Show ya day or OF two ago 0 o the news in ge to the urging of a cotem clotem wry r gave expression in a brief and rd eted twe way to some of its ita views in fard d to the practice which is ex vely indulged in by a certain class of speakers and writers in this country oi I denouncing wealthy men as thieves 1 robbers without either tam n or regard for the methods by which i belr wealth was acquired the names c P Huntington the california rail d magnate and john D rockiefel the controlling power of the standi oil trust were mentioned in the section indicated the subject will p further treatment lip is charged that 0 P huntington acquired u wealth and power by flitting tong t ti I 1 the crime of bri bribery betT that to bought aught the votes of members of california al 0 r a legisla legislature t in IA support of WW hat enric enriched h xe him ra at the exie ot t the e people ite he has nover never ro q of this nor of any to ml ignal of afen ofen lense r 90 00 far as aa tha aware but b a t ao 0 matter alth 10 ie passing X sa on hafl mo cence ae let us proceeds f on olt the postulate that he is guilty as charged by popular clamor that Is that by bribing members of the legislature he has enriched himself and oppressed the people the legislators were corrupt or he could not have bought them and it to is the boast of america that all her lawmakers municipal state and national come up out of the ranks of and are thoroughly representative of the people A stream will not rise higher than its fountain A legislative body elected under free institutions such as prevail in the united states is likely to average neither better nor worse than the people that elects it generally speaking the reputation which a candidate tor for the legislature may have as a will not prevent his election if he has the support of his party machinery eri it is a notorious and deplorable feature of american politics that most voters do not hesitate to cast their ballots for a candidate for the reason that he is reputed to be venal where then does responsibility for venality in a legislature primarily rest with the people they cleave to party machinery they cower before the party lash they tamely submit to party I 1 bosses they act on the principle that it is better fort for a scoundrel to be elected by their party than tor for an honest man to be elected by their opponents they suffer themselves to be bought and sold like sheep by partisan manipulators and the cheapest votes on the american market are those controlled by the very organizations that most vociferously denounce rich men as thieves and robbers if C P huntington hunting ton for money or other thing of value bought the votes of legislators he committed a crime as heinous as larceny or forgery and richly deserves to be punished equally guilty are the men who sold him their votes the offense of both buyer and seller is of a character that Is peculiarly exempt from all palliation but what of the people who deliberately placed I corrupt men in power are they not I 1 participants in the crime in the last I 1 analysis of the whole matter did not the people sell themselves for the pottage of partisan victory it if all who share the guilt of bribery are to receive their deserts what capacity must the prisons have occasionally john D rockefeller to is accused of bribery but the american public does not seriously bously entertain this charge against enst him his guilt in the eyes of m most abt of r those who hold him culpable consists compelling competitors to sell but to him that he may control the entire enah e product and make the price to suit himself that he has fias accumulated an enormous fortune by this policy Is not denied but is he therefore a criminal in the opinion of the news unless something worse than this is proven aga against inist him he be deserves no such an appellation i the people of the united states axe are free they make their own constitutions and statutes and they have irrevocably decreed that no man shall be deemed guilty of an offense against the public peace dignity or welfare who has not transgress trans transgressed gres ed the law if rockefellers Rocke fellers operations operation have been within the law the makers of the law are of the responsibility resulting from those operations and the censure for such sins mine as he to Is charged with belongs in part at the civilization that renders them unavoidable the remedy lies not hot in denouncing the financier as an a thief but in correcting the civill za tto n of the time it may be said that adequate correo correction tion of it to is fm hn possible perhaps this to is and will be true until the masses of the veople people are willing to adopt higher principles fand cryst alixe them into law in the meantime wrong and aad injustice on one side will not be cured by the perpetration of wrong and injustice on the other under american institutions the people have all things beneath beneat li the heavens in their own hands and can remedy the ills from which they suffer buffer if they will but to do this they must follow different teachers from those who are leading them now |