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The Commoner.
14
VOLUME 5, NUMBER tt
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1)1118, what can I advlso republican
newspapers to do except what, In sub
atanco, I advlso democratic nowspa
porB to do? All I can say to republi
can newspapers Is this: "Stick to your
party and make it democratic in the
good old Jefferson and Lincoln sense.
Drive out your monopolists. Drive out
your trusts. Put your corrupt bosses
out of business. Stop writing your
editorials in bank parlors and pluto
cratic clubs. Stop selling your adver
tisers anything but advertising space.
Take your editorial conscience out of
the money market. And then pound
tho democratic party without mercy
for everything in n ana iiuum it wmuu
Isn't democratic.
The fight between republican news
papers and democratic newspapers
ought to bo for tho promotion of de
mocracy. Each side should pound the
other side for not being democratic
enough. That would bo an ideal situa
tion In American politics.
And now you may ask: What about
democracy and the independent press.
Well, a lecture on tho independent
press would have to bo like that fa
mous lecture on snakes in Ireland.
There is no independent press.
Tho third party papers are not inde
pendent. They are partisan to the
last degree. For pure, unadulterated,
unyielding devotion to party organiza
tion, as if a party were a principle, and
no matter how small the party In
fact, the smaller the party the greater
tho partisanship for tho very original
Jacobs of a partisan, commend me to
your third party editor or organizer.
Mind you, I am not saying it isn't right.
Tt may bo right enough, but it is parti
san journalism and not independent
journalism.
Then there are pretentiously inde
pendent newspapers, those which
.boast o their norf-partlsanship. "Well,
uiuy may do non-partisan. I guess
that much is true; but they are not
Independent. They merely transfer
their dependence from political parties
to financial combines. Watch the non
partisan paper, and you will find that
it always dances to the music of some
monopoly orchestra. It may be inde
pendent so far as parties are con
cerned. It may be independent at
elections which the great monopolists
care nothing about. At such times it
may often be truly democratic. That
is because its editors and other writ
ers are democratic in their hearts.
They are either democratic republi
cans, or democratic democrats, or may
bo they aro democratic independents.
But when an election is on at which
Bomo great mononolv intareRt i t
stake, then the monopoly orchestra be
gins to play and the independent news
, papers begin to dance. .
No, there are no independent news
papers in this country. All our news
papers are partisan. When they are
not partisans for monopoly, nor parti
sans for a political machine, they are
partisans for a cause. And this is
what the American newspaper ought
to be. Let us not bo scared at being
partisans. Partisanship isn't unpatri
otic. The important consideration is
not that wo aro partisans, but how do
wo come to bo partisans.
There are two kinds of partisans,
uno kind take sides according to tho
opinions they form. That is legitimate.
T he other kind form opinions accord-
Id Um SHl0S l,hey taUe' and ut
i legitimate. When a man is a
democrat or a republican merely be
cause his father was, he is a partisan
in the bad sense, in the unpatriotic
sense. A man should take sides under
LA GR.IPPE
Dr. Miles Nervine not only prevents la
ffriww If taken In time, but is a remarkable
cure for all tho after-eileots, which usual v
ollow the disease, cause by thenervl uecf
louche una pains. Sola by druggists win
guarantee to reluna money for first bottle X
it ulves no buneut.
the inspiration of his brain cells, not of
his birthmarks.
All this is as true of editors as of
any one else. They ought to be parti
sans. They ought to make their pa
pers partisan papers. Partisanship for
their cause should rise abovo all oth
er considerations.
And what a great cause the news
papers of the country have to work for.
What a great cause is tho cause of
genuine democracy the cause of hu
man rights. This cause is at the heart
of all wise politics. It is the outgrowth
of all true religion. Democracy is a
universal principle. Democracy is part
of the moral law. It is the essence
of the moral law. And the moral law
is as universal as the laws of electric
ity, and no more mysterious.
Democracy is likewise the great hu
man doctrine of Christianity. What
is the difference between the demo
cratic principle of equality of human
rights and the Nazarene's command to
love one another and to do unto others
as we would have them do to us. There
is no difference.
A great responsibility, then, has
tho journalism of this country to
bear. It has the religious responsibil
ity of holding our laws and policies
within the 'bounds of tho golden rule.
It has tho moral responsibility of
maintaining national fidelity to the
moral law, which is no respecter of na
tions nor of persons. It has the polit
ical responsibility of maintaining fi
delity to the Declaration of Independ
ence, that people's charter of our na
tional liberties, on which the republic
is erected and by which both the dem
ocratic and the republican narties were
originally inspired.
Most of all does this responsibility
rest upon the 'newspapeis that ac
knowledge allegiance to the demo
cratic party. For not only was the
democratic party originally inspired by
tne principles of elemental democracy,
as was tho republican party also, but
it bears the democratic name.
More than that, though of vastly
less importance, upon the democratic
newspapers of the country rests the
responsibility for the perpetuation of
the democratic party. He who will,
has only to look about him today to
see the rising tide of genuine democ
racy, it is rolling over the seas of
common feeling and common thought,
like the great heaving billows of the
ocean. Whether this rising tide will
carry the democratic party upon its
surface or submerge it in its depths,
depends upon the democratic journal
ism of the republic. Our democratic
ncwoimpei-s nave it in their power
either to sink or to save the demo
cratic party. If they encourage plutoc
racy, they will sink the party, and sink
themselves. If they insist upon mak-
"& uiu uemocrauc party democratic,
they will honor themselves. They will
restore its inheritance to their partv
they will glorify their country, they
will advance the cause of human rights
the whole world over.
Tho Garfield report ignores a number
of by-products which go to make up
the gross returns from tho carcass.
The Real Revenue.
An illustration is afforded by a 1,000
pound steer costing 4i cents, live
weight, and dressing 50 per cent of
beef. Such a steer costs $42.50. Tho
gross returns are.
Beef, 560 pounds, at 6 cents,
$85.50; hide, 68 pounds, at 10 cents
per pound, $6; butter tallow, $2; head
and feet, 40 cents check meat, 12
cents; tongue, 60 cents; liver, 10 cents;
sweetbread, 10 cents; tail, 4 cents; tal
low trimmings, 30 cents; blood, 10
cents; horns, 10 cents; total, $45.56, or
a net profit of $3.06.
In addition to this the killer has the
residue of the carcass, which is con
vertible into fertizilizer and other pro
duct and will fully reimburse him for
the cost of handling.
A $14,00 Profit.
The slaughter of a five-cent steer
weighing 1,200 pounds and dressing
58 per cent, affords another illustra
tion: Cost, $60; carcass, 700 pounds, worth
at m cents, $52.50; hide, $7; butter
tallow, $2.50; tongue, 80 cents; heads
and feet, 40 cents; cheek meat, 15
cents; liver, 12 cents; sweetbreads, 12
cents; tail, 5 cents; tallow trimmings,
35 cents; blood, 10 cents; horns, 10
cents; total, $74.10, or a profit of $14.
The cost of handling cattle, the "run
ning expenses," is given in the Garfield
report at $1.90 per head. Any trade
expert will admit that $1.75 is ample
to cover every possible contingency.
The figures given were prepared by
a trado expert and are based on Chi
cago rjrices. If thdv - u. .
low side. " "Woath
Guessing at Combine's Output
According to the Garfield report H,
so-called "Big Six" killed but 5,521
of the 12,600,000 cattle slaughtered
the United States in 1903. As a matt
of fact no data exists as to the num
of cattle slaughtered annually andtJ!
figure given, is a guess, pure and Z
The statement that in 1903 less than
50 'per cent of the cattle iSffl
were received at Chicago, St. Lou s
St. Paul, Sioux City, Omaha, iS
City, St. Joseph and Fort Worth i
absurd on its face. That with the'ex
ception of a few localities tho territory
east of Chicago has gone out of beef
production is an admitted fact.
The year 1902 affords no criterion
The trust, as at present in operation
was not then perfected. It was
meeting active competition from the
Anglo-American company, the Ham
mond company, the United States
Beef Company, the St. Louis Dressed
Beef Company and smaller concerns,
all of which have since been absorbed
by the trust.
Absorbed Rivals.
In 1903 a meat war was waged be
tween the "Big Four" and these inde
pendent concerns. Facing defeat, tho
packers bought up their competitors at
fancy prices.
The cost of organizing the National
Packing Company was enormous, In
volving as it did payment of fancy
prices to the owners of the properties
absorbed. It was the cost of suppress
ing competition.
In 1903 the meat war naturally di
minished the average cost of dressed
OWuMWMWWXWWttV
UNDER OTHER FLAG
WFWWwWfjL
THAT GARFIELD REPORT.
In stock yards circles the Garfield re
port is regarded as bearing all the ear
marks of "Packing Town" authorship.
It is merely a statement of packers'
profits, prepared by themselves. The
average net profit on cattle for a series
of years is given at 99 cents per head.
Eliminating discussion as to profits
m 1002, admittedly an abnormal period
an estimate of profits per steer, as the"
basis of present markets lmn, n
J-UUhrow. awAXtfZ Z
worth more Own t ,o lE , W
5255? "Sffi &
Me. Bryan's New Book
Travels, Speeches, Lectures.
SISrtlc'nHM!!n,f.E'!ropc?n t.oar a yoar aB uo hR8 boon bcslogod by requests for coplos of lot
tors describing his travels abroad. Thoso lottors together with a number of his lectures nml
otnor public addresses, have been gathorod together and published In book form. Tho Euro
pean letters. contain Mr. Bryan's account of what ho saw and loarnod whllo In Europe, and
Sn , n!:Cf g VlWS f Iroland) En8land, Scotland, Franco, Switzerland, Germany, Russia,
uolland, Belgium and tho Netherlands, together with a description f his visits with Count
TonHnyni ,0P0, ? UIs T""ksglv!iig address, delivered boforo tho American Society la
S IS' ? al80lncluded- m this volume appear Mr. Bryan's accounts of his visits to
c I . . ff ?' and h WritCS ntortalnlngly of tho "Birth of tho Cuban Republic." Ho al
" f1" UC; dhlJ ccturcs on "A Conquering Nation," and "Tho Value of an Ideal," both of
ot i J m 8, ?.rCU a nUtnbr f tlmos boforo CJmutauquas and other gatherings.
r hi . i ?? . ? VOlUrn ar0 Uls addross on "Imperialism." dollvorod on tho notification
fJmtaBJnln OOO-Thoattmotlon of Farming," written for tho Saturday Evening
a ost, J. eaco, tho address delivered at tho Holland Society dlnnor In 1001; his St. Louis con
S!rt!r!lDKtll0noralDallonofSMator Cockroll. "Naboth's Vineyard." "British
Ponttl ? n aSS at U, Rmvo of pnll, Shaman Bonnott, and an account of his re
.?' , th01Grand Canyn entitle "Wonder of tho West." Thd book la Illustrated, well
...... .u uu Kuuu impur ana substantial bound. f
o ... ..vt mi a u, rusuino 01 tuo many interesting things no saw.
NEATLY BOUND IN CLOTH 400 PAGE OCTAVO
UNDER OTHER FLAGS, Postage Prepaid, $1.35
With THE COMMONER, One Year, $1.75
CASH WITH ORDER, Drafts aid P. 0. Money Orderi are safest
AGENTS WANTED......
I . . .
I Address, THE COMMONER, Lincoln, Neb.
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