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OCTOBER 111907
The Commoner,
"TO.yir,'.TrHjq
In other lands enjoy, they have a Just claim .to
still better conditions.
They are now endeavoring to secure the
eight-hour day and they are entitled to It; they
have not secured their share of the benefits
which the improved machine has brought to the
e world. The productive power of man has been
vastly increased, and it is only fair that Uiobo
who operate the machine should have more leis
ure to prepare themselves for the responsibilities
of their more advanced position. The home has
claims upon the breadwinner; society needs him
and the government has ... right to expect his
Intelligent co-operation. He can not fill the
position to which ho is entitled, or discharge
the duties which devolve upon him, if his entlro
time is occupied by labor, sleep, eating and trav
eling to and from his work.
It is not a sufilcient answer to his demand
to say that some of the leisure hours will bo
misused. Those who are so exercised by the
' fear that the wage earner may not wisely employ
the time given him by shorter hours are not,
as a rule, disturbed by the fact that the leisure
classes waste a good deal of time! Until shorter v
working hours are secured there is ho way of
determining what use will be made of them;
m when they are secured, the same influences that
have already improved the ideals and the' condi
tion of those who toll may be counted upon to
put the extra hours to a use which will be
elevating. ,
A second need of the laboring man today
is protection from the writ bf Injunction under
which he is denied the right of trial by jury.
"While this is not resorted to in many cases
and while comparatively few "have personally
felt the harshness of the wrijf, it, is a menace to
.all. The jury is so sacred an institution that
its protection can not bo denied to any thief,
no matter how often he has been convicted; it
is. surprising that it can be denied to a laboring
man. without arousing instant and universal
, protest.
But the greatest need of the laboring man
in this country at this time is arbitration, for
this would enable him to secure the shorter
hours for which he contends and would prevent
the 'strikes which-Jhave brought the writ, of In-,
junction into use.; There is no mora reason why
th.e laboring man should be left to enforce his
contentions, by an idleness that throws the bur
den upon .himself and his family than there
wpuld be for a return to the1 wager of battle as
a means of settling lawsuits. While improved
machinery has increased, the number of workers
and raised the grade of' their employment it has
also brought about conditions under which the
superintendent is so far removed from tho in
dividual worker that the personal relationship
is greatly weakened.- f Justice must, therefore,
be secured by a resort to some impartial court.
It is not necessary that the finding of the board
shall be binding upon the parties to the dispute.
If there is compulsory investigation at the re
quest of either party public .opinion may be
relied upon to enforce the conclusion reached
by the arbitrators. The president has recently
called attention to the Importance of this sub
ject, and, as the democratic party has in three
national platforms urged the importance of arbi
tration, there is reason to hope that it is near
at hand.
But the needs before mentioned, viz.," a
shorter day, arbitration and protection from gov-
ernment by injunction, are but means to an end,
and the end sought is the more equitable dls- .
trlbution of the wealth produced. There has
been a wonderful increase in the production in
- eyerjr department of labor; the strength of the
human arm has been multiplied many times in
some occupations, many hundred times by the
introduction of machinery, but the man at .the
machine does not secure his share of the pro
duct. The economic problem of today is the
re-adjustment of rewards. Prince Bismarck, in
addressing an agricultural audience, qnce said
that it was necessary for tho farmers to stand
together and protect themselves from the
"drones of society who produce nothing but
laws." The same may be said of the wage earn
ers of the cities. The wealth producers of
America, on the farm and in the factory, create
the nation's wealth in time of peace and defend
the nation's flag in time of war, and yet they
do not enjoy the same degree of prosperity as
tho non-producing class. The laws have per
mitted the creation of an exploiting element,
and this element has grown rich at the expense
of the general public.
Tho settlement ;of labor questions should
not be left to the laboring men alone, -for the
whole: .society -is interested, in every - question
- whiccomjexns?thcmei:wh?ure4enggdin7inanr
ual labor. There-are na-fixed classes" and' castes
in this country; thdro is constant passage from
ono occupation to anothor and from ono grade
of labor to a higher or 16wor grade. Tho son
of the wage earner of today may bo a lawyer of
position or minister of tho gospel; the son of
tho professional inan or merchant may become
an artisan or a farmer, and any ono in any of
tho occupations or professions may aspire to
the highest position in tho state. Some one
has said that there are not usually more than
three generations between 'shirt sleeves and
shirt sleeves tho first generation making tho
money, tho second generation spending it and tho
third generation roturning to manual labor. In
such a country, and under such con<lons, each
person has a family interest in obliterating dis
tinctions of rank and qlass and In establishing
intimate and friendly relations between all.
oooo
"ALREADY HERB?'
In his St. Louis Bpeech Mr. Roosovolt said:
"My plea Is not to BRING ABOUT a condition
of centralization; It is that the government shall
recognize a condition of centralization In a field
whore It ALREADY EXISTS."
Mr. Roosevelt Is mistaken. Whatever
practical relief tho people have obtained, has
come either directly through the state or
through tho state's initiative. Mr. Roosevelt
tells tho people that they have already sur
rendered tho power over these great corpora
tions, but Mr. Roosovolt and his party are yet
to hear from the people on this question and
the American democracy will cheerfully moot
them upon that line of battle in the great con
test of 1908.
OOOO
A HINT TO CLEVELAND
'ihe Chicago Record-Herald says: "We
can not afford to lose an inch of the ground we
have wrested from irrelevant partisanship and
spoils in tho strenuous fight for good municipal
government."
And that is about the view the people of
Cleveland, Ohio, will take when they are asked
to replace Tom L. Johnson, a faithful and
capable mayor, with a gentleman who has not
manifested any particular concern in municipal
reform, but whb is a candidate for mayor in
order that the interests of a particular political
macJiine may bo advanced.
OOOO
CORPORATIONS MAY CHOOSE
'? " ft
At St. Louis Mr. Roosevelt said: "The
chief economic question of the day in this coun
try is to provide a sovereign for tho great cor
porations engaged in Interstate business; that
is for the railroads and tho interstate industrial
corporations."
And whether the president means it or not
he declares in favor of permitting these great
corporations to choose the king under whom
they shall serve.
Mr. Roosevelt's strongest supporters in tho
effort to take all power from the state and cen
tralize It at Washington will be the railroad and
trust magnates who have for so many years im
posed upon tho people.
OOOO
DID NOT BUY IMMUNITY
Commenting upon the fact that Mr. Ilarrl
man and others raised a campaign fund of $2G0,
000 for New York during the 1904 campaign,
the Wall Street Journal says: "Perhaps the
contributors to that fund believed they wore buy
ing something. It is quite evident, however,
that they did not get anything. They certainly
secured no immunity against government prose
cution." But is that fact a compliment to the ad
ministration which profited by their contribu
tions? Why, then, did they give up their
money?
OOOO
THE NEBRASKA PLATFORM
The New York Evening Post The Nebras
ka democratic platform, which Mr.' Bryan him
self is supposed to have drafted, expresses tho "
issue most felicitously: "While we favor the
exercise by tho general government of all its
constitutional authority for the prevention of
monopoly and for tho regulation of interstate
commerce, we insist that federal remedies shall
be added to, and not substituted for, tate rem
edies." Neither parties nor individuals have
taken side on this question consistently, yet
the question of.sUte. and federal functions has
really bea fundamental .to most of the political-actiYit-CJBfv.the.
preetipresidential term. - That,
it .wiU be. Ike issue-of (Chief- popular--Interest in' -the
-canvass -of-next year we- are not prepared
to say, but If It does, thoro is already ah Ira-"
menso amount of material on hand for 'its dis
cussion. , ' '?'
St. Louis Republic Tho Nebraska domd
cratlc platform Is good enough to win on. Ha
declarations against centralization, monopolies
undrobbor tariff woro expected of a convention
which indorsed Nebraska's foromost citizen,
Democrat-Chronicle, Dos Moines, la. Thdre
ifl : nothing wild-eyed about any of this platforin
(tho Nebraska platform). Republicans will havb
hard work convincing themselves that thoro Is
a single plank in it that Is not good. Wo 6h
dorso unequivocally ovory word of It and will
do all that lies In our power to shapo it int6
tho national platform and then into legislation.
OOOO
HERE IS A PLAN
If Mr. Roosovoft should concludo to submit
his centralization proposition to tho American
people rather than trust it to what ho calls
"tho spirit of broad interpretation" which
means that tho courts would Interpret tho very
life out of our system of government ho will
find tho issuo well stated so far as his oppo
nents aro concerned In tho memorial address '
to congress by tho attorneys general in session
at St. Louis. That memorial follows:
' ' Whoroas, Tho efficient administration
as well as tho preservation of our dual .;
system of government requires that each .
sovereignty bo pormittod to oxcrclso its
'function as defined by the federal constl-yi
tutlon unhampored by tho other; thoroforom
oo it i ,', v,
Resolved, By tho convention of nttor---noys
general of tho several states horc as
sembled, that wo earnestly recommend to
Hho favorable consideration of tho presi
dent and tho congress of the United States,'?
tho enactment of a fedoral law providing
that no 'circuit court of tho United States .
or any Judgo exorcising powers of such. .
circuit courts shall have Jurisdiction in any .
cane brought to 'restrain any officers .of a
state or any administrative board or a
state from instituting in a state court any
suit or other appropriate proceeding to en-"'
forco tho laws of such state or to enforce ,
any order, made by such administrative-
board, but allowing any person or corpora
tion asserting In any such action In a state
court any right arising under tho consti
tution or any laws of tho United States tO'--have
the decision for tho highest court of
such state rovlowed by tho supromo court
of tho United States as now provided by
law.
Wo also recommond that suits In fed
eral circuit courts by-persons Interested In
,, corporations to restrain such corporations
. from obeying tho laws of states In which, k,
, they aro doing business bo prohibited. ',", 1-f
Tho position taken by Mr. Roosovolt and
the railroad trust magnates who, bn this prop
osition, aro his ardent supportors might. the.
stated in paraphrase as follows:
To tho American People: ., . .,,
Whereas there aro "Insuperable difficulties,
arising from our dual form of government" and'
"resort must be had to tho power of amengV;
ment," and , - ,.,,, (jj
Whereas, "the chief economic question of
the day in this country is to provide a sovereign
for tho great corporations engaged In interstate
business; that ic for the railroads and tho inter-,
ntatp' industrial corporations," u, ,
A Resolved, That wo earnestly recommend to,
the '.American people ajx amendment to the con
stitution whereby the various states of the nnlonf
surrender control over the railroads and Inter
state Industrial corporations such control to. bo
vested exclusively In the federal government,
and
Resolved, That no judge of any state -court
shall have jurisdiction in any case brought
against' any railroad or interstate Industrial cor
poration or officer thereof, and ' "
' t Resolved, That the legislature of each' 6f
the states be and It Is hereby debarred trotni
making any laws to which tho railroad or ihte??
sjate industrial corporation must conform, in,
UWiUJi U lAOH-OfJ AM lU(v Die !?
' OOOO
DEATH CALLS AGAIN
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This time it is Judgo James P. Tarvin, of
Covington, Ky., who Is summoned to test thef
realities of the unknown world. Among all of
Mr. Bryan's, friends none were more loyal. He'
was tho samo in' victory or defeat constant-,''
courageous, true. Democracy can ill afford "to.
loea.t champion -so able) so-earnest-aadVeo'iin-
swerving: Peco'to- hig. - ashes; sympathytd
those to. whom his death brings bereavement.
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