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The Commoner.
VOLUME 8,.' NUMBER 1
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WRITING IN THE Saturday Evening Post
Bailey Millard tolls how the big thief
escapes. Ho says: "In Now York, as is shown
by the records of District Attorney Jerome s
offlco, tho big thief nearly always goes free Of
3,274 cases of grand larceny under which head
come tho embezzlements in tho years 1905 and
190G thoro wore only three cases of conviction
in which tho sum named in tho records was
$50,000 or over. Tho groat mass of tho other
convictions was for tho stealing of sums ranging
from $100 to $1,000. Your big thief, even
whoro tho law lays its hands upon him, gets
off; your little thief is likely to go to jail. But
ovon the little offenders' chances are good'
bottor than two to ono. For of 11,037 cases
of grand larceny reported by tho chief cleric of
tho district attornoy of Now York for tho seven
years ended December 31, 1900, there were
G,G37 cases acquitted, discharged or dismissed,
and thoro woro only 4,400 convictions. Tho
fact that thoro have boon a fow more convictions
for ombozzloment in 1907 than in tho previous
year in nearly all tho large cities is merely tho
result of thoro having been a much greater num
ber of ombozzloments, and does not mark a
growing tendency to prosecute, as some misin
formed writors seom to think."
BEFORE ADOPTING a special rule which
" provides for considering and passing tho
sundry civil appropriation bill, after eight hours'
general debate, tho houso April 27, llstonod to
Mr. Williams, tho minority leador, In an ex
planation of the filibuster ho is conducting. Tho
filibuster, ho said, will end tho moment tho
house gives permission for tho consider
ation of tho campaign publicity bill; a bill
to put wood pulp and print paper on tho freo
list and tho. ,antl-lnj unction bill. These meas
ures, Mr. "Williams insisted, wore all a part of
tho president's legislative program. Every roll
call which was taken was only an emphasis,
which the country understood, to tho lack of
action by tho republican majority. Tho filibus
ter, Mr. Williams said in conclusion, would con
tinue until tho desired results were accom
plished. That it was not delaying business was
evidenced by tho fact that supply bills were now
further along than usual at this time In a long
session.
THE COMPLETION of one hundred years of
Catholicism In Now York was celebrated
April 28 in St. Patrick's cathedral, New York
City, with impressivo services. A Now York
dispatch to tho Chicago Record-Herald says:
"Six thousand worshippers thronged tho cathe
dral and thousands more stood outsldo, content,
since they could not gain entrance, to cheer
and bow in prayer as they watched tho groatest
procession of Roman Catholic church dignitaries
assembled in America in many years. It was "a
serviqo of thanksgiving, blessed by Pope Pius
X. through his spocial representative, Mgr. Fal
conlo, and graced by a personal message from
his holiness. Tho service was in tho form of a
pontifical mass, tho celebrant, Cardinal Loguo,
primate of Ireland, who said in addressing tho
vast congregation: 'The church and religion
havo mado tho most wonderful progress here.
It Is a fine commentary upon tho faith which
wo profess that it should be so, and our church
has shown again tho clear adaptation of which
it is capable. Hero, in a republican form of
Bovornmont, tho church is a livo, a very live,
organization, forging ahead. I truly think that
tho progress of the church in America under tho
republican form of government is just another
mark of her universality and adaptability, as
well as being one of tho greatest roligious move
ments of modern times."
-lyr, ROOSEVELT'S four battleship plan was
JLVJL defeated in th.o senate. Senator Bevoridge
of ' Indiana led tho fight for the president.
Twenty-three votqs were cast for the increased
program, tho nuniber largely being made up of
recently elected senators. Pifty senators voted
to support tho houso and the recommendation
of tho senate naval committee in favor of build
ing only two battleships. Tho roll call on the
Piles amendment follows: Yeas Ankley, Bev
erldgo, Borah, Bourne, Briggs, Brown, Burkett,
Dupont, Flint, Fulton, Gamble, Hansbrough,
Heyburn, Lodge, McCreary, Owen, Paynter,
Piles, Smith (Mich.), Smoot, Southerland, Tay
lor, Warner 23. Nays Aldrich, Bacon, Bank
head, Brandegee, Burkeley, Burnham, Burrows,
Carter, Clapp, Clarke (Wyo.), Clay, Crane, Cul
berson, Cullom, Curtis, Daniel, Davis, Dick, Dil
lingham, Dixon, Foraker, Frazier, Fryo, Galling
er, Gray, Gore, Guggenheim, Hale, Hemenway,
Johnson, Kean, Long, McCumber, Money, Nel
son, Nowlands, Nixon, Overman, Perkins, Piatt,
Richardson, Simmons, Stephenson, Stewart,
Stone, Taliaferro, Teller, Warner, Wetmore 50.
Of the democrats, only four Messrs. McCreary,
Owen, Paynter and Taylor, voted for the four
battleship program. Pairs were recorded as
follows: Messrs. Elkins and Bailey, Allison and
Clarke (Ark.), Depow and McEnery, Scott and
McLaurin, Penrose and Martin, Dolliver and
Raynor, Milton and Tillman and Knox and Hop
kins. Three senators, Messrs. Kittridge, Smith
(Md.) and LaFolletto did not vote and were not
paired. As finally passed tho bill carries ap
propriations aggregating $123,115,659, and pro
vides for tho construction of two battleships
and two colliers and the purchase of three addi
tional colliers, tho construction of submarines
and other necessary craft, and increases the pay
of officers and enlisted men, as well as increas
ing both tho pay and the strength of the marine
corps.
which has been waged here for low street car
fare and public control of urban transportation,
marked by much bitterness throughout and
noted for the many appeals made to the courts.
Various predictions are made as to the time
when it shall be possible to begin tho proposed
three cent fare, ten days being the lowest time
spoken of. To bring about the settlement today,
according to previous agreement, the Forest
City Railway company, at a meeting of its direc
tors, absorbed the Low Fare Railway company.
The two companies, therefore, merged with the
Cleveland Electric Railway company, upon
action of its directors, also earlier today. The
property taken over by the Cleveland Railway
company, and which will be operated by the
holding company, has a total valuation of $23,
690,000. To be added to this valuation eventu
ally will be $11,300,000 for future extensions
and improvements. The holding company will
have to pay a dividend of six per cent annually,
on the stock. All existing franchises were aban
doned by the old companies. The new fran
chise will protect both the interests of the public
and the property of the Cleveland Railway com
pany. The grant may be renewed every ten
years, but is non-revocable during any twenty
five year period. In the event the holding com
pany fails in its purpose, the property shall re
vert immediately to the -benefit of the Cleveland
Railway company. The rate of fare shall at no
time or under any circumstances be more than
five cents cash fare, or six tickets for" twenty-five
cents. It can be made as low as good service
will permit."
IN AN EDITORIAL printed in the Louisville
Courier-Journal and entitled "The Political
Outlook," Henry Watterson says: "The time
has passed for 'some one else,' Mr. Bryan re-
taming the field; it Is too late for 'some one
olso,' tho conditions what they are; and I con
fess that I am in sympathy with Mr. Bryan in
refusing to bo ruled off the track by a group of
New York politicians, whose motives are, to
say the least of them, suspicious, which will sup
port no ticket except one framed by themselves,
and which do not agree with one another touch
ing the ticket to be namedr Whatever his
claims may be, or may not be, Mr. Bryan has
his rights, and no thoughtful man can, or will
say, that he can not be elected, the ipse dixit
equally of the unthinking, the interested and
the prejudiced to the contrary being of no
weight whatever. But among democrats, who
know why they are democrats, there ought to
bo other and higher considerations; some arrest
of the breakneck speed on the highway toward
the centralization of power; some real and not
spurious purpose toward tariff reform; some
sure separation of the politics of the country
from its partnership with high finance and the
high financiers; some breaking up of groups
and rings, of wheels inside wheels, always in
volved by a change of parties, even when made
only for the sake of a change. The Courier
Journal is a democrat, not a republican, and,
standing by the sincerity of its record, it will
support the ticket to be headed by Mr. Bryan,
as actively and as earnestly as if it represented
its original preference and opinion."
THREE CENT street car fares are now in
vogue on all lines operating within the
city of Cleveland. A Cleveland, O., dispatch
says: "At the regular meeting of the city coun
cil a 'security grant' was passed under suspen
sion of tho rules to the Cleveland Railway com
pany, a new corporation which took over tho
consolidated properties of the old companies.
At the end of the council meeting that body'
as a committee of tho whole, met the officials
of the Cleveland Railway company, the Cleve
land Electric Railway company, the Forest City
Railway company, and tho Low Faro Railway
company In the chamber of Commerce hall
wherp the final papers were, signed-and passed!
leaving the property of the Cleveland Railway
company to the Municipal Traction company,
the holding, or operating, company, for fifty
years. Thus ended tho seven years' contest
A CLEVELAND, O., dispatch following the
passage of the street car ordinance tells
of the celebration of Mayor Tom Johnson's vic
tory in this way: "For the first time in the
history of this" city street car service' way abso
lutely free today, not a fare being rung up on
any car within the city limits. This action
was decided upon late last night after the papers
had been finally signed, ending the long street
car war, in order that the occasion might be
duly commemorated. It is proposed to cele
brate the same date each year with -free street
car service. The entire street railway' system
of the city was today operated by the Municipal
Traction company, the new holding company.
It was announced this afternoon that the three
cent rate -of fare will go into effect tomorrow
instead of at the expiration of ten days, as had
been previously planned. It was also announced
today that all the conductors and motormen
employed on the old Cleveland Electric railway
lines will receive an increase of one cent an
hour in order to put them on the same wage
basis as the men employed on the other lines
taken over by the holding company. About
three thousand men will be affected by the increase."
THE RALEIGH (N. C.) News and Observer
says: "Mr. Bryan has been greatly blessed
by his enemies. They have criticised him so
often upon false reports that later, when people
would find out that the whole thing was based
on a falsehood, they have learned to wait for
the facts before accepting the criticisms of ene
mies. The latest criticism is that Mr. Bryan
said last week that Governor Johnson's entering
the contest for the presidency was an 'imperti
nence.' Of course Mr. Bryan never thought or
said anything of the kind, but the critics went
along severely abusing Mr. Bryan for an asser
tion that his friends knew he never could have
made. After delivering themselves of the stereo
typed 'rebukes' the truth came out and every
body was forced to accept tho statement that
there wasn't a word of truth in the publication.
Did the critics apologize for the unjust com
ments based upon an unjust statement? No,
they discovered that a newspaper correspondent
in Washington who Imd long been an admirer of
Bry&u and a friend of the Nebraskan, had made
the blunder of using that term about the gov
ejrnpr of Minnesota. Mr. Bryan had jiever heard
of. the statement attributed to him until he heard
the criticisms," , , ' ,
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