t ' s
MARCH 4, 1904.
try to score a point in Mr. Roosevelt's favor in.
this matter forget that tlie republican national
committee hasv not been entirely purged. Post
master General Payne is acting chairman of that
committee; and it will bo remembered that when
a' newspaper reporter astfed Mr. Payne what ho .
had to say with respect to the charges mado
against Heath and others, Mr. Payne replied:
"Say that the postmaster general Just laughed."
JJJ
Enforcing the Criminal Law
. . The conviction of Whittaker Wright, the En;
glish promoter, has attracted considerable attend
tion in this country. The Chicago Tribune directs
. attention to the fact that Wright was convicted
SSSrp what ls known as tne larceny act - The
1899 balance sheet of Wright's company showed
an item of "$2,500,000 cash at bankers." This
Bum was presumed to be available for dividends
and was represented as being the result of a
years work by the directors to strengthen the
company. A few days after this report had been
made it developed that there was no cash in the
v-rJl j uuuiturs, ana mat Wright was re
quifecrto' lentrtne company $1,500,000 to savo it
from insolvency. The $2,500,000 item was a
sham.
Commenting upon this showing, the Tribune
Bays:
"There have been instances in this coun
try where false reports of the condition of
companies have been 0iven to the public by
men who knew them to be false, and whose
object was unquestionably to induce persons
to invest in the securities. In one case a
company was credited with $500,000 which it
did not have. As the statement of the com
pany was certified by accountants to be cor
rect the public had some reason to believe it
could be trusted.
"Persons who have been deceived and de
frauded by false prospectuses and reports and
doctored accounts can bogin civil suits for
damages against those who have despoiled
them, though their chances of recovering any- '
Sfu
The Commoner.
ni?gwVmiaIbut cannot the crim-
BnllinJ lm?l0d here as Ifc has beon in
England to punish swindling promoters if
R.A?i S? member of th0 nity could
rvJ???0 are, ,good suS6estions and the Tribune
Sffif at2t.Cted th0 R00Sevelt ministra
tion s attention to some instances in which it
could make experiments along this line. U
tJ?i Chl?ag0' recently, two men, known as the
Jager brothers, were arraigned before a federal
commissioner on the charge of havinc sent
through the mails certain circulars, in which cir
culars they misrepresented their ' mining prop
erties. It was announced that the government
Ld vlgorously Ph the prosecution in these
ii ?",!' S?ems that the manipulator of the
shipbuilding trust misrepresented their properties
and frequently used the mails for the purposes
of such misrepresentations. Yet, it does not
seem to have occurred to anyone connected with
the federal administration that the criminal law
should bo enforced againRt the men responsible
for the shipbuilding trust scandals.
The Roosevelt administration has, in sev
eral Instances, commenced civil proceedings
against men who have violated the Sherman anti
trust law; but the chief feature of that law is
the criminal provision and it does not seem to
have occurred to anyone connected with the
Roosevelt administration that the ciminal clause
was made to tie enforced.
The Tribune might do a service to its party,
as well as to the people generally, if it could per
suade the republican administration to undertake
the enforcement of the criminal law against the
rich rascals of the country.
JJJ
A Fair Sample.
The Now York World prints a communica
tion from "an old democrat" of Bradford, Conn.
3
The World explains that this Is "a try for Mr
Bryan's $100." The letter follows:
To the Editor of Tho World:
Whereas, Under republican control the
government of the United States is conducted
with an uttor lack of common sense; there
fore bo it resolved:
FirstThat hereafter common sonso shall
bo applied to government.
SecondThat no candidate shill be nomi
nated for any position under tho government
who Is lacking In common sense.
Third That common senso and common
honesty aro alono requisite for a stable kov
ernmeut. b
Fourth That no other so-callod planks
aro required in any party platform.
N. B. Col. Bryan will please send $100
10 AN OLD DEMOCRAT.
Bradford, Conn., Feb. 21.
This is, Indeed, a good reorganization plat
form. Substitute tho word "democrat" for tho
word "republican" in the first paragraph and it
could bo used quite as conveniently by tho renub-r
lican party.
Attention is onco more directed to Tho Com
moner's special subscription offer. Every Com
moner reader is invited to co-operate In this ef
fort to widen its sphere of, influence. This subscrip
tion offer is similar to tho lots of five plan adopted
last year. Cards each good for one year's sub
scription to The Commoner will bo furnished in
lots of five at the rate of $3 per lot. This places
tho yearly subscription rate at GO cents.
Any one ordering the cards may sell them
for $1 each, thus earning a commission of $2 on
each lot sold, or he may sell them at tho coat
price and find compensation In the fact that he
has contributed to tho effort to widen Tho Com
moner's sphere of Influence.
These cards may be paid for when ordered or
they may bo ordered and remittance made after
they have been sold.
A coupon Is printed on page 7 for the con
venience of those who are willing to assist in ti
coming contest.
VTHREE LITTLE KINGDOMS
(Copyright, 1904, by New York Journal.)
I shall treat in this article of my visit to three
little kingdoms in the north of Europe Den
mark,". Belgium and The Netherlands.
I passed through tho odge of Sweden on my
way from Berlin to Copenhagen and was at Mal
moe a short time; but, as It was Christmas Day
and early in the morning, few stores were open,
and -I did not have an opportunity to see many
people. I had intended to visit Stockholm, the
capital of Sweden, but a day's delay in Russia
deprived me of that pleasure.
Copenhagen is not only the capital of Den
mark, but its commercial metropolis" as well.
The city has the air of a seaport The canal lead
ing from the harbor up to Ihe center of the town
was crowded with boats which had taken up their
winter quarters and the multitude of masts told
of the numbers of those vho live upon the ocean.
Denmark is a densely populated country com
posed of the Jutland peninsula and a number of
islands. The land is for the most part level and
not much above the sea, but the farmers of Den
mark have distinguished themselves in several
departments of agriculture especially in butter
making Danish butter commanding the highest
price in London and other large markets.
Copenhagen has some very substantial build
ings and an art gallery in wblch the works of
Thorwaldsen, the sculptor, occupy the chfef place.
The people of Denmark, while living under an
hereditary monarch, have a written constitution,
and parliament is the controlling influence in
the government. Until recently, th3 sovereign in
sisted upon selecting his cabinet ministers to
suit himself; but, about three years ago, he
yielded to' the demand of parliament that the
dominant party in that body be permitted to fur
nish the king's advisers. The' change has proven
so satisfactory that perfect harmony now exists
between the royal family and the legislative body.
King Christian is advanced in years and is
bo beloved by his people that he goes among
them without attendants or guards. ,
The heir to the throne of Denmark, Prince
Frederick, upon whom, by the courtesy of the
American minister, Mr. Swensen, I was able to
call on Christmas afternoon, is very democratic
in hiB manner, and very cordial in his friendship
lor America.
If marrying her daughters to crowned heads
is a test, the late Queen of Sweden was a very
successful mother. One of her daughters is
mother of the present emperor of Russia, another
is wife of tho present king of England, and a
third is married to one of tho smaller kings of
Germany. A son, It may be added, is king of
Greece.
I had the pleasure of meeting the prime min
ister and also Professor Matzen, the president of
the state university and Denmark's member ol
Tho Hague tribunal. He was one of the leading
opponents of the transfer of the Danish islands
to the United States.
I learned while in Denmark that one of the
chief reasons for the opposition to the sale of tho
Danish islands to the United States was the fact
that the United States did not guarantee full citi
zenship to the inhabitants of thos9 islands. Tho
nation's conduct elsewhere prevented this. Our
refusal to give the Porto Iticans and the Philip
pines the protection of the constitution, is largely
to blame for the loss of tho Danlsh,islands to our
country.
The Danish officials whom I met were deeply
interested in the United States, and naturally so,
for, like Sweden and Norway, Denmark has sent
many sons and daughters to the United States;
and these, as have the Swedes and Norwegians,
have deported themselves so well as to establish
close ties between the mother countries and their
adopted land.
BELGIUM.
Belgium is a busy hive. Its people aro crowd
ed together and are very industrious. The farm
ers and truck gardeners have reduced agriculture
to a fine art and the lace workers aro famous
for their skill.
Nowhere did I see man's faithful friend, the
dog utilized as in Belgium. He helps to haul
the 'carts along the streets, and his services are
so highly prized that large dogs are untaxed,
while the small house dog, being an Idler, has
to contribute his annual quota to the expenses
of the government.
The elegance of some of the public buildings
find the beauty of the streets of Brussels sur
mise one if he has allowed himself to judge Bel
ciuin by her dimensions on the map. Historical
interest, however, is centered not in Brussels,
but in the battlefield of Waterloo, some miles
away. In the summer time thousands of tourists
(among whom, according to tho guid03 aro but
few Frenchmen) turn their steps toward this field
which witnessed tho overthrow of tho greatest
military genius of his generation, if not of all
time.
The sceno of carnage is now marked by an
enormous artificial mound 130 feet In height and
surmounted by an immense stone lion the Lion
of Waterloo. The animal looks toward the point
from which Napoleon mado his last charge and
seems to be watching lest tho attack may be re
newed. Wellington, upon visiting the batte-fleld
after the erection of this mound, Is said to have
complained that they had ruined the battle-field
to secure dirt for this stupendous pile; and it Is
true that tho surface of the earth in that vicinity
has been very much altered. In leveling the
knolls they have destroyed one of the most in
teresting land-marks of tho battle-field the
sunken road in which so many of the French sol
diers lost their lives. As the guide tells It, Na
poleon asked a Belgian peasant if there was any
ravine to be crossed between him and the en
emy's lines, and the peasant replied In the nega
tive; but when the French rushed over this knoll,
they came suddenly and unexpectedly upon a nar
row road in a cut about twenty feet deep, and,
falling in, filled up the cut until succeeding rank
crossed over on their dead bodies.
The field as a whole might be described as &
rolling prairie although tho visitor is told of
groyes no longer standing. At tho Hugomond
farm, tho walls of the house bear evidence of
the conflict that raged nearly a century ago, and
one is shown tho ruins of an old well In which,
it is said, the bodies of 300 English soldiers were
buried. This portion of the battle-field remind
one somewhat of that portion of the battle-field
of Gettysburg which was made famous by Pick
ett's charge, although there are but few monu
ments at Waterloo to mark the places occupied
by the various brigades and divisions.
At a restaurant near the mound one is shown
the chair in which, according to tradition, Well
ington sat when he was laying his plans for th
last day's battle, and you can, for a' franc each,
secure bullets warranted to have been found upon
tho field. It is rumored, however, that some of
" .(Continued on Page 1L),
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PvitiUiMi!
