The Commoner.
of tlio great financiers; they breathe the
poisoned air that has passed through the lungs
of Wall Street. No financial policy is too
cruel, no dollar too dear, no money system too
despotic for them to cndorso; provided, always,
it has the endorsement of the money changers.
They not only want to make gold the only
standard money, but they want to retire the
greenbacks and substitute national bank notes.
They often prate of their love of Jefferson,
and yet they know that Jefferson was always
and at all times the enemy of banks of issue.
They conjure with the name of Jackson, and
yet Jackson made his greatest reputation fight
ing a bank of issue. If these papers had their
way the democratic party would disregard en
tirely the interests which tho masses have in a
stable dollar, and would make tho party tho
exponent of those whom Carlisle once described
as the "idle holders of idle capital."
. On the question of imperialism these papers
do not entirely agree. The World still con
demns an imperial policy, while the Courier
Journal and the Chronicle advocate a surrender
to the republicans on this issue.
The Courier-Journal admits that tho demo
cratic position is the correct one so far as prin
ciples are concerned, but contends that com
mercialism is bound to win and that the demo
cratic party should "get into the baud wagon."
It preaches the gospel of expediency a doctrine
which demoralizes the party by making every
thing subordinate to the desire to win a tem
porary SUCCCBS.
v The Chronicle goes a little farther and de
clares that the democratic party would' not
carry out the promise made last fall, even if it
could. The following is from a recent editorial
. in that paper:
"There .will be no revolution In American
politics which will result in conferring indepen
dence on the people of the Philippines. If the
democrats should carry the next presidential elec
tion,, and should elect a majority in both houses
of congress, the Philippines would not, he aban
doned. They are with us for good or for evil, as
vtimo shall determine, and it is mostly for them to
say whejther it shall be for their good."
It will be remembered that the democratic
national convention of 1900, without a dissent
ing vote, and amid unparalleled enthusiasm,
declared it to be the duty of this nation to im
mediately announce its purpose: First, to es
tablish a stable government in tho Philippines;
second, to turn that government over to tho
Filipinos and give 'them independence, and
third, to protect tho Filipinos from outside in
terference as -we have protected the republics
of Central and South America. There was
difference of opinion as to the wording of tho
money plank, but none as to tho party's po
sition on imperialism. And, yet, the Courier
Journal and the Chronicle are willing to givo
up tho defense of tho Declaration of Indepen
dence and accept tho republican theory of gov
ernment a theory identical with that an
nounced by George the Third.
On the trust question no two of the three
papers agree. Tho World is very much afraid
of the trusts, but does not know what to do
about them; the Courier Journal does not know
whether it is afraid or not, and tho Chronicle
isn't worried .at all, but all three of the papers
lose no opportunity to misrepresentand malign
those who are in earnest in their efforts to de
stroy private monopolies.
' Tho papers abovo mentioned illustrate tho
confusion, conflict and uncertainty that pre
vail among those who oppose tho Kansas
City platform. If a convention were called of
the daily papers which want to repudiate the
Kansas City platform and their editors were
required to submit a new platform satisfactory
to all of them they would adjourn sine die be
fore they agreed upon a single important plank.
They represent all shades of opinion on every
question and are harmonious about nothing ex-,
cept their contempt for the patriotism and in
telligence of tho more than six million voters
who in spite of corruption and coercion sup
ported the party in two national campaigns.
The Kansas City platform is a positive, clear
and emphatic application of democratic princi
ples to present conditions. When a person
stands upon that platform and gives to it his
unqualified endorsement the people know what
to expect of him.
The opponents of that platform, however,
quarrel and contend over every proposition
submitted. . Some want the party to declare
boldly for the gold standard; others favor a
cowardly evasion of the whole question. Some
want the party to declare openly in favor of
banks of issue; others want theparty to keep
still on the question in its platform, but to lend
the party's influence after election to the re
tirement of the greenbacks.
Some want tho party to continue the fight
against imperialism; some want the party to
quit opposing imperialism and acquiesce in it
without endorsing it, while others think that
the party should have the courage to commend
tho administration's course. Some think that
all trusts are bad; some think that a part of the
trusts are good and a part of them bad, and
still others believe that the trust is an econ
omic development that is entirely beneficent in
its operations.
Tho difference of opinion which manifests
itself in the discussion of. tho larger questions
is no less conspicuous in- the discussion of
minor questions. Because they can agree upon
no platform tho reorganizers content them
selves with criticising Democratic principles
and republican individuals.
Is it strange that tho Democratic party has
made slow progress when it is remembered
that for fivo years the leading dailies, which
claim to be Democratic,, have given more as
sistance to the opposition than to their own
party? Between campaigns they have been
condemning tho platform of the party and dis
crediting those who endorsed the piatform; it
is impossible for such papers to repair during
tho campaign tho damage which they do be
tween campaigns. But for tho weekly papers
which have for tho most part remained loyal,
the Democratic voters would have had little
opportunity to read Democratic literature.
Tho republicans on the contrary, have all their
daily papers, all their weekly papors and a con
siderable portion of the so-called Democratic
dailies continuously explaining and in whole or
in part defending the -course of the adminis
tration. Tho only wonder is that the' rank
and file of the party should have shown itself
as steadfast as it has. If those who call them
selves Democrats will defend tho Democratic
platform for the next three years we can win
in 1004; but it is difficult to win when a nu
merically small but financially influential por
tion of tho party iB constantly compromising
with the republicans.
Mr. Knox and His Secrets.
The American Anti-Trust League has sent
to Attorney General Knox the folio wing letter:
Sir: We have the honor to request that you
afford us all the information that you are possessed
of or can obtain concerning an agreement or
agreements made between the constituent com
panies and individuals who organized the United
States Steel corporation, commonly known as the
steel trust.
"The trust or syndicate agreement which Wo
especially desire is the one which President .C. M.
Schwab of the United States Steel corporation re
fused to furnish to the United. States industrial
commission when on the witness stand before that
body.
"Our request is founded upon information and
belief that at the time that this contract, or tljeso
contracts, was, or were, made you were in some
way officially connected with the Carnegie Steel
company, which institution is one of the principal
companies in the United States Steel corpora
tion. As this, information is doubtless in your pos
session or conveniently at hand, you will greatly
oblige this committee by giving us tlie substance
thereof in your own language, or, if possible, a
copy thereof.
"This request is to cover any other contracts
of a similar kind with which you aro acquainted
or which you can obtain for us. Our object is to
prevent the failure of justice in certain legal pro
ceedings which we contemplate in the near future."
It is not at all probable that tho Attorney
General will comply with.this request. He
will have good professional grounds for re
fusing to comply with it because he may say
that whatever information he possesses con
cerning the trust was obtained in the capacity
of attorney for the Trust, and therefore it
would be- impossible for him to reveal his
secret.
This emphasizes the iniquity of selecting a
trust attorney for an office upon which rests
the responsibility for enforcing laws against
trusts. The Attorney General should be en
tirely free to act in the prosecution of violators
of the anti-trust law. But would it be possible
for even the warmest friend of Mr. Knox to
say that he is in a position to discharge his
duty as tho attorney for the United States
when that duty conflicts with tho interests of
the trust? Here we have the attorney for ono
client who has in his possession tho secrets, of
his client's opponent. Those secrets are suf
ficient to enable that client's lawyer to crush
that client's opponent. Yet tho lawyer is un
able to take advantage of those secrets because
of the fact that he obtained them in the ca
pacity of an attorney. It would be very dif
ficult for Mr. Knox to draw the lino between
the secrets ho obtained in a confidential capac
ity while acting as attorney for tho trusts and
the secrets of the trust which he obtains
&
r '
