The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1891-10-31
NEMO'S COMPLIMENTS TO OMEN.

ness OF Ollen llS SufeS III regard 10
the prosperity of Kansas. Quoted
from the Kansas Commoner, official
organ of the Farmers Alliance and
Industrial Union: "a few days since
farmer came into our office, who
does not belong to the Alliance, nor is
he reader of the Commoner, hut said
he was in sympathy with Alliance
principles and wanted a copy of our
paper, with the Peoples Manifesto
In conversation the farmer said:
'The temperance question Is the
great question. Why Doesn't the
Alliance take that for its watch
word?'
eve had heard so many people
make the same remark before that it
had come to be tatiguing, and ques-
toned the gentleman closely con-
cerning the labor troubles, depres-
sion in business, and debt-cursed
condition of farmers, only to be told
that drink and the saloon was the
principal cause. Looking the honest
farmer in the face, we said: Are
you not a poor man, and are you not
mortgaged?' The answer was Yes
We asked: Have you spent your
money in saloons? Have you not
practiced temperance all your life?'
The gentleman is about sixty years
old, total abstainer, and we said:
"Sr, how can you say that other
men, who are no poorer than you,
are so because of their having spent
their time and money in saloons.
Do you pretend to say the masses of
laborers and the farmers of Kansas
are poor because they have spent
their earnings for whisky or beer?
To say this would be an insult to
the majority of mankind to say this
is an insult to hundreds of thousands
of over-worked women and girls,
who, too, are poor, not because they
have frequented the saloons; but be-
cause our economic system has been
so manipulated by the hired Hessians
of monopoly as to place capital above
labor in the structure of government.
"'This is the reason why immense
wealth is controlled by a few and
immense poverty the lot OF the
great majority. More and more are
natural opportunities taken from
labor by capital, and more and more
are the rich store-houses of nature
being locked ap by the greed aad
avarice of corporate be,r"s Way,
some people would have the impu-
dence to say of the carpenters son,
were he. on earth as poor as he once
was, that he too had been extrava-
CANT and spent his money in the
saloon. 1t is debt and usury that is
impoverishing the people to-day, dis
guise it as we may The annual in
terest charge upon the debts in the
United States, yea the world, is CEN
tralizing wealth to that extent that a
few wealthy men can organize and
form trusts on nearly everything and
thus more rapidly get possession of
all wealth.
" Think of it for moment. Here
we are in a county (Sedgwlck) whose
entire assessed valuation of property
is fifteen million, while the debts ex-
ceed thirty millions. The mortgage
and railroad Indebtedness alone is
nearly thirty millions, the annual in
terest upon which at lowest estimate
is over two millions of dollars an
nually. Corn at 20 cents, it would
take 10 ,000,0 900 bushels annually to
pay the interest alone on the mort
gage and railroad debts, say nothing
of the millions of other corporate,
municipal, school and individual in
debtedness. Reader, have you an
idea of this vast amount of corn?
Let's make it more plain. Take one
ton to load, to haul the ten millions
of bushels would require 2SO, II
wagons and allowing 80 feet for each
team and wagon it would take a
string 1891 miles long, or TO reach in
direct line from Wichita to Cali
fornia. Think of this interesting
string of teams reaching from here
to California hauling corn to pay in
terest on only a part of the debts of
one county in Kansas.
"The wonder is that the whole outfit
who are driving the teams do not get
beastly drund and stand some of our
lawmakers, politicians and editors on
their heads; but for years they have
been used as tools to impoverish
themselves, and the Illuminating part
of it is to think many a driver actu-
ally believes the saloon is getting his
wealth he doesn't seem to realize
that he can escape the saloon by his
own free will, he is not compelled to
pay him one cent. But how about
the interest? No man, woman OF
child can avoid paying it. Though
you don't owe dollar you are
obliged to haul few loads of this
corn to help pay interest on railroad
Indebtedness, if you produce or con-
sumo. The railroads not only tax
us to pay litter, st on their indebted
ness, but The manufactures, the
mills, the wholesalers, the retailers
and all, n Il! y, are in debt and thu
man who does not owe a dollar pay:
l. ,K.l