The planter, the farmer, the mechanic, and the laborer all
know that their success depends upon their own industry and economy, and
that they must not expect to become suddenly rich by the fruits of their
toil. Yet these classes of society form the great body of the people of
the United States; they are the bone and sinew of the country--men who
love liberty and desire nothing but equal rights and equal laws, and
who, moreover, hold the great mass of our national wealth, although it
is distributed in moderate amounts among the millions of freemen who
possess it. But with overwhelming numbers and wealth on their side they
are in constant danger of losing their fair influence in the Government,
and with difficulty maintain their just rights against the incessant
efforts daily made to encroach upon them. The mischief springs from the
power which the moneyed interest derives from a paper currency which
they are able to control, from the multitude of corporations with
exclusive privileges which they have succeeded in obtaining in the
different States, and which are employed altogether for their benefit;
and unless you become more watchful in your States and check this spirit
of monopoly and thirst for exclusive privileges you will in the end find
that the most important powers of Government have been given or bartered
away, and the control over your dearest interests has passed into the
hands of these corporations.
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