St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1891-10-24
OPELOUSAs, La. SATURDAY, OCTOBER a. 1891

to make unlimited grants for legitimat
: purposes l put it to you in all fairnes
, how
: CAN ANY HONEST MAN
J vote to give such an enormous power TO
an illegitimate purpose? Why, my friends
If a proposition were made to give such
i grant for legitimate purpose it would b
rejected with scorn.
/ Let us suppose that man should go t.
the Legislature and the Legislature shoult
say Here, for SO much money l will Civ
you the privilege of doing the whole bank
| ing business of the State of Louisiana,
and the Legislature gives him such ];
privilege and it does not say that he shall
charge such and such a rate of interest
and does not place any limitation upo1
him whatever, such as are now placed up
on banks by LAWN other words, giving
him grant SO that he could do what he
pleased with the whole banking business
OF the State for twenty-five years-would
the people of this State make such grant
Suppose, for instance, a grant over the
subject of insurance were asked and the
grant was made, and / should go before
the people and say: "These grantees can
do what they please under this grant, write
/ anything they please into their policies
charge you any rate of insurance they
please, pay their losses when they please
they can do all sorts of things in such a
way that insurance is fraud, and the
| people are in the power of these grantees
| would not that kill it? Ought not it to
kill it? Now, come to you and say
Here is this lottery grant. 1t is an alb
| solute, uncomfortable, unlimited grant to
| this man and his associates"
All limitations in the interest of the
people
WERE STRUCK DOWN,
all amendments in the interest of fairness,
honesty and decency were voted down,
and nothing could get through that Legis-
lature but this overwhelming and unlim-
tied power, which seems to have been con-
ceived for no other purpose than to trans
fer to those men who own that grant the
whole political power in the State of Louis
lana. Great applause.)
Now come to the third objection,
which, in my mind, is still more conclusive
than the others, and that is the political
question.
What is it that every free people have
to fear in politics? Why, my friends, it is
the power of money. What is it that cor
rupts the people and degrades politics?
1t is concentrated capital; it is the money
in the hands of great corporations that
desire to control legislation in their own
interests; it is money in the hands Of mil
lionaires who desire to control legislation
in their own interests; it is money in the
hands of the conqueror who desires to
buy advocates and set them up among the
people whom he desires to destoy. / say
that the thing which a people have most
to fear is the power of money.
When Philip of Macedon made up his
mind to destroy the liberties Of the Greek
cities, tradition says that he consulted the
oracle of Delphi and obtained this re-
sponse: Flight with silver spears and you
will conquer all things" He knew what
the silver spears meant It did not mean
silver weapons in the hands of his soldiers,
but silver talents in the hands of his min
ions buying the misthatoi to deceive and
betray the people of Athens and Thebes,
and following that oracle he split the
gates of the Grecian cities with gold and
destroyed one of the fairest and most in
teresting civilizations that the world has
ever seen. ass.
We free people, We Democrats have seen
in this country day by day, year by year,
as our population becomes more dense, as
the struggle for existence becomes keener,
as the scuffle for bread harder.
THE POWER OF MONEY.
Do not you know, fellow-citizens, and do
not the people of this country know, that
Benjamin Harrison, President of the
U. S., was not made president by votes,
but that he was made president by Doodle?
(Applause) Did not Blocks-of-fiye Dud-
ley carry the great Democratic State Of
Indiana with money? Was not money
poured out like water by the millionaires
and by the industries that desired to pro-
fit by thieving tariff? Was not that
money poured out like water to elect that
man, and WASH he elected?
Now you are asked by this amendment
to build up here in Louisiana $5,OOOOO0
corporation, and what is the position of
that corporation apart from the possession
of an enormous capital equal to one-half
of the whole of the banking capital Of this
State?s What is the position of that cor
poration, my friends? Do you know why
it is that certain people meddle in politics?
Do you know why it is that railroads are
accused of running into politics and that
banks and insurance companies and that
class of people are accused of taking part
in politics? Simply because the Legisla-
ture has got the power to lay its hand upon
these interests and regulate them. Now,
mind you, the Legislature has got only
the power of regulation. 1t has not got
over them the power of destruction.
The Legislature can not take the charter
of corporation away. That is protected
by the Legislature of the United States
The Legislature can not take your house
away from you. You are protected by the
constitution of the United States. You
make contract. The Legislature can not
violate it. 1t is protected by the consti-
tuition of the United States. But suppose
my friends, that can point you out some
thing that is differently situated from any
other corporation, an alien from the law,
which lives merely by its license and the
will of the Legislature or the people that
created it. II the power to touch with a