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tho conditions of tho presont and cast anchor
again in tho doop water upon the safe anchorage
of domocratic idoas.'
"Lot tho democratic party do this and then
lot thorn nanio a democrat, a man whoso record
la not all honoycomhod with tho taint of mod
orn radicalism, and lot thorn rally the pooplo of
tho country as host thoy can to tho support of
tho domocratic party thus reorganized. And
then you say, what will ho tho offcct of that?
Tho answer is easy. Dofeat in 1908. "What of
it? It will bo dofeat with honor. A defeat
with honor is curable; a dofoat with dishonor is
hard to rally from. It will bo no worse than '
tho party has boon onactlng for tho past twelve
years and It will not bo any worso than tho
party is absolutely facing, if it continues its
presont absurd career."
Tho democratic party will not take advice
from its onomies. Tho president has shown how
popular democratic doctrines are when sporadi
cally adopted and spasmodically applied. Tho
democratic party will Bhow how much raoro pop
ular thoso ideas are whon consistently presented
and porpistontly adhered to. If there over was
a time whon tho democrats can afford to be
domocratic, it is now; if there over was a time
when it was foolish to let tho republican leaders
control democratic policies and plan a domo
cratic campaign, it Is now.
Dehiocracy must mean something; It must
go forward; It must protect tho rights of the
people; it must improve tho presont opportunity
to emphasize the doctrine of equal rights to all
and special privileges to none a doctrine which
tho ropublican party has violated until such
great fortunes have been accumulated under
favoritism and special privilege that a ropublican
president is compelled to sound a note of
warning.
oooo
TAFT TIIE STORM CENTER
Tho Chicago Tribune, ropublican, says:
"We earnestly wish that President Roosevelt
would attend more strictly than he does to the
dutios which he was elected to perform. The
chief duty intrusted to him was the execution
of the laws, not the malting of tho laws, and
still less the nomination of his successor. The
ropublican party would like to havb something
to say about tho nomination of Roosevelt's suc
cessor. It does not like to see him put up by
a combination of officeholders, most of whom
owe their places to the president, and all of
whom look to him for patronage to promote
their political ambitions. The worst and best
that may be said of Mr. Taft as a presidential
candidate at present is that he is being
'shoved' upon the republican party, that he is
being 'boosted' into prominence as a candidate
and is being 'crammed down the throats' of re
publicans before they know what kind of an
appetite they have for presidential candidates."
This is strong language from so prominent
a republican paper. The Tribune is not only
against the president for a third term but it is
opposed to a dictatorship. From the tone of
some of the influential journals it looks as if
the next republican convention might present
a spirited contest between tho reformers and the
standpatters. There would be a sure enough
light if the president would back a real reformer
like LaFolletto. Judge Taft's strength seems to
lio in the fact that the president is supposed to
want him. Ho is not enough of a reformer to
enthuse the radicals and not conservative
enough to suit tho standpatters, but his candi
dacy may give the Roosevelt and anti-Roose-velt
forces, a chance to fight out their
differences.' s
OOOO
THE INDEPENDENCE IjEAGUE
The New York American, answering a ro
eont editorial in The Commoner, charges the
domocratic patry with being unable to rid itself
of leaders who are "fortified in their control
of the party by tho money of the corporations
that own them." While The Commoner will
not admit tho truth of very Indictment made
by the American It concedes that there are some
corporation agents who are prominent in tho
democratic councils, but it assorts that tho dom
ocratic party is sound at heart and that a large
majority of tho members of the party are in
corruptible. The reactionary influences ob
tained control of tho St. Louis convention and
ran the campaign on conservative lines, but if
ne conservative sinned "grievously" "griev
ously" did they "answer for it." The experience
taught its lesson and that lesson will not
be soon forgotten. It la in thn wr. ,
rank and file to retire unfaithful leaders and
-uuhu Homers win do retired. .Out of the six
ind a half millions who voted Uhe democratic
The Commoner.
'i
ticket in 1890 and 1900 but a few are under
tho domination of predatory wealth shall tho
rank and file then desert the party and found
a now organization? If parties could bo organ
ized oasily it might bo advisable for the masses
to form themselves into a new party and leave
tho leaders with no followers, but tho organiza
tion of a new party is not an easy matter. It
takes a great crisis to bring a great party fnto
oxistonco. The ropublican party grew out of a
struggle gigantic enough to produce a civil war
and it would not have been possible to form
tho ropublican party then if any existing party
had been willing to undertake tho work that
tho peoplo wanted done.
Today the democratic party Is prepared to
meet the encroachments of plutocracy, and the
president has revealed a reform element In
tho republican party, which is daily becoming
more and more persistent, and this reform ele
ment will act with the democrats if the repub
lican leaders dare to tako a backward step in
1908. Because people want results these re
form republicans will act with tho democrats if
the domocrats do their duty, and the chances
are that the members of the Independence
League will, too, for tho sincerity of men is
judged by their acts and sincere reformers will
not wait indefinitely for their own organization,
to bring reforms that another organization is in
position to bring at once. The populists endorsed
tho democratic ticket In 1896 and 1900. Why?
Because they could not refuse to do so without
putting their party organization above their
principles. And so in 1908 If the democratic
party, does what it ought to do and what The
Commoner believes t will do the members
of the Independence League will have no ex
cuse for voting a separate ticket. The demo
cratic party is on trial now, but the Independ
ence League will be on trial if it fights the
doraocratic party when that party is fighting on
tho people's side. When that test comes Mr.
Hearst and his papers and the Independence
League will bo allies of the democratic party
their past and their principles compel it. .
oooo
riJ1 IS THIS REFORM?
The press dispatches announce in big black
headlines that George B. Cox, the Cincinnati
boss, has brought harmony out ..of chaos and
restored peace in' Ohio by" proposing that the
Ohio republicans endorse Taft for president and
return Foraker to the senate. Whether this set
tlement of the controversy between the reform
republicans and the corporation republicans will
be accepted by the president and his friends,
remains to be seen. If the president is willing
to assist in returning Foraker to the senate on
condition that Ohio supports Mr. Taft for the
presidency, he will disappoint even more admir
ers than he disappointed when he made- public
the Harriman letter in which he described him
self and the, manipulator as both practical men.
It will be remembered that Senator Foraker led
tho fight against any railroad regulation and
went to Ohio to wage war against an endorse
ment of Mr. a aft. Secretary Taft's brother ac
cepted the challenge and threatened that the
secretary Would run for senator as well as .pres
ident if Mr. Foraker attempted to interfere with
the presidential, situation. In a little while it
was announced that Senator Foraker did not
desire a presidential endorsement and that Sec
rotary Taft did not aspire to the senate. Now
ore of the most odious bosses in the country
dovises a plan whereby the once warlike secre
tary and Benator will become boon companions,
each supporting the other in return for
reciprocal support. Secretary Taft has always
looked a little out of place In the garb of a
reformer, for, so far, he has not done much in
the way of reforms; but no one expected so com
plete. an abandonment of all their pretenses at
reform as would bo involved In an offensive and
defensive alliance with Senator Foraker, one of
the most conspicuous champions of predatory
wealth. "IS this Teform, my Lord?"
OOOO
SEEKING CENTRALIZATION
The press dispatches are carrying sl letter ad
dressed to the president by Judge L H. Farrar,
of New Orleans. The letter discusses tho ques
tion of railroad regulation from the standpoint
of those who want to see the State deprived of
all power over railroad matters. The dispatches
say that the letter so impressed the president
that he recommended that the writer of it give
it to the public "for information and dis
cussion." Judge Farrar takes the position that under
the congressional power "to establish postofflce
.VOLUME 7, NUMBER 13
and post .roads the federal government can cre
ate railway corporations and give them such
power as congress may think best, and in so
doing, protect the railroads from all state, coun
try and municipal taxation, except such as con
gress authorizes," protect the railroads from
"the prejudice of the local jury and the fifty
per cent damage lawyer by giving them the right
to sue and be sued in tho United States courts
alono, and provide for exclusive regulation of
freight and passenger service, etc."
Whether congress has the power to create
Tailroad corporations and then deny to the
states through which these railroads run the
power to regulate the railroads is a question
upon which people will differ according to their
views of constitutional construction, but
whether congress should usurp the regulative
power now exercised by the state, is a question
upon which all democrats and a very large ele
ment of tho republican party will have positive
opinions. After waiting twenty years for effec
tive railroad regulation at the hands of con
gress; after watching the railroads control the
senate and the house for two decades, the peo
ple, republicans as well as democrats, will not
care to surrender to the national government
the authority which the states now exercise.'
This demand for centralization comes, too, at
an inopportune time, because the clamor for
centralization is due to the fact that the states
have commenced to act on the railroad question;
A number of republican states, as well as sev
eral democratic states, have reduced, passenger
rates, and some of them have reduced freight
rates. The peoplo of these states will not relish
the idea of surrendering the control of their
local affairs just at the time when they have
decided to use the authority for their own pro
tection. By all means let Judge Farrar'3 article be
published. It will give information "as to the
purpose of centralization." Those who relish,
the prospect ,of havingr to run off to a federal
court with every little damage suit against" a
railroad will side with Judge Farrar, but those
who prefer to try their cases at home where the
expenses of a trial are not sufficient to amount
tO a denial Of iustico Will AntAr nn AmnTin.Mn
protest. The various local communities which
have had such a struggle to compel the rail
roads to pay their share of the taxes will not
take kindly to the proposition that turns every
thing over to the federal government and leaves
each community to collect such taxes as con
gress by permission of the railroad magnates
wilt permit. The more Judge Farrar's proposi
tion is discussed the stronger will the demo
cratic position become, for when the democratic
position is understood, it appeals to a demo
cratic sentiment which is far broader than any
party. ,
Secretary Root may have had the railroads
in mind when he suggested that the powers
or the federal government might be enjoyed by
construction. If the states are ever deprived of
the power which they now ha.e to regulate the
railroads within their respective borders, it will
bo by construction, not by any affirmative act
on the part of the people themselves. W
OOOO
SERVING TWO MASTERS "''-
Can a man serve two masters? Can h$ repre
. sent, and do it fairly and honestly, the stockholders
of two companies which deal with each other? Is
it wise to allow the directors of insurance compa- .
nies to become the directors of a bank which keeps
on deposit the surplus money of the insurance
company? Will the directors, acting for the policy
holders, secure Hie highest possible rate of inter
est upon deposits, or will they, as directors of, the
bank, secure the deposits at as low a rate as pos
sible? Will these directors, acting for the policy
holders, keep tho surplus at a minimum or, acting
for the bank, keep' the surplus at a maximum?
. This duplication of directorates is not" a new
evil, although it is a growing one. Our railroads
have given many illustrations of the viciousness
of this system. Construction companies, formed
from tho directors of the railroad companies, have
- looted the treasuries that they were supposed to
guard, and equipment companies, formed from
railroad directors, have grown rich at the expense
of the railroad.
The remedy for this form of the trust is to
prohibit the election of any person as a director
or other official of two or more corporations which
are either competitive or engaged in transacting
business with each other. If it were not lawful
for one corporation to have business dealings with
any other corporation in which. any of its directors
were also directors the inducement to form these -Interlocking
combinations would be removed, Such
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