Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1901-08-16

trusts and corporations through their
subservient friend and oaSjutor. tns
Republican party.
The Republican party machine "
entirely dominated and controlled by
the modern barons in every state In
the Union, but fortunately the party
of the people, the democracy, is rid
of them in most Of the states, and
may be relied on to bring about the
reforms needed If placed in power.
The effort to control the Democrat
ic party by reorganizing it, so that the
trusts and corporations can also die
tate its policy. will not prevail II the
| people are true to their own inter-
ests. 1t is now the only barrier to the
complete domination by the few, and
It is a good sign Of victory that many
newspapers, who left the cause Of the
people in the lurch, are seeing the
trend of the Republican rule Of plu-
tocracy. One of these, the Ohio State
Journal, says: None of the barons
OF the feudal times possessed such
power as these men," Another, the
Memphis Commercial-Appeal, says:
| Modern feudalism is not coming. 1t
has long been here. 1t is a much
more painful system that the ancient
feudalism, which meant the paying OF
an annual tribute from three grains
of pepper to something Of great value
in cattle, corn, wine, oil, or money, for
| the use of certain lands and heredita-
ments, and when the payment was
made the tenant was practically su-
preme lord of the domain for the time
being. The other style of feudalism
consisted in rendering personal SER
vice of some sort, in peace or war,
after which the tenant was free to
go and do as he pleased. But in mod
ern feudalism the lord who lives in
baronial splendor is not satisfied with
moderate tribute or occasional service.
The poor man can pay no tribute, d.
rectly, because he has no money,
hence he is required to render con-
tinuous personal service for the poor
privilege of living on plain food,
breathing foul air and wearing plain
clothes. He is given no castle save
such as he rents and pays for in the
steaming, sweaty tenement district, or
in the suburbs, where the ramshackle
cabin broods by the feculent stream or
the stagnant and putrid pond. He
has no rights of fire-bote, wood-bote,
chair-bote, housebote, wain-bote, or
any other bote; he has no rights at
all more than Mexican peon. He has
what he can buy with the remnant o.
his beggarly wage after he has rem
dered unto Caesar the things that
Caesar claims, and before rendering
to God the things that are Gods. Mod
ern feudalism is the basest form OF
slavery. 1t does not crush out hope.
While the claims and gives are riv-
eted to the limbs the victom foolish
ly imagines that some day, some time.
something or some one will strike
them off. Doomed to perpetual toll
in the service Of some one else ne
dares be buoyant at times and actu-
ally rejoices over the fact that he has
employment-that he has been given
leave to toll. The feudalism OF or
ganized capital adds to the ancient
feudalism the despotism and savagery
of supreme power and unquestioned
sway and subtracts from it the bond
of sympathy that existed between the
lord and his client in earlier times.
From present day feudalism every
element of humanity has been extir-
pated, and the effort to rescue the
cost of living on the one side and to
reduce compensation to the cost OF
living on the other side is perpetual
conflict.
Modern feudalism is here and vol
umes might be written about 1t With
out exhausting the subject"