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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 28, 1902)
L-"' - V , -M jf . Nv."a, if mi e - 4 t v 5 The Chicago Tribune says the election of -Mr.., Cannon as ipeaker is apparently assured. The 'XTiDune need not nave, wuwu this long for its discovery. It might havo known that whon lt was authoritatively announced that Mark Hanna was In favor Cannon Had "the Support." Drifting . From Us. of Cannon, that Cannon would bo the man. Washington dispatches have announced that Cuba is drifting away from us and that foreign diplomacy is me cause 01 iu This prompts the Dallas (Tex.) News to say: "This may bo true, but tho people have here tofore believed that tho reason the drifting is going on is simply that this country keeps up tho bars against Cuban sugar and to fcacco." A republican paper says: "The industry of President Roosevelt is remarkable. He has al- ,, .. ready dono most of his work for Well J904;" to which Henry Watter- Why son retorts, "Ho ought therefore Not? to navo considerable time now to devote to tho work of his office." The work of fixing for a ronomlnation too often interferes with tho public duties devolving upon the official.' Senator Thomas C. Piatt of Now York was re cently asked if he purposed to return himself to ri tne Unted States senate. Mr. Piatt Platte replied: "Yes," and then Did Not he said with unmoved cotfhte 5mlle. nance, "If they want me." "If who wants you?" Risked the re porter. "The people," replied Mr. Piatt And tho reporter explains that when he said "tho people," Mr. Piatt "did not smile." - Gen. S. B. N. Young, who is to succeed Gen eral Miles as lieutenant general, delivered an ad- dress at a dinner 'given recently Youngs by tho New York chamber of Idea commerce. In that address Gen-' of War. eral Young said: "To carry on war, disguise it' as we may, is to r be cruel to. kill and burn, burn and kill, and . again, kill artd burn." And yet there have been majoy very successful generals who did not look at It exa'ctlythat way. In. an editorial extending a welcome to Ad- ' mlral Schley, who visited Kansas City as a guest or the chamber of commerce, tho Kansas City Journal say?: "We don't know yet whether techni cally he was the hero of San tiago or not." The editor of the Journal might consult one of his office boys, all of whom doubtless read the newspaper accounts of that battle, and learn something even at this Tate day decidedly to the editor's advantage. ( , It is reported that .Congressman Babcock of , (Wisconsin will be made chairman of the ways and R . " means committee in tho event of uao Mr. Cannon's election to tho te the speakership. Some of the advo- Front. cates 0f the "Iowa Idea" are , pointing to this as a concession to the champion of tariff revision; but It must be remembered that Mr. Babcock has repudiated the eloquent things he said a few years ago in favor of depriving the trusts of the shelter they find in the tariff. The Standard Oil trust has recently increased tho price of refined oil by 1 cent per gallon. Tho , New York World explains that poor this pious trust was "com- and pelled" to make this increase. Pious. TflQ total dividend declared by the trust last year amounted to $48,000,000, or 48 per cent upon its nominal capl- jtal. The dividend made for the last quarter by rthis trust was decreased to ?10 which, according to the World, will make the total for the year only $45,000,000, or 45 per cent Tho Philadelphia Press, a republican paper, vigorously criticises Addicks of Delaware. In re--f Pftf. ferring to the Addicks fight in or the republican party, the Press " and says: "This contest is greater Kettle. an Delaware. In a peculiar and pre-eminent degree it is a fight between public corruption and public honesty and the eyes of the country are on it" The Philadel phia Press should not overlook the fact that the - The Commoner. k eyes of the country are alsot oa Philadelphia and the political situation in Pennsylvania generally. It requires considerable courage, to oniploy a char itable term, on the part of a Philadelphia paper to undertake to remove tho moto from tho Dela ware eye while the beam in the optic of Pennsyl vania is so conspicuous. Tho New York Sun says: "Democrats in other parts of tho country whousod to bo fooled uy wr. wins up servico to ins party are beginning to nee through him. In future that par rot cry of his will bo interpreted llV hnnonf" mnn in hn avnonvmniio with I am a socialist' " It is sad that thd editors of the Brooklyn Eagle, tho Chicago Chronicle, tho Albany Argus ar.1 the Now York Sun have felt it necessary to desert the man thoy havo so often held up as "tho ideal democrat" Jfjfc Don't Know iiJKtV - Yet." The Ideal Democrat." The Tariff and Politic. A Case of Wonder. Tho Philadelphia Record, a republican papor, serves this interesting notico upon republican leaders: "Tho last speech of President McKInloy was virtual ly an attack on the DIngley tariff in favor of reciprocity. That - .... speech has become a text-book lor millions of republicans who realize that every speech of Secretary Shaw is directly opposed to the McKInloy policy. There may be good rea sons why the republican leaders should favor a tariff commission, but It Is absurd to hope that sucha body could take tho tariff out of politics." Tho Chicago News says that President Roose velt could get more people to read his message if Put if ho woult incorporate in it a col- uia umn or no about his bear-hunt in the Mr. Roosevelt need not go to riessage. that trouble to find readers for . . . his message. If he will insert in his message some of the things he said in his address before tho Now York chamber of com merce ho would find that at least some portions of the message were decidedly popular. Just as an experiment, Mr. Roosevelt might say something by way of compliment to men who scorn to ask favors of tho government at tho expense of the public. Tho Omaha Bee, , a republican paper, says: "Wonder if Colonel Bryan will admit now that au w x eiiver coinage is a dead issue." in another column of the same issue tho Beo says that "no Issue has ever been settled uniess it nas been settled right" The Bee refers to tho defeat in Omaha of tho leg islative candidate:; who were pledged to the home rule proposition and also o the defeat of the can didates for state officers who wero4)ledged to tax reform. The Bee insists that it will continue to nattle for these reiorms because it believes them to bo Important to public interests. Wonder if the Omaha Bee will admit now that home rule and tax reform are dead Issues. reported by the Washington correspondent of the Chicago Chronicle that Congressman Gros Thnhin venor has r .urned to Washington e uT. for th0 PurP80 of pushing the Subsidy ship subsidy bill. It is said that Bill. Mr. Grosvenor has received as surances from Speaker Hender son that the latter will not seek to prevent con sideration of tho bill as he did last session. Some of the champlors of this measure insist that tho result of the congressional elections is a practical Indorsement of tho bill Inasmuch as democratic speakers and newspapers criticised the republicans for passing the bill through the senate. Tho ex pected has happened Republican victory Is in terpreted to mean an indorsement by the people of any vicious proposition which republican leaders may seek to impose upon the people. , Referring to the election of a democratic con gressman n the Omaha congressional district, the Nrt Pritfnr Dea MoInes Capital, a republican no Platform pai)erf 8aya. If the t,mo ever In comes when Omaha can rise Ten Years. above the petty strifes of Its po litical warriors, and campaigns are fought upon the merits of the various party platforms, there Is little question but that the dis trict will be represented In congress by a republi can, and Bryanism and Hitchcockism will be con spicuous by its absence." The Capital may not know it, but it is nevertheless a fact that in the Second congressional district of Nebraska, the re publican candidate for congress has not had a platfonn for ton ears. Tio sovoral conventions that nominated and renominated Mr. Mercer did not think it wlso to adopt a platform. The repub licans in that district have profcrrod to make their fight on tho poraonal popularity of their candidate. ' Make Them Pull Their Weight. In his spooch boforo tho New York chamber of commerce, Mr. Roosevelt said: "The first requisite of a good cltlzonJn this republic of ours la that he shall bo able and willing to pull his weight that ho shall not bo a more pass oncer, but shall do his share in tho work5 that each generation of uh Undo ready to hand; and, furthermore, that In doing his work ha shall show not only tho capacity for Bturdy self help, but also self-respecting regard for tho right of others." What does Mr. Roosovolt think about tboso generous contributors to tho republican cam paign fund who aro not willing to pull their weight? Will ho include" In his message to eon gresB something about "tho first requlslto of a good cltizon In this ropubllc of ours?" WH1 ho ask that thoso who havo Insisted upon being mere passengers nhnll do their share in tho work and pull their own weight? Interpreting tho Result. Congressman Grosvenor of Ohio recontly said: "I-can see no prospect for tariff rovlslon. In the first place It Is a debatable ques tion as o tho domand for it The defeat of Foss of Massachusetts might be taken as a pointer that thoro Is not." But the Des Moines Register and Leader, a republican paper that was committed in tho campaign to tho "Iowa idea," says: "Inasmuch as Mr. Foss was defeated by a democrat pledged to froo trade, It Is not clear how his defeat can o taken as evidence hat there is no demand for tariff reform." Now it would be interesting for tun Registor and Leader to inter pret tho olection of tho republican candidates for congress in Iowa who had oponly repudiated the Iowa Idea. Did tho election of these gentlemen provide evidence that there Is a demand In Iowa for tariff reform, or doos it show that some re publicans will vote the party ticket "no matter what tho party does or fails to do? May Survive tho Shock w -r- r -r - Tho acknowledged republican loader in the senate is Aldrlch of Rhode Island, nnd some re publican editors are disturbed because of the probable effect which the recent democratic victory In Rhode Island may chances. Tho democratic candidate for governor was elected by about 7,000 plurality and tho Chi cago Record-Herald points out that as Rhode Isl and has less than one-tenth the population of Il linois, this may be considered equal In a sense to the republican plurality In that state. After ob serving tho Rhode Isand returns, tho Record Herald says: "Confidence will never bo fully re stored until tho fatal year of 1905 Is of the past and Aldrich Is re-elected." There aro, however, some people who bolicve that the government will continue to exist even though Aldrlch were de feated. To be sure, In Mr. Aldrioh's defeat the tar iff barons would be deprived of the services of a very skillful champion and yet there are many peo ple who will think that oven that result would not bo disadvantageous to public interests. Not Afraid of "Heavy Scores." Tho Chicago Inter-Ocean, a republican paper, says that tho election of Mr. Cannon to the speak ership will be a pledge that the tariff will be let alone. Tho Chi cago Record-Herald, another re publican paper, says that If this is true a sharp Issue will be presented to westein congressmo.. of the republican persuasion. Tho Record-Herald adds: "Almost without exception these men were elected on their statement to tboir constituents that they would favor changes in tho tariff where there was exces sive protection under tho present rates. If, as al leged by the Inter-Ocean, Mr. Cannon Is in de clared opposition to this view and is still made speaker by the votes of tho representatives of the middle west, there will be a heavy score to bo set tled later." But what do republican leaders care about "heavy scores?" They have been warned on many occasions that if they carried out certain policies they would have a heavy score to settle with the people. In spite of protests they carried out those policies and were re-elected. Is it at all strange that the republican leaders display utter indifference to the vicious character of any policies which they are asked to carry out for tho advant age of special interests?