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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 31, 1908)
T;nav''lTr' ' tft)WlftilN ) CJiaUfc. ' .Met -t.t"V-x ,W"Ti- rtw"" - r- -anps ' Ty M' y i ujw""' The Commoner. VOLUME 8, NUMBER 3 14 n FK J&iil r GOVKK.VOIt IIASKKIilH KIMOIOOH (Conl IiiimmI from I'hko fi) Tho all('K''l property of Iho coun try Iiiih riflclfd to ItH normal In crcuHd in vuluoH Hiibnln.ili.illy four tcon billion dolIfiiH ciiiiltally.ulion Unit n-prowiiltMl no viiluo of any Iclnd. The only mhwIh back of HiIh fourteen billion dollar wuh from the following hoiiiwh: If it woro rail road necurillcH, I lien tho btiHlM was llio ho)o that Iho power to mow milro.'ulH, ii nd with combined inan aKoiiwnln dcHiroy conipetilion, and oimblo Iho mixing of niton lo fhe Hhlppei-H lo Much an amount as lo make these watered slocks take on actual values by virtue of unjust and abnormal earning capacity. If Ihey wore the slocks and bonds of 111:11111 facturliiK plants, then the inllated values were based upon (he hope that tho parly lo whoso success Ihey had contributed their millions for cam paign purposes would maintain the Import, tariff duly so as lo justify Its capitalization as tho loading assot of tho so-called "protective industry," and If you doubt that these condi tions oxisl, lei mo refer you to one or two examples: Jn Iho beginning of this period of which I speak there was a largo num ber of Mteol and iron factories throughout tho union. The "pro tective tariff" shut out foreign com petition, but a large number of home industries fostered competition with one another. As a means of destroy ing this compel ition at home, the great Uniled Slates Steel Company was incorporated in 1901, and today tills company owns one hundred and twenty odd plants In more than a dozen different states, and supports a capitalization of fourteen hundred and forty million dollars, and I chal lenge any or its defenders, (if it have such), to show mo that this company ever owned four hundred and forty million dollars of actual values. It has given itself a broad name, "The United States Steel Com pany," and when I travel from ocean to ocean, and see the products of some of its mills in the wire fence upon every farm, and the people us ing the other steel and iron products, and know that tho owner of that farm has contributed to tho unjust ness of tho protective tariff to tho tune, in some instances of several dollars or more per ton, I imagine that the name of this institution may ; ffvrjl? ft. -i JJS ?fgralT.MlrrHu.lJlwJrfwyllllllTlnllnMTtTrt1M Home There nre n thousand little things to be done nbout the farm nnd the home tlmt you must do yourself if they are done at nil. To do them rightly and easily you require good tools, l'or the farm, home or shop there are no tools equal in any respect to L Jobs 1. mm mmm Tools and CuOery The Keen Kutter trademark guarantees satisfaction or your money back. The name Keen Kntlcr covers Carpenter':? Tools, and a fall line of l'atm and Carden Tools l'orks, Hoes, Scvlhes, Tiowels, Manure-hooks, Lawn-mowers, Grass-shears, Knke, etc. Also ScissorsinmlShenpi. Pocket-knives and Table Cutlery. Sold for nearly 40 years under this mark and motto: 'The Recollection of Quality Remnfns Longntlcr flic Price is toigotten." v.. i simmono. 'lrnacmnrlc ui'j-lMfmi. Hunt nl vntlrclr.nl .Sv lcifc cr's, write us. SIMMONS HARDWARE COMPANY (INC.), ST. LOUIS AND NEW YORK, (J. S. A. t nYMur)ffir.t.,.....miWTrt.1JlnT -s-?AWAAAYAim'AW. 1 .v v wvnvivmw .mrc.Y.1.11- '-! imuiuium -v- iMtltin . tv. ' : 4$r f ft",, f ."" tlltfffx XW" .. .,UrT l.'t I I .. I ;....,,.... jffv ..UCTV !.frrW.,Mlfl.S"""'llllllff fl." . .uV ..jrSVV9,. ' w" r .iii;azwAisZcz- ',.. .. .,,.,.. MLLj h rvmw . CNTJOi SL . ..SSC.' wmttwH The Omaha World-Herald I AinjYlOIHTKI) :: IVl'.WSY :-: DBMOCRATIO "-.P "J " Special Offer .f t jDOi.ull si-'.M) siritsruii'TioNs now to THE COMMONER, Lincoln, Nebraska Publishers' Our Piico Prlco With Tho Commoner 91.00 3.25 1.155 HamnawaKrajTMiBWTra Mmmoner Ooiidensed Relume VI for .'JtulK'SaKf S!vvZU;SiffCo?.P0,f Tho Commoner imlf.1 as Volumes 1, 11 111 IV V utiv .?,. J,ffero"t Issues are doslg minilH.V8 of 'n. Conn u nor ' The 1 S liiio VITff llllV?Tto the volume oditorials wbi.h discuss questions "f ZmanJnVti'r contalna Kvi-ty important suhwt in Mm WnV.i,vJ A-1.1.1 ilf ,na,t.uro- . iMmnumt'i' at tbii ilmn n,. u,,i,i.;;.V 1' ..::" ..l.'u,,tlls IS mscussod In Thn niuso of this Tho Coininon-rC ,1. e nffibirn? attention. Be- and should occupy u pluco on tho ioslc of ev rv liv? ranrf. orcn,co .book man and other student of affairs. y lay,QT editor, business TO NEW OR RENEWING SUBSCRIBERS One Yfnr's Subscription to Tho Cominoiier... n 1 A. 1 a- " t-m.uv.isi'U. UlOUl Uouilll DOtin vD I )U lllrlU It'll r l.... .. 1 . 1 B tioh Coiniuonoi . niiimi-riiii'i-H w in invn t. i...i.. , .. eiofli it.....i -.:... k"' . ... ... ,1UJ Vnui l"P current year's niv,cfi olthorvolu.no. If morV t an oVu'volu S.lv 1Thc,S0 rlces are for .... vritllus, Address, THE COMMONER, Lincoln, Nebraska. 'am,"nBaBnam!fMmaaBaKm liavo been inspired by their purpose to steal from the whole United States and I regret to say that so long as tho Dingley Tariff bill remains un changed that (his company will no doubt bo able to keep that intention in actual practice, and there will only bo, so far as 1 can see, one oppor tunity to recover oven a small per cent of the results of their manipula tions, and that is for the public tax ing authorities, where their property is located in the future to put them on tho tax duplicate liko they do the property of ordinary people, instead of lotting them escape even the or dinary burdens of taxation, as their own report shows they are doing to day; and when I contemplate this one example, a creature of the year lflOl, I am inclined to inquire if it would not have been better to have turned on the light six years ago. One more example of suffering from belated sunshine: In 1902 there existed five so-called Pacific railroads. Without taking time with tho fact that these proper ties had largely been created by do nations of public land, and credit, to tho end that our people might have the conveniences and benefit of com petitive transportation, I go at once to tho proposition that for good and sufficient, as well as legal reasons, our people were entitled to have these several linos of railroad main tained as separate competing lines 01 transportation. In 1902 a notice appeared in the newspapers of the east. It recited that tho directors of the Union Paci fic railroad had authorized the is suance of one hundred million dol lars of bonds to be used in purchas ing tho stock of tho Southern Pacific, and other railroads, and a day was fixed at which tho stockholders were called to vote to ratify or reject this act of the directors. At the time fixed, the meeting of the stock-holders was held, and the ratification of tins act 01 their directors was made, and the succeeding annual reports showed that the Union Pacific is a large owner of the stock of the Southern Pacific system. Yes. far ther than that, today it owns largely of the stock of two of the other Pa cific railroads, and an examination of their annual reports show that through tho ownership of stocks and the interlocking of their directorate that they have so completely de stroyed competition that the shippers of this vast country between the Missouri and the Pacific are with out competition in the transportation of freight and passengers. And what is tho result? We are uut usKmg you to base your conclu sion upon our mere assertion. A business man will invariably concede that results are the surest basis for correct conclusions. We find that the Union Pacific in those few years increased its gross earnings far above the ratio of in creased volume of its traffic- the conclusion is easily arrived at.' When tho per cent of increased earning, exceeds the per cent of increased toS tine VhT nly GiXplain !t adrait" rosuH tlJnt0t freight and th result is that during these few years toortnt dthStryinJf eompeUUoand Dooming the earnings of the com- pany stock of tho Un or Pacific S lTUeTy bG ShatClfflor ii-bo man ?20 ton years aso wi fl ntaitS".t dl,V"Ie,ld WW W. peXrt00 S0W aS hish " And the time since 1902 has bPpn employed by the frenzied financiers who manipulated these deas In dis posing of their stocks a Vii V Prices made possible by' these mf just freight rates, until atSral V those stocks are distributed in small holdings throughout tho world wher over there is an investor to be ofuiSi by such conditions, and if in the future we are to decide that he shipper has suffered long enough, and is entitled to competing freight rates on the Pacific roads, and givo him his just relief, we will then rea lize that we, have made thousands of honest investors suffer. Will Harriman suffer? Certainly not! He did not make these stocks to keep. He made them to sell, and if you will look at the stock register, you will find he has delivered tho goods. And if an opponent of Har riman had access to the .stock list of his company, he would have been just as eager in securing pyoxies in the battle for the control of the Union Pacific as Stujrvesant Fish has been battling with the same man through the proxy road for the con trol of the Illinois Central. My friends, would not a little lime light in 1902 have prevented this condition which our chief executive tells us he is in no way responsible for today? Had the light been turned on when the newspaper no tice announced the effort to control these other competing lines, you would not see the enormous freight rates which made possible the last annual report of the Union Pacific system; and in brief what is that report? Gross earnings seventy-eight mil lion dollars; net earnings forty-five million dollars; deductions for inter est on bonds, etc., eleven million dol- Jefferson's Bible The Life and Morals of JESUS OF NAZARETH Extracted Tcitually from the Gospel, together with a companion of hU doctrine with thoie of othr. By THOMAS JEFFERSON JefTerion' rnbtion wa leadership. Without an effort on his part expression from his lips that from other men's would scarcely have at tracted notice, became thenceforth axioms, creeds, and tathering-cries of great masses of hi countrymen. Henru S. Randall. Jefferson's Bible is a book of 1C3 pages, ynl printed and substantially bound in cloth. It was published originally to be sold for 51.00 per copy. By purchasing the book in large numbers vce are able to offer Commoner readers an ex ceptional price of 75c psr copy; sent by mail, postage prepaid. ADDRESS ALL ORDERS TO THE COiMAlONER, LINCOLN, NEBRASKA Subscribers' Advertising Depi. Th,s, department Is for tho exclusive nini J2?mnlon.er BUtscribers, and 2?rHi Ae of,slx cents a word Per in sertlon the lowest rate has been ?!0p tm,em Adires3 all coramunl catlons to Tho Commoner, Lincoln, Nob. C1111 2 FRAMES ANY ROOF. Nebraska1' 3brn BX 1920' LIncoln' F9.R?ALF-IRRIGATED FARMS IN ssrvsss Sicfald' Reai tatW WS fNBR-I HAVE 3,300 win on p' J'000 of tnem on shares. Will sell my own and equity In tho 2sterSkdrefer totain lon inter! MORTHEAST NEBRASKA FARMS etc. Jao.'K. Mai'tin.' Doalora,