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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 7, 1908)
FEBRUARY 7. 1908 The Commoner. 9 W3 i"4 ;.c ." TKi v?a ... j? , .."' V. . 'J . M gago In Interstate commerce. Whatever may bo tftkQ rights of an individual in dealing with other Individuals, the government certainly has tho i right to determine the conditions upon which .a corporation can exist and do business, and congress can fix the terms upon which a state corporation can engage In interstate commerce. IThe union is a lawful association, and if a man can be discharged because he belongs to a labor iunion by the same logic he can be discharged fit he belongs to a political party objectionablo to the employer, or to a church against which sthe employer is prejudiced. Followed to its logical conclusion the principle laid down by the court, as I understand the decision, would en able the corporation to set itself up as a dictator In regard to the habits, thoughts and convictions of its employes on any and every subject. Tho fact that two of the justices have dissented en ables me to dissent from the conclusion of tho majority without disrespect to the court or what I regard as an erroneous construction to the con stitution." B riittLiii iNi!iv iuiti. j'resB, a rcputmcan paper, I JL says that Secretary Taft has "long been prominent in public lifo but never by the vote tof the people." Tho Press gives this as the Taft record: "1881 Assistant prosecuting at torney, Cincinnati Appointed. 1882 Collector of internal revenue, Ohio Appointed by Presi dent Arthur. 1887 Judge of the superior court, Cincinnati Appointed by Governor For aker. 1890 Solicitor-general of the United States Appointed by President Harrison. 1892 r United States circuit judge for the Sixth cir cuit Appointed by President Harrison-; (while holding this office he issued that celebrated ; strike Injunction). 1900 President of the Phil ippine commission Appointed by President Mc- ,Kinley. 1901 First civil governor of the Phil ippines Appointed by President McKinley. 1904 I. Secretary of war Appointed by President .Roosevelt." it? VIDBNTLY THE New York Press is opposed feU to Mr. Taft, for referring to the secretary of war, it said: "When there is a desperate fight against him in his own state; when colored voters are hostile to him on account of his part $in the Brownsville case; when labor is embit tered against him on account of his attitude as a judge toward strikes, and when there are sev eral men of approved popularity at the ballot box contesting the presidential nomination with him, the time hardly seems opportune for Sec- rpfnrv Tnft to mnVfl flip first-. tfsf: ff hn sfrpnirMi v with 'the voters of the United States." O COMMENTING upon the "Taft by appoint ment" suggestion the Omaha World-Herald says: "The Press should remember, how ever, that in a sense Mr. Taft is also seeking the presidency by appointment. He would have been heard of, little, if at all, as a candidate for the nomination, were it not that President Roosevelt demands it for him, and has thrown the tremendous power of foderal patronage in the scale in his behalf. And, if nominated it will be to President Roosevelt's influence that he must look for whatever hope he may have of electioH. He has been always an office-holder by appointment, and if he realizes his present ambition he will be a hand-made president." SOME OF THE men charged with graft in the construction and furnishing of the Pennsylvania state bouse are now on trial at Harrisburg. An Associated Press dispatch from Harrisburg says: "Stanford B. Lewis, associate of Architect Joseph M. Huston, was forced to divulge at the morning session of the trial of the state capitol conspiracy cases testimony of a damaging nature to the architect's interest. Under a rigid cross-examination by counsel for the defense, Lewis virtually admitted that tho blue print plans for capitol furniture, particu larly the sofas, were indefinite. Lewis refused to give the measurements of sofas, tables and the clothing tree produced before the jury, say ing that he did not make the computation, whereupon he, was compelled by counsel for the defense to measure a sofaiand clothes tree. All of this furniture was furnished by Sanderson at the rate of $18.40 'per foot.' The now famous bootblack stand for the senate lavatory supplied by Contractory John H. Sanderson of Philadelphia, one of the defendants in the state capitol conspiracy suits on trial in the Dauphin county court, was offered in evidence by tho commonwealth today. Sanderson collected $1,619.20 from tho state for this ctand and paid tho sub-contractor by whom It was sup plied $125. Photographs of tho rostrums of tho senate and house caucus rooms, for which tho state paid Sanderson $90,748.80 and for which h paid the sub-contractor $2,000, wero also offered In evidence. Fred II. Potter and Howard Kroehl of the Audit Company of New York wore called by the commonwealth to es tablish the measurements of the sofas, clothes trees and table produced before tho jury. All 6f this furniture was supplied by Sanderson at tho rate of $18.40 'per foot' and, according to the commonwealth, ho was paid for certain articles at the rate of three times the actual measurement. Tho commonwealth also offered several bills for furnishings supplied by Sander son for the purpose of showing that different systems of measurement were employed by the contractor for collecting for articles supplied under the same items in the special capitol fur nishing schedule of 1904. Architect Joseph M. Huston, who has secured a separate trial, has been subpoenaed as a witness for his co-defendants, former Auditor General Snyder, for mer State Treasurer Mathues, James M. Shu maker, former superintendent of grounds and buildings, and Sanderson, but may not bo called. The feeling against the architect on the part of his four co-defendants grows more bitter .as the trial progresses." TPIE WASHINGTON correspondent for -the Chicago Record-Herald is responsible for the following: " 'Hero's some of the new emer gency money,' said Senator Tillman carelessly to day to Senator Gallinger. 'Let us look it over,' re sponded the New Hampshire man, and Senator Tillman produced a piece of lithographed paper the size of a note, to tho end of which was at tached a piece of rubber. Then the two sena tors put their heads together and laughed over the new 'elastic' money until Senator Heyburn, who sits near, came in and was let into the joke. Senator Heyburn surprised several grave colleagues by handing them tho bill and retain ing possession of the rubber, which promptly drew it out of the hands of the recipient and caused much merriment. The 'fake' money is labed, 'United States elastic currency $5 to $10, according to stretch.' It is signed by 'Cheek, Gall & Co.,' and bears the legend, 'Se cured by credit and circulated by double in terest.' " JOHN WESLEY GAINES of Tennessee has a new word for trusts. A Washington dis patch carried by tho Associated Press explains: " 'WIlllpus Wallapus' is the new name applied to greedy trusts. It was a term sprung on the house by John Wesley Gaines of Tennessee, when attacking the United States ship trust. Representative LIttlefield of Maine, who speaks for the shipping interests, had been bemoaning the ill will of the gods that a ship subsidy meas ure had failed of passage in the last congress. The Tonnesseean was replying. 'Where would you have been,' he asked the republicans, 'if this ship subsidy measure had not been talked to death in tho senate by a democrat? A de ficiency of $100,000,000 now stares you In tho face. What would it have been if you were now paying out millions to the big, fat, greedy willipus wallupus of a shipping trust?' ino re publicans made any answer, but many sent hur riedly for dictionaries to look up the new term. 'It is not in a dictionary,' said John Wesley Gaines; 'it's my own. It stands for everything that is not complimentary.' " A WASHINGTON dispatch by the Associated Press under date of January 24, follows: "Although enjoined from making any reference to the controversy between the American Fed eration of Labor and the Buck Stove and Range company, President Samuel Gompers In an edi torial in the current issue of the American Fed erationist comments on Justice Gould's recent decision at great length and declares a purpose not to comply with all Its terms. 'It is an In vasion of the liberty of the press and the right of free speech,' declared Mr. Gompers. 'Wo would be recreant to our duty did we not do all in our power to point out to the people the serious invasion of their liberties which has taken place. That this has been done by judge made injunction and not by statute law makes the menace all the greater. 'The matter of at tempting to suppress the boycott of the Buck Stove and Range company by Injunction, while important, yet pales Into insignificance before this invasion and donlal of constitutional rights. Wo discuss this Injunction and foci obliged aa a mattor of conscience and principles to protest against its issuance and its enforcement, yet wo desiro It to bo clearly understood that tho editor of tho American Federatlonist dooH not consider himself thereby violating any law of cither stato or nation, nor does he Intend or advise any disrespect toward the courts of our country. And yet inherent, natural and constitutional rights guarantees must bo defended and main tained.' Mr. Gompers states that the services of some of the foremost lawyers in the country have been secured and that the case will be car ried to tho United States supreme court. The action against the federation of labor and Its olllclals was brought, In the supremo court of tho district of Columbia on tho ground that the publication of the Buck Stove company on tho 'we don't patronize" list of the American Fed eration 1st was In the nature of a boycott. Jus tice Gould's order has been compiled with In this respect by dropping the stove company from tho list." REPUBLICANS who have been led to bolievo that American tariff barons do not sell goods abroad cheaper than at home will bo in terested in a Pittsburg dispatch printed In tho St. Louis Post-Dispatch as follows: "Tin plato consumers of the country have raised a howl because tho United States Steel Corporation has sold to Welsh tinplato makers 100,000 tons of sheet and tinplato bars $10 a ton cheaper than they are quoting manufacturers In the United States. While the corporation Is charging tho American steel makers $29 per ton, It Is laying down tho same product In Swansea at $21.90. Tho cost of transporting the bars to Wales Is about $12 per ton, so that the actual price re ceived free on board Pittsburg is $17.80 per ton as against $29 per ton quoted for American mills In the Pittsburg district. The Industrial World, an Iron and steel publication o"f this city, which was founded for the purpose of maintaining high tariff, thus comments on it editorially: 'Viewed , from any conceivable standpoint these trans actions deserve the severest condemnation. Nothing can do more to discredit the protective system than such operations. The tariff on such material Is high, yet it is only $6.72. Did not the steel corporation tie the foreign buyers up tightly, and did not the latter know that If they resold their shipments would bo stopped very promptly, they could load those bars back onto tho cars and ship them back to the United States at a profit after paying transportation charges. The cheap plea of keeping mills going and em ploying labor through these exports Is an Insult to tho intelligence of the American public' " AN INTERESTING contribution to the dis cussion concerning Ananias Clubs and the question of veracity raised so often of late at the White House, Is made by the New York Sun in speaking of Secretary Loeb: "One or two newspapers printed yesterday morning the sub joined precious bit of Information: 'Secretary Loeb tonight said that no plan for the return of tho fleet had yet been promulgated.' This refers to the wireless dispatch from the battleship Louisiana received by the Sun on Wednesday through the navy department at Washington, reporting tho announcement by Admiral Evans on the authority of Mr. Roosevelt, that the licet will return to the Atlantic by the. way of Suez canal. We recajl a somewhat similar de nial' from the same remarkable source. It has been historic since the second of July: 'You may say that the president has not even consid ered the advisability of sending any ships to the Pacific; that Is all there Is to be said at this time.' We repeat that everybody knows that Mr. Loeb is the authorized and faithful, If over worked mouthpiece of the principal authority on the veracities now living on this continent." ADES MOINES, Iowa, dispatch to the Chi cago Record-Herald follows: "Leslie M. Shaw, tentative candidate for the republican nomination for president of the United States, has written to Iowa men concerning his course of action. In these letters he intimates that he has positive word that Chairman F. P. Woods, candidate for congress in the Tenth district would favor the Iowa delegation being instructed for the former secretary of the treasury. In his letters to his Iowa friends Secretary Shaw states that if he can get the Tenth district he will re turn and fight for the Iowa delegation. 'If I can get Chairman Woods and Tom Healy's sup port, I will be the next president of the United States,' he is reported to have said."