Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-01-31

party would mean ruin to whole sections Of
the country. As a result party strifes
would be Intense and perpetual, to the ex-
tent of rendering life unbearable under such
conditions.
To improve the waterways would augment
and perfect that glorious individualism
which is the handspring of success in Amer
lean Democracv-its elastic strength, its
supple grace, its all-conquering, all-uplift-
ing fire.
To buy the railroads would bring upon us
an onerous State socialism destructive to
our manly fiber. We would be bound in
fetters, cribbed in iron vaults, our individ-
ualism destroyed, our progress hampered
beyond conception.
Iudividualism in democracy is Ameri-
can, woodworking genius.
State socialism is Chinese-lead wings for
the eagle.
1t may be argued we do not hang on the
horns of this dilemma. We do.
Seventy years ago Webster said of the
then new law of succession in France that
the Government must change the law or the
law would change the Government. The
French Republic proclaims the foresight of
the American statesman.
No Websterian foresight is needed to see
that our people must change transportation
methods, or the transportation methods will
chain the people.
What! Are we to see the people taxed
$500, 600, 600 a year that 40 railroad nabobs
may have incomes OF $40, 900, 600 each?
To this measure is it come! Every dollar
o! increase in the fortunes OF these nabobs is
represented by dollar of depreciation in
the value of the farmers lands. Charging
what the traffic will bear" has been rather
severe on farmers, who have seen their lands
shrink in value and their debts increase.
The people are robbed, the few are maie
dangerously wealthy. The past so years
have witnessed a most extraordinary con-
centrat:On of wealth in these United States.
A few families have become affiuent by
the increasing value of city property; few
bankers and merchants, have piled up mil
lions by increasing devotion to trade. This
happens everywhere and can be guarded
against only by law of succession, such as
that of France. A few manufacturers have
made great fortunes, while building up our
industries, with the consent and approval
Of the people. Inventors have produced
ideas which have added enormously TO the
wealth, comfort and productive power of
the people at large, and have reaped con-
siderable profits, as they deserved to do.
But none OF these people have enriched
themselves by making other people poorer.
All the fortunes in the above category are
trivial compared to the great sums of money
accumulated by the transportation nabobs
Here is the bald comparison. On the one
hand are the transportation nabobs, enor-
mously, dangerously wealthy; on the other
hand are our farmers, who have employed
and been robbed by them, grown poorer and
poorer with every passing year.
The men vino have carried the freight
have charged what the traffic will bear;
the farmers, who furnish the traffic, have
seen their profits dissolved in the water of
the corpora tions.
Within 5Oyears the transportation nabobs
have grabbed one-fourth of the treasure of
lac nation; and the farmers lands have
shrunk IN value an equal amount.
1t IS futile for sophistry to endeayor to
veil the facts with fine phrases. The people
cannot be fooled. They have paid too well
for their knowledge.
They see that the farmers, the mass of the
people, have lost their money!
They see that the railroad and Transports
tion nabobs have got it,
What can be done about it? Incidence
may suggest that we let things 90. allow tbe
Inequality TO increase until the nabobs own
everything and the people nothing: pntiI
we nave become nation made up of a few
princes and a world of paupers: that we
drlt into bastard feudalism, lacking the
manly and charitable features of its media
Tal namesakei until the plant of the poet