Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-01-27
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
PEOPLES PULPIT.
Observation-Disclosures
Famines in the Old World.


Editor Courier: The great famine
IN india which has scarcely passed out
OF mind; the terrible restitution in
Russia. called for active and generous
sympathy from the world in general
and especially from America. Now,
Sweden attracts attention on account
OF alleged failure of crops and scar
city OF fish. Yet all these countries
are accounted rich in resources; Rus
STA for instance is a great wheat pro-
duclng region; India, has wonderful
SOIL that produces ordinarily enough
rice to supply each inhabitant all that
is necessary for subsistence and yet
affords millions of pounds for export.
The land owners of Russia, India, and
Sweden are rich and prosperous, but
the peasantry, the common people live
from hand to mouth and whenever
there is partial failure of crops they
suffer from the want of the ordinary
necessaries of life. This seems to ar
que an unjust distribution OF the boun-
ties of Providence: yet the people of
America, where there is the richest
outpouring of the earth's products.
are gradually becoming subject to the
conditions that afflict the common peo-
pie of Europe and Asia. Thousands of
men, women and children are suffer
ing today in this country for the want
of fuel, and are restricted in their use
OF the necessaries of life; yet no other
country in the world has greater re-
sources than the United States The
general tendency is toward Old World
conditions-the concentration of
wealth, and this means a correspond
ing poverty among the many who are
unable to participate in the concen-
trations or combinations.
Legislation should therefore be di-
rected toward better distribution of
the general profits. This does not i'm
ply that the government should take
charge of the general resources and
become responsible for a better distri-
button, but it does imply that better
chances be given to the Industrious
to participate in the results that come
from their labor.
1t would be strange thing to hap
pen, if there should be a famine in
the United States; the statistics of
the country would forbid the POSSIBLE
ity of such an event yet such thing
is possible or could be possible, if
trusts were not restrained.
President Roosevelt had all these
possibilities in mind, in formulating
his policy; he is statesman as well as
philosopher and his policy is not
only for the present but for the future.
1t would be a terrible blow at the
principle of self government if we
should fail to feed well, and clothe
well, the people of this republic who
are all, according to our theory, equal
partners in the government. If they
| degenerate to the conditions of the
peasantry of the Old World, our sys
TEN of government will have no adj
vantage over monarchy when contrast.
ed in the light of civilization and pro.
gress. Reader.
Editor Courier: In recent issue
of your paper, | noticed an interview
with l.. l.. Lodwick, coal operator
on the Milwaukee. He would make
it appear that the coal business is an
| isolated industry. He admitted thai
the demand for coal was great just al
present, but claimed that the Iowa
operator had failed to reap any bene
| fits of it, as he contracted his GOA
one year ago. Mr.. Lodwick's version
of the matter is very interesting tc
the Iowa miner at present, who has
/ had this story told him ever since he
commenced the business, that they
are mining the mines at loss.
never took any stock in this argument
of a man doing business for his health
never had but one commodity to sci
| that was my labor, which / always en-
| 6novorpd tn coll oil nrofit Th;S
thing of swapping dollars is not bust
ness by any means. To show the pol
icy of this argument, / want to give
one illustration of an Iowa operator
for whom ] worked eight years. Dur
ing all these years he ran his mine:
at sacrifice. This man owned nine
ty-seven houses which he rented to his
miners. The cost of building these
houses ranged from $3.50 to $500 each
. They were rented for from Sc to $;
per month, this amount being deduct
ed out of the miners pay in the com
pany Office. Again he furnished Goa
to 200 families for month at $1.50 ;
ton, of which the man who mined i
received only Is cents a ton. Thi
: operator employed 800 men and chars
ed them each month for sharpening
| luGlI lOOlS. InlS SUN WAS dlSO uC
Quoted from their earnings, making
total of 5000 per month received b,
the company. This work was done b.
a blacksmith and helper at a cost o
$50 per month. In addition to this
the blacksmith shod twenty-five min
mules and kept all machinery an,
mine cars in repair, leaving that CON
pany a net profit of $210 a month. TIL
operator sold thirty kegs Of powde
each day for cash at So per key. Thi
man made annual trips to Saratog
with his family and spent one sum
mer in France. During the time
spent with him, he lived in a $4,000
residence and still did business as re
ferred to by Mr.. Lodwick. The gen
tleman referred to might be an es
ception to the rule, but the write
after forty years as coal miner ha
learned that operators are like miners
not all angels by all means. AS t,
that objectionable sin committed b,
the miners in only working six or seV
en- hours day, will guarantee Their
is not over ten per cent in any min
in Iowa who do this. Napoleon Bona
parte said when he coded the Louisi
ana purchase to America, 81 have nov
established rival for England bot