13
FEBRUARY 23, 1912
The Commoner.
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WASHINGTON NEWS
A United Press dispatch says: An
investigation of the Money trust will
be made by the senate committee on
interstate commerce. It will bo far
reaching and comprcbensive. Such
was the declaration of Senator Cum
mins (rep., la.), a prominent mem
ber of the committee. Cummins
said ample authority was now pos
sessed by the committee to proceed
with tho inquiry and no additional
powers need be conferred by the
senate. Cummins returned re
cently from Michigan. Ho has not
yet conferred with other members
of the interstate commerce com
mittee, but declared positively that
tho investigation would bo made.
Consideration of the Money trust by
the interstate commerce committee
will obviate the necessity for Sena
tors Kenyon (rep., la.), and Lea
(dem., Tenn.), pushing their resolu
tion for a joint congressional probe.
Cummins could not say when the
inquiry would begin.
Senator La Follette sent the fol
lowing telegram to Geo. S. Loftus
of Minneapolis: "Out of a full heart
I thank you for your good telegram
which bespeaks, as always, your un
wavering fidelity to the progressive
movement. Though urged to do so,
I have refused to make any combina
tion or compromise that might con
fuse the issue' or mislead the people.
I ask only delegates who stand stead
fast to principle. Your unwavering
constancy in maintaining advanced
ground will be an inspiration to all
real progressives in. every state."
Following is an Associated Press
dispatch under date of February
14th: The house rules' committee
held a secret meeting recently to act
on Representative Pujo's money trust
resolution and developed some dis
cord about it. The followers of
Chairman Henry, who lost in caucus
the fight for a special investigation
by a select committee, opposed tne
Pujo resolution. Another meeting
will be held soon. Meanwhile demo
cratic members of the house banking
and currency committee to whfrh
the Investigation was referred by the
caucus held a meeting and expressed
a willingness to broaden tho Pujo
resolution to designate specific things
for investigation as was done in the
Henry resolution. The rules' com
mittee, however, is not unanimous to
broaden the Pujo resolution. Repre
sentatives Hardwick, Garrett and
others are opposed to that.
A fight of several years' duration
over the government's plans to print
Its paper money by power presses in
stead of by hand, was compromised
when the plate printers' union
approved a plan by which the
faces of the notes will be printed
by hand and the backs by power
press. Senator Smooth, chairman
of the congressional joint print
ing committee estimated the gov
ernment will save many thousands
of dollars a year. He predicted that
at the end of five years the printers
would be willing to have all the
notes printed by power.
t
The inter-state commerce commis
sion has discovered a community of
of interests between the express and
Tailroad companies through the
ownership of railroad stocks by the
express companies and of express
stocks by the railroad companies. A
Washington dispatch to the New
York World says: It has been de
veloped that a partnership exists
among the various express com
panies through the medium of the
ownership by one of the stocks of
others. It was shown that the Adams
Express company owns Btocks of tho
Pennsylvania Railroad company to
the value of $6,171,400; Atchison,
Topeka and Santa Re Railroad com
pany, $400,000; Baltimore and Ohio,
$290,000; Chicago, Milwaukee and
St. Paul, $425,000; Chicago, Mil
waukee and Western company,
$317,400; Chicago, Peoria and St.
Louis Railway company, $247,750;
Iowa Central Railway company,
$191,000; and Louisville and Nash
ville, $50,000. The Adams Ex
press company has in its treasury
assets amounting to $23,133,480,
much of it in stocks and bonds of
othor express companies and rail
roads. It will be called on by the
commission to furnish all the details
regarding the nature of these
securities. The commission has
other information showing the close
alliance between the express com
panies and has decided to disclose
the extent of this partnership. Evi
dence has been obtained by the com
mission showing that the Adams Ex
press company owns $100,000 worth
of stock of the American Express
company, $650,000 worth of South
ern Express company stock, and
$960,000 of United States Express
company stock. The American Ex
press company has absolute control
of the. National Express company, and
has stock of the United States Ex
press company to the value of $1,
000,000. Tho Southern Express
company owns Adams Express com
pany stock valued at $118,000;
American Express company stock
valued at $118,500, and United
States Express company stock valued
at $70;000. The United States Ex
press company owns Wells-Fargo Ex
press stock to the amount of $51,200.
The Merchants' association of New
York requested tho commission to
make an investigation to learn "the
origin and terms of the contracts be
tween the express and railroad com
panies for the express privilege and
of disclosing the names of the stock
holders of each of the express com
panies, particularly as to the express
stock held by railroad companies,
their officers and agents." This in
vestigation is now being made and
the express companies will be re
quired by the commission to show
whether their stocks of other com
panies were paid for and the exact
nnt.ure of the consideration. They
will be required to supply a list of
their stockholders, which is known
to contain the names of many rail
road officials.
ously criticises tho United States for
not submitting to arbitration tho dif
ferences with Colombia, growing out
of this government's acquisition of
tho Panama canal zone.
Inasmuch as the letter is ad
mittedly the personal expression of
the minister, wrltton without having
communicated with his government,
it was received at tho state depart
ment in tho nature of a personal
insult to this government. No action
has been taken and no official would
comment on It, but the incident Is
known to have stirred officials of the
United States to such an extont that
tho recall of the Colombian mlnlotor
Is expected as a matter of course. At
present the United States is disposed
to wait until Senor Ospina receives
tho instructions he has asked for.
has ever filled that high office. Ho la
great in a way that votes can not
make a man or unmake Thricc-a-Week
Gazette (Clinton, Ky.)
GifFord Plnehot has Issued a state
ment withdrawing his support from
Senator La Follette and giving the
same to Theodore Roosevelt.
A dispatch to the New York World
says: An increase of $24,000,000
a year in exnendltureB for pensions Is
carried In a bill accepted by the
senate committee on pensions. The
plan adopted was that submitted by
Senator Smoot. It combines service
with age.
The Sherwood bill, already passed
by the house, proposing an Increane
of $75,000,000 a year, was rejocted
by a vote of 8 to 4. Those favoring
the Sherwood bill were Senators
Brown, Curtis, Shively and Johnson.
The Smoot bill, providing an addi
tion of $24,000,000 to existing al
lowances, was accepted hy a vote or
10 to 2. Those opposing this meas
ure were Senators Bryan and
Pomerene.
Notice was given by those favoring
the Sherwood bill that they would
reserve the right to antagonize the
Smoot measure on the floor and seek
to substitute the house measure.
H. H. Eagle, a Pittsburg news
paper man, submitted to the Stan
ley Steel trust Investigating com
mittee what purported to be a copy
of a "black list" of steel-workers
which had been the property of the
Carnegie Steel company. The list
contained about 3,000 names.
KIND WORDS
An Associated Press dispatch from
Washington says: A grave diplo
matic situation between the United
States and Colombia has been preci
pitated by the publication of a let
ter which Senor Pedro Nel Ospina,
the Colombian minister, has written
to Acting Secretary Huntington Wil
son of the state department, suggest
ing that it might be "inopportune"
for Secretary Knox to visit Colom
bia during his projected tour of
South America.
The Colombian minister, first
drawing attention to the fact that
i iriown nrft his own and not offi
cially those of his government, seri-l
It is good to look into his .kind,
frank, honest face. It is sweet to
listen to his voice. Men, women
and children, of whatever political
faith or previous condition of mind
toward him, recognize In him a grand
leader of men clean In life, cour
ageous In his convictions, unhesitat
ing in taking his stand for what he
conceives to be right, unmindful of
tne consequences to himself; greater
in defeat than other men in victory.
Such a man is Bryan, and It was
Bryan the man, Bryan the demo
crat, Bryan the gentleman, Bryan
the leader of men, who was the cyno
sure of all eyes when the train rolled
Into Clinton and tho great crowd at
the station was there to show him
what a place he holds In the hearts
of the people. It was the first time
that many of those assembled there
had ever laid eves on him. but when
he stepped onto the rear platform of
the coach in which he was traveling
he needed no Introduction. There
was not even a child there but what
knew him and clapped hands to give
him greeting and welcome. He
spoke for not more than ten .minutes,
and many paid no particular heed to
what he said just taking their fill
of gazing on the face of a man who
means so much to all of us; listening
to his cadenced words, like music to
hungry souls, and with deep in-draw-ings
of breath joying in his very
presence. In ten minutes he said
much. He pointed the way and asked
us to follow it, and told us why It was
good to do so. And we believed him,
for it is not possible to doubt him.
Thank heaven that such a man was
given to this generation. Nothing
but good can come out of such a
life. What though he shall never bo
president of the United States, he
is yet greater than any president that
Tho sixth lecturer for this year's
high school lecturo course was Wil
liam Jonnlngs Bryan. He came first
on the list, Soptombor 6, and a
crowded houso listened nearly two
hours in rapt attention to tho "groat
commoner's" exposition of "Signs of
tho Times." You could have heard
a pin drop between tho words
where the chuckles didn't ripplo and
the applause burst forth.
Wo know now why William Jen
nings Bryan ran three times for tho
presidency and could run again If
he would say tho word. We didn't
know until we came under the spell
of his idealism.
Bryan is tho prophet of tho new
ago of brotherhood. Ho is bigger
than his party, or your party, or
mine. He Is greater than himself,
for he can laugh at himself.
And he is honest and sincere. Ho
would rather see tho republican party
oxecuto his policies now than to wait
four years or eight years to do It
himself. At least tho spirit of him
would rather, and if the flesh turned
faint-hearted ho would Bquaro his
jaw and follow his spirit.
William J. Bryan is tho evangel of
the cosmic consciousness.
He is the great advertiser of things
to come, a discoverer of tho ideals
we are all working for who are not
blind workers for themselves alone.
Democrats, republicans, socialists,
prohibitionists all doors dynamic
are working for tho tilings William
J. Bryan advertises.
The ultra-conservatives and tho
misdoers are the tail of our kite, tho
ballast in our balloon. Or the dead
cuticle we slough off as we exercise.
If there Is another man in tho
world who sees more clearly where
wo are going, and by what paths wcy
may arrive, I don't know him. Pos
sibly he doesn't advertise.
And if there is another statesman
who knows more thoroughly that tho
world is going straight where It
ought to, and pretty nearly as fast
as it can, then he must be hiding his
light under a bushel Instead of light
ing the way vith it for you and for
me. From the Nautilus (Holyoke,
Mass.)
HIGH TIDE IN THE WORLD'S
FLOOD OF GOLD
The world's output of gold for
1911 is estimated at $460,000,000, a
gain of only $12,000,000 over the
preceding year. A few years ago,
when the flood of the yellow stuff
was at its height, following the dis
covery of the cyanide process and
striking developments in many re
gions of low-grade ores, it was esti
mated that by 1910 or 1912 the
world might be expected to turn out
annually half a billion dollars' worth
of gold. Today, with North Ameri
can production about at a standstill,
with Australia losing fast, and only
Africa showing important gains, it
seems unlikely that tho present up
ward curve will rise above the half
billion mark.
Some economists still decline to
see any positive relation between
prices and the volume of money in
circulation. The irrefutable logic
of facts, however, has done much to
discredit their views. The flood of
basic money has buoyed prices up
ward and upward; but the first signs
of recession are now coming, simul
taneously with indications that tho
production of gold Is near Its apex,
and that a decline may ensue. Tho
quantitative theory has been bols
tered in popular confidence, despite
insistence from somo quarters that
prices have gone'up because the pro
duction of necessaries has not kept
pace with the world's demand.
Munsey's Magazine.
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