The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-11-18

Frightened plutocracy will adopt
either one of two policies during the
next four years, and the present policy
of absorbing the wealth of the people
with more avariciOus appetite, whetted
by despairing greed, knowing full we'll
that this will be their last opportunity
to fatten upon the people, and gorge
their hungry and capricious nav by le-
galized robbery and reduce the great
American people to the point of sub
mlssive servitude, while they control the
avenues of legislation, the subserviency
of judiciary, and the power of the exec
utive and military, to enforce their
ukase of property above humanity"
and absorb the substance of the people
within the brief period allowed them
within the next four years. Or will their
Unsuitable greed permit them to modify
their present policy and adopt a slower
and less greedy, a new and novel one of
placing humanity above property, "and
extend clemency in the foreclosures of
their mortgages and the collections of
their obligations, by extending the time
for the renewal of maturing obligations,
the reduction of the rates of interest
the enactment of laws extending the
time of redemption by increasing the
amount of property exempt from sale on
execution" and the passage of liberal
bankrupt laws, by which an honest debt
or can commence anew his battle of life
to gain living, which he is now de-
MED by the persecution of the merciless
creditors, who have taken every thing
he possesses in the world (not exempt
by law, and who still hold over his
head a judgment dissatisfied, which is
always a menace to his industry, and a
prolific source of fraud on the part of
the hopeless bankrupt, who, deprived of
the uusual avenues of securing credit
and the lack of confidence which the
business world refuses him, he is in
deed stranded" without money, with
out credit, without friends, without en-
ployment, without hope, without the
opportunity of escaping from the mer-
CHESS clutch of his creditor, if he should
be so fortunate as to secure employment
or property of any kind. We ask will
the latter policy be adopted, and such re-
lief be granted to the people as above
suggested? This is the. opportunity of
cOporate wealth to evade for while the
just wrath of the people who have per-
mitted them to proceed Without molesta-
ton in their nefarious occupation of rob-
bling them.
But woe to them if in the space of the
next four years the present conditions
prevail, and no relief be granted to the
bankrupt and impoverished people. The
handwriting is on the wall; and if the
scenes depleted In. that great work,
Caesars Column" many chapters Of
this great book are already enacted,
which was considered myth when it
first appeared+bute Enthusiastically the
condition SO wildly portrayed In that
work has ALREADY passed lstory,
and the first mutterings wAl0ka@ up to
the contamination of the terrible catas-
trophe is already heard. Would it not
be we'll for these 'Gilded and oppressive
banditti" to pause in their wild and cruel
career, and gauge the temper (already
sullen) of their helpless victims, and
ask themselves "how much more will
they endure p" ,.,x.s "a 'S' ii .4is,sa