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The Commoner.
A Pertinent The San Juan, Porto Rico,
Criticism. News, commenting on the
Supreme Court decision in the
insular cases says:
"We aro and are not part of the United States.
iWe are and aro not a foreign country. We aro
and are not citizens of the United States. We are
and are not to have our money back. The tariff
is and is not void. The constitution "does and
does not extend and its limitations do and do
not apply.
"Upon these points the justices disagree, five
in favor and four against. Are we, or are we not,
or are we it?"
This about covers the case hut the editor
f the News should remember that there is a
J'perhaps" before the freedom of the press in
four possessions" now.
New A federal judge in Ohio, of the
lonveation name of Wing, has outflown all
deeded. competitors in the judicial race
for government by injunction.
IWhen issuing a sweeping injunction against
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I1VU.G11U "J Diluting UIUIUUIO 111 U1UVV1UUU)
fudge Wing made this bold reply to the objection
tthat the "picketing" consisted only in arguing
rith non-strikers with a view to peaceably per-
uading them not to work: "Persuasion of itself,
long continued, may become a nuisance and unlaw-
!ful." He therefore issued an injunction broad
enough to include peaceable persuasion in furtker-
huice of the strike.
The above is from the Public. As this
occurred in Ohidit may become necessary for
I. the State colrvC5tfbn to reassemble and con
demn government by injunction even if to do
bo it becomes necessary to reaffirm the Kansas
City platform.
The Apostasy Senor Greusac of Argentina,
of Their commenting upon the United
Teacher. States' disposition toward im
perialism said: We find our-
I eelves bewildered like a scholar in the presence
of the apostasy of his teacher. Having lost all
!l faith Ih the apostle, we are in danger of losing
faith in his gospel."
The injury accomplished by our policy of
r imperialism is wide spread. The people of
South America have been inspired to free gov
ernment by our example and the nearer they
f- approached free government the more material
has been their progress. It is humiliating to
be told by a South American republican that
the people of South America who have beenin-
I clined to oppose the doctrine of thrones are
"bewildered like a scholar in the presence of
the apostasy of his teacher," when they con
template the present policies of the United
States. It is humiliating to be told that they
have "lost all faith in the apostle" and it is dis
couraging to hear them say that this faith is
eo completely lost that they are actually "in
danger of losing faith in the apostle's gospel."
Keeping An eastern paper, speaking of
Everlastingly the success of the Philadelphia
At It. ring in obtaining power so
strong as to enable them to de
fy public sentiment, says:
"They keep so everlastingly at their nefarious
game that they intrench themselves in power
and are able to laugh to acorn the reform efforts,
of the decent citizenship. Before such unceasing
offorts the spasmodic reform movements which
spring up every now and then in all of our larger
cities are wholly unavailing."
This is a good suggestion for the people.
If they would protect their public treasury, if
they would guard public rights, if they would
have law enforced against the strong as well as
the weak, if they would preserve liberty, if
they would maintain this government in the
form in which the fathers made it, they must
" keep everlastingly at it." Eternal vigilance
is the price not only of liberty in its broad
sense, but it is the price the people must pay
for the preservation of their best institutions,
for the safety of their public funds, and for the
maintenance of everything that makes the
greatest good to the greatest number. " Eter
nal vigilance" is but another term for ''keeping
everlastingly at it." The trouble is, however,
that men are apt to forget their public duties
in the moment of individual prosperity. They
are apt to form the wholly erroneous notion
that individual prosperity can exist for any
considerable length of time when a handful of
men are permitted to shape public interests ac
cording to their own selfish advantages.
"
Civil Govern- They call the recently estabi.
ment in the, lished .rule in the Philippine
Philippines. Islands "Civil Government,"
The entire machinery of this
"Civil Government" is the creature of one
man. It depends for its existence not upon
the love of the people whom it is supposed to
control, but upon the power of the bayonets
that glisten in the sunlight in the vicinity of
the Governor's Palace.
There was a bit of hypocrisy in the im
mense amount of display made when authority
in the Philippines was transferred from Gen.
Chaffee to Governor Taft. It was proclaimed
to be the passing of authority from the mili
tary form to the- civil form, and yet it was
nothing more or less than the passing of
authority from one individual to another.
Back of the authority in each case were the
bayonet and the sword. The consent of the
governed was not asked. Everything that was
to be done, everything that is to be done under
this so call "civil government" depends upon
the whim and caprice ot the President of the
United States. Thomas". Jefferson said "Civil
Government being the sole object of forming
societies, its administration must be conducted
by common consent."
The form of government existing among
the Philippines today may be called "Civil
Government" for want of a better definition
and yet a more inaccurate or absurd definition'
than this could hardly be suggested.
Protests at The Indianapolis News seems
Wrong time. hopeful that the Republicans
will abandon their subsidy
schemes. It says:
"Every new trust or consolidation, every ad
ditional piece of Insolence on the part of "those
already in existence, every raising of the price of
a trust-made article, every vessel that Is built
at homo without a payment from the treasury,
and every acquisition of ships by American citi
zens; will servo to strengthen the popular oppo
sition to the subsidy schome."
But if all tho influence of the administra
tion is placed behind tho subsidy scheme, if
the President appoints an attornoy general who
is partial to tho trusts, of what moment is it
that there is popular opposition to the subsidy
scheme, to tho trust system, or to any other
evil with which tho people aro confronted?
The republican papers have much to say
against the subsidy scheme, they have much to
say against the trust evil; but when tho Presi
dent chose as his attorney general a gentleman
who had been the attorney for one of tho
greatest trusts in existence, no serious criticism
was made by the republican newspapers. Of
what value is it that republican newspapers
condemn certain policies of the administration
as they condemned the Porto Rican law, as
they protested against the policy of imperialism,
as they objected to the trust system and as
they denounced the ship subsidy bill, when
after having done all these things they give
cordial support to the administration respons
ible for them, when that administration appeals
for re-election?
How Tariff
Helps the
Trust.
The Detroit Journal in dis
cussing the probable legisla
tion of the next congress has
tho following to say regarding
the action of the republican party:
"No general revision of tho tariff is proposed,
so that there will be nothing for legitimate busl-'
ness interests to take alarm at. What is to be
tested is whether the republican party will un
moved see citizens of this country held up by tho
trusts to permit the latter to sell to the foreigner
for less than we can buy here at home."
When is this question to be tested? Tho
republican party has for many years been
''unmoved" when it saw citizens of this country
. held up by the trusts. Indeed tho republican
party is responsible for conferring upon tho
trusts the power to hold up the citizens of this
country. M , .
Of course no general revision of the tariff
will be made by the republicans, nor is it at all
likely that they will remove the protection
afforded the trusts of this country. It has
already been established that the republican
party, is considerably more concerned in the
trusts than it is in the people.
On this point the New York "World makes
an interesting reference. The world says that
it cost nearly $12.00 a ton to carry American
steel billets to a British Port and thence by
rail to an inland British city, and adds:
"The United States Steel corporation Is now,
according to London advices, delivering them to
British buyers In the Black Country, back of
. Birmingham, paying all freight charges, at $25
per ton, $3 per ton less than the lowest market
price for British-made billets.
"The price charged by the United States Steel
corporation for Its billets to American buyers at
Pittsburg Is from $24 to $25 per ton.
"This proves conclusively that the Steel trust
Is making a profit of at least $10 a ton on every ton:
of steel billets sold In this country over and above
the profit which satisfies it on its sales In Great
Britain for of course the trust is not constantly" '
seeking foreign trade at a loss. And still the
Steel trust magnates are not ready to give up
th I $7.84 per ton duty on foreign-made steel
billets.
"Abolish the garrote on. the American con
sumer and Americans would be able to buy their
steel billets as cheaply as Englishman."