The labor world., 1899-05-27
L. NDREW CARNEGIE sannounc5:

a. NDREWr CARNEGIE announces
@A bis retirement from business
81. having sold his iron industries to
the greatest, steel combination for the
sum of one hundred and fifty millions.
This amount he invests in first mort
gage bonds of the, combination at ):
per cent interest," which will produce
lin an income s.of $500, 900 a year, or
:Ss20, 900 a day. Which is pretty.go,a
salary to do nOthing-being $50 times
as much as tie president of the Emitted
States receives 1t isSa sum great tcry
than is paid to the kings of Bavaria,
Spain, Servia, Wurtemberg, Saxons,,
Roumania, Portugal, Norway, Sweden,
Greece, Denmark and Belgium, CONE;
BINED, and Carnegie would still have
enough left to pay the salary of every,
president on the face of the earth
That, is what. the fools Of, America pay;
to one man, and not the. richest /. one,
by any means. And yet these fools
would never, never, never snbmitsto
support royalty! Isl! But this spec.
|thlation in comparative royal incomes
was not what Il started to call your
attention to. It was this, that struc;S
me so forcibly when I read the dis:
patch referring to the deal BY which
the Carnegie properties passed into
the hands Of the trust. The situation
lis, that Carnegie had possessed himlE-, p
self of the position to tax the people
to the extent of millions a year.. The
combine wanted to exercise this power.
and they bought the power Of Carne-
gle, paying him $4,000 a day for all
time to come, he and his heirs, for the
privilege. They expect to tax the peo-
[rle to pay this and a profit to them:
selves on top of it. Carnegie simply
sold the privilege of taxing the people
-ionly that and nothing more. just
as sold the privilege Of taSin;;s,
the people; to the highest cash bidder,
(which was the cause Of the Watt Ty-
Herr insurrection5 in England-and all
other revolutions for that q. matter.
When you. come to. consider that, the
Steel Trust is capitalized at one thotls-|
and millions. Zone billion dollars) and
that Carnegie's contribution to it is
less than. one sixth of the whole, you
twill comprehend, to- some extent, Ill
YOU have a. mathemat tical,. turn. OF
mind, what this one trust means in the.
way of taxing the people. iI 1t will suck
from the labor aof the people Of thae}i
United States more money than all the,
kings, emperors,3 dukes, lord barolts,
presidents and royal families on earth.
suck from the worlds workers! The
robbery of royalty sinks into insignifii-
canoe beside this one trust. And then
ito know that the. copper trust d iisa one.
of the same size and power and that
there are over 400 other trusts, you.
must be dull indeed if you cannot. ses
where this thing is leading to. All
these vast incomprehensibles incomes
could be saved. to the people if they5
could only realize the right and justice.
Of socialism, instead of, thinking it.
sc1ne scheme to rob the Industrious Or,
divide up the property, Of which it is
neither. It will not take many years
a: the present rate of combination tc.
SC reduce the people to poverty that
they cannot stand the private owner
ship of industries. even if they wonll,
Therefore let us rejoice that the CON
centration is making such rapid head
way, because it will shorten the time
and lessen the sum of human misery.
incidentally, Carnegie announces his
intention of retiring from commercial
affairs and devoting his life and fot::.
tune to philanthropy and the fighting
OF the trusts. All of which can he
taken with more or less salt, but tim.
will tell whether he means it or has
,tEe intelligence to comprehend the
crly remedy. And we are nearing the
Twentieth Century.