Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 8, 1902)
Commoner. 3 tr v- . s? Aug. 8, "19'oa I . relt's attorney general has instituted civil pro ceedings and 'in tho bill by which these proceed ings were commenced the attorney general referred to tho defendants as "conspirators," and referred to their offense as a "conspiracy But no effort Has been made by this attor ney goneral to proceed against these conspirators under the criminal clause In tho federal an ti-trust law. If there were no good grounds for believ ing that these men had engaged in this con spiracy, then the attorney goneral was" not Justi fied in beginning tho civil proceedings. If he had good- ground for charging In a civil bill that theso men had entered into a conspiracy then it is hl3 duty to institute criminal proceedings also. . . To' insist that criminal proceedings' should bo commenced is neither "hysterical" nor "demagogic y clamor," because Mr. Roosevelt himself, in his Fourth" of Jufy speech, declares that "above and beyond all legislation we need honest and fearless administration of the laws as they are on tho statute- books." In, this same speech Mr. Roosevelt said: "Words are good if they are backed up by deeds, and only so." Of what value, then, is Mr. Roose--velt's statement that "above and beyond all leg islation we need honest and fearless administra tion of the laws as they are on the statute books," in the'presonco of the fact that Mr. Roosevelt has not directed his attorney goneral to institute criminal proceedings against tho men who have conspired in restraint of trade? , The criminal indictment is the most effective weapon so far as concerns court proceedings; and there can be no "honest and fearless administra tion of the laws as they are on the statute books" so far as trusts are concerned, when tho attorney general contents himself with clumsy injunction proceedings and fails to adopt tho more effective , nd more speedy plan of criminal prosecution. If "words are good if they are backedfup by md,G,eds,j aja& only, soA't' .thenthe words ,employed by . ,Mrn, RbQseveUi at Pittsburg arc not good' because they are-not "backed up ,by deeds." " , JJJ Republican Tendencies. t , If any one has any doubt concerning the ten dency of the republican party with relation to trusts, the doubt may bo removed by reference to .a ,dispatch from Washington under date of April iia-nil printed in the Chicago Record-Herald, republican. w waiter Wellman, the Record-Herald's well known Washington correspondent, sent to his paper this dispatch: One of the most prominent administration : republicans in the country today defined the issues of the.coming battle as he saw them de- t . - veloping In congress. He said: "Trusts and imperialism are tho two issues for which re publican and democratic 'knights of the stump' " " will be plumed during the remaining weens of the present session of congress. On tho . trust question the republicans are going to re peat their record for boldness. - They Urst wont In swaddling clothes as to the gold stand ard, gradually grew to full stature on that issue and announced themselves boldly for it in plain language. They are now preparing to do tho same as to tho trusts. 'Wo shall tako the aggressive. Trusts aro tho legitimate de . jvelopment of our tremendous, enorgy. We ""could not get alpng without them and pur language in saying this will be as plain as it is emphatic. This is a very candid statement, indeed. - The republican party in 1896 advocated bimetallism Jthraugh international agreement, and then in 1900 camo out boldly for the single gold standard, or, as this republican newspaper puts it, "it gradually grow topfull stature on that iss.ue," . It is Interesting to be told that "they are now preparing to do the same as to trusts." The correctness of this prophecy cannot bo i doubted. In 1896 .tho republican party in its na- , tionai platform boldly, denounced trusts; . in, 1900 v the, platform wag silent on that question. When Mr. Roosevelt was vice president, he referred to trust magnates as representatives of "cunning;" since he becamo president, ho refers to them as "captains of industry." Tho trend of republican organs and republican policies aro all in tho direc tion of seeking to impress upon tho people that the trustshavo "como to stay," that "wo could not get along without them;" and the success of tho republican party In deceiving tho people In tho past has been so pronounced that it will not bo at all surprising If republican loadors oven go so far as to boldly stand sponsor for tho trust system In tholr party platform as they do In the official con duct of their representatives; JJJ The Foreigners' Advantage. A subscriber, having noted tho claim that American trust-made goods aro sold to foreign consumers at a less price than charged tho homo consumer, asks Tho Commoner to give tho do mestic and foreign prices of a number of articles, Tho information sought by this subscriber ma bo found in a speech delivered in the house by Mr. Candler, jr., of Mississippi on May 29, 190 Mr. Candler said: As tho representatives of the American peo ple tho trusts deserve and should receive no consideration at our hands. They grant tho people no quarter, and they should bo granted none by the people's representatives. Thoy are selling their goods cheaper to foreigners than to homo folks. Thoy are therefore more considerate of and klndor to foreigners than v to Americans. JTo prove the truth of this as sertion I. .give the pricesdomestic and for eignof a few articles in daily use by almost every farmer, as follows: Domestic Foreign Articles price. - price. Cultivators $11.00 8.40 Plows .14.00 12.60 Axes, per dozen ;...;.. 8.25 ' 7.20, Kettles ' 1.40 .85 . . Wire .nails, pe.rlQ0, lbs,, ;...,. 2.25 ,, ,.TJt 1,35 Table knives, per gross... 15.00 . ,r ' . 12.00 Horseshoe nails, per pounds ".17"."' ? A'4 - Barbed' wire, per 100 lbs'.' 3.00 '" ' 2.00 Rivets, per 100 lbs 10.00 5.55 This list might be extended to a great length, but tho examples here givqni suffice to show tho truth of tho charge that the trusts, bulwarked be hind the protective tariff walls, use that vantage ground to extort high prices from the American' consumer. . - JJJ To Ruin and to Steal. The New York Tribune is a republican paper. So thoroughly stalwart is the Tribune that its editor, was chosen to represent the republican ad ministration at tho coronation ceremonies of the king of England. , The republican congress had evidently con cluded ,to do nothing in the way of reciprocity for Cuba, and tho Tribune in its Issue of Juno 24 had an interesting editorial in which it charged that the republicans are "acting presumably at the be hest of and certainly in the interest of the allied sugar trusts and the beet sugar ring." On this point the Tribune said': These selfish allies oppose the granting - of such concessions not because it would --injure their business and lessen their imme diate profits for thoy admit and boast that it would not do so. No; their "opposition is in spired by a greedy desire for enormous future gains, to bo hqd through a veritable rape of the Island of Cuba. Thoy propose; these sugar ' monopolists do, to withhold concessions from Cuba until the Island is ruined until planta tions and refineries are abandoned and their owners bankrupt. Then they will purchase all such properties at tho merest fraction of their real value. Finally, they will in ono way . or another drag Cuba into the union as a state; for they expect that tho ruined Cubans will either bo glad to accept annexation as their only hope for industrial salvation or will re volt again, as they did against Spanish com mercial oppression, arid thus compel the United States to go in forcibly and take control of the island. That Is the scheme of the allied sugar trusts, first to ruin Cuba and thon to stoal tho island. This Is a most interesting statement coming from an eminent republican authority. If It Is "tho schomo of tho allied sugar trusts first to ruin Cubaand thon to steal tlio island," la that not tho scheme of the republican party as represented by tho attitude of tho republican congress? JJJ . . . . Are You Interested? Tho Interest which the readers of The Com moner aro taking in extending its circulation la very gratifying to tho publisher. Our. "Lots of Five" plan enables thoso who appreciate tho work that Tho Commoner is doing to supply tho paper to tholr neighbors and friends at 00 cents per year, Tho efforts' of tho monopoly element of tho democratic party (commonly known as reor ganizes) to secure control of tho democratic or ganization for tho purpose of preventing tho masses of tho people from getting relief from ex cessive taxation, exorbitant trust prices, tho bank ing monopoly and imperialism, can bo thwarted If the true friends of democracy can bo aroused to the danger confronting tho democratic organi zation. Tho appeal for harmony coming from thoso who betrayed the party In '96 and attomptcd to betray tho peoplo at tho Kansas City conven tion by trying .to adopt a platform that would not bo binding upon those who were elected upon It, will deceive 110 one if the people aro kept ad vised as to their plans. The coming twelve months will witness an other struggle for. tho control of tho democratic organization, with tho masses of .the .party whp ask no special privilege on tho one side and thoso who not only want to preserve tho class legisla tion which is now on the statutes, but are insist ing on more special privileges, on the other side T.lp Commoner will uso all tho power at Its com mand to prevent any backward atop, being, iaken bjTthe democratic party, and calls upon ltreadrirV .' to lisb' their influence- to give' the paper a'wjkler circulation, and thus Increase its power to ac complish the work for which it is striving. Our appeal is already meeting with a hearty response. Those who have assumed tho responsibility of getting five of tholr acquaintances to subscribe for The Commoner number more than three thou sand, and more than eighteen thousand subscrip tion cards have been ordered since our campaign offer, known as our "Lots of Five" plan, was in augurated. If you want the democratic party to remain true to its traditions, and believe Tho Commoner, if more widely circulated in your vi cinity will help to accomplish the desired result, write your name and address in the coupon below, mail it to The Commoner, and five subscription cards will bo sent to you. Each card is good for one year's subscription to Tho Commoner when properly filled out and returned to this office. You may remit for tho cards at the rate of 60 cents each, after you secure the subscribers. Give your friends an opportunity to get The Commoner at 60 cents a year, and thus add their influence to your own in the work in which all true democrats are interested. APPLICATION FOR Ws f Five Subscription Cards." " roBLiflHKR Commokxb: llcsse send me llvo subscription cards. I 'promise to use my utmost endcaror to sell these cards, and will remit for them at tho rate of CO cents each whea , sold. - Namo '. :.,...V....u...'. Poetofilc .,., ,, ft'....'. I..: County.. .....;.'...,,.1..:..l..,i - , sute I ;...r.'.!:.'. ;...;n;...-...J i . mmmmNmmmmmmmmmmmmmmBwmmmmmmmmmmmmaam V 4 ' " It"- AV'tf .&U&lr . i .liLll&tilllV SCg-ft,.. r ...,1 L'J iirrflMiifliiir 'iiiriniii
