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The Commoner
VOL. 15, NO. 10
28
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Legislation Convincing Business
Honesty is Best and Profitable
George McAneny, President of
the Board of Aldermen of New York
City, In the Now York World.
The most striking characteristic
of American legislation during the
past 20 years Is the extent to which
it has swung away from the old plan
of conferring privileges and immun
ities in the interest of private profit
to the new plan of imposing duties
and responsibilities in the Interest of
the public welfare.
A few people, no doubt, look back
with regret to the days when it was
easy, or often easy, by means of
money judiciously expended, to se
cure the passage of laws which placed
the public at the mercy of any band
of unscrupulous men which was pre
pared to corrupt a legislature in or
der that it might swindle a commun
ity. The ancient alliance between diB
honest business and dishonest pol
itics found its broadest field of ac
tivity in matters concerning trans
portation, lighting and insurance,
and it was in this field that public
indignation achieved its earliest
and most brilliant victories when it
addressed itself to the task of ob
taining relii 1 from an intolerable op
pression. Public Must Not Bo Exploited
It was no more than natural that
those who were personally interested
in preserving tli old order of things
should have made every effort to pre
vent the spread of a doctrine which
announced as its cardinal principle
that, from the standpoint of the
greatest good for the greatest num
ber, business should be conducted
from higher considerations than
those of mere profit. But these ef
forts were in vain; and we have seen
put in force, through federal, state
and municipal regulation, a Buper
unrestricted exploitation for the pur
pose of private gain.
I have no doubt whatever that,
compared with the general conditions
which prevailed 10 years ago, Amer
ican business is more honest, more
efficient and more law abiding, and
that the vast majority of business
men havo not only resigned them
selves to a sane and moderate regu
lation, but have come round to the
view that if the nation's prosperity is
to rest upon solid foundations the
profits of capital must go hand in
hand with a square deal to labor and
a square deal to tie public.
Why Not Puro Clothes?
If a man were to go to Albany
and conduct a campaign against the
passage of a law forbidding theft or
manslaughter ho would bring down
upon himself the scorn and ridicule
of the whole community. He would
be compelled to face the clear im
plication that he wished to be free
to rob or kill of it suited him.
Yet a number of interested cor
porations and individuals are not
ashamed to come out in the open
and oppose the passage of laws which
declare that when you take pay for
a pound of but'-r you must deliver
a pound of butter, that when you
label a bottle "grain alcohol" it shall
not contain wood alcohol, thatwhen
you advertise a sale of pure woolen
clothing you must not give your cus
tomer a shoddy suit of cotton goods.
Profits That Are Immoral
The most important aspect of this
question is that which relates to the
public health. No argument is need
ed to prove that it is grossly immoral
for manufacturers or retailers to
make a profit out of adulterating
food with injurious substances, or by
putting on the market imitations or
inferior forms of drugs used in fill-
always a little farther into the en
emy's territory. If we still witness
from time to time an outburst of hos
tility against the spirit of fair play
in trade we are impressed rather by
the vast numbers who approve in si
lence rather than by the few who
voice their reactionary sentiments
from the housetops.
An encouraging sign of the times
is to be found in the fact that many
persons affected by regulative legis
lation have begun by making gloomy
prophecies that they would he driven
out of business and have ended by
accepting regulation as being of act
ual benefit to them.
vision over commerce and industry in? nhysicians' prescriptions.
which gives effect to a deep seated What is not generally realized Is
public conviction that the people or tho serious meance which such prac
a free country are not fit subjects for
; A FABLE
The man was very sick. He feared
his time had come. "Doctor," said
ho, 'give me of your medicine that 1
may got well."
'No medicine ot mine," replied the
doctor, "can do you good. There is
something on your mind that causes
you to worry and fret your life
away." The man sighed. "Yes, you
speak truly. I am anxious and trou
bled for the future of my wife and
atamll children. Who will care for
them if I do not recover?"
I The man had forgotten his life in
surance policy for the time, but it
had been a mute witness to his suf
ferine and his speech. It whispered
to him: "Cease tossing about, worry
no more, and get well; but, If you do
riot, remember that Iwill care for
your dear ones. This is my province
ina my delight."
I After hearine this, peace came to
the man. Ho gained in strength and
burago and became well in body and
vuna.
"A wonderful recovery," said the
foctor.
"A very natural one," said the in-
irance policy.
Moral: Insure your life it you want
to live long.
3?he Midwest Life
5 OF LINCOLN. NEBRASKA
A STOCK COMPANY SELLING
MUMHTEEP COST LIFE IHSURJMiCE
tices constitute to the health of the
community, altogether apart from
the suffering which they inflict upon
the individual.
The country is spending millions
of dollars a year of federal, state and
municipal revenue on measures of
sanitation and the prevention of dis
ease. The efficacy of these measures
is threatened" when people are un
able to get wholesome and nourish
ing food and when the drugB which
are employed to combat ill health
are so impure that they do not pos
sess tho qualities which justified
their use.
The Square Deal in Markets
In view of the fact that every per
son who sells anything for cash is
protected by tUe most stringent laws
againBt having false money paid to
him it would seem to be eminently
fair that the purchaser should be
protected against having false weight
given to him.
Reputable merchants and storekeep
ers who servo the well-to-do part of
our population can not be justly ac
cused of the general practice of mak
ing use of the light weight and short
measures, but among the small deal
ers who cater to the needs of the
poorer clasB.s this kind of nettv
swindling has been far too common.
Tho Rrighteninc Ontloolc
It is comforting to reflect that in
THE WORLD AND THE WATER
WAGON
(William Allen White, Editor and
Author, in Boston Advertiser)
A curious thing is this world-wide
agitation againBt the sale of alcoholic
liquors; Russia stops the sale or
vodka; Germany restricts the manu
facture of beer; France shuts down
on the sale of absinthe, and England
seriously considers the prohibition of
all liquor traffic. These are some of
the larger manifestations of the
movement against drinking. But in
every country the ban of insurance
companies is put upon the drinking
man. The railroad employe all over
the civilized world today, must be so
nearly a teetotaller, that the old glad
life of unrestricted booze-fighting
passed from him forever. The com
ing of steam and electricity has done
many things to change the lace or
civilization, but by speeding up ma
chinery, steam and electricty have
changed the face of the skilled labor
er more than anything else. They
have bleached him out. The hard
drinker can't hold his job in any fac
tory today where efficiency methods
are used.
As men in the machine rooms have
had to stop drinking; the increased
speed they have generated has com
pelled a faster race in tho office. Office
men all over the world are dropping
liquor. Ten years ago bad form con
sisted in carrying too . much liquor
into the day's work at the office.
Twenty years ago, bad form expressed
itself i being drunk .during working
hours. Fifty years ago a protracted
spree was frowned upon. But today
the man who breezes Into the office
after lunch with the aroma of a beer
or a cocKtaii auout mm, is viewed,
with suspicion, if not with alarm.
Personal liberty is getting more of a
jolt from the customs of civilization
than it is from the laws in the local
option and the prohibition states. For
as a matter of fact, the law merely
follows public opinion. The change in
the constitutio of a state comes
only after tho habits of a consider
able minority if not a majority
have changed.
It is not prohibitory law that is
closing the breweries so much as it
is the wise little man in the factory
and in the office who quietly decides,
without putting on a parade after his
decision, that he will cut out the
booze. When Le and his neighbors
meet to talk it over, the town goes
dry, and the state, when enough
counties are dry, itself moves out of
the wet column. And the liquor deal
ers' association views with alarm, and
blames its troubles upon the prohi
bition cranks. They are glad of the
honor conferred. But they really
don't deserve it.
For the liquor dealers themselves
are largely to blame for tho wave of
teetotalism that la sweeninc fho
sale, is the one thing which producen
the evil of drink; and the second
fault of the saloo comes from the
fact that in very American commun
ity at least, the saloon is hooked un
with vico and corruption. A mighty
organized civilisation will not permit
a man to over-drink. And a decent
community sooner or later will rebel
against any institution within its
bordars which is allied with the
gambler, the prostitute and the elec
tion thief. And always the saloon
tries to make men drink too much
and then ies to hold its place in the
community by an alliance with vice
So men quit drinking, and they vote
against the saloon as the first step in
self-defense and civic righteousness.
Every election sees the dry terri
tory widening. The saloon fight is a
lost cause. Only one thing can save
the liquor traffic in this world, and
that is the liquor traffic itself, it
must cease being a hog. It must put
Itself upon a status where decent men
can defend it. And decent men can
not defend the saloon as it stands to
day. Doubtless if sugar dealers were
to go into a sales agency which would
try n to make people eat vastly too
much candy and then would ally it
self with touts and gamblers and
prostitutes in every town to hold its
rights to make people consume too
much sugar, tho sugar business would
fall into disrepute. And the liquor
business will find itself fighting a
hopeless fight until it abolishes the
saloon, puts itself upon the basis of
any other commodity- as say clothes
pins, mackerel, dress goods, or nails;
and instead of trying to over-stimulate
Its sales through the saloon, take
its chances over the counter with the
rest of the world's, goods, and get out
of politics.
TtrrY1i-l ntV f ItriiMM 1...1 m
spite of all obstacles the movement I 7ed his bush ess u n w ?T
for a sane control of trade In tho in-'2? V L LI eSl uJ?,n a, )vvonZ b.asis-
terest of tho general welfare has tiroutrh tho saloon A i P ,uote
been steadilv HiiooMRf,ii turoUf?l UlQ salon- And the saloon
" -" . na n en inn n irt -tr r. ii i. .i .
The violence of nnRiH irr ,rr.r&.w. ." 1B..tt" it is
nwS.n , f opPsItIon fcaslbad, because of two things- First bP
abated; the forces of reform, gain- car -o 't is run nntt ?'
ing one point here and iotS!S!ii!LJ of ?
(there, have pushed their firing line (product, and over-stimXn of the
BOOZE "GOT" FAMOUS INVENTOR
Charles R. Richards, once a widely
known inventor, but now broken
down and destitute, pleaded guUty
the other day in the court of special
sessions to a charge of petit larceny
and received a suspended sentence.
Justices O'Keefe, Fleming and
Freschi, when they heard the story
of the man's life, gave him money to
return to his old home in North
Adams, Mass.
Probation Officer Russell, who
had charge of the case, surprised the
justices when'he told them Richards
was at one time one of the most
widely known electricians in the
country, the inventor of electrical
appliances and an associate of Thom
as A. Edison. In 1880 he went to
Europe for Mr. Edison and studied
the inventions of the pioneer eiecm-
He perfected the duplex system tor
the telegraph, by which two messages
could be sent on one wire at tne
same time. This work was accom
plished in the Edison laboratories at
Menlo park in 1883. Richards was
the first to start a movement to place
electric wires in underground con
duits, and conducted the first experi
ments in Chicago. . .
Richards succumbed to tne i i"
ences of whisky and three months ag
left North Adams, where he
wealthy relatives, and came to tnw
city. A few days ago he was arresi
ed when trying to sell a telephone
receiver, valued at $40 by the .New
York Telephone Company, to a j
dealer. The telephone, the prou
tion officer said, was stolen b -
old man with the hope that he couiu
raise money for liquor. New or
Sun.
a i. 4.i. j o fAiinw erets hifl
nrorHtnra ntnnri off Until next DlOntA
khe first looms up over the horizon.
Nashville Banner. ,
ratent Jwyer.Wwi'iDB
rn i en i o CTPiESEdiSowEs
I Rata reasonable. Hubert rtfcrwioe. Heat
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