“The Political Trust That Owns America”
By Editor
UNDER the heading, “The Political Trust That Owns America,” one of the leading Prohibition papers of the country contains the following paragraphs: “One hundred men rule America! The entire control of the United States, financial, industrial, and political, is at present gripped in the relentless grasp of a money oligarchy—a star-chamber coterie of about one hundred men who rule prices up and wages down, who stifle legitimate business that they may have gold for their own mad speculations. “These men control the nation by controlling the source of your bread and meat, your clothing, your means of transportation, and practically all the essentials of your life and labor. “Most important of all, they control absolutely the country’s credit—its money. “The Gambling Hells of High Finance”
“They are hard taskmasters. They wring the life from despairing men and women, even from little children, by artificially inflating the profits upon their industrial enterprises, by wantonly wasting the nation’s capital in the gambling hells of Wall Street, and by diverting hundreds of millions in gold from its God-given mission of financing productive industry, to the promotion of speculative undertakings. “These men have grouped themselves in a center of operations. They have gathered their power around two great New York banks, and through these institutions they aid each other in controlling the entire banking system of the country, its great transportation lines, its manufactories of food and clothing, and the materials which have become essential to the continuance of our daily existence.” Observe that we said that the foregoing is taken from a Prohibitionist paper, and not a Socialist. For years the Socialists have been saying such things as the foregoing, and any one who said anything like that was accused of “Socialism.” But now all the parties, and many of the people, in all the walks of life, are saying just such things. It is not uncommon to find such statements in any magazine or paper that is published, no matter what may be either its political or religious complexion. It is true that the paper from which the paragraphs were taken gave a political turn to the statements made. But there is a conviction that the people generally believe the statements to be true, otherwise the proof would have been given along with the statements. The object we have in quoting these statements concerning the “political trust that owns America,” is to call attention to the discussion that is becoming so general. And discussion of this class is laying the foundation for rioting and violence through the unrest and discontent that is created. Many are fondly hoping that a “peaceful revolution” will clear the social and political atmosphere of all the difficulties that confront us. But men ought to be able to see that the conditions that already exist have gone beyond the stages of peaceful revolutions. There is too much intensity of feeling. There is, however, in reality a peaceful revolution before the world. It is to be ushered in by the coming of the Prince of Peace. It will be a peaceful revolution for those who are ready for it. But it will be a time of indescribable awfulness for those who are not ready. Think seriously on these things. The evidence is superabundant that the coming of Christ is the one thing that will solve all the social and political evils and problems of the time. T.