The independent., 1904-09-22

as the other proposition that the pow.
er of the government to create money
should be so used that stability in
prices would be maintained
The position Of the peoples party
upon the labor question results from
what it considers the paramount" is
sue to be. If the object Of the govern
ment is to build up nation Of healthy,
comfortable, bright-eyed and clear
Drained men and women, the result of
which will be an increase in the pro-
duction of wealth. then it must oppose
the putting of young children into the
factories where their future productive
capacity will be destroyed, it must in
sist upon the abolition of the sweat
shop, where the health and strength
of adults and children alike is under
mined, it must impress upon the peo-
pie the danger of work day SO long
that the mind, which is the dynamo
behind all wealth production, shall not
be dwarfed, but instead, shall have
time to seek out new methods Of wealth
production Millions of devices that
improve the capacity of machines have
been thought out and applied by work
lngmen who were not SO OverWOrked
that they had no opportunity to study
and think. A very great part of the
increase in wealth for many years has
been brought about by the thinking of
wage earners. The right to organize or
to work individually to increase wealth
and bring about better conditions is a
constitutional right which will be de-
MED by none but tyrants and oppres-
sors.
The action of all the civilized gov
ernments OF the world has proven that
1t is neither insane nor unsafe. for
the government to undertake the con-
veyance OF parcels under management
OF the postal authorities, and law pro-
Wding for such Improvement of our
postal service would be welcomed by
large majority of the people. The
refusal to do so has created great pri-
vate companies, which in recent years
have become SO powerful that they
have their own senators and represen-
tatives in the congress, and by the
methods that they employ and the ex-
tortionate charges they make, are a
very great hindrance to commerce and
the production of wealth. III sq
3 The accumulation of wealth in few
hands which has occurred in thu last
two decades. has enabled men seeking
privileges granted by law, to offer
bribes of such large sums of money
to- men elected-to law making bodies.
such as city councils, state legisla-
lures and congress, that few have had
the moral stamina to withstand the
temptation. In looking for remedy
forsthis great evil, learned men of 9TH
er nations, who were neither insane
nor unsafe, advised their governments
to pass laws enabling the people to
veto all. or any laws, enacted by leg
islative bodies. In some nations such
laws have been in effect for many
years and the result has been uni
formly good. Having watched the ad-
ministration of such laws until they
have passed the experimental stage,
the peoples party demands that the
system shall be applied in the muni-
cipal, state and national governments
of this country.
Land, as the term is used in eco
HoIHICS, is species OF property that
stands in class by itself 1t is no cause
of wonder that the native Indian could
never understand how any man could
own land. or that SO many wars grew
out of the fact that he did not under
stand it. Land in the first place is
owned in common by all the people
The title in every case when traced
back, ends in the people, or as we say,
in the government. Titles to any par
ticuiar portion of the earth is obtained
either by the gift OF all the people 10
an individual. or by the purchase by
an individual from all the people. The
title is simply a grant by the people
to the individual to perpetual monop-
oily OF the tract specified in the writ
ten instrument. The peoples party,
standing as IL always has against the
granting OF any monopolies or special
privileges declared in ITS first and last
platform, that Land, including all
the natural sources of wealth. In a her.
ltage of all the people and should not
be monopolizcd for speculative pur-
poses." When land II bought for spec
ulative purposes and held out OF use.
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