j !F&pyiQm
mWv?rzxfcwe!gp w
r
JUISY 5,-1907.
The Commoner
V
Washington Letter
Washington, July 1, It Is interesting to
note that Mr. James Bryce, ambassador of Great
Britain to the United States, and the author of
the best sj.udy of American politics given to the
public in half a century, says to an Oklahoma
Journalist: "I have read the Oklahoma cpnstl-.
tution, but only in its unofficial form. I do
not think it too long, I do not think it can be
charged that it contains too much, or treats of
too many subjects. The fundamental law of
the land can not be too comprehensive."
No man's opinion should carry more weight
with the American public than that of Mr. Bryce.
His political and historical studies have been
profound, ranging from "The Holy Roman Em
pire" WThe American Commonwealth." And
yet at the time that this man, whose coming
was so greatly applauded by the powers that bo
at Washington, was approving in the main the
Oklahoma constitution, the administration at
Washington 'was seeking ways to set it aside.
Mr. Bryce coming from a nation which has no
-written constitution and yet whose people en
x joy as many constitutional guarantees as do
those of this country, approves this latest docu
ment which is intended to guarantee to the
people of a young and growing community the
rights, most of which are enjoyed by their neigh
bors to the north and to the east, and all of
which should be possessed by the people of eyery
American state. Strangely enough, the ambas
sador, reared in the conservative atmosphere of
Westminister, long time a cabinet minister, now
bound to a certain amount of reserve as a diplo
mat, could not be induced to show any -apprehension
as to the results of the initiative and
referendum. Some of the New York newspapers
which seem to think that this doctrine was in
vented in Kansas in the populist days might
well go back into historj', peer across the waters
of the Atlantic and find how widely it "has been
applied in the progressive municipalities and
counties of England.
In Mr. Bryco's "American Commonwealth"
is a chapter devoted to this subject. In essence
he Says; "If ?gppd legislatures are unattainable,
if it is impossible to raise the house and senate
of each state above that low level at which (as
wo shall presently see) they now stand, then
the system of direct popular action may be justi
fied as a salutary effort of the forces that make
for good government, opening for themselves a
new channel."
The Interstate commerce commission has
undertaken the Investigation of the somewhat
notorious control of American railroads by a
steamship combine, headed by the Hamburg
American line which, by the way, only a few
years ago was execrated as the "cholera line."
It is charged that this combine, by arrange
ments with railroads to the west and south, con
trols the price of foreign shipments, "dictate
terms, routes and rates to shippers all over the
United States and diverts freight to and from
American ports at its own will without regard
to the natural flow of trade, using coercive and
unlawful methods to crush, competition."
The hearing is yet to be had; the case yet
to be tried. But it is encouraging to find that
the interstate commerce commission is willing
to take up a trans-Atlantic, monopoly. Perhaps
In time it may consider the monopoly of coast
wise traffic by Charles W, Morse, and that of
Long Island Sound by the New York, New Haven
& Hartford railway.
The supreme court of the United States is
entering upon an epoch in its history as Impor
tant as the days when Marshall enunciated the
now famous doctrine of "implied powers," or
Taney handed down the Dred Scott decision.
In the next few years the whole questiqn of state
and federal regulation of corporations, and the
relations that must exist between these concur
rent jurisdictions, will be reviewed in our high
est court.
One .of the first steps In this important
undertaking was taken recently when Justice
MoKenna handed down a decision that prac
tically affirmed the constitutionality of the rail
road rate law, especially In the power it gives
the interstate commerce commission, to fix
freight rates. This Is the most Important de
- cision yet rendered respecting the control of in
terstate commerce by the federal government.
The finding of the court is the more remark
able because neither of these matters of such
national importance was directly at issue in the
litigation just determined. The court, in fact,
.went out of its way 'in order to remove all
doubts concerning the rate making powers of
the government and the entire constitutionality
of the law which confers that power upon tho
interstate commerce commission.
Like many cases that have called forth tho
greatest decisions of our highest court, the liti- '
gatlon in this instance was comparatively simplo
and insignificant. A firm of lumber dealers In
Georgia appealed to tho Interstate commerce
commission against a freight rate increaso by
the Southern railroad of two cents a hundred
pounds on lumber shipped from Georgia points
to Ohio river destinations. The commission de
cided that tho increase was an unjust and un
reasonable one over profitable rates previously
in force, and directed tho railroad company to
cease its collections on its new schedule. Tho
railroad company fought the commission's order
to the highest court, whose decision gives tho
interstate commerce commission absolute con
trol over tho freight rates of a railroad in ac
cordance with the powers conferred upon it by
congress. Congressional action makes a rate
illegal which is shown to be unjust and unrea
sonable, and makes the interstate commerce
commission both a judicial and an executive
body, giving it tho power to decido what are
reasonable rates, and having decided, to enforce
its findings. The railroad attorneys denied tho
constitutional right of congress to create a body
haying both judicial, and executive functions.
The supreme court has negatived this con
tention, WILLIS J. ABBOT.
Letters From the People
A. C. Matchett, M. D., Bourbon, Ind. The
policy of "Initiative and Referendum," appears
to be wonderfully Interesting to the people of
all political parties and Is gaining friends every
where and will soon be the accepted policy of
our country. In view of this wondorful revolu
tion working so powerfully and tho policy of a
"law of recall," can you not explain these pol
icies for the enlightenment of your millions of
readers, and more especially that of tho "law
of recall," as applied to our public officers and
its effect on the officials? Would tho "law of
recall" be apt to enforce more honesty in the
official action of public officers and hold them
more loyal to' the platforms on which they were
elected and prevent them from betraying tho
voters after their election? (Yes.)
John M. Barker, Montgomery City, Mo;
The greatest menace now to the American peo
ple is the practice of pouring out the millions
of the people's money from the treasury at
Washington into the pockets of the Wall Street
gamblers who have bought railroad bpnds. It
is not at all probable that the Harriman letter
would have ever been published, but in revenge
against the administration for pouring the pub
lic money into Wall Street to stem the tide of
ruin covering the holders of water-logged rail
road bonds. The government took sides in tho
gambling. Harriman got mad and had his re
venge. But what an awful condition Is dis
closed. The American treasury is subject to
the call of Wall Street thieves and gamblers.
S. T. Williams, Detroit, Mich. r enclose
page of Free Press of this city, which became a
radical gold standard paper in 1896. It did
then and has since derided tho quantitative
theory of money and has heretofore given every
reason but the right one for the fall in the price
of silver. It has repeatedly called bimetallism
a "heresy," etc., etc. Note this article which,
while not an editorial, was evidently written or
prepared by Its economic writer.
Following are closing paragraphs' from tho
Free Press article:
"So far as legislation is concerned, it will
be seen that the utmost possible Injury was In
fiicted upon silver through the demonetization
as a full money metal in 1873 to 1893. With
the Increased production of gold, and the larger
national and international monetary transac
tions, there has grown up a great demand for
subsidiary silver in retail trade, which all the
nations of the earth are now compelled to meet.
Even the United States has exhausted all the
silver purchased by the government under the
Bland and Sherman acts and is now compelled
to buy 100,000 ounces tf silver weekly to meet
the requirements of domestic trade. It is prob
able that in the regeneration of China a great
market for silver will be open to tho world. That
country now, according to the estimates by the
commission on international exchange, has a
monetary circulation of less than 1 per capita,
most of which is in uncoined silver.. If. the
reformation of the currency of China should
bo successfully carried out within tho next few
years, even if only $1 per capita should be added
oach year to the circulation it would make u
mAaJk for uPwaa of $300,000,000 to $100,
000,000 worth of silver. This, of course. Is of
tho futuro, perhaps tho distant futuro, but it
may not bo so distant. In tho meantime, so
long as business activity and prosperity con
tinue in the western world tho demand for bII
ver for subsidiary coinago will incronso and with
the growth in wealth thoro will bo a larger uso
of silver in the arts. All advorse influences hav
ing beon outgrown, may it not bo true that tho
Increased production of gold has also helped to
advance the price of dilver?"t
O. E. McCutcheon. Idaho Falls, Idaho.
Your issue of May '31 quotes an artlclo from tho
Great Falls Daily Tribune, containing a criticism
of tho last legislature of this state on the ground
of tho passage by tho last legislature of a law
that reduces by one-half tho numbor of chal
lenges allowed the defense In criminal cases.
While the prosecution deny tho allegation that
this now law was made specially to cut down tho
chance of the Western Federation officers ac
cusod of crime In selecting a Jury that was sat
isfactory to the defense, yet there is Iittlo doubt
that this was tho motive behind the change In
tho law last winter. I beg to adviso you that
this is an error. Tho numbor of peremptory
challenges allowed tho dofondant in capital cases
under tho new law is ten, tho same as It has
beon at least since 1804. Tho chango last win
tor simply gave the stato tho samo number,
where it formerly had but half the numbor.
Will you kindly publish a correction? I wasa
member of tho last legislature and probably
havo enough to answer for on the basis of facts.
John McNlcol, Hlllsboro, Ohio. Grant mo
spaco in your columns to express my views in
regard to some things our "strenuous" president,
Mr. Roosevelt is doing. Our president (from his
multltudious utterances) considers himself qual
ified to regulate our customs, our courts and our
industrial conditions. In tho issue of Tho Com
moner of May 10, I find a letter addressed to
John S. Henry from tho president, in regard
to Moyor and Haywood and incidentally Dobs
is touched. Mr. Editor If you can string out a
group of sentences as difficult of interpretation
I would like to have thera simply as a curiosity.
Then on pago 8 I find tho presidont advising
the Elks. Yet tho president admits .ho is, .not
an Elk, but in his wisdom tells that order not
to do as he did, that is to shoot any elks. Tho
president is much of the samo thought as was
the old-fashioned preacher who, in advising his
hearers what should be their course of conduct,
said: "Don't do as I do or you will go to hell
sure." President Roosevelt needs to take a rest
from carrying that "big stick" and speaking so
softly.
MOTHER LOVE
Take the glory of the conquest and the grandeur
of the morn.
The splendor of the triumphs out of toll and
patience bornr-
The. beauty of the cities and the armies of the
just
Moving down the. golden valleys to the victor
ies of the dust
But tho mother love that wraps around a way
ward child its wings
Is sweeter than all triumph and Is stronger
than all kings! '
The mother love Is patience bearing all the
years of caro,
With faith to take the burden up and strength
to lift and bear;
The mother love is warder of the rosy gates of
life.
With kiss goodby to little ones who so to faco
the strife,
And arms of old endurance waiting there to
clasp and greet
The loved who wander back .again,, the lost
. with weary feet! ,
Tho mother love is gentleness" that mellows
through the years,
With lips to kiss the brow that aches and song
to stay the tears;
The mother love Is tireless In the vigil that it
keeps
To guard the couch from danger where the
bloom of lovehood Bleeps I
Oh, wayward, weak, and weary and ye who
walk in sin,
Be. sure the heart of mother love, will ope and
let you in! '-
'.. s-T-Baltimore Sun.
a
41
J
4
I
i
t
a
A
it
3
A
s&X
