Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1910-09-09
why the PEOPLE compLA,n

A Mr.. e. o. Bartlett in the Manu-
facturers Record for Sept. 1st, speak
ing in behalf of corporations, and de-
crying the present disposition of per-
sons small and great to find fault with
them, as well as to find fault with
general conditions, says in part:
'sThe farmers are complaining against
the prices of farm machinery, although
to tell the truth it never has been
much if any cheaper. The city men
are complaining bitterly against the
high prices of the farmer. The grain
dealers are complaining bitterly
against the tariff on wheat, oats and
other grains imported from Canada.
The business men are complaining
against the railroads, and all of this
internal nonsense has led to lot of
agitation until the different legisla-
lures throughout the United States
have been legislating against corpora
tiOns. Give it to them is the cry,
seemingly to forget that nine-tenths
of all the business done in the United
States is done through corporations. +"
OF course this sinfernal nonsense
led to agitation. Of course the farmers
are complaining about the high prices
of farm machinery, Notwithstanding,
as he says, sit has never been cheaper. "
But the farmer complains because the
same machinery is sold in Europe,
and distant Asia, indeed in Australia,
cheaper than it is sold to him here at
home where it is made. The farmer
knows there is something s'rotten"
when this is the case, and he now be-
gins TO know where it is, and he is
further going to see if he cannot vote
so as to remedy it. He knows it is
caused by the tariff.
''The city men are complaining
against the high prices of the farmer. "
And why not /? when committee of
which Senator Lodge was chairman
put the high prices of food stuffs on
the farmer, instead of where they be-
long. A farmer gets 5 cents for his
beef cattle. The city man buys that
beef from the butcher and the beef
trust at % and 80 cents per pound. He
gets cents..for his lambs, and the city
man pays.from 80 to 40 cents for lamb
chops and lamb roast.
The grain dealers are complaining of
the tariff on Canadian grains, he says.
This may be so, we have heard little of
such complaint and believe it is not
general, indeed far more imaginary
than real. Business men are COM
planning against railroads, says Mr..
Bartlett. Of course they are. Who is
not, except Mr.. Bartlett and Others
who are interested IN the roads ? These
complaints. are SO general and SO just
we will not discuss them here, only in
so far as to'say that these complaints
have been brought about by the action
of the roads, and will never stop until
a more liberal policy has been adopted
or the roads come under government
control.
Mr.. Bartlett calls attention to the
fact that nine-tenths of the business of
the United States is done through cor
porations. CT course it is, and right
there is the cause of the complaint. No
individu als have a chance. The corpo-
rations have driven them out and with
them all small corporations have dis
appeared, and the big fish have eaten
up the little ones, until now the coun-
try generally is their food, and their
prey. THERE'S not one argument in
Mr.. &Bartlett's article that does not
emphasize the business of public COM
plant.