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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (July 24, 1903)
' The Commoner. JULY 24, 1903. i3 granted tho menr a schedule of In creased wages . together with a now system of working rules to govorn the employment and promotion of tho men. These officers Ytcrp chosen at the convention of railroad commissioners: President, John V. Smith, Alabama; first vice president, William H. Mc Collum, Missouri; secretary, Edward A. Moseley of Washington. A tornado visited Streator, 111., July 17, ldlling five persons, injuring a score of others, and causing a prop erty loss estimated at $2,000,000. At focndota, 111., four persons wore frilled and ten others seriously injured by the tornado. Other towns in Il linois were struck doubtless by the same storm. James' Abbott McNeil Whistler, the American artist, died July 17 at Chel eea, England. Another revolution is on in Vene zuela. The revolutionary forces are commanded by General Rolando. The United States postoffico depart ment has issued the following state ment: "There seems to be a wide 'misunderstanding as to tho present at titude of tho department regarding ru ral free delivery. The statement ha3 been published quite generally, par-, ticularly in the west, that rural routes that do "not handle 3,000 pieces of mail per month and supply 100 families ar to be discontinued. It is not the pur pose of the department to disturb loutes already established unless they ore manifestly unnecessary. There are now on file in tlifr department pe titions for more routes that wi.U sup ply more than 100 families than ca be established with the present ap propriation. This being the case, tho department does not feel it wise, equit able or just to establish a route sup plying less than 100 families to the 'exclusion of routes that will supply more than 100 families, the greatest good to the greatest number being the fundamental principle upon which ru ral free delivery is being established. As long as all the routes asked for cannot be established because of the lack of sufficient money, tho routes that will supply the greater number of families should certainly have preference." Berlin dispatches report that a number of officers of the Fifth Portu guese infantry have been arrested on the charge of a conspiracy against King Charles. It is believed that a widespread conspiracy against the dynasty exists. On July 17, a bench warrant was is sued for the arrest of Geo. W. Beav ers, former chief of .the division of sal aries and expenses of the postoffico de partment As a result of the inves tigation Into the Beavers' administra tion, 3,046 promotions that have been passed on by him to take effect at postoffices throughout tho couniry, have been cancelled. A correspondent for tho .London Daily Mail says, that Franco intends to transfer her possessions in the Eastern Pacific to tho United States. The French possessions in the East ern Pacific consists of the Society isl ands, tho most Important of which are Tahiti and Moorea; the Tuomotu isl ands, where tho recent disastrous ti dal wave occurred; the Leeward isl ands, comprising Raiatea, Tahaa Hua hine and Borabora; the Tubual and Raivavae groups, the island of Rapa, the Gambler islands, the Islands of Rumti and RImatara and the Mar quesas islands. Their total area Is about 1,520 square miles and their population, about 29,000. The Keystone of the Republic. (Continued from Page 11.) monstrate, we must appeal tQ the au thority of the fathers and seek for tho nation the safe old paths of prudence, justice and humanity. No foreign al liances, no foreign wars, no war debts and no increase of the standing army should be the demand of patriotic Americans for tho next score of Inde pendence Days. Again: The doctrine of equality laid down in the Declaration of Indepen dence, and as expounded by Its au thor, utterly repelled all idea of leg islation granting special privileges to individuals. The equality .1 opportunity for all citizens under the law was not new when independence was declared. Long before, Jefferson, steering tho course of Virginia as he afterward did that of tho general government, had accomplished in his colony tho dis establishment of religion and tho re peal of the laws of primogeniture and entail, and had reformed tho methods of taxation so as to apparently pre vent tho possibility of the concentra tion of great wealth in a few hands. Though the primitive condition of so ciety at that time, in which nono of our citizens were very rich and but few very poor, did not invite ready alarm upon that subject; yet, Jefferson, with that far vision that characterized him, anticipated the time when tho multi millionaire might become a menace to the ropublic; and, when tho con stitution was being formed, he wrote again and again from Paris, where he then was, urging that a section be in serted expressly forbidding all kinds and degrees of monopoly. In a let ter to James Madison in 1789, he said of tho constitution: "I like the declaration of rights as far as it goes, but I should have been for going further. For instance, the following alterations and additions would have pleased me: Article 9., Monopolies may be allowed to per sons for their own productions In lit erature and their own Inventions in the arts for a term not exceeding .... years, but for no longer term, and for no other purpose." Copyright and patent right for a limited number of years these were the only kinds of monopoly which his mind could tolerate, and he wished to have that 'idea drafted into the su premo law of the land as a constitu tional bulwark against all special priv ileges being granted by law. Happy would have been the event if Jeffer son's suggestion had been acted upon, and an early and provident alarm upon this question prevented the greatest peril tQ which our republic has ever been exposed the presence and rapid growth among us of huge corporations which derive their power from priv ileges granted by law corporations which were at first creatures of the law, but are now rapidly becoming creators of the law! It was not long until tho monopol istic spirit which had for years op pressed, the old world appeared here. The first great monopoly in point of time and importance was the ;money monopoly. Hamilton, whose services in the field had been as meritorious as his acts in the cabinet had been in jurious, got his United States Bank established. It was called the United States Bank, but as a matter of fact it was a private bank the genera government having but a minority of tho directors and a minority of the stock. Thus early the greatest func tion of the people's sovereignty was taken away from the people and con ferred upon a few favored individuals. A handful of persons obtained posses sion of the greatest of all instruments of civil society, the currency. Jeffer son, who had declared that banks of issue were more danEcroas to tho re public than standing armies, fought' Hamilton's banic and scotched it but! it revived. Jackson fought it and lor a time thought that ho had lin ished it but it revived. Hundreds of able and fearless rciormers nave lrom timo to time tried to restore to tho people to all tho people their sov ereign money function; but today tho money monopoly wields a power of which even Hamilton never dreamed. Stop by step this mother of monopol ies has gone on until the great national bank trust finds itself so powerful as scarcely to recmiro disguise lor its purposes. They have erected the sin gle gold, standard, acquired the sole right of issuing paper money, and, when they shall have achieved the remaining steps now impending, an clastic currency and an asset cur rency, tho conspiracy will bo full ac complished, tho people will have been robbed of the last vestige of control and a bank aristocracy richer and more powerful than all of tho mon archs of tho civilized world, will dic tato war and pence, control commerce, direct elections, influence tho courts arid legislatures and make of Ameri ca one great estate whoso URufruct they will collect They will havo no rival depredators in the trusts. They are tho trusts. Tho same men who own the banks own the trusts In fact tho trusts could not havo existed but for tho Rothschild, Rockefeller and Morgan banks which financed them. My fellow citizens, tho money question Ib hero and hero to stay until either tho 'bank trust is wiped out or tho masses of tho American people havo dumbly sunken to be mere tenants at will in the land purchased by their fathers' blood!1 The monopoly of tho nation's high ways, too, has come insidiously year after year advancing in wealth and power until no man can measure fully the mischief that has been done to ward the destruction of American equality. The railroads and telegraphs have not only a monopoly of our in ternal carriage and communication, but have seized and held vast tracts of tho people's domain, the land pur chased by the valor of our soldiers and the patience of our pioneers and that ought to have been held for the homes of the people. They, too have contributed their full share toward creating the industrial trusts. In truth one trust has bred another, by a circular propagation, until nearly all the avenues of profitable employment have been shut to the ' rdlnary citizer and he is driven to strive amonginany competitors for the privilege of em ployment by some of the great cor porations. Tho tariff is another instance of spe cial privilege granted by law. It Is called the "American system," but it Is a system for a few Americans only! It is called protective, but it protects ony a small number of persons and they generally of a class who need no piotection. It, too, has had its largo share in the creation of the trusts so much so that today It .you should threaten the tariff In any serious way every great corporation In the country would sound the alarm and hurry to the field. It may seem, my friends, that I ex aggerate the gravity of the situation; but I am made confident by most hon orable company. In 1825 Jefferson wrote to William B. Giles these prophetic words: "Tho younger generation, having nothing in them of the feelings or principles of 177C, now look to a sin gle and splendid government of an aristocracy founded on banking- in stitutions and moneyed incorporations under the guise and cloak of their favored branches of manufacturers, commerce and navigation, riding and ruling over the plundered ploughman and beggared yeomanry. This will be to them a next blessing to the monarchy of .their first aim. and per haps the surest stepping stone to it" Lincoln, in his last days, in 1804,1 looking upon tho rising and threaten ing phenomenon of the corporations said in a letter to William V. Ellclns: "As a result of tho war corporations havo been enthroned and an era o corruption in high places will follow, and tho money power of tho country will endeavor to prolong Its reign of working upon tho prejudices of tho r.eoplo until all wealth is aggregated In a few bauds and tho republic Is de ftroyed." In a speech In the Grand Lodge of tho Knights of St Crispin mado In 1872, Wendell Philllpo, speaking of (Continued on Page 15.) AfttrMTQ bchrndi proposition. I). IX. 7. AUtPl I O MKK& CO., Masks, hob. , ZUa fl 1 bctbyT-78YEAltS.WcDAV CAS Want MORE Balkmi:h rAl Weekly Slark Narwy, LmUImi. Ms.; Hmlulllc, AU. ASTHMA, HAY-FEVER Cured to atay cured. Heller Immediate. Write for JTrco Dook. Dr. llark-Andruon. 428 Op!fa JIoum HI., noiTPr.Colo. KIS ST. MARY'S ACADEMY. VMIM 0HnyitttV,DmVtlfnir. OmUut trTUehtn. 8wdcntsprepMdrorCotrWtwi Kpjl?vani OoMerT&Mry of Mnaic jh4 Art KchooL Ittralcal CaltrHr. YeincwoafiJIKd torHyfotuntuVin: MoJenWecuctiool7ert(rtnBi.. Formu. logns nd wfNll Information, npnlr to Tim bircct. maw, ar. mart's aiumwt, h.i 7. uJm,th4, a Ranier Grand Hotel Seattle, Wash. ICnropesa Pisa. Hatsa 11.00 sad upward l22rooma. I&rooma with bath. Flneik Cafe In the north wast; notad for tha pacsliar szceUeaca ef Ita Culaloa. Raster Grani Hotel Co. M. B. DUNBAR, Presldeat and flgr. 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