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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (May 10, 1907)
pF7T??5r5fF Tmk;-t'pfmir r?Ff'f"'' rrT?',1,,w"' 'w'Vt, -, 1 lo, ir Tne Commoner. 41 ' ft . Letters from the People ' 'Robert Barclay, Effingham, 111. Iff your ''edi torial page Marclr 15, It is stated that the pet press muzzling law secured by former Governor Pennypacker has been wiped from the Pennsyl vania statute books. Will you kindly state in your query box what ibis la' was? (this law, in brief, prohibited the cartooning of public officials and provided for The signing of the name of all writers of editorials and special articles; The law was so drastic that it defeated v itself.) ' . . Ernest Mr Plummer, 3334 Palmer street, Phil adelphia, Pa. It is earnestly hoped that the move ment for election of United States senator's by pop ular vote will grow apace. There are those who believe the senate In its latter day constitution and ' with "its present tendencies, to be a menace to the very life of popular government. In the writer's home city, Philadelphia, what little agitation ever existed in favor of the movo-. inent referred to SQcms to-have died of Inanition. W. J- Parriss, Stratford, I. T. I see that con gress, before It adjourned, passed the bill giving the national banks power to" contract their cur rency $9,000,000 per month. Of course they will have contracted it in the space of twelve months to the extent of $108,000,000. Now according to the wording of this bill where is the monthly con traction to stop? If there is no limit to the months during which it is to continue their power is absolute to create a financial panic. In your next issue please let us know how this is arid much oblige a wader of The Commoner. (Applications by banks for the privilege of retiring notes, must be approved first by the comp troller, of the currency and later by thesecrctary of the treasury.. One of the first acts of,. George B. Gortelyou, us secretary oC the treasury, was ro approve .requests for permission tq retire . notes for' the. first month, aggregating $0,000,000,);'.. - A. M. Dalrymple, Salem,- Ore: Pardon meTfor ''butting- in" on a. busy day, but I wriiit-toTsasl6 .V question and venture u suggestion":1 Can-mot'"r-raugemontsboaiiuda whereby The Commonermnr be - sent by 'democratic- subscribers' to ' republican -" friends for a period of four months for 25 cents 7 My Idea is that if a man In the habit of voting the republican ticket straight, will read The Commoner for four months ho will begin to think along (to him) new lines. Thinking will lead him to Inves tigating; after that he will be all right. Now if each subscriber to The Commoner, or half of-them would pay one or two four months subscriptions to a like number of republican friends, just sno what a 'killing" would bo made: I think most any of us could afford to invest 25 or 50 cents in this proposition with the satisfaction of know ing it was money well spout. Prevailing condlr tions justify the belief that the next presidential campaign will be one of the greatest in the history of. the nation; and while we can not all take the stiimp, we can spend a few cents !fltlie circulation of. good literature a;ud the sooner we "get into our collars" and go to workr the more certain are we of favorable results- in the next presidential . contest. ' Albln M. Richards, Boston, Mass. Having read your public letter to Mr. Whitney of March 25", and having given the subject matter some thought, I would like to suggest to you what I believe to be new: That regulation of railroads is impossible. The public and the courts are de ceived by the railroads who keep their books al .ways" so fixed and padded that the legitimate profits are not shown. That, in case the public take a railroad the public should pay the struc tural value only, Irrespective of stock outstanding. To do other than this would be as unfair as it , .would tor you to put the ownership of your pri vate residency into a stock company ancf issue' teii times ita value in 'stock and expect in crtse of a. public "taking" to recover Its stock value, In paying for private property1 taken by the public, the mortgages on the property are not considered. The railroads believe they own certain vested In terests that should not De Interfered with, but I have yet to hear them claim to be the heirs of all the natural growth of the needs of the United States. Tbjs natural growth Bhould be provided ' for by the government. It might fairly be allowed that 10,000 miles of new track should be laid each year by the national government. This would gradually work Out the citizens salvation and would be better than the endless litigation that would attend the purchase of railroads with the added certainty 'that the voters would be fleeced." Let the United States lay a double truck across the country, from ocean to ocean cast and' west from 'Frisco to Boston In a straight lino along a parallel of latitude and between the rail-, roads as far as practical, so as to open up new country. Call It a mail route, or a military rail road, or any suitable name. Connect this railroad with nearby cities and towns Hint interested them selves and not buy or annoy the existing railroads with their watered stock but leave them to gamble out their own salvation, etc., etc. This latter idea I have not heard mentioned. B. H. Dykus, Waynesville, N. C I have late ly been considering the government ownership of the railroads. Sitting quietly In these old moun tains I have reflected over the matter and in all my conclusions in life I try to npproach as near as I can to the great laws of nature I see tho natural rivers and lakes teeming with the loaded lines of all kinds of craft, carrying the results of labor from one end of the country to the other. I notice the freedom that accompanies such move ments the general welfaro that results from the traffic competition, and I ask myself why can not this ease and freedom be applied to our other lines of communication throughout the country; why can not the railroad ways be turned into natural highways, by belonging to the general govern ment, as the rivers and lakes are, and allow Jiny one who so desires to put rolling stock on them, and create wholesome competition, just as boats arc put on rivers and lakes, and vie with each other for the trade? The government prescribes the navigation laws, so could the government reg ulate the running of cars on the railroads, in my mind there would be instituted a freedom and personal Independence all over the land, that '.3 fast becoming necessary to relieve us of the tight ening bands that are throttling the Individual en deavor everywhere. Let the general government own and keep in order all the railroad lines. Let 'the people use them to run their cars on. . John Crane, Logansport, Ind. -In the sixties when gold had fled from: the United States and Mr. Lincoln was pressed for funUs to -pay the boys in blue congress came to his aid and issued the greenback (00,000,000, I think). They were legal tender. You could buy a-dollar's worth of anything'' witli ICgreenbaclc dollar nnd Olr 'hoVr- glad the "boys In blue" were to get them, but they were fighting an honest, honorable foe in their front. No one looked for the foe that threatened them in the rear, but "the next Issue was stabbed In the back by men more dangerous than the ones that we were fighting in our front the exception clause was inserted. And I am told that Mr. Lin coln said, as he affixed his name to the bill, that he gave his consent as he would to the death of a near friend, I. e., as a case of absolute neces sity. Grand oldpatrlot, It was the besf he could do, it was thatTor nothing. After the war was fought to a successful close we found the money that had paid ns for five years of exposure and hardships had depreciated till it took $2.85 of it to buy $1 worth of goods, but it had saved tho union where gold had turned traitor and left the country or hidden. But now they want to foist tills asset currency on the people. Will congress ' do it? No, a thousand times, no. . It Is worse tliau any fiatist could dream of; the fiat money would at least be issued by the government in which .ve all had an interest but the only way I can get a correct idea of this asset currency Js to shut my eyes and think of nothing in space. "Traveler," On The Road. There Is a phase in tho question, of government ownership of rail roads, telegraphs,, etc., which has not been touched Upon, to my knowledge, by any one of the speak ers or writers on the subject, but which, it has occurred to me If advocated, wouia place the Issue on much , stronger grounds than It occupies ut present, and'would go far toward insuring success, of the", movemeut yhen the people are ready for the submission jof the question to them. My prop osition' Is to provide for the joint ownership of these utilities by the national and state govern ments. The Idea of state ownership, while, logic ally' correct, is subject to the grave objection or cumbersomeness In the handling of interstate Com merce. With the national government a holder or a majority interest In the properties, responsi bility would be a fired one, and uniform manage ment would,, be secured. It should be admitted that the states are entitled to the right to partici pate In the purchase of these properties, if "only from the fact that ownership by the national gov ernment alone would deprive the states of one of Its chief source of revenue which Is now derived from taxation. Tula plan would divide the task of providing the necessary capital, thus increas ing its practicability. My suggestions would be, in a- general way: First, national government to bo allowed to take, on account of the burden of management, something more than a bare ma jority interest, say GO per cent of tho whole. Sec ond, suites to divide tho 40 per cent on n basis of state expenditures (or stale taxes) per capita, or on any other equitable basis. Third, each party In Interest to provide its proportion of capital, with guarantee of state bonds by tho national government. Fourth, If any state or states de cline to participate In the purchase of these prop erties, tho interest falling to them to bo dlvld&l prorata between tho other states. Have been in-, clincd to oppose government ownership of rntl roads, In the past, but recent developments have caused me to change my views. I believe the In surance and other grafts that have, within com paratively recent times, been exposed, would prove to be very unimportant disclosures com pared with the colossal robberies of the railroads, could they ever bo brought to light. The only remedy appears to be a turning over of these properties to the people. "Regulation" may regu late for a time, but it will doubtless become a ' dead letter when the people become tired of keep ing watch over the manipulators. I have given this question of dual ownership considerable thought, and Its practicability and feasibility has steadily grown upon me, and I have finally de cided to submit' my ideas, although but roughly, to you with' the hope that you may be able to resolve them Into a plan that may bring the coun try nearer to a solution of this Important question. A Subscriber, Janesyillc, Wis. The Chicago Record-Herald, in a recent issue says: "For steal ing throe dozen doughnuts valued at .'10 cents, from n bakery, Albert Dorsey today was sentenced by Judge FIfield to one year in the, state's prison at Wausau." Now the problem is, how many dozen doughnuts would Albert Dorsey have to steal to be sentenced to bo postmaster general 'of the United States-? If the ajjent of the candidate for president has to receive $ 150,000- of stolon policyholders money from life Insurance compi nles before his master can be sentenced to tiie White Ilouse or himself to be postmaster general then I ask is the man who receives stolen (policy holders) money as guilty as Albert Dorsey who sstole the doughnuts? And then figuring the other way, how many years" would the postmaster gen eral have to serve in the pen at the rate of ono year for every 30 cents of this $150,000 stolen from the policyholders of the three life insurance com panies? This is, according to Judge Fifield's Idea of justice. Get the Wisconsin judge after them, byrall means. SPECIAL OFFER Everyone who approves the work Tho Com moner Is doing is invited to co-operate along tho -fines of the special subscription offer. According to the terms of this offer cards each good for ono year's subscription to The Commoner will be fur nished in lots of Ave at the rate of $tJ per lot. This places the yttii.v subscriotlon rate at G cents. Any one ordering these cards may sell them for $1 each, thus earning a commission of $2 on each lot sold, or he may sell them at the cost price and find compensation In the fact that he has con tributed to the educational campaign. ' These cards may be paid for when ordered, or -they may be ordered and remittance made after they have been sold. A coupon is printed below forthe convenience of-those who desire to par ticipate In this effort to increase The Commoner' circulation: The Commoner's Special Offer Application fer Subscription Cards 5 10 15 20 25 50 75 100 Publisher Commoner: I am Interested lo lncreas lnj? the Commoner '5 circulation,, and desire you to send mo s supply of subscription cards.. 1 agree to uso my utmost endeavor to sell the carda, and will remit lor thorn at Iba rate of GO ceuta each, when cold. i '-...a...,..'::...;.'.. BOxfoB STBKTT Ko.ii... .;.... ... -j. ..-;, ;...'..;.. . - ' " -' - . " r. j ,s ' i ' P.O ,.. .....: state....;..... Indicate the number at carda wanted by marking X opposite one of the numbers printed on end ot this bUalc If yon belle tee paper is Oolnz worlc that merit encouraee meat, All out the above coupon and mail it to The Commoner. Ztiaeolx, Neb i 41 1 & 'fl 1 V 'V&A