Their unanimous complaint was against the corporations and trusts.

Their creed was, "Bust the Trusts." All oppression originated in the trusts, and one and all told the same tale of woe.
They advocated government ownership of such trusts as the railroads and telegraphs, and excessive income taxes, graduated with ferocity, to destroy large accumulations.

Likewise they advocated, as a cure for local ills, municipal ownership of such public utilities as water, gas, telephones, and street railways.
Especially interesting was Mr.Asmunsen's narrative of his tribulations as a quarry owner.

He confessed that he never made any profits out of his quarry, and this, in spite of the enormous volume of business that had been caused by the destruction of San Francisco by the big earthquake.

For six years the rebuilding of San Francisco had been going on, and his business had quadrupled and octupled, and yet he was no better off.
"The railroad knows my business just a little bit better than I do," he said.