The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1946-11-22
OFF MEN ARE FIT TO
GOVERN :"

I recently read an article in which
the following statement appeared: l
men are fit to govern themselves, they
are fit to think for themselves, {
statement with which l wholly agree
However, it aroused in my mind the
question: What is fitness to govern
and what thoughts should actuatt
those possessing such fitness? And
find the answer a difficult one. We
Americans boast of our democracy
proudly proclaiming to the world that
under it we have become the richest
freest and most powerful nation on
earth; which generally speaking, is
| true.
Democracy, we affirm is the best
form of government yet devised by the
human mind, and offer our achieve
ments in material development in
proof of our claim. Well, let's see: our
forefathers inherited a new continent;
one containing the worlds greatest
mineral resources, the finest forests,
a soil unexce1led for fertility and great
river, ocean and lake waterways for
use in domestic and foreign com
merce; in short every natural advan-
tage that human desire could reason
ably ask for. What have we done with
this great heritage?
A Heritage Wasted
I have seen coal mines abandoned
not because the coal was exhausted,
but because they no longer yielded the
amount of profit their greedy owners
desired. I have seen the waste and
wreckage wrought upon some of the
nations most valuable forest areas by
money-hungry lumber barons whose
motto was: LET future generations
look out for themselves. I'm getting
mine while the getting is good" l have
seen great waste areas of what was
once fertile farm land, areas turned
back to nature because the soil, which
with proper care would have lasted
forever, through ignorance and greed
had been stripped of the last vestige
of its productivity.
Today, what is left of our immense
natural resources Except the farms,
and they are becoming increasingly
fewer in private ownership have come
under the control of those who domin-
ate the nations finances and industry
Almost Immediately after the Civil
War, Morgan, Rockefeller, Commodore
Vanderbilt and other rugged individ-
ualists" began a systematic grabbing
of the nations wealth, and that policy
has continued until now the Morgans,
the duPonts and others of that type
have such a stranglehold upon the
country's financial and industrial re.
that they can force presidents
and congresses to practically do their
Giant Trusts Dominate The Nation
The U. S. steel corporation, with
which General Motors and other great
are closely allied, is not
only the worlds greatest manufacturer
Of steel, it is the greatest operator Of
coal and iron mines on earth, owning
or controlling vast deposits of both
coal and iron. A few powerful corpora
tons, like General Motors, General
Electric and Westinghouse absolutely
dominate the market for almost every
home and business necessity, and
when it suits them to do so, can tie
up a major portion Of the nations in
1ustry. The American Telephone and
Telegraph Co., and Western Union,
(both controlled by the same group
have an absolute monopoly on the
,ountry's communication syst e m.
Great chain store systems have invad- |
ed every important community in our
country and collect for the profit of
the dollars which should go
to local business people.
However, the most dangerous con-
1ition is reflected in the control by |
ownership or influence of |
he country's press newspapers and |
and the radio networks. |
These agencies attempt, with all too |
much success, to shape the thinking |
If our people into channels detrimen- |
raj to their (the people's) own best !
We have controlled, not |
/ free enterprise; we have a control |
ed, not a free press, and in some
parts of the country, we have control |
ed, not free elections.
We are the greatest producing ma
ion on earth, yet the profits from
what we produce go into the pockets
,r bank accounts of only few. 1--WE
ire the freest people on earth, yet we
10 not know how to use our freedom;
We are the most powerful nation in ex-
stence, yet we waste much of the |
,ower we possess by ignorance of its
worth.
Some of our mis-named statesmen |
,hout aloud that we are both demo-