The Commoner
Dec. ia, 19?,
fcV
' V,
The
Weaker
ipetltor.
Mr. Roosevelt objects to the removal of the
as a measure agalnBt trusts Decauso ouuu
removal "would movitaDiy reamc
iti ruin to the weaker competi
tors who are struggling against
them;" and yet In the same
message Mr. Roosevelt recom-
jtis "the removal of the tariff on coal." "What
it the "weaker competitors" otherwise Known
io Independent operators ( win tuey uui
led" by the removal of the coal tariff?
tfSSS
rr. TfnoRnvoH savs: "Great fortunes have
accumulated and yet in the aggregate these
fortunes are smau mueeu wueu
Q've compared to the wealth of the
?Them people as a whole." Did Mr.
s Time. Roosevelt expect tnat tne nauu-
S nil 01 men wno nave grown enui-
y rich through the favor of the republican
kwould be able to gobble up all of the wealth
people during six years or a repuoncan au
tration? Give them time, Mr. Roosevelt, give
lime, and under republican policies there will
Proom for complaint on this line.
n niovplanrl Loader savs that "the Union
.Railroad company is to pay pensions to its
employes amounting to $duu,uuu
a year. That is generosity on the
part of a corporation which must
be commended." Pensions for
emnloves In their old age are all
ell in their way; but would it not be bet-
this corporation paid to all or its ein
.wages proportionate with the service they
and the corporation's proms wouiu it
better if the employes of all corporations
ifi naid waees sufficient for them to care
ieducate their families and lay by, through
n careful management, a competence ror
4 age? '
sneech before the New York chamber of
le Mr. Roosevelt said: "It is a pleasure to
address a body whose members
lc possess to an eminent degree tne
rgot traditional American selr-reli-
!t. ailCG O spirit wnicn mauea umm
scorn to asit irom uie goyuru
lether of state or of nation, anything but
leld and no favor; who confide not in be-
)ed by others but in their own skill, energy
liuess capacity, to achieve success." If Mr.
it were reaiiy as strenuous as ms lnuuua
nave us believe he would have said some-
ike this in his message, applying it, as he
Swell have done, to the horde of trust mag-
Bvho are clamoring at the doors of the na-
capitol for the maintenance of the favors
ilready enjoy and for the bestowal of new
i at the expense of the people.
pensions
and
'ages.
"Cw-C
n.
'A
About
Weaklings
Et al.
KJ'Ours is not the creed of the weakling and
coward says Mr. Roosevelt in nis message,
"ours Is the gospel or nope ana
of triumphant endeavor. We do
not shrink from the struggle be
fore us." We have heard much
from Mr. Roosevelt concerning
is "weakling and coward" business, it. Mr.
iosevelt'a creed is not that of the weaklinc an'J
ie coward, then whv does he hesitate to require
Is attorney general to deal with the rich rascal3
the trusts even as tncnumoiest iaw-DreaKer is
Ipnlt with? Tf his eosnel is one of hone and of
TliiTYinhjint. endeavor, whv in his so-called cam
paign against the trusts has he not provided the
ceople witn some genuine reason ror nope as to
(Sfifi rp.miltu of that camnaicn? If he does not
Y shrink from the struggle before him, why does ho
not issue lnmrucuuus w ins attorney guuurai to
begin proceedings against the violators of the anti-
m trust 1U.W uuuui iuu urmmiiu uxuuau oi iuui
statute?
Mr.
Roosevelt's
Idea.
The Boston Post says: "Mr. Roosevelt's idea
is to put the screws upon the trusts by proceed
ings under existing laws and to
strengthen the law where it may
be found necessary by additional
legislation. But this, while emi
nently desirable, is a slow and
long process. There is a- shorter way to secure
protection for the public against present extor
tion in the matter of prices, and this is to re
move at once the tariff duties on articles con
trolled by trusts. This woulti put a stop to the
Tobbery of the people, and meanwhile the presi
dent could go ahead with his plan of regulation
and publicity." But Mr. Roosevelt is lame- even
4 " I
on the proposition to put the screwn upon tho
trusts by proceeding under the existing law. He
has made no effort to enforce tho criminal clause
of the Sherman law which is the chief feature of
that measure; and although Mr. Roosevelt has pre
tended to discuss the trust question on tho stump
and his attorney general has also pretended to
take the people into his confidence, neither of these
gentlemen, nor any one representing them, has
undertaken to explain to tho people why tho crim
inal indictment was not employed as a weapon
against men who conspire in restraint of trade.
Mr. Roosevelt says that "Of course if in any
case it bo found that a given rato of duty does
promote a monopoly which
works ill, no protectionist wouM
object to such reduction of duty
as would equalize competition."
The American student has
that private monopolies work
therefore intolerable: hut Mr-
Roosevelt who has often pretended to discriminate
between good and bad trusts, without ever ac
cepting the challenge to name a few "good" trusts,
has fallen into the habit of apologizing for any
unpleasant reference to monopolies hence the
reference to "a monopoly which works ill."
Monopoly
Works
Ills.
been taught
ill and are
World
Power
Indeed.''
Lieutenant Niblack of the navy read a paper
before the Institute of Naval Architecture, In
wnlch he declared that guns
and methods good enough for
1898 are an invitation today to
disastrous and bitter defeat."
The cuns and mnflinfln nsnrl hv
this nation In 1898 appeared to bo very effective;
but if it be true that those guns and methods are
today an invitation to disastrous and bitter de
feat, then in the observation of that fact wo may
begin to realize the remarkablo evolution of a
world power and the immense activity required on
the part of a nation whose talents and energies
are to be devoted to war and conquest.
Good
Enough
as It is."
Senator Hanna says: "The tariff is good
enough as it, is." Senator Allison says: "No tar-
nr legislation will be enacted at
the coming session." Senator
Allison says that even the duty
on .coal, which a member of tho
President's cabinnf. tolrl na hnrt
been smuggled into the tariff, would not be re
pealed, because "it would lead to other proposi
tions for amendment and would open the tariff
question up to endless debate." And yet some of
the champions of the "Iowa idea" In the Hawkeyo
State are proceeding under the cheerful impression
that the republican congress really intends to do
something by way of depriving the trusts of the
shelter they find in the tariff.
What
About the
Subsidy?
On one interesting and current topic President
Roosevelt's message i3 strangely silent The ship
subsidy bill passed the senate at
the last session. A newspaper
dispatch recently announced that
Congressman Grosvenor of Ohio
had cone to Washington nf nn
early day in order to begin the work of pushing
this measure in the house. If this measure is as
represented by Mr. Hanna and its other support
ers, then it is a good thing and tho people should
have it If the measure is as represented by the
democrats then it deserves ignominious defeat In
either event it is a very important proposition and
was entitled to consideration in the president's
message. But not one word relating to tho ship
subsidy bill will be found in Mr. Roosevelt's recent
address to congress. Is it not fair to conclude that
Mr. Roosevelt's failure to say something on tho
ship subsidy bill Indicates a willingness on his
part to help this bill become1 a. law?
?y
"Hard
"to Oet
There."
The Washington .correspondent of the New
York Tribune relates this interesting story:
"bpeaKer Henderson and Repre
sentatives Payne and Dalzell
were inspecting this morning
the improvements which Super
intendent Elliott Woods has ef
fected, in the house in the recess, and with Mr.
Dalzell were a constituent and his nine-year-old
son. The little chap was much interested in the
chamber and its furnishings, and finally asked
what the speaker's rostrum was for. Mr. Dalzell
explained, and told the little fellow to go up
and sit in the speaker's chair. In a moment the
boy returned, his face beaming, and exclaimed,
'It's fine and dandy up there, ain't it?' 'You bet it
is, my son,' replied Mr. Dalzell, and then, turning
to tho father, added, Jit's hard to get thero, too."
Ono may better appreciate Mr. Dalzell's fine humor
when ho is told that although a few weeks ago
he was thought to bo ono of tho leading candidates,
if not tho leading candidate, for speaker, ho has
withdrawn from tho raco recognizing that Mr,
Cannon of Illinois, having the aid of Mark Hanna,
does not find it "hard to got thore."
sZyy
A High
Rent for
flail Cars.
Once a man asked a neighbor to pasture a calf
for him. Tho neighbor consented, no prico being
agreed upon. At tho end ui
several months tho owner went
after tho calf and asked tho
owner of tho pasture what ho
owed him for pasturing tho
animal. "You owo mo $12," said tho owner of tho
pasture. "That's more than tho calf Is worth,"
said the owner of tho animal. "All right, I'll take
tho calf in full payment," said ho of tno pasture.
"No, I'll tell you what I'll do," said ho of tho
calf. "If you'll pasture tho calf another month
I'll give It to you." Tho point of this story is that"
tho government pays more rent for mail cars than
the cars cost to build.
Punish
the Big
Ones.
A deputy United States marshal! for North
Dakota has been sentenced to two years in tho
-nltentlary on tho charge ot
collecting mileage from tho fed
eral government when In fact
ho rode on a pass. It is strange
that tho government's represen
tatives must go all tho way to North Dakota In
search of an object lesson, selecting, also, a sub
ordinate official for tho sacrifice. It is generally
believed that thore are many officers in tho fed
eral service who charge the government with mllo
age while enjoying tho privilege of free rides.
It might be well for an investigation along this
line; and if this inquiry resulted in tho punish
ment of Influential wrong-doers .It would have
a far better effect on the service generally than
tho conviction of an obscure deputy.
says:
There is
Nothing
Startling.
The Sioux City Journal, a republican paper,
S! "Thero oh em a t.n hn nofffimr HfnrHlnir In
the suggestion that J. Plerpont
Morgan has undertaken to bring
order out of financial chaos in
Venezuela. If tho European
powers cannot get tho guarantee .
of Uncle Sam it is not unlikely that they would
look upon 'O. K. Morgan' as something almost
equally good." Perhaps the republican editor fin-Is
nothing startling in the suggestion that the "0.
K." of one individual is "something almost equal
ly good" as tho guarantee of the great United
States government; but there arc many thought
ful men who, if they be not startled by this sug
gestion, will at least recognize in it a very bad
sign. tJ
.The biggest gun in the world will be displayed
at Sandy Hook In a few days. This monster wea
. , pon is thus described in the New
Now York World: "Without its car-
for the riage it weighs 130 tons -2G0.000
Slaughter. pounds. It will use 1,000 pounds
o powder at a discharge to send
twenty-one miles a shell weighing 2,370 pounds. A
company of soldiers could use it for breastworks,
if it lay flat on the ground, for" it Is more than
fcrty-nino feet long and is fifty Inches in diameter
at the breech. This gun has cost about $130,000 in
the making. Transportation will add $5,400." This
is another and a mighty indication of our rapid
advancement toward the position of a "world pow
er." Now we are prepared to kill and slay and
the heart of every American citizen must swell
with pride.
The Washington Post says: "It is hardly
known putslde of Rhode Island's little bailiwick
that the election of a democratic
governor there is a defeat for
one of the most solidly con-,
structed political machines to be
Vlliril rttl flitcj nnnftninf HToir
t tuuuu uu linn bunwuuiiu mull
yfars has the republican machine held hard and
fast to all that was worth holding. The fact has
beon generally lost sight of in the hullabaloo over
machine methods in such great commonwealths as
New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Some people
predict that more democratic days are coming
for Rhode Island, stronghold that it has been
for tho republican faith. That may or may not
be true, but for a while the Rhode" Island republi
can bosses will have very meager pickings." And
it might also be well to remember that this desir
able result was accomplished in spite of the fact
that the democratic candidate for governor ran
upon the much abused xvansas City platform.
- The
Rhode Island
Victory.
t'-
ii-" -
tutoit