Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1894-07-26

petition. The 10000 miles of railroad in
this country are bonded for three times as
much as the national, state, county, school
district and municipal debt, and they are
stocked for as much more. There are sew
eral billions of fraudulent capital in the su-
gar trust, gas trust, street railways, private
waterworks plants, electric-lighting plants,
and various franchised corporations. In
other words, blanket mortgage amount
ing to $4,000, 100000 covers every foot
and acre of ground in this country, and the
producers and their products are taxed to
pay interest on bonds and stocks that do
not represent one-half or perhaps one-third
of their face value. Nearly two-thirds of
this tribute, or fully $5OO,OOO,O00 a year,
has to be put into the Golfers of foreign
capitalists. Is it any wonder that the
country cannot stand this terrific drain
upon it's vitsls, notwithstanding it's mar
velous resources and the wealth. producing
capacity of its population No one doubts
the existence of these evils; no one ques-
tions but they will have to be remedied, or
that such remedy can only be secured
through legislation"
A few weeks ago the Advance, a very
conservative religious paper, published in
Chicago, asserted that, if ever strike
had right on its side and should win, 1t
was the coal miners strike now in prog
ress.d To corroborate this assertion, it
was shown that the miners of Illinois,
OhioJan Pennsylvania had been working
for starvation wages, and that the strike
was bro hit on by further reduction
Il uhr,i
Prof. Edward W. Bemis, of the Chicago
University, after thorough investiga-
ton, finds that the average pay of miners
in Illinois heads of families prior to
the gtrike was 1857 week..
HRnry d. Lloyd-no mean authority
speaking of the strikers, says: "The statis-
tics pf Illinois show that these men have
bee4 starved. 1t is starve or resist with
them now" incidentally he says; sour
only hope is that the third great party will
intervene; that the government will take
thel coal mines and operate them pay
living wages to the miners and sell the
output at cost"
'IThat Is what is called socialism, is it
not :"
~ do MT care what it is called. II means
pesce it means settlement of the Ilih'
ing troubles. The present condition is
intblerable."
It's to be regretted (but not wondered
right on their side, have become lawless
in their endeavors to secure a pitiful sub
sistenoe.
Why is it that the press and the pulpit
of the country, with so few exceptions, de-
nounoe these men who are but seeking that
which of right belongs to them, as fan
archists" and "enemies of free govern
ment"f If our government should be
threatened by some foreign foe, and call
be made for volunteers to defend our flag,
would not these very men, who are now re-
garded as train stealers, anarchists, and
enemies of society, be as ready, II not
reader, to risk their lives in defense of our
common country as the men who would
shoot them down like curss
The writer does not wish to be under
stood as upholding or defending mob law
in the least. Far from it. No one Is safe
where mob law prevails, and for that very
reason the men who are entrusted with the
law making and the enforcing power should
see to IL that the conditions which cause
strikes and mob law are removed, and that
speedily. What is here criticised is the
proneness on the part of the press to con-
denim, in the severest terms, the lawless acts
Of the poor, ignorant, frenzied men who
are rendered desperate by their cruel con-
dition, while the acts of far greater Grim
inals from moral stsndpoint) are passed
by in com parative silence. Since the pres
emit strikes began, has anybody seen word
Of lap att in IN ~ tho axuar N
against any of the railroad corporations
for stealing coal by the carloadf Coal
which was consigned to private parties
No. True, some of the papers ventured
so far as to say some of the railroad COM
panies we're confscating" all the coal
they could get hold of.
Yes, we need to send to Washington
men with courage and patriotism and
common honesty, and hearts beating in
sympathy with the poor and oppressed
everywhere. If our present do nothing
Congress, our sugar-cured millionaire SEN
ate, could be retired to the shades of OBJ
livion within the next "a hours, and their
places filled by such republicans as Judge
Tourgee or such populists as Senator PEI
fer, we might reasonably expect legislation
that would be of substantial benefit. But
Just so long as the present spoils system
lasts; Just so long as the senatorships can
be bought, and lesser places are to any
very great extent filed by men of the all
here-is-in-it class, just so long IL is al
most useless to hope for better things.
the clouds thicken and darken.
With the militia of half dozen states or
more in the field, who can predict what
the outcome will be.
" God give us men, A time like this demands
Strong minds great hearts and willing hands;
Tall men, sun crowned, who live above the fog"
of narrow and biQoted partisanism.