The independent., 1904-09-22
Letter of Thonas III. Tibbles

nounced American citizenship and
become British subject. Populists
insist that alien ownership OF land
should be prohibited.
Every economic eyf1 of which any
portion of the American people Justly
complain, can be traced to the grant
ing OF special privilege. The banker
has a special privilege. When he gives
his note and promises to pay on de-
mand, he receives interest on that
note. All other men pay interest when
they put out note. The banker can
take his government bond to Washing
ton and receive back the full face value
OF it in money. and then get interest
both on his bond and on his money A
man owning government bond who is
not banker, does not have that privi-
lege. A telephone, telegraph or cleo
trio lighting company has the special
privilege, of monopolizing certain
parts OF the streets, privilege which
is denied to all others. Populists be-
lieve that it is sane and SAFE to tax
these special privileges to their full
value, while in private hands, and not
only that, ,'but it is the moral duty of
government to so tax them, that all
citizens may be equal before the law.
The granting of these special priyi-
leges has been the source of nearly
all the bribery and corruption in city
councils, legislatures and congress and
the appearance of paid lobbyists in
every legislative hall, until corruption
n in ha TIv,i4n -,
mented on in every part of the civilized
world. 1t is doubtful if it is equalled
in China.
In these later years artificial monop-
olies have been created in violation
of both the common and statute law.
They have practiced extortion upon the
poorest of the people, taking from
them a few cents at time, day by day
and year by year, until fortunes such
as We're never known in the world be-
fore have been accumulated. They
have become SO powerful that they
can exercise a taxing power superior
to that of the national government it.
self. An order can be issued by the
Standard Oil trust, or the Anthracite
Coal trust at any time, levying tax
upon the people of the United States
equal to the support of the government
for whole year and there is no way
in which the payment can be re-
sisted. These trusts exercise power
greater than that of the car OF all the
Russias. The party that has been in
power has made no serious effort to
check them. 1t has not enforced the,
criminal statutes enacted for the ex-.
press purpose of furnishing them. There
is no assurance given that these mod
ern pirates. now ravishing the whole
land, will even be curbed in their. at
tacks upon the helpless people, The
peoples party would suppress every
one of them.
There is no more important and far
reaching statement in the platform
adopted at Springfield than that which
reads: I'VE demand return to- the
original Interpretation of the consti-
tuition and fair and impartial en-
forcement Of the laws-under it, For
more than hundred years the con-
stitution was interpreted to mean that
wherever the jurisdiction of the
government extended. there the doc
trine was to be enforced that ali gov
ernments derive their just powers from
the consent of the governed. The same
Interpretation now. would force the
administration to say to the Filipinos
as was said to Cuba: "The United
States hereby disclaims any disposition
or intention to exercise sovereignty,
jurisdiction or control over said is
lands, except for the pacification there.
of, and asserts its determination when
that is accomplished to leave the gov
ernment and control of the islands to
its people,"
Such an Interpretation of the consti-
tuition would reverse long list OF five
to fourap'ecisions of the supreme court,
including that on the income tax. For
eighty years the supreme court, when
there were upon the bench the most IL.
lustrious men oil learning, held that
an income tax was constitutional
Under the modern Interpretation, much
OF the declaration Of independence and
even of the constitution itself has been
eliminated as impracticable and mere
rubbish.
In demanding the public ownership
of raflwoaIa thn nan.,tets5 tarNxt L. .. -