Source: owsnews.org

(Collected by Bill Schechter of Brookline MA.)

“The only thing new in the world is the history you do not know.”
-- Harry Truman

******

“There are ninety and nine who live and die
In want hunger and cold
That one may live in luxury
And be wrapped in a silken fold
The ninety and nine in hovels bare
The one in a palace with riches rare
And the one owns cities and houses and lands
And the ninety and nine have empty hands.”

-- Farmers Alliance, 1889

“1. My country, ’tis of Thee,

Land of lost Liberty,
?Of Thee we sing.?
Land which the Millionaires,?
Who govern our affairs,?
Own for themselves and heirs, ?
Hail, to thy King.

2. Land once of noble braves,?
But now of wretched slaves,?
Alas! Too late! ?We saw sweet Freedom die,?
From letting bribers, high,?
Our unpriced suffrage buy, ?
And mourn thy fate.

3. Land where the wealthy few
?Their royal will, ?And tax for selfish greed?
The toilers till they bleed;?
And those, not yet weak-kneed,?
Crush down and kill.

4. Land where a rogue is raised
On high, and loudly praised
For worst of crimes;
Of which the end must be
A hell of cruelty, ?
As proved by history ?
Of ancient times.

5. My country, ’tis of Thee,?

Betrayed by bribery,?
Of Thee we sing.?
We might have saved Thee long?
Had we, when proud and strong,?
Put down the cursed wrong?
That makes a king.

-- From the Great Depression of the 1890s

1 response to The Grandparents of the 99% 
By Richard Montague

Once we were slaves, we were chattels,
When we were owned body and soul;
We worked for our master, the Landlord
And there was no doubting our role.

For the Landlord took all that we planted -
Just left what would keep us alive;
He was rich, we were poor but the priest said
When we died we’d in heaven survive!

Then the middle class banished the Landlord.
They said they were setting us free,
And we helped them enthrone their new system -
And we cried Liberty! Liberty!

Now we’re free men who work for our wages
- which just keeps us body and soul,
Except when the boss doesn’t need us
When we’re then thrown onto the dole!

Now I’m thinking the Boss and the Landlord
Are the twins of a terrible whore!
And the practice of keeping the wasters
Is what keeps us permanently poor!


And I’m thinking it’s time we replaced them,
Took the earth for ourselves tp produce
All the things that we need to sustain us
In a world of production for use.

In a world without wages and money;
In a world without violence and greed;
Where each did their stint and collected
Their each individual need!