The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1890-03-04

homes. Sin, crime and misery through
out this land OF plenty. A wave OF
crime for every season Of hard times.
Such should not be the condition of
this people if just and equitable laws
were in force. Gods laws would not
produce such conditions. Then it
must be mans laws that does. Now,
will each of you be honest, lay aside
your prejudice and carefully examine
and see If our general laws relating to
said finance, transportation, etc., are
Just and equitable. You have rights
and you should know what they are,ad
vocate, defend and maintain them.
To every right is attached a duty, you
should know your duty and perform
it to the best Of your ability. Now it
is both your right and duty to examine
these questions and in fact all other
questions so that you may act and vote
intelligently upon subjects that may
come before you for action. The re-
sponsibility rests with and on you.
Remember that "agitation of thought
is the beginning of wisdom; that in
telligent thought produces intelligent
action and beneficial results"
You cannot read a paper nor hear a
few people talking, but you
hear of the various monopolies, trusts
or combines. 1t is the subject upper
most in every part of the country.
Whenever the people of any country
allow any man or set of men to
set up toll gates on the highways of
life, the tribute receivers will become
richer and richer, while the tribute
payers will become poorer and poorer
and will eventually become the slaves
of the tribute receivers. Now, is it
not the fact that every avenue of pro-
ductive industry has a toll gate on it
to rob2 No one does any man dis
cover or invent any way or mean by
which wealth can be produced more
cheaply Oh more rapidly, than some
men or set of men get legislative IN,
actments passed to give them the right
to set up a toll gate to rob. Make
them take down the toll gate. Each
and every wealth.producer thinks the
monopoly that exists in his part of the
country is the greatest. Reason, he
both sees and feels the power. But
if he will examine he will find the
same principle runs through all of
them-the power to rob by law. Go
into the anthracite coal region, there
they will say that is the greatest; in
the bituminous coal region they say
the same. Go out West and there
the elevator and railroads are the
greatest. In the oil region the Stan
dard Oil Company is the greatest.
There is one l will mention that is
greater than all theirs combined. Elk
anime into it and its workings, power
and effect, and you will then see it as
| do. [ name the national banking
monopoly. 1t controls all other mo.
nopolies.
Read this and think "the land is
the source from which all wealth is
produced. Labor is the means by
which all wealth is produced, money
is the measure by which all wealth is
exchanged" The logical deduction
of the first is, that if labor does not
have free and unlimited access to land
or to the natural opportunities or to
apply its force and power to the inert
wealth that God has placed here for
that purpose and for the laborer's use
and benefit, many must necessarily be
idle.
AS land is held by the few it is con-
trary to Gods law. He gave the
earth and the fullness thereof as a
heritage to the children of man for.
ever. Not to a few, such as hold large
tracts of land, nor to railroad COM.
panies, but to man for his use and
benefit forever.
Second, deduction is that the
amount of money in actual circulation
in a country regulates and controls
the price of labor, labor's products
and all property, it being the measure
and only measure by which wealth is
exchanged, and the legal means of
paying debts.
Now, reader, is this not a very dan.
gerous power to place in the hands of
any man or set of men7 The power
to say what every man shall work for,
when he shall II not, the power to put
a price upon al the products of labor
and all properly the power to rob by
law, the pc" er to say how much you
must take Tor your farm. Farmer,
Is your faEm or the products of your
farm worth what it was 20 years ago2
Will either sell for one. half what +Sav
would or did sell for 20 years ago7
Then we had about $50 per capita,
now we have about 81. Then we
had az the Secretary of the Treasury
report, ovEr two billions of money of
all kinds among the people; now we
have less than 400 million.
A few years ago, when Gen. Jas.
B. Weaver, that honest, fearles and
able champion of the laborers', the