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Show HISTORY PAST. San Fiancisco Hullotln, (rep.) Reading the history of any land, one cannot help saving to himself, "What fools the common pcoplo were In those days!" The poor, distracted, gullible, common people! For century after century they were enslaved, whipped, robbed, outraged, despised and murdered. mur-dered. They were never without a master. When they lied from one tyrant, it was only to fall at the feet of another tyrant. The thotfght of being their own master never entered their heads. They prided themselves on their lovalty to this roval house or that Imperial family. They were forever for-ever lighting the quarrels of other people. If one bat' king fell out with another bad king over some petty question of piccedcnce, or over a woman, or over astiip of territory, or a matter of inhciitance, the common people rallied to tho standard of one or the other, and a great light was fought, In which thousands of the common people pcilshcd hciolcally like fools, leaving their families desolate deso-late and In beggaiy. The bards of that time and the historians of later ages pioclalmed the light a glorious vlctoiy for one king or the other. There was feasting In hall and castle among the victors and feasting in hall and castle among the conqucicd. Hut in victory or defeat, theic was nothing but wounds and hunger and scoin for the common people. At Fontenay, in the vear 1811, a ticmcndous battle was fought between be-tween the sons of Louis the Handsome, Hand-some, of France, none of whom was lit to uilc, none of whom had either love or lespect for the common people, peo-ple, all of whom weie thoroughly evil men. It Is said that :t00,000 men were engaged nearly all common people peo-ple and that 100,000 weie left dead on the Held. None of the sons of Louis weie damaged, and they went on toi seveial vears killing the common com-mon adherents of one another until they finally patched up a peace and apportioned tho common people and the lands among themselves. They might have made this apportionment at the beginning, without bloodshed, but each thought ho would attempt toslee the share of all. What mat-teied mat-teied the sl.u ing of a few hundreds of thousands of the common poeple to these proud kings, not one of whom could write his n.imeV What Is English history but a long iccoid of the sulleilngs of the common com-mon people for tjiants who deemed them baser than good hunting dogs? What did it matter to the common people of England whether Yoik or Lancastei oppressed them? And jet the How ei of English manhood fell in the bloody Wars of tho Hose. What good would it have done the common people of Scotland to put the exiled Stunt ton the English thione? Yet many a gallant clansman died Jojfull) at Culloden to the tune of "For Charlcj Is Our King" and a pretty man was this same Clmi ley to be a king and lord over common people' The poor, foolish, common people! They acted that stupendous epic' the French Revolution, and In the hope of doing away with tirany they abolished abol-ished bj statue not onlv kings, not only the State icllglon, but Cod himself. him-self. Alas out of the chaos following the overturning of all Institutions lose Napoleon. When Napoleon as First Consul, had made his power absolute, ab-solute, had lestored the chinch, had established ceremonials about him and was alreadj meditating the empire, em-pire, he said to Delmas, one of Ills geneials, "Well, what do jou think of it?" "I think," replied Delmas, "that to make It complete it needs only the million men who died to do away with all this!" The poor common peoplul They lied expelled the Hourbons to make way for Napoleon. Fortunately for the common people sometimes hud a fool's luck -tho new tyrant was a strong man and kept down all the minor tyrants. And In return for his kindness in setting himself upon the throne of France the common people died at Austerity, at Jena, at Waterloo, for his glory. They left their honest bones to whiten In Italy, Prussia, Russia and Egypt because he desired a wider empire. Tho, common pcoplo have learned something by experience. In France, England, Swit7crland, tho United States, and a few other countries, they have discovered their power and established for themselves a measure of personal freedom. Even In these countries, tho condition of tho common com-mon people Is jet far from ideal, but it Is something to have made and to be making progress. The common people, after ages of blindness and folly arc slowly coming Into their own. |