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The Commoner.
VOLUME 7, NUMBER 28
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churches. If thoy only know it, house
a lot of circus people who are devout
Christians and never miss an oppor
tunity to attend church sorvico.
Goodness gracious, why don't that
parado start! Horo we've been
grinding away for an hour, waiting
, to hoar the band, and It hasn't toot
ed yot. Wo can't stand this sus
pense much longer. If the parado
don't show up pretty soon we're go
ing to desert the office and go out
to meet it. Wo just can wait much
Whoop-ee! Thoro she comes!!
No more work for this little boy
today. It's wrong to make a boy
work on circus day.
Tolstoy on American Politics
Stephen Bonsai writing for the
Cincinnati Enquirer reports Tolstoy
. as -saying:
"Prosperity, prosperity! What a
shameful plea that is Which your
' Amorican platform makors address
, to tho voters. Thoy do not say,
1 'Wo will glvo you an honest, rlght-
c6us government,' but thoy say 'We'll
mako you all fat and sleo'k. If you
vote for mo you will have a doublo
I chin!' And no ouo arises to say,
I 'What will your full dinner pails
profit you if whilo gorging your bel-
I lies you lose your immortal souls?' "
, Then tho count stopped and gazed at
the photographs which adorn "his
study, speaking likenesses that woro
of Emerson, Thoreau, Channing,
Bryan, Henry George and the lato
Ernest Howard Crosby.
"Oh! I thank you for what your
country has given the world in the
lives of these men. I thank von for
what you have given us in tho past.
But in tho future I have my fears.
I see no ono to follow in their foot
steps." There were ' tears in tho
count's eyes as ho spoke of his love
and affection for these great Ameri
cans. Of Mr. Bryan's visit to the
farm he spoke with gratitude. But
for the rest of our statesmen ho made
it quite clear that they are outside
ItapoiBtolan pale.
"Tho fall of America"! " he contin-
ued. "When I see tho deserted
shrines of your forefathers I think it
will come more swiftly than camo
the fall of Rome. We of Russia
have of late been punished for our
covetous designs upon the lands and
the wealth of our neighbors, but
with what mercy and tenderness we
wore punished! I can not but think
that the great Judge knew that at
heart the Russian people were not
-rguilty of covetousness: thnf- thv
;bllnd-folded and bound, were led on
, jby the score of misguided or wicked
tmon, and so it seemed right that our
' 'punishmont should be tempered with
mercy. But you stole ' the Philip
pines, or at tho best paid another
robber to give up his claim, and your
people at the polls have time and
again sanctioned the theft. I hope
there are extenuating circumstances
that will speak for- you, but I con
fess I see none." ,
Then, with an acrobatic raontal
Jump, the count returned to the Rus-
Dizzy Spells
That dizzy spoil is an Important
nessago from tho heart a plea for
If this messaffo recoi.vos no attention
others come; Shortness o'f breath, pal-
pltatlon, weak or fainting snSiia
' smothering or choking ' ' sensat o s'
pains around tho heart. In side or
shoulders, and so on, until it receives
EWonup-sato?,.hClP' r IS ooSpollCodVtS
You may furnish this aid with
DR. MILES' HEART CURE
which cures heart diseaso in every
LJvory day wo read of suddon deaths
from heart disease, yot it Is a fact that
tho heart had boon pleading for hoi n
and save up the struggle "only when Ft
had exhausted tho last spark of Vital-
ItV nnfl fhrr nnll It- -...ij'11, " VllUl-
UrZZL ,mr?L " Jears I was
BV, ""'vu "'', '" iiuurc. i would invn
Mlzzy spells, then difllculty in breath
te?tu,id flV,tt01 como painful. I coSld
hot breathe lying down. I commonoilri
taking Dr. Miles i Heart CurS, ffl VS a
leWnWTIwas entirely cuSS"
(Tho first bottle will bbnont. iffSS'
lie druggist will return your iXy.
sian situation. Horo his renuncia
tion of the leading men of all tho
parties was quite as sweeping and
much less courteous than had been
his characterization of our political
leaders in America. Then for ono
moment his iron mood relaxed, and,
relenting, he said: "No, no, forgot
that I had the temerity to say that.
They are not all bad men; I pray
not; but hopelessly misguided. Of
course, as you must know, the vital
phase of our situation in Russia is
the land question, and yet no man,
much less a party, not those who say
yea to confiscation any more than
those that say nay, dare to approach
it in frankness and sincerity. In this
very douma the agrarians of tho lib
eral groups stand convicted of bad
faith or of ignorance. There is but
ono solution of the land question in
Russia as well as elsewhere which
can be regarded as just and equitable
mm unai as rar as anything can be
final in this transitory world, and
that is, of course, the land laws as
preached in their modern form by
Henry George.
"But our wily agrarians never
mention this solution because it
promises no class an advantage, and
I take it as a recognized axiom in
party politics that if you want to se
cure votes and get into ofhee you
have to promise a numerous class
decidedly favorable treatment. As I
understand it, the idea of the land
conflscators would seem to be that
those from whom the land is taken
should still in tho . future be com
pelled to pay the taxes, while those
to whom the land is given should
not be harassed by taxes, but live
happily ever afterward in ease and
plenty and without labor. Of course,
this makes a better hn.f-.fin ow ti.nn
the words of Henry George, and, of
course, battle cries are necessary to
success in party strife, while princi
ples well, they are better thrown
overboard. Then, of course, George
was an honest man, and tho world
rejected him; our agrarians are not
so honest, and they won't bo reject
ed if thoy can help it.'
When I saw the count later in the
afternoon his day's work was done,
the plow men and women were re
turning from tho fields singing and
laughing. Thoy are a merry, happy
folk, as rare among the Russian
peasants as is their former landlord
among his class. He carried in his
hand a little weekly paper published
in Portland, Ore. He had his finger
on a paragraph, and hastened to say:
'You see the Public of Chicago, with
its revelations of corruption and rot
tenness, is not the only American
paper that I read, as you charged.
See here, is this not beautiful? It
is from 'Key Thoughts' of Lucy A.
Mallory, and I read them every week.
While people in America write as she
does, I know the. salt has not yet
quite lost its savor."
bo loft to tho sense of justice of the
American peoplo. The lecture plat
form has upheld the greatest men
of the United States. Wendell Phil
ips spoke from it and was never a
pampered presidential pet. Henry
Ward Beecher graced it and did some
of his best work for the union with
its aid. Horace Greeley, Emerson,
Lowell men of station in politics
and literature have not disdained
the lecture platform. To impress"
their views on the neonle thev did
not think a fat office and a fatter sal
ary necessary.
Mr. Taft's sneer applies equally to
Senators Beveridge and LaFollette of
his own party and to Senators Till
man and Dubois, democrats. It docs
not affect tho railway attorneys or
millionaires of the senate. Johns
town (Pa. J Democrat.
LECTURING AND POLITICS
Mr. Taft's Unmanly sneer at Mr
Bryan for speaking from lecture
platforms is raising the question
whether, it is better to draw a sal
ary from the treasury and use official
time in stumping tours, or to sup
port yourself and secure your aud
ionces, as do both Bryan and La
Follette, by writing and lecturing
while still struggling for that in
which you may believe? That can
DEFINING THEJSSUES
W. J. Bryan's letter td Tammany
defining the real issues between the
two national parties is a beautifully
simple platform. He would "direct
attention to the fact that the tariff,
the trusts, and tho railroad regula
tion are all one question in essence,
namely, whether the government
shall be administered in the interest
of a few favorites or in behalf of
the whole people.
On that platform it should nnf ho
difficult to make a winning fight in
the next presidential campaign, be
cause the people understand the is
sue, they have had a personal and
painful demonstration of the work
ings of tariff and trusts, and they are
ready to support the party that will
make a sincere, determined "effort to
revise the tariff and abolish trust
monopoly.
As between the democracy and the
republican party-there is no question
which is the friend of the trusts and
which the foe; nor" is there any
doubt as to which favors a tariff for
the benefit of the trusts and monopo
lists. Indeed, the identity of the re
publican party and the favorites of
the tariff is so perfect that it is axio
matic. Under trust "control of the tariff
the cost of nearly every article which
enters into living expenses has been
advanced beyond all reasonable
bounds. Part of the advance has
been doled out to labor und pres
sure, the larger part has becl'added
to trust dividends on inflated stocks.
Scarcely any industry has escaped
the monopolists, and the common
man depending upon a salary or
fixed income finds himself robbed on
every hand. Vet tho raniihHnnn
party "stands pat" for the trusts, and
will continue to favor them.
It is urged by the republicans that
the national administration has
shown its determination to restrain
the trusts, and that it is accomplish
ing more in this direction than could
be hoped for from a democratic
president and congress. Such a plea
is futile in the face of the record.
Tho beef trust was prosecuted and
some of its members fined. The peo
ple are paying the fine, small as it
was. The paper trust was forced to
dissolve its illegal combination; and
the price of paper Is higher today
than it has ever been, while the mem
bers of this illegal combination are
doing business at the old stand, un
harmed and unafraid. Where any
trust is prosecuted it has nothing to
fear of a simple fine, because it can
aaa mat to its price any time and
still retain its monopoly. There is
no way to really reach a trust which
has established a monopoly of the
American market through the tariff
except by revising the, tariff to per
mit competition on a- reasonable
basis.
The American people ,are the most
patient nation on th hmni .
stool, but when they reach the limit
of patience they have an unpleasant
way of letting the fact be known
They hav been robbfd by an u
just tariff for years and stood it with
equanimity, because they were en
joying a period of unparalleled pros
perity in crops and in industry; now
tho trust beneficiaries who were en
joying more than their share of the
national profits, have put on tho
thumb-screws unendurably and the
people will tolerate it no longer.
Mr. Bryan's outline of a campaign
declaration coincides "exactly with the
temper of the people; and on such
a platform tho democratic party can
win. Salt Lake Herald.
THE QUEEREST RAILROAD
The Nome-Arctic railroad is tho
northernmost railroad on this conti
nent. From the shore of Behring
sea at Nome it crosses the flowering
tundra and creeps and bumps its way
into the heart of the snow-crowned
Sawtooth mountain range.
It was built for the transportation
of supplies to mining camps, scat
tered along the creeks and the Snake
and Nome rivers and in the mining
district of the Kougurok. Passen
gers are still unconsidered trifles,
who, at the rate' of ten cents a mile,
are permitted to hang on if they can.
Naturally it runs only in summer.
The roofless Pullman car is
flanked with kitchen benches. It is
solidly packed with miners and track
laborers,- with pick and shovel and
pan, brown canvas bags or oilcloth
packs. There are also women and
children, going out to gather wild
flowers. A roofless freight car was
piled with merchandise. The one
available seat was a keg of nails. N
Freight aboard, the flat-topped lit
tle logging engine begins to sing like
a Dutch kettle, then slowly, cautious
ly iu- teeters northward, skirting
Queen Anne cottages and canvas, tin
can and tar paper shacks. Once
across Dry Creek bridge the town
begins to drop out of sight until
the imperceptibly rising tundra' is on
a level with the sea.
Scarcely has the town vanished
than foothills, hung in purple shad
ows, begin to appear. The tundra,
everywhere broken with natural la
goons and man-made ditohes, is riot
ous with flowers and waving fields of
cotton. Where cotton grows look
out for ice not far below, veteran
miners say.
Man of all work is -the Nome-Arctic's
conductor. In leather overalls
and puffing a huge cigar he stumbles
over freight and passengers in an ef
fort to gather fares, while everything
animate or inanimate scrambles to
keep from rolling off into the tundra
or creeks.
In buildlne: rail nv wnfrnn fnna
Alaska's unsolved problem is the
tundra. Composed of decayed vege
tation, peat and reindeer moss, it
covers, like an alluring carpet,
grou- d frozen nobody knows how
deep. Parallel with the sea for
leagues, it stretches back from Nome
Beach four or five miles into the
foothills of the Sawtooth mountains.
Wet or dry, the tundra is spongy.
When dry it yields to the tread with
a crisp crackle not unlike burnt pa
per or straw. Saturated with rain,
a characteristic of northwestern Al
aska summers, it is as dangerous to
man or beast as a fog or a quick
sand. When the Nome-Arctic railroad,
the second in Alaska and the first on
the peninsula, was built, July, 1902,
by the Wild Goose Mining and Trad
ing COmnanV for tho trnnannrtfltfnn
of freight to its properties on Anvil
creek, four and a half miles from
Nome, wooden ties were laid over
the tundra, with little or no road
bed preparation. The tracks when
it rained sank into the tundra until
the water often covered the floor of
the cars. In winter, when the Great
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