The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1893-05-23

boy took to the road and in this par
ticular case It was a railroad. He com
menced as q section hand, shoveling
dirt, driving spikes and hauling ties
under @ boss and at wages that barely
support life and which he now be
grudges to his employees who have
taken his place. He was bossed; then
he bosses now. It would take too long
to explain now he rose from the lowest
ranks Of labor and became a member
of the hierarchy of "R. R. magnates."
However it came about there is not
room to tell, but as the poet says:
Little by little he grew to be rich,
By saving Of candle ends and SIGH
Till he reached at last an OpuIent niche
By cheating and ling
In selling and bu, ling,
By au sorts If frauds and dishonest eXaCtlorS
Brought to the smallest or moral infractions .
Simply byscalling them business TRANSACTIONS
There was o merit in his success. In
all the years after he left the ranks Of
labor he produced not a single dollar
of wealth by his own labor; he simply
appropriated the products of the labors
of other men, or monopolized the land
God made, and ]speculated on the need
Of his brother men for the land tha5
was granted to ell men and not to rail
roads and land grabbers. By the
thrift that follows poverty" By be-
coming a promoter of monopolietic
schemes. by purchasing legislatures
and corrupting judges he at last sue
ceeded in ~intercepting the stream Of
wealth that comes from the hands of
labor, and has reached by crawling,
cringiug aud unscrupulousness an
opulent height from which he looks
down and Kisses at the more honest
and noble men below. The lizard and
the snake. as well as the eagle, often
reach the peaks Of the highest rocks.
Like all who, without merit or hon
est toll, acquire wealth, be has an in
sane and morbid love of notoriety and
of getting his picture mot this one)
and his name in the newspapers and if
editors refuse him this qualification,
like Jay Gould he buys n Of his own
and gIoats over the daily personal and
other mention of the trucuIent editor
of the organ he has bought and put in
motion. This can only be explained
by an ever present consciousness of
the inferiority Of his organ, his lack Of
mental endowmentS, and the memory
of the base means by which he ac-
quired wealth and position. He can
not understand how it happened that
he was not born a wealthy arist0crat,
rich, talented and powerful, and in his
heart he attributes to the Creator as
an error made by the haker in the
makeup of things. He is common
place, neither stupid nor witty; but
has given him a large expanse
and hardness of cheek with craft and
audacity, and he draws upon these
regularly and freely.
As limited at before he has a talent
for music and a love for it, but it is of
a peculiar and special kind. It is not
composed like other music but ground
out on a machine either by himself or |
under his direction and played in pub
lie only on an organ with his emplovee
to turn the crank. 1t thus acquires
notoriety and a certain kind of reputa-
ton among o certain inferior class of
clacquers and sycophants who love
kind Of music,
Is he an honest man? Most certain
y he is. Not a common Or VULGAR |
thief or highway robber who steals
small sums Of money, nor is he in.
GUIDED among the poor people who
come within the definitions of crime as |
declared by the statutes and in.
,erpreted and inforced by the cour
Nevertheless he has grown rich and #
las not been through the products If
lis W labor. If wealth is onlv pro
luced by labor then it follows that the
abor Of others has somehow or otha,
injured to his benefit through and bv
means of the money acquired bv in
special laws, land grants,
peclaI privileges and the like bv which
10 has succeeded in controlling the
BUSINESS of courts, governors, political
onventions, legislatures and munich
without reference to the inter.
of the laboring men and without
aVing the trust and confidence of the
of the people.
This man is religious by proxy and
beral and generous with the public
nd other peoples money, always
9ady and eager to pile up bonds and
" on taxes while he poses as a public
u~efactor and a promoter of railroad
nd c. her enterprises.
The reader is being kept too long
ON 4 c..sar y;cw of the portrait. 1t