The Peoples Voice. (Norman, Okla.), Vol. 4, No. 18, Ed. 1 Friday, November 29, 1895 Page: 1 of 8
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TV fjMT.
1 ri,,. law hi wrltNm iluwn with
< liiui ut or with pen:
J f. r. I w mailf ritiaent the moral
t iw men.
!j«v% ti..U for hum,it. rigrhts. hut when
• iiKthow rirbUtofiv*
1 i fi. I -t law lu* mv brother. hut let hu-
' beiuir* live.
"Our Republic can only exist
bo Long as its citizens respect
and obey Uieirselfimposedlaws."
Labor Ts The Parent Of Capital, Encourage Labor, and You Build ITp Capital■
VOL. 4.
NORMAN, CLEVELAND COUNTY OKLAHOMA, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER. 29. i895.
NO 18.
The Editor of "The Arena"
cussis Mr. Call's Hook in
Striking Paper Dealing
with Eundamen-
tal livils of the
Hour.
purchase the consent of these own-
ers by the wages of servitude. Coni-
i pared with the lot of the laborer
I how free that of the brute! Take
Dis- j the most savage and despicable of
a
these, the wolf and the hyena; they
each range the prairie or forest in
equal struggle, and do not always
feel it necessary to war upon and
devour each other; then when they
have satisfied their maw from the
j carcass which they with honest toil
! have slain, they become almost so-
' ciable, and perhaps abandon it to
rrury tli«! I*r<HliK't of K pedal Privilege— . .
1 of til.* survival «.r the Mtn-M their fellows. If, now; these brutes
• i"Mi appiici to siK'iut i oiiiiitiou— had rcachcd a high state of civiliza-
w«- l spring of < olo*Ntl Knrtmi<>« round . . . .
rivUfyi^ (M)taiii«-<i ti.roagii (i) iniuui- Uon' and united into a society gw-
| itig to some few of them, under the
name of property rights, the whole
world now ranged in freedom by all,
and compelling all others to come
to them in service or beggary for
leave to get food and shelter, how
like to the instutitions of man they
(' I'timiud Krroni Lout Wick ; would have attained.
I lie poor will not believe that "No! the doctrine for the strug-
their struggle and want are neces- gle for existence—brute doctrine
sat v, so long as they see in contrast!
with their condition the
and idleness of the rich. fhi
lii.rltiint'u; (2) Monopoly In I-unit; (j) Monop-
oly hi Money; (4) Monopoly In Tnwaporlu-
tlon; Monopoly In Commodliltw, or Cop.
pomic 1 oniroi of liuliw.ry—Tlxi I'lmof I'rlv-
II.-ae Tin- Knilt ,.| I'llvlli-Kt—Tim I.hvv of
1 rt'iNlnm— A crllU-nl KxHlnlliHtlon of the
Main FnciorsIn tlie I'ifKluollon of 1'lutooriit
Rial I'lolllHllat—TlIU New Republic.
2420.00 wordy
The Hell of tint I'oor Ik the llen
en of the ltlcb.
Public Opinion, Wuila Wall*, Wash.
The United States is rapidly be-
coming the rich man's paradise and
the poor man's hell. Laws are fram-
ed in favor of the former ami
against the latter, and when by any
chance a law stands in the way of
the wealthy the judicious use of a
little money enables them to violate
it with impunity. The way in which
the rich escape their share of taxa
tion is a disgrace to our government I Total not accounted for to
and is enough to turn a loyal .mil county $ 231
law-abiding citizen into an anarchist From iho . > i11 j. ■ 1 1'a iveord it
since it would be better to have no ' wiil llu " "• ' '1,111 313.29 of Urn fine*
law at all than to have them all in "ml l'"st ll hy the District
favor of a privileged few. In - • h"vo ""'"r bt,"n ,,cl',,u,,lei1 f"r ll> lh
Summary,
In matter of fines and costs assess
ed by the District Court.
Total amount of fines as-
sessed by district courts
Total amount of costs as-
sessed by district court,
I otal fines anil costs as-
sessed
Total amount of costs ac
counted for to county..
Kalance not accounted for
to county
Less amount served out in
j 'l
rhloin. would be more amenable to the law.
With a modest looking contract j Ves, to the laws these traitors bribe
form, confined in the limits of 300 jonto ",e statute books or make unto
the Illinois Steel company is1 l'lemse,ves> as <hey are doing in this
.460.7. see^'nK ,0 cast its hundreds of minor' ,Uborin* people, be
j employees into industrial slavery, ^ ou not have " ny moie
3880.7. and parents are shrinking, some of elec,,ons ,n whlch ° use your ballot
them rebelling and others surrender-1 enemies yes I mean ene-
'3o6 -5p i„K to unwilling obedience. My the Iprivate corporations.
2S7, 2, terms of the contract, the father or I 1 °""both ^°'<1 Pities, boots
57'4' .be mother of any minor working in 1 "nd breeC,'eS' and when
260.02
though it be—is altogether to mer-
P'i- ''^ions ciful to palliate or justify the insti-
I'lii. ij.. .: :■<- - .... .1. ...
not only the age of paupers, it is al
so the age of ilie millionaire; the
hovel of the poor is under the shad-
ow of the palace of the rich. How
ever stinted ami wretched may be
the lot of the masses, they see here
no evidence of want; all is, instead
, the most lavish'luxury and display
everything that wealth can procure
to satisfy the wants, or pander to
the appetite and pride of man,
astonish the gaze of the beholder
belongs to these favorites of fortune
Vet, notwithstanding all their ex
penditures the fortunes of the rich
are ever swelling into vaster and vas-
' ter proportions; the number of the
rich too, is fast increasing. The
hoards and the squanderings of
these alike show that the world
filled with abundance; they also
/ show the wonderful effectiveness of
labor; for labor, either of the past
or present, is, after all the source of
all value, and the means by which
all wealth is brought into being."
Thus it will be seen that the "stir
vival" argument is fatally weak ii
that it is based on false premises. It
necessarily assumes that there is not
room enough for all, that some must
perish in order that others may sur-
vive, and heretofore that man has a
natural right to prey upon his broth-
er. Not only does this popular plea
rest upon false premises, but it as
sumes that tnan in civilization is ac-
! corded at least as fair a chance in
his struggle with his fellowman as the
lower animals enjoy, and this as-
sumption is false.
"It is not applicable to present
conditions, for the reason that the
freedom of struggle there [among
the lower animals] allowed is here
denied. The brute has the free use
of all his facilities; to one is given
strength, to another cunning, and
each, by the kind provision of na-
ture, is adapted to obtain his living
in his own way. This is indeed the
cause of his survival: the first law of
^nature, the very instinct of life, is
self-preservation; to preserve his
life the brute is allowed the use of
every faculty given him; where life
j is at stake every means to preserve
it is justified. But it is not so with
man's institutions. Man cannot by
his strong arm help himself to the
plenty he sees around him; to do so
would be trespass or crime. Cun-
ning is the only faculty in free use,
and it is allowed to run riot. Manly
strength is chained helpless, while
low cunning, deft-fingered,passes by
and filches from it.
"Nor is labor allowed in its strug-
gle the freedom of opportunity given
the brute. Each brute has free ac-
cess to the world; man is denied
that access by the laws of society,
which give the world to the few in
each generation and say to all oth-
ers "keep aloof." These few play
jthe "dog in the manger;" and al-
though they may each have enough
to support a thousand such as they,
society itself stands watch and ward
over their possessions, and turns
portionless labor away unless it can
|s unions with which man has cursed
him < !f, it is too honest a doctrine.
These institutions will instead be
found to have cloaked themselves
under names sncred and revered by
man, such as "liberty," "rights of
property," and the like, and not to
have paraded openly in their true
colors under any doctrine however
brutal, else would mankind have
long ago have risen in revolt and
made short work of them."
It is not in the working of natural
law, but in the operation of artificial
and unjust conditions that we find
the mainspring of the misery of man
throughout the civilized world.
"It is not to any lack of wealth in
world, but, instead, to man's institu-
tions which have the distribution of
it, and have given to the few so
much, that we must look if we would
know why the many have so little."
The author points out the signs of
profound discontent everywhere
manifested. In our country the vio-
lent oscillations of the political pen-
dulum, no less than the desperate
struggles of organized labor, are sug-
gestive signs of the times. He shows
that a political readjustment must
speedily supervene, else will politi-
cal as well as industrial freedom
soon be a thing of the past.
"Industrial slavery cannot long
coexist with political freedom. Eith-
er the spirits of men will be crushed,
as under the tyrannies of ancient
times, and they will become unfit to
remain free even in name, or the>
will resent the yoke of oppression,
whatever its form, and demand with
thdir ballot that they shall be free,
not only in name, but also in fact."
The progress of revolutionary
ideas is necessarily slow in gaining
popular acceptance, especially
among phlegmatic people. The at-
tention must be gained, the reason
successlully appealed to, and the
people must also be made to see that
their interest will be better conserv-
ed by the change. Old prejudices
have to be overcome, and the in-
fluence of opinion-forming organs,
which are always largely wedded to
conventionalism, have to be neutra-
lized. Frequently the most benefi-
cial reforms are retarded by a false
and vicious conservatism which
turns alarmist whenever a progress-
ive step is proposed for society.
Yet the history of the world's great
reformative measures shows that
when evil conditions have reached
such a point that a noble discontent
is everywhere visible, the light of a
better day dawns and increases un-
til the darkness which enslaved the
brain and lent wings to fear disap-
pears.
In order to intelligently appre-
ciate the subject, it will be necessa-
ry to notice somewhat at length: (1)
The condition of society of to-day.
(2) How that condition has been
produced. (3) Whether the pro-
ducing causes admit of remedy. (4)
The nature of the remedy required.
(5) The application of the remedy.
(6) The effect of the remedy. (7)
How the revolution is to be accom-
plished. 1
(Continued Next Week)
1802.
Amount 1
if fr.
irni'd in
.. Not known.
civil
I have never been account
, county. 'I'llin is quite a ilio
case he would stand an equal show f(„. Uu, COUMlv ,„s(.
in the survival of the litest; as it is, just how it lo t it.
he has to contend against odds, j In the mutter or amount of fees
The Golden Censor throws a little J ed and colluded hy Ex-Sheriff
light on the way they do things in
Chicago in a recent issue as follows:
I he state auditor of Illinois certifies
that all the bankers and brokers of
Chicago had assessed for taxation
was only $44,000 of money; and all
the diamonds and jewelry in Chi-
cago weri assessed at Si7,;; I
is an iniquity that demands lighting.
The rich escape the burden of the
government, but the poor man whose
house or farm is mortgaged for
about all it is worth has to pay the
same taxes on it as if it were free
from debt; and such cannot escape I ju
because the land is in sight. And
yet if the poor man has the temerity
to complain he is considered a very
unreasonable being. There will be
a day of reckoning, however, when
these wrongs will be righted, and
the process may not be very pleas-
ant for the wrong-doers. The French
revolution was the result of centu-
ries of oppression on the part of. a
corrupt court and priesthood. It
may not be necessary for the people
of the United States to resort to
such herioc measurses, but whatever
course is necessary they will not hes-
itate to adopt.
Ihe mill and foundaries of the steel
company binds himself, or herself,
to relinquish all rights over the ser-
vices of the child and surrender all
rights before the law to sue for and
rt I recover damages from the company
for the loss of such child's services
little Hum ; through injury or death in the mills,
not know • . . , . , ,
And such is the iron-clad provision
of this document that this exemp-
tion from damage is made binding,
jSoiilh during the years of 18!>1 and jt,ven l'>°ugh the maiming or death is
j 1891. : directly traceable to the criminal
| Amount of lees paid by countv negligence of the company or its
'or isttl $ 1554 02 ! ,
j Amount of fens paid by county } c*,n|>«oyes.
; ADii'm; 1'r.-ceivert '[corn tori'i- 7' ' The la"K"age of the blank con-
ton for years 181)I and ' ,rJCt is plain. Moreover there is a
Kill 52 it
64V> 35
Why do the nionied men of this
country favor the gold standard?
Because they know that a single
gold standard is the mightiest en-
gine; the most powerful instrument
ever designed by man for the trans-
ference of property from the pro-
ducing classes to the money classes,
and the subsequent centralization of
wealth in the hands of the few.
With such a money standard the
creditor classes have the producing
classes absolutely at their mercy.
Why do many of the producing clas-
ses favor a single gold standard?
We are unable to answer this ques-
tion unless it be that they desire to
fasten themselves and their helpless
posterity, a slavery wherein the mas-
ter has no thought or interest in the
welfare of the slave.
■ Cora.
The big battle in the next session
of congress will be fought over the
question of the retirement of the
346 million of legal tender notes.
This non-interest bearing money has
been a thorn in the flesh of the gold
bugs ever since it was issued. In
1879 an attempt was made to des-
troy it but it had too many friends
in congress and the attempt failed.
With Cleveland and Carlisle in favor
of the retirement of the greenback
and Plutocracy in the saddle the re-
mainder of the people's money is in
eminent danger, It remains to be
MM ..mi l.V 12
Amount or fe.-s collected on
delinquent inxee for years
M)1 urn. 1892, estimated,.
Amount p iid lor undt culiei-iff,
by county
Total fees earned years 1SIM
and 18(12 j
Sheriff'* day book shows that fKtiO.H-5 !
in civil cases during the years Mil
and 1892, as not collected. We find
however that in many cases which are
shown as not collected 011 the sheriff's
(lay hook; show settled on record of
District Court; hut owing to the incom-
plete records made of the sheriff's fees,
by the l)i tri'jt Clerk, we lint! it impos-
sible to tell whether many of the fees
have been collected or not.
We have been unable to get the
amount of money paid by the territory
to Fx-Sheriff Geo. Smith tor the years
1891 and 1892. We have written the
territorial auditor several times for
this information, after writing l.iin the
third time we finally ^ot a statement
chowirj! the amount puid during the
years 1893 and 1891.
F. D. Stevens, )
It. J. Nesbitt, f
During the years '91 and '92 the Sher-
iff's records show that the amount re-
ceived by ex-sheriff Smith was f-1980.58
outside ol fees estimated to have earned
In collection of delinquent taxes and
fees received from the territory. The
Sheriff is changeable with all tax war-
rants received for collection until he
makes return on the same during the
years '91 and '92 Sheriff Smith receiv-
ed #<>7il,32 worth of tax warrants upon
which no return was made. The item
of $o49,35 for under Sheriff is unwar-
ranted as the county is not liable for
services of an under Sheriff.
In the matter of amount of fees
earned and collected by Ex-Sheriff
Geo. Smith, duriug the years of 1893
and 1894
Amount paid by countv, year
1893.. 31.5181
Amount paid by county for
year 1894 3709 45
Amount paid by territory for
year 1893 2638 55
Amount paid hy'territory for
year 1894 2887 21
Total fees earned in civil
cases for years 1893 and
„ . 1894 1753 70
hstimuted fees collected on
delinquent taxes for
1893 and 1894 2000 00
Total fees earned by Ex-Sher-
iff Geo. Smith foryears
1893 and 1894 $16,160 72
The sheriff's day book shows that
$1204.39 fees earned in civil cases as
not collected , we find
ice placed back of it that is driv-
g many parents to acceptance of
i provisions. That force is the
•mpanj 's direct threat to discharge
(100 <;0 .ill minors whose fathers and moth- was 4.6 mills on the doll
the
however, that
many cases which are shown 0.1 sher-
iff s day book hs not collected are shown
paid on the clerk's record of the Dis-
trict court. Item of $2000.00 fees col-
lected by sheriff 011 delinquent taxes
for years 1893 and 1894 is estimated.
As we find no records of the actual
ers refuse to put th-ir names to
paper. Poverty and hunger ar
times the compelling power that
traces signatures upon such docu-
ments
Heading and all the above is from
the Chicago Tunes-Herald, Repub-
lican, of Oct, 31. Now, reader, do
you believe slavery is not in actual
operation here under the starry ban-
ner? Our English ancestors wrest-
ed the right of employers to compel
men to sign away their rights many
years ago, and here the infernal
feudalism is returning in this alleged
land of the free. With tags on like
dogs and their freedom signed away
the working people can realize, or
ought to realize, what a deplorable
condition they have voted them-
selves into. This is going back to
slavery rapidly and I say the starry
banner is a flaunting lie when it
floats over a nation where men have
to submit to such conditions. Now,
my dear reader, do you begin to
comprehend why the panic was
brought about to stop the wheels
of industry, so millions would lose
their little property and the working
people, hungry, would be forced to
accept any job offered on any con-
dition? The panic was just as much
planned and carried out by those
who have been benefitted as a play
at a theatre. Every detail was look-
ed after, and carried out, even to
the tagging of workman and com-
pelling them, through their distress
to sign away their rights as citizens
in a court and selling the rights of
their children too. If this is not
horrible what is it? We might well
ask, as did Cassius, on what do
these monopolists feed that they
you vote an
old party ticket, or any part of it,
you vote to place these men in pow-
er to control the nation and control
you and your wages, and your right
of life—for what right have you to
live if you have no work? American
workingmen and farmers, rouse
yourselves. Tyranny is enthroned
and it will be a far more difficult job
to down it than it was King George
III, and his little six cents a pound
tariff 011 tea.—Appeal to Reason.
The Democrats of this county are
trying hard to shift the blame of
high taxes onto the Populists. They
have been looking for sometime for
1 place to relieve themselves of their
burden. I he Populists, however,
« not assume it and they will just
have to continue to tote it. Last
year the levy made by the territory
ar and this
5 ear the tei 1 itorial levy is the same.
I lie levy made by the commission-
ers last year was 14.4 mills on the
dollar and this year the levy made
by the commissioners was 19.5 mills
on the dollar or 5.1 mills more than
levied by the board last year. Last
spring the county came 01P some-
thing like #36,000 in debt. Under
the new law the commissioners board
was compelled to make a levy suffi-
cient to pay the expenses of the
county, or be personally liable.
I here will be no $36,000 of out-
standing warrant indebtedness in-
curred by the Populists to fund into
interest bearing bonds next spring.
It took from 25 to 30 thousand dol-
lars worth of interest bearing bonds
every two years to take up the Dem-
ocratic administration slack. The
levy this year of 5.1 mills on the
dollar higher than it was last year,
only amounts to 60 cents on the $100
Sixty cents on the hundred dollars
will hardly amount to to $36,000, the
sum the Democratic administration
fell short last year. Last year war-
rants went begging for takers at
from 70 to 75 cents 011 the dollar and
when the taxes are paid in this year
the new warrants will be worth their
face value. *The reason the taxes are
so much higher this year is because of
a fact that a Democratic territorial
board of equalization raised the as-
sessed valuation of this county 20
percent, or in other words if you
swore that the valuation of your
property was $500, the Democratic
equalization board said you perjured
yourself, that your property was
worth S600, and that they had law to
prove their case. If a grand jury in
this county can be secured that are
have grown so great that they make | not tax payers you may all expect to
seen whether a Republican congress: amount we believe that the amount is
will do the bidding of a Democratic j more than fully covered by the fee:
president. The Republican mem-! u"llectud- F. D. Stevens, lcnm
bers of the last congress assisted the ,, , '' ' j !
T. 6 ! During the years 93 and .94 the Sher-
Democrats to strike down silver and J iff's ,.eCord allows that the amount re-
we can see no reason why they will ceived by Sheriff Smith was $7630,57
will not, also, in the next congress outside of fees estimated to have been
assist in striking down the green-1co,,ecletl delinquent tajcea and fee*
back. 1 lie fear of the wrath of the
people in 1896 is the only thing we
received from the territory. The limit
! of the SheritT'ri salary irs $.'!0(K) per an-
j num and in order to get per an-
can see t lat may cause them to fal- numi ii is necessary thHt it should be
ter. I he money famine the people earned. The committee found there-
of this country are enjoying will be of the Sheriff's office in such de-
intensified and the
j plorable h ipef in fact almost no re-
,rice of products 1 cords at all, that it was almost Impos-
will take another tumble downward "if)|w 'or them to >jet heads or talis out
i« ra« ,r, .. 1 . ()f ti"'"1 The records in ihe District
m case the greenbacks are retired ; (oBil.e pi.iol. ,ho limo
and interest bearing bonds issued in jneumbent, Dr. Scott too!< charge
their stead almoot us shape as the sh eriff
office.
laws unto themselves, such as no
chattel slave driver ever did? Are
the working people so base-born
that they will vote for men and par-
ties to perpetuate these monsters in
the ownership of the great industries
they use with such despotic power?
Is not the public welfare of greater
moment than the private right of
property to these men? Every such
industry should be nationalized —
should be taken out of the hands of
these little gods and operated by the
people for the people. That is the
struggle just ahead—it must be met
and decided sooner or later. There
is no such thing as liberty in the
United States with one set of men
driving others as these industrial
lords are doing. Don't sit idly by
and imagine these monopolists don,t
see the danger of universal sufferage.
'They are not blind nor sleeping.
be indicteil for perjury. If the equal-
ization board was justified in raising
your sworn valuation an action of
perjury certainly lies against yi u.
'I he editor of the State Democrat
is wonderfully worried over the fact
that the commissioners have ordered
the investigating committee to make
a duplicate of their, report before
filing the same with the county clerk.
Reports filed with the county clerk
sometimes turn up missing, as an in-
stance of a report filed with the
county clerk that cannot be found
in the clerk's office to-day, is the re-
port made by the coroner in the
Head murder case. This report
cannot be found and the clerk is un-
able to state how it got away. The
commissioners feared that the re-
port of the investigating committee
if filed with the clerk might also es-
cape. But if ihey hold a duplicate
the original perhaps will not travel
out of the clerk's office. It is al-
most impossible for the clerk to ber-
.... . , , . . , ... . 1 metically guard all the papers filed
I he votes of laboring people will be in llis office_ partic„|arl>Kif' s0lne in.
taken from them on one pretext or j dividuals are just watching an op-
another. Little by little the thing I portunity to take them out of the of-
will be and is being done in various i "ce' Clerk Wynne is, doubtless, as
u „ c , , 1 careful about such matters as anv
the states. Remember one of the old ,,, , '
I . , one could be; but notwithstanding
party dailies said not long ago that this fact some important papers
if laboring people had no votes they 1 have disappeared.
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Allan, John S. The Peoples Voice. (Norman, Okla.), Vol. 4, No. 18, Ed. 1 Friday, November 29, 1895, newspaper, November 29, 1895; Norman, Oklahoma Territory. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc116783/m1/1/: accessed April 23, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.