The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1938-03-31
Handful Of Industrialists
Control and Cause Depres-
sions Benson Charges
Big Business-C Controlled Republican
Party Means End of Private
Enterprise, He Charges
PAGE EIGHT

Asserting that a few powerful
corporations, controlled by a hand
full of men, dominate the wealth
and industry of the nation" Cover
nor Benson in his address at thu
Farmer-Labor Association STATE
convention at Duluth last Friday
charged that these economic royal
lists. Through the Republican party
the u. s. Chamber of Commerce
the National Association of Manu-
facturers, and the American Liber
ty League, is now waging war up
on progressive political and econ
omic movements"
"This group" the Governor said
"has debauched the national econ
omy for failure to permit produc-
ton of new wealth and have caused
wholesale unemployment. They
talk of law and order-but the only
law and order that they are inter
ested in is that which will protect
the anarchy of Big Business"
The States chief executive as
serted that the policies of Big Bus
mess have been directly response
bile for economic depressions and
mass unemployment.
Blames Others
Big Business, the Governor said
has always been sure to wash its
hands of this responsibility. 1t has
blamed the farmer, the worker
the government, or whatever else
suited it's selfish purpose, lacking
the honesty and decency to admit
that their own deficiencies were
the cause"
The Governor made a special
plea to the independent business
men to support progressive political
movements. He pointed out that
independent business man lis Of
ten deceived into supporting politi-
cal movements which spell his own
ultimate economic destruction
THE Big Business-Wall-Street con-
trolled Republican party" he said,
means the death Of private, indiv-
idual enterprise in America"
Growth of MonopOlies
He gave figures to show how
monopolistic enterprise and chains
have absorbed independent bust
ness, citing that from 1920 to 1929
the number of grocery stores con-
trolled by chains increased from
S.461 to 3O125 and drug stores from
400 to 1856. From 1929 to 1885, des-
pite the fact that thousands OF per-
sons out of jobs have invested their
savings in small business enterpris-
es in an effort to earn a living, the
volume of chain store business in
creased nearly per cent "at the
expense of the independent bust
ness man."
THE same thing, he continued,
holds true for the professional
groups"
Oppose Farmer and Worker
The record of the Republican
party, state and nation, the Cover
ncr charged, is one of constant OPP
position to any real farm program,
while that party's contribution to
the welfare" of the worker has
been lip service before election but
after election day the policeman's
billy and the soldiers bayonet."
The Governor made a vigorous
plea for liberals to join in a move
to keep this country out of war by
keeping it out of entangling allan
ces, to help promote the cause Of
peace, and to join in opposition to
the big navy bill, the Sheppard
May bill, which would put this
country under a dictatorship of a
handful of industrialists in time of
war.
1--WE must also help mobilize all
forces for peace and cooperate with
every legitimate effort in behalf of
peace. We cannot he indifferent to
what is happening in other parts Of
the world. However, we must be
certain that our efforts for peace
do not lead us into alliances for
war. We do not want to line up
with one group of nations against
any other group of nations for the
purpose of waging war. Under no
conditions must our boys ever
again be sent to lay down their
lives on foreign SOIL"