Mower County transcript., 1906-11-07
FARMER BEN'S,i::**:." y.
COLUMN

SOtAVV6AJ OVA6poAtO odJo GuoV IuO
big trusts are like overfed hogs in a
pen crowdin' the little ones away from
the feedin' trough so that they don't
get their fair share of our national
prosperity. I reckon that's about so.
We wouldn't care so much about the
big hogs gettin' reasonably fat if the
little fellows were gettin' fat also but
when it comes to starvin' out the. little
concerns and not givin' 'em any show
for their lives even, it's another coin.
Our strenuous president has tackled
hard job in tryin' to keep the big hogs
fenced off so as to allow the small indi-
widuals chance to prosper and grow.
All who are outside the trusts ought to
hav an equal show and field and the
trusts should hav no special favors or
advantage. If these big combinations
of money interests threaten the CON-
mercial interests of their fellows of
smaller resources and defy the laws
then they must be runged and penned
and headed off and restrained and con-
strained. This amt sayin' at all that
they should be turned into razorbacks
by cuttin' off their legitimate feed for
that would do nobody any good: Just
Civ the man with a thousand dollar
business the same chance and rates and
show of advantage with the corporation
with the billion dollar business.
There is no use of talkin', the people
were nifty stirred up all over on yester-
days election and the big party leaders
had connipt!on fits over the possible
results. It's all right to be preachin'
smooth things from the platforms and
hidebound press and to try to throw a
scare into the voters but man is as
blind as bat if he can't see that when
the party bosses and the big money in
terests carry things so fur that the
common people are ignored and shut
entirely out you can't keep whippin'
'em into party lines. See how it was in
York state and Pennsylvauy the last
few days. The tremendous republi-
can majorities we're actually threatened
with shatterin' and scatterin' because
the people are so mad thru and thru
that they've got to find some vent for
their feelin's and get whack where
they can, sometimes unwiseiy but any
thing to smash the machine and get a
whack at the rich mans favors and ad-
vantages in pilin' up money thru re.
bates and favors. It'll be the same
right in this state just as it was in Wis
consin and Iowa Of late. You can't
buck this feelin' You can scold and
cuss and threaten till you're blue in the
face but it don't phase things at all, at
all. The only thing the people want Is
a square deal and they're goin' to
smash things political until they get it
too.
Talkin' about square deal, one of the
boys was tellin' me that up to Austin
one of the bosses was braggin' round
that he'd got the Austin post oflis fixed
all up weeks ago and that it was goin' to
carpetbagger accordin' to his dictation
no matter what come of it later. He
didn't care what folks wanted. Folks
don't alwus get what they want and
this postoftis deal is to be fixed by a
little bunch of wire pullers and not by
the will and wish of the people. This
boss gives out that the next election is
two years Off from now and Tawney
must take his chances on what's comm
then. All the bosses want is the plums
no matter if Tawney gets a second
dose of Knatvoldism two years later
that may swamp him. Now amt that
a pretty way to aggravate things and
make disturbance and disunion and
stir up bad blood and flauntin' the red
flag at the bull? 1t amt what's goin'
to keep the party together that they
want. The party can go to the devil
if only these bosses and wire pullers
and schemers can play their grab game
for themselves and rake in everything
in sight. Party principle don't count.
Some of 'em don't know what it is.
But it's the pork barrel they're after and
nothing else counts. When it comes
to party wreckin' these bosses are the
experts.
q q q
My paper says that German count,
heir to duchy, officer in the kaiser's
bodyguard and so forth has just mar
rled sweet German shop girl and in
so doin' has severed the ties that bound
him to his ranks and positions and
titles and he's got now to hustle with
out family backin' and official pull and
all that. bet he's happy all the samee
and has made good bargin. There's
so much of this marryin' titles and