Heroism and the spirit of martyrdom and of self-sacrifice are historical factors as real, as tangible and as much a part of human nature as greed or hunger. The young Volunteers who forsake home, business and personal ambition to help save our Nation from the money power, starting in the name of humanity astride bicycles, horseback, afoot and in Bryan wagons, preaching the new gospel of glad tidings without money and without price, eating whole wheat, dry bread and apples, with a square meal only now and then to remind them of the good times coming, are not impelled by any strange or new force in society. They are not the disciples of a new cult or ism, the latest off-shot from the great tree of life. They are not a new product of civilization but on the other hand they are the real conservative and belong to the true nobility of the human race, that brotherhood of heroes, patriots and martyrs of all ages and nations, as old as the human family itself.
On the other hand, the essentially NEW PRODUCT of our civilization is the man who does not believe in heroism, who has stifled the nobler instincts with which nature originally endowed him, and fills his whole mind's horizon with the one image of gold. Those in whose minds avarice has devoured all other instincts and desires to the point of moral insanity, are the only strange or new off-shoots. They alone are the special and characteristic product of our particular period, distinguished above all else by its complete surrender to the one passion—greed. The real cranks and monstrosities are not those who are in line with historic humanity, but rather those who have crucified their humanity on "a cross of gold" in accord with a temporary social perversion.
HEROISM AND SOMETHING MORE.
Some say it is the weakness of our movement that we depend too much on heroism and patriotism and other of the weaker instincts and uncertain qualities of human nature and therefore the movement must fail. Successful movements appeal to the more substantial motives and instincts, such as cupidity, sectional pride, etc.
While it is true that we appeal first of all to the patriotism of our citizens, to the heroic in man and to those deep religious and moral sentiments of which heroism and patriotism are the highest product, and while it is true that we regard these sentiments when fully drawn out and properly applied, and during great occasions of National peril, as being stronger than cupidity, sectional pride, or even regard for life, and that the exercise of these qualities by vast bodies of men have repeatedly, during each century throughout the history of our race, saved the dominance of the Caucasian race and all those principles and institutions that give value to the modern world, and, while we intend during the four years to come, preparatory to the greatest crisis of history, to continue to appeal first and foremost and all the time to patriotism and heroism, love of justice and fellow feeling, still, we intend to utilize every force and every means that will aid in bringing about the better world for which we hope.
We recognize that while in a moment of enthusiastic ardor, a man will give his life for a principle, and that during hours of deep religious fervor, brought about by the preaching of gifted orators, people renounce their old ways of living and often divide up their property with the church and the poor, that such occasions are comparatively rare, while every man born of woman desires food about three times a day, that he desires clothing and suffers for the want of it during every one of his sleeping and waking hours, that during a large portion of his life intense feelings and regard are turned toward some woman, and that nearly all men are at nearly all times vain, not in any bad sense, but that they desire the respect and the confidence of their fellow men, and when opportunity offers, strive to be conspicuous and influential, and desire to be feared and loved and admired for unusual qualities, possessions or acts.
Therefore, to make our movement completely and wholly successful, we appeal first to patriotism and heroism, the noblest and highest qualities produced by centuries of religious and moral training, but secondarily we appeal to men's ambition, their love of gain, their desire to eat, to be clothed, to marry, to become influential, their vanity, their imagination, their love of activity and all the qualities that they possess.
It does not lessen a soldier's courage for him to know that if victorious in battle he is to be promoted, or that if a city is taken or a country conquered, he is to have a plantation where he can rest in peace when his gray hairs come with his children healthy and happy about him. There is no need to dissect with the surgeon's knife of close analysis the motives and minds of men in order to separate every little vanity from the noble and unselfish impulses with which it is interwoven, nor to cut away and lay apart from the strong patriotic desire to serve one's country, every little individual and personal hope that in the event one's country is served and saved, those who bear the brunt of the battle will be especially favored and secure first recognition in the universal enjoyment consequent upon such victory. By taking human nature as we find it with its admixture of the heroic and prosaic, its mingling of selfish and altruistic aims, we seek to make every impulse serve the cause of humanity by contributing to the one end—triumphant Democracy.
THE ROLL OF HONOR.
The most important feature of the Democratic Volunteers' organization, is the honor roll, on which is recorded the work done by each Volunteer. To all faithful workers are issued semi-annually certificates of honor, and to those who perform services of unusual merit special medals and other awards of recognition.