The Nebraska independent. (Lincoln, Nebraska) 1896-1902, December 19, 1901, Image 1

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VOL. XIII.
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, DECEMBER 19, 1901.
NO. 31.
SCHLEY CONDEMNED
Iiat Dcwej Standi bjr Him and Says That
lie Should Hate all the Glory of the '
Battle at Santiago
The report of the court o inquiry
In the Schley, case has been filed. The
majority says:
' Commodore Schlep, In command of
the flying squadron, should have" pro
ceeded with utmost dispatch off Cien
fuegos and should have maintained a
close blockade of that port.
He should have endeavored,, on May.
23, at Cienfuegos, to obtain informa
tion regarding the Spanish squadron
by communicating with the insurgents
at the place designated in the memor
andum delivered to him at 8:15 a. m.,
of that date.
He should liave proceeded from
Cienfuegos to Santiago de Cuba with
all dispatch and should have disposed
his vessels with a view of intercepting
the enemy in any attempt to, pass the
.flying squadron.
He should not have delayed the
squadron for the Eagle. . .
He should not have made the retro
grade turn westward with his squad
ron. He should have promptly obeyed
the navy department's order of May 25.
He should have endeavored to cap
ture or destroy the Spanish vessels at
anchor near the entrance of Santiago
harbor on May 29 and 30.
He did not do his utmost , with the
force under his command to capture dr
destroy the Colon and other vessels of
the enemy which he attacked on May
i
By commencing the engagement on
July 3 with the port battery and turn
ing the Brooklyn around with port
helm Commodore Schley caused it to
lose distance and position with .the
Spanish vessels, especially with the
Viscaya and Colon. The turn of the
Brooklyn to starboard was made to
avoid getting it into dangerous prox
imity to the Spanish, vessels. The
turn was made toward the Texas and
caused that vessel to stop and back
,her engines to avoid possible collision.
Admiral Schley did injustice to Lieu
tenant Commander A. C. Hodgson in
publishing only a portion of the corre
spondence which passed between them.
Commodore Schley's conduct in con
nection with the events of the Santiago
campaign prior to June 8, 1898, was
characterized by vacillation, lilatori
ness and lack of enterprise.
His official reports regarding the coal
supply and the coaling facilities of the
flying squadron were inaccurate and
misleading. . ,. . :r,
Ills conduct during the battle of July
3 was seii-possessea ana ne encour
aged, in his own person, his .subordi
nate officers and men to fight courage
ously. GEORGE DEWEY,
' Admiral U. S. N., President.
SAMUEL LEMLY,
Judge Advocate General U. S. N.,
Judge Advocate.
While signing the above, as the opin
ion of the majority as required by the.
navai regulations, Admiral Dewey sub
mits a minority report giving his
views. It was as follows:
In the opinion ' of the undersigned
the passage from Key West to Cien
fxiegos was made by the flying squad
ron with all possible dispatch. Com
modore Schley having In view the im
portance of arriving off Cienfuegos
with as much coal as possible in the
ships' bunkers.
The blockade of Cienfuegos was ef
fective. '
Commodore Schley in permitting ths
steamer . Adula to enter the port of
Cienfuegos expected to obtain infor
mation concerning the Spanish squad
ron from her when she came out.
The passage from Cienfuegos to a'
point about twenty-two miles south of
Santiago was made with as much dis
patch as was possible while keeping
the squadron a unit.
The blockade of Santiago was ef
fective. Commodore Schley was the senior
officer of our squadron off Santiago
when the Spanish squadron attempted
to escape on -the morning of July 3,
1898. He was in absolute command and
is entitled to the credit due to such
commanding officer for the glorious
victory which resulted in the total
destruction of the Spanish ships.
GEORGE DEWEY,
Admiral U. S. N., President.
' SAMUEL LEMLY,
Judge Advocate General U. S. N.,
Judge Advocate. '
In view of the length of time which
has passed since the ocurrence of the
events of the Santiago campaign the
court recommends no further proceed
ings be had in the premises.
GEORGE DEWEY,
Admiral U. S. N., Presidents
SAMUEL LEMLY,
Judge Advocate General U. S. N.,
Judge Advocate.
HURRAH FOR IGLESIAS
A Victim of Our Xew Imperialism Tears
In Prison fer Daring-to Make an At
., . ; tempt to Kai Wtfei
The first application of "the new im
perialism which The Independent has
been' fighting from the beginning that
has attracted attention is the case in
Porto Rico. Porto Rice, according to
the supreme court, is territory, belong
ing to and appurtanent to the United
States, but not subject to its consti
tution. That being the case laborers
can be imprisoned there for asking a
raise in their wages. That is the very
condition that plutocracy wants" - in
the United States and the only thing
that stands in the way is the constitu
tion When the new territory "was ac
quired, plutocracy saw to it that the
constitution should not apply there.
The arest there of a labor leader and
the declaration that a labor union. Is a
conspiracy, is a logical result of im
perialism. The Denver News com
ments on the affair, but it must be re
membered that the. News has always
opposed imperialism. The organs of
the "grand old party-Hhe party of
labor and its protection , by high tar
iffs" have not a word to say in con
demnation. - It Is : just i &e condition
that the great industrial combinations
want in these states, t The .News say :
-. "Santiago . Iglesias,. president of the
federation of workingmen of Porto
Rico, has discovered the unwisdom of
trying to put new!. wine Into old; old
bottles. This is the way of it, and
a" strange way Jt is. . . ,
"In August, 1900, the currency of
Porto Rico was changed from pesos to
dollars, an advance of 40 cents,, and
nearly all merchants and employers
adopted the new scale. Whereupon
Iglesias decreed that the. price of wages
also should be raised at the same time,
and at the same per cent. v . -
"This was most, horrible, and not to
be endured, so a venerable Spanish
law was brought to light, which se
verely punishes the crime of trying to
get a raise of wages, and Iglesias and
a number of his' lieutenants were ar
rested, charged with conspiracy.; ;
"Two of these -gentlemen were re
leased, and seven were sentenced, to
four months imprisonment. , On the
11th inst., Iglesias was sentencedrto
two years, . three,, months and eight
days' imprisonment as a ring-leader.
The organization has been ordered'dis
banded as an ' illegal : society, on " ac
count of this conspiracy, and in spite
of the fact that it is an allied institu
tion, under the supervision of Mr.
Gompers, president of the American
federation, it will do business hereaf
ter at its deadly peril, as residence" in
former Spanish jails is not a fate to be
courted. The federation was to have
held a meeting today, but for various
reason.4, sufficiently obvious, it will
not be held. The case has been ap
pealed to the supreme court, and pend
ing the hearing there, which will prob
ably take place next month, Iglesias
is at large, 'preachin' his hellish doc
thrines to th alligators,' as Doolev
says. ; - ' ' :y.i
"This 'is a concrete "example of what
has been going quietly on in this coun
try for a long time,- only that we get
at things in a different manner. First,
we adopt the gold standard, which in
creases the, value of money, and the
difficulty of getting it; then, through
the operation of trusts," we raise the
price of all provisions and supplies,
some 10, some 50 and some 100 per cent
as, for instance, common salt. Having
raised the price of commodities, say 40
per cent, to strike an average, and de
creased the purchasing, power of mon
ey, say 60 per . cent, a philanthropist
here and there raises the ' price of la
bor 10 per cent." This is .whaCIs known
as prosperity. A commission should be
sent to Porto Rico to explain it.
"On the other harid imagine the re
gret with which some employers, who
shall be nameless, must regard this ex
cellent old law; how they mu3t wish
that in annexing Spanish possession
we could benevolently assimilate some
of these lovely old Spanish-statutes.
Think of a law that makes it a felony
to try and get one's wages increased!
Isn't that a; gem f But, alas, for. the
present generation of money changers,
a law of that kind is like an olive orch
ard; the only way to get anything out
of it one's self is? to have it planted
by one's great grandfather. ,
"Here's to Senor Iglesias; more pow
er to him. It seems that in Porto Rico
they fight as the English, are fighting
the Boers, by disqualifying the enemy."
GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP
WASHINGTON PRESS CENSOR
Populist Principle Making Giant Strides
Great Financial Journals Now
AdTOcate Them
The increasing popularity of populist
principles should satisfy the most en
thusiastic man ' in the ranks. A few
years ago when one of them tried mod
estly to call attention to the fact that
the solution of the : railroad domina
tion of legislatures and, courts and; the
oppression of the people by extortion
ate freight and passenger rates, was
the government ownership of the roads
he was answered, with the cry of luna
tic, socialist or anarchist. The pluto
cratic hirelings occupying the editorial
chair of the great dallies sneered at
him as a specimen of the long-haired
and wild-eyed production of the Kan
sas or Nebraska plains But now be
hold what a change has come over the
people. Continued extortion, the con
stant bribery of legislatures, the abso
lute control of courts by corporation
influence, has so ; aroused the people
that even the great financial journals
begin to understand the writing on the
wall and populist principles are finding
at last a defense even there. The
United States Investor published re
cently the following article: 14
"It amounts to. a certainty in our
mind that the railroads would be as ef
fectively handled ; by the government
as 'the postoffice department now is,
and that is saying & good deal. Gov
ernment .will give . the people all that
the people insist upon it giving thern.
In some things the" people are toler
ant and allow the government to pur
sue a shiftless course, but not in mat-
ters which . they know for a certainty
affect their pocketbooks. The people
of the United States allow, the' gov
ernment to draw from them every year
'an extravagant; amount pf money to
be spent in useless ways, but they "do
not consciously permit the authorities
at Washington to do anything that
will- impede ; the operation of their
various industrial ; pursuits. They
think they know what they need and
they make the government give them
exactly what- they think they want.
Now, in the ; matter? of railroad priv
ileges the public know what they need
and under government control of the'
railroads they would unquestionably
get what they wanted. The government
could not tamper - with the railroads
even if it-wanted tdj its shortcominjirs
(Continued on Page Two.) ;
Complaints of HU FaToritlsm Suppresses
one Publication and Allow Another .
Juit Like It Admittance to
' ' 'the Mail ' :
.'Washington, D. Dec. 16, 1901.
(Special Correspondence.) It .is
thought that during this session of
congress some unreasonable regula
tions made by "The Little Caesar"
very little, too as TJiird Assistant
Postmaster General Madden has come
to be known will be given the: sanc
tion of legislative enactment. At pres
ent Mr. Madden is as absolute as the
Russian czar and ' as unfairly capric
ious i as the Turkish sultan. In the
same decision he. will both aflhm and
deny a proposition with all the un
consciousness of , any autocrat who is
neither, required to think nor to be
consistent. . -
He has inflicted almost incalculable
and ivieparaole' loss on the publishers
of the United States by his ill-.advised
despotism and taken such snap judg-
mention numbers of them that their
business-has been practically ruined.
Like all the administrative chiefs
in this city, .Edwin C. Madden is a
foreigner by birth a Cannucjt and
he embodies all the absoluteness and
exclusiveness of the .' officialdom of
monarchies. v
But Mr. Madden has. become too ar
rogant and has aroused and alarmed
the publishing interests of the coun
try, cutside the newspaper press which
he so slavishly and sedulously culti
vates. In the current issue of the "American
Printer," of New York city, Madden's
sinister, : exasperating and autocratic
assumption of press censorship is vig
orously exposed and denounced by
this paper: - ; : x
. "Newspaperdom," another organ, of
the craft, comes nearer to accounting,
however, for Maddens insane if not
infamous " attempt to discriminate in
favor of certain railway, express and
other monopolies under the guise of
economy in the carrying of second
class mail) than anything I have seen.
Madden is made o bear the brunt of
sufficient accusation, by this paper in
a leading editorial, to justify a con
gressional investigation. Herewith is
the concluding paragraph of the edi
torial: . .. ' . .v :
"For Madden, in his frantic endeav
ors to hide the real cause of the post-
office system's cost the r favoritism
shown to certain contractors for sup
plies, the extortions practiced by the
railway and express companies and
tho insatiate appetite! of these monf
opOlies for a greater sham ofthe pub.
lie - money Madden nas .gone a step
too far." . ; -' ,r" " : ': " ;-' ,"';
The government "blue book" con
tains no such designation as "E. C.
Madden, Press Censor,", yet the press
censorship is a f fact, and so is v the
downright usurpation of power, which
is the salient feature of -that depart
ment's - methods.. - Today the censor
ship of the unreasoning ..Madden is
harming only a limited class of busi
ness men the publishers. Tomorrow
it may in all likelihood it will be the
lot of all newspaper publishers to fall
under the lash of his ambition.
Beginning last spring with. his notor
ious circular aimed at the abolishment
of so-called premium publications,
Madden has come to exert supreme au
thority over the publishers of periodi
cals of every class. His ill-treatment of
the Appeal to- Reason and the Chal
lenge will be recalled, and it is known
here that he discriminates to the ex
tent of barring from. the mails certain
publications offering premiums and
doing absolutely nothing in the case
of other publications making identical
offers. " '--v.-. : ' . .i. -
Where last spring Madden asserted
the right to relieve the pressure of the
second-class mails by any means pos
sible to his conception, this winter he
assumes " to dictate to publishers , what
his advertisers shall say.and how, they
say it, what grade of paper, the pub
lisher may use, and with what sort and
color of inks these shall be; printed.
Madden has no legal authority for all
this. Congress has repeatedly -denied,
to postal officials ; ? the,- privileges as
sumed by him. - But whjat's a little
thing like congress between postal of
ficials and the railway,., and express
companies? . : . , ';. '' .
Complaints against Madden are re
ferred by the postmaster general, to
Madden himself, . and the country 4s
treated to the incredible spectacle of
a public official sitting in judgment
upon his own. acts! C f 7 .
; The publishing trade, has been de
bared in great measure from privileges
honestly used, therefore it is more
than time that the business interests"
of. the country, awake to the, dangers
involved, but ; this .they likely will not
do until they are affected directly : by
the arbiter's insolence. V
If we are to have a press censorship,
let us have at least an exact knowledge
of the methods that the, censorship, pro
poses to apply .It. the third assistant
postmaster general is - mightier ' than
the law, if the created is greater, than
its creator, let us have, a law on,, the
statute books to that effect and for
that purpose : Let our public servants
be taught that their power is subject
to the will of the people who gave it
The findings. of the; court in the
Schley Investigation have aroused
widespread indignation. 1 can say with
trUth that attaches connected . with
some of the court officers discounted
in advance the findings thereof. A
cabal is now positively known to have
existed in .the navy department," by
and with administration consent, to
blacken the , reputation of one of the
greatest of modern sea-fighters Ad
miral Winfield Scott Schley. The ver
dict was reached by Ramsey "and Ben
L2.m by utterly disregarding the testi
mony of the i officers, under Schley and
who participated ; in the 'battle,: and
accepting the statements of those who
feared for the permanency of their
jobs if ; they .testified'' contrary to navy,
department: wislies. , While Schley is
bearing; the, brujit of this infernal per
secution,": "Samiispn- ' is ; counting this
prize money--witm in a battle in which
he ,was a-non-combatant and "reflect
ing ove the joyfulness of the modern
afternoon -tea. party and the blessed
ness of having 4V "stand-in at : court."
A 'congressional . investigation is
talked ofr but it.4s unlikely. to come to
pass.- The . republican majority will
"kill"Jt in committee. The republican
party has no. time to allow the vindi
cation of , the man oh the fighting-top
while there is a big treasury surplus
in sight ' " ' ;
The Bonine trial is' ended, and a ver
dict of acquittal asas to have been
expected. The morbidly- curious and
the lover of sensationalism and racy
gossip will -be nervous, now , until
something, of the. kind again transpires
to absorb their , time and attention.
And it will transpire The millenium
is not in, sight at this writing.
- ;. - H:W. RISLEY. .
DISGRUNTLED REPUBLICANS
Impriaonmeat of Labor Leaders in Porot
Rico TVJU Still Aid the British With"
' War Materlal--American Coiiceii-
v .- ria Camp s
Washington, I): C, Dec. 15, -1901.'
The machine republicans are worried.
President Roosevelt is listening with
profound and Visible impatience to
the urgent wishes "of, 'the party leaders
respecting appointments and reap
pointments; to office -and then turns
on his heal and appoints whom he
pleases, frequently1 a man whom no
one had even thought, of. ; This looks
well - from the grandstand, but to the
men who built up the vast Organization
of the republican party it is little short
of suicidal Right and left, the party
leaders ar'e disgruntled,-; and predict
under 'their. treaths that just what
has happened :in Boston will take place
in. scores of large cities and hundreds
of smaller iowris cwhen the spring eljec-'
tion comes' on4 If- -
'In Boston, it i "worthy of note, Gen.1
P. A. Collins, former member of con
gress, -and .a sterling, high-minded
democrat, ; has b'i3en" "elected - mayor- by
nearly , 20,000 majority, ; sweeping ' the
present republicaii mayor, put. of. office
by the largest t majority ever cast in
Boston. ,' -!.:
President Roosevelt is not to be con
demned; by democrats for his course as
to political appointments. But there
are a thousand, men: capable of filling
any office,' and t is a matter of "good
politics to make apboiatments f rpm: acf
tive" party rinanwiien they are fit for
the iplace; Organization is the. key to
successful iparty actin-.and without it
no party can hope to - win : at the polls.
Roosevelt vmakeae a., good many. mis
takes iii his impulsive and . ill-considered:
selections to. office. The.i public
will discover the. character of the mis
takes when the men whom he has se
lected have had a chance to show their'
operations; It is much easier ; to put
an incompetent man out of office than,
it is '! to find a thoroughly ! competent
man to take his place. ;
i The local and state leaders are
whetting their: knives and laying back
for the next convention. ; There can
already .be named the leaders of six
states who will control their delega
tions against .the renomination of
Roosevelt. -
In the meanwhile the democratic
leaders in congress, freed from any
and all difficulties over questions of
patronage, are getting solidly together
on matters of party policy, -and will
make a "better presentation of demo
cratic doctrine than at any time since
they went out of power. Questions of
taxation, tariff reform, and federal
control of corporations will present op
portunities which will make capital
for future use.
One singular instance of what we
have inherited from Spain, is shown
in the sentencing to over three years
in -prison in Porto Rico of Santiago
iglesias for "conspiring . to, raise the
rate of wages." That is a crime under
the Spanish law, and yet all that Ig
lesias did in fact was to take stepte
with5 his fellow-men, when the Ameri
can dollar was substituted for the
Spanish peso, to, equalize wages to the
new standard. " The real i trouble is
that the big ; planters, most of whom
live in Spain, do not want organized
labor to gain a foothold in the island
and as : Iglesias is , the organizer sent
there -by the American federation of
labor, it was determined to drive him
out and " make, an example. The labor
union which he organized was at the
Same time' declared illegal and forbid
den to meet.' All this is taking place
under the nose and with the consent of
Governor ' Hunt, Roosevelt's appointee,
and with the full knowledge of Presi
dent Roosevelt who was advised of the
nature of the prosecution at . the time.
of Iglesias' -' arrest : over two months
ago. v
President Roosevelt will r not waste
any sympathy on the Boers.s, General
Pearson, their representative in the
United States, called on the president
last Thursday, and asked him to stop
the use of New Orleans as a base of
Tnilitary " supplies; by the British who
are shipping over f ourthousand horses
and mules a "week from that; port to
Sputh Africa. ; Roosevelt brusquely re
fused I to do anything and " General
Pearson had his pains for his visit;
But the Boers will still keep up their
heroic fight and in time the! civilized
world will rise and stop the war. -'
One thing is certain. Whenever
Great Britain is caught at the mercy
of a - superior ' enemy , the memory of
her unblushing "brutality in' South Af
rica, will compel her to pay a price for
peace which will bankrupt her com
mercially, industrially and break her
empire to, pieces. - . -
After Weyler's recontractlon policy
had brought upon him the condemna-
- (Continued pn Page .Two.) .
HOT AFTER KNOX
The Anti-Trust League . Goes for Him To
Investigate the Clicks in the Army
Washington, D. C, Dec. 14; 1901.
(Special Correspondence.) On Friday
evening at about 9 o'clock Washing
ton was startled by the cry of "Extra,"
and eagerly were they grabbed- by the
hungry news-seekem The jury in the
celebrated; Bonine murder ; trial had
gone out at .4 in the afternoon and
all were breathless for a verdict in
this most : interesting case. It was
the most celebrated trial, in, the city's
history at least, since Mrs. Surratt
was tried and convicted for complicity
in the murder of President Lincoln
and when ; the cry of "Extra? was
sounded everyone thought it was the
verdict,-in thisv .case, ; but all were
fooled a case far greater nationally,
one likely to cause a storm of disap
proval, had been thrown out to .the
world one that - proves conclusively
that there has been, and is, a "ring"
controlling the management of the
navy department-t was the verdict
of ; the- court of inquiry in the ; Schley
trial. ?; This body decided in favor of
the navy department in all but two of
the counts raised by the precept and
a verdict in favor of the navy depart-!
ment was a verdict, against Schley; !
Admiral Dewey proved himself the
man we all believed him . to be and
dissented from the opinion of the court
far enough to declare that Schley was
no rnwarrt anA that -f'-A rrrlH- for thv
victory at Santiago was due entiely
to Schley. And it is Admiral Dewey's
opinion that the country at large will
accept,. Admiral Schley has refused to
discuss the findings of . the court, fur
ther than to say that he will maintain
his policy of silence, about the verdict. !
BUt there are others who arenot will- '
ing , to have the case and its findings
passed over with, so little, comment.
Representative Livingstone (Dem.) of
Georgia today told the president that
he intended to offer, a resolution iin
the house of representatives during
the coming week to investigate the
condition' of ? affairs in the navy de
partmentLong, Sampson,. Crownin
shield, Maclay and the whole outfit
and evennany republican leaders ha ve
declared in terms positive 5 their will
ingness, to support anything that "will
vindicate Schley officially for in pop
ular favor the case has been long . de
ided, and i decided in . Schley's favor.
The pity of the whole affair is that
Captain Lemly arch maligner and
servant; to Long did not stick to the
charge of "cowardice" raised by ,his
brother, mallgners,; the court of en-.
f qUiry was "prepared." to return -any ver
dict the - department wanted they
could have alleged "cowardice" Just
as easy as they had the other findings
returned. But the case has been de
cided at least in one count in accord
with ' popular will that Schley was in
command when ; the battle .of Santiago
was won and "that, after all, was the
.material, point-r-the very fact that, will
most stun tne prosecution. ,Tbe otner
circumstances p of ' the - verdict .are en
tirely matters of opinion, v points on
which perhaps no two other naval ex
perts could - be : expected to . agree.
There seems to be one thing that may
have; influenced the committee of in
quiry and that is that had they ren
dered a different verdict Sampson
woUld Lave had to, turn over to Schley
f21,000 "prize , money. Of course,' the
inquiry would not I have - specifically
ordered a refund, but it would have
opened the question.
The fight on Attorney General Knox
is - still waging1 and waging with even
greater force than ever. before. The
senate gave8 the American Anti-Trust
league until ; today , to present their
charges to the committee on judiciary
and: today the .league filed with the
committee1 a brief , and papers , con
taining at least 50,000 words. The
league has engaged as its counsel Hon.
Frank S:; MonnetU ex-att6rney; gen
eral of Ohio; George C, Rice of Ohio,.
Hon. . A.: AI i Lipscomh of ; .Virginia,
Judge R Si Tharin ? of South : Caro
lina,' Samuel C. Via of West Virginia,
Hon. F. S. Stebbins of Massachusetts
and Hon.: Blair Lee of Maryland, who
seconded the nomination ;of , W. ; J.
Bryan at the Kansas . City convention.
These gentlemen, each acknowledged
to be an able lawyer, have appeared
as prosecutors and are' prepared with
a list . of witnesses to substantiate
every charge made against Knox. The
exhibits include at least ninety docu
ments prepared - by? the attorney gen
eral and accompany the', petition sent
to Senator SHoar,i chairman of; the
senate committee on judiciary. The
statement recites "that: the attorney
general has been refusing and neglect
ing to perform the duty, imposed upon
him by his oath of -k office, -n His con
duct demonstrates " conclusively that
he is standing at the door of the
courts of the United States denying
citizens the -right.: to -have, their cases
heard." The fight has now continued
for two weeks a thing unprecedented
in the history of . the country and the
prospects - are - that ' the .case will not
be heard in the senate proper until
after the holidays.,- 'The Anti-Trust
league has brought in charges on every
other case save that of the armor plate
trUstv and they have; asked the com
mittee to - allow them more time to
prepare .this" ;.case. f It- is . understood
that " the committee twill ; hear from
Hon. Hilliary'Tiv Herbert, ex-secretary
of the navy, on the charges made
against this trust. He will be a strong
witness against Knox. The fight
against Mr. Knox has grown to such
proportions that it is seriously em
barrassing to the administration, and
"It is believed thatrif charges made by
the league are not thoroughly investi
gated by the committee that they will
be brought before the whole senate
when - the nomination of Mr. Knox
comes Lt fere it.. However the sen;
ate decides in the case, it will show to
the world that . the ; attorney general
ha3 closed the ; doorn pf . the courts to
those seeking to fight the trusts?! it
will show that the trusts are ably
represented in the cabinet; it will show
that the democratic party and its al
lies had sufficient ground on which to
base their charge that the republican
party was controlled by the trusts.-
, The Philippine tariff bill, introduced
some days ago, was reported back to
the house on Friday and placed on
the calendar. . By agreement arrived
at in the committee the bill wilj;.: be
called up on Tuesday . of next week.
The voth wi 11 be taken on .Wednesday.
The , majority1; Of the romniittee pre
sented, f a report-' through Chairman
Payne. saying nothing about J the
morality: ef the bill, but laying stress
on - the . f act . .that revenue from 3 the
Philippines is needed ; Democratic
Leader Richardson? presented the mi
nority report. -It attacks the system
of gcJvernment for the Philippines, the
Dingley .bill ahd the tariff acts of the
Philippine commission and then "de
nounces imperialism and colonialism.
It recites that the rates are to.be fixed
by the. president and says "It follows
that the rates; of taxlin such a meas
ure must be high enough to satisfy the
president. This is a kingly power.
Indeed, it is - a greater power than
many, if not most, kings, possess. It
is useless to say that this officer will
always exercise this mighty -and ) un
limited power - wisely, prudently and
patriotically. - It Is monstrous ; to
Clothe- him with" such unrestricted
bower, and that, : too,, in a republic
where-its .officers . are supposed to. be
restricted and governed by a written
constitution."- However, the bill will
be, parsed by the majority . by a strict
party vote, with the exception that
Congressman; Littlefleld (Rep.)t, of
Main0 the successor ?of Dingley
will oppose it. -'
;; On; Monday last there was a tiice
little fight in ..the senate.. Senator
McLaurin, the gold democrat . from
South" Carolina,-" arose and - wanted to
know; why he had not; been invited
into the democratic caucus. This im
mediately drew the fire of Senator J. K.
Jones, democratic "leader of the senate,
who explained that he bad invited Mc
Laurin for the past. two years and that
he had failed to attend. Senator
Jones "further said that he had asked
McLaurin if he wished- to be invited
and that he had told him that he did
not ,want to attend the democratic
caucus,, One thingr brought on another
knd-Senator Tillman finally got mixed
up in thefight. Tillman further told
McLaurin that he was not a democrat!
and that Jie did not represent the peo
ple of South Carolina. This McLaurin
resented and ; Tillman j openly chal
lenged him t6 resign from the senate
and 'go ;tef ore - the- pfepie ot his state,
offering as a consideration that he
(Tillman) would also resign and go
before, his" people . arid '."see , which of
them , would, ,be returned. This Mc
Laurin accepted and the senate went
Into executive session while the papers
were- -being . prepared. But when; the
Senate opened to the public again :;Mc
Xaurln , was . evidently, sorry thathe
had accepted t Tillman's challenge and
withdrew from the bargain by refusing
to1 present- his; resignation. Tillman
has now proven that McLaurin is
afraid to go before his people. This
w, ill probablyend the celebrated con
troversy, but Tillman will probably
sling a few sarcastic jibes at McLaurin,
the fearfUl, before the session ends.;;
" The committees were appointed in
the house on -Tuesday and Nebraska re
ceived . , several v good appointments.
Congressman W. L. Stark (Pop.) .re
ceived the minority leadership on: the
committee on militia and also the mi
nority leadership on one of the select
committees. , Robinson, Neville and
Shailenberger were ; also given good
appointments,' while the mighty , Bur
kett deceived' the tail end, position on
the " committee t on appropriations.
Pretty slim for him who boasts of be
ing "it."
Yes! , The Washington news-gatherers
are having lots of fun out of your
hew Senator "Dietrich. - He has been
pretty careful of one thing,' however.
He has kept from being interviewed,
for 5 whenever;; he,: does his display, re
minds one of ; the word Ignorance ' He
was. interviewed , on the Irrigation
question" and proclaimed 4 that J'we
should open bur ; penitentiaries ; and
have -the won done by the convict
labor." He probably does not know
of the big danger to competing labor
from such a scheme and probably does
not realize that the state floes not con
trdl a criinihal outsid e of its own
borders. If Nebraska should send its
criminals into the state of Wyoming,
for instance, what jurisdiction would
the Nebraska prison authorities have
over them. Suppose that you should
send Bartley or some of your other
appropriators Of finance to Utah, might
not the republican governor - prevent
the return of him to prison? This. is
just what Governor Durbin is dcing
with the fugitive Taylor in Indiana.
BUt the biggest joke of all is one they
tell on; Dietrich.?; He i? said to have
gone over to the senate annex to pro
cure -some- books," and while there
espied the word 4'Gamble" painted in
bright letters over.' one of the room
doors. Dietrich (so they say) . hung
around this .committee room for quite
a while, and failing to 'get next," he
asked a policeman quietly when it
would open. "Where ignorance is bliss
It is folly to be wise." Dietrich Twas
tbld that this A was simply the com
mittee. room of Senator Gamble and
went away , satisfied. .Well, he has
done so many ridiculous little things
that they need not be mentioned. He
perhaps will learn after a while. I;
I ; Andrew Carnegie" has offered it to
found a- university in, Washington
comprising departments of higher edu
cation. But ;his offer- in Its present
form, is not likely to be accepted. It
comprises an: offer : of : $10,000,000; in
United, States Steel corporation bonds.
The government will refuse to do the i
Stock dabbling necessary to convert i
1 (Continued on Paj-e Two.) if
: SETTING UP IMPERIALISM
. v ' ' ' , - - '
Congress Passes a IlilU to Apply It la the
Philippines The Democratic
. Protest
Under the gag rule congress set
itself to work immediately to apply
imperialism in. the Philippines as des
lenated in the supreme court decision.
But . the slightest opportunity was giv
6h" to, intelligently, discuss the ques
tion. ,! The time foi discussion is ar
bitrarily fixed by; the speaker of the
house and his rules committer. A tjfill
was Drebared and rushed through thv.
ways and means committee providing
for a tariff on the people of "our naw
possessions." ; They; who have to p;i
the tariff in the islands have not va
in congress. . It is simply pure imper
ialism.; . -.
' Representative Richardson presented
the minority report, signed by all the
democrats of , the i- ways and means
committee except .Mr. Robertson (La.)
The report says in part: -
?; "The: measure is but another step in
the well-marked ; line of. imperialism.
It is enacting a policy of pure col
onialism, and the worst form of that
policy. . We are opposed to our, gov
ernment attempting to hold territories
as. colonies , and treating the inhabi
tants thereof as subjects, and Imposing
upon them a government of force. Hie
colonial plan set. up by this bill ,la
unjust and illiberal in the extreme.
The report further says that the sec?
retary of war, in effect, made the tax
law for the Philippines, and thus ex
ercised greater power than most kings.
Continuing, it says: ;
2 "The second section, in effect, de
clares that the Philippine islands are
foreign territory to the extent that all
Importations therefrom into the United
States shall pay the same rates of duty
as; are provided in the existing ? tariff
laws of the United States known as
the Dingley tariff act. The Dingley
act has proven itself fo be a trust
breeding measure." ; ' '
The report shows ; that the United
States shared in the Philippine trade
last year to the extent of $5,437,506,
representing profits of about $1,085,541.
f "This ' paltry sum," it says, "is in
significant when we consider it has
Cost us more than $85,000,000 to main
tain our-army in the Philippines for
the last year; Other nations, without
incurring the expense of a dollar, are
getting $48,000,000 worth of the trade.
We will have expended when the next
year closes for our army in the Phil
ippines and our 'Operations in the
orient not less than $450,000,000. This
does not include the immense increase
in naval expenditures and the $20,000,
000 paid Spain under the treaty of 1839.
."The, casualties which have occurred
in the effort to enforce the policies of
the majorltyln the Islands are of such
appalling' magnitude ' that it should
shock the public' mind. We do not be
lieve the people of those islands can
be made citizens of our republic with
out gross injustice to our people, nor
can we hold them as subjects without
the most radicalchanges in our form
and theory of government." ,
It will be seen that one democrat re
fused to sign that report that : is to
say, he calls himself a democrat. When
the party leadership in congress gets
enough ; vim into them to heave such
men clear out of -the party and "let
them get their committee appointments
and other privileges from the republi
cans, it will be in a position to do some
effective fighting and it never will un
til it does. A house divided against
itself cannot stand.
HUMANITY AROUSED .
All Nation and all Peoples are Protesting
Against the Worse Than Spanish Cra
. eltles In South Africa
There was a great meeting held la
Chicago a few days ago to protest
against English cruelty in South Af
rica. Five hundred; of Chicago's lead
ing citizens were on the platform and
many thousands in the audience. The
audience contributed $5,000 for the
flleviation of the sufferings of the help
less 4 womeu and children, dying of
starvation and ' for want of clothing
and shelter in Kitchener's concentra
tion ramns. The resolutions that were
passed make a Tmore complete state
ment' of the case tnan nas ever Hereto
fore: been; given to the public For
that reason they-are here reproduced:
i Whereas. A state .of war has existed
for more than two years between the
English government and the burgnera
Of the South African republics; and
; Whereas . The oroeress of this war
has demonstrated the impossibility of
conquering the burghers in a war con
ducted according to the laws and us
ages of civilized states and in force
among civilized. states; and
Whereas, The . English government
has departed from the laws and usages
of civilized .warfare to effect the con
quest of the South African republics:
By the forcible; confiscation or de
struction of property of non-combatants
peaceful inhabitants of the . ter
ritory lying within the zone of war.
iRv masslne the noncombatant pop
ulation of this, territory into plague
Stricken prison pens, , where women
and children" are detained without the
ordinary necessities of civilized exist-
- - - . . . - . A. t 1
ence, without sumcient or suuaoie
food, clothing, medicines or medical
attendance, and Without suitable shel
ter or sanitation; and
Whereas, The president of the United
States,, the. late lamented William Mc
Klnle on the 11th day of April. 1898,
denounced the system of concentration
camps in the following language:' T
Reconfientration, adopted avowedly
as a -war measure in order to cut off
the resources .of the insurgents, worked
its predestined result. As I . said in
my message last December, it was not
civilized warfare; -it . was extermina
tion. . 1 The only " peace it could beget
!