Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1894-07-15
At THE ASSEMBLY.
WALTER THOMAS MILLS DELIVERS AN gLO-
QUENT AND INTERESTING ADDRESS
Upon 'Ths Forces that Are at Work In Our
American Politcs"-No!ss from the
Camp Grounds.

Notwithstanding the heat and the
dust, by far the largest audience that
ever assembled on the opening night OF
the Prohibition Assembly greeted DR..
Mead as he called for order and pro-
ceeded with the opening exercises OF
the meeting. Many were relieved to
find that the report that two OF the
Silver Lake Quartetts were dead was
false, as was fully demonstrated by the
manner in which they sang that new
and amusing song entitled THE man
who sowed pumpkin seed to raise field
of corn"
Walter Thomas Mills was then intro
duced and announced as the subject Of
his lecture, Forces that are at work in
our American Politics." There were
three-and all vicious and though each
was small in quantity, they were power
full in influence, and together formed a
mbination that made them the mas
ters Of our political life.
The first was that class OF men whose
business interests were OF such char
| acter that it was absolutely necessary
that In order to manage their business
successfully they must control the gov
! ernment. To this class belong that
small but very wealthy class OF persons
who own the bulk OF the stock OF the
great railroad, telegraph and telephone
companies, the water works and electric
| light plants, steamboat lines and kin
dred industries that depend for an ex-
istence on the consent Of the people.
Dependent for their establishment upon
the favor Of the various councils and
legislatures, their continued operations
| drive theim into the field OF politics to
maintain their favor, that they may
| control their business unhindered, citing
as an illustration the Saw Log Company
Of the SuSQuehanLa river, who, through
the Legislature, having obtained mo-
nopoly Of that business on that river,
found it necessary to go into into poll
tics in order TO maintain the control OF
the Legislature.
The people that comprise these great
corporations must go into politics, not
| necessarily because they are corrupt,
but in order that they may control their
own business. But when these corpo-
rations are operated solely for the pur-
| pose Of securing dividends to the stock
| holders without reference to the moral
| responsibility, their influence is vicious
| in the extreme, and menace to the
very foundation of our republican form
| of government. He charged the rail-
roads OF Chicago with a murder each
day for the last five years on account OF
their crossing at grade the streets OF
that populous city, and claimed that all
! efforts 10 compel them to elevate their
| tracks was fruitless, on account OF their
influence in the election Of city officials
of that city. About fifty men controlled
the political situation, and the railroads
controlled the men.
The victims of the present strike
were but handful compared to those
murdered by the railroads. The Hill
nois Central railroad, owned largely by
aliens, and almost entirely by men not
citizens of the United States, exercises
a controlling influence in Chicago and
Illinois politics. This control Is main
| tanned by the election OF men to the
| Council whom they can control. Hyde
Park, the scholarly, aristocratic and re-
ligious section Of Chicago is represented
In the Council by a saloon keeper who
resides in that district but sells whisky
In the First ward.
Prof Berris undertook to investigate
and remedy this abuse, and called ;
mass meeting OF the entire district to
determine what to do, and only twelve
persons responded TO the call. And not
a leading member OF any OF the great
corporations was present. Why? Be-
cause these men want representatives.
at the city hall whom they could con-
| troll.
The second force. which are few In
number as compared with the whole,
are the men who are in politics for rev.
enue only, and whose only business Is to
organize majorities. They are not
Democrats because they believe In the
principles that uEderlie Democracy.
They are not Republicans because they
believe in Republican principles. They
are there for what they caught for
themselves, thoroughly devoted 10 their
own interests. Politicians by trade,
there is no cause so low they would not
| champion, or so holy they would not
pretend to support in order to advance
themselves. Not to benefit the country,
but for their own personal ends.
The third, and last, CLASS, and with
| out which the other classes could not
exercise the power they do. is the PRO
fessional criminal" By these do not
mean the man who in III
of passion Stays his fellow man
These are arraigned and pay the
penalty for their crimes. do not mean
the business man who, amid business
embarrassments, commits an act tha'
brands him as forger-these are
caught and punished. | refer to the
men who, by years OF deliberate plan
ming, aim to get something for nothing
vet in such a manner as to escape th'
/ penalty of the law. II is a popular de
! fusion that the Liquor Dealers Assocl
ton is composed Of liquor dealers onl!
! This is a mistake. 1t is composed o.
/ - - 10 fhatF