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KOVEMBER 29, 1907
The Commoner.
S
fipss
the present crop of trusts bo rooted out, pro
Tided, of course, that now ones aro not formed?
The senator's commendation of the labor
organization is gratifying, but why link the or
ganizations with the trusts? They are not the
Bame in principle; they are not the same in
method, and the putting' of them 1n the
same class is not in the interest of the laboring
man, but in the interest of tho monopolist.
A labor organization is an association of
human beings, each one with a conscience to
restrain him. When the labor organization acts,
It must consult this conscience. The trust is a
combination of dollars, and these dollars have
no moral sense. Tho labor organization acts for
persons who need food and clothing and shelter,
and these needs compel the laboring men to ac
cept reasonable terms; the dollars which form
the basis of a trust do net eat, and they are
easily housed. If a laborer is out of work for
a year, his capital is exhausted; if a dollar
lies idle a year, its owner is simply out tho
interest and has his capital remaining.
But there is another difference between
the labor organization and the trusts. The trust
magnates have built1 up fabulous fortunes in a
short time; the members of the labor organiza
tions have not yet secured more than a fair
share of the proceeds of their own toil, and tho
president can -find no "swollen fortunes" among
either the officials or the members of a labor
organization.
Another merit of the labor organization is
that the laborers outside of the organization get
-the benefit of the increased wages and the bet
ter conditions secured by the labor organizations,
but the trust bankrupts its competitors, while
it tyrannizes over its employes and extorts from
those to whom it sells. And, lastly, the labor
organization improves the quality, the charac
ter and the citizenship of the laboring man,
while the natural tendency of the trust is to in
troduce deterioration in the quality of the pro
duct while it enhances the price.
The laboring man is fortunate in having so
able and influential a republican as Senator Bev
eridge championing the eight-hour day, and yet
the laboring man is not unmindful of the fact
that the opposition to the eight-hour day, as
well as the opposition to the other things de
sired by the laboring man, comes from tho very
men who have been conspicuous in their sup
port of the republican party during the cam
paigns and conspicuous in their control of the
government after election, while even in repub
lican congresses labor reforms have been more
heartily supported by democrats than by repub
licans. ' Senator Beveridge says much that we are
glad to commend; he shows more appreciation of
tho laborer's position than many of his party
leaders, and we trust that in time he may be able
to draw the line more accurately than he now
does between the blessings of Providence and
the policies of his party, and recognize that his
party's performances must be tested by the opin
ions of the laboring men themselves and not by
the claims of the party's apologists. At present
ho magnifies what his party has done, minimizes
the part that the laborer has had in his own
elevation, and ignores the improvement that has
come from natural causes.
" . s oooo
GOVERNOR HASKELL'S PROMPT ACTION
A dispatch to the Oklahoma Oklahoman.
under date of Guthrie? Okla., November 16, tells
this interesting story:
Learning' that the Standard Oil company
had all preparations made to construct, a gas
"pipe line across the state line in Washington
county In the interregnum occurring between
the signing of the proclamation and the inaug
uration of state government, Governor Haskell
' privately qualified two' hours before the public
ceremony in order that his first official act might
be to direct the county officials of Washington
county to prevent the violation of the constitu
tion if it were necessary to put every Standard
Oil officer in tho county jail.
Late last night Governor Haskell was ad
vised that the oil company had the material
on the ground and a large party of workmen
camped near the state line north of Bartles
ville, and that their intention was undoubtedly
to try to take advantage of a lapse in govern
- ment to push a pipe line across into Kansas.
He immediately communicated with the
county officers elect of Washington county by
telephone urging the county judge; the county
attorney and the sheriff to cross to the Oklahoma
side, qualify early iu the day, secure an injunc
tion preventing the construction of the pipe line.
and summon a sufficient numbor of special depu
ties to enforce the Injunction immedlatel)'. In
the event that an attompt was mado to violate
the injunction, tho sheriff was diroctod by tho
governor to arrest and confino In Jail overy man
who tried to sink a spado in soil imminent to
the Oklahoma state lino.
At G o'clock tonight Governor Haskell re
ceived the following telegram from John Shea
of Bartlosvlllo, who was appointed as special
deputy county attorney to apply for tho in
junction: "Injunction issued this morning. Sheriff
and largo posso proceeded to scene of proposed
lino and found work complotod to within two
hundred feet of the state lino. Injunction
served Immediately. Indian polico ordered to
co-operate with state officials and to turn all
prisoners over to county authorities. Lino pa
trolled all day. No more work done and no
arrests mado."
Previous to statehood, a gas pipe lino could
not be constructed across tho stato lino becauso
of inability to secure right of way over tho In
dian allotments. Under tho state constitution
'the construction of such gas pipe lines across tho
Btato lino Is expressly forbidden. Could tho
Standard have succeeded in Its ruse of this morn
ing It would have given them an absolute monop
oly in tho exporting of gas from the stato and
would have allowed tho piping to Kansas City,
St. Louis or other outsldo cities tho product of
tho strongest gas region of the state.
"I told the Standard Oil company and
kindred monopolies before election that if thoy
did not lick mo at the polls I would lick them
every day that I was governor until thoy decided
to abide by the law," said Governor Haskoll.
''Today I have taken tho first stop In carrying
out tho promise I mado to the Standard Oil com
pany, as I took occasion several days beforo my
inauguration to prevent tho St. Louis Book com
pany trust from unloading on tho new counties
of the state their accumulation of out-of-date
and worthless books and blanks at an enormous
price."
OOOO
"WILL THEY ANSWER?
Tho New York Herald received by telegraph
this query:
"To the Editor of tho Herald: With nino
hundred million gold dollars and five hundred
million silver dollars in the United States treas
ury, is it a good financial proposition for the
government to deposit two hundred and forty
million dallars with tho national banks without
interest and then ask for a loan on one hundred
and fifty million dollars and pay two and three
per cent interest? John H. Dennis, Atlanta,
Ga November 19, 1907."
Will some republican paper undertake to
answer this question?
OOOO
IS IT?
In addressing the Jury In his opening
speech in tho case of the government against
Banker Walsh of Chicago, Attorney Dobyns, tho
government prosecutor, used this language: "It
is he policy of the government to nurse a bank
found to be in trouble, even to conceal crime
until its affairs can be straightened out."
Referring to this statement the Atlantic
(la.) Democrat says: "This statement should
be cut out and framfed and read dally until the
full- meaning ,of it is comprehended. It accounts
for many failures of banks which had but a
short time previously received tho O. K. of tho
government."
OOOO
ABSORBED
The Tennessee' Coal ana Iron company, has
been absorbed by tho .steel trust as a result of
several conferences brought about by J. Pierpont
Morgan. This was one of the plans for "bring
ing order out of chaos In the financial situation."
It would seem that the financiers believe in mak
ing hay even when tho sun is covered with
clouds.
OOOO
WATCH THESE "PATRIOTS"
The WalJLStreet Journal paid a high tribute
to J. Pierpont Morgan when it said: "Mr. Mor
gan's prestige and authority aro now so great
that any stand which he may take In behalf
of financial reform can be put through, whereas
at some later period it might be Impossible even
for him to do much' in that directipn."
. Tho Journal Is mistaken If it Imagines that
"
tho American peoplo have boon bo deceived that
thoy aro willing to "O. K." any suggestion whlc
J, Pierpont Morgan shall mako.
Only a few days ago we wore told that Mr.
Morgan engineered tho deal whoroby the Ten
nessee Coal company bocamo tho property of
tho steel triiBt and that this was "a patriotic
effort" on Mr. Morgan's part. Alroady men are
beginning to learn that It was simply a skilfully
engineered plan to fasten all tho more securely
tho monopoly hold by tho stool trust.
Tho fact is that It will bo well for tho
Amorican peoplo to carefully scrutinize any
schomo of flnanco which Mr. Morgan and bis
associates undertako to put through.
OOOO
REVISION
Colonel John F. Finorty, editor of tho Chi
cago Citizen, intimates that It will now bo neces
sary for Mr. Roosevelt to rovlso tho Star
Spangled Banner for Key wroto In his Immortal
song theso words:
"Thon conquor wo must,
SInco our cause It Is just,
And this bo our motto t
In God is Our Trust.'
.. ,,'And tho Star Spangled Banner
Forever shall wave n
.. , O'er the Land of the Free
And tho Home of tho Bravo!"
Woll, that will be easy, for Mr. Roosevelt
now bollevcs In revision of nearly everything
but the protective tariff concerning which he
once wroto that political economists gonorally
agree that a protectlvo tariff is "vicious In theory
and harmful In practice."
r
, . OOOO r j ;
WHY NOT PULITZER?
A reader of tho Now York World writes to
that publication to say: "Tho Rov. Sllllman
Blagden, of Boston, who asks that J, Pierpont
Morgan be nominated for president, should also
insist on tho nomination of Georgo W. Porklns
for vice president. Why lot anything got away
from tho firm?"
This World reader is very uhort-slghtcd in
deed. Can ho not see that Mr. Morgan's logical
running mato is Mr. Josoph Pulitzer? With Mr.
Pulitzer as tho candidate for vlco proridont tho
New York World may bo depended upon to sup
port at least a portion of the ticket.
If Mr. Morgan can surmount tho objections
to his nomination tho fact that Mr. Pulitzer was
born abroad need not stand in tho way of Mr.
Pulitzer. Morgan and Pulitzer! If not, why not?
.OOOO
VINDICATED t
It seems that tho per capita circulation in
1893 was $23.23, while now It Is $33.23, We
hope none of the hoarders Is alarmed over
that 23. New York Tribune.
Probably not, but this reminds us that in
189G when the per capita circulation was about
$10 less than it now is tho Now York Tribune
insisted that we had money enough for the
country's business transactions. Now when the
per capita circulation Is larger than It ever was
tho Tribune and other republican newspapers
are forced to admit that wo have not nearly
enough money for business transactlonsr yet th
Tribune contends that tho republican party'
position in 1896 has been vindicated!
OOOO
PANICS
Read this from the Springfield (Mass) Re
publican: "Some lessons of value, therefore,
are to be learned, and among them are these:.
The belief has been deeply cultivated that a
money system strongly resting on gold makes
panics impossible. It Is a false notion. The
bellof has had wide acceptance that a high pro
tective tariff protects from panics which como
only under low tariffs. That Is quite as! false
as the other. The belief prevails to a greater
or less extent that a particular political party
possesses the exclusive power of governing the
country in freedom from financial disaster and
industrial relapses. That Is even more false
than either of the other beliefs. Panics or finan
cial crises are made possible only by the exist
ence of the credit system, and the credit system
exists under the gold standard as under any
other money standard, and It Is in operation
whether tariffs are high or low, or whether the
republican party Is in power or not."
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