The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1906-05-24
EDITo RIAL.


of the American consumer has been
rich picking for thieves and rascals
of all kinds. The burglar does not
go to the howell to commit his crime.
1t is not the poor man who must lock
and bolt his doors. The American
people are rich and prosperous and
they are getting more so in spite of
all efforts. of the slickest scoundrels
the world has ever seen.
1t must not be forgotten however
that the evils are the evils of pros
perity. The graft, the discrimina-
tions, the bribery, the extortions of
monopolies follow with prosperity
just as closely as the three she'll men
follow the circus tent.
The evils are evils. They must
be stopped.
We wonder if the American people
will have the wisdom and the courage
and the fine discrimination to stop
them without stopping the prosperity.
1t looks like an easy proposition. but
it is not. Will they become so en-
ragged at the three she'll men that
they will tear down the circus tent.
1t has been done before this. The
people as whole are in a belligerent
frame of mind. They have right to
be. Every day brings the exposure
of some new and atrocious form Of
graft. To-day it is the Pennsylvania
railroad, yesterday it was the powder
trust, the day before a legislative
scandal, last week the packers, and
ever and always it is the railroads,
the insurance companies and Standard
Oil.
The people are mad. they have
perfect right to be. They are mad
because they have discovered so
much of evil, but as yet they have
been unable to check it to any con-
siderable extent. No sooner is a
trust cornered than it takes siffer-
ent form, but the extortion never
varies. Just few days ago we
were told by the representative of a
great wholesale paper house that the
print paper trust had been dissolved
on account of the federal prosecution,
but that the plan was already under
way for reorganization as one gigan-
tic corporation and that then the
prices would go higher than ever.
When is trust not trust, has
proven one of the most puzzling
riddles of our times. The effect OF
all exposures has been to put the
victims in most unenviable frame OF
mind. They are after the guilty
men, and if a few innocent ones hap.
pen to get caught in the fracas II
makes little difference to the public
so long as the guilty are captured
This feeling of righteous indignation
is going so far that it is becoming ;
serious menace to National prosperi-
ty. A man can be robbed so Otter
that he will get tired of working t.
get more money of which to be rob
bed. The beople are getting danger
ously near that point. If prosperit
dishonesty, they are beginning t
doubt if prosperity is worth while
They are in such rage at their owl
faces that their noses are in grea
danger of being cut off. 1t is goin
to be most difficult task to so contrt
the passions and the prejudlces c
men that in the cleaning out process
the whole fabric of our Nations
prosperity will not be destroyed
The man who fails to see this DANCE
is blind. Too many people beleiv
that prosperity has nothing to do wit
National policies. They take goo
times and hard times for granted
They think, if they think at all, tn;
things just happen. /"
There are two rocks upon whit
the prosperity and well-being of tn
country are built. Protection
American labor and a sound fnanci
policy.
A number of years ago, the cou
try was suffering from the evils
prosperity. NoC SO Hucn ol Ille era
and dishonesty had been exposed, b
the people were aroused and in the
wrath they voted to remove the tar
foundation. No sooner had they dol
this than the house of our we'll beir
began to topple and fall. The ha
times came and many good men al
tr,1e advised the removal of the Soul
finance foundation also. But the pc
pie were wiser than the wise men al
instead of doing this they put tt
tariff foundation back into plac
We all know the results and no
quickly the country revived and ev'
exceeded its former prosperity.
Is history to repeat itself?