Watertown leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1909-1911, 1909-07-30


for all we will break with them
who, for gold, force women into
the ways that take hold on hell,
for their own gain. Yes, take hold
on hell, because that type of male
drives her to it and organizes her
destruction not even for lust, but
for money.
From one and all of these rotting
alliances we will break away; we
will begin in city and State, taking
every step above board and in the
open where all men may see. We
will ask no favors which require
darkness. We, the directors of
your transportation, lighting and
banking, will take this step-if
you, the people, will take it. We
will announce a policy of self-res-
pect if you, the people, will sup
port it. If you will smite the graft
er and the panderer, we, too, will
smlte him" This is my test, if
that honest message went out from
the councils of your business kings
and masters, would the people play
the poltroon? Would they con-
tinue to allow the petty bIackmailer
in city councils and State Iegisla-
lures to hold up these public-ser-
vice corporations?
So meanly of the American
people we will not think. So many
of these corporations have worked
in the dark; have appropriated, by
devious juggleries, those priceless
economic privileges through which
they could loot the public, and
they have done it by the invited
cooperation and help of the law
breaker and the criminal. Is it,
therefore, thing to cape and
wonder at, that the people have
grown hostile and suspicious? If
they have the wit of eighth-grade
schoolboys, how could they avoid
suspicion? Knowing so little of
the shady and concealed manipula-
tons behind, why should the people
not strike at them wildly and un-
fairly?
No, no, the whole method of it
IS too grotesque. Let US stop it
altogether, let us do it fairly-a
little sadly, as with a sense of com
mon blood outlines, as if you and
and all of us also had the telltale
stains upon our hands.
| A brilliant scholar sent from
Germany to lecture at Harvard
University told me this incident.
| A historian of his own country has
discovered batch of letters by the
famous Dominican preacher of in.
Idulgence, John Tetzel. It was he
who stung Luther into mailing
| those theses onto the door at Wit.
Itenberg.
| Tetzel had his little private part.
Inership with devils. He made
money out of sins and fetcheries
| He took gold for these things.
thinking perhaps that the Almighty
wouldn't think i'll of him if the
| gold was respectfully and piously
spent. These same discriminating
| letters were taken in our day, if
remember, to Rampolla, the great
cardinal. He looked at them, read
them through and handed them
back, saying: Go ahead; publish
them, by all means. The church
IS now strong enough to stand it,
we do not fear them"
We, too, as a nation have much
sinned, we have turned thieveries
lawlessness, and vices into gold
for our own pride and fattening
We, too, have discovered the docu-
ments. We now know how we
have done this evil. But we, too
are strong enough to step it, not
in another future, but here and
now. We are already strong
enough and courageous enough tc
make an end of it,
And your League of Justice, il
should be wide as the nation, be.
cause the injustices against which
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