Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-09-12
BILL ARP ON CORNERS.
What He Would Swear His Children
to Like Hamilcar Of Old.

What He Would Swear His Children
to Like Hamilcar OfOld
From the Atlanta Constitution.
Commissioner Loring, at Washington. gives
US reliable reportsfrom all the states but neither
can tell US what the ruling price will be for cot
| ton or corn. or wheat, or pork, or beef cattle.
That is settled in New York and Chicago
Neither the weather nor Providence has any
thing to do with it. I see by the papers that
they are fixing up another big corner on wheat
in Chicago, and they have already got their
| agents all over the northwest buying it up at a
low price, and they will hold it for high price.
Wheat never advances much until the rascals
have bought most of it-not until they have
bought all that the average poor farmer has to
sell. That is just what is the matter with our
people. Both the farmer and the average con-
sumner are alike the victims of the Spectator.
The farmer has to sell too low and the con-
sumer buy too high. There is no general aver
age-no uniformity. Rich farmers who can az
ford to hold seem to like these corners pretty
WELL They get big price by holding and
waiting for the Chicago bulls. But the masses
OF farmers that have to sell soon after the
harvest, and the masses of the laborers and
mechanics fatten for while on cheap flour,
which. suppose, puts them in better con-
dition to perish after while when the price is
doubled. Figures don't lie. and the figures say
that in 1879 most of the wheat was sold by
farmers at IS cents and after the Chicago bulls
had bought it they ran it up to s1.3S In 1888
it was sold for ninety-five cents, and the bulls
ran it up to S1.45. When they had bought all
they could they bockaded the elevators and the
railroads with it to keep down competition and
prevent the holders, who still had some to SELL
from getting into the market. Now, what
ought to be done to them fellows who make
their millions ont of tho life hlOn6 of tho
We regulate railroads with a commission, and
we get after the distillers with the whole power
of the government. but these cornerers who
suck the blood of labor and toll are allowed to
go free. They patroniZe the banks literally
and therefore the banks are their friends. and
the banks control Congress and so we have no
relief.
There is an epitaph on the tomb of Sir Robert
Peel, and it says, He gave the poor cheap
Bread" and no man has nobler one than this
But here sit the American Congress and state
legislatures looking on all this iniquity and do no.
thing. How do they expect labor to be recOnciled
to capital and go on smoothly when the common
labOrer can barely live at his wages, and sudden
ly find that bread and meat have gone up 50 per
cent and that rich, heartless spectators have
combined against him? How can he be recon-
ciled? How can he be kept from thinking and
talking and drifting into communism and organ
izing strikes for higher wages. There is life
and death in this business. The average age of
the rich is 55-of the poor it is 50. Only eighty
children out of 1000 die among the wealthy
classes. but 800 die among the poor. AS food
grows dear sickness and death grow plenty
Scarcer bread means more abundant crime: lar
ceny increases as flour advances. The common
laborer who works in the factories for daily
wages gets barely enough for bread, meat. and
clothing when these things are cheap. He gets
nothing for luxuries. nothing for comforts, moth
ing for sickness or doctors bills or old age.
Nothing for the accidents of life, broken leg
or broken arm. Nothing for fire or flood, or
c$i1 An nv,,;%x
live by faith and hope-a shrinking faith and
despairing hope. and continual apprehension
for the welfare Of his children. The great ques-
ton with US is what will become of our chill
dren. Will they be able to weather the storms
of life when we are gone: Will they find en-
pOyment and be able to live comfortably and
marry respectfully and have a good home and
be happy: We hope so-we pray for it and
work tor It, but there is less hope Tor the next
generation than the last for the rich are getting
richer and more heartless, and the poor are get
ting more dependent. When a man makes a
fortune at legitimate trading it is all right and
honorable. but when he builds up by pulling
somebody else down it is all wrong. and not
only dishonorable but criminal The laws OF
England forbid it. The laws of the United States
do, too, but they don't enforce them. Fore
stalling the market is a crime in all civilized
countries but ours. When Armour bought up
100000 barrels of pork and a million more in
futures, at nine dollars barrel and sold out at
eighteen. he made seven millions OF dollars but
he never produced anything or added one dol
lar to that already produced. What he made
somebody else lost. He made it all out of the
consumer-that is, the masses-chiefy the poor
What kind of an epitaph out to be put on his
tombstone? This mans greed was great-his
pity was small. If there be hell he is enjoy
ing it." In 1881 the Chicago syndicate cornered
100000 bushels Of wheat. Why. what pro-
lection have the people got? Gen. Toombs once
made a very notable speech and said lie would
lead his children to an altar. and, like Hamilcar
of old, swear them to eternal hostility against
this foul domination and just so feel when
ever read about Armour and Keene and jay
Vaccinations. l want to lead my children to
an altar and swear them-yes, swear them to
fight monOpolies, to fight these torestaers and
cornerers and plunderers Of the working peo-
pie.