the Commoner
. 'OLUME 3, NUMBER K
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v ties but future power to extort through tho power
of monopoly. Tho producing masses are regarded
as legitimate objects of prey, and gigantic cor
porations are created for the purpose of robbing
those who toil. Whether in peace or In war, those
who 'earn their living by labor on the farm and
In tho shop, are the nation's reliance. Why
should these, the bono andsinew of every land,
be despoiled by the speculators who reap a rich
harvest 4n times of peace and shirk every national
duty In time of trouble?
Tho republican party stands today for plutoc
racy and all that plutocracy desires. Its policies
give prominence to the dollar and leave man In
the background. It ought not to require a slump
In stocks or a fall in prices or a run on the banks
to open tho eyes of the people to what is going
on, but if any object lesson is necessary It is fur
nished by present conditions.
Wo havo been passing through a period of
bountiful harvests, a period during which tho
people, recovering from -a prolonged depression,
havo been making up for lost time. Production
0 and consumption have been abnormal, but there
aro evidences that we have passed the high water
mark and aro on the down grade. Employers are
organizing to resist the claims of employes; cor
porations aro meeting the demand for shorter
hours and better wages vith threats of a reduc
tion in tho number of men employed. The steel
trust cuts a dividend on common stock in two,
and announces that the orders on hand are less
than this time last year. Some of the banks and
trust companies have not boon able to get new
securities as rapidly as old securities have fallen
in value. All indicate that the cry of "prosperity"
will bo uttered with less and less emphasis by tho
republican party.
J Senator Hanna, in his anxiety to bo re-elected,
threatened that a reduction of the republican ma
jority" would result in the closing of many indus
tries. Upon what foundation Is republican pros
perity based, if it can be shaken by an election
in one state? The fact Is that Senator Hanna
knows that, regardless of the result in any one
state, the prosperity argument upon which his
party has relied, must sooner or later come to an
end, and when it comes to an end, the republican
party will have to meet the issues which its
riot in power has brought before the American
people. It has not attempted to defend Imperial
Ism;" it has answered every argument against im
perialism with the cry of "Prosperity 1" It has
not attempted to justify a high tariff; it has an
swered the arguments against tariff schedules by
the cry of "Prosperity!" It has not even attempted
to, defend tho gold standard; it has simply claimed
that prosperity has justified tho gold standard.
And Its only argument on the trust question 'is
that we cannot deal harshly with the trusts' with
out jeopardizing prosperity. '-J '' '
Tho slump In stocks is an indication that
the trusts have overestimated" their power- to
squeeze the people, and that the squeezing process
must therefore bo applied to tho stocks.
., .Will the republican leaders take warning and
address themselves to remedial1 legislation,' or will
they blindly refuse to protect the public? There
.is already evidence that they have been fright
ened away from the asset currency. They may
. not even dare to make a beginning by providing
for. an emergency asset currency, but It is not
jrufflclent to refrain from further bad legislation.
' What we need now is good legislation, and tho
Kansas City platform points the way.
The Western Land Scandal.
v During the campaign of 1900, Mr. Hanna went
over tho country pleading with the people to "let
weil enough alone." Thousands of men rejected
.all appeals that they give intelligent considera
tion to the policies and principles for which the
"contending political parties stoou; and under the
. mistaken notion that they knew the situatloncr
that Mr. Hanna and his associate were inthe.
least inclined to tell them tho truth, they fol
lowed the "let well enough alone" banner.
Recently the eyes of many of these men must
havo been opened.
The American people now -know that at-the
very time when Mr. Hanna was pleading to "let
well enough alone" men 'high in the councils "of
tho republican party were engaged in corrupting
tho public service and in carrying out dishonest
schemes.
Men know now what they did not know In
1900, that the entire federal service is honey
combed with fraud and corruption.
Conspicuous republicans undertook to pre
vent the revelations with respect to the fraud
in the postofflce department, and even the . re
publican postmaster general, when asked" by a
newspaper reporter what he had to say with "re
spect to the charges of corruption, replied: "Say
that the postmaster general just laughed."
Men know now that aside from all the dis
honesty revealed in connection with tho large
number of republican officials now under Indict
ment, many conspicuous republican politicians
were permitted to escape indictment and punish
ment by the operation of the statute of limitations.
Among these was no less a personage than tho
secretary of the republican national committee.
It cannot have escaped the observation of thought
ful men that aside from Mr. Bristow, the fourth
assistant postmaster general, and perhaps 'one- or
two other associates, there ha'- not "be'en" dis
played that determination in the investigation 'and
prosecution of fraud and corruption in the 'fed
eral service that is warranted and,, indeed, w re--
quired by the revelations already made. "
' .' '-
, Little by little the truth is coming out. The
Chicago Record-Herald, in its,, issue, of October. 2,
printed a dispatch from its Washington correspon
dent in which is charged: "tremendous scope and
ramifications of the fraud in western land;"" and
that "the postqfiice scandal is a trifle, compared
with the scheme to grab 60,175,765 acres." under
date of October 23, tue Record-Herald's Washing
ton correspondent said that "according . p he
admissions of the officials of the department rof
tho interior made for the first time today, the in
vestigation of the public land scandal nowjgping
on In the states of the Pacific coast invoice the
most tremendous of all government 'grafts' and
cause the 'hot air' affair in the postofflce depart
ment to pale into insignificance."
The Record-Herald dispatch relating to this
' subject'Ts printed in full in another column 'and
jthe- thoughtful attention of the readers $thV
Commoner is invited thereto. 'a'!fil
-'.-- JJJ ... i"- if
"Honor," Indeed. Vv'?'
Congressman HItt, chairman of the public, ser
vice commiffee on foreign affairs, in an Interview
with tho Washington correspondent for the .Chi
cago Record-Herald, indorses . Mr. - Hooseveltfs
prompt recognition of the Panama government.
Mr. HItt says that the action of the United (States
at Panama was strictly correct .rt
The Record-Herald correspondent pu.ihla
question, to Mr. HItt: "But, what if in 1860 En?
gland had sent a fleet Into Charleston harbor, afl
notified the United States government that -It
would not be permitted to assemble forces there
to put down the rebellion?" .,., lfVv;:
Mr. Hitt replied: "Ah, you forget that En
gland had no treaty, not only giving her -the aright
to maintain the peace in Charleston, but requir
ing her to do so whether she wantca to or-not
That was the case at Panama. The Untced States
had a duty to perform to which it had pledged its
honor. It is only discharging that duty now."
. Mr. Hitt misinterprets a very important iparfc of
the treaty between the United States and Co-
'I'omMi. Th0r vnn T,ti-, .. .
. ..-w nuo uAttci protest in the LTn!f 4
States when England recognized the beUil
of the southern states; and yet there are SJ,P?
men today who justify England's course on thai
occasion:- If, however, England had been und '
treaty agreement with this government and J I
emnly pledged to protect the scvereienty of the
Union, those who at this time seek to justify
England's course would have small ground to
stand upon.
. Mr. Hitt forgets that our treaty agreement
with Colombia was'riot simply to "maintain the
peace." We solemnly promised, to protect and de
fend Colombia's sovereignty in Panama and we
have deliberately and wantonly violated that
pledge. Under the terms of the treaty of 181$
the United States Jlid haye a duty to perform!
Their honor, it' Is true, was pledged. They have
ignored tne duty. They have repudiated the sol
emn pledge they.made; and It is with bad grace,
indeed, that those who justify Mr. Roosevelt'3
course on the ground of expediency refer to the
"honor" of this 'government in connection with
the Panama affair.
A Precocious Infant.
An American steel rail firm has agreed to de
liver 20,000 tons of sfeel rails at Beirut, Turkey,
for $22.88 per ton, freight paid. This is less than
the steel rail makers charge home consumers, and
the home consumers pay the freight. Ine inlant3
seem to think they are too big to be thrown oyec
the transom. '',,
JJJ
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