The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-09-12
NO HALFWAY HOUsE.

The address of Gov. Altgeld on La
wing of the Popocratic combination and
by the Populist and Socialist parties as
a whole, in advocating the assumption
by the federal gov errment of the bust
ness done by large corporations. They
are somewhat vague in announcing
their programme, but we are probably
within bounds in saying that they in
tend to have the government take over
the property of the railroad, telegraph
and telephone companies in the United
States and transact on public account
the business now done by these private
corporations. We will not repeat here
the financial arguments, urged with
convincing force and supported by am
pie statistics, against this policy from
an economic point Of view That side
of the discussion stands upon it's own
merits, and Will be brought to the front
if ever the controversy assumes prac-
teal shape. We desire to call attention
to another side OF the .4bject which
has received little or no mention.
Gov Altgeld, in his views on dealing
with corpol ate business, makes the
same mistake that he does when he
espouses the cause of free silver as a
system of finance. In both cases he
attempts to stop halfway, when there
is no such stopping place. In radical
changes of this nature people is fore
ed, by the logic of the situation and by
the laws of nature, to go to the whole
length of the policy in question, if they
enter upon it at ALL Thus, we have re-
peatedly shown that there is no half
way house on the road to fiat money
If the government, by the mere use of
stamp can make something worth
100 cents which the people of the world
in their exchanges now accept for only
so cents or 40 cents. then it can and
eventually must substitute fiat value
for the remainder. There is no logic. no
sense, no justice in choosing this par
tcular point at which to rest. If fiat
money can be created, good for all the
purposes of real money, then we should
avail ourselves of this power to the
final limit, and must dc so. The posi-
ton of the gold standard men is intel
lgible; the position of the bimetallist
is Ineligible; the position of the green
hacker is Ineligible, and all these po-
sitions are defensible in logic. The po-
sition of the free coinage man is neither
ineligible nor logical, for it proposes
to give to the people half a blessing
where it can give either the whole or
none.
In the same way, the demand for
government assumed ownership and
control of specified number of pri-S
vate corporations is irrational. Either
the government must not go into this
business at all. and must strictly and
sternly turn over to private initiative
all private business. or it must GUST
private enterprise from the field alto
gether, and, swallowing everything, as
sumo proprietorship and business SUI
pervision of every industry known to
and pursued by man. 1t is very easy
to see that the idea advanced by Alt
geld and by the socialists generally
must, by it's own inherent defects, give
rise to worse evils than any that It
aims to cure. 1t does not in any way
do away with human selfishness, with
human greed, with the desire of men
to put themselves in positions where
they can amass wealth, or with the
willingness of one man to make him
self rich at the expense of others. We
have had ample opportunity to see that
the field of politics offers large oppor-
tunities for this kind of jugglery and
the very same men who say that the
government should operate railroads
and telegraphs deplore, in the next SEN
tence, the control which avaricious
politicians have been able to secure
over the legislature and the courts.
The incentives 10 the acquisition and
exercise of such control would be vast
ly multiplied were the government to
engage in businesses now operated by
individuals and corporations. 1t needs
no stretch of the ina gination to show
what vast fortunes would be within the
reach OF the politician who could con-