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FjANUARY 31, 1908
The Commoner.
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both senators notwithstanding tho democratic
'maloritv and these senators are not only re
publicans but they are corporation republicans.
Thero are 109 members in the llliodo isianci
legislature, forty democrats and sixty-nino re
tiiiblir.ins. but the fortv democrats represent a
population of 2GG.407, while the sixty-nine re
publicans represent a population of only 1S0,-
010 (two constituencies divide tneir representa
tion cnuallv.) The votes cast' for democratic
candidates for the legislature exceeded the votes
cast for the republican candidates, n mo elec
tion for senator had been by popular vote or had
'tho am to hpnn fnJrlv districted Col. Goddard
Bwould have been elected. What does Secretary
irrnft think of this? Will he make In KliodQ
Hsland the argument he made in Oklahoma?
Hf not, why not?
oooo
DR. R. T. TRIMBLE
rw Pnihinv t Trimhln died recently at his
jhome in New Vienna, Ohio. Dr. Trimble was,
?in 1896, a democratic elector for tho Sixth con
gressional district. A friend of Dr. Trimble's
writing in the Clinton County Democrat well
isays: "The high and spiencnu quality oi ma
life was, in a sense, assured by the fine old
Scotch-Irish blood that flowed in his veins. He
was well born. Generations of distinguished
people, reflned and capable, were the channels
through which naci nowea me uiuuu uiui mau
Dr. Trimble a gentleman 'to the manor born'
and a man of distinction wherever he went."
OOOO
OHIO LEGISLATURE
The Oh in legislature has unanimously
ijr,r.fori n infnh rnsolution inviting Mr. Bryan
feo address tho members of that body in joint
fgession February 18 on the subject oi uuar-
fanteed Deposits." Tho resolution loiiows:
SEVENTY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
STATE OF OHIO
II. J. R. No. 84
wherpns. Tho subiect of cuaranteeing bank
fonnslts is nrominently before tho people of the
tate and nation at this time, and
v Whereas, There is pending in the Ohio
legislature bills upon this subject, in both the
house and senate; therefore be it
Resolved, By the general assembly of the
fefnto nf nhln. that Hon. William Jennings Bryan
be invited to address a joint session of the gen-
feral assembly, in the hall of the nouse oi rep
resentatives, Tuesday, February 18, 1908, on the
'subject of "Guaranteeing Bank Deposits."
OOOO
TnE WATCH TRUST
The American cilizen who buys an Amer-
if.iTi miiflfi watch navs forty ner cent more for
'It than the Englishman has to pay for the same
watnh In Great Britain. This, however, en-
tables tho watch trust to pay such high wages
that the trust magnates go to tne seasnore in
summer and the south in winter while the em
ployes remain at home and wonder how the
week's wage can be made to stretch so as to
meet the week's expenses.
OOOO
"ANYTHING ELSE"
The New York Evening Post admits that
as between Taft and organized labor its sym
pathies are with Taft. Tho Evening Post wastes
space in admitting something that is obvious
to every one of its readers. As between or
ganized labor and anything else, the Post sym
pathizes with the anything else.
OOOO
"THE GREAT EVIL OF OUR TIME"
Stuyvesant Fish; former president of tho
Illinois Central railroad filed, January 24, with
the superior court in Chicago, a brief which
some newspaper dispatches describe as "sen
sational." This brief was filed in the injunc
tion suit which Mr. Fish and his associates are
prosecuting to prevent E. H. Harriman and his
friends from voting, at the Illinois Central
annual meeting, stock in that company which
is owned by the Union Pacific and by the Rail
road Securities company.
Following is one extract from the Fish
brief:
"The great evil of our time, one which
presents to the American people a tremendous
problem for solution and one to which their
attention is now being turned, because it is an
evil of very recent growth, is tho monopoly of
trade and transportation brought about by
stockholdings of one corporation in another."
A Chicago dispatch carried by tho Associat
ed Press says:
"The brief is a reply to the brief prepared
by the defendants in which they declared that
a decision against them would disrupt many of
the great corporations in the country. In reply
to this statement Mr. Fish and his friends frank
ly declare tJiat they hope it will have this
effect and that the great majority of tho Amer
ican people arc entertaining this same hope.
It is expected to bo tho dominant purpose of
the now famous Illinois Central injunction suit
to make it possible for the people to rid them
selves of grasping monopolies. 'We express, wo
believe,' declares Mr. Fish and his friends, 'the
sentiment of the great majority of the people
who hope that this case will go for the com
plainants, and that it will bo the entering
wedge which will finally dissolve all (hose mon
opolistic stockholding combinations and con
fine tho piratical corporations of New Jersey
and Utah to operations within the limits of
the states which created them.' The attention
of the court is called to the fact that tho gov
ernment has already struck one effective blow
at the 'vicious system' in the Northern Securities
case, which broke up one of Harriman and Hill's
schemes to control parallel and competing lines
of railroad, and that it Is delivering another
blow in the Standard Oil case. The opportu
nity which the brief assorts is presented to the
court to do a great public service is thus stated:
'This suit presents to the court of Illinois tho
opportunity to join as a pioneer state in this
righteous crusado against predatory corpora
tions, and to declare, what is a manifest fact,
that tho Utah statute of 1907, which
gives to Utah railroad companies power to own
and control tho stock of every transportation
corporation by land and by sea in this country
and in all parallel and competing lines outside
of the state of Utah, Is a practical attempt to
evade the Northern Securities care and sets
forth a policy which every other state of the
union will use it whole power to strike down.' "
OOOO
THE REPUBLICAN CONTEST
It looks as though there would be a spirited
contest for tho republican nomination for the
presidency, and Mr. Foraker of Ohio is not to
have a monopoly on the opposition to Taft. Gov
ernor Hughes and his friends have entered the
field and they seem to have given tho Taft boom
a distinct setback so far as Now York is con
cerned. It will be remembered that when, sev
eral weeks ago, a resolntion endorsing Gov
ernor Hughes .was introduced in a New York
republican organization, tho Roosevelt and Taft
forces fought it so bitterly that they were able
to lay it on tho table. Subsequently they suc
cessfully opposed the proposition to consider
that resolution. It was freely predicted by rep
resentatives of the Roosevelt and Taft forces
that Taft would have tho New York delegation
and for a time It seemed that Governor Hughes
was to have no standing in the party councils
of his own state, but finally Governor Hughes
was persuaded to write the letter announcing
his willingness to enter .the contest. This let
ter created quite a commotion in New York re
publican circles. Secretary Taft wrote to Her
bert Parsons, the Roosevelt leader in New York,
that he did not desire any contest made against
Governor Hughes for the New York delegation.
The Taft forces expect that this attitude In New
York will aid in keeping down opposition to
Taft in his own state of Ohio. In pursuance of
this policy Mr. Parsons issued a statement de
claring that he was not opposed to a Hughes
delegation. The Cannon and Foraker forces
manifest great pleasure because of. the setback
to the Taft boom and they declare that tho
.republican contest is now "anybody's fight."
OOOO
OREGON DEMOCRATS
Following are extracts taken from the
Portland Oregonian of January 19:
"For president of the United States, Wil
liam Jennings Bryan."
This is the ticket and the slogan of the
democrats of Oregon as made manifest by tho
indorsement of tho democratic state central
committee at the Imperial hotel yesterday after
noon. Central committeemen from all the counties
of the state , except Columbia, Coos, Crook,
Grant, Klamath, Lake, Lincoln, Tillamook,
Union and Wallowa gathered at the Imperial
yesterday at 2 o'clock in answer to the call
ETERNAL VIGI LANCE
J. M. Babb, Clayton, 111., an old
soldier seventy-ono years of ago, writes:
"IDncIonod find sixty conts for Commoner
from now to November, 1908. I cheerfully
sign the one million army aH a private, and
will do some recruiting if you will send
mo eight or ten membership certificate.
Also send mo tho Commoner that con
tained Mr. Bryan's lecture on 'The Prince
of Peace.' My copy got misplaced that
contained that great lecture, and I desire
to read it again and show it to my neigh
bors. Rejoicing at tho bright prospects
of tho success of W. J. Bryan in the com
ing campaign of 1908, I have had the
honor to vote in two campaigns for Bryan
and am anxiously waiting to vote tho
third time for him, hoping with all my
heart that victory will perch upon tho ban
ners of true democracy for which I pledge
myself to do all in my power to accomplish
success of the party, that favors the
masses not tho classes, tho party that
favors putiing down the trusts, monop
olies and tho great octopus money
power, tho party that favors 'a govern
ment of the pnoplo, by the people for the
people, equal rights for all and special
privileges to none.' Lot tho people or
ganize for victory in 1908. For no victory
will bo won without thorough organization.
Lot the non-partisan voters of all parties
think and ponder well, use all fair, honor
able tactics to win, remembering that
'eternal vigilance is tho price of liberty.' "
issued by Stato Chairman Sweek some time
ago. Tho deliberations of tho organization
wore short, but things wore doing while the
session was on.
Perhaps the most Important action taken
was the indorsement of Bryan as the cholco
of the Oregon democrats for the next presiden
tial candidate. Senator Milt Miller was tho one
who brought the question up, and in a short
speech brimming with enthusiasm ho asked that
the committee givo its Indorsement to tho
famous Nebraskan. Senator Miller contended
that the fortunes of the democratic party were
on the flood tide and ho predicted a presidential
victory for tho party in November.
His motion that Bryan be indorsed met
with tho unanimous support of the committeo
and tho delegates -voted the Indorsement with
a whoop. Senator Miller, Lark Bllyeti and D.
M. Watson wore appointed as a committee to
make known to Mr. Bryan the action of tho
committee by a fitting communication sent to
him.
OOOO
WHY NOT NOW?
Stirred by democratic attacks upon tho
high protective tariff Senator Hansbrough (rep.)
declared on tho floor of the senate "there will
be tariff legislation or the preliminaries thereto
will bo started In April 1909." Tho Washing
ton correspondent for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat1
says that Speaker Cannon approves Sen
ator Hansbrough's statement. But why wait
until after the presidential election? Why not
have tariff legislation now? At least "the pre
liminaries thereto" might be "started," say in
February, 1908.
OOOO
WARDER OF MARIAN
Hon. W. H. Warder, of Marion, 111., has
been nominated to fill the vacancy caused by tho
death of Congressman Smith. Mr. Warder is a
democrat loyal to the principles of the party
and advocates all ideas of Jefferson. He de
serves tho support not only of democrats but of
those republicans who have been aroused to tho
necessity of remedial legislation.
OOOO
THAT'S WHY
Judge S. F. Prouty opened the campaign
for Governor Cummins who hopes to succeed
Senator Allison by declaring that Mr. Allison
had "neglected opportunities for serving the
people." Does Judge Prouty imagine that that
charge would defeat a man for a republican
nomination? sThe entire republican congress has
habitually "neglected opportunities for serving
the people." In fact that is what a republican
congress Is expected to do.