Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1894-06-07
Help the Poor PIutoerat.

In it's last weeks issue HdrpeTS
Weekly has Il page cartoon that
teaches more true political philoso-
ply than l have found in ITS editorial
columns since George William Curtis
died. 1t ls entitled "The Original
Coxey Army" In the background is
Pullman train, marching from which
to the capitol is a well-deessed army,
shining with silk hats and scntillat-
ing with diamonds. At their head is
Andrew Carnegie holding alofta huge
petition, labelled "Help the Feeble
Steel Industry" Behind follow,
Havemeyer asking "Help for Poor
Sugar Refner," Niedringhaus hold
ing aloft placard bearing the de-
vice "Please Assist the Poor Tinplate
Infants" and hundreds more like unto
them bring up the rear one conspic-
uous banner bearing the inscription
Help the Poor Plutocrat."
On the steps of the Capitol to greet
them are-not policemen with clubs
and revolvers; but bowling low with
the utmost obsequiousness Of mein
and outstretched hands to welcome
them are Tom Reed and Senator
Hoar.
This picture summarizes whole vol
umns of our political history. Every
robber scheme that has begged for
IMMUNITY to plumber consumers at the
hands of congress, has done it on the
plea that it would give employment
to American labor; that it would help
the laborer and give HIM better wages.
On this ground, and this ground
alone, have the protective tariffs that
have made millionaries of men like
Carnegie been defended. The work
ingman was to be helped by increas.
ing the profits of the plutocrat, to
whose tender mercies he was left. In
his annual message Of 1888 President
Cleveland withered with fine scorn
this clam of the monopolists. Well,
the worklngman have learned the les
son the tariff apologists so industri-
ously taught. They have seen the
favored manufacturers grow rich I'M
der Uncle Sans protection, and they
think they would like little of the
same medicine themselves, Logi-
cally, they are right. If the govern
ment is to tax the people with high
tariffs in order to furnish abundant
employment and high wages for labor,
it would really be accomplished the
same result more economically to be-
come itself the employer of labor and
furnish work for the unemployed.
Coxeyism is only an off-shoot of Car
negieism. If one is right the other
is. II it is the duty of the govern
ment to furnish labor with work at
good wages by way of protected in
dustries, it is equally and unques-
tionably its duty to do the same thing
directly. am no more robbed when
the government takes from the pro-
ducts of my labor in taxes to pay
Coxey and his men to build good
roads than when a tariff system en-
ables Carnegie to charge me more for
a spade in order that he may employ
labor and fatten on its products.
True as all this is, it is very super
fetal, though. Under our present
competitive system, neither the Carne-
gle tax nor the Coxey tax is defensi-
BILE. But they are both the outgrowth
of that system, and we shall never be
able to shake off either the plutocrat
or the idle laborer until we abandon
competition as a relic of barbarism
and adopt co-operation-untll we
have democracy in business, and the
ethics of the Sermon on the Mount
governs our daily lves.-Star ana
KdnSdn.
-. .lalnlrll-lal
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