Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1899-01-13
ALTGELD'S JACKSON DAY SPEECH AT OMAHA


Municipal Ownership
There are hundreds OF things that Ire
public cannot do. But there arc a great
many that IL can, should, and must do.
1t has been demonstrated that munich
palities can successfully and very profit
ably own and operate water gas and
electric light plants. street railway sys-
TENS and number OF other things. and
the American people are prepared to
move forward along this line and every
such step by helping the people will help
the Democracy.
Telegraph aud Telephone Monopolies.
The American people are also prepared
to take the telegraph and telephone mo.
nopoly and make them part of the post
office, and thus not only cheaper tho
Service by one-half but make the tele-
graph neutral in politics Ours is almost
the only great government In the world
that does not own the telegraph lines
Postal Sa wings Banks.
| / believe that our people are also pre-
pared for postal savings banks and wild
ening the functions of the postal depart
ment. 1t is safe and very cheap to the
public. The English postofiice runs saw
| ings banks, issues fire insurance life in
other things at greatly reduced rates, and,
1t does what is almost q general carrying
or express trade of small articles at
greatly reduced rates. A man once said:
You can send a saw-mill through mails
there"
Control Of RAILWAYS.
But the greatest question is the control
or our railroads. Nearly all the govern
ments of the earth own the railroads
and railroad service, both passenger and
freight, cost their people on the average
about one-half what our people must pay
However, 1t Is not the economic feature
that l wish to discuss at present. The
railroads and corporations now run our
government They control the appoint
ment of Federal judges. they medde
with the election of Congressman, Sena-
tors. State Legislators. Governors and
Alderman. They dictate the policy of
government, and they do 1t by corruption.
Years ago i wrote some articles favoring
governmental control or regulation of
railroads, but not ownership. Observa-
ton has satisfied me this is all futile.
Instead of a board regulating the cor
porations the corporations regulate the
board. And If they run against an hon
est board some friendly Judge flies to
their rescue and kicks the board clear off
the highway
Interstate commerce Farce.
1t was lately suggested that the law
should require the interstate commerce
commissioners to shut their eyes when
drawing their salary, so as to lessen the
moral shock of getting something for
nothing. AT present there seems to be
no way of protecting the public and
restoring to the people their government,
except by having the government own
the railroads. As between having the
corporation own the government or hav-
ing the government own the corporation
the American people will prefer the lat
ter.
duty of the Party.
To the Democratic party It is a question
of vital interest. 1t can never become
corporation party without abandoning
its mission and becoming contemplate
in the eyes of men. Therefore the cor
poratons will always furnish the Doodle |
to Mark Hanna with which to debauch |
the American voter and defeat that par |
ty. If the government owned the roads |
it would be different. True, 1t would |
create large patronage. This. however, |
might be regulated by civil service, but |
even II 1t were not the government could |
not possibly coerce its men more than |
the corporations do now. and 1t could not |
pay the large sums for corruption pur-
poses which the corporations now ad- |
vance and then indirectly get back from |
tho government. If the government own
ed the railroads many trusts now made |
powerful by railroad discrimination would |
dissolve.
How Little Corporation Bantams Are
Incubated.
The great and criminal corporations are
the incubators which have been Matching
the little bantams that talk arlstocracy.
Destroy the incubators and the brood will
die out These, my friends, are the is
sues, this our high purpose.
We are not interested in cheap politics.
We are trying to establish higher JUS
tice and bring mankind days march
nearer to the great high plane of human
brotherhood. Two centuries ago the
world struggled for religious liberty. a
ago for political liberty; today
1t is in the birth throes of Industrial lib
erty. Religious liberty could not live
amid superstition. but demanded liberal
Political liberty could not
live amid kings and aristocracies, but de-
lnanded republican institutions. Indus
trial liberty cannot live amid monopoly
and injustice and it is calling for higher
standards. Democracy established reli-
gious and political freedom and it must
now establish industrial freedom by CIV
ing the public the benefit of all monop-
olies.
Road to Industrial Freedom.
How is this to be done? BY the same
means by which every great reform and
moral advance in the history of the world
has been carried forward The soul of
the hero and the spirit of the martyr
are the twin guides of human progress.
James Russell Lowell summed up the
whole history of civilization when he
penncd the lines:
Truth forever on the scaffold.
Wrong forever on the throne.
But that scaffold sways the future,
And behind the dim unknown
Standeth God within the shadow.
Keeping watch upon his own"
Today truth is on the scaffold and
wrong is on the throne The forces that
support crime in high places are masters.
md as they live by the breath of false
hood, we must expect every possible in
lightly, and we must expect temporary
.everses.