Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1904-12-20
A Few Questions,

EDITOR GAzETTE:-We read
General T. J. Thorp's verv in
teresting and able appeal to the
patriotic citizens of Oregon with
much interest, and while we
have not the ability to write as
General Thorp we would like to
ask a few questions:
Gen. Thorp infers that the
railroad corporations were the
power behind the Democratic
National Convention that nomin-
ated the late Democratic candi-
date for president, this is doubt
less to a great extent true, hut
after the nominations were made
were they not perfectly easy as
regards which of the two leading
candidates were elected? Is there
one particle of evidence that they
made any special effort to elect
one more than the other; if there
is, we have not been able to find
it; fact of the matter is they were
not afraid of being hurt by either,
SO they were perfectly easy and
we had the quietest and most in-
different election that has ever
been held during our recollection
of political campaigns.
How different from the one
when the Democratic party had
different man at the head of
their ticket that was aggressively
fighting and contending for what
no doubt he believed to be
to the best interests of the masses
of the people, and what was the
power behind the throne that de-
feated w. J. Bryan and placed
William Mckinley in the presi-
dents chair. Was it the people
or the corporations?
Again, what political party
has had control of the Govern
ment, in fact practically all of the
time for the last fifty years and
that has fathered, mothered and
nursed this oligarchy of corpora
tions, trusts and combines until
they completely control every
act OF legislation both State and
National, Or nearly so, and if
any act does happen to rass not
controlled in their interest it is
dehed and therefore void of good
results.
We think in the matter of the
two leading political parties, the
pot has but very little reason to
call the kettle black, or vice
versa.
How was it last summer in
Republican Colorado? Were ever
people more basely or inhunane-
ly treated in any country on
earth than the people of those
mining districts-their furniture
smashed to pieces, their CO.
operative stores sacked by mobs
of people called citizens and
soldiers, women insulted and NAL
treated and not satisfied with this
mines and a depot were blown
up and a number of non-union
miners killed for no other reason
than to create a sentiment against
the striking miners; and was there
ever a voice raised or an effort
made to protect the miners in
their rights or bring the guilty
parties to justice? We are of the
opinion that if the strikers had
pursued such methods that they
would have made short work of
it and they would have been
shot down like so many beasts OF
prey.
General Thorp's statement of
conditions is true in every sense
of the word, only it barely
touches them as the railroads are
by no means the whole influence
that is bad. We have the coal
trust, mining trust, liquor trust,
and are working thousands of
our children to death annually
without the shadow of an excuse
for such conditions, only that
capital must have its pound of
flesh, and these things will and
must be changed. but when done