The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-06-24
FIGHT IT OUT
ON THE FLOOR
Continued from First Page.

marching the same path and appealing to
the people to discard the evil policy Of imperial
ISM, we cut down the republican majority In the
house to twenty, and while defeated, still held
the ground gained since 1894. :as
cite this history TO show how fallaeious is
the argument of those who think tina our, party
can win by becoming like the republican party.
mere was never greater mistake. The more
unlike the Republican party we become the better
our chances to win. The policy of imperialism
abroad and Of shameless subservienccy to the de-
mand Of monopoly at home must In time bring
destruction to the parry In power.
The chief issue Of 1896, in the form then put
forward, Is dead. To attempt to galvanize it
into life Is to be false to the spirit of 1885, The
paramount issue Of 1900 must wait. The con-
sciences of men were and still are wrung by our
arguments against imperialism, but the fancied
welfare of their. pocketbooks prevailed on the
day Of election. 50
The problem were simple If It were as easy
to do as to know xhat to do, Three roots bear
up the dominion Of the trusts. These are high
way monopoly, tariff monopoly and land monop-
oily. Land monopoly In the form Of mines and
forests hasHso far come forward as to have. been
made an issue by the democrats of New York
in platform denouncing the anthracite trust.
This great evil demands the attention of all who
hope to see industrial wrongs set right.
The tariff monopoly alone seems to me insult
hc1ent to account for any OF the great and power
full trusts. They rose under its shelter. but,
controlling as they now: do, our mines, forests
and railways, most If not all Of Them could still
live tho trade were flee. While fire. trade might
not kill the trusts it would establish line
beyond which their robberies could not extend.
Hence, we should renew our war on protection,
unfurl again the tariff reform flag, and demand
free trade In trust made goods.
t OF the very essence Of liberty Is the right to
move from place to place and to transport prop
erty. He who is bound to the place where he
was born is serf. He who controls the high
ways by which we must move and transport
goods holds us In sort Of serfdom. The third
great bulwark Of the trusts is highway monopoly.
It appears in every city In monopoly OF our
streets by the public service corporations, and
everywhere in the privately steam railway
lines, controlled almost exclusively by the
same group Of industrial potentates who own
the other trusts
There is no force In law to compel the single
owner of two railways to compete with himself.
nor Is it possible by statute to prevent men
as railway owners from granting favors to them
selves as shippers. Against combination so
fortified all the Quaker guns Of mock strenuous.
ness will be pointed in vain. So long as this
concentration Of ownership exists there can be
but two kinds of business in this country, that
done by the trusts and that done by consent Of
the trusts.
So long as this condition exists government
Of the people, by the people and for the people
must remain theory only and not condition.
BE not deceived; there are only two horns to
the railway dilemma. We must choose between
railway ownership and the operation Of govern.
ment and government ownership and the opera
tion Of railways.