Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1905-05-03
WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 1905.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 1905.
VESTED R,onTS vs.. HUMAN RlonTS,
In ev cry country and every cime'
since first dawn, there has
been q contin II al struggle between the
privileged few and the unprivtleged
many, between vested rights and ha
nan rights.
When the primitive mono po'ist had
by the power OF his arm made himself
ruler of these around him he laid the
foundation for q vested right against
which human rights have not yet en-
t:rely suc,eeied In establishing them
selves. By allying himself with an
other vested right, the hereditary
priesthood, the king received for his
power the stamp OF divine right. The
large majority of humanity are still
deprived of their rights by this idea
England had to behead one king and
Danish another to get rid OF it, and
make the king an ornamental figure
head instead OF an irresponsible ty-
rant. France had to drown 1t In sea
of blood. Our own country had to
fight a long and costly war to dispose
of this idea which; driven out OF Eng
land, tried TO reassert itself here.
To strengthen itself kingcraft created
another class with vested rights, the
hereditary nobility. Against these
three privileged classes, king, nobility
and hierarchy, it looked impossible
for the m asses to assert their rights
Fortunately, however, evil carries
within itself the seeds of its own de
strucsion. Greed for power overdoes
itself and the vested rights clash. 10
English history We find some notable
examples OF this. The no oility, Wish
ing to check the power OF the king,
Allied itself with what was then the
middle class, the farmers, and forced
from the king the great charter which
granted some Of the human rights that
we in this country reckon al . price
less heritage. For couple OF centu'
ries alter that the king was puppet
in the hands of the nobility, and the
way in which they treated him ef1ectu'
ally disposed of the divine rights
ices in the minds of the people. The
lust for power finally divided the no.
bles into opposing factions, and when
they had weakened each other sufti
GENTLY the king formed an alliance
with a new middle class, the burghers
of the cities, and checked the power u
the mobiles. Thus the privileged few
have by their greed for power weak
ened the vested rights and extended
the human rights. - <--',1s=
Are we not about to witness some
thing of the same thing in our owl
country? Tho we have none of thu
vested rights here that have choked
down human rights in Europe, we have
the vested rights of capital, and tind
it just Is active IN enemy of human
rights. We spent over . billion dol
lars and sacrificed million human
lives to dispose OF the vested rights O
capital in the neg 70 slaves. But since
then capital has thru special priv
ileges and mighty combination
obtained "vested right" to levy s
heavy toll on the products OF ill la
Dor, aud thus introduce another form
OF involuntary servitude from which
no worker can escape unless he choos
90 to starve or get out OF the country
How completely the industrial worl6
has been fettered few have realized
until lately. 1t was only when tn
leaders among the new trust aristoc
racy began to struggle among them
selves for supremacy that the people
began to learn Of the fearful power 0
trustifed, capital. When the Stand
ard Oil magnates "skinned" Ten
Lawson and his associates they fel
sure they had crowned the "System'
- king. But by this very act the!
reused the ire of q man who coult
probably better than anyone else OK
pose che malevolent workings of sh'
"system" in particular and trusts il
general. No one believes that Ton
Lawson does this f1r love of the com
mon people. That kind Of philan,hro
py Is not learned in the school wher
his views of lite were formed. But b.
is the baron who has felt the powe
of the autocratic king, and has Il
form an alliance with the people II
order to check this absolut1sm. Hi
exposures are read by millions, an
the pitiless way in which be tears th
mask OF responsibility from thes
courtiers of king "System" opens tn
eyes OF the people to the actual dan
gers confronting them. Following i
the wake of his exposures has come
series of exposures Of other trusts On
combines Until 1t seems Is II th
searchlight of truth were to panetrat
Ill the secret chambers of the Cypress
ors OF the people and lay bare thei
iniquities. >s> T. -. ri. I .5.~
The struggle for supremacy betwee
vested rights and human rights
rapidly approaching. The people Or