The class I represent care nothing for politics.
Among my people I seldom hear purely political discussions. When we are discussing pro and con the relative merits of candidates or the relative importance of political policies, the question almost invariably comes down to a matter of business efficiency.
We care absolutely nothing about statehood bills, pension agitation, waterway appropriations, "pork barrels", state rights, or any other political question; save inasmuch as it threatens or fortifies existing conditions.
Touch the question of the tariff, touch the issue of income tax, touch the problem of railroad regulation, or touch the most vital of all business matters, the question of general federal regulation of industrial corporations, and the people amongst whom I live my life become immediately rabid partisans.
It matters not one iota what political party is in power or what president holds the reins of office. We are not politicians or public thinkers.
We are the rich.
We own America.
We got it, God only knows how, but we intend to keep it if we can by throwing all the tremendous weight of our support, our influence, our money, our political connections, our purchased senators, our hungry congressmen, our public speaking demagogues into the scale against any legislature, any political platform, any presidential campaign that threatens the integrity of our estate.
Cheers.