Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-11-19
United States ::,,Senator From
Wisconsin Lectures on "Rep-
resentative Government"
LAFoLLETTE FLAWS THE TRUSTS
He Charges That Cur Government is
Rapidly Changing From a Reprssen-
tativc One to One Controlled by Vast
Moneyed Interests-Is Magnetic and
Intensely Earnest Speaker.

/
| United States Senator Robert M.
4 LaFollette, of Wisconsin, opened the
fourteenth annual entertainment
course of the Railroad Y. NJ c. A. at
4 the Methodist church Wednesday night,
with a lecture on Representative Gov
eminent" His audience was large, but
not quite as large sls the audience at
the opening number of last seasons
4 course.
! For more than two hours Senator
LaFollette dealt with the intent, de-
velopment and present condition Of
the legislative branch of the federal
| government, and his lecture might be
4 properly termed an expose of the cor
rupt influences that amassed money Is
exerting in the making Of laws and
control of government
Corporate Wealth Getting Control.
4 The essence of the senator's lecture
/ was that corporate interests are rap
| idly securing control of the legfsla-
| tive branch Of the government, thru
| the senators and representatives of the
| people, and unless the public becomes
aroused to the imminent danger these
| interests vii! obtain complete con-
! troll.
1 After outlining the apparent pur-
| pose and intent of the founders of our
representative government he told how
the purpose of the founders had been
| carried out for the first sixty years.
centering Of Wealth an Influence.
| Incidental to the tracing of the early
years of the government, Senator La
Toilette described how the business Of
those years was controlled by fndivid-
ual ownership or partnerships. Later
the private corporation came into be-
ling and rapid growth, OF still later
period he described how the corpora
lions, in a given line or enough to
control the output Of one line, were
merged together, and the combination
of interests was the result This COM
bination set aside the natural laws OF
trade-supply, demand and competition
and set up in their place unnatural
laws, made and enforced by the few
men who controlled the combination
A still later, and the very modern
development of this combination of in
terests was outlined In a description Of
the merger, the joining together Of
/ ordinations Of various lines.
Becomes Government Force /
| With this development of the CEN
| tralization Of combinations and mer-
gers, these monied interests slowly, at
| first, then with marked rapidity, be-
gan to exert an influence in not only
the federal but state legislation and
control This control has become so
potent, and this influence so enormous,
the senator said, that it constitutes one
of the critical issues of the present age.
Z And it has become so powerful that g
government that was intended to be
representative Of the people is no
| longer so, but is representative OF the
mighty monied interests.
| One Illustration of his description Of
the merging Of interests portrays well
1.-The powerful combinations at work. He
said that where only a comparatively
short time ago there were 1000 inde-
| pendent and competing railroads, there
are now but six great systems con-
| trolled by few men.
Has Faith in the People.
Senator LaFollette is optimistic of
the future. He believes that in the next
twenty years the government will
be redeemed by the people. And all that
is necessary for this to come about is
for the public to grasp and understand
the conditions and to be once thor
oughly aroused. He predicted three
things, either the people would destroy
the corporations, surrender to them. or
that they will come under the direct
control of the government.
Senator LaFollette has a message,
and he delivered it in a most forceful
way, altho the lecture could not be
strictly called popular. He was intro
duced by Hon. B. F. Cummings.