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The Commoner.
VOIiUME 7. NUMBER 37
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CURR6NT TOPICS
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rp IE FOLLOWING telegram reached The Com
X . monor oillce on the morning after election
day: "Oklahoma City, Okla., Sept 18, 1007.
Commoner, Lincoln, Neb.: The constitution has
been ratified by nearly one hundred thousand,
and the democratic ticket elected by from
twonty-fivo to forty thousand. Convey the news
to AV. J. Bryan with our heartiest congratula
tions. J. B. Thompson Chairman State Com
mittee." O
THE STATE ofTiccrs chosen for Oklahoma are
as follows: Governor, C. N. Haskell; lieu
tenant governor, George Belamy; secretary of
state, William Cross; state auditor, M. E. Trapp;
' 'attorney genoral, Charles West; state treasurer',
J. A. Menofee; superintendent of public instruc
tion, E. D. Cameron; insurance commissioner,
T. J. McComb; examiner and inspector, C. A.
Taylor; chief mine inspector, Peter Hanraty;
labor' commissioner, Charles Daugherty; com
' .'missioner of charities and corrections, Kate
1 .Barnard; corporation commissioners, J, J. Mc
' ' ' Alester, J. E. Love", A. P. Watson; justices su
preme court, Jesse J. Dunn, S. W. Hays, R. L.
"Williams, Matthtiw W. Kane, J. B. Turner; clerk
" ' Bupreme court, W. H. L. Campbell. The legis
lature, which is overwhelmingly democratic will
elect to the United States senate Robert L. Owen
and T. P. Gore. In the congressional election
the following were chosen: First district, Ex
delegate B. S. McGuire, republican; Second dis
trict; E. L. Fulton, democrat, ' defeated ex-Territorial
Governor T. B. Ferguson; Third district,
James Davenport, democrat; Fourth district, 'C.
E. Carter, democrat; Fifth district, Scott Ferris,
democrat.
' . rrHE RETURNS from the Oklahoma election
' JL are at best very meagre',-owing to the in
''"'.,: 'ability of the telegraph companies to handle
l '' them. This inability is due to the strike of the
"telegraphers. At the end. of a week only ap
proximate figures are obtainable. But the dem
. ' . . ocratic victory was fully as great as hoped for
by the optimistic democrats. The legislature is
overwhelmingly democratic and will ratify the
. senatorial nominations made at the democratic
primary. Four out of five districts send demo
crats to congress, the exception being the First
district. The democratic state ticjket is elected
in its entirety by majorities ranging from 32,000
to 40,000. The majority for the constitution
was upwards of 80,000. The new state adopted
prohibition by a majority of nearly 40,000.
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THIS INTERESTING dispatch from Washing
ton was printed in the Houston (Texas)
Post: "The stress which the administration
places upon the negro vote in Ohio in the fight
to land the republican presidential nomination
for Secretary Taft and to win the black vote in
Cleveland for Representative Burton in his con
test for the mayoralty against Tom Johnson, the
democrat, has just heen illustrated by an unpre
cedented and somewhat sensational stroke of
executive policy. For the first time in the his
tory of the United States army the title of major
has been conferred upon a negro. The benefi
ciary of this unprecedented promotion is Rev.
W. T. Anderson of Cleveland, for ten years a
captain in the Tenth cavalry, colored. It became
known today that the appointment was made
at the request of George Meyers of Cleveland
for years a lieutenant of Mark Hanna and whose
special assignment was looking after the 'cullud'
brother from the south in national conventions
and Ralph Tyler, the Columbus negro, recently
appointed auditor of the navy. As stated, the
appointment of Anderson as a. major was to ac
complish a two-fold purpose, that is, to ingratiate
the candidacy of . Representative Burton for
mayor of Cleveland and to avert the threatened
stampede of negro delegates from the republican
national convention. The mayoralty election in
Cleveland will, in a measure, be a test of the
administration's strength in that city, and to
push Representative Burton through is a task to
which the administration is devoting energy and
thought.. There is a large negro vote in Cleve
land and upon George Meyers, who wanted And
erson promoted, the administration counts for
material aid. The negro Tyler is expected to
keep a large number of negroes in line for Taft
notwithstanding the Foraker wave now envelop
ing negroes all 'over the country. The negro
Anderson has been chaplain in the Tenth cavalry
for ten years, and under the law he could be
retired or promoted- at the expiration of that
time. It was believe'd to be good Taft and Bur
ton politics to promote him, and the president,
played politics, as usual."
IN THE Philadelphia school for nurses, lo
cated at 2219 Chestnut street, Philadelphia,
special provision has been made for taking a
large number of young women in this school
and giving them two years' free training ii
nursing. The object of those providing the
funds for this purpose is to carry hospital bene
fits to all parts of the country. The scholar
ships are available for young women in every
state. Preference, however, is given to young
women from the smaller towns and rural dis
tricts -where there is an absence of hospital
facilities. The circular issued by the manage
ment says: ".A two years' free course has-been
established at this institution, wherein the stu
'dent is provided with room, board, laundry,
nurse uniforms, and all the refinements of a
good home, with suitable training, instruction
and actual nursing in the homes of the poor and"
among people of moderate income, and at the
end of the course the student's fare home is
paid. The term can be shortened to eighteen
months' by a course of six months reading and
study at home a course which is very valuable
in itself. Hundreds of young women, scattered
all over the country, are started in the work,
becoming not only self-supporting, but a boon
to their respective neighborhoods. A short
course is also provided for the woman who
wishes to quickly prepare for self-support and
a substantial income. Enrollment is now in
progress for a class of four hundred students in
the resident courses next year. Young women
from the smaller towns and country districts are
favored in the distribution of scholarships, with
a view of conveying hospital knowledge to all
rural communities."
-O
ADDRESSING AN association of railroad offi
cials in session ..at Chicago, Martin A.
Knapp, chairman of the interstate commerce
commission, said: "I believe the most mis
chievous piece of legislation in the history of
the country is the Sherman anti-trust law as in
terpreted by the United States supreme court.
It is intolerable and strikes a blow at develop
ment and progress." The Associated Press says
that this statement was warmly applauded, and
adds: "Chairman Knapp advocated combina
tion, co-operation and central control of trans
portation lines. 'The axiom, competition is the
life of trade, must be discarded if we are to
progress,' he said. 'The obvious tendency of
, the age is to combine, and I think this tendency
is to become more pronounced as we grow older
and industrial and commercial civilization Is per
fected. The .ultimate result, I think, will be
the central control of all transportation lines
with diffused ownership. Let us not denounce,
but discriminate in bringing about the desired
result. The constant friction of unbridled com
petition has become irksome. We are drifting
toward a world-wide financial federation.' In
further reference to the Sherman anti-trust law
he said:"-" 'The one public man who has dared
fearlessly to express his. opinion on the injustice
Qf the supreme court's interpretation of this
act is the president of the United States ' "
j N THE HEARING in the case of the govern
JL ment against the Standard Oil company in
federal court New York some interesting figures
were brought out. The story is told by an As
sociated Press dispatch in this way: "Profits
aggregating $490,315,934 were made by the
Standard Oil company in the seven years from
1899 to 1906. Testimony to this effect was
given by Assistant Comptroller Fay of the com
pany in the federal hearing here today. In the
same period the company's gross receipts were
$200,091,623 to $371,604,531. This is toe first
timo the company's earnings have .been made
public. A list of securities owned by the Stand
ard Oil company of Now Jersey presented todav
shows that that corporation owns 9,990 shares
of the stock of the Standard Oil company 'of in
diana, which company was recently sentenced by
Judge Landis in Chicago to pay a fine of u
240,000. In addition to ' stating that in t'h
period of seven years referred to the compam's
total profits aggregated $490,315,934, Mr F
said that $308,359,430 were paid in those years
His statement also disclosed that the caphai
stock of the Standard of Now Jersey was $og
99.8,612 in 1899 and $98,338,382 in 1906" '
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AN EFFORT was made to get Henry H.
Rogers, thevStandard Oil magnate in court
in Boston in the suit where the heirs of Benja
min. F. Greenough sues to recover $50,000,000
under three contracts made in 1874 with she
oil trust. Although several witnesses had testi
fied that they had recently seen Mr. Rogers aiid
that he did not appear to be ill, his son testi
fied that he was suffering from paralysis, unable
to. attend to business, and that if required to
attend court it might be fatal to him.
ATTORNEY General Bonaparte addressed the
national prison congress; in session at Chi
cago. The Commoner takes Mr. Bonaparte's re
marks from the report made by the Associated
Press. Mr. Bonaparte spoke of the value of dis
cipline as having "a miraculous power to radi
cally change human nature," and of the neces
sity of insuring obedience to the sovereign will
by punishment of disobedience. "The efficacy
of any form of punishment, however," said the
attorney general, "must be judged ,by its results
to the community in diminution of crime. Its
effects on .the law breakers themselves, while
worthy of note, are of vastly less moment. The
habitual criminal is a product of modern civili
zation. Our ancestors would have hanged him
for his first felony, or he would have almost
surely died of the maladies then epidemic ia
prison while awaiting trial for his second one.
I would not have men hanged for trifling thefts,
but I would have modern society cease to nourish
and shelter its proved and inveterate enemies."
Mr. Bonaparte said., he had seen no reason to
repent of his suggestion, made in a magazine
article some years ago, that an attempt to com
mit capital crime ought to be made itsolf capi
tal, and that a fourth commission of a major
crime should render the offender liable, in dis
cretion of the court, to the death penalty. As
to the power to pardon, "this' said Mr. Bona
parte, "exists and can 'be rightfully exercised
only for the public benefit. The wishes and in
terests of the culprit or of his family or of his
friends are immaterial. If I ever advised the
president to exercise clemency for no better rea
son than because I felt sorry for the prisoner or
those interested in him, I should feel that my
conduct had differed, indeed, in degree, but not
in kind, from what it would have had I given
such advice for a bribe in money."
WASHINGTON despatches say that Attorney
General Bonaparte will insist upon
granting immunity to the Chicago and Alton
railroad and Chicago dispatches say that the
attorneys" for the Standard Oil trust will raise
the plea that the big fine should be wiped out
because of the immunity to the Alton road. One
Chicago dispatch says: "In the event that the
Alton is granted immunity, which it has been
fully established 'was promised to the railroad
through an agreement with Former Attorney
General Moody, the Standard Oil attorneys will
demand that Judge Landis' fine be set aside.
Ground for this plea will-be that the Standard
Oil lawyers should have been apprised of this
immunity agreement in order that they might
question the Alton witnesses properly. The
Standard Oil will contend that they should have
been allowed to ask these railrpad clerks, who
gave such full evidence In regard to rates and
shipment and tariffs, whether their testimony,
had been influenced in any way by knowledge
that the road- which employed them would not
suffer prosecution, Lawyers assert that the pro
cedure in the case was illegal and that it fuf-
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