9
JANUARY 25, 190?
The Commoner.
that they should he obedient to our laws when a
had example is 'being set for them by the trusts
and corporations which flagrantly violate our
laws not ajone violate, but deliberately ignore
the laws. Wheh men of high standing in our
business life at the head of corporations and trusts
set an example, of disobedience to laws it is nat
ural the growing community should follow suit. In
this connection I refer to the New York Central
Railroad company, a most disobedient corporation.
"With the children of my district looking on this
corporation deliberately defied all laws when the
city authorities sent men into Twelfth avenue to
rip up the unlawfully laid railroad tracks; and,
in disobeying the law they went further and
rushed freight cars along the line into crowds of
workmen to prevent the tearing up of tracks
with no thought "of the possibility of life being
crushed out by the methods they employed. No
attempt was ever made to improve the main road
in Eleventh avenue or to minimize the dangers.
As a result the list of killed and injured is long
and continually increasing.' Mr. Rockefeller, jr.,
listened intently to the denouncement of trusts
and corporations. The address was the cause of
considerable comment by members of the Bible
class after the meeting and was talked of bymem
bers of the congregation in the vestibule at the
conclusion of the morning church service."
AN AGITATION FOR a reform in the practice
of law is now on in Missouri. The Kansas
City Journal says that at a recent meeting of the
bar association there a proposed legislative act
was presented for consideration by one of the
members of the association which provides that
np judgment of a lower court shall be reversed
by an appellate court because of errors unless
those errors are so great, in the opinion of the
appelate court, as to justify the belief that a
.new trial would result in a different verdict. In
other words, the evidence adduced at the trial,
as crystallized in the verdict of the jury, will be
paramount as against the technical blunders of
the court or attorneys.
REFORM IN LAW practice has, according to
the Austin (Texas) Statesman, long been a
favoritev topic ( in the legal circles of the Lone
Star ' state. Referring to the reform as outlined
"by the Kansas' City 'Journal, the Statesman says:
"That this will be a very proper and sensible
step all laymen will agree, however much lawyers
and judges, who are proverbially jealous in pre
serving the so-called science of law as related to
pleadings and practice, may cling to the opposite
view. The necessity for such a reform is apparent
to all litigants whose cause is, under the present
system, at the mercy of chance, or good judgment
if you please, in selecting counsel who will not
commit these technical blunders or in having the
case tried before a judge who is letter perfect
in the bewildering niceties of precedent and prac
tice. The uncertainties of the law on this ac
count are fully confessed when the foremost law
yers in the country frankly acknowledged that
even the best lawyers could not be reasonably
sure of the law in any case until that particular
case had been finally decided by the supreme
court of the land. Under such loose and inexact
conditions the eyes of justice may well be band
aged, for litigation becomes a lottery and justice
a game of chance, as uncertain and often as dis
appointing as a church social's grab bag."
CENSUS BULLETIN sixty-one makes inter
esting reference to the canning industry.
The Baltimore Sun makes this summary of the
bulletin: "In 1904 there were 2,703 canning es
tablishments, with capital of $70,082,000, employ
ing 53,8G2 persons and producing goods worth
$108,505,000. Except in numbers employed, there
is a marked increase in 1905 over 1900' Canned
vegetables were produced to the value of. $45,
262,000; canned fish, $10,983,000; canned oysters,
$3,799,000. California led with canned products
valued at $24,820,000. New York came next with
$12,910,000. Maryland was third with canned
products worth $12,705,511, and was the leading
state in the canning of vegetables, putting up
vegetables to the value of $9,556,011. In the can
ning and preserving of fruits and vegetables the
leading states in all products are in this order:
California, Maryland, New York, Indiana' and Illi
nois. Maryland led in tomatoes, her product in
this line being-, worth $5,000,000. In quantity of
corn cannedMaryland ranks second, coming after
Illinois. In peas Maryland ranks third, coining
after New Yorlrand Wisconsin. In fish Alaska
led, her salmon being worth $7,618,570. Maine
does nearly all the canning of sardines, reporting
a product worth $1,291,324. Massachusetts led
in salt cod, worth $2,511,159. In value of oysters
canned Mississippi led, being followed by Mary
land, South Carolina, Louisiana and Georgia. It
is to be hoped that our oyster-planting law will
restore the leadership in this industry to this
state."
THE REPORT OF the director of the mint
at Washington relating to the production
of gold and silver in the United States during
the calendar year of 1906 makes this showing:
Gold Silver.
State: Value Fine Ozs.
Alaska $21,251,100 191,700
Arizona 3,233,800 2,747,800
California 18,633,900 1,564,500
Colorado ." 22,771,200 12,248,100
Idaho 1,093,700 8,267,200
Montana 4,585,800 11,47S,700
Nevada 9,815,800 6,742,900
New Mexico 255,900 356,200
Oregon 1,369,900 100,000
South Dakota 6,822,700 157,500
Texas 280,100
Utah 5,172,200 11,538,000
Washington .' 352,600 140,500
Wyoming 269,400 1,300
Other states 429,000 80,100
Totals ' $96,101,400 56,183,500
Of the more important increases in the production
of gold as compared with 1905, Alaska stands first
with a gain of $6,316,000, Nevada comes next
with $4,500,000 and Arizona third with $532,000.
Colorado shows a loss in gold production of $2,
900,000 and California a loss of $564,00Q. In
silver production Montana sho.ws a loss pf 2,000,
000 ounces, Oolbrado a loss of 695,000 ounces and
Utah a gain of 2,217,000 ounces. The figures for
all the states show a net gain in gold production
of $7,920,700 and a net gain in silver production
of $82,100.
ON JANUARY 9 John A. Johnson was for
the second time inaugurated as governor
of Minnesota. His message contained some
strong recommendations which, if carried out,
will work to the great advantage of the state
and people. He recommends taxation of iron
mines on a tonnage basis, Increased taxation for
express and sleeping car companies, payment of
railroad taxes semi-annually, taxation of tele
phone companies on interstate business, further
reduction of freight rates, anti-pass and a two
cent passenger fare law, a reciprocal demurrage
law, orders of railroad commission to take effect
at once regardless of appeal, private banks abol
ished, thorough investigation of the lumber trust,
primary law amended, but not to include state
officers, fellow-servant liability rule to be abol
ished, state to conform with uniform divorce law
plans, Mueller law of Illinois to be adoptod to
aid municipal ownership, revision of pure food
laws, lobbyists to be required to register and
make all arguments before committees.
THE CONGRESSIONAL committee appointed
to investigate the labor question in Panama
has returned from its labors and reports that
President Roosevelt and Secretary Taft are
wrong in declaring that Chinese labor would be
needed to complete the ditch. Every member
of the committee is opposed to importing China
men to labor on the canal, saying that it is not
only unnecessary but not advisable. Spanish
laborers have been found efficient, and they are
being secured in increasing mzmbers. A famino
in the northern part of Spain has made it easy
to secure workers at 30 cents an hour, an almost
unheard-of wage in that section. Sixteen hundred
Spanish laborers are now enroute to Panama.
Labor from Spain, Italy, Martinique, the Bar
badoes and Jamaica is becoming more plentiful,
and as long as laborers from these places can
be kept coming it will not be necessary to call
upon China. At present there are about 7,000
laborers on the canal, and 15,000 more are need-
ed. Jackson Smith, manager of labor headquar
ters, says it is necessary to have 30,000 laborers
on the isthmus if 15,000 are to be kept at work,
the desertions being so numerous.
A FORMER BRITISH army officer is authority
for the statement that the United States
will be at war with Japan within two years' and
that the contemplated immigration of 20,000 Japa-'
nese laborers to Hawaii isf in strict accord with
a woll;daflnod plan on the part of the Japanese
government to seize the Hawaiian islands at an
opportune time. Those 20,000 laborers, the officer
asserts, arc trained soldiers, and once the word
is given the conquest of the islands will ba a
comparatively easy matter. Referring to this
opinion the ColumbuH (Ohio) Post says: "While
there appears to bo much food for thought in
the above prediction, little if any heed will be
given it. If 20,000 soldiers of the Japanese army,
disguised as laborers, will only agree to work
for low wages, they will be accorded a royal
welcome by the 'captains of industry in Hawaii,
who, like the 'captains of industry' at home, throw
patriotism to the wjnds when profits are con
cerned. If the prediction is based upon fact then
the Japs are certainly bringing their best general
ship to bear against the point of least resistance.
They have become acquainted with the money
mad proclivities of our leaders. of finance and
commerce and propose to make easy their con
quest through the medium of 'cheap labor.'"
THE KALAMAZOO (Mich.) Daily Gazette lias
inaugurated a novel custom. The Gazette
is a morning paper and the real work of the edi
torial and reporlorial staffs begin at 2 p. in. The
editorand publisher, John A. Ross, has invited
the ministers of the city to 'alternate each day
in opening the day's work of the staffs with
prayer. Rev. R. S. McGregor, president of tho
Ministerial Alliance, was the first to begin. Ho
was introduced to the newspaper men by Mr.
Ross, and all of them bowed their heads while
the reverend gentleman invoked the divine bless
ing. The ministers of the city have signified
their willingness to accept Editor Ross' invi
tation. ,
T17 A. CROFFUT of Washington, D. C,
V writes to the New York World to say:
'The president has issued his decreo, dictum,
command, order or edict that nobody has any
right to quote anything that he has said in a
conversation, but I happen to have heard him
say something that is so timely and apposite in
view of his arbitrary discharge of the colored
soldiers of the Twenty-fifth regulars that I have
the temerity to repeat it. In behalf of the Anti
imperialist League of Washington I called on
President Roosevelt in March, 1903, and asked
him why the murderer of Private RJchter was
retained in the army, it being well known that
under his order the unfortunate victim had been
put to the torture for two hours and then choked
to death with a wet towel jammed into his mouth
with a club. Mr. Roosevelt did not deny the
charge of death resulting from this inhuman
treatment, bur simply denied that he had any
power in the matter. I alluded to his being commander-in-chief
of the army, to the guilty officer
being In the line of promotion to the highest
rank, and I added that the people of the United
States believed their president to be a strenuous
man who had the habit of bringing himself to
bear upon affairs so vigorously as to get the
things done that he thought ought to be done.
'In this matter,' he repeated, 'even if this man is
a murderer, as you claim, I am perfectly help
less. I have absolutely no power to dismiss any
body from the army in time of peace.' I hope that
the president will not object to the conclusion
that he has apparently changed his mind."
T N PRACTICALLY the same condition as when
1 it was used by its distinguished owner, the
sword of John Paul Jones is now in the library of
the New York department at Washington where
it was placed by Commander Reginald Nicholson.
An Associated Press dispatch from Washington
says: "It is believed that the weapon originally
was given to Jones by the North Carolina family
of that name at the time he changed his own
name in compliment to them. The sword was
given by Jones to Theodosia Burr, daughter of
Aaron Burr. Theodosia Burr, after marrying
Joseph Alston, a wealthy and talented young
planter of South Carolina who, in after years,
became governor of the state, presented the
sword to Judge Mathew Davis of Charleston, who
gave it to Rev. Dr. Ducachet of Philadelphia. The
latter gave it to Commodore Summerville Nichol
son. It is thirty inches long, beautiful in design,
very strong, highly tempered and still very mild.
The hilt is of white brass, with the portion known
technically as the basket broken away. The tang
is wide and strong and the grip piece of the
handle is of wood covered with twisted copper
wire."
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