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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 25, 1905)
.tyttT I' " I RHTV ' w' STILL AVOIDING THE ISSUE Governor-General Wright, of the Philippines, in his speech at the Taft banquet said: "Whether we are rightfully or wrongfully here is not to he discussed at this time, but when the American people take over the sovereignty of a people with out their consent they will get a 'square deal.' " Governor Wright suggests that this is not the time to discuss whether we are "rightfully or wrongfully" in the Philippines, but when was, or is, or will be, the right time to discuss that question? We were told we must not discuss the question when the Filipinos were in insurrection for fear it would prolong the insurrection and Governor Wright objected to the discussion last year (when there was no insurrection) for fear it would incite another insurrection. It is now seven years since we took over "the sovereignty" of those people "without their -consent;" when will it be proper to inquire whether we are "rightfully or wrongfully" there? And then the promise of "a square deal." The employment of a card-player's phrase may pos sibly add some sanctity to the promise and yet if. is the same old promise that the conquerer has always made to the subject. It is the same promise that George the Third made to the American colonists; the same promise that Spain made to her colonists, and the same promise that the czar is now making to his subjects. When the Philippine bill was before congress the democrats proposed amendments intended to protect the Filipinos from American land grabbers but these amendments vere voted down. We get our information in regard to the Filipinos from the American officials stationed among them and this information is not likely to be impartially gathered. Aside from the tendency of every one to magnify his own work the carpet-bag official is pecuniarily interested in justifying the payment. flf life? eolnmr .---''- No nation is selfish enough to.. wont "to take over the sovereignty of a jpeople without their consent and at the same-time unselfish enough to giy ej.h. -people' a"sqtfare deal.' -" The difference between self-governhient and colonialism is that Under the former the people have It in their power to secure a square deal, while under the latter the rulers say: "This is a square deal" and if the subjects fail to discern the squareness of the deal their vision 'is cor rected by repeated applications of smokeless powder and hot lead. A number of democrats have accompanied Secretary Taft, and it is to be hoped that they will not confine their study of the Philippine situation to the speeches made at the compli mentary banquets. , l THEY FEAR THE SHOCK The tariff question is growing more and more embarassing to the administration.. The demand for revision is increasing and yet the republicans are afraid to commence ' revising for fear they can not find a stopping place. They seem in clined to take hold of te machine, but they dread the shock. m i efU3e tCdo ything is to alienate the taiiff reformers; to make any material reduction In to anger the beneficiaries of high tariff Which oyer way they turn they see trouble brewing. The latest protest comes from the building associations. The representatives of these asso ciations recently met in national conference and one of the conferees pointed out in an able paper that the tariff on building material was not only a heavy burden to home builders, but a hindrance to home building. The arguments made so com . mended themselves to those present that a com mittee was appointed to draft and present to congress a memorial jisking for a reduction of the tariff on building material. The position taken is directly in line with the position which the democrats have consistently held for years. They have insisted that the republican leaders while prating about home industries have not only neglected but actually discriminated against the most important home industry-the industry of home building. The young man who, selecting soma young woman who is willlns to trust w future to his brain ana arm, bS oVto buihl for himself and wife a home is harrassed at every 1 .? thG 1greed ,of th0 Ptected manufactur ers. They demand a tribute on lumber hard ware, carpets,, furniture on every thing that en ters into the home. When the democmt Ic paiTy 5S!riiivl?'it I?and8,off and let that noE : in dustry vlive,: it is protecting the greatest home The Commoner. industry that thft or any other country ever had. But the voice of the home builder will not be heard in republican councils he does not contribute to the campaign fund. He simply votes and as long as he votes the ticket straight no matter what the party does his interests will not be considered. The protected interests send their representatives to Washington and threaten revenge if their subsidy is disturbed. The .lt uation recalls the story of -the tramp and the merchant. The tramp went into a clothing store and when the merchant was not looking picked up a coat and put it on and ran out. As he went out the door the merchant saw him and took after him, shouting, "stop thief," butthe thief did not stop. Then a policeman joined the chase and shouted "Stop thief," but he did not stop. When the policeman drew his revolver and warned him that he would shoot, the merchant became excited, grahbed the policeman by the arm and begged, "If you do shoot, shoot him in the pants, the coat belongs to me." The trouble is that the republican leaders are afraid to shoot anywhere for fear they will offend some of the corporations that -furnish the sinews of war. They recognize that the tariff question is like an electric battery and. they are afraid of it. JJJ CARNEGIE AND MISSISSIPPI Governor Vardaman of Mississippi has ex plained why the Mississippi university's trustees refused Carnegie's offer of $25,000 for the es tablishment of a library. The offer was declined by a unanimous vote of the board. Governor Vardaman holds that donations from trust mag nates serve as monuments to the wrong-doings of the donors. He says that these men have accumulated their money through unholy methods, and he protests against the acceptance by Mississippi of any gift that would have a ten dency to cause the youth of that state to mini mize the evils of the methods employed by these rz .mjilthmillionaires. Governor Vardaman says: We have in Mississinni the nnrpst $tmi best stock of men and women under God's heaven, and we do not want them warped frm the broad spirit of fairness and integ rity and purity which has made us the proud people we are today, by being taught to bow down in a. thankful humbleness to such men as Andrew Carnegie and Rockefeller, and become subservient to the spirit of greed and commercialism which has bred the trust and fostered the slavery of the American work ingman. I would rather see the walls of our state university and our colleges crumble into dust and the buildings be battered and grimy than that they should be built up and handsomely painted and furnished by this - money which has been coined from the blood and tears of the toiling masses, "demanding the usury of self-respect," which we can not afford to pay. We -may not have in Mississippi the scientific equipment for imparting knowledge and all the modern accessories that make up the great institutions of learning, hut we have -the means of making strong and stal wart men and women, who scorn the slavery of wealth and stand unequaled in their proud independence of thought. The chief beneficiary of the steel trust i begnning to get his share of the lime light To avoid the disgrace of dying rich Mr CarneS may yet have to get out of b!eust business g JJJ THE SMALL COLLEGE President Harper announces that the Chiron University is going to be divided up into a S her of small colleges. He says: "Along with the recognized advantages belonging to a lS institution it is well understood that some If the undoubted advantages of a small coS are in danger of being lost. In order, if possible to .combine some of these benefits which are found in a small college with the resources and cos mopolitanism of a great institution it is Intended that beginning with the next autumn quarteT the conges'1162.68 Sha11 he divided "l nnrfiT11!? QOnf?ssion cominS from so high a source ought to convince parents of the wisdom of allow! ing -Uieir ch Idren to secure the earlier part (It nearei institutions. The small college furnishes tion, it keens the boy nearer home, thus onablinc him to visit home and his parents to visit him? it brings the teacher and student closer together nLV1iih StlVleut the oene"t of the teacher ideals. The small college, if under Christian in. '' VOLUME 5, NUMBER 3, fluencos, also rfyes more attemi,,,, l0 Mr. Bryan,, as president of the bo-mi f tees of Illinois College, (Jackson vl , ft especially interested in that institution and 1,5 no opportunity to bring it to tin , tention n the parents who have children to od ucato h there are a great many excellent small cSi-S1 scattered oyer the country and other "hinES & equal, the nearest one is the best. g JJJ NOT "A FOOLISH STRUGGLE" An Indiana girl of seventeen recently tonw her own life, leaving a, note in which she T scribed life as "a foolish struggle" sideline "Z sooner we get out of it the better." How c?n any one so regard life? Ask the patriarch S sits amid the falling shadows and recounts the achievements of the well-spent vcars- ask the matron whose declining a&iz are 'made clad by the companionship of virtuous children and grandchildren; ask those who, strong in faith are devoting themselves to the worl "s work or ministering to the needs of those who require as sistanceask any of these and the answer will be that life instead of being "a foolish struggle" is a glorious drama in which, pain and pleasure joy and sorrow are so mixed th:.t the love of a heavenly father shows forth with increasing clear ness as the acts and scenes, succeed each other. Only those can look upon life as "a foolish struggle" who view it from a selfish standpoint and, pursuing false Ideals, are blind to its splendid possibilities and its great rewards. Because so much depends upon one's conception of lifc upon one's ideals it is the duty of the parents, the school teacher, and the religious instructor to set before the people and especially the young ideals that will inspire to noble endeavor. JJJ NO DANGER OF THIRD TERM Some of the democrats are expressing fear that the president may 'be persuaded to run for a third term. There is no need for alarm. He has said that he will not under an circumstances be a candidate to succeed himself and there is no reason to believe that he has changed or will change his mind on this subject. He has de clared that he regards this as his second terra and his own construction has been accepted. Having served nearly three and a half years of Mr. McKinley's second term he could hardly justify any other construction. fWithout questioning the good faith of the president it may be added that he would have a great deal of assistance in avoiding another term if assistance were necessary. The republi can party is divided as the democratic party was in 1896 and he can not pass through the next three years -without alienating one element of the party. He is now counted among the reformers. If he lives up to the promises he has made, the corporations tvo Id fight his re nomination, if he falters he will lose the popu larity upon which another nomination is predi cated. Neither is it sure that he would be a strong candidate, if nominated. His large majority in 1904 was not so much a "personal or party vic tory as a democratic defeat. He received only about one hundred and fifty thousand more votes than the normal republican strength while Judgo Parker received about a million and a half less than the normal democratic vote. If this was the president's experience when he had on his side the feeling that he was entitled to an en dorsement what would he his experience if lie had to carry the odium of a third term? The sentiment against a third term was so strong that Grant had to bow to it. Could Roosevelt over come it? The names of Washington and Jeffer son and Jickson are still potent and they refused to consider a third time. Would the people admire an ambition which would disre gard their example? No, Mr. Roosevelt does not want a third term and if he di want it he would find the anti-third term sentiment an insuperable obstacle. Let him serve the people with an eye singe to their welfare and the gratitude of his coun trymen will be a richer reward than a dozen terms could bestow. NORWAY FOR INDEPENDENCE At a referendum recently held the people of Norway, by a vote of about three thousand to one, declared for separation from Sweden. As Sweden has virtually consented to the separation, inde pendence is now assured. If our nation had no strained its diplomatic eye-sight in its recoga tioi- of Panama it might find it easier o recog nize Norway as the latest addition to the sister hood of nations. W