Insanity？Thementalprocessesofthemanwithwhomonedisagrees,arealwayswrong。Thereforethemindofthemaniswrong。Whereisthelinebetweenwrongmindandinsanemind？Itisinconceivablethatanysanemancanradicallydisagreewithone\'smostsaneconclusions。
\'Thereisagoodexampleofitinthisevening\'spaper。MaryMcKennalivessouthofMarketStreet。Sheisapoorbuthonestwoman。Sheisalsopatriotic。ButshehaserroneousideasconcerningtheAmericanflagandtheprotectionitissupposedtosymbolize。Andhere\'swhathappenedtoher。Herhusbandhadanaccidentandwaslaidupinhospitalthreemonths。Inspiteoftakinginwashing,shegotbehindinherrent。Yesterdaytheyevictedher。Butfirst,shehoistedanAmericanflag,andfromunderitsfoldssheannouncedthatbyvirtueofitsprotectiontheycouldnotturnheroutontothecoldstreet。
Whatwasdone？Shewasarrestedandarraignedforinsanity。To—dayshewasexaminedbytheregularinsanityexperts。Shewasfoundinsane。
ShewasconsignedtotheNapaAsylum。\'
\'Butthatisfar—fetched,\'Iobjected。\'SupposeIshoulddisagreewitheverybodyabouttheliterarystyleofabook。Theywouldn\'tsendmetoanasylumforthat。\'
\'Verytrue,\'hereplied。\'Butsuchdivergenceofopinionwouldconstitutenomenacetosociety。Thereinliesthedifference。ThedivergenceofopiniononthepartsofMaryMcKennaandtheBishopdomenacesociety。WhatifallthepoorpeopleshouldrefusetopayrentandshelterthemselvesundertheAmericanflag？Landlordismwouldgocrumbling。TheBishop\'sviewsarejustasperiloustosociety。
Ergo,totheasylumwithhim。\'
ButstillIrefusedtobelieve。
\'Waitandsee,\'Ernestsaid,andIwaited。
NextmorningIsentoutforallthepapers。SofarErnestwasright。
NotawordthatBishopMorehousehadutteredwasinprint。Mentionwasmadeinoneortwoofthepapersthathehadbeenovercomebyhisfeelings。Yettheplatitudesofthespeakersthatfollowedhimwerereportedatlength。
Severaldayslaterthebriefannouncementwasmadethathehadgoneawayonavacationtorecoverfromtheeffectsofoverwork。Sofarsogood,buttherehadbeennohintofinsanity,norevenofnervouscollapse。LittledidIdreamtheterribleroadtheBishopwasdestinedtotravel—theGethsemaneandcrucifixionthatErnesthadponderedabout。
CHAPTEREIGHT。
TheMachineBreakers。
ITWASJUSTBEFOREERNESTranforCongress,onthesocialistticket,thatfathergavewhatheprivatelycalledhis\'ProfitandLoss\'
dinner。ErnestcalleditthedinneroftheMachineBreakers。Inpointoffact,itwasmerelyadinnerforbusinessmen—smallbusinessmen,ofcourse。Idoubtifoneofthemwasinterestedinanybusinessthetotalcapitalizationofwhichexceededacoupleofhundredthousanddollars。Theyweretrulyrepresentativemiddle—classbusinessmen。
TherewasOwen,ofSilverberg,Owen&Company—alargegroceryfirmwithseveralbranchstores。Weboughtourgroceriesfromthem。
TherewerebothpartnersofthebigdrugfirmofKowalt&Washburn,andMr。Asmunsen,theownerofalargegranitequarryinContraCostaCounty。Andthereweremanysimilarmen,ownersorpart—ownersinsmallfactories,smallbusinessesandsmallindustries—smallcapitalists,inshort。
Theywereshrewd—faced,interestingmen,andtheytalkedwithsimplicityandclearness。Theirunanimouscomplaintwasagainstthecorporationsandtrusts。Theircreedwas,\'BusttheTrusts。\'Alloppressionoriginatedinthetrusts,andoneandalltoldthesametaleofwoe。Theyadvocatedgovernmentownershipofsuchtrustsastherailroadsandtelegraphs,andexcessiveincometaxes,graduatedwithferocity,todestroylargeaccumulations。Likewisetheyadvocated,asacureforlocalills,municipalownershipofsuchpublicutilitiesaswater,gas,telephones,andstreetrailways。
EspeciallyinterestingwasMr。Asmunsen\'snarrativeofhistribulationsasaquarryowner。Heconfessedthathenevermadeanyprofitsoutofhisquarry,andthis,inspiteoftheenormousvolumeofbusinessthathadbeencausedbythedestructionofSanFranciscobythebigearthquake。ForsixyearstherebuildingofSanFranciscohadbeengoingon,andhisbusinesshadquadrupledandoctupled,andyethewasnobetteroff。
\'TherailroadknowsmybusinessjustalittlebitbetterthanIdo,\'
hesaid。\'Itknowsmyoperatingexpensestoacent,anditknowsthetermsofmycontracts。HowitknowsthesethingsIcanonlyguess。
Itmusthavespiesinmyemploy,anditmusthaveaccesstothepartiestoallmycontracts。Forlookyou,whenIplaceabigcontract,thetermsofwhichfavormeagoodlyprofit,thefreightratefrommyquarrytomarketispromptlyraised。Noexplanationismade。Therailroadgetsmyprofit。UndersuchcircumstancesIhaveneversucceededingettingtherailroadtoreconsideritsraise。Ontheotherhand,whentherehavebeenaccidents,increasedexpensesofoperating,orcontractswithlessprofitableterms,Ihavealwayssucceededingettingtherailroadtoloweritsrate。Whatistheresult？Largeorsmall,therailroadalwaysgetsmyprofits。\'
\'Whatremainstoyouoverandabove,\'Ernestinterruptedtoask,\'wouldroughlybetheequivalentofyoursalaryasamanagerdidtherailroadownthequarry。\'
\'Theverything,\'Mr。Asmunsenreplied。\'OnlyashorttimeagoIhadmybooksgonethroughforthepasttenyears。Idiscoveredthatforthosetenyearsmygainwasjustequivalenttoamanager\'ssalary。Therailroadmightjustaswellhaveownedmyquarryandhiredmetorunit。\'
\'Butwiththisdifference,\'Ernestlaughed;\'therailroadwouldhavehadtoassumealltheriskwhichyousoobliginglyassumedforit。\'
\'Verytrue,\'Mr。Asmunsenansweredsadly。
Havingletthemhavetheysay,Ernestbeganaskingquestionsrightandleft。HebeganwithMr。Owen。
\'YoustartedabranchstorehereinBerkeleyaboutsixmonthsago？\'
\'Yes,\'Mr。Owenanswered。
\'AndsincethenI\'venoticedthatthreelittlecornergrocerieshavegoneoutofbusiness。Wasyourbranchstorethecauseofit？\'
Mr。Owenaffirmedwithacomplacentsmile。\'Theyhadnochanceagainstus。
\'Whynot？\'
\'Wehadgreatercapital。Withalargebusinessthereisalwayslesswasteandgreaterefficiency。\'
\'Andyourbranchstoreabsorbedtheprofitsofthethreesmallones。
Isee。Buttellme,whatbecameoftheownersofthethreestores？\'
\'Oneisdrivingadeliverywagonforus。Idon\'tknowwhathappenedtotheothertwo。\'
ErnestturnedabruptlyonMr。Kowalt。
\'Yousellagreatdealatcut—rates。*Whathavebecomeoftheownersofthesmalldrugstoresthatyouforcedtothewall？\'
*Aloweringofsellingpricetocost,andeventolessthancost。
Thus,alargecompanycouldsellatalossforalongerperiodthanasmallcompany,andsodrivethesmallcompanyoutofbusiness。A
commondeviceofcompetition。
\'Oneofthem,Mr。Haasfurther,haschargenowofourprescriptiondepartment,\'wastheanswer。
\'Andyouabsorbedtheprofitstheyhadbeenmaking？\'
\'Surely。Thatiswhatweareinbusinessfor。\'
\'Andyou？\'ErnestsaidsuddenlytoMr。Asmunsen。\'Youaredisgustedbecausetherailroadhasabsorbedyourprofits？\'
Mr。Asmunsennodded。
\'Whatyouwantistomakeprofitsyourself？\'
AgainMr。Asmunsennodded。
\'Outofothers？\'
Therewasnoanswer。
\'Outofothers？\'Ernestinsisted。
\'Thatisthewayprofitsaremade,\'Mr。Asmunsenrepliedcurtly。
\'Thenthebusinessgameistomakeprofitsoutofothers,andtopreventothersfrommakingprofitsoutofyou。That\'sit,isn\'tit？\'
ErnesthadtorepeathisquestionbeforeMr。Asmunsengaveananswer,andthenhesaid:
\'Yes,that\'sit,exceptthatwedonotobjecttotheothersmakingprofitssolongastheyarenotextortionate。\'
\'Byextortionateyoumeanlarge;yetyoudonotobjecttomakinglargeprofitsyourself？……Surelynot？\'
AndMr。Asmunsenamiablyconfessedtotheweakness。TherewasoneothermanwhowasquizzedbyErnestatthisjuncture,aMr。Calvin,whohadoncebeenagreatdairy—owner。
\'SometimeagoyouwerefightingtheMilkTrust,\'Ernestsaidtohim;\'andnowyouareinGrangepolitics。*Howdidithappen？\'
*Manyeffortsweremadeduringthisperiodtoorganizetheperishingfarmerclassintoapoliticalparty,theaimofwhichwasdestroythetrustsandcorporationsbydrasticlegislation。Allsuchattemptsendedinfailure。
\'Oh,Ihaven\'tquitthefight,\'Mr。Calvinanswered,andhelookedbelligerentenough。\'I\'mfightingtheTrustontheonlyfieldwhereitispossibletofight—thepoliticalfield。Letmeshowyou。Afewyearsagowedairymenhadeverythingourownway。\'
\'Butyoucompetedamongyourselves？\'Ernestinterrupted。
\'Yes,thatwaswhatkepttheprofitsdown。Wedidtrytoorganize,butindependentdairymenalwaysbrokethroughus。ThencametheMilkTrust。\'\'FinancedbysurpluscapitalfromStandardOil,*Ernestsaid。
*Thefirstsuccessfulgreattrust—almostagenerationinadvanceoftherest。
\'Yes,\'Mr。Calvinacknowledged。\'Butwedidnotknowitatthetime。
Itsagentsapproacheduswithaclub。\"Comeinandbefat,\"wastheirproposition,\"orstayoutandstarve。\"Mostofuscamein。Thosethatdidn\'t,starved。Oh,itpaidus……atfirst。Milkwasraisedacentaquart。One—quarterofthiscentcametous。Three—quartersofitwenttotheTrust。Thenmilkwasraisedanothercent,onlywedidn\'tgetanyofthatcent。Ourcomplaintswereuseless。TheTrustwasincontrol。Wediscoveredthatwewerepawns。Finally,theadditionalquarterofacentwasdeniedus。ThentheTrustbegantosqueezeusout。Whatcouldwedo？Weweresqueezedout。Therewerenodairymen,onlyaMilkTrust。\'
\'Butwithmilktwocentshigher,Ishouldthinkyoucouldhavecompeted,\'Ernestsuggestedslyly。
\'Sowethought。Wetriedit。\'Mr。Calvinpausedamoment。\'Itbrokeus。TheTrustcouldputmilkuponthemarketmorecheaplythanwe。Itcouldsellstillataslightprofitwhenweweresellingatactualloss。Idroppedfiftythousanddollarsinthatventure。Mostofuswentbankrupt。*Thedairymenwerewipedoutofexistence。\'
*Bankruptcy—apeculiarinstitutionthatenabledanindividual,whohadfailedincompetitiveindustry,toforegopayinghisdebts。Theeffectwastoamelioratethetoosavageconditionsofthefang—and—clawsocialstruggle。
\'SotheTrusttookyourprofitsawayfromyou,\'Ernestsaid,\'andyou\'vegoneintopoliticsinordertolegislatetheTrustoutofexistenceandgettheprofitsback？\'
Mr。Calvin\'sfacelightedup。\'ThatispreciselywhatIsayinmyspeechestothefarmers。That\'sourwholeideainanutshell。\'
\'AndyettheTrustproducesmilkmorecheaplythancouldtheindependentdairymen？\'Ernestqueried。
\'Whyshouldn\'tit,withthesplendidorganizationandnewmachineryitslargecapitalmakespossible？\'
\'Thereisnodiscussion,\'Ernestanswered。\'Itcertainlyshould,and,furthermore,itdoes。\'
Mr。Calvinherelaunchedoutintoapoliticalspeechinexpositionofhisviews。Hewaswarmlyfollowedbyanumberoftheothers,andthecryofallwastodestroythetrusts。
\'Poorsimplefolk,\'Ernestsaidtomeinanundertone。\'Theyseeclearlyasfarastheysee,buttheyseeonlytotheendsoftheirnoses。\'
Alittlelaterhegottheflooragain,andinhischaracteristicwaycontrolleditfortherestoftheevening。
\'Ihavelistenedcarefullytoallofyou,\'hebegan,\'andIseeplainlythatyouplaythebusinessgameintheorthodoxfashion。
Lifesumsitselfuptoyouinprofits。Youhaveafirmandabidingbeliefthatyouwerecreatedforthesolepurposeofmakingprofits。
Onlythereisahitch。Inthemidstofyourownprofit—makingalongcomesthetrustandtakesyourprofitsawayfromyou。Thisisadilemmathatinterferessomehowwiththeaimofcreation,andtheonlywayout,asitseemstoyou,istodestroythatwhichtakesfromyouyourprofits。
\'Ihavelistenedcarefully,andthereisonlyonenamethatwillepitomizeyou。Ishallcallyouthatname。Youaremachine—breakers。
Doyouknowwhatamachine—breakeris？Letmetellyou。Intheeighteenthcentury,inEngland,menandwomenwoveclothonhand—loomsintheirowncottages。Itwasaslow,clumsy,andcostlywayofweavingcloth,thiscottagesystemofmanufacture。Alongcamethesteam—engineandlabor—savingmachinery。Athousandloomsassembledinalargefactory,anddrivenbyacentralenginewoveclothvastlymorecheaplythancouldthecottageweaversontheirhand—looms。Hereinthefactorywascombination,andbeforeitcompetitionfadedaway。Themenandwomenwhohadworkedthehand—loomsforthemselvesnowwentintothefactoriesandworkedthemachine—looms,notforthemselves,butforthecapitalistowners。Furthermore,littlechildrenwenttoworkonthemachine—looms,atlowerwages,anddisplacedthemen。Thismadehardtimesforthemen。Theirstandardoflivingfell。Theystarved。Andtheysaiditwasallthefaultofthemachines。
Therefore,theyproceededtobreakthemachines。Theydidnotsucceed,andtheywereverystupid。
\'Yetyouhavenotlearnedtheirlesson。Hereareyou,acenturyandahalflater,tryingtobreakmachines。Byyourownconfessionthetrustmachinesdotheworkmoreefficientlyandmorecheaplythanyoucan。Thatiswhyyoucannotcompetewiththem。Andyetyouwouldbreakthosemachines。YouareevenmorestupidthanthestupidworkmenofEngland。Andwhileyoumaunderaboutrestoringcompetition,thetrustsgoondestroyingyou。
\'Oneandallyoutellthesamestory,—thepassingawayofcompetitionandthecomingonofcombination。You,Mr。Owen,destroyedcompetitionhereinBerkeleywhenyourbranchstoredrovethethreesmallgroceriesoutofbusiness。Yourcombinationwasmoreeffective。Yetyoufeelthepressureofothercombinationsonyou,thetrustcombinations,andyoucryout。Itisbecauseyouarenotatrust。IfyouwereagrocerytrustforthewholeUnitedStates,youwouldbesinginganothersong。Andthesongwouldbe,\"Blessedarethetrusts。\"Andyetagain,notonlyisyoursmallcombinationnotatrust,butyouareawareyourselfofitslackofstrength。Youarebeginningtodivineyourownend。Youfeelyourselfandyourbranchstoresapawninthegame。Youseethepowerfulinterestsrisingandgrowingmorepowerfuldaybyday;youfeeltheirmailedhandsdescendinguponyourprofitsandtakingapinchhereandapinchthere—therailroadtrust,theoiltrust,thesteeltrust,thecoaltrust;andyouknowthatintheendtheywilldestroyyou,takeawayfromyouthelastpercentofyourlittleprofits。
\'You,sir,areapoorgamester。WhenyousqueezedoutthethreesmallgrocerieshereinBerkeleybyvirtueofyoursuperiorcombination,youswelledoutyourchest,talkedaboutefficiencyandenterprise,andsentyourwifetoEuropeontheprofitsyouhadgainedbyeatingupthethreesmallgroceries。Itisdogeatdog,andyouatethemup。But,ontheotherhand,youarebeingeatenupinturnbythebiggerdogs,whereforeyousqueal。AndwhatIsaytoyouistrueofallofyouatthistable。Youareallsquealing。Youareallplayingthelosinggame,andyouareallsquealingaboutit。
\'Butwhenyousquealyoudon\'tstatethesituationflatly,asIhavestatedit。Youdon\'tsaythatyouliketosqueezeprofitsoutofothers,andthatyouaremakingalltherowbecauseothersaresqueezingyourprofitsoutofyou。No,youaretoocunningforthat。
Yousaysomethingelse。Youmakesmall—capitalistpoliticalspeechessuchasMr。Calvinmade。Whatdidhesay？HereareafewofhisphrasesIcaught:\"Ouroriginalprinciplesareallright,\"\"WhatthiscountryrequiresisareturntofundamentalAmericanmethods—
freeopportunityforall,\"\"Thespiritoflibertyinwhichthisnationwasborn,\"\"Letusreturntotheprinciplesofourforefathers。\"
\'Whenhesays\"freeopportunityforall,\"hemeansfreeopportunitytosqueezeprofits,whichfreedomofopportunityisnowdeniedhimbythegreattrusts。Andtheabsurdthingaboutitisthatyouhaverepeatedthesephrasessooftenthatyoubelievethem。
Youwantopportunitytoplunderyourfellow—meninyourownsmallway,butyouhypnotizeyourselvesintothinkingyouwantfreedom。Youarepiggishandacquisitive,butthemagicofyourphrasesleadsyoutobelievethatyouarepatriotic。Yourdesireforprofits,whichissheerselfishness,youmetamorphoseintoaltruisticsolicitudeforsufferinghumanity。Comeonnow,righthereamongstourselves,andbehonestforonce。Lookthematterinthefaceandstateitindirectterms。\'
Therewereflushedandangryfacesatthetable,andwithalameasureofawe。Theywerealittlefrightenedatthissmooth—facedyoungfellow,andtheswingandsmashofhiswords,andhisdreadfultraitofcallingaspadeaspade。Mr。Calvinpromptlyreplied。
\'Andwhynot？\'hedemanded。\'Whycanwenotreturntowaysofourfatherswhenthisrepublicwasfounded？Youhavespokenmuchtruth,Mr。Everhard,unpalatablethoughithasbeen。Buthereamongstourselvesletusspeakout。LetusthrowoffalldisguiseandacceptthetruthasMr。Everhardhasflatlystatedit。Itistruethatwesmallercapitalistsareafterprofits,andthatthetrustsaretakingourprofitsawayfromus。Itistruethatwewanttodestroythetrustsinorderthatourprofitsmayremaintous。Andwhycanwenotdoit？Whynot？Isay,whynot？\'
\'Ah,nowwecometothegistofthematter,\'Ernestsaidwithapleasedexpression。\'I\'lltrytotellyouwhynot,thoughthetellingwillberatherhard。Yousee,youfellowshavestudiedbusiness,inasmallway,butyouhavenotstudiedsocialevolutionatall。Youareinthemidstofatransitionstagenowineconomicevolution,butyoudonotunderstandit,andthat\'swhatcausesalltheconfusion。Whycannotyoureturn？Becauseyoucan\'t。Youcannomoremakewaterrunuphillthancanyoucausethetideofeconomicevolutiontoflowbackinitschannelalongthewayitcame。JoshuamadethesunstandstilluponGibeon,butyouwouldoutdoJoshua。
Youwouldmakethesungobackwardinthesky。Youwouldhavetimeretraceitsstepsfromnoontomorning。
\'Inthefaceoflabor—savingmachinery,oforganizedproduction,oftheincreasedefficiencyofcombination,youwouldsettheeconomicsunbackawholegenerationorsotothetimewhentherewerenogreatcapitalists,nogreatmachinery,norailroads—atimewhenahostoflittlecapitalistswarredwitheachotherineconomicanarchy,andwhenproductionwasprimitive,wasteful,unorganized,andcostly。
Believeme,Joshua\'staskwaseasier,andhehadJehovahtohelphim。ButGodhasforsakenyousmallcapitalists。Thesunofthesmallcapitalistsissetting。Itwillneverriseagain。Norisitinyourpowereventomakeitstandstill。Youareperishing,andyouaredoomedtoperishutterlyfromthefaceofsociety。
\'Thisisthefiatofevolution。ItisthewordofGod。Combinationisstrongerthancompetition。Primitivemanwasapunycreaturehidinginthecrevicesoftherocks。Hecombinedandmadewaruponhiscarnivorousenemies。Theywerecompetitivebeasts。Primitivemanwasacombinativebeast,andbecauseofitherosetoprimacyoveralltheanimals。Andmanhasbeenachievinggreaterandgreatercombinationseversince。Itiscombinationversuscompetition,athousandcenturieslongstruggle,inwhichcompetitionhasalwaysbeenworsted。Whosoenlistsonthesideofcompetitionperishes。\'
\'Butthetruststhemselvesaroseoutofcompetition,\'Mr。Calvininterrupted。
Verytrue,\'Ernestanswered。\'Andthetruststhemselvesdestroyedcompetition。That,byyourownword,iswhyyouarenolongerinthedairybusiness。\'
Thefirstlaughteroftheeveningwentaroundthetable,andevenMr。Calvinjoinedinthelaughagainsthimself。
\'Andnow,whileweareonthetrusts,\'Ernestwenton,\'letussettleafewthings。Ishallmakecertainstatements,andifyoudisagreewiththem,speakup。Silencewillmeanagreement。Isitnottruethatamachine—loomwillweavemoreclothandweavemorecheaplythanahand—loom？\'Hepaused,butnobodyspokeup。\'Isitnotthenhighlyirrationaltobreakthemachine—loomandgobacktotheclumsyandmorecostlyhand—loommethodofweaving？\'Headsnoddedinacquiescence。\'Isitnottruethatthatknownasatrustproducesmoreefficientlyandcheaplythancanathousandcompetingsmallconcerns？\'Stillnooneobjected。\'Thenisitnotirrationaltodestroythatcheapandefficientcombination？\'
Nooneansweredforalongtime。ThenMr。Kowaltspoke。
\'Whatarewetodo,then？\'hedemanded。\'Todestroythetrustsistheonlywaywecanseetoescapetheirdomination。\'
Ernestwasallfireandalivenessontheinstant。
\'I\'llshowyouanotherway！\'hecried。\'Letusnotdestroythosewonderfulmachinesthatproduceefficientlyandcheaply。Letuscontrolthem。Letusprofitbytheirefficiencyandcheapness。Letusrunthemforourselves。Letusoustthepresentownersofthewonderfulmachines,andletusownthewonderfulmachinesourselves。
That,gentlemen,issocialism,agreatercombinationthanthetrusts,agreatereconomicandsocialcombinationthananythathasasyetappearedontheplanet。Itisinlinewithevolution。Wemeetcombinationwithgreatercombination。Itisthewinningside。Comeonoverwithussocialistsandplayonthewinningside。\'
Herearosedissent。Therewasashakingofheads,andmutteringsarose。
\'Allright,then,youprefertobeanachronisms,\'Ernestlaughed。
\'Youprefertoplayatavisticroles。Youaredoomedtoperishasallatavismsperish。Haveyoueveraskedwhatwillhappentoyouwhengreatercombinationsthaneventhepresenttrustsarise？Haveyoueverconsideredwhereyouwillstandwhenthegreattruststhemselvescombineintothecombinationofcombinations—intothesocial,economic,andpoliticaltrust？\'
HeturnedabruptlyandirrelevantlyuponMr。Calvin。
\'Tellme,\'Ernestsaid,\'ifthisisnottrue。Youarecompelledtoformanewpoliticalpartybecausetheoldpartiesareinthehandsofthetrusts。ThechiefobstacletoyourGrangepropagandaisthetrusts。Behindeveryobstacleyouencounter,everyblowthatsmitesyou,everydefeatthatyoureceive,isthehandofthetrusts。Isthisnotso？Tellme。\'
Mr。Calvinsatinuncomfortablesilence。
\'Goahead,\'Ernestencouraged。
\'Itistrue,\'Mr。Calvinconfessed。\'WecapturedthestatelegislatureofOregonandputthroughsplendidprotectivelegislation,anditwasvetoedbythegovernor,whowasacreatureofthetrusts。
WeelectedagovernorofColorado,andthelegislaturerefusedtopermithimtotakeoffice。Twicewehavepassedanationalincometax,andeachtimethesupremecourtsmasheditasunconstitutional。Thecourtsareinthehandsofthetrusts。We,thepeople,donotpayourjudgessufficiently。Buttherewillcomeatime—\'
\'Whenthecombinationofthetrustswillcontrolalllegislation,whenthecombinationofthetrustswillitselfbethegovernment,\'
Ernestinterrupted。
\'Never！never！\'werethecriesthatarose。Everybodywasexcitedandbelligerent。
\'Tellme,\'Ernestdemanded,\'whatwillyoudowhensuchatimecomes？\'
\'Wewillriseinourstrength！\'Mr。Asmunsencried,andmanyvoicesbackedhisdecision。
\'Thatwillbecivilwar,\'Ernestwarnedthem。
\'Sobeit,civilwar,\'wasMr。Asmunsen\'sanswer,withthecriesofallthemenatthetablebehindhim。\'Wehavenotforgottenthedeedsofourforefathers。Forourlibertieswearereadytofightanddie。\'
Ernestsmiled。
\'Donotforget,\'hesaid,\'thatwehadtacitlyagreedthatlibertyinyourcase,gentlemen,meanslibertytosqueezeprofitsoutofothers。\'
Thetablewasangry,now,fightingangry;butErnestcontrolledthetumultandmadehimselfheard。
\'Onemorequestion。Whenyouriseinyourstrength,remember,thereasonforyourrisingwillbethatthegovernmentisinthehandsofthetrusts。Therefore,againstyourstrengththegovernmentwillturntheregulararmy,thenavy,themilitia,thepolice—inshort,thewholeorganizedwarmachineryoftheUnitedStates。Wherewillyourstrengthbethen？\'
Dismaysatontheirfaces,andbeforetheycouldrecover,Erneststruckagain。
\'Doyouremember,notsolongago,whenourregulararmywasonlyfiftythousand？Yearbyyearithasbeenincreaseduntilto—dayitisthreehundredthousand。\'
Againhestruck。
\'Noristhatall。Whileyoudiligentlypursuedthatfavoritephantomofyours,calledprofits,andmoralizedaboutthatfavoritefetichofyours,calledcompetition,evengreaterandmoredirefulthingshavebeenaccomplishedbycombination。Thereisthemilitia。\'
\'Itisourstrength！\'criedMr。Kowalt。\'Withitwewouldrepeltheinvasionoftheregulararmy。\'
\'Youwouldgointothemilitiayourself,\'wasErnest\'sretort,\'andbesenttoMaine,orFlorida,orthePhilippines,oranywhereelse,todrowninbloodyourowncomradescivil—warringfortheirliberties。WhilefromKansas,orWisconsin,oranyotherstate,yourowncomradeswouldgointothemilitiaandcomeheretoCaliforniatodrowninbloodyourowncivil—warring。\'
Nowtheywerereallyshocked,andtheysatwordless,untilMr。
Owenmurmured:
\'Wewouldnotgointothemilitia。Thatwouldsettleit。Wewouldnotbesofoolish。\'
Ernestlaughedoutright。
\'Youdonotunderstandthecombinationthathasbeeneffected。Youcouldnothelpyourself。Youwouldbedraftedintothemilitia。\'
\'Thereissuchathingascivillaw,\'Mr。Oweninsisted。
\'Notwhenthegovernmentsuspendscivillaw。Inthatdaywhenyouspeakofrisinginyourstrength,yourstrengthwouldbeturnedagainstyourself。Intothemilitiayouwouldgo,willy—nilly。Habeascorpus,Iheardsomeonemutterjustnow。Insteadofhabeascorpusyouwouldgetpostmortems。Ifyourefusedtogointothemilitia,ortoobeyafteryouwerein,youwouldbetriedbydrumheadcourtmartialandshotdownlikedogs。Itisthelaw。\'
\'Itisnotthelaw！\'Mr。Calvinassertedpositively。\'Thereisnosuchlaw。Youngman,youhavedreamedallthis。Why,youspokeofsendingthemilitiatothePhilippines。Thatisunconstitutional。
TheConstitutionespeciallystatesthatthemilitiacannotbesentoutofthecountry。\'
\'What\'stheConstitutiongottodowithit？\'Ernestdemanded。\'ThecourtsinterprettheConstitution,andthecourts,asMr。Asmunsenagreed,arethecreaturesofthetrusts。Besides,itisasIhavesaid,thelaw。Ithasbeenthelawforyears,fornineyears,gentlemen。\'
\'Thatwecanbedraftedintothemilitia？\'Mr。Calvinaskedincredulously。\'Thattheycanshootusbydrumheadcourtmartialifwerefuse？\'
\'Yes,\'Ernestanswered,\'preciselythat。\'
\'Howisitthatwehaveneverheardofthislaw？\'myfatherasked,andIcouldseethatitwaslikewisenewtohim。
\'Fortworeasons,\'Ernestsaid。\'First,therehasbeennoneedtoenforceit。Iftherehad,you\'dhaveheardofitsoonenough。Andsecondly,thelawwasrushedthroughCongressandtheSenatesecretly,withpracticallynodiscussion。Ofcourse,thenewspapersmadenomentionofit。Butwesocialistsknewaboutit。Wepublisheditinourpapers。Butyouneverreadourpapers。\'
\'Istillinsistyouaredreaming,\'Mr。Calvinsaidstubbornly。
\'Thecountrywouldneverhavepermittedit。\'
\'Butthecountrydidpermitit,\'Ernestreplied。\'Andasformydreaming—\'heputhishandinhispocketanddrewoutasmallpamphlet—\'tellmeifthislookslikedream—stuff。\'
Heopeneditandbegantoread:
\'\"SectionOne,beitenacted,andsoforthandsoforth,thatthemilitiashallconsistofeveryable—bodiedmalecitizenoftherespectivestates,territories,andDistrictofColumbia,whoismorethaneighteenandlessthanforty—fiveyearsofage。\"
\'\"SectionSeven,thatanyofficerorenlistedman\"—rememberSectionOne,gentlemen,youareallenlistedmen—\"thatanyenlistedmanofthemilitiawhoshallrefuseorneglecttopresenthimselftosuchmusteringofficeruponbeingcalledforthashereinprescribed,shallbesubjecttotrialbycourtmartial,andshallbepunishedassuchcourtmartialshalldirect。\"
\'\"SectionEight,thatcourtsmartial,forthetrialofofficersormenofthemilitia,shallbecomposedofmilitiaofficersonly。\"
\'\"SectionNine,thatthemilitia,whencalledintotheactualserviceoftheUnitedStates,shallbesubjecttothesamerulesandarticlesofwarastheregulartroopsoftheUnitedStates。\"
\'Thereyouaregentlemen,Americancitizens,andfellow—militiamen。Nineyearsagowesocialiststhoughtthatlawwasaimedagainstlabor。Butitwouldseemthatitwasaimedagainstyou,too。CongressmanWiley,inthebriefdiscussionthatwaspermitted,saidthatthebill\"providedforareserveforcetotakethemobbythethroat\"—you\'rethemob,gentlemen—\"andprotectatallhazardslife,liberty,andproperty。\"Andinthetimetocome,whenyouriseinyourstrength,rememberthatyouwillberisingagainstthepropertyofthetrusts,andthelibertyofthetrusts,accordingtothelaw,tosqueezeyou。Yourteetharepulled,gentlemen。Yourclawsaretrimmed。Inthedayyouriseinyourstrength,toothlessandclawless,youwillbeasharmlessasanyarmyofclams。\'
\'Idon\'tbelieveit！\'Kowaltcried。\'Thereisnosuchlaw。Itisacanardgotupbyyousocialists。\'
\'ThisbillwasintroducedintheHouseofRepresentativesonJuly30,1902,\'wasthereply。\'ItwasintroducedbyRepresentativeDickofOhio。Itwasrushedthrough。ItwaspassedunanimouslybytheSenateonJanuary14,1903。AndjustsevendaysafterwardwasapprovedbythePresidentoftheUnitedStates。\'