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The Commoner
VOLUME 9, NUMBER
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I A. GEORGE, of company E, Second Rcgi
j. mcnt Vermont Volunteers, writes from
Milford, Neb., as follows: "I notice an article
In The Commoner referring to Lincoln and tne
Bleeping sentinel and credited to the New York
Herald. As to the story about young Scott l
do not know, but as to the skirmish near York
town, Va., I do know, for 1 was there. How an
intelligent newspaper liko tho New York Herald
can make such historical blunders I can laly
understand. Tho skirmish was made April lb
and four companies of tho Third Vermont be
sides some of tho Fourth Vermont crossed the
Warwick creek (not the .lames river, which at
that placo is probably a mile wide). The whole
siego of Yorktown was a farce and to think of
it makes mo mad after being in Gettysburg,
tho Wilderness, Spottsylvania and Coal Harbor.
o
SOME ONE has sent to Mr. Bryan a copy of
.tho Farm Nows printed at Dallas, Texas,
for Friday, November 27, 1908. This paper con
tains tho formal statement filed by George L.
Sheldon, treasurer of tho republican national
-committee, purporting to show tho money re
ceived by tho national committee for the cam
paign of 1908. Tho party who sent this paper
directs attention to tho Sheldon statement and
says: "You said they did not do it." This
party has doubtless been misled by Mr. Bryan's
statement that tho republican congressional
committeo made no statement of its receipts.
In tho opinion of many people the failure of tho
congressional committee to report covers a mul
titude of questionable contributions.
O-
TT1E FEDERAL grand jury in session at Wash
ington, lD. C, returned on February 17 in
dictments against tho company publishing the
Now York World, also against Joseph Pulitzer,
Calob M. Van Hamm and Robert H. Lyinan,
odltors of the World; also against Delavan Smith
and Charles R. Williams, owners of the Indian
apolis Nows. These gentlemen are charged with
-libel in publication Jn connection with the pur
chase of tho Panama' canal. Those alleged to
have been libeled are: President Roosevelt, J.
Fiorpont Morgan, Ellhu Root, Charles P. Taft,
Douglas RoblnBon, William Nelson Cromwell.
Immediately upon the return of tho indictment
Justice Gould in tho criminal court directed the
issuanco of a summons for the corporation that
publishes tho Now York World, also bench war
rants for the individuals indicted.
THE BALTIMORE papers recently printed tho
appeal of Thomas E. Swann, a young collogo
graduate from Seattle, Wash., for any kind of
work, which was made through an advertisement
in tho want columns of a newspaper, in which
the young man offered to sell himself into tem
porary slavery rather than starve. The ad
vertisement read: "White man twenty-seven
years old, will sell himself into slavery
to tho highest bidder for any period not
exceeding five years; graduate of high school
and military academy; can use typewriter and
assist in bookkeeping or other clerical work;
am proficient in nursing and can perform minor
surgical operations; competent to care for in
valid or mildly insane case; am total abstainer;
-want work Qf any kind; purchaser must provide
lodging and clothing."
THE BALTIMORE correspondent for tho New
York Herald says: "Swan has beon looking
for work for six weeks. Ho says he has been
obliged to sell much of his clothing in order to
get a little money with which to buy food and
that Wednesday night ho had to sell his last
extra pair of shoes. Ho stated that ho had been
working for a while in Chicago. Ho then went
to Norfolk, Va., whoro ho was employed in tho
navy yard as a timekeeper until discharged on
account of lack of work. Then ho came to
Baltimore. Today's mail brought generous re
sponses and offers to provide work for Swann
in somo cases and food and shelter in others
Ono tender hcartod lady was touched by tho
young man's plight and oven though she ex
plained that sho herself was in poor circum
stances, she offered to take care of him until
he could secure something to do more worthy
than delivering himself into even partial servi
tude. Next, Harbor Master Joseph L. Farnam
offered Swann work on a farm. Harry Hech
heimer, an attorney, made a similar offer and
A. S. Pcttit, of the United States Fidelity and
Guaranty company, called in person to inter
view the young man. A representative of the
big department store of Joel Gutman & Co., sent
Swann an offer of work. Mr. Gutman himself
took an interest in the young man, providing
him with a complete outfit of clothing and agree
ing to put him to work Monday morning at a
good salary."
rpHRBB UNITED States senatorial aspirants
JL appeared in one day before the Wisconsin
committee which is investigating the senatorial
primary election of 1908. Referring to the
testimony of these gentlemen an Associated
Press dispatch says: "Samuel A. Cook of
Neenah, while his official statement showed that
he spent only $28k500, admitted that a supple
mental statement would show that belated bills
were making his expenditures above $40,000.
Mr. Cook engaged W. C. Cowling of Oshkosh,
as his manager, paying him $210 a month.
Checks for nearly all expenses were made out
to Mr. Cowling. Mr. Cook was asked by the
committee if he thought a candidate for senator
could spend $100,000 legitimately in a sena
torial campaign, and replied that twice that
amount could easily be spent. Neal Brown of
Wausau, the democratic nominee, testified to
having parted with $1,075.87, in what he termed
a 'poverty' campaign. He managed his own
campaign. William H. Hatton said his total
expenses were $26,613.08, and later added $3,
668.90 for bills which came in later. Mr. Hat
ton had as many as five men looking after his
interests and most of the money was spent in
sending out literature to voters. Both Cook
and Hatton expressed the opinion that the can
didate receiving the largest vote in a properly
conducted campaign was entitled to election.
United States Senator Stephenson recently filed
a statement showing that he spent over $107,000
in the primary election."
AN ASSOCIATED Press dispatch from Jeffer
son City, Mo., says: "Henry S. Priest of
St. Louis and H. Clay Pierce, chairman of the
board of the Waters-Pierce Oil company, filed in
the supreme court of Missouri an acceptance
of the terms imposed upon the company by the
recent ouster order of tho court. The fine of
$50,000 was paid. The ouster decree provided
that tho company must show to the court that
it had severed all connection with the Standard
Oil company and a statement to this effect may
yet be required by the court. Judge Priest,
however, said that he believed today's action
covered the case so far as tho Missouri corpora
tion was concerned and said he did not know of
anything more that could be done. On the
grounds that the Waters-Pierce Oil company of
Missouri has not complied with the ouster de
cree of the supreme court of the state in an
answer filed this morning, Attorney General
Major this afternoon filed with the court a sug
gestion that the ouster be made effective against
the concern. This course was agreed upon after
conferences between the attorney general, Gov
ernor Hadley and former assistant attorney gen
eral John Kennish, who assisted Hadley in the
original presentation of the case. The action
of tho attorney general will be based upon tho
fact that the company Jhas not furnished satis
factory evidence that it has severed relations
with the Standard'Oil company. The conference
between the state officials followed a talk be
tween them and Henry S. Priest, attorney for
the company. Payments of the fine were made
by a tender of a certified check for $50,000
The acceptance is silent so far as showing a
re-organization independent of the Standard Oil
company is concerned, and there is no showing
that the New Jersey corporation does not still
own a pGr cent of the Waters-Pierce stock It
is said that the Waters-Pierce company will ask
the court to aid it in carrying out the re-organization
order portion of the decree. If this is
done a contest between the Waters-Pierce and
Standard Oil company of Indiana is almost sure
to result, the latter concern having petitioned
tho court to have the majority stock in the
Waters-Pierce company, together with other
Standard Oil property in this state placed in
the hands of trustees representing the company
and the state. This plan is not acceptable to
the Waters-Pierce interests, who assert that it
would not free them from the domination of tho
Standard Oil company as required by the origi
nal decree in ouster."
GERONIMO, the noted Indian chief, died
February 17 at Fort Sill, Okla., where ho
had been confined for a number of years as a
prisoner of war. The old chief- died of pneu
monia after two days' illness -and was buried in
the Indian cemetery near Fort Sill. Tho Law
ton (Okla.) correspondent for the Associated
Press says: "Gcronimo was the war chief of
the Apaches. He was captured with his band
at Skelton Canyon, Arizona, twenty-two years
ago, having surrendered to General Nelson A.
Miles, who with his soldiers had pursued him
for months. It is a curious coincidence that
news of Geronimo's death was sent out from
Lawton, which was named after the late Henry
F. Lawton, the famous general who, as a mem
ber of Miles.' command, led the 3,000 mile chase
that resulted in the chief's surrender. The chase
after Geronimo was begun at Omaha' in January,
1885. General Miles, in command of the de
partment of the Missouri, received instructions
to rout the band of Indians headed by Ge onimo
and kill or capture its chief, and began opera
tions by organizing an expedition consist
ing of the Second, Eighth and Ninth in
fantry and the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and
Eighth cavalry, the horsemen being in charge
of Henry F. Lawton, . then lieutenant. Tho
expedition was gotten under way in January,
1885, and the capturo of Gcronimo and his band
finally made nearly two years later. Since he
had been confined at Fort Sill Geronimo had
made many attempts to gain his liberty. Early
in 1908 Geronimo made a trip to Washington
with a number of his followers in an effort to
interest President Roosevelt in his case. Tho
old Indian was unsuccessful, however, and to
the last Geronimo had been full of bitter hatred
for the white man. At the time of his death
Geronimo was eighty-six years old. One daugh
ter, Lola, who lives in Oklahoma, survives the
aged warrior."
THE NEW YORK World has a hard time liv
ing down its record. Tho Omaha World
Herald says: "The New York Tribune has a
mean disposition. The New York World, which
became famous by publishing a 'Map of Bryan
ism,' and libeling the government's brother-in-law,
surprised its readers the other day by
coming out of the megrims and indulging in a
beautiful spring rhapsody on the present and
future of the democratic party. The World de
clared that the party which it loves so ardently
except just preceding election time is neither
dead nor half-dead. In proof it submitted the
enormous increase in the ".emocratic vote last
fall, tho gaining of democratic governors and
senators in northern states, the death of the fac
tional feuds and the amity and harmony which
now prevails within the ranks. And it wound
up with the assertion and prophecy that tho
party 'is in better condition than it has been
since 1892, and has every prospect of being in
still better condition two years from now.' The
World is right about it, of course. We frankly
admit it and would be willing to stop at that,
letting bygones bo bygones. But the Tribune,
as before remarked, has a mean disposition. It
endeavors maliciously to open old sores by ask
ing such questions as 'Under whose leadership
were these gains in voting strength made?'
Who stilled old factional feuds?' 'Who united
the party in 1908 and put it in better condition
than it has been in since 1892?' The Tribune
is trying to ruffle the World's composure by
intimating that Mr. Bryan is responsible, and
that the World's 'Map of Bryanism,' which
cheerfully accorded Mr. Bryan a monopoly for
an the reverses that have overtaken it since
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