rs
The lament of David over Aosalom is
one o the most pathetic passages of the
Old Testament The tact that the son J
civil as well as
was In rebellion against
parental authority did not snane w -
rhers affection and the anxious query
Is the young man Absalom sate
lingers In the memory of all who study
the life of the great Hebrew
yet the interest which David felt in his
son Absalom has Its parallel in the more
than 10000000 families which make up
the American people mnthr
No language can describe a mothef s
love or overstate the abiding e
of
which the father feels in the welfare
his child From the time when the moth
ers llfeliangs in the balance at the toy
birth until the death of the Parents there
is scarcely a waking hour when the -son
is -not present in their thoughts and Plans
It is to this parental devotion so unl
versally recognized that I aesire to ap
peal on this occasion
Appeal to Parental Devotion
I would call the -attention J and
ther and mother to present POtteal
Industrial conditions I would ask em
to analyze these conditions investigate I
their causes and their tendencies
would press upon them this Question Is
safer Are
the young man Absalom
you saified with the PlUUtl
probabilities which now open before your
B0ls he safe when foreign r domestic
financiers are allowed to determine the
monetary system under which he lives
Is he safe when national banks control
the volume of money with which he does
business
Is he safe when the bond holding class
j i a cIto nf th national debt
upon which he must help to pay lnter d
t i t rr vian hv Tnpnns of taxes laid
almost entirely upon consumption he is
compelled to contribute accoruuiB
wants rather than according to his pos
sessions
Is he safe when corporate interests in
fluence as they do today the select on
of those who ar to represent him in tne
Senate of the United States
If he is a wage earner and you do not
he be even If he is
know how sbon may
not now Is he safe when he is liable
to be deprived of trial by jury through
the system known as government by In
junction
Is he safe If a laboring man when he
Is denied the protection of arbitration and
cqmpelled to submit to such hours and
terms as a corporate employer ma pro
posed
The Helgn of Monopoly
But I desire to call special attention to
the growth of the trusts and to ask you
whether your son Is safe under the reign
if private monopoly If you cannot leave
him a fortune you can leave him some
thing more valuable than money viz
the freedom to employ his own brain
anjl his own hands for the advancement
of his own welfare When there is In
dustrial independence each citizen Is
stimulated to earnest endeavor by the
hope of being able to profit by his own
genius his own energy his own Industry
and his own v virtue But when private
monopoly reaches its full development
each branch of industry will be controlled
by one or a few men and the fruits of
monopoly like the divine right of rule
will be keRt within the possession of a
few from generation to generation while
the real producers of wealth will be con
demned to perpetual clerkship or servi
tude When private monopoly reaches its
full development your son will buy the
finshed product at the price which mon
opoly fixes he will sell raw material at
the price which monopoly fixes and if
he works for wages he will work for
such compensation and upon such con
ditions as monopoly may -determine
Charles R Flint of the Rubber Goods
Manufacturing Co in a speech delivered
In Boston on the 25th of May 1899 out
lined the trust program with great frank
ness In speaking ofc the advantages to
be derived from the trust system he said
Outlinefof Trust Program
Raw material bought in large quan
tities is secured at lower prices When
for instance one man buys all the wool
the pricVot wool will be lowered and all
who produce wool will sell at the price
fixed by the trust A large proportion
of ourpeople are engaged in the produc
tion of various kinds of raw material and
they are thu placed at the mercy of the
combinations
The second advantage is that those
plants which are best equipped and most
advantageously situated are run continu
ously and in preference to those less fa
vored
This means that factories can be closed
In the smaller towns and business con
centrated in the large centers It means
also that whenever there is a surplus on
hand part of the factories can be closed j
and the burden of maintaining prices
thrown upon the wage workers There
are already scattered throughout the
land idle plants which istand as silent
monuments to the evils of the trust
The next advantage mentioned is that
In case of local strikes and fires the
work goes on elsewhere thus preventing
serious loss
This means that a monopoly can abso
lutely control its workingmen for if a
strike occurs in a factory in one state
the factory can be closed down Indefinite
ly while the employes are starved into
submission and as the trUst can do the
work in some other factory without seri
ousj loss it is quite independent of the
employes and can absolutely prescribe the
terms and conditions upon which they
shall live The more complete the mon
opoly the more opposed the managers
will be to arbitration because in case
of any contest between the trust and its
employes the trust will have every ad
vantage and the employes will be per
fectly powerless
Another advantage cited by Mr Flint
is that There is no multiplication of the
means of distribution and a better force
of salesmen will take the place of a large
number N
Drummers Dispensed With
This is an intimation that under the
trust system the traveling salesman will
not be needed When every retail mer
chant must buy all goods of one class
from a single company the workman be
done by samples and no traveling men
will be needed There will be no com
petition between different factories be
cause all are under one management
The first man to feel this will be the
salesman who will lose his occupation
The next man to feel it will be the hotel
man who will miss the trade of the
traveling salesman The railroad will lose
the mileage paid by the traveling man
the liverymen will lose their best pat
rons and the newspapers will lose the
advertising because it will not be neces
sary to advertise when there is no com
petition All this might be tolerable if
the Baving thus made went to the con
sumer but as a matter of fact It goes to
the mononoply My attention has been
called to a prospectus Issued by the In
ternational Steam Pump Company or
ganized March 1899 under the laws of
New Jersey and capitalized at 27500000
of which nearly half is preferred stock
and the remainder common stock I call
attention to this prospectus because it
sets forth the plans of the trusts and
show who are to be the beneficiaries
The International Steam Pump Com
pany was organized for the purpose of
manufacturing steam pumps and ac
cruing to the prospectus acquired con
trol of the business of the following cor
porations either through the conveyance
of the title to the properties
-V sit
nesses of such companies or by the own
ership of not less than two thirds of their
stock as may be found practicable
Then follow the names of fiver pump com
panies accompanied by the statement
that these companies are estimated to
transact ninety per cent of the steam
pump business of the United States ex
clusive of high duty engines The ma
jority of the companies also manufacture
such engines
Sample Case of Trusts
One of the companies taken Into the
combination had assets estimated at a
little more than six million dollars an
other company had assets estimated at a
little more than three millions the third
company had assets estimated at a little
more than one million The fourth com
pany had assets estimated at eight hun
dred thousand dollars and the fifth com
pany had assets estimated at seven hun
dred thousand dollars The good will was
not estimated in the above figures The
Atn1 nacata tliaafnia rf th flVTft fiOm
panies not including the good will were
less than twelve million dollars ana tne
prospectus states that the combined net
profits of the five concerns for the year
1898 estimated on the business of ten
months of the year would amount to
twelve hundred thousand dollars Under
the head of Estimated additional earn
ings from consolidation I find the fol
lowing
Each of the five companies now main
tains agencies In the principal cities of
the United States The Worthington and
Blake companies have stores and cairy
stock in London Hamburg Vienna and
other cities Some of them have expen
sive salaried managers All these agencies-
in this and other countries will be
consolidated The stores and agencies
maintained in the cities of this country
and the forces of clerks salesmen etc
necessary to conduct them will be united
and decreased involving an estimated
saving of at least 500000 a year The
expenses of each company for its draught
ing department incident to the elaborate
drawings and specifications for estimat
ing of work will bring about a further
reduction The standardizing of the pat
terns for farm and domestic work which
Js now under way in the Worthington fac
tory when applied to the entire business
of the new company will result in an
estimated saving of at least 200000 per
year
And then follows In black type this sig
nificant statement
Advantages of Consolidation
A conservative estimate of the ad
vantaged derived from consolidation is
believed to be 1300000 over the present
earnings which would make a total of
future net earnings with the estimated
earnings based on ten months of the
years business of 2500000 of 6 per cent
on the preferred stock and over eleven
per cent on the common- stock of the
new company i
It will thus be seen from the prospectus
that the advantages secured by the cut
ting down of expenses will double the in
come and not a word is said about giv
ing the advantages of this reduction to
the consumer The money taken from
the traveling men from the hotel keep
ers from the railroads from the livery
men from the newspapers and from
others who suffer by the discharge of
traveling salesmen clerks etc will all
be added to the profits of the monopoly
The stock was to be watered and prices
maintained to pay dividends upon fipti
tidus capital
To give a further guarantee that the
monopoly the prospectus says that the
principal men connected with the various
companies would become identified with
the comDany and would contract not to
engage in a- like business for ten years
But what about the public What guar
antee has the public that this monopoly
will not raise prices Is it not human
nature to make all the profit possible out
of a monopoly Is it not reasonable to
expect that thr monopoly after elimin
ating the salesmen and adding their sal
aries and expenses to the profit account
will seek a further profit by raising prices
and lowering wages Is it not reason
able also to expect that there will be de
terioration in quality when the spur of
competition no longer compels the manu
facturer to furnish the best goods for the
lowest possible price
In a little book described as an In
vestment Guide and issued in 1900 by
Henry Clews Co bankers I find a list
of large corporations together with a
brief description of the business done and
advantages secured by consolidation In
some instances an estimate is given of the
output of the company as compared with
the total product in the United States
Let me call your attention to a few of the
corporations organized since the last
Presidential election
Trusts Formed Under McKlnley
The American Agricultural Chemical
Company incorporated under the laws of
Connecticut in May 1S99 has an author
ized capital of 40000000 half common
stock and half preferred It acquired
tweny two of the largest fertilizing con
cerns in the countrv
The American Bicycle Company incor
porated in May 1S99 in New Jersey with
20000000 of common stock and 10000000
preferred consolidated forty four of the
largest bicycle concerns in the United
States
The American Hide and Leather Corn
pay Incorporated in New Jersey in May
1899 with an authorized capital of 25
000000 half common stock and half pre
ferred controls about seveny five per cent
of the upper leatheroutput of the coun
try
The American Linseed Oil Company in
corporated in New Jersey in December
1J 9S with a capital stock of 33500000
half common stock and half preferred
consolidated eleven large linseed oil com
panies4 and controls over eighty five per
cont of the linseed oil properties in the
United Slates
The American Steel Hoop Company in
corporated in New Jersey in April 1S99
consolidated nine large steel and iron
companies in Ohio and Pennsylvania
capital stock 19000000 common and 14
000000 preferred
The American Ship Building Company
incorporated in New Jersey in March
1S99 with an authorized capital of 30
000000 half common stock and half pre
ferred consolidated all ship building
and kindred interests on the great lakes
American Steel and Wire Company In
corporated in New Jersey In January 1899
with 50000000 common stock and 40
000000preferred controls about eighty per
cent of the nail and wire product of the
United States
The American Thread Company incor
porated in New Jersey in March 1898 with
a capital stock of 12000000 half com
mon and half preferred consolidated
fourteen large thread companies in New
York and New England
American Tin Plate Company incor
porated in New Jersey in December 1898
with 30000000 common stock and 20
000000 preferred consolidated about ninty
five per cent of the tin plate mills in the
United States
The American Window Glass Company
Incorporated in Pennsylvania September
1S99 with 13000000 common stock and 4
000000 preferred consolidated window
glass plants in New York Pennsylvania
New Jersey and Indiana controlling about
eighty five per cent of the output of the
United States
American Woolen Company incorpor
ated in New Jersey in March 1899 with
nearly 30000000 common stock and 20
000000 preferred consolidated a number of
mills in Rhode Island Massachusetts and
other places
The American Writing Paper Company
- - -
i
-
-
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i - i
wugg
3 ljr2 9MS yw t ft 1 XL
WUSmSuSmmt
rTBRYflNl ANTI TRUST SPEE6A
incorporated in New Jersey June 1SD9 traveler the hotel keeper the railroad
with 25000000 capital half common stock the liveryman and the newspaper
consolidated numer
and half preferred
ous mills producing over seventy six per
cent of the output of the United States
The Continental Tobacco ComDany In-
XTrttroTMhor
-
corporatea in JNew jersey m iwi
n - Mjuftn efe nftfl VmK iJtm
- t a jw z i vf
L JjsAJS W
v
b tr
V
rri rt Trim til
The Inwverss are finamjr that with the
growth of trusts the business is
ing toward the offices of the big corpora
tion attorneys while Jes fortunate
usi wnn a capital or wm - - tiHnnpr hnmine law clerks
mon stock and half preferred Acqu The actors suffer from the theatrical
all th nine tnhaoeo companies in
the United States and also purchased
the plug tobacco business of the Ameri
can Tobacco Company in whose interest
it was formed
Giant Federal Steel Truts x
The Federal Steel Company incorpor
ated In New Jersey in September 1898
with an authorized capital of 200000000
capital half common stock and half pre
ferred consolidated the Illinois Steel
Company the Minnesota Iron Company
the Duluth Iron Range Ry the Elgin
Jollet Eastern Ry and several other
companies It owns five docks on the
great lakes and a majority of the steam
ers and barges used for- transporting
ores
The International Paper Company in
corporated in January 1898 state not
given with an authorized capital of 20
000000 common and 25000000 preferred
stock consolidated twenty five pulp and
paper mills manufacturing about eighty
per cent newspaper
Every newspaper has suffered from the
paper trust the magazine for instance
published by the Locomotive Firemen s
organization and supported by a fixed
appropriation has been compelled to les
sen Its reading space because of the rise
in the price of paper
The National Biscuit Company Incor
porated In New Jersey In February 1898
with 30000000 common stock and 25000
000 preferred consolidated the leading
cracker companies and controls in all one
hundred and sixteen plants
The National Salt Company incorpor
ated In New Jersey in March 1899 with
7000000 of common stock authorized and
5000000 preferred produces about ninety
five per cent of the total output of the
country
The National Tube Company Incorpor
ated In New Jersey in June 1899 has a
Hal stock of S0000000 half common
and half preferred and controls about
ninety per cent of the output of the
United States
The Rubber Goods Manufacturing Com
pany incorporated in New Jersey in Jan
uary 1899 owns practically all the capi
tal stock of the Mechanical Rubber Com
pany the Peerless Rubber Company and
the India Rubber Company as well as
seventy five per cent of the stock of Mor
gan Wright It also acquired the tire
makins plants of the concern known as
the American Bicycle Company ind the
American Dunlop Tire Company Author
ized capital stock 50000000 half common
and half preferred
The Standard Rope Twine Company
Incorporated in New Jersey November
8 1896 with a capital stock of J12000
000 consolidated twenfcy two large cordage
mills
The Union Bag and Paper Company in
corporated in New Jersey in February
1899 with 16000000 common stock and
11000000 preferred consolidated various
plants doing ninety per cent of the paper
bag business of the United States
United States Cast Iron Pipe and Foun
dry Company incorporated in New Jersey
in March 1899 with an authorized capital
of 30000000 half common sock 5nd half
preferred consolidated the principal cast
iron pipe companies of the United States
United States Envelope Company In
corporated in Maine in 1S9S with an au
thorized capital of 1000000 and 4000000
preferred consolidated ten companies
and controls ninety per cent of the output
of commercial envelopes in the United
States
The book mentioned also gives statistics
in regard to several trusts organized prior
to 1896 among which are the American
Cotton Oil Co the American Sugar Re
fining Companv the American Tobacco
Company the Diamond Match Company
the National Lead Company and the
Standard OH Company
No Hope from Republicans
During thp present administration no
honest effort has been made to protect
the people from these monopolies The
Republican partr controls the executive
and the legislative departments of the
federal government It can enforce the
laws which now exist it can propose and
enact hew laws but it does neither No
persons can watch the conduct of the Re
publican party and read the speeches of
Republican leaders and still believe the
Republican party sincere in its declara
tions against the trusts
The Republican platform on this ques
tion and the Presidents letter of accept
ance taken in connection with the partys
record prove conclusively that no re
lief can be hoped for from that party
Instead of pointing out the evils of trusts
the Republican leaders spend their time
in exulting over present conditions The
trust is a part of present conditions and
Mr Flint from which I have already
quoted declared that the formation of
large corporations was one of the im
portant features of what he described as
the present business activity If Re
publican x leaders really regarded private
monopoly as an evil if they really In
tended to apply an effective remedy tney
would not hesitate to denounce trusts and
suggest means for their extermination
but they express far more solicitude for
the corporation than for the people at
large One is reminded of the picture
which a mother once showed to her boy
to impress upon his youthful mind the
sufferings of the Christian Martyrs who
were being thrown Into the arena and
torn to piecEi by the lions The boy
looked at the picture for a moment and
then his face brightened up as he thought
he caught the idea Pointing down into
one point of the picture he said Why
mamma there is one poor little lion that
isnt getting a bit It is even s6 with
the Republican leaders Their sympathy
goesout freely to any corporation which
In their opinion is not getting its share
but they are not moved by the hardships
imposed by monopolies upon nil who are
outside of th charmed circle Three
sessions of Congress have convened and
adjourned since the Presidents inaugu
ration arid yet he has never recommend
ed a specific measure looking toward the
overthrow of monopolies
Paper Money Trust
At the opening of the last session of
Congress the Republican leaders pressed
through the House and Senae a bill
creating a paper money trust and sur
rendered into the hands of the national
banks complete control of th national
currency Just as Congress was closing
a farcical and hypocritical attempt was
made to deceive the public by the Intro
duction of an anti trust amendment and
an anti trust bill The amendment was
not necessary and was intended to de
prive the states of the power which they
now possess rather than to confer upon
Congress new authority This vicious
amendment was defeated in the House
by the Democrats The Republican lead
ers then confessed the amendment un
necessary by introducing an anti trust
bill which was supported by the Demo
crats but which died in the Senate just
as it was expecled to die The Republic
an majority in the Senate referred the
bill to the judiciary committee against
the protests of the Democrats who urged
lis immediate passage The Republican
party draws ts contributions from the
trusts diirlng the campaign and pays
back its obligations by leaving the peo
ple it the mercy of the trusts between
campaigns
Let us note briefly the effect of the
trusts upon various classes Reference
has already been made to the commercial
trust
The small manufacturer is constantly
menaced by the trusts
He does not know at what moment some
large corporation will attempt to mon
opolize the business in which he is en
gaged and give him his choice between
bankruptcy and particulatlon in an In
dustrial conspiracy against the rest of
the country Many have been driven into
tho trust organization by the larger cor
porations engaged in the same business
or by trusts formed to control iron steel
tin plate or some other product used as
a basis for further manufacture In what
business can your son safely Invest a
small amount of capital today If he
starts into any independent business he
will find it difficult if not impossible to
compete with a large organization if it
attempts to undersell him in his ter
ritory because it can sustain Itself by
collecting high prices in other parts of
flie country If he suppresses his moral
objections and takes stock in a mon
opoly he does not know how soon those
in charge- may attempt to freeze out
the smaller stockholders
The merchant is losing his independ
ence The trust fixes the terms upon
which he shall sell and often binds him
by contract not to sell a competing arti
cle When the monopoly Is complete
credit will be shortened and the mer
chant will be compelled to bear all the
risks of trade When the trust raises
prices the merchant usually has to divide
the advance with his customers so far
as stock on hand is concerned but when
the trust overstocks the market and then
lets the price fall the merchant must
bear the loss on accumulated stock
When for instance the American Steel
Wire Company closed several of its
factories a few months ago and threw
some six thousand employes out of work
it drooped the price of nails and barbed
wire in order to work off a surplus stock i
which had accumulated because the
high prices had lessened the demand
Every merchant lost money on the nails
and wire on hand
There is already overproduction In many
lines The supply of common chairs is
now considerably In excess of the de
mand but lest the Republicans may try
to explain this upon the theory that the
people are too busy to sit down I may
add that there is also dullness Hn the
shoe trade The Iron Age in a recent
issue pointed out that the production of
Iron was falling off the decrease then
amounting to more than 50000 tons per
month Duns report of July 21st stated
that the woolen mills were running at
less than half their capacity and even
recently the cotton manufacturers have
been threatening to either reduce wages
or shut down temporarily According to
Duns report the business failures have
been greater during each month of 1900
than they were during the same months
of last year and this occurs in the midst
of good crops and when two wars are
in progress
Trusts and Arbitrary Fluctuations
The contractor can figure with some ac
curacy so long as natural laws control
but he cannot protect himself against the
arbitrary fluctuations which are not only
possible but probable when a monopoly
controls the market
The farmer Is one of the most import
ant factors in our national life Some
one has said to him The hand that
guides the plowshare feeds the world
He Is not a stockholder in any of the
trusts but he feels the extortion prac
ticed by them all I am not farming on
a large scale but the misleading reports
which have been circulated concerning
my oat crop justify me in making ref
erence to my own experience The New
York Tribune recently printed a dispatch
from Nebraska to the effect that I had
just sold forty eight hundred bushels of
oats at 30 cents per bushel supposed to
be the yield of 120 acres and that the
amount received for the oats was more
than double the price paid for the land
The Tribune article then proceeded to di
late upon the prosperity of the farmer
using my experience aa an illustration
and assertedthat the farmers of Nebras
ka were becoming so opulent that they
were joining the Republican party The
facts are first That I had five acres
of oats Instead of one hundred and
twenty acres second That the oats
have not yet been threshed so that the
yield is not known third That oats are
selling for less than 22 cents in Chicago
instead -of 30 cents in Nebraska and
fourth That the land vpon which the
oats were raised cost me over M00 an
acre instead of 6 If when threshed
my oats yield 40 bushels to the acre
and I sell them n Nebraska for 20 cents
per bushel the total income from the five
acres will be 40 or less than eight per
cent on the ihvestment After taking out
the cost of plowing sowing harvesting
and threshing the net income from that
five acre tract will not exceed four per
cent on the money invested I do not
mean to judge others by my own experi
ence but I mention the facts in this case
to show how the Republican papers ex
aggerate the farmers prosperity and
credit a Republican administration with
good crops making no allowance for the
crop failures which occur from time to
time
v
Decliao of Farm Products
But while on the oat question let me
call attention to the statistics given in
the Investment guide already referred to
According to Henry Clews Co the
average prices received by farmers for
oats during the seven yeais beginning
with 1S93 and ending with IS99 were as
follows 1S9 294 1894 324 1S95 19s6
1896 187 1897 212 1S9SV255 1S99 249 Ac
cording to these figures oats averaged
25 cents a bushel during the four years of
Mr Clevelands administration and only
24 cents per bushel during the three years
of Mr McKinleys administration the
present year is not yet complete but
oats are at the present time below the
average
According to the same authority the
average prices received by the farmers
for corn were as follows 1893 365 1894
457 189o 264 1896 215 1S97 263 1S9S
287 1899 303 making an average of about
305 during the four years of Mr Cleve
lands administration and 281 during the
three years of Mr McKinlejs adminis
tration the fourth year is not yet com
plete but corn Is at this time above the
average
Wheat according to the same author
ity brought to the farmers the following
prices 1893 538 1894 491 1895 509 1896
V26 1897 80S 1898 5S2 1899 584 showing
a higher average during the last three
years than during the four preceding the
fourth year is not compleit but wheal
is now above the average
According to the same authority cotton
planters received the following prices
1893 609 1S94 46 15 759 1896 66 1897
5 0 1898 475 1S99 75 showing a higher
average during the four years of Mr
Clevelands administration than during
the three years of Mr McKinleys admln
stration the fourth year is not yet com
plete but cotton is now above the aver
age price
Taking these four staples of
u will he seen that three out of four
have not on the average brought as muclr
return to the farmer under the present
administration as under the previous ad v
ministration and the fourtlr product
V
DELIVERED AT ST LOUIS
SEPTEMBER 15 1900
wheat is more influenced than any other
farm product by foreign conditions
Advance In Merchandise
When however the iarmer attempts to
use his income in the purchase of the ne
cessaries of life he finds that the trusts
have raised prices He must pay more
for lumber nails wire harness hardware
stoves and agricultural implements More
also for oil sugar clothing furniture
etc and in addition to these drains upon
his income he must meet an Increase in
federal taxation
Let the parent calculate how long it
will take a farmer to become independent
under present conditions let him con
trast the lot of the farmer with the lot
of the man who profits by governmental
favoritism and grows rich by the exploit
ation of his countrymen through the in
strumentality of monopoly and then
let him answer the question Is the
young man Absalom safe Has the
farmers son or the farmer himself any
reason for giving support to the Re
publican party
Next to the farmer in point of num
bers and importance come the wage-earners
What is the trust doing to Increase
the wages shorten the hours Improve
the condition or protect the rights of
the laboring man is his present prospect
an Inviting one Is he receiving a fair
share of the proceeds of his toll And if
not why not Republicans assert that
the working man has a Full Dinner
pail I ask in the first place whether
a full dinner pall is all that a laboring
man needs It is an insult to the wage
earner to say that his thoughts are en
tirely centered upon his physical wants
Republican speakers and editors assume
that the laboring man Is all stomach
They act upon the theory that he com
plains only when he is hungry and is
happy whenever his hunger is appeased
The Full Dinner Pall
If a full dinner pall were the only thing
desired and If every laboring man had
plenty to eat it would still be necessary
for the Republican party to showxsome
connection between Republican policies
and the laboring mans food supply If
bountiful crops come to the farmer he
does not thank a Republican administra
tion If a famine abroad raises the price
of farm products here the farmer does
not thank the Republican party for bring
ing the famine if an unexpected and an
unpromised Increase In the gold supply
gives any respite from financial string
ency can the Republican party claim
credit The question is not whether
the laboring man is able to exist under
present conditions but whether he Is en
joying his share of the blessings of the
country and of the protection of the gov
ernment Compare the laboring man
with the trust magnate and see which
fares the best at the hands of the Re
publican party Enquire also whether
the laboring mans income has increased
as rapidly as his living expenses
But even if every laboring man was
prosperous and even if that prosperity
could be traced to Republican legislation
still the laboring man is a citizen and
must look at political questions from the
citizens standpoint He cannot afford
to barter away future security he can
not afford to sleep while his industrial
independence is being destroyed Neither
can he be enticed into an imperialistic
trap no matter how well the trap may
be bated with food
During the last campaign laboring men
were threatened with idleness by em
ployers who desired to coerce them into
the support of the Republican ticket
Many of them were told not to return to
work unless the Republicans were suc
cessful at the polls After the election
some of these employers closed down their
shops and others reduced wages If ad
vances have been made in any branch of
industry since 1896 remember that some
advance was necessary to compensate for
the reductions which occurred after the
last election
Coercion In 1896
A firm In the City of Washington an
nounced shortly before the election In
1896 that It would not be able to continue
in business if I was elected It went
into bankruptcy immediately after elec
tion notwithstanding the fact that its
candidate was successful at the polls
There are indications that this attempt at
intimidation may be resorted to again
this fall If a business man feels justi
fied in holding out the prospect of his
own bapkruptcy in order to influence
voters he cannot complain if his credit
ors lake steps to collect their accounts
before the election in order to avoid a
posslDle loss
The Chicago Times Herald of Septem
ber 8 contained a special dispatch from
Indianapolis setting forth the complaint
made by the anthracite coal miners In
the dispatch I read the following state
ment made by one of the miners It is
merely a question whether the men would
starve to death at work or starve in idle
ness The dispatch also contains the
following figures in regard to wages said
to have been furnished by a member of
the national beard of the United Mine
Workers of America viz Average dally
wages received by miners 135 average
wage of day men at mines 90 cents And
in the statement to the public giving his
reasons for calling out the miners Presi
dent Mitchell of the United Mine Work
ers says -The average wages of the
anthracite miners for many years has
been Jess than 250 annually Let
the paient calculate the annual income
of a miner and figure out if he can
how the miner is going to keep himself
and support his family under present con
ditions and then let the parent ask him
self whether he is willing to have his
son take his chances with the miners Is
it due to natural or to human laws that
the producer of wealth fares so poorly
while the man at the head of a monopoly
secures so much
AH Monopolies Are Bail
Those who attempt to divide private
monopolies into good monopolies and bad
monopolies will never make any progress
toward the overthrow of the trusts There
is no good monopoly in private hands
there never was and never will be
With aH the advancement in civilization
man Is still too selfish to be trusted with
the absolute control with that which his
fellows must have The Republican party
has no remedy for the trusts Publicity
is good but publicity alone is not suffi
cient The practices of the trusts must
not only be made known they must be
prevented The Democratic platform
contains a demand for legislation which
will place trust made articles on the free
list There Is no doubt that such a law
would protect the people from much of
the extortion which is practiced under
cover of high tariff laws If a tariff
duty excludes the foreign product while
domestic manufacturers combine to raise
the price of home product the American
citizen may be plundered here while the
trust sells abroad in competition with the
world It may not be out of place to
suggest that I Introduced a bill eight
years ago providing for this remedy but
we are not willing to stop at one remedy
we -desire to apply every remedy within
the power of the state and federal gov
ernments Congressional action ss not
necessary to destroy a trust which con--fines
its operations to asingle city or a
single state Such a trust can be exter
minated by state legislation It is with-
in the power of the state to prescribe the
conditions upon which corporations- shall
I be organized and these conditions should
be such as to make a private monopoly
jilace limitations upon outside corpora
tions doing business within the state
This however is not sufficient Con
gress must co operate with the state in
preventing the organization of any Inter-
rc i
i
state monopoly Without impairing tho
present authority of the state Congress
can provide that corporations organized
In any state shall not do business outsit
of the state until certain necessary con
ditions are complied with If the peopl
of any state are willing to create anfi
continue a monopoly the people of othe
states need feel no concern so long aa
the monopoly Is confined to the state Iw
which the corporation originates But
the moment a monopoly crosses the state
line and invades other states Congress
has a right to and must interfere for
the protection of the public at large IC
i a corporation organized In New Jersey or
any otner state were prohibited from en
gaging in inter state commerce until tt
produced evidence to show that there was
no water in Its stock and that It ha
not attempted and was not attempting
to monopolize any branch of industry its
power to do harm would at once be de
stroyed An honest corporation engaged
in legitimate business ought to JoJa
In the enactment of laws which will pro
tect them and the public from the Indus-
trial highwaymen who commit larcenr
upon a grand scale Those who deslr
the annihilation of the trusts are not
hostile to property rights but they pro
test against allowing the fictitious per
son created by law and called a cor
poration to trample upon the rights aZ
the natural man of flesh and blood IC
the man made corporation supports tho
Republican party we ought to be able
to appeal for support to the God mada
man
Aa to Railroad Discriminations
The railroads have by discriminations
and rebates materially aided In build
ing up monopolies At one time th
Standard Oil vCompany had a contract
witli a railroad whereby It not only en
Joyed lower rates than Its competitors
but received a part of the freight paid -by
its competitors The inter state com
merce commission has repeatedly asked
for legislation which would empower tho
commission to protect the public but tho
Republican party has turned a deaf ear
to these appeals
It Is generally assumed that the bank
ers will co operate with the trusts in
preventing remedial legislation but tho
banker himself Is apt to fall a victim oE
this policy of concentration Some an
already urging the establishment oC
branch banks and when the branch bank
is established it will be able to run all
the other banks out of business Evea
now the association of several great finan
cial institutions in New York under
the influence of one group of financiers
is embarrassing other and smaller banks
But why muultiply illustrations of th
evil of monopoly No matter how tempt
ing the present advantage no mat
ter how alluring the immediate prospect
every citizen will find it to his perma
nent advantage to aid in the overhtrow
of the monopolistic principle and in tho
re establishment of the industrial system
upon a basis of justice Give the boy
a chance and let success be the reward
of merit
The attempt of the Republican party
to largely increase our military establish
ment suggestr another inquiry Is your
son safe when new ideals are substitut
ed for the ideals cherished during the
past century and when the doctrine of
force is accepted as an American doe
trine Up to this time we have en
couraged science and the arts we have
proclaimed the advantages of peace and
have preached the gospel of love What
will be the effect upon the character of
future generations if we encourage tha
professional soldier at the expense of tha
civilian and teach the creed that might
can create right fc
Diiugarrf at Militarism
Is your son safe when a large milltary
establishment is being built up to pro
tect syndicates organized to deveildp
t
tant lands When Mr McKinley was in-
augurated there were only 55000 soklirro
in the regular army In December I8s5
the President recommended that tha
standing army be Increased to 100000 men
A Republican House of Representatives
prompt to do his bidding passed a bill
and this was done after the treaty of
peace was signed and before hostiiits
broke out in Manila Why did we need
such an army Possibly the prospectus
Issued by the Philippine Lumber and De
velopment Company will explain Tho
company has an office in the Merchants
Loan Trust building 133 Adams street
Chicago The prospectus says Negoti
ations are pending for timber rights and
some valuable timber rights have already
been secured and negotiations for others
are rapidly approaching completion No
other company can compete with this oms
in getting a first foothold in the iiilajads
and for several years at least thi3 cora
pany will be ahead of all competitors
It also quotes from an article in iha
America Lumberman In which appeara
the following Unlike most tropical
countries the labor problem Is easily
solved by the Chinese labor which la
plentiful and fairly good The capital
ist may see an advantage In militarism
and imperialism but where is the labor
ing mans share He will furnish sons
for the army and will help to pay tho
expenses of war but he has no part on
the profits As some one has expressed
It his lot is to Die for the dividends c
Dives
Is your son safe when the doctrine of
equality before the law is repudiated and
when the arguments which have ever been
used in support of kingcraft are called
into justify taxation without representa
tion and government without the con
sent of the governed Many have given
their support to an imperialistic policy
without fully realizing what imperialism
means Mr Gompers President of tho
Federation of Labor in his report made
to the organization last December warns
the laboring man to beware of the dan
gers of imperialism and S3ys But be
neath it all there is the purpose of thoso
who have lost faith in the principles of our
republic those who have no confidence
in or reliance upon the honor honesty
and stability of our people and our form
of government and who aim to erect a
throne of despotism upon the tomb of
freedom whose initiatory step is a larga
standing army and who with militarisTs
rampant hope to crush out the memory
of and the aspiration for true liberty
and freedom for all our people
Appeal to Freemen
Whether this nation shall be looked up
on as a Lafayette aiding others to obtain
their freedom and enjoying their grati
tude or as a Lord Clive fastening a
hateful sovereignty upon a weaker peo
ple and receiving hatred in return Is a
question which you must help to decide
Let me borrow a story which has already
been applied to the present situation A
man passed along a street of a great city
unmindful of the merchandise piled oa
either side he sought out a bird store
and purchasing a number of birds opened
their cages and allowed them to fly away
When asked why he thus wasted his
money he replied I was once a captive
myself and it gives me Joy to be tho
means of setting any captive free
This nation has been a liberator It
first secured the freedom of Its own peo
ple and from that day on has furnished
the example which has lead to the over
throw of monachical rule In many na
tions Let it not falter now It is prob
able that the 20000000 paid to Spain can
be secured from the Filipinos but evenif
it cannot it Is better to consider that
sum as a contribution to be spread on
the doctrine of self government than to
regard it as part payment upon the pur
chase price of people or their lands Citi
zens countrymen you stand by the sido
of the cage you cannot avoid responsi
bility will you open the door or shut ILZ
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