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The Commoner.
16
j i t
yOLUME 5, NUMBER 18
throughout tho United States rests
upon it reason; and that reason Is
that peoplo are much tho same. Mon
do not differ much in height, in
strength, or in their needs. Tho tall
est man is not much taller than tho
shortest, and tho strongest man not
many times stronger than tho weak
est. In mental ability men differ
more, and yot tho averago man in
ono state is approximately tho equal
of tho averago man in other states.
Not so with tho corporation. Tho
states differ in tholr incorporation
laws, and wo find ono state permit
ting what other states deny. A cor
poration may bo a 'thousand or ten
thousand times as great as tho aver
ago individual, and it is not reason
able or just that the corporate giant
should bo permitted to enjoy all of
the privileges granted to the natural
man. Tho natural man has inalienable
rights rights which tho government
did not give, rights which the govern
ment can not take away tho corpora
tion has no rights which tho govern
ment did not give and no rights which
tho government can not take away
when tho welfare of society requires
it.
Second, a distinction ought to be
drawn between tho rights of the stock
holder and tho rights of the consumer.
There is a tondoncy to regard every
stockholder as an innocent purchaser,
although no stockholder in a trust
ought to bo regarded as an innocent
purchaser, for ho is under no compul
sion to buy stock and can always in
vestigate before he buys. If a man
buys stock in a trust he becomes a
party to all that tho trust does. He
can not shield himself behind the fact
that he is a minority stockholder and
can not control tho company. He
knows that when ho buys a minority
interest in tho company, and he ought
not to bo pormitted to avoid respon
sibility after accepting tho benefits.
Tho consumer Is driven by his God
given needs to purchase tho necessa
ries of life, and he is deserving of
more consideration than tho stockhold
er of a private monopoly.
If the license plan, above suggested '
were in operation today, it would be
possible to destroy every monopoly
which now preys upon the public, and
to prevent the formation of new ones
Take the Standard Oil company, for
instance; It could not do business out
side of tho state of its origin withou
bo defended. If, on tho other hand,
competition is bad and ought to bo
eliminated, tho right of tho private
monopoly to exist is not yot vindicated,
for tho question then presented Is
whether tho benefits of monopoly
should accrue to tho whole peoplo or
to a few. Socialists amrm that com
petition is bad, and that tho benefits
of monopoly should bo appropriated
by tho stato through the public own
ership of all the moans of production
and distribution. The trust magnate
who insists that competition is bad
and ought to be destroyed, defends
tho basic proposition upon which the
socialist rolies, and the socialist lead
ers have been quick to recognize tho
contribution which the trust magnatoo
have made to socialistic argument.
There aro three positions, therefore,
ono of which must be adopted by
thoso who discuss tho trust question.
First, that competition is desirable
and should bo protected. Those who
take this position are, in favor of tho
extermination of private monopolies
and desire the enactment of such
laws as may be necessary to preserve
competition by putting the competi
tors upon as nearly an equal footing
as possible. The second position is
the position of the trust-defender
namely, that competition is a bad
thing and that a few individuals should
be permitted to destroy competition
and appropriate tho benefits of mo
nopoly. This is the position that the
trust defenders must ultimately take,
although Instead of avowing it they
are likely to content themselves with
a general denunciation of trusts, while
they oppose any effective remedy. The
third position is tho position of tho
socialists, who regard competition as
a destructive force and who would
substitute public monopoly for private
monopoly, the benefits of the monopoly
to be distributed by the government
to all the members of society.
It will be seen that this question is
a far-reaching one, and that it can
not be considered without the discus
sion of fundamental principles. It is
a healthy sign that tho papers and
periodicals of the United States are
giving so much space to the argu
ments advanced in support of the va
rious positions.
V NEW ZKALANU 7
Is ono of tho moat progressive) countries In tho world. Free to form tholr own government
and to ahapo their legislation, unhampered by previous systems, the poople of thoao Inter
esting Islands havo adopted many reforms which aro now under discussion hero and oIbo
whoro.
"POLITICS IN NEW ZEALAND"
is the titlo of a pamphlet of 11G pages which tells all about the success of tho Torrcns sys
tem of land transfers, government telegraph and telephone lines, government railroads,
postal savings banks and other roforms. Price 25 onts postpaid. Address
C. F. TAYLOR. Baker Building. Philadelphia. Pa.
1
ftiWMlftWWrtWwlWlWW )JMifWilMrow
X
DO YOU WANT O v?
A GOOD STOCK PAPER C
W Offer This Week the Following Combination
THE COMMONER $1.00 "
LIVE STOCK JOURNAL $1.00
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v n! BOTH FOR $1.25 A YEAR. v
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VVW'VWVM'
JUST WHAT YOU WANT
THE PLATFORM TEXT BOOK
Bbimpul or Political Information Brought "Down" to Datb."
"CONTAINS
DEGRADATION OF INDEPENDENCE
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
ALL. NATIONAL PLATFORMS
OJT AH J?OMTICAI PARTIES, 8INOK THE IB KOHMATION, TO AND INCLUD
ING THOBB OV 1004. V V V V V V V
EVERY PUBLIC SPEAiqEB: OR WRITER NEEDS IT.
PAPEB COVEB, 188 PAGES, 25 CENTS, POST-PAID
Address THE COMMONER, Lincoln, Neb.
AAAAWWAAvAV
PAT'S QUERY
General Frederick Grant tells how,
securing a license. To secure the li- at a certain military post in the west
cense it would have to make applica
tion to certain officials and present
the evidence of its compliance with
the conditions. Tho evidence would
show that it controls so large a pro
portion of the total product as to
virtually fix the price of oil. It would
ho denied a license. It then coujd
not use tho mails, the railroads, or
tho telegraph line3 to carry on its
business, and ' would have to sell
enough of its refineries to bring it
within th5 provisions of the law. And
these independent refineries would re
store competition and, as no one of
them would be permitted to obtain a
monopoly, the reign of the Standard
Oil company would be over. The same
is true of the sugar trust, the steel
trust, tho coal trust, the cracker trust,
the starch trust, thealt trust, the har
vester trust, the tobacco trust, etc.,
otc.
It must bo remembered that a fed
eral license is entirely different from
federal incorporation. Tho license
adds a federal remedy to existing state
remedies without depriving the stato
of any remedy it now has. Federal
incorporation would interfere with
Btato regulation or control, and for
that reason is desired by tho trusts.
As was said in the beginning, the
s first question to bo decided is whether
a private monopoly is bad. If bad, it
ought to be destroyed, and it can be
destroyed. Whether a private monop
oly is bad depends somewhat upon
whether competition is desirable or
undesirable. If competition is desir
able, then a private monopoly can not
one night, just after the soundin? of
"taps," a detail was called for from
one of the companies to brine: from
the married quarters to the guard
houso a private who had been beating
ins wiie. mrst Serceant Mumernii
called for Corporal Needham and Pri
vates Clancy and Moore to form the
detail. The corporal and Private
Moore at once got up from, tho cots
and dressed for duty, but apparently
Clancy was fast asleep, although but
a moment before the appearance of
the sergeant he had been animatedly
conversing witn nis rellow soldiers
"Como, Clancy," said the sergeant',
poiung mm in tne ribs, "get up"
Whereupon the Celt in great disgust
arose, exclaiming as he did so: "Why
don't ye wake some wan that ain't
asleep?" San Francisco Examiner.
THE POHICK PH10SOPHER
"Now about these "noomerous scan
dals;" observed the Pohick philoso
pher, as lit bit off a fresh chew of
navy plug, "the situation is jest this
The papers say they wouldn't print
'em If the people didn't read 'em, and
the people say they wouldn't read 'era
IE the papers didn't print 'em, and
thero ye bo." Louisville Courier-Journal.
WAtWMWiniMEW
A New Book
By William J. Bryan, Entitled
Under Other Flags
Travels, Speeches, Lectures,
HNCEMr. Bryan's Earopcantour a year ago ho has boon boslogod by requests for'coplos of lot
tors describing his travels abroad. Thcso lottors togothor with a number of his lectures an
other public-addresses, havo boon gathorod togothor and published in book form. Tho Kuro
poan lottors contain Mr. Bryan's account of what ho saw and loarnod whllo In Europo, and
present lntorostlng views of Iroland, England, Scotland, Franco, Switzerland, Germany, ItusBla,
Holland, Bolglum, and tho Netherlands, togothor with a description of his visits with Count
Tolstoy and I?opo Loo. In this volumo Mr. Bryan writes ontortalnlngly of tho "Birth of tho
Cuban RopubUo." Ho also includod his locturos on "A Conquering Nation," and "Tho Valuo
of an Ideal."
Other artlcloffin tho volumo aro "Tho attraction of Farming," written for tho Saturday
Evonlng Post; 'Tcaco," tho address dollvorod at tho nolland Sooloty dlnnor In 1901; "Naboth'a
Vineyard," tho addross at tho gravo of Philo Shorman Bonnott; Democracy's Appeal to
Culturo, addross boforo tho Alumni Association of Syracuso University; and an account of his
recent trip to tho Grand Canyon entitled "Wondors of tho Wost." Tho book is lllustratod, woll
printed on good papor and substantially bound.
One of tho foaturos of "Under Other Flags" is tho "Notes on Europo," wrltton after his ro
turn from abroad, and giving in briof form a resumo of tho many lntorostlng things ho saw.
The sale of Under Other Flags has been Very gratifying to the
author. Although the first edition appeared in December the fifth
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
in lots of from 25 to 100.
RIGHT1
How doth the little grizzly bear
Shudder at his own shadow,
For, soothly, these bo parlous times
out tnero in Colorado.
Now York Mail,
Address The Commoner,
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA
Tit .vrrri YiViVJvvviyiri;rfwnrLrrjuwiM
Neatly Bound in Cloth 400 Page Octavo
Under Other Flags, Postage Prepaid ". . $1.25
With The Commoner One Year $1.75
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