nftytm
t i ir "'rm9
-a if;
JUNE&To
The Commoner
;!';
7
r
4'T
0 9 .
U, -
'THE STREET'S" CHOICE
Bryan is practically certain to be the dem
ocratic nominee. He is not being supported by
the "interests." There is not even a suspicion
of any deal or understanding between him and
them. He is not being boomed by the plain
people of the west on the one hand, and by
Kuhn, Loeb & Co., Schiff, the Harriman in
fluence, the Standard Oil representatives, and
the Aldrich crowd on the rther. He is as much
opposed to and as strongly opposed by the steel
trust as he ,!& opposed to or by any other trust.
Judging thtwo men by the character of their
support, are not the people likely to believe that
even the policies of the president would be
safer in the, (hands of Mr. Bryan, his antagonist,
than in the hands of Mr. Taft, his candidate?
At least there is that chance. Much is said of
the question of the platform, and people are
wondering who will write it, and what it will
contain. The matter is important, of course;
but far less important than the question of
the candidate. Wall Street cares little about
the platform; it cares everything about the can
didate. If it can get its man it will let any
one write the platform. Its very deep interest
in the fortunes of Mr. Taft proves at least one.
thing, and that is that it believes it can trust
him to give the country the sort of adminis
tration that "the interests" want.
As between the people and "the street"
we should say that it is much more likely that'
the people will be fooled than that "the street"
will be. Wall Street is fighting Hughes
because he would not make a "deal" with it.
Is it supporting Taft because either he or his
managers: have made a "deal" with it? Indian
apolis News.
What Republican Editors Are Saying
"ENTIRELY SATISFACTORY"
Mr. Bryan's assertion that the trusts have
been fighting him -in Pennsylvania and Alabama
will nowhere excite so much mirth as among
those predatory corporations. In Alabama, Mr.
Bryan says, his friends "had the steel trust to
fight, and' in Pennsylvania they had not- only
the steel trust, but several other trusts." The
truth is that the trusts are praying for the
nomination of Mr. Bryan. In 18 90 the silver
mining interests, it is asserted, contributed
?288,000 to bring about the election of Mr.
Bryan. The trusts today do not want Mr.
Bryan elected, but they want him nominated.
Because they are entirely satisfied with Mr.
Taft, andi'they know Bryaiiis the weakest can--didate
the democrats can name. After sdven
years of the volubility and turmoil of a Roose
velt administration a Taft administration will
come like a poultice of silence that heals the
blows of sound. The trusts and corporations
know that Mr. Taft Is a just man, a man of.
balance and sanity, violent neither in speech
nor in act. He will not betray the interests of
the people, they know very well. On the other
hand, he will not devote his days and nights
to devising enginry of assault upon corporate;
property. His nomination being now practically
assured, and his candidacy being entirely satis
factory to them, nothing would suit them better
than a campaign by the democrats under the
perfectly hopeless leadership of the doomed Ne
braskan. New York Times.
AN UNFORTUNATE COMPARISON
How empty by comparison is Mr. Bryan's
title to the leadership of his party today, and
how slender liis claim' to be its candidate for
president for a third time! In public office, his
experience, is limited to two forgotten terms in
the house of representatives. His personal can
vass for the United States senate, after a second
defeat for the presidency, was a dismal failure,
one of the most humiliating that ever befell
any.man,"vi,For, pjublic affairs he has had no
training worth, mentioning, and his executive
ability Is an 'unknown quantity. New York Sun.
The, point which the Sun makes against
Mr. Bryan might have been made with equal
force against Abraham Lincoln in 1860. Lin
coln's political career up to that time had been
a career of failure. He had served but one
term in the house of representatives without
any special distinction. He had been defeated
in a popular contest for United States senator
Sa 1 'Hq nad Deen- an unsuccessful can
didate for the.iVice presidential nomination in
the republican convention of 185G. For public
arralrs.he.had-had.no training worth mention
ing, and his executive abiutv wn nn nni,nn,
quantity. Yet ho made, in the most stupendous
crisis of the nation, the best president thp coun
try ever had. Now it by no means follows that
because Mr. Bryan's experience in public ofllco
has been limited and that his political career
has been one of defeat, he would not make a
competent president Nor does it follow that
because this comparison can be made between
his career and that of Abraham Lincoln prior
to his election to the presidency, Mr. Bryan
would make a second Lincoln. There are so
many valid and strong points to be made against
Mr. Bryan as a candidate for president, that it
is unfortunate that the Sun should have insti
tuted such a comparison as this. Wall Street
Journal.
THE CURRENCY FARCE
The following editorial is taken from the
Philadelphia North American (rep.):
This discredited congress has done what
we trust will bo its farewell piece of clowning.
The party whip cracked loud enough in the
house to force the passage of the maimed and
scarred Vreeland currency bill. The Cannon
crowd felt confident that the senate would bo
brave enough to cast it aside, allowing the con
gressmen to tell the disgusted business men
at homo that they had done their best, but that
the wicked senators would not lot them do any
thing. The senate leaders played their part by
killing the abortive thing which the house had
cr.eated and substituting the iniquitous Aldrich
bill.
The result has been the throwing of the
entire matter into a conference conducted, in
the main, by creatures of Aldrich and Cannon.
The outcome, in all likelihood, will be absolutely
nothing. Adjournment next Saturday is likely.
The house will accept nothing wprse than the
patched-up Vreeland bill. The senate will not
dare insist upon, the, Aldrich -bill, denounced by
every honqst, business interest. In .America. ,,. But
it will not be likely jo concede even so small
an arapunt of legislative decency as the feeble
house bill contains. , , '
Tbe,,couIltry wants neither. Both are un
sound in principle,, and- even the less vicious is
nothing but a mischievous makeshift.
There is no sign of trouble in the financial
skies to call for any such measure for so-called
emergency, currency. The Wall Street manu
factured panic has done its intended work.
Commerce and Industry have been crippled suffi
ciently to make money idle and send It pour
ing into the gambling center.
The New York banks hold half a billion
cash, call loans are at the nominal rate of two
per cent and the stock market.is bulling merrily
along. The ultimate unloading on the public
will not come .until long after another congress
will have a chance to frame any number of such
unsound "emergency" measures, which, until
then, will not have an excuse.
"THE MOST EXTRAVAGANT"
The following is taken from the New York
Globe, a republican paper:
"We have set up the most extravagant gov
ernment the world has ever known, and year
by year we are making it more extravagant. It
is unpopular to talk economy it Is held to In
dicate smallness of mind. Is not this the rich
est country in the world? Can't we afford to
have what we want when we want it? The
older generation thought that one of the prime
objects of administration was to keep expendi
tures down. Parties and public men boasted
of what is how sneered at as cheese-paring.
Now the man who opposes appropriations, in
stead of gaining popular applause, is likely to
find himself considered a narrow-minded old
fogy who is out of place in a generous age.
"The administration of President Roose
velt is the most expensive this country has ever
known during a time of peace. In every de
partment of the government there has been an
Increase of distribution in most cases an in
crease relatively larger than our increase in
wealth and population. The president has been
an industrious writer of state papers. He has
bombarded congress with "messages general and
messages special. He has touched on almost
every subject of mundane concern. -Yet ono
looks in vain through the volumes of his writing
to discover any more than perfunctory advice
to keep expenditures down. He has been an
advisor of new appropriations all along tho
line, iso president in our history has shown a
smaller development of tho economy sense. Ho
has many times shown extremo Impationco when
It was suggested that while a particular thing
might bo good, porhapB tho govornmont could
not afford it. Ho has enlarged on how moan it
was for an opulont country to tighten its purse
strings. "Explaining by thoso responsible will do
no good. No ono will notice tho dofenso that
tho money wont for good objects. Tho Taft
administration may find itself embarrassed aa
was the second Clovoland administration when
the supremo court invalidated tho Income tax.
Moreover, tho country oxpecta a revision of the
tariff next year, and by revision it meanB smaller
duties, with, In all probability, a smaller revenue.
rhiB congress is doing what it can to block
tariff revision, not merely directly by refusing
to act, but indirectly by doing what it can to
create a financial condition that will make re
vision next year extromely difficult. Nor can
ono ignoro tho possible injury to business if
next year tho government is out of fundB and
is compelled to borrow to meet running ex
penses. From whatovor aspect tho matter is
viewed the contempt for tho budget shown by
the present congress is calculated to arouse
apprehension."
THE GREAT TREASURY DEFICIT
Tho Literary Digest presents some of tho
comments made by republican newspapers con
cerning republican administration. Following is
an extract: ,&,- -
"Tho republican party Is warned.'1 .A0110
of Its own loading organs, the FN, " ' WUI ta,co
Democrat, that the present "dei?J,road and wI11
ginning of a presidential canvass is Ir caB0 l w,n
thing," although it believes "'-so you " m
for a steady improvement." lt1cen years Gandy
lievo a still higher repu' r?aI14X?opiaSl(1 eBn
evor, Chairman Tawnoy, of th uoubg approprhcnRO-
tions coinmitteo, the 'signs are for a steady do- '
tunoniLion. ac tno enu or April tlicf treasury
showed a deficit of over $50,000,000, as com
pared with a surplus of over 555,000,000 a year
before, making a difference of $105000,000.
By the end of Juno, when tho fiscal year ends,
Mr. Tawney predicts that tho deficit will reach
$60,000,000 or $05,000,000, as contrasted with
a surplus of $87,000,000 on Juno 30, 1907, a
difference of $T50,000,000. And as if this wero
not enough, Mr. Tawncy declares thoro will bo
an "almosfcertaln deficit of not less than $150
000,000 at the end of tho next fiscal year."
This big balance on the wrong side of tho
ledger is attributed partly to tho falling off in
revenues, caused by the hard times, and partly
to tho Increased government expenditures. Tho
government expenses for April, 1908, for ex
ample, wero nearly $12,000,000 in excess of Its
expenses for the same month of 1907. Not a
few papers regard this increase as extrava
gance. " .
'J
"IT IS AN OUTRAGE" "
Tho following editorial Is taken from tho.
Ohio State Journal , (rep.) :
"It is charged that Go.tjrnnr Folk trans
cended the bounds of courtes; yZlZ .
ernors' conference, he decla .Z.tCoa way to
protect our forests wa3 to repeal tho duty on
lumber. Tho criticism of Governor Folk I
based on the idea that politics was to be tabooed
in tho conference. But where is tho politic In
merely saying the duty on lumW. " ueu l"'i
removed? Why, nearly evei 'Vn rJ 3-
of that. It is certainly no 'J&SSon, for
no party would dare say specifically it favored
the' retention of tho duty on lumber.
"In discussing the question how to pro
servo our forests, the suggestion to take off the'
tariff that encourages their destruction is very
pertinent. Putting an impost duty on lumber
means tho protection of trees in other landtf and
tho chopping down of our own. It is a good
thing to suggest this. It Is as pertinent as tho
reservation of vast areas of mountain forests.;
"If the governor has been guilty of a little
Impropriety, It will prove of service, for it will
call attention of tho people to an impost that is
not only destroying our forests, but is increas
ing the cost of every homo a man builds. Wo
hear much of tho question, is a tariff a taxt
That doesn't apply to the tariff on lumber, for
it is an outrage."
t )
,i
: ?
i (
J J
i i
I )
)
i
h
t Ih
k
u.