The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1899-07-04
THE THINKERS.
GOVERNMENT FOR TRUSTS.

Prof. Lester F. Ward is n OF
Americas acutest thinkers, and he has
the courage OR simplicity to say what
he thinks. The following paragraphs
were PUBLISHED by him nearly four
@ ago. II that were possible, they
are truer now than when printed:
"And thus we have the remarkable
fact, so persistently overlooked in all
the discussions of the current ques-
tions, that government, which fails TO
protect the weak, ia devoting all its
energies to protecting the strong. Ii
legalfz3s and promotes trusts and com
binations; subsidies corporation, and
then abs9lves them from their Obliga-
tions; eustains stock watering schemes
and all firms Of speculation; grants
without compensation the most vaEu
able franchises, often in p~erpetuity;
and in innumarable ways creates, de
tends, ana protects a vast array OF
purely parasitic enterprises, calculated
directly to foster the worst forms OF
municipal corruption. The proofs OF
each one of these counts lie about US
on every hand. Only those who are
blinded by interest or prejudice can
fail to see them.
There is no greater danger to
civiliz alton than the threatened ab
sorption by a few individuals of all the
natural resources of the earth, so that
they can literally extort tribute from
the rest of mankind. If half a dozen
persons could get possession OF all the
breadstufs of a country, it would
1stity a revolution. Fortunately,
from the nature of this product, this ls
impossible, although long strides IN
that direction have from time to time
been taken. Bat it is otherwise with
some other products which, if less in
diepeneable, are still among the modern
n~ecessaries of life. All the petroleum
of this country is owned by @ single
trust. II men could not live without
it there is no telling how high the
prics would be raised. Nothing limits
it but the question of how much the
public will pay rather than do without.
That Indispensable product, coal, has
we'll nigh reached the same stage
through the several railroad combina
rions that now control it. That which
costs so cents to mine, and as much
m IRE to transport, cannot be obtained
by the consumer for lees than s. or IS
Does it speak we'll for the common
sense of q great people that they should
continue to submit to such things3
T lere seems to be no remedy except in
the power of the nation"
But Prot. Wards warnings Of four
years ago have gone unheeded, and
today the great mineral products Of
the country mist needed by men in
the arts are in the hands Of the trust.
The great copper trust has laid its
whitening touch upon OF natures
most valued gifts to her children, and
at this moment when the electrical
development of the world requires its
use to the largest extent, it's price has
more than doubled as q result OF the
trusts wicked manipulatlons; this
while the prices for the produces Of
farm and shop are steadily falling!
And the great iron mines of the coun
try are controlled by two gigantic
trusts preparing nov TO unite III one.
The coal mines Of th6 E ,et are virtually
in one trusts control Thus are natures
resources becoming the mere serviEoEs
Of men with money whose sole pur
porse, as Prof. Ward has suggested, is
to 'extort tribute from the rest of
mankind
When will the plain people come
into a realization Of the fact that
privilege lies at the root Of this
giant evil which today has plunged the
nation into the heart sickness of doubt
and uncertainty Take this Thoughts
Toto your consciousness and study lis
and meaning: No monopoly can
long exist which is not based upon
privilege in one form or an.
other. Is that statement true7 If so, !
shall special. privilege longer be per
to exist to the destruction Of
The worlds manhood7 Whenever
privilege shall cease, the trust
will become a friend Of the people, and
its lessons Of economy serve their
PURPOSES Farmer's Voice.
The appeal to R JASON" declares
that ". J. Bryan is a friend to monop