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The Commoner.
VOLUME 10, NUMBER (
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V
i
THE AMERICAN Economist, organ of the
Protoctivo Tariff League, Is a badly scared
publication. "It is customary," says the Econo
mist, "to fall back on tho senate as a suro safe
guard against assaults upon tho protective sys
tem. No matter what may happen in tho house;
no matter if tho control of tho houso should
pass from tho republicans to tho democrats
and thero is gravo danger that this very thing
may happen this very year thero stands tho
sonato, a safo, solid, imprognablo wall of de
fense Its republican majority can not bo over
come. That is tho argument. But is it a
sound argument? Many changes in tho sonato
will bo found on and after March 4, 1911, when
tho Sixty-second congross comes into existence.
Who can toll what thoso changes are to bo? It
is necessary to bear in mind that there is a new
factor to reckon with tho insurgent factor
and that tho sonato is to bo mado up of three
political parties as far as protection is con
cerned, and not two parties, as heretofore."
THEN THE Economist prints a' table said to
havo boon prepared by conservative mem
bers of congress which table indicates that in
tho next congress tho senate will havo forty
throo republicans, thirty-four democrats and five
doubtful. This explanation follows: "In tho
above calculations it is possible, but not prob
able, that Delaware, Indiana, Missouri, Nebras
ka and North Dakota may elect republicans,
while Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, New
York and Ohio may each lose a republican sen
ator. At best it is not an easy matter to figure
out a majority of 'regular' republicans after
March 4, 1911. Again, in 1913, the 'regular'
republicans will likely lose Kansas, South Da
kota and Colorado, with no gain In Bight."
COMMENTING UPON tho above showing, the
American Protective Tariff League says:
"With a senate so constituted, the rock of
safety against harmful agitation of the tariff
dissolves into sand. We do not vouch for to
accuracy of this estimate and forecast. It may
not come true. It certainly will not come true
If tho loyal protectionists oxert themselves to
prevent it. But they will havo to exert them
selves If It is to bo prevented. They will havo
to stop talking about schedules that they fear
aro too high, and atop saying that they are
willing to see every schedule, excepting their
own, reduced. It will not do to say that tho
tariff ought to be taken from all food articles,
for If they do say this tho farmers are sure
to havo something unpleasant to say about the
tariff on manufactures. It will not do to take
aides agalnt the cotton schedule, or tho woolen
schedule, or the lumber schedule, or tho hosiery
schedule, for In such case the friends of these
schedules will be In no humor to support the
particular schedules which the objectors are
most Interested in. They will have to quit this
disintegrating process, and remember that while
a' bundle of sticks is hard to break, it can very
easily be broken if you take one stick at a time.
They will have to tako off their coats and de
vote a good deal of attention to politics. They
will havo to declare war against any and all
enemies of protection, whatever thoir station In
life, whatever party name they call themselves
by. They will have to get busy and stay busy,
this year, next year, and tho year after that.
Nothing but hard work, united work, will suffice.
Nothing elso will keep tho senate from becom
ing non-protectionist."
THIS OUTCRY on behalf of the tariff barons
moves Henry Watterson, writing in the
Louisville Courier-Journal, to say: "Aside from
the confessed alarm, thiB is wholly characteris
tic. Nothing else matters to beneficiaries of
protection except their own pockets. Every
thing elso is secondary to that. Thero are no
principles if they conflict with protection. Po
litical parties, by whatever name, must bo classi
fied merely as for or against protection. Thero
must be no question of adjustment of protec
tive schedules. Thero must bo no question of
linneeded or excessive rates, No schedule, how-
over indefensible, oven on tho profossed theory
of protection, must be abolished or reduced.
Tho right or wrong of no snout that has got
Into tho swill must bo considered. Every thief
of tho Forty Thieves, and of the Forty Hundred
Thieves, must bo safeguarded In his swag be
cause, whilo one stick mar bo broken, a bundle
of sticks may not. In short, tho only issue in
American politics Is tho power of tho subsidists
to continue to wring thoir subsidies from tho
consumers. Simply that and nothing more. It
would seem that tho consumers, on reading this
outcry of tho Tariff League, oug&t to tako off
a few coats themselves."
THOMAS R. ALLERTON, regarded by many
as tho richest man in Chicago, has, at the
ago of eighty-two, relinquished his allegiance
to tho republican party and Joined tho demo
crats. Commoner readers may bo interested
in tho reasons for Mr. Allerton's change of
front. A Chicago dispatch to tho New York
World says: "Tho antagonism of tho veteran
ranchman, packer, banker and capitalist has
been aroused against tho republican party on
account of what he terms its tendency towards
paternalism and meddling. 'A man's got to
think in theso times, and I've been thinking
about where this country will land if the re
publican party stays in power he said. 'We'll
have tho government ownership of everything.
That is what tho republican party is trying to
give us. Then what'll become of our individual
rights? I've got a little stock-yard in Jersey
City, and three men could do the work there
if it wasn't for having about twenty government
officials there to tell us what wo have to do
and what we can't do. Take cattle, for instance.
It is the fool policy of the republican adminis
tration that is to blame for the high prices.
It knocked the ranchman out of business. Did
you over stop to think, young man, how Roose
velt filled this country with government officials
and spies? He more than doubled them; the
country is overrun with them. They have spies
everywhere, and what do they do? Nothing ex
cept interfere with everybody's business. Taft
means well, but ho acts wrong. Roosevelt is
a socialist. He's got a big personal following
because he's done things that tickle the public,
and when he comes back he'll put on the lion's
skin and go out and pose as the savior of the
country, and I wouldn't be surprised if he was
elected. Ive done a lot of thinking, and if
tho democratic party puts up a good man like
Judson Harmon and has a sound platform I'm
going to vote the democratic ticket, and I tell
you there's thousands of men in this country
who think tho same as I do. Bryan has too
many theories. I don't think so much of
Folk.' "
REPRESENTATIVE Edward L, Hamilton of
Michigan, chairman of the house committee
on territories, speaking to tho Washington cor
respondent for the New York World, says: "The
statehood bill sent by congress to tho president
for his signature is merely the enabling act.
Under its terms the territories of New Mexico
and Arizona will havo to pass through a series
of political acts before they are admitted to
the union. It is possible that more than two
years will elapse before tho actual admission
Thero is a likelihood that the new states will
not bo ready to participate as such in the elec
tion of tho next president in 1912. After the
bill Is signed the governors of the territories
must call the constitutional conventions. The
delegates to each constitutional convention will
be elected by the voters of the territory. The
call for their election must issue not less than
sixty nor more than ninety days from the ap
proval of the act. Then thero will be sixty
days before the call of the convention. The law
provides that the delegates will be paid for but
sixty days of the sittings of the convention. This
is. with a view to getting tho new organic law
of the two states framed within that period
Following the drafting of the state constitution',
at tho end of another sixty days thero will be
a general territorial election to ratify the con
stitution. The governor will then certify the
action taken with a copy of the constitution to
the president and congress. Both president and
congress must approve tho constitution adopt
ed." On the first Independence day following
the actual admission of the new states the field
of the American flag will undergo a change. In
place of forty-six stars now appearing there
will be forty-eight. For the first time in more
than a generation the stars will appear in a
perfect parallelogram eight stars across tho
top and six stars" deep. Heretofore it has been
a problem to arrange the stars symmetrically.
Now the number forty-eight is capable of regu
lar arrangement.
THE COST OF living committee, appointed
by the United States senate, has made its
report. Senator Lodge was chairman .of the
committee. An Associated Press dispatch de
scribes the report in this way: "The report
made by Senator Lodge found that of the many
causes contributing tp the advance of prices
the following- were most marked: Increased
cost of production of farm products by reason
of higher land value and higher wages. In
creased demand fpr farm products and food.
Shifting of population from food-producing to
food-consuming occupations and localities. Im
migration to food consuming localities. Re
duced fertility of land resulting in lower aver
age production in increased expenses for fertili
zation. Increased banking facilities in agricul
tural localities, which enabled farmers to hold
their crops and -market them to the best ad
vantage. It is found that this not only steadied
prices but had a tendency to Increase them.
Cold storage plants which result in preventing
extreme fluctuation of prices of certain com
modities with the seasons, but by enabling the
wholesalers to buy and sell at the best. possible
advantage, tending to advance prices. Increased
cost of distribution. Industrial combination.
Organizations of producers or of dealers. Ad
vertising, over capitalization. Higher standard
of living. The foregoing findings .were gathered
by measuring the prices of 257 commodities,
included in the price of index number of the
bureau of labor. These commodities" were
grouped with the advances during the period
from 1900 to 1909 Inclusive. The general'
whflesale price level duties advanced during
that period 14.5. The groups show advances as
follows: Farm products, 39.8; food, etc., 18.7 ;
timber and building materials, 19.6; miscella
neous commodities, 14.7; cloths and clothing,
12.0; fuel, 6.9; house furnishing goods, 5.3;
metals and implements, 3.6. A decline was
shown for drugs and chemicals amounting to
2.9 per cent. The report states that in view
of the fact that the increases have been so much
greater in products coming either directly or in
directly from the farms than in any other line
excepting products of the forest) the conclusion
must be reached that the most important" cause
for the advance is to be found in a study of
farm conditions. The democrats on the com
mittee will make a minority report later."
THE POSTAL savings bank bill, as it goes
to tho president, is described by the Asso
ciated Press in this way: "The bill provides for
the designation of postoffices as postal savings
depository offices. The opening of such deposi
tories is left to the discretion of a board of three
trustees, consisting of the postmaster general,
the secretary of the treasury and the attorney
general. This board is given complete control
of the depositories and of their funds. As it
will require considerable time for the board to
prepare its regulations it is impossible at this
ni Predict hen the postal banking system
will be in operation. In these depositories any
Sf?nJer t6n yearsxof ase may make deposits
of funds amounting to one dollar or multiples
of that amount. Pass books will be issued to
depositors and Interest allowed at tho rate of
Pr cent per annum No person is to be per
mitted to deposit more than $100 in any one
?Knnn ni,r t0J?? allowed to have exceeding
1$ ? S ?rollt at any tIme The withdrawal
of funds is to be permitted at any time. The
postal savings funds thus accumulated are to