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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
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"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
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