\'Gentlemen,IhavemerelysketchedthepowerofoneofthesevengroupsthatconstitutethebrainofthePlutocracy。*Yourtwenty—fourbillionsofwealthdoesnotgiveyoutwenty—fivecents\'
worthofgovernmentalpower。Itisanemptyshell,andsooneventheemptyshellwillbetakenawayfromyou。ThePlutocracyhasallpowerinitshandsto—day。Itto—daymakesthelaws,foritownstheSenate,Congress,thecourts,andthestatelegislatures。Andnotonlythat。Behindlawmustbeforcetoexecutethelaw。To—daythePlutocracymakesthelaw,andtoenforcethelawithasatitsbeckandcallthe,police,thearmy,thenavy,and,lastly,themilitia,whichisyou,andme,andallofus。\'
*Rockefellerbeganasamemberoftheproletariat,andthroughthriftandcunningsucceededindevelopingthefirstperfecttrust,namelythatknownasStandardOil。Wecannotforbeargivingthefollowingremarkablepagefromthehistoryofthetimes,toshowhowtheneedforreinvestmentoftheStandardOilsurpluscrushedoutsmallcapitalistsandhastenedthebreakdownofthecapitalistsystem。
DavidGrahamPhillipswasaradicalwriteroftheperiod,andthequotation,byhim,istakenfromacopyoftheSaturdayEveningPost,datedOctober4,1902A。D。Thisistheonlycopyofthispublicationthathascomedowntous,andyet,fromitsappearanceandcontent,wecannotbutconcludethatitwasoneofthepopularperiodicalswithalargecirculation。Thequotationherefollows:
\'AbouttenyearsagoRockefeller\'sincomewasgivenasthirtymillionsbyanexcellentauthority。Hehadreachedthelimitofprofitableinvestmentofprofitsintheoilindustry。Here,then,weretheseenormoussumsincashpouringin—morethan$2,000,000amonthforJohnDavisonRockefelleralone。Theproblemofreinvestmentbecamemoreserious。Itbecameanightmare。Theoilincomewasswelling,swelling,andthenumberofsoundinvestmentslimited,evenmorelimitedthanitisnow。ItwasthroughnospecialeagernessformoregainsthattheRockefellersbegantobranchoutfromoilintootherthings。Theywereforced,sweptonbythisinrollingtideofwealthwhichtheirmonopolymagnetirresistiblyattracted。Theydevelopedastaffofinvestmentseekersandinvestigators。Itissaidthatthechiefofthisstaffhasasalaryof$125,000ayear。