-
t r
" ' 1!. '
..
The Commpner.
D.ec.-a6, 10;. .
3
to improve thetemper and, -morals--of the soul
less "pb'rson' created by law, or to quicken the
conscience of the trust magnatos. ' -.
JJJ
Borie' s Bugle Blast.
"The public bo d d," was a classic contributed
to American political literature by Vanderbllt
A director of 'the Lehigh Valley Railroad com
pany, BeauveAU Borie by name; has provided a
companion piece for the Vanderbilt statement.
A representative! of the Philadelphia North
"American, in his Yeport of the meeting bf the di
rectory of the Lehigh Valley Railroad 'company
.'says: ' .:"
Beauveau Borie, one of thd directors who
attended the special board meeting, was asked
for information as tp what haU beeiidone.
"There was nothing of any importance or
of outside interest," ,ho replied. '
"That being as' you say, Mr.Bbrie, would
it not be to the best interest of the-.company.
. and all concerned to let it. be known Just
. what the financial matters acted upon were?"
"There has been too muCh 'idle talk a'l-
' ready. It is buzz, buzz, buzz, and nothing
after all. '
"But, -Mr. Borie, the public may. think
in view of what is talked aroUnd that some
thing of importance was acted upon; and this
belief, when the facts are otherwise,' as you
say, might .result harmfully.'' : i '
"Well, let" them go to hell. It is nobody's
business what was done, any more than1 it
.would be iM paid five cents more for-a news
paper." . .
It must be admitted that fof men whor claim
to . be the special trustees of the Creator these
coal barons -appear to be altogether too indiffer
ent concerning the wellbeing of their fellows in
the hereafter as well as upon earth.
Even tnough one were required jto admit that
these monopolists were chosen by God. fpr ;the .purpose-
of handling and controlling the wealth" oL.
the country, it is perhaps not too much to' 'say.
and we trust that in the saying of it we do not
lay ourselves open to the charge of treasonthat
there are yet a few people who will make a digni
fied if not a vigorous protest against a -cultivation
of the notion that the authority of these trustees
extends, "beyond the manipulation of the wealth of
the country. It is hardly probable that in addl
tjpn' to 'Jie power given them to 'impose ipori the
weak' and helpless in this life they are 'charged
with the duty of disposing of their victims 66 'tax
as concerns the life to; come. ' '
'. "'-$"- i -.-
t
..fc..'.,i..rr..;-k
' '' .-Js'y
r
The Sultan's Salary
.!'
The Chicago Inter-Ocean contain a. dispatch
.from Washington showing that the sultan, of , Sum
; recently sent a telegram to Manila reminding
.our government officials that the salary of "himself
and dattos was not paid last month. The Philip
pine commission immediately appropriated the
f und "necessary, and paid the following amp.unts:
Sultan of Sulu, $250; Rajah Munda, $75; Dattp -t-tik,
$G0; Datto Calbi, $75; Datto Jokanajn, $75;
Datto Puyo, ?60; Datto Amir Hussin, $60 Hadji
Buto, $50; Habit Mura, $40, and Sheriff Soquln, $18.
A careful reading of the president's message
reveals the astonishlng.-fact that no mention .is
made of these interesting employes who are so
faithful in the drawing of their salaries and who
have no other work to do so far as public records
reveal. The president ought to have stated w,heth-.
'er these appointments are made under, the civil
service or, as republican appointments are made
in the south, entirely on the ground of superior
fitness without respect to color. Or did the de
cree of destiny specifically mention the sultan
and his dactos a3 beneficiaries of benevolentas--eimllatlon.
Some cf the questions raised by im
perialism are puzzling to those outside of the
charmed circle of the administration.
MW444
i
40
A LINCOLN QUOTATION; .
t
g ECENTLY the Mississippi state histori
f cal department requested Robert T. Lln
U coin to hang in the hall of fame In the
" 'new capitol at Jackson a portrait of his
father, Abraham Lincoln. The Des Moines Reg
ister and Leader, a republican paper, commenting
upon this 'Interesting and instructive fact, says
that "the south, no more than tlie north, can honor
Mr. Lincoln by merely hanging up his portrait in
public galleries, however commendable that may
be."- This republican paper says: "Lincoln's
momory can only be honored as what, he stood
for in our national life Is respected and 'this is
the lesspp'tho south perhaps more than the north
needs' to learn." '
This republican paper tolls us that "Lincoln
stood for human equality. 'The people with him
did hot mean the white people nor the Anglo
Saxon people. No man can honor the memory
of Lincoln" in any real sense who ignores this fact."
Then by way of supporting the proposition It
lays down, this republican paper quotesTrom a
speech, delivered by Mr. Lincoln at Beardstown,
111., in 1858. The quotation follows:
These by- their representatives in Old In
dependence hall said to the whole race of
men: "We hold these truths to be self-evident;
that all "men are created equal; that
they are endowed by their Creator with cer
tain Inalienable rights; that among these are
life; liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
This was their majestic interpretation of the.
economy of the universe. This was their
lofty, and wise, and noble understanding of
the justice of the Creator to his creatures
yes, gentlemen, to all his creatures, to the
- whole great family of man. In their enlight-
ened belief, nothing stamped with the di- ,
vine Image and likeness was sent into the
world to be trodden on and degraded and im
bruted by its fellows.. They grasped not only
the whole race of man tuen living, but they
t, reached forward and seized upon the farthest
posterity. They erected a beacon to guido
their children, and their children's children,
and the countless myriads who should in
habit the earth in other ages. Wise states
men as they were, they knew the tendency of,
prosperity to breed tyrants, and so they es-
tablished these great self-evident truths, that
- when in the distant future some man, sPme
; faction; some interest, should set up the doc-
, : trine;that none bnt rich men, none but white
men, or none but Anglo-Saxon white men'
were entitled to life liberty an-1 the pur-
' suff of happiness, their posterity might look
up again to the Declaration of independence
..and take courage to renew the battle which,
.their fathers began, so that truth and justice
and mercy and all the humane and Christian
' Tirtues might not be extinguished from the
'land; so that ho man would hereafter dare
to limit and circumscribe the great principles.
. oh which the temple of liberty was .being
. built. Now, my countrymen, if you. have beeh
taught doctrines conflicting with the" great
landmarks of the Declaration of Independence;
if you have listened to suggestions which
would take away from its grandeur and mutil
ate, the fair symmetry of its proportions; if
you have been inclined to believe that all
men are not created equal in those inalien
able rights enumerated by our chart of lib
erty, let me entreat you to come back. Re
turn to the fountain whoso waters spring
close by the blood of the revolution. Think
nothing of me; take no tnougbt for the politi
cal fate of any man whomsoever, but come
back to the truths that are in the Declara
tion of Independence. You may do anything
with me you choose, if you will but heed these
sacred principles. You may not only de
feat me for the senate, but you may take mo
and put me to death. While pretending no
indifference to earthly honors, I do claim to
bo actuated in this contest by something
higher than an anxiety for office. I charge you
to drop every paltry and insignificant thought
for any man's success. It is nothing. But do
hot destroy that immortal emblem of human
itythe Declaration of Amorlcan Indepen
dence. .
Tho Rcgistor and Leader suggests that:
Thcso paragraphs proporly sot forth and 4
framed should be hung in tho Mississippi hall
of fame, as a fit companion pjoco to tho por
. trait, both' as a specimen of his oratory, and ,
to emphasize the lesson of bis life work. . .
The whole couutry north and south may read
and reread this Utterance with profit, for tho
future of free government in ,he world hangs
on tho acceptance which is freoly given to
tho fundamental truth, nowhere' more cogent
ly .pi more eloquently stated than- in this rof-.
erencc to tho Declaration of Independence.
This is the first -time in several year's that
any republican paper has undertaken to qifote
from Abraham Lincoln. The piirposo of this par
ticular republican paper, evidently,' is to make
criticism of tho attitude of tho . men of somo
southern states toward tho negro as'-'a voter. But
the Register and Leader overlooks tho fact that
this quotation from Mr. Lincoln' serves as a con
demnation of tho republican party's policy in the
Phflippine Islands. '
' The 'bes Moines papdr might have said that
these paragraphs properly sot forth and framed
should be displayed In tho White 'house, and in
the' sonato and the house of representatives, both
as a specimen of tho Lincoln oratory and to
emphasize tho lesson of his life work, a lesson
which republican statesmen at Washington have
shown a disposition to forgot
... , The particular quotation which tho Register
and Leader has used provides the sternest con
demnation for the present day policies of the rc
. pjibllcun 4party. And how well did Mr. Lincoln
.prophesy? And how well does his prophecy fit
the republican leaders of today.? tr.
He pqihted out that in the distant future somo
.faction might set up tho doctrine that no one but
Anglo-Saxon white men were entitled to life, lib
erty and. the pursuit of happiness; and ho said
that. their posterity might look up again to tho
Declaration of Independence and take courage to
ronewthe battle which their fathers began..
. ". !.That,Js exactly what republican leaders .are
doing today. They either dismiss with scorn the
Declaration of Independence or always Interpret,
it to suit factional interests. They limit and clr
, cumscrlbe the grpat principles on which the tem
ple of liberty was built; they teach. doctrines con
flicting with the great landmarks of the Declara
tion,; ..they dismiss with sneers the,, suggestion that
. this, nation return to the fountain whose waters
spring close by the blood of the revolution; and
those who urge an adherence to tho American
principle as set fprth In the Declaration are de
nounced as behng behind tho times, as enemies of
progress, as visionaries, and as unworthy of the
attention (of prpgressive and patriotic men.
'. When the Register and Leader says that no
man can honor the memory of Lincoln In any real
sense who Ignores the fact that "the people" .wUh
Lincoln did.npt mean tho white people nor the
Anglo-Saxon people, it arraigns the present-day
policy of the republican party although It did not
intend to make that arraignment
..The Des Moines paper is entitled to credit for
the courage' it has displayed in tho publication of
a Lincoln quotation; and yet It may not be"
doubted that some very eminent republicans will
seriously question its judgment.
The Washington Post fears that hereafter we
will have to reckon with the man who was with
Roosevelt at Smedes. This reminds us that thero
might have been a bear or two slaughtered if a
colored regiment had arrived in the nick of timau