THE PEOPL THE E HB 171 .7 J 52 ED fflass tfp/7/ Book — l^JjZr GopghtN . COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT: THE PEOPLE AND THEIR PROPERTY BY EDWIN B. JENNINGS The profit of the earth is for all" Ecclesiastes, Chap. V. BROADWAY PUBLISHING CO. 835 BROADWAY, j» ^ NEW YORK LIBRARY of OONfi iwo OODies rit* MAY 11 1^08 qopy a. .• Copyright, 1908. BY EDWIN B. JENNINGS All Rights Reserved To Grover Cleveland CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. page Production of Wealth 1 CHAPTER II. Distribution of Wealth 12 CHAPTER III. Consumption of Wealth 22 CHAPTER IV. Conclusions 25 The People and Their Trusts 40 THE PEOPLE AND THEIR PROPERTY. CHAPTER I. PRODUCTION OF WEALTH. I propose to treat of The People and Their Property on the lines of Political Economy. Where Political Economy does not seem ade- quate we will fall back on the Bible and con- sider its statements as of commanding author- ity. The property of the people is naturally of large interest to the people and to the people at large. By the people here is meant the American people. Their property is large. The people are apparently the most prosperous in the world. But that prosperity is not universal by any means. Nor are the people united by any means. I may remark, at the start, that this is the greatest Republic that has ever existed. Should it fail, then government by the people is appar- ently doomed. I do not expect it to fail. But as Lincoln saw in his day, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." Anyone who will look a little under the sur- face of our bounding prosperity will see that we are becoming a house divided against itself. 2 The People and Their Property We are full of anarchists, communists, nation- alists, populists, single taxists, socialists, pro- hibitionists, strikists, negroes, trusts, labor unions, republicans, democrats, independents, Roman Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Infidels, Christian Scientists, Bryan and Roosevelt. This is a heterogeneous mass. They are not all working in unison. In fact, some are di- rectly arrayed against the others. The an- archists and socialists are more powerful than many think. Their object is revolutionary. They are dissatisfied with the existing order of things and what is more to the purpose, there is reason for their discontent; as will appear presently. The Americans of 1776 had a good old watch- word, "United We Stand, Divided We Fall." They were united, and they stood. There is danger that we will become divided and fall. Why? Because the property of the people is rapidly being absorbed by a few individuals. More than that ; it is being unfairly, if not dis- honestly, absorbed. That fact lies at the bot- tom of the present discontent. By the "Declaration of Independence" all men are created equal ; they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights ; among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Whenever any form of govern- ment becomes destructive of these, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it." Furthermore, the Constitution was established "to establish justice, promote the general wel- fare and secure the blessings of liberty." The People and Their Property 3 Now in 1776 the fight was for Freedom ; in 1861 the battle was against Slavery; now the battle is against Monopoly as represented by the Trusts. The people are beginning to real- ize that every man is not getting his fair share. When they ask — "Why?" the answer is, "Because of the Trusts." The very object of a Trust is to create a Monopoly, and Monopoly is antagonistic to Freedom. The battle ground is shifted from the ques- tion of physical freedom to that of Commer- cial Freedom. The Trusts, headed by the Standard Oil Company, are striving to estab- lish a Monopoly of Commerce ; the people, headed by Roosevelt, are striving to overthrow that Monopoly. At the outset I mentioned Political Economy. That enters largely into the question, for it deals with National Wealth. Caesar said : "All Gaul is divided into three parts," ("Omnia Gallia divisa est," etc.). So all Political Economy is divided into three parts : Produc- tion of Wealth, Distribution of Wealth, Con- sumption of Wealth. In this chapter we will deal with Production of Wealth. Right principles of Political Economy, fully carried out, should accomplish nothing less than the Abolition of Poverty. Surely that is worth while. Poverty is a great evil ; all admit that. Many consider it a necessary evil, never to be removed. But there have been, and may be, communities where poverty is unknown. While Poverty masters a man, it kills Hope. 4 The People and Their Property While Poverty masters a people it deadens their hearts. A poverty-stricken people, like the Hindoos of British India, has never been an enterprising people. The moment a people sees good hope of removing poverty, then progress, enterprise, commerce, science, art, all the products of human activity, begin to flourish. Consider, for a moment, the case of some poor bread-winner; and there are thousands right here in the imperial city of New York ; without education, without recreation — often without religion — with nothing to look forward to but death and taxes — his life nothing but a struggle for existence. He can scarcely rise above the level of the beasts that perish. He must first solve the bread and butter prob- lem. He may then turn to things higher and nobler. We must eat to live, but we need not live to eat. Now Political Economy considers these things with reference to the people ; and a good government acting partly on principles of good Political Economy should produce a happy and contented people. The first division of Political Economy is Production of Wealth. Before going farther it is necessary to de- fine these terms. Political Economy aims to be a Science, and no Science can be of any use without technical terms, that is, words of exact, definite meaning. For instance, in Mathema- tical Science, the word "triangle" has a precise The People and Their Property J meaning. So has the word "square." Hence by reasoning from certain definite premises, upon which all authorities agree, certain defin- ite conclusions are gotten. Hence, Mathema- tical Science is absolutely exact. Turning to the Science of Political Economy we find a far different state of affairs. Suppose you want to argue about Wealth. What is Wealth ? Turn to the authorities and you find the following definitions of Wealth. J. B. Say — Wealth is national and social. Social Wealth is what may be exchanged. Malthus — Those material objects which are necessary, useful, or agreeable to man. Torrens — Articles which possess utility and are produced by some portion of voluntary effort. McCulloch — Those articles or products which have exchangeable value, and are either necessary, useful or agreeable to man. Jones — Material objects voluntarily appro- priated by man. Rae — Individuals grow rich by the acquisi- tion of wealth previously existing; nations by the creation of wealth that did not before exist. Senior — All those things, and those only, which are transferable, are limited in supply, and are directly or indirectly productive of pleasure or preventative of pain. . . . Health, Strength, Knowledge and the other acquirements of body or mind appear to us to be articles of Wealth. 6 The People and Their Property Vethake — All objects, immaterial as well as material having utility — excepting those not susceptible of being appropriated, and those supplied gratuitously by nature. By the wealth of a community or nation is meant all the wealth which is possessed by the per- sons composing it, either in their individual or corporate capacities. John Stuart Mill — All useful or agreeable articles which possess exchangeable value ; in other words, all useful, agreeable things, except those which can be obtained in the quantity de- sired without labor or sacrifice. Fawcett — Wealth may be defined to consist of every commodity which has an exchange- able value. Bowen — The aggregate of all things, wheth- er material or immaterial, which contribute to comfort or enjoyment, and which are objects of frequent barter or sale. Jevons — First, what is transferable; second, limited in supply; third, useful. Leverson — The necessaries and comforts of life produced by labor. Mason and Lalor — Onything whatever that can be bought, sold or exchanged, or whose value is measured by money. Wealth is noth- ing but exchangeable rights. De Lavelye — Exerything which answers to man's material wants. A useful service and a useful object are equally wealth. Wealth is what is good and useful — a good climate, well- kept roads, seas teeming with fish, are unques- The People and Their Property 7 tionably wealth to a country, and yet they can- not be bought. F. A. Walker — All articles of value and noth- ing else. Mac Vane — All useful and agreeable material objects, which we own and have a right to enjoy without asking the consent of others. Wealth is of two general kinds — natural wealth and wealth produced by labor. Clark — Usage has employed the word wealth to signify — first, the comparative welfare re- sulting from material possessions, and second, by a transfer of the possessions themselves. Wealth then consists in the relative wealth- constituting elements in man's material en- vironment. It is objective to the user — ma- terial, useful and appropriable. Laughlin — Material wealth is something which satisfies a want, cannot be obtained without some sacrifice or exertion, and is transferable. He also speaks of immaterial wealth without defining it. Newcomb — That for the enjoyment of which people pay money; the skill, business ability or knowledge which enables their possessors to contribute to the enjoyment of others — ■ including the talents of the actor, the ability of the man of business, the knowledge of the lawyer, and the skill of the physician — is to be considered wealth, when we use the term in its most extended sense. Bain — A commodity is a material worked up after a design to answer a definite demand 8 The People and Their Property or need, and wealth is simply the sum total of commodities. Ruskin — The possession of useful articles that we can use. The possession of the valuable by the valiant. The prize definition comes last, that of Al- fred Marshall, Professor of Political Economy in Cambridge University, England. "All Wealth consists of goods — but not all kinds of goods are reckoned as Wealth." He does not say which is which ; but defines goods, thus: "External, material, transferable goods ; external, material, non-transferable goods ; external, personal, transferable goods ; external, personal, non-transferable goods ; in- ternal, personal, non-transferable goods; ma- terial, external, transferable goods; material, external, non-transferable goods; personal, ex- ternal, transferable goods; personal, external, non-transferable goods ; personal, internal, non- transferable goods." We will now pause and take breath ; and then lay down the following definition of Wealth, viz.: Wealth is Any Useful Product of Land, Labor or Capital. The foregoing definitions are introduced de- signedly. It is clearly impossible to reason or argue concerning Wealth when all the authorities differ widely as to the meaning of the term. We may infer from this that Polite ical Economy is not yet scientific. The People and Their Property 9 We can reason, however, from the terms given in this book — to wit: 1 — Wealth is any useful Product of Land, Labor or Capital. 2 — Land is the Earth; the Globe on which we live. 3 — Labor is Work of any kind; whether of body or of mind. 4 — Capital is Wealth used to produce more Wealth. The foregoing preliminaries may appear to some as irrelevant; but they are not. The matter is misty and involved, and an effort is here made to make it more clear. Now, if the above four definitions are clear and exact — we get to the subject of this chap- ter — Production of Wealth. The purpose of this book is not, however, to go into an elab- orate discussion, but simply to show that in the Production of Wealth we lead the world. America is the wealthiest nation in the world, with the possible exception of England. This proposition does not need to be proven; it is a well-known fact admitted by all. Now, we will next show some of the condi- tions which have resulted from this enormous Wealth. They may seem at first somewhat grotesque ; but we call attention to them. The reason will appear later. In New York City there are about fourteen hundred men who possess among themselves about thirty-three billion dollars. Three of these men are worth among themselves about io The People and Their Property four hundred million dollars. Indeed, it is said and generally believed that one of these men is worth by himself four hundred million dollars. But the figures are startling enough in the conservative statement I made, that three men possess among themselves four hundred mil- lion dollars. More amazing still is the fact that they all started with nothing. The Standard Oil Company has an income of about eighty million dollars a year, gotten (os- tensibly) on a capital of one hundred million. I do not know of any fair, square business which yields such results. The income of the President of Standard Oil Company is about four thousand dollars an hour, that is thirty- two thousand dollars a day, or about one mil- lion dollars a month. In New York City, on Fifth Avenue, begin- ning at about Fifty-ninth Street, is Million- aires' Row; probably the most remarkable thing of its kind on this Earth. These men think nothing of paying one million dollars for a residence. In this city also are some amazing hotels, notably the Waldorf, the Plaza, the Astor, the Knickerbocker, and others like them. Prob- ably if you were looking for a hotel, you would not buy any one of them, as it stands, with good-will, for fifty million dollars. The figures given in the foregoing few paragraphs are sim- ply amazing. No Wealth of ancient or mod- ern times can excel this. The rich people of New York do not spend money; they throw it away. The People and Their Property ii Some porters and waiters in the Waldorf are richer than any College President in the coun- try; and far richer than Abraham Lincoln ever dreamed of being. At some of these hotels they have dinners ; twenty dollars a plate is quite moderate. Next they invented Progressive Dinners. Thus, they began with oysters at the Waldorf, with drinks ; next soup at Sherry's, with drinks ; then fish at Martin's, with drinks ; then roasts at Delmonico's, with drinks; then dessert at Rector's, with drinks ; then coffee and cigars at the Astor, with drinks ; then brandy and soda the next morning in their bedrooms, with headaches. They had a dinner at which some twenty horses were brought in. The guests sat upon the horses and ate their dinner, with drinks. They had a dinner where trained chimpan- zees were guests of honor; and very properly so; the other monkeys being for the time of far less importance. Dinners have been held at which women were brought on, with just as scanty costume as the law allows (possibly less), concealed in immense pastries. In the blaze of such orgies, the feasts of Lucullus pale their ineffectual fires ; the Wealth of Croesus is as nothing; the orgies of Nero become almost respectable. Now, why have these things been stated here? The reason will appear later. 12 The People and Their Property CHAPTER II. DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH. We have shown that as far as Production of Wealth is concerned, we should find no fault. Indeed, some claim that we produce too much. It is well known that some Trusts buy up large industries and then keep them idle, sim- ply to restrict production. This practice is not confined to the Standard Oil Company. It is difficult to see, however, how there can be Over-Production, when thousands of people right here in New York are in dire want, and some actually starving. The inference is clear that the Trusts restrict Production in order to keep up prices. Furthermore, how can there be such a thing as Over-Production? In other words, can a people be too wealthy? I think not. At any rate, the people would like to have a chance to become so. So we come to The Distribution of Wealth. This is the rock against which our Ship of State is being driven. It is a large subject. Much more can be said about it than we can say here. However, let us briefly lay down some gen- eral principles. In the Production of Wealth there are three The People and Their Propert* 13 factors : Land, Labor and Capital. It is diffi- cult to say just in what proportion they share; but for purposes of argument let us allow that they are about equal. Hence, if Land, Labor and Capital share equally in the Production of Wealth, it fol- lows that they should share equally in the Dis- tribution of that Wealth. Land is impersonal. It is owned by some people who are Land- lords. But in the last analysis, the land of the country belongs to the Government; and in the United States the Government is the People. (At any rate the People think they are the Government.) Some things which appear in the preceding pages may have appeared irrelevant; but they have been stated for a purpose. That purpose is this: Our Production of Wealth has been simply amazing; there is no fault to find with it; but Our Distribution of Wealth is not equally satisfactory. Hence the prevailing discontent. The happiness of a people does not depend alone upon the Production of Wealth ; it de- pends equally upon the fair Distribution of that Wealth. Wealth is the blood of the Body Politic; just as to pierce the heart in the human body and divert the blood that has been produced ; to divert it from its natural distribution is to bring death to the physical organism, so to prevent natural laws of Distribution of Wealth is to bring death to the political organism. 14 The People and Their Property That is what we are now doing. So we come to three very important and vital questions: The Distribution of Wealth — ■ (i) What constitutes a fair distribution? (2) What laws or principles should guide us in such distribution? (3) Is it possible to so share the Property of the People that the people will be contented? These three absorbing questions we will at- tempt to answer briefly. I cannot pretend to answer them fully and completely, but I be- lieve if they are not answered our country will face as great a crisis as it did in the War of the Revolution; as great a crisis as it did in the War of the Rebellion. It may not result in war, but it will result in grave danger to the stability of the United States. The questions being one of such magnitude, I realize the difficulty of answering them fully. First. What constitutes a Fair Distribution of Wealth? The answer given by many is — > "Let every man have as much as every other man" — in other words, "Distribute the Wealth equally among all." That sounds very inviting. But as a matter of fact, if the Wealth of New York City were divided equally among its inhabitants to-mor- row — in a very short time the inequality would be nearly as great as it is now. The prodigal would waste his substance in riotous living; the gambler would risk his at the races and the gambling-table; the speculator would "The People and Their Property 15 plunge wildly in Wall Street; the Bulls and Bears would despoil the Lambs and Jackasses ; the Captains of Industry and High Financiers would combine and absorb nearly everything in sight ; the prudent and cautious man might, perhaps, invest his safely; and probably such would be the only ones to benefit by an equal distribution of Wealth. Hence we may regard such a distribution as impracticable. Let us consider another answer, given, I think, by Socialists, and on the face of it ap- pearing reasonable. Their answer to the ques- tion is this: "Labor should receive everything, because Labor produces everything. ,, Therefore, if all the Wealth of New York were to be distributed to-morrow according to the Socialists' requirements — as I understand them, it would be distributed equally among all the laborers of the city, and among them only. Every bricklayer, every hod-carrier, every carpenter, every iron-worker, every laborer, would receive about one million dol- lars. This would undoubtedly please the laborers. I don't know how many depart- ments of work the Socialists include in the laboring classes. They may include teachers, professors, engineers, etc. I do not think they include Capitalists, or Lawyers, or Brokers, or High Financiers. Now, Socialism has a far wider hold upon our people than is generally supposed, and considerable space might be de- voted to it here. But as our object is to be brief as possible, I will merely say that the de- 16 The People and Their Property mand of Socialism is unfair. As we have shown, Land, Labor and Capital produce Wealth about equally. Hence it follows that Wealth should be distributed about equally among Land, Labor and Capital. Hence if Socialists should say, "Labor produces about one-third of our Wealth ; therefore laborers should receive about one-third of our Wealth," I would agree with them. Other methods of sharing Wealth have been proposed. To discuss them all would require a volume. Instead of that, I will attempt briefly to answer our first question, "What constitutes a Fair Distribution of Wealth?" I am aware that this is a large question, and I do not pro- fess to answer it fully. We submit first, as an answer founded on Political Economy. Allowing that Land, Labor and Capital pro- duce all Wealth about equally, it must follow that they should share about equally in what they have produced. For instance, suppose three equal partners in a concern, Lawrence, the Landlord ; Peter, the Laborer, and Paul, the Capitalist. Let the profits for the year be three thousand dollars. Then each may fairly claim one thousand dollars. Apply this same principle on a larger scale to the People and their Property — does it not hold good? In other words, by principles of Political Econ- omy, Land, Labor and Capital should share and share alike in the Distribution of Wealth The People and Their Property 17 Another answer: By principles of our Gov- ernment, embodied in the Declaration of Inde- pendence and carried out in the Constitution — all men are equal. The Government is sup- posed to give all men equal rights and equal opportunities. The Wealth of America is the property of the people. That being the case, there should not be very great disparity in the distribution of Wealth. Remember, of course, that our Government does not guarantee Wealth to the drunkard, the gambler, the idler, or the spendthrift. When the immortal Declaration of Inde- pendence (which Rufus Choate called a collec- tion of glittering generalities) states that all men are equal, it clearly does not mean that they are equal in ability to amass Wealth. The answer to our first question, then, founded on principles of our government, is this: All men should have equal opportunities to gain Wealth. The fact is that they do not have equal opportunities, but that is the fault of our government, as carried on. It is not the intention of the Declaration nor of the Con- stitution. Another answer, drawn from the Bible: "The profit of the earth is for all." "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof." "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." "To hi'm that hath shall be given, and from him that hath not shall be taken even that he hath." 18 The People and Their Property "Let him that is strong bear the infirmities of the weak." Now we are getting answers in plenty; now we are on solid ground ; what Gladstone called the impregnable rock of Scripture. The Dec- laration of Independence may perchance be- come nothing — the Constitution may wither up as a scroll — the very world which we inhabit may and will like a dream vanish into thin air — but these words are eternal. They take hold on the past, they rule the present, they live in the future. In these statements may be found the answer to our question. Second question — What laws or principles should guide us in the distribution of Wealth? The answer is threefold ; first, the Principles of Political Economy; second, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States; third, the Bible. The Bible is the last, but not the least. I know it is not officially the law of the land ; but it would be well for us if it were. Third question — Is it possible to so share the property of the people that the people will be contented? We answer, yes. There have been and there may be communities where poverty is un- known. For instance, in ancient times there was no such heart-rending disparity in wealth as in New York to-day. The sharing of land among The People and Their Property 19 families only went so far as necessary for its proper cultivation. Pasture and forest lands were common property. A fair share as to farm lands was secured by forbidding alien- ation, as in the law of Moses. In modern times this primary way of shar- ing land still holds in Switzerland, a little country from which we could learn very much to our advantage. What are conditions in Switzerland? There are no millionaires there, and there are no paupers. The Swiss don't emigrate to Amer- ica like other peoples. Why? Simply because they are contented ! We have now briefly answered three large questions. Let us take up another phase of Distribution of Wealth. I will make a general statement that our wealth is not fairly distributed. The people are beginning to realize this. Trouble is in store for us, unless we correct this evil. In the first chapter we drew attention to one side of the shield, namely the immense wealth in the possession of a few in New York. Let us look at the other side, namely the heart- rending poverty of the many. In New York City there is spent each year for charity about forty million dollars. These figures are reliable. They were sent to me by Comptroller Metz. They are almost unbe- lievable. It is almost incredible that in this imperial city, the richest in the world, we should be 20 The People and Their Property obliged to spend forty million dollars a year to take care of the poor. Knowing only this fact, the question might fairly be asked, is not New York the most poverty-stricken city in the world? Jacob A. Riis, a high authority, has written a book, "How the Other Half Lives." Here are some ordinary "fair" samples. A family of nine, husband, wife, aged grandmother and six children, honest, hardworking people, struggled for existence in two rooms. One was about ten feet square, the other even smaller. Rent, $7.50 a month. One day, the mother, weary of the struggle, threw herself out of the win- dow and was carried up from the street, dead. She was discouraged, as the other women in the tenement said. One hot July day word came of a sick child absolutely famishing in a tenement. The baby soon died, and the mother went insane. The nurse found the father, an honest laborer, out of work — packing the poor little corpse in an old orange box that he might take it to the morgue. The book is full of such examples of our Distribution of Wealth. Mr. Riis told me that hundreds of men, women and children are daily starving in New York, or on the verge. And yet there are some people in New York who are discontented. There is something wrong somewhere. Forty million dollars a year for charity! In this city of imperial homes! The people do The People and Their Property 21 not want Charity, but Justice. If they do not get Justice, beware lest they take Revenge. The testimony of Mr. Riis is not all. Robert Hunter, John Spargo, Mrs. Campbell and many others give equally heartrending ac- counts of pauperized New York. They are all authorities and may be consulted by any one interested. If you want to investigate per- sonally go to the Salvation Army, to the So- ciety for Improving the Condition of the Poor, to the Jerry McAuley Mission or to the Young Men's Christian Association, Bowery Branch. Mr. Riis also states that about one out of every ten in New York is buried as a pauper. But why multiply examples? Enough has been said to show the fearful disparity in dis- tribution of wealth ; the almost incredible lux- ury on the one hand, the almost incredible pauperism on the other. Our Wealth is not fairly distributed. Why? We will try to answer that in the last chapter. 22 The People and Their Property CHAPTER III. CONSUMPTION OF WEALTH. On this part of our subject it is not neces- sary for our present purpose to say much. We have mentioned as an illustration in a previous chapter three partners in a concern, Lawrence, the Landlord; Peter, the Laborer; Paul, the Capitalist. The three partners in a business should share equally in the running expenses of that busi- ness. In other words, Land, Labor and Capi- tal should share equally in Taxation. Henry George was struck by all the miseries that spring from unfair ownership of land. As a remedy, in his monumental work on "Prog- ress and Poverty," he put forth to tax the Land only to pay all expenses of Government. All other taxes to be abolished. Now the idea that most of us may get rid of Taxation — well — it is very alluring, to say the least. But if our premises are correct, it follows that Taxation should be equally borne by Land, Labor and Capital, share and share alike. Henry George proposed the Single Tax, on land only. But a logical tax is not the Single Tax of Henry George on Land only, but a Triple Tax on Land, Labor and Capital. The People and Their Property 23 So far as I can see, we have yet to wo\rk out a fair and reasonable method of Taxation. All we do now is to load up our gun and blaze away at a head wherever it appears. If the owner of the head can dodge, or the gun miss fire, then knock down some one with the butt end. Somebody must pay taxes. What is the result? The burden of Taxation is mainly borne by Labor. Taxes are shifted from Capital ; they are shifted from Land. The Capitalist in New York claims residence in Newport or Lake- wood, or swears off in some way. The landlord simply adds his taxes to his rent, and so passes them along. The laborer cannot live in Newport; he is not a landlord ; consequently he pays. Taxation comes under the head of Consump- tion of Wealth. Much could be said about it. But it is not our object to dwell upon it now. Other more pleasant subjects are the uses made of our wealth in public improvements. A few of these will be touched upon. In New York there is contemplated the ex- penditure of some two hundred million dol- lars for bridges alone, to say nothing of the vast sums already expended. The Brooklyn Bridge cost about fifteen million dollars. The Williamsburg and Manhattan Bridges each about the same. The Hendrik Hudson Me- morial Bridge may cost ten or twelve million dollars. The projected bridge across the Hud- son will cost about fifty million dollars. 24 The People and Their Property Then there are the Subways. The original system cost about thirty-five million dollars. Then there is the new Water Supply System, which will cost about one hundred and seventy million dollars. These figures are colossal. We do not know of anything in the history of the world to equal them. The budget of New York for its different departments for one year amounts to one hun- dred and ten million dollars. So it is seen that in the Consumption of Wealth we are pre-eminent. The People and Their Property 23 CHAPTER IV. CONCLUSIONS. We have endeavored to show that in the Pro- duction and the Consumption of Wealth con- ditions are quite satisfactory. In the Distribution of Wealth, they are not. The question arises, why not? What is the reason of the terrible and dan- gerous disparity which now exists and which threatens the stability of our government. I take it the principal causes are — Our methods of Taxation. The Tariff. The Trusts. The Trusts being the most important, we will devote our attention to them. We will pay our respects to The Standard Oil Com- pany. All the Trusts are not in the Standard Oil Company, but they would probably like to be. The Standard Oil Company is confessedly the parent of the Trust System, or as Lawson calls it, "The System." Various and conflicting ideas are current re- garding it. Let me give an outline of its rise to power, a power which is the marvel of our time; 26 The People and Their Property Well, along in i860 Colonel Drake "struck oil" in Pennsylvania. No sooner had his well made known its pre- cious flow than all the rush and excitement of the California gold fever were again enacted. Derricks rose by thousands, seemingly as by magic. Wells were bored all over the oil country. Refineries started up near wells, as Oil City; near railway centers, as Buffalo; near seaports, as New York. There was plenty for all. The means of re- fining were known, and even poor men build- ing little stills could add to their works year by year, increase their capital and become success- ful business men. The business was one of the most attractive in the world. There was a free market, free competition. Other industries connected with oil sprang up and flourished. Everything seemed prosperous. The valleys of Pennsylvania became busy towns and oil fields. The highways were crowded. Labor was well employed. But now a strange thing happened. Wher- ever men moved to discover oil fields, to dig wells, or build refineries, to trade in oil, a blight fell upon them. This was about 1865. Then came the strange spectacle of dismantling and abandoning refineries by the score. The market now began so to fluctuate, defying rea- sonable calculation, that the oil business seemed to need the skill of a gambler. The panic among the people was in propor- The People and Their Property 27 tion to the work they had done, and the value of what they were losing. By 1870 the business had grown from noth- ing to a net product of 6,000,000 barrels a 3'ear, using a capital of $200,000,000 and supporting a population of 60,000 people. They had de- vised forms and institutions for the new busi- ness. They had built up towns and cities, with schools, churches, lyceums, boards of trade. There were nine daily and eighteen weekly newspapers published in the oil region and sup- ported by it. The people now saw the ripe fruit of all this wonderful development being mysteriously snatched away from them. More than once the public alarm became riot. This ruin of prosperity without any known cause brought Pennsylvania to the verge of civil war in 1872, was the principal subject before the Legislature that year and forced Congress to make an official investigation. Many became bankrupt, went insane, com- mitted suicide. Where every one else failed, however, one little group of some half-dozen men were rising out of all this havoc and disorder to the wealth and power which are now the wonder of the business world. This combination we will call "The Secret Rebaters." To them belongs the dubious honor of having discovered practically and put into operation the most tremendous instrument for making fortunes (at other people's expense) 28 The People and Their Property ever made use of. The idea was grand in its simplicity; its results have been amazing. A rebate is simple, being nothing but a sum paid back at the end of a transaction. Our Rebaters laid the foundation of their colossal fortune by means of a secret agreement with the Railways to this effect : The Railways were to double all freights on oil. For in- stance, suppose the rate a dollar a barrel to New York. It would now be two dollars. At the end of each month the Railways were to pay back as secret rebate to the Combination all this increase of $i a barrel. The Railways were to give to the secret rebaters another dollar for each barrel shipped by any one out- side the Combination. The Railways also were to charge freight rates, as suggested, in order to crush outsiders. By this dastardly scheme, the Secret Rebat- ers had all independent refiners by the throat. They simply had to choke the life out of them, which they have done with eminent success. To-day their capital is $97,000,000, quoted at about 450, making the market value over $400,- 000,000. Their clear profits are about $40,000,- 000 a year, according to the public press. The spectacle of these few men at the center of things amassing millions, while their com- petitors were being driven into bankruptcy or suicide, did not pass unnoticed. ' No one knew just what the trouble was, but everybody knew that there was something wrong. Organization of Industries, Commit- tees of State Legislatures and of Congress, The People and Their Property 29 Civil and Criminal Courts all over the country have been in action on account of them ever since. They never admit anything, however. They are attacked invariably in court by a sudden paralysis of memory or else decline to answer questions by advice of counsel. By means of Secret Rebate, they had ruined most of the independent concerns in the oil business. About this time the Trust was formed, I believe, simply by putting the strong companies under management of Trustees. Their next step was to buy up at half-price whatever firms still survived. About this time also the Rebaters had a bat- tle royal with the Pennsylvania Railroad Com- pany. The railroad, seeing the business that could be done in oil when properly manipu- lated, began to reach out for some themselves. This was in 1877. The war was bitter, but as the Rebaters had with them such companies as the New York Central and the L. S. & M. S. and other power- ful roads — they got the best of it. The Penn- sylvania Railroad surrendered on these terms: it was to sell all its refineries and pipe-lines and mortgage its oil cars to the Secret Rebaters. In 1870 they had organized with $1,000,000 capital. They were now able to give their check for $3,000,000 for this one purpose. In 1883 they brought such trouble and confu- sion to Pennsylvania in other ways that the Hon. Franklin B. Gowen was roused to resist them. 30 The People and Their Property As a lawyer and railway president in Penn- sylvania Mr. Gowen ranked very high. While he lived he was proud to be recognized in the courts as the chief defender of those whom the Standard Oil Company sought to crush. In his speech before the Pennsylvania Legislature in 1883, he said of their deeds in the oil regions: "If such a state of facts had been permitted by any government in Europe, for six months, the crown and sceptre of its ruler would have been ground to dust. I, for one, will sub- mit to it no longer. You may say it is unwise for me to attack this wrong, but I have at- tacked it before, and I will again. If I could only shake off the other burdens that rest on my shoulders, I would feel it my duty to preach resistance to this great wrong as Peter the Hermit preached the Crusade. I would go into every part of this commonwealth and en- deavor by the plain recital of the facts to rouse up such a feeling and such a power as would make itself heard and felt, and by the fair, open, honest and proper enforcement of the law, right the wrong and teach the guilty authors of this infamous tyranny: That truth remembered long when once their slumbering passions roused, the peaceful are the strong." In 1887 they were found guilty of conspiracy in causing the explosion of an independent oil refinery in Buffalo owned by C. B. Matthews. This was their most indiscreet attempt; it is thought that as a rule they crush out competi- tors in more quiet ways. The People and Their Property 31 Our methods to-day are somewhat different, but the idea is as old as Theft itself. "One simple rule suffices them, the good old plan — ■ that they shall take who have the power, and they shall keep who can." According to Henry Lloyd there seems little doubt that in 1876 H. B. Payne was elected United States Senator mainly by the Standard Oil Company ; furthermore it is asserted to-day that the Trusts all have representatives of some kind in Congress and State Legislatures. Mr. George Gunton, who writes in their favor, admits that they spend much money in lobbying, though he states that they only do it to prevent legislation against them. They do not need any in their favor. The oil business has a most astonishing ef- fect on the memory, as hinted above — almost an aberration worthy investigation by the medical profession. When any Trustee can possibly be induced to appear before an investigating committee, the condition of helpless imbecility to which he is instantly reduced is most remarkable. When the Secretary was asked the proper name of the Combination, he replied, "I do not know." "Do you understand the practical work of refining oil?" "I do not — I have not been inside a refinery for ten years." "Well, two mills a ton a mile for five hun- dred miles would be a dollar a ton?" 32 The People and Their Property "I am not able to demonstrate that proposi- tion." "You have some arithmetical knowledge?" "I cannot answer that question." "Well, you own the pipe-line to New York?" "Yes." "What does it cost you to do business on that line?" "I do not know anything about it." Another was a Railway man who had been taken into the Trust on account of his value as such. "Can you tell any of the freight rates your company has paid?" "I cannot." Another Trustee was asked: "What is your business, and where do you reside?" "I decline to answer any question until I can consult with counsel." "What is the capital stock?" was asked of another. "I do not know." "How much has the capital stock been in- creased lately?" "I do not know." "Where are the meetings of the Standard Oil Company held?" "I do not know." "How many directors are there?" "I do not know." "Do they own any pipe-lines?" "I do not know." The President was asked, "What quantity of The People and Their Property 33 oil was exported by the different concerns with which you were connected from the port of New York in 1881 ?" "I do not know." "How many million barrels of oil were re- fined by such concerns in the vicinity of New York in 1881?" "I do not know how much was refined." "Did the concerns with which you were so connected purchase over 8,000,000 barrels of crude petroleum in 1881 ?" "I am unable to state." He was asked to give the name of one refin- ery running in 1883 not owned or substantially controlled by the Trust. , "I decline to answer." He was asked if he would say that the total profits of his Trust for 1887 were not as much as $20,000,000. "I haven't the least knowledge on that sub- ject." 1 "Does the Trust keep books?" the President was asked by Congress. "No, we have no system of bookkeeping." On further pressure, though, he said, "The Treasurer had a record to know what money comes in." I "You have never seen those books?" ' "I do not think I have ever seen those books." ! "Has any member of the Trustees ever seen those books?" "I do not think they have." This agrees (in some ways) with the state- 34 The People and Their Property ments made by W. W. Cook, in his book on Trusts — also by the New York World. At the meetings of the Trustees a record of their doings is read — but at once destroyed. "The properties included in your Trusts are distributed all over the United States, are they not?" "Oh, not all over the United States. They are distributed." "Are they not distributed, and are they not sufficiently numerous to meet the requirements of your business from the Atlantic to the Pa- cific, and from the Gulf to the Northern Boundary?" "Well, not yet." The above conversation is very interesting. When the President said he had not the least knowledge of his profits, could it be because he had the greatest knowledge? He probably said it playfully. For instance if Joseph Choate should say he had not the least knowledge of law, we would all know it was because he had and has the greatest knowledge of law. Then again, does not the whole farce remind one of what it really is, a few school-boys say- ing their lesson by heart. "O, we don't know anything, we don't remember anything, we don't keep any books." These men monopolize the largest business in the world, yet they re- member nothing, they know nothing, they keep no books. Their President has not the least knowledge of his profits. But he is a good church member. His rules The People and Their Property 35 for succeeding in business should be engraved in brass over every bank, every business office, every public building in America. Should you attend the play of the " Little Minister," you may notice in the English castle there, an ancient suit of armor. Arrayed in such a panoply of steel, the Knight Ivanhoe went forth, as told in Scott's immortal words, to battle for the right. Against him in the lists came forth his foe, accoutred like himself. The knight opposed to Ivanhoe might have been a villain, but at least was not a coward. Like Richard III., or like Macbeth, "that bloodier villain than tongue could give him out," he set his life upon a cast, and he would stand the hazard of the die. It would not fall in that way now. To-day should Ivanhoe stand forth, no defiant shout would greet his ears — no burnished shield would be opposed to his. He might finally descry his enemy crouched beneath the sacred banner of the church, and should one of them perchance be forced from his retreat no defiant glance would meet his own — nothing but the helpless grin- ning of a fool. To-day the chief Rebater and his eight Trustees meet in secret council. Absolute power is given to their hands. A record of their former deeds is read, a minute made ot this — the record then destroyed. They need not think the record, though, en- tirely lost; they cannot now destroy the work that Henry Lloyd has done. That record 36 The People and Their Property speaks of widows plundered — of independent business men forced to the wall — of churches reared for worship — of universities endowed. The Oil Trust is different from some others ; for it burns with the white light of philan- thropy at one end of the line and blazes with the red flame of arson at the other, that is, ac- cording to the New York World. Whether people have been plundered in order to build churches, or the churches built to shield the plunderers, is a question. A great deal depends upon the point of view. Mr. Dodd, solicitor of the Standard Oil Com- pany, contends that the Trusts are public bene- factors. I have heard people declare that Wil- liam Tweed was a public benefactor because he carried through great public improvements, as boulevards, parks, public buildings. William Tweed seemed to possess the same peculiar memory as Trustees are afflicted with. When his operations began to be suspected, the Board of Aldermen tried to organize with him for the performance of the play, William — Tell. He preferred, however, the character of William the Silent. Now I have only given a brief outline of Standard Oil. Those who wish fuller in- formation are referred to ''Wealth Against Commonwealth," by Henry D. Lloyd, and "The History of the Standard Oil Company," by Ida Tarbell. It may be said that Standard Oil has done much good. So it has. It has shown the value The People and Their Property 37 of Combination, something which the people at large might well adopt; it has shown the amaz- ing resources of our country; it has founded Universities ; built Churches ; endowed Hos- pitals ; fostered Education. It has shown won- derful Economies in Production (including its Economy of Truth). It is for others to decide whether this has been done from benevolence or as part of a gigantic game. But with the evidence we have, the Standard Oil Company can be charged, more than any other agency, with the pauperism of New York ; it can be charged, more than any other agency, with the general corruption in busi- ness ; it can be charged, more than any other agency — with the business panic of 1907 — it can be charged, more than any other agency — with the corrupt practices of the Railways. The system which caused the explosion of C. B. Matthews' oil refinery and the ruin of his business ; the system which drove Moses Sweetser out of an honest business ; the sys- tem which ruined the honest business of George Rice and hounded him to death ; the Standard Oil System is capable of any crime sanctioned by modern business ; especially when the head of Standard Oil is a member in good standing of the Baptist Church. Now allowing all the foregoing to be sub- stantially true, it follows that the present dis- content in America can be charged to the 38 The People and Their Property Standard Oil System, more than to any other single agency. The Standard Oil System is composed of Americans, and they are doing their best to ruin America. The future historian writing of the Standard Oil System must be struck with wonder at the amazing qualities combined in these few men ; their cowardly cruelty, as told by Lloyd ; in plundering the widow and orphan ; their con- summate dramatic ability in fooling investi- gating committees while playing the part of helpless imbeciles ; their truly prodigal munifi- cence in endowing universities, churches and hospitals with millions of other people's money. When our fathers stood in battle under George Washington, and later amid the hunger and the cold of Valley Forge, no doubt they oft had dreams that from their efforts would arise a great and glorious country of the free. In the darkest hours of the Rebellion, Lin- coln stood to dedicate the graves of noble men at Gettysburg. He said the world could ne'er forget the soldiers that had given their lives in order that a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, should not per- ish from the earth. When the army under Grant was grimly fighting its way, foot by foot, into the heart of the Rebellion, there must have arisen in their minds the vision of a re-united country, glor- ious in its opportunities for all. I trow they never dreamt that this Democ- The People and Their Property 39 racy would ever fall beneath the plots of citi- zens itself had made, men, if I may call them so, whose colossal wealth was gained beneath its flag, whose power was the wonder of the world. "So the struck eagle, stretched upon the plain, No more through rolling clouds to soar again, Viewed his own feathers on the fatal dart And winged the shaft that quivered in his heart." Is this a government of the people, by the people and for the people? No, it is a government of the Trusts, by the Trusts and for the Trusts. This book is entitled "The People and Their Property." It rests with the people to deride whether it might not better be called "The Trusts and Their Property." Everything in the foregoing is for the women of America, as well as the men — so far as it may be reasonably applied. END. THE PEOPLE AND THE TRUSTS BY EDWIN B. JENNINGS BROADWAY PUBLISHING CO. 835 BROADWAY, * j* NEW YORK [LIBRARY of OONSKESSj iwo Copies Kacetvdti MAY.il 1908 I g,9^, Y B -V- - Copyright. 1908. BY EDWIN B. JENNINGS All Rights Reserved To Hon. Wm. Sulzer THE PEOPLE AND THE TRUSTS. In the old Mythology there was a fabled demon named Nycteus (I think) who pos- sessed malignant power. No one could destroy him because he had power to make himself invisible and could thus elude pursuit. This was some time a fable, but now the time gives it proof. In other words, we have among us to-day a malignant power which is working against the people of America and which is using the tactics of Old Nycteus, or Old Nick. That power is the Standard Oil System. It is the object of this Address to show the truth of this assertion ; to bring forth evidence in such a way that every thinking man can verify it for himself. It is also my object to show that the Stand- ard System is not an unmitigated evil and to bring out evidence in such a way that every thinking man can see its truth. We live in rapid times, almost too rapid. We want to go a mile a minute on the railways and two miles a minute in our motor-cars. Consequently we kill a great many people un- necessarily. But as the people demand rapidity I will try to be rapid in this address, and also try to be clear and logical. This is a hard job ; for clear 42 The People and Their Property and logical reasoning requires time and thought and reflection. In the first place, then, I will try to show that the Standard Oil System is a malignant power conspiring against the people. To do this, I will first outline the Rise to Power of the Standard Oil Company. Well, along in i860 Colonel Drake "struck oil" in Pennsylvania. No sooner had his well made known its precious flow than all the rush and excitement of the California gold fever were again enacted. Derricks rose by thousands, seemingly as by magic. Wells were bored all over the oil country. Refineries started up near wells, as Oil City; near railway centers, as Buffalo; near seaports, as New York. There was plenty for all. The means of re- fining were known, and even poor men build- ing little stills could add to their works year by year, increase their capital and become suc- cessful business men. The business was one of the most attractive in the world. There was a free market, free competition. Other industries connected with oil sprang up and flourished. Everything seemed prosperous. The val- leys of Pennsylvania became busy towns and oil fields. The highways were crowded. Labor was well employed. But now a strange thing happened. Wher- ever men moved to discover oil fields, to dig The People and Their Property 43 wells, or build refineries, to trade in oil, a blight fell upon them. This was about 1865. Then came the strange spectacle of disman- tling and abandoning refineries by the score. The market now began so to fluctuate, defy- ing reasonable calculation, that the oil business seemed to need the skill of a gambler. The panic among the people was in propor- tion to the work they had done, and the value of what they were losing. By 1870 the business had grown from noth- ing to a net product of 6,000,000 barrels a year, using a capital of $200,000,000 and support- ing a population of 60,000 people. They had devised forms and institutions for the new business. They had built up towns and cities, with schools, churches, lyceums, boards of trade. There were nine daily and eighteen weekly newspapers published in the oil region and supported by it. The people now saw the ripe fruit of all this wonderful development being mysteriously snatched away from them. More than once the public alarm became riot. This ruin of prosperity without any known cause brought Pennsylvania to the verge of civil war in 1872, was the principal subject before the Legislature that year and forced Congress to make an official investigation. Many became bankrupt, went insane, com- mitted suicide. Where every one else failed, however, one little group of some half-dozen men were rising 44 The People and Their Property out of all this havoc and disorder to the wealth and power which are now the wonder of the business world. This combination we will call "The Secret Rebaters." To them belongs the dubious honor of having discovered practically and put into operation the most tremendous instrument for making fortunes (at other people's ex- pense) ever made use of. The idea was grand in its simplicity ; its results have been amazing. A rebate is simple, being nothing but a sum paid back at the end of a transaction. Our Rebaters laid the foundation of their colossal fortune by means of a secret agree- ment with the Railways to this effect: The Railways were to double all freight on oil. For instance, suppose the rate a dollar a barrel to New York. It would now be two dollars. At the end of each month the Railways were to pay back as secret rebate to the Combination all this increase of $i a barrel. The Railways were to give to the secret rebaters another dol- lar for each barrel shipped by any one outside the Combination. The Railways also were to charge freight rates, as suggested, in order to crush outsiders. By this dastardly scheme, the Secret Re- baters had all independent refiners by the throat. They simply had to choke the life out of them, which they have done with emi- nent success. To-day their capital is $97,000,- 000, quoted at about 450, making the market value over $400,000,000. Their clear profits The People and Their Property 45 are $80,000,000 this year, according to their own declaration. The spectacle of these few men at the center of things amassing millions, while their com- petitors were being driven into bankruptcy or suicide, did not pass unnoticed. No one knew just what the trouble was, but everybody knew that there was something wrong. Organizations of Industries, Commit- tees of State Legislatures and of Congress, Civil and Criminal Courts all over the country have been in action on account of them ever since. They never admit anything, however. They are attacked invariably in court by a sud- den paralysis of memory or else decline to answer questions by advice of counsel. By means of Secret Rebates, they had ruined most of the independent concerns in the oil business. About this time the Trust was formed. The strong concerns put their stock in Trust, managed by Trustees. Hence, the name. Their next step was to buy up at half- price whatever firms still survived; and choke off all others. About this time also the Rebaters had a bat- tle royal with the Pennsylvania Railroad Com- pany. The railroad, seeing the business that could be done in oil when properly manipu- lated, began to reach out for some themselves. This was in 1877. The war was bitter, but as the Rebaters had with them such companies as the New York Central and the L, S. & M. S. and other power- 46 The People and Their Property ful roads — they got the best of it. The Penn- sylvania Railroad surrendered on these terms: it was to sell all its refineries and pipe-lines and mortgage its oil cars to the Secret Re- baters. In 1870 they had organized with $i,« 000,000 capital. They were now able to give their check for $3,000,000 for this one purpose. In 1883 they brought such trouble and con- fusion to Pennsylvania in other ways that the Hon. Franklin B. Gowen was roused to resist them. As a lawyer and railway president in Penn- sylvania, Mr. Gowen ranked very high. While he lived he was proud to be recognized in the courts as the chief defender of those whom the Standard Oil Company sought to crush. In his speech before the Pennsylvania Legislature in 1883, he said of their deeds in the oil regions : "If such a state of facts had been permitted by any government in Europe, for six months, the crown and sceptre of its ruler would have been ground to the dust. I, for one, will sub- mit to it no longer. You may say it is un- wise for me to attack this wrong, but I have attacked it before, and I will again. If I could only shake off the other burdens that rest on my shoulders, I would feel it my duty to preach resistance to this great wrong as Peter the Hermit preached the Crusade. I would go into every part of this commonwealth and en- deavor by the plain recital of the facts to rouse up such a feeling and such a power as would make itself heard and felt, and by the fair, open, honest and proper enforcement of the The People and Their Property 47 law, right the wrong and teach the guilty authors of this infamous tyranny : "That truth remembered long, When once their slumbering passions roused, The peaceful are the strong." In 1887 they were found guilty of conspiracy in causing the explosion of an independent oil refinery in Buffalo owned by C. B. Matthews. This wa^ their most indiscreet attempt; it is thought that as a rule they crush out competi- tors in more quiet ways. Our methods to-day are somewhat different, but the idea is as old as Theft itself. "One simple rule suffices them, the good old plan — That they shall take who have the power, And they shall keep who can." According to Henry Lloyd there seems little doubt that in 1876 H. B. Payne was elected United States Senator, mainly by the Standard Oil Company; furthermore it is asserted to- day that the Trusts all have representatives of some kind in Congress and State Legislatures. Mr. George Gunton, who writes in their favor, admits that they spend much money in lobbying, though he states that they only do it to prevent legislation against them. They do not need any in their favor. The oil business has a most astonishing ef- 48 The People and Their Property feet on the memory, as hinted above — almost an aberration worthy investigation by the medical profession. When any Trustee can possibly be induced to appear before an investigating committee, the condition of helpless imbecility to which he is instantly reduced is most remarkable. When the Secretary was asked the proper name of the combination, he replied, "I do not know." "Do you understand the practical work of refining oil?" "I do not — I have not been inside a refinery for ten years." "Well, two mills a ton a mile for five hun- dred miles would be a dollar a ton?" "I am not able to demonstrate that proposi- tion." "You have some arithmetical knowledge?" "I cannot answer that question." "Well, you own the pipe-line to New York?" "Yes." "What does it cost you to do business on that line?" "I do not know anything about it." Another was a Railway man who had been taken into the Trust on account of his value as such. "Can you tell any of the freight rates your company has paid?" "I cannot." Another Trustee was asked : "What is your business, and where do you reside?" The People and Their Property 49 "I decline to answer any question until I can consult my counsel." "What is the capital stock?" was asked of another. "I do not know." "How much has the capital stock been in- creased lately?" "I do not know." "Where are the meetings of the Standard Oil Company held?" "I do not know." "How many directors are there?" "I do not know." "Do they own any pipe-lines?" "I do not know." The President was asked, "What quantity of oil was exported by the different concerns with which you were connected from the port of New York in 1881?" "I do not know." "How many million barrels of oil were re- fined by such concerns in the vicinity of New York in 1881 ?" "I do not know how much was refined." "Did the concerns with which you were so connected purchase over 8,000,000 barrels of crude petroleum in 1881 ?" "I am unable to state." He was asked to give the name of one refin- erv running in 1883 not owned or substantially controlled by the Trust. "I decline to answer." He was asked if he would say that the total Jo The People and Their Property profits of his Trust for 1887 were not as much as $20,000,000. "I haven't the least knowledge on that sub- ject" "Does the Trust keep books?" the President was asked by Congress. "No, we have no system of bookkeeping." On further pressure, though, he said, "The Treasurer had a record to know what money comes in." "You have never seen those books?" "I do not think I have ever seen those books." "Has any member of the Trustees ever seen those books?" "I do not think they have." This agrees (in some ways) with the state- ments made by W. W. Cook, in his book on Trusts — also by the New York World. At the meetings of the Trustees a record of their doings is read — but at once destroyed. "The properties included in your Trusts are distributed all over the United States, are they not?" "Oh, not all over the United States. They are distributed." "Are they not distributed, and are they not sufficiently numerous to meet the requirements of your business from the Atlantic to the Pa- cific, and from the Gulf to the Northern Boundary?" "Well, not yet." Any one reading this exhibition of helpless The People and Their Property 51 imbecility is struck dumb with sheer amaze- ment. "No, no, we don't know anything; we don't remember anything. We don't keep any books. We have built up the largest business in the world. We employ 60,000 people, directly or indirectly. We have declared dividends at the rate of eighty million dollars for this year. But things just seem to come our way. All the oil in America, and a good deal of Europe, Asia and Africa, seems to flow just where our President wants it." And so they pipe their lays, and so they lay their pipes. Just notice the sworn statement of their President. Now either he knows about the business which he created or he does not. He has sworn that he does not. Therefore, if he does know, he stands convicted as a perjurer by words out of his own mouth. If he does not know, then he stands before his stock- holders as a fool. Should the president of any other Company in the world make such a dis- gusting exhibition of himself, his stockholders would demand that he instantly resign. If he is a perjurer, his proper place is behind the iron bars of a jail. If a fool, his place is not inside the gilded bars of a palatial business office as president of the mightiest corporation in the world. It may be that his proper place is in the University to which his millions flow at Chicago. Columbia, however, has recently been the recipient of his bounty. Thus do Oil and Education and Philan- 52 The People and Their Property thropy and Hypocrisy mix together in our pro- gressive age. In this connection we must not overlook the good that has been done by some Trustees. They have endowed universities with millions of dollars. They have built churches. They are prominent in temperance work ; in mission- ary work ; in charities. For all this let them have their due credit. Unfortunately, however, the Trust System as a system must certainly destroy this Democracy or we must destroy the Trusts. Of course I mean any Trust like Standard Oil, which may be defined as a combine of legalized pirates controlling a monopoly. Their capital is like the City of Venice. There's a good deal of water in it. The foregoing is only a brief outline of the knavery of the Standard Oil Company. I offer in corroboration the book by H. D. Lloyd, called "Wealth Against Common- wealth" — and Miss Tarbell's book, "History of the Standard Oil Company." These are in fact, scathing indictments of the Standard. No reputable business concern in America should permit such indictments to go un- challenged. How has the Standard answered them? As a further argument, I appeal to the com- mon sense of every honest business man. I The People and Their Property 53 ask him from his own practical business ex- perience to answer this question — "Is it pos- sible for one man, starting with no capital, to amass a fortune of five hundred million dollars inside of forty years?" As a further argument, of a more personal nature, I would cite the statements of Moses Sweetser, George Rice and C. B. Matthews. They all stated to me that the allegations of "Wealth Against Commonwealth" are true. It is submitted that the above evidence goes to show that the Standard Oil Company is a malignant power working against all the people. Next — to show that the Standard System is not an unmitigated evil the following may be brought forth. It has created and endowed the great Uni- versity of Chicago ; it has given millions to colleges all over the country ; it has built churches — chiefly of the Baptist persuasion; it has endowed hospitals ; it has given largely to charity; it has given millions to the cause of education in the South ; it has paid fairly good wages to its employees ; it has done other good deeds too numerous to mention here. As the Standard will not dispute these facts, I do not think it necessary to bring any evi- dence. Hence I think I have shown my second position, namely, that the Standard System is not an unmitigated evil to the country. 54 The People and Their Property conclusion. Allowing all that we have said to be true, we have this condition of affairs — First — The Standard Oil System appears to be a malignant power, working against the people. Second — The Standard System is not an un- mitigated evil. Now, what are we going to do about it? That is for many others to decide. I would, however, offer these suggestions for consideration. If the System has not been good, and is will- ing to be forgiven, then the People should for- give. If the System has wronged anyone, let the System make restitution. If this is not done then let the People or a Party make the System a Political Issue. The women of our country are interested in this as well as the men. END. MAY 11 1908