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The Commoner.
Vol. Z.vit. 44.
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IN A NUTSHELL
The Shameless Way Uncle Sam
Is Worked by the Railways
It will bo surprising to President
iioosovelt's warm admirers, if, before
his administration is over, ho does not
get around to cdrrect the gross abuses
of tho railway mail service. Although
the scandalous pvorcharges tho rail
ways are pormitted to make for car
rying the mails are notorious and
many attempts have boon mado by
reformers outside tho department to
correct tho abuses, nothing has so far
boon ablo to shako thom. ' Postmaster
Gonoral Wilson is the only postmaster
gonoral who ever concerned himself
enough about tho matter to ondeavor
to secure honest weighing of the
mails. Ho caught ono railway com
pany in tho act of padding tho mails,
and tho manager, of tho company can
didly confessed thaf ho crowded free
postage matter into tho mails during
the quadriennial weighing period in
"orjder to got as largo a weight-basis
for calculation of payment as possi
ble. The weight of mail matter per
day ascertained by this weighing is
made the basis of payment, In accord
ance with certain established rules.
Routes carrying mail . tho whole
length receive from $50 por annum per
milo for, 200 pounds of matter daily to
$200 por milo per annum for 6,000
pounds daily. On tho Pennsylvania
and Now xork Central systems this
works out to 9 cents per ton per mile,
as compared with 3-10th of a cent per
ton-mile paid for somo freight
But this is not all the railways got
for carrying mails, and padding tho
weights is a venial offense compared
with tho way tho government is
mulcted by its own act for tho use of
railway mail cars. These cars are all
ownod by tho railways and tho gov
ernment pays for their rent as well as
for transportation of tho mails. This
Tent is paid at tho following rates:
uO-foot car, $25 per mile por annum;
45-foot car, $30 per milo per annum;
60-foot car, $40 per mile nor annum;
65 to 60-tfoot, $50 per milo per annum.
Under these. rates, for which, by
.the way, congress is responsible,. $3,
xv,u,916.70 was paid for the uso'of 622
regular cars and 164 in reserve; If the
reserve cars are used half tho time It
costs tho government $5,000 a year for
each car, which is all it costs to build
one. Tho car will last at least twenty
years, and extract from the govern
ment $100,000.
It now costs the government about
$47,000,oy0 a year to transport the
mails by railways and steamships, in
cluding the salaries of the railway
postal clerks. It is a charge that un
der economical and careful manage
ment and somo revision by congress
of tho postal laws, might bo cut in
two. There is no excuse for a post
offlco deficit in view of this extrava
gance with tho railways. Minneap
olis Journal.
"Tariff Reform In Jersey.
The result of tho election for repre
sentative in congress from the Fifth
district of New Jersey is an indisput
able verdict on tho question of "tariff
revision" as preached by ex-President
Cleveland. Tho issue was clearly and
designedly made, and tho result must
be accepted as the deliberate opinion
of the voters of that district on this
subject.
To estimate the importance of the
verdict it is necessary to remember a
few facts. The district is a new one,
the state having been divided into con
gressional districts by the last legis
lature, the apportionment under tho
, census of 1900 having added two rep
resentatives to New Jersey's delega
tion. On the vote for governor last
year the district as constituted hai
only 1,536 republican plurality in a to
tal vote of 38,702. This was the first
time the district Voted together, and
naturally party organization was not
so "compact and efficient as in an older
district
The democrats chose this district as
their chief point of attack in New Jer
sey. Ex-President Cleveland was al
lured from his retirement and per
suaded to make a speech in favor of
the democratic candidate, and give the
democratic campaign the impulse of
hia presence and countenance. Ex
Senator Kill of New York also found
time to visit the district and speak for
tne aemocrats. Tho abundance of mon
ey in democratic hands was also an
evidence, that the sinews of war were
not wanting. All these facts prove
that the fight in the Fifth Now Jersey
district was made on national issues,
and that a democratic victory would
be hailed as a triumph for Mr. Cleve
land's "tariff reform" ideas.
But the result shows thatthe voters
could not be bought or cajoled. They
had tried "tariff reform" eight ..years
before, and had not forgotten the re
sult And they went to the polls and
elected the republican candidate, and
defeated the democratic candidate,
whom Mr. Cleveland tried to aid with
his platitudes. That Is why the result
In the Fifth New Jersey congressional
district is not "being proclaimed over
the United States as an evidence of a
revived Interest In "tariff reform" of
the Cleveland brand. Philadelphia
Press (rep.).
solute falsity of the writer's state
ments was such that a "roorbach" be
came a synonym for any kind of lie,
ospecially or the kind against per
sonal character, suddenly Issued
against a man for his injury, when
he could not moot it in time to avert
the harm. The lie of politics, the lie
started for political purposes, as the
"roorbach" most in uso tho Week be
fore election.
There is only one Way in Which de
cent men can deal with "roorbachs,"
and that is peremptorily to disbelieve
them. They should be despised as well
as disbelieved, and those who resort
to them should be regarded with aver
sion and contempt This week, so
far, has been freer from "roorbachs"
than is usual just before election. But
a large number of them are "due about
this . time," and readers should be
armed against them. The candidate
whom they are designed to injure will
be apparent when they are issued.
That candidate should suffer no harm
from them in the minds of just men.
The candidate for whose unfair ad
vantage they are designed will bo
equally apparent He should T)e dis
trusted, because of recourse to them,
by every just man.
"Roorbachs" cannot be outlawed, for
the human race has a .percentage of
the vile' who make them their Indus
try. But the purpose of "roorbachs"
can be defeated by making recourse
to them a failure. And decent men
should see to it that that is done.
tion until now ho has been cutting up
antics before high heaven which have
made the angels weep and have filled
his friends with amazement and alarm.
His first outbreaking performance was
at Monte' Carlo. In spite of all de
nials, it is true that he played reck
lessly. It was not an edifying spec
tacle, that of the president of the
United States steel corporation play
ing at the biggest gambling establish
ment in the world, where at his own
request tho "limit" had been removed.
As a lesson to the other employes of
the steel corporation and to young men
in general, it was not only demoraliz
ing, but dangerous. This was merely
the prelude to tho startling and ec
contric acts in his subsequent career.
He has thrown away his money reck
lessly, ostentatiously, and senselessly.
One report says that he is building a
house to cost two and one-half mil
lion dollars. Another credits him
with purchasing an entire summer re
sort. He has given a church to a
town which his father honored by liv
ing in it He "has bought yachts and
.automobiles and made silly displays
of regal bounty to servants, beggars,
and freaks.
Mr. Schwab's career abroad, as it Is
now almost daily reported, is not such
a commends Itself to American good
taste or educated Judgment If hs "-is
not developing symptoms of circular,
aberration, he is coming dangerously1
near to it H needs a short season
in the cooling-room and the applica
tion of compresses to his fevered b'row
until he gets well. Chicago Tribune.'
-The Verdict in Massachusetts. ,
On a total vote- nearly as largo as
that cast in the presidential election
of 1900, tho republican ticket carries
Massachusetts by a plurality of nearly
40,000. This compares with a lead ot
71,447 for Governor Crane last year, of
97,976 in 1900, and 65,100 in 1899. It
forms for the democrats "a considera
ble reduction of tho average republi
can plurality of tho past five years, but
it is not as large a reduction as tho
backers of Mr. Gaston had confident
ly expected, or as the republican man
agers were prepared to experience.
Considering the amount of money ex
pended on behalf of tho democratic
candidate and no candidacy for the
governorship in this state has ever De
fore been so lavishly supported in this
particular the result must be disap
pointing to him, and rather surprising
to others. It should be evident by this
time to the controlling spirits of the
late democratic state convention that
In, sacrificing principle for the mere
promise of a distribution of loaves and
fishes, thoy rolled in the dirt for noth
ing. Springfield Republican.
ITEMS OF INTEREST.
Tho coast of Newfoundland is in
dented by deep and narrow, bays,, back:
of which rise steep and rugged hills.
Some of' the birds, notably the blue -throat,
accomplish the whole of their
migratory journey in ono stupendous
effort j
The district of St. Etlenne, Franco,
has produced annually for the past five
years over $17,000,000 worth of rib
bons. Great Britain buys over 11,000 tons
of German toys annually, while tho
United States ranks next, with an im
portation of about 6,000 tons.
The premium of 1,000 marks offered
by Germany for tho proof of, trichin
osis from eating American pork has
stood for two years without a claim
ant Nearly all the shoes sold in, Russia
are manufactured by one firm In St
Petersburg, which .is one of the most
prosperous stock companies in the
world,
Brooklyn Eagle (Ind. dem.).
As to Roorbacks.
Over fifty years ago a writer of mon
umental but plausible lies in Thurlow
Weed's Albany Evening Journal signed
his letters "Baron Roorbach." There
was ho such baron. There was no
man named "Roorbach." But the ab-
Presldent Schwab's Capers.
It can scarcely be said of Mr. C. M.
Schwab, president of the United States
steel corporation, that "much learning
hath made him mad." He manifestly
needs the constant and serious admoni
tions of his friends and should not
take amiss the gentle and restraining
advice of those persons who are ablo
to influence him if there bo any such.
Mr. Schwab seems to belong to that
exceedingly large class of the com
munity which finds it difficult to stand
prosperity. It was once said by a
shrewd observer that "any man can
stand adversity, by heavens, because
he has to, but tho real test of char
acter is whether a man can stand pros
perity or not" And Carlylo has said:
"Adversity is sometimes hard upon a
man; but for ono man who can stand
prosperity there are a hundred that
will stand adversity." Mr. Schwab
does not seem to be able to stand the
severe test of prosperity. It has quite
undone him.
From the day Mr.. Schwab was
elected president of the .stool' corpora-
ill
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The Commoner,
Lincoln, Nebraska,
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