*Everhardwasrightintheessentialparticulars,thoughhisdateoftheintroductionofthebillisinerror。ThebillwasintroducedonJune30,andnotonJuly30。TheCongressionalRecordishereinArdis,andareferencetoitshowsmentionofthebillonthefollowingdates:June30,December9,15,16,and17,1902,andJanuary7and14,1903。Theignoranceevidencedbythebusinessmenatthedinnerwasnothingunusual。Veryfewpeopleknewoftheexistenceofthislaw。E。Untermann,arevolutionist,inJuly,1903,publishedapamphletatGirard,Kansas,onthe\'MilitiaBill。\'Thispamphlethadasmallcirculationamongworkingmen;butalreadyhadthesegregationofclassesproceededsofar,thatthemembersofthemiddleclassneverheardofthepamphletatall,andsoremainedinignoranceofthelaw。
CHAPTERNINE。
TheMathematicsofaDream。
INTHEMIDSTOFTHEconsternationhisrevelationhadproduced,Ernestbeganagaintospeak。
\'Youhavesaid,adozenofyouto—night,thatsocialismisimpossible。Youhaveassertedtheimpossible,nowletmedemonstratetheinevitable。Notonlyisitinevitablethatyousmallcapitalistsshallpassaway,butitisinevitablethatthelargecapitalists,andthetrustsalso,shallpassaway。Remember,thetideofevolutionneverflowsbackward。Itflowsonandon,anditflowsfromcompetitiontocombination,andfromlittlecombinationtolargecombination,andfromlargecombinationtocolossalcombination,anditflowsontosocialism,whichisthemostcolossalcombinationofall。
\'YoutellmethatIdream。Verygood。I\'llgiveyouthemathematicsofmydream;andhere,inadvance,Ichallengeyoutoshowthatmymathematicsarewrong。Ishalldeveloptheinevitabilityofthebreakdownofthecapitalistsystem,andIshalldemonstratemathematicallywhyitmustbreakdown。Heregoes,andbearwithmeifatfirstIseemirrelevant。
\'Letus,firstofall,investigateaparticularindustrialprocess,andwheneverIstatesomethingwithwhichyoudisagree,pleaseinterruptme。Hereisashoefactory。Thisfactorytakesleatherandmakesitintoshoes。Hereisonehundreddollars\'worthofleather。Itgoesthroughthefactoryandcomesoutintheformofshoes,worth,letussay,twohundreddollars。Whathashappened？
Onehundreddollarshasbeenaddedtothevalueoftheleather。Howwasitadded？Letussee。
\'Capitalandlaboraddedthisvalueofonehundreddollars。
Capitalfurnishedthefactory,themachines,andpaidalltheexpenses。Laborfurnishedlabor。Bythejointeffortofcapitalandlaboronehundreddollarsofvaluewasadded。Areyouallagreedsofar？\'
Headsnoddedaroundthetableinaffirmation。
\'Laborandcapitalhavingproducedthisonehundreddollars,nowproceedtodivideit。Thestatisticsofthisdivisionarefractional;soletus,forthesakeofconvenience,makethemroughlyapproximate。Capitaltakesfiftydollarsasitsshare,andlaborgetsinwagesfiftydollarsasitsshare。Wewillnotenterintothesquabblingoverthedivision。*Nomatterhowmuchsquabblingtakesplace,inonepercentageoranotherthedivisionisarranged。Andtakenoticehere,thatwhatistrueofthisparticularindustrialprocessistrueofallindustrialprocesses。AmIright？\'
*Everhardhereclearlydevelopsthecauseofallthelabortroublesofthattime。Inthedivisionofthejoint—product,capitalwantedallitcouldget,andlaborwantedallitcouldget。Thisquarreloverthedivisionwasirreconcilable。Solongasthesystemofcapitalisticproductionexisted,laborandcapitalcontinuedtoquarreloverthedivisionofthejoint—product。Itisaludicrousspectacletous,butwemustnotforgetthatwehavesevencenturies\'advantageoverthosethatlivedinthattime。
AgainthewholetableagreedwithErnest。
\'Now,supposelabor,havingreceiveditsfiftydollars,wantedtobuybackshoes。Itcouldonlybuybackfiftydollars\'worth。That\'sclear,isn\'tit？
\'AndnowweshiftfromthisparticularprocesstothesumtotalofallindustrialprocessesintheUnitedStates,whichincludestheleatheritself,rawmaterial,transportation,selling,everything。
Wewillsay,forthesakeofroundfigures,thatthetotalproductionofwealthintheUnitedStatesisoneyearisfourbilliondollars。Thenlaborhasreceivedinwages,duringthesameperiod,twobilliondollars。Fourbilliondollarshasbeenproduced。
Howmuchofthiscanlaborbuyback？Twobillions。Thereisnodiscussionofthis,Iamsure。Forthatmatter,mypercentagesaremild。Becauseofathousandcapitalisticdevices,laborcannotbuybackevenhalfofthetotalproduct。
\'Buttoreturn。Wewillsaylaborbuysbacktwobillions。Thenitstandstoreasonthatlaborcanconsumeonlytwobillions。Therearestilltwobillionstobeaccountedfor,whichlaborcannotbuybackandconsume。\'
\'Labordoesnotconsumeitstwobillions,even,\'Mr。Kowaltspokeup。\'Ifitdid,itwouldnothaveanydepositsinthesavingsbanks。\'
\'Labor\'sdepositsinthesavingsbanksareonlyasortofreservefundthatisconsumedasfastasitaccumulates。Thesedepositsaresavedforoldage,forsicknessandaccident,andforfuneralexpenses。Thesavingsbankdepositissimplyapieceoftheloafputbackontheshelftobeeatennextday。No,laborconsumesallofthetotalproductthatitswageswillbuyback。
\'Twobillionsarelefttocapital。Afterithaspaiditsexpenses,doesitconsumetheremainder？Doescapitalconsumeallofitstwobillions？\'
Erneststoppedandputthequestionpointblanktoanumberofthemen。Theyshooktheirheads。
\'Idon\'tknow,\'oneofthemfranklysaid。
\'Ofcourseyoudo,\'Ernestwenton。\'Stopandthinkamoment。Ifcapitalconsumeditsshare,thesumtotalofcapitalcouldnotincrease。Itwouldremainconstant。IfyouwilllookattheeconomichistoryoftheUnitedStates,youwillseethatthesumtotalofcapitalhascontinuallyincreased。Thereforecapitaldoesnotconsumeitsshare。DoyourememberwhenEnglandownedsomuchofourrailroadbonds？Astheyearswentby,weboughtbackthosebonds。Whatdoesthatmean？Thatpartofcapital\'sunconsumedshareboughtbackthebonds。Whatisthemeaningofthefactthatto—daythecapitalistsoftheUnitedStatesownhundredsandhundredsofmillionsofdollarsofMexicanbonds,Russianbonds,Italianbonds,Grecianbonds？
Themeaningisthatthosehundredsandhundredsofmillionswerepartofcapital\'ssharewhichcapitaldidnotconsume。Furthermore,fromtheverybeginningofthecapitalistsystem,capitalhasneverconsumedallofitsshare。
\'Andnowwecometothepoint。FourbilliondollarsofwealthisproducedinoneyearintheUnitedStates。Laborbuysbackandconsumestwobillions。Capitaldoesnotconsumetheremainingtwobillions。Thereisalargebalanceleftoverunconsumed。Whatisdonewiththisbalance？Whatcanbedonewithit？Laborcannotconsumeanyofit,forlaborhasalreadyspentallitswages。Capitalwillnotconsumethisbalance,because,already,accordingtoitsnature,ithasconsumedallitcan。Andstillremainsthebalance。Whatcanbedonewithit？Whatisdonewithit？\'
\'Itissoldabroad,\'Mr。Kowaltvolunteered。
\'Theverything,\'Ernestagreed。\'Becauseofthisbalancearisesourneedforaforeignmarket。Thisissoldabroad。Ithastobesoldabroad。Thereisnootherwayofgettingridofit。Andthatunconsumedsurplus,soldabroad,becomeswhatwecallourfavorablebalanceoftrade。Areweallagreedsofar？\'
\'SurelyitisawasteoftimetoelaboratetheseABC\'sofcommerce,\'Mr。Calvinsaidtartly。\'Weallunderstandthem。\'
\'AnditisbytheseABC\'sIhavesocarefullyelaboratedthatI
shallconfoundyou,\'Ernestretorted。\'There\'sthebeautyofit。AndI\'mgoingtoconfoundyouwiththemrightnow。Heregoes。
\'TheUnitedStatesisacapitalistcountrythathasdevelopeditsresources。Accordingtoitscapitalistsystemofindustry,ithasanunconsumedsurplusthatmustbegotridof,andthatmustbegotridofabroad。*WhatistrueoftheUnitedStatesistrueofeveryothercapitalistcountrywithdevelopedresources。Everyoneofsuchcountrieshasanunconsumedsurplus。Don\'tforgetthattheyhavealreadytradedwithoneanother,andthatthesesurplusesyetremain。Laborinallthesecountrieshasspentitwages,andcannotbuyanyofthesurpluses。Capitalinallthesecountrieshasalreadyconsumedallitisableaccordingtoitsnature。Andstillremainthesurpluses。Theycannotdisposeofthesesurplusestooneanother。Howaretheygoingtogetridofthem？\'
*TheodoreRoosevelt,PresidentoftheUnitedStatesafewyearspriortothistime,madethefollowingpublicdeclaration:\'Amoreliberalandextensivereciprocityinthepurchaseandsaleofcommoditiesisnecessary,sothattheoverproductionoftheUnitedStatescanbesatisfactorilydisposedoftoforeigncountries。\'Ofcourse,thisoverproductionhementionswastheprofitsofthecapitalistsystemoverandbeyondtheconsumingpowerofthecapitalists。ItwasatthistimethatSenatorMarkHannasaid:\'TheproductionofwealthintheUnitedStatesisone—thirdlargerannuallythanitsconsumption。\'Alsoafellow—Senator,ChaunceyDepew,said:
\'TheAmericanpeopleproduceannuallytwobillionsmorewealththantheyconsume。\'
\'Sellthemtocountrieswithundevelopedresources,\'Mr。Kowaltsuggested。
\'Theverything。Yousee,myargumentissoclearandsimplethatinyourownmindsyoucarryitonforme。Andnowforthenextstep。
SupposetheUnitedStatesdisposesofitssurplustoacountrywithundevelopedresourceslike,say,Brazil。Rememberthissurplusisoverandabovetrade,whicharticlesoftradehavebeenconsumed。What,then,doestheUnitedStatesgetinreturnfromBrazil？\'
\'Gold,\'saidMr。Kowalt。
\'Butthereisonlysomuchgold,andnotmuchofit,intheworld,\'Ernestobjected。
\'Goldintheformofsecuritiesandbondsandsoforth,\'Mr。
Kowaltamended。
\'Nowyou\'vestruckit,\'Ernestsaid。\'FromBraziltheUnitedStates,inreturnforhersurplus,getsbondsandsecurities。Andwhatdoesthatmean？ItmeansthattheUnitedStatesiscomingtoownrailroadsinBrazil,factories,mines,andlandsinBrazil。Andwhatisthemeaningofthatinturn？\'
Mr。Kowaltponderedandshookhishead。
\'I\'lltellyou,\'Ernestcontinued。\'ItmeansthattheresourcesofBrazilarebeingdeveloped。Andnow,thenextpoint。WhenBrazil,underthecapitalistsystem,hasdevelopedherresources,shewillherselfhaveanunconsumedsurplus。CanshegetridofthissurplustotheUnitedStates？No,becausetheUnitedStateshasherselfasurplus。CantheUnitedStatesdowhatshepreviouslydid—getridofhersurplustoBrazil？No,forBrazilnowhasasurplus,too。
\'Whathappens？TheUnitedStatesandBrazilmustbothseekoutothercountrieswithundevelopedresources,inordertounloadthesurplusesonthem。Butbytheveryprocessofunloadingthesurpluses,theresourcesofthosecountriesareinturndeveloped。Soontheyhavesurpluses,andareseekingothercountriesonwhichtounload。Now,gentlemen,followme。Theplanetisonlysolarge。Thereareonlysomanycountriesintheworld。Whatwillhappenwheneverycountryintheworld,downtothesmallestandlast,withasurplusinitshands,standsconfrontingeveryothercountrywithsurplusesintheirhands？\'
Hepausedandregardedhislisteners。Thebepuzzlementintheirfaceswasdelicious。Also,therewasaweintheirfaces。OutofabstractionsErnesthadconjuredavisionandmadethemseeit。Theywereseeingitthen,astheysatthere,andtheywerefrightenedbyit。
\'WestartedwithABC,Mr。Calvin,\'Ernestsaidslyly。\'Ihavenowgivenyoutherestofthealphabet。Itisverysimple。Thatisthebeautyofit。Yousurelyhavetheanswerforthcoming。What,then,wheneverycountryintheworldhasanunconsumedsurplus？Wherewillyourcapitalistsystembethen？\'
ButMr。Calvinshookatroubledhead。HewasobviouslyquestingbackthroughErnest\'sreasoninginsearchofanerror。
\'Letmebrieflygooverthegroundwithyouagain,\'Ernestsaid。\'Webeganwithaparticularindustrialprocess,theshoefactory。Wefoundthatthedivisionofthejointproductthattookplacetherewassimilartothedivisionthattookplaceinthesumtotalofallindustrialprocesses。Wefoundthatlaborcouldbuybackwithitswagesonlysomuchoftheproduct,andthatcapitaldidnotconsumealloftheremainderoftheproduct。Wefoundthatwhenlaborhadconsumedtothefullextentofitswages,andwhencapitalhadconsumedallitwanted,therewasstillleftanunconsumedsurplus。Weagreedthatthissurpluscouldonlybedisposedofabroad。Weagreed,also,thattheeffectofunloadingthissurplusonanothercountrywouldbetodeveloptheresourcesofthatcountry,andthatinashorttimethatcountrywouldhaveanunconsumedsurplus。Weextendedthisprocesstoallthecountriesontheplanet,tilleverycountrywasproducingeveryyear,andeveryday,anunconsumedsurplus,whichitcoulddisposeoftonoothercountry。AndnowI
askyouagain,whatarewegoingtodowiththosesurpluses？\'
Stillnooneanswered。
\'Mr。Calvin？\'Ernestqueried。
\'Itbeatsme,\'Mr。Calvinconfessed。
\'Ineverdreamedofsuchathing,\'Mr。Asmunsensaid。\'Andyetitdoesseemclearasprint。\'
ItwasthefirsttimeIhadeverheardKarlMarx\'s*doctrineofsurplusvalueelaborated,andErnesthaddoneitsosimplythatI,too,satpuzzledanddumbfounded。
*KarlMarx—thegreatintellectualheroofSocialism。AGermanJewofthenineteenthcentury。AcontemporaryofJohnStuartMill。
ItseemsincredibletousthatwholegenerationsshouldhaveelapsedaftertheenunciationofMarx\'seconomicdiscoveries,inwhichtimehewassneeredatbytheworld\'sacceptedthinkersandscholars。
Becauseofhisdiscoverieshewasbanishedfromhisnativecountry,andhediedanexileinEngland。
\'I\'lltellyouawaytogetridofthesurplus,\'Ernestsaid。\'Throwitintothesea。Throweveryyearhundredsofmillionsofdollars\'
worthofshoesandwheatandclothingandallthecommoditiesofcommerceintothesea。Won\'tthatfixit？\'
\'Itwillcertainlyfixit,\'Mr。Calvinanswered。\'Butitisabsurdforyoutotalkthatway。\'
Ernestwasuponhimlikeaflash。
\'Isitabitmoreabsurdthanwhatyouadvocate,youmachine—breaker,returningtotheantediluvianwaysofyourforefathers？Whatdoyouproposeinordertogetridofthesurplus？
Youwouldescapetheproblemofthesurplusbynotproducinganysurplus。Andhowdoyouproposetoavoidproducingasurplus？Byreturningtoaprimitivemethodofproduction,soconfusedanddisorderlyandirrational,sowastefulandcostly,thatitwillbeimpossibletoproduceasurplus。\'
Mr。Calvinswallowed。Thepointhadbeendrivenhome。Heswallowedagainandclearedhisthroat。
\'Youareright,\'hesaid。\'Istandconvicted。Itisabsurd。Butwe\'vegottodosomething。Itisacaseoflifeanddeathforusofthemiddleclass。Werefusetoperish。Weelecttobeabsurdandtoreturntothetrulycrudeandwastefulmethodsofourforefathers。
Wewillputbackindustrytoitspre—truststage。Wewillbreakthemachines。Andwhatareyougoingtodoaboutit？\'
\'Butyoucan\'tbreakthemachines,\'Ernestreplied。\'Youcannotmakethetideofevolutionflowbackward。Opposedtoyouaretwogreatforces,eachofwhichismorepowerfulthanyouofthemiddleclass。
Thelargecapitalists,thetrusts,inshort,willnotletyouturnback。Theydon\'twantthemachinesdestroyed。Andgreaterthanthetrusts,andmorepowerful,islabor。Itwillnotletyoudestroythemachines。Theownershipoftheworld,alongwiththemachines,liesbetweenthetrustsandlabor。Thatisthebattlealignment。Neithersidewantsthedestructionofthemachines。Buteachsidewantstopossessthemachines。Inthisbattlethemiddleclasshasnoplace。
Themiddleclassisapygmybetweentwogiants。Don\'tyousee,youpoorperishingmiddleclass,youarecaughtbetweentheupperandnethermillstones,andevennowhasthegrindingbegun。
\'Ihavedemonstratedtoyoumathematicallytheinevitablebreakdownofthecapitalistsystem。Wheneverycountrystandswithanunconsumedandunsalablesurplusonitshands,thecapitalistsystemwillbreakdownundertheterrificstructureofprofitsthatititselfhasreared。Andinthatdaytherewon\'tbeanydestructionofthemachines。Thestrugglethenwillbefortheownershipofthemachines。Iflaborwins,yourwaywillbeeasy。TheUnitedStates,andthewholeworldforthatmatter,willenteruponanewandtremendousera。Insteadofbeingcrushedbythemachines,lifewillbemadefairer,andhappier,andnoblerbythem。Youofthedestroyedmiddleclass,alongwithlabor—therewillbenothingbutlaborthen;soyou,andalltherestoflabor,willparticipateintheequitabledistributionoftheproductsofthewonderfulmachines。
Andwe,allofus,willmakenewandmorewonderfulmachines。Andtherewon\'tbeanyunconsumedsurplus,becausetherewon\'tbeanyprofits。\'
\'Butsupposethetrustswininthisbattleovertheownershipofthemachinesandtheworld？\'Mr。Kowaltasked。
\'Then,\'Ernestanswered,\'you,andlabor,andallofus,willbecrushedundertheironheelofadespotismasrelentlessandterribleasanydespotismthathasblackenedthepagesofthehistoryofman。Thatwillbeagoodnameforthatdespotism,theIronHeel。\'*
*TheearliestknownuseofthatnametodesignatetheOligarchy。
Therewasalongpause,andeverymanatthetablemeditatedinwaysunwontedandprofound。
\'Butthissocialismofyoursisadream,\'Mr。Calvinsaid;andrepeated,\'adream。\'
\'I\'llshowyousomethingthatisn\'tadream,then,\'Ernestanswered。
\'AndthatsomethingIshallcalltheOligarchy。YoucallitthePlutocracy。Webothmeanthesamething,thelargecapitalistsorthetrusts。Letusseewherethepowerliestoday。Andinordertodoso,letusapportionsocietyintoitsclassdivisions。
\'Therearethreebigclassesinsociety。FirstcomesthePlutocracy,whichiscomposedofwealthybankers,railwaymagnates,corporationdirectors,andtrustmagnates。Second,isthemiddleclass,yourclass,gentlemen,whichiscomposedoffarmers,merchants,smallmanufacturers,andprofessionalmen。Andthirdandlastcomesmyclass,theproletariat,whichiscomposedofthewage—workers。*
*ThisdivisionofsocietymadebyEverhardisinaccordancewiththatmadebyLucienSanial,oneofthestatisticalauthoritiesofthattime。Hiscalculationofthemembershipofthesedivisionsbyoccupation,fromtheUnitedStatesCensusof1900,isasfollows:
Plutocraticclass,250,251;Middleclass,8,429,845;andProletariatclass,20,393,137。
\'YoucannotbutgrantthattheownershipofwealthconstitutesessentialpowerintheUnitedStatesto—day。Howisthiswealthownedbythesethreeclasses？Herearethefigures。ThePlutocracyownssixty—sevenbillionsofwealth。OfthetotalnumberofpersonsengagedinoccupationsintheUnitedStates,onlynine—tenthsofonepercentarefromthePlutocracy,yetthePlutocracyownsseventypercentofthetotalwealth。Themiddleclassownstwenty—fourbillions。Twenty—ninepercentofthoseinoccupationsarefromthemiddleclass,andtheyowntwenty—fivepercentofthetotalwealth。
Remainstheproletariat。Itownsfourbillions。Ofallpersonsinoccupations,seventypercentcomefromtheproletariat;andtheproletariatownsfourpercentofthetotalwealth。Wheredoesthepowerlie,gentlemen？\'
\'Fromyourownfigures,weofthemiddleclassaremorepowerfulthanlabor,\'Mr。Asmunsenremarked。
\'CallingusweakdoesnotmakeyoustrongerinthefaceofthestrengthofthePlutocracy,\'Ernestretorted。\'Andfurthermore,I\'mnotdonewithyou。Thereisagreaterstrengththanwealth,anditisgreaterbecauseitcannotbetakenaway。Ourstrength,thestrengthoftheproletariat,isinourmuscles,inourhandstocastballots,inourfingerstopulltriggers。Thisstrengthwecannotbestrippedof。Itistheprimitivestrength,itisthestrengththatistolifegermane,itisthestrengththatisstrongerthanwealth,andthatwealthcannottakeaway。
\'Butyourstrengthisdetachable。Itcanbetakenawayfromyou。
EvennowthePlutocracyistakingitawayfromyou。Intheenditwilltakeitallawayfromyou。Andthenyouwillceasetobethemiddleclass。Youwilldescendtous。Youwillbecomeproletarians。Andthebeautyofitisthatyouwillthenaddtoourstrength。Wewillhailyoubrothers,andwewillfightshouldertoshoulderinthecauseofhumanity。
\'Yousee,laborhasnothingconcreteofwhichtobedespoiled。Itsshareofthewealthofthecountryconsistsofclothesandhouseholdfurniture,withhereandthere,inveryrarecases,anunencumberedhome。Butyouhavetheconcretewealth,twenty—fourbillionsofit,andthePlutocracywilltakeitawayfromyou。Ofcourse,thereisthelargelikelihoodthattheproletariatwilltakeitawayfirst。Don\'tyouseeyourposition,gentlemen？Themiddleclassisawobblylittlelambbetweenalionandatiger。Ifonedoesn\'tgetyou,theotherwill。AndifthePlutocracygetsyoufirst,whyit\'sonlyamatteroftimewhentheProletariatgetsthePlutocracy。
\'Evenyourpresentwealthisnotatruemeasureofyourpower。Thestrengthofyourwealthatthismomentisonlyanemptyshell。Thatiswhyyouarecryingoutyourfeeblelittlebattle—cry,\"Returntothewaysofourfathers。\"Youareawareofyourimpotency。Youknowthatyourstrengthisanemptyshell。AndI\'llshowyoutheemptinessofit。
\'Whatpowerhavethefarmers？Overfiftypercentarethrallsbyvirtueofthefactthattheyaremerelytenantsoraremortgaged。
Andallofthemarethrallsbyvirtueofthefactthatthetrustsalreadyownorcontrol（whichisthesamethingonlybetter）—ownandcontrolallthemeansofmarketingthecrops,suchascoldstorage,railroads,elevators,andsteamshiplines。And,furthermore,thetrustscontrolthemarkets。Inallthisthefarmersarewithoutpower。Asregardstheirpoliticalandgovernmentalpower,I\'lltakethatuplater,alongwiththepoliticalandgovernmentalpowerofthewholemiddleclass。
\'DaybydaythetrustssqueezeoutthefarmersastheysqueezedoutMr。Calvinandtherestofthedairymen。Anddaybydayarethemerchantssqueezedoutinthesameway。Doyourememberhow,insixmonths,theTobaccoTrustsqueezedoutoverfourhundredcigarstoresinNewYorkCityalone？Wherearetheold—timeownersofthecoalfields？Youknowtoday,withoutmytellingyou,thattheRailroadTrustownsorcontrolstheentireanthraciteandbituminouscoalfields。Doesn\'ttheStandardOilTrust*ownascoreoftheoceanlines？Anddoesitnotalsocontrolcopper,tosaynothingofrunningasmeltertrustasalittlesideenterprise？TherearetenthousandcitiesintheUnitedStatesto—nightlightedbythecompaniesownedorcontrolledbyStandardOil,andinasmanycitiesalltheelectrictransportation,—urban,suburban,andinterurban,—isinthehandsofStandardOil。Thesmallcapitalistswhowereinthesethousandsofenterprisesaregone。Youknowthat。It\'sthesamewaythatyouaregoing。
*StandardOilandRockefeller—Seeupcomingfootnote:
\'Rockefellerbeganas……\'
\'Thesmallmanufacturerislikethefarmer;andsmallmanufacturersandfarmersto—dayarereduced,toallintentsandpurposes,tofeudaltenure。Forthatmatter,theprofessionalmenandtheartistsareatthispresentmomentvilleinsineverythingbutname,whilethepoliticiansarehenchmen。Whydoyou,Mr。
Calvin,workallyournightsanddaystoorganizethefarmers,alongwiththerestofthemiddleclass,intoanewpoliticalparty？Becausethepoliticiansoftheoldpartieswillhavenothingtodowithyouratavisticideas;andwithyouratavisticideas,theywillhavenothingtodobecausetheyarewhatIsaidtheyare,henchmen,retainersofthePlutocracy。
\'Ispokeoftheprofessionalmenandtheartistsasvilleins。Whatelsearethey？Oneandall,theprofessors,thepreachers,andtheeditors,holdtheirjobsbyservingthePlutocracy,andtheirserviceconsistsofpropagatingonlysuchideasasareeitherharmlesstoorcommendatoryofthePlutocracy。WhenevertheypropagateideasthatmenacethePlutocracy,theylosetheirjobs,inwhichcase,iftheyhavenotprovidedfortherainyday,theydescendintotheproletariatandeitherperishorbecomeworking—classagitators。Anddon\'tforgetthatitisthepress,thepulpit,andtheuniversitythatmouldpublicopinion,setthethought—paceofthenation。Asfortheartists,theymerelypandertothelittlelessthanignobletastesofthePlutocracy。
\'Butafterall,wealthinitselfisnottherealpower;itisthemeanstopower,andpowerisgovernmental。Whocontrolsthegovernmentto—day？Theproletariatwithitstwentymillionsengagedinoccupations？Evenyoulaughattheidea。Doesthemiddleclass,withitseightmillionoccupiedmembers？Nomorethantheproletariat。Who,then,controlsthegovernment？ThePlutocracy,withitspaltryquarterofamillionofoccupiedmembers。Butthisquarterofamilliondoesnotcontrolthegovernment,thoughitrendersyeomanservice。ItisthebrainofthePlutocracythatcontrolsthegovernment,andthisbrainconsistsofseven*smallandpowerfulgroupsofmen。Anddonotforgetthatthesegroupsareworkingto—daypracticallyinunison。
*Evenaslateas1907,itwasconsideredthatelevengroupsdominatedthecountry,butthisnumberwasreducedbytheamalgamationofthefiverailroadgroupsintoasupremecombinationofalltherailroads。Thesefivegroupssoamalgamated,alongwiththeirfinancialandpoliticalallies,were（1）JamesJ。HillwithhiscontroloftheNorthwest;（2）thePennsylvaniarailwaygroup,Schifffinancialmanager,withbigbankingfirmsofPhiladelphiaandNewYork;（3）Harriman,withFrickforcounselandOdellaspoliticallieutenant,controllingthecentralcontinental,SouthwesternandSouthernPacificCoastlinesoftransportation;（4）theGouldfamilyrailwayinterests;and（5）Moore,Reid,andLeeds,knownasthe\'RockIslandcrowd。\'Thesestrongoligarchsaroseoutoftheconflictofcompetitionandtravelledtheinevitableroadtowardcombination。
\'Letmepointoutthepowerofbutoneofthem,therailroadgroup。Itemploysfortythousandlawyerstodefeatthepeopleinthecourts。Itissuescountlessthousandsoffreepassestojudges,bankers,editors,ministers,universitymen,membersofstatelegislatures,andofCongress。Itmaintainsluxuriouslobbies*ateverystatecapital,andatthenationalcapital;andinallthecitiesandtownsofthelanditemploysanimmensearmyofpettifoggersandsmallpoliticianswhosebusinessistoattendprimaries,packconventions,getonjuries,bribejudges,andineverywaytoworkforitsinterests。*（2）
*Lobby—apeculiarinstitutionforbribing,bulldozing,andcorruptingthelegislatorswhoweresupposedtorepresentthepeople\'sinterests。
*（2）AdecadebeforethisspeechofEverhard\'s,theNewYorkBoardofTradeissuedareportfromwhichthefollowingisquoted:\'TherailroadscontrolabsolutelythelegislaturesofamajorityofthestatesoftheUnion;theymakeandunmakeUnitedStatesSenators,congressmen,andgovernors,andarepracticallydictatorsofthegovernmentalpolicyoftheUnitedStates。\'