The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-08-14
A WISE FOOL.
HE WRITES A LETTER TO HIS
BROTHER FOOLS

A WISE FOOL.
HE WRITES LETTER TO HIS
BROTHER FOOLS.
(The American Fabian.)
Dear Brother,-do you know a few
facts?
I. The total wealth Of the United
States in 1890, according to the census,
was over $62,000,O0O 900, nearly 81 900 for
each man, woman, child and baby in this
country, of this amount it is estimated by
Mr.. George K. Holmes, the specialist on
wealth statistics of the eleventh census,
that seventy-one per cent Tor $44, O0O, OO0,-
O0O) is owned by nine per cent of our peo-
pie; twenty per cent Cor ST., SOC, o00, OOO)
by twenty-seven per cent of our people:
while all the rest of us, forty millions of
people, own only about S., 500, O0O, 900, or
less than $40 apiece But this is not all.
The indebtedness of the middle and poorer
classes is not known, but including debts
of all kinds, it cannot be less than the
mortgage Indebtedness of $6,019, 679,985,
or $3.50 per capita. They own $40 and
they owe $3.50. That is forty millions of
people in the United States own nothing,
but when all is settled owe $500, OOO,OOO to
the rich. This is the first fact.
II. We, forty millions of poor people,
are thus dependent upon the seven mill
lions Of rich people. Are we not? We
cannot work for ourselves; it takes capt.
tai, to run store or factory and so we
have to work for capitalistss-We cannot
till the soil because that takes capital.
and so we have to mortgage our farms.
We cannot make laws as we would, be-
cause the corporations buy our senators
and representatives. We cannot strike.
because If we do, few desperate half
fed hodlums may destroy little property,
and then the rich people bring the army,
led by rich mems sons, to shoot us down.
We cannot get justice in the courts, be-
cause the rich appoint the judges, and it
costs money to bring case even before
a just judge. We can get no help from
the churches, in justice, because the min
listers are too busy coddling money out of
the rich, to support the church, and to
give small fraction of it to the poor
whom the rich have robbed. We can
scarcely even pray to God, because the
rich own the church buildings, and at
home we have to think so hard how not
to starve, that we have little time to pray.
We are owned by the rich, body, soul,
and spirit. This is the second fact.
III. Since we are owned by the rich
we have to slave on the rich mans terms.
The average worker in manufactures
imam, woman or child produced in 1880
$721 year. The average wage in manu-
factories was $347. Thus 1874 was taken
at that time, on the average, from each
who did not work; that is $1,O24 SOL ,347
was taken by manufacturers alone from
the working classes. This is saying moth
ing Of the profits wrung out of the work
ers in stores, on railroads, and in agri-
culture, etc. Do we wonder that there are
4,O47 millionaires in this land, some of
them perhaps active, but all of them with
their families living on other peoples la
Dor?
Yet this is not all. Since the average
worker cannot live on the money he re-
ceives (S31O), most of us are in debt. We
have seen that the mortgage Indebtedness
of the United States in real estate alone
is 5000, 1856. Now, by decreasing the
currency and demonetizing silver. the
rich people are making every dollar
worth more produce and so harder
to get. Prices have fallen in recent years
over half. Debters, therefore, have to
sell twice as many goods and work twice
as hard to pay off their debts and the rich
reap the profit. 1t is true that the rich,
having legislation now that suits them,
are just at present raising wages a trifle.
SO as not to make their employees too
dangerously desperate, but still wages are
only fraction of what the workers really
earn, and thousands cannot get work at
ALL This is the third fact
Nv. The fourth fact is that we are
FOOLS We are fortytwo millions and the
rich are scarcely seven millions, and yet
they rule us. Why? Because we are
foolish enough to go on voting for rich
mems candidates, to make rich men
laws, to appoint rich mems judges, to
maintain rich mans army, to create
rich mems money, to do the rich man S
will. The Republican and Democratic
parties are ruled by the rich, and yet we
go on voting for their tools. Why do we
not unite in the Peoples Party? The
Peoples party propose to have the
people own and manage the railroads, not
great bondholders 1t proposes to give the
land to the people, not to spectators. It
proposes to use both silver and gold as
our fathers did, that the dollar may not
cost too much. It would aid the farmer
give work to the unemployed, and SO help
business through all the land. Why dc
you still throw away your vote on the Re-
publican and Democratic parties, which
both give poor men hard times? Brother
fools, shall we do 1t any longer? Shall
we not vote for ourselves? The Peoples
party last year polled one million and
eight hundred thousand votes Let it be
four millions in 1896. 1t is the only party
the rich men fear. 1t is the only party
that can defeat the corporations. II you
would make your vote tell, do two things
~ Vote the Peoples party ticket;(O send