The public weal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1906-1908, 1907-05-01


states of Wisconsin, Illinois and New
York and thereby lose the presidency.
But the people are waking up to the
fact that after all the greatest trusts
OF all the trusts are those that have
been formed to control the dominant
political parties of the nation.
The steel corporation owns the most
profitable corner of this state, and is
taking out of it every year millions
upon millions of dollars, and is devel-
oping property the value of which is
past all human comprehension. Every
attempt to make that gigantic cor
poratiOn pay it's reasonable proportion
OF taxes, as the farmer is required to
40, as the village and city merchant
is required to do, as the honest
mechanic is required to do, was head
ed off by the ever watchful servants
of the steel trusts both in and out of
the Legislature.
Most of the legislators were not
steel trust men, but there was an
organization" That organization
was there for purpose.
The appropriations this year were
beyond all precedent, and undoubtedly
they ought to have been, but the bur-
den of taxation to meet those ap-
preparations will fall upon individual
enterprise most largely. Corporate
greed, especially the steel trust, will
evade anything approximating it's
just proportion OF the expenses of the
government whose protection it en-
joys. Because of bloated opulence,
they are bold to take advantage of the
richest virgin resources of the state,
and now are allowed to enjoy them
by the grace of unequal taxation, free
from those burdens which would Just
ly fall upon them.
Certainly those people who profit by
advice have every reason to offer
thanksgiving (not to heaven) for the
tender mercies of the recent session.
Of all the vast amount of legisla-
tion that was brought before the body,
no measures were given such scant
courtesy as those having to do with
the good morals of the people. It
seemed that not only the whisky lobby,
but the railroad lobby, and the steel
lobby, and the food lobby, and the
book lobby, all recognized that any
thing which would tend to foster
cleanliness of life would tend to raise
up legislative barriers to their chican-
cry, plumber and graft.
The teaching of the whole PROPOSE
tion is as clear as the MONDAY sun
that no decent legislation can be had
simply by electing decent legislators.
1t is probably true that the majority
of every House for past years has
been composed of clean, high-minded,
decent men, but the organization of
every House has been in the hands of
the Organization" and that organiza-
tion has dictated the morals of the
legislation that should be enacted in
to law. It has turned back the clock;
it has violated the rules; it has stack
ed the committees. The Legislature
has been the engine, but the "organiza-
ton" has held the lever.
A single illustrations: Illinois, four
years ago, elected a legislature over
whelmingly for municipal traction re-
form legislation. The traction inter-
ests captured the Organization" and
in spite of the overwhelming majority
of capable, energetic and experienced
legislators, not a line of traction legis-
lation in the interests of the people
was passed until the majority of the
House with chairs and clubs actually
and physically drove the Speaker of
the House down from the chair and
out of the door, reOrganized the House
with a new Speaker after breaking up
a good share of the furniture, and Sc
cured to the people their liberties
Continued on page 81