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AUGUST 17, 1908
The Commoner.
P'lil, g'WHHHPi i JljMt
What Is Shaw Afraid Of?
In announcing that the government would
purchase a considerable amount of silver for
coinage purposes, an Associated Press dispatch
says: "It is understood that, anticipating that
its .reappearance as a purchaser might temporarily
disturb the market unduly, the treasury has ob
tained control of considerable amounts for fu
ture delivery so that it is in position to drop out
of the market for several months if desirable."
Why is Secretary Shaw so afraid of disturb
ing the silver market?
Is he afraid that the price of this great Amer
ican commodity will undergo an increase when
tile government enters the market?
Members of the -republican administration are
not so disturbed when the price of American
wheat, American corn or other commodities goes
upward. They are not so disturbed when the
price of American manufactured goods goes up
ward because of new demand, or even because
of the" fact that representatives of the republican
administration are willing to pay extortionate
prices for American made goods steam vessels
for instance for use in the Panama canal.
It will be well for every Commoner reader
to note the great pains taken by Secretary Shaw
to avoid any material rise in the price of silver.
We are told that he has "obtained control of
considerable amounts for future delivery, so that
the government is in position to drop out of the
market for several months if desirable." The
government does not seek to put other American
products to this disadvantage, but it would never
do for the American people to obtain a common,
everyday demonstration of the correctness of the
supply and demand law, such as it has obtained
with respect to the quantitative theory of money.
In 1896 one of the arguments used by the
republicans against bimetalism was based upon
the existing price of silver and we "were told that
the free coinage of silver meant that the United
States would become a "dumping ground" for
all the silver of the world. No consideration what
ever was given by republican speakers to the
suggestion that should the mints be opened for
silver as they are for gold, the price of silver
, ,would increase, although we were told that the
-market -provided by open United States mints
would not operate to materially increase the
price. But when It is necessary for the United
States government to uso a comparatively small
amount of silver for small coins, great precautions
are taken lest the entrance of the government
into the silver market send the price of tho metal
upward! Are those gentlemen afraid that oven
with a small portion of tho demand for silver
for monetary purposos restored, tho price would
go so high as to remove tho "debased metal"
argument?
In discussing tho extraordinary efforts mado
by tho treasury department to deprive the silver
metal of its common advantages, lot us look
at it entirely apart from tho question of blmot
alism, or the money question in any particular.
Hero is an American commodity, the production
of which at a fair price helped, the commerce
of this country for nearly a century. For many
years this country has received comparatively
little benefit from silver production, and all this
has been due to the fact that men Interested in
contracting the volume of money, have habitu
ally legislated to the disadvantage of the silver
metal. Whenever political parties have found
It necessary, in response to popular demand,
to make even the smallest concession to silver,
the effect has been felt, instantly and advanta
geously, in the price of the metal. But now when
it is found necessary for the government to enter
the market for the purpose of purchasing a quan
tity of this metal, the representatives of tho po
litical party claiming to bo deeply interested in
the "protection of American industries," adopt
unprecedented methods in an effort to prevent
silver from obtaining tho common benefits in
accordance with the law of supply and demand.
In 189G tho republican orator denied that
tho opening of the American mints to the free
and unlimited coinage of silver would make a
material increase in the price of that metal; yet,
by his recent action, the republican secretary of
the treasury gives the lie to that claim and con
fesses that even tho purchase of silver in a lim
ited quantity for subsidiary coins would send the
price of the metal so high as to give to the Amer
ican people a striking object lesson of the fallacy
of all present day republican arguments with re
spect to the position of the silver metal either as
money or as commodity.
A Mad Chase For Scapegoats
Samuel Untermeyer declares that in the pre
tended reorganization of the Mutual Life Insur
ance company "a few scapegoats were sacrificed
but the men who were responsible for the scandal
and thievery are in power today."
That is just what the public must look out
for in the regulation of commercial evils as well
as in the regulation of political evils. With all'
of these exposes we are being treated to a large
amount of buncombe.
Is it surprising that these influential rascals
have the temerity to further impose on the peo
ple? Not In the least. They know that the
public is, long suffering and patient and they
Imagine, with good reason, too, that a whole lot
of pretense and a very little actual reform will
go a long ways toward appeasing public indigna
tion. Is it any wonder that these influential ras
cals have the temerity to further impose on the
public? We may obtain a hint of the notion they
have of the state of the public mind when we ob
. serve the seeming indifference on the part of the
public toward the embezzlements, to which the
republican national committee was a party. Al
though it has been charged and admitted that
several hundred thousand dollars of money be
longing to the insurance policyholders were
traced to the republican party's treasury, there
has been no general demand on the part of the
public that tho republican party restore these
ill-gotten gains. Republican leaders calmly close
their eyes to the criticisms heard on this line
and they make no pretense whatever at re
storation. Lot the thoughtful citizen ponder upon these
things. If, after all these exposures, if, after the
widespread discussion the revelations of graft and
peculation have brought about, the republican na
tional committee can escape with the stolen money
known to be in its possession, then why may
not the rich rascals who are yet in charge of
the great insurance companies make a little pre
tense toward reform while they are all the time
building up new and skillful plans for theft and
plunder on an even larger scale?
If the man who, as chairman of tho repub
lican national committee, participated In the mis
appropriation of several hundred thousand dol
lars of policyholders money can continue in the
president's cabinet why may not the men respon
sible for the scandals in insurance companies con
tinue in power in those concerns?
Senators Who Earn Their Salaries
Possibly Senator Dryden comes nearer earn
ing the $65,000 a year which he receives from
1 a life Insurance company than he does the $5,000
which he receives from the government. Kansas
City Star.
We don't know what Tom Piatt's salary as
president of that express company Is, bujt if it
were a million a month he would have a better
claim on It than he has to tho $5,0,00 a year he
receives for being Chauncey Depew's colleague.
Chicago Record-Herald.
But why stop at Tom Piatt? What claim
' has Chauncey M. Depew to the $5,000 per year
he receives for not representing New York in the
United States senate?
And what about Aldrich, confessedly the
republican leader on the floor of the United
States senate, and recognized as the representa
tive of the Standard Oil trust and its allied" in
terests? Rather than paying Aldrich $5,000 a
year to pose as a United .States senator, could
not the people better afford to pay him seventy
times $5,000 in order to remove his malign in
fluence from legislation?
" What about Elkins? Does he not come nearer
earning his income from the corporations -with
which ho Is' connectod than ho does his salary
as United States senator?
And what about Hopkins who, on tho floor of
tho senate, rushes to tho defense of John It.
Walsh, tho notorious bank wrecker? How near
does Hopkins como to earning his salary?
Then thoro Is Ponroso Qf Pennsylvania who
succeeded tho lato Matt Quay as boss of tho
republican rnnchlno in tho Koystono stnto and
against whoso political machinations thousands
of republicans of Pennsylvania aro rovoiting to
day. Does Penrose earn his salary?
And what about Dupont, the senator-elect
from Dolawaro? Have wo any reason for bollov
ing that ho will como any whore as near earning
his salary as United Statos sonator no he does the
incomo ho derives from his position at the head
of the powder trust?
JJJ
THE CORPORATION AGAIN
The fodoral grand jury at Chicago has re
turned an indictment against tho Standard Oil
trust and wo aro told that tho prosecution of
this indictment will be vigorously pushed and
that tho defendant will be roqulrod to go to tho
limit In tho payment of tho penalty. But It will
bo observed that this Indictment Is not against
John D. Rockefeller. It is'not against Henry H.
Rogers. It Is not against any being that can
feel. It is against tho corporation, and the cor
poration is well able to pay any fine which It
is at all likely will be Imposed during this pro
ceeding. Dispatches say that tho "bond for tho
defendant company was fixed by Judge Bothea
at $25,000," and that "Mr. Roosevelt and his
attorney general aro greatly pleased."
It would have boon better could tho public
have been informed that tho bond for John D.
Rockefeller, Henry H. Rogers and other leading
conspirators was fixed at $25,000 each. It would
have been better if tho public could have been
told that indictments had been returned against
the men responsible for tho corporation's law
lessness. Is It not about time that the people wore
given something substantial in tho way of trust
prosecution? They have grown extremely weary
of buncombe. Mr. Roosevelt and his attorney gen
eral may be "greatly ploasod," but it is noticeable
that tho general public has not become excited
over an indictment against a soulless cor
poration. JJJ
NEVER MIND THE "SPIRIT"
In an Interview printed in the Boston Record,
Attorney General Moody says: "Before I con
demned a contribution from a corporation I
should want to know what corporation gave it
and what the spirit was in giving It. A con
tribution need not bo evil merely because it is
from a corporation."
The only safe way Is to prohibit corporation
contributions altogether. It will not do to de
pend upon the spirit in which a corporation makes
a contribution. Every corporation agent that
contributed to the republican campaign fund in
189G said that the contribution was mado in de
fense of "national honor." If the acceptance of
such contributions depended upon the spirit,
these contributions could not havo been rejected
provided the word of the contributors be taken
for tho "spirit."
We lenow now, however, that these enor
mous suras of money, most of them embezzled
from their rightful owners In the -first place,
were put to mighty bad uso under pretense that
they were to be used in the preservation of tho
nation's honor.
Let it be understood that all corporations,
the mere creatures of law, must devote them
selves to the business for which they were cre
ated. Let the corporation be kept out of poli
tics whatever claim the corporation managers
may make as to the "spirit" in which they par
ticipate in politics.
JJJ
FORGET IT
Some one has again sought to give Paul Mor
ton and the Santa Fe case a whitewash. It will
occur to a great many people that that affair
requires considerable whitewash. Indeed, the
supply is not sufficient to conceal the real facts
from the public. Every effort made by, the
friends of the administration to justify Mr. Roose
velt's position in that affair has resulted in dis
tinct failure. Mr. Roosevelt's friends would do
well to apply the "let well enough alone" policy
to this incident. -
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