He was struck still more by the fact that no precautions against a possible murderous fanatic appeared to have been taken, and ventured to speak of this. The Emperor laughed heartily, and said: Oh, if I had to stop to think of such things, I should never get through with my day's work." It is with this man that Russia will have to reckon when her Cossacks start for Berlin; and this man is strong, not merely because he represents a strong army and a strong political administration, but because in him center the feelings of unity and development, of pride of achievement, and of promise of a still greater future which lie dormant in the hearts of those who regard Germany as the bulwark of civilization against barbarism-Europe against Asia. Poultney Bigelow. Charlie and the Possum. It was a day of great excitement in the court-room of the 2057th District, G. M. Charlie Brood had been arrested for larceny, the particular charge being that he had stolen a possum and a steel trap, the property of Peter Thompson. Charlie having demanded that he be tried by a jury of his peers, the justice, with that accommodating spirit peculiar to some backwoods officers, had called in six colored gentlemen as a jury, arraigned the prisoner, and put the prosecutor under oath nigger den, I would n' er be'n hyah now, an' he would n' nuther. I'd er kill 'im right deir ! "Well, sah, I run t'rough dem fiel's like er man's tracks; las' I struck de railroad. I look dis way an' I look dat way, an' den I saw dis hyah nigger wid er bag on es shoulder 'way down de railroad. Fus news he know, I was deir. I say, says I, Mornin', Charlie,' des so. An' he say: "Mornin'.' "I'm toler'ble,' says 'e. How you do?' to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. As Peter Thompson laid his aged lips upon the well-worn Bible, he rolled the white of his eyes into prominence and let fall an ominous glance upon the prisoner at the bar, who had sunk down into his chair until the top of his shoulders was about level with his ears. "Jedge, I tell you how hit was," the witness began. "I drives er dray fer Marse Mansfiel' up en Macon, an' I works hard. I ain' got no time ter hunt up deir; I got er wife an' fambly ter tek cyah of. So when I come down hyah ter my aunt's fun'al, I fetch erlong er trap ter sot out, 'cause nigger 'bleege ter hab possum some time. An' I sot hit out en de fur corner of er corn-fiel' en de edge er de swamp, by er black-gum tree, ter cotch er possum. I ain' got but fo' days down hyah, Jedge, an' I go ter dat trap ev'y mornin' 'bout day, 'spectin' ter fin' er possum deir ter tek home ter my wife an' fambly. Las', one mornin' I go deir an' I see possum signs all ober der place. I say, Peter, bless goodness! dat sho big-bo' possum.' Den I say 'g'in, Huh, dat strong possum! Done tote trap off.' But I knowed 'e ain' tote hit fur, an' I 'gin ter look erbout. I look, an' I look, an' I look. Ain' see no possum nowhar! Den bimeby I see nigger track, an' 'bout dat time I know wha' de matter. I was sho mad. I des tek dat trail like er houn' dog. Jedge, ef I had er-cotch dat "An' I up an' say, 'I'm toler'ble.' He don't say no more, an' bimeby I up an' come erg'in : "What you got en dat bag, Charlie?' Den 'e say: "Unc' Peter, I so tired. Be'n 'way down ter de station ter git my wife some 'taters. She mighty sick, an' hank'rin' atter 'taters, an' our 'taters all got de dry rot.' He ain' answer de question, Jedge, an' I gi' hit ter 'im erg'in. Says I: "What you got en dat bag, Charlie ?' "Den 'e say, 'Hit 's er long way ter de station, an' ef my wife had n' be'n sick she 'd hatter done 'thout 'taters.' "Jedge, 'e ain' say 'taters en de bag: des keep on talk'n' roun' 'bout es sick wife an' bein' tired. Den I wan' ter see how big er liar de nigger kin be, an' I ax de question erg'in. 'Bout dat time, while he was was studyin' up er new lie, I see de possum twist en de bag, an' right deir I re'ch out my han' an' grab de bag f'om 'im, an' shek hit, 'cause I was determ' ter see what en dat bag. He ain' try ter hender me, an' he better not, 'cause ef 'e had, deir 'd er b'en er rookus right deir. Well, Jedge, I shuk, an' I shuk, an' I shuk, but nuthin' drap. An' den I say: "Charlie, look like dem 'taters mus' hab toofs an' toe-nails ter hol' on wid.' An' I shuk erg'in. "Charlie,' says I, des so, 'mebbe dem 'taters got de tail wrap' roun' er knot en de bag'; an' wi' dat I turn "Jedge, I done eat dat possum; hyah he foot en de trap, hyah de trap, an' deir de nigger. He ain' done me right, no 'e ain'." There was silence for a few moments. Fingal Cave Scotland, the oldest man on the jury, bent his gray head down close to the ear of Obadiah Lafayette and whispered solemnly. The face of the Rev. Septimus Smith, who sat at the other end of the jury, was grave. Others exchanged comments. Evidently it was a threatening moment for Charlie, but Charlie came to the stand smilingly. "Hit's des lak dis, Jedge," he began. "I ain' no town nigger, an' I 'm proud er de troof. I ain' so triflin' I cyan't git work whar I was borned, an' hat ter run ter town. An' I'm proud er de troof erg'in. Dese hyah town niggers "- and all eyes were directed toward the late witness - "dey 'low as how dey own de whole worl' an' ev'yt'ing dat wears hair er fedders f'om hen-roos' ter possum holler. Dey ain' satisfy en town; dey mus' come down hyah an' bre'k up de oletime huntin' an' fishin' wi' dey trapsions an' dey nets. Ef dey 'd come lak er white man an' hunt wid er dog an' er gun, hit 'u'd er be'n diffunt, an' folks 'u'd had some 'spec' fur 'em. Ain' dat so, Unc' Finger?" This appeal to the prejudices of the country negro had an immediate effect upon the jury. "Hit sho es de troof," replied Fingal; panions seemed to coincide with him. continued: "Jedge, I sort er like possum merse'f, but I ain' sot no trap. I hunt 'im wid de dog an' de torch like er man. Dat night I was out tryin' ter show er fool puppy how ter trail, an' bimeby he opened up an' lit out. I says ter merse'f, Charlie, you gwine ter hab possum fur dinner.' An' 'bout dat time I des natch'lly laugh out loud. You gwine ter hab barbecue possum,' says I. Jedge, I see dat possum right 'fo' me en de dish, brown all over." and his comThe prisoner A slight shudder shook the form of the Rev. Septimus Smith, and a momentary sensation swayed the other jurymen. It was as a little breeze wandering in among sleepy rushes. "I seed dem split sweet 'taters roun' dat possum like er yaller hawberry chain roun' er nigger gal's neck. I seed de brown gravy leakin' down es sides as 'e lay deir cryin' fur joy all ober, an' er jug er 'simmon beer oftener ef hit war n't fur dese hyah biggitty town niggers an' dey traps." "Go on with your story." The judge rapped the table with his knuckles. 'Yes, sir. Well, Jedge, by dat time de fool puppy plum' out er hearin', an' I knowed he done struck er fox. Hit was de' July' blood en 'im. I 'gin ter look roun' fur home, 'cause day breakin', when I stumble on sumpin', an', bless God! deir was de possum settin' right 'fo' me. I says, 'Charlie, hyah possum de Lord sont you.' Possum he settin' up deir by esse'f, an' eyes des er-shinin'. I says: Huh! dis possum he sick. No, possum ain' sick; he des too fat ter trabbel. I sho eat dis possum.' Den I look erg'in. Dah, now! Possum hitch en er trap! I say ter merse'f, Charlie, dis ain' yo' possum; dis somebody else's possum. You ain' gwine tek 'n'er man's possum, is you?' Den I say, 'No; course I ain' gwine tek dis hyah possum! What I want wid 'n'er man's possum?' an' walk right off, sort er singin' ter merse'f, Racoon tail am ringed all roun'.' "I git 'bout fifteen foot erway, an' den I kin' er natch'lly look back, an', Jedge, hit 's God's troof, dat little ole possum settin' back deir on dat trap look so col' an' shiv'rin', I feel sorry fur 'im - settin' back deir 'way out en de wet swamp so col' an' lonesome, an' de owls des er-hollerin' an' de heel-taps er-hammerin' up en de dead trees. I says ter merse'f: Charlie, you sho ain' gwine lef' dat po' little possum out hyah all by esse'f en de big swamp, es you? Sumpin' boun' ter cotch 'im sho.' Den I says: Who 'e belong ter, anyhow? Did de man wha' sot dat trap raise 'im? Does dat man own dis hyah lan'? Does 'e own de holler tree dis hyah po' little wand'rin' possum born en? No; 'e don't,' says I. Possum is es own boss.' Den I go back an' look 'im en de eye, an' I say, Little possum, you col', ain't you?' An', bless goodness! he smile cl'ar back twell es jaw-toof shine. An' I says, 'Does you wan' ter git en Charlie's warm bag an' go 'long back ter sleep?' An' 'e smile erg'in. An' I says, 'All right; but how 'bout dat trap?' An', Jedge, den dat possum look se'ious, an' lay es nose down on es leg. I tell 'im den: 'Little possum, Charlie ain' gwine lef' you out hyah en de col', an' you be'n up all night. He gwine ter drap you en de bag, 'cause you yo' own boss an' kin come an' go; but ef you fetch dat trap erlong, hits yo' own 'sponsibleness. Charlie ain' got no business ter tech 'n'er man's trap. But I gwine shet bofe eyes, an' deir won' be no witnuss.' "Den de possum he smile erway back erg'in, an' I drap 'im en de bag, bose eyes shet. An', Jedge, dat 's de Lord's troof. I ain' tech dat trap. Deir hit es down deir on de flo', wi' de possum han' still on hit. I ain' Hyah! hyah! hyah! hyah-h-h-h! Hyah! hyah! git er smell er dat possum, an' I ain' stole nuthin'." hyah! Hoo-ee-e!" This explosion came from Fingal Cave Scotland, who doubled up, and would have fallen out of the chair but for the restraining hand of his next neighbor. The sensation was complete; the little breeze had become a whirlwind. There was a murmur of applause as Charlie concluded, but this was quickly repressed. The justice, putting on his glasses, read the law as to wild animals to the jury, and explained what was meant by larceny; and the jury retired. When they returned they brought in a verdict of "Not guilty." This was ex The court administered a ponderous rebuke, and the plained afterward by the Rev. Septimus Smith. He said witness proceeded: "Hit was des dat way, Jedge; an' I hope yo' Hono' ain' t'ink hard er Unc' Finger fur his natch'l feelin's, 'cause las' possum I taste hit war fixed up an' on es table like I tell yer. An' dey'd be deir more that the jury was clearly of the opinion that a possum was no man's property until actually in his possession, and that if the trap was stolen, it had been stolen by the possum and not by Charlie Brood. THE DE VINNE PRESS, NEW YORK. Harry Stillwell Edwards. |