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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 1905)
The Commoner. , VOLUME 5, NUMBER SI III r i "II" ri iKocrT TTnPir V7U I VIVVJ 1 h1 VfW , aBa5sBatey $$ZnNrr, TrHi W "". . wm "U J I y 7)1 f, , - ' - vwjij IN AN INTERVIEW recently printed In the Chicago Examiner, Mayor Dunne of Chicago, roforring to his municipal ownership plan, said: "The plan was devised that we might get im- mediate action. The sole purpose of the building company is to bridge over the time that must necessarily elapse before the city can pay for the property and take over the operation. If wo could buy the lines today, or even if we owned thorn, wo could not operate, and some such plan as that I have proposed would have to be worked out to bridge us gver the period re quired to get authority to operate. I believe in municipal operation and want to bring it about as soon as possible; whether we buy or build I shall press a referendum that will enable us - to operate, but while we are working for munici pal operation, let us either buy and rehabilitate or else build, so that we may have something to operate when the time conies." LOUIS F. POST in his paper, "The Public," says that in the statement printed in The Examiner: "Mayor Dunne has removed all pub- - lie excuse for supposing that in recommending his 'contract plan' for introducing municipal own ership and operation of the Chicago street car system he contemplated abandoning his original policy. That is the situation in a nutshell, and the newspaper agents of the traction ring knew it when, with false headlines, deceptive editorials and fraudulent news dispatches, they undertook to make the public believe otherwise." The St. Louis Mirror, referring to the same subject, says: 'It looks as if Mayor Dunne has 'got 'em on the run,' no matter how the daily papers may try to befog the situation and conditions in Chicago, in the interests of the franchise oligarchies in all the cities of the union. The traction companies are coming to time, even while play ing for delay. Their only hope is, now, to stave things off uritil Dunne's term expires, but this they will hardly be able to do, for if they pro tract the difficulty, the people will re-elect Dunne." THERE IS A noticeable silence on the part of the republican newspapers concerning the disclosures showing the absorption of policy holders' money by the republican campaign funds. Louis F. Post, writing in "The Public" says that this silence is "as grand in its way as the grand old party itself," adding: "There is an air of modesty about them which recalls the modesty of one of Cable's' 'Cajan characters, who was 'so modest he was almost shy.' Nor are the man agers of the party a bit more ostentatious. Ob serve, for example, Cornelius N. Bliss, the treas urer, who received f and disbursed this boodle in behalf of the republican presidential candidates. He has 'nothing to say to anyone at any time on any matter in connection with this subject.' There you have the kind of silence that usually goes with addition and division. And Mr. Chair man Cortelyou, who succeeded to "Hanna's place In the work of pointedly soliciting unlawful con tributions of this character out of corporation treasurers, he, too, is silent. As to Mr. Roose velt, he is by no means as loquacious as he was before this annoying thing got found out." GEORGE W. PERKINS, testifying before New York's insurance committee, suggested that insurance companies should be empowered by law to "contribute 25, 50 or 75 cents from each policyholder" for campaign purposes. Writing in "The Public," Louis F. Post refers to Mr. Perkins as "a moral dullard, incapable of comprehending the turpitude of diverting trust funds of policy holders in life insurance companies." Referring to Mr. Perkins' statement Mr. Post says: "The former robberies of policyholders having been unearthed, he would have future larcenies of the same kind legalized. The policyholders of the 'Big Three insurance companies number millions, and in New York state alone probably half a mil lion of them are democrats. Think of the mora'l obliquity of a man who, caught redhanded in a theft of his clients' funds, coolly -proposes that he and two or three others similarly situated shall hereafter be legally authorized to take the money of these half million voters to use it to defeat the candidates they intend to vote for. Following and confirming the Lawso disclos ures of an utter lack- of moral perception among the kings of high finance, this incident ought still further to disillusionize the people of the nation of tho notion that these men are one whit better disposed toward property rights than so many Captain Kidds." C1LARENCE H. VENNER, of New York, has J written an open letter to John A. McCall, president of the New York Life Insurance com pany, demanding Mr. McCall's resignation. Mr. Venner carries a $50,000 policy in the New York Life company, and he says that Mr. McCall's testimony shows that he claims "the right to use the funds of the' New York Life Insurance com pany with as much freedom and as little account ability as if they belonged to his own private purse." Concerning Mr. McCall's testimony re garding the $235,000 paid to Andrew Hamilton, Mr. Venner says: "The public and the policy holders of the New York Life are not credulous enough to believe that kind of. a tale. But wheth er or not your testimony be true, you have con victed yourself of such gross incompetency, arro gance and recklessness in the management of the funds of the New York Life and of such un businesslike methods, that you no longer com mand the confidence of the policyholders, and should not have control of a corporation posses sing over $400,000,000 of assets." A WASHINGTON DISPATCH to the Chicago Record-Herald says: "It is roiighly esti mated that the presents which Miss Roosevelt has received from the Empress of China, the Em peror of Japan, the Emperor of Korea, the Sultan of Jolo and others in the far east will reach a cash value not far short of $100,000. Miss Roose- velt was placed in a position where she could not decline any of the presents without giving offense. The gifts came to her as the represent ative of the government, although she did not travel with any such credentials. As the daugh ter of the president, she was Regarded by the Orientals as they regard the reigning families of European kingdoms. The gifts were tokens of friendship and good will for the United States and Miss Roosevelt could not have declined any, not even the pearl from the Sultan of Jolo, with out placing this government in the attitude of re jecting friendly overtures." SINCE MARCH, 1905, when filings were autho rized for trial at the fall term of the circuit court, 910 divorce suits according to a correp pondent for the New York World have been filed in Kansas City. This correspondent estimates, the number will reach one thousand before the period for filing terminates, and says: "As there are about 40,000 families in Kansas City the filing of 1,000 divorce suits in six months means that legal separations are being sought at the rate of 5 per cent a year. These 1,000 divorce suits will be divided up among the five divisions of the circuit court, and will be sufficient to keep them all grinding at the rate of one case an. hour, eight hours a day, during the entire month of October." TTCASHINGTON DISPATCHES say that the V dominating recommendation of the presi dent's message to congress will be the railroad rate legislation, and the president will make an effort to focus the attention of the country upon the senate, in order to secure action on that sub ject. The Washington correspondent for the Baltimore Sun says: "The houso passed the Townsend rate bill, with amendments, on Febru ary 9 last. On the following day the senate re ferred the bill to the committee on interstate commerce, where it was pigeonholed. On Feb ruary 28 Senator Kean, of New Jersey, offered a resolution, which, when favorably reported from the committee on interstate commerce, was passed by the senate on March 2, directing the committee to hold hearings during the summer recess with a view to reporting a bill to the senate at the coming session. The avowed object of the Kean resolution was to allow further lapse of time for 'mature consideration of so grave a question,' but it is common knowledge that the senate did not care to enact railroad legislation such as was desired by the president. Since the matter is pending before the senate, house loaders will endeavor to hold the senate strictly responsible by endeavoring to concentrate public opinion upon that body and singling it out as the obstacle in the path of railroad Wh lation." m' THE SUN'S CORRESPONDENT thinks thai this idea is not new in legislation. He ei plains: "It was observed during the extra ses sion which was called in the fifty-third congress in August, 1893, for the passage of tho wiw bill to repeal the silver purchase clause of tho ' Sherman law. The house passed that measure August 28, 1893 sixteen days after congress be gan its extraordinary session. It was recognized at the time that the senate would be the obstacle in the way of securing that legislation. Conse 'quently the house did nothing after passing the bill. Sentiment throughout the country and the influence of Mr. Cleveland w,ere concentrated on the senate, and the bill was finally passed in spite of tremendous opposition. Again, in the fifty-fifth congress, President McKinley convened an extra session for the passage of a tariff bill. The house was not organized further than the election of officers and the appointment of the ways and means committee. The house consid ered and formulated the Dingley tariff bill. At that time the republicans did not have a majority in the senate, lacking two, and because of this it was recognized that it would bo almost next to impossible to pass a republican tariff bill, but the house, under the leadership of Speaker Reed, adjourned for three days at a time. There were no more committees appointed and no legislation was attempted by the "house while the senate was considering the Dingley bill, which left the press and the executive free to exert all the in fluence at their command on the hotly that was considering the legislation. In a very much shorter time than would otherwise have been the case the bill became a law and was signed by President McKinley." IT IS SAID that friends of the president be lieve the senate will not dare doom railroad legislation, if the influence of the executive and public opinion can be focused upon the senate through the refusal of the house leaders to allow the, introduction of rate legislation in the house, which would attract attention from the proceed ings in the senate. The Sun's correspondent says: "Prominent house leaders are quietly at work in favor of this policy and are careful in explaining that their policy is not one of hostility, but in the interest of the enactment of railroad rate legislation. They desire it to be clearly un derstood that inaction by the house until the senate shall have acted must not be misinter preted as opposition to railroad legislation. It is not believed it will be necessary to embody this policy in caucus action, but if there is party dissension or opposition house leaders may go into caucus to formulate their policy. One tiling in the way of withholding consideration in tlie house while the measure is pending in the sen ate will be the individual ambition of members -of tho house to be credited with initiation or the legislation finally enacted. While it is laud able for members to have important legislation known under their names, it is believed such am bition should not interfere with securing the ae sired legislation in the most practical form at tut earliest date." A CCORDING TO THIS same authority "every- thing favors action in the senate first on the railway bill." This- correspondent adds. "Senator Elkins, chairman of the senate commu tee on interstate commerce, which has been Hom ing hearings on the question, has issued a can for a meeting of his committee on November id three weeks before congress meets in reeuia session to frame a rate bill. The indications are that an attempt will be made in this commu tee to frame an entirely new bill instead oi ie porting the house bill in amended form to u senate. Either method would develop the niu tude of the senate and leave, the ultimate s w ub gle to the house or to a compromise In c01"" ence. The object of the early meeting of the su ate committee is to avoid an extra session. " ident Roosevelt last spring Intended calime extra session, but has been putting it off. u pressure has been brouehj: to bear by momo' i who have argued that little could be accompiisi" in advance of the regular session. He lias yet definitely made up his mind, but will pruu ably not call aii extra session if he can-be assuu