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The Commoner.
t ' Vol a, No. 29.'
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eulogized and omulatod; evil and only evil can
como from Idealizing the blood-thirsty soldier.
On nnothor page will bo found tho very conclu
ulvo roply mado by Dr. Spraguo of Ea'st Orango,
N. J., to another and oqually vulnerable part of
tho president's West Point speech. It Is worthy of
porusal.
JJJ
Iowa Republicans and the Tariff.
Govornor Cummins of Iowa has entertained
vory pronounced views on" tho trust question and
ho has had no hesitancy in giving public expres
sion to those views.
Largely through Governor Cummins' Jnflu
nco tho Iowa republican convention of 1901 de
clared for such modification of tho tariff schedule
as might bo required to provont tariff sholtor to
monopolies.
When tho republican convention met at Deo
Moines July 30th Govornor Cummins led tho light
for tho roltoratlon of tho 1901 plank. Influential
republican leaders objoctod to the reaffirmation of
that planlc, declaring that it was "virtually a
plea of guilty to tho democratic charge that tho
tariff is responsible in a degree for the trusts."
Tho result of a splritod fight was a victory for
Governor Cummins.
Tho platform adopted by tho Iowa republi
cans among other things declares:
We favor such changes in the tariff from
time to time as becomo advisable through tho
progross of our industries and their changing
relations to tho commorco of tho world. Wo
indorse tho policy of reciprocity as tho na
tional complement of protection and urge its
development as necessary to tho realization,
of highest commercial possibilities.
Wo assort tho sovereignty of the pooplo
over all corporations and aggregations of capi- '
tal and tho right residing in the people to en
force such regulations, restrictions or prohibl-
tlons upon corporate management as will pro
,.,'tect the Individual and society from abuse of
the power which great combinations of'capt
Vtal 'Wield. - . .-,i t lm s
' . We cordially lnderw. the. tuition, of J?ro
' 0.1, ldent Roosevelt in appealing to the courts to
secure regulations that will 'control great com
binations of capital that prevent competition
and control tho industries of tho people with
out legal sanction or public approval. We favor
. such amendment to the interstate commerce
act as will more fully carry out its prohibi
tion of discriminations in rato making and
any modification of the tariff schedules that
may" be required to prevent their affording
shelter to monopoly. ,
The Commoner has had occasion to congrat
ulate Governor Cummins on former occasions, and
it now renews these words of commendation. Tho
assertion of the people's sovereignty over corpor
ations and aggregations of capital and the dec
laration of tho people's right to enforce such legal
restrictions or prohibitions upon corporate man
agement as will protect society from the abuse9
of power which great combinations of capital
wield, sounds indeed strange coming from a re
publican convention; but such things as these
provide good signs, for they Indicate a growing dis
position on the part of the people to recognize,
conditions and to align themselves on the side of
truth. The time has gone by when tho trust
breeding tariff can bo successfully defended and
the republicans of Iowa are to bo congratulated
because they have so capable a leader as Gov
ernor Cumniintf, a man who is not afraid to think
lor himself, and one who will not sacrifice his
conviction in order to win popularity among tin
national leaders of his party.
JJJ
Democracy in New England.
There is an earnestness about tho New Eng
land democracy which bodes well for the future.
Most of tho gold democrats have returned to tho
party without demanding concessions or exacting
promises. They realize that the Kansas City plat
form democrats saw farther than they did and they
are anxious to assist in protecting the country
from tho commercial spirit which is responsible
for .imperialism and the trusts are well as from tho
Fowler bill and tho arrogance of tho financiers.
Nowhere havo Homocrats fought more valiantly or
against greater odds than in New England and no
where is tho party making greator gains. Tho
Maine democrats indorsed tho Kansas City plat
form, put up strong state and congressional tick
ets and aro going to mako an excellent showing
next month.
JJJ
J
Don't Feed Human Beings.
The Chicago Tribune, a republican paper, n
Its issue of Tuesday, July 29, printed tho follow
ing dispatch:
, Charleston, W. Va., July 28. (Special.)
Further blows were struck at the striking
minors today by officials of the federal court.
Federal District Attorney Atkinson secured
warrants of arrest for about fifteen persons,
charging- them with contempt of court In vio
lating tho injunction issued by Judge Keller
covering the Flat Top coal field, along tho
Norfolk & Western railroad. The clerk de
clined to give the names.
Federal Judge Keller issued another in
junction against G. Wf Purcell, a member of
tho national executive committee of the United
Mine Workers; W. B. Wilson, national secre
tary; Chris Evans, national statistician; .
. "Mother" Jones, and five others, at the suit
of theGauley Mountain Coal company. -It is
In tho form as those heretofore issued.
It was charged that Purcell, Evans, Wil
son, and the others were purchasing and dis
tributing supplies to feed tho strikers in this
district.
It was thought that when Federal Judge Jack
son imposed jail sentences upon a number of labor
organizers because of their public speeches, tha
Injunction proceeding had been carried to the ex
treme in tho interests of the coal barons; but now
we are told that it was charged that certain persons-"were
purchasing and distributing supplies
to feed tho strikers," and on the presentation of
this . terrible ac'cusationV'thls federal Judge issued
.au&jtfnctionr
, ilt Is indeed a great offense,' against the peace
and dignity of the land for men to-purchase and
distribute 'food to human beings.
There was a time in the history of this, coun
try, when such an injunction wouldjhave agitated
the whole people, but It is significant that this re
markable proceeding does not seem to have dis
turbed the general public. It cannot be that any
considerable number of people would uphold such
an order. It is more reasonable to believe that the
people have become so thoroughly accustomed to.
the abuse of the injunction writ that they are pre
pared for the most radical proceeding on this line.
Representatives of the trust system have had
much complaint to make on the score that demo
cratic leaders have sought to stir up discontent
among the masses and to array class " against
class. But these representatives seem to be total
ly ignorant of the -fact that the abuse of the In
junction writ, as" it is now being abused in the in
terests of the coal barons, can have but one re
sult, and that is the creation of a chasm' between
the oppressor and the oppressed which all the in
genuity of American statesmanship" will find it
difficult to bridge.
JJJ
All They Care For.
In its arraignment of the republican congress
for Us failure to grant reciprocity to Cuba, the
New York: Tribune, that eminent republican, .paper,
speaking particularly of republicans in congress
who were fighting reciprocity, says:
It seems to matter nothing to them that
thus our nation's honor would be irretrievably
besmirchod, that a people confiding in and de
pendent upon us would be betrayed and ruined,
that wo should "be put in peril of another ted
ious and costly war, and that another pocket
borough state, with alien institutions and diffi
cult social and racial problems, would be
pitchforked intothis union to help govern tho
nation. "All they seen! to see or to care for is
the opportunity of looting Cuba and of getting
possession of hec sugar plantations and fac
tories for a song. It is now past tho eleventh
h6ur. But even yet there is time to balk the
consummation of such iniquity. If it is not
.. balked there will pno day be a stern reckoning
with those responsible for the failure to balk
the scheme as well as with those rcsponsiblo
for its conception and execution; and that day
of reckoning may not be far off.
Tho Tribune must be a very sleepy newspaper,
else it would have known long ago that in the re
publican congress "it seems to matter nothing that
our nation's honor would bo irretrievably be
smirched," by the doing of anything which the
trusts want tho republican congress to do. And
the Tribune might know that with respect to tha
Philippines as with respect to Cuba, it might be
said of some of these republican statesman, "all
they seem to see or to care for is the opportunity
of looting."
JSJ '
When Were They Approved?
The Chicago Record-Herald' saysthalf "the
republicans claim and a part of tho democrats
admit that the. people of tho United States have
set the stamp of their approval" upon these propo
sitions: Countenance of that system of government
in such territory which is called 'colonial' as a -necessary
incident to the preparation of unde
veloped peoples for ultimate self-government.
'Toleration of government in such coun
tries under the flag, but without the constitu-
tion, in the sense that whatever Americans
do in those countries is done in the spirit and
xmder the grant of powc- contained in tho
constitution, but that the constitution as' a
whole does not anply in tho government "till
such time as the government of the United
States wishes to apply it.
When did the pedple of the United States "set
the stamp of their approval" upon any such things
as'these? ' .".''.'
" These things mean nothing-more nbrlessthan
imperialism and 'republicans in 1900; "told us vho
republican party did not stand for imperialism.-
Today the republican leaders tell us that the
republican party does not stand for the ship sub
sidy bill nor for the Fowler currency bill; and
yet should tho elections result in republican vic
tory, we may be sure that, even in spite of these
disclaimers, republican leaders will insist that the
people of the United States have "set their' statnp
of approval," upon other things for which the re
publican party has disclaimed responsibility.
JJJ N .
Words and Deeds.
In. his Fourth of July speech while dwelling
on the trust question, Mr. Roosevelt referred to At
torney General Knox as one possessing "the char
acter that will refuse to bo hurried into any un
wise or precipitate movement by any clamor,
whether hysterical or demagogic, and on the other
hand, the character that will refuse to be fright
ened out of the movement which he thinks it
right to undertake by any pressure, still less by
any threat, express or implied."
Then referring to the remedy for trusts, Mr,
Roosevelt said:
Special legislation Is needed; some of that,
legislation must come .through municipalities,
some through the national government, but
above and beyond all legislation we need hon
est and fearless administration of the laws
as they are on the statute books.
No greater truth was ever uttered than when
President .Roosevelt said: "Above 'and 'beyond1 all
legislation we need honest and fearless admin
istration of laws as they are on the statute books."
That is exactly what we do need, that is 'exactly
what, under the republican administration, we do
not have.
The laws now on the statute books clearly pro
vide for criminal prosecution of those who enter
into a conspiracy in restraint of trade. Mr. Rooso-
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