The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-04-14
Should Give Way to an Uprising
Against Trusts.
PEOPLE THROTTLED
Through Purchase and Control
of Legislatures and Courts.
He Says Application of Demo-
cratic Theories the Panacea.

! trusts. MI. Harris says biAlS
! of business is becoming more arrogant
| each day and suggests that the time mas
arrived for the people to devise some
! means of preventing further encroach-
ments by this form of organized greed
Among other things Mr.. Harris says:
| 1.-The trust is simply another step IN
| the evolution of the corporation. II
! is the corporation raised to the MIN
| power, and while it has been said that
! the corporation was powerful enough
to control and dictate to the legisla-
| lures of sovereign states and to enter
| into the halls of congress and deter1nlle
! legislation there, and affect even the
] decision of judges, the power OF the
| trust is even greater and more IaF
| reaching.
s.Tt seems to me that in order to OBJ
tain any relief we have got to restrict
| and restrain the comforting Oh corPora te
| powers upon anybody VINO choosS9 ~
apply No charter should be issued I'M
| less at least so per cent of the stock
! has already been paid up in cash, aI9
the operation of the corporation shouiu
be absolutely limited and restricted 10
the specific property and purpose men
toned in the charter. No bonds shoolo
be issued except after proper APP
praisal, say by authority or the aIStric &c
| court and not to exceed two-thirds OF
the value of the property Also COT
| porations coming from other states
| should be brought to rigid account
imposed by our home legislation"
As to remedies Mr.. Harris says:
Now, we would like to restore the
old days when, under Democratic rule,
Democratic simplicity and economy.
everywhere the individual manufac-
| turer business man or mercnanl' III
| every direction and free falr' open
field ,...,o
I'VE would like to see in every little
! country village the Old-t1me mechanic
with his journeyman, manufacturing
iOnnlRm0ntS of all
sorts harness, tinWare, etc, and bulld-
ing up busy little hives, which were the
support and pride of their respective
| communities all over the country DuI
| If is impossible to turn the hands of a
clock back, and the question now IS,
How shall Individual rights and free
dom be preserved, in spite of the enor-
| NOUS capital and the monopolization or
| every field of industry How shall our
| legislature be freed from the tremen-
| dous influence which control and anect'
| from one end of the country to the oth-
er every form of legislation HOW
shall our courts be relieved from all
| suspicion of the undue influence when
| enormous power more or less eXertS :
| We can not go back to the old ways,
| and the trusts themselves, by teaching
the possibility of perfect organlzatlon'
are also pointing clearly to the only
possible remedy. The power when Is
concentrated in the hands OF rev peo-
pie can only be met and defeated by
concentrating and utilizing the power OF
all the people.
THE reign of terror which was exer-
cised throughout Europe during the
middle ages by the rObber feudal baronS
was brought to an end by lncreaslns'
with the will of the people and for the
protection of the people, the power OF
the central authority. The king became
powerful enough, by the assistance Oh
the people, to subdue and restrain the
cruel and rapacious barons. Certainly
we have got to utilize the power OF all
the people through their government
to n n a
essential to the general welfare, 1t IS
necessary to take it out of the grasp OF
the powers that have no thought Tor
the welfare of the people. 1t IS absurd
to Immediately. on such suggestion
begin to howl socialism. All good gov
ernments are more or less Socialstc in
the sense of providing for the general
welfare of the people and protecting
their individual liberties and interests
That government is best which most
intelligently and most surely performs
this work.
THE tendency throughout the civil
lized world is to increase the power of
municipal government in this direction.
We should cultivate and encourage
everywhere the power of municipalities
to provide those things which are nee
essary to a civilized life, without the
element of profit entering into the con-
tributions of the people for this purpose.
The general government should also
take up such measures and interests as
can not be reached by municipalities or
states. and do the same work.
when insurance companies defy the
laws of the state, as was recently the
case in Arkansas, and deliberately and
by conspiracy withdraw all of their
business from the state. then the state
should at once perform the duty which
is so necessary and essential
when great markets become con-
| trolIed and dominated by avaricious
! corporations, non-residents, and only
| seeking to absorb all that is possible
! from the communities where they have
| esta blished themselves, then the states
should proceed to supply the necessary
| the support of the people.
The same thing is as true as to teIe-
| graph lines as it is with the postal ia
ciIities The telegraph is simply an
| communication and there is no discus
| sion as to the necessity or propriety for
| this step. Transportation need not nee
| esSarily be wholly absorbed or perform
ed by the general government, but
| enough of it should be so owned as to
| prevent absolutely combinations in re-
straint of trade and for the ruin and
| destruction of localities or individuals
fetal creations increase SO must the
I power, intelligence and work of the
| government be corresponding brought
up and rendered effective.
1.-The real anarchist in this country
| is the corporation or trust that abso-
| lutely defieS all laws, tramples upon
| the authority of sovereign states and
| that preSumeS to Smirch the eIInine of
| the judiciary. The most effective teach
| er of socialism is the combination or
| trust which by the completeness of its
| organization enables one or two men to
| absolutely control the production dis
| tribution and consumption of many of
| the great necessities of life Some
years ago Prof. Ely stated that the
| German socialists had discontinued their
| la bors because the combinations of cap
Il T9l in he "a of fi1r7-