The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1891-01-27
AN ADDRESS
BY the Executive Committee of the
National Eitizens' Alliance.

National Citizens Alliance.
To the Voters Of tie UpiEed States:
= When the immortal founders Of this
republic issued tuoIr tamou declaration
of independence-when they framed that
truly wonderful and inspired instrument,
the Constitution OF the United States,
they gave. to the world what would nave
been to-day, had their intentions been
faithfully carried ou5, the best govern
ment that man has ever seen. They
doubtless went as far as it was possible
for mortal men to go with the light which
God at that Tina had given them; they
saw as far as It was possible
for human wisdom and foresight at that
time to f~oresee. And there can be no
question raised a. TINS day that would i'm
peach the assertion that that document
was intended to protect every individual
in hose rights that had been so ably de-
fined in the declaration If independence,
upon which it had been framed, viz
THAT we hold these truths to be self
evident; tina all men are created equal;
that they are endowed with certain in
s!ienable rights; that among the Sc are
life, liberty and the pursuit Of happiness"
And had these grand truths been as
sacredly guarded by their posterity
as they were earnestly fought for by the
fathers. their children might to day be
enjoying the fullness of the fruits fer
wnica they Dled. But unfortunately for
the present generation, such has not oeen
the case.
When this government was formed it
was composed of but little over 3,OOO,-
90 o. people, stretching along 1870 miles
Sf s~ea-coast, and extending into the
country in the farth9st point not to ex-
3eed three hundred miles. Since tina
time we have extended this area until it
is three thousand miles n way from
ocean to ocean AID two thousand the
other, extending from the great lakes to
the gulf. We have multiplied the pOpu-
lation twenty fold. At that time there
were no special privileges granted by the
| government save those CT the toll roads.
Since that day we have multiplied these
special privileges a thousand fold, in the
form of railroads representing thousands
Of different corporations, comprising
something like 200, 600 miles Of improved
highways, with an aggregate capital in
stocks and bonds of upward of So, $780,
100000, and Puor's Railway Manual,
which is standard authority, plsc s the
| fictitious portion of this at fully one-third.
And every one Of these corporations re-
ceives its power to exist from the foun-
ain head of government, our legislative
bodies
Then come the thousands of cities and
towns, deriving their powers to exist from
these same fountain beads of government,
our legislative DO lies, State and National.
Following them are the thousands and
thousands of street railways, gas and
waterworks companies, each deriving its
power to live by a statute law enacted by
some legislative body. Again there are
the great insurance companies o: the land
with a combined cspital of $l,3i5,O00, 900
| and risk to the amount of SO, 248 600, 900.
Then last, but not by any means least,
are the great banking ID .erests Of the
county with a capital of 1917, 900, 600.
One of these, the special pet of the gov
ernment, the national banking interest,
derives its very existence from a special
privilege in the form of a franchise, that
with a capita! lever to exceed $650,00O,-
900 has 10 twenty-four years paid its
stockholders upward of $4,000 900 in
dividends, has at the present time a sur
plus of $l87, 292, 469 81, and other undi-
vi led profits amounting to $88, 3O2 :639.O1.
| This fran ehise alone has been worth more
to the stockholders of these banks during
the t~wenty-four years that they have held
it. than the total national debt at the close
of u last war.
Every one of these corporate powers
that we have herein enumerated, receives
i S power to exist and live from the foun-
tain head Of government, and every one
of them is constantly looking to their
mother, the State, for increased powers at
her hands to despoil the people Of their
| inheritance, until The State has herself be-
come weak and is begging and entreating
to be lett alone. Our legislators have by
statute laws gwen these corporations up
ward Of 2O0, 900, 900 acres Of land; they
have loaned them the government credit
to the extent Of nearly 100000, 900 more.
| They have farmed out to them the privi-
| lege of common carriers, by which they
have extorted from the people thousand J
| of millions of dollars in the form Of ex-
ceS,ive rates Of freights in order that they
might be able to reap large returns upon
fictitious bonds and stocks. They have
farmed out to banking corporations the
governmental function of issuing money,
and by which they have by vicious meth
DDS caused the stringency in the money
market that has stIewn the pathway of
l61, 1892 business men with financial
wrecks to the amount of $500 80 1924
during the last quarter of a century And
by the same process the great loan and
trust co npanies have been compelled to
foreclose the mortgages upon our land
holders to the extent Of several billions
more during that period of lime, Until our
nation is fast approaching that state of
things which Rome experienced on the
eve of her downfall, when the land Of the
people had been taken from them by
u~surers, and her tillers of the soil were
compelled to leave the country and con-
gregate in the city, and while her seven
hills were bedeckel with the palaces of
the rich, thousands upon thousands of her
| toilers were slee inc on the streets at