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to the time when they shall onjoy all the rights
and privileges of citizenship In the states. It
must ho remembered, too, that the Inhabitants of
tho District of Columbia, and of all the territories
that lie beU'een the Atlantic and Pacific, onjoy all
tho guarantees of tho constitution. Thoy are also
under tho operation of the same general laws as
the people of the states. Tho more tho Intor
Ocoan discusses this question, tho moro apparent
wih becorao tho fact that tho republican party in
its Philippine policy is not only dofying tho prin
ciples of self-government, but criticising a condi
tion in the south which from every standpoint ot
government is infinitely superior to the condition
of a. colony. If tho Inter-Ocean will publish this
editcrlal and answer it, The Commoner will bo
glad to reproduce the answer for tho boneflt of
the nadcrs of this paper.
JJJ
The Republican Bargain Counter.
In his admirable speech delivered before tho
Nebraska democratic state convention, Mayor
Reod of Kansas City recalled a Lincoln story,
which ho said that republican managers of today
:must have heard. Farmer Jones owned a breechy
mulo. Ono day he started with his son Jonn to
look for tho mulo along tho creek bottom.' Jones,
being a sagacious individual, gave this advico:
"John, you take tho right side v.hilo I will take the
left, for from what I know of tlie hablte of that
mule he is liable to be on both sides of the creek
at tho same -time."
This story aptly fits the habits of tho repub
lican party of today and Mr. Reed's points on this
, line, .wero so striking that, they deserve wide pub
lication. Mr, Reed said:
"The republican party 'may once have been an
Drganization of fixed principles and settled poli
cies. Today it is a compassless, rudderless, chart
less craft drifting before expediencies' shifting
breeze. The crew were statesmen who sought to
steer their course by patriotism's shining star,
whjle now commercial pirates man her yards and
weight her to the very water's edge. Tho spec
tacularistlc swashbuckler now struts her decks,
grashes his teeth and waves his gleaming sword
and swears that ho will swsep freebooters from
the commercial seas; the while ho knows wero
, one to heave in sight, his crow would mutiny and
wolcomo them as friends. What wonder then that
the old republican party has become an organized
paradox; a collection of contraries; an inter
mingling of opposites; a concatenation of im
possibles; a sort of intellectual bargain counter
where every opinion, creed, profession, policy or
promise is gladly Bwapped for votes. (You will
observe I began my simile as a vessel and ended
with a bargain -counter. Tho metaphor I own is
mixed. It has to bo to properly describe tho re
publican party.)
"Let us examine this republican bargain coun
ter. Side by side on tho same table, each in tho
, original package, carefully wrapped in tho Ameri
can flag, and marked down to tho same common
price we find tho statements:
(1) "Tho tariff built up our great manufac
turing and commercial industries."
(2) "Tho tariff has absolutely nothing, to do
with tho creation of trusts."
(1) "All monopolies are destructive of lib
erty and must bp destroyed."
C2) "There are good trusts and bad trusts
and we must be very careful not to injure any
good trust."
(1) "Tho creators of monopolies are public
enemies."
. (2) "The captains of industry' have done
much for our beloved county."
(1) "Wo will destroy all these commercial
conspiracies."
(2) "The present industrial system has como
to stay." '
The Commoner.
. .'
(1) "Wo, now have an absolutely sound and
abundant currency.""
(2) "We must at onco rass remedial financial
legislation."
(1) "A silver dollar bearing tho stamp of
tho United States government is an abomination
to the Lord."
(2) "But rag money based upon the fluctuat
ing and uncertain assets of a ban!: is tho delight
of Wall street"
("This may not be a contradiction for it Is
entirely possible that a thing which would not find
favor in, the eyes of the Lord might be extremely
popular in the homo of the bulls and the bears.")
(1) ."A war of conquest is not to be thought
of, for that would be criminal aggression."
(2) "A war of conquest is a holy crusade. Any-
. how the Lord got us into the scrape."
(1) "Wo will free Cuba which, lies at our
door and is tho fortress of the gulf." .'
(2) "We' will conquer and fortify 'islands
eight thousand miles away to strengthen our coast
defenses."
(1) "We believe in the doctrine of religious
liberty." - ' .,.- A.;,
(2) "The sword and the Bible go together."
(1) "Where the flag once goes up it can never
be. hauled down." . -
(2) "This does not apply in Cuba or "China."
(1) "We must extend our commerce."
(2) "We will maintain a tariff embargo
against commerce."
(1) "Trade with the mongrel' races of Cuba
is very desirable." " .
(2) "Trade with the English-speaking white
people of Canada is not to be' thought of."
On this point Mr. Reed " concluded,: "These
positions' may seem slightly contradictory,, but
they are, however, very simple to one' who thor
oughly understands the republican philosophy of
geographical ethics, and migratory morals". In
tho meantime' do not complriln, f - "-captains of in
dustry are doing well and are content, Dewey-like,
if an occasional Spaniard leaps upon the battle
ments, swears a few fierce oaths and shakes -his
impotent sword, if meanwhile their ships may
safely enter and silence the opposing forces;"
Beveridge as a Prophet.
Senator Lodge says that Se'nator' Beveridge of
Indiana would make an "ideal running mate" for
Mr. Roosevelt. Writing to the Chicago Chronicle,
W. A. Croffut of Washington says that he heartily
agrees with Senator Lodge because, as Mr. Croffut
says, "we ought to have a vk j president who is
both a statesman and a prophet" For obvious
reasons Mr.- Croffut does not deem it necessary to
spqak of Mr. Beveridge as a statesman; but tho
public may have forgotten about his ability as a
prophet, and so Mr. Croffut provides a few in
teresting reminders.
Mr. Beveridge delivered his famous speecli on
the Philippines on January 9, 1900. Reviewing the
events of the Philippines, Mr. Beveridge went into
prophecy as follows:
"The men sent to administer civilized gov
ernment in tho Philippine islands must be the
highest examples of our civilization incor
ruptible as honor, stainless as purity. Such a
government will have its effect uponois here
in America. Model administration there will
be an example for model administration here.
Perfect government abroad will be a stimulus
for the best government at home."
Doubtless it has occurred to many people, just as
it does to Mr. Croffut, that Mr. Beveridge's bold
prophecy has been fulfilled. Bi tMr. Croffut states
tho manner of fulfillment in such a captivating
way that it deserves wide publicity and in its '
form cannot bo improved upon. Mr. Croffut says:
"The purity of the American administration in
tho Philippines is reflected in the most startling
manner in tho municipal governments of Phila
delphia, St. Louis and Minneapolis. The sales of
V.
.VOLUME 3, NUMBER
rlceto prisoners of war af B0n ,.
IB counterpart on the banks o tZ
the sales of office at a profit of-'m0re thtTa
cent. So astonishing and fascinating I J
the display made by 'the highest exampl !!"
c ivilizationMn Manila that a boy within a ston J
throw of tho White house has, borne awav ,,!
the back of his rd devil something nko ZmT
nging to the people of the District Sfi
Water torture in tho Philippines does not seej t
bear transplantation, but the knock-down mft
and blackmail inoculation hav. been success
substituted for them and continue to thrive in all
parte of the country. The success of Senator Bev,
eridge s predictions, dimly adumbrated by the per
iormances of Neely and Rathbono in Cuba, shows
that his Hps have been touched with true nro
Photic fire and marks him not only as the com!
ing man, but as the come, man, who has heea
waited for with much anxiety and wno will per,
form the Aaron act for tho rough rider of San
JJJ .
The "Patient" Prescribes.
The New York Tribune in a recent issue had
an editorial entitled "As To the Wall Street Di.
ease." The Tribune said that:
''Recently New York 'has witnessed the
most gigantic consolidation of interests and
expansion of securities in the shortest time
the. world has ever seen a thousand millions
in. one company; a hundred millions, two hun
dred millions, three hundred millions in many
companies. Sometimes they represented new
enterprises, oftener merely the conversion of '
old enterprises into securities of a- new form.
.In any case, the volume of the, securities was
.always expanded, far above actual cash in
vested; and the dance won l merrily on, to the
joy of every investor who received a dollar
and a half or more for an old? dollar, and of
every banker who received his;, princely com
mission on the huge reissue." . '..
Then, referring to the "sudden halt" that
came upon these proceedings, the Tribune said
that in a burst of candor one man explains that
the market is staggering under a load of undi
gested securities and that another with perhaps
almost as much truth, replies that it is stagger
ing under Indigestible securities. Tho Tribune
added that "in any case everybody admits that
because of the greed to profit by the amazing tem
per of the times, the digestion of Wall street has
been enormously overtaxed." The Tribune adds:
"Naturally the "patient doesn't like it and com
plains; but he will get well sooner if he doesn't
try to shut his eyes to the fact that his own greed
in attempting to eat too big a meal in too short a
time is th cause of his indigestion."
Of course "patients" seldom like the medicine
prescribed by the physician; and good physicians
seldom permit tho patient to say just what medi
cine shall be prescribed for him. But the New
York Tribune, as well as other republican papers,
admitting that we are afflicted with "a Wall Street
disease" insist that the "patient"' shall be per
mitted to designate the remedy, that shall be pre
scribed for the ailment.
Just as the Tribune says,' naturally the Wall
street "patient" doesn't, like the .dbease and nat
urally the Wall street patient- complains. But
unlike other patients, who hope to get well, the
Wall street "patient" insists upon making his own
prescription; and unlike other, ppoplo who stand
in the presence of contagious or infectious dis
eases and who insist that they have a right to pro
tect themselves, the editor of the Tribune and
other republican leaders, while 'readily recogniz
ing the seriousness of the disease, insist that the
"patient" shall be permitted -toi write the pre
scription regardless of the rights of others and
regardless, also, of tho well established rule that
a sick, man is a very poor doctopor himself and
is not really in a situation to protect the public
health.