The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1889-08-17
SCIENCE OF ROBBERY.
Laws Favoring Monopolies the Prime
Cause of n Nations Poverty.


Any person in the United States who
happens to have in his possession
$3451 has what would have been his
share OF the money of the country had
it been divided equally among the
80, 600, 900 people in the country In
the census year 1880 Call this the
cash value OF the individual in this
country. In France this value is moro
-$5457; in the Netherlands 1t is
1926; in Great Britain, $240S, and
in Germany, $1,000.
This does not represent the wealth
OF any Of these countries. Money is
not wealth. A citizen of the United
States with only $34. 81 may be in COM
Portable circum stances, but IL he were
suddenly set down in an uninhabited
country with u thousand times that
amount his circumstances would be
very uncomfortable indeed. The
wealth of country consists in its sup
ply of the necessaries of life, and the
number of people in the country de-
termine whether this supply is propor-
tionately large or small. If the num-
ber of people increases faster than
the supply Of necessaries of life. the
country grows poorer.
If the supply increases faster than
the number of people. the country
grows richer The man who has in
his pocket his cash value as an
American, or the sum of $34.51, is not
"worth'' as much in cash as
Frenchman whose cash value is
$5457, but he is worth twice as much
if he can exchange his S34.51 for
twice the value of articles of need as
the Frenchman can his $54. 81. This
is determined solely by the quantity
of articles of need in reach. The
money itself is a mere token. This is
so simple that it seems unnecessary to
state it, but until it is fully under
stood by a controlling majority of
the American people, as it is not now,
the majority of the American people
will be poor-and oppressed by those
who do understand it.
In the census year 1860 the cash
valuo of a good set of muscles in the
United States was $1,000. or there
abouts. This set of muscles was
called Il slave. Its cash value was an
affair for its owner. 1t had moth
ing to do with money. 1t was sup
piled with the necessaries of life
without money. Two decades later
when the cash value of these sets of
muscles was vested in themselves and
not in their former owners, it had
sunk from $1,000 to $34.51.
Whether this was an actual or only
shrinkage is determined by
whether or not S34 81 will buy as
much of the necessaries of life now as
81 200 would in 1860. If less, then
the cash value of free muscle is that
much less than that of muscle the
cash value of which was in 1860 arti- |
ficially increased by the artificial |
system of actual proprietorship of the |
human labor-machine.
We have stated these facts thus
in order to lead up to the
statement of another of the highest
1t is this:
Whoever controls the supply of the
necessaries of life in country con-
trolls in that country all who have
need of them.
If this control is vested in the Gov
'rnment, then all people under Gov
whose influence does not
control it in its actual work
ng are slaves of Government and
nave only such cash value as the
Government sets on them. This aver
lge cash value In 1880 we have al
'eady stated-$34.51
AS money, though itself worthless,
s exchangeable for worth, the Gov
which seeks to control the
noney-worth OF the average human
lnder it, must control both the money
md the supply of what money will
'uy. The Government of the United
states does this. Its control of the !,
,verage human who lives under
is laws is absolute and it op-
resses him, by reason of his
ignorance and the selfshness of
hose who have more brains
han he. 1t is easy for brains to
scape the operations of laws, which
'ork indirectly for the oppression of
he average human. The more in ;
irect the law, the worse the oppres-
ion, for the harder it is for the av-
rage human to understands; and the
lore easily evaded it is by those who
o understand it; who, in the act of :.
vading it, use it as an instrument for /,
ne oppression OF the unintelligent.
he average human in the United
tates to-day is oppressed. He is the
ave of a hard master, and that ..
laster is the Government which shuts
i'm in its slave pen of custom-houses
nd stints him in the supply of things !
ecessary to the full development of !,
ody and mind.
These are hard truths They may
,volt some, but they are true and un-
exaggerated. They constitute u fright 7
il wrong against weakness. but there !,
no wrong without remedy and the
,medy here is brains. The average y
lman must get brains-not SUCH +
aims as he has always had. butbet- "
T. brains; not such common ssnse as 'S
} has always had. for he has always "
zen oppressed in spite oft. Noman II
no has not uncommon sense enough o
understand the science of robbery p
I'd oppression Us well as Mr. Andrew c'
irnegie does is fit to be citizen of a ~