n. Combinations, monopolies, and
aggregations of capital were either avoided or sternly regulated and
restrained. The pomp and glitter of governments less free offered no
temptation and presented no delusion to the plain people who, side by
side, in friendly competition, wrought for the ennoblement and dignity
of man, for the solution of the problem of free government, and for the
achievement of the grand destiny awaiting the land which God had given
them.

A century has passed. Our cities are the abiding places of wealth and
luxury; our manufactories yield fortunes never dreamed of by the fathers
of the Republic; our business men are madly striving in the race for
riches, and immense aggregations of capital outrun the imagination in
the magnitude of their undertakings.

We view with pride and satisfaction this bright picture of our country's
growth and prosperity, while only a closer scrutiny develops a somber
shading. Upon more careful inspection we find the wealth and luxury of
our cities mingled with poverty and wretchedness and unremunerative
toil. A crowded and constantly increasing urban population suggests the
impoverishment of rural sections and discontent with agricultural
pursuits. The farmer's son, not satisfied with his father's simple and
laborious life, joins the eager chase for easily acquired wealth.

We discover that the fortunes realized by our manufacturers are no
longer solely the reward of sturdy industry and enlightened foresight,
but that they result from the discriminating favor of the Government and
are largely built upon undue exactions from the masses of our people.
The gulf between employers and the employed is constantly widening, and
classes are rapidly forming, one comprising the very rich and powerful,
while in another are found the toiling poor.

As we view the achievements of aggregated capital, we discover the
existence of trusts, combinations, and monopolies, while the citizen is
struggling far in the rear or is trampled to death beneath an iron heel.
Corporations, which should be the carefully restrained creatures of the
law and the servants of the people, are fast becoming the people's
masters.

Still congratulating ourselves upon the wealth and prosperity of our
country and complacently contemplating every incident of change
inseparable from these conditions, it is our duty as patriotic citizens
to inquire at the present stage of our progress how the bond of the
Government m