Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-11-04
VIRGINIA, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4 1904

During the past twenty years,
whenever the great political parties
have lined up for their regular once
in four-years tussle, there would be
found Henry II. Rogers, calm as a
race-track gambler, "sizing up" the
entries, their weights, and handicsps.
Every twist aud turn in the pedigrees
and records of Republicans and
Democrats are as familiar to him as
the "dope sheets" are to the gambler,
for is he not at the receiving end of
the greatest information bureau in
the world?
a Standard Oil agent is in every
hamlet In the country, and who
better than these trained aud intelli-
gent observers to interpret the vary
ing trends of feeling of their com
munities? Tabulated and analyzed,
these reports enable Rogers, the
sagacious politician, to diagnose the
drift of the country far ahead of the
most astute of campaign managers.
He is never in doubt about who will
win the election. Before the con test
is under way he has picked HE
winner and is beside him with gener-
Gus offers of war expenses.
The entire history of STANDARD
Oil" is strewn with court scenes,
civil and criminal, aud in all the
important ones Henry H. Rogers,
the actor, will be found doing mar.
yelous "stunts." STANDARD Oil"
historians are fond of dwelling on
the extraordinary testifying abilities
Of John ID. Rockefeller and other
members of the band, but the aero
batic feats Of ground and lofty tum-
bling in the way of truth in the
parts which they have given when
before the blinking foot-ligAts- of
the temples of justice are as Punch
and-Judy shows to a Barnum three
ring circus compared to Henry II.
Rogers exhibitions.
In describing the organization of
Amalgamated, Mr.. Lawson lays bare
the tries by which the promoters
took $50. 100000 out of the pockets
of investors, giving them in exchange
fictitious values, which vanished like
mist.
No one but Henry II. Rogers,
William Rockefeller, myself, and one
lawyer knew the actual figures of
the cost, although a number of the
members of the different groups, in
cluding Marcus DAILY, the silent part.
ner, were sure they were in the secret.
As soon as the properties were
secured, they were capitalized for
S75,000,000 as the Amalgamated
Copper Company and were immedi-
ately offered for sale to the public.
1t will thus be seen that the profit
on this section alone was 36,o00,00O,
probably the largest actual profit
ever made by one body of men in
single corporation deal, yet SO nicely
does STANDARD Oil" discriminate in
dispensing its generosity that in this
case those who received the $50, ,0OO,-
600 profit refused to deduct from it
$77, 900 of expenses connected with
the formation of the company,
thereby compelling it to start $77,-
900 in debt.
The everyday people, the millions
who do not know Wall street-realm
of the royal American dollar-Wall
street, its sidewalks inlaid with gold
coin and paved from curb to curb
with solid gold bricks-Wall street,
lined with huge money. mills, where
hearts and souls are ground into
gold-dust, whose cutters run full to
overflowing with strangled, mangled,
sand-bagged wrecks of human hopes
which, in neyer-ending stream, it
pours into the brimming waters of
the river at its foot for deposit at the
poor-houses, insane asylums, States
prisons, and suicides graves, that
the grim flood washes in its daily
ebb and fow-the everyday people /
know will not take in the blackness
OF this transaction at this stage of
my story, but before it is ended l will
lay this and many more of an equally
black nature before them in such A
b Q simplicity that all can read the
portent as clearly as the Prophet
Daniel read the writing on the wall
in the banquet hall Of Belshazzar.
Lawson's observation on the 'power
of dollars" is pertinent. He tells of
a conference he attended just before
the close of the '96 campaign, at
which $1,000, 900 was subscribed for
Mark Hanna, and says the money
was the means of defeating Bryan.
Lawson is Republican. He saws:
cat no time in the history of the
United States has the power of dol
lars been as great as now. Freedom
and equity are controlled by dollars.
The laws which should preserve and
enforce all rights are made and en-
forced by dollars. 1t is possible TO-
day, with dollars, to steer the selec.
ton of the candidates of both the
great parties for the highest Office in
our Republic. that of President of
the United States, so that the people.
as a matter of fact, must elect one
Of the 'steered' candidates. 1t is
possible to repeat the operation in the
selection of candidates for the execu-
tive and legislative conduct and con.
troll of every State and municipality
in the United States, and with a suf.
ficient number of dollars to steer
the doings of the lawmakers and
law-enforcers of the national, State
and municipal governments of the
people, aud sufficient proportion of
the court decisions to make absolute
any power created by such direction.
1t is all, broadly speaking, matter
OF dollars to practically accomplish
these things.
l shall go further and say that
there exists today uncontrolled in
l.