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The Commoner.
VOLUME 8, NUMBER it
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Ifc
m
an income to
lie rest of the
king could havo lookod Into llio futuro or hnvo
rKlliiwilf!fl the changed conditions that the last
four (MMilurloM have brought. IJut eternity i
longer I han four hundred years. If Caesar had
given to a commission (he power to grant a
perpclual franchise in one of Rome's colonies,
that franchise would he legally running yet.
And yet eternity is longor than twenty centuries.
If the ruler of Mahylon had granted a perpetual
franchise to one of his favorites, that franchise
would legally he running still, although the
glories of Mahylon have been forgotton for
thousands of years. Hut eternity would still
be young. If Adam had had tin? power that
Secretary Taft desired to vest in a Philippine
commission, and had given to Cain a perpetual
franchise, mid guaranteed an annual income, the
descendants of Cain, so far as Hie law could
secure it, would still be drawing
be paid by taxation, levied upon t
people.
lOternity is a long time, and the man who
will attempt to bind any people by a perpetual
corporate charter must be strangely Indifferent
to the rights of posterity, or strangely ignorant
of the subject matter with which he deals. And
one who would attempt to fasten a perpetual
debt upon a helpless race, must excuse himself,
cither by siiylng that he would do the same
thing, if possible, to the people of the United
States, or admit that ho would not accord to
the Filipinos the same measure of justice that
ho would secure to Americans.
Take the most charitable view of the sub
ject that you can, and I ask you whether Secre
tary Taft can safely be trusted with the protec
tion of tho public against corporate greed, when
ho has placed himself on record in favor of giv
ing such vast powers to corporations, and in
favor of burdening a people forever with tho
taxation necessary to mako an investment
profitable.
The trouble Js that Secretary Taft looks at
public questions from tho standpoint of tho
men who own and operate tho corporations
which need regulation, whereas reforms must
come from those who look at tho question from
tho Htiimlpolnt of the nuurcs of the people.
I havo taken the three republicans who
have been mentioned most in connection with
the presidency. 1 havo ot included Senator
LaFollelte, who is, I believe, a real reformer,
and who has boldly championed reform m ens
ures. I do not mention him because, outside
of Ids own stato, ho docs not seem to havo any
influential supporters for tho republican nomin
ation, and in his own stato he has had a ten
years light against corporate Influences. But
President. Roosevelt is tho leader of the reform
sentiment in the republican party, and yet he
favors national incorporation. Secretary Taft
Is tho president's chosen candidate for the re
publican nomination, and behold how biased ho
is In favor of tho corporations and against tho
public. Governor Hughes, who is sometimes put
In tho class of reformers, although the chosen
representative of the reactionary element
Governor Hughes spends more time warning tho
public against unjust ice to stockholders than in
dov sing remedies which will insure tho public
against exploitation.
Why democracy? Because the democratic
party is the only party sufficiently largo to give
hope of success and sufllclontly democratic to
give hope of relief after a victory has been won
Washington Letter
Washington, D. C, March 23. The present
impression in congress is that whatever may bo
tho domand from tho White House for legisla
tion, congress will adjourn about the middle of
May. Iho leaders in both houses say that it is
necessary to adjourn in order that members and
senators may go back to their states and attend
to tho political needs of their parties. It is as
serted now that tho long session, coming just
before a presidential election, must not be used
for tho enactment of any legislation other than
appropriation bills and possibly such measures
as he employers' liability bill and currency legis
lation. Eight months ago when the short ses
sion was growing to a close the plea was tlmt
the session was too short for careful considers
Hon of the legislation which had been urged
How long is this farce to continue' Tho
short session Is too short for the enactment of
laws demanded by the people; tho long session
comes Just before either a new conessiona
election or a presidential election Then e?o?e
it is urged that nothing must be done i a lo, g
session lest it should affect unfavorably the
chances of the party in power in the pending
election. For nearly twelve years the republi
can party has been playing this game of procras
tination and promising always that something
would bo done when the next congress should
meet. Nothing has been done, nothing will be
done. Tho tariff has not been revised, the rail
road question has not been handled firmly, the
issues raised by President Roosevelt, however
meritorious they may bo, have not been given
attention. There has been much oratory and
little action; much wind but the ship of state
has not thereby been wafted into any safe
harbor.
Now the republican leaders plan an early
adjournment without having given attention to
the business brought before them. The one rea
son for this early adjournment is that they must
go home and attend to tho election of delegates
to the national convention.
Senator Tillman raised an issue in the
United States senate that is well worth more
serious consideration than the republican senate
is willing to give to it. He had asked that the
comptroller of the currency should send to tho
scnato a detailed statement of all loans made
by tho national banks of New York City upon
collateral securities between Juno 1, 1907, and
tho first of this year, with the names of the bor
rowers. Incidentally the resolution called for
the list of stocks and bonds deposited as se
curities. Now recognize what this means. . It would
show to what extent the banks of the United
States, outside of New York, "keeping their
reserves in the New York banks, were milked in
order that their money might be loaned to Wall
Street speculators on dubious securities. It is
a matter of history now, and not of speculation,
that the banks in tho west were compelled to
refuse payment because under federal laws they
kept their reserve funds either deposited in New
York or in banks in the middle west which in
turn sent them to New York. The New York
banks refused to repay these deposits and ac
cordingly the western banks were compelled to
ask concessions from their depositors.
Senator Tillman wanted to find out how
these funds that did not belong to the New York
banks, but did belong to their depositors, had
been loaned; whether they were lent out to
advance tho interests of speculators, promoters
and the men at the head of various notorious
trusts and monopolies. The United States sen
ate shut down on his resolution as a trap does
on a mouse, and the men who sprung the trap
wore Senator Aldrich, of Rhode Island, the
leader of the Standard Oil forces in "Washington;
Senator Depew of New York of whom it is only
necessary to say that he is the representative
of the Vanderbilts and the railroad trust gen
erally; and Senator Hale of Maine, whose ability
is directed at all times to the protection of these
corporations that enjoy alike the beneficent aid
of tho tariff and of the partnership between the
banks and tho promoters. All three opposed
Mr. Tillman and continued to oppose him, even
when he withdrew tho propositions to have the
names of the borrowers given. Many people
thought that the South Carolina senator made
a mistake in offering this concession, but when
it appeared that in so doing he merely forced
the hand of the trust senators, that opinion was
corrected. Mr. Tillman put on record the re
publican side of the senate as being aligned
almost like a unit in defense of the use of bank
funds and inferentially of life insurance funds
in the stock market. It is fair to say that Sen
ator Beveridge of Indiana corrected Mr. Aid
rich who said that the senate should not ask
the names of the borrowers from national banks
at the present time. "Nor at any time " said
Senator Beveridge. Perhaps after all the In
diana senator was right, although unwittimrlv
It might not be worth while even for the sen
ate to ask the names. When a distinguished
banker whoso attorney is now a member of the
Roosevelt cabinet found it quite within tho liw
to lend two million dollars to a fifteen dollar a
week office boy and has never been brouirht to
book for so doing, it doesn't seem worth whio
to try to make bankers either observe the spirit
of the law or to expose their violations of its
lotter- WILLIS J. ABBOT
"The Nebraska democratic platform onlv
means what Mr. Bryan says it means," obse??es
the Sioux City Journal. Mr. Bryan and the
gentlemen who framed the platform thank to
Journal for the compliment. Now will the na
tional republican convention kindly "frame a
tSSZ1 wlu mean what its y
TAINTED NEWS
Tho following is taken from Collier'i
Weekly:
The following letters tell their own story
without leaving too much to the imagination of
any one familiar with the most modern methods
practiced by the larger interests, in achieving
their purpose. All were written by a man whose
letterheads do not disclose his occupation further
than to say "P. S. Ridsdale, Wilkes-Barre, Pa."
They were addressed to a newspaper man in a
distant state, whose business is the sending of
such local news arising in his vicinity as is of!
sufficient importance to the metropolitan news
papers. The letter, with some omissions, follows:
"Dear Sir I am able to place you in tho
way of extending your business and
think it will result in a considerable increase in
your income. It is to obtain certain kinds of
news, for which you will be paid extra in addi
tion to the regular newspaper rates. I will be
glad 4to put you next' to the work, as a good man
is required in your territory.
"Very truly yours, P. S. RIDSDALE."
The recipient of this letter answered, and
in due time came the details:
"Dear Sir I wish to have published in as
many papers as possible opinions of prominent
business men and bankers of your district favor
able to the Aldrich currency bill, now before the
senate
"What I want to get published as widely
as you can is the following:
"That there is still such uneasiness over
the recent financial crisis, that all business men
of your community are anxious for some cur
rency legislation at the earliest possible moment
consistent with the importance of the subject.
(Then is advanced a long brief in favor of
the Aldrich bill a digest of this sort of thing
which the hired advocate is supposed to put into
the mouths of the prominent men whom he in
terviews. )
"Now it is likewise the opinion of all the
level-headed men of the community that the
Aldrich bill, better than any other brought out,
meets this urgent necessity, and there is gen
eral demand in the community, irrespective of
party or politics, that the Aldrich bill be passed
and become a law as quickly as possible.
"On broad lines, this is what I -want. It ia
important to get opinions favorable to the bill
from men of prominence whose names carry
weight regarding the effect on your particular
section, and, if they are big men, on the country
at large.
"For your special efforts in this direction
I am willing to pay you $10 for each story of
about half a column that you can place in tho
big city papers, such as New York, Philadelphia,
Washington, Baltimore, Pittsburg, Boston, Buf
falo, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis,
Detroit, Ney Orleans, Nashville, Tenn., or cities
of that size; and $2 for each article placed in
your local papers, or in any city or town papers
which are not classed as big papers. You should
have no trouble in landing much of this stuff.
It is good news. The smaller papers in the dis
trict you cover, whilo they would probably not
pay you space rates for the stories, would be
glad to use them. You can also duplicate tho
stories to the big papers.
"I must ask you to send me at the samo
time you send it out, a carbon copy of each story,
with a list of the papers to which it is sent, and
then, upon receipt of each clipping of the story
which you send me, with the date of publication
and the name of the paper publishing it at the
top, I will send you a check for it.
"It is necessary to get this going as soon,
as possible. I would suggest interviews with
your prominent bankers and business men at
once on the subject of publication in your local
papers, and then a story built up from these
interviews in the big papers.
"Will you let me know as soon as you can,
if you desire to take up this work and what you
think you can do with it?
"Wishing you success and hoping that 1
may have to send you many good-sized checks,
1 am Yours very truly,
"P. S. RIDSDALE.
l must ask you, of course, to treat this
matter as strictly confidential."
i oTh ls the scheme- Now who is paying the
bills? From whose pocket comes the $10 for
each story in the big city papers," and
? 2 for each article in any papers
not classed as big papers?" Not Rids
uaie. He is, or was until recent affluence came
his way, a worker on the daily papers and the
nn- correspondent of out-of-town papers.
Collier's Weekly. A