The independent. [volume] (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907, 1905-04-13
The Philosophy of Freedom
An Open Forum for Single Takers

1
trust magnates, who call themselve
: Christian men" and for that reason
suppose claim that Almighty God il
His infinite wisdom has given to then
the control (by special privileged O
the property interests of this land O.
ours. Holy smoke, amt that fierce
Is 1t true? Can it be? Roosevelt nj
doubt is an honest man but his knowl
edge of political economic problems is
sadly inaccurate and mere knowledge
Of present American details He does
not see the moral issue of the funda
mental wrong in Rockefeller's and Ar
mour's fOrestalling and exploiting OF
consumers and producers. He talks OF
a square deal" just as if square
Geal were possible at all when Rookie
fcller, Armour and the other predatory
trust magnates play the game of mo-
nopoly with loaded dice-loaded with
special privileges! You can not re-
form mule from kicking. You can
not make an Indian white man, by
law. Neither can you, Mr.. President,
change greed and leaping ambition for
political and economic supreme power
! by Investigating" the legal fictions
under which small number of men
rob the American people. Rob them
openly, defiantly with brazen nerve
and impudence.
The civic danger lurking in the sit
uatiOn of Kansas and Colorado lays in
this, viz: The masses of our people
gradually lose faith in the supremacy
OF the law over our vested rights and
vested wrong monopolies based on
special privileges. Old man Rockefel-
ler's many concerns have been "inves-
tigated" by many learned courts, by
congress, by Ida M. Tarbell and others
and it is matter of common knowl-
edge. that our courts and government
can not touch him at all. He defies
the nation. He came near causing
civil war in Colorado and may do so
yet if such be the financial interest of
his billion dollar mineral trust cover
ing practically all the producing mines
smelters and railroads of all the west
ern states, directly or by a so-called
community of interests"
Our people, knowing, that these mag
mates use our laws and militia when
ever they need them and defy practi-
cally our whole government, laws and
all, if it, SO suits them, are beginning
to look about for new methods to
down these industrial feudal lords.
Our people feel that democracy is on
trial in our days once more.
We downed the southern aristocrats
who sat on the backs of the blacks, but
it took bloody civil war to destroy
aristocracy in the south.
There is new powerful American
aristocracy growing up now, based on
the exploitation of our land resources,
which they control by the special privi
lege of private land ownership. In
Colorado the Rockefeller billion dollar
trust owns and exploits the mines be-
low it's lands and incidentally the min
ers, too-and everybody else of course.
That the Rockefeller situation in Kan
sas is the reader knows. Similar facts
and conditions confront the masses of
workers and the consumers all over
the land. 1t looks as if we are on the
verge of deepspread national move
ment on socialistic lines. Our demOc-
racy asserts itself by an agitation for
the public ownership and public con-
troll of all public utility monopolies,
such as water, gas, electric light, tele-
phone plants. 1t is but an easy step
to include in such movement the
of telegraphs and street
cars and railroads.&c. of which are
now exploited by private persons hold
ing special privileges. 1t is but a step
farther, that the masses should take
the developing of the fuel oil wells, of
the coal land, of all the various re-
of mother earth out of the
hands of the legal fictions now exploit
ng them as alleged sacred property"
or the gain of the few from the needs
If the many.
Roosevelt has splendid opportunity
n the four years of his presidency to
head this situation in statesman-like
way. 1t is, however, doubtful whether
MS economic education is broad
enough to perceive intelligently the
fundamental facts of the situation. 1t
seems that President Roosevelt is un-
lble by descent, surroundings and per-
,onal strenuosity to see the bottom
rouble in our modern industrial feu-
In lion, bacnd on tho Drivatp control hv