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The Commoner.
8
VOLUME "6, NUMBER 52
SA.
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TUB FORCES LED by President Roosevelt and
' Governor Higgins won a victory in the or
ganization of the republican legislature. James
W. Wadsworth, jr., the administration candidate
for speaker, received seventy-five votes, while his
opponents, Wainwright and Merritt, received fif
teen and fourteen respectively. Bitter speeches
were mado in the republican caucus and the
president and governor were both sharply criti
cised for interference. One republican assembly- f
man referred to Wadsworth's election as "an ef
fort of large corporate interests of the state to
get back at somo of the interests they hold re
sponsible for oppressing them in the past." An
other republican said that "Wadsworth is selected
by the executive and this interference with the
right of the assembly to chose its own officers is
a menace." f
REPUBLICAN NEWSPAPERS and leaders do
not take kindly to Mr. Roosevelt's inter
ference in New York polftics. If the president .
can interfere in New York, he can interfere in
any other state, and the prestige of the president
of the United States is so great that if he makes
known his sympathies with one side in a state
contest, the very publication of the fact makes,
as a rule, further contest idle. The St. Louis
Globe-Democrat, a' republican paper, says that the
Lincoln administration interfered in Missouri
republican politics and that it had the justifica
tion that republicans under the leadership of
B. Gratz Brown were hindering and embarrass
ing the administration. The result was a fac
tional fight that did not terminate for many years.
The Globe-Democrat insists that in the New
York case JMr. Roosevelt lacks the excuse which
Mr. Lincoln had for interference in the state
politics of Missouri! It declares that the repub- ,
licans of New York should be permitted to set
tle their own differences without presidential in
terference, and declares "even if all the tales
which are told against Odell are true, the presi
dent would not be justified in throwing any fed
eral influence actively against him."
MR. ROOSEVELT is given something to think
about when this republican paper says:
"When President Grant interfered in favor of
Conkling in the rivalry between that chieftain
and Reuben E Fenton for the leadership of the
republican party in the state of New York he
rendered Conkling only dubious aid, and he em
barrassed and-weakened Grant's, Conklihg's and
Fenton's party. By making war oil Chester A.
Arthur, collector of the port at New York, in
the Interest of John Sherman, the secretary of
the treasury, as an aspirant for the presidential
succession, President Hayes hampered his own
administration, raised up powerful enemies to
Sherman among the New York republicans, and
gave the crown of martyrdom to Arthur which
put him on the Garfield ticket in 1880, and sent
him to the presidency. Arthur made a still more
serious blunder in forcing his secretary of the
treasury, Charles J. Folger, on the New York re
publicans for governor, destroyed his own chances
for getting the nomination in 1884, gave his rival,
James G, Blaine, the candidacy, and sent Blaine
and the republican party to the first defeat which
the republicans had met in a presidential canvass
since Buchanan carried the country."
THE GLOBE-DEMOCRAT sounds this note of
warning: "All j.hese precedents of the evils
of presidential interference in the state politics
of New York are before Theodore Roosevelt. All
of these disasters have come to pass during his
time of active interest in politics. 'If he should
repeat the blunder of his predecessors, he would
sin against the light. Mr. Roosevelt has many
and excellent reasons for keeping out of this
New York factional wrangle." But Mr. Roosevelt
did not heed the warning. Ho caused it to be
made known that he wanted Wadsworth elected,
and but for his interference Wadsworth would
have been defeated. Many people believe that
Mr. Roosevelt would have fared better had he
met with defeat in the New York contest, be
cause it is believed that that Will be a very ex
pensive victory. Mr. Roosevelt was not the only
supporter of Mr. Wadsworth. Mr. Wadsworth
was also the candidate of Governor Higgins. He
was also the candidate of the Piatt machine and
behind Wadsworth was also arrayed all the in
surance magnates of New York. Just at this,
time when the people of New York are expect
ing from the legislature some reform measures
respecting insurance affairs the speaker should
be one who is known to be in sympathy with the
policyholders and with public interests generally.
Unless it is to be seriously argued, as it was
in 1896 that in the face of all the recent dis
closures these insurance magnates are unselfish
men whose sole anxiety is for the public wel
fare, it would be interesting if some of Uie Wads
worth supporters would tell the public with
what reason reform legislation affecting insur
ance affairs may be expected at the hands of a
legislature whose speaker was the choice of the
insurance magnates.
IT WAS RECENTLY announced . that Thomas
F. Ryan had s.old out his street railways to
August Belmont. The New York World says that
this does not accurately describe the situation,
but that on the contrary "Ryan has swallowed
Belmont." The World explains: "As in the Sea
board Air Line, the Morton Trust company, the
Bank of Commerce, the American Tobacco com
pany, the Edison Electric Light, the Consolidat
ed Gas, and his previous financial schemes, Ryan
turns his discredited, over-capitalized and inflat
ed corporations into a holding company and pro
ceeds to issue more millions of so-called securi
ties. The' proposed plan of consolidating the
Interborough and the Metropolitan provides for
the issue of $105,000,000 of new securities, which
represent no other expenditure than the lawyer's
fees and the cost of printing. Their whole income
and profits represent nothing but a capitalization
of the power to tax the people of New York. For
the present $35,000,000 of Interborough stock, rep
resenting an actual expenditure -of from eight to
nine million dollars there is to be issued $70,
000,000 of collateral, trust bonds and $31,500,000
of new common stock. For the $52,000,000 stock
of the Metropolitan, which is already almost all
water, there is to be issued $52,000,00 of new
preferred stock and $26,000,000 of new common
stock. For the $30,000,000 of the Metropolitan
Securities stock, only partly paid in, there is to
be issued $25,500,000 of new common stock. The
stock which goes into this consolidation is three
quarters wa.er. The new stock will be only wind
and paper."
THE STRIKE OF union printers, inaugurated
on January 1 to enforce a demand for the
eight-hour day, while not the largest in point
of numbers involved, is one of the greatest
strikes in recent labor history. The movement
for the eight-hour day in the printing industry
was inaugurated three years ago, and at the
Washington convention of the International Typo
graphical Union the question was formally sub
mitted to a referendum vote of the members
of the organization. It carried by an overwhelm
ing majority, the date being fixed for January
1, 1906. The referendum was ratified at the St.
Louis convention in 1904, and again at the Tor
onto convention in 1905. Immediately after the
referendum vote the. international officers ad
vised local unions not to make contracts extend
ing beyond the date fixed for the inauguration
extending beyond that period. The United
Typothaete, composed of employing printers, pre
pared to resist the demand, and in pursuance of
an outlined policy forced the situation In a num
ber of cities prior to the first of the year, A.
beginning was made in Detroit early in August,
and the trouble extended to Chicago, Buffalo,
Minneapolis, St. Paul, Omaha and other cities.
BEFORE THE DATE set the union made closed
shop and eight-hour contracts in $05. cities,
and on January 1 only about 9,000 men out of a
total membership approximating 50,000 walked
out to enforce the demand. On that date 160
independent shops in New York City signed con
tracts, leaving only thirty-five to oppose the or
ganization. On December 27 the International
Typographical Union's eight-hour committee
asked for a referendum vote ratifying a io per
cent assessment weekly on members remaining
at work, and the assessment carried, by a ma
jority of upwards of '20,000. The revenues from
this assessment will approximate $60,(300 per
week, and will bo used to pay strike benefits to
the men who walked out on January 1. The
trouble is confined almost wholly to book and
job printing establishments, the daily newspaper
printers having had the eight-hour day for sev
eral years. .The St. Louis Globe-Democrat printed
the following interesting summary of the situa
tion in its issue of January 2: Membership of
International Typographical Union, 48,000; num
ber of local unions, 688; locals of English print
ers, 634; locals of German-American printers, 21;
locals of mailers, 21; locals of newspaper writ
ers, 7; locals of typefounders, 8; cities working
.eight hours, 305; cities where strikes are now
on, 54; cities where agreements expired January
2, 235; estimated income from last assessment,
per week, $60,000. The International Typographi
cal Union is the oldest trades union in the Uni
ted States and is accounted one of the strong
est in point of membership and financial re
sources. It embraces within its jurisdiction the
United States and Canada.
DEMOCRATS OF THE Kentucky legislature
met in caucus January 2 and nominated
Thomas H. Paynter, now judge of the Kentucky
court of appeals, to succeed Senator Blackburn.
Judge Paynter received fifty-nine, Senator Black
burn thirty:.four, W. B. Haldeman ten, Congress
man Smith one. Thomas H. Paynter was born in
Lewis county, Ky., December' 19, 1851. He has
served three terms in congress and is a member
of the Kentucky court of appeals. His early edu
cation was acquired in the Lewis county public
schools, which was supplemented by study in the
Rand academy and later by a course at Center
college at Danville. He was admittedxto the bar
in 1873, and was county attorney at Greenup for
several years. He was a member of the Fifty
flrsft congress and twice re-elected, serving, from
1886 until 1S95. In. 1894 Judge Paynter. was elect
ed to the appellate court and was re-elected in
1900. ,
NEW YORK'S SUPREME COtJRT has granted
a. writ of mandamus against the New York
Life Insurance company, requiring that company
to make public a list of its policyholders. State
Superintendent of Insurance Vandiver of Missouri,
who has watched these New York proceedings
closely, says that he would like to see a few
sentences from the writ filed by the New York
Life's attorneys in these cases printed in parallel
columns with the circular sent out by John A.
McCall, president of the New York Life, in August,
1905.
MR. VANDIVER directs attention to two sen
tences which he says might look well to
geiher. The following is taken from Mr. McCall's
New York Life circular: "Remember, that as a
policyholder in the New York Life you are one
of its, owners. The company is owned and con
trolled by its policyholders, and all profits of
every kind belong to the policyholders, and are
for their sole use and benefit." The following
is taken from the brief filed in behalf of the
New York Life Insurance company before the
New York supreme court: "A policyholder in a
mutual insurance company is not entitled to an
inspection of its books. The relation between the
policyholder and the mutual insurance company
in which he is insured is purely one of contract,
measured by the terms of the policy. There
is no trust relation, nor is he a partner. Before
the maturity of his policy he is merely the holder
of an unmatured claim against the company;
after the maturity of the policy and a judgment
obtained thereon, he has the rights of a judgment
creditor."
IT WILL BE REMEMBERED that D. E. Thomp
son, United States ambassador to Brazil, wrote
a letter apologizing for the methods employed
by the New York Life Insurance company offi
cers and giving to that company a high certificate
of character. Judge Penfield, solicitor of the
department of state, had been sent to Brazil and
it was claimed that he went there for the pur
pose of making an investigation. Messrs. Thomp
son and Penfield returned on the same steamer,
and it was generally believed that Mr. Thompson
would be retired from the diplomatic service be
cause of ihis letter concerning the New York Lifo
Insurance company, as well as because of other
charges. It seems, however, Mr. Thompson's New
York Life letter rather than injuring him, helped
him, and to the surprise of many people he was
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