The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-07-25

anu (unuef tnolr breath, 'tne people De
damned). 1t would be held for persen
endowed with ordinary sense, if he thought
for a moment, to find out what capital the
corporation furnishes except the shining
brass in their stupendious cheek.
The farmer bit at the corporation hook
baited with promises of extended markets
and raise the price of land and products,
and voted in the county in favor of all
the magnates wanted The mechanic took
the hook baited with the promise of high
wages and low price of farm products and
cheap goods consequent on reduced price
of transportation. The merchant took the
hook baited with the promise Of cheap
transportation, large sales and the barrel
of money, and voted in the city. While the
Pats and Oles formed themselves into
voting contingent and Shoulderng their
shovels formed into line and marched to
strengthen the voting force of the fools
voting for the interests of the corporations
| where it was likely to be overcome by the
| few sensible citizens who saw that the
people were creating a shady arstOcracy
| of wealth and special privileges more ar
rogant than the titled mobiles of Europe, be-
sides donating in money and land, double
the cost of the roads and allowing them
selves to be charged for service all the
traffic would bear" Thus the sovereignty
I of the people was transferred to the
| crowned head of the corporation and free
American citizens became subjects Of cor
| porate powers
| The men that obtained control of the
| railways soon became milionaires and kept
| a paid corps of cOrruptionists in every leg
| 1slative body. But the robbery of robberies,
| the most astounding in 1861 A great
many honest people who believed they were
| aDo1sh the last vestige of slavery. led
| by few shrewd ones that knew they
| were not, seized their guns and involved
| themselves in what history calls 1.-The Great
| Rebellon! A few SchemerS went to Wash
| ington while the peoples attention was alb
| sorbed in the question of the life death
| of the nation and actually made the propo-
| Sitlon to congress that if it would pass laws
| making the nation responsible for their
| worthless paper, guaranteeing the payment
of the debts they would create, they would
| build railway to the Pacific coast. and
| TINS IN the face of the fact that they main
| tanned that the government was too poor
| to carry on the war without borrowing
| money of so-called capitalists; and, that it
| took so much capital to build the road that
1t was too much for private enterprise"
| 1t seems almost incredible that people
| could be so fooled by lot Of impecunious
| adventures and a corrupt congress; land
| equal in area to the original IL colonies with
a few spare acres thrown in, was donated,
| and paper backed to the extent of over
$50, 100000! Nearly $5,CoO,OOO of which was
| handed back to friends in Washington.
| a number of whom were covered by the
| dome of the capitol
| From 1863 to 1892 the foolish people re-
| warded those cunning thiefs by sending
| them to congress; one became president
| and another posed a candidate for that
| high office, op the pretense that he wanted
| the government to loan the people money
| at two per cent.
But in line with the railway theft a
| thousand other schemes were started to
place the yoke of tribute the necks of
| a free people and hasten the dissolution and
| horror we see around us.
| The interstate railway commission was
| created by congress to keep the railway
| thiefs from running one another in their
| scramble for spoilS, lest the people should
| indirectly receive some benefit from their
| quarrels by a reduction of rates The great
| est railway magnate of them all fled to
| Europe to avoid arrest for fraudulent
| manipulation of stocks in the deal between
| the Kansas and Union Pacific railways by
| which he made a million and half of dol
| lars, while his lawyers concOcted a scheme
| of evasion by pleading the statute of lim-
| tations, in other words if a person could
| steal a large scale and hide it sue
| cessfully for few years he was allowed
| to go scot free a reward for his cunning
| but every plea failed with the fellow who
| stole loaf of bread to keep his family
| from starving for the majesty of the law
| must have a victim in order to be vindicat-
| ed
| franchises to carry business in which
| competition was impossible although these
| same business men claimed that compe-
| llllOu was the lie OF traQe), were given
| away by congress and the state legislatures
| without any compensation being given to
| the people, and millions of dollars of trb-
| ute yearly fleched from the people. Fran
=; chfses for street cars, elevated railways.
electric lights, telegraphs, telephones gas
| works, water works, underground conduits
| etc. Licenses were also sold in this Won
| derful free land to protect the landlord
and prevent the poor from earning an
honest living by selling produce to the peo-
pie by using the streets. Under this sys-
tenn wealth concentrated, combines and
| syndicates to raise the price of commod-
| ties were formed until when the revolu-
| ton occurred not less than One-half of the
| wealth of the nation was in the hands of
| those holding special grant of power I'M
der franchise were members of some
hugh combine the sovereign power had been
granted away until the corporation was the
| governemnt, and under the false plea of
| contract, these creations of law claimed
the right to make interest on a valuation
| equal to one-half of the national wealth.
although three-fourths was pure fiction
| And here comes the Inconsistencies of the
rulers, and blindness of the people. When
| ever there was any scheme of rab-
berry of the people on foot-as the Pacific
| railways Nicaragua canal, etc-that was of
such vast Importance and needed much
| capital that the help of the people was
needed the rulers, supported by the liter
airy prostitutes and college teachers of So
called social science" claimed that all
| property existed for the public good; nay.
| the very life of the citizen belonged to the
! state; that he might be taken by force from
| his family and placed in the fore front of
| battle in time of war, and his family being
| deprived of his support be reduced to pow
| erty and want.
! Interrupting the stranger for the first
| time 1 said: But did not the government
| give penSonS?'
| Yes answered the stranger, 'but who
! got them? The officers and their families,
| some of whom got high as SIS per day
while the poor private and his family got
q cents. Although the private was the
most exposed to danger and Inconvenience:
| fancy the widow of a private sick and
destitute of other means Of support, with
| three or four children, living on $12 per
| month, 40 cents per day, while the widow
| of the general gets $1,000 per annum or
1880 per day, and then talk of equality be-
| pacity for suffering in the empty stomachs
| of the private's widow and family as in the
| family Of the rich officers?
But do not interrupt Simon, for those
| things have passed away. Let me deal
| alone with things to be avoided in reform
| ing society.
| Resumng, the venerable man said: When
| there was chance to put the yoke on the
people and thereby make profit. the tune
! changed, and then instead of all things ami
mate and inanimate existing for the good
| of the state, the cry went forth that the
| state had no capital to carry on the enter
prise. Oh! wonderful colleges that taught
| a science with two sides; one of nature
| based on pure mathematics, THAT the
whole is greater than a part" and another