Many of the laborers of Bidwell were sons and grandsons of
pioneers who had opened up the country where the great sprawling towns were
now growing into cities. They or their fathers had fought in the great
Civil War. During boyhood they had breathed a reverence for government
out of the very air of the towns. The great men of whom the school-books
talked had all been connected with the Government. In Ohio there had been
Garfield, Sherman, McPherson the fighter and others. From Illinois had come
Lincoln and Grant. For a time the very ground of the mid-American country
had seemed to spurt forth great men as now it was spurting forth gas and
oil. Government had justified itself in the men it had produced.
And now there had come among them men who had no reverence for government.
What a speaker for the first time dared say openly on the streets of
Bidwell, had already been talked in the shops. The new men, the foreigners
coming from many lands, had brought with them strange doctrines. They
began to make acquaintances among the American workmen. "Well," they said,
"you've had great men here; no doubt you have; but you're getting a new
kind of great men now. These new men are not born out of people. They're
being born out of capital. What is a great man? He's one who has the
power. Isn't that a fact? Well, you fellows here have got to find out that
nowadays power comes with the possession of money.
Pages:
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367