The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-26
Fix Miners Wage


 A bakers dozen of the monopolistic mag mates fix the amount of wage coal miners can receive, they appartion the amount each corporation may haul to the sea- board. and then arbitrarily fix the price at which coal. may be sold in the open market.
 It is childish to assert that all corpora tions have become corrupt, meaning there- by that the managers are all corrupt. Be- cause certain ministers or priests are not what they should be, shall we condemn the church7 Shall we say because some followers of the Christ wander from the right and truth, that religion Is farce, and that the church Is a system of graft2 One is as logical as the other.
 That certain magnates have become un- scrupulous. that they have become em- boldened, like the King in colonial days. and no longer give thought to the rights of the people. we sorrowfully admit; and by reason of their positions at tho head or organizations. they are acting as ruth lessly as did King George, but the char tered companies they represent have no such powers as they arrogate to them selves; and their outrages are sadded on the corporations of which they are the head
 As well may we say that Judas was an Ioutgrowth or represented the gentle Christ because he was one of the Apostles; or ] that Benedict Arnold represented the true | spirit of the colonial period as to say that such tyrants represent the stockhold- CTS of the corporation they control. With the same propriety we should say that | the dynamite operator correctly repre- sents the rank and file of labor organ- cations, because he may have been placed | in some responsible position by those that had confidence in htn.
 l Advancement and development in a cor | mo ,5o1, fIo tt,1i vidual. The man that grasps the opening nade by the building of a new railway or the extension of an old one, whether he be a farmer that secures lands, or q manufacturer that produces goods needed or the merchant that supplies those that needs merchandise, all arc actuated by the same motive, personal and patriotic de- sire to aid his own and other families, and thus aid in the general uplift of the country
 Corporations have, through their mana gers, violated law, so too. has the indi- vidual; corporations reach out through their officials graspingly, so has many of our land owners; railways have gotten all the service would admit of. and 1t Is true that many of our merchants have pursued the same policy
 And now, lest we forget, let us ask if corporations have too many privileges, who granted them? Who gave corpora | lions their wide open charters? Who elected those that made the laws so that magnates could do as they have done? Recall the language of the brave prophe; of old, who said 'Thou Art the Man" Monopolies
 All monopoies are not injurious or un- lawful Our basic law created a monopoly of citzenship. The alien is not and can not be voter as long as he is an alien Our government is giant monopoly as to legal tender currency. It alone can coin and issue money, which Is an actual necessity under modern business condi- tions.
 Authors and inventors are given a monopoly of their products for A term of years. Our government gave to Cyrus Mccormick a patent on mechanical reaper for grain, and so far, the great nor near great have placed his name in their private 'TIall of Fame" and yet 1t is true that all the labors and fnven- tions of all men this world calls famous. did not add directly one loaf of bread to our stores of food for the hungry Prior to his invention the world was never six months ahead of famine. McCormlck's s monopoly stayed the gaunt specter of | starvation in all lands where the use of the reaper became universal. Municipal ities frequently have monopoly privileges such as supplying water, heat, light and power.
 
 When corporations are no longer for the good of the public sthe people should see to 1t that such charters were revoked This is a very old principle of law; 1t came to us in waves. due to immlgra- ton and emigration from the old Roman empire through the Germans, and is told most beautifully in the Jewish Talmud, | and later at great length in the Merchant of Venice. Jf our government >should de- clare It's intention to make it's rights and | powers effective, then corporations for | self-preservation would conform to the