Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1881-05-26

in the other pocket. Monopoly decides
nominations and elections-city cleo
tons, state elections, national elections.
With brides it takes the votes Of legis-
lators, giving them free passes. giving
appointments to needy relatives Of lu-
crative positions, employing them as
attorneys if they are lawyers, carrying
their goods large per centage less if
they are merchants, and if it finds a
case very stubborn as well as very i'm
portant, puts down before him the
hard cash bribery.
\ LEGISLATURE BOUGHT OUTRIGHT.
But monopoly is not so easily caught
now and captured ami arrested as
when, during the term of Mr.. Buch-
anan, the Legislative Committee in
one of our States explored and ex-
posed the manner in which certain
railway company had obtained dona-
ton Of public land. 1t was found out
that that thirteen of the Senators Of
that State received S175, 900 among
them. sixty members Of the Legisla-
ture Of that State received between
s., 600 and SO, 900 each, the Cover
nor of that State received $4,000,
his clerk received 1000, the Lieuten-
ant Governor received $4,000, all
the clerks Of the Legislature received
| s., 900 each, while $50, were d.
vided among the lobby agents. That
thing On larger or smaller scale is all
the time going on in some Of the
States Of the Union, but it is not so
blundering as it used to be, and there
fore not SO easily exposed or arrested.
[ tell you that the overshadowing curse
of the United States to-day is monop-
oily. 1t puts It's hand on every bushel
OF wheat, upon every sack Of salt,
upon every ton Of coal, and every man
woman and child in the United States
feels the touch of that moneyed des-
potism. [ rejoice that in twenty-four
States of the Union already anti-mon-
opoly leagues have been established.
God sneed them in the work Of liberia
ton! [ wish that this question might
be the question Of the next President
ial election, for between this and that
time we can compel the political par
ties to recognize it i'll their platforms.
L have nothing to say against capital
lists. A man has right to make all
the money he can make honestly. [
have nothing to say against corpora
tions as such. Without them no great
enterprise would be possible; but what
[ do say is that the same principles
are to be applied to capitalists and
corporations that are applied to the
poorest man and the plainest laborer.
What IS wrong for me is wrong for
the Vanderbilts and the Goulds and
the elevated railway companies Of New
York and Brooklyn. Monopoly in
| ENGLAND has oround hundreds of
thousands Of her best people into semi
starvation, and in Ireland has driven
multitudinous tenants almost to mad
ness, and in the United States pro-
poses to take the wealth of fifty or
sixty millions of people and put it in
few silken wallets. Monopoly, bra
zen faced, iron fingered, yulture heart
ed monopoly, proposes his hand, offers
his hand to this Republic Let the
millions Of the people-North, South,
East and Vest forbid the bans of
that marriage, forbid them at the bal
lot box, forbid them by great organi-
cations, forbid them by the overwhelm-
ing sentiment Of an outraged nation,
forbid them by prayer to high heaven,
that Herod shall not have this Abigail.
The train which conveyed the Van
| L 4