The independent. [volume] (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907, 1905-03-16
Heaven Or Hell-which

kind as to send to me. am farmer
and have been known for years as
"Barefooted" Dave Kennedy, the pop
ulist. / was on the populist ticket for
the legislature, also was given some
other places of honor by the populist
party. voted for Watson once, but
think / have voted for Debs twice. Tom
Watson is grand, good man and he
certainly is doing good work in
arousing the working class and caus-
ing them to think. Some and perhaps
they will see where they are at"
Kindly allow me, poor hard-work-
ing farmer, to express some OF my
thoughts concerning your stand against
socialism.
am so years old and have read
some and like your paper very much.
Mr.. Editor, in your issue OF March 2,
1905, the first editorial says you are
for competition and against socialism.
The fourth editorial says the remedy
for trusts is the establishment OF COM
petition. Popuiism, as understand 1t,
holds that the public should own the
railroads, telegraphs and operate them
in connection with the postoffice. So
coalists go further and want nearly
everything to be owned by. the public,
especially all the trusts. We want CO.
operation instead of competition. Com
petition is fighting or war and war Is
waste and very bad. Whom will you
have to compete with the Standard Oil
Co.? 1t has crushed nearly all it's
competitors, ruined them and now Is
robbing the whole people, not only
in oil but in many other necessities,
as well as in banking and in buying an
old custom house. Still you want to
let it go on competing or robbing. Do
you want it investigated again to find
out how it does it? / want Uncle
Sam to compete with John Rockefeller
and put his company through the same
process he has put so many of it's COM
petitors, make them take dose OF
their own medicine.
Then let Uncle Sam change the name
of the company to read United States
Oil company. The same workers who
are doing the work now would be glad
to continue their work at better pay
and no company of millionaires would
get the profit to invest in other trusts.
Now all would be peace in the oil bust
ness. You said Kansas would better
purchase all the oil producing land in
the state and then produce and refine
and sell oil on the open market call
that socialism. In another article with
the heading, investigations" you say
the Standard Oil trust crushes out
every competition. Still you are for
competition, again ask who or what
do you want to compete with it and get
crushed? You say the steel trust sells
goods nearly one half less to foreign
ers than to American citizens. The
Standard and the steel trusts are near
ly the same. Who can compete ask
again. The meat trust and all the rest
OF the trusts are hard on the common
people, but good thing for those on
the inside. The people must take hold
of these trusts and get on the inside.
Then there will be peace, no competi-
ton or fighting, none being crushed
or killed. Why not the southern states
buy up the cheap cotton and manufac-
ture it and sell it on the open market
at cost? No fat capitalist to rob the
producer of the cotton nor to work in
fants or women in the factories at star
walton wages just for dividends. Make
the workers compete for an existence
Tight to get crust). This would be
cooperation or socialism. An angel
once proclaimed. peace on earth, good
will to man. This is repeated by us
all every Christmas It means nothing
under competition What is the use to
cry peace when there Is no peace and
there can be no peace under competi-
tion Every one is fighting or strug-
Cling for living or the almighty dol
lar. The rule is crush your competitor
or be crushed by him. Now, Friend
Tibbles, have you not had enough of
this fight-this hell on earth?
Now kindly allow few thoughts
from an old populist on your article
THE Socialist Program" Lest / worry
you | will not notice the first Quota
ton from the Sterling (Neb.) Record.
The second is the one want to notice:
but what makes the philosophy of So