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The Commoner.
VOLUME 3, NO. 50.
'Ji'
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The Commoner,
W0UED WEEKLY.
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To each and all The Commoner wisties a
Happy New Year!
It deems that Perry Heath will resign, after
claiming a vindication, but before being shoved.
The report that trusts are seeking to "down"
Roosovolt coinog with a suspicious Looblsh flavor.
That Manchurlan door Is open, but the screen
seems to be fastened on with unbreakable staples.
The cotton batting Santa Claus is now nursing
his numerous burns and vowing never to do so
again.
It strikes a great many people that Colombia
Is much nearer Mr. Roosevelt's size than the steel
or oil trust
Colombia's exhibit at the St. Louis exposi
tion probably will be a largo sample of this re
public's bad faith.
Mr. Rockefeller gives Chicago university an
other $3,000,000 and the lamp chimneys should
prepare to smoke up.
Quite a lot of esteemed republican editors are
Working strenuously to keep from saying some
thing about "soup houses."
Senator Hoar seems to be one of the Tew sur
viving republican leaders who believes in trying
to do right most of the time.
It is not likely that Secretary Loeb will often
make the mistake of writing "1903" after today.
Ho has been compelled to think about 1904 for
several months last past
Doubtless- ox-Governor Taylor will visit the
next national republican convention as an non
ored guest, owing to the fact that it will be
held in furepubllcan state.
Senator Hoar says he always waits for his
party to catch up. Porhaps the senator misun
derstands the situation. His party is so far over
the precipice it cannot come back.
It must be admitted that Elijah Dowie pulled
his Zlon enterprise through much more success
fully than Morgan and Schwab pulled their ship
, building trust enterprise through.
Mr. Roosovelt's request that Mr. Root man
ago his campaign next summer somehow or other
recalls the story of the maid who started to
town, carrying a basket of ggs on her head.
According to Mr. Schwab a lot of conscience
less men of wealth seized him, throw him down,
and against his protest thrust a fow million dol
lar's of ill-gotten, profit into his trousers pockets.
About 750,000 wage-earners will begin the new
year with the knowledge that the treats are very
much oppoeed to "standing pat" on wages, but
very much in favor of "standing pat" on the tariff
schedules.
Ex-Senator "Thurston's epigram, "Everybody
is for Roosevelt and nobody wants him," prom
ises to ,live fully as long as a certain bit of verse
concerning a white rose.
The Hawkeye statesman who has written a
"History of the Iowa Idea" wasted his time if ho
wrote anything more than the old quotation, "If I
was so soon done for I wonder what I was begun
for."
"Is the strenuous life after all nothing but a
sublimated bully?" asks the Milwaukee News.
The News is -actually Impertinent and impudent,
to say nothingof being guilty of lese mafesto and
treason.
President Roosevelt omitted the "word "neu
tral" when he quoted from the Monroe doc
trine. The quotation did not refer to the trust
question, hence the presidential failure to in
dorse neutrality.
The Chicago Chronicle is very vociferous in
demanding -the prosecution of "labor union crim
inals:" "Will the Chronicle also demand the prose
cution of men who have stolen street railway fran
chises and bribed city councils?
Renewed attention is called to the "Lots of
Fivo" subscription campaign outlined elsewhere
in this issue. Democrats interested in the preser
vation of the party's integrity should make every
effort to assist in the campaign.
In view of the vast volume of crime, graft
and corruption exposed in the government's vari
ous departments, it would seem high time for
the president to back up a vast flow of words
with at least a few small deeds.
"Stand up for Nebraska!" has long been a
favorite cry among the republicans of the state,
but in view of the enormous and unconstitutional
increase in the state debt because of republican
profligacy "Dig up for Nebraska!"-is now the cry.
That is an interesting story about a Penn
sylvania postmaster being attacked in ' front of
his office by a wild bear and vanquishing the ani
mal after a r-oiongcd struggle. Mr. Morgan
should write that postmaster and learn how it
was done.
The New York Tribune says: "The coldest
place on earth inhabited by man is Verkhoyansk,
above the Arctic circle." The Tribune is olf in its
geography. The coldest place on earth is at the
republican party's headquarters when a common
man asks for justice. . .
The president is said to have -assured certain
senators that he will not appoint Wood lieutenant
general upon the retirement of General Chaffee.
It is barely possible that the president has in
mind for that place the strenuous soldier who,
single-handed and alone, captured San Juan hill
and shoved Spain into the Atlantic ocean.
A large number of The Commoner's valued
weekly exchanges issued handsome holiday edi
tions too many of them. to permit of Individual
mention. But the exchange editor enjoyed them
and found in them much of the true Christmas
spirit as well as a great deal of genuine democ
racywhich; after all, means much the samo
thing.
'Democratic doctrine as enunciated by the
democrats at "Chicago in 1896, and at Kansas City
x t-i, u In 1900" E0B the'Omaha World-Re-establish
Herald, "provides the means for
Popular the re-establishment of pop
Government. ular government in its best
sense; and whenever , popular
government is restored, the people will have noth
ing to. fear from the dreams of the socialists or
the machinations of the plutocrats."
A Michigan reader of The Commoner writes
to correct an error that recently appeared in this"
impor, saying: "You say that
General Miles was appointed
upon the death of General Scho
field. Upon General Schotleld's
reacmng tne age limit, he was
retired and Generr.l Miles appointed. General
Schofield is living and in good health or at least
was a few days ago." Wo do not now recall the
article in which this error Was made. The correc
tion is, however, accepted with thanks.
Miles
end
Schofield.
In- an editorial entitled "Socialists ami Vn
publicans,
The
Conservative
Perty.
Omaha World-Hemiri
"While it is true that -oriaSS
is finding recruits thefe X
there is a middle ground
tween the radicalism of the so.
cialist- element am fw .!.,
ism of 'the plutocratic element. It is the ground
which the democratic party took in 1896 and m
1900, the ground upon 'which, let us hope the
democratic party stands today; indeed, it Is the
ground upon which the democratic party must
continue to stand unless that party shall prove
unworthy of its name and false to its traditions."
Just
Two
Opinions
In his message- to congress, Mr. Roosevelt
recommended the appointment of a commission to
report on the subject of tne ship
subsidy on the ground that "dif
ferences of opinion" have hith
erto prevented agreement on a
hill. Tne New York Evnn inn-
Post says that "but in fact there are just ho
opinionsthat of those who want the treasury
to come to the aid of the shipping trust, and that
of those who do not. The president ought to be
able to say which he favors.' Perhaps the "dif
ferences of opinion" to which Mr. Roosevelt re
ferred, related to that of those who favored a sub
sidy amounting to $9,000,000 per year, and that of
those who favored a subsidy amounting to $8,-
yyyjya per year.
Thect
"Blazing
Indiscretion."
Mr. Roosevelt says: "While there may have
been" as much-official corruption in former years.
there has been more developed
and brought to light in the im
mediate past than in the preced
ing century of , our country's his
tory." In other words, Mr.
Roosevelt frankly confesses that under the re
publican administration, more corruption has been
developed and brought to light than in the pre
ceding century of our nation's history. The New
York Evening Post expresses surprise because Mr.
Roosevelt made this confession, and the Post
adds: "It looks as if President Roosevelt wished
to rival Lord Salisbury's fame for 'blazing indis
cretion.' "
Socialism
and
PlutocraCcy.
Many newspapers aro just now engaged in a
systematic fight against socialism, and. a number
of these publications point out
that "in the new moral world
the irrational names of husband
and wife, parent and child, will
be heard no more. Children will
undoubtedly be the property of the whole com
munity." Commenting upon this tendency, the
Omaha World-Herald says that "those who would
put a check uppn. socialism should undertake to
put a check upon plutocracy." Also, "those who
stand in such terror of socialism and who tear
its growth in this country can accomplish better
and quicker results if, instead of inveighing
1 against socialism itself, .they bend their energies
toward bringing order out of chaos and contribute
their best efforts toward a complete restoration
of popular government so that we may shape
our .policies along clean-cut democratic lines, a
method that, intelligently and., vigorously em
ployed, will cure every public evil under which
. we now suffer."
Asterisks
Were
Important.
In his message Mr. Roosevelt said that short
ly after the enunciation of what is now known
as the Monroe doctrine, presi
dent Monroe in a special mes
sage to congress, January 30,
1824, said: "The navy is the
arm from which our govern
ment will always derive most aid in support of
our . . . rights." The Philadelphia Public Ledger
says that the asterisks in this quotation are im
portant While they indicate the omission of
words not essential, reference to the printed text
of President Monroe's message discloses that the
complete sentence is: "The navy is the arm from
Which the government will always derive most
. aid in support of our neutral rights." The Pub
lic Ledger directs attention to the fact that only
the one word "neutral" was omitted by Mr. Roose
velt in his quotation from President Monroe. The
Public Ledger which, by the way, is a republican
paper, adds: "The Monroe doctrine was essen
tially a doctrine of neutrality, of protection against
aggression. Under its new development the coun
try has passed out of its neutral attitude, arm
Monroe's message is amended by the omission 01
this restriction on our 'rights But is it allow
able to give Monroe as authority for either more
or less than' ho said?"
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