The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1908-03-15
OUR RLUTocRATIc
RULERS

OUR PLUTocRATIc
RULERS
Under the above caption the Port
land Oregonian in II issue of Feb.
II, had the following This article
, was repubished in the Coinmoner
and while many of our readers have
read it in that popular publication.
the editorial nevertheless is worthy
of a second perusal:
The recently reported interview
with Mr.. J. p Morgan on the labor
outlook may not be true, b<its 1t IS
aptly imagined if it is false. Mr.
Gompers is entirely right in saying
that the thoughts attributed to the
New York master of high finance
have for long time been IN the
| minds of a large number of pluto
Gratis. 1t is just as we'll to have these
shoughts flaled forth into the light
of day SO that the country may see
how they look. The plutocrats are
| fighting a bitter fight with Mr.. Roosse
welt to obtain permanent control of
| the government of the United States.
| II is a good thing for everybody to
| understand exactly what ff1ey intend
| to do if victory should perch upon
| their banners. That this real or i'm
| aginary interview accurately states
their purpose with regard to the
labor unions there can not be the
slightest doubt. They will break up
| the unions if they can and reduce
! the laboring man to abject industrial
| serfdo7n His will is to be abased,
| his nnanhood bestialized, his power
| to resit annihilated.
The clear and definite statement of
| the plutocratic program with regard
/ and enables us to think to the point
| upon industrial matters. For one
thing, we see exactly how much SIM
cerity there is in the protestations
of the plutoeratss that they want a
! high tariff because it keeps wages
! up Mr. Morgan's steel trust IS the
| greatest beneficiary of the tariff, and
we now know precisely what Mr.
Morgan thinks about wages. ii pos
| sible he vii force them down to the
starvation point, and SO will every
other magnate who fattens upon the
profitable deceits bf Dingleyisni.
They love the tariff because it fills
/ their pockets; if it really raised
wages, they would be the first to de-
nounce it. The genuine effect of the
/ tariff upon wages is beautifully shown
/ by the present state of things in this
country. We have Dingleyism in full
/ bloom and at the same time every
/ city from the Atlantic to the Pacific
/ is filled with men clamoring for work
no keep them from starvation and for
the most part clamoring vainly.
Not only the tariff law. but most
of our other industrial laws have
been enacted at the dictation of the
plutocrats and for their class bene-
/ fit The legislation has been SO
neatly contrived and SO serviceably
interpreted by the courts that now
] in the larger industries of the
United States there is no such thing
as competition. All are united into
! one great system, and the control
of the system belongs to Mr.. Nor
| gan and few of his fellow con.
| spirators Through their hands the
/ products OF labor must flow. and, if
| they have their way, labor will re-
ceive for creating those products jast
what Mr.. Morgan is willing to be-
stow, and not a cent more. What
! Mr. Morgan is willing to give is, mo
| longer matter of doubt. 1t is bare
lly enough to keep the workman alive
The laborer is to be dragooned into
submits ion by grinding proverty.
If Mr. Morgan has his way the self
respecting American workman will
soon be no more than anemory.
We produce enormous wealth III
this country. but It flows from al
directions into the possession Of a
few individuals. and how are they
using it, What is the final and high
est product of all this toll, this sweat
and hunger? For what lofty purpose
are our workingmen n,angled on the