Short stories; United States -- Social life and customs -- 20th century -- Fiction
We are the creatures of a perverse social selection. We meet force with
force. Only the strong shall endure. We believe in the survival of the
fittest. You have crushed your wage slaves into the dirt and you have
survived. The captains of war, at your command, have shot down like
dogs your employees in a score of bloody strikes. By such means you have
endured. We do not grumble at the result, for we acknowledge and have
our being in the same natural law. And now the question has arisen:
UNDER THE PRESENT SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT, WHICH OF US SHALL SURVIVE? We
believe we are the fittest. You believe you are the fittest. We leave
the eventuality to time and law.
Cordially yours,
THE MINIONS OF MIDAS.
John, do you wonder now that I shunned pleasure and avoided friends?
But why explain? Surely this narrative will make everything clear. Three
weeks ago Adelaide Laidlaw died. Since then I have waited in hope and
fear. Yesterday the will was probated and made public. To-day I was
notified that a woman of the middle class would be killed in Golden Gate
Park, in faraway San Francisco. The despatches in to-night’s papers give
the details of the brutal happening—details which correspond with those
furnished me in advance.
It is useless. I cannot struggle against the inevitable. I have been
faithful to Mr. Hale and have worked hard. Why my faithfulness should
have been thus rewarded I cannot understand. Yet I cannot be false to my
trust, nor break my word by compromising. Still, I have resolved that
no more deaths shall be upon my head. I have willed the many millions I
lately received to their rightful owners. Let the stalwart sons of Eben
Hale work out their own salvation. Ere you read this I shall have passed
on. The Minions of Midas are all-powerful. The police are impotent.
I have learned from them that other millionnaires have been likewise
mulcted or persecuted—how many is not known, for when one yields to the
M. of M., his mouth is thenceforth sealed. Those who have not yielded
are even now reaping their scarlet harvest. The grim game is being
played out. The Federal Government can do nothing. I also understand
that similar branch organizations have made their appearance in Europe.
Society is shaken to its foundations. Principalities and powers are as
brands ripe for the burning. Instead of the masses against the classes,
it is a class against the classes. We, the guardians of human progress,
are being singled out and struck down. Law and order have failed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account