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VOLUME, 7. NUMBER 20
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Jt Is .almost thrco times the annual appropria
tion for . tho stato univoriity, more than the
ontiro state appropriations for high schools, fifty
por cent moro than the state expended oh roads
In 1905 and is moro than tho intorcsjt on tho
jpublic debt of Maino.
It will bo soon that the stato of Maine is
rolioving these railroad companies of nlnety
'flvo por cout of their stato taxes in consideration
of tho promise that tho said railroads will trans
port over thoir lines "troops and munitions of
war, in times of war, insurrection or civil com
motion, free of chargo other than as heroin and
in said act provided" Of course this grant Is
a mere subsidy to the railroads, but it is amus
ing to find tho subsidy predicated upon a prom
ise to carry troops in a war that is not only not
in sight but which may never como. Many
absurd rcasohs have been given for subsidies,
and many excuses havo boon soberly sot forth
as a basis for appropriations, but it is doubtful
whether tho official records of any stato pre
edit such a mirth-provoking contract. Tho
railroads had to stato some consideration in
order to provont a subsequent administration
or legislature from repudiating tho contract,
and so this visionary consideration was solemnly
Inserted in the document.
Tho domocrats of Maino have been having
a good deal of fun with tho republican party
which is responsible for this agreement. They
are suggesting that since the railroads are re
lieved of thoir taxes by a promise to carry troops
In timo of war, tho plain citizens of Maino
should bo relieved from taxation on condition
that they promise to enlist when this imaginary
war breaks out. Tho rank and file of tho re
publican party of Maine must be dull, indeed,
if they can not see the joke that haB been per
petrated upon them, and they must be as in
" different as tho people of Philadelphia to the
misconduct of their representatives if they do
not rise in indignation and protest against such
corporation domination.
Tho democratic editors who spend so much
time in pointing out the dangers of government
ownership and so little time in informing the
public of tho abuses that have grown up under
private ownership might give a little editorial
spaco to the contract above set forth
In the meantime those who enjoy humor
need not go to, the, expense of buying funny
hooks and papers they can find much that is
humorous in the serious arguments advanced
by republican leaders and in the actual transac
tions betwoen the various governments and the
powerful corporations. The difference between,
tho graft that has been developed in the build
ing of Pennsylvania's state house and the graft
of these Maine railroads, is small it .is only a
question of time and degree. ' .
oooo
SELECTING A CANDIDATE
These are busy times for the king-makers.
The national conventions are only a little more
than a year off, and the stato conventions will
be meeting and instructing in less than a year.
In both parties favorite sons are being brought
out and tho availability of eligible candidates
is being discussed. In the republican party the
main question seems to be whethof the president
will be allowed to pick out the republican candi
date, or whether the republican Voters will have
opinions of their own. Secretary Taft seems to
be the president's choice, but Vice President
Fairbanks is busy with his conferences and
Speaker Cannon is conducting himself like one
who would not prosecute the nomination for
assault and battery if it took hirn by force.
The democratic party is not without its
excitements. In the news columns of The Com
moner mention has been made of a number of
mon whose friends have vouched for their wJll-"
ingness to run and for their popularity.
Now comes the veteran 1ourna.1fRt. Wah
Watterson, and volunteers to ghfe Mr. Bryan
the name of a democrat who, "without entang
ling alliances with any of the money powers
yet without any antecedents which could drive
away conservative democrats, fills the specifica
tions made in Mr. Stealey's Washington letter
exactly; 'a good organization democrat who sup
ported the ticket in 189,6;' who, in our judg
ment, could still the discords and restore the
harmonies, yea, fill tho loose sailn nf i ni,i
Ship of Zion with hopeful gales, and perhaps
prove an Abraham Lincpln to the lost sheep of
the house of Jefferson and Jackson and Tilden."
Who is this man whose name is concealed
but whose personal fitness and political nre-
jminence are thus vouched for? Mr nrvnn
loes not pose as a Warwick, tta hnn ' ri
sire to assume the role of candidate-maker. He
Mdiy protests against the misrenresentatlnnR
it his position by those who prefer some on
else, but he Is not eager to h&vd hand In the
making of a candidate.
Tho would-be Warwicks should not forget
that, after all, the question of candidacy can
not be settled by a few leaders. Leaders pro
pose but the voters dispose. Mr. Watterson may
object to the initiative and referendum when
applied to government although to do go .he
must discredit the intelligence of tho people
to whom his ejoquent appeals are made but
ho will not deny that we have the initiative and
referendum in the matter of nominations. The
friends of the various candidates employ the in
itiative; they bring the names of the candidates
before the public but the people, through the
referendum, sit in judgment upon the claims
of candidates. Who are more interested than
the people themselves in the selection of a can
didate? And yet, from the manner of some
one would suppose that the only thing nec
essary to the selection of a candidate was
agreement among ,the leaders. And who is
a leader? Is it not one who is going in the
same direction with the people and, as sdmeone
has said, a little bit ahead?
Mr. Watterson owes it to his party and to
his country to bring out his candidate one if
ho has but one, several if he has several. "
Every member of the 'party owes it to the party
to contribute his part, toward the party's suc
cess'. The party is entitled to the most available
man, and availability depends upon two things.
First, no one is available who does not stand
for democratic principles and policies as they
are presented in the democratic platform, and
that platform must represent the wishes of the
voters. Second, among those who represent the
principles and policies of the party as stated in
the platform, the choice should fall upon the
one who, all things considered, giv.es the best
promise of strengthening those principles and
policies before the public. No person is infal
lible in judgment even a majority may make
a mistake, but the responsibility of selecting a
candidate is too great for a few leaders to bear;
it rests with the voters.'
ooo t -,
THE VALUATION OF RAILROADS
Messrs. B. E. Sundberg, o O.' CcCnestorp, T.
E. Gashman, S. A. Nelson, Ole Q. Sageng, njefpr
bers of the senate Committee of the "state of
Minnesota, with the aid of an able and consoles
tlous attorney Mr. James Manahan, have
prepared a most interesting report on the value
of the railroads doing business in Minnesota.
They find that the capital stock and bonded debt
of the Chicago, Great Western is $143,668 per
mile while in actual value it is about $28,000
per mile. The Wisconsin, Minnesota & Pacific
railway is stocked and bonded -at $43,134 per
mile while it can be reproduced in its present
condition for $16000 per mile.
The committee finds that the capitalization
of the railroads in that state, including stock
and bonds, is about $50,000 per .mile taking all
the railroads together, and that the actual value
of the railroads is about $27,000 per mile. From
this it appears that the railroads are expecting
to collect interest and dividends on almost twice
the value of the roads, measured by the cost
of reproducing them. Is it not high time for an
official valuation of the railroads of the United
States so that the people may know to what
extent they are compelled to pay extensive and
extortionate rates? Who can oppose a law for
the ascertaining of the value of the railroads?
No one unless he is more interested in the rail
roads than in the public in general. Their rep
resentative in the United States senate, in the
house of representatives, and in the state legis
latures should make it his business to urge both
state and federal legislation which will nhtnfn
for the public information concerning the value
of 'the railroads.
OOOO
4 FAKE NEWS FROM LINCOLN
There seems to be an epidemic of fake news
from the city of Lincoln, and It all comes from
Mr. Bryan's "friends" names not given. Several
dispatches have been sent out lately purporting
to state what Mr. Bryan thinks or what Mr
Bryan fs going to do, and the information thus
given out is usually collected from "Mr. Bryan's
friends." One dispatch has "Mr. Bryan's
friends" reporting that Mr. Bryan will not be. a
candidate in, ,case President Roosevelt is nom
inated. This dispatch brought .Inquiries ' from
different parts of the country.' .It would seem
unnecessary to( .deny reports sdnt. out to which
no name was. atachqd, and yet It Has been neces
sary to send a numher of telegrams to notify
other papers that the report was unauthorized
and that Mr. Bryan's real friends do not attempt
to speak for him on important questions.
As Mr. Bryan has a paper Tho Commoner
through which he ape&ks every week, and aa
he is speaking often, and giving jout interviews
frequently, a newspaper ought to view with sus
picion any report gent out from Lincoln or any
where else purporting to state what Mr. Bryan
thinks or intends to do.
Every reader of The Commoner knows that
Mr Bryan has endorsed the good things" done
by President Roosevelt and has. done so with
satisfaction, but he has also pointed out "the un
democratic things that the president has said
and done. Mr. Bryan has never aid anything
or done anything that indicated a desire
to have Mr. Roosevelt elected for a third
term. In fact, the third term idea has
been discussed in The Commoner with
the same frankness that characterizes the
discussion of other questions. Mr, Bryan is
opposed to a second term, having attempted
while In congress to .secure an amendment to
the constitution making the president ineligible
to a second term. During both of the campaigns
in which he was a candidate he announced that
he would not under any circumstances be a can
didate for a second term. Il is hardly to be ex
pected that he would advocate the election of
the president to a third term. When the presi
dent retires, in March, 1909, he will haVo served
about seven years- and a half, and that is so near
two fuU terms that no possible juggling with
words can convert it into one term,
The third term issue would of itself rule
the president out, and while he has endorsed
several democratic measures, he has not carried
these as far as the democrats would have carried
them, and has endorsed only a portion of the
democratic platform, and the popularity which
thepresident has won by carrying a few demo
cratic measures for a little way shows how pop
ular a real democrat would he who carried out
all democratic principles.
oooo
SOME ROOSEVELTIAN COMPARISONS
President Roosevelt's recent correspond
ence with members of trades unions, in which
he takes occasion to declare his friendship for
the workingmen, naturally recalls to mind some
other writings of Theodore Roosevedt'.. Before
becoming a politician Mr. Roopevej , was an
author, and it is interesting to compare .. the
utterances of President Roosevelt in regard to
workingmen and mechanics with the utterances
of Author Roosevelt - on the same subject.
Among other books written by Author Roose
yelt is one entitled "Ranch Life and the Hunt
ing Trail." On page 10 of that book Author
Roosevelt days, speaking of the cowboys:
"When drunk on the villainous whisky of
the frontier towns they cut mad antics, riding
their horsas into saloons, firing their pistols
right and left from boisterous lightheartedness.
They are much better fellows and
pleasanter companions than small farmers or
agricultural laborers; nor are the mechanics
and workmen of a great city to be mentioned
in the same breath."
Workmen and mechanics of the great
cities who feel that they are not worthy of be
ing mentioned in" the same breath with drunken
cowboys "riding their horses intp saloons, firing
their pistols right and left from boisterous
lightheartedness" will doubtless agree with
President Roosevelt in his measure of "undo
sirable citizens." '
. OOOO
YOtJ'LL "SEE IT IN THE SUN"
Notice! Any democratic paper which is will
ing to assist the republican party by advocating
a Wall Street democracy will -find it to its in
terest to send a marked copy of its editorials to
the Now York Sun. It will be sure to receive
favorable comment, and such editorials may at
tract attention in other republican papers. Dem
ocratic papers which prefer to be democratic will
have to content themselves with tho approval of
the democratic vdtefs. -
OOOO
MR. BROWN, THE PARTISAN
Chairman Brown,, of the Ohio republican
committee, has not helped the canse of Secre
tary Taft by his recent proclamation,. He an-
Mr.
m4t te.
perEqnal success ,tban they are in reforms will
not strengthen the secretary ap a reform candi
date. In all reforms that the president has advo
cated the democrats havo been with him, and
Senator; Forakor has been against him. If 3m-
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