The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1898-03-30


vice regardless of the fate OF any single
member of the corporate body. The cor
poration composed of small portion of
us all is the master in every field. The
corporate body will stand though every
other body falls. It is associated effort.
And association is the law of our life.
There Is no use in making war on the
corporation. The corporation is invinc-
ible. 1t needs conversion, enlargement
and perfection. For every one of us un-
der the natural law of our life Is be-
coming It's helpless servant as 1t is. AS
1t ought to be we may be the members
porate body in which all the race shall
share alike in its benefits, II we will.
We must possess 1t, or be possessed by
it. Private property in field where it
does not belong must be succeeded by
public, common, mutual ownership
there in order that private property may
exist at all in the field where it does be-
long. We have contended for our right
own nothing. We have asserted our
right to buy everything until we are able
to buy nothing at all. If we would
claim the right to own less in public
utilities we would soon be able to own
more in private necessities.
The coal, oil, sugar, gas, lumber,
flour, transportation, money-are all
controlled by association owners. I
make no complaint at the association.
l simply ask for place for myself and
all my fellows on the ground floor" l
must have part ownership in the great
properties of common use in order that
l may secure my right, given with my
life, to private properties for my private
use. If it be said by the corporator who
wants to stay in himself and keep the
rest of us out that we propose to con-
fiscate his property, the answer is that
our corporation will be so big that his
property will be too small His prop
erty would be worthless without the
publics business. If the public will
take the business which belongs to the
public he may keep his worthless prop
erty.
We are the defenders, not the foes of
private property The multitudes are
propertyless. There is no reason why
any one of them should individually own
railroad. There is every reason why
every one of them should own his din
ner. l am not contending that he should
have his dinner at the expense of any
other. 1 am contending that he has
right to life, and that the right to life
means right to an opportunity to earn
livelihood.
All men are created equal, and are
endowed by their Creator with certain
1ralienable rights, among which is life"
Whosoever destroys life is murderer.
Whatsoever law, institution, document.
contract or usage involves the destruc-
tion OF life bears on itself the blood spots
OF murderer. But there are other
ways to murder apart from strangling or
knitting the victim. The infamy of
Weylers rule in Cuba was not so much
In the men directly killed by his VILLAIN
les as the forcible separation of planters
from the soil and the consequent starva-
tion of men, women and children which
followed that atrocious act. It was a
great agricultural lockout enforced by
the strength of the Spanish army, and
the multitudes no longer permitted ac-
cess to the soil were left to starve.
But the current commercial and in
dustrial system as pitilessly separates
the toilers from the opportunity to pro-
vide their livelihood in our country as
the rule of Weyler accomplished the
same thing in Cuba. American indust-
rial life is the policy of Weyler applied
to shops, factories, and stores, not en-
forced by Spanish army, but enforced
through the operation of outworn laws,
of usages and customs which belong to
generation forever past and to con-
ditions of society which can never re-
turn.
The desperate work of the Spanish Of
ficer, separating the Cuban farmers from
the soil, was undertaken as a measure
OF necessity in war, in order to compel
the further submission of the Cuban
farmers to Spanish rule But our shops
| and factories are closed against all
corners not as measure of necessity in
war. but matter of necessity in busi-
ness in order to compel a further SUBJ
mission to private rule in public affairs.
Weylerism in Cuba was an effort to
! continue form of government, outworn
and impossible, though the subjects of
! that government, for whose sake alone
| it has right to be, should starye in
consequence. Weylerism in America
was, and is, an effort to continue a form
Of business, outworn and impossible.
though the people, for whose sake alone
has any business right to be, shall
starve in consequence. Weylerism
found Cuba fruitful, it left her in desola-
ton: it found her green fields and
bountiful harvests, it left her barren and
empty and deserted; it found her teem-
ing with populations, covered with farms
| and homes and villages, it has left her
one vast charnal house, with her un-
| buried dead, her deserted farms, her