‘ » 2 THE CADET. V
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- the hills-—aye of all matter, rests upon the forces of their
constituent molecules. The highest end, therefore, of
. V government is the development of the individual, for the  
individual character is the determining factor in civili—  
zation. Whenever the individual man is crowded out of A
his occupation and becomes a stranger in his own land,  
dependent upon the laborc and products of others for his lg
subsistence, then it is the unit of_ society is destroyed, the jr
{ government has passed its maximum developmentand  
the downward journey has begun. Our government is — {
` rapidly approaching that period in its history where the A
individual man is no longer an integral part of society but
is rather coming to be a burden upon it, and the highest ‘  
expansion of his character into its mental, moral and  
A physical capabilities has become a golden impossibility.  
l The greatest menace to individual freedom and to true _
popular government, that confronts the American peo-
_ ple to—day, is the concentration and accumulation of l
wealth in the hands of the few. A
Wealth is power. It is power in its most concentrated, ,
Z its most efiicent and its most appliable form. For the
sake of clearness we may distinguish the evil effects of j
, ,, l this concentration of wealth by a threefold division of `
the subject into Political, Social and Industrial. As to i
its political effects it may be said, perhaps with too much
l truth, that the legislative body at the capital of our
nation. no longer represents the masses of the people,
but are pliant minions in the hands of the cor-
porations and combinations that furnish the funds I
at the polls necessary for their election. The aver-
age Congressman is such simply for patronage. And
. who controls them? The money sharks and stock gam-
blers, the ring, the syndicate and the trust. Their V
vocation comes merely to be a piracy within the pale
' of the law. They stand in the lobby halls of our