The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1891-07-03
FUN WITH THE ENEMY.
HIS GYMNASTICS AMusE THE FARM.
Err AND LABoRER.
A Few Examples Of the '.Ravages Of the
Money Powsr'' Supplied "a Certain Anx-
tops Inquirers-Railrosd Corruptionists.
How Monopoly Corrupts Legislation.

A~HkSASN ~ ~ " OAS
plan games down to date. On one day
these papers will ''authoritatively" and
soberly say that the particular party it
represents viii stand firmly and solidly
together, and that the patriotism" Of
the members will not allow them to be
divided and stampeded from the road
which they have travelled for thirty
years. The next day the same papers
win ny that there arc grave disturb
snces in the country which threaten to
disrupt and disintegrate their 'sparty,"
and send their 3'eime hcnoredn (but
deAd) issues and theories to the reaEf.
And then, oh, what . plea they send up
for menSto "stand together and meet
The onset Of the coming foe"
Another day these papers will fawn
upon the great organization known as the
Farmers Alliance and say it's members
are the sturdy nobility of the land; that
they are tried and true men, and that
they will not be led away from their old
affiliations by new issues and new meas
ures. The very next day these same pa
pers will squirt steams Of abuse and
Islander and v%illifcation on the Alliance
and denounce the organization as a vii
famous compound of cranks, socialists,
prohibitionists and anarchists, and its
officers as a set of demagogues and I'M
scrupulous schemers who have no object
in view save that of the disruption of
their ''party," and, of course, the con-
sequent ruin Of the country.
Still another day these papers will &c.
Tiously estimate the strength of the ALI
ance, will wisely @ forecast its political
action, and will assert that the Alliance
movement must be taken into all calcu-
lations of q political nature, for its force
and strength cannot be ignored. The
very next day these same papers will
print an interview with some Alliance
traitor and renegade, or will print a
flaming head I'VE an announcement that
some sub-Alliance has repudiated ALI
anc principles. The sturdy working
man and the patient and loyal farmer
look on at these antics for a while in un
disguised amazement, then they surren-
der Internationally to the ridiculous and
homogeneous hurly-burly thus presented
and laugh long and loud.
1t will be recognized without ques.
ton that all legislation for the past
thirty years has come through either the
Democratic or Republican party. Some
Alliance and reform speakers have boldly
charged that both parties have been af-
fected, influenced and diseased by the
'ravages of the money power" This
phrase was used by President Polk in a
speech recently delivered in Washing
ton. The speech did not please the In
~dianapolis Journal, which is the acknowl-
edged organ Of the present administra-
ton, and as a mark of it's displeasure it
called President Polk a "howling dema-
gogue," and quoting the phrase, gray
ages of the money power" treated it con.
t~emptuously by exclaiming "whatever
that is" Well, it is too big a thing to
about at -ona-time,- but a few
illustrations may serve to show some
thing Of its size and shape.
\
In 1873 there was a railroad quarrel in
New York state, and some of the ravages
were exposed. Mr.. j. Gould was on the
stand as q witness, and when being asked
questions with reference to the appoint
ment of a committee to investigate the
management of the Erie railroad, said:
II do not know how much l paid toward
helping friendly men. We had four
states to look after, and we had to suit
our politics to circumstances. In a
Democratic district l was a Democrat;
in q Republican district l was a Republi-
can, and in q doubtful district I was
doubtful; but in every district and at all
times l have always been an Erie man.
MI. Gould added the significant remark
when asked a question, ''that it would
be as impossible to specify the numer-
~ instances as it would to recall to
mind the numerous freight cars sent
9 the Erie road from day to day."
In New Jersey a railroad bill, known
"a senate bill 1877, was passed in the in.
terests Of railroads that wanted to secure
the entire water front of Jersey City.
The measure was q fragrant outrage, and
the governor vetoed it. The senate
passed it over the veto. but the house
hesitated, and then the sravages of the
money power" began. The story was
told by Hon. j. b. Shinn, who could not
be bribed. Aman named Cromer called
on Mr.. Shinn and offered him $500 tc
vote for the bill. Shinn refused, and,
knowing that mischief was going on;
went to one OF his colleagues and told
him Of the affair. They agreed that il
any more offers We're made they would
accept them and have the whole affair
exposed in the house. Shinn was subse,
auently offered $1,000 for his vote, and
said 'all right" Five hundred dollars
time and five hundred after the bill
passed. At dinner a man came to Shinr
and handed him a package in which
there were five 800 bills. Shinn ex
posed the bribery. An investigation wa
had, the whole affair proven, and it is
now . matter Of record.
It has not been long since a 'ravage'
was exposed in the New York legislature
A member rose in his seat and stated
that he had been given S 1000 to vote fol
q railroad candidate for the United
States senate, and that he had given the
money 10 peaK IAe SPEAKER COZ
roborated the statement. An inyestiga
ton was ordered, and a senator and two
lobbyists were indicted for bribery, but
the influence Of the money power was 81
strong that the matter was hushed, ant
the man who exposed the bribery ha
been more abused than the men who dit
the bribing.
ask $500 y IEJ t4T ] 4
One of the most outrageous "rayages'
ofthe mOiaey power was exposedin 1874
in the Pacific railroad row in congress
when Tom Scott was trying to c
large subsidy for the Texas Pacific road
and @. p. Huntington wa working
counter to him for enormous grants ant
subsidies to the Central Pacific. Th
case is too long to be elaborated, but ex
900 LLAA A No. 49, MAH aAA IEa