Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-06-19
Some Thought -InStigatOrS

From the Appeal to Reason
| Republican conventions are endorsing the
administration, postal scandals and all. There
is pie in sight.
A aboring man who will take the place of
striker to help the capitalist oppressor is just
| as much traitor to his fellows.as the soldier
who deserts to the enemy.
If the people owned the land how could
they pay rent2 If they owned all the indus
tries, how could they pay profit to themseves2
If they used their own labor, how could they
pay interest, rent and profit?
1t the employers of the uation, using their
political power, make labor organizations inn
potent by reason of injunctions, troops and
other forms of coercion, there will be only one
way in which the laborers can get on top-and
thst is the political way. The employers will
have forced labor to take the method it should
have taken years ago. Goodbye, capitalist,
when labor tackles the ballot box as remedy
for ills.
The salt trust has pleaded guilty of holding
a monopoly Of salt in the United States court
at San Francisco. It has held monopoly
thirteen years, and the court has just found it
out! 1t raised the price of salt from $2 to $32
ton. But that is not robbery! That is mere
ly matter of business! For the public to
take the whole salt business and operate it fol
the benefit of the human family-that would be
robbery! The salt trust will continue to do
business at the old stand, and at the high prices,
notwithstanding their guilt The only remedy
is taking the property away from them.
The San Francisco Star of Feb. 28th prints
cable from Manila about the sale of slaves
one girl bringing $50 pesos. You know the
American flag floats over Manila! But who
cares? We abolished slavery by the constitu-
tion-snd we abolished the liquor traffic in
Kansas the same way. To make PROFIT, men
care nothing about the constitution The cor
porations obey no law they don't want, and the
other commercial pirates are like them. Slavery
still exists in this country-and what are you
going to do about It?
One of the "conquering heroes' returned
from the Philippines, in an interview in Den
yer, said that Filipinos made good soldiers,
because it made no difference how many of
them were killed. Think of that murderous
brutality, will you! That is just what the Ro-
man generals thought when they conquered
country and forced the inhabitants to become
allies of the Roman legions-they cared no
more for killing their victims than the Ameri-
cans care for killing the Filpinos. The Phil
ippiues are furnishing rich ground for theft
and murder.
GOVERNED BY THIEVES.
The grand-jury reports in St. Louis show
that the St. Louis street-car companies paid
$a5o, 900 in bribing legislators and state officers,
paying from $500 to $500 per vote, besides
giving large blocks of their stock to members.
The baking.powder trust used $25,ooo in brb- I.
cry of the Legislature, while the excise COM
missioners used $1o,ooo to prevent their fees
from being reduced. These are the fellows
who oppose Socialism. They are the eminent
ly.respectable class who uphold the laws
They vote the capitalist tickets. If the public
owned and operated the street-car system; if
the baking powder were made by the public,
and public officials were all paid the same, do
you think this bribery would have occurred?
Hardly For no one would have pro6ted by 4
the franchise Of street.car or the adulteration
OF the baking powder with poisonous ingredi-
ents because they are cheaper. How stupid
the public must be to have these things 90 on
day after day, and yet vote the same old way.
Socialism will prevent these incidents, as it
will take away the profit that is made by them.
The Socialist vote in tie Seventh congress