The Durham daily globe. (Durham, N.C.) 1889-1894, 1894-10-12

Der of the distinguished Trumbull family
of Connecticut, was a justice of the su
preme court of Illiuois. A few years
lat.r he was elected as a democrat TO the
national house of representatives, and,
before taking his seat, was elected TO the
United States senate by the democratic
legislature Of his state. With a number
of other democratic senators he left his
party and joined the republicans. He
was mentioned as a presidential posi-
bility in 1860, and was one of Mr.. Lin
coins most reliable supporters through
out the war. After voting again.t the
impeachment of John on, he vent back
to his original political connection and
has since that ii ne been Il democrat. Six
years ago he was that party's nominee
for governor. Now, in his eighty.secon
year, but appa emily in fine health and
in possession of strong vocal powers. he
astonishes the country with a ringing
spec h, more radical than a populist
platform.
"The money power" is the theme of
the discourse Mr., Trumbull says: For
ages the money power has controlled leg
~islation the world over, and, | am sorry
to say, has exercised a controlling in
~luence in our land for years" AS a
means of checking the operations of this
power Mr.. Trumbull would sweep away
the foundations on which modern society
rests-the right , o accumulate and the
right to inherit. He says that
Laws which open the door to large
fortunes by devise, by inheritance, or by
speculation, have no tendency to pro
mote the happiness of the people at large,
and often not even the''happiness of those
for whose benefit they are made If the
accumulation of vast fortunes goes on
for another generation with the same
accelerated rapiditY as during the pres
ent, the wealth of this country will 500
be consolidated in the hands of a few
corporations and individuals TO as great
an extent as the landed interests of Great
Britain are now.
But the venerable orator forgets that
while one set of vast fortunes" is being
accumu 'ated another is being d~issipated
1t is a very rare thing in this country for
great wealth to be handed down undi
vided. The grandchildren of millionaires
are more likely to be poor than rich. 1t
is the law of entail that holds great Eng
lish estates together, as everybody knows,
and we have no such laws. Mr.. Trum
bull proposes to limit the amount that
can be devised by will or otherwise. He
says:
Neither strikes of the laboring classes,
which array against them the money
power and the government power which
controls, mol the government control of
the great railroad and other corporations
will remove the existing conflict between
labor and capital, which has its founda-
ton in unjust laws, enabling the few to
accumulate vast estates and live in lux
uriOus ease, while the great masses are
doomed In incessant toll, perjury, and
want What is needed is the removal
latiOn Of the wealth of the country in
few hands, and this can only be peaceably
brought about by a change of the laws of
property.
1t is not true that the great masses are
doomed to incessant toll, perjury and
want" On the contrary, wages are higher
now in proportion to cost of subsistence
than they nave ever been. The accumu
lation of vast estates" by "the few has
been going on in all countries in all ages,
but our system Of government has pro
vided against the chief danger of such
accumulation by rendering it impossible
for a man to tie up or keep together an
with its Accommodations, for sue,
generations. Evils that have not
happened, and are not going to happen,
are distressing the venerable ex senator,
and causing him to distress others.
AS TO THE POPS.
Pritchard used about the same argu
ment last night in his speech as is used
by some OF the popuiists that Brother