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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 29, 1902)
3 Aug. a9, 190J Wamo for failure was laid at the door of tho in dolent and thriftless. The speech, polished in language, graceful in delivery and enlivened by flashes of humor, was well calculated (and evi dently intended) to quiet the fears of the young republicans who are growing restive and begin ning to resent corporate domination In their party councils. To show tho possibilities that open before tho young man ho cited the cases of Charles Hayes and William Van Homo, young men who grew up on farms near where ho (Senator Dolll ver) once lived. Hayes is now president of tho Southern Pacific and Mr. (now Sir William) "Van Home is president of the Canadian Pacific. Ad mitting, however, that but few can be railroad presidents, especially if consolidations continue, ho sought to illustrate his argument by taking a case which he thought would appeal to the masses and describe a success within the reach of all. He told of a young man, a model man in habits, who came from Canada and went to work on a farm in his (Senator Dolliver's) home county at $200 per year. Being methodical he kept an itemized account of his expenditures and tho sen ator, after a careful inspection of the ledger, found that in five years he had given about $G0 to the church, spent about $150 on himself , sent his mother about the same sum and used a little larger sum in traveling, and, most important of all, had saved and loaned out $400. This was tho net result of five years of industry and it was proclaimed as the solution of the economic problem. Insofar as the illustration tends to show ftho advantage of good habits, persevering toil and economy, It is good. Under any conditions, how- The Commoner. f t ever adverse, somo will do bcttdr than others and under any conditions, however favorable, somo will lag behind. The weakness of Senator Dol liver's illustration is that it has nothing to do with tho present situation. Tho question is not whether it is possible to live under present con ditions, but whether thd rewards offered by so ciety and government are proportionate to tho service rendered by each, 'in tho caso cited by Senator Dolliver the young man by care and sac rifice saved $400; if he had commenced at twenty and continued his labors for fifty years he would at seventy have had $4,000 and accumulated inter estprobably something moro than tho senator's salary for ono year. But it must bo remembered that the young man mentioned was unmarried; If ho had taken unto himself a wife and assumed the responsibility of rearing and educating a fam ily his domestic expenses would have made in roads upon his savings. Not twenty-five per cent of the heads of families have $4,000 at death. But while the senator's exemplary friend must labor for five years to save $400 the beneficiaries of re publican legislation grow rich not only by leaps and bounds, but by enforced contributions from the producers of wealth. The Rock Island railroad marked up its capital recently from $75,000,000 to more than $200,000, 000, and expects to make a confiding public pay rates that will yield a dividend on that sum. It would take over 300,000 farm hands, like Sena tor Dolliver's friend, four years to save the amount added to the capital of one road by the directors In a single day. The Standard Oil company's stock Increased $200,000,000 in value in one year as a result of tho last republican victory. It would take 500,000 farm hands, llko Senator Dolllvor'a friend, two years to earn that sum and flvo years to save that amount. Tho Kansas City Journal In a lucid interval gavo statistics to show that tho beef trust taxes tho pcoplo of tho United States moro than $200, 000,000 per year. Hero Is another interesting ex ample in arithmetic. A comparison of tho slow accumulations of tho unprotected masses with tho enormous fortunes socurod by a few undor republican favoritism Is not likely to stir up wild enthusiasm among tho rank and file of the republican party. If wo are to have trusts and monopolies why not emphasize the Saratoga incident? Mr, Gates, who made nlno millions in ono week recently, and then went up to play tho races, gavo a waiter $500 as a tip. This was as much as Senator Dolllvor's friond made In two years and more than ho saved In four years. Why refer to tho patient plodding necessary to save eighty dollars a year when by waiting on a trust magnate, there is a chance to run across half a thousand in a day? The fact is that republican policies are work ing a transformation that is destructive of high ideals. Tho speculator, tho plunger, tho stock gambler and tho monopolist are running tho re publican party and, through it, tho country, while tho producers of wealth find themselves possessors of an over decreasing proportion of tho wealth which they produce. Organized greed Is spreading a feast to Dives and it Is expected that tho public will bo satis fied with tho crumbs that fall from tho table, but it will require more than rhetorical chloroform to make tho peoplo unconscious of tho burglarious work that is going on. CUMMINS REPLIES TO SHAW l "The truth Is that those who are enjoying monopo lies are every day laughing at the Inertness of the people and wondering how long the reign of Inactivity will continue." & & & U U U U 1 J It was Governor Cummins of Iowa who led Lthe fight for tho tariff revision plank in tho Iowa republican convention against the united protest of-republican senators and-representatives in con egress from that state. On August 19, Governor Cummins gavo an Interview to the Minneapolis Journal In reply to the statements credited by Walter Wellman of tho Chicago Record-Herald to a member of Mr. Roose velt's cabinet. It will be remembered that subse quently Mr. Wellman revealed that this cabinet officer was none other than Secretary of the Treas ury Shaw. Replying to Secretary Shaw's intimation that tariff revision would be impossible because of tho presence in tho senate of the Aldrich element, Governor Cummins said: "Recurring to the remarkable prediction of the 'cabinet officer as to the impossibility of inducing congress to make any changes-whatsoever in the tariff schedules, I am constrained to believe that he has mistaken his viewpoint. He seems to look upon congress as the master of the American people, whereas, I have been accustomed to consider congress as the repre sentative or servant of the American people. "The voters of the 'United States advise themselves and draw their own conclusions, and my observation is that, when they make known their wishes to those whom they havo selected to represent them In congress, diffi culties disappear and action begins. "What. I have said of members of con gress is just as true and pertinent of every - department of tho government, and you can depend on it, if the people want a duty taken off, and say so, it will be'taken off." While insisting that the Iowa republicans have not abandoned the principle of protection. Gov ernor Cummins declares: "If we find a monopoly established by a, combination of manufacturers 01; producers ln any commodity, go that every man who buys , that article must buy of a single company and pay tho price that the avarice and selfishness of the trust or combination may fix, then tho tariff shall not be permitted to aid tho trust or combination in maintaining tho monopoly. "To put it differently, wo are willing to pay for whatever we buy tho American stand ard of prices, but they must be prices fixed by American competition and not American prices fixed solely by the greed of a single manufac turer; and if the capacity of the 'captains of industry' to organize is sufficient to stifle American competition, then we will at least take the chance of finding It elsewhere. "These declarations seem to me to be fun damental." Referring to Secretary Shaw's objection to any agitation of this question, Governor Cummins in timates that tho way to avoid agitation Js for the administration to adopt the Iowa plan, of preventing the tariff from becoming a shelter for monopolies. Concerning the panic bugaboo that Secretary Shaw holds up to public gaze, Governor Cummins saysr "It is tho extreme of folly to assert that this will seriously disturb tho industrial fab ric or frighten the producers of tho country. Tho truth is that those who are enjoying " monor-olles are every day laughing at the in ertness of the people and wondering how long the reign of inactivity will continue. "I am not unmindful "of the obvious dan ger of a 'financial shock, but the menace is overcapitalization and not tariff changes. We cannot always maintain the vast volume of worthless bonds and stocks which seem to have no limit save the capacity of the printing press; but the remedy Is to prohibit tho issue of the stocks and bonds. We cannot avert this disaster by falling on our knees and wor shipping a tariff schedule." It will be remembered that even Secretary Shaw admitted that the people were confronted with overcapitalization to an alarming extent. He admitted that these concerns were established partly on wind and partly on the people's money. He admitted that they were largely water-cured, but he differed from Governor Cummins. Secre tary Shaw intimated that It is the people's duty to maintain tho vast volume of "worthless bonds and stocks which seem to havo no limit save tho ca pacity of tho printing press." Differing from Gov ernor Cummins, Secretary Shaw believes that wo can avert disaster by falling on our knees and worshipping the tariff schedule, or, in other words, by permitting in addition to the already largo number of water-cured concerns tho creation of probably an equally largo number of overcapi talized institutions. Ono statement made by Governor Cummins de serves to be impressed upon the attention of every voter. Governor Cummins said: "THE TRUTH IS THAT THOSE WHO " ARE ENJOYING MONOPOLIES ARE EVERY DAY LAUGHING AT THE INERTNESS OP THE PEOPLE AND WONDERING HOW , LONG THE REIGN OF INACTIVITY WILL CONTINUE' The wonder is that the people who aro required by tho trust system to burn the candle at both ends, by providing not only the legislation, but the money necessary , to create these concerns, submit patiently to the impositions. , President Baer of tho Philadelphia & Reading railroad, is applying to domestic industry the same theory that the president applies to tho Philip pine question. Our strenuous executive thinks that our nation has been providentially entrusted with the care, discipline and exploitation of tho Fili pinos and Mr. Baer thinks that "the rights and Interests of tho laboring man will be protected and cared for, not by the labor agitators, but by the Christian men to whom God in his infinite wis dom has given control of the property interests of the country." . This complacent philosophy seems to pervade all republican policies. A carpet bag government will look after helpless subjects in the Orient; the trust magnates will look after the small industries which are being forced to the wall; the financiers will look after tho wealth producers; the railroads will look after rail road, rates and the manufacturers will attend to the tariff lawsthis is the plan, and according to the self-appointed guardians it is a Divine plan, but what do the wards think about it? - , ' w