The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-30

From reliable statistics carefully com piled it appears that per cent of the people of this country now own or con- trol 90 per cent of all the wealth of this entire republic. far the greater part of this wealth being held by organized cor porations leaving about 10 per cent of our national wealth ip the hands aud control of about seventy-eight millions of the common classes of our people.
 Contemplating these facts just stated. I trust that I shall not be considered a nessinaist. or crank for the conclusions and suggestions which I shall here sub init. And let me now state in advance that I have never sought nor held any political office, nor do l now at my ago entertain any ambition whatever Tor poll tical preferment, my greatest desire being a possibility of retirement from all the activities of life and to rest upon the small holdings which l have already ac- quired from my labors, and to abide by whatever of honors I may have achieved through my professional work. What have here to say is, therefore, the prompt ings of my earnest conviction of JudG- ment and is put forth with purest emo tions of patriotic zeal for the consider alton of those who feel as l do, that a crisis is near at hand when we must have a swift revolution of our social and politi- cal institutions, or that corporate greed will not only have soon swallowed up all our wealth, but all of our liberties as well. So great is the aggregate wealth now in the hands of corporations end trusts that it is no idle remark, but statement of earnest fact that those wealthy corporations have, through ITS money power, obtained an unmer1ted ana pernicious influence over the Congress or the nation, the supreme court, our state legislature our civil courts and Jurles' and over the pulpits of our churches. This may be seen in the purchase or seats in the Senate by millionaires, in the pheth- oric contributions of corporations 10 the campaign funds for the election of those favorable to their behests, as well as in the biased charges of judges, and In the deliberate prostitution of the statutes ln tho verdicts of juries. While all observers have realized that many of the ecclesiaslic cloth have also two brands of theology, one of which finds its basis in the rich mans text, Render unto Caesar that which belongs to Caesar" and the other from. the text, Servants, obey your masters.' But I will not attempt to sneak of these issues at large, and will confine my remarks only to things local. And I am not led to this discussion by the influence of any recent dawn of new light upon the subject, but because of that recent manifestation of a spirit Of intolerant blasphemy against the consti- tuition of our government which was in- tended to guarantee liberty and equal justice to all. I allude, of course, to the summary discharge from it's employ ment of more than two hundred faithful employees because they dared to exercise their right to join union. This action of a corporation existing and acting un- der a free granted franchise of our citt- zens, is small of Itself though smelling to heaven with it's malodorous disloyadty to the splrit of our republic, and with a foulness of disregard for the rights of their fellowmen: this action might be nassed with silence did 1t not point so significantly in the direction to which oreauized trusts are trending. But now that the management of the Birmingham railway. Light and Power company have so hrazenIy shown the cloven foot of the master power which all corporate bodies of Croasus minions are so desirous of 1yieading they have no doubt with sur ,..,sa to themselves succeeded in awaken irg inc public mind to at least a partial rasl;zation of the conditions that will confront us when we shall have quietly held our peace and allowed them, with their other allied corporate institutions, to complete their plans of lettering our naonle in such shackles of bondage that we will perforce be compelled to go down mon our knees and crawl between their legs and beg for the morsel of bread to sustain the spark of life while we further toiI for them, the abject slaves that we shall be- For who will dare assert that