Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1907-01-16
Some Views AIRED by the Pos
sum Ridge Reporter
Gazette CoyYespondFnce

sum Ridge Reporter
Gazette Cotres6ondFnce
Some time shortly after The fret OF
December, the following paragraph
appeared in several papers;
"a group of capitalists headed by w.
d. Boyce, a millionaire publisher OF
Chicago, and president OF A. w. r.
Association, has presented PROPOSE
tion to the postal commission to take
over and operate the postal service OF
the United States as private busi-
ness under Government control.
Now it runs through the place where
my think ought to be, that this prop
osition is a simple scheme to get con-
troll OF some more of Uncle Sammy's
BUSH ess by great thing known to the
American people as trust and it oc-
ours to us that this bright and shining
idea Matched in the fertile, scheming
brain OF some Chicago capitalists Is
nothing mole nor less than scheme to
make certain corporation rich and to
put few more poor devils In sweat
box.
They claim, and no one that llvesnear
our red clay bank, and broom sedge pas
ture, has the nerve to doubt 1t, that
they have fifty million plunks behind
the scheme. We naturally suppose that
the money to back the thing is at hand
and also that the fellows backing it ex-
pect to make pretty good thing OF it
for themselves.
|. In the first place, they propose to
reduce the present postage rate to Ct
PEI ounce or fractional part on frat
class postage, and to J cent per
pound on second class mail matter.
ii. To wipe out the deficit annually
occurring in the operation OF the service
by the Government.
III. And to pay the Government all
the net profits over per centum on
the money invested.
Now to take up the first clause OF
their proposition. that is to reduce the
postage rate. That OF course would
be great benefit to the fellow who
shoyes a ton or two of mail a week in
to the mails But the thing we want
to see through is what those mo ney
mad, scheming, land sharks are trying
| to get at. Did any OF you, gentle read
ers. that have run amuck OF any OF the
trusts ever see trust offer anything
to you unless there was ct least 200 per
cent profit for the said trust? Well +,
| don't think l ever did, and just at
this point some doubts begin to canter
through the hollow place in the head
OF the sage of "Possum Trot". Certain
ly they are not trying to give the COM
mon people good thing, unless there
is a place'some where to pull the leg
OF Uncle Sammy.
If some OF you fellows want 10 know
why have any doubts | will just quote
favorite proverb OF my grand ma am:
IA burned child breads fire." I've had
Inv fingers burned some by the trust
business and | amt by myself. | guess
the most OF my readers are sitting down
tonight by light made by oil handled
by trust. What's the result? Fifteen
cents per gallon for oil that would al
most do to fight fire. Before the com
b'nation we had good oil at 10 cents
per gallon.
Next the lumber trust is making
things hot for you fellows that are try
ing to build, either castle oil cabin.
The meat trust squeezes you tight Tor
q little Cincinnati chicken" to grease
YOUR throat, and if you can poidt out
TO me a trust that amt hustling
hours day to rake in your loose coin
then | won't say word about the
mail trust.
After the record Of the above trust
proceedings we are little shy OF CIV
ing them control OF another necessity
Am | rightH These promises made on
paper look nice, but the folks up here
would like to go slow. Being some
what of the opinion that il the railroads
the EXPRESS business and few other
things now run by big corporations
were run by the Government the com
mon people would be likely to get more
out of it then ard doubtless when the
count up was made there would not be
quite so many multi-millionaires anC
a few less paupers, The folks up here
amt accusing Mr.. Boyce and his as
sociates OF falsehood, but being burn et
once or twice we get little suspicious
and some gun shy.
JIMMY G. RICKETTS,