who have should be that of one-sided
dependence. The Ignorant must depend upon the Wise, the Weak upon the
Strong, the Poor upon the Rich. As for the black, yellow, and various
parti-colored races, they must depend upon the White Man, who gayly
walks off with their burdens without so much as saying 'By your leave.'

"Now it is against this whole theory, however beautifully or piously
expressed, that the protest has come. The Spirit of Democracy is a bold
iconoclast, and goes about smashing our idols. He laughs at the
pretensions of the Strong and the Wise and the Rich to have created the
things they possess. They are not the masters of the feast. They are
only those of us who have got at the head of the line, sometimes by
unmannerly pushing, and have secured a place at the first table. We are
not here by their leave, and we may go directly to the source of
supplies. They are not benefactors, but beneficiaries. The Spirit of
Democracy insists that they shall know their place. He rebukes even the
Captains of Industry, and when they answer insolently, he suggests that
they be reduced to the ranks. Even toward bishops and other clergy his
manner lacks that perfect reverence that belonged to an earlier time;
yet he listens to them respectfully when they talk sense.

"It is this spirit that plays the mischief with many of the merry old
ways of doing good. To scatter turkeys or colleges among a multitude of
gratefully dependent folks is the very poetry of philanthropy. But to
satisfy the curiosity of an independent citizen as to your title to
these things is a different matter. The more independent people are, the
harder it is to do good to them. They are apt to have their own ideas of
what they want."

"It's a pity, then, to have them so independent," said Scrooge; "it
spoils people to get above their proper station in life."

"Ah! there you are," I answered; "I feared it would come to that. With
all your exuberant good-will you haven't altogether got beyond the
theory that has come down from the time when the first cave-dweller
bestowed on his neighbor the bone he himself didn't need, and
established the pleasant relation of benefactor and beneficiary. It gave
him such a warm feeling in his heart that he naturally wanted to make
the relation permanent. First Cave-dweller felt a little disappointed
next day when Second Cave-dweller, instead of coming to him for another
bone, preferred to take his pointed stick and go hunt