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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 2, 1903)
-rywywwR.K u j.muj, ,'. . ."".,7 iwSg V Jan. a, 1903, to tho reform a majority o nearly 375,000 of those who voted on tho question at all. It Is evi dent that the sontiment in favor of tho direct election of senators is overwhelming among re publicans as well as democrats, and yet in spite of this well recognized demand that tho govern ment ho brought nearer to the people, men like Senator Depew and other representatives of tho corporations still obstruct tho submission of the amendment It is time that the legislatures were' joining in a call for a constitutional convention to adopt this amendment It requires three-fourths of tho states to call such a convention, but by the time two-thirds of them asked for it the senate will be forced to act and then the convention will be unnecessary. JJJ Take Your Choice. The attention of the editor of The Commoner lias just been called to an item which appeared in tho Philadelphia Record some time ago. The Com moner published a letter written by William J. Longenberger, which appeared in the Morning News of Danville, Pa. The Record reports that Mr. Longenberger, who is still a member of com pany A, Fifteenth infantry, has written a letter to his commanding officer saying that the published letter written by him gives "a mistaken impres sion;" that ho had heard tho story from another enlisted man, and that he never witnessed the death of a native in the islands. Ho further be lieves that the story told him "was only idle boasting." The Commoner calls attention to this correction and leaves its readers to decide between tho testimony given by the soldier when he wrote 'to his mother and his testimony to a commanding oiflcer when ho was confronted with the letter. Publicity Then and Now. The only remedy for trusts which Mr. Roose velt directly pointed to ill his message to congress was publicity. Republican newspapers have warm ly commended this suggestion and some of them have actually treated it as though it were a new proposition, and one on which the republican par ty through its representatives had not already gone on record. On February 15, 1902, the bill to provide for a permanent census bureau was before the United States senate. Senator DuBois of Idaho offered to amend section 9 of the bill by adding thereto tho followin t "To enable tho director of the census to perform the duties prescribed by this section, true and accurate reports shall be made to him annually by all corporations engaged in manufacturing, which reports shall state in detail the nature of the business or different lines of business, if there be more than one conducted by such corporation; the number of factories or establishments owned or con trolled by it, the precise character of tho business conducted at each factory or estab lishment, and the gross receipts of such busi ness; the amount of the capital stock, and tho proportion of which has been fully paid up; the surplus, the operating expenses, wages, taxes, both national and state, together with detailed statements as to the quantity of its product or products sold for export, the prices per unit obtained therefor, tho rebates, if any, allowed upon products sold for export, v and the prices charged to dealers, in tho "United States; any and all agreements with other .corporations, companies, or individuals engaged in manufacturing the same or sim ilar productsfor the maintenance of uniform prices, tho limiting of production or with ref erence to the wages of labor and' all arrange ments with transportation companies for spe cially advantageous freight rates. - "Such reports shall ue verified by the , president, manager, or chief officer of th,e cor " poration, who, upon the demand of the direc tor, shall furnish such additional details as said director may deem necessary to apprise The Commoner. him fully of tho naturo and extent of tho busi ness and the methods applied in its manage ment. The failuro by the presidont, manager, or chief officer of any manufacturing corpora tion to make tho reports neroin provided for, or any intentionally false statements concern ing any matters set forth in a report which ho does make, shall for ev,ery such offense bo punished by a fino of not less than $1,000 or more than ?5,000, or Imprisonment for not less than one month or more than ono year, or by both such fine and imprisonment. "All information thus obtained by the di rector of the census bvl1 be permanently filed in his office in convenient and accessible form, be classified and published annually." Now, It would seem that Mr. DuBois' amend ment complied with tho "publicity" suggestion. After the DeBois amondment had been read the senator from Idaho called upon tho secretary to read what President Roosevelt said in his mess age for December, 1901. In that message Mr. Roosevelt insisted that publicity was tho first es sential in determining how to deal with the trusts. Mr. DuBois urged that the president's recommen dation be complied with in this respect. Ho said that there would bo no better time or place in which to start this publicity machinery than at the moment they were providing for the establish ment of a pern -nent census bureau. "What was the result? The DuBois amendment Was defeated. Seventeen democrats voted in favor of it and thirty-one republicans voted against It Can it bo .possible that in the republi can view there can be too much publicity to suit the interests of tho trust magnates? JJJ The Great Moneyed Interests. The Now York Times has published a letter from one of its readers declaring that "the imme diate cause of the recent slump in tho slock market is the premeditated and joint action of the great moneyed interests for tho purpose of averting a very serious break in the prjees of securities, which would be ruinous to all concerned market wise." Mr. Alexander Del Mar, once connected with tho treasury department and for many years an expert on matters of finance, w.'ote the fol lowing reply to the Times' letter: Editor Times: Tho statement of your cor respondent, R. E. A., that "the immediate cause of the recent slump in liie sty.l: ma -ket is the premeditated and joint action of the great moneyed interests" is too remarkable to pass without comment The entire capital of the country, Increases at the rate of about 3 per cent per annum com pounded; a proof ihat In the Jong run and all things considered. cap'Val annot ani any more. This conclusion is corroborated by the common use of 3 per cent tab'es tor com pounding the capital earnings of lite insurance companies. Yet wo find good 4 per cent and 5 per cent securities one of the latter having paid such dividends without Interruption for more than twenty years depressed on tho stock market below par. If such depression is duo to the "joint ac tion" of any set of men, then tho investing public is under tho thumb of a conspiracy; and so far as fair play is concerned, tho stock exchange may as well bo closed. ' ALEX. DEL MAR. Occasionally tho truth in regard to the manip ulation of the market will crop out and then the ordinary people have a chance to see' what is be ing done by the extraordinary people who make money by the influence which they can exert over other people's property. 1 ' JJJ Roosevelt vs. Roosevelt. ; In his recent message to congress Mr.' Roose velt r6ferred to "the triumph of our' principles" in, the Philippines.1 Assuming that l Mr. Roose velt meant American principles it will be Inter- 3 cBting to obBcrvo tho viow Mr. Roosevelt cntor tained, boforo ho became president, of policies like those adopted in tho P-lllppincs by tho republican party. Mr. Roosovolt is tho author of a book entitled "Tho Winning of tho West" In one chapter of that Interesting volumo ho drow an interesting contrast between American expan sion and European colonialism. Referring to tho Louisiana purchase Author Roosovolt said: "In ono respect tho ordinattco marked a new departure of tho most radical kind. Tho adoption of tho policy tnerein outlined has. worked a complete revolution in tho way of looking at new communities formed by col onization from tho paront country. Yet tho very completeness of this revolution to a cor taln extent veils from us Its Importance. Wo cannot realize tho greatness of tho change becauso of tho fact that tho change was so great, for wo cannot now put ourselves In the menial attitude which regarded tho old courso as natural. . . . Each Roman colony that Bot tled In Gaul or Iberia founded a city or es tablished a province which was tributary to Rome, instead of standing on a footing of equality In tho samo nation wl.'i Rome. . . . Tho modern European nations had followed the Roman system. Until tho United States sprang into being, every great colonizing peo ple followed one systom or tho other. Tho American republic, taking advantago of Us fortunate federal features and of Its strong central government, boldly struck out on a now path, which secured tho freedom-giving properties of tho Greek method, while pre serving national union as carefully as it was preserved by tho Ronnu empire. Now states were created, which stood on exactly tho samo footing as tho old; rid yot these new states formed Integral and inseparable parts of a great and rapidly growing nation. This . movement was original with tho American republic. Sho was dealing with now condi tions, and on this point tho history of Eng land merely taught her what to avoid." .And yet, referring to our policy in tho Philip pines, Mr. Roosevelt says that It marks "the tri umph of our principles." -.As an author Mr. Roosevelt told us that in the. Louisiana purchaso tho American republic ."boldly struck out on a new path which secured tho freedom-giving properties of th Greek meth od, while preserving national union as carefully as it was preserved by the Roman empire." Ho pointed out that while now states were created they stood on exactly the samo footing as tho old states and yet these new states formed, and, ac cording to Author Roosevelt, very properly so, integral and inseparable parts of a great and rap idly growing nation; and while claiming that this movement was original with tho American repub , lie Author Roosevelt told his readers that on this -, .poin,t the history of England merely taught tho American republic what to avoid. '" Is it not strange, then, now that this author basr become presldt of tho United States, that he should point to tho policy of imperialism and colonialism as being representative of the triumph of. t American principles? A Pertinent Question. . A reader of The Commoner manes a pertinent Inqury In reference to tho question of Incomes. Tho mine owners Insist that the coal miners are .getting enough wages. Tho aforesaid reader calls attention to the fact that a largo number of the working people receive less on an average than $350 a year and are never retired, but must continue-their work to the end of life, while federal ' supreme judges with an income of ten thousand a year are retired after a certain ago, but continue to draw their pay for tho remainder of their life.. He asks why it is that ordinary people with small incomes are expected to lay up enough for old ago, while this is not required of those with large In comes. The question is ono capable of being an swered in a' number of ways in ways enough for each- one td ifcave an answer of his own. " i-6'l . J! Vij'Ufdfc fei.-lj