lapr m''rmmii
?5Jj5J5 ? tst! w",u;T,,'r
trust, with turning tho party organization over to
Wall street and with using tho patronago at his
disposal to punish loyal democrats and to re
ward rocreant ones. Tho charge was prcforred be
fore tho rank and file of tho party and ho was con
demned by tho largest jury that over sat upon a
case. Tho sentence was comploto and six millions
and a half of voters supported tho platform which
repudiated his financial policy while only ono
hundred and thirty thousand supported tho ticket
that received the nominal support of his admin
istration. When tho election was over ho made a speech
nt a high-priced banquet and boasted of his part in
tho republican victory. If wo could punish tho
betrayal of political confidence as wo do tho em
bezzlement of public money ho would bo receiving
tho limit of tho law, but Instead of seeking for
giveness for tho wrongs done by him to his party,
ho nurses his resentment and waits impatiently
for tho party to apologize to him for not allowing
him to lead it bodily into tho republican camp.
What excuse can thero bo for a Cleveland
party? Tho republican party can servo every
purposo that a Cleveland democratic party could
servo. If Mr. Cleveland was right on the money
question, so was tho republican party; if Mr.
Clovoland was right in not onforcing tho law
against trusts, tho republican party deserves credit
for following out tho samo policy; if Mr. ClevelanJ
was justified in rofusing to sign tho only tariff re
form measure passed sinco the war, the republicans
wero justified in condemning tho measure. Hero
aro threo questions upon which tho Cleveland
democracy would have difficulty in making an is
sue, and how about tho fourth Imperialism? It
was the paramount issue in the last campaign, but
Mr. Cleveland, while presumably opposed to im
perialism, did not feel interested enough to say a
single word in support of tho democratic ticket.
His association with tho great flnanolers was so
closo and so constant that ovon a war of conquesf
and tho imperilling of the republic could not draw
him from their embrace.
Thero is not a single issue upon which tho
Clovoland democracy is prepared to make a fight;
and its assumption of control in the party would
be regarded as a treaty of peace with the republi
cans on dvery important question. If Mr. Cleve
land thinks that the democratic party is ready to
return to the miro into which ho led it and in
which ho left it, let him announco his candidacy
on any platform he is willing to write and he can
not securo tho delegation from a single stato in
the union. It his modesty forbids his own can
didacy, let him name a candidate "who will agree
to make his administration like Mr. Cleveland's
second administration and he will not have a dele
gate in tho convention. The "dreadful dreams'
which disturb tho exploiters and those who grow
rich by stock speculations aro entirely satisfac
tory to tho rank and file of the party and to tho
producers of wealth generally; tho party will
never go back to the odious and odorous days of
1892-189G. '
JJJ
Dr. Thomas' Mission.
Representative Burleson of Texas on March 10
arraigned tho stato department as being pro-British.
Ho referred to the fact that a committee was
appointed by Governor Yates of Illinois and had
collected funds for tho relief of Boor women and
children in tho British concentration camps. Rev.
Dr. H. W. Thomas and wife of Chicago had con
sented to distribute these relief funds. Secretary
Hay was asked to apply to tho British ambassador
for a passport for Dr. and Mrs. Thomas. The sec
retary refused to make the request of Lord Paunce
foote, saying that such a request would bo meddle
some and a "remissness of neutrality" and against
the views of President Roosevelt.
Mr Hltt of Illinois, replying to Mr. Burleson, de
fended Secretary Hay, and said tho relief supplies
should be distributed through the Red Cross or
The Commoner.
through our consuls and not by individuals. Ho
said there was no precedent for Dr. Thomas' re
quest. Tho Kansas City Star could provide Mr. Hitt
with some Information on this point. In 1898,
prior to tho Spanish-American war, the Kansas
City Star collected funds for the relief of the Cu
bans. A trainload of twenty-one cars was sent to
Cuba in charge of two representatives of the Star.
President McKinley indorsed the plan and tho
United States government paid for a vessel to con
voy tho supplies to Cuba. The Red Cross had
nothing to do with tho shipment or the distribu
tion of theso supplies. They wero in the exclu
sive charge of the two representatives of the Star
and were distributed by these representatives un
der tho direction of United States Consul Brico at
Mantanzas, who acted at the request of the editor
of the Star.
If it is true as some English newspapers claim
that tho conditions in the British concentration
camps have been misrepresented, one would think
othat the British ministry would be very glad to
have a man of tho high character and wide and ex
cellent reputation of Dr. Thomas visit those
camps. Every one acquainted with Dr. Thomas
would believe any statement he made concerning
tho conditions there, and these would also know
that he would do nothing while in South Africa
inconsistent with his duties as a missionary.
JJJ
The Merger Suit.
In another column of this issue appears tho
full text of the bill filed in the federal court of
Minnesota by Attorney General Knox with rela
tion to the proposed railroad merger. The court is
asked to require the Northern Securities company
to surrender the shares of stock it holds in tho
Northern Pacific Railroad company and the Great
Northern Railroad company. The ccmrt is also
asked to- enjoin tho officers and stockholders of tho
two railroad corporations from recognizing tho
Northern Securities company as a holder of shares
of stock in the two corporations.
The Northern Securities company is the trust
sought to bo established by the merger. The at
torney general take3 tho position that this at
tempted merger is a violation of the anti-trust
law. Attorneys for the Securities company say
the company is organized in such a way as to avoid
the provisions of tho anti-trust law and if Attor
ney General Knox exerts his best ability in the
prosecution of this suit a most interesting legal
contest may bo expected.
It is to be hoped that those republican news
papers that predict that the attorney general will
make tho effort of his life in the prosecution of
this case have good reasons for their pleasing
prophecy.
JJJ
Mr. Knox's Investigations.
The Lincoln (Neb.) Journal, a republican
newspaper, in an editorial entitled "The President
and the Trusts,'; says that when "like a thunder
bolt from the clear sky" the order of the president
to Attorney General Knox was published direct
lug him to bring suit against the Northern Secur
ities company for violation of the Sherman anti
trust act, "Wall street was surprised into a great
flutter." Tho Journal adds:
The fear was that the president's action
meant the. unsettling of values all along tho
line of the great corporations popularly called
trusts. But when tho magnates hastened to
Washington to interview the president their
?whW8 f1 ayed' .The nresident showed then
t whladibeen h custom sinco he entered
the White house, whenever a complaint was
made to him about alleged infractions of tho
Sherman act, to submit the matter to the at
torney general. If the attorney general found
on examination that tho alleged trust organi
zation was not a violation of the ShermaS act
was c8Srdnehd? Mte 8 to th e '
It Is understood that tho attorney general
Volume a, No. 9.
has made a number of investigations of com- '
plaints, including one of the alleged steel trust
and found that their organization and busl- '
ness methods did not conflict with the Sher
man act.
It is somewhat strange that the attorney gen-
eral could not discover that any of these trusts
conflicted with the Sherman act; and some people
may be inclined to the view that It is particularly
significant that the attorney general could dis
cover nothing illegal in the steel trust, whoso at
torney Mr. Knox is said to have been before en-
tering the cabinet.
It is gratifying, however, that Mr. Knox dis
covered that the proposed merger of the Northern
Securities company was a violation of the Sher
man act and for this favor tho" American people
must, at least, be thankful.
JJJ
Beveridge and Funston.
While The Commoner is not in tho confidence
of the republican leaders and will not be consulted
by the next republican convention, it takes the
liberty of making a suggestion to Its republican
readers. It looks now as if imperialism would be
the paramount issue in 1904. Those who favor im
perialism ought to be willing to make an open
and honest fight for the principles underlying an
imperial policy, and to do this they ought to have
a ticket which would be a platform in itself. 'Mr.
Hanna would not be a good candidate because he
is too diplomatic. He has so long accustomed him
self to evasion and double-dealing that he could
not be candid even if he tried to be. Mr. Roosevelt
was once strenuous enough, but his anxiety to se
cure another nomination has made him cautious
and artful. There are but two men prominent,
enough to attract national attention and yet out-,
spoken enough to make them fit representatives
of the brutal and bloody doctrine of conquest
Senator Beveridge of Indiana and .General Funs
ton of Kansas. Their utterances show that they
possess the true spirit of the empire. They go the
full length of their policies and have none' of the
squeamishness of some of the other republican
leaders who are still a little sensitive about blood
letting. Senator Beveridge has espoused with,
youthful vigor the European doctrine of force; he
has consecrated his great ability to the overthrow
of the doctrine of constitutional government and
has dared to risk his political future upon tho
supremacy of the animal instincts oyer moral
principles. While timid republicans were wrest
ling with conscience he boldly proclaimed the le
gitimacy of grand larceny and the benevolence of
wholesale slaughter. If imperialism is to be god,
Beveridge has earned the privilege of being its
prophet.
And General Funston deserves a place by the
side of the senator from Indiana. While his mili
tary duties have somewhat curtailed his opportuni
ties his speeches have made up in ferocity what
they lacked in length and literary excellence. Real
izing that imperialism is essentially a military
mode of government and possessing to the full the
soldier's desire to silence criticism with tho sword;
he breathes out threatenings against those who
plead for the application of American principles
to the Philippine question. While drawing his
salary as brigadier general he has been devoting
some time to speeches in which he denounces
those who dissent from the administration's plans.
, f ii LOtUS ClUb ln Now York hG cged
that all the men who had fallen in the Philippines
since December, 1900, had been "the victims of a
lot of misinformed and misguided people here in
the United States." He admitted that "it is per-
fecUy proper for ns to have all sorts of opinions
m. 7 f Uld d With tuo PMiPPlne lal-
Ztr a? ? lr tWs aiMlon-nd then ho
added But for heaven's sake let us keep them to
ourselves until every square inch of that territory
recognto the sovereignty of the United States."
ther7theL , 1S 7reraeraberel that Spain, although
theie three hundred years, never succeeded in get.