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HUEY LONG AND THE U.S. CAPITOL
Share the Wealth
Go here for more about
Huey P. Long.
Go here for more about
Huey Long's Share the Wealth program.
It follows the full text transcript of
the Congressional
Record entry of February 5, 1934.
For those of you who wonder, the
Congressional Record is a word for word account of the
remarks made by Senators and Representatives while they are
on the floor of the Senate (which is the Upper House of the
United States Congress) and the House of Representatives
(which is the Lower House of the United States Congress). It
is published daily when either house of Congress meets.
Back to 1934 and Huey Long.
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Mr. Long: Mr.
President, I send to the desk and ask to have
printed in the RECORD not a speech but what is
more in the nature of an appeal to the people of
America.
There being no
objection, the paper entitled
Carry Out the Command
of the Lord was ordered to be printed
in the RECORD, as follows: |
By Huey P.
Long, United States Senator
People of America: In every community get
together at once and organize a
share-our-wealth society--Motto: Every man a
king
Principles and platform:
1. To limit poverty by providing that every
deserving family shall share in the wealth
of America for not less than one third of
the average wealth, thereby to possess not
less than $5,000 free of debt.
2. To limit fortunes to such a few million
dollars as will allow the balance of the
American people to share in the wealth and
profits of the land.
3. Old-age pensions of $30 per month to
persons over 60 years of age who do not earn
as much as $1,000 per year or who possess
less than $10,000 in cash or property,
thereby to remove from the field of labor in
times of unemployment those who have
contributed their share to the public
service.
4. To limit the hours of work to such an
extent as to prevent overproduction and to
give the workers of America some share in
the recreations, conveniences, and luxuries
of life.
5. To balance agricultural production with
what can be sold and consumed according to
the laws of God, which have never failed.
6. To care for the veterans of our wars.
7. Taxation to run the Government to be
supported, first, by reducing big fortunes
from the top, thereby to improve the country
and provide employment in public works
whenever agricultural surplus is such as to
render unnecessary, in whole or in part, any
particular crop.
Simple and Concrete--Not an Experiment
To share our wealth by providing for every
deserving family to have one third of the
average wealth would mean that, at the
worst, such a family could have a fairly
comfortable home, an automobile, and a
radio, with other reasonable home
conveniences, and a place to educate their
children. Through sharing the work, that is,
by limiting the hours of toil so that all
would share in what is made and produced in
the land, every family would have enough
coming in every year to feed, clothe, and
provide a fair share of the luxuries of life
to its members. Such is the result to a
family, at the worst.
From the worst to the best there would be no
limit to opportunity. One might become a
millionaire or more. There would be a chance
for talent to make a man big, because enough
would be floating in the land to give brains
its chance to be used. As it is, no matter
how smart a man may be, everything is tied
up in so few hands that no amount of energy
or talent has a chance to gain any of it.
Would it break up big concerns? No. It would
simply mean that, instead of one man getting
all the one concern made, that there might
be 1,000 or 10,000 persons sharing in such
excess fortune, any one of whom, or all of
whom, might be millionaires and over.
I ask somebody in every city, town, village,
and farm community of America to take this
as my personal request to call a meeting of
as many neighbors and friends as will come
to it to start a share-our-wealth society.
Elect a president and a secretary and charge
no dues. The meeting can be held at a
courthouse, in some town hall or public
building, or in the home of someone.
It does not matter how many will come to the
first meeting. Get a society organized, if
it has only two members. Then let us get to
work quick, quick, quick to put an end by
law to people starving and going naked in
this land of too much to eat and too much to
wear. The case is all with us. It is the
word and work of the Lord. The Gideons had
but two men when they organized. Three
tailors of Tooley Street drew the Magna
Carta of England. The Lord says: "For where
two or three are gathered together in My
name, there am I in the midst of them."
We propose to help our people into the place
where the Lord said was their rightful own
and no more.
We have waited long enough for these
financial masters to do these things. They
have promised and promised. Now we find our
country $10 billion further in debt on
account of the depression, and big lenders
even propose to get 90 percent of that out
of the hides of the common people in the
form of a sales tax.
There is nothing wrong with the United
States. We have more food than we can eat.
We have more clothes and things out of which
to make clothes than we can wear. We have
more houses and lands than the whole 120
million can use if they all had good homes.
So what is the trouble? Nothing except that
a handful of men have everything and the
balance of the people have nothing if their
debts were paid. There should be every man a
king in this land flowing with milk and
honey instead of the lords of finance at the
top and slaves and peasants at the bottom.
Now be prepared for the slurs and snickers
of some high-ups when you start your local
spread-our-wealth society. Also when you
call your meeting be on your guard for some
smart-aleck tool of the interests to come in
and ask questions. Refer such to me for an
answer to any question, and I will send you
a copy. Spend your time getting the people
to work to save their children and to save
their homes, or to get a home for those who
have already lost their own.
To explain the title, motto, and principles
of such a society I give the full
information, viz:
Title: Share-our-wealth society is simply to
mean that God's creatures on this lovely
American continent have a right to share in
the wealth they have created in this
country. They have the right to a living,
with the conveniences and some of the
luxuries of this life, so long as there are
too many or enough for all. They have a
right to raise their children in a healthy,
wholesome atmosphere and to educate them,
rather than to face the dread of their
under-nourishment and sadness by being
denied a real life.
Motto: "Every man a king" conveys the great
plan of God and of the Declaration of
Independence, which said: "All men are
created equal." It conveys that no one man
is the lord of another, but that from the
head to the foot of every man is carried his
sovereignty.
Now to cover the principles of the
share-our-wealth society, I give them in
order:
1. To limit poverty:
We propose that a deserving family shall
share in our wealth of America at least for
one third the average. An average family is
slightly less than five persons. The number
has become less during depression. The
United States total wealth in normal times
is about $400 billion or about $15,000 to a
family. If there were fair distribution of
our things in America, our national wealth
would be three or four or five times the
$400 billion, because a free, circulating
wealth is worth many times more than wealth
congested and frozen into a few hands as is
America's wealth. But, figuring only on the
basis of wealth as valued when frozen into a
few hands, there is the average of $15,000
to the family. We say that we will limit
poverty of the deserving people. One third
of the average wealth to the family, or
$5,000, is a fair limit to the depths we
will allow any one man's family to fall.
None too poor, none too rich.
2. To limit fortunes:
The wealth of this land is tied up in a few
hands. It makes no difference how many years
the laborer has worked, nor does it make any
difference how many dreary rows the farmer
has plowed, the wealth he has created is in
the hands of manipulators. They have not
worked any more than many other people who
have nothing. Now we do not propose to hurt
these very rich persons. We simply say that
when they reach the place of millionaires
they have everything they can use and they
ought to let somebody else have something.
As it is, 0.1 of 1 percent of the bank
depositors nearly half of the money in the
banks, leaving 99.9 of bank depositors
owning the balance. Then two thirds of the
people do not even have a bank account. The
lowest estimate is that 4 percent of the
people own 85 percent of our wealth. The
people cannot ever come to light unless we
share our wealth, hence the society to do
it.
3. Old-age pensions:
Everyone has begun to realize something must
be done for our old people who work out
their lives, feed and clothe children and
are left penniless in their declining years.
They should be made to look forward to their
mature years for comfort rather than fear.
We propose that, at the age of 60, every
person should begin to draw a pension from
our Government of $30 per month, unless the
person of 60 or over has an income of over
$1,000 per year or is worth $10,000, which
is two thirds of the average wealth in
America, even figured on a basis of it being
frozen into a few hands. Such a pension
would retire from labor those persons who
keep the rising generations from finding
employment.
4. To limit the hours of work:
This applies to all industry. The longer
hours the human family can rest from work,
the more it can consume. It makes no
difference how many labor-saving devices we
may invent, just as long as we keep cutting
down the hours and sharing what those
machines produce, the better we become.
Machines can never produce too much if
everybody is allowed his share, and if it
ever got to the point that the human family
could work only 15 hours per week and still
produce enough for everybody, then praised
be the name of the Lord. Heaven would be
coming nearer to earth. All of us could
return to school a few months every year to
learn some things they have found out since
we were there: All could be gentlemen: Every
man a king.
5. To balance agricultural production with
consumption:
About the easiest of all things to do when
financial masters and market manipulators
step aside and let work the law of the Lord.
When we have a supply of anything that is
more than we can use for a year or two, just
stop planting that particular crop for a
year either in all the country or in a part
of it. Let the Government take over and
store the surplus for the next year. If
there is not something else for the farmers
to plant or some other work for them to do
to live on for the year when the crop is
banned, then let that be the year for the
public works to be done in the section where
the farmers need work. There is plenty of it
to do and taxes of the big fortunes at the
top will supply plenty of money without
hurting anybody. In time we would have the
people not struggling to raise so much when
all were well fed and clothed. Distribution
of wealth almost solves the whole problem
without further trouble.
6. To care for the veterans of our wars:
A restoration of all rights taken from them
by recent laws and further, a complete care
of any disabled veteran for any ailment, who
has no means of support.
7. Taxation:
Taxation is to be levied first at the top
for the Governments support and expenses.
Swollen fortunes should be reduced
principally through taxation. The Government
should be run through revenues it derives
after allowing persons to become well above
millionaires and no more. In this manner the
fortunes will be kept down to reasonable
size and at the same time all the works of
the Government kept on a sound basis,
without debts.
Things cannot continue as they now are.
America must take one of three choices, viz:
1. A monarchy ruled by financial masters--a
modern feudalism.
2. Communism.
3. Sharing of the wealth and income of the
land among all the people by limiting the
hours of toil and limiting the size of
fortunes.
The Lord prescribed the last form. It would
preserve all our gains, share them among our
population, guarantee a greater country and
a happy people.
The need for such share-our-wealth society
is to spread the truth among the people and
to convey their sentiment to their Members
of Congress.
Whenever such a local society has been
organized, please send me notice of the
same, so that I may send statistics and data
which such local society can give out in
their community, either through word of
mouth in meetings, by circulars, or, when
possible, in local newspapers.
Please understand that the Wall Street
controlled public press will give you as
little mention as possible and will condemn
and ridicule your efforts. Such makes
necessary the organizations to share the
wealth of this land among the people, which
the financial masters are determined they
will not allow to be done. Where possible, I
hope those organizing a society in one
community will get in touch with their
friends in other communities and get them to
organize societies in them. Anyone can have
copies of this article reprinted in circular
form to distribute wherever they may desire,
or, if they want me to have them printed for
them, I can do so and mail them to any
address for 60 cents per hundred or $4 per
thousand copies.
I introduced in Congress and supported other
measures to bring about the sharing of our
wealth when I first reached the United
States Senate in January 1932. The main
efforts to that effect polled about six
votes in the Senate at first. Last spring my
plan polled the votes of nearly twenty
United States Senators, becoming dangerous
in proportions to the financial lords. Since
then I have been abused in the newspapers
and over the radio for everything under the
sun. Now that I am pressing this program,
the lies and abuse in the big newspapers and
over the radio are a matter of daily
occurrence. It will all become greater with
this effort. Expect that. Meantime go ahead
with the work to organize a share-our-wealth
society.
Sincerely,
Huey P. Long,
United States Senator.
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To: Huey P. Long,
United States Senator,
Washington, D. C.:
This is to inform you that a
share-our-wealth society has
been organized here with ____
members. Address and officers
are as follows:
Post office
__________State__________
Street address__________________
President _____________________
Secretary ______________________
I will go to people who know me
and who personally know of the
work I have done for the money
that it will take for the
expenses I will have to bear in
this work, because, if any such
thing as dues were collected
from members for such expenses,
the thieves of Wall Street and
their newspapers and radio liars
would immediately say that I had
a scheme to get money.
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