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The Commoner,
- yOLUME 6 NUMBER 16
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SENATOR LaFOLLETTE Bpoko In behalf of
railroad rate legislation in tlio senate. Tho
Wisconsin .senator was not given close attention
by the senate as a whole. Indeed, newspaper
dispatches say that some of tho senators de
liberately vacated their, seats. But tho public
generally paid considerable attention to the La
Folletto speech. Senator LaFolletto contended
that congress has tho authority to control trans
portation both as to tho character of the serv
ice and the charges. He said the obligation
rests upon tho government to exercise that power.
He said that the opponents to rate legislation
pretending to be fearful of an unconstitutional
measure really . desired provisions that would
provido delay and thus defeat justice. He de
clared that he would support the Bailey amend
ment, and then urged the importance of fur
ther amending the bill. He suggested that it
should be provided that the interstate com:
merce commission ascertain the value of the
railroad property of the United States in order
to give the commission a basis upon which to
fix reasonable compensation for the transporta
tion of freight and passengers. He said that
the railroads of the country were capitalized at
more than thirteen billion dollars, while the ac
tual investment does not greatly exceed five
billion dollars. He said that more than seven
billion dollars of water had been injected into
railroad securities, that this was a fraud and a
swindle upon the people, and that the govern
ment was under no obligation to recognize the
fixed value. He said that the railroads collect
more than $4,000,000 annually in over-charges
for the purpose of paying interest and dividends
upon this fictitious capital.
T N CONCLUDING HIS SPEECH Mr. LaFolletto
JL gaye to his colleagues this startling reminder:
"It does not lie in the power of any or all of
the magazines of the country or of the press
great as it is to destroy, without justification,
the confidence of tlie people in the American
congress. Neither can any one man on earth,
whatever his position or power, alter the settled
convictions of the intelligent citizenship of this
country when it is grounded on fact and ex
perience. It rests solely with the United States
senate to fix and maintain its own reputation
for fidelity to public trust. It will be judged
by the record. It cannot repose in security upon
its exalted position and the glorious heritages
of its traditions. It is worse than folly to feel,
or to profess to feel, indifference with respect
to public judgment. If public confidence is
wanting in the congress it is not of hasty growth,
it s not the product of 'jaundiced journalism.'
It is the result of years of disappointment and
defeat. It is the outgrowth of a quarter of a
century of keen, discriminating study of public
questions, public records and the lives of public
men. Our responsibility is great, our duty is
"x
OAMUEL GOMPERS, president of the Ameri
nd vaii J6"011 f Labor, has written a let
th ?i?reis!dent Roosevelt citing violations by
the federal government of the elght-hour law
lomSr7foUSn,ag Mr- RSevelt ieSd Mr.
WnSSinSi - Paa'e sucl1 a statement. The
Washington correspondent for the New York
Wrin J", le,tter Mp- mp potato
nr w? i w ,110 slnglG instce has a violation
SLf n?ig,ht'llUr lnw evor been rectified by the
head of a government department. He refers
the ProdCt to a mass of correspondence be
betwecself, and the president wd the sec
retarlcof war and the treasury regarding viola
tion or the law in 1903 by contractors in con
structing a dam in the Ohio river in worldng
their men ten hours a day. He says ho reported
this violation to the president in a letter which
was acknowledged by Secretary Loeb, but it waq
eight months before ho received a renlv Amnn I
tho violations of law cited hi tL n7, Amons
The Penn Bridge commiv L?n ?Tpera are:
mout work in the Norfn S ' doIng goveni:
tors at ihe Chnrfeston q n V yard; COnW
tractors erecting bXhU .A navy yard; con"
yard; firemen at Mnig! ? ?aguo Island navy
tractors Sv 1? Wd; con-
l land, Ga.: cnZ'" 0 Tybee
' aw wotk ois, navy dock
buildings at Algiers, La.; work on the Celilo
canal; tho Aetna Construction company, working
on dam No. 11, near Wellsville, O.; engineers'
department in Louisville and Portland Canal
company and firemen at the government hospital
for tho insane. President Gompers received a
letter from the president's secretary today saying
the list had been referred to Commissioner of
Labor Neill with a request for a full report."
LUTHER BURBANK has written for-the May
Century an interesting article entitled "The
Training of the Human Plant." In this article
Mr. Burbank says: "I should not only have the
child reared for the first ten years of its life
in the open, in close touch with nature, a bare
foot boy with air that implies for physical stamina,
but should have him reared in love. Love must
bo at the basis of all our work for the race;
not gush, not mere sentimentality, but abiding
love, that which outlasts death. A man who
hates plants, or is neglectful of them, or who has
other interests beyond them, could no moce be
a successful plant cultivator than he could turn
back the tides of the ocean with his finger tips.
The thing is utterly impossible. You can never
bring up a child to its best estate without love.
God made religion, and man made theology, just
as God made the country and man made the
town. I have the largest sympathy for religion,
and the largest contempt I am capable of for a
misleading theology. Give tho child nature. Let
their souls drink in all that is pure and sweet.
Rear them, if possible, amid pleasant surround
ings. If they come into the world with souls
groping in darkness let them see and feel the
light."
UNCLE SAM is not always prompt in the pay
ment of his debts. Of course he is sure,
but sometimes he is provoldngly "slow."1 The
Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal says: "Some
foreign countries have become rather impatient
at the delay of congress in providing thje, money
to. pay claims admitted to be due. So the other
day the house committee on claims, at the urgent
instance of the state department, authorized a
bill to be reported to pay some of these ,old
debts. Some of the claims grew out of a joint
protectorate which we undertook over gfamoa
in 1889 with Great Britain and Germany. We
did not get much honor or profit out of this ad
venture, but we were liable for a share of the
expenses and for certain damages incurred. There
is also a claim of $6,000 for damages to a
British vessel in Manila harbor in 1900. The
Great Northwestern Telegraph company of Can
ada has a claim of more than $9,00,000 for the
fouling of its cable by a United States ship.
Germany has a claim of $20,000 under a decision
rendered by the king of Sweden, and there are
other claims of a similar character. It appears
that these fclaims are admitted to be due, and
payable, but congress has neglected to appro
priate the money." To this the Houston (Texas)
Post adds that there are a large number of
claims involving millions of dollars due the
states and American citizens which ought to be
investigated. The Post says: "Many of these
claims grow out of the Civil war, for private
property seized by the government; some of them
p?if iff? t0 thG earIiest days of thQ republic.
But they are none the less just because con!
m !'? negltcted them- would be distinctly
ci editable to tho government If congress should
appoint a committee of senators and represen-
eATest0 ?? lnt0 aU Pending claims, and
settlo those that are just without further delay."
T INR A EC?NT ORDER Secretary Shaw
VU proposed to place at the disposal of national
banks desiring to import gold equivalent de
posits of government funds upon the deposit
not of government bonds but of bonds aufi
zed as security for savings banks. Common?
aysThrfr thQ NewSVorCkOIWoernid
says. ihis Is practically a ft of i-nforocf
gold in transit to the importing banks Z
Secretary Shaw came to the relief of Wall S
three years ago by authorizing the use of slS
collateral against special government deposits
both the legality and the expediency of K
Tvere sharply challenged. Later an attempt wa
made to secure from congress authority to dis
regard the law covering government deposits.
I is a singular circumstance that when Secre
tary Shaw indulges in these departures from
the fixed practice of his department the. Na
tional City bank is the chief beneficiary. Of
the $12,000,000 in gold now engaged for import
$10,000,000 is destined to that one bank. His
first order placed a limit of $5,000,000 upon these
special deposits. Friday he removed the limit
and the National City bank ordered a second
$5,000,000 shipment."
NEWSPAPERS AND policyholders generally
are now calling upon District Attorney
Jerome to proceed against men charged with the
appropriation of insurance funds for the use and
benefit of the republican party. It will be re
membered that Mr. Jerome held that the taking
of these insurance funds for political purposes
did not constitute larceny. Judge O'Sullivan
held to the contrary, saying that they ought to
come under the head of larceny, and that the
question of "intent" is to be left to the jury.
Jerome caused a bench warrant to be issued
for George W. Perkins, and the attorneys for
Perkins applied to Judge Greenbaum of the
superior court for a writ of habeas corpus.
Judge Greenbaunx. sustained Judge O'Sullivan's
opinion, and now there is no longer excuse for
Mr. Jerome to delay in the prosecution of
Perkins, and not only Perkins, but the several
other more or less distinguished men who had to
do with the absorption by the republican national
committee of money belonging to the policy
holders. SOME OF THE eastern newspapers are crit
icising Mr. Roosevelt because he denounced
Judge Humphrey's decision in the beef trust case
as a miscarriage of justice." The New York
World appears to be particularly aggrieved.
Referring to Mr. Hoosevelt the World says:. -'"He
represents the executive department of the
federal government, and it is even more im
proper for him to criticise, a court decision than
it would be for the courts to denounce his con
duct in the discharge of his constitutional duties.
Moreover, he has the power to nominate judges.
When he criticises a decision does this not serve
as a notice to other judges that if they refuse to
construe the law In accordance with-the presi
dents wishes they need not hope for promotion?
We do not assume that Mr. Roosevelt ever in
tended that such an inference should be drawn
from his message. It merely shows that reckless
ness and carelessness with .which he criticises
everybody and everything that crosses his path."
OINCE THE GREAT earthquake of April' 18,
trW v,01800 has been visited by other earth
tremors. These were severe enough to tonnle
houses "G WoaniS f niinS and d the ffi
w ? nr e woman waa killed by a falling
numbGrMhnPePJf haVe left 0an Francisco SI
number being estimated at 60,000. They were
offered free transportation by the railroad com
panies and along the route wherever the traTn
s topped at meal time they were fed by sympa
thetie countrymen. The relief work is being sys
temized and the local committee, aided by the
Segan?XeHCGifet.fd the war pament, il
oigamzmg relief measures on a svstemnHo imata
SdyWavan,?V rebYlltUns Safmnctote
evervww It m Deop,e o San Francisco are
itzzz as rata
O AN FRANCISCO -will be rebuilt and will,
i w'l , ar as architecture is concerned
taSfe f?al5r tVmp,OVOd- ft omenTthe
josses sustained in the recent earthquake are
rreparable. Referring to this point a Triter in
was iWfiP0SiB M whicfc San Francisco
was distinctly rich, of which the loss will be frre
Parable. Such cherished historical Sagffite oi
old Spanish and Mexican toyajfSSlS
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