Omaha daily bee., 1882-11-17
MONOPOLY.

Rev. L. Dewitt Talmage say
things sometimes in a strong way
The following from his sermon or
monopoly will be thought by mos
people none too strong:
l announce as my text this, from
Isaiah xii, 4-"Thy land shall be
married."
Now, since our republic, oil land
Is, to be married, it is well to inspec,
the lovers who court her. 1 propose
to name some of the suitors who are
claiming the hand of this republic.
In the first place there is q greedy, all.
grasping monster who comes as a
sutton, seeking the hand of this re.
public, and that monster is monopoly.
His scepter is made Of the iron of the
rail track and the iron of telegraphy.
He does everything for his own advan.
tage and for the robbery of the people.
Things have gone on off from bad to
worse, until in the three legislatures
of New York, New Jersey and Penn
sylvania, for the most part monopoly
decides everything. If monopoly
favors a law it is passed; if monopoly
opposes a law it ia rejected. Monop-
oily stands in the railroad depot put
ting into it's pocket in a year 5000, OoO,.
600 in excess of all reasonable charges
for service. Monopoly holds in it's
one hand the steam power of locomo-
ton, and In the other electricity of
swift communication.
Monopoly has the republican party
in n pocket and the democratic par
ty in the other. Monopoly decides
nominations and elections city elec-
tons, state elections, national cleo
tions. With brides it takes the votes
of legislators, giving them free passes,
giving appointments to needy rela-
tives Of lucrative positions, employing
them as attorneys If they are lawyers,
carrying their goods at a large per.
centage less if they are merchants,
and If it finds a cas- very stubborn as
well as very important, puts down be-
fore him the hard cash Of bribery. I
tell you that the overshadowing curse
of the United States to-day is monop-
oily. 1t puts Its hand on every bushel
OF wheat, upon every sack of salt, up
on every ton of coal, and every man,
woman and child in the United States
feels the touch of that moneyed des-
potism. l rejoice that in twenty-four
states of the Union already anti-mc-
nopoly leagues have been established.
God speed them In the work of liber-
alton l wish this question might be
the question Of the next presidential
election, for between this and that
time we can compel the political par
ties to recognize it in their platforms.
] have nothing to say against capital
lists. A man has the right to make all
the money he can make honestly.
l have nothing to say against COR
porations "a such. Without them no
great enterprise would be possible;
but what / do say is that the same
principles are to be applied to CAPT.
talists and corporations that are APP
piled to the poorest man and the
p%lainest laborer. What is wrong for
me is wrong for the Vanderbilts and
the Goulds and the elevated railway
companies of New York and Brook.
lyn, Monopoly In England has
ground hundreds of thousands of hen
best people into mi-starvation and
in Ireland has driven multitudinoul
tenants almost to madness, and In the
United States proposes to take the
wealth of fifty or sixty millions Of
people and put it in a few silken wal
let's. Monopoly, brazsn. faced, iron,
fingered, vultured- hearted monopoly,
proposes his hand, offers his hand t.
this republic. Let the millions of tn,
people, north and south, east anc
west-forbid the banns of that mar
riage, forbid them at the ballot box
forbid them by great organic atoms
forbid them by the Overwhelming,
sentiment of an outraged nation, for
bid them by the protest of the church
of God, forbid them by the prayer t,
high heaven, that Herod shall not hav
this Abigail.