The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-02-23

cause Of the rule Of the special privilege.
In the meantime the great masses
of the people go plOdding along, work
ing from sun to sun, eking out an ex-
lstence; and yet these common people
are the sovereigns of this country.
They have it in their power to correct
this unjust system. which If permitted
to continue viii make money kings out
of some and vassals out Of the rest of
the people.
in olden days, when the laws were
more justly distributed, and the ad-
ministraton more fair. wealth was
more equally divided. and while a man
might by good fortune acquire great
riches, the millionaire was q rarity.
Stephen Girard was considered the
richest man in the world some fifty
years ago. and his total wealth amount
ed to ten millions Of dollars. He would
not be allowed to enter one Of our
latter day millionaire clubs. Just the
other day I saw in q paper that a man
named Loekhart died in Pittsburg, and
an inventory of his estate showed him
to have had a fortune Of more than one
hundred and eighty millions of dollars,
yet he was practically unknown These
immense fortunes were not made
through the sweat Of the face. through
rights equal to all, but through monop-
0lies- These monOpOlies were not OPP
pressive at first, perhaps, but year by
year they have taxed the people hun
right to put a stop to official grating
and place stripes on the official hood
lers. with their thousands gained I'M
lawfully; if it is right to break up the
grating Of the insurance gang with
their tens of thousands unlawfully and
dishonesty acquired, is it not right to
stamp out the monopoly Of grafters.
the tariff grafters, with their millions
of ill-gotten wealth wrung from the
people by means Of special privileges?
Breeder of NIOnOpoIies.
1.-THE breeder of monopolies, and one
Of the greatest gratis is the protective
tariff whereby class are given spe-
ciaI privileges enabling them to prey
npOn the rest Of the people. Eliminate
this and one of the principal causes Of
graft will be removed. This form Of
graft may not be criminal per Sc, as 1t
merely takes advantage of the special
rivileges the law gives. but it is a syS-
tenn that fosters the monopOlies and
Expresses the people. What would be
thought of a law prohibiting any one
from selling clothes in Kansas except
a certain person. Such law would
be a graft to that person. When ma
ton for purposes other than revenue
enacts laws protecting certain classes
of manufacturers from competition,
these persons are given a graft. In the
early days Of our country, and even
within recent years, the trade territory
Of our industries was confined to the
county, state. or a the utmost to the
boundaries OF the United States The
world is now the business field or our
great industries. They sell in COMPETE
ton with all the world abroad, and
have no right to ask that they be pro-
tected from competition a t home.
"Steam, electricity, the telephone and
the telegraph have annihilated time
and space during the past century The
different states Of the nation are nearer
together In time than were the coun-
ties of the average state a hundred
years ago, and the civilized nations of
the world are more closely connected
in point Of communication than were
the states of the young republic when
Washington lived. Political divisions
continue to exist. but distances have
been efaced. In the days of Wash
fngton, whose birth day We celebrate to