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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (July 18, 1902)
V 3K m I Tho part? had not divided over a groat Issue, and tho lo'ddors had not been in open alliance with th'o oncmy. No ono in considering "the careor of Arnold would overlook tho chango that took placo in tho sentiment toward him after ho became an cmployo of tho English government, and so no rational man can roviow tho record of Jthoso .who desortcd tho party in 189G without taking into consideration tho change which their condirct wrought in tho sentiment toward them. Whether they were honest or not is not tho question. If a democrat hocomes a republican ho becomes un available for a democratic ofllco or for tho man agompnt of the party so long'ns he remains a re-, publican, no matter how honest or conscientious ho may bo in making tho change, If ho returns ho must giyo ovidoncc pf a chango of heart before, ho will bo trusted again. ,, . Even tho election of"' 1S94, disastrous as It was, was only a, r, feeble illustra tion . of what may bo expected, if tho party comes, again under tho leadership of tliqso who were recreant in recent campaigns. ,In 1894 .the party had to carry tho gross iniquities, of Mr. Cleveland's administration, but.the, Pipa, who, led" the party had not at that time, entirely alipnated the cbnfldenco of tho masses by-desertion; Even nion who were faithful to the principles of' 'tho party went down to defeat because .of. ,tho apathy' aroused by Mr. Cleveland's subserviency to;:Wail streot influences,, What will bo tho resultdf .tho, men who were loyal in 189 and .1900 are asked to raliy under tho standard of tifogo Whom they dis trust,, and aro roquired to surrender their deep convictions and condemn their own Votes. ' If,. tho ' party (although it polled a' million m'OrB' Votes than evor before) could, not win when 10 petf dent of tho members of tho party wore dissatisfied, how. can it hope to, win when 90 per cent of the mom-t bjbrs are dissatisfied? . Harrhony on the terms pro posed, and no bettor, terras wjl tTo propoBedmeans not' only tho abandonment of. principle .fpr "tho pYomise of 'success, but it moans a failure to se cure success tho trading of a birthright for a mess of pottago without getting tho pottage. The "any.thlng-to-win" policy is ah insult, to those who have convictions and.it ought? to be qffenslve oven to thoso who have no convictions if they have political judgment. JJJ Why Permit This Favoritism? - In' its issue of May 18th, the Chicago Tribune, republican, had an unusually interesting editorial entitled "The arrogance of wealth." The Tribune waa considerably disturbed because. Andrew Car negie had offered to pay $20,000,000: for tho Phil ippine Islands provided only that he was permit ted to assure tho Filipinos that they would bo given their independence. Although heretofore the Tribune' has not In dicated that It has lost patldnco with' Mr. Car negie, that paper now says that tho steel mag nate "has tried tho patience of his friends severely in some of his late bids fpr notoriety." Tho Trib une thinks that Mr. Carnegie is" constantly posing. It says ho has "scattered libraries broadly through tho country, all of which are to be called for him, and everyone of them is 'a contribUtlPn to the con science fund." Then the Tribune explains, Mr. Carnegie made his money In a. mag- . niflccnt way, but he Bhould novor forget that HE MADE IT THROUGH THE UNDUE FAVORITISM of tho government of tho United States. OWING TO THE DISCRIMI NATION PRACTICED IN HIS FAVOR BY THE TARIFF, he was enab.led to amass a fortune of two hundred millions of dollars orf more, MOST OF WHICH CAME OUT OF THE POCKETS OF HIS COUNTRYMEN THROUGH THE OPERATION OF UNEQUAL LAWS. Much has been said of tho benefit arising to the workingmen from tho establish- ment of the Carnegie works. Tho beneficent tariff system permitted the works to survive and flourish, but there are soma people who have not forgotten tho Homestead strike, nor The Commoner. tho outrageous manner In which the working- men woro treated .at that timo by employers'; whoso 'brutality has seldom been exceeded In" tho history of labor agitations. Jt Js signficent that republican papers did. not remind Mr. Carnegie of tho source of his great fortuno until that gentleman undertook to condemn an Important policy of tho republican' party. "But wo JEhink this republican paper is to' be',vgiven credit for- Its candor, when it says that Mn? Car negie "should never forget that ho made it (his fortune) through tho undue favoritism' of the gov ernment of tho United States." '" 'Undue favoritism" is good. If tho Trib'urie's criticism of this point is true, why does not; tho Tribune direct Its shafts at tho" party "that gave "undue favoritism" rather than at the man who took., advantage of the opportunity tf onjpying the" extraordinary privileges? ? . - v"Owfng to tho discrimination practiced hi his favor by the tariff," says tho Tribune'he, vaB enabled to amass a fortune of two hundred mil lion dollars or more, most of which came- out of tho pockets of his countrymen through tho oper ation of unequal laws." ' '!,' ..' , .This Is exactly what the democratic party has claimed and oxactly what the republican pa pers haVo denied; but why does not this republi can, .paper direct its criticism . against the Republi can party that practiced 'this discrimination and enabled a man to "amaBs a fortune of 'two hundred millions of dollars' or more, most of which came out of tho pockets 6f his countrymen through tho operations pf unequal laws?" ,. How does it happen that the Tribune con tinues day after day to insist that the party that provided this "undue favoritism," that 'practiced this "discrimination" in favor of Andrew Car negie and other men, is the party, of honesty, of patriotism, .of progress?. ... .. Tho "undu6 favoritism" and the '"discrimina tion ."b nicb! XnafeCaiieg'ie'rW4s gabled, to build up his immense fortune Is being practiced today under tho authority of the republican party. Why does hot the Chicago Tribune condemn this undue favoritism and this discrimination? Why does it not array itself; against a policy which takes millions of dollars out of the pockets of the people through tho operation of unequal laws, and places these fortunes in the pockets of a few individuals who contribute liberally to. tho re publican campaign fund? . . , JJJ Roosevelt Arraigns Roosevelt Mr. Roosevelt delivered an interesting address at the commencement exercises of Harvard uni versity. Ho had much., to say . concern ing the criticism of a number of his, appointees. Tho substance pf Mr, Roosevelt's remarks in this respect aro well stated in a telegram to the Chi cago Record-Herald by William B. Curtis. Mr. Curtis reports Mr. Roosevelt as saying sub stantially that "it was tho custom in England to reward men who did great work with titles and lands, while in this country a hero is rewarded by malignant attacks and is fortunate If he is per mitted to take up the threads of business life left in a tangled condition when he responded to the' call of his country." This is the most remarkable of tho many re markable utterances made by President Hoosevelt. No attempt has been made to deprive the men to whose defense Mr. Roosevelt rushes of the credit which properly belongs to them. For certain things they have been criticised and no serious at tempt has been made by the administration or the friends of these men to provide Intelligent de fense. The charge against Secretary Root of keeping the people in the dark concerning the conduct of affairs . in tho Philippines has beep amply, con firmed, if confirmation were necessary, by tho re publican press, . . -. General Wood was charged with using public Vol.-a, No. 26i ' money for the purpose 6f aiding a lobby engaged in ah effort to pass a certain measure through congress:' Instead of denying the charge, General Wood lias frankly admitted it to bo true. But what an arraignment President Roosevelt made of his own administration when he com-', plained of the practice of "rewarding" heroes by. malignant attacks. . " vi "'Mr. Roosevelt would have ftone well to- havo looked at1 the notches on the-handle of his own bright blade before he delivered this Utterance.-'- 'Dewey Miles and Schley did not receive' titles ; fPrthis government had no titles to bestow;- they;' did -hot receive lands, for thi's'governmerithad!no,J lands" to give; they did' receive, "and they yet re-f tain; the love and the gratitude of theM'Americano people for their distinguished! services;'' But what, about tho president who complained of the imam ner innwhich American heroes "Vrero treated? J Whatimariner of treatment? did these heroes: reV ceive at tho hands of Theodore Roosevelt T-v, - u '. Every one of these heroes lias- been the target for the most persistent attacks by this administrate tion and its representatives; Dewey has been reV peatodly snubbed; Miles has beon repeatedly;lnn suited and humiliated, while Schley, the,. mam to whohi tho American people havo given thei title ot "Hero of Santiago Bay,V has been branded, fovea, by Theodore Roosevelt himself, - as a man who "weighed too nicely" the dangers of .a great bat- tie a great battle, too, in which.;Schley was: the, active leader and in which he established his cour age and his leadership tb the satisfaction ..of the.. American people. .,..,.-.? It requires considerable courage on the. part ot Mr. Rodsevelt to complain, in the presence of an: intelligent audience, of tho manner tin- which, heroes are treated in this country. ,w . j Wood and Taft and Root are the "heroes?'. : to whose defense Mr. Roosevelt rushes. Whatever heroism these gentlemen may 'have-displayed: was largely-shown in civil office; and while--it, js, true? that heroism may be displayed in civil office as. well as upon the battle field, it. seems strange, in deed, that Mr. Roosevelt is so ready to Tush tp the. defense of tho men whom he regards as heroes of civil life while he has had. nothing but criticism and harsh words to apply to. Dewey, Miles ;-anI; Schley, whose breasts have been bared in battle in. the service of their country a,nd whoso works have been so faithful that the .American, pepple,, with practically one voice, accord to them the. honors to which they are entitled. No democratic orator could have framed $, more severe arraignment of Mr. Roosevelt than. Mr.. Roosevelt provided for himself in his speech delivered at Cambridge, Mass. JJJ A Campaign Expedient. ' As soon as President Roosevelt returned home from his sojourn in Pittsburg the papers an nounced with a great flourish ,o trumpets that he had decided to mako a vigorous attack upon the trusts. Now? ..--. No, after the election. '..., It will occur to the student of political history, that it is much easier for the -republican party to attack the trusts after a while than it is to attack them now. The president has been in office about' nine months, and "during that timo congress has been in session for about six months. During all this time the trusts have flourished. They have grown, spread, declared dividends and fattened, off of the people. Everybody knows of their ex istence except the president and his attorney, general. Tho steel trust has stalked abroad, sup pressing competition, preying upon industry and accumulating millions by extortion, while the president hob-nobbed with its stockholders and directors, his attorney general having been the private attorney of those who exercise tho largest" influence in the management of tho steel trust. If the present law is sufficient to destroy the "rrHj lv Mi I i W-