The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1907-09-06

scale except in good wages 70 workers
and good prices to farmers?
If l buy a block Of land worth
million dollars there is really no mon
ey put into circulation. There Is a
transfer on the looks Of some bank
and Il million dollars which stood in
NY name now stands under some
body else's name That's al No one
else Is benehteX But il put up
million dollar building on that block
I pay cut thousands Of dollars to brick
layers. and thousands Of dollars to iron
workers, and thousands Of dollars 10
carpenters and plasterers and plumb
ers. aud that money is spent by hun
dreds of men for hundreds of families
in food and clothing and supplies and
rent, in necessities and luxuries and
amusements, and the whole communi-
ty Is benefited. Prosperity for the
producing classes means prosperity for
the commercial classes. 1t means
prosperity for me as a newspaper
man. 1t means prosperity for every
business man.
"The legitimate object of honest
combinations of capital is to unite the
wealth of many individuals in one
great enterprise and distribute the
profits of the enterprise among the
many investors. BY means of such
combinations operations are conducted
on a scale that would be beyond the
, power of any single individual Most
Of the great works. of the country have
been constructed by the combined cap
jtal Of thousands Of men, and many OF
Z these works would never have been
completed in such magnitude, or a.
all. II they had depended upon the
limited resources of few men.
"The effectiveness Of combinations
Of capital is seen in their enorumou'
power for good, and their menace lies
in the misuse of that enormous power
G Aoi o' - -,
"There is no greater danger to oul
form of government, to our popular
rights and our public morals than the
> corrupt use Of the great power of cor
porate wealth.
"In San Francisco Mayor was cleo
:. ted some six years ago who, for fou
wears. conducted his Office with credl
70 himself and satisfaction to his fel
low men.
"After the great fire certain greed!
public service corporations saw in tina
dread disaster merely an opportunit!
to loot a helpless city. They Sc
to work with full intent to debaucl
the city government and plumber tn
? city of its public property.
5 "Unhappily, the Mayor fell, an
many others fell. Hundreds OF thor
sands of dollars were distributed Il
q bribes to secure profitable but dishon
est privileges.
"The pillage was becoming rio
4 when the District Attorneys ono
n stepped in to protect the city an
e prosecute the malefactors
3 "You hear much today OF how
q Mavor of San Francisco has faller
hut Won hear little of how poWerfr
. nublic service corporations tempted
d wretched human being with grea
wealth and brought once respecte
n man TO ruin and disgrace.
"a "you hear much of how a Mayo
IL elected on a union labor ticket is
s. iail hut little of the fact that 1t wa
an honest District Attorney. elected 0
RS the same union labor ticket, who pt
re him there. an honest District Attorne
who is doing his best to put aside IN
RS Mayor, the man really responsible r'
"a all this debauchery and dishonor'
II "While 1t is the fashion to CRITICS
70 San Francisco just now, ! venture
40 assert that the only difference D
re tween San Francisco and some oth'
n. large cities is that San Francisco
al furnishing her corruptionists.
"There is many an official .elsewhel
e. who has stolen ONCE or dealt in pu
n. ,ic properties who would fare III
he schmitz il there were more none
r.. and fearless District Attorneys Ill
=. tinion labor Langdon.
more guilty than the officiai WI VI
,y, ,.,t,o famntr MI