The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1895-10-04

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ent time in the army Of tramps, ii mobs, strikes
OF laborers and dynamite explosions III ali coun-
tries OF the civilized world; and require an expen-
slve' police and military organization to check its
turbulent outbreaks, and under the present COM
nercial systems, will gradually increase until the
power OF the governments will be unable to sup
press it. The pages Of history furnish many
proofs OF the truthfulness of the assertion that the
concentration of wealth is a national peril. Rome
proud mistress of the world with an enlightened
state OF civilization in which the arts and sciences
reached a high degree of perfection and personal
rights were jealousy guarded, had her wealth
concentrated IN the hands of fve-hundred persons,
most OF them comprising the Roman Senate, and
was plunged for centuries into a state of semi
barbarisrn, from which she has not vet fully
recovered. The plains of Arabia, Persia and
Egypt show the remains of massive buildings and
extensive cities and great empires of a people
with massive strength and cultivated intellect.
yet have faded away from the blighting effect Of
concentrated wealth and power, leaving the willy
arab in his tent as a sample of the decline of a
once prosperous and intelligent people; that our
own nation is already travelling the same repre-
henslble paths admits of no doubt and with the
prospect OF reaching the goal in far less time on
account OF the greater extent and richness Of it's
country aided by a more rapid means of transpor-
tat1on and communication, and the inupetuous
spirit OF its people. Some ancient countries rec
ognlzed the evils of concentrated wealth and by
law made a reapportionment of wealth once in
ten years, that was their cure for the disease,
orr rrOnOSed SvSterr1 ic y nra1on+;vo
The holy scriptures contain many references to
exorbitant profits and concentrated wealth. We
submit that after a system has had a fair trial for
a period OF more than two-thousand years, and
found deficient, any person that endeavors to
abolish it, is not open to the charge of being in
undue haste for a change. We call the attention
Of the reader that most of the renrunerative trades
and industries of our country are controlled
by trusts and combines who have destroyed com
petition and demand exorbitant profits. There
has been two plans purposed and applied in
many instances to prevent these extortions, one to
restrict the power of combines by law; the other
tor the government to own and operate said bus
mess. Experience has proved that trusts and
combines are impossible to control as by the I'M
scrupulous use OF wealth and position, they induce
legislatures to pass laws for their benefit, and in
duence courts to decide in their favor, by bribery
and threats of dismissal compel laborers to support
plutocracy at the polls. Hence this system adopts
the plan of government ownership as the only
practical method and | propose to give an elab-
crate review of it's application to many industries
in another part Of this work; especial attention of
the reader is directed to the Nation Union Co.
which intends to place a store in every county of
the union and has many already established: the
object is to unite the entire wholesale and retail
trade Of the United States III one firm of private
individuals; this when completed will be the most
oppressive trust of all. The speedy adoption of
the foregoing system is the only possible way of
preventing its consumation and the humiliation of
those already formed. The government doing the
wholesale business would abolish many offices Of
the statistical bureau and would furnish law