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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 11, 1907)
', 4 s The Commoner. VOLUME 7, NUMBBIl 33 JO- -WL,X -.CJlfc ! CURR6NT favHL ITW. JJ-, r i ' - t-'- - fajlMlTtL - - tm1 g:.v rTni t A t k HE r A NEWSPAPER dispatch from" Washington says: "As a result of the recent elections Iri'.fJio Philippines, war department officials have concluded that the Filipino people are wholly un fit for self-governmentoven forx the small iAedsure' of self-government provided for by ex , . is'thig law. It is planned to ask congress, at its oxt session, to repeal the enactment providing for, gradual participation of tjic natives in their ' governing, and return to absolute military co'n jtrol. Should congress listen to the war odlce 6nd act upon its advice, It would mean a set back of at least half a century in its scheme for west ernising the little brown men of the Pacific l&l .t .anils., frll the labors of the past nine years j would go for naught, and the condition of the "Filipinos so far as civil liberty is concerned, ,. would "be little bettor than it was in the days of .Spanish rule." - :. . o COMMENTING on the' above dispatch tho tx "J Fayettevlllo (N. C.) Observer says: "Evi '. Donees' multiply of the criminal folly of defeat .Jrig Bryan on an American platform in. 1900, fc.r8ul electing McKinley and Roosevelt on practi jrcaily, a' Russian platforcs. The reason why the . recent suction in the Philippines isiiot approved at Washiui.t'm is the same as that which caused despotic Russia to dissolve tho dounm, viz: the patriotic people, in the face of carefully devised plans to brng about a different result, elected 1 patriots -Instead of the hirelings of the Washing : ton or -the St. Petersburg government, to rapre - sent them. The moral is: Let Americans de throne autocratic governrilent at Washington and themselves get out of the Philippines both things as soon as possible. In fact, the one will follow tho other." npHE ELKHART-(IndO Truth prints the fol 'JL. lowing: "John D. Rockefeller and the Standard Oil company are not in it with some of tho .manufacturers with whom we deal," said W. F. Stanton of tho Hill store tGday. This remark was apropos of the high price being , charged for clothing and different articles sold In dry goods stores. "It is simply outrageous vthe way, tliose manufacturers have advanced prices," continued Mr. Stanton. "Oil is cheap .In comparison with some, goods we buy cotton for instance. Cotton has advanced from forty o onojiuiidred per cent in the last few years. . Other .goods are up in proportion. Umbrellas v ,tliatAve usod to sell for $2.75, now cost us $3. .Especially have the prices advanced on articles , that are protected by the tariff. I believe Auier- ., .lean industries should be protected to the extent . , of .seeing that tho laborers make a good living, but the. tariff should not be made so high that the public can be robbed." SECRETARY OF War Taft was given many ovations in Japan and ho delivered several , speeches . which the Associated Press, says aroused, the wildest enthusiasm. Referring to oue very cordial address of welcome the Asso ciated, Press says: "In replying Mr. Taft spoke v with dbqp feeling and positlvoness. He asserted , thftt the talk of unfriendliness between" the .united States and Japan was 'due entirely to tho commercialism of the newspapers in Amer ica The secretary declined to discuss the im migration question, saying that he would tres spass upon, tho field of state department. Mr O.Bon would say that tho entire matter was .WyC, sensible argument between sensible , ,nionf. , t?n o ir N HIS SPEECH Mr. Taft said: "War between A Japan and the United States would be a crime against modern civilization. It would be . insane. Neither the people of Japan nor the '.people of the United States desire war. T he "governments of the two countries would strain "SSKJK11,,0 fVid an awful strophe SH G1 mUI? sain anything. Japan has undoi taken with the legitimate interests of so . close a 'neighbor; to reform and rejuvenate tho king dom that is, governed, or misgoverned,, by fifth century methods. His majesty the emperor- has shown hisappreciation of the difficult task- by sending to Korea Japan's greatest statesman,, No matter what the reports may be, no matter what criticism may be uttered, the world, will have confidence that Prince Ito and the Japanese government are pursuing a policy in Korea which will make for justice, civilization and the wel fare of a backward people. Why should Japan wish for war? It must 'stop or seriously delay the execution of her plans for the reform of Korea. Why should the United States wish for war? It would; change her in. a year or more into a military nation. , Her great resources would be wasted in a vast equipment which would serve no gobd purpose but would tempt the nation into warlike ' policies; Why should she wish for war, in which all the evils of so ciety flourish and all vultures fatten? She is engaged in establishing a government of law and order in the Philippines, fitting those people by general education to govern themselves." O CONCERNING the proposition to dispose of thd Philippines, Mr. Taft said: "It has been suggested that we might .relieve ourselves of this burden by the sale of the islands to Japan or some other country. The suggestion is absurd. 'Japan, does not wish for the Philip pine islands; she has problems of a similar nature nearer home. More than this, the Unitod States could not sell the islands to an , other power without the grossest violation of its obligations to the Philippine people. Under these circumstances, then, could there be any thing more wicked, more infamous than the suggestion of war between two nations who have enjoyed such time-honored friendship and with" nothing to fight for? Some ask, why such reports and rumors of war? The capacity of certain members of the modern press for sensa . tional dispatches to give rise to unfounded re ., ports has grown with improvement of communi cation b.etween distant parts of the world. The desire to sell papers, the desire for political reasons to embarrass the existing government or other, and even less justifiable motives have led to misstatements, misconstructions and un founded guesses, all worked into terrifying head lines which have no foundation whatever. In each country, doubtless there are irresponsible persons, that a war would or might jnake promi nent who try to give seriousness to such dis cussions. But when one contiders the real feel ings of the two people as a whole; when one considers the situation from the standpoint of the sanity and real patriotism of each country, it is difficult to characterize in polite, moderate language the conduct of those who are attempt- ing to promote misunderstandings and ill feel-' ing between the two countries." AN ASSOCIATED Press" dispatch under date of Washington, September 30, says: "Be fore leaving; Washington, the president instruct ed Admiral. Cowles to inform the American bid ders for supplying coal to the battleship fleet that the president would be willing to award the contract, provided bids were not more than fifty per cent in excess of foreign bids. They have been given until Wednesday to reply." rr EFERRING to the coal purchases the. New J York Evening Post says: "Two hundred thousand dollars in excess of the bidsof foreign contractors, the president is willing to pay to American ships for carrying the coal for the' fleet to the Pacific. But no more. When it comes to paying a superfluous million dollars the presidential gorge rises. Why should it What has the republican party been doing all these yearns but teaching the public that for eigners much bo prevented from getting Amer ican money- at any cost, and that the true pur pose of government is to make money for cer tain favored Americans? Anybody who has a .shipyard has long been regarded as bavins a special claim on government pap;, and the ex clusion of all i foreign ships from our coastwise trade has made ship-owners feel that tho zov ernment waf silent partner in their enterprise Now that theyi are ito receive a bonus of $200 000 they will doubtless forget any longer to marvel at the government's setting itself up to violate the very laws it compels its citizens to obey ' and will no longer growl because the administra tion has hired a British naval reserve steamer to run on its Panama line. Some good has -plainly come out of this mischievous cruise If has given the public another admirable lesson in what happens when there is a high tariff and a statutory restriction of trade. All Mr Roosevelt's jauntinessv in bestowing the gift of ?200;000 upon the ship owners will not prevent thousands of Americans from perceiving that they are the victims of a conspiracy to save one . set of men from business competition, when others have to work out their own salvation without government coddling." A CLEVELAND, Ohio, dispatch to the Cincin nati Enquirer says: "Bishop Daniel Syl vester Tuttle, of the diocese of Missouri, primate of the Episcopal church in the United States, has joined the critics of President Roosevelt by supporting John D. Rockefeller in the latter's complaint that the administration is a runaway affair. Bishop Tuttle is in Cleveland, to attend the dedication of, the great Trinity Cathedral. Asked his views on the present status of national affairs, Bishop TJuttle said: 'The present is an era of unreasonable and unreasoning clamor, both on the part of the people generally and on the part of the federal government. To an ex tent I agree with John D. Rockefeller when he calls it a runaway administration. The attitude of the government is neither just to the largo corporations against which its crusade is aimed nor just to the people who are behind the move ment. It is exaggerated.. When we as a na tion settle, down, there will come a wholesome stable, though I do not say kindly, at least a just public opinion which will bring a reason able situation to pass. We declare we are being oppressed strangled, if you -tfill-by monopo lies. This is not so. Taking advantage of this cr'jr, we have begun actions against these corpor ation's which are not prosecutions. They really are persecutions to a certain extent. In a little while, we will begin to see that we are going at the thing too harshly. We and the president will find, there is another side to the fight and that there is much to say for the corporations. I think' our railroad presidents, our corporation heads' will begin to see the. rule of brotherly love is strong and that to prosper they must live up to it.' " ' "" o MR. ROOSEVELT is not greatly pleased v itft the platform adopted by the Nebraska re publicans. A Washington dispatch to the Omaha World-Herald says: "The president told Sen ator Burkett all about his mixed emotions today, when the latter called on him, following his ar rival in the city. The president is pleased with the indorsement of Taft, and hugely disgusted with the anti-injunction plank in the platform. Judging by the order in which he referred to the two matters,. his displeasure wirh tho platform declaration is more acute than his satisfaction with the Taft indorsement. The senator was shown into the public recvptiou room, where there was a group of congressmen', senators and oilier' people, and when the president greeted him it was with the prompt declaration that ha didn't at jill like that anti-injunction plank. JIo talked with-the greatest frankness in the hearing of a considerable company, declaring that it was revolutionary in character and altogether wrong. Senator Burkett did not attempt to argue tho matter at that time, and made no explanation. Toward the senator the president wa3 very cor dial, and he turned from discussion of the offen sive plank to reference to tho Taft indorsement, which had greatly pleased him. He wanted tho Nebraska republicans to know how much he ap preciated what they had done in this direction. Senator Burkett presented Bishop Williams of Omaha to the president, and the bishop had a pleasant talk. When the senator left the cabinet room and appeared before the newspaper men outside, he told them -that while Nebraska had , indorsed Taft he was positive that the whole west was still for Roosevelt, and intimated the strong impression that.the -president might yet bo nom inated in spite of his declinations. Later in the day, following an appointment 'made at his first m it m A iv vJtfs. ZSCI