The representative., 1900-03-15

rights OF property" personal liberty
private property and all the other
articles Of faith promulgated by such as
Rockefeller.
Here education and early training got
in its work on Maben's mental makeup
and he has never since been willing to
abandon any of these articles of faith.
While Maben was tenaciously holding
to these ideas, two million Populists
and thousands of socialists were care
fully examining principle deeply un-
derlying nearly every great economic
and industrial question That prin-
ciple was and is strongly antagonistic
to Mr.. Maben's whole political creed.
That principle today finds full in
dorsement of every Socialist in our
great nation, and of five-sixths of all
Populists.
That principle is the superiority OF
the pubic rights, or the rights of the
many, when compared with the rights
Of the few, or the rights of one man.
In our law books it goes under various
heads. We find it in the law of public
policy, the law of eminent domain, the
referendum principle and large num-
Der of applications of these laws. The
public takes private lands for public
roadways, for parks and even for cor
poration-owned railways under this
principle: that the rights of the many,
the public rights, are paramount to the
rights of any one or few private own
ers. The private rights of every farm
er are subordinated to the rights of the
public to build and use carriage roads
and railways
We believe even Mr.. Maben is in
clined to cOncede this. If this position
be conceded as resting upon the prin-
ciple above mentioned of the superior
ity of the rights of the many over the
few, then what shall be said of Lord
Scully's right to private ownership of
100000 acres in Illinois as compared
with the rights of Americas homeless
millions? But right here Maben's
plute creed asserts itself and he shouts
Crank" Socialist" anarchy" "mobs'
and fool talk
Maben's creed, notwithstanding, that
same basic principle that declares the
rights of Americas homeless millions
paramount to those of an English lord,
if carried to it's logical results, would
divest Lord Scully of his title to a
portion, at least, of his lands and par
eel it out to the homeless. This is the
same principle involved in the law of
eminent domain. 1t means the great
est good to the greatest number 1t
recognizes the rights of majorities 1t
places man above the dollar and does
violence to Maben's whole creed
A strict application of this principle
would bring public ownership of Rookie
feller's oil and mining properties, Car
negie's and Cramps iron and steel in
dustries, Morgan's coal fields and the
present and prospective national bank
franchises on the ground that the inter-
ests of the many, the public, were para
mount to the private riches of these few
millionaires. Mr.. Maben, paradoxical
as it may seem, would defend the rights
OF Rockefeller to the private ownership
of tho whole state of Idaho, give him
tho government troops to protect all
this private property and at the same
time denounce monopoly.
He would advise that few million
aires be allowed to own the earth, and
all above and below, and by some magic
or hocus pocus do away with monopoly.
He would destroy monopoly without
disturbing private property or vested
interests.
His advise on questions between capi-
tai and labor seems to us about as
ridiculous as Ole's advice to John.
John and Ole were taking steamer in
New York, bound for Sweden John
was late and did not reach the wharf
until the boat had pulled away about 20
feet, when Ole, from the deck, shouted:
"Yump, Yohn, Yump; 1 tank you can
make 1t in two yumps."
The Socialists and the majority OF
Populists would span the gulf between
labor and capital, between equal rights
to all and special privileges to few,
by a single leap to public ownership Of
every avenue leading to monopoly,
while such as Maben would loiter be-
hind and tank they could make it in
two yumps."
E. A. T.