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WATSON'S EDIT ORIALS
Plr. "Bryan and the "Principal Points at
Issue.”
The papers having reported Mr. Bryan as
saying that the Tariff was not an important
issue, that gentleman has given out the fol
lowing statement:
“I did express the opinion that the trusts,
the railroads and the tariff would be the
principal points at issue, but 1 did not, and
would not, say that the tariff is not so impor
tant as the other two issues. All are impor
tant, and I would not attempt to fix their rela
tive positions. They all involve the same prin
ciple, and that is whether the interests of the
many shall be subordinated to the few and
each will deserve the most careful attention
from the next Democratic convention.”
So it would appear that from the Bryan
point of view, the three important issues are
the trusts, the railroads and the tariff.
These three issues “involve the same prin
ciple, and that is whether the interests of
the many shall be subordinated to the few.”
Very important, indeed, are these three is
sues, the trusts, the railroads and the tariff.
There are scores of ravenous trusts through
whose agencies “the interests of the many
are subordinated to the few.” The Steel
Trust, alone, extorts a greater profit annually
from the many, for the benefit of the few,
than can be dug from the soil of the five mil
lion American farmers. Such exploitation of
the many by the few is, indeed, appalling!
Then, there arc the railroads —managed by
six groups of New York financiers —which
extort from the public annual dividends upon
at least six billion dollars of watered stock.
To run the railroads in such away as to earn
yearly revenues upon six billion dollars of
mere ink and paper, representing no actual
investment of money whatever, is to rob the
American people of six billion dollars IN
PERPETUITY!
Such exploitation of the many by the few
is, indeed, appalling!
Then, again, the official statistics show that
the tariff gives to tne ten billion dollars in
vested in manufactures a yearly net revenue
of two billion, eight hundred million dollars.
After allowing for 8 per cent interest upon
the capital invested, we have here a profit of
two thousand million dollars to be divided
among the six thousand manufacturing
plants as a clear bonus, over and above a
handsome profit on the investment. Thus the
tariff enables the manufacturers to rob the
American public of two thousand million of
dollars every year.
Such exploitation of the many by the few
is, indeed, appalling!
As Mr. Bryan says, these three enemies to
the general welfare —the trusts, the railroads
and the tariff —“all involve the same princi
ple, and that is whether the interests of the
many shall be subordinated to the few.”
“All three involve the same principle.” So
they do —but are they the only offenders?
Have we no other enemies to the general
welfare which “involve the same principle”?
WHAT ABOUT THAT MONEY QUES
TION, MR. BRYAN?
Why is it that your eloquent voice is never
heard, now-a-days, to thunder against that
MONSTER OF SPECIAL PRIVILEGE?
WATSON'S WEEKLY JEFFERSONIAN
A Newspaper Devoted to the Advocacy of the Jeffersonian Theory of Government.
PUBLISHED BY
THOS. E. WATSON and J. D. WATSON,
Editors and Proprietors
Temple Court Building, Atlanta, Ga.
ATLANTA; GEORGIA, THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 1907.
Is the National Banking system any less a
subordination of the interests of the many to
the greed of a few than it was in the days
of Benton, Jackson and Jefferson?
Since when did the National Banking sys
tem put itself outside the pale of criticism
and cease to “involve the same principle”
that you condemn in the trusts, the railroads
and the tariff?
Have you discovered any sound Demo
cratic excuse for the granting to five thou
sand financiers of the tremendous power,
privilege and profit of exercising the money
creating function of Government? Os having
at all times the free use of the taxes paid by
the unprivileged? Os securing for their own
private benefit the interest-bearing bonds of
the Government when they have in their
vaults at the same time, more than twice
enough money belonging to the Government
to pay off those bonds?
Is our Gold Standard legislation tending
always to a destruction of the Greenbacks,
and to the compulsory redemption of silver
dollars in gold dollars, no longer so dangerous
as Mr. Bryan once said it was? Did he not
make the whole continent thrill with the
vigor of his denunciation of those whose pur
pose was to “crucify mankind upon a cross of
gold”?
The Money Question, it seems, has dropped
out of the debate. The National Banking sys
tem, which haunted the dreams of Thomas
Jefferson, and which roused Benton and Jack
son to a battle which shook the whole fabric
of our institution, is no longer a bone of con
tention.
Why so?
Towering above the Trusts and the Rail
roads, both of which marauding combinations
are absolutely dependent upon the National
Banking system, looms the Special Privilege
of controlling the money-supply of 85,000,000
people!
Blind, blind, BLIND is the statesman who
will not see what the root of the evil is.
“Saul has slain his thousands, but David
his tens of thousands!” In the warfare
against the unprivileged many, in these Unit
ed States, the few have their Saul, as well as
their David —but the slaver of the tens of
thousands is THE OMNIPOTENT MONEY
TRUST.
* it H
Gen. Toombs 9 Letter.
More than twenty years ago, Gen. Robert
Toombs wrote for the Atlanta Constitution
a powerful arraignment of the corporations—
a letter which ought to be republished and
carefully studied.
It fits the situation as well today as it did
when written.
Says Gen. Toombs:
“All corporations are artificial persons with
special names, composed of such members
and endowed with such powers and privil
eges as the law prescribes.
“They are of very ancient origin; they are
children of civilization, grow with it, expand
with it; they are generally useful, oftentimes
indispensable to the rapid progress and de
velopment of society; but they are always
dangerous. . . While Railroad companies
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE: SI.OO PER YEAR
Advertising Rates Furnished on Application.
Entered at Ptstoffice, Atlanta, Ga., January 11, IQO7, al tecond
clan mail matter.
are private corporations, mere carriers for
hire, incorporated as such, they are given ex
traordinary powers in order that they may
better serve the public.
“They are therefore engaged in a public
employment affecting the public interest, and
subject to legislative control.
“It is therefore the duty of these corpora
tions to perform all their duties as common
carriers imposed upon them by law, and pay
all taxes that may be legally imposed.”
Gen. Toombs then dwells upon the lavish
generosity of the state to the railroads in
granting them charters, powers, privileges,
and exemplifications from those burdens
which other citizens have to bear. He points
out that the railroads paid nothing to the sup
port of the county administrations of the va
rious counties through which the road ran
although the railroads were constantly re
ceiving the benefit of the roads, bridges, pub
lic buildings, county officers, and protection
of the laws. In other words, the corpora
tions escaped these public burdens which fell
upon natural persons.
After showing how liberally the state had
dealt with the railroads, Gen. Toombs asks:
“Have the railroad corporations done their
duty to the state for all the powers, privil
eges, immunities and exemptions conferred
upon them?
“They have not.
“So far from having faithfully performed
their obligations, these corporations have gen
erally, habitually and persistently endeavored
to elude and avoid every one of their obliga
tions to the public, contained in their charters,
or in the general laws of the land, which were
onerous to them and beneficial to the pub
lic.
“The better to effect these objects they
have usurped numerous powers never grant
ed them.
“To effect these objects independent of the
powers granted them, they have set up a
claim to, and exercised, sovereign, imperial
powers WHICH ARE NOW AND AL
WAYS EAVE BEEN DENIED BY ALL
FREE PEOPLE TO ANY AND ALL
THEIR DEPARTMENTS OF GOVERN
MENT.”
Now what are some of those sovereign, im
perial powers which all free peoples have de
nied to their own government but which the
railroads have claimed and exercised?
Gen. Toombs specifies:
“1. Among them, and standing at the head
of all, is the surrender of the taxing power for
the benefit of these monopolies, the exemption
from all taxation for limited periods, and a
partial and limited exemption indefinitely.
“2. The great sovereign power, under the
name of freight and passenger tariffs, FIXED
BY THEMSELVES in defiance and con
tempt of all public authority, TO APPRO
PRIATE SO MUCH OF THE PORTABLE
WEALTH OF THE COUNTRY as may
fall into their hands for transportation, TO
THEIR OWN USE as their necessities or
RAPACITY may dictate.
“3. To annihilate what little competition
is possible, in view of the location of the sev
eral roads, by combinations, poolings, RE-
'[if’ B)*
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