The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1893-11-15
THE A. P. A.
An Instrument of PlutOcracy. The
Oath Against Strikes.

tains the following EDITORIAL:
"Capital is shrewd. 1t never di-
vldes it's strength or forces. The
street. To-day it owns and controls
the leaders of both old parties.
Reform is slow.
When the X. of L. swept over the
country capital saw menacing ele-
ment arising. J.
The peaceful power of capital is in
telligence.
When they saw the danger of the
uprising they found men willing to
go among the X. of L. and split
them.
Sam Gompers undertook the job
and succeeded, and until lately the
A. F. OF L. were fighting each other.
X. of L. and A. f. of L. began to re-
aliZe that all should stand together
to resist the encrOachmentS of cOrpO-
rltions. y
The tools of plutocracy began to
appreciate that something should be
done at once to divide the rapidly
consolidating industrial classes.
Smart politicians we're sent among
the people to swing the bloody shirt,
but that failed to do the work; an eff
fort was made to divide them on the
tariff issue, but that was failure.
Becoming alarmed at the determina-
tiOn of the industrial classes to stand
together on the financial question,
the money power set to work another
scheme to divide up and scatter the
forces of the people. This time it
worked one of it's oldest and most re-
liable tricks, viz: religious strife.
They set their emissaries at work
among the populists and organized
the American Protective Association
which is misnOmer, as it does not
protect Americans, but does protect
the Rothschilds Bank of England gold
metal combination.
You ask how?
Well, we will tell you.
Populism means death to British
interference with American finance.
Should the populists succeed, silver
will be restored to it's rightful place
and enough government money issued
to bring the per capita circulation
up to $50. The money power realizes
that if such a thing could be brought
about it would demoralize the usury
business in this country and the peo-
pie would prosper and pay their debts
and avoid debt. The know that laws
would be passed denying to loaners
of money governmental power in
forcing collections. They know laws
would be passed forever stopping the
issue of interest-bearing bonds in or
der to enable the National Bankers
association to hog the monopoly of
issuing money.
They know all these things, and as
they are in cahOOt with the Jew gold
metal owners of the old world and
upon whom all the transactions of
the usurers are predicted. they natu-
rally take sides with the British sys-
TEN of finance against the Ameri-
cans.
They know if the common people
are not kept fighting among them
selves thev (the people) will get to-
gether and whip the everlasting stuff
ting out of their (the plutOcrats')
PinkertOn thugs and dress parade
militiamen.
Hence their eagerness to get the
populists fighting among themselves
on religious lines.
They fully appreciate the fact that
the platform of the populist party
is broad and liberal enough for Ca TIL
olic and protestant to stand on. They
know it is humane and decent enough
not to draw the sex or color line.
Knowing it, liberality and realizing
for what purpose the party has been
started, they naturally fear it and
feel that money spent in keeping the
A. P. A. organizers in the field is
money we'll invested.
It is too bad.
It is pity the masses are SO easily
gulled.
The St. Paul Globe sent spy into
the meetings of the A. P. A. IN tn
city and makes grand expose of
their ritual, ETC., including their
oaths. The hoOf of the money power
is made manifest in one provision of
the final oath. After enumerating
various things the initiate swears
not to do, he says: "Nor will l enter
into any agreement with a Roman
Catholic to Strike or create dis
turbance whereby the Roman Catho-
lie employees may undermine the prot
eStantS."
Observe the mastery cunning of
this. No ''strike" can be made un-
less it is more or less general, and it
must include catholics as we'll as
members of other denominations.
1t would be practically impossible to
make a strike of cigar makers,
tailors, masons, carpenters, railroad
men, or any other class and not
have catholics at work in the ranks
so striking. And when strike is
once begun, who can tell that it may
not result in some catholic getting
employment either as striker or as
an outsider. Hence this oath ends
all future strikes among those who
take it. Hence the employers of Ia
Dor can well afford to pay the expense
of the propaganda, for they not only
help to break up the peoples party,
but they put an end to all insurrec-
tion among their laborers, no matter
how great the oppression may be.