Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1884-02-14
THE MILLIONAIRE MONOPOLIES.


but he has lived long enough to Won
der at and admire tue far-reaehlng
sagacity of that celebrated architect
and advocate of personal right. Ey-
cry honest conception and every hon
est expression of it is worthy of con-
stRration. for however much of error
may be mingled with it, there is ever
some truth at the bottom of it. 1t
Is only the suggestions of the design
ing and aeceiving that should be
treated with contempt. Whatever
else Thomas jefferson was, he was an
honest and honorable politician. The
highest evidence of that can be found
in his draft of a Declaration of Inde-
pendence for the colonies, of the au-
thorship of which those that have
combatted his ideas have sought to
strip him.
Monopoly is as old as history, and
when first resorted to, it was applied
to appreciable and honorable public
uses. 1t was degraded and made
despicable by unworthy resort to it,
either for personal aggrandizement or
to supply spendthrift, and, therefore,
needy governments with revenues in
advance of their possible collection.
The old farmers of the tributes of
conquered provinces, who bought che
right to collect taxes imposed and
enforced by martial edict, were
among the most hateful and exacting
of the ancient monopolists, and some
of our existing monopoiies, created
by government when in need of money
to carry On the civil war, though
changed in form to correspond to the
conditions of an advanced civilization,
are similar in their conception and
operation, if they are not quite as
repulsive and hateful. The m0nopo-
lies of the manufacture of whisky
and tobacco are of this character:
the monopolists make grand tax
gatherers but at the same time,
through the power impaired tc them
by the restrictions of the revenue
laws to control the market for surplus
grain and tobacco, and to indefinitely
extend their business, they soon be-
come millionaires, and are reaping
every day higher advantages from the
internal revenue laws than does the
government that looks to them for
partial support, though the condition
of treasury has long been such as not
to afford any justification whatever
for the continuance of a system so
destructive of local enterprise and so
detrimental to the main interests of
agriculturists.
Another injurious system of mo-
nopolies is, that sustained by the
operation of high protective tariff,
and less justifiable than those arising
under the internal revenue, because
it extracts more from the pockets OF
consumers and contributes nothing to
the support Of government, or the
general welfare of society. On the
contrary it makes millionaires by i'm
parting power to fleece communities
and pauperize operatives. 1t is for
their benefit that all other people are
compelled to pay high prices for what
they consume. There is not an arti-
Gle used by the Industrious, the cost
of which is not enhanced by this
governmental fostering and protec.
lection of privilege.
Still another class Of monopslists
is created by entrusting to them the
exercise of governmental functions,
that cannot be conveniently or judic-
iously carried out by officials, OF
which the most CONSPICUOUS are trans.
portation and currency making, to
which the Goulds and Vanderbilts
and bankers aresindebted for theil
fortunes. 1t cannot be denied that
under popular restrictions and with
retainment of paramount control, il
Is eminently proper for government
to entrust the execution of such func-
tions to individuals or corporations
What is wrong is the reckless manner
in which these governmental powers
have been conferred. The party in
power has not only impaired unllmit'
ed powers to the corporations it has
created, but has also favored them
with extraordinary grants of the pub
lie domain and with unusual deposits
and use of the public funds.
These are the monopolies that Jeff
erson anticipated and condemned
and those which the politicians, thai
antagonize his theories, have inaugu
rated and seek to perpetuate; bu
that great mans foresight went fur
ther when it looked out on the tim'
when party government would b'
monopoly, and the question publicly
and unblushingly put in a partisan
national convention, ''If we are no
after the offices, what are we herr
for?''
The result of the last presidentis
election was victory for politiea
and millionaire monopolists, who raj
lied to the demand Of Conkling, tha
"those that owned the railroads. tn
banks. and the factories, should rul
the government" And now tn
country is commencing another con
fliet with the spirit of monopoly, ant