The Holland Society of New York - Yearbook (New York, NY)

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I 6 3 Malvolio, who in no ,way suspected the cruel joke which was being played upon him, replied: I think nobly of the soul, but in nowise approve of his opinion. And so there are many Americans who think nobly of Mr. Bryan, but in no respect share his political views. With this disclaimer of personal disrespect, let me say that I noticed that last Week he said the coming struggle was to be be- tween man and Mammon, between the plain people and organized wealth, and he especially condemned the spirit of commercialism, by which we under- stand the spirit of colonization. He could have pre- ferred the same indictment against the Hollanders, for with them commerce was the passion of their lives, and, as an incident to commercial enter- prise, they were, in -their time, the greatest col- onizers of the world. They wrested from' Spain many of her wealthiest possessions in two hemi- spheres, and even to-day this little kingdom, hardly 13,000 square miles in area, governs colo- nies which are 766,ooo square miles, or nearly sixty times greater, while this little country, whose population is less than that of either New York, Pennsylvania, or Illinois, governs wisely and justly in two hemispheres colonies whose population is 32,ooo,ooo of souls. Cflpplausej Holland paved the way, for both England and America, for com- merce and colonization. We are but following in her footsteps, and if we are wrong to-day, Holland has been ,wrong throughout her history, for her Eighty Years' War, which commenced as a purely religious struggle, soon became a death struggle between Spain and Holland for the commercial supremacy of the world. Was this spirit of com- me,-Ciahsm, in her Case, inconsistent with the

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I the Duwh People was f01111ded upon two princi- ples, which are essential to the progress and 1-lap- pineSS of any people. Une was the inalienable right of every man to work for whom he pleased, and at what wage he pleased, and enjoy freely the fruit of his toil, Cgreat applauseb and the other was the sanctity of property. To me,-'these prin- ciples are in some need of vindication in this country and at this hour. Man Was brought into this world to work. It is not only his burden, it is his right, and any form of social tyranny which contravenes this right is infinitely mischievous. In vain are written con- stitutions, with their written guarantees of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, if the right of the humblest citizen to earn his bread in the sweat of his brow is thus denied. fApplcmse.j ln- deed, this form of slavery is little better than murder, for in a large sense Shylock spoke the truth when he said: You take my life when you do take from me the means whereby I live. QA p-- plausej The right of Labor to combine for its elevation and improvement is fairly conceded, but when a labor organization, with a membership of less than one tenth of the manual workmen of America, seeks to create a labor oligarchy and to compel every laboring man to join this organiza- tion, under the penalty of a denial of the right to labor, the time has come to call a halt. CGTECU applausej The Dutch people had their labor guilds, and they fittingly emphasized the fZ1i8111l3Y of labor. They served to upraise the diferent crafts, or, as they were called, mYS'CG1'16S,'i to which each guild was devoted, but if any labor guild in Holland should have attempted 130 Pfe'