The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-09-03

powers conferred by the charters that bring
them into existence, but they have gone
further They have by gross usurpatlon Of un-
authorized power place5T upon us the burden
watered their issues OF stock until the great
corporations of the country that exercise
public franchises and that control the prime
necessaries of life, demand OF us enough to pay
what thew term ''tixed charges l. e. interest
on bonds and dividends on stocks, an amount
of money that we are wholly unable to meet.
Were the great corporations of the land to
remain within the pale of the law and confine
themselves to the exercise of their legitimate
powers no such alternative would offer. But
when we authorize number of men to in
corporate as a railroad company, to engage
solely In the transportation of freight and pas
sengers we grant no power to such corpora
ton to engage in politics. Neither do we
authorize it to place mortgage upon every
issues of stock and bonds for the people to pay,
through largely increased freights and fares.
The greed and rapacity of these men
them farw beyond the lawful limit
A mile of railroad costing $4,000 is made
to carry SOC, 900 Indebtedness. The schemer
pockets the difference ana In order TO keep up
the credit of the road increases freight and
fares accordingly. If he cannot get enough
that way what happens? Does he reduce the
interest? Oh, mol He simply cuts down the
wages of the workingman, and when the latter
combine together to resist this unlawful out
rage he calls it conspiracy against the Govern
ment, cries anarchy! rebellion! calls out the
Federal troops, wrecks train or two, which he
charges to the strikers, shoots few inoffen-
sive citizens and when it is all over the work
ingman gets less wages, the rest of us pay more
freights and fares, but the Dondholder gets his
interest Just the same.
To maintain this condition of things the cor
poration pirate must control the Government
or he is lost. If the legislative and executive
departments do their duty the bubble will
burst.
This, too, is a branch of the corporate ex-
pense account where the retrenching ak of
economy rarely falls, Tor the very life of the
pense account, which is about one-half made
up in the cost of the polltica! machine, must
be reduced it is the earnings of honest toll that
suffers, while the dishonest wages of political
crime and corruption remains secure Not
alone must labor stand the direct loss but
every article of food or clothing it consumes
at one time or another travels upon the rail
road, and the man who earns an honest living
is made to pay the cost of the forging of the
chain of his own eternal slavery.
The great organic law OF the Nation is yet in
tact, and it guarantees us all the blessings of
the five great bulwarks of human freedom:
Equality before the law, trial by jury, habeas
corpus, freedom of speech, universal suffrage.
Neither the legislative nor the executive de-
partments can assail it, so resort is had to the
judiciary TO reach by construction and judicial
legislation what must otherwise remain I'M
touched.
The judicial Interpretation that will make
the same law punish the poor striker on the
one hand, but which will protect the wealthy
Scoundrel on the other, destroys the first
The infamous contempt doctrine that en-
abled a Judge to land Eugene " Debs in jail
for a crime he never committed begins the de-
struction of the third.
The doctrine of some of our courts that
latent want of Jurisdiction, due to the absence
of jursdictional facts, not of record, cannot be
reached by habeas corpus will settle the third.
The control of the new channels and the
muzzling of the press will lose us the fourth
and we have as yet unframed the last hope of
the freeman-his God-given right-a free
ballot.
A property qualification might even take
that away. And you men who earn your
subsistence by honest toll will you ever give it
up? Will you by division or discussion over
minor questions of caste, race or creed let this
last jewel in the diadem of your precious lib
erty slip from your grasp? Or will you, remem-
bering it as the most priceless of all your
possessions, stand shoulder to shoulder, putting
aside every feeling of distrust, envy or hatred,
and rising together like one man of giant
strength, with the freemans weapon, the free
mans ballot, restore now and forever your
freedom, your liberty and your eternal happi-
ness?
The meeting closed with a short ad-
dress by P Ross Martin, editor of the
Coming Age.