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DECEMBER lk 1905
,F.-
The Commoner.
EDITORIALS FROM COMMONER READERS
Samuel Johnstone, of Saa Francisco. Is it
timo yet, to call the public attention to the need
of a parcels post in the United States? We would
have had it years ago but for the opposition of the
express companies, whoso charges are "all it will
bear," and the postal deficit caused by the extor
tionate charges of the railroad ring for carrying
tho United States mails. Also to note that the
United States is running steamers to the isthmus
and connecting with the Pacific Mail Steamship
company's vessel on tho Pacific, consequently
dividing with them the business. That the pro
posed ten to seventeen years as noted in the pa
pers from the "engineers board" to complete the
canal is in line with the "competing interests"
dovices thirty years would be better. But if
T. R." means "business," Chicago contracting
Grins will dig it in live years and be open for
ships too.
Thor J. Benson, 3101 State street, Chica
go. Availing myself of what I consider a wise
policy for any newspaper, be it weekly, daily or
only special editions, to have a subscribers' edi
torial page, I horewith take this opportunity of
expressing my views on a matter .which I consider
as standing ahead on any well-considered pro
gram of reform. The wiBe liberality of the citi
zens as manifesting itself in our recent amend
ment of the election laws, allowing $5 per diem
to each of tho five precinct election officials and
the same amount for rent of registration revision
and polling places, making an expense for each
city precinct containing about 1,500 inhabitants
for a general elcotion $130 besides the expendi
ture for stationery, printing and postage, shows
that the people are anxious to have every facility
and safeguard in the protection of their elective
franchise. Next year, in this city there will be
three elections, municipal, judicial and general.
By the use of voting machines such as tho elec
tion board successfully tested in ten precincts
at the recent election the number of elections
districts can be reduced at lea3t twenty-five and
perhaps, 50 per cent and by consolidating all elec
tions and making them occur annually on the
Tuesday after the first Monday in November, a
very nice saving would be effected. This saving
tho election board could expend to good advant
age by employing district canvassers, sworn offi
cers of the court, and under civil service rules,
to take the names of each resident of the dis
trict, to be tabulated and printed by the board,
say ten days before any primary election and a
copy mailed to each resident of each district, with
a list and brief sketch and statement of princi
ples of each candidate to be voted for at the
primary and again at the regular election. This
would bring the questions before the public, up
to each citizen and he would not be dependent
on the activity of the party "bosses" in order
to know, when and where to "register and vote and
what offices, candidates or propositions to vote
for. The only legitimate and necessary party
organization in Chicago at the present time, under
such circumstances would be general clubs, such
as we have now in the Hamilton, Iroquois, Mar
quette, Jefferson, Cook County Republican March
ing club, and tl - County Democracy, with com
mittees of the same to point out men In tho dif
ferent districts as fit and worthy to submit to
the peoples suffrage, without denying the right
of non-members to do the same. Discussion of
all public questions, barring those that are nar
rowly politically partisan or those of a religious
nature may be discussed freely in our public as
sembly rooms, so that a partisan campaign fund
would be unnecessary.
O. O. Adams, Prairie Depot, Ohio. I want to
thank you for the kindly interest shown In the
Ohio campaign. I was not able to overcome the
large majority i my county, which is about 1500,
out my opponent's majority was only 656. In the
township where we both live the majority is about
200, but I cut that to 91. So it Is not so bad as
it might have been. But hurrah for Mr. Pattison,
anyhow! It was a great victory for righteous
ness. J. R. L. Clarkson, Moberly, Mo. A number of
Jien conclude to start a national bank. They buy
?50,000 worth of United States bonds, bearing 2
Per cent interest. They deposit these $50,000 of
bonds and our government gives them $50,000 of
national bank notes. Thus they receive all their
jnoney back and are not out one cent. As these
bonds are deposited to redeem national bank cur
rency, they Still draw interest, which these men
receive. Would any sane business man do this?
Of course he would not. Yet our government
does it at tho expense of tho people. Wo neod a
better financial system of currency than this.
A Raleigh, North Carolina, reader of Tho
Commoner.I 8ee that it is reported that North
Carolina received from tho lifo insurance com
panies for the year 1904, $1,952,385. Immense
sum! Our insurance reports for 1904
as compiled by the insurance commisioner of
North Carolina, are not yet to hand, but I copy
from his report of 1903, "losses paid to tho people
of North Carolina during 1903 were $853,983.80;"
and this is a great sum. But behold tho startling
and strange and ruinous fact! Tho people of
North Carolina gave the life Insurance companies
during the year 1903, the sum of $3,256,388.60,
just exactly $2,402,404.80 more than tho Insurance
companies gave back to tho people. Tho in
terest for a year will pay almost one-fourth of
the losses. The people gave insurance companies
almost $4 to $1. The remedy: As peoplo bellcvo
in insurance, let the state insure such of its citi
zens as desire to pay for Insurance. Turn the
stream of gold that is flowing into foreign insur
ance companies' vaults into the state's treasuries,
and the state without taxation can pay all losses,
provide for its poor, and its insane, pay its offi
cers, and educate all of tho children, and more,
it will keep tho monoy In the hands of tho people,
rather than pile it up in the hands of a few cor
porations where it can be, has been, and will bo
again used to oppress the masses.
A. K. Grow, Hamilton, Montana I was very
much pleased with your criticisms of Public
Opinion on business ethics. What nn
absurdity for any one to advance outsldo of the
insane asylum, that the ethics of morality must
be changed to fit the ethics of rebates whereby
millions are filched from tho plain people for tho
sole benefit of corporations. The "evil genius of
Standard Oil and other grafters have set aside
graft necessary for the employment of writers
of just such articles published by Public Opinion
and other journals too numerous to mention; but
not too numerous for the reading public to sift
and analyze and find out the shape and size of
the cloven hoof. And what of the writers of those
articles? Do they realize the stigma which will
follow them down to perdition? Can they plead
the necessity for their daily broad? They can
plead lax morals and indirectly a responsibility
for the wrong doing of another. A McCurdy
plans the stealing of, millions and a writer plans
a plausible and smooth article on a false premise
and it draws big pay out of the stolen millions
where tho old adoge aprlles with force: "Partaker
as bad as the thief."
George R. McVey, Buell, Mo. It is well un
derstood that, as a rule, the inventor of an Idea
for the betterment of mankind does not receive
a proper recompense for his years of study and
training. Too often, he is practically buncoed
out-of any profit accruing from his invention by
the representatives of "vested rights." Do you
think you could, today, sell a patent on an idea
designed to reduce the danger to the travelling
public, to a railroad corporation? Try it! For ten
years I was an employe of a railroad, whose policy
It was to foster the inventive faculty of its em
ployes, but demanded, for tho uso of Ita tools,
an absoluto cession of rights to tho company's
use as a quid pro quo. This was nlmply tho
Russian policy of keeping a good man whoro ho
could do tho most good (tor tho othor follow.)
You nro strenuously outapokon In ovory stand
you havo takon and I havo boon waiting for nearly
four years to hear from you on tho patent branch
of our government Wo boast of our inventive
genius, but as a matter of fact, that genius has
flourished In spito of anything wo havo dono
to fostor it. Assuming that all peoplo, corpora
tions and legislative assemblies wore absolutely
honest, (as our forofathors assumed) wo admit
tho patent office laws aro good; but when has
thero boon a chango in tho laws of that depart
ment to head off tho graft and grood that has
run rampant over our country? What chnnco
has an inventor, unloss ho bo Avealthy and prac
tically a protege of "vestod rights", to realize
tho JuBt and legitimate returns from his Inven
tion? If this federal government should Insti
tute schools for tho education of inventors, as
suring them mea-i for tho propor exemplifica
tion of ideas and protection from sharks of all
kinds, would it bo socialism, paternalism, or
what? Would it bo decried as a movement inim
ical to "vested rights?" What aro vestod rights?
In a republic, vestod rightB aro tho legitimate
use of the God givon powers of men to work for
tho community's good; not tho faculty to flick
wealth from the producers and poso as tho agonts
of divine benefaction. If ovory invontor had tho
moans to carry on his experiments, do you not
think tho pace would grow faster, with fewer
asylum victims? Does It not occur to you that
some genius might discover an uuknown force,
somewhere, somehow, and apply l.as Morse ap
plied the discovery of Franklin? ' At any rato,
the absolute protection of invontivo genius Is
incumbent on any progressive commonwealth.
That is the idea. It is not an outrage to that
idea to say It is tho duty of every government
to provide the ways and means to develop and
perfect an Invention that Is manifestly of benefit
to the state. People die by tho millions to main
tain their country's honor; why should that
country hesitate to devote some attention to the
genius of its people? What Is honor as wo under
stand it, compared with progression? Is not
progression the highest honor? And Is not the
genius that controls and directs for tho good of
mankind tho unknown forces of nature more on
titled to the respect, assistance and protection of
tho nation than tho lustlcBt warrior that eyor
wielded a "big stick?" Yet we say to him "there
Is the patent ofllco, got a patent if you can."
Referring to an editorial recently printed In
Tho Commoner and entitled "Paul Morton's Phil
osophy," Adolph B. Suess of East St. Louis. 111.,
writes: "But, may not Edward Lefevro bo a
liar? And, Is the philosophy enunciated so very
wrong? Isn't It in fact correct philosophy? It
unqualifiedly tells a meddling reporter to mind
his own business, and Mr. Morton's answer will
be applauded as being ,thc very best expression
of American manhood recently uttered, even It
couched in forcible language."
THE PRIMARY PLEDGE
I promise to attend all the primaries of my party to be held between now and
the next Democratic National Convention, unless unavoidably prevented, and to use
my influence to secure a clear, honest and straightforward declaration of the party's
position on every question upon which the voters of the party desire to speak.
Signed -:'
s
Street.
Postoffice.
State.
County.
Voting precinct or ward.
1ST Fill out Blanks and mail to Commoner Office, Lincoln, Nebraska.
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