People's Pilot, Volume 4, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 December 1894 — Scope of The Sugar Trust. [ARTICLE]

Scope of The Sugar Trust.

The Cleveland-Carlisle currency plan is losing ground. “The best financial system in the world" (?) It is about to be changed. Can the best be made better? Another death rattle—a new Populistdaily starts in Indianapolis this week, the Indianapolis Dispatch. The last two political campaigns, in this country, were feughtonthe tariff and just as soon as they were over the president sent in messages on the money question. Three-fourths of the people of the United States are in favor of the free coinage of silver, but they are divided and misled by party names, which enables the money power to have its own way.

A congress in which 150 of its members have been turned down by the people, is just the congress to pass the Baltimore currency scheme, or any other scheme the money power may wish. David B. Hill has left his place in the senate to “take his Christmas.” What is Christmas to a man who has no sweet-heart, no wife, no children, no friends; who does not chew, smoke, drink, hunt nor go a fishing? No man less deserves the name of democrat or republican than those masquerading in party names to-day. If you want to be convinced of this, take the legislation of these parties during the last two years.—-Fortville Sun. The republicans, feeling that they have a pretty sure thing on the election of ’96, are not going to put up another third rate man like Harrison without a fight. Thomas B. Reed, the biggest, brainiest man of their party now has the lead. If the next president is to be a republican, we say let him be Reed. During the last campaign the democrats told us that the administration in building war ships was only carrying out contracts made by the republicans. Now comes Cleveland in his message saying: I recommend that provision be made for the construction of additional battleships and torpedo boats.” Can you think?—Freeland.

Nonconformist:—The government is doing just what the individual knows he should not do—increasing the public debt with a view to betterirg our condition! But Wall street thinks such action is all right, for the simple reason that its bread will have been more thickly buttered as a result. And this is the secret of the new bond issue. Congressman Bryan has introduced a bill forbidding the re-election of a president—a

good bill. Let this bill become a law, elect U. S senators by a direct vote of the people and then have the last session of each congress expire before the election of a new congress and the source of one-half of the political corruption in this country will be cut off.

Here is what the second Democratic paper of the state says: The next National Democratic Convention will nominate a western candidate upon a platform declaring unequivocally for free silver coinage and immediate reduction of tariff to a revenue basis. If this is not done the disruption of the Democratic party is inevitable. —Evansville Courier. This will not be done, and Mr. Shanklin, you can just get ready to disrupt.

“Governor .Waite will be generally applauded for his vigorous rebuke administered to the bumptious Englishman, John Burns, at Denver last Sunday,” says the Chicago Times.. Burns declared that under the constitution of the United States labor could never get justice, and he proposed a long string of amendments. Waite followed him and said that it was, the punishment of the rascals who had violated both the letter and spirit of the constitution that was needed and not amendments of the instrument itself. He told Burns the American people wanted no advice from Britishers. The Times adds “Bully for Waite. It’s a pity he didn’t make as good a speech as that before the election.” Senator Peffer is to be credited with a thoroughly sensible bill which, being introduced thus early in the session, ought to become a law. He wants the disreputable and expensive custom of senatorial funerals done away with. He sees no reason why the death of a senator should be the occasion of a pleasure trip across the country, with champagne and other drinks ad lib. for the “mourners.” It may possibly be true that the death of certain senators would be fit occasion for public rejoicings, but it is .surely not decent to express that joy in a costly senatorial “jag” accumulated at public expense. Peffer is right. His is one “Populistic” measure which should surely become a law.— Chicago Times.

“It is the Democratic party and not the Republican that has always bowed the knee to trusts and corporations. * * * * The sugar trust, the whiskey trust, the standard oil trust own the Democratic party body and breeches. The party could never fight a national campaign were it not for the grease furnished by these and other formidable trusts.”—Delphi Journal.. It is no less sinful to write a lie with the pen than to speak it with the lips. All these trusts of which the Journal complains had their origin in the fruitful soil of Republican legislation and the Delphi Journal knows it. Had not these trusts been bred and born, fed and fattened by the Republican party, two years of Democratic rule could not have made them so awe inspiring as to bring any party to its knees. Under the control of what party has 1 per cent of our population acquired more wealth than the remaining 99 per cent? Under whose rule has one family received more of an income than 2,000 families? What party made the laws of our country such that they have forced a mortgage indebtedness of $96 per- capita upon our people? What party ruled when first we heard the words, “trusts,” “combines, ” “ syndicates, ” “ tramps, ” “ soup houses, ” “multo-millionaires,” etc.? The mere acknowledgment of the existence of these trusts of which the Journal complains, is but to say Republican legislation gave them birth. There are many, many mean things that cqn be

said and done, this side of hell, but none of them can come from a daiker, dirtier corner of the human heart, than that prompting which leads one to charge his crimes upon another.

Congressman DeWitt Warner’s Reform club pamphlet on the Sugar trust is one of the best pieces of political writing seen in many years. He sums up the situation of the trust and the people thus: “With the Spreckles in control of Hawaii and the Havemeyers extending their plantations in Cuba the trust dictates to every branch of sugar production and distribution in the Cnited States, taking under its wing every one concerned—except those who consume sugar. From its office at 117 Wall street cable messages fly daily to its agents in Cuba, fixing the price of raw sugar there; to San Francisco announcing “Cuba's party,” at which arriving-in Hawaiian sugars are to be valued; to Louisiana, telling her planters what—in view of Cuban and Hawaiian prices—the trust condescends to offer for American sugar; and to its representatives all over the world, giving the limit—based on Cuban parity—at which they can pick up Austrian, Javan, Phillipine, Brazilian, and other sugars, when these are temporarily depressed in prices. In an adjoining room the quotations at or above which the subservient dealers throughout the country are permitted to sell sugars are daily r settled, and through the four great sugar brokers who stand nearest the throne these are passed to forty others who await the Sugar trust’s nod at New York and telegraphed to the waiting hundreds in other cities in the land. These in turn so promptly notify their patrons, the thousands of wholesale grocers of the country, that before their doors are opened all danger of any purchaser getting his sugar below trust prices is over for the day. By discount from his bill or periodical remittance, as the case may be, each faithful wholesaler is promptly and liberally paid for for his loyalty, and whenever in the crisis of legislation he hears the bugle call of the trust he instantly steps into line, ready to bombard his congressman with telegrams or fight him with ballots at short range until the Sugar-trust cause is triumphant. “Such is the grandest trade organization the world has ever seen. “The Sugar trust dictates the tribute that shall be rendered it by the American people. “The wholesale grocer is rewarded by whatever largess the trust thinks necessary to insure their loyalty. “And the public?^—‘the public be damned’—and it is.”—Chicago Times.