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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 6, 1903)
7 vrJCW1' The Commoner. .VOLUME 3, NUMBER 3. 8 to cngago In Interstate commerce shall file a Htatomont showing stock, liabilities, indebtedness, etc., and applying for authority to engage in In terstate commorco, and tho commission is not al lowed to grant such authority If tho statement jhows any watered stock or If tho corporation is ttomptlng to monopolize or control tho inanu lacturo, product, salo or transportation of any ar tlclo of trado or merchandise. Tho president is authorized, upon the recom mendation of this commission, to suspend wholly r partially for such time as ha may direct, tho collection of import dues on such articles as com peto with articles produced by any corporation which Ib attempting to monopolize an Industry. If any official of a corporation or member of an association of individuals is guilty of perjury in malting tho statements provided for In tho bill ho ahull bo subject to tho penalties provided for perjury. All corporations attempting to cugago in lntcrstato commerce without first complying with tho conditions of tho act and obtaining a liconso from tho commission shall pay a tax of j.0 por cent on tho capital stock Issued a"nd outstand ing, and tho samo annual tax is lovied upon all stock issued in oxcess of tho actual money in vested in tho enterprise Such, In brief, Is tho Shallonbergcr bill, a copy of which will bo found upon another pngo. Tho bill is in lino with tho Kansas City platform and is a much moro offectivo mcasuro than anything proposed by tho republicans or likely to bo pro posed by thorn: It places tho ontiro matter of ln tcrstato commorco undor tho control of tho com mission to bo created. Corporations organized for tho purpose of engaging in a purely stato Indus try aro not at all Interfered with or embarrassed, but a corporation organized to engage in interstate commerce must securo a liconso before going out side of tho stato of Its origin. Tho attempt to on gago in intorstato commorco might bo moro ac curately defined as tho use, or attempted use, of railroads, telegraph lines or tho mails for any bus iness outsldo of tho stato in which the corpora tion is croatod. This bill does not interforo with the right of tho stato to croato any corporation it needs for its own use, but it makes it impossible for a stato to convert itself Into a den of thlovc3 and organ- , lzo great industrial combinations to proy upon the' rest of tho country. Tho bill ought to provide -that tho Hconso issued by the commission is not to lntorfero with tho right of every stato to $$! ulato foroign corporations duing business intlio stato. Tho license contemplated is simply a. li conso that permits tho stato corporation to en gage in interstate commorco It cannot leave tho stato of its origin without obtaining this license but when tho license is obtained it does not pro tect tho corporation, or should not, from the laws doomed necossary by any stato for tho protection of its own people. In athor words, the federal remedy should bo added to tho stato romedy, not substituted for it The bill ought to go a little farther in tho way of penalties. Tho ax to bo collected is all right, but thoro should bo a criminal penalty im posed upon any corporaUon official who attempts to ongago in intorstato commorco before tho li cense is obtainod, or who in any way takes part in tho issue of waterod stock. Tho bill should also provide for the revocation of tho licenso by tho commission whetiover tho corporation violates tho' conditions upon which tho licenso was granted and when tho licenso Is revoked tho intorstato business of tho corporation must be susponded un til a now liconso is issued. , ,Th0 ?Jin"onborgQr bill Is sound in principle and would bo effective in practice. Instead of fclt f th0 ? ?,VGrment to search tho country for violations of tho law it would compel the cor porations to .seek the government and obtain a liconso bororo ougaging in business. Tho systom proposed by tho bill Is similar to tho license sv forced. If tho government attompted to coiioof a tax from each liquor dealer after lie had sold liquor, or attempted to enforco provisions agatast It would VXndSlK 7Ut flFSt mT SnTo vc wouiu una its task a very difficult nnn nl when it requires the Paymentf tL icense'feo ?n advance tho work becomes much easier in tho case of a corporation it could not do much inter! state businss without being detected? Under sS a law it would bo as impossible for lucorporauS jdi nn; J61 lmrm with0t tho fact coming to tho kuowlodgo of tho government. g Tho democrats in the.sonato and house oimhf lation dnalrn,! iw Y" """r" "" euecuvo legis- , u uuuiucrais ana the weak and partial measures thus far proposed by tho re publicans. , . ' If it is thought an unnecessary requirement to compel all corporations engaged in interstate commerce to take out the license a beginning might bo made by requiring it of all corporations having a capital of moro than a certain amount, fixing tho same low enough so that no monopoly can bo secured. It is imperative that tho democrats shall tako a positive, and aggressivo position. Criticism is well enough in its way, but affirmative action is necessary for a party that proposes to do some thing in tho interest oi the masses of the people. JJ Stricken Sweden. Within tho last two or three weeks the world has been shocked by tho receipt of tho news that thousands of people in northern Sweden and neighboring Finland are threatened with death by starvation. The crops in those sections were a to tal falluro last season, and tho poorer classes, al ways struggling against adverse fato in that far northern country, find themselves face to face with starvation. King Oscar, the kindliest and gentlest monarch of Europe, has issued an appeal for help, addressing it to all Christendom, and the appeal snould not and will not be made in vain. The stories of suffering and death that como from the stricken sections should open the hearts and purses of the people of every country, and tho United States, usually first and never last in tho work of giving aid to the needy, should not now bo slow in making response to the appeal for help. Ties of blood bind hundreds of thousands of American citizens to Sweden, for that far-off land has given to this republic many of her staunchest citizens who, while true Americans, still love the bleak hills and frozen fjords of their native land. Help should be given at once. He who gives quickly gives twice. Generous readers of Tho Commoner who desire to help the starving people of Sweden and Finland may rest assured that moneyj sent to the Swedish reliefcommittee at Lin coln, Neb will find its way without delay to the relickcommitt'ee at StOckholmr JPbe Lincoln com mittee is composed of Mayoj H. J. Winnett, C. J. Olson, Dr. L. Anderson, C. J. Warner, Mrs. 0. W. Palm, Mrs. B. Wornstedt and Mrs. C. J. Roman, all personally known to the editor. All contribu tions should be addressed to Mrs. B. Wernstodt,. treasurer, 307 Richards block, Lincoln, Neb., and receipt will be duly acknowledged. JJJ A Deserved Compiiment. The democrats of Illinois honored themselves as well as complimented a deserving man when they made Congressman James R. Williams tho. minority candidato for the United States senate. Mr. Williams has had a long and honorable ca reer in congress and ho has always been a faith ful champion of democratic principles. Some con gressmen and senators have allowed their long residence in Washington and their intimate asso ciation with those who hang about the federal' capital to wean them away from the interests of their constituents. Not so with Mr. Williams Ho has maintained his democratic simplicity and his democratic Integrity and stands today as a con spicuous representative of true democracy devot ing his extraordinary ability and his untiring en ergy to tho interests of tho people. Illinois has many able and faithful democrats, but none who have done more than Mr. Williams to earn tho 2m?n1mo!lt,lm,anlmously aId hlm by Mb party in the Illinois legislature. y- jjj The Real Difference. The editor of Tho Commoner is in receipt of Si i?5i ?mTx man born in Ruesia. out recently naturalized. He says that ho appreciates tho re sponsibility of citizenship and deXes to disdfargo hl8 (luJy intelgently and patriotically. Ho has some difficulty in deciding with which party to act because he says that tho party names repre sent the same ideas of government, and that if allkT "S,1?,8 t0heIr names ey are much alike. Yet, thinking there must be a wide dis- tinc ion to justify active party contestshe asks themf aS to tb real dist?nion between Tho party names themselves do not indicate any essential difference between the parties 9 In fact, the democratic party, when organized by Jef- ferson, was known as tho republican party. As tho democratic title brings out the idea that the people rule, while the republican name emphasizes tho fact that the rule is through representatives, it might be arguod that the democratic party would bring the government a little nearer to the peo ple, while the republican party would have moro faith in representatives of the people than in the people themselves, and yet this distinction is not necessarily indicated by the names, although there is this general distinction between the beliefs of many of the members of the two parties. It is not unusual, however, for party names to be twisted from their original meaning and applied to different ideas at different times. The demo cratic party stands for tho doctrine of "equal rights to all and special privileges to none." It protests against the use of tho government, for the benefit of a few at the expense of the many, whether this favoritism be shown in a protect! ver tariff that burdens the consumers for the benefit of manufacturers, or in. a financial system that sac- rificcs wealth-producers to the money-changers, or in imperialism which barters away funda mental principles of government to enable syndi cates to exploit distant lands. It is not strange either that the democratic party, jealous of any in fringement upon the rights of the masses, should oppose private monopolies which, under the pre tense of developing industry, simply gather in the profits of industry and reduce to a minimum tho number of those who are to be the recipients of the benefits of industrial progress. The republican party, on the other hand, has turned from the defense of human rights to tho emphasizing of property rights. It has helped manufacturers to levy tribute upon the rest of the people; in return for campaign contributions ft has permitted the financiers to make laws for their own enrichment, and in order to open new fields for. corporations it has adopted the English colonial system. Without daring to defend the trusts as beneficial it has failed eiuier to enforce existing laws against them or to devise new laws for their extermination. This difference between the parties is not due to party name nor entirely to the fundamental principles advocated by the party leaders. i is partly due to environment. The republican party was in power during the war; the foundation for a great many fortunes was laid in government con tracts and in legislation that was primarily en acted under the spur of what was called a war necessity. It was natural that the recipients of benefits should not only turn with gratitude to the party that granted them, but shonhTseek to keep that party in power in order that the benefits might continue. The republican party has thus become obligated to, and identified with, predatory wealth, and it is not in position to punish those who are so influential in its counsels. Since 1896 however, the democratic party has not only stood for the rights o the plain people, but has been tree from the embarrassing support of the great money magnates. JJJ Ignorant of the West. Th(Jte eastern statesmen who seem so ignor- S? !TGS,t and so "different to the welfare of the territories would do well to 'compare the opinion expressed by Daniel Webster a little more than fifty years ago with the development rtSlh has taken place since that time. Webster woSa of the greatest statesmen of his time fflfCl connection with public life gave him as sood an hn?HrtUnity i ,mow the Wintry and it! nosK mission of Arizona md1?w MerfJTfh aS" jection cannot bo made to oSSS (tt? Same ob" road tho following SSSrt f ma) ought to in 1844: ct from Webster's speech area'Tif roTbTsLthe Vaat thless of deserts of shifHnn-o6? an( wild beasts, of austrca?tfusShantSp4irnieS dSSt use could we ever hop T to nut tLJ Wllat or these endless 111 these deserts penetrable andVed to T?' lm" with eternal snow? What nS, JheIr bases to do wlh the western . rn5f ?we ever hP miles, rtck-bound cWi? 9 three thousand and not a hartSr ' in $ w iting for such a country? kv PrLT hav we never vote one 'cent from Efe8ideM I will ury to place the Pacific Tn J6 P?blic ta, Boston than it is today ' n Inch nearo irl 1