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The Commoner.
Volume 5, NniDEn
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T UDGE JOHN F. PHILLIPS, of tho federal court
I at Kansas City, has sustained themotion to
quash the information filed against the, Santa
Fe, and other railroad companies, charging
them with granting rebates. Tho court held that
it was without jurisdiction in the case! The
court's opinion is interesting for various reasons.
While holding that it is without jurisdiction, it
took occasion to pass upon several more or less
interesting points.
17 OR INSTANCE, the court gave to President
JT Ripley of the Santa Fe, and to Paul Morton
clean bills, saying that these gentlemen were not
at all responsible. Then it declared that there was
no violation of the law by the railroads, adding
that tho greatest offender in such transactions
is the shipper, and instead of going directly after
the shipper under the law, the government seeks
alone, by a contempt proceeding, to punish the
railroad company who has been held up by the
shipper, and that the government will never strike
at the root of the rebate evil until it goes after
the shipper as well as the railroads; that it is
not fair play and "a square deal" that the rail
roads should first be held up by the shipper and
then punished by the government for being "held
up," while the shipper gets the "rake off." The
court suggested in the opinion that the railroads
could best assist in relieving themselves from
such an attitude by opening, rather than closing
the mouths of those under their control, when
their evidence was needed to get at the facts.
WHITL? "JJEF CASBS under consideration
Judge Phillips held that the discriminations
complained of were not against the law at the
time they were committed in 1902, he said that
such discriminations are prohibited by the Elkins
aw, enacted in February 1903, and he took pa s
to say that this statute is amply sufficient to
Zf hSUS ffenses- That this opinion win be
e??don7 hv f pponents f Railroad legislation is
C v Tm,rLitheul0mments raade the Kansas
City Journal with respect to this feature. The
Journal says: "This view of the rebate evil has
been steadily urged by President Riplly, Mr
Samuel Spencer and other leading railway offi-
velt wS0nna7i? contended "J President Roose
velt was on the wrong track in seeking to nut
aomrtn(llSCrimnions by S the interstate
?L SSPce c1ommi,3sIon the rate-making power!
As this railway rate question comes to be
threshed out in the courts and in congress the
b-ue path to reform of existing abusef will Te
made clear, and the prejudices' and ignorances
which have been engendered and fostered by
demagogic politicians and sensational newspapers
will gradually disappear." wbnipeis
T H S,H WILLIAMS, leader of the mino
J rity in the house of representatives, has in-
,p irdUCe.d a bjlJ T?ich w,u PvWe a test for
the earnestness of the tariff revisionists in tho
republican party. Mr. Williams' measure de
clares the existing tariff schedules to be the maxi
mum, tariff, and provides for a reduction of 20
per cent .from them as tho minimum tariff. The
bill extends the operation of the minimum tariff
to all countries which grant admission of art
icles, product or growth of the United Stales
at the minimum tariff levied by them. Mr m
Hams explains that he selected 20 per cent ov&
dpronce republican opinion, and to g?ve
republicans who are sincere and honest in the
$2SM? ?edUCf ,thc tarIff' an opportunity to act
with tho knowledge that they would meet with
no factious opposition but wouTd revive the
hearty support of tho democrats," receive
i- JllUJE MIL WXLLTAJfB Bays ho would not hp
VV satisfied with tariff rovisiSn even ;S fa?
as indicated in hte Wht, ha says i that this i
fteP in tho right direction: He adds- ?TJnde?
the fourth and sixth jgeUons of the Dingley law
BO per cent is the rate reduction fixed as Se hn5S
f iproclty treaties. Senator mUyl has
Btated on the floor of the senate ihnf iii W P
hmmt said that the CMl2S?8
were purposely placed 20 per cent too gh In
order that one-fifth of the rates might cpnstitute
a margin for reciprocal trade relations," The
government is not an agency to make individuals
or corporations rich, but is an agency to protect
life, liberty, property, public morals and the pub
lic health ar the lealst possible cost to ttie. tax
payer, and with -the closest approximation to
equality of opportunity and equality of burden
bearing." MR. BALFOUR, prime minister and leader
of the conservative party, has resigned.
Loudon dispatches say that Sir Henry
Campbell-Bannerman has formed a: new cabi
net. The downfall of the Balfour min
istry has been anticipated for some time. Bal
four became prime minister in July, 1902. His
administration has been characterized by general
weakness, and the" recent demonstrations by the
thouands of laboring men out of employment pro
vided the English public with new opportunity
for observing the impotency' of the Balfour
ministry.
THE BALTIMORE SUN says: "There are
some very able men among the British
huerals, and Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
should have no difficulty in organizing .a cabinet
of strong men. Mr. John Morley, Mr. James
Bryce, Mr. Herbert H. Asquith and Sir Edward
Grey are public' men of. the highest type. Mr.
Morley and Mr. Bryce also rank among the first
literary men. of the day. The liberals are in a
minority in the house of commons, but it is. be
lieved that if Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman ac
cepts office he will have a majority in the house
as a result of the general election which may be
held in a few weeks All signs indicate that
there has been a reaction against the policies
of the conservative party, which is also divided
on the question of tariff changes. The majority
of the conservatives, under the leadership of Mr.
Chamberlain, seem to be drifting in the direction
of a protective tariff. On tbis issue, however,
they have, been beaten in nearly every important
bye-election in the last eighteen months."
REFERRING TO THE change in the British
ministry, a cablegram to the New York
World under date of London, December 4, says:
"It may be stated as certain that Lord Rosebery
will be ignored in the makeup of the new cabinet
and that John Morley will be one of Sir Henry's
chief advisors. Mr. Morley is likely to go to the
Indian office, and it is probable that Herbert Henry
Asquith will be chancellor of the exchequer. The
foreign affairs portfolio will go either to Lord
Elgin or Sir Edward Grey, though the latter is
likely to be made colonial secretary. "There is
some uncertainty as to when parliament will be
dissolved, but it is not considered likely until
after the new year. Campbell-Bannerman has ex
plained his .attitude on home rule for Ireland to
thoHe liberal leaders known to be opposed to
home rule, on the lines of the latest bills before
parliament. Since his speech at Stirling, which
raised such a furore, Sir Henry has not made any
statement, but it, is confidently asserted in the
liberal clubs that he Is ready with a policy which
will satisfy the nationalists and at the same time
avoid making the issue one of the most promi
nent planks in his platform. An interesting feat
ure of the political situation is the prospect of
a closer alliance between the Irish and the labor
parties in the new' parliament. James' Kelr
Hardie, socialist and independent, in a political
speech tonight frankly Invited Buch an alliance.
He pointed out that forty-five labor members
combined with seventy-five Irish members, wbuld
have a voting strength no government could afford
to ignore." ,
HP HE STATE) OF MISSOURI is just .now con
f aduStil5FSf Investisaon into the -affairs of
the Standard Oil company, and it predicted by
the New York American that John J). Rbckefeller
and his. associates "are about to face the blSSS
fight of their lives." The. American s: f t Is
promised by Henry Wollman, of this city, Who has
been retained by Attorney General Hadley to J5S
ecute the suit, that tho testimony w1Fbe9mdre:
remarkable than that elicited in the insuSnce
investigation. Mr. Wollman exneofs mi ,
to fasten to the trusted its offiS an S ,i?. ?b,
by their own testimony most of tho nlii ct?rs
which fliey have been charged from timo tn HVUh
This taken in conjunction with the facUru ft
missioner of Corporations Garfield and evorS?S
his special agents have been in C IIW
, several days gathering information nhm ir
Standard Oil trust to be used in a oS , l?0
vestigation planned by Presiden Roove t i "'
convinced the trust magnates that it win I be dlffl
cult to avoid a thorough sifting of tho r affaffi
in the near future." ualIS
A CCORDING TO THE American, Mr. Wollman
J is confident of his ability to shoW that tS
merciless grinding methods of the trust, by whteh
thousands of merchants have been driven c u t of
husiness, have been responsible for scores of 82
cides all over the country of. men whose fortunes
have been lost and prospects ruined in their fiKht
for existence against the powerful Standard Oil
trust. He'Will show what has already been testl
fied' to in St. Louis, that the Standard Oil trust
issued orders to its agents to undersoil comnetl
tors at all hazards, and that the agents were
provided with gauges with which to show that
competitors' barrels were short in- measure.
Drive the enemy from the field," was the man
date of the trust. The Standard Oil company
controlled ..about sixty per cent of the business
in that territory, and within a short time, by dint
of its system of underselling competitors, it had
acquired 90 per cent of the trade in the Sedalia
section.. It will be shown, it is promised, that
the Waters-Pierce company sold to within fifteen
or eighteen miles of Sedalia, and that the agents
of the- trust were not permitted to go into that
territory. The gauges sent by the trust to its
agents were made so that they would show com
petitors' barrels to be 'four or five gallons short.
A part, if not all, of the sensational charges raade
against JohnD. Rockefeller iand tho Standard Oil
trust by Tho'hias W. LaWBon and Miss Ida M.
Tarbell are expected to. tie proved. No better
practical illustration of " the inside workings of
"The System" could-he given, it is declared, than
to bare to the public eye the manifold ramifica
tions of the "greatest" of all combinations, the
Standard Oil trust.
REPRESENTATIVE PAYNE, republican, is
the "chairman of the ways and means com
mittee. . The New York Evening Post says that
Mr. Payne recently informed the artists of Amer
ica that they can not have the tariff taxes on
painting and statuary removed. Mr. Payne ex
plained that if any attempt was made to revise
the tariff the "whole tariff question would he
opened." He also told the . artists that lie had
once befriended them by having inserted in tho
McKiriley tariff "a clause removing the duty on
works of art imported from abroad," but ho
added "it was the Wilson tariff, if I am not mis
taken, which placed the tariff on art in operation
again." '
COMMENTING ON Mr, Payne's statement, the
New-York Evenintr post says: "Well, you
j . .-
are mistaken, congressman. Tlie tariff on art
was already, as we have "seen, in 'operation,' and
the Wilson bill removed it see section 575 of
the tariff act of 1894. Sereno E. Payne was a
member of the ways and means committee at tho
time; but, 6f course, he was too busy denounc
in the Wilson bill to know what was In it. fl hus
it was the ignorant and wicked democratic iarty
that. realltf .'befriended' the artists of America; as
soon as..; the party of intelligence returned to
power, ilTproceedsd to clap on the tax again, to
the -tune o'fl2p1.p'ei:fcont."
UNITED STAGES SENATOR , PATTERSON,
Editor of, the Denver News, has been fineu
tor contempt In tlie sum of $1,000 by the Coloraj o
supreme .court. 4 newspaper, dispatch from uu
rango, Colo,, says that at a .meeting held in ti
towri- a movement was.inaugurated,v having for
purpose the raising of ; Senator Patterson's fine oy
pqpular, subscription, ho citizen, map or woman, i
be. .permitted to contribute more; than one cent
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