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Che Commoner.
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Whether Common or Not.
A Word With Triggs.
Triggs may bo right the old church songs
May bo more hackneyed rhymes;
It may be that they all belong
To less progressive times.
Their literary stylo and form '
May not suit such as ho;
But "Refuge" from life's weary storm' '.
Is good enough for mo;
"Jesus, lover of my soul, let mo to Thy bosom fly,
While the billows near me, roll, while tho tempest
still is high."
Triggs may bo right tho songs of old
. May err in every verso;
Their faults may bo as Triggs has told,
And range from bad to worse.
But though not one in all tho book
May be from error" free,
Still to the pages old I look
And sine of "Bethany."
"Nearer, my, God, to Thee; nearer to Thee
E'en though :It bo a cross that raiseth mo.'
His Limitations.
Mr. Morgan is quite wealthy
'' But wo rather doubt if he's
Got a stomach that is able
, To digest sauer-kraut and cheese.
Triggs may be right I'll not deny
He's Up in literature.
They may not reach his standard high,
And therefore not endure.
But, just the same, those songs will livo
And cheer the world until
Professor Triggs to us can give
A song like "Ortonville."
"Majestic sweetness sits enthroned upon the Sav
iour's brow; -
His head with radiant glories crowned, His Mips
with grace o'erflow."
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Triggs may be right yes, let him mock"
Tho grand old hymns of praise.
Yet still we'll sing old "Antioch"
Through all our livelong days. .
Those dear old songs wo will not slight,
But sing them with a vim '
Until Professor Triggs shall write
A song like "Pleyel's Hymn." ..
"Lp.rd.ol Hosts to Theo wo raise here a house of.
prayer and praise. ,"',.''
Thou Thy people's hearts prepare, here 'toiheet -for'
' ' praise and prayer."
Speculative. .
"I have here a beautiful bit of verse on 'The
Death of Summer,' " began the poet, drawing nigh'
to the city editor's desk. "It breathes tho balmy
air of the pooling days and sings of the beautiful
tinges thafDame Nature is painting upon the "
"Another gusher," growled the city editor.
"Hi, there, boy!. Show the gentleman over to the
oil market editor."
Our Wonderful Language.
There was a young man in St. Croix y
Who thought himself quite a gayboix.
He was thrust into goal
For rushing the paol,
And nothing his grief can alloix.
NC
Cautious
The great warrior hesitated to give the word'
that would precipitate tho battle.
"What shall it profit me to win the fight if
some $2.48-a-day historian is to write it up?" he
asked of himself.
But, of course, caution is always commendable.
Uncle Ebcn.
"I've jus' been thinkln'," remarked Uncle Bben
as ho tilted his chair back against. the cracker
barrel, "that th' tariff on wool hes been a failure.
It seems that it ain't raised enough of a crop to
warrant another attempt at pullin' it over th? eyes
o' th' people,"
Ample Apology.
"Look here, Weatherly, did you tell Miss Got
rox that I was a hare-brained fellow?"
"Np, sir; I did not. I only torn hor you car
ried a mighty good start for a Belgian raboitry
under your hat."
"0, that's all right. But I don't stand for no
backcapplng, Weatherly. Just remember that."
&
In Old Madrid.
First Spanish Grandee "What's all this fuss
in American naval circles about?"
Second Spanish Grandee "I don't know; but
it would seem to indicate that we were deluded
into believing that we were to accept terms of
peace instead of dictating them."
fc
Explained.
. "Why do pawnbrokers use three balls as a
sign of their business?"
"Because it's two to one you don't get your
stuff back."
Beneficial.
"Did Dr. Boltem's Elixir of Pigweed help you
any?"
"Did it? Well I should say it did. I got $50
for writing a testimonial and paid tho last in
stallment on my automobile with the money. I
should say it did help me!"
Worried. ' '
Old Neptune called a council of his wise mer
men. "What is it, 0 King?" querried the chief of the"
sages.
"I want you fellows to scheme up some way of
raising revenue," said Neptune, reflectively scratch-,
ing his back with his trident.
"Why this concern for income, sirQ?"
"Haven't you read tho papers? These artful
humans are making ships so speedy that ocean
travellers will be carried across before they have
timo to pay me tribute."
Naturally the tax dodgers will carry it to the
limit. W. M. M.
A Warning From Chandler.
The. following is an. extract from an article
by ex-Senator William E. Chandler, of New
Hampshire, in the Independent:
"A corporation charter authorizing $350,000,000
of bonds, $500,000,000 of preferred stock and $500,
000,000 of common stock, all for the purpose of
creating a monopoly in the iron and steel manu
factures of the United States, should be. repealed
by tho legislature of the state which created it,
and the republican voters of the -state should elect
a republican legislature pledged to such repeal.
"That such a gigantic monopoly should be
created or allowed by any state is a grievous wrong
done to 70,000,000 of people. All gain through
the economy of production on a large scale is
more than overcome by the evil of giving power to
the monopolies to fix any price of the product to
the customer which they choose to exact, and ;.ny
rate of wages to their workmen which they chc ose
to force upon their helpless victims. The In
creased profits will only go to swell the enormous
fortunes of the multi-millionaires, whose enormous .
Wealth already enables them to organize a $1,350,
000,000 monopoly.
"Only one such overgrown monopoly has been
hitherto tried in this country namely, the joint
traffic association, consisting of the nine lines of
railroads between New York and Chicago, owned
by thirty corporations, with a capital of $2,500,
000,000 and a gross income of $300,000,000. Prac
tically this association dominated all the railroads
of the country, with a capital of $11,000,000,000,
an income of $1,200,000,000 and a force of employes
numbering 900,000.
"This railroad joint traffic association was
nominally dissolved after a decision of the United
States supreme court (made by five judges against
four) that it was illegal under the United States
anti-monopoly act of 1890. But the railroads en
deavored to force the passage of a law of congress
authorizing all the railroads of the country to
pool their earnings substantially as was done by
the railroads In the joint traffic association. In
1895 such a bill passed the house, but failed to
come to a vote on the merits in the senate and did
not become a law. Two principal amendments
were offered in the senate, one providing that, un
der pooling with competition abolished, there
should be no raising of fares and freights except
with the approva1 of the interstate commerce com
mission, and the second a provision for the com
pulsory arbitration of the rates of wages of tho
railroad employes under the arbitration law of
congress of October 1, 1888.
"But both these amendments were voted down
in the senate committee through railroad influ
ence; and, although the bill has never become a
law, yet an illegal combination of the railroads to
maintain rates continues to exist; the loading rail
road companies fo.rmerly in competition are com
ing under the same ownership; all railroad com
petition is abolished, and tho charges to passen
gers and shippers and the wages of the railroad"
employes are . fixed by the arbitrary and uncon- -trolled
power of a few enormously wealthy owners
and managers.
Such is the railroad combination of not less,
than $3,000,000,000, and practically of $11,000,000,
000. Now it is supplemented and fortified by an
alliance with a steel corporation of $1,350,000,000.
Tho people have stood so far almost paralyzed in
tho face of such enormous masses, of money con
centrated in tWp absolutely monopolized Indus-,
trids; with others quite as objectionable', but of Jess'
magnitude co-operating to suppress competition
maintain prices of , products and keep down the
wage's of labor,
"But the voters are beginning to wake up; nof
yet the consumers of Iron and 3teel, 'but the work--men
in tho iron and steel factories,. Necessarily
such a huge combination as the steel corporation,
employing thousands of laborers, will cause the
formation of a huge labor organization. The power
of the producers of any of the great staple com
modities constituting the necessaries of human life
at the present day to fix the prices for the'eonsum-'
ers and the wages for their workmen without com
petition will not be tolerated. Bargains of all
kinds should be mutual. There is no mutuality
where the consumer can buy of only one producer,
and where the workman has only one employer,
through whom ho can earn the daily bread for
himself and his family.
"So we are to have gigantic struggles between
vast aggregations of capital and vast bodies of or-
ganized laborers. The last are inevitable if the
first exist; and are legitimate and justifiable. It
all the manufacturers of iron and steel can com
bine, then all the laborers skilled only in that kind
of work have the right to unite in one labor or
ganization and agree that no one will work unless
the wages for'all are fixed by the organization and
assented to by the manufacturers. Neither em
ployers nor laborers have a right to resort to il
legal or unfair means; to violence of any sort
But we all know the tendency.
"In 1895 Mr. Carnegie's employes struck, he
ran away to Europe, riots took place, Mr. Fridk
was shot and others killed, the whole national
guard of Pennsylvaniawas called to arms; and in
consequence of this controversy Mr, Cleveland was
elected president instead of Mr. Harrison.
"Further disturbances of this kind are suro
to follow persistency in the attempts to annihilate'
the rule of competition in "business, which has
governed production and commerce since the dawn
o? civilization, and thus to revolutionize human af
fairs without any provision for keeping down tho
prices of commodities to the consumers and keep
ing up the fates of wage's for the laborers. The
ancient and natural law of the business world,
which has protected consumers and laborers, is to
be abolished in favor of the capitalists; and no,
method is to be provided by which- the latter are
to be hept back from raising prices and lowering
wages- at their pleasure.
"Wild words are- not wise; but it may be use
fully said that there should be a fearful looking
forward to judgment on the part of the men who
are doing these things.
"What is the remedy for the threatening evils?
It is easy and sure the exercise of legislative con
trol over corporation organizations. No abolition
of competition in any business can take place
through agreements of individuals or partner
ships of individuals alone. Corporate powers are
indispensable. Bonds and stock must be issued
and thrust upon the market. But the legislatures
can decide what shall be the quantities of bonds
and stocks, and can limit the business which each
corporation may do. Congress can absolutely con
trol the interstate commerce railroads. The state
legislatures can also govern them and all other
corporation monopolies and force them back to
the ancient ways. The people have the remedy in
their own hands; and if the suffrage is not over
come by corruption, fraud or violence success will
attend the coming counter movement against the
twentieth century attempt to revolutionize the
laws of production and commerce by organizing
huge combinations of wealth in the form of cor
porations, by abolishing competition, by oppress
ing consumers and laborers, by making tho rich
enormously richer while the poor stand still in
their poverty, and, above all, by arousing tho many
poor voters in our republic into a dangerous cru
sade against the comparatively few rich voters,
which will endanger the stability of the republic
itself.
"This is the new work for the republican
party, worthy of its reputation. It has abolished
slavery, given to every settler a farm on our publiq
lands, established manhood suffrage throughout
the nation, saved the union in civil war, liberated
two races in Cuba and tho Orient, and it will con
tine to be the party of the people and not degen
erate Into a mere enslaved organization' owned
by the money power of America and Europe."
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