The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1900-06-08
RU1NoUs RULE OF THF TRUST.


RUINoUS RULE OF THF TRUST.
There Is a banana trust. Somehow
or other they have managed to get
held of the banana supply, and OF
course they proceeded at once to fix
an exorbitant price on bananas.
The result naturally is that they
cannot sell their fruit; the poor are
not able to pay the price, and the
bananas are rottening on the stalk.
But rather than to give them away to
the hungry, or to sell them one
cent less than the arbitrary trust
price, the trust magnates are dump
ing them into lakes and rivers, TO
get rid of them, and to prevent
others from getting hold of them.
We respectfully submit that men
who will do this, should be dumped
into the lakes and rivers them
selves. Drowning IN none too good
for them. To take the bread of life
a, it were, and wantOnly waste and
destroy it, rather than give it to the
hungry to eat; to corner the mark
on food stutfs and fix the price so
high that none but the rich can
reach it; to take natures gifts sent
from God to sustain man, and with
hold them from the uses for which
they were intended, is a crime
against the laws of God and the
rights of humanity, and no law
can be framed too severe in it's pun
ishment for such offenders.
Truth of the business is the people
ought to say to these trust fiends,
you shall not. In the absence of
statute law, the people have some
natural rights. If there was no law
against band of robbers hauling
away or burning up mans corn,
his neighbdrs would have a right to
go to his help to prevent it. That was
natural, God given right, before
any statute law was made. And a
trust or combine who will buy up
bread or meat or bananas, and by
arbitrary and exorbitant prices
withhold them from the use OF the
people, is no better than a band OF
robbers, and should be treated with
no more consideration.
The trouble with this country is
that the laws do not protect the peo-
pie. They are not made to protect
the people. Our law makers, as a
class, are not statesmen and patriots
they are pap-suckers and politi.
clans. Instead of earnest men, leg.
islating for the common good, they
are political partisans, playing a.
politics, for party advantage and per,
sonal promotion. They chatf anC
guy each other and hurl their studieC
eloquence at the galleries, and from
political rostrums weep oceans o
tears over the dear people, but the
sad, lamentable truth is, they ar,
not earnest, they are not faithful
they are not true. They will q
thousands of miles to rescue the poo
Filipino from the cruel tyranny o
Spain; and they will wax eloquen
in discussing resolutions of sympa
thy for the Beers; they will so an.
distance and discuss anything to di
vert the attention of the country
butwhon it comes down to actua
doing something; when it comes t
applying heroic remedies to the &C
cursed evils of these giant monopolie
and trusts, they are arrant coward
nearly every one of them, and bu
poor apologists for men.
We believe the only hope of thi
country is in the people. Our law
are too leaky; made to catch wood
chucks. Oar law makers are pro
fessional place hunters lacking thos
traits of character that should char
acterize men holding the happines
OF a people and the destiny of ma
tion in their hands. They are lag
CARDS, aud must be constantly an
severely prodded by public opinion
They are eye servants, and must b
watched aud urged aud scolded
They are not lacking in ability, @
common honesty; but they are lack
ingin moral courage to do their duty
or a true conception of what tha
duty Is. The only hope of the cour
try, therefore, is that the people wi
become aroused, aud by the powe