Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1895-12-12

In England; have studied autOcracy
in Russia and theocracy in Rome; and
l must say that nowhere, not even In
Russia, in the first year of the reaction
occaslOned by the murder Of the car,
have l struck more abject submission
to a more soulless despOtism than that
which prevails among the sO-called
free American citizens when they are
face to face with the omnipotent power
Of the corporations"
These are the words Of an English
writer who has recently made a study
Of our municipal institutions. And AS
sociate Justice Brown Of the United
States Supreme Court, commenting on
the above, says:
Granting this to be overdrawn-for
am unwilling to believe that corpora
tion3 are solely responsible for munich
pal misgOvernment-the fact remains
that bribery and corruption are so gen
eral as to threaten the very structure
Of society"
Justice Brown in his article in the
August Forum, from which the above
extracts are taken, says, by way OF ex-
PLANTATION of municipal corruption.
that:
1.-THE activities Of urban life are so
intense, the pursuit Of wealth or
pleasure so absorbing, as upon the one
hand to breed an Indifference to pub
lie affairs: while upon the other, the
expenditures are 30 large, the value
Of the franchises at the disposal OF the
cities SO great, and the opportunities
for Illicit gain so manifold, that the mu-
nicipal legislators, whose standard Oh
honesty is rarely higher than the aV-
erage Of those who elect them, fall an
easy prey to the designing and unscru-
pulous. Franchises which ought to net
the treasury large sum are bartered
away for song; privileges which
ought to be freely granted in the In
terest Of the public are withheld till
those who are supposed to be moss
Immediately benefited will consent to
pay for them; gross favoritism Is
shown In the assessment OF property
for taxation; great corporations are
permitted to cucumber the streets and
endanger the lives OF citizens, while
every form Of vice which can be mace
Is secretly tolerated"
Speaking Of corporations In general
Justice Brown referred to the fact thae
"they have a practical monopoly Oh
land transportation, Of mining, manu-
featuring, banking, and insurance.
1.-THE ease with which charters are se7
cured has produced great abuses" Tbs
advantage they offer of limited liabil-
ity leads men to incorporate in order to
avoid paying their obligations, to crush
out rivals; charters are secured In one
state to do business in another or 9TH
ers, so as to bring litigation into Fed
eral courts. The eminent writer de-
scrTbes the gross frauds Of railroad con-
struction companies and the wreck
ing" process, and the vast profit, or
rather plumber, thus got under cover OF
law.
Speaking Of the trusts he said:
"Worse than this, however, is the
combination Of corporations in sO-called
trusts to limit production, stiae compe-
tition, and monopolize the necessities
Of life. The extent to which this has
already been carried Is alarming, the
extent to which it may hereafter be
carried is revolutionary. Indeed, the
evils Of aggregated wealth are nowhere
seen In more Odious form. II no stu
dent can light his lamp without paying
tribute to one company, II no house
keeper can buy a pound Of meat or
sugar without swelling the receipts Of
two or three trusts, what Is to prevent
the entire productive industry Of the
country becoming ultimately absorbed
by a hundred gigantic corporations? II
a railway company originally organized
to build 100 miles Of road has by fifty
years Of consultations and leases be-
come the undisputed master Of 10000
miles Of transportation, what Is to pre-
vent It in another Afty years from mo-
nopollzing half the traffic Of a conti'
nent?"
When a man sitting on the supreme
bench Of the United States thus writes
the people should be aroused to act
Delays are dangerous. But what can
be done with the great corporations,
monopolles and trusts? The process OF
consolidation and the development OF
the trust is q forward movement in the
line Of labor saving, Of economic serV-
ice. It cannot be checked, but monopo-
lies should be forced to pay tribute to
the government, and they should bs
bought up by the government as fast
as by complete consolidation and single
organization they destroy competition,
So rapidly are monopolies absorbing
the wealth and resources Of the people
and grasping all power that prompt
and radical measures are our only sal
walton. The danger at present is thai
monopollstic control Of political partieI
and the press will keep the people ig'
norant Of the danger and partisanly
prejudiced until violence and anarchy
will follow.
The trusts, the banks and every cor
poration that has grown rich under the
shadow Of special legislation passed by
the representatives Of the two old par
fiaa ara fighting the People's PARTY