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mny win success by deserving It. It may, dbtaln ,
confldonco by proving itself worthy, or it may, .in- ,
vito disastrous defeat.
L remains with the rank and file of the demo
cratic parly to say what tho party's course shall
bo. No one will for a moment doubt tho courso
which would bo adopted by the rank and file, If
they avail themselves of the duty to register their
preference at tho primaries. But a systematic
organization will be necessary In order that demo
crats may bo impressed with tho importance of
participating in their party's councils.
Tho Commoner has undertaken to do its part
in this work of organization. To this end a plan
has already been outlined and further reference
to that plan will bo found on page 11 of this issue.
Every democrat, however humble he may believe
himself to be, should take part in this work. Many
will bo surprised to find how much good may bo
accomplished by a little vigorous effort on tho
part even of an obscure member of the party,
particularly when that member is conscientiously
devoted to the party's principles.
Tho Commoner desires to reiterate the re
quest that newspapers favoring tho organization
plan direct attention to the same and reprint tlie
primary pledge. Sufllcicnt space in The Commoner
will bo devoted each week to show the progress
tho organization is making in various states, giv
ing tho names of the organizers and the names
of the precinct, township, county and state of
ficers. It will also publish tho calls of county
and state conventions or mass meetings and will
contributo in every possible way to the success
of the plan.
Tho enemies of good government, the benefi
ciaries of class legislation, act as one man, with
unlimited means at their disposal. The people
havo only their votes and they must cast them to
gether or suffer defeat. Democrats who believe
thoir party should bo a party of the people have
it in their power through systematic organization
to so shape their party's policies and govern its
environment for tho 1908 campaign that it will
command tho support of all men who have grown
weary of tho exactions made by special interests.
Muhlbach relates an incident in tho life of the
great military hero of France. At Marengo, the
man of destiny, sad and disheartened, thought the
battle lost. Ho called to a drummer boy and or
dered him to beat a retreat. The lad replied: "Sire, "
-I do not know how; Dessalx has never taught me
to retreat; but I can beat a charge! Oh, I can
beat a charge that would make the dead fall into
line! I boat that charge at the bridge of Lodi; I
beat it at Mount Tabor; I beat it at the Pyra
mids! Oh, may I beat it here?" The charge was
ordered, the battle won, and Marengo was added
to the victories of Napoleon.
Lot democrats draw inspiration from the
street gamin of Paris. Let the command to charge
bo given and obeyed and this "Marengo" will be
our glory and not our shame.
JJJ
BAD CASE OF "GRAND DUKES"
The Des Moines, Iowa, Register and Leader,
a republican paper, warns President Roosevelt
against some of his advisors. The Register and
Leader says: "The president has made several
appointments already that cannot but cause him
trouble in states where his personal popularity is
greatest. His appointment of Paul Morton to the
cabinet was unfortunate."
Mr. Roosevelt seems to bo in need of lust
such warnings as this. Only a few days ago he
appointed former Senator Quarles to be federal
j lS?v m ,Wisconsin- will be remembered that
Mr Quarles led the fight against Governor LaFol
lette and has been prominently identified with tho
corporation element. nG
One newspaper stated tho ca,se well when it
said that Mr. Roosevelt, like the Czar of RussK
is suffering with a severe case of "and dukes"!
If the president does not know that he cannot
Zlll ucclessul campaigns against monopoly
when he places the representatives of mononov
upon the bench and in other influential positions
some patriotic republican should brea th?ough the
line o "grand dukes," and should inforn the presi
dent that monopoly is not to bo driven from Ug
trenches when positions of power and authorltv
among tho Invading forces are bestowed pSn mon
opoly's representatives. l mon
JJJ
i
QUITE A DIFFERENCE
, Every intelligent -man must havo rnnt ,
the absurdity of Mr. GarflelffirndtagB wS5
spect to the beef trust. But if one .woulil Xl?
from an authoritative source valXft inrl? l?in
on this subject, he would' learn" snethi11
U
who
The 'Commoner.
"advantage by reading a statement issued by Cu fil
bert Powell, commercial editor of the Kansas City
Journal. Extracts from "Mr. Powell's statement
appear in another column of this issue.
It has been Mr. Powell's business, for more
than a quarter of a century, to keep close watch
on the packing and live stock interests. It will
be seen that Mr. Powell's figures do not by any
means justify the claim that any of the packers
have been losing money, as it was suggested in
Mr. Garfield's report was often the case; nor do
thoy justify the contention made by Mr. Garfield
that the meat monopoly has made only a net profit
of 2 per cent.
Applying the average profit of ?7.41 on cattle,
20 cents on hogs, 50 cents on sheep and 50 cents
on calves, to the total number of head killed in
a year by the combine's packing houses, Mr.
Fowell finds a total profit of $47,727,412. He con
cludes: "Figuring upon the total capitalization,
undoubtedly heavily watered, of $110,500,000, we
have 43 per cent."
Quito a difference between Mr. Garfield's 99
cents proift per head and Mr. Powell's $7.41 profit;
and quite a difference between Mr. Garfield's 2
per cent net profit and Mr. Powell's 43 .per cent.
Yet there are some republican editors who
point with pride to the Garfield report and insist
that it prove? that there is no such thing as a
beef trust.
JJJ
SAN DOMINGO TREATY DEFEATED
Having found it impossible to secure the con
firmation of the San Domingo treaty which made
this nation assume the role of a debt collecting
agency the republican leaders of the senate, after
consulting with the president, concluded not to
bring the matter to a vote. While the democrats
were nearly all opposed to any treaty which would
involve the United States in the pecuniary dis
putes constantly arising in the southern republics,
they were especially hostile to the San Domingo
treaty because of the nature of some of the claims
which are held against that country.
Senator Morgan of Alabama called the sen
ate's attention to one case in which a financier
charged the San Domingo government a half mil
lion for floating a loan of about two millions. The
"bonds were sold for a little more than a million
and the government, after it got through with con
tractors .and middle men, realized something like
two hundred thousand dollars. The debt has now
grown to about ten million dollars. The European
.governments have been in the habit of backing
up the usurious claims of their citizens and tho
president argues that unless we did as the Euro
peans do our citizens would be at a disadvantage.
While the reasons given by the president are
plausible to those who adopt the commercial view
that in dealing with the weaker nations force can
be used to collect debts due to individuals, the
policy ought at least to carry with it a condition
that the loans must be entirely free from fraud
and the interest not excessive. If a nation is go
ing to guarantee the collection of loans made by
its citizens it ought to compel its citizens to loan
at rates customary for safe investments. It is
obviously unjust for a nation to allow its citizens
to deal on a speculative basis, charging for the
risk, and then proceed to eliminate the risk. Even
with safeguards against usury such a policy is a
dangerous one for us to endorse, because foreien
money is invested here and we can not recognize
the right of foreign nations to protect the loans of
lilf CizmB el?ewhere without recognizing their
right to compel payment from our citizens If
such a rule Is established in the western hemit
Phere it ought to be accompanied bTanoTherTuie
making it unlawful for any citizen to borrow
money outside of his own country or for anv
government to borrow except from its own citf
zens. According to the European rule now en
forced against the weaker nations a loan ?s7eaHv
an invitation to invade the land of the debtor?
JJJ
COLORADO'S SHAME
fh ,,meritS ? ?e charSes and couSJo?cha?irS f t(? secure an junction against the en
frauds on election day, it is signific?4t fw f dement of such a rate, why are not sliiPP
republicans voted with , ,iJTJ ant .tnat ten permitted to RAmirA w wn,nB the rail'
mg Peabody, while those who voted for ELI?
llieso tacts show yory elearlv tw ,i .1 o Kasas."
consider numl)e, 0 rJlCST JJSltoJJ hv Undoubtedly the point W tiden mM
unwilling by the oil shippers of Kansas, just as tlio "
MLvm t, NDMDER
to vote to depose Governor Adam t.
were willing to seat pfiniwi,, TJ s .thse
t,j. v. v, ,, i. j, J . u "Ot rernoi.
tuau Aio iiu.0 u.u.j uiuijui oa tne place Tf mi
graceful affair, indeed,- and the ronuhi J8 a dis
that is resnonsiblo for thn i ..l D1.lcan Pari
Adams Will not profit by the action mvernct
by way of learning the lesson taught hX ll l3
that political organization, as well as Zh stor
need not expect approval frbm the nZ 1 ?ls
theyyield to the temptation to commit foutd
fend his rights by force and retain the ? J0..'?6,
to which he was elected he declined to awJS 5f
advice and promptly surrendered his offlpo n
ernor. Adams acted wisely. He can well iff Ju
recognize the authority of the legislature Sd
sooner or later must be recorded againsThS '
publican party by the good citizens of ColoraJo
JJS
- NOT A TEST
The Burlington, Iowa, Hawkeye thought w
had made a point against municipal ownership
directing attention to the "faot that the municliS
ownership of the electric light plant by the cS
of Elgin, 111,, had proved a failure. The Dubuaue
Iowa, Telegraph Herald points out that Elgin did
not make a fair test of municipal ownership The
administration was not nearly so anxious to serve
the public as it was to serve certain special inter
ests. After doing everything in their power to
make the experiment fail, the p.Uv nnHinruiM
figured out a loss to the municipality and finally
a corporation, securing control of the mayor and
council, obtained a lease of tle city's plant. The
Telegraph Herald says:
"All signs point to a job between the may- '
or and the council on one hand and the light
ing corporation on the other. The people are
denouncing the deal and have secured a writ
of injunction in estoppal and will attack the
validity of lease and contract. Even with the
very bad management that attended it, Elgin's
municipal plant would have earned a profit
. if allowance had been made on the debit side
of the ledger for lighting the streets, the
parks and the public buildings. 'But the mayor
and council would make no such allowance.
The reason becomes apparent in the light of
their recent action. Thevgame pulled off the
other day has been in preparation a long
time."
It is no argument against municipal owner
ship that the experiment failed through malad
ministration. We hear frequently of bank fail
ures and republican newspapers often tahe great
pains to show that the failure was due to the dis
honesty or incompetency of some of the bank's
officials. The Burlington Hawkeye would very
quickly protest if anyone should undertake to
use these bank failures as .an argument against
the system.
JJJ '
WHY NOT, OF Ou(r,SE?
The Kansas City Star says: "That the rail
ways, willingly or unwillingly, are subservient to
the dictation of the Standard ' Oil company is
shown in a single example of rate making. Be
fore the Standard's pipeline from the Kansas
fields to Kansas City was completed, and the Stan
ard depended on the railways t6 carry its oil, tho
rate was ten cents per 100 pounds, reckoning four
pounds to the gallon. When the pipeline was open
ed, instead of lowering the rate to meet compe
tetion, the railroads advanced the oil. rate to sev
enteen cents per hundred, reckoning seven pounds
to the gallon. This increase made tlie rate within
a small fraction of three times a large as It was
when the railways were serving the Standard Oil
Company. In other words, as soon as the Standard
had its pipeline established, the,. railroads madJ
such a rate as would force the producers to sell
to the Oil trust instead of shipping by rail to in
dependent refineries or to other users of crude
oil."
The Chicago Tribune, commenting on this con
dition, makes the interesting point tli.it if W
iuxiroaus, ordered by a rate commission to cnan,
a lowpr Til i,r. i -. - i nvn ner-
roads for charging rates so fixneflHive as to amount
to spoliation?
Referring to the comment by the Chicago
Tribune, the Star says: "The point is well taken
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