Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1906-02-19

guidance of his favorites. Is it likely
that the one man would dare to be in.
terested in anything requiring edu..a.
ton? Would he not adopt the course OF
all autocrats-preserve his power by
keeping the masses in ignorance and
servitude? If the masses became intelli.
gent there wonld be revolution. blood.
shed and a redistribution OF wealth.
1t will be seen that the views of Jus.
tice Holmes lean naturally to the crea.
ton of an absolute government. Men
who think along the lines indicated by
Justice Holmes do not distinguish be-
tween the possibility OF acquiring great
wealth by special privileges and the
impossibility of acquiring great wealth
when special privileges are withheld.
To prevent concentration of wealth it is
necessary to destroy special privilege.
Justice Holmes, however, would argue
that concentration OF wealth is natural
evolution. If you point out to him that
it is menace to the republic be is apt to
ment," that only such government
survives as is fit to survive. If concen-
fration OF wealth leads to absolute gov.
ernment the inference is that absolute
government is the fttest government in
the long run.
Can concentration ''ofi wealth be pre-
vented? Is it the natural result OF evo.
luton? The answer is that all our i'm
mensely rich have made their fortunes
by privileges denied to Others. If Carne.
gle had not been favored with rebates he
would have been unable to monopolize
the steel business and finally turn the
industry over to the United States Steel
Corporation, which he controls. II
Rockefeller had not been favored with
railway rebates and other forms of rail.
way discrimination he would not have
been able to monopolize the oil business
and would not nov be b;lionaire.
II any doubt remains in the mind OF
the reader that Justice Holmes favors
monopoly, let him read the following
excerpt from his letter to MIR. Adams:
"But it seems to me that if every de-
slrable object were in the hands of a
monopolist, intent On getting all he could
Tor it (subject to the limitation that it
must be consumed, and that it might
not be wantonly destroyed, as, OF course,
it would not be- the value of the several
objects would be settled by the intensi
ties OF the desires for them respectively.
and they would be consumed by those
who were able to get them, and that
would be the result"
In other words: monopolist is able
to fix prices. II the desire for all object
increases the monopolst advances the
p'lce, not in proportion to the increase
in the desire for the object, but in accord
with his own desire to get the greatest
amount of profit. This always leads to
the following result-a monopolist pre-.
fers restricted amount of business at a
high price to an unrestricted amount at
low price, and then. as our Justice
Holmes says, goods would be consumed
by those who were able to get them, and
that would be the ideal result"
Think of it The ideal result is oh.
tanned when everv object is in the hands
OF monopolist to do with as he pleases
After these illuminating remarks JUS
tlce Holmes expresses the belief that the
power OF directive intelligence as crea.
tive lorce in production has been mini
mlled by those who dwell upon the
claims OF labor as producer.
Justice Holmes makes himself anus.
ing when, confronted by the growing
demand for more equitable distribu.
ton OF wealth, he offers as a remedy
this: Il should like to see him (the
rich NAM prohibited from giving great
sums to charities which could not be
clearly justified as long-sighted public
investments"