The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-12-21
IS NATIONALIST APPRoACHINa1

To the Editor Of the Eagle:
There is an old Latin maxim-"The
times are changed and we are changed
with them" 1t is remarkable that so
many great minds recently engaged IN
poking fun at the great common people
of this country have so suddenly
changed. But two months since the
metropolitan press and the great expo,
nents of public opinion were engaged
In deciding one way or another the peo-
pies movement A movement inspired
more by the law of self-pres o rvation amp
an instructive feeling that things were
going wrong than by correct knowl-
edge and careful analysis of the causes.
A movement that In this state at least,
was not political defeat of an oppo-
nent's principles merely, but the anlhlla-
ton of the opponent Now the once
great mediums of public thought are
dumb with amazement and the radicals
of monopoly are becoming conservative
liberals. And if the reign of the COM
mon people shall inaugurate the reign OF
common sense, especially In matters OF
government, we shall be blessed as never
before. For that is the very element
that our craftsmanship had been wanting
in. Like the story of the loss that the
nail lost the shoe; the loss of the shoes
lost the horse, and the loss Of the latter
lost the rider; the lack of common sense
in legislation lost honesty, the loss OF
public honor impaired moral integrity.
Our public servants were largely COM
mission men dealing i'll goods stolen
from Their constituents. Such brilliant
examples were set in high places that the
people sang for quarter of a century,
1--WE all do it," and suited the action to
the word, by taking the advice of the old
man to his son-"My son get money,
and consequently power.
1t was while we sang this mozy song.
and danced the political ghost dance to
the martial tune of 1.-The wah is still
being fit" that slick young man with
few thousands became inspired by our
crazy condition with a great ambition.
This product of national alteration is
| Jaw Gould. He is the father and pre-
ceptor by example of dangerous set of
parasites; the legitimate outcrop OF what
we made him. A man not to be either
hated or injured by any sensible man.
If we had not produced a Gould we
should certainly have had Jones, Smith,
|
! black Friday, Gould was said TO be a
bankrupt. But he soon got hold OF
| the Union Pacific, Kansas Pa
cifc, st. Louis. Kansas City
and Northern, the Wabash, and Jersey
Central. He next got hold of the Mis-
souri, Pacific for s., 900 900, immediately
issuing So, 900, 900 in waterd stock on IT..
and made clean profit of SlO,OOO0OO.
Next he paid 100000 for controlling
the st. Louis. Iron Mountain and South
ern, and later got hold Of the Southern
Pacific and a controlling interest In the
principal telegraph system OF the coun-
try. In less than twenty years, by wa
tering the stock of large proportion OF
the peoples public highways. he mulch
ed the products of American labor to
his profit nearly 500, 000, 900. But these
are only his older transactions. They
are referred to as an example OF what
all the other magnates nave done on
scales of taxations OF American labor
which beggars the donations of the
Caesars to their armies.
Yet this outline is only small item of
the vast development Of system which
our craftsmanship was too ignorant and
too venal to save to the people and keep
from the avaricious hands of private
ownership. So the climax appears to be
reached and the opposite of the great
corporations and monopoilstic octopus Is
born. The former is dangerous, the
latter may become 50; but
we should feel relief IN the
new experiments. The republic is
lousy: let us so change its system that
the lice viii drop off into safe oblivion If
possible.
1t seems that the road to reform leads
to naturalization, in its first stages, OF all
those interests which in their nature are
of public utility. Telegraphs, railways
and banking. How this may be done
is the question Of the future. 1t Is i'm
possible apparently TO natlonalize these
great interests without taking the road
TO the center that leads safely back 10 the
periphery again. The servants OF the
nation may be chosen by the votes OF the
people IN the districts where they serve
and qualify under national Law. The
courts may have to be adjusted for
particular jurisdiction over such interest
and the one man power. that relic OF
barbarism will go. IL may occur under
the new order that municipal and state
officials can be largely dispensed with,
and that while hundreds OF thousands Of
national officials NAV BE- created thou
sands may he eliminated az every stage.
Everywhere NAV b. witnessed the
eradication of old causes that alone may
remove their direct and contingent
effects now supposed 70 Dc Tneradicable.