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The Commoner.
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(ill communications to
TUB COMMONER, Lincoln, Nek,
t 3
Public ownership of railroads would mean no
more pass bribery.
Tho only argument against an Income tax Is
tho argument of selfishness.
If lie finds it difficult to raise monoy Chairman
Cortelyou might import Raisuli.
Port Arthur is falling often enough to arouso
suspicion of taking a drop too much.
Public ownership of railroads seems to be the
solution for railroad ownership of the public.
The president took a hand in the coal strike
during an "off" year. This is not an "off" year.
When the people own tho railroads ..there will
be no more giant-trusts built up by the 'rebate
system." '
The life preservers on the g. o. p. excursion
steamer have every appearance of being General
Slocuined.
Of course Mr. Folk is not surprised that a
large number of republican organs have . bolted
his nomination.
Tho 30,000 striking cotton operatives should
show their dinner pails to the g. o. p. national
committee.
By the way, did you ever notice the republican
loaders objecting to tho trusts being given too
much representation?
It is barely possible that the chilly Mr. Fair
banks was nominated for the purpose of frappeing
the top of the ticket.
Senator Fairbanks was notified of his nomina
tion last week, and the Indianapolis icemen com
plained of a dull day.
Naturally enough tho big trusts that secure
freight rebates from privately owned railroads' op
pose railroads owned by the public.
That low chuckling sound from tho far oast
is doubtless "Gas" Addicks endorsing .the "stand
pat" policy of President Roosqvelt.
Tho harvester trust has just laid of 15,000
employes. It feared that tho employes might be
come spoiled by too much prosperity.
J. Plerpont Morgan's yacht tied up at a Now
York dock. the other day with three feet of water
in lier hold. Mr. Morgan must bo preparing to
sell tho yacht to tho general public.
Tho Minnesota supremo court has affirmed the
decision that market hunters must pay a fine
,of $20,000 for killing 2,000 ducks out of season.
Ex-Mayor Ames could givo those market hunt
ers some pointers. Thoy should have claimed
that it was tho shot, not themselves, that killed
the ducks. Ames secured his freedom on a poorer
" technicality than that.
The Commoner.
Of course President Rooscvert uses the word
"wo" in tho editorial sense.
"Why not Roosevelt?" queries tho Chicago
Chronicle. Ono very good reason is that the
Chronicle is for Roosevelt.
Rudyard Kipling has written a poem favoring
Chamberlain's tariff crusade. Tho anti-Chamberlain
people seem to have "seen" Rudyard.
The striking meat cutters seem to forget that
this is the year when the administration must
make assessments, not issue injunctions.
"If Judge Parker is elected his party will bo
master," declares the Sioux City journal. That
would be a welcome relief from the rule of the
trusts.
In view of ex-Governor Black's nominating
speech General Sherman Bell should be engaged
to do a little rear platforming for the, g. o.p.
ticket.
Theodore Roosevelt, former iree trader, civil
service reformer, ' anti-criminal aggresslonist and
trust buster, is making quite a spectacle as a
"stand patter."
Those union butchers are being censured by
republican leaders for insisting upon justice just
at a time when a strike would seriously embarass
the g. o. p. machine.
Chairman Cortelyou is not pointing with prido
to the injunction which put the meat trust out
of business. That injunction is filed away in tho
dust covered archives.
President Roosevelt's address to the noti
fication committea reminds ono very much of
the stuff tho circus advance man hands in to
the advertising manager.
It is reported that some one nas discovered
a bread that is also a first-class substitute for
meat. The name of the trust holding the right
to manufacture is not given."
The coal trust is hoisting prices on tho ex-,
cuse that it fears a strike. But the coal trust
would have raised the price on the ground that
there would be no strike, so what's the odds?
Theodore Thomas declares that Milwaukee has
no right to the reputation of being a musical
center. Mr. Thomas seems to be laboring under
a delusion as to what has made Milwaukee-famous.
The suggestion that tho packers engineered
the strike as a rebuke to Roosevelt is one of
the early jokes of the campaign. The packers
have nothing to complain of in injunctions that
do not enjoin.
On August 1 the anthracite trust added 10
cents per ton to the price of their product. The
anthracite trust, like the beef trust, thinks that
federal injunctions are real pretty ornaments for
the parlor table.
Perhaps Mr. Carroll D. Wrignt Is busily pre
paring figures to show that tho packing house
strike is a good thing because the increased price
of meat enables those who can not buy -it at any
time to save just that much more money.
The report that the "zebrula" will replace tho
mule as an army adjunct is enough to arouse wide
spread opposition. Is it possible that Mr. Roose
velt, who was a prominent free trader a few years
ago, will stand idly by now and make no protest
against the threatened injury to the "infant mule"
industry?
Tho ant. called the Kelep, Imported from
Guatamala is said to bo making a successrul fight
against tho boll-weevil, much to tho relief of tho
cotton growers. Can't Uncle Sam find something
that will exterminate imperialism and thus relieve
the whole country from tho burden of a large army
and a large navy?
Mr. Roosevelt considered tho Panamans com
petent to practice self-government inside of
twenty-four, liours. He points with pride to the
fact that the Cubans were granted self-government
after eighteen months of practice. He infers that
tho Filipinos will have to practice for self-gov-ornment
until the oriental trade is worthless and
then perhaps they may have it '
' VOLUME 4, NUMBER 30
' '.. When President Roosovelt pointed with nru
to what tho republican party has done for Sin
service, Byrne, Lou Payne and Postmaster Genp
Payne solemnly winked their left optics and S
dreamily across tho waters of Oyster Bay.
Well, private life has its advantages after mi
While the eminent jurist of Esopus, the distin
guished soldier of Oyster Bay, the renowned hiV
torian of Georgia and tho illustrious publicist of
Pennsylvania, are hiding from camera fiends and
dodging the ubiquitious newspaper correspondent
the obscuro and tho "ex's" "far from the mad
d'ning throng" keep tho "noiseless tenor" of their
way.
Hcls It Any
Facts To
Give Them?
The Philadelphia Inquirer, which evidently
prefers being republican to being either right or
uj..y, uys; -me wage earn
er who would give up a per cent
of his salary for the sake of a
lower tariff is a mighty scarce
individual," Has the Inquirer
over compared the proposed scale of the Fall
River operators with tho scale paid in Manches
ter? Has the Inquirer ever taken note of the
fact that the average wage of the striking pack
ing house men is less than $7 a week? Perhaps the
.Inquirer has some figures and facts which will
convince these striking spinners and butchers that
the protective tariff is a wonderful benefit to them,
and of no particular account to the meat trust and
the cotton print trust.
Roosevelt
vs.
Roosevelt.
"We have made the deed square with the
word," said President Roosevelt to the notilica-
tion committee. But what about
the words of President Roose
velt? In answer let President
Roosevelt be put upon the wit
ness stand. Mr. President, what.
did you say in a recent message to congress con
cerning corruption in public office? "I said, 'While
" there may have been as much official corruption
in former years there has been more developed
and brought to light in the immediate past than
in the preceding, century of our country's his
tory.' And what did you say to the notification
committee, Mr. President, concerning this same
subject? "1" saidi 'Never has the administration
of the government been on a cleaner and higher
level; never has the .public work of the nation
been done more honestly, and. efficiently.' " Com
ment is unnecessary at this time. Take the wit
ness, Mr. Cortelyou.
The Wreck
Of
The Medne.
The wreck of the battleship Maine still ob
structs navigation in the ha'rbor at Havana, and
tne navy department noias mat
it has no authority either to
abandon the wreck or to auth
orize its removal. A private
company has contracted to re
move the wreck providing the government will
relinquish claim to it, the company -expecting to
be remunerated by the salvage and by exhibiting
the remnants. But the government will not do
this, nor will it pay to have it removed. ' Cuba
declines to act without being assured that its
'action will be acceptable to Uncle Sam. As the
matter now stands the wreck will have to remain
there, a striking object lesson In governmental
red tape. Dicken's "circumlocation office" should
have its attention called to tho situation. Per
haps it could act before the navy department
gets into motion.
Mr. Carroll D. Wright has issued another
job lot of figures for the use of the republican
,, national committee. Mr. Wright
The Wrong declares that since 1896-97 there
Figures of has been an increase in the re
Mr Wright tail Prlce of commodities of 15.o
b per cent, while during the same
period there has been an increase of wages aver
aging 16.G per cent. It is by juggling averages
that Mr. Wright reaches these conclusions. Here
is a sample which may show his method: The
section hand's wages have been $300 a year
for years. The railroad president's salary was
raised from $50,000 a year to $75,000 a year on
June 1, 1903. The average was $26,150 a year
before the president secured his increase, and
$37,650 after he secured it an averago increase
of about 50 per cent. But the section hand has
not found it out. Again: Meat, flour, clothing
and shoos have increased say 30 per cent during
tho last five years. But spices, pepper, perfumery
and talcum powder have decreased 27 per cent.
This shows an average Increase of 3 per cent.
Then Mr. Wright proceeds to show that wages
have increased 47 per cent faster than tho cost
of commodities,1 It is all very simple when it is
carefully examined...
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