The Panama Canal can get all it wants; let the Philippines cost what they may; give more to the Navy; give more to the Army; give more to Rivers and Harbors; give more to Pensions; give the Railroads four times as much as it is worth to carry the mails, and then give them a special subsidy to keep the contract; give $45,000 for carrying mail to the Island Tahiti when the “cussed foreigner” offered to do it for $3,500; give with so lavish a hand that even the South will get a pull at the sugar-teat, and shall join in the Hallelujah Chorus of “O, _ain’t_ it good!” A child ought to be able to see the profound policy which underlies the extravagance of the Federal Government. The Tariff must _not_ be lowered; the Public Debt must _not_ be paid off; the reign of the Trusts must _not_ be threatened: “STAND PAT!” That’s the watchword of heartless Plutocracy which has erected its powers upon the three bed-rock measures of Alexander Hamilton. “STAND PAT!”—blares the bugle-note of Class-law leaders, for they know that _a system_ depends upon all of its component parts. If there should be a leak in the dike, _anywhere_, the angry ocean might come pouring in. Where are the Democrats, and the Democratic Party? What soldiers are pitching their tents upon the historic fields of Democracy? What lines of battle are forming under the time-honored banners of Jefferson and Jackson? Alas! The mighty strain and struggle of the Democratic Party during these degenerate days, has been to imitate every bad habit of the Republicans. Democrats vote with the Republicans to continue the National banks, to continue the Public Debt, to continue the Protective system, to embark upon an imperial colonial system, to perpetuate the rule of the Trust, to multiply objects and amounts of National extravagance. Where do I see signs of life and hope? In the rapid awakening of the people to the fact that _in the name of Party_ they are being stripped of everything that makes for the independence and prosperity and happiness of the average citizen. _Talmage in Russia: Fourteen Years Ago_ After the downfall of Beecher, Doctor Talmage became the most conspicuous preacher in the United States. His sermons and his writings had an immense audience. “Talmage’s Sermon” was a standing headline, in American Monday morning newspapers, and they were widely known in Europe also. No visitor to New York thought of returning home until he had attended services at the Brooklyn Tabernacle and qualified himself to boast of the fact that he had “heard Talmage.” The fact that Doctor Talmage had been engaged to furnish articles to any periodical, was sufficient to boost its circulation into the tens of thousands. No Lyceum, no Chautauqua, no Lecture Course was complete without Talmage. Formal banquets, in quest of oratorical attractions, never failed to urge the attendance of Doctor Talmage.