THE NATION'S CRISIS. 637 



acclamations the military licro with the most picturesque trappings 

 as the man sent by a special providence to lead and to guide us, and 

 thus a long step forward — or backward — to monarchical institutions 

 will have been taken. 



Is this picture overdrawn? Will it be said that this is the predic- 

 tion of a w^arped, a fretful and pessimistic mind? ISTot by the sober 

 and the thoughtful. Signs pointing that way are too numerous, senti- 

 ments of such a nature abound in the daily press; even the religious 

 sentiment here and there is prone to lend encouragement to the idea 

 of special providence in this matter of a new mission for the United 

 States — that of spreading the light of civilization among semibarbar- 

 ous people, east and west, by the help of fire and the sword. Who 

 this " man on horseback " is to be is now and then clearly indicated. 

 That he may be a man of high attainments, of personal integrity and 

 nobility of mind, does not help the case; he is a relic of a chivalric, 

 it may be, but still a barbaric past. Only such a man can fearlessly 

 advocate, in season and out of season, the necessity of a navy equal 

 or superior to that of Great Britain, knowing as he must that the 

 resultant national self-consciousness of brute strength is ever prone 

 to lead a government to aggressive acts both at home and abroad. 

 And what is to pay us for this sacrifice of personal liberty? Is it the 

 increased trade with foreign nations? Is it the increased industrial 

 activity, made necessary by caring for distant colonies? Too late 

 will it be learned that the only way to national prosperity lies in 

 attending, as far as possible, to our own affairs; in guarding faith- 

 fully the rights of every citizen; and in encouraging, first and last, 

 friendly relations with foreign powers. The nation, doing all this, 

 will soon find itself strong enough in the internal unity, resulting 

 from the contentment among all of its citizens and through the 

 moral effect this must have on others, to defy any encroachments 

 and to ward off any 'insults or impositions from the outside, though 

 it may not have a gigantic army or navy sapping its very life blood. 



It is held by some who are aware of the possible dangers here 

 alluded to, that there is really no serious cause for alarm — the great 

 merit of a democracy like ours, according to such, being the assured 

 fact that " out of its multitudes, who have all had a chance for 

 development, there will always arise, when occasion demands it, 

 stronger and wiser men than any class-governed societies have ever 

 bred." This, however, is begging the very question at issue. For 

 now has the critical time arrived, when it is to be ascertained how 

 far the insidious growth of class government has affected our nation. 

 Strong men we have, and wise men, too; the first are already com- 

 ing to the front, but — and this is one of the ominous symptoms — 

 there is a disposition whenever the latter are heard to cry them down 



