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The Commoner.
VOLUME 7, NUMBER It
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Observations
Indianapolis, Ind. Up to n short while ago tho
railroad magnates were Jaunting over the country
In tliclr gorgeous private carspaid for by the
companies that also pay their salaries, and de
ducted from tho dlvldonds that stockholders aro
supposed to get ond at board of trade and cham
ber of commerce dinners and banquets scolding .
tho people for complaining of wrongs or Insisting
upon their rights, ond asking serious attention to
tliclr protests against tho fostering and maintain
ing of an unkind sentiment among the people to
wards the sacred Interests they represented. Thoy
were the belated reflected effulgence of Holy
George F. Baer the creator's creditor whose rail
road owns and operates coal mines contrary to
tho laws of Pennsylvania and who is lmmuno
from obedience to that same law. But thcytho
junketing railroad magnatos-lectured and
scolded tho people, with full reports of their lec
turlngs and scoldings In every Associated Press
paper in the country next morning; and proceeded
to even got angry and bogin to threaten. But
some wise heads among them took a reef in Mr.
mil and Mr. Harriraan and a few others, and,
evidently, whispered to thorn something that might
bo construed Into the idea that thoy wore making .
fools of themselves, and that If thoy got the people
angry their railroads would bo about the first tiling
the people would be Inclined to take possession of.
It would seem Unit some such good and sound
Jidvice got close enough to their common sense to
stick, and since tho first snow of winter wo have
been receiving assurances that tho railroads and
other corporate combinations, oven some insur
ance companies, intended henceforward to obey
tho law much better than heretofore. And not a
Judge or court or governor in the land blushed at
tho condescension of the law .violators, in their
admission that those whose' duty it is to enforce
tho law had wholly failed to perform their duty.
Hither that is true or we have demonstrated our
inability to protect ourselves our society and
aro therefore proving our Incapacity for self gov
ernment. We aro a very boastful people ami
shriek our own greatness to the world constantly,
but wo should realize that our government Is no
older than a man may live to bo, whilst tho British
government is over oight hundred years old.
Wherefore, we arc only entering upon the proof
of our ability as individual men, each an equal
quantity in tlio government, to sustain a govern
ment that shall rightly and justly govern. It Is
not an unqualified fact, It is but our boastful and
braggart, assumption, equal to that of thp Amevi-
can Indian who thumped his breast and pro
claimed his prowess and greatness and glory as
he burned at the stake of his conquerors.
And just at this particular time of our history
we aro contributing some very strong testimony
tbat, as a people, we are too unreliable In our ob
servance of the laws of both God and man, as to
truth and honesty, and entirely too subservient to
the wish, will and power of wealth to argue a very
long life to any form of government dependent
upon the people in their allegiance to principles
and institutions that look for their perpetuity to
the steadfast loyalty of the people.
But since the promises to be good, by the "In
terests," there have been happenings that may
well be termed staggering. One is reminded of
Arnold's "reluctant seal of a broken promise,"
whenever our railroad, money or merchant princes
are parties to agreements. A "gentlemens' agree
ment" means, we will contribute our share and di
vide the swag and no questions asked of the di
vider. . But to contemplate Theodore Roosevelt as the
dupe and fool of the railroad or other magnates is
angering. Wo are not prepared to accept from
him either "I didn't know It was loaded" or that
ho was deceived. If some of these cap
tains of finance or any of their representa
tives deceives or attempts to deceive tho presi
dent, we will accept no defense. Ho knows them
and their methods and purposes; and he knows
they are never disinterested, therefore never
never, never to be trusted; and that it is his im
perative duty to wholly ignore anything and ev
erything coming from them directly or indirectly
whatever its nature and in whatever form. They
are not looked upon as men whose methods are
honorable and their word is not good and he knows
it Wherefore, no whine or whimper, reason, ar
gument or purpose will be accepted by the neonlo
from the president for his being deceived in any
way by any of those individuals, or collect! vol v.
"""" " uy 1"IBlv:u y uunu or successful burcr-
mrsr wuat oetter are these men save in their
JCgUl L'UUUKUl :
Ana wo grin ana ask what has Harrlihan done
to the president? For of course we have ho syin-
pathy for'any one being deceived In that quarter,
and that yell of "wolf" wo are getting tired of. 151
a general sense, the people have given Theodore
Roosevelt his full title to a character that djmlea
the right to stoop to the cowardice of falsehood;
but he Is .not tho only one to whom they have
accorded the same virtue and honor, nor can his
most volublo yell persuade them that they are
wrong. The president has questioned tho word
of men equal In good name and fame with himself,
and who would sacrifice life itself, rather than for
feit tliclr honor by falsehood; and 'his acceptance
of tbc counsel and advice of such men as I have
named, denies him the right to question the word
of men who would scorn to accept assistance from
a source that practices the methods he must know
them to pursue. There aro very few shrewd men
of business who could be fooled by any of that
element, and when the president is deceived or la
put "in a hole" ho must not be surprised if some
people laugh.
In scanning a new novel by Ian MacLareu,
now running in some of the papers, I was attracted
by this sentence: "Now there's the Carnegies and
tho Gordons and the rest o' the royal families of
the northeast, and the sour-blooded covenanters
down In the west, and It's not in the nature o'
tilings that they should agree any more than oil
and water."
And I laughed at the silly, vulgar vanity of
men.
Long ago, when I was more familiar with,
tilings in the newspaper world, George O. Starr
was tho popular advance for Barnum, and the
newspaper boys were always glad to see George
drop in on them, as he was good for from a half
to a column of "good stufr j shape of a story,
with, of course, the-name of Barnum inserted.
Tho stories, as I have indicated, were always
good, and tho boys would gladly Have used Bar
num's name a dozen times to get one, but Starr
could write them so well that he was generally
asked to do so. He quite readily consented and,
never abusing his opportunity, he used tho name
Barnum but once in each story. In this way, trav
eling constantly, he managed to keep' the press of
the country talking Barnum all the time, but In
such a way as not to wear out the worth of the
stories by the advertising word "Barnum."
Tho above sentence attracted tny notice be
cause of the "Barnum" feature, and I wondered
if the old showman'a method is to go intoour li
braries as evidence for the "Herald's college" of
tho future to referr to. I hope I am wrong, but die
canny method was not all confined to the men and
time of those who betrayed their king for gold.
I would like to hear Carnegie parse bis es
cutcheon. W. S. RYAN.
Washington Letter
Washington, D. C, May 13. The author
ized chroniclers of White House facts and fan
cies still insist that" there is no purpose on the
part of the president to either seek or accept
a renomination. Wbat be is going to ask, how
ever, so they say, is that his administration, and
his policies should be approved by republican
state conventions as fast as held. This is surely
a moderate request. Seldom, indeed, has a state
or a national convention failed to endorse the
administration of the president elected by its
party. The most famous case to tho contrary
w-aathat of tho Chicago convention of 1896
which emphatically refused to endorse the
Clovoland administration. The first republican
convention to which Mr. Roosevelt will appeal
will be that of Pennsylvania called to nominate
a state treasurer. This convention will bo dom
inated by Senator Penrose, the hero of the fa
mous $6,000,000 conspiracy Btory. Men wonder
whether the president will accept an endorse
ment at the hands of this prime conspirator.
Meanwhile the president is still insisting,
that bis successor bo a man holding his views
and able to give them effect. People ask why
Tvith this in contemplation he does not add to
his list of men of this type Senator LaFollette,
who above all men in the United States senate
has stood most sturdily for curbing the rail
roads and putting shackles on predatory wealth
Yet poor LaFollette is ignored,
There was gome interest aroused in Wash
ington Sunday by the publication here of a poll
of republican editors throughout the country made
by the New York Times. Three hundred editors
were asked to express their opinions concerning
the possibility of Mr. Roosevelt becoming again a
candidate for the presidency. Only sixty-elKht
answered, but of these sixty-seven said that, in
their opinion, he would be a candidate, and that ha
never was so strong before the people as he is to-day.
What they said of his strength, wag flatter
ing; what they said of his candidacy, in .view of
his Insistence that he will not run, is not a high
tribute td his veracity. b
Whatever the three hundred editors- polled by
toe New York Times may think, tho correspon
dents of their own newspapers here in Washing
ton emphatically disagree with them, though they
may possibly not be able to get their views prlnt-
i, ore could be a concensus ef the opinion
of the most representative journalists at the cap
ital, men who are close to the administration and
whose business it is to study the president in all
his majesty, the lesult would be an almost unani
mous opinion that he has been materially weak
ened by the occurrences of the last month.
Polling three hundred republican editors
throughout the middle west means getting the
opinions in very many cases of postmasters, Uni
ted States marshals or the men who have secured
for their friends such pieces of federal patron
age. That is why such a polling is of little or no
value.
When Colonel Watterson comes back from
Europe, after carefully studying American polit
ical conditions from the vantage point of Baden
Baden and the Riviera, what he has to say is
naturally received with much deference by the
American press as a whole. -
Perhaps after aU Colonel Watterson, whose
political services have always been entertaining
if not useful to the party he professes to serve,
may be able to judge of political conditions bet
ter if some three thousand miles of "ocean inter
vened between him atia the country of which Jie
talked. When be was closest to the democratic
organization he asserted in a burst of oratory that
if a person named Grover Cleveland were nom
inated for the presidency, the party would march
thrdugh a slaughter house to an open grave. As
a matter of fact the party marched through one
of the easiest campaigns ever fought to victory.
Yet perhaps Colonel Watterson was right in the
end, because after the election of Mr. Cleveland
and four years of his service, he led it to the
grave which Watterson had foreseen, but which
did not present itself at the moment that the dis
tinguished Kentucky editor had predicted.
Nor can we forget-that when the democratic
party, Which had cast nearly seven million votes
for Mr. Bryan in 1800 against Mr. Watterson's
bitter antagonism, and which in 1000 cast over,
six million with his ostensible support, nominated
a certain Judge Parker and received Mr. Wat
terson's earnest and strenuous aid and enjoyed
liis prophecies of victory, the candidate whom lie
- ,was sure would be elected fell over a million
votes short of Bryan's vote in 1000 and was ded
icated by the greatest popular majority ever regis-
tered against iiny presidential candidate.
Watterson stands as the last survivor of the
great editors of th olden times. We all love
him. He is what Horace Greeley was years ago,
and when the boys in journalism quote him they
are doing well and rightfully. But political ob
servers have a right to ask whether when he pre
dicts the triumphant election of Hughes or an
other republican, he speaks with more knowledge
than when he predicted the defeat of Cleveland
or the victory of Alton R. Parker.
Attorney General Bonaparte has now under
consideration the proposed constitution of the
new state of Oklahoma. If approved by the
president that constitution will be submitted to
the people of tho state and its adoption will
mean the admission of the state to the union
the adding of a new star to the national flag.
But there are sinister rumors as to the out
look. Representative Watson of Indiana, a state
quite far away from Oklahoma, has brought to
the president a copy of the proposed constitu
tion with the assertion I -quote an administra
tion newspaper "that It was such a conglomer
ation of constitution and legislative enactments
that he thought the president should Tefuse to
give it his approval, which would have the effect
of not admitting the state at this time, and post
poning its admission almost indefinitely.
It was as a result of this Indiana protest
against self-government for Oklahoma that the
constitution was sent to the attorney general
for an opinion as to whether the people of that
thriving southwestern community are still, like
the Filipinos and the Porto Ricans, incompetent
to govern themselves.
The proposed constitution Is long one of
the longest ever written. It is long because its
makers were most explicit in guarding the rights
of the people against corrupt corporations on
the one hand, and predatory political bosses on
the other. It can not be summarized liere, but
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