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The Commoner.
No,v, 38,1903.
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Idea that.no person because" of-Tace or olor sliould
1)0 excluded fronl fret participation, in Apolitical
action; anU yen Mr. Roosevelt htm not taken ad
vantage of hi opportunity.
Mny nefcrpes.hare been appointed by repub
lican administrations to office in the south; but ""
no iniportant office In the north has .been be?
towed upon trie black man. ,,
Mr. Roosevelt might display a bit of genuine
courage and appoint some reputable negro to a
pOBtqfflce In some republican city of the north.
Undoubtedly there are many reputable negroes
whose services to the republican party entitle ttiem,
to such an honor arid 'doubtless few Of these could
bo persuaded to reject siich an offer.
It is hartlly probable that Mr. Roosevelt, woul I
dare 0 appoint a negro to "a posofflce in any re
publican community in a northern state; and 'yet
why should he' hesitate to do so?
-Why should he not display genuine 'courage?
Many negroes haVo been- good enough to 00
appointed to postofflces in the south. "Is it possiblo
that Mr. Rodseveit cannot iind at least one negro
worthy of being ehosqn as postmaster In a repub
lican town 4In a northern state?
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THE TARIFF
TRUSTS
AND THE
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tUnni4 DUlTty tfca
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fTiM-WI QtkNrttMi UrtM At U
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The Defeat of Loud.
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Congressman Loud of California has been de
feated for re-election, despite the enormous influ
ence of the railway corporations. Mr. Loud is Jthe
author of tho Loud postal bill, which has been so
widely discussed in the public press. He has posed
as the champion of economy in the postal depart
ment, but somehow or other those who have given
the 'question s.erious consideration are impelled to
.believe that his effor.ts at retrenchment were not
well considered. ' For several years ho has worked
zealously to curtail the privileges enjoyed by pub
lishers, claiming that the tremendous increase in
eecond class matter is me cause of the deficit in
the postoffleo, department Somehow -or bthe'r Mr.
Loud never seemed disposed to seriously .consider
the charge that the deficit was due in large
measure to the outrageous rates paid to the rail
roads for transporting the mails, and nQt to the
undue amount of second class matter carried. It is
easily demonstrated and has been that the gov
ernment pays a great deal more, pound fox. pound,
for having tho mails carried than the express
cdmpanies pay for having their consignments car
ried. It has beon proved time .and again that the
government pays in the way of rent for postal
cars more than the cars cost to build.
A littlo of the time devoted to the attempt J;o
Increase second class postage rates -would have
ylolded larger returns if spent in trying to make
the railroads deal fairly with tho government
Wall Street Currency Scheme.
Hearst's New York American, in a recent is
sue, contains a financial item of interest to tho
readers of The Commoner. It says: "One of the
Important moves in financial circles which has de
veloped since the election is the effort to bring
about a change in the fiscal system of tho gov
ernment" There is significance in its further re
mark that "before the election this matter was
not seriously discussed, because tho bankers did
not wish to have it brought In for campaign dis
cussion, preferring to have the matter taken uj by
congress without any previous expression of-opin-lon
by the constituents of the various legislators."
The paragraphs above quoted disclose the
methods employed by the financiers. All of their
"important moves" are mado Just after an election.
They always prefer "to havo the matter taken up
by congress without any previous expressions of
opinion by the constituents of the various legisla
tors." Why is this? Tho answer is so plain that
It Is strange that any one can be deceived. It is
because the financiers are not willing to take the
The Washington correspondent of the Chicago
Chronicle, under date of November 20, sent to his
paper an interesting outline of the republican
program. According to Ihe Chronicle correspon
dent the prcVilont hart rcade up his mind that
the, tariff cannot be revised without endangering
the future of the republican party. He fears
that an attempt .to amend the schedules of .the
Dingley act between now and the presidential
campaign of 1904 would bo disastrous to every
body concerned and especially to his own poTltlcal'
fortunes. While he appreciates that there is a
growing sentiment in Xav6i of tariff revision in
certain sections of the country, especially in the
middle west and "northwest, and that the next
congress wili contain a large number of republi
can members who are committed publicly to tho
policy of revision, he nevertheless believes that
the organized fiuanJdl interests of the east are
'radically opposed to revision and will resent any
effort that congress or the administration may
make to interfere with the Dingley law. What
the president fears would happen if congress woro
'to take up the tariff qucbtion is that the house
would pass a bill amend'tg the Dingley act and
the senate wvild refuse to concur. He has been
aivfsed that su;h a fiasco would accomplish more
haim to the cause of Ihe republican party than
anything olse that could happen. Under the cir
cumstance?, therefore, the president is convinced
I hat his idea of nrratlng.a tariff commission is tho
only safe middle ground which can bo taken by
the republican rWy. He Is desirous of using nki
influent to check tariff discussion on the floor oC
the houf-o, to repress republicans from northwest
ern states, wkrc the demand for revision Is ramp
ant, and to keep cougrew employed with measure
designed to restrain the trusts and other kinds of
work equally harmless. Jn connection with hft
proposed trust Illation it can be 'stated that It
Jias not received the indorsement- of many Influen
tial members of congress who are members of his
own party. They are just as much Indisposed to
quarrel with a trust as they are with abcneJlcIary
of the tariff. They believe that one Is as much "the
protogo of tho epublican party as the other and
are disposed, therefore, to treat both alike. It is
probablo that tho president will receive cordial
support in the house and that body will pass an
anti-trust bill embodying the ideas of Attorney
General Knox which he made public in Pittsburg.
Tho senate, iiowover, will bury tho measure and
if thero is any anti-trust legislation before the
presidential" campaign of 1904 it will have to be
adopted in special session. Tho outlook for a bit
ter and prolonged fight between the opposing ele
ments of tho republican party in congress is bright
Tho, tariff revisionists are threatening to become
aggressive and insistent They will toll the presi
dent and ultra-protectionists that unless the re
publicans act on the questions which are now
ongaglng tho attention of the people the party Is
likely to recoiye a setback at the polls two years
honce.
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people into thelt confidence or let them know what
is intended in financial matters. They studiously
conceal from the public knowledge of their plans.
They sot up conventions, and then, after securing
the election of men secretly pledged to them they
como out and use the instrumentalities of govern
ment to advance their pecuniary ends.
That tho rank and file of tho republican party
should submit quietly to such impositions is more
than amazing, and yet for more than twenty years
republican leaders have acted in coalition with
the money changers and carried out the plans
formulated in the counsel chambers of tho great
banking houses.
The American. proceeds to say:
"The first gun in this campaign was tho
speech of Jacob Schlff, of the banking firm of
Kuhn, Loeb & Co., before tho Now York
chamber of commerce. This declaration of
principles was decided upon at informal con
ferences betweonvsome of tho most Important
banking interests of tho country. In order
that the discussion may not bo too personal
in character, it Is proposed to have the various
trade organizations throughout the country
adopt resolutions asking for currency reform.
It is likely that a commission will be ap
pointed consisting of various representatives
of tho trade organizations, to formulate a plan
which will be presented to congress at tho
coming session. In the furtherance of this
plan Frank K. Sturgls, of tho firm of Strong,
Sturgis & Co., of the stock exchange, has gone
to Chicago to interest the trade organizations
of that city in the general movement"
Tho plans are first decided upon by a confer
ence between "the important banking Interests,"
and then, in order to conceal the character of the
movement to prevent its being "too personal"
tho various trade Interests are to bo coerced into
the adoption of resolutions asking for currency
reform." To still further deceive the people It is
proposed to appoint a commission to consist of
representatives of various trade organizations. The
ostensible purpose of such a commission will be
to formulate a plan to bo presented to congress,
but tho actual purpose will be to act as a cloak for
tho plans already made.
Tho principal aim of the bankers is to secure
some kind of asset currency which they call flex
ible but tho trouble with, this elastic currency is
that tho bankers want to hold both ends of the
elastic and be able at any time to expand or con
tract it This may bo all right for the bankers,
but it is not safe for the people because the value
of their property is effected by an increase or
decrease in tho volume of money, and the finan
ciers cannot bo trusted with suoh almost omnip
otent power.
Having insisted that the money question,
should not bo cbnsidered during tho campaign, the.
reorganizing element of the democratic party Is
now In position to take an active part in forcing
through tho schomo of tho financiers. The corpor
ation democrats who were so anxious to confine
the campaign to tho tariff issue knew perfectly
well that financial legislation was desired and in
tended by the banking interests, and yet they will
ingly joined in tho effort to deceive the voters.
On the money question they are with the republi
cans both in principle and in method and they
would make the party a servile tool of Wall street
JJJ
Taxes in the Philippines.
Our government Is not only taxing the Fili
pinos without representation, but it Is collecting
the taxes Imposed by Spain In her most extortion
ato days. The editor of The Commoner has seen
the correspondence that passed between an army
surgeon and Major William A. Corbusier, located
at Manila, in which the latter explains that a tax
of 10 cents on each receipt given was collected
at that time (April, 1900,; by authority of a royal
decree issued May 16, 1886, and put into effect in
Manila, Juno 26, 1886.
No wonder the Filipinos find it difficult to tell
Just when Spanish tyranny ended and Amerlcam
beneyolenco began.
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