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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (June 30, 1905)
jjWwwIiMHMwm,WFfw?7 ''Nt w TijTJS" The Commoner - WILLIAM J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR, Vol. 5. No. 24 Lincoln, Nebraska, June 30, 1905 Whole Number 232 CONTENTS Thoughts for The Fourth of July The President Blunders Punishing the Wrong Man - "Going Down the Valley" Taft on Chinese Immigration Representative Government Promised How "Will He Make the Profit? Congressman Rainei-'s Plain Talk .The Case Against Rockefeller Comment on Current Topics The Primary Pledge News of the Week A FOURTH OF JULY REFLECTION rv zZr M A.?' A ). "His Head in the Clouds- Thoughts For The Fourth of July . , To have freedom is only to have that which is absolutely necessary to enable us to be what we ought to be, and to possess what we ought to possess. Rahel. Countries are well .cultivated, not as they are fertile, but as they are free. Montesquieu. The cause of freedom is identified with the destinies of humanity and in whatever part of the world it gains ground, by and by' it will be a common gain to all who desire it. Kossuth. This is what I call the American idea of freedom a government of all the people, by all the people, for all the people; of course, a gov ernment of the principles of eternal justice the unchanging law of God. Theodore Parker. , The greatest glory of a free-born people is to transmit that freedom, to their children. Havard. Many politicians lay it down as a self-evident proposition, that no people ought to be free till they are fit to use their freedom. The maxim is worthy of the fool in the old story, who resolved not to go into the water till he had learned to swim. Macaulay. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pur suit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the gov erned; that, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its founda tion on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Declaration of Independence. and His Feet in the Mire." THE PRESIDENT BLUNDERS To say that the president has blundered in the Santa Fe case is to express but mildly what might with propriety be expressed more harshly. On another page will be found a review of the facts in the case. The eminent attorneys selected by the administration to investigate the case, Messrs. Harmon and Judson, reported in favor of bringing contempt proceedings against the offi cials of the Santa Fe railroad for violating an injunction. Secretary Morton as one of the offi cials of the Santa Fe was included among the officers to be prosecuted. Attorney General Moody, with President Roosevelt's approval, re fused to follow the recommendation of Messrs. Harmon and Judson. To justify the failure to prosecute the Santa Fe officials the president takes a position which, if adhered to, will very much embarass the prosecution of railroads and t trust officials. First, he distinguishes between a corporation and its officers and insists that 'it is not only necessary to show that the corporation has violated the law but that the responsible offi cials of the corporation must be shown to bo guilty. The government's special attorneys point ed out that the evidence was in the keeping of the company and could be brought out best on trial, but the president replies that the guilt must bo filed in advance on some particular officer. And then lie proceeds to say that in the case of the anti-trust law he has not attempted to punish the heads of the corporations violating the law, but has simply endeavored to stop the violations. He cites the merger case and the beef trust case to show that he did not prosecute officials. Yes, and he has been subjected to just criticism for his failure to enforce the criminal law in this case. Justice Holmes in his dissenting opinion in the merger cases pointed that the officials should be prosecuted criminally if the merger was unlaw ful. The president does not hesitate to punish petty criminals; why should he be so tender with, large ones? When a man sells a gallon of wjiiskey without license the president does not enjoin him from doing so any more, he prosecutes him and A loiMfc,' rtt titiri i4H8t JC'm.ivjA - V-m- -Mrutui-i i . HvtA-tM -. juAifciK.r AiMW8iMiUI