The age-herald., 1899-09-15

he owns. Our social and political leaders and speakers deny this.
 'In doing so, however, they Ignore act ual conditions. They discuss what ought to be under our form of government-not what is.
 "The strength of our republic has al- ways been in what Is called our middle class. This is made up of manufacturers, jdbbers, middlemen, lretail and wholesale merchants, commercial travellers and busi- ness men generally. It would be little short of calamity to encourage any industrial de- veiopment that would affect unfavoraoly this important class of our citizens
 "Close to them as a strong element of our people are the skilled mechanics and artisans. They are the sinew and strength of the nation.
 While the business of the country has been conducted by persons and firms, the skilled employe has held close and sympa- thetic relations with his employer.
 More Than a Machine
 ''He has been something more than a mere machine. He has felt the stimulus and ambition which goes with equality of opportunity. These have contributed to make him good citizen. Take away that stimulus and ambition and we lower the standard of our citizenship. Without good citizenship our national life is in danger.
 "It seems to me, therefore that the vital consideration connected with this problem of the trust is it's effect upon our middle class-the independent individual business man and the skilled artisan and mechanic.
 How does the trust affect them? Ii is admitted by the apologist for the trust that it makes it impossible for the individ- ual or firm to do business on a small scale.
 "It tends to concentrate the ownership and management of all lines of business activity into the hands of very few. No one denies this.
 This being so. it follows that the inde- pendent individual business man must en- ter the employment of the trust Sell preservation compes 1t. Duty to his family forces him to it.
 He becomes an employe instead of an employer His trusted foremen and ms employees must follow him.
 They have been in close and daily asso- citation with him. The new order of things compels them to separate. They are both to become a part of the vast industrial army with no hopes and no aspirations-a daily task to perform and no personal 1n- terest and perhaps no pride in the success of their work.
 Their personal identity is lost. They become cogs and little wheels in a great complcated machine. There is no real ad- vance for them.
 "They may perhaps become larger cogs or larger wheels, put tney can never iooh forward to a life of business freedom.
 "A very select few may become heads of trusts but such opportunities will be rare indeed. They will therefore, be en- tirely useless as incentives to the ambition of the army of those employed by the trusts As a result of the ceaseless and heartless grind of the trusts in the almost insane desire to control trade, ambition and perhaps inventive genius will be dead ened and killed.
 "The middle class of which I speak will lose their sense of independence They are already being deprived of that quality of opportunity which has attracted to this country the millions of people of other na- tions who have helped make American citizenship and American institutions the greatest and best In the world
 "The trust is therefore the forerunner, or rather the creator of industrial slavery.
 "The master is the trust manager or di- rector. It is his duty to serve the soulless and nameless being called the stockholder To the latter the dividend is more import- ant than the happiness or the prosperity or anyone.
 "The slave is the farmer, merchant and business man and the artisan and me
 Continued On Second Page).