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ment. Tho conscientious observance of this com
mandment would oven lead the citizen to examine
tho systems of taxation and the matiner in which
they distribute tho burdens of government, and
this examination could not bo carried very far
vithout raising a question which many now
ignore, namely, whether taxqs collecte'd almost' en
tirely from consumption are just and equitable, and
another question, closely related to it, "Can the
mass of the people, laboring for small compensa
tion, be equitably taxed for tho support of manu
facturers who enjoy a largo income at public
expense?"
xl that commandment wore the rule of con
duct it would not only abolish petty larceny
which sometimes accounts for tho loss of a chick
en, a pig, a coat or a pocketbook, but that grand
larceny also which is perpetrated through legisla
tion which robs the many for the benefit of tho
few.
A proper observance of that commandment
would create a public opinion that would drive out
of 'respectable society the hig-toned. pilferers who
trample upon.Rll laws, human and divine, and
silence criticism by the magnitude of their pecula
tions. -6 What man from" the head of the trust down to
the lowest official or employe, if actuated by a love
for his neighbor as intense and constant as his
regard for himself, would employ cunning or the
advantage which comes with great commercial
influence to extort from consumers in order to
pay dividends on watered stock, or to bankrupt
rivals, by reducing prices in his territory only to
raise them higher after competition has been de
stroyed. The questions- which arouse antagonisms
between capital and labor will disappear when
both employers and employes live up to that
great commandment
Even the money question, which seems so
complicated to many, and which the advocates of
"honest money" claim the exclusive right to settle,
raises a moral question wbicb, the .Christian citizen
cannot rightfully ignore. No economic question
can in the long run be more important than the
question which Axes the standard by which val
ues are measured. The increased production of
gold has stopped for the present the appreciation
of the dollar, but no one can tell how long prices
will remain stationary. When the abnormal con
ditions which have raised pi :es give way to nor
mal conditions we may again start upon an era of
falling prices. During tue period from '73 to '9G,
when as a result of legislation Uie, dollar was
constantly appreciating, there were multitudes' of
conscientious Christian people whose knowledge of
the subject was so superficial that they did not see
the injustice in the financial system that gave us
the rising dollar. Tnoy would have protested in a
moment against a bushel measure so constructed
that it gradually and constantly enlarged, because
they would have recognized that such a measure
was unfair to the men who had to deliver an
ever-increasing quantity of merchandise in pay
ment of a fixed debt; but they seemed indluYrent
to the fact that the dollar, like such an expand
ing bushel measure, was slowly but surely trans
. ferring the property of tne wealth-producer over
to the possession of tne owners of fixed invest
ments. If a man accepts the great commandment as a
rule and tries to live up to it, will he thoughtlessly
turn the masses of the people over to the tendo"
mercies of a few financiers who demand tho right
to L ao a nation's money and control the volume
thereof for the pretended interests of tho public, '
but really for their own profit?
And above all, will not a believer in that com
mandment scrutinize the doctrine upon which im
perialism Isbased? Will he not look with suspicion
upon a policy which builds a government upon
force, taxes people without representation and
' then distributes among carpet-bag officials the
money raised from helpless subjects? Would it
not lead to a careful examination to tho end that
The Commoner..
. the property of the wards might not be dissipated
among influential exploiters who lock with a
covetous' eye upon tho land an'l undeveloped
wealth of tho Orient?
The Christian citizen when fully alive to his
civic duties and fully groused to the far-reaching
influence of his vote, will not become so en
grossed in the pursuit of tho dollar as to be ignor
ant of the issues that present themselves and of
the manner in which public servants discharge
their official duties; he will not only see to it
that public officials encourage the cultivation of
the-virtues, but ho will see to it that -the public
servant shall never forget that his , office is a
public trust and must be administered as such.
There is certainly room for the movement
which Mr. Johnson has inaugurated, and whether
the readers of The Commoner agree with its edi
tor in his applications of moral principles to
pending issues no one can doubt that too little
time is given to the conscientious study of public
questions with a view to finding the moral prin
ciples which control them.
No one can doubt tuat tho final result would
be better if every citizen recognized the respon
sibility which the government places upon him
and endeavored to discharge that duty, more con
cerned about the influence of his conduct upon
the country than of its influence upon the party
with which he is connected.
" JJJ
Taxation Without Representation
A dispatch from Canada says that the mem
bers, of parliament are discussing "the refusal of
tho government to contribute to the imperial de
fense scheme." The dispatch reads:
Ottawa, Ont., Dec. 11. (Special Corre
spondence.) Members of parliament of both
political parties from widely scattered parts
of tho dominion have been here the last week
seeing ministers and transacting business for
their constituencies with the various depart
ments of state. It was an opportunity to as
certain the views prevailing in different sec
tions of the country on the refusal of the gov
ernment to contribute to tho imperial defense
scheme. ,
On one point they were practically unani
mousnamely: there can be no taxation with
out representation. Canada is not repre
sented In the imperial councils, and until she
has a voice in the disposal of the money .
strong objection will be raised to any vote
from tho Canadian treasury for the purpose
referred to.
The principle 'involved is Ihe same as that
which led to the loss of the American colonies
by Great Britain, only in tho recent Instance
tho contribution was to be nominally of a vol
untary character, while in the former case it
was to be compulsory.
One of the members said it would be a
long time before the people of this country
will consent to hand over a yearly contribu
tion of hard cash to an admittedly Incompe
tent and antediluvian board of admiralty to
squander without having anything to say in
that expenditure. If the British government
really desires financial assistance from the
colonies it must either provide in tho future
for tho representation of those contributing
colonies in imperial councils or run the risk
of the growth of a sentiment of dissatisfaction,
which will, in tho end, do more harm than
good to the imperial cause.
Republicans may feel some mortification at
contemplation of the fact that the subjects of a
king are more opposed to taxation without, repre
sentation than tho eulogists of our strenuous
president.
JJJ
The Commoner Cartoon.
In this issme Tho Commoner presents a cartoon
by Guy R. Spencer, a promising western cartoon
ist who has been engaged by this paper to contri
bute regularly. This cartoon is entitled "He's not
afraid of that end of tho weapon, Mr. Knox."
It is not generally understood, as it should bo,
that Mr. Roosevelt's administration has appealed
to the incidental provisions of the Sherman anti
trust law rather than the chief feature of that
statute. " , m
It Is not as generally understood as it should
be that in his famous "campaign against tho
trusts," Mr. Roosgvelt's attorney general has in
voked the incidental powers of the existing law and
that he has wholly ignored the first, second and
third sections of the anti-trust statute.
These sections are as follows:
Section 1. Every contract, combination
in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspir
acy, in restraint of trade or commerce among
the several states, or wim- foreign nations,
is hereby declared to be illegal. Every per
son or persons who shall make any such con
tract or engage in any such combination or
conspiracy, shall be deemed guilty of a misde
meanor, and on conviction thereof, shall be
punished by fine not exceeding five thousand
, dollars, or by Imprisonment not exceeding' one
year, or by both said punishments, in the dis
cretion of the court
Sec. 2. Every person who shall monopol
ize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine
with any person or persons, to monopolize any
part of the trade or commerce among the sev- '
- oral states, or with foreign nations, shall be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on con
viction thereof, shall be punished by fine not
exceeding five thousand dollars, or by impris-
onment not exceeding one year, or by both
said punisuments in tne discretion of the court.
Sec. 3. ISvery contract, combination in
form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in
restraint of trade or commerce in any terri
tory of the United States or of the District of
Columbia, or in restraint of trade or com
merce between any such territory and another,
or between any such territory or territories
and, any state or states or the District of Co
lumbia, or w . foreign nations, or between
the District of Columbia and any state or
states or foreign nations is hereby declared il
legal. Every person who shall make any such
contract or engage in any such combination or -conspiracy,
shall be deemed guilty of a mis
demeanor and. on conviction thereof, shall be
punished by fine not exceedln'flvb" thousand J
dollars, or by imprisonment not ecce'edinfc on!e '
year, or by both said punishinents, in the dis
cretion of the court." ' .'
The cartoon correctly represents Mr. Knox as
attacking the trade conspirators with the point
of the handle while he carefully refrains from us
ing that more effective weapon at the other end
which in the cartoon is represented by the battle
axe. The cartoon is not overdrawn in ibis respect.
The. criminal indictment is the most effective of
weapons. However proud, arrogant and rich men
may have become in the habitual defiance of law,
they are weak and impotent in the presence of a
criminal statute when a courageous and ablo
prosecuting officer undertakes seriously to call
them to account.
The battleaxe, representative of the chief pro
vision of the Sherman antitrust law, is a power
ful weapon. Every good citizen will hope that
Mr. Roosevelt's attorney general will finally con
clude to make a serious assault' upon men who
conspire in restraint of trade and who seek to ob
tain corners upon the people's necessities.
If Mr. Roosevelt is serious, if Mr. Knox is
serious, the battleaxe will be' used.
JJJ
Legislation Against Silver.
A dispatch from Pekin, published in the daily
papers of January 4, says that tho fall in silver has
already Increased the Chinese indemnity 20 per
centIf payment is demanded In gold and adds
that further Increase is probable "from the ex
pected adoption of tho gold standard in the Philip
pines and in the Straits settlement." The Poljn
correspondent recognizes what many republicans
here persistently deny, namely, that legislation af
fects the price of silver. Tlu adoption of the gold
standard In tho Philippines and in the Straits
settlement by increasing the demand for gold and
decreasing the demand for- sliver would Influence
tho market value jf both metals throughout the
world and yet the gold worshippers who are re
sponsible for the growing gap between the motala
lay all the blame upon natural laws and despis
silver because it 'does not keep pace with gold.
-H yi"-m -.j
