CHAPTER XII. 



LAND MONOPOLY. 



To THE careful observer it is easy to see that the ten- 

 dencies of the times is towards centralization. The natural 

 consequence of class legislation is to concentrate the wealth 

 of the country into the hands of a few, the inevitable result 

 of which is to establish a land aristocracy on the one hand, 

 and dependent tenants on the other. 



Aristotle said more than 2,000 years ago: 



u Democracies have almost an irresistible tendency to 

 merge into plutocracies, and that the existence of opulent 

 families in republics lead naturally in a few years to a 

 craving for monarchial institutions, with their ennobling 

 titles and their aristocratic distinctions. n 



The tendency of our republican institutions to merge 

 into all the outward forms of royalty, and the steady and 

 rapid strides our government is making toward the mon- 

 archial systems of the old world, are not only exciting the 

 fears and apprehensions of the friends of democracy in this 

 country, but are attracting the attention of disinterested 

 observers in the old world. 



u The government of any nation must correspond to 

 the social condition of its people. Political democracy 

 can flourish only when planted in the soil of social 

 democracy. 



u Any course which will root out social democ- 

 racy, and build up caste in society; that will dig a gulf 



