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2
VOLUME 5, KUMBER 2
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1.
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makes him feel' the penalty of the law; why does
he hesitate to prosecute the big men who tramplo
upon the statutes and the orders of the courts?
The president has used a good deal of high sound
ing language about the enforcement of the law,
and no one doubts that he means it when he
applies the language to small offenders, but does
he mean it when the offenders are prominent and
when millions instead of hundreds are involved?
He seems inclined to so amend the commandment
as to make it road: "Thou shalt not steal" on a
small scale.
The president errs when he justifies a refusal
to prosecute the Santa Fe officials because other
corporate officials have escaped punishment. He
cites the case of the Harvester trust, but why
has he not prosecuted that trust if it is guilty? If
it is not guilty, then the illustration loses its
force; if it is guilty it ought to be punished. It
is absurd to first overlook its violations and
then use the immunity granted to it as a reason
for granting immunity to the Santa Fe. But the
president, apparently conscious that his excuses
are weak, piles one upon another in a vain effort
to fortify his position. He not only lays down a
dangerous principle when he says that after prov
ing the corporation guilty the government must
not prosecute until it shows guilty knowledge in
the officers in charge; and he not only submits
a palpably absurd defense when he pleads fail
ure to prosecute one corporation to justify a fail
ure to prosecuto another, but he singles Secretary
Morton out for eulogy and declares that if he was
going to prosecute corporate officials he would
not begin with him. The president's statement
bears evidence of being prepared for the sole
purpose of shielding a friend.
Many well-wishers of the president have felt
that Mr. Morton's appointment was a mistake
and that his presence in the cabinet was a bar
to any effective punishment of railroad officials,
but the full extent of Mr. Morton's evil influence
was not understood until the president's letter
appeared. It seems now that leniency must be
shown all corporate officials in order to prevent
the establishment of a principle which, if en
forced, would bring punishment upon the secre
tary of the navy. It would have been better for
the country if the president had announced his
determination to shield his friend, because a
friend, than to paralyze the enforcement of the
criminal law in order to save a congenial spirit
from fine or imprisonment. Mr. Morton assures
the president that he is not guilty, but it is no
reflection on Mr. Morton's veracity to say that
the penitentiaries are full of men who have made
that same plea In open courts. It is not a ques
tion of opinion, but a question of proof, and the
president is prosecujtor, not judge
If Mr. Morton is not guilty, a vindication in
court would be worth much more to him than a
vindication from the president, and such a vin
dication would leave the criminal law still in
force. The president has blundered and it is
Impossible to calculate with any accuracy the far
reaching influence of the blunder.
JJJ
PUNISHING THE WRONG MAN
The president, after investigating the Bowen
Loomis controversy, dismis&es Mr. Bowen with
a savage reprimand and promotes Mr. Loomis.
This is a strange precedent to establish. Secre
tary Taft admits that Mr. Loomis was "indis
creet." He even expresses regret that the "great
satisfaction" which the administration finds in
his "complete exculpation from all charges of
dishonesty" is offset by the fact that he has
failed "to hold himself utterjy aloof from any per
sonal participation in plans for investments and
exploitation of the countries to which 'he was
accredited and from allowing himself to take
personal interest in transactions in which he or
his legation might also have to act in a trust
capacity."
" Secretary Taft regards it as merely an in
discretion for Mr. Loomis to be personally inter
ested in the Mercado claims, but admits that Mr.
Loomis was "certainly treading on dangerous
ground in bringing his official life so close to a
transaction in which ho must have expected to
have a large personal interest."
After admitting enough to justify Mr. Loomis
removal from the service the secretary rejoices
in his "exculpation" and scores Mr. Bowen for
.making the matter public. A calm and disinter
ested perusal of the records in the case will
lead most people to believo that the administra
tion has punished the wrong man. Mr. Bowen
U not accused of "treading on dangerous ground"
or of personally interesting, himself" in the ex
ploitation of Venezuela and yet ho is discharged
The Commoner.
in disgrace, while the exploiter is exculpated and
promoted.
The position of ambassador or minister re
quires a high code of honor. To become per
sonally interested in the exploitation of iiie
country to which he is accredited is the gravest
offense of which a diplomatic representative can
be guilty. If an American representative at any
European court of the first grade should buy a
claim against the country to which he was ac
credited his recall would be demanded and no
one would question the propriety of the demand;
why should we not require as scrupulous integ
rity on the part of our representatives in the
smaller capitols? If there is any difference we .
should enforce a higher standard when our offi
cials deal with the smaller countries, because tlie
temptations are greater.
The president and Secretary Taft will not
raise the United States in the esteem of the South
American republics by their promotion of a diplo
mat who so clearly violated the well settled rules
governing his position.
JJJ
TAFT ON CHINESE IMMIGRATION
Secretary Taft has recently delivered an im
portant opinion on the question of immigration.
He says:
Is it just that for the purpose of exclud
ing or preventing perhaps 100 Chinese
coolies from slipping into this country against
the law, we should subject an equal number
of Chinese merchants and students of high
character to an examination of such an in
quisitorial, humiliating, insulting and physi
cally uncomfortable character as to discour
age altogether the coming of merchants and
students? r
One of the great commercial prizes of the
world is the trade with the 400,000,000 Chi
nese. Ought we to throw away the advan
tage which we have by reason of Chinese
natural friendship for us, and continue to en
force an unjustly severe law, and thus create
in the Chinese mind a disposition to boycott
the American trade and to drive our mer
chants from Chinese shores, simply because
we are afraid that we may for the time lose
the approval of certain unreasonable and ex- '
treme popular leaders of California and other
coast states?
Does the question not answer itself? Is it
not the duty of members of congress and of
the executive to disregard the unreasonable
demands of a part of the community deeply
prejudiced upon this subject in the far west,
and insist on extending justice and courtesy
to a people from whom we are deriving and
are likely to derive such immense benefit in
the way of international trade?
It will be seen that "the $400,000,000 commer
cial prizo" is the thing that fills the secretary's
eyes, and .anything is regarded as unreasonable
that stands in the way. He underestimates the
number of Chinese who would come in as
laborers and denounces as unreasonable the de
mands made by the laboring men of the country
that they be protected from a horde of Chinese
coolies who are not assimilated or brought to
the American level of living, buf simply displace
American workmen. It is fortunate for the coun
try that thus early in his presidential campaign
Secretary Taft so clearly alligns himself with
the capitalistic side. For forty years the manu
facturers have taxed the whole country for the
ostensible purpose of giving good wages to
labor; but now when they begin to reach out
for the markets, of the world they are willing to
sacrifice the wage earner to commercial advan
tages. They insist that the goods made by coolies
shall be shut out, but they are willing that the
coolies themselves shall come" in. If the Chinese
will come with a love for our institutions and
for the purpose of identifying themselves with
our future it would be a different question, but
they preserve their Orientalism and form a per
manently distinct class among us. Their pres
ence is sure to breed race troubles that will be
more hurtful to trade than any exclusion act can
be.
Many of the republican leaders will be in
sympathy with the policy that will flood the
country with cheap Chinese labors and an im
perial policy tends to give encouragement to the
cheap labor proposition.
The Chinese question is one that effects the
entire country, not the Pacific coast alone or
the laboring men alone. It is true that the Pacific
coast would feel the evil effects of Chinese immi
gration first, and it is also true that the labor-
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ing men would come into immediate contact with
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right and patriotic people and- develop a chiiu
subject touches all parts of the country -fni
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are going to build up a strong, independent,
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liuh nitu tiu cAcn u. uciinui milUUUCe Oil all tho
world, or whether we are going to be a grecdv
grasping nation, forgetful of high ideals and con!
cerned only in the making of money.
Chinese immigration is defended by two
classes of people. First, by those, comparatively
few in number, who believe that universal brothel
hood requires us to welcome to our shores all
people of all lands. This is the sentimental argu.
ment advanced in favor of Chinese immigration.
There is no more reason why we should construo
brotherhood to require the admission of all peo
pie to our country than there is that we should
construe brotherhood to require the dissolution of
family ties. The family is a unit; it is the place
where character, and virtue and usefulness are
developed, and from the family a good or evil
influence emanates. It is not necessary nor even
wise that the family environment should bo
broken up or that all who desire entrance should
be admitted to the family circle. In a larger
sense a nation is a family. It is the center for
the cultivation of national character, national
virtue and national usefulness. A nation is under
no obligation to the outside world to admit any
body or anything that would injuriously effect
the national family; in fact it is under obliga
tion to itself not to do so. The influence of tho
United States will he much more potent for good
if we remain a homogeneous nation with all citi
zens in full sympathy with all other citizens. No
distinct race like the Chinese can come into
this country without exciting a friction and a
race prejudice which will make it more difficult
for us to exercise a wholesome influence upon
the Chinese in China, not to speak of our influ
ence on other nations.
- The second, and by far the larger class, em
braces those who advocate Chinese immigration
on the ground that it will furnish cheap labor for
household and factory work. There is no force
in, the argument that is made by some that it is
difficult to Secure girls to do housework. If do
mestic service is not popular as compared with
other work, it is because the pay is not sufficient
to make it attractive and the remedy lies in
better wages. Labor can be secured for any and
every honorable position when the price is suffi
cient to attract it, and the demand for Chinese
servants comes with poor grace from those who
often spend on a single social entertainment as
much as a servant's wages wquld amount to in
an entire year. At this time when skilled and in
telligent American labor is able to compete in
foreign markets with the cheapest labor in tho
world, it is absurd to talkr about the necessity
for cheap factory hands.
Secretary Taft's interview is significant as
showing that his sympathies are with the man
ufacturers rather than with the masses.
JJJ
HOW WILL HE MAKE THE PROFIT?
Mr, Ryan announces that he paid two and a
half millions for a controlling interest in the
stock of the Equitable Assurance company. As
the interest allowed on the stock would be an
insignificant income on the amount paid for the
stock the inquiry arises, how does Mr. Ryan ex
pect to get his money bad. .' The only reasonable
explanation is that he expects to make a profit
out of the use of the assets of the company. But
as these are trust funds he can not make a profit
out of their use without trespassing upon the
rights of the policy-holders.
What will it profit the policy-holders to escape
the follies of young Hyde if they fall into the
clutches of one of the shrewdest financiers Wall
street has developed? Mr. Ryan is likely to slay
his tens of thousands where Mr. Hyde slew his
thousands.
JJJ
REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT PROMISED
The press dispatches report that Lhe czar met
tho representatives of the zemstvos at the rojai
palace, received the radical petition presented
and renewed his promise of an assembly. He is
quoted as saying: "I thank you, gentlemen, for
tho sentiments expressed and I join in your de
sire to bring about a new order of things. My
personal wish and my will as emperor to summon
a national assembly is unshakable and I aait
with anxiety the carrying out of this my win.
You can announce this to the towns and villages
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