Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1890-06-20
SINGLE TAX DEPARTMENT.
EFFECTS OF MONOPOLY.


Mr.. Powderly's Speech Enables the Bos
ton Globe to partly "sce tho Cat"
That was a statesmanlilSe address OF
Mr.. Powderlys in Faneuil Hall 1t con.
tanned very little theory and much fact
very few distractions and much con.
crete illustration.
He pointed, as tho Globe has done be-
fore now, to the idle coal miners of his
own State and the idle farmers of the
West, each suffering for the products OF
the other. yet unable to make the ex-
change. What is the reason of this sin
full waste? In this case, what chiefly
robs both the farmer and tho miner is a
monopoly, the great modern highways;
and another cause is the monopoly OF
the deposits OF coal which God or nature
buried in tho depths of tho earth, not
for the use OF few coal barons only, but
for the use of mankind Mr.. Powdcrly
well asks: "Why should few mon hold
that which warns The nation in their
five fingers, and rot oe Enclosed until
six agents sitting in New York city shall
say whether it will be 10000, 900 or 2,
000 600 tons month that shall como
from the minss?"
1t is cot w~'h ~h,,e to blame tho
who own ,be railroads, except so far as
greed makes them rapacious. Tho larger
question witch Nj. Powderly evidently
had in mind is VIII. hsr it is wise thing
for a nation Of Go, 900, 900 people to allow
it's great roads md srsat natural dopos-
It's of minerals 20 be the absolute prop
erty of f,w msn w. jealousy guard
tho peoples nigh, to the streets in cit
les, and in thess times 90 individual
over thinks of owning the county roads
and exact;ng toll upon uavelers. Mod
orn Industrial development has now
progressed so far hat the question has
become vcry sorious one, whether tho
public ownership Of rallied roads is not
as important asd necessary as the public
ownership of common roads. And as TO
the mines tss same question is agitating
the minds of thoughtful men. Why, as
Mr. Pow3er'y asks, should fow mon
own all tt o co,l that is undor the earth?
They have n,t put i. there, nor bought
it from anyoee who did put it thorc.
Yet they arb trarily limit the supply Of
this prime necessity OF life, forbid tho
starving miners to bring it to the sur
face in exchange for tho grain of tho
West, and charge tho public whatever
they think .he traffic wirl bear. Tho
monopolist of tho great modern high
ways, on The other hand, charges what
ever he thinks the farmer and consumer
can pay for transportation. The miner
produces .oal choaply enough, and the
farmer raises grain chcaply enough; but
between Ncse two monopolics the coal
has becoGo dear before it reaches the
farmer, and the brcadstuffs have become
dear bs'ore they reach tho miner. And
this i. DOT all. When tho coal monopo-
list shuo down tho mine for some pur-
pose of his avn, tho sinner, though his
hands arc as strong and as willing us
over, is faced to be id.e and wageless.
Then his pu:chas'og power is gone and
tho farmer lo'cs his market.
1t is much easisr, however, to sec the
wrongs IN the present constitution of
society than to pointout practical way
In which they may be set right without
doing more injustice. 1t is easy to say
that the Government or tho State should
how? Shall it buy them? That would
entail upon the people an interest bur-
den as great, perhaps, as they now pay
for transportation and mine rent. Shall
1t confiscate them? That, especially in
the case of railroads, would be UNJUST
for it is right that the owners should be
compensated for the capital they have
expended in construction. Shall it tax
them so that large part of their profits
will 60 into the public treasury? That
seems little more feasible; and from
Mr.. Powderly's remarks on taxation we
Judge that to be his way.
If Mr.. Powdorly is still littlo ahead
Of public opinion, it is at least moving
In his direction. Tho man who is now
gray and bald may live to SEQ some of
these great changes accomplished -
Boston Globe.