The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1890-11-27
a GREAT CONSPIRACY.
CAPiTAL's GAME TO KEEP THE
PEOPLE QUARRELINo.

his friends:
New YORK, August, /, 1880.
FRIEND BIRKIEY.-Yours OF the
% ult. came to hand in due titne, but
1 confess my Inability to fully and
satisfactorily answer the questions
you PROFOUND. Indeed they have
been q source OF great annoyance to
most OF us who have great capital
invested in various ways. The future
political aspect is anything but en-
touragihg. My only hope in the.
future is the ignorance of the masses,
and their susceptibility Of being used
by us just as we Il ;;sa;;
them. w.t.. therefore TN S'G "a aSs sssS
yos.ri.qusstioas from that basis, YOU
ask, "Dbes the present, agitation
AMONG the lower. Glasses, t mean ali
laborihg Glasses, indicate a reversal az
power from our hands into theirs?,'
Next you ask, "Wiil the agitation
likely ambuht to anything in the long
rub, or rather in timer" TO your
first interrogatory, / will answer that
l do not think the lower classes capa..
BILE Of conducting what Now appears
70 be q war upoR the upper class, for
the following reasons
They are by no means united,
neither in Organization nor in objects
to be accompltshedy much less are
they sufficiently informed upon the
real condition they are in. To ex-
plain: There is, for instance, the
great organizations fighting each
other. Just as long as they fight
each other we have nothing to fear.
Now it is evidently our policy to keep
them lighting each other. The result
will be a final breaking up of these
organizations. The fact is apparent
that neither the leaders nor the
members have the first glimmer of
common sense OF they would have
long since united their forces and
and compelled us to give way step by
step, nor need we fear of their ever
uniting upon any n great control
ling principle. All that they can
perceive is an advance in wages; and
even II we have to concede a little in
that way, it's only a question of time,
and that a short time, when inn
proved machinery and growth OF pop
ulation will increase the number
seeking work, so that wages will
naturally tend downward. These
men do not yet understand that they
ought to direct their fight and ener-
gies at the root of the subject. I am
still more positively convinced, when
| look at the various branches of in
dustry, both productive and dis
t%ributive, l see a sort of pride among
the M branch or other which pre-
cludes" all possibilities of unity. For
instance the clerks in the various
branches of distribution imagine
themselves as superior, and will not
associate with those whom they re-
gard as laborers. We need fear no.
thing so long as this pride exists
among the various branches of wage
workers. We, of course, can see no
difference, but We must keep this
antagonism alive and nourish it.
Looking all along the apparent line
OF battle, l see no reason for fear.
They cannot now, nor is it at all
probably that they will, unite forces,
nor strike at the root, which is so
deity covered up that it requires
great study and patient inquiry to
learn where their trouble comes from.
The only body that may, and it does,
cause any trouble is the Knights of
Labor. 1t seems to me, as far as I
can learn, they are the only organ
lied body that is educating them
selves and are hunting the root. The
very fact that they realize that the
wage question is not the root makes
it ominous for the future. But all
other organizations are at war with
them, and it must be our settle
ed policy to wipe out their organiza-
tion. We in the east r contribute
ing to a fund to keep up the fight
between the unions and knights of
Labor. I am glad to say we are sue
ceeding in this line. There remains
only one other cause for apprehension,
and that Is, when any Of the X. of
L.-Assemblies are what they call
them, I believe-breaks up they join
some other organization and instill
into them that devilish persistency
of hunting up the root, and thereby
increase our enemies. So far they
have succeeded, at least in a measure,
to stir up the farmers and others
sufficiently to give us trouble. The
only remedy I can see is to take the
place the control of government
entirely beyond their reach, You
know the method that is now being
sought to accomplish this, and If it
fails some other Similar method will
have to be adopted. We need have
no fear of the Republican working
classes. We can always have these
fellows to vote our way. The fact is
they are so far under our control that
they will not listen to any unless it
is ssimon-pure" Republicanism. Our
policy in the near future-as soon as
Congress adjourns-will be to employ
every aviable congressman, and also
those who r in any way able to
speak in public, to stump the country,
and continue this until we have
again turned public sentiment in our
favor. This will require much money
but even if it does, it must be done
no matter how much. II it comes to
the worst, we can soon get up a war
with England. We have sufficient
cause now, and can at any time force
a a The moneyed men of England,
at least a goodly number, are in
accord with us on this line, for they
also are having a serious time with
the lower classes, and the way out OF
this muddle is war-to kill off this
disconnected and troublesome horde
both in England and here. War will
give us preteXt for all we want, and
the poor fools will be only too gladstC
kill each other off.
Now I have answered both your
questions in one. Ihave done so in
a more extended'fo form than lat first
intended, but / realize that it is
the only way in which to convey a
clear conception of the whole situa,
tion. I need not caution you to
destroy this letter as soon as read,
for fear it might through some mis-.
hap fall into wrong hands. II you
wish further information regarding
the organization l wrote to you about
in my former letter I will give it with
pleasure, but it must always be in
cipher to avoid all possible chance Of
1t becoming known.
Yours, etc,
Organize, Edncatel
The Independent Peoples party was
born a little over four months ago. II