Workmen's advocate., 1890-11-08
STRULOBRUGS.
DR w. D, CUNNING.

attention was arrested by d class of Luggnaggians called "Struldbrugs.' A Srruldbrug is a man who never dies His babyhOod carries the badge of tieshy immortality in the form of dark blotch on the brow.
 There were born in Luggnagg not more than ten Struldbrugs i'll a century. Struldbrugs and mOrtals lived on terms of good fellowship till the immor. tai attained the age of eighty. At that age, immortality went into a pen and the immortal lived on at the public ex. penSe. His property was conliscated and his freedom abridged. Lemuel Guliver, being an Englishman and venerating the rights of property, was shocked, He complained to the Lugnaggiaus, who answered in such vein as this:--
 "Immortality to the few entails bur den on the many. Unless we tethered our Struldbrugs, they would be our ruin. For what is the passion of age? ? It is acquisition. What portion of Luggnagg do you suppose would satisfy a centen. arian Suuldbrug: And, if the Strud- brug is what you call a tinanciet', how much of Luggnagg would he acquire in d hundred years? What would be the wealth of such Struldbrug at five hun | dred He might own the whole of | Luggnagg and all mortal Lugnaggians might be reduced to a state of serfd0m. The whole world would fall into the hands of a few Struldbrugs. We stand on the defensive, and we stand for hu. manity against immortality of avarice. Where nature goes wrong we must cor rect her, What she should kill we will curb,
 This was Luggnaggian statesman8hip. It was wise and just. GuIliver does not tell us when the treatment of Struld. brugs came to be the vital question in Luggnaggian politics, or what evils were suffered before the cure was found. Struldbrugery is the vital question in our politics.
 While Luggnagg produced only six Struldbrugs a century, the century of our life has produced scores The spe. Cies are distinct. The American type is known under such names as "Standard Oil Company" "Western Union, "Mu. tual Union''. "New York Central" Erie, "Union Pacific. ''Centra Pacific, "Denver and Rio Grande" Corporations have no soul to die OI damn. They are StruIdbrugs. We have not tethered them and we are victim ized. Every man on the face of the globe who burns a gallon of kerosene pays two cents more than the just value that Rockefeller may put another mil lion in his pocket This is not all. A few weeks ago, l read in a Philadelphia paper list of the defalcalions and sui cides caused in Pennsylvania by one clutch of the hand of this vast mon Opoly called the Standard Oil Com pany." In the black list appeared the names of three who had lost thei reason.
 American Struldbrugery is exceeding ly complex. Take that Struldbru! called the Denver and Rio Grande Rail road. Within it's ribs is another anC another,-the "Colorado Construction Company the "Coal and Iron Com pany', etc. It is Cunningly devised enginery for the destruction of a State The directors of the Railroad COmpan, are the Construction Company, and thit is the Coal and Iron Company. They conclude to build a branch road, say from Canyon City to Silver Cliff. Is i needed: Will it pay anything to you who own stock in the Denver and RiC : Grande; These are matters of the leas concern The directors locate the ter minus, not at Silver Cliff. but two mile away, on land which they had pur chased at tritiing cost. They will xii the old town and make a town of thei own. realizing large profits on the sal, ot land. In this case, they failed. They contract with the C0u4tructioi Company, an alias of themselves, anC agree to pay for the building of tn, road, say HlO,0OO a mile. have it iron the lips of the chief engineer that tn, actual cost Was less than two.thirds O. the sum paid This little. illegitimat, StruIdhrug will make three hundre, thousand dollars complain to you. stochhOider of the Denver and Ri, Grande, that ten cents mlle is too mucl to pay on your narrow gauge road You tell me that the fare cannot be to, high, since the dividends are low. Sim pie Luggnagglan'
 The Denver and Rio Grande hold every enterprise in the State at it's mercy And how fares it with mortal Lugg naggians: The gods are shutting then out ot thelr garden. As a sojourner il this montain Luggnagg, l wished tC examine Glen Eyre and the Garden O the Gods.
 Here, an ancient river debouched int, an ancient sea. And here, on the shore 1 prDU-IpI colossal 1ipnso,,r. r.,,t4I,