The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923, October 21, 1904, Page 6, Image 6
. tV i' 6 The Commoner. VOLUME 4, NUMBER 40 which they derive from the special privilege) of using tho public crcdii for their privato benefit. Clothe i with tho Boverelgn powor of ci eating what is practically a legal currency, they can contract it or expand it wiicueior they please; and, if they dccido to give the country a taste of their des potic powor, as in 1893, there is no pow'or which can protect thy victim. No class of citizens should be clothed uy law Willi Bucn icrnuie uuvuuiu&en over uioir lenows. Jefferson and Jackson wa&cd war against national banks, contending they wore hostile to the splri of our government. Tho republican pariy has always favored national banks; but tho latter day democrats havo sometimes opposed them. Thus, In tho national platform of tho party in 1806 and 1900 national banks were denounced in language stiong onough to have satisfied Thomas Jef ferson. At this time, however, the councils of tho dembcratlc party are presided over by Arthur Gorman, who has always supported the system, and by August Belmont, who is a nation al banker. To prove that both "the great political parties" are now "ir revocably fixed" In their support of the national banks we have only to remembor that they united hands and hearts to recharter them two ears ago. Railroad Monopoly Another example of class-legislation, is found in a study of our transporta tion system. We have given to the various corporations which control our telegraph, telephone, express and "railroad business such enormous powers that the government itself is a dwarf among these giants. Their revenues are greater than those of the government. Their power to tax falls not only upon tho public, but upon the government itself. In the late conflict with Spain, the maunei in which they preyed upon the govern ment was something frightful in its rapacity. And, the,, constant practice they have of charging the government for the annual uso of a postal car a greater sum than the cost of the car, is but one evidence of tho undisputed fact that the government darea not deny them anything. They almost openly uso the "frank" of members of. Congress to add to the weight of ' mail matter during that annual per iod -when the mail is weighed to ad just the "average." Hundreds of tonp of junk is thus handled durine those few days; and upon this fraudulent. man matter the average for the en tire year is based. The tax-payers have to pay. The congressmen who lend themselves to this swindle got free passes, and other good things. In 'express charges, freight rates, telephone and telegraph tanfts the public Is plundered every day in che year; and the manner in whlcn they submit to it is one of the" marvels 6f the age. No other people among civilized nations are so cursed w.ith corporation tyranny as ourselves; and we never seem to think that any remedy is possible. Half a dozen cor poration kings can meet in tne office of J. P. Morgan, and tax the life out of any town or city in the United States. By a spurt of the pen they can add hundreds of millions of dollars to tho burden of the people They enable tho trust to slay its rivals by granting rebates, or special rates, "Which make competition Impossible. They debauch,v public morals by their methods of gaining what thy want from governors, legislatures, judges, editors, politicians and members of congress. Deadly Principle of Interest Napoleon once rosetjfrom a study of interest tables with tho lomaik When I consider the deadly pnn ciple which lies hidden in these tables, I marvel that it has not devoured the human race." That deadly principle is precisely what has devoured bo great a part of tho human race. That deadly principle does devour a portion of the human raco every year. Tho big fortune, by tho lav of its nature, tends to grow bigger. Each colossal accumulation represents what one victor gained and ten ihouband victims lost. For. in a fortune of a hundred millions there can be no such thing as fair reward for productive labor. Such a fortune, or anything like it, represents as a rule the spoil of tho successful marauder in tho fields where others had toiled, Such a man Is a free-booter; and his hoard often costs tho losers more lives, more tears, more broken hearts and ruined homes,' than are found in the tiack of actual war. When those Standard Oil kLaves robbed tho people of thirty-six million dollars in ono day, thoy felt entitled to the adiuiiation of tho business world. On the same day, perhaps, hungry women stole bread for hungry children, and went .to prison for it. J. P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, Charles Schwab, and other conspicuous captains of industry In creased their unwelldly fortunes by pocketing five hundred million dollars which other less conspicuous persons confided to the Steel Trust. No one was punished; and at one of those libraries which Carnegie has been es tablishing all over the land, admis sion was denied to one of tho best books of one of the best Russian authors, because it gave a rivid de scription of the condition of the peasantry in Russia. Htmsot a mon strous product of governmental fav oritism and "Protection," no book which exposes and denounces class legislation can be satisfactory to this man who has in his coffers so- many millions which should have been left in the pockets of those whose honest industry produced them. With a Standard Oil accumulation, a Carnegie accumulation, and other similar accumulations represented by such men as J. P. Morgan, August Bel mont and Arthur Gorman, what is to prevent "the deadly nrinciDle of com pound interest" from operating with appalling results in this country? By the law of their nature, those monster fortunes will grow larger an J larger. As the owners of this huge wealth have taken more than their share from the common stock of the nation's wealth, so there must be increasing millions of men who get less than their share. The absolute mathematical certainty that the advance which certain iavoied interests are making must lead to the permanent poverty and subjection of the great body of the unprivileged is made doubly certain when we remem ber that the enormous burdens of tax ationstate, municipal and national- rest mainly upon the shoulders of tho unprivileged. Tho middle and the low er classes have to pay-, not only their own taxes but those which th? privi leged escape. The final result ol this ruinous Injustice is too apparent to be questioned. Cannot Go on Forever What will bo tho end? No stu dent believes it can go as it is for ever. All see danger signals ahead. That a rising tide of angry discon tent is pouring ovei tlie country cap not be disputed. Tho evidences, of it are visible everywhere. If H. H. Rogers, J. P. Morgan, August Belmont, and men of that typo think the-o in nn act of spoliation to which the people will not submit, they are making for themselves- a fool's paradise. If the Standard Oil crowd and the sugar trust crowd think that tho American people are going to stand idly acquie scent while they gobble up all the wealth of tho republic, they are play ing with fire. It will not bo permitted. Already more than half of tho annr.ni increase of wealth is absorbed by less than a dozen trusts. Already wo have men so rich that they could buy up the entire property contained in one of our states. If "the deadly principle of compound interest" continues to work for the Standard Oil, that group of plunderors will soon own the whole of the United States. Thojr an J their confederate kings will have such aj grip upon our entire system, commer cial, financial and political, that the government will amount to little more than a piece of nocessary mechanism to the Standard's system. The federal administration will take orders from some future Rogers, just as boards of directors of dozens cf huge corporations now do. The very life of the republic demands tno cur bing of these gigantic combinations, and every aggressive step thej take, from henceforth, will hasten the day when imperative public opinion will compel the constituted authorities to protect the public from ruthless spoliation of this kind. Need for a Third Party A third party has no right' to exist unless there are abuses in government which "the two great parties" refuse to reform. Unless both of the two old parties are wrong, ther is no room or excuse for a third. But, If both the old parties are. equahy guilty of class-legislation, and are equally subservient to the beneficiaries" of special privilege, then it is not only the right of the patriot to form a party of protest, but" a duty. Civil liberty is at once a heritage and a trust. We are recreant to the higher requirements of citizenship if we fail to realize our responsibility. The ballot is one of the weapons with which wo must hold our ground. The contention of the people's pauy being that both the old parties are wrong, we wage war on both. Ouro is -the two-edeged sword. In our campaign it may happen that wo dc greater damage to the republicans than to the democrats as in 1892, when Mr. Bryan and other western democrats were induced by the Cleveland mana gers to vote for Weaver. In another campaign, it might chance that the greater damage is done the democrats. In the one case as in the othoi. we would not concern ourselves aootit the matter. Such a result Is the accident of war, not the purpose of toe cam paign. It is our business to preach sound populism, which is sound Jef fersonian democracy, and to hit the republicans on the one hand and the democrats on .the other. We must "hew to the line;" letting the chips fall where they may. The statement has been made that in a speech, in Atlanta, I,espicssed a preference for -Mr.- Roosevelt over Mr. Parker. Neither in tha; speech nor in any other, have I none- so. Being a candidate for the presidency myself, I would have made mvself a side-show to whichever of the other two candidates I expressed a piefer ence for whereas ; am in full, mii' tant, aggressive control of an Inde pendent show of my own. Parker a Swinging Target Much abuse has been heaped upon me because more time was devoted by me to denunciation of Parker thnn of Roosevelt. The reason is obvious enough. Roosevelt is a straight-out; republican, who declares bolujy for republican principles, defiantly defend ing existing conditions. To attack him is a short, easy job. He is so conspicuous and stationary a target that no one who wished to take a shot at him could possibly miss tho mark. He Is not In the ambush; he is behind no "blind;" he stands out inhe open, and he says to his enemies, "Here I am a republican who stands. rut on all existing conditions! if vnn wnnt n 1 fight, come on!" Now. I can under- that: ftffltfr) a rnmiVillirTn in, while I would love'to maC.n!,1!?' axe ring on his helmet until one of us went down in political defeat and death, yet I could respect him all tho whilo, as a foeman worthy of any man's steel. Mr.- Roosevelt will get republican votes and no others. He is not seeking the support oi Bryan democrats' upon false pretends. Ho is not playing a confidence game on tho negro question. He is not at tempting to win Jeffersonians by a sham adherence" to Jeffersonian prin ciples. In short, there is no danger that Jeffersonian democrats will vote for Roosevelt upon the assumption that he is a Jeffersonian democrat. There is no danger that Roosevelt will get a single vote to which I, as a Jeffersonian in principle, am 'en titled. With Mr. Parker it is different. Ho is not a Jeffersonian democrat, yet he seeks to secure the support of Jpf fersonians. If he would speak out plainly and tell the people that he is in principle, the sdme thing, practi cally, that Roosevelt is, the Bryan democrats would fall away from him by the million. I would then be en abled to organize such a party re volt against the republican rule as would sweep the country. H13 attltuuo is thoroughly disingenuous, profound ly lacking in true manhood and lead ership. He was "willing to staud upon the New York state platform which Mr. Bryan denounced as a dishonest platform. His position waa so in definite, so foxy, so entirely neutral, that Mr. Bryan declared, to cheering thousands, that Parker was "absolute ly unfit for the democratic nomina tion," and that "nobody but an art ful dodger"-could stand upon that New York platform which so much re sembled its father, David B. Hill. I believe it was also in the same speeches that Mr. Bryan declared that a man should be willing to ale for his convictions which -is also a very sound proposition. A Foot Race and a Rout Mr. Bryan, who is always careful in the statement of matured opinion, has assured the country that "the in fluences back of the Parker candidacy are so intimately associated with trusts and great corporations that the democratic party could not appeal to the masses." "With such a candidate," said Mr. Bryan, "they would begin with a foot-race and end with a rout." Likewise he stated a self-eviaout tact when he declared that "the plutocratic element for the time being Is In con trol of the democratic party. ' It was equally clear to Mi. Bryan, as it was to so many others, that "the nomination of Parker was se cured by crooked and indefensible methods," and that the nomination of such a man who had, as Mr. Bryan declared, -won the honor with "loaded dice," "virtually nullified the anti trust plankln the democratic plat form." These Were fearfully important facts, and tlrey produced the impression on the minds of millions that thers was something stealthy, deceitful, coward ly and utterly dishonest in the Par ker campaign for the nomination. Mr. Bryan stated facts, profoundly im portant facts, and they, continued to be facts up to the time tha Parker actually got the nomination which ho had sought on a "cowardly and strad dling platform," the honor for which ho played with "loaded dice." Whether or not the healing virtues, the nomination cured all the hypoc risy and fraud by which it had been obtained, is a question each citizen should put to- his own intelllgcuce be fore he votes. Those things which Mr. Bryan said were facts, before the nomination, were not obliterated from the cata logue of facts by the nomination;" they M 4 i LL