Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1920-05-19
OBSERVATIONS
BY the CornfieId Philosophe,
ON THE FIRING LINE

BY the CornfieId PHILOSOPHER.
ON THE FIRING LINE
The real issue in the contest for the
nomination for State officials is lust
this. Shall Big Business and the ex-
ploiters of our public domain name the
candidates or shall the common peo-
pie have say in the matter?
If you want the state government
administered in the interest of the
many you will vote the whole ticket
headed by Shipstead for Governor,
but if you wish the special interests
of the few to dominate, you will sup
port the "other fellows"
You will find a shallow Drained fel-
low here and there Directing to gov
eminent interfering with "private en-
terprise" What is the government
for but to protect the people from the
private enterprise of the bootlegger,
the horse thief the highwayman and
the bank wrecker, and why not include
the high tax shirker and the profteer?
It is said that Uncle Sam could have
purchased the entire Cuban sugar
crop for about six cents per pound
and thereby insured an abundant sup
ply to the consumer at a moderate
price not exceeding ten cents. but that
would have been interfering with
private enterprise" you know, and was
therefore unthinkable.
The fellow who likes to pay Is to
80 cents per pound for his sugar ought
Wi fhn rl1y
the big sugar profteers win out in
the election they may raise the price
to so cents.
Of what value would it be for far
mers to work longer hours and pro-
duce more when the spectators can
control the only means of distribu-
ton?
The reactionaries of our early days
made huge mistake when they neg
lected or failed to prevent Benjamin
Franklin from establishing the gov
eminent post office. This purely So
cialistic institution or enterprise is
a great object lesson to all the peo-
pie teaching them that everything of
Socialistic nature is not necessarily
evil or wicked.
Did you ever stop to think that if
the government owned and operated
the railways that in principle it would
be only an extension of the functions
! of the post office? We have already
added rural delivery of mail and the
parcels post and altho we had a bitter
and long continued struggle to get
them, who will dare say they are not
good for the people, and who will ad-
| vocate the repeal of this legislation
| secured some very wholesome legis-
| lation in both the States and the Ma
ton to restrain the cupidity of the
railway magnates. But in the So
called Esch- Cummins bill recently
passed by Congress the railroad boss.
es get a guarantee of the right to fix
their own salaries, hours of labor, and
a 514 per cent interest or profit on the
valuation they put on their property
toned bill adds eight billions of dol
lars to the valuation the National
Board of Railway Commissioners put
!
proximately $50 for every man, WON
an and child in the country or about
| $500 to an average family. Not only
did Congress take this vast sum out
of the pockets of the people and give
it to the railroads but it provided that
the workers should pay a perpetual in
terest on this fictitious capital.
|
Jake Preus having proven his
| friendship for big business in his ca
pacity as State Auditor and Land
| Commissioner, job he still holds, the
fiat boys" propose to give him anoth
er boost and land him in the Cover
or's chair but the voters ON the farms
or in the factories and the mines will
have an equal say in the matter and
! they are going to vote for Shipstead
Two years ago the enemies of the
people were super-loyalists and fooled
lots of voters by their display of pa
triotism. This time they are mas
querading as fair taxees", or members
Of the Sound Government League"
but their aim and purpose are the
same and l wonder how many will be
misled by their false professions in
this campaign?
If the politicians really favored q
tonnage tax why didn't they nominate
one of the men who are opposed to the
N. P. League, but not completely I'm
der the thumb Of big business anG
who are honestly and sincerely in ia
vor of such a measure? For instance
there is Theodore Christianson OF
Dawson, a man big enough in every
way for governor and I could name
others. But the fact is they dOn'1
want a real governor They want
merely "chore boy" for Big Business
in the Governors chair-one who viii
take orders and ask no questions.
lMaynard News)