The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1896-11-17
THE FIRST GUN OF THE NEXT
CAMPAIGN.
The Coming Iasue--The Great Cities,
The Homes of Monopoly Against the
People of h Country and Smaller
Towns.

The Homes of Monopoly Against the
People of the Country and Smaller
Towns.
BY w J. PERLE.
Enclosed I send you a clipping from
the New York Evening Post of Nov. 5,
1896, which indicates that monopoly
feels strong enough now to throw off
it's mask. The issue four years from
now will be the people against the
homes OF monopoly. l mean by the
homes of monopoly the twenty five
cities in the Union of over one hundred
1housa md inhabitants which have sup
pressed or controlled the vote Of the
working men in their limits, and by
the Use Of money have also divided the
p9opIe who live outside these cities.
The vote of the working men he's been
purchased, directly, or controlled by
coercion, or by making them believe
that it was their interest to vote with
monopoly, or lastly the election officers
appointed by party machines have
beer purchased III such numbers as to
insure McKinley's election. The people
@ill not undertake TO determine which
of these corrupt methods was adopted,
but they Will make the issue against all
the homes OF monopoly, because the
me- Gritty OF the votes in all such homes
has been aud can be controlled by
means at the command OF monopoly
and in it's interest. Whether the work
mans vote in the cities is purchased,
coerced, or controlled, it is neverthe
less cast against the interest of the
American people and in favor Of foreign
domination. This is as much as the
people desre to know. Tae real issue
will be to break up the domination of
foreign and domestic trusts and cor
p~oratlons, which have shown their
capacity to organic themselves into
one great monopoly for the overthrow
of our institutions. The country peo
pie must be aroused as country people,
and the dwellers in smaller cities and
towns must interlace their interests t. =
gether for mutual protection. The fact
that the spectators in our currency,
the gold trusts and the National bank
ing trust, r practical directors and
controllers of all the other trusts and
monopOlies in this country, could and
did persuade or coerce four or five mil
lion American voters (not counting the
one Or two million votes they have
probably stolen) to repudiate the money
Of the Conetitu.ion and to believe thai
money to be dishonest, is evidence to
my mind that they possess almost I'm
limited power in America. 1t may be
that it is already too late to overthrow
this power. When I remember the
great struggle which Andrew Jackson
hal with the banking trust in his day,
when not to exceed 3 per cent. of the
population of the United States dwell
in cities, and small cities at that, and
now consider that there is about 33 per
cent. Of our population dwelling in
towns and cities and Is per cent. in
large cities, | am appalled, at the mag
nitude, the danger, and the doubt of
the coming struggle. The issue has
never been definitely framed before.
Monopoly has always owned both of
the candidates Of the two political par
ties and was comparatively ind f6rent
as to which succeeded because it was
victor if either won. Cleveland and
Harrison were both owned by the
money power as much as Mckinley
now is, and the policy of all three is
practically the same. The people thus
having discovered the game which has
been played upon them, will now make
the issue against all those who have
cast in their lot with Babylon. Ali
who do not come out of her will be
counted as a part of her. The over
throw Of the domination of the cities
will be the last great fight the frit nds
Of civil liberty will ever have to make,
but it will be a great fight, and I fear
that it will cost something more than
votes and campaign money before it is
ultimately determined. Below will be
found the clipping l referred to;
Population, wealth, and intellectual
forces have for many years drifted in o
the cities of the country. The Ia. t
census showed that there were twenty
seven cities in the United States with
a population exceeding 100, 900, not
counting Washington, where the peo-
pie do not vote. All but seven of these
cities are in the Mckinley block of
States. Every one of these twenty