The independent., 1903-06-04
SHAMELESS ST. LOUIS
A City Robbed of Fifty Million Dollars for
Lack Of Majority Rule


political boss through the party |
machine, rule, the cities will be pun
derea by the monopOlies, and the peo-
ple's representatives Will degenerate
into bands of thieves who will wax
fat through bribery. We have mad
many startling impressive lllustra-
tions of this character during the last
few years, notably in Philadelphia,
Minneapolis, and st. Louis.
in the latter city, for example. ac-
cording to prominent st. Louis
banker quoted by Mr. Lincoln Stef~
feres in his excellent article in Nc
Clure's Magazine, on "The Shameless
ness of St. Louis" fifty million dol
lars worth of franchises and munich
pal assets" have been given to corpor-
ations by the peoples representatives,
who individually received large brlbes
in consideration of thus handing over
to few individuals enormously val
liable franchises that, if operated by
the people or sold or leased at
reasonable figure, would have re-
dueed the taxes to minimum or nave
supplied the treasury of the city with
enormous sums for schools, museums,
libraries, and parks.
Had the people the right OF lnltla-
tive and referendum, this carnival or
corruption and robbery could not nave
prevailed. We know OF no instance
where the people, when they nave
had the opportunity to vote dlrectls
on a question involving dispossesslns
themselves of valuable property with
out compensation, have not over
whelmingly refused to entertain the
corporations plans.
...e fifty million dollars lost to the
people of st. Louis through the DrlD-
cry of city officials by the corpora
tions is typical of the vast sums that
our present system of legislation -
costing the public, while it also al
fords an equally impressive illustra-
tion of the Generalization and cor
rupting effect of corporation and ring
rule. or representative rule lnstea1
of government through direct leglsla-
tion.
rhe CORPORATIONS tools and apollo
gists are in the habit of objecting to
giving the people the right to in
itiate and to veto legislation on the
pretext of the expense that the extra
elections would involve AS matter
of fact, instead of direct legislation
proving a great additional expense TO
the public, it is safe to say that Z
would result in saving the people
many millions of dollars that are now
annually given away by legislators
and municipal authorities to corpora
tions and special class interests.
There are three reasons that make
the campaign for majority rule SUI
premely important:
/, 1t is imperatively demanded ID
order to preserve the fundamental
p~inciples of free government. With
out it the people are not the real
governors or rulers. The masters are
the corporations that rule the party
s'bosses" and political machines and
that dictate the persons who shall
make and execute the laws.
2. On considerations of public
economy these strictly republican
measures are urgently demanded. The
carnival of loot that has made multi
millionaires of scores of persons, Whc
by bribery, direct or indirect, have
gained and are gaining for nothing in
estimably valuable special privileges
must be stopped. The hope of relief
for the people from the tyranny anu
oppression of the trusts and monop-
olies lies in the prompt enactment oi
majority rule legislation, which is
thoroughly feasible through the Win
netka method of procedure.
g. The corruption of the people
representatives will rapidly spread
and the virus most deadly to national
integrity and perpetuity will quickly
permeate society, unless the peoplt
promptly assert the fundamental de-
mand underlying all true republics OF
free governments-that of the sover'
eign right of the people to initiate
and to pass such legislation as chang
ing conditions and the good of the
state demand. Freedom cannot live
in the midst of general official cor
ruption, and human rights will b'
brutally ignored unless the peopl,
have the direct and ultimate vote OF
measures of Importance.
The amazing revelations OF corrup
ton in St. Louis and other great Am
erican municipalities are typical an
warn the friends of republican insti
tutions that they have slept overlont