The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1914-11-06
IN APPRECIATION

issue an article from L. S. Light; he
wants a change-and another from
| the Ocala Banner, on the growth of
| Government and Municipal Owner
| ship. l am glad to see these articles
coming, and | hope more like them
! will come, as the people need to know
more about existing conditions, and
| why they are so.
AS the Miami Record says the sal
aired man and the man who has small
investments, and the wage earners
| pays the freight for this war Why?
Because they are the consumers, and
every time they buy an article or do
a little business that has a tax stamp
on, they pay for the stamp, and they
use the most of the tobacco, beer,
| whiskey, gasoline and a few of the
amusements that doesn't cost, but
carries a war tax just the same
| Therefore they are taxed because
they do use them, and will bring in
larger war revenue.
The rich farmer and fruit grower,
who works 365 days in the year, and
sixteen hours day, lives in clover
and overalls, and his wife in calico,
raises bumper crop, and gives it all
to the railroads to be dumped at the
1
other end. Why? Because there are
so many unemployed, and men work.
ing half time that they cannot buy
what is produced. Why? Because
when it reaches the unemployed and
| half-time men prices have scared so
high that they must go empty stom-
ached. Then there is an oversupply
| of vegetables going to waste, because,
the people that would buy them have
no money to buy with. So the rich
farmer and fruit grower lets his pro-
| duce rot at home, and pays his bills
some other way-if paid. So the Ia
boring man goes hungry, the railroads
half loaded, because they charge such
high rates, the produce can't be shipp-
ed That doesn't look very encourag-
ing at both ends and in the middle,
does it? Now the Ocala Banner tells
us what Mr.. Bryan learned on his
trip abroad. He learned that there
were governments owning railroads
and operating them and giving great
er satisfaction to the people than
here; that some governments had a
civil as we'll as a military pension list.
also that some had even an old age
pension, and that the bounty of gov
eminent extended to other than it's
military heroes. Even the mothers,
who had borne and reared the sons of
the defense and preservation of the
government, in her old age, should
not be destitute and helpless.
Now are We going to let the capital |
lists have all the good things and we
all the poor when we have a country
that can feed the whole world in
times like the present? Why not feed
our own people?
Why not we, too, have government
ownership of all the railroads, tele-
graph, telephones, oil, coal, mineral
mines, and everything that should be
owned collectively and operated col
lQHtIUnIU
countries, and can be done by ours.
The railroads can be paid for out of
the profits and salaries now received
by superiuous presidents, vice presi-
dents, lobbyists and other parasites
and interest on watered stock.
The railroads, if managed right,
could reduce rates and go loaded both
ways for almost the same money as
when going empty; and the former
could be given more and all the con-
sumner not have to pay as much. The
same would hold good in all other in
dustries.
How can we get a change? BY pub
liclty, continually and persistently
along right lines. Give our represen-
tatives in congress to understand that
we want, and if they won't do what
we tell them, put men there that will.
1t won't do any good to howl until we
are red in the face and take no action.
but howl effectively by going to the
polls and voting for a man that will
represent the people. If the republi-
cans and democrats won't give us
what we want, vote for a party that
will, and good sized vote for a party
that advocates what the people want
will awaken them sooner than any
thing else
L. L. DICKMAN, of Ruskni |