The independent. [volume] (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907, 1904-05-19

.HALr sLAvE-HALE FREE"
Mr.. Albright, in his communication
this week. makes what on the sur
face appears to be q telling argument
in favor of either socialism or ideal
anarchy-one extreme or the other.
He refers to Lincoln's famous saying
that the United States could not exist
half slave, half free," and from this
draws the conclusion that society can
not exist half individuals. half cor
pOrations."
We might carry this further and say
that society cannot exist half males,
half females" that might sound
absurd to those who believe that So
ciety could not exist at all without
both, because life itself would soon
cease. Lincoln meant that the union
of states could not stand If in part of
them slavery existed and in part of
them free labor. 1t must be either all
slave or all free-so far as the states
were concerned, but being all slave did
not mean that every person must be
slave. There could be no masters in
such case.
The fallacy in Mr.. Albright's posi-
ton lies in the assumption that in
some Of the states individual owner
ship prevails, while in others corpora
ton ownership prevails. The fact is
that both kinds Of ownership prevail
in every state, and the Lincoln anal
Cgy fails.
AS the Independent views it, it is not
the fault of corporate owner nip, Of
itself, that present conditions exist,
but that the difficulty lies in permit
ting corporations or individuals to
own the necessary i. Opesty and per-
form certain services which IN ali ages
have been regarded az the prerogative
of soyereigns. Caesars supeIsCription
was upon the coins; it was the kings
highway.
Today the ownership Of those steel
shod highways-the railroads makes
the owners kings, and The mere fact
OF corporate ownership does not mat
ter. Individual ownership by Rookie
Teller would not change the fact that
he would be the king as long as he re-
tanned control Of the highways.
So with the issue of money. Ma
tional banks have succeeded to the
kingly prerogative to coin and issue
money, and whether the ownership
were In corporations dominated by
Rockefeller. or in the oil magnate
himself would make no difference.
Carrying Mr. Albright's reasoning
to it's logical conclusion. the outcome
would be either all government and
no individuals, or all individuals and
no government. Neither Of these ex-
tremes will ever be reached, The In
dependent feels assured. The two TEN
denotes correct each other much the
same as ,centripetal aid centrifugal
forces. Populism may not be centric
fugar' enough to SUIT the ideas OF
some, but it is moving along some
where near the mean between the two
extremes. The peoples porty may die,
as Mr.. Albright believes it has died.
but populism-under some name-will
exist as long as men strive to better
their conditional.
$>S<>$
Prof Smaller Mathews Of the Chi
cago university divinity school, at a
minister's institute in Milwaukee the
other day said: MANY of the people
to whom you preach do not have any
desire to know the fatherliness Of
God. When preaching to them you do
not want to give them the gospel of
Gods love; you want 10 give them
hell. Most people don't care q rap
about righteousness. They are busy
with the accumulation Of property"
That is a pretty good kind OF preach
ing. 1t is the sort that The Indepen-
dent has been doing. but every time
we give the corpoi atoms, Wall street
and the mullet heads hell" Doc. Blk
by or some one else puts up protest.
$SSSSSSS
WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST
An interview with w. r. Hearst was
sent out by the Associated press last
c.,,lov tkaf ouu nawopa mar man Of