Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1895-08-30
NO. IS.
UNION OF REFORM FORCES.

UNION OF REFORM FORCES.
At the recent conference of Socialists, Popu
lists, Prohibitionists and other reform forces
held in Prohibition park, Staten Island, N. Y.
for the purpose Of effecting union, Mrs.
Imogene Fales, of Brooklyn, contribution
from whom on Sociology appeared in our last
issue, read paper on "Is Union of Reform
forces Desirable and Feasible1" from which we
make the following extracts:
"This conference, with representatives from
every part of the country for the discussion Of
the great economic and political issues of the
day, and also for the possible unifcation of all
the reform forces into one great national party
that will turn the current of civilization and
give to the world government of the people,
by the people, and for the people-proves that
the American spirit, inert so long, is rising in
its strength, and is moving on to meet, combat
and conquer the evils that threaten to submerge
the republic.
'And those evils are great They are the
result of all economic system that has reached
its maximum of power, and its decay is involv-
ing the peace, freedom and stability of the ma
ton. A crisis has been reached, not only in
this country, but everywhere throughout the
entire world in the life of civilization. Com
petition has eliminated in monopoly. Every
where the few have obtained control of the
royalties of nature and the necessaries of life.
The same system that prevails in the brute Gre
alton prevails in the business world we call it
the struggle of existence, and an awful strug-
gle it is. The competitive system has ripened;
it has borne its fruit-the fruit of death-mo-
nopoly. A few men have possession of the
wealth of this nation; less than 10000 men
own one-half of the entire wealth of this coun-
try of more than 65, 200, 900 inhabitants. The
process of combination is rapidly placing the
manufacturing industry of the country in the
hands of corporations.
"Monopoly is intrenched in court and con-
gress it dominates both the old parties and
their organs-the daily press. Its folds are
strangling freedom. The food supply, the oil
that nature has furnished to light the houses of
the people all the wonderful results of the
growing powers, genius and labor of man, are
controlled by the omnipresent corporation.
Public instrumentallties, that should be WELD
ed in the interests of the people, the railroads,
public transit-the telegraph-the financial
system, throw their enormous revenues into
private coffers-to be used as a corruption
fund for the further subjugation of the people.
'Can these industrial and political con-
ditions be changed by either of the two old
parties !? Mo- for both the Democratic and
Republican parties are the plant tools of mo-
nopoly. Both oppose enlargement of the func-
tions of government and greater liberty for the
people both oppose the only remidies for
these great national evils-the public owner
ship of all franchises properly belonging to the
people Now hope lies in the new direction
that politics are taking in the principles ad
vocated alike by Populists, Socialists and Prohi-
bitionists. These three parties have converged
so closely that it is almost crime against hu-
manity for them to remain apart, when by
uniting they could destroy the stronghold of
saloon-and establish new
and better condition upon the earth.
"All the dictates of reason, all patriotic i'm
pulses, call for union of reform forces and
the formation of great national party that
will give to the people industrial independence
as well as civil and political liberty Coop
erative Age, St. Paul, Minn.