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The Commoner.
6
VOLUME 10, NUMBER 2 1
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WITH TUB fiscal year ending June 30,
1909, according to tho annual report of
tho bureau of railway nows Mid statistics, seven
teen railroad companies of tho United States
completed a six-year term without a passenger
klllod, 95 companies a five-year term, 177 com
panies a four-year period, 228 companies three
year, 287 companies two years, and 347 com
panies, out of 3G8 reporting, Oi.e year of Im
munity. Referring to this showing tho New
York World says: "This gain In safety was
accomplished along with tremendous increases
of track mileage and with a multiplication of
risks through additions to train schedules. The
mileago of tho death-immune American roads
of 1908-9 was 159,057. Only twico in half a
century has tho no-fatality record been made
on tho railways of Great Britain, which have
now, according to tho bureau report, a mileago
of 23,000. Theso figured facts of safety on the
rail are In gratifying disagreement with a popu
lar Idea. As explaining contrary impressions,
wo have to romembor that wlioreas most train
wrecks got into tho news, nothing is said of day-to-day
trips, without event. The bureau statis
tics sooms to demonstrate that railroad man
agers and employes are taking increased care
and that tho mission of the block-signal is be
ing perfected."
FREDERICK M. KERBY, a stenographer in
Secretary Ballinger's office, tostiflod that
Oscar Lawlor, a lawyer attached to Secretary
Ballingor's department, dictated the opinion
which tho president issued in exonerating Sec
rotary Ballingor. This testimony created a
great stir in Washington. The president deemed
It of pufflclont importance to write the public
a statement through a letter a'ddressed to Sen
ator Nelson. Mr. Taft says that ho did use
some of Mr. Lawler's words in his letter of
exoneration but that it was only done to ex
pedite tho work and that tho exoneration let
tor represented his sentiments after thorough
Investigation. Immediately after the stenog
rapher, Korby, had given his testimony ho was
discharged by Secretary Ballinger. Mr. Bal
lingor wrote to Mr. Kerby this letter. "Sir
You are hereby discharged from the public ser
vice bocauso you aro unworthy to remain in it
In divulging information obtained by you in
the confidential relation of stenographer to the
secretary ot tho interior; in communicating that
information to those whom you are bound to
know aro wrongfully seoking to bring reproach
upon the administration and to injure me; and
in deliberately mis-stating material facts as to
SSJ, yo? dld treacherously communicate you
5 ? itllat you are unworthy and unsafe. Tho
S5 n? y?Ur eacllGry Is ftile can not miti
gate the character of your offense. For the
Respectfully' rViC0 h0reby dl8mIsSed'
WHILE Stenographer Kerby was on tho
i . l wns badeered by the republican
members of the committee and tho attorney for
Ballinger. Secretary Root wanted to know if
Kerby thought it was just the thing to vloTate
dUty lff I1 condontial clerk to Ballinger
SSffl ?- ?,P ied ?iat he garded nimself af a
confidently clerk to tho government and there
Publican M " V hIS duty to tSkeX
public into hi3 confidence. Following Kerhv
Attorney Oscar Lawlor, the man who wrote Mr
Waft's exoneration letter, took the stand He
was In a very bad humor and ho denounced At
torney Brandeis as a liar, withdrawing the f
mark when he was rebuked by the comifttet
ASA RESULT of Stenographer Kerby's testl
A. mony the Ballinger committee ordered E
C. Finney, assistant to tho secretary of the in
terior, to produce the copies of certain letters
between Secretary Ballinger and George W
Perkins of J. Plerpont Morgan's company Mr
JJlnney reported that he had seaTehed through
the flies and had found only ono letter. This
letter was ono written by George W Parti
of J. P. Morgan & Co., to Ballinge7iast sum"
mer on the former's return from a trip to
Alaska. Mr. Perkins wrote that he thought
ho had discovered two new glaciers in Alaska
and asked Ballinger if they could not be named
Princeton glacier and Tiger's Trail glacier, after
tho New Jersey university. Mr. Ballinger .re
ferred tho matter to the coast and geodetic sur
vey, which replied that the two glaciers al
ready had been charted and bore other
names. The prosecution has sought to show
that the Morgan-Guggenheim interests were the
persons controlling or seeking to control the
Alaska situation through the interior depart
ment. Stenographer Kerby read several letters
from Secretary Ballinger's personal file yester
day which he contended showed Mr. Ballinger
to be on friendly terms with Mr. Perkins. One
of these letters showed that the secretary was a
guest of Perkins one Sunday last May. Attor
ney Brandeis holds it to be exceedingly material
to tho investigation for tho committee to know
the extent of Mr. Ballinger's relations with Mr.
Perkins.
THE MEXICAN Herald is guilty of this bit .
of lese majeste: "Most of us in Mexico
those who were living here fourteen years ago,
and differing perhaps with many of the radical
notions of the famous Nebraskan cherish a
sentimental regard for Bryan, who championed
the cause of his country's chief mineral product
so eloquently, and that at a time when silver
was being legislated against, and shut out of
the mints of the world as a principal money
metal. The sum and substance of Bryan's
offending was that 'he wanted to put into the
hands of tho people a coin called a dollar and
actually worth about fifty cents. Tho gold
bugs shrieked, the press and pulpit bellowed
against the knave and mischief-maker, and
Bryan was defeated. Then came Nature, turned
Bryanito, giving forth her huge stores of un
mined gold such quantities that the yellow metal
has depreciated to a1 point that its purchasing
power has fallen off quite to the worse that was
predicted of the Bryan silver dollar. Not that
this is good altogether; prices have gone too
high in relation to the earning power of the
masses; debts have been scaled down to the
benefit of the debtor class and to the detriment
of the creditor class; serious men are apprehen
sive of tho future, and statesmen are puzzled
over the results of the continued heavy out
pouring of new gold. Nature is an enthusiastic,
reckless, wanton disciple of Mr. Bryan, regard
less of consequences. Could he have had the
clairvoyant vision,, and have seen what was
coming, he might have won immortal fame as
the champion of cheaper gold, for it was on
its way, and today presents the gravest problem
confronting the financiers of the world."
MRV ?R1iA1? spoke on May 20 before the
Lake Mohonk conference on international
arbitration. He said: "Some favor larse
navies in the belief that they will compel peace
others believe, and I share the belief, that peace
can better 'be promoted by discouraging th
spirit that inspires the building of big navies
Our nation is in a better position than any other
to test the power of example in leading the na
tions into the paths of peace. It does not need
to compete with the .world in battleships It
will become an increasing influence for neace
in proportion as it relies on peaceful methods
rather than on a show of force. It oucht to
announce its willingness to enter into traitiS
with all nations stipulating that there should be
no declaration of war or commencement of hoi
tilities until the matter in dispute has been sub-
SdrtS imPartIal tribUnal fr SaC
THE ARBITRATION conference in session
at Mohonk Lake adopted the following
platform: "The sixteenth annual Lake Mohonk
conference on arbitration congratulates the neo
Pie of the United States on the marked prog?ess"
which the past year has witnessed in the III
long struggle for the substitution of the reign
of law, for the reign of force in international
affairs It notes with deep satisfaction thesS
niflcant; announcement of the secretary of state
that the proposed legislation of the interna
tional court of arbitral justice, recommended to
the powers in his cirjcular note of October 18,
1909, has been received with so much favor as
to insure the establishment of such a court in
the near future. The conference has further
noted with profound satisfaction President Taft's
recent declaration in favor of the submission to
arbitration of matters of differences between
nations, without reservation of questions deemed
to affect the national honor and the conference
expresses the earnest hope that the president
and senate will give effect to this wise and far
seeing declaration by entering upon the negotia
tion of general treaties of arbitration of this
character at the earliest practicable moment.
The conference reaffirms its declaration of last
year respecting the portentious growth of mili
tary and naval establishments and calls renewed
attention to the fact that the rapid development
of the instrumentalities of law and justice for
the settlement of international differences fur
nishes to the statesmanship of the civilized
world the long desired opportunity of limiting
by agreement the earliest practicable moment.
The coming celebration of the one hundredth
anniversary of the agreement between Great
Britain and the United States definitely limiting
their naval force to 400 tons and four eighteen-,
pounders on the great lakes and the St. Law
rence river, calls renewed attention to the con
tinued menace to the peace of the world caused
by prevailing conditions elsewhere, and empha
sizes the fact so well expressed by former Presi-.
dent Roosevelt in his Christiania address, that
with sincerity of purpose the great powers of
the world should find no insurmountable- diffi
culty in reaching an agreement which would
put an end to the present costly and growing
extravagance of the expenditure in naval armaments."
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THE WHITE HOUSE is-figuring dust noWf'iif
a little love affair. The Chicago Record
Herald says: "President Taft announced his
intention of releasing from ihe federal prison at
Fort Leavenworth Charles H. Thornton, a Chi
cago man, who is serving a term of five years
n nAnblng the Hainilton National bank of
?10,000 in order that he may marry a Chicago
f lrLw" since ner nance's incarceration May 2,
1907, has remained faithful to him. The wed
ding is to take place some time before Christ
mas. Young Thornton will be released? Decem
ber 8 although his term, with 'good time' taken
out, does not expire until January 8 1911
Thornton and W. W Baker confessed to' taking
funds from the bank and to concealing their
thefts by juggling the bank accounts. Baker
Znl ntttne Jewell, and Thornton, who
was the brains of the combination, was sent to
S2LL?a venwrth- U was not Ifniwn, until an
attempt was begun by E. J. Darragh an attor
ney for the Chicago Union Traction company
to secure Thornton's release, that there eVer
to? thfSTTM11 hiS Uti DienteSearch
for the woman in the case,' when his pecula
tions were discovered, revealed no trace of her
Vgnew oW h?USe' the oTuvf
last niehf 'rtnt I Calumet; avee, it was said
navini gal!tt WaS not known to hve been
?o nSLJfnE ? lon t0 any young woman. Efforts
to ascertain her name failed. Officials in. the
pardon office at Washington admitted Sat the?
ievell llQ S:Tn'? n?me' but dS?Jed to
K "".J who she is,' said one of them,
out I cant make her name public She is a
togging CZtZl,, The- o usp
A FTBR THE lower house of the New York
S Sls a ure had defeated the income tax'
?orty ofStSneeSeThe the b7 ma
&wf Yrk WTohr!dt byas?y Sfi?25W"
ator Edgar Truman Brackett of wL? Sen"
luctantly cast under a call fnr ira?ea re"
complished the adoption tonight $ fn',
port resolution indorsing thG 1? J? 'Dan
Plan by the state ,sqnate! Af?er a batnH
nfe than- eio4&
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