John Hancock OtisAs to democracy, fellow citizens,Are you not prepared to admitThat I, who inherited riches and was to the manor born,Was second to none in Spoon RiverIn my devotion to the cause of Liberty?While my contemporary, Anthony Findlay,Born in a shanty and beginning lifeAs a water carrier to the section hands,Then becoming a section hand when he was grown,Afterwards foreman of the gang, until he roseTo the superintendency of the railroad,Living in Chicago,Was a veritable slave driver,Grinding the faces of labor,And a bitter enemy of democracy.And I say to you, Spoon River,And to you, O republic,Beware of the man who rises to powerFrom one suspender.
As to democracy, fellow citizens,Are you not prepared to admitThat I, who inherited riches and was to the manor born,Was second to none in Spoon RiverIn my devotion to the cause of Liberty?While my contemporary, Anthony Findlay,Born in a shanty and beginning lifeAs a water carrier to the section hands,Then becoming a section hand when he was grown,Afterwards foreman of the gang, until he roseTo the superintendency of the railroad,Living in Chicago,Was a veritable slave driver,Grinding the faces of labor,And a bitter enemy of democracy.And I say to you, Spoon River,And to you, O republic,Beware of the man who rises to powerFrom one suspender.