Weekly independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1887-1914, 1906-01-19

WHO SHALL owS AMERICA:
Judge Grosscup, OF Chicago, dicusscs
this question in a recent rumber Of the
American Magazine. From his article
it would seem that it il uCt Il question
rs to who shall own America. as the
question Of ownership is already settled
and the corporations are the owncrs.
Haze are "A few extracts from this ar.
ticle, which will give the reader a some
what better view of the trust and its
magnitude, trimmed up with the
judicial frills of n real judge:
"rho government or the United States
collects and disburscs very yrnr over
one thousand million dollars, There
are some OF us who c]ritIciZ, this ia a
flood Of extravaganza. There ARE others
who look npon it as the nigh water
mark OF government success. But what
ever We think o! it rs an item Of poll
tics, We all agree that Gu annual normal
fiscal operation involving @nc thou
sand million dollars is II new great thing
III the history 81 III" nutIors.
~Nith the GovcrGmcut-tle creatures
Of the government through one Of it's
foFty.tive s%intes, and brought into ;buing,
so far rs government is concerned, by 4
line or two found III the state statutes
there ARE ut least two corporations
whose iisca! operations exceed even that
vnst sum. ihc fiscal operations OF
other corporations, to Il large number,
approach that sum-. And il we had any
way Of discntangl,ug the transactions
that are strictly corporate from the en-.
tire body OF the cOurtry's transIC:Iuns II
would be found, | think, ,ha. the corpO.
rate trans cJlons exceed IN masnItu ie
perhaps nine to one, all the other busi-
ness Transactions Of ON people put to-
g~ethcr-that the difference in mag
nitUde between the business transuc-
tons Of Il hundred years ago and the
business transactions Of today Is 81.
most exactly measured by what the
corporation has injected into the bust.
ness activities O.! our people.
AIN looking, however, for means Of
COMPARISON, the ti,cIl side Of indnstry's
activity is not the only means at hand.
The activity itselt-thc actual stir and
motion Of industrial mud business life
show just as striklngly the ]prepondcr-
ancc Of tho corporation. Take, for illus
t%ratiou, our present day facilities for
transportation. Every railroad right
of'way is owned ~ Il corporation. Tho
rondbed upon which the rail- are laid
was constructed by corpOratcd mauiEac-
tories. Tho rails are the output ~ cor
p]oTations, from the ore mines Of Michi.
gan and the coal fields o! Pcnnsy |lvanin
to the rolling mills Of Plt:shur: and
South Chicago. Fro'u their stec! frames
down to the electric buttons, the cars
used are the products NJ corporations
The whole operation 10 a CORPORATE ope.-
ation-'hc pnircn coming III touch with
individuals only IS such individuals
represent a corporal" ma5'cr.
90, turn from this, the raiIroud, the
greatest single enterprise III America,
to the commemorative supply ot food
We eat aud the Clothes we wear. Our
Shoes are from n corporation last, UuI
Clothing from II corporation loan, Tho
butcher OF today - u corporation y
corporation gathers for us th" fruits that
go upon onT tables. Tho loaf Of bread
MS 1t comes To u5 Il almost exclusively Il
corporation product. u was q corpora
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