The Louisiana populist., 1895-09-27
SOME DEEP THOUGHT.
ONE WAY TO DOWN GREEDY
MONOPOLY.
The Remedy Proposed Is just to All.
and Is tho Only Way That the People
Can Defeat the Eucroachments of
Monopoly-Read and Think.

III man enters your home and re-
lieves you of your purse or other
valuables, it is rightly considered a
crime. because it takes from you
without an equivalent. Now please
tell US wherein you are less injured
when the Standard Oil, or any other
trust, enters your house and takes
weekly its tribute by adding to the
cost OF those things you must have?
You may answer that there is differ
ence, because you willingly give up
the extra pay or extortion and that you
could do without these things
If you did not wish to pay. You may
think so. but it is nevertheless untrue.
You cannot do without coal during
water. nor flour. meat and many other
articles except at the cost of your
life. Nor do we believe you have fully
persuaded yourself that you will
ingly" pay this extortion. The sneak
thief takes without your immediate
knowledge, these monopolies take def
antly before your very eyes-more like
highwaymen with pistols at your head.
You have been suffering this thing for
years, not because you like it nor be-
cause you have not realized its injus-
tice but because you have not learn
ed any method of preventing it. You
have relied on competition bring
ing down prices to right figure, only
to see combines follow each other
closely in nearly all lines of human
production. Your politicians and
party organs have been aiding 10
keep you thinking so, and prejudicing
yon against every theory" or ''ism"
that pointed another way. Just as the
priests OF the heather temple
warned their contributing dupes
against listening to the reasonings Of
the few philosophers of every age
who tried TO turn the victims of super
stitious cunning from the nets of those
who profited off their credulity. Be-
cause you have refused to use your
reason, because you have listened
like children to hired agents of these
mOnopolies, because you read only
their vOluminOus literature, because
you sneer at those who really want to
do something definite to change the
existing conditions. We say because
of these things you have been herded
to the polls and voted (all the while
believing the acts your OWN to per-
petuate the same system, and consc-
ouently have been getting the same
system.
There is one way, and only one way,
that you can defeat the encroachments
OF monopoly. OF course this particu-
lar method is the one most feared,
and, therefore. most bitterly de-
nouuced by the monopolies. You
have tried anti-monopoly and inter-
state commerce law farces. only To
find them impotent. Had you learned
the first lessons in political economy
you could have known the results of
these before wasting time and money
on them. You would have known the
Inconsistency OF making law against
one or more men getting control Of
commodity and extorting their neigh
bors. II you could do that, you could
fix the price at which your grocer
must sell butter or eggs. and you
would revolt justly at such despotism.
But there is remedy, and this is
it: Let the nation produce and refine
oil and sell it at the cost of well paid
labor. More than that price no mo-
nopoly can compel you to pay. Let
the state or nation mine and trans
port coal at the cost OF we'll paid la
Dor. More than that price no coal
monopoly can make you pay. Then
the cost OF thing will be the labor
in it, and not interest. rent and water
ed profits as now. This is the awful
'paternalism" the monopolists and
their hirelings want to frighten you
with. An awful picture, amt it?
Which wonld you rather do than to
De robbed When you are wise
enough to vote for men who want
these things, the way TO get the oil
and coal lands will be easy to solve. -
Kansas Citv Appeal to Reason.