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… is from a July 1908 entry into his Autobiography by Mark Twain [2]; the “it” to which Twain here refers is the U.S. presidency, which Twain feared – more than a century ago! – had gathered unto itself powers so excessive that it was a virtual monarchy (original emphasis):
By a system of extraordinary tariffs it has created a number of giant corporations, in the interest of a few rich men, and by most ingenious and persuasive reasoning has convinced the multitudinous and grateful unrich that the tariffs were instituted in their interest!