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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (June 7, 1907)
UM V',IW ? lw tV-CttM dA.:iiJi-ii.ITnilwii SitrtWiWii''inMUi1iii.liit.'t.i'ft)?''35 i , O" .' s The Commoner. yOLUMB 7, NUMBER 21 to i-;. P VI v . JV N N ! i MRS, JULIA WARD HOWE colobrated her clglity-oighth birthday May 20, at Boston. A Boston dispatch says: "Just to show her activity, Mrs. Howo entered the elevator at her homo on Beacon street and ran the machine up and down three flights to accommodato a visitor. All day she wad besieged with callers, and flowers and other tokens of good will camo in wagon loads. 'I think,' she said to a re porter, 'that it is delightful the way the public maintains its interest in mo.' Monday there will bo a family rounlon." O I SEVERAL NEWSPAPERS havo said that Wil liam Makepeace Thackeray named Wash ington "iho city of magnificent distances." The Now York World says: "This is incorrect. Thackeray may havo usod the phrase, but it or iginated with John A. Corwino, of Bollcfontaine, Logan county, Ohio, who was a very famous per sonage in the forties and fifties. Once on a visit to tho' national capital he wound up a period of exhilarating experiences in tho visitors' gallery of the' house of representatives,, and as the urgent body camo to order Mr. Corwino felt im pelled to rise in his place jand' make a few re marks. Ho bogan: 'I have been visiting this city of magnificent distances"?" There was a lot more, out tins sentence uvea." '.v O ripHE PHILADELPHIA Inquirer prints in its , JL' Issue of May 1G this story from its Wash ington correspondent: "As things stand today, I am in favor of the nomination of Judge Gray, of Delaware, by tho democratic national con-v vention," said Henry Gassaway Davis, who was Parker's running mate on the democratic ticket . lnl.904. Senator 'Davis thinks that a great many conservative republicans would support the Dolaware man. "Judge Gray," said Senator Davis, "is a strong, conservative and square man, who has tho respect and confidence of the en tire public. I am glad to see that a delegation of miners and laborors is to meet at Pottstown, "Pa., 'on Saturday of this week for the purpose of indorsing Judge Gray. I am informed that other efforts are quietly being made in his be half also. I am constantly surprised to loam how -Well thought of Judge Gray is by republi cans. Only the other day a distinguished repub lican said to me: "You follows nominate Judge Gray for president and send the bill of cost's to me;" and what is more, this man was able to -pay the costs of nominating Judge Gray. This is a good indication of what some republicans think of Gray. That was a mighty good article .that Sonator Raynor wrote the other day about tho political situation. Evory one ought to read it, particularly what he says about Mr. Bryan being ,nore of a menace to state rights than President Roosevelt or anybody else. ; That was a. good article.' " ..'":.,... O - PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT delivered the Me morial day address at Indianapolis and in that address- he dwelt at length upon corpora tions. He said that government regulation of railroads had come to stay; that wrongdoers must be brought to justice; that the government must have over the railroads the same power they now havo over the national banks; that traffic agreements are proper, when in the inter est of the public and that railroad men must keep out of politics as railroad representatives. The St. Louis Globe-Democrat thus summarizes the president's Indianapolis speech: "Govern ment must have full control over the railroads There can be no swerving from the course the administration has mapped out. Railroads must be kept free from speculation. The movement to regulate railroads has come to stay. Wher ever evildoers can be found they will be brought to justice; no matter how high or low. Rail roads, as a whole, are sound. The physical value of each railroad must be determined. The railroad property of the country is worth as much as the securities representing it. Nothing must be done to injure the interests of the shareholders. In providing against overcapital ization wo shall harm no man who is honest. I believe in proper publicity. The government must have access to the books of the roads. Tho "means are at htnd which will put the public in possession of the facts. There must be just regulation of rates. Let the roads keep, out of . politics. Men of wealth are but trustees of the people. Positive restraint must be Imposed on the railroads. Tho federal government is alone competent to exercise full supervision." ' SNEAKING TO THE Washington-correspondent for the New York World Secretary Taft said: "I am a tariff revisionist. No man can win the next election who does not favor changes in tho tariff. I agree with tho position taken by tho American Manufacturers' association Which recently declared in favor of a revision." Not long ago a representative of the American Protective Tariff League called upon Mr. Taft and told him that he could not expect any sup port from that organization unless he declared for the standpat policy. Mr. Taft declined to do so, saying that ho believed the people would so strongly demand tariff ' revision that it would be disastrous to the party to fail to make defi nite promise. FOLLOWING IS THE language used by Mr. Taft with reference to tariff revision: "Speaking my individual opinion and for no one else, I believe that since tho passage of the Dingloy bill there has been a change in the business conditions of the country making it wise and just to revise the schedules of the ex isting tariff. The sentiment in favor of a re vision of the tariff is growing in the republican party, and in the near future the members of the party will doubtless be able to agree on a reasonable plan. But the work of the present session, which was pressing in its urgency could never, have been accomplished if there had been introduced into congress and the councils of the party tho heated discussions certain, to arise over the questions of the revision, of the tariff. How soon the feeling in favqr of revision shall crystalize into action can not be ', foretold, but it is certain to come, and with it 'those sched ules of the tariff which have inequalities and are excessive will be readjusted. The reason able prospect of a revision of the, tariff by the republican party on conservative lines should certainly be greatly preferred by those who favor revision and yet believe in the protective system to legislation which is always threatened by the incoming of a democratic, congress, and a democratic administration under tho battle-cry, 'A protective tariff is a robbery of the many for the benefit of the few,' .and to the "disaster to general "business which inevitably follows." REFERRING TO the Taft statement the Washington correspondent for the New York World says: "Secretary Taft Is convinced that there Is a strong sentiment throughout the country in favor of a revision of the tariff and that this is especially strong on account o'f the increased cost of living, for which the tariff is JrSy responsible. 0f course, this decision of Mr; Tofts is of superlative political importance. It probably lessens Taft's chances of securine the nomination. The tariff interests always have been the heart and core of the republican nartv organization, and his action sets in motion against him a machine which numbers its parts in every state in the union and which is partic ularly strong in its representation among re publican politicians. With this issue drawn as it is now an anti-Taf t a. d anti-revision element will begin its fight on the secretary of war." SECRETARY TAFT, who is said fo be Mr Roosevelt's candidate for the presidency' delivered a speech on Memorial day at St. Louis He devoted his time in pointing with pride to what tho United States had done in Cuba Porto Rico and the Philippines, and said that the peo ple of those islands wqre grateful for this work He said: "I have not touched upon and do not intend to discuss, for lack of time, what our future: policy toward these three peoples must bo. The problems to be presented are difficult and. nped a clear and calm judgment and a gen erous altruistic spirit for their satisfactory solu tion. Neither -will be wanting,. I am sure. Our experience in the three countries of Cuba, Po'rto Rico and the Philippines has many points in common, and .the chief common feature has boen the desire on the part of the American people, represented by the American congress and the American executive, fo stimulate busi ness, to elevate and educate the people, to main tain and preserve order, to introduce Internal improvements of all sorts into the 'islands to build roads and bridges and harbors, and grad ually to enlarge as far as possible the control which the natives shall have over their own local government. There have been, times when abuses have crept into the administration of the islands on the part of some of the civil and military servants of the United States, but the record of the nine years since the begin ning of the Spanish war, looked at from an Impartial standpoint is, on the whole, an un blemished record of generous, earnest effort to .uplift these people, to help them, on the way to self-government, and to teach them a higher and .a better civilization. It is a record I con fidently submit will always redound in the coin ing century to the high, credit of the people of the United States as a generous civilizing nation charged by the accident of war 'with the re sponsibilities of guardianship of- a less fortu nate people and discharging that Cod-given responsibility in accordance with . thq highest ideals of the brotherhood of man." '..' -O- " - THE SAN FBANCISCO grand jury has re turned indictments against President Pat rick Calhoun of the United Railroads, fourteen; against Assistant to the President Thornwall Mullaly, fourteen; against Attorneys Tirey L. Ford and W. M. Abbott of the legal department of the United Railroads, fourteen each-; against Mayor Schmitz, sixteen;' against Abraham Ruef, fourteen; against President Louis Glass of the Pacific States Telephone and Telegraph com pany, two; against Theodore V. Halsey, former ly an agent of that corporation, one. A San Francisco dispatch says: ilRuef, Schniitz, Cal houn, Mullaly, Ford and Abbott are charged with bribing fourteen supervisors togranfthe over head tro ley franchise to the United Railroads. Schmitz is further charged with bribery in con nection with the fixing of the gas company's rate and with receiving ?50,000 in the United Railroads franchise deal. The indictments against GlasB are additional to the eleven indict ments already returned " against him on the charge of bribing supervisors to refuse a com petitive telephone franchise. The indictment against Halsey is for the same offense." TN ITS REPORT of Omaha's celebration of X Memorial day, the World Herald prints this pretty story: " 'You decorate the graves of your soldier boys with beautiful flowers, but the grave of my boy can never be decorated. For he lies burled deep beneath the ocean waves and his grave must ever remain without flowers.' This was the cry of an anguished mother in Beatrice, Neb., a few years since, when she was present at the decorating of the soldiers' graves on Menforial day at that place. In June, 1898, one year before, her son, George Geddes, had died at sea while with company C, First Ne braska, of which he was sergeant, and had been buri?d itn honors, the first American soldier of the Spanish-American war to be buried at sea. He was on his way to Manila and the burial occurred between San Francisco and Honolulu. By the weeping mother stood another mother whose son had been in the same company. This .was Mrs. C. M. Peters, now president of the Gar field circle of the Ladies of .the Grand Army of the Republic. Her heart swelled' with sym pathy for the mother who could not have even the comfort of weeping over her son's grave. Her thoughts busily planned as she watched the beautiful flowers laid on the graves of the fallen heroes. The next year her plans bore fruit. Before Memorial day an immense box of flowers went from Nebraska to be scattered over the waves of the Pacific ocean in honor of George Geddes, who was buried at sea. Express com panies heard of the intention of the loyal Ne braska women and vied with one another to carry the box. It was arranged' that three ex press companies should- have this honor and the flowers wore gladly carried to the coast by three different companies,' relaying at differ- M 01- .. mi