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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (July 25, 1902)
prow The Commoner July 25, 190a KSW- LT' ' Hi' BJii,i J&&J i.'ir .jsk L .. '. . v &. t X Srr quonces that our party rightfully declared It to bo ' ;the paramount Issue. Without abandoning its position on the tariff question or on th.o money question it again espoused, the people's side of a great issue. That it did not win that year was p duo to a conjunction of causes any one of which would have been insufficient io have accomplished defeat. The administration having carried on a lirief and successful war fell heir to the enthusiasm . which usually attends a victorious conflict;, an unexpected increase in the supply of new gold jynd an unexpected influx of European gold, due to ( large crops hero and a famine abroad, increased prices, relieved the stress of hard times and gaVo to the .people the benefits that always flow from a growing volume of money. While the advantages which , followed a larger volume of money vindi cated the principle contended for by bimetallists they were appropriated by the party in power, and those who were Influenced by conditions, without attempting to realize the conditions, gave tho republican party credit for an increasing- prosper ity. Tho protected manufacturers, of course, stood by the administration which had given them a Dingley law. Trust promoters and trust magnates, recognizing in the democratic party an inveterate foe, and numbering among their stockholders many of tho most influential republicans, threw all their strength to the republican party, and by their support purchased immunity from punish ment. The republicans were greatly aided by an other influence, namely, the influence of the finan ciers who not yet having completed their schemes - were willing to risk trusts, imperialism or any thing else rather than forego the advantage which they expected from a gold standard and a bank currency. In .spite of all these obstacles the cam paign of 19Q0 only showed a net change of 150,000 votes in favor of the republicans out of a total ,yote of over thirteen millions. And what is the ' -r situation today? Since -the election of 1900, Im perialism is more openly avowed and imperial istic methods more boldly entered upon because the administration can point to thtLt election as an apparent indorsement, although tho party lead ers at that time vehemently denied imperialistic intent. Those wjio expect to make a profit out of a colonial system favor it on the ground that it will pay; those 'who think that it opens up the Philippines to proseliting Insist that it is provi- ' ,dential, while those who are simply seeking some .reason for supporting their party's-policy fall back ,upon the doctrine that circumstances got us into the trouble and that we must stay in until cir cumstances get us out. Since the election of 1900 the trusts have grown and flourished under the republican ad ministration, as might Lave, been expected. Al most two years have elapsed since the last presi dential election, and no legislative attempt has been made to interfere with them, and the execu v tive efforts, instead of being directed toward tho enforcement of criminal statutes, are confined to the equity side of the court and these efforts have not in the least retarded the formation of new combines. Since the election the financiers are seeking to carry their advantage a little farther and are planning an asset currency, a system of branch .banks and the redemption of the silver dollar. Recognizing the enormous iniquity of the bill they did not dare to press it during the campaign, but having secured a favorable report in the house, postponed its consideration until December. Since the election a republican congress has turned a deaf ear to tho laborer's cry for relief from government by injunction and a republican senate has refused to grant the demand of tho people for the election of United States senators Jiya direct vote. , And all tho while an exorbitant tariff is work ing injustice to tho consumers and enabling the beneficiaries of protection 'to sell at homo at a high price and compete in foreign markets at a lower price. - While the exploiters have been pressing their advantages at homo and abroad the interests of the producers of wealth on the farm, In the fnc torv and in the mines havo been utterly Ignored and the small business man has been left to such precarious existence as, the trusts (fDoj;mit hlmto oniy ' . t-jt c.j. .,, How can tho opponents of aristocracy and plutocracy bo. united- for ,a successful, attack, .upon entrenched privilege? N,ot by making ppaco with the enemy; not by Imitating 'tholr works, their methods or their phraseology, but by an bonqst straightforward appeal to tho American peoplo upon a platform that can bo understood and with an organization that can be trusted. Already many of the republicans are wavering, but they can never bo won to tho democratic jparty as long as they can say that our party is as. bad as theirs. Not by surrender, not by compromise, not by equivocation, not by ambiguity, not by vacilla tion, is tho victory to be won, but by bold, con stant, persistent, steadfast defense of the interests of the people at all times under all circumstances and on all questions. To lose faith in the exped iency of such a course is to lose faith in the omnip otence of truth. Upon this basis we can not only harmonize all who are democratic in sentiment and sympathy, but we can draw to our party those of the opposition who cherish democratic ideals, but have been misled by republican argu ments. In the accomplishment of this work tho Now England Democratic League can be, and I doubt not will be, a powerful factor. Municipal Ownership in Ohio. A special session of the Ohio legislature will meet soon to pass upon a municipal code for tho government of cities and villages. This special session is made necessary by a recent opinion of the supremo court which holds unconstitutional a law passed on this subjsct by a former legislature. According to tho decision of the court it will bo necessary for the legislature to provide charters for cities "and villages, no other divisions being allowed. The advocates of municipal reform will have a splendid opportunity to present their views upon this growing subject of public interest, and the people of Ohio are fortunate in having a strong and intelligent man like Mayor Johnson of Cleveland to lead their f ght As municipal gov ernment is a question which must be considered in all the states, and as the principles governing it are the same everywhere, The Commoner takes advantage of this opportunity to present a general view of the subject In framing a charter for cities or villages the first thing to be borne in mind is the doctrine of local self-government. Every community should be permitted to control its own affairs. The people of a city know better what they need than outsiders can possibly know, and $hey will take more interest in their own af fairs than outsiders can possibly take. If mistakes are made by those who control from the outside they are not so apt to be rem edied, because those who mako the mistakes do not suffer from them. But where there is local self-government the people recognize that the mis takes made are their mistakes and that they can only have good government by watching their government. In some of the states there has been a ten dency to take authority from the municipality and deposit it with the governor of the state. This has been especially true of the police power and the change has been made' on the theory that the state government can give a city a better police service than the people can secure for them selves through their local government The fact ls. however, that tho theory Is only applied whore tho stato government differs in politics from the city government It then gives to tho domi nant party In tho stato an oxcuso for assuming control of a city which would, if left to Itself, be 'under tho control of another political party. That partisanship rather than principle controls in such matters is ovldent from tho fact that promlnont partisan politicians have been on both sldea .of the question, tho aldd taken d'opondlng upon the partisan advantage to b'e obtained. It Is to bo hoped that llio legislature of Ohio will recognize not Only tlio' right of thd people of-a-clty to Holf govornmentb'ut also tho educational value of sdff government in proportion as peoplo aro com pelled to look after tholr town government thoy will' acquaint themselves with government arid constantly grow In capacity for self-government Tho legislature of Ohio should also rccognlzo ' tuo growth of sentiment in favor of tho municipal ownership 'bf municipal franchises. Tho statistics show a constant and rapid growth in tho direction of municipal ownership. An over increasing num ber of cities own ahdopornto tholr Water plants, and while a less proportion own "and operate their lighting plants the trend is decidedly toward mu nicipal ownership. Thero is no reason why a city should allow private corporations to control any municipal franchise. It Is Impossible to havo competition between water plants, lighting plants, heating plants, telophono plants, or street car lines. It would bo a great inconvenience to the city to havo its streets torn up for pipes or filled up with wires or tracks of competing companies, and then, too, as a matter of economy the public should not be taxed Xo pay dividends on a largo number of plants. Where thore can be no com petition there must be monopoly, and whero there must be monopoly it must be a government monopoly and not a private one. Tho friends of municipal reform in the Ohio legislature can afford to plant themselves firmly upon the Kansas City platform doctrine that private monopolies aro in defensible and intolerable, Tho new charter, should contain provisions that will mako it possi ble for every city and village to carry municipal ownership just as far as the peoplo desire to carry it. This is a matter which can safely be left with the peoplo themselvu and if tho charter provides, a method for taking the sense of the peoplo on these questions municipal ownership will mako rapid progress in the Buckeye State. Franchises would seldom bo granted to pri vate corporations but for the profit that the mem bers of the city council find in giving away that which does not belong to them and which tho peoplo themselves would never give away if they had any voice in the matter. Where the peoplo think best to grant franchises to municipal cor porations tho grant should be for a short term with a provision that tho property of the corpora tion can be taken by the public upon the payment of a reasonable compensation, and that compensa tion should be measured by the value of the physi cal property of the corporation. The city council not be compelled to buy back at a high price a franchise benevolently given to a private cor poration. The corruption that has so often dis graced city government comes almost entirely from the turning over to private corporations the budi ness which the city itself should attend to. In some states the mayor has been given larga powers in tho appointment of municipal officers, the mayor thus becoming responsible for the car rying out of a definite policy. Where tho mayor is elected by the people and holds office for a short time this plan is entirely in harmony with the theory of self-government, and has been found to work well in practice. But whether more or less power is placed in the hands of the mayor is not so important as that the people of a city shall be permitted to control their own affairs and that they shall havo the right to decide for themselves whether they will do their own municipal work or grant franchises to private corporations.