The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1905-10-21
WHAT CRAFT era EXPOSURE \ t: !.
WILL mean TO NATION
Victor Berger, 0pportune So
cialist, Gives Truly Interest
ing Thoughts on Subject.
Graft is Not g. Modern or Eth
er Capitalistic 1dea-1t is
as Old as Civilization.

J
lowing interesting article on, What
Graft Exposures Mean"
We hear a great deal nowadays
about graft and graft Investigations.
We all know about the 1nvestiga-
tons in New York, Chicago, Minne-
apolis, St. Louis and more recently
in our own dear Milwaukee. We
are absolutely convinced that other
cities are no better-that tho mag
nitude of the graft depends upon the
size of the city and upon being
found out. If some cities seemingly
get more than their share, it is due
simply to the fact that they are
found out more than the others. We
also know that there is no little graft
in the state and national business.
| Vide: graft in the postal depart
ment, the navy department., the war
department., the department Of the
interior (the land CRAFTY and even
the graft in the attorney generals
department.
Nor is this all.
With all this public grafton
rather graft in public business
there seems to be no end to the graft
in private business. The country at
large Is astonished and shocked at
the exposure of the life insurance
companies. And we could go fur
Their and say that there is undoubt-
edly tremendous amount of graft in
the railroad business, and even tho
department stores. We could say
that the heads of the departments
in the big stores are ION the. make"
continually-that the buyers for the
large stores are themselves cont1nu-
ally bought.
Therefore it is absolutely wrong
and unjust to say that the graft In
public life is worse than the graft in
private business. Or that the morals
of our public life are worse than the
morals in private business affairs.
1t Is true for instance that vice.
President Fairbanks, Secretary Of
the Treasury Shaw and score of
United States senators, all men of
considerable wealth, apportion sal
aries to sons and nephews.
But this is petty theft compared
with the same evil of nepotism in
the insurance companies of New
York. More than two millions and a
half in commissions has been paid
within q few years to the son and
the son-in-law of the president of the
Mutual Life Insurance Company,
seemingly for no reason than that
they are the near relatives of the
president, McCurdy. who himself re-
ceives a salary of $4,000 per an
mum. In the same way members Of
the family of President Mccall Of
the New York Life have been enjoy
ing the luxuries of millionaires. And
we all know how vice-President
James Hazen Hyde and President
Alexander of the Equitable consid-
cred that institution simply a Jersey
cow to be MIXED exclusively by
them and their nearest relatives And
the investigations of the asphalt
trust, of Schwab's ship-building
trust, of the steel trust show very
much the same condition OF affairs
all around. It shows that graft is
permeating our society and that graft
is really the system of all the sys-
TENS. 1t is therefore very unjust
to raise such "holler" about the
graft in our city affairs and say
nothing about the graft in private
business.
It Is also nonsensical to claim
that graft, is specific American in
stitution. 1t is not. Graft in mon
archical countries is fully as bad.
will admit though that in Germany
where graft in public business If
found Is punished twice as hard as
graft In private life, and where
there is a remnant of the ODD feudal
loyalty to the king combined with a
modern sense of duty (PhichtgefuhD
that there may be less graft in
some circles. Yet there is a great
deal of nepotism. The minor offices
are filed with nephews, uncles and
cousins of the influential men, and
there is great deal of graft that is
simply covered up in order not to dis
grace great men,"
There is graft from one end of the
world to the other and it is by means
characteristic of our democracy. 1t
is rather a redeeming feature of the
democracy that one can discuss it
publicly, while it is characteristic OF
monarchies to conceal and excuse it.
Probably there are no countries in
than in Russia and China. Yet. If
ally Ouc were " Ld4h dUOuC grail Ill
China he would risk his head. And
in Russia he might suddenly find
himself a denizen of eastern Siberia.
Graft is not modern or even
capitalist idea. We find the story of
graft chiselled into the stones of the
pyramids Of old Egypt. The same
pages of history that tell of the fame
of Athens and of the heroism of
Sparta tell us of stealing and of
graft there. The graft in old Rome
was so tremendous that when the re-
public went down and the empire
was established, about 1,20 families
virtually owned the civilized world.
Surely, graft did not get any less I'M
der the shameless regime of the alb
solute imperators who made gods OF
themselves and consuls of their
horses and asses. Furthermore the
institutions of the middle ages were
based upon graft. A man could owns
and hold only as much as he could
defend by the sheer force of his fists