The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1899-07-14

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feudal lord was the dominating factor in
the life of every man. woman and
child in former times. He had an in
%alienable right to life and happiness;
they existed on sufferance.
The feudal lord of today is not intent
upon war. 1t is not by ownership of
the soil that he exacts the services of
his fellows. He is the same rapacious
parsonage that he formerly was, but he
has changed his complexion somewhat.
He is now a lord of trade. He is eradu-
ally working the industries of the
world ont of the hands Of the many in.
to his own. and the many bid fair,
other things being equal, to fall into a
relationship with him similar to that
in which the vassal of old stood to his
feudal chief.
1t is interesting to note the close
analogy between the process that is
now going on and that by means of
which the old feudal barons obtained
their position. In the former times a
baron enlarged his possessions of the
land in three ways. He seized the es-
49, VI thNi " lldu CSlulGS conferred
upon him by the king, and he allowed
small holders to vest the ownership of
their estates in him in return for prom
lsed protection. The new feudal lords
seek not, primarily, to ~monopolize the
land, but the industries that flourish on
II. h policy of seizure is familiar to
them. They are without scruple when
the opportunity presents itself to crush
out 4 competitor. AS illustrative of his
splrlt we have the traditional policy of
the Standard Oil trust in running any
refiner Of oil, no matter how small,
who remains in business after the trust
tells nm to get out: also the policy of
the sugar trust in coercing the grocers
iby threats from purchasing from other
r%efiners.
We have no king in this country who
can placate his barons by comforting
estates upon them Generally seized
from some of his other subjects). But
we have a congress which can and does
pass laws comforting special privileges.
Thus, for instance, we see the sugar
trust perpetuating its existence by OBJ
tanning legislation from congress that
enables it to fasten a monopoly upon
the people. 1t is a fact which no one
VIII dispute that the present trust
movement would never have been
thought of We're it not that the laws of
the land are, as a body, favorable to
the creation and maintenance of mo-
nopolies.
In old days, small proprietors vested
then estates in the great barons on the
promise of protection. This they did as
the least Of many evils. The small man
ufacturer or tradesman today is i'm
PEELED to pursue a similar course. He
prefers independence, but independence
seems no longer possible. He is the
prey of many. and all more powerful
than himself He therefore seeks a pro-
tector. He turns his business over to a
trust or a department store and accepts
a salaried position in the same.
What will the end be9 The answer
is easy. The new feudalism will in time
break down, just as the old did. The
old feudal barons became very power
full; they menaced kings and kept the
life of their day in a condition of tur-
MOL; they became a pest and were
eventually wiped out Of existence, in
some cases by a gradual process of
events and in me case, that of the
French revolution. by most awful
.bloodshed. These are softer days; the
growth of civilization and the increase
of luxury have taken some of the iron
out of our blood and it might seem rash
to predict a resort to such stern meas
ures as used to be applied. Still it is
we'll to remember that the people never
forget that they possess the power of
revolution.
Our object in saying all this is pure
ly to put our readers on their guard.
Conditions as they exist today possess
none of the elements of permanency.
Ignoring now the political and social
sides Of the situation, it is clear that
any one who builds his hope upon the
present industrial feudalism is likely to
come to grief. The feudal barons Of to-
day are not a permanent feature of the
situation. and their monopolies will en-
duTo but for a time. Economic law will
elleCt thelr rum, ana IL IS possible that
the people Of the United States may
eventually recover enough of their
political power to aid in the demolition
by means of repressive legislation. But
IT we should be mistaken, and neither
of these agencies be effective in pro
ducing this result then-we need not
hesitate to make the prediction-the
people will exercise that power which
they hold as a last resort. We mean the
power of revolution.