Image provided by: Silverton Country Historical Society; Silverton, OR
About Torch of reason. (Silverton, Oregon) 1896-1903 | View Entire Issue (March 20, 1902)
G T H E TORCH OF REASON, S IL V E R T O N , OREGON, MARCH 20, E. M. 302 (1902.) but of extrao rd inary opportunity. Some people think th at the getting of m illions by such m eans, is an ev idence of greatness, and therefore en titles the possessor to such great rew ards and they ask with a tri u m p h an t air, “ If it wau «ueh an easy m atter, why did not some or all of the workmen see it and gain some of C arnegie’s m illions? But the mere asking of such a question shows th at the questioners do not really com prehend the situation. To repeat in a word what has been disclosed; Mr. Carnegie was the owner of monopolies, and m on opolies cannot he passed around. There are not iron and coal mines enough in the state of P ennsylvania, or in the United States, so th at we can have one apiece. He also had wagemen th a t were compelled to work for such a share of the joint product as he was w ill ing to give them . Out of such in gredients as these could not any hard hearted and greedy man of m oderate ability extract m illions ? The Carnegie Company had over ten thousand men in their employ, in factory, forge and mine, and if the profit on each was as low as a dollar a day, ten days work would give the Com pany $100,000, and a year, over $3,000,000. But this am ount was hardly a beginning to what the net receipts actually were. And it is not necessary or p ertin ent to say th at the Carnegie m an agem ent was dishonest. Such a term does not apply to a man who is merely adapting him self and business to actual and legalized con ditions, for he must either do th a t or not operate. Society, by sh u ttin g aw ay a m ajority of people from an equal usufruct of lands, created a dependent class of wage men in ex cess of tlie dem and for them . T h is circum stance was in Mr. C arnegie’s favor, hut he did nothing to pro duce it; indeed, it is said th a t the wages he paid was in excess of m arket rates. But it may be the Labor Union compelled th at. Society again allowed him to con trol absolutely the mines of iron and coal—all needful to his work; and he had no voice in this regula tion, except to purchase it. N either did he originate the protective sys tem which is the great parent of his immense profits. Likely he assisted in augm enting the protect ing duties, hut all persons so in te r ested did the same. Instead of confining our view’ to Mr. Carnegie as a great captain of industry who is so ex trao rd in arily endowed th a t he could make m ill ions where other men could not, we should see in the Carnegie Co., and in m any others equally successful, merely evolutions from the m al ad ju stm en t of society, w ithout which the Carnegies would be im possible. Take away the law sg ran t- ng privileges, and monopolies and such evolutions would be as much out of place, as a live ichthyosau- rian in the polar regions. If Mr. Carnegie is a real philan- thopist, as some people think, he could do much better with his trust stock than endowing libraries and universities, by educating the people out of their pre-ant false notions which make such vast com binations as the iron and steel trust, and their aggregate monopolies possible. He knows th a t while such con ditions exist, the establishing of justice in society, is an idle dream , and he also should know th at lib raries and universities, as at present m anaged, do not enlighten people upon that most im portant subject. Carnegie’s gifts would confer no valuable assets if justice were es tablished in America, and hence it is fair to assume th a t they are an insurance policy on the continuance of the present abnorm al system which evolves m ulti-m illionaires. VERY LOW S ettlers Rates During March and A 02. Don t Guess a t It ôSi' Rut if vou are going East w rite us for our rates and let us tell you about th e service and accom m odations offered bv th e Illin o is C en t r a l R a ilro a d . T h ro u g n T o u r is t C ars via th e I llin o is C e n tr a l from Pacific Coast to Chicago and C in cin n ati. D o n 't fail to w rite us ab o u t vour trip , as we are in a position to give you some valuable inform ation and assistance. 5319 m iles of track over w hich is op- p erated some of th e finest train s in th e world. -va ; US* For p a rticu lars regarding freight or passenger rates am i service call on or address, nU - «SB J . C . L IN D S E Y , T. F. à P. A. te B. H . T R U M B U L L , Com’l Agent. PORTLAND, OREGON. 142 THIRD STREET, T H E OXLY TH R O U G H T R A IN S i TICKETS TO ALL POINTS — W IT H O U T — E A s T CH A N G E OF CARS —VIA — — BETWEEN — Portland ALL PO IN TS EAST -------- TO -------- vi AND Chicago G reat N orthern Railway SH O R T E S T AND Q U IC K E S T Oregon, \»/ Idaho, L IN E -ro- — RU N OVER— St. W a sh in g to n C h ic a g o &. N o rth Paul, Duluth, Minneapolis, Chicago AND PO IN TS EA ST. --------V IA -------- T hrough Palace ami T o u rist Sleepers, D ining and Buffet Sm oking L ibrary Cars. Daily T rain s, East T im e, Service and Scenery U nequalled. For R ates, Folders, and Full In fo rm a tion R egarding E astern T rip , call on or address, S. W. P H A L o N , t . p . a . H. DICKSON, c. t . a A. G. B A R K ER , G. A. C. & N. W . Ry. 122 Third Street, Portland, Ore. 153 T h ird S t., P o rtlan d , Ore. A. B. C. D EN N ISTO N , g . w . p . a . 612 F irst Ave., . . S eattle, W ash. T im e — S ev en ty H ours to C h ic a g o . w e s te r n For P a rtic u la rs w rite to any agent of he Union Pacific R. R ., Oregon Rail- oad & Nav. C o ., or to E . L. LOM AX, G eneral P asenger and Ticket Agent U nion Pacific R. R ., O m aha, Neb. S o u th e rn Pacific C om pany. R y. Great “ Hock Island Route T ra in s leave Silverton d aily , e x cep t S unday, at 7 :55 A. M., and 1 :20 P. M., connecting at W oodburn for all points N orth and S o u th ;a n d at 12:20 P. M. for ; EXCURSION points South on W oodburn-S pringfield B ran ch , L ebanon, A lbany and C alifornia points. The g reat Rock Island Route is th e Close connections m ade at P o rtla n d only line o p eratin g a weekly personally- w ith Union Pacific System for all points conducted T ourist Car between Portland in E astern Oregon ami W ash in g to n , and and Chicago w ithout change, via th e th e E astern S tates. W orld’s G re atest Scenic Line, m aking T rain s leave U nion r e p o t, P o rtlan d , close connection at Chicago in Union for S ilverton at 8:30 a. m, am i 4:00 p. m. Depot for ah p o in ts East. arriving at Silverton 11:50 a. m. and 6:20 Daily sta n d a rd sleeping car between p. m. Pueblo, D enver am i Chicago; Buffet, For tick ets, b e rth reserv atio n s, or L ibrary, Sm oking Cars between Pueblo, o th e r info rm atio n , e n q u ire of Mr. E. L. D enver ami Chicago. The best ami SM ITH , A gt., S ilverton, O re., or Mr. R. m ost reasonable dining car service be B. M IL L E R , G . E. & P. A., a t P o rt tween P ueblo and Chicago. If you are lan d , Oregon. going to K ansas C ity, O m aha, Des Moines, Chicago, or any place E ast, you should en q u ire about the G reat Rock Island Route beiore purchasing your ticket Ask your nearest ticket agent T he able*! p u b licatio n of th e k ind in th e W orld about it, o r w rite for folders and any in Sixty-four pages Illu s tra te d . P u b lish e d M onthly. form ation d esired . W rite for p articu lars. P rice P oo a year. For T W E N T Y -F IV E C EN TS :n3 Free Thought Magazine it will be m ailed to any a d d re ss T H R E E flONTM S. A ddress F R E E T H O U G H T M AGAZINE, j ti} E. In d ia n a S t., C hicago, 111 Go EA ST Over T H E ------- RIO GRANDE W ESTERN — AND — DENVER & RIO GRANDE RAILROAD Only tra n sc o n tin e n ta l line passing directly th ro u g h S A L T L A K E C IT Y , L E A D V IL L E , PU EBLO , C O L O R A D O S P R IN G S AND DENVER. T hree sp len d id ly equipped tra in s daily TO ALL PO INTS EAST. T h ro u g h Sleeping and D ining Cars ami Free R eclining C h air C ars. The m ost m agnificent scenery in A m erica by day lig h t. Stop overs allowed on all classes of tickets. For ch eap est rates and d escrip tiv e lite ra tu re , address A. E . C O O PE R , - G E N ’L AGT. J . I). M ansfield, G enera Agent, 250 A lder S t., P o rtlan d , Ore. 124 T h ird St., P o rtla n d , Oregon.
