The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1905-01-11

having in this country to-day is
systematically robbing the p.o-
pie Of the fruits Of their labors,
more in one year, than all the
highwaymen combined have been
robbing since the days Of Adam.
For instance, the highwayman
steps up to you, and holds a re-
volyer under your nose, and tells
you to give him your money or
your life. You are defenseless
and you give him your money, if
you happen to have any. The
highwayman gets the money and
walks away. This will happen tc
someonesonetime, butprobably
only once in your life. But the
system OF exploitation, you are
up against every day in yourlife.
If you want some farm imple-
! ments, you go and buy them, but
you have to pay three times the
cost of the manufacture. You
sell your live stock and you get
about one-third of what the
laborers who manufacture the
machinery you are using your
farm, have to pay the trust for
the same live stock, in the form
OF dressed meats.
| And might add, that q good
number OF the laborers cannot
even afford to eat the meat raised
on their farm, for the fact of the
matter is this: While you are
raising your live stock at a loss,
the trust has put prices on meat
to such figures, SO the laboring
class can simply not make money
enough to buy,it, and some that
do buy it, must buy only OF the
simplest kind.
Which do you think is the
most dangerous and burdensome
to society? The one who holds
you up on the street with the re-
volver under your nose, and
makes you give up your money,
once in a life time or the present
trust system, which under the
name of Commerce holds you up
for your money every day in your
life and is nothing less than le-
Igalized robbery and is composed
of a set OF men who want to pass
as the best citizens but who are
really wolves in sleeps clothing?
We think itcomes pretty handy
for us to have a house for our
self and families to live in, and
as soon as we can secure the
necessary funds, we go to work
and build one. Surprising; we
build one in which the lumber
costs 81, 900. We have the salts
faction OF knowing that we have
paid about one half OF this us
profit to the dealer for handing
the lumber over to us. And il
j you figure out the profits of the
lum Der trust, it is safe to say
that we have paid about three
fourths more than the actual
cost of the manufacture OF the
| lumber. II we had what we call
equal rights, and the lumber
manufacturer was compelled to
sell his product at a nominal
profit. and to sell a car load OF
lumber to us for the same price
as to the lumber dealer, and the
railroad company was compelled
by law to ship the same car load
of lumber to you as they are
shipping it to the lumber dealer,
you would save all this profit,
you have been paying. And there
would be no lumber trust to ex-
plot you; and more people would
be able to build homes for their
families, and consequently there
would be less homeless people,
and more happy wives and chill
dren. Someone will perhaps ask
the question. Can such a law be
made? No! AS long as we con-
tinue to send men to Congress
who favor trusts, and who are
in reality expioiters themselves.
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