574 TR E IMPENDING REVOLUTION. 



blossom as a rose there are, in short, an infinite variety 

 of fine phrases to conceal the real nature of the breach of 

 trust. One particularly specious plea is that unless the 

 millions were thus robbed in behalf of the scores, the 

 scores could not provide great and beneficent instrumen- 

 talities for the use of the millions. It is forgotten that the 

 scores charge the millions as much for the use of the 

 instrumentalities as if they had not been built with the 

 millions' own means, but had come bodily out of the bank 

 accounts of the scores. If a man steal from me enough 

 to buy him a horse and vehicle, and then insists he is 

 doing me an immense service by charging me $5 for car- 

 rying me a mile on my own property, he does that on a 

 small scale which subsidized corporations, railroad or any 

 other, do upon a large. 



u Such, then, is the morality of the subsidy system, 

 which has been fostered into such magnificent proportions. 

 The natural operation of the system is to generate about it 

 a fine swarm of adventurers, of all grades, from the benev- 

 olent looking company president, whose gold-rimmed 

 glasses would shrivel in the heat of his indignation did 

 anyone call him an adventurer, down to the professional 

 lobbyist, whom he uses as the huntsman uses his hound, 

 to run down the game. There being millions at stake, 

 these adventurers, each in his sphere, are instant in action. 

 They cajole, they seduce, they ensnare. All the arts of 

 temptation ooze from their tongues- in drops of honey, and 

 fall from their hands in streams of gold. What wonder if 

 success only too often rewards their nefarious efforts if the 

 not over-stubborn normal virtue of the Senator or Con- 

 gressman succumbs? If the records of the Credit Mobilier 

 investigation reveal anything, they disclose this that tac- 

 tics of this kind were employed with exquisite skill and 

 relentless tenacity; and despite the half- frantic denials of 



