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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (April 4, 1902)
WW '""' rfPf.yiw;njffTiit5 Commoner. April 4, lpoa A lod, nor shall any monopoly of freight room for any one article or articles to any on shipper or shippers be given "by any individual . or corporation drawing either mail or general subsidy under this act. The defeat of these three amendments shows the complete subseviency of the supporters of the subsidy and the senators who voted against these amendments ought to be made to feel the wrath of an indignant and outraged constituency. Senator Gulbertson endeavored to secure an amendment limiting the subsidy to July 1, 1907; Senator Bacon tried to set apart one-fourth of the subsidy for ships engaged in trade between the United States and South America, and also pre sented an amendment permitting the cancellation after four years of any contract made with a ship owner; Senator Patterson offered an amend ment prohibiting the employment of Chinese sea men; Senator Mallery offered an amendment with holding the subsidy from any one who had within a year entered into a contract in restraint ot trade or for the controlling of rates; Senators "Vest, McLaurin of Mississippi, Teller and others also offered valuable amendments, but the republi cans voted solidly against all or them and yet when Senator Hanna brought in his amendment repealing the Sherman anti-trust law so far as it applied to ship owners, the republicans, with tho exception of, Allison, Cullom, Proctor, Spooner, and Quarles, were ready to vote yea. The fol lowing is the Hanna amendment: Provided, however, that nothing contained in- this act, OR IN ANY OTHER ACT OP CONGRESS, shall be construed to prevent any citizen or corporation of the United States or of any state from contracting for, acquir ing, holding or operating any interest in one or more steamship lines engaged in foreign commerce. The senators voting for this amendment were Ald'rich, Bard,' Beveridge, Burnham, Burrows, Bur ton, Clark (Wyo.), Deboe, Depew, Dietrich, Dil lingham, Dolliver, Dryden, Elkins, Fairbanks, Foraker, Frye, Gallinger, Gamble, Hale, Hanna Hansbrough, Hawley, Jones (Nev.J, Kean, Kearns, Kittridge, McComas, McCumber, McLaurin (S. C.J, McMillan, Mason, Mitchell, Nelson, Penrose, Perkins, Piatt (Conn.), Scott, Warren, Wellington, and Wetmore. Senators Clapp, Lodge, Millard, Piatt (N. Y.J, Pritchard, Quay, Simon, and Stew art were paired in favor of the bill and in favor of the amendments supported by the republicans and against the amendments opposed by the re publicans. These names are given because the ship sub sidy will be an important issue in the coming congressional campaign and readers of The Com moner must be prepared to bring this subject to the attention of their republican neighbors. The vote for the bill on its final passage was the.same as for the Hanna amendment except that Dolliver and Dillingham, who voted for the amendment, voted against the bill, and Cullom, who voted against the amendment, voted for tho bill. JJJ . A Righteous Veto. Governor Cummins of Iowa is entitled to the thanks of every friend of good government, be cause of his recent veto message. The legislature of Iowa had passed a bill authorizing a change in the law relative to the indebtedness of railroad corporations. The bill removed the limit of in debtedness as fiad by the present law and left it with the stockholders to fix the amount of indebt edness by a clause in the articles of incorporation. Under the p.esent law the limit is $16,000 per mile, or two-thirds of the capital stock, if that would permit more than $16,000 per mile. An ac tive railroad lobby was behind the bill and it was properly known as "the merger bill." It was claimed, and a familiar claim it was, that if this bill were passed, the railroad companies would be able to raise more money and make large im provements throughout Iowa. In his veto, message, Governor Cummins said that he could not resist the belief that tho real application of tho proposed amendment would not be to enable the two or three railroad companies to which it would apply to improve their proper ties, for their own profit and for tho advantage of the people, and ho added: "Its only substantial effect would be to overcome the real or imaginary difficulties growing out of the purchaso of tho stock of the Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railroad company by the Great Northern and Northern Pacific Railroad companies." In conclusion Gov ernor Cummins said: It is one thing to grant to railway com panies tho right to borrow tho money needed to aid in the construction and equipment of their lines of railway; it is quite another thing to authorize a class of railway com panies to incur unlimited obligations with out respect to he amount of their stock or the worth of their property. I cannot bring myself to believe that this species of special legislation is consistent with the public wel fare or necessary for tho legitimate develop ment of railway property; on tho contrary, it is my firm belief that corporate' power to issue stocks and incur indebtedness needs regula tion rather than expansion. When a republican governor has the courage to rise above the enormous influences working within his own party for corporate advantage, he is entitled to more than ordinary praise. Governor Cummins is a brave man, and deserves the laurels which he is now wearing so gracefully. JJJ Begin at the Primaries. The democrats of Tully East precinct, Van Wert county, Ohio, held a convention or primary a few ilay3 ago at which they passed resolutions declaring their adherence to the Kansas City plat form and tD the principles therein set forth, and they instructed their delegates to carry out their wishes. Attention is called to this precinct for the purpose of t emphasizing the fact that tho friends of democratic principles musL make their light at the primaries if they expect to win. Democracy pure and undefiled is stronger with the voter? than it is with tho democrats who arc in the habit of attending conventions remote from the people. There are two reasons for this. In the first place, those who can pay railroad fare or secure passes to attend conventions far away from home are the ones among whom the defec tion was greatest in 1896. Some of the well-to-do democrats are connected directly or indirectly with large corporations, and others are so under the inlluence of the financiers that they are not al ways at liberty to express their convictions. In 1896, and to some extent in 1900, the cor porations terrified democratic voters and com pelled them to give support to the republican party. Some of these came back In 1900 without : being entirely emancipated from corporation con trol. They plead for harmony, and ask the demo crats to be generous and send them to conven tions. They generally object to instructions on the ground that instructions are humiliating, and then when once entrusted with authority they proceed to harmonize by emasculating the demo cratic platform and turning the organization over to the men who are Indifferent to democratic prin ciples. The Chicago convention came nearer rep resenting the actual sentiment of the rank and file of the democratic party than any national con vention held in recent years, and it did so be cause the voters" made their fight in the precincts and carried their instructions all the way up to the national convention. The friends of the Kansas City platform must be on their guard. If they would defeat the plans and purposes of the reorganizers they must in troduce into every pre.clnct convention or primary a resolution indorsing the Kansas City platform and instructing delegates to vote for the adoption of the resolution in the convention to which they go. If any man is unwilling to bo instructed, let him remain at home. A man who io not willing to carry out tho wishes of thoso who olect him has no right to represent men of convictions. The reorganizers have never fought an honest battle, in tho party or out of it, and they will not make an open attempt to change tho policy of tho party. Tho will object to instructions; they will object to the indorsement of the Kansas City platform without presenting their own plat form, and then if thoy can ejeuro control of a con vention they will adopt a platform that is ambig uous and uncertain, with the hope of deceiving the voters. East Tully precinct has set a good example; let it bo followed by every other precinct in tho United States. If tho reorganizers want to raako a fair fight lot them introduce a resolution re pudiating the Kansas City platform and instruct ing the delegates to favor the repudiation of that platform and the adoption of a gold standard plat form. Then tho Issue can bo met clearly and the r.esult will not bo doubtful. JJJ The Sanguinary Jlr. Hawley. "I have' an utter abhorrence of anarchy, and would glvo a thousand dollars to get a good shot at an anarchist." These were tho words of Senator Hawley. They were delivered in tho United States senato March 19. "Mr. Hawley may be pardoned for his im petuous statement. Probably ho did not half mean it, and yet one would suspect that "abhorrence" of anarchy is not so utterly "utter" on the part of a man who, at tho very moment of giving ex pression to this "abhorrence," boasted of his willingness to pay a considerable sum for tho privilege of being, for the moment, a disciple of anarchy. The best blow that has been struck at anarchy in recent years was the orderly manner in which the trial of Mr. McKInley's assassin was con ducted. Doubtless there were many people wno would have esteemed it a privilege to have par ticipated in the swift punishment of tho assassin, but the fact that the people, suffering under a great national and personal grief, showed their real abhorrence of anarchy to the extent that they demanded even for the miserable assassin of Mr. McKinley tho same orderly and fair trial that Would be accorded any other person, was In itself one of the greatest object lessons In law, one of tho greatest demonstrations of order's superiority to anarchy that has ever been offered to the world. JJJ Is it Possible? In a letter addressed to Speaker Henderson, Mr. Birge, a prominent republican and merchant of Keokuk, la., says: There Is a storm brewing in the mind of tho average American as to existing condi tions, and the congressman who fails to real ize this will find himself in the near future relegated to the shade of home life. I find many intelligent republicans who feel as I do, that tho time has come when it is the business of tho republican party to look the whole ques tion square in the face and to lower the pro tective tariff to Its legitimate ends, that it shall be no longer prohibitory Can it be possible that the rank and file cf republicans In the great state of Iowa have con cluded that after all It is not tho part of wisdom to permit a handful of leaders to do their think ing for them? It is not strange that republican congressmen fail to 'take notice of the storm that is brewing. These republican leaders have .had such remarkable success in pulling the wool over the eyes of the rank and file of their party that M is not in the least surprising that they look lightly upon such warnings as that presented by Mr, Birge. ssl
