The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1910-03-11
CARD FROM MR.. BOSKY.

III NOTlu NldIlkdtt. w CuICSuoN
brought anything to light, it is the
increasing demand for cooperation of
the people. Although it was on We'd
nesday night only pointed to co-opcra
ton of the people in the river valleys
of Minnesota, or of the people of
North Mankato and MankatO; We
mean the cooperation of all the people
in any enterprise.
This point of course was not argued
at all, neither was any inclination in
ness interests represented at the gath
erng, also voice should be given to
| labor.
As entertaining as Colonel Daniel
sons address was, the head knock OF
' the meeting was at the supper parlor,
and Mr.. Currier delivered the blow
straight from the shoulder.
1t was supported by Benjamin Tay-
lor, the lawyer, and contradicted by
nobody; and that blow is deadly to
ton of the country's resources; it IS
deadly because the only power which
can effectively protect the peoples
rights and enact laws to further
schemes OF this kind, the legislature
| is SO corrupt that it is hopeless
task to try it. The legislature as it
stands is serving special interests and
not the people at large. The freight
rate investigators like Mr.. Currier,
can sing Dig song on this subject.
Our politicians are more interested
in getting statistics and datas and
such and get good fat job out of
that and let the people pay the bill
for surveying all the waterways and
prospective power sites and dam and
reservoir sites, then publish these re-
ports and the first thing that happens
is that big tinanciers and top capital
lists set the whole legal profession and
f, smaller capitalists i'll fcyerhcat to COB
bic up all the prospective sites for
dams, reservoirs and power plants.
The ultimate outcome of this will
be that even if the people should sue
coed in getting cheaper rates for light,
power and transportation by the use
OF water power, It will cheaper labor
correspondiDgly and the control of the
waterways will 20 likely into the
same hands which control the rail
ways, not that they would own the
waterway itself. Beware. These wa
tcrways would be carefully left to the
,,nn,,l,, off hn tnNnI Ia Icon, If
in repair. no, but these same interests
will control the property and the
means of transportation.
Things would be at the same level
as before. The thin. which the peo
pie now look for, and which moves
them to look for ways to stop the
onrush of private monopoly, cannot be
had, as long as there is no law which
stops the doing of business by way of
competition for The resources of tlSs
land and the peoples nccessarics, and
in which competition necessarily the
individual or the corporation or com
binatio of corporations which con-
trolls the greatest capital, must win
out.
| SO the state government itself knows
that the poor people who work can
not buy up the dam sites and river
fronts and boat lines, consequently
the government knows that by pub
fishing official surveying lists, etc, it
plays straight in the hands of the
big interests and not in the hands of
the people at large. If it then turns
around and wishes through its lectur-
ers, ETC., to get the plain people in
terested in waterways, ETC., it can
only be for one great deceiving reason,
and that is to get the people just SO
far as TO pay the taxes for the river
regulations, etc, and so enable the
private owners of the landing sites
and shore and power sites and reser-
voirs and dams, to get out of the
God given natural resources of the
country the greatest possible graft.
| So Mr.. Curriers' pessimism is well
founded, and it will be long while
until people will learn to see that an
industrial government, u operative
commonwealth, and collective owner
ship is what we want, and do away
with politics.
| Then our legislatures will cease to
be an obstruction to progress Oh real
humane lines.
AS things stand today, the private
enterprises to build dams and power
plants will simply keep the wolf from
the door of many laboripg men, but
they will not change in any way what
upon the public or the relation be-
tween capital and labor.-E. Bosky.