JUNE 29, 190
The Commoner.
9
famous among anarchists. Berkman and Miss
Goldman say that they will live together as man
and wife although they will not go through any
ceremony. Speaking to a newspaper correspond
ent, Berkman said: "I want to give a definition
of the word anarchy as it is applied to my creed.
It is the total absence of restraint applied to
every phase of human life, political and economic,
as well as to the relation of the sexes. It has
nothing to do with force or violence in fact it
is opposed to extreme measures of any charac
ter. But there comes a time when the anarchist
must resort to extremeties. The social conditions
finally reach a stage when his very self-preservation
conspires to lead him toward a violent ap
plication ofhis principles. But the public must
not- get the impression that this Implies con
cert of action. Anarchists act entirely independ
ent of each other. That is part of their faith.
Each performs the duties devolving on him to
the best of his ability. If that involves the sacri
fice of human life he acts for himself and ac
cepts the consequences."
i
AN ASSOCIATED PRESS cablegram from
Trondhjem says that when Mr. Bryan was
told he was being described as "a conservative"
he said: "I am not responsible for the phrases
used in regard to me; but I am responsible for my
position on public questions. That position ought
to be well known. Take the trust question, for
instance, as it seems uppermost just now. My
position is that private monopoly is indefensible
and intolerable. That was the democratic plat
form in 1900 and the plank was incorporated
in 1904, and "it is the only tenable position.
There is some talk of controlling the trusts you
might as well talk of controlling burglary. We
do not say they shall only steal a little bit, or in
some particular way, but that they shall not steal
at all. It is so of private monopolies. It is not
sufficient to control or regulate them they must
be absolutely and totally destroyed. Corporations
should be controlled and regulated, but private
monopolies must be exterminated, root and branch.
Now, you can call that a radical doctrine. Yet
it is more conservative to apply this remedy than
to wait until predatory wealth has by its law
lessness brought odium on legitimate accumula
tions. What used to be called radical is now
called conservative because the people have been
investigating. The doctrine has not changed but
public sentiment is making progress."
NEWSPAPER DISPATCHES say that Mr.
Roosevelt wired his congratulations to
Henry A. Dupont recently elected United States
senator from Delaware. In this connection a cir
cular signed by Robert S. Waddell, president of
the Buckeye Powder company of Peoria, Illinois,
is interesting. Mr. Waddell says that it was pub
lished in Delaware that the Dupont powder trust
of which the new senator is the head, contribut
ed $70,000 to the republican presidential campaign
fund in 1904. Mr. Waddell says that the Dupont
corporation charges the government 75 cents per
pound for powder when it could manufacture its
own explosive at 35 cents per pound. He says
that the secretary of war has announced that
the government was to accumulate a powder re
serve in magazines of thirty million pounds, in
addition to the supply now on hand, and esti
mates that if the Dupont company is treated as
liberally in the future as in the past, it will be
called upon to furnish the reserve powder at an
outlay by Uncle Sam of $22,500,000, or $12,000,000
more than the same amount of powder would
cost the government if nianufactured in its own
plant.
SENATOR CULBERSON, of .Texas, is suggest
ed as chairman of the national democratic
committee of 1908. He is warmly endorsed by
the Houston Daily Post. The New Orleans Times
Democrat also endorses the Texas senator, say
ing: "Mr. Culberson is a man of great ability,
and among those who. know him, enjoys the dis
tinction of being both politician and statesman.
In politics he has managed to earn an enviable
reputation by playing the game as the gentleman
should-play it, and by regarding it as something
more than a contest for the spoils of office. In
the forthcoming contest clean, unimpeachable
men must be put at the helm. The nation was
shocked and outraged by methods employed in the.
last presidential contest. Charges and counter
charges were made because of the use by both
parties of vast sums of money for election pur
poses. The people of the country were 'jarred in
to a sudden realization of the meaning and sig
nificance of certain vicious practices which had
been steadily increasing since the campaign of
1884. Money was used, ns It had been used be
fore, for the deliberate purpose of defeating the
popular will, if possible, by corrupting the Ameri
can electorate. Politics is a science where skill
and tactics may be made to count, as they often
count in war, without resort to money corruptly
used. The next presidential campaign should
be pitched upon a high plane. It should be a
contest between high-minded, patriotic men who
honestly differ on governmental questions, and
the judgment should be left to the American elec
torate untrammeled. For this reason wise and
clean campaign managers should be selected by
both parties. It may bo that Mr. Culberson's
friends aro pressing his name without his consent;
but we may at least hope that democracy's cam
paign manager In 1908 will be as clean, as able
and as patriotic as the senior senator from Texas."
FRANKLIN B. LORD, one of the minority stock
holders in the Equitable Life Assurance
society, charges that the Thomas P. Ryan man-"
agement is guilty of the same evils which brought
the James H. Hyde regime into disrepute. Mr.
Lord charges that a number of the directors
chosen by Ryan are dummies. In his formal pro
test, ho objected to Messrs. Cleveland, O'Brien
and Westinghouse, trustees, voting on the ground
that they are not stockholders in the society. At
the Equitable meeting, Grover Cleveland attend
ed as representative of the Ryan stock. The plan
to mutualize the society on the lines laid down
by Ryan were adopted by a vote of 667 to 80.
Lord and his associates will fight it out in the
courts.
IT IS NO SECRET that the enemies of Mr.
Roosevelt in the republican party were great
ly gratified because of the more or less rude
manner in which Representative Wadsworth of
New York, corrected the president on the ques
tions of fact relating to the meat inspection bill.
The Washington correspondent for the Houston,
(Texas) Post, "says.: "President Roosevelt has
cut a sorrier figure in this meat inspection con
troversy than he did in the rate bill fight. With
out reading the committee bill, but taking the
word of Senator Beveridge for it, that the bill
does not permit inspection by night as well as
by day, Roosevelt wrote a characteristic letter to
Chairman Wadsworth full of hair trigger asser
tions and insinuations, which he was forced to
take back today. The letter of rebuke caused a
sensation in the house, and when the president's
attention was called to his blunder, Beveridge had
to answer a hurry call to the White House. Bev
eridge had said that -white was bfack and he
stood pat on that declaration. The meeting be
tween Roosevelt and Beveridge took place in one
of the president's private offices and the pro
ceedings are not of record."
IN AN INTERVIEW with William E. Curtis
of the Chicago Record-Herald, Chairman
Shonts of the Panama canal commission gave
some interesting information concerning the
Panama railroad. Mr. Shonts said that the Pan
ama railroad payment was regarded by the gov
ernment as a part of the purchase price of the
concession. He said that the road had been
improved and that, while not being in competition
with any nation or any road, this government line
would take care of such freight as comes to it,
and would try to give it the same service that
it would receive from private corporations. Mr.
Shonts added: "We have reduced the rates be
tween New York and Panama about one-half since
the acquisition of the property, and have also
reduced the local rates, but have not gone further
than meeting the competition established by other
lines. It is not our policy to cut rates to get
business. The policy of the railroad is to make
its freight charges only high enough to cover
operating expenses, to meet fixed charges, and
to allow a reasonable profit. The fixed charges
include a payment to the Colombian govern
ment of $250,000 per annum, or more than $5,000
per mile, which used to be considered fair gross
earnings for a western road. The through rates
to San Francisco and to points on the west coast
have not been disturbed. Th.ey remain the same
as they were previously, and, to San Francisco,
are from 20 to 30 per cent lower than the trans
continental rates, which are made over tracks
constructed for 'hauling heavy freights."
ATTENTION "FIRST VOTERS"
Many Commoner readers aro hard at work
in the effort to increase The Commoner's clr
dilation. The special offer provides a way where
by five annual subscriptions may bo obtained fbi
$3.0Q, nnd as a result -of this offer many Com
monors aro now going Into homos wherrj demo
cratic doctrine has heretofore been stranger.
A Lexington, Kentucky reader makes an in
teresting suggestion In this letter:
Jt , b4
U iH
J
. .. .
- -w-w W"
& "I notice that the American Protcc-
& tive Tariff League is sending out circulars Ji,
& which read: "Kindly give us the names &
& and addresses, etc., of one person who will
& cast his first vote In the congressional &
& election of 1906. We wish to forward &
& literature on the subject of protection: &
S Ask your nciahbors to co-onem in u
work.'
"Now I suggest that every Commoner t
reader make it his duty to send to The &
Commoner office, the name of one person &
who, at the next election, will cast his &
first vote, then a sample copy of The Jt
Commoner could be sent to that person. Jt
"I .also suggest tnat every Commoner
reader make It his duty to secure at least .
& one of these 'first voters' as a yearly sub- &
& scriber for The Commoner. If we can get &
& these young men to read The Commoner
..regularly we need not fear for their no- jfi
& litical future."
&
& & & & & & : &&&&&&&
A good suggestion. Let us hear from Com
moner readers with names of "first voters."
The following letters are self explanatory:
John A. Cooper, Calt, Mo. I enclose you
list of 15 names as my endorsement for tho
good work you are doing. If each subscriber to
The Commoner would make an effort in this club
of five offer tho results would be far greater for
democracy than the same amount of time spent
in any other way. I spent less than one hour'a
time in securing the above 15 names.
J. Warner Wiggs, Wlnslow, Ind. Enclosed
please find $3 for five subscribers to The Com
moner. I hope and expect to send another batch'
of subscribers soon. I will also send a primary
pledge signed by nine true democrats, making, I
think, 45 sent by me and I am not done yet.
I am enthusiastic in the principles, advocated by
The Commoner and will help it when I can.
Myself and family appreciate the writings of Mr.
Metcalfe and wish there were more such writers.
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