The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1899-06-23

columns such a Scathing denunciation
Of m~onopolies and the monopoly rule
which it is that papers chosen policy to
uphold.
Rev. Mr.. Talmage said:
In the first place, | remark: There is
a greedy, ~all-grasping monster who
comes in as sutton seeking the hand of
this republic, and that monster is
known by the name of Monopoly. His
scepter is made out Of the iron of the
rail track and the wire of telegraphy.
He does everything for his w advan-
tage and for the robbery of the people.
Things went on from bad to worse, I'M
til in the three legislatures of New
for & long time Monopoly decided ev-
erything. If Monopoly favor a law, it
passes; if Monopoly opposes a law, it is
rejected. Monopoly stands in the rail-
road depot putting into his. pockets in
n year 5000, 600, 900 in excess of all
reasonable charges for services. Mon
opoly holds in his one hand the steam
power of locomotion, and in the other
the electricity of swift communication.
Monopoly has the Republican party in
n pocket and the Democratic party
In the other pocket. Monopoly decides
nominations and elections-city cleo
tons, state elections national elections.
With brides he secures the votes of leg
%islators, giving them free passes, CIV
ing appointments to needy relatives to
lucrative positions, employing them
as attorneys If they are lawyers, carry
ing their goods Is per cent less if they
are merchants, and if he find a case
very stubborn as we'll as very import
ant, puts down before him the hard
cash Of bribery.
But monopoly is not SO easily caught
now as when during the term of Mr..
Buchanan the legislative committee in
II of II states explored and exposed
the name in which a certain railway
company had obtained a donation Of
public land. 1t was found out that IS
of the senators of that state received
$175 900 among them, sixty members of
the lower house Of that state received
between $4,000 and $40, 900 each, the
governor of that state received $50, 600,
his clerk received Sc, 1000, the lieutenant
governor received $4,000, all the clerks
of the legislature received $4,000 each,
while $4,000 were divided among the
lobby agents. That thing on a larger
or smaller scale is all the time going
on in some of the states Of the union,
but it is not SO laundering as it used to
be, and therefore not so easily exposed
or arrested. l tell you that the over
shadowing curse of the United States
today is Monopoly. He puts his hand
upon every bushel of wheat, upon every
sack of salt, upon every ton of coal, and
every man, woman and child in The
United States feels the touch of that
twenty-four states of the union already
anti-monopoly leagues have been es-
tablished. God speed them in the work
of liberation.
Il have nothing to say against CAPT
talists; a man has a right to all the
A1oACy LIZ Soh Aoh AoASoklS \
nothing to say against corporations as
such; without them no great enterprise
would he possible, but what l DO say is
that the same principles are to be ap-
piled to capitalists and to corporations
that are applied to the poorest man
and the plainest laborer. What is wrong
for me is wrong for great corporations.
If I take from you your property with
out any adequate compensation, I am a
thief, and If a railway damages the
property Of the people without making
any adequate compensation, that is a
gigantic theft. What is wrong on a
small scale is wrong on a large scale.
dreds of thousands Of her best people
into semi-starvation, and in Ireland has
driven multitudinous tenants almost to
madness, and in the United States pro-
poses to take the wealth of 60, 900, 900 or
10000, 900 of people and put it in a few
silken wallets.
Monopoly, brazen-faced, ir%on-inger-
ed, vulture-hearted Monopoly, offers his
hand to this republic. He stretches it
out over the lakes and up the great
railroads and over the telegraph poles
OF the continent, and says: Here is
my heart and hand; be mine forever"
Let the millions of the people north,
south, east and west forbid the banns
Of that marriage, forbid them at the
ballot box, forbid them on the plat
form, forbid them by great organiza-
lions, forbid them by the ~overwhelm-
ing sentiment of an outraged nation.
forbid them by the protest Of the
church of God, forbid them by prayer to
high heaven. That Herod shall not
have this Abigail. 1t shall not be .
al~l-devouring Monopoly that this land
is to be married."
The editorial columns Of the Globe
Democrat and every other plutocratic
newspaper in America habitually de-
MES that there is any foundation for
such Porulistic talk as the above by
the great preacher. Yet a large major
ity of the voters. and thousands OF Re-
p%ublicans, will affirm that all of Tai
IMAGES charges against %monopolism are
true, and that the situation is fully as
serious as he represents. The asser-
ton OF the monopoly-owned daily
newspapers that nothing is wrong" is
not accepted by the masses of the peo-
pie.
But what is to be done? Can DR..
Talmage and the rest of the American
citizens reasonably expect a political