The Southern Mercury. (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 11, No. 32, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 11, 1892 Page: 12 of 16
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UNT Libraries.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
12
SOUTHERN MERCURY.
Aug. 11, 1892
The One-Eyed Gunner.
A correspondent of The Chicago
Sentinel makes the following
"points:"
1st. It is impracticable to sup-
press national bank currency and
to loan money direct to the peo-
ple.
2d. It was a wise 'policy to do-
nate lands to aid the building of
railroads, and it would be unjust
to undertake to recover such lands
—even to aid the poor.
3d. The theory of cheap money
would not work well, and he uses
the following illustration: "Mr.
A, worked hard till he was 60
years old and saved $10,000. He
loanes it at 7 per cent and hence
has an income of $700 upon which
he lives confortably. Now if he
could only get one per cent, as
that is all he could get if the gov-
ernment would Joan at that, his
income would only be $100, which
would give him short picking. It
would send all old people with
small means to the poor house.
Rich people could stand it but it
would crush poor people."
4. He tells us that "he looks at
things with both eyes open" while
we look at them "with one eye
shut—and that the right eye."
OUR ANSWER.
A hunter always keeps both
eyes open till he sights his game;
then he draws up his rifle, shuts
one eye in order to take perfect
aim, and if he is a good shot, hits
the mark. We will admit that in
that respect we have one eye shut;
the other eye is resting on the
"sights" of the old rifle—and we
believe that every shot is a dead
center shot at the very heart of
one of the wickedest crimes ever
perpetrated.
The country has no doubt been
benefited by the Pacific roads, but
at what a sacrifice.
This "benefit to the country"
has been and still is a favorite ar-
gument—especially of the thieves
who stole the land. A similar ar-
gument was made in behalf of
African slavery. It was argued
tli at the South was developed by
negro labor, and that thus the
country was benefited; that even
the condition of the negro was bet-
ter than if free, and that thus the
race was benofited.
In answer to the assertion that
it was a "wise policy" to donate
lands to railroad corporations, we
want to repeat and emphasize the
following question:
Instead of giving the railroad
corporations enough credit to ac-
tually build and equip the roads,
and then throwing in the land
besides, why did it not build the
roads itself and keep the land for
the people?
As the case now stands, the gov-
ernment is held for the bonds
(some $60,000,000), it has paid the
interest on them for 28 years,(some
$70,000,000 more) and it neither
owns the roads or the lands!
As the case ought to stand, the
government would have at least
saved the $70,000,000 (as the
earnings of the road would have
paid that much—at even one-half
the present passenger and frieght
rates; and owned the road) and the
land would have been free to the
millions who are too poor to pay
$2.50 per acre.
Which would have been the
wiser policy?
The government would have
been a head some $70,000,000 of
cash; several thousand miles of
railroad, and 100,000,000 acres of
land—which, computed at $2.50
per acre would have been $250,-
000,000.
If these roads belonged to the
government they could be operat-
ed at actual cost in the interest of
the people, then the producer who
raises wheat, corn, pork and beef
in the northwest and on the Pacific
coast could get twice as much for
his products, and the consumer in
the East could get the same pro-
ducts at the half of the present
price. The producer and the con-
sumer would be "benefited" direct-
ly whereas now they are "benefit-
ed" indirectly — through the
merciless corporate extortioners.
But perhaps our friend would
"not like to see the government
go in to the railroad business."
Nevertheless, the government is;
in the "railroad business" already
it is in away up to its chin. It
would have been less trouble to
run the roads than to have looked
after the theives who are runing
them.
But in these arguments pro and
con over details, do not loose sight
of the gratest crime of all, viz:
that of robbing future generations
of their birthrights of land!
A century hence this identical
land will be held by whom? By
soulless railroad corporations, and
by American and foreign capital-
ists.
The actual occupants will be
tenants!
It will be as impossible for
them to get a foot of land as it is
to-day for Irish tetauts to obtain
land in Ireland.
The unborn generations will be
the children whose "teeth will be
set on edge" by the crimes which
were perpetrated by the hellions
and scoundrels who constituted
the United States Congress when
these grants of land were made.
With what horrow and disgust
' they will look upon the terrible
jrecord!
With what loathing they will
regard the names of some of the
men who now stand so prominent-
ly before the American people!
It seems to us that even a man
with one eye shut—nay, even a
blind man, ought to be able to see
the wickedness of this land rob-
bery.
Were this generation worthy
deccndauts of the heroes who es-
tablished our Independence a
hundred years ago, they would
make short work of this land
question!
They would take posseesicta of
every foot of land, not occupied
by an actual settler; they would
declare forfeited the railroad char-
ters; seize every partical of prop-
erty in satisfaction of the sums in
which the government has been
mulcted for interest on railroad
bonds, and hunt down to the
bitter end every knave whose
coffers are filled with ill gotten
gains.
* * *
Let us see who has got "one eye
shut" on the cheap money ques-
tion.
Here is a supposed case of an
old man of 60 years living oft' $10,-
000 at 7 per cent. If he can't get
that there is nothing left but the
poor house.
If there is an old man with
$10,000 that can't see any way to
take care of himself except
through a 7 per cent loan, instead
of being sent to the poor house he
ought to be sent to the idiotic
asylum!
But where there is one such
"hardship" as that we can point
out a thousand cases where there
are old men, even more than 60
years old, who are breaking their
old backs toiling early and late,
year in and year out, to pay 7 per
cent to some loafer who never
earned an honest dollar in h is
whole life.
The only difference between
us and our correspondent is this:
He is looking at one old man with
$10,,000 in his pocket, shaking in
his boots for fear of the poor house
while we are looking at the thous-
ands of old men whose lives are
crushed out of them through being
the curse of debt and usury. He
with his two eyes wide open (?)
sees one old man; we with one eye
optm can see a thousand old men!
It is not whether you have one
eye open or both eyes open; but it
is who you see—whether you see
it with one or both eyes.
The Colored Man and Politics.
F. K. CHASE, (COLORED.)
I have said before and say now,
that there is not enough political
independance among colored voters
The fact that a man is colored
should not be self evident, that he
belongs to any particular party.
As a rule the colored people are
republicans, they were won to that
party by certain acts, the results of
which were perfectly natural.
But more than a quarter ot a cen-
tury has thrown around him the
light of intelligence. A progres-
sive age, and changed conditions
forces a change. The two
old parties have not kept
pace with the just demands
of the common people.
They meet in national conven-
ventions, adopt admirable plat-
forms, for campaign purposes
only. When the election is over
the paltform is seldom heard of,
if at all. We live in a progressive
and intelligent age. Eight think-
ing is essential to right acting.
It should be the object of every
citizen to accomplish some good
for himself, family, and country,
when he exercises the most power-
ful of all he has, his vote.
The colored voters in the south
! occupy a peculiar position in
American politics. That the
negro is a member of the bodv
politic all will admit. It is equal-
ly true that he is regarded by the
American people as a diseased
member.
But I have said that the south-
*
em negro occupies a pecular posi-
tion, in American politics. Let us
see: In the south, the predominant
political barty is democratic, and
that party has no use for the
negroe's vote in national and state
elections; and his vote can do the
republican party no good, in such
elections. In a tew precincts,
towns and cities his vote elects
one democrat over an other, but
he accomplishes nothing by his
vote for himself. To speak plain-
ly, tell the truth as an honest man,
I say that the negro cannot consist -
ly be a democrat, in a full sense of
the meaning given to it by good
democrats; because Democratic
policy, their legislation, and the
tenor of their laws are against the
interest and progress of the negro.
I mean southern democracy. The
republican party can do the negro,
south little or no good; besides in
many instances the party has push-
ed the negro aside, when it could
help him.
Now in view of the above facts;
and many others I might state, the
one and only advantageous politi-
cal course of the negro, under
present existing affairs is to sup-
port the people's party. I say
this because I have given the poli-
tical situation of the southern ne-
gro considerable thought and
study. The negro must think and
act for himself. He must cast his
vote as other men, keeping in view
his own material good, and pros-
perity. The people's party; in my
opinion is the coming political
party, and must control this govern-
ment. The stability of our gov-
ernment is based upon the intelli-
gent will of the people. And
whenever our people rise up in
the strength of their power and
assert their rights; matters must
change.
This government does not be-
long to the republican party nor
to the democratic party, but the
people.
The people's party is not heard
to say that "this is a white man's
government, but, that this is the
people's government." Platforms
of the different parties amount to
but little. Political platforms con-
sists in long and repeated resolu-
tions on paper for campaign pur-
poses. But when it comes to en-
■ forcing the laws properly, making-
such laws as will be of interest to
the people and country, it is some-
thing else. The third or people's
party have some good men as their
leaders. If time from ray busi-
ness would allow me I would stump
the state for the people's par-
ty I would have the 40,000
negro votes of Texas cast solid-
ly tor the third party.
There is something sublime in
calm endurance, something sub-
lime in the resolute, fixed purpose
of suffering without complaining,
which makes disappointment often-
times better than success.
God will put up with a good
many things in the human heart,
but there is one thing he will not
put up with in it—a second place.
He who offers God a second place
offers him no place.
v
M
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Matching Search Results
View 13 places within this issue that match your search.Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Park, Milton. The Southern Mercury. (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 11, No. 32, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 11, 1892, newspaper, August 11, 1892; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth185477/m1/12/?q=%22~1%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .