How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Citizen Cane.
Quote #1
KANE SENIOR: You're going to be rich. Your Ma figures—that is—she and I have decided that this isn't the place for you to grow up in.
When Charles Kane is just a young boy, his mother sends him away from home so he can be properly educated and kept away from his sometimes-abusive father. Now that they have money, Mrs. Kane wants to make sure that Charles doesn't grow up with his rude and dirty father as a role model. She wants him to act like a proper rich person, which actually ends up causing most of his problems later on.
Quote #2
LELAND: You talk about giving them their rights as though you could make a present of liberty. Remember the working man? You used to defend him quite a good deal.
From the very beginning, Leland has been critical of Kane because he knows the guy's ego might get in the way of his crusade to help the working men of America. Over time, Kane's ego gets bigger and his actually concern for poor people shrinks. And as much as Leland hates to say, "I told you so," he can't help himself in this scene.
Quote #3
LELAND: Well, he's turning into something called organized labor and you don't like that at all. And listen, when your precious underprivileged really get together—that's going to add up to something bigger than—than your privilege.
Leland knows that Charles Kane doesn't like the organized labor movement in America because it will allow working people to take control of their own rights instead of waiting for Kane to give these rights as a gift to them. Kane wants to be loved as a savior, but the working people are going to cut him out entirely.