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The Commoner.
-VdlitJME 7, NUMBER 43
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conditions In Europe as well as In America. Did
the 'republican party Improve the conditions In
Europe also? Is Its influence bo benign that
the prosperity of the world can be measured
by the salaries paid to republican officials?
Wo have in circulation in this country more
than fifty per cent per capita iii excess of the
amount that we had in 1896, and the natural
result of this increase Is a rise In prices. The
purchasing power of tho dollar has fallen thirty
per cent, and the price of property has corres
pondingly Increased, and yet Senator Beveridge
gives the credit to a republican administration
that came into power on the theory that it did
not mattor whether wo had much money or little,
provldod that It was all good. ,
Of course, tho laboring man has shared in
the general prosperity brought by better crojjs,
a larger volume of money und higher prices,
but ho has not shared as fully as ho ought to
have shared, and for that reason he is not sing
ing praises to the republican party. He knows
that tho trusts are extorting from him more
than ho ought to pay for that which he has to
buy and that these same trusts are bent upon
the destruction of the labor organizations which
have benefited the laboring man infinitely more
than the republican party has ever tried to bene
fit him. The laboring men know also that they
toiled in vain to secure remedial legislation at
the hands of the last republican congress, and
these labor leaders were so incensed at their
failure that they went into politics more actively
than over before in the hope of defeating repub
lican leaders who prevented legislation favorable
to tho laboring men.
The republican pa,rty has been in - power
continuously since 1896. It has controlled, the
. presidency, the senate, the house and the United
' States court.. It has had power to do all that
it Wanted to do; if it has failed to do that which
should have been done, it must be because the
party leaders lacked knowledge as to fc what
should have been done or lacked th.e desire j;o
do what should have been done. The testimony
of ;the labor leaders is unanimous that the re
publican party has not met the expectations
-of the -wage-earners.
The president has .done more than his re
publican associates, but he lias found his in
1 spiration in tho democratic platform rather than
in the republicanplatfbrimj He settled thecoftl
istiiiko by arbitration, 'butrfitwae the 'democratic
-platform. that demanded arbitration in 1896, in
vi?9po and in 1904, when tho republican platform
was silent on. -the subject,. The. president, in his
last message to congress, urged, the t establish
ment of an arbitration board, but a republican
..congress refused to follow his suggestions.
,jfJjyt'he president also in.timn.ted in hs; last
.message and it was tneilr'st!, tifn.e tje.liad
,spolce.n officially on the subject -that it might
bo necessary to do something to limit tjhe use
of tle injunction In labor matters, ,fThe deinq
cralic. platforms of, 18.96,, 19Q.Q and igo.'alj.e
ma'ided,",tlie abolition of what, Js,, known, as, , gov
ernment by injunction, but the president's, sug
gestion on this subject did .not lead to any 1m-
.portant results. Senator Beveridge takes hold
of the subject, but he does so in a very gingerly
way. He enlarges upon the. use of the. writt of
injunction in other cases, but ignores the real
question, namely: Should the accused be given
the right of trial by jury when Jtne contempt
charged is committed outsi.de ,of the presence of
tho court? Tho writ of injunction has been
employed a few times against the trusts, but it
has been employed out of consideration for the
trusts. The trusts themselves have preferred
the injunction to the criminal nrocess. Tho in
junction, however, has been employed against
the laboring men, not out of, conflagration for
them, but in order to deny to tbom the, right of
trial by jury. No one defends the commission
of crime by laboring men, but it is not defend
ing a crime to say that one charged with a crime
should bo entitled to trial by jury. It is not
necessary that one should Indorse- the use. of
tho Injunction in labor troubles in order to say
that he is a friend of law and order Law can
be preserved and order enforced, without sms
rondoriug tho protection afforded by jury .trial,
and tho claim of the laboring men to this protec
tion is a just claim and one that should have
boon recognized long ago.,
OOOO
THE NEBRASKA CAMPAIGN;: ; ...
The state election in Nebraska this fail" Is
for one justice of the Rnni'pmi.?.m.rf'n'S'iii
regents of the state university. For justice bf
DuiJiuiua uuurt uie aemocrats and populists
have nominated George L. Loomis of Dodge
county. Mr. Loomis is one of .the foremost
members of the Nebraska bar, and for. thirty
years has been practicing his profession with
signal success in Fremont. He has represented
Dodge county in the legislature twice, and his
record in that body commends him to the. peo
ple. In point of ability and fidelity to the inter
ests of the people Mr. Loomis has no superior
in the state. His best recommendation, is the
esteem, in which he Is held by men of, all' parties
in his home city, , ,
,- The candidates for regent .are J. 1., Sun--dean
and R. J. Miller, both of whom are A$$py
interested in the welfare of the great state
university and anxious to further its best inter
ests in every way possible.
Whilo it Is considered an "off-year" elec
tion the support accorded; to the democratic can
didates'' is encouraging; They appeal "to tho
people on a platform that deals unequivocally
with the questions of the day, and l'they may
be depended upon to stand styttarely 'by the
, principles therein enunciated. .
''it 'COOO.i'5'!rt -
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IT MIGHT HELP
The Nashville (Tenn.) Banner says: "It
is ,not easy to understand just what manner of
policy a democratic ,p?eslde"ht of the TJnJted
Stales' would iriau'guFa'te In 'order 'to help those
wno arG' down'' ' and' ho uplift the masses.' If
ho should -'pursue tlien SSffersorildiT policy of
simple goveihrri6ri;" -confined to the least possi
ble functions Christianity1 and. the progressive
Am'ericah spirit ''fyilt' do the' rest."
Ho mtaht help along a llttle1)y insisting
upon tho destruction of the special privileges,
within and without the law, that have grown
up under the republican party. "Christianity
and the pro&rqsslvc American splr,lr'"'afe essen-
tlaltliut li'wlll be remenib;e"redthat' the 'Master
. :'pauedlbng (rsnotigh in His1' words of" Wisdom
-and 'deeds of lbVe ib mrike'a whip and drive 'a
lot of trust magnates out of the temple.' -'
OOOO
' :; '"! . ' ' :. ... ' --j ' r- -,
. -The Washington Post .says 1 "The-, public
will has been made up regarding the Philippines.
Thoi islands will not be made independent, and
'they -w.111, npt.be spld J .They jwlll be governed,
and tho welfare of the natlveswlllv be furthered
In accordance with the views" of the United
States not necessarily the views of the Fili
pinos." ., . ,v .,,f,.
, ?.;JJfpt;iecepsarJly thety4"ew1S.otj"Fillpinos.,'
YetugwT.areriQullberty,, declares, tfi-ftt
governments derive thelru just --powers .from 4 the
consent of the governed!'
OOOO
"' Frederlcki'a llttTe'OUlherh -1111519' boy, Ms
JhHkre'altrdadeVl Oil e5 Sunday 1 morning-T'ecen tly
us'tspheVddaTayiotaltffW,Su'ndaBCh
he walked up to his father ihdf IfdTdirtg out his
hand for money for the constrlbution box, said:
"Papa give me some ship subsidy."
v., K-i U'i'rCENTRALIZATIOlSi ""'
e rflnhjs spQegh before the. Civic federation
ia.pilc'ago. jHe.r.berft1 Knox Suiltboi, the federal
burft'uQf corporations,, suldi' , The' federal
government is the -only powder ,thdt can carry
on such a system of regulation, for It is the only
jurisdiction commensurate with the scope or
present corporate operations. Any system by
the state must always be, as It is now, a chaos
of conflicting legal conditions resulting in ineffi
ciency and uncertainty."
But it Is noticeable that the state govern
ments have given the effective legislation and
it is noticeable, also, that sentiments lke those
expresseaVhy.ierbert Knox-. SrnitU.- are heartijy
endorsed brailrpad managers. n,
Keep TitblfoVtherpdople"Hhat President
Mather of , tho Rock Island road said: "A wise
and, just: regulation, is only possible under, a
Single, and centralized authority. 'The day is
passted for unyielding opposition to ail policies
'oT fedeto c'oiftrol OF Pur tftfrriet corporations.
Nayv mor.e,the-day-has dawned' in which to wel
come .that: control." ;
. And President, McDoel of. tho Monan, route
said:' , 'VThe point -Mr. Mather made as to fed
era regulation, and control struck me" as a sen
slbler and sano one. I thinlc that most railroad
Officials "wilt approve It, as I do. The trouble
is ithatwhenaroad uns, through ten. or fifteen
states it-must operate under a variety of laws
that make obedience woll-nlgh impossible:" 4
.. . "And. President Felton of the Alton, said he
"thought well";of "federal control and reeni
tlon as a substitute for tho existing system S
varied laws and regulation as imposed by ?
various, states." uo
And President Ripley of the Santa Fe said
'"Wo have too many masters. Wouldn't it h
better for us if we had a single, central source
of regulation instead of so many?"
And President Harahan of the Illinolq
Central said: "Mr. Mather's statement, in mv
opinion, pretty well exprPssed the feeling of
railroad presidents and- managers. The trouble
is and has been that the states have various
laws which conflict with the interstate laws"
While the "railroad presidents appear' to
heartily agree with Mr. Smith in the endorse
ment of the Roosevelt policy of centralization
Mr. Roosevelt's own words uttered at St. Louis
may be quoted against Mr. Smith's declaration
at Chicago. In his St. Louis speech Mr. Roose
velt said that unless control of the railroads
was placed upon the statute books of the nation
-it will be exercised in ever increasing measure
iby the several states."
"Exercised in' ever increasing measure by
the several states!" Yet-Herbert Knox Smith
undertook to make his Chicago audience be
lieve that the federal -government is the only
power than can carry on a system of railroad
regulation. In. Mr. Smith's opinion "any sys
tem by the state must always be a chaos of con
flicting legal conditions resulting in inefficiency
and uncertainty." But in Mr. Roosevelt's opin
ion exclusive national control is the only thing
that can save the railroad managers from a reg
ulation that regulates under control that will
be "exercised in ever Increasing measure by
tne .several states'
ooo
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ILLINOIS REPUBLICANS PROTEST
. Not long ago the. , American Newspapers
Publishers' Association adopted a resolution de
manding the removal of all tariff duties on all
.th.e matertal used in the manufacture of print
paperv Most of these ,piblishprs were repub
licans, but they did not stand pat on the tariff
question , when the shoe began -to pinch their
, own, feet. , . i
.'. , pn October ,2'(0,thj3 Illinois; Dajly, Newspaper
Association piet at Joliet;. TlilsVj association
adopted a sp(hjtion demanding. tK prosecu
tion of the paper trust' and calling' upon con
gress to immediately repeal the tariff on print
paper, wood pulp and all material entering into
the manufacture of print p,a,per. f
This association Includes In Its membership
' the'-'dally papers in all cities of five thousand
K0r-' more except Chicago. Most of the mem
bers ' are republicans. In their editorial col
umns most of these newspapers plead that the
pebple ."let well enough "alone" on the tariff
' 'question, so far as it affects consumers gener
ally; bnt the owners of these papers, driven
- to' desperation by the exactions v of the paper
trustf- ask! not only for tari'n?'" 'revision upon the
product in which they afe riiost deeply con
cerned, but for entire free' tr&de: They do not
ask that- this be postponed' until -after the presi
dential election but they v ttemtfrid' "immediate
repeal," in order that they may :be protected
from trust imposition. ..: H 1
With the newspaper oWhe'rs- g6ing demo
crotic on the tariff question in'-thelr publishers'
association it seems to be more and more diffi
cult for the republican editor- to "convince his
readers that "the foreigner pdysthe tax."
OOOO n
' PILE IT ON 11HE GJcfNgbiviER
Several days ago the llliuolstfDally News
paper Association met at Jpliet-.and adopted
a resolution, demanding the-prosecution of the
paper trust and the Immediate' repeal of all
tariff duties on all material used in the manr
fabture of- print paper. A -Joliet dispatch to
,-thoi SC Louis Republic says: - 'Congressman
Snapp'was present and pledged lifmdlf to sup
jport tho measure providing tti& -Committee on
ways a,rfd means, to- wnlch the subject will be
referred in congress, will reporb'the proposition
.'favorably. ."He declared, however, that the-measure-mudt
come up in congress as a republican
measure In tho regular manner. - He scolded the
-riewspalrar-men for not advancing" the price of
their paper in view of the immense advance in
tho cost of labor, material and other commo
dltles". '
" J"M-Mn Snapp waits until a ways and means
committeeappointed by "TJncle Joe" Cannon re
ports favorably upon a arlff Revision proposi
tion, he yrilY be doing business at the old time
.g. o.JipJ.'trustr stand for many and many a day
I til
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