Little Falls herald., 1912-10-18

combat or turn to his own advan-
tage. .
What was this force that worked
80 silently and so irresistibly? Dis
" elimination. Discrimination in the
rates paid for the transportation Of
the coal from the mine to the con-
sumer. .
-.
Partnership Between Transportation
and Industry.
But why should there be discrimina-
ton? Why did it profit the railroad
company to ruin all the coal miners
except a few favored ones? Because
the railroad had gone into secret part.
nership with the favored mines. This
partnership gave it an advantage over
it did charge such high rates for car
rying the coal to market that coal
could only be mined at loss.
But what difference did that make
to those who owned both railroad and
mines? What they lost on mining,
they made up in freight charges. 1t
was like taking money out of one
pocket and putting it into the other
Both pockets belonged to the same
concern. But the Independent miner
who had no railroad had no such 0p-
portunity. He had to dig down into
his pocket and hand over the price of
the freight to the railroad, and he got
nothing back. When he could stand
this destructive competition no longer,
he was glad to sell out to the COM
bination for whatever he could get.
In this way the coal-carrying rail-
roads have come into possession of the
valuable coal fields of this country.
This coal is worth billions of dollars,
and most of it has been taken through
fraud and discrimination. What is
true of the coal mines is true of the
iron mines. The methods have been
exactly the same.
Minnesota Iron Mines Monopolized.
- +
We in Minnesota have had a bit
ter experience in this field. 1t is
only about twenty years since
there was discovered on the Me-
saba Range some of the most ex-
tensive iron mines in the world.
But those who originally filed on
them and obtained title from the
government got little out of them. =
They were frozen out in the same
way that the coal miners were
frozen out, through partnership be-
tween the railroads and certain
favored mines. For many years
now the iron industry in Mime
sofa has been owned and con- =
trolled by the same interests that
own and control the iron-carrying
railroads.
+ = = = . = =
Other Resources Similarly Absorbed.
The oil fields have been absorbed
in the same way. For more than thir-
ty years the oil business has been
controlled by the Standard Oil Com
pany. The same is true of the gold
aud silver mines of the West and the
vast lumber resources of the Pacific
coast. Discrimination has robbed the
people of most of the natural resources
of this rich continent, and has built
up private fortunes such as no coun-
try in the world has ever seen.
Result Of Transportation Monopoly.
This control of transportation and
natural resources has placed the pow
er in the hands of few men to exact
profit at their own pleasure. There
is no check upon their rapacity except
the limit Of the American peoples
ability to pay. The profits are colos-
sal, running into the billions. And all
this profit, over and beyond the little
that the owners can consume, must
seek reinvestment. So it has now
gone so far that it has obtained control
of the banking and credit system of
the country. Through this control it is
rapidly absorbing all lines Of business.
Monopoly Claims False.
During all Of these years the bene-
| ficiaries of these abuses have preached
through their press bureaus that their
| prosperity was due to superior bust.
ness ability and more rigid economy
than was possessed or practiced by
the rest of us. That is the blacklist
slander ever put upon the American
people. While they fattened on our
bounty, they jeered at us as incom-
petents and mendicants. We have had
this monstrous SANDER dinned into our
ears until it has provoked us beyond
our patience.
Monopoly Caused by Privilege.
The truth of the matter is that the
cornerstone of every trust and mOnop'
oily is special privilege. If you take
the time and the trouble to look into
any monopoly, you will find a special
privilege that is denied to others.
We have heard good deal about
natural monopolies. There is no such
thing as a natural monopoly. A nat.
uraI monopoly is as impossible as a
natural vacuum. All monopoly is arti-
fetal. Every monopoly is the result
of legislative or judicial abuse. Nature
does not make some men so superior
to all other men that they could be-
come monopolists without the aid of
special privilege. 1t is through con-
troll of the machinery of our govern
ment that they have been able to rob
us. And so it has come to pass that
the government which the Declara.
ton of independence tells us is insti-
tuted to secure to us the rights of
life, liberty and the spursuit of happi-
ness, has been turned against us to
deprive US of these rights.
Trusts Not Natural Development.
Beware of those who tell you that
the trusts are the result of natural
development. 1t is false. Those who