They will destroy the mean competition which for centuries has
made liars, swindlers and slavedrivers of men.
They will practically eliminate the great number of large private
fortunes, and thus compel men to devote their energies to
pursuits nobler than the accumulation of money.
At first a few enormous fortunes will dominate the nation--the
beginning of these great fortunes you may see already.
Then will come the owning of the trusts--that is to say, of all
the great national industries--by the nation itself.
The people of the land will own and operate their own
necessities. These necessities, instead of making a few men
enormously rich at the expense of many, will contribute to the
comfort of many without injustice to the few. ----
The development of trusts must run its course, like every other
great feature of human history.
Its beginning--in corrupt legislation, watered stocks, human
selfishness--was inevitable.
Its ending--in national ownership, competition eliminated, and
industrial life vastly improved--is also inevitable.
But thousands of struggles, thousands of economical battles,
thousands of ruined men, will mark this evolution of human
industry from the control of individual selfishness to the
service of the nation.
The duty of the people is to study and, as far as possible, to
foresee and regulate this enormous and inevitable development of
the trusts.
The trusts cannot be destroyed, and they should not be destroyed.
But they can be regulated, and with proper vigilance they can be
kept from commanding and controlling absolutely this nation,
which sees the birth of their great development. ----
We believe that the most pressing public duty at present is
the reorganization of the Senate of the United States on the
basis of popular election.
It has been said truthfully: "You cannot indict an entire
people," and, fortunately for us, it may truthfully be said, "You
cannot PURCHASE an entire people."
The trusts of the United States base their hopes of continued and
growing power upon the United States Senate.
The trusts own absolutely many United States Senators. Of those
Senators whom the trusts do not own, many are deeply interested
in the trusts, which is the same thing as though the trusts did
own them.
Under the present system, the public elects State Legislatures,
and these Legislatures choose the United States Senators.
If a trust can buy the Legislature--which, as we all know, it
usually can--the trust can control the Senatorial representatives
of the State.
The State of New York in the National Congress at Washington is
represented by thirty-four Congressmen and two Senators. The
thirty-four Congressmen are elected by the people and two
Senators are chosen by the trusts. And with these two Senators
the trusts can absolutely veto every bill passed by the
thirty-four Representatives elected by the people.
Does anybody believe that Mr. Depew and Mr. Platt could possibly
have been elected to the United States Senate by the PEOPLE of
the State of New York?
Does anybody question the outrageousness of a system which forces
upon the people as representatives two Senators whom they would
not have chosen and whom they actually believe to be inimical to
their interests?
This condition prevails practically throughout the Union.
The upper house of our National Legislature is the real ruling
power in the United States.
It controls all of the President's appointments.
According to the Constitution, he is compelled to appoint "by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate."
The trusts buy the Legislatures, they own the Senators, and
therefore the Constitution of the United States now reads
practically as follows:
"The President appoints national officers by and with the
advice and consent of the trusts."
As an American voter, you have no more important duty than to
work for the election of Senators by the people.
You should not tolerate the selection of Judges of the Supreme
Court, United States Ambassadors, Federal Judges throughout the
country, and all the great executive forces subject to the
approval of the trusts that notoriously make, break and destroy
laws.
A small trust can buy the Legislature of the State of New York.
But the biggest trust can scarcely buy New York's six million
inhabitants. And, thanks to our secret voting system, we are
protected even against ourselves and our own selfishness.
If a trust buys the ordinary voter it cannot be sure that it gets
what it buys.
But if a trust buys the legislators it can count votes and secure
delivery of the goods purchased.
Use your influence to curb the power of the trusts by taking away
from venal legislators that power to sell to trust managers the
Senate of the United States.
This subject you should discuss with your neighbors. You should
urge it upon all of those voters with whom you come in contact.
You should influence legislators in your State to vote for a
Constitutional amendment causing popular election of
Senators--and no legislator will resent your suggestion if he be
an honest man.
Everybody knows that the United States Senate to-day does not
represent the people. There are exceptions among the Senators,
but they are in the minority. Every year the Senate is less and
less representative of the nation, more and more representative
of organized capital. Good Americans, irrespective of party,
will strive to work for this change in the national machinery.
Take away from the trusts now the power to tamper with national
laws through the Senate.