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14
The Commoner.
Vol. a, No. 51..' :
( SPPlill vCKll 1 1 J d I II 1 i I III I III lr
i vi uiiif
Lancaster (0.) Democrat: A char
acterless presidential message prom
ises to bo followed by a characterless
congressional session.
"West Bend (Wis.) Pilot: The sacred
tariff schedules will not bo touched ot
this session of congress and the pro
tected intorests will bo looked to for
the usual campaign contiibutlon two
years hence.
Long Island (Kas.) Leader: The
papers say that the results of Ameri
can imperialism are the same as that
of European brand. Starvation is
staring the people of the Philippines
In the face.
Urbana (0.) Democrat: All that
the present republican congress is do
ing to the trusts consists of talk, talk,
talk, and it will all end in talk not
withstanding the multiplicity of bills
that have been introduced.
Willmar (Minn.) Tribune: No mo
nopoly is good until it is killed. This
does not mean that the corporation exr
ercising a monopoly needs to bo
killed; it means only depriving it of
the special privileges that make it a
monopoly.
Virginia (111.) Enquirer: For every
anti-trust bill introduced in congress
by a republican member the trust
magnates and barons take another
bottle of champagne. Tho joke is too
good for them to enjoy without be
coming absolutely hilarious.
'Freeport (111.) Bulletin: Many of
the republican leaders tell us now
that "prosperity cannot continue with
out abatement." Why not? If the re
publican party can make prosperity
why cannot it continue the prosperity
without abatement a"s long as it re
mains in power?
Louisville (111.) Ledger: An Ameri
can in the Philippines has becomes
widely known as the leader of ai.
organized band of pirates. The fact
that he is being hunted down as a
criminal illustrates the difference be
tween doing certain things as an in
dividual and as a nation.
Columbus (Ind.) Democrat: It is
now in order for tho republican edi
tors, who thought at least that the
tariff should be removed from the
wood pulp which enters into the mar.7
ufactureof paper they use, to take
their medicine and canoodle ana go
ahead and advocate tariff.
Cooper town (N. Y.) Journal: Tho
price of oil has been advanced 3 centa
a gallon within a short time, and it
now sells at 10 cents. Crack i., on,
Mr. Rockefeller divide your 50 per
cent and then make a donation to
some college! It all comes out of the
pockets of the people."
Bowling Breen (0.) Democrat: The
republican organs are tremendously
kind to Grover Cleveland and they
ought to be he bolted tho democratic
ticket in 1896 and 1900, and aided c
electing the g. o. p. candidates. Tho
organs of that party can well afford
to be generous to Grover Cleveland.
Marlon (111.) Press: The election
has past and gone and In many places
the democrats have fought a hard bat
tle and met defeat, yet tho party is
rless for tho rights of tho people.
Although defeated in part, the party
is not willing to surrender one prin
ciple declared in the national plat
form. Charlestown (Ind.) Citizen: Wall
street is complaining of the scarcity
of money. As soon as our farmers
sell their hogs and corn they may bo
able to relievo the stringency. But,
as the money barons claim there is an
abundance of money, why should there
be a stringency, especially in Wall
street?
Upper Sandusky (O.) Chief: Re
publican editors are not devoting any
space to , moralize over tho lynching
of a negro in the republican state of
Kansas, the state that has been
"wrested from populism." It is only
when such affairs occur Jn the outh
that tho republican editors tear their
hair and spout.
Casey (la.) Record: The colored
gentleman in the wood pile may some
time bo discovered without caling in
the services of Sherlock Holmes. Tin
Pacific railroads have nothing to gain
by the building of an isthmian canal,
they are acquainted with the value of
a lobby and South Ameiican states
men are not adamant to bribery.
Coshocton (0.) Democrat and Stand
ard: Congress, it is said, will make
an appropriation to enforce the Sher
man anti-trust law. What is needed
is not so much of an appropriation
as a genuine disposition toward en
forcement in the attorney general's
office, which unfortunately is not
found there in any vigorous manifes
tation. Wabasha (Minn.) Herald: It Is now
evident that the present congress will
not attempt to revise the tariff. The
ante-election cry of the republican
leaders that if the tariff is to be re
vised it should be- revised by its
friends, was all right on the hustings
and kept many independent republi
cans in line for the congressional can
didates. Bound Brook (N. J.) Record: Just
at present, for the want of something
to print, the republican organs are
busily engaged in their hobby of se
lecting a democratic candidate for tho
presidency. It is not certain, how
ever, that the democratic convention
will be bound by the decision which
they reach in fact, it will do well to
avoid picking the man most favorable
to them.
Marlon (la.) Sentinel: Doubtless
our investment in island colonial pos
sessions some ten thousand miles from
home may have an indirect signif
icance in relation to the Monroe doc
trine. This thing of our going out
and gathering in peoples on tho east
ern continent may suggest to Europ
eon nations the not impossible gath
ering in of some peoples on tho west
ern continent
St. Anthony (Idaho) News: Tho
r resident says: "Every man must be
guaranteed his liberty and his right
to do as he likes with his property
or his labor so long as he does not
infringe on the rights of his neigh
bors." Mr. Roosevelt neglects to sav,
however, that no man is at liberty to
exchange tho results of his labor with
his foreign neighbors without paying
tribute to the protected interests. -
Van Wert (0.) Democrat: Being
carefully trained and repressed by
Mr. Hay, tho Monroe doctrine is not
gnawing at the bars of its cage in its
eagerness to get out and take a hand
in this Venezuela performance. Once
very susceptible and easily aroused,
the Monroe doctrine is now as mild
and amiable as a family cat. This
shows how tho republic has grown in
grace under the benign rulo of Theo
dore tho Strenuous. -
Breckenridge (Colo.) Bulletin: Not
content with the destruction of silver
as a money metal, the obedient repub
lican party to the gold bug demand is
urging the cessation of gold produc
tion. They' are getting too much gold
now and its destruction as a money
metal will be the next move, and pa
per money issued by tho banks will
be demanded and granted as soon as
demanded. The republican party is
tho party of trusts, corporations and
money sharps.
Lincoln (Neb.) Independent: The
interstate commerce commission is
going to present a formal inquiry to
the railroads, asking them why they
raised rates and the railroads will
make a formal reply, the plain Eng
lish of which will be, because they
thought tho traffic would bear it.
That will be the end of the costly
farce. But then this is a world of
shams and it all goes in a life-iime.
There .are little shams and big shams
and the public likes the big shams the
best That is why thoy pay so mucli
to keep up this interstate commerce
commission.-
Somerset (N. J.) Messenger: About
every other republican senator and
congressman has a pet scheme for
throttling the trusts, and which they
are trying to work into a bill and have
passed. They are all very similar in
nature and differ orily in detail. They
all aim to make a big smoke with no
fire at all As no bill can be passed
which does not meet the approval of
the trusts themselves, and as the trusts
are, or at least should be, content with
present conditions; there will prob
ably bo nothin' doin. The most tha
can legitimately be expected is the
appointment of a commission which
can take all tho time it wants at aook
ing into things and then make u report.
Carmen (0. T.) News: One of the
most nefarious schemes ever presented
to congress is the Fowler banking bill,
which gives national banks tho power
to issue emergency currency, common
ly called credit currency, to the
amount of 25 per cent of the paid up
capital stock. Think of such a
scheme. National banks now issue 90
per cent- of their capital stock in
bank notes, and now comes this man
Fowler and asks for tho passage of a
bill permitting them to issue 25 per
cent of their capital stock in emerg
ency currency in addition to the 90
per cent already issued, and we'll
wager that it passes, because tho back
ers of tho republican party are these
same national bankers.
Dayton (Wash.) Courier-Press:
Some republicans will oppose the
nomination of Mr. Roosevelt in 1904
because of his attitudo toward trusts
and some states whore those re
publicans control will bo favorable to
a candidate "who will deal less light
ly with the trust question." Tho trust
defenders certainly ought' not to want
any president to deal "less lightly"
with the trusts than Teddy is doing.
He is very careful not to hurt them,
although he- talks a great deal about
the things they have done. If ho
would order the enforcement of the
criminal section of- the anti-trust law,
the monopolist might have some rea
son to wince and whine.
Rich Hill (Mo.) Enterprise: Tha
protocol of ox-President Cleveland In
Sunday's papers, sounds very much
like that old time song, "Hark from
the Tombs." Mr. Cleveland had some
very strong traits of character, but
his passing was .so long ago that we
would hardly look for his waltzing
about now, wrapped in Elijah's man
tle. No party was ever as completely
dissolved and interred by a president
as the democratic party was by Mr.
Cleveland. For him to issue an pdict
ndw, clothed in his ghostly habili
ments, comes in this year of our Lord,
with very poor grace. Mr. Cleveland
would do well to retire to a monas-
tary or some other secluded recluse
where the party would see, nor hear,
but little about him.
Pekin (111.) Courier: "When I read
of the curbing of tho trusts by .Presi
dent Roosevelt I am reminded of the
conduct of my dear old father,!' said
a merchant. "When I was a boy I
was fond of dos fights. My mother
abhorred these brutal' exhibitions" and"
punished me whenever she learned of
my being present at one. My father
secretly sympathized with me, though,
good man, he did not see fit for my
mother to know it. Coming homo ono
evening my mother presented proof
of my presence at a canine scrap and
suggested immediate punishment. My
father, pretending great wrath, ac
cepted the suggestion ,and taking mo
into a bed room proceeded with a
great stick to lash the furniture, pay
ing, 'Howl, you rascal, howl ' , Of
course I howled and my mother hea'r
ing me was sorry and called to my
father to whip mo lighter. When I
see that the president is lashing the
trusts I imagine that his blows are
falling on the furniture and that he
is saying softly, 'Howl, you rascals,
howl'."
Cadillac (Mich.) Democrat: Ye
gods, but tho Chicago Chronicle is
printing some rich stuff these days
concerning the next democratic presi
dential nomination. It would havo
the progressives silenced forever and.
"give the management of national af
fairs to the men whose intelligence,
sagacity and illustrious personnel will
command tho respect and the alle
giance of the rank and file of the
democratic party1;" This' sounds real
nice. But what does it mean? It
means simply that the Chronicle,
which, by the way, is itself a wolf
masquerading in sheep's clothing,
would give control of tho party to a
horde of downcast traitors to a gnng
of men who forsook their own party
in its. direst need and strenuously
supported tho opposition. That's
what it means. It means also that
the democratic party must recede In
stead of go forward. It means that
the ;?arty of the peoplo must desert to
the plutocracy. It means the mak
ing cf a president a matter of Hob
son's choice a matter of supreme in
difference to tho money kings whether
he be a democrat or a republican.
- -turnum-
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