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The Commoner.
JAN0ARY 18, 1807
SOME LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE
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C. A. D. Coleman, Peoria, 111. Now that tho
election la over we can see that the democrats
have made some gains and that is somewhat
encouraging to us. If we wish to make victory
sure at the next elections we must hegin earn
estly and continually keep attention fixed on a
few important facts.
One is that the republicans still cling to the
tariff which does more than anything else to aid
the trusts in their nefarious practices. They
tax the people to pilo up vast millions in order
to loan to the banks without interest while others
who wish to borrow any money must pay inter
est on this same money that has been unjustly
taken from them, by taxation. This tariff makes
building material higher in price, so that our
dwellings cost more than they ought, the rail
roads must pay more for the material they use in
constructing their roads, so they must charge
more for freight and passenger fares to remuner
ate them for their outlay. Merchants must pay
higher prices for their material used in the con
struction of their store buildings, but they know
where to go for their compensation. They can
raise the price of their wares and that makes
it all right. The manufacturer on account of
the tariff must pay more for the machinery in
his factory, but he only needs to put the price
a little higher on his products and he is safe,
but he generally puts it some higher than abso
lutely necessary to make good his loss. While
he is getting the benefit of the tariff he may as
well make it count on every side that he can.
The farmer must pay more for his machinery
and therefore he must have more for the pro
ducts of his farm in order to keep his nose above
water. Then who must foot the bill? Well, I
should say the consumer must shoulder the
burden, whether the consumer be the laboring
man, the farmer, merchant, lawyer, doctor, preach
er or artist. But whoever It be the fact remains
that the common people pay more according to
their ability to pay than anyone else. You may
say that it helps those-who are employed by the
trusts. That may be true in a way, but a very
small percentage of the people are employed by -them,
and even they must pay trust prices for
what they should purchase.
Another question that should be kept upper
most and that is the railroads. We have been
paying railroad companies for years a large
amount of money to carry the mails, while the
government builds its own cars. The government
used to carry the mails on horseback, and in
wagons, and went to some expense to make plank
roads, and pike roads in order to make travel
more convenient not only for the carrying of the
mails, but for the general public. It seems strange
to me that people will make such strong objec
tions to the government building railroads. The
government can just as well carry corn and cattle
or any other merchandise as it can dig canals
or build battleships. It is true they let the build
ing of battleships out by contract, but I do not
see that that is necessary. They possibly might
own " the railroads and have them run by con
tract and do better than they are doing at the
present time.
Another thing that is to be looked after is the
banking business. The bankers intend to -try to
pass a law allowing them to issue the money of
the country. They wish to have the entire -circulating
medium to be of paper, the coin to be
kept out of circulation; they have more reasons
than one for this plan. One reason is that the
banks have to ship a great deal of money from
one part of the country to another, and it costs,
more for express charges for coin and especially
for silver coin, than it does for paper, another is
that where the government Issues the money, if
any should be lost or destroyed, the government
is that much the gainer, but if the banks could
issue the money, all that is lost or destroyed would
be so much gain to the banks. Coin money lost
would be no gain either to the banks or to the
government.
Another reason the banks naturally want to
issue the circulating medium is that they would
then be in a position to increase or contract the
currency almost, if not quite at will, which would
make it possible to raise the interest rate to suit
themselves. They give as a reason'for an elastic
currency, that at crop moving time more money
is needed for that purpose. You can trust the
banks, at all times and under all circumstances.
One thing more that should be done, in my
estimation, is to either repeal the Australian bal
lot law or to do away with the primary laws.
Some will not vote at the primaries as they do
not wish to have it known to which party they -belong.
Then again one may not belong to any
political party; but it seems ,to me that no one
should be deprived of his vote on that account,
and he must have a party name beforo he can
vote at the primaries.
I think every democrat from now until 1908
should use all his influence, let it be small or
great, to get his neighbors intorested in The Com
moner to help along its good work, and especially
to induce them at the next elections to cast every
legal vote at all hazards as failure to do that has
done more to defeat us than anything that I
know of.
T. J. Madden, Kansas City. It is high time
to sound a note of warning against the growth
of centralized power at Washington. The admin
istration has openly and loudly declared against
the right of the state to administer its local af
fairs in the matter of admitting an alien race into
the public schools. Mr. Roosevelt has made the
specific application of overgrown federalism and
Mr. Root has declared it as a general principle of
governmental policy. The rights of the sovereign
states niust give way to the imperial will of the
general government. Not within the memory of
a living man has such an assault been made upon
municipal and individual liberty. The danger of
this is not apparent to the average man who
feels that the question of state rights was settled
by the civil war and the people of the country
should be aroused to the true danger of this
imperialistic policy. It should be made known
that it is not necessary to establish an empire in
order to correct industrial abuses and that it is
not necessary to make a military autocrat out of
our president and blot out municipal rights iii
order to appease a foreign power and avoid a
possible war. Monopoly on the one hand and
socialism on the other seem to lend strength to
this un-American doctrine. The misguided social
ist may look upon it as a corrective for indus
trial wrongs but nothing could be more destruc
tive of the end that socialism seeks to bring
about. Plutocracy would likq to seize upon the
opportunity of placing all power at Washington
for then it would be easily controlled. How eager
ly the life insurance grafters took up with the
idea of federal control of that business when the
matter was up for consideration a year ago. The
desire of plutocracy has always been to remove
government as far from the people as possible.
That is what gave us our senate elected by in
direction; that is what gave us our electoral col
lege; and the executive appointment of federal
judges. Democracy stands for direct control by
the people. It believes in the right of the state
to administer its local affairs free from inter
ference by "outside authority; it believes in mu
nicipal rights and the independence of the in
dividual. It believes in bringing the government
nearer homo. There is no more occasion for a
strong central government now than there was In
the infancy of our republic and Jefferson's argu
ments against Hamiltonianism are as applicable
today as when they were first uttered by that
great man. As for the president himself there
Is little to fear because he is animated by good
motives but the danger consists in establishing
the precedent. His attitude is due more to his
impulsiveness and one-man-rule desire than to
any fundamental principle. He likes to run
things himself. It can not, therefore, be said that
the attitude of the administration towards the
centralizating of federal power Is due to any prin
ciple, but the danger of the thing consists in
establishing the principle by the president's
sporadic act. The idea of a strong central govern
ment has always been kept alive in this country
(and everywhere else for that matter) by the
privilege seeking plutocracy. It has always been
ready to declare for Hamilton. The monopolists
cry out here and there against the president's
declaration because they feel that the blow is
aimed at them but these protests will soon sub
side into approving silence when they consider
that the principle will mean more for them iu
the end and less for the people. Those who live
by the spoliation of the public have always sought
to augment and centralize governmental power.
That is the only way they can control it. The
retention of control by the people, the munici
pality or the state has always proved the undoing
of grafters. Let government be under the hand
and the eye of the people and few wrongs will be
tolerated. Let us leave no control at Washing
ton that can be exercised by local authoiity.
What can be done directly let it not be done in
directly. What can be managed at home should
not be sent far away from home to be managed
by agents and servants who are not under the
eye of the governed. The privilege seeker wants
the people to have as many agents and servants
as possible and ho wants duties passed from
hand to hand for it Is in these shifts that service
Is lost to the public. Home rule means sim
plicity, federalism moans complexity and ultimate
autocracy. The rights of the states are as sacred
now as over in the history of our country and
they call aloud for defense and preservation
against this unconstitutional usurpation. The
general government is our servant and not our
mastor. The constitution defines its duties and
places limitations on Its power and it must re
main within those limits unless these United States
become an empire instead of a republic. All
men who believe In the efficacy of popular gov
ernment should help stamp out this noxious
growth of federalism and lot Inflated autocracy
oxpiro with Roosevelt's term.
A subscriber sends in the following sugges
tions: As we seo that all corruption springs
from the individual, we will put this foot note
just before the signatures of the corporation man- ,
agers: "This schedule of values stands as an
option of sale."
Let mo seo If I can not make my Ideas a
little more clear by specializing: Suppose Mr.
Herrin, chief .counsel for the Southern Pacific was
here and some one handed him ono of these new
assessment blanks. After glancing at it" a mo
ment he says: "Have we full power to fix our
tax rate?"
Answer: "Yes."
Mr. Herrin: "May we assess our property
as low as $10,000 per mile?"
Answer: "Certainly, as low as ono dollar
per mile if you so wish."
Herrin: "Would not such valuation be
raised?"
Answer: "There Is no power Vested in any
ono to raise your valuations. Your board has
full power and final jurisdiction."
A smile of approval is on Mr. Herrin's face,
but as he reads further it changes to a frown
and he says: "This law would make us sell
our road at the value' we place upon It for tax
purposes. As we are bonded and stocked for near
ly eighty thousand dollars per mile, would It
not be an outrage to make us pay taxes on that
amount?"
Answer: "By so doing you would kill the
valuation as you desire. If, however, you are
paying dividends on eighty thousand dollars per
mile, you certainly ought to pay taxes on that
amount. If, on the other hand, you have watered
your stock so as to create fictitious-values that
you may speculate with moneys intrusted to you
by the public, justice demands that you squeeze
the water out of your stocks and bonds."
Herrin: "Such a law would compel us to eat
up our excess earnings, and keep down tax values
by paying excessive salaries to our officials."
"Answer: "By so doing you would kill tho
goose that laid the golden egg. When your oper
ating sheet went to the public and the people
learned what you did with your earnings they
would take your property at your own under
valuation. Thus would you lose tho substance
by grasping at the shadow."
THE SLEEPY SONG
As soon as the fire burns red and low,
And the house upstairs is still,
She sings me a queer little sleepy song
Of sheep that go over tho hill.
The good little sheep run quick and soft.
Their colors are gray and white;
They follow their leader nose to tail,
For they must be home by night.
And one slips over, and one comes next,
And one runs after behind;
The gray one's nose at the white one's tatL
The top of the hill they find. t
And when they get to the top of the hill
They quietly slip away,
But one runs over and one comes next
Their colors are white and gray.
And over they go and over they go,
And over the top of the hill
The good little sheep run quick and soft,
And the house upstairs is still.
And one slips over and one comes next;
The good little, gray little sheep!
I watch how the fire burns red and low,
And she says that I fall asleep.
Josephine Daskam in T. P.'s Weekly.