The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1898-09-02
Remedies for Political Abuses.

In vain we search the lists of stocks on
the market for postal stocks or mail stocks.
Nothing of the kind is found on the ex-
changes. No bids for them are heard i'll
the bedlam of the stock market. Rail
road, telegraph. telephone, coal stocks
and hundreds of other corporation stocks
with prices going up and down daily, and
the .bulls and bears raiding through the
market overtuIning everything i'll sight,
gamblers betting and cheating by work
ing corners on every species Of stock
property offered for sale, but no mail
stocks are quoted.
The United States government controls
the mail business and no stocks, real or
watered, are issued or dividends declared.
But how would it be if the post Office bus
mess was in the hands of corporations
There would be as much watered stock
issued on the post office business as on
railroads and telegraphs. And there
would be corporations and trusts in the
business Just as there are in the other
great branches of industry. Postage
would be three, four and FIVE times as
high as it is at present. There would be
several Systems" over which mail matter
would have to pass if the point was dis
tant, to which the letter was directed,
and a charge by each system as in the
express business. Foreign mails, like the
ocean cables, would have their companies
controlling them, and fleeing the public
as they do in the telegraph and other
monopolies. What blessing to the
public that the post Office and mails are
entirely in the hands of the government
If the telegraph and railroads were COM
pletely under government management as
the mail, it is almost inconceiyable the
blessings that would accrue to the public.
The American people are far behind
European governments i'll this. There
the governments mostly own the tele-
graph, and largely in whole or i'll part the
railroads. The governments derive
large part of their revenues from this
source and give the people much lower
rates than in this country.
The American people are the worst cor
poration ridden people i'll the world How
long will they submit 10 such servitude
1t is uncomfortable the amount of oppres-
sion and fleeing the patience and stu
pidity of the American people will endure,
and with what ease they are kept in the
dark.
The corporations especially the rail
roads and money trust, the latter being
quietly gotten possession of all the large
city daily papers, and through that
medium the public eye is closed, and the
people generally kept in ignorance, by
an ingenious system of misleading argu-
ments which is pure sophstry.
Direct legislation, or the Swiss method
known as the Initiative and Referendum,
is the only remedy for the multitude of
evils which, like barnacles on a ships
bottom. is dragging our governmentdown
and is making steady progress among
the people, who become converts to this
system of self-govcrnment as soon as
made acquainted with it. The system
has no enemies among the people and no
parties are divided OH it. When the people
can have direct yea and nay vote on
any law when a certain percent of them
petition for such vote to be taken, the
lobby will be shorn of its power, the
bribery of members of Congress and the
legislatures to pass class laws will cease.
The veto power will be taken from Gov
errors and President and placed in the
hands of the people. who will then be
placed OIL guard at the citadel of their
liberties.