Los Angeles herald., 1908-07-11

from conquered Gaul. The victorious
Sylla astonished historians by levying
a fine Of 100000 upon the rich cities
Of Greece. The sugar trust levied an
annual fine of twice that amount upon
this republic a few years ago to re-
coup itself for a contribution of $780,
900 which it had made to the campaign
fund Of the Democratic party. BY lu-
diciously placing its contributions with
both the old parties the steel trust
gets the privilege to so arrange our
tariff schedules as to extort net profits
every year ten times larger than the
entire revenue of the Roman republic
1.-THE Vanderbilt family, through
franchise grabbing and stock water
ing operations, have robbed the Amer
lean people of a vaster sum than Alex
ander the Great harvested by his con-
quest. of the Persian empire.
Wasting Money
Antiquity was shockedi when Cleo
patra dissolved and drank a pearl
valued at $500 900. Historians empha-
size the scandalous luxury of Lucullus,
who spent $500 on a feast. When one
of our American millionaires throws
open the grand ballroom for a night
of revelry the floral decorations alone
cost more than the feast of Lucullus.
And when one of our Cleopatras is fas-
cinated by some Roman Marc An
tony, English duke. Italian prince,
French count or Hungarian Sneeze-
weed she thinks nothing of spending
from $1,0O0,OOO to 100000 on the
pearl
From the traction lines of New
York city Ryan and Belmont have
taken greater amounts of plumber than
Warren Hastings Wrung from the
princes of Hindustan. Great Britain
was aghast at the voracity of Has
tings. Her greatest orators, Burke,
Sheridan. Fox, Numbered against him
at the bar of the house of lords, de-
nouncng him in language that will
live forever. Ryan and Belmont did
not ravage a foreign state. nor plum
der people of a different race, as Has
tings did; they robbed the people of
their own city, men and women of
the same race as themselves.
"Who dreams of Furnishing such
criminals as Morgan and Hartman?
Miserable towards that we are, we
crouch before the gigantic lawbreakers
and allow them to run our government.
All that we can do Is to punish such
offenses as petit larceny. Let the
naked steal something to wear; let the
hungry steal something to eat; let the
miserable wretches shivering with
wintry cold, steal something to feed
inc uIts anu We pOIAACt li0lCNlS uPcA
these small criminals and punish them
with a rigor shocking to common hui
mainly; but the men who steal rail-
roads, the trust builders who violate
every statute in the penal code In
their march through monopoly to mil
lions, these are the men before whom
we stand covering and helpless!
Victims of System
"Take our own Civil war. It was
fierce and bloody and 1t lasted four
years. Yet we buried fewer dead and
carried to the hospitals fewer wounded
than we have lost during the last four
years to the remOrseless greed of cap
| italism. Count up the victims in mine,
mill and factory; count up the human
wrecks of the sweatshops; count up
the victims that have strewn the lines
of our railroads; the victims of the
stockyards, the sugar refineries and
the smelling works; count up what you
have lost to those who exploit child
labor; count up all these for four years
and you will reach frightful total
which exceeds the losses of our Civil
warl
MAKE the comparison from an
economic point of view. This country
as a whole was in a happier, healthier
condition at the close of the Civil war
than 1t is right now. There were fewer
| men OUT Oh WOIhS lllcI6 WAS iiOl q
shameful bread line in America
neither in the north nor in the south
was there constantly growing army
OF tramps, deadbeats and human dere-
licts. We had fewer abandoned farms
then than now; we had practically nc
] beggars; we had few millionaires and
few paupers A vast amount of money
was in circulation, and this abundant
currency was rushing along the chan
nels Of trade like an elixir of life I:
everywhere was hope, confidence. cities
rising from ashes, more Respondent
than before the war; farms were once
again heecy with cotton or golden with
grain.
What was it that turned back the
waves of general prosperity, and made
the beginnings of congested wealth?
The ever-advancing demand of special
privilege; the constant increase OF
taxation the unequal distribution Of
the burdens and the benefits Of gov
eminent"