“Government,” said Starbuck, with a snort of disgust, to the speaker, who was something of a ward politician. “Government! We don’t want no government, Bill. What’s the use of a government, except to scrouge out taxes, and make wars, and support standing armies and lazy politicians?--To protect life, liberty, and property, they say; property may go to h--l for all I care; and I guess life and liberty can take care of themselves; they aren’t much helped by government, anyhow. And don’t you suppose we fellers can look after them? And our own schools, and our roads and things, too, each town and city for itself?” The man addressed as Bill paid little attention to these last remarks, but was talking politics with his neighbor. “Vote for F---- this year,” he was saying; and Starbuck caught the end of his sentence as he finished his own remarks. “Vote!” he interrupted, with infinite contempt. “Vote, vote again! I tell you, you’re only doing yourselves harm. It ain’t no sort of use. The ballot-box is just the last toy the bosses have got up, to keep you fellows quiet. Why, all this machinery keeps up the Government, and the laws, and the property, and the very things we’ve got to fight against. There’s that patriotic bosh, and the talk about national honor, and the German wars and all--all for the benefit of the State, and the bosses, and the existing condition of things. What call has a Frenchy to go and cut a Dutchman’s throat--or I an Irishman’s? He’s my mate, just as the next fellow is. I say, what we’ve got to do is, to fight; but not fight each other. We’ve got to fight the aristocrats, or the bosses, or the capitalists at home. I tell you these bond-holder fellows are all over the world; they’re just as much in Egypt or in Mexico or in Turkey as they are here or in England. We’ve got to make a clean sweep, that’s what we’ve got to do.” “By God, when a man talks, I like to hear him talk like a man,” said another, approvingly; and there was a murmur of applause. “But what’s the use of destroying things?” said a third, of a sparing turn of mind. “Destroying things! that’s the d----dest bugbear of all,” cried Starbuck. “Do you know, if everything in the world was destroyed to-morrow, we fellows could put it all back in two years? Aye, and less, if we worked with a will. I tell you, we’ve got to make a clean sweep, first of all; and when we build ’em up again, we’ll build for ourselves this time--and don’t you forget it,” he added, by way of climax.