Hutchinson gazette., 1900-06-21
THE VICE OF GREED.
The single Tax, Government Banks and
Fnbllo Ownership ot MonOpollss Would
Render 10 Harmless.

| l'll"I ~ lnV UlluHllllly WIN Whlcn
individuals, radically apart In sphere
and station, politics and religion, are
beginning 10 understand that the In
centiNe of guin-the greed for gold
IL az the bottom Of most of the evil
ana oppression, the injustice and
misery and poverty existing In the
world,
Thus find II, Y, Young, gifted
socialist, writing Ns follows, In his
paper, the Kansas Populisti
II you want 10 get to the bottom Of the
| trust evil you must dix deeper than the
lhrln, or the money question, or the labor
question, or any other political question
ever ngilnted In this or any other coun-
Try, The tariff and the trusts are branch
~ OF the same tree, They have COM
mon cause, but they are not related an
cause ana effect, The roots OF that tree
| nre To be found In the selnshnesa OF the
| human heart Thnt IN the soil that nour-
ihhes tarlirA and trusts and gold standards
| nhI policies OF colonization and lmpe-
rlOlism,
In order to get rid Of the evll OF trusts
| You must go beyond them, instead OF
| trying 10 turn back | believe there IN
no remedy under the sun for private mo-
! nopoly except the public ownership ana
| operation Of mOnopOlleH, And am com.
Ing tO see that this will require more
wisdom more unsenshncss and more
Righteousness than the people Of this gon-
crnton possess,
10 overcome the evils Of the trust ana
other public evils that besct ~ to-day,
we need TO have the desire for profit
| cMcillcd within us-t0 cense seeking the
wages Of property You tell me that Nv
! impossible aud that human nature cnn-
not be No exalted Very we'll, unti that
is done you win groOn beneath the heel
| Of the oppressor, and your substance Will
he taken 10 enrich the privileged few,
| There N no way the race can be freed
from the results Of sclAshuess ana In
| justice except TO cease 10 be selfish and
| unjust
And within n duy or two Of the
writing Of the article from which the
foregoing excerpt was clipped, the
Kansas city star, under the caption
"rhe Vice Of Greed" wrote cdltori-
ally as follows;
The answers TO the question, what
causes tho greatest amount Of misery
| IN the world? would be- varlousy rec
| turned according 10 the particular Views
ana opinions Of the persons replying to
| the Interrogation, In the Judgment Of
| many sober ana nbatomiOus persons, In
| temperance would be rated ~ the chief
Of all evils Those who are disposed tO
| pence Hnd who nbhor bloodshed would
| place war at the hend OF earthly calnm-
tiles There are mon and women Of se-
we're and simple tastes who would de-
| clare, without hesitation, that no inllu-
| enCo can be more harmful thnn the love
Of luxury and overweenlng social am
bIlon, Tho victims OF slnnder would be
inclined to give the bnckbters u place
well up on the roster Of offenders against
| the pence Of humanity,
None Of these answers would define
the evil which is most destructive TO
human happiness, Neither rum, nor war,
nor the rage Of vanity nor envy, nor
| malice Is 80 hurtful ia the world nv sell
| flshness and greed The prophet Of old
who declared that the love Of money
~ the root of all evil uttered solemn
verify, He pointed ont the source of
more cruelty and oppression ana inius-
tice than are created by all other causes
combined,
The Infamous Ice trust, which has
aroused public Indignation In New York,
| Is only single example Of the vice Of
| greed. Here II Il commodity which II the
only means OF relief 10 thousands Of
sweltcrlng poor IN the hented season. II
| II almost us necessary tO the crowded
| denlzons Of the tenement houses ~ water
itself, It means TO the little children of
the wretchcd districts where there II no
shade, no grass and not even good air,
actually life without II milk and food
| NJ for the tender young cannot he pre-
| served In wholesome state, The har-
| pies and pirates who propose 10 traffic
| I'm human life by combining to put up
| the price Of ice, pny for H. II II said, at
an outside lgure-all costs included
81 u ton. They propose to ask for II
| Sl2 a ton. This wicked eXtortlon, mark
you, Is practlced on people who are rem
dcred helpless and defenseess by pow
orty; by the shameful inequalities for
| which greed II responsible. Could the
world, In It's darkest ages, furnish more
hldeous Caricature on civilization than
this?
There are plenty OF other combinations
FOR selfish gain which exact blood money
ns tribute to organized rapacity II has
been reserved for this latter Rge Of the
world to reveal n system by which greed
may be made more effective by, co-op-
Grafton. ''s
IL IL the desire Of men Ia ovcrreach
each other that estrangeS neghbOrss II
IL cupldIty that deprlvcs the delinquent
tenant of shelter that turns the unfor-
tunate debtor out OF his home: that often
subjects labor TO slavery; that destroys
confidence In the dcCcncy Of human MT
ture; that makes life TO many II wenry
round Of drudgery and chcerless struR-
gle for bread, and which, finally, NJ Il
terrible means OF retrlbutlon, wlthcrs
and ruins the souls of the misguided
creatures whose lust for gain leads them
70 prey upon their fellows.
An of which Is awfully true. But
how easily It might all be rcmedicd
and the "lust for gain" inherent in
human nature, be rendered harm
less. even as n dog is 80 rendered by
being muzzled, or n rattlesnake by
having it's poisonous fnngs extracted.
The exploited and robbed proletu-
riat is overwhelmingly In the major
ity and the ballot Is an invincible
weapon. The single tax, II inaugu-
rated, would make speculation in
land impossible; government banks,
operated at cost, would destroy in
terest; public ownership Of public
utilities and mOnopolies and the abo-
lition of all special privileges would
remove the opportunities for unrea-
sonable profits. All that is needed is
a formulated purpose and united
vote to forever destroy the trinity of