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The Commoner.
VOLUME 5, NUMBER u
'W'WpKjS
14
--
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I v How the System Grew V f
. .. . n.i..ii.ii 1 4-l nUnnlnta Intrnl nWTIOr
nocKeieiiur is um uuaumic b" ..-.
of the largo section of it of which ho is
today possessed. When that day is
hero the people will legally be the
- r n,, -af lnforrinrr nf Thom
as W. Lawson's several chapters In
the story entitled "Frenzied Finance,"
appears In the February number of
Everybody's Magazine.
In the beginning, Mr. Lawson points
out that even in the Twentieth century,
where enlightenment is supposed to
prevail throughout this proud land, a
majority of. people still regard the
world of finance as the world of magic
and "so tho ordinary mortal feels that
ho hn& no license to enter the
world of finance, save only on his
Itnecs, hat in hand, bearing tribute to
tho divinities enthroned within its en
chanted territory.' Mr. Lawson ex
plains that it is his purpose "to do
away with this extraordinary decep
tion and to show it up as one of the
artifices with which tricksters since the
beginning of tho world have imposed
upon tho people."
"It is a phenomenon ot the age,"
says Mr. Lawson, "that millions of
people throughout this country of oura
go of their own free will to the shear
ing pens of the 'system each year,
voluntarily chloroform themselves so
that the system may go through their
pockets, and then depart peacefully
liomo to dig and delve for more money,
that they may have tho debasing opera
tion repeated on thom twelve months
later." Mr. Lawson refers to the evil
of tho Louisiana lottery and reminds
his readers of a strong public senti
ment calling for an abatement of that
drain on the savings of the nation.
As a result, tho lottery was destroyed,
but ho says that "in the height of its
prosperity, the Louisiana lottery only
look from tho people the paltry ten
or twelve millions of dollars per year,
while today there aro single groups of
banks, trust companies, corporations,
and trusts which lake from the people
by might, by trick, and by theft, hun
dreds of millions each year.
Mr. Lawson adds: "Today tho 'Sys
tem' and its methods aro as clearly
and as sharply defined in the tangi
bility of their relation to the people as
was over tho Louisiana lottery. On
certain days the Louisiana lottery sold
its tickets, which the people bought
with their savings. On a certain day
tho drawing took place, at which all
those who had parted with their dollars
expected to receive them back together
with immense profits, and upon that
day disappointment was spread broad
cast among the many and unhealthy
joy among tho few. So with the "Sys
tem." On certain days the public is
. sold their stock, bond, and insurance
. policy tickets. Upon other days they
t look for their savings and profits. On
tho contrary, they learn that these have
decreased in value or have been wiped
; uui, my unucs win say mat such a
. comparison cannot hold, for in the lot
tery nothing was dealt in but gambling
; tickets, whereas the stock or bond tick-
et represents an ownership in the ma-
terial things of the country. Thi3 is
', the fallacy the 'System' spends mil-
, lions every year to foster and dissem
inate. Between tho two the difference
18 in favor of the Louisiana lottery, for
both aro gambles and the lottery gaino
! was square." b
; Mr. Lawson continues: "It is onlv
a matter of simple mathematics to as
certain the day, and that only a few
years away when ten men will bo as
absolutely and completely tho legal
owners of the entire United States and
all there is of value in it as John D
HEART TROUBLES
Don't sleep with your troubles Tf m x
palpitation, short breath, pa in chest qMS
shoulders, choking sensations f.infi.,''si(lenni
dlflloulty in Bleenlmr on Mt c',f 'lintil sPells.
procured a lmt-.t.in nf n
iun -; tV"v" !" nave
you can rest assured vou nvV nn ro, and
3laves of these ten men." Mr. Lawson
asks: "Why are the people today not
only resting peacefully under this
worse than death-bringing yoke, but
assisting in the further riveting of this
oauge ot ciisnonor anu uejjiauuuum
Mr. Lawson answers his own question
in this way: "The reason is simple:
They have been lulled to sleep by the
'system' and its cunning votaries until
they have but a dull appreciation not
only of existing conditions but of their
coming consequences. It is almost in
credible that a people as intelligent as
tho American people, and as alert to
the usual dangers threatening that
which they have tought with so much
of their blood and their peace of body
and mind, can be so deceived and jug
gled with. When one looks about,
however, and notes happenings of
which one personally knows, and the
degradation and dishonor to which
public opinion is seemingly indifferent,
nothing is incredible.
"One sees a certain man openly dis
playing five hundred millions of dol
lars, a sum which represents the life
earnings of 150,000 of our population,
and knows that this man has secured
this incredible amount during forty
years of his life. One sees the second
highest and most honorable office in
the nation, a United States senatnrshln
openly bought for a few stolen dollars
dj a man wno up to the very day of its
purchase was a watch repairer in a
small country town, and who had
never done a sinsle merirnrlmi doori
or been possessed of worldly goods to
uie extent or ?5,UU0. One sees a wily
adventuress secure from the bank3,
which exist only io safeguard the peo
ple's deposited savings, hundreds of
thousands of dollars on her bare story
that she was the possessor of some
mysterious documents. One sees a 83-a-week
office boy of one of the 'Sys
tem's' votaries able to boirow for the
cybiem, on nis bare note, four mil
lions of dollars from a New York insti
tution which only exists to safeguard
the people's savings although the law
ys unit sucn institutions shall not
loan to any man on any kind of col
lateral, even government bonds, one
tenth that sum. One 3ees two men
drunk with their success, gouging and
tearing at each others hearts in Wall
street, and sees their gouging and tear
ing bring about a panic which takes
from the people in an hour over a bil
lion dollars and drives scores to sui
cide, murder, and defalcation the two
men uuuuuuing meanwhile as orna
mental pillars of society instead of
wearing prison stripes. One sees a
great railroad corporation, in wWch
are millions of the trust funds of wid
ows orphans and charitable instltu-
'., "But snort' (havinc aniri
something it did not own) in tho stock
gambling game and held up to the tue
of ten million dollars by a reclS
stock gambler, who says: K
don't settle tonight, it will bo twenty
millions tomorrow,' and the toll is
paid while tho great banker who con
ducts tho release of the hold-up chaSL
the further tribute of twelve fi
dollars for his services. And then on
sees this twenty-two milions of -com
mission, tacked on to the capital aek
of the great railroad which is subsi
SJi Ss.class taKt WS
"When ono sees these rhlnra nmi
hundred other as ranklv 7rn? , ?
ono should nf I .,.!!ly .."audulont
torn' has so far been ablo to keep tho
public in ignorance of its doings. On
tho surface there s nothing to suggest
that a set of vampires have captured
the high places of finance and are suck
ing away the lifeblood of the nation.
Our banks and trust companies all pre
sent a fair exterior and apparently are
the same safe and honorable institutions
they were before the canker rastened
on them. Only its votaries know what
the system is, and their way is tho way
of silence and darkness. A tie, strong
er and more effective than the oath of
the Mafia, binds them to do its service,
and woe be to him who dares divulge
its methods. Ho who is bold enough
to enter upon a recital of these secrets
must be strong indeed ic withstand
the bribes to silence which would be
placed in his hands. The system can
well afford to pay any price rather
than be brought fpee to face with its
past, with an enraged people for ref
eree. And even If the being be found
who will venture an expose of the con
spiracy, he will find it strangely diffi
cult to get his story past the traps and
pitfall3 which will be placed between
it and the people for whose enlighten
ment it is intended."
Mr. Lawson describes in a very in
teresting way the growth of what he
calls "the fabric of civilization," or, in
other words, "the few rutes and inven
tions by and through which humanity
regulates its earthly affairs." As in
vention No. 1, he names law; as in
vention No. 2, money; as invention No.
3, life insurance; as invention No. 4,
fire insurance; as invention No. 5, the
bank; as invention No. 6, the corpora
tion, and finally, as invention No. 7
the stock exchange, which was created
as "a common market place, to which
came all those who had corporation
tokens Of TirnnnrTr ,.
i 4.1 V V' lu sen ana a.
prices these brought were inLI tti
the world and became th Tm
tho value of , w?.i,? e.asure of
represented." He says that ui lbe
this stago that the class which f. 2s al
as the 'system' began totfe
eyes "at the accumulated earnffi
a prosperous people, locked up and saf
guarded against depredation while tt
nwnws (the mtUU ... ., ' vuVe W
conviction that they had JS
themselves against the spoilsmen "X
says that the system reasoned that I
was necessary to devise some plan h
which control couid be secured of th
3even institutions or inventions men.
tioned, and "so that all the benefits
the people intend for themselves may
revert to the 'system' while the 'syS.
tem' may be exempt from the punish.
ment provided for those who attempt
unfairly and dishonestly to secure such
benefits." Then, according to Mr. Law
son, the magic "jimmy" was called for
and when it was produced by the skill.
ful lawyer, it was the "trust." Mr.
Lawson says:
"All this sounds very hyperbolical
and far-fetched, perhaps, but it is
actly what a 'tru3t' is. The 'trust' may
also be defined as a master key to the
people's financial structure, which en
ables its owner to enter any or all of
the separate institutions I have men
tioned, and combine any or all of them
without affecting their respective or
ganisms irito a new organization which
possesses the potencies and tho privi
leges of each, but is unhampered by
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1 0WWmMifWMntHrf
wroaa"(fl"ttwrc
one should not wnX"1!!1?
A "Inch fi ,COnUeCted vith dollar smg
Such tilings occur because the 'Sys-
A New Book
By William J. Bryan, Entitled
Under Other Flags
Travels, Speeches, Lectures,
S1 lr' B.?rlan,f European tour a year ngo ho has boon bostegod by requests for copies of let
lorsuoscriblng his travels abroad. Those letters togothor with a numborof his lecturos and
other public addresses, havo boon gathorod together and published In book form. Tho Euro
pean letters contain Mr. Bryant account of what ho saw and loarnod whllo In Europe, and
present Interesting views of Ireland, England, Scotland, Franco, Switzerland, Germany, Uussto,
Holland, Belgium, and tho Netherlands, togothor with a dosorlptlon of his visits with Count
Aostoy and Tope Loo. In this volurao Mr. Bryan writes ontortalntngly of tho "Birth of tho
Cuban Republic." no also Included his lectures on "A Conquoring Nation," and "Tho Voluo
of an Idoal."
'Othor articles In tho volnmo aro "Tho attraction of Farming," wrltton for tho Saturday
Evening Post; "Peaco," tho address delivered at tho Holland Society dinner In 1001; "Naboth's
vineyard, tho address at tho gravo of Phllo Sherman Bonnott; Democracy's Appeal to
culture, address before tho Alumni Association of Syracuso University; and an account of his
rccont trip to tho Grand Canyon entitled "Wonders of tho West." Tho book Is Illustrutod, well
printed on good paper and substantially -bound.
fn?"0rofthfoaturosof"un1or Othor Flags" is tho "Notes on Europe," wrltton after Ms re
turn from abroad, and giving In brief form a resume of tho manyJntorostlng things ho sair.
I
The sale ot Under Other Flags has been Very gratifying to the
author. Although the first edition appeared in December the tilth
edition is now on the press. The Volume of sales increases from
day to day. Agents find the book an easy seller and order them
m lots of from 25 to iOO. --
Neatly Bound in Cloth 400 ' Page Octavo
Under Other Flags, Postage Prepaid .... V'25
With The Commoner, One Year . . . . . 31'75
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