"Wipm .wrw
JANUARY 5, 1906
The Commoner.
SENATOR TILLMAN "STIRS UP THE ANIMALS"
Washington, D. C, Jan. 1. Before congress
had been in session three days Senator Tillman
opened his guns on the enemy in a manner the
republicans will not forget in many a long year.
The South Carolinian is held in high personal
esteem by nearly every political opponent in the
chamber. They recognize in the man both
ability and rugged honesty, and he Is given credit
for the absolute sincerity of his actions in public
life. That the speeches of Senator Tillman have
greatly worried the republicans there cannot bo
the slightest doubt The animated debate pri
marily stirred up by him on two occasions since
the new congress assembled, and the pertinent
htatements hearing on campaign contributions
made by insurance companies and other corpor
ations which Mr. Tillman has caused to be printed
in the Record, will furnish during the next con
tests for control of the house some of the most
valuable literature ever put in circulation for the
edification and enlightenment of voters.
Mr. Tillman found a means or precipitating
the first debate of the session in which he en
gaged by introducing a resolution calling apon
the secretary of the treasury, lor Information as
to whether any of the examinations of national
"banks showed that the officers or these institu
tions had paid out money to be used for political
purposes.
Of such a searching mind is Mr. Tillman,
although not a lawyer, that it remained for this
farmer-senator to discover, and to call vividly
to the attention of his fellow senators, a provision
in the act creating the department of commerce
and labor giving the right to the corporation
bureau to practically regulate insurance com
panies engaging in interstate business. As
shrewd and watchful a statesman as Mr. Hale,
of Maine, was forced to his feet and had to
acknowledge plainly that the clause quoted by
Mr. Tillman was not originally in the bill. Mr.
Hale confessed that he was puzzled and did not
know how the provision crept into the measure,
and did not. realize that he was either voting
for a bill or allowing a bill to pass without pro
test that gave to any department of the govern
ment the authority to take in charge the busi
ness of insurance companies as a part of the in
terstate commerce. Mr. Hale further said that
he did not feel that the senate or any senator
was bound by the fact that in, the hurry of legis
lation upon a subject not thoroughly investigated
a clause crept in giving authority to investigate
insurance matters. lo
wJno.hiST n"?h;Uk0 quickness Mr. Tillman wont
back at Mr Halo with this answer: "It is thoro
an the same! It is a law passed by both branches
of congress and approved by the president, and
is law until repealed."
Mr. Tillman has not only this session in
troduced a Bhort bill for the regulation of rail
road rates but immediately after offering It ob
tained recognition and made a speech on his
1 li broUKht Int0 the discussion Mr. Foraker,
of Ohio, Mr. Knox, of Pennsylvania, until recent
ly attorney general in the cabinet of President
Roosevelt; Mr. Gallinger, of New Hampshire and
othor shining lights on the republican side of
the chamber.
Mr. Tillman's bill provides that whenever tho
Interstate commerce commission shall, upon com
plaint and hearing, decide that any charge made
for such service is unreasonable, it shall havo
the power, and it shall be its duty, to fix a max
imum and reasonable rate for such service, and
to make an order specifying tho time, which
shall be within thirty days after the date of such
order, when such rate shall take effect; and
thereafter such rate shall be tho only lawful rato
which the carrier may collect until changed by
further order of the commission.
In vain did the republicans try to confuse
and disconcert Senator Tillman by insisting that
his sole aim was to give tho commission power
to fix rates and that there could be no appeal
to the courts. He very promptly replied that
the railways should havo the right to go Into
the courts to seek redress. It was a right, ho
said, guaranteed to them by the constitution It
self. Mr. Tillman has also taken an active part
in the discussions this session on tho Panama
canal matter appropriation, and no senator
receives closer attention than ho from his fel
low legislators, or Is more pleasing to the in
telligent men and women who come from all
portions of the United States to listen to the de
bates from the ample and luxurious galleries
provided for visitors.
The candor and fearlessness of Senator Till
man are generally recognized by those who havo
watched his career both as governor of his state
and as senator. A wrong committed by any
prominent man of his own party is condemned as
quickly by him as if tho ofTcndor holongcd to
tho ropublicnn party which ho has been valiantly
fighting for so many yoaro. Whllo tho Panama
canal emergency appropriation wns under con
sideration in tho senate, Mr. Allison, tho voteran
chairman of tho appropriations commlttco, was
pressed hard by tho South Carolinian to oxplaln
tho oystom under which tho contracts for the
work on tho Isthmus aro being let It ombar
ra8sod Mr. Allison no llttlo bit to havo to an
swer tho rnpid questions of inquiry fired at
him by Mr. Tillman. For inatanco, Mr. Tillman
forced tho admission that a provision In tho
original canal bill limits tho total cost to $135,
000,000, and yet Mr. Tillman said thoro was no
telling but whnt tho ontlre amount might bo
spent and the enterprise bo not half complotcd.
Driving Mr. Allison still further Mr. Tillman
brought a reluctant confession from tho Iowa
statesman that unless the practlco of lotting tho
contracts by piecemeal was suspended, and a con
tract for tho wholo work given to some respon
sible man or firm, tho enterprise would bo In
tho clouds or tho air somewhere. As thoro Is
much rain down in Panama Mr. Tillman sug
gested that "In tho mud" was more appropriate.
Few senators could take tho stand Mr. Till
man does with reference to the canal without
being suspected of Indirectly playing Into the
handd of several of tho gigantic railway corpora
tions, and so far as tho officers of which aro
concerned tho failure of tho canal would bo
both a pleasure and a blessing. No ono would
ever think of charging Mr. Tillman with an al
liance with any sort of corporation. Thoro aro,
of course, senators In Mr. Tillman's own party
just as honest, just as sincere and just as loyal
democrats, who may bo depended upon
to bluntly speak their sentiments in the
interesting discussions that arc constantly com
ing up with reference to tho Panama canal. Soma
senators have admitted privately that Senator Till
man has an incisive, open way of getting at the
very heart of things, and he proncs until he
brings out what he goes after. If they should
lako a similar stand on tho canal question they
would not only be accused, they say, of voting
and working In tho interest of the railroads and
other corporations, but the cry would bo heard
that they were placing obstacles in tho way in
order to prevent tho completion of tho canal.
ALFRED J. STOFER.
WHAT ABOUT 1904?
The Portland Oregonian has an editorial en
titled "The Crisis of 1896" in which it seeks to
justify the contributions by insurance magnates
to republican campaign funds. The Oregonian
contends that had free coinage of silver carried
there would have been general ruin. The Ore
gonian adds:
The defeat of Bryan was necessary to the
safety of the insurance companies of the
country, and of those who held policies in
them. And nine-tenths, of all who were inter
ested in insurance knew it, and voted ac
cordingly. Let us, for the sake of argument, admit all
for which the Oregonian contends. But how will
tho Oregonian justify the contributions of these
policyholders' money to, the republican campaign
fund in 1904 when, the democratic platform be
ing silent on, the money question, the democratic
nominee declared himself unequivocally in favor
of the single gold standard?
Even though these republican editors con
vince themselves that the republican national
committee was justified in its participation with
the embezzlement of thejj)olicyholders' money in
1896 and in 1900, with what reason will they re
ject the now very popular demand "put it back"
as applied to the participation by the republican
national committee in the embezzlement of policy2
holders' money in the campaign of 1904.
JJJ
STILL EMPHASIZING THE DIFFERENCE
Nebraska has a very rigid anti-cigarette law,
enacted by the last legislature, and an effort is
boing made to enforce it. Recently a poor and
ii'h'ndless young man in Lincoln was arrested
while in the act of rolling a cigarette for him
self, and was arrested on the charge of violating
hat section of the law forbidding the manufac
ture of the paper pipes. The young man was a
ay laborer,, and haying been in Lincoln but a
week or two had no friends. He was tried and
convicted and sentenced to pay a fine of $50.
Having no money he was sent to jail to "board
out the fine."
The Commoner is in hearty sympathy with
the purposes of the framers of tho anti-cigarette
law, and is not criticising the officers for their
arrest, nor the judge for the punishment inflicted.
But it calls attention to this case for the pur
pose of contrasting it with a case mentioned a
week or two ago. Bartlett Richards, a wealthy
cattleman, was convicted of illegally fencing
212,000 acres of government land, and was sen
tenced to pay a fine of $300 and remain in tho
custody of the United States marshal for six
hours. In other words it is less expensive to steal
35,000 acres of government land than it is to
make a cigarette in Nebraska. It costs a frac
tion over 1 cent an acre and imprisonment for
about twenty seconds for a wealthy man to steal
an acre of government land, but it costs a poor
and friendless young man ?50 or thirty days in
jail to make a cigarette. These two cases em
phasize the difference between the treatment ac
corded to the rich cattleman and the treatment
accorded to a friendless person. Yet there aro
those who wonder why so many people have lost
respect for some of the courts.
JJJ
WHY THEY SHOULD HAVE IT
The Minneappolis Journal declares that "The
Filipinos ought to have free trade with the United
States, but not because the beet sugar Industry
is not important." The Journal then discusses
the beet sugar industry, but fails utterly to tell
why the Filipinos should have free trade with the
United States. They should have it as a matter
of right and justice. If they are a part and parcel
of the United States they are entitled to all the
riffhts privileges and immunities. If the nag or
the United States is their flag, then they are en
titled to equal rights with all others living under
that flag. If they are citizens they should not be
discriminated against. If they are subjects, then
the flag is a waving lie and our boasted republic
is a sham. Tho Filipinos ought to havo fro trado
with the United States, or else any sub-division of
the United States should be allowed to enforce
tariffs against any or all other sub-divisions. In
order to satisfy tho ambitions and greed of a lot of
exploiters we have plunged this nation into a ser
ious predicament, and it is time that we begin tho
work of extrication instead of allowing it to bo
plunged in deeper and deeper.
JJJ
ANOTHER SUGGESTION
C. E. Mead of Greenville, Texas, sends to
The Commoner a. clipping from the Dallas News
of December 22, which clipping gives an account
of the suicide of a man seventy years of age who
gave as a reason for self-destruction that he was
a convert to Dr. Osier's theory that a roan past
sixty years of age had outlived his usefulness.
Referring to this suicide Mr. Mead says:
"I have seen it given more than once be
fore as tho reason for suicide, and thought
you might like to have this item to use as
a scourge for the heartless, criminal folly of
this would-be philosopher. If what he has
taught were so, which it Is not, It were better
left unsaid, as it could do no good. And
from this dispatch, and others giving ac-,
counts similar, it shows that It has been tho
means of adding the last straw, which has
carried down many a despondent soul, where
a word of cheer and hope might have encour
aged them to fight the battle or life. The
'theory Is a lie and a curse, and Its evil
Influences ought to be counteracted. Your
valuable paper is a good channel to start it"
The Commoner directed attention to tho
Osier suggestion in an article printed in the Issue
of August 11, 1905, which article was entitled
"Mending God's Law." 1 Mr. Mead will re" I that
article he will find that long ago The Commoner
denounced the Osier theory and sought to impress
upon its readers the importance of counteracting
the evil influences of that theory.
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