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The Commoner.
VOLUME 8, NUMBER la
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THROUGH Wo Iter Wellman, Washington cor
respondent for the Chicago Record-Herald,
who made a special trip to St. Paul, Governor
Johnson of Minnesota announced his candidacy
for the democratic nomination for the presi
dency. Mr. Wellman says: "At last it has been
borno In upon the mind of this sincere and
earnest, but ambitious, man (Governor John
son) that it has raised for him a question of
duty." In a second letter Mr. Wellman says
that thore are six hundred thousand Scandina
vian votes in the United States and that Gov
ernor Johnson will bo certain to receive these
votes. Mr. Wellman says that Governor John
son's friends promise that Minnesota will in
struct its delegation to the national convention
to presont Mr. Johnson as a candidate.
A WASHINGTON dispatch to the Chicago
Record-Herald and under date of March
20 follows: "With hope renewed by action of
the Now York state committee in adopting al
most unanimously a resolution in favor of an
uninstructed delegation to the national conven
tion, the anti-Bryan democrats of the east are
redoubling their efforts to prevent the nomina
tion of the Nobraskan. The two-thirds rule
offers tho key to the situation. With New York
and Pennsylvania figured on to send uninstruct
ed delegations to Denver, with Minnesota to
send a Johnson delegation and with little Dela
ware assured to Gray, tho anti-Bryan politicians
aro looking to all of New England, to Ohio and
to West Virginia to join in and prevent Bryan
from having the necessary two-thirds majority
on the first roll call. If the result can be de
layed beyond the flrBt call of tho roll Bryan'B
enemies believe they 'Will have him licked. The
antl-Bryanltes are talking about carrying out
tholr program without the aid of the south to
start with, figuring that when It is developed
that Bryan can't get two-thirds tho southern
loaders will bogin to throw strength to some
body else. Governor Johnson is the most prom
inent faotor in the somebody else lino right now.
Developments in Now York and elsewhere are
not tho only significant things. Several demo
crats of national prominence have been in Wash
ington during tho week and have talked with
democratic members of the house and senate.
James M. Guffoy, the leader of the Pennsyl
vania democracy, was one of them. Jefferson
Levy, who has taken Bourke Cockran's place
on the Tammany Hall committees, was another.
David B. Hill, who declares he Is out of poli
tico and who was in Washington on a case be
fore tho Bupromo court, also talked. It is said
that Mr. Guffoy's and Mr. Levy's conferences
had to do with efforts to provont Mr. Bryan
obtaining a two-thirds voto in the national con
vention and to enable the democrats in that
assemblage to pause and take stock of political
conditions before selecting a candidate."
IN A LETTER under date of St. Paul, Minn.,
March 27, and addressed to the publisher
of tho Swedish American Post of Minneapolis,
Governor Johnson announces his candidacy for
tho democratic nomination for the presidency.
In this letter Mr. Johnson said: "Matters have
progressed so far, however, that it seems to mo
that I should at least say, Jn answer to your in
terrogation, that if tho democratic party of
tho nation believe mo to be more avallablo than
any other man, and felt that by my nomination
I could contribute any service to tho party and
to tho nation, I should bo happy to bo the re
cipient of the honor which has been paid me by
tho people of Minnesota, and if tho democratic
party of the state desires to present my namo
to the next national convention, I am sure I
would have no objection; but even if Minnesota
woro the only state to declare for me at that
time, I should still fool that tho distinction was
one of tho greatest which could come to me."
A1? S?ClATED Press dispatch under .date
of Washington, March- 24, follows "Tf
Mr John Sharp Williams of Mississippi, the mi
nority loader, makes good his warning given in
the house of representatives today tho repub
licans will be forced to pass certain legislation
or else meet with obstruction at every turn by
him or his democratic collegues. Mr. Williams
declared that up to now the republicans have
had smooth sailing. He did not want the coun
try to think that the minority was trying to
assume responsibility for legislation. He did
not want to appear as trying to coerce the ma
jority until tho republicans had absolutely
'demonstrated before the country that they did
not Intend to do anything at this session.' He
said that he had waited for the republicans to
do something. 'I have finally come to the con
clusion that the republican party has forgotten
to do anything. It has become the party of
negation and of passivity, and, as far as I can
see, has no idea of doing anything. It is plain
now that without some method of parliamentary
coercion you are going to be deaf to every de
mand of the country.' Mr. Williams announced
that 'from this moment on for the balance of
the session coercion is going to be exercised.'
No recommendation for unanimous consent on
the part of the republicans, he said, would be
granted unless it would be to adjourn or take
a recess 'until the majority shows that it is suffi
ciently alive to the demands of the country' to
report for consideration in the house such meas
ures as an employers' liability bill; some bill
for the publicity of campaign contributions; a
free wood pulp and free print paper bill and a
bill against exparto injunctions acting as a
supersedeas of the law passed by a sovereign
state."
A BITTER WAR is on among Iowa repub-
licans. At the recent state convention
some of Governor Cummins' strongest opponents
were chosen delegates to the national convention
and the delegation was instructed for Toft. The
Des Moines Capital, edited by Lafe Young, who
was chosen one of the delegates-at-large, makes
public a statement which it says was prepared
by a Cummins leader and read and approved
by Governor Cummins himself. This statement
according to the Capital, was delivered to tho
Iowa leader of the Taft forces. In this state
ment the Cummins men complained that in their
"progressive" program they had received no
help from the national administration. Follow
ing are extracts from this statement: "But it
is a fact that the Iowa progressives have re
ceived no encouragement or assistance whatever
from tho national administration; on the con
trary, they have been winning their victories,
as they feel, despite the national administration'
The whole power of the federal government and
federal patronage in this state has been against
the progressives. They recognize the fact that
Roosevelt took a cabinet officer from this state
after he had been defeated and his faction dis
credited. There Is no resentment from this
but the progressives do not want to help another
man to the presidency who will undertake to be
progressive and to accomplish the right things
and yet will make it harder for Iowa republicans
to carry out reforms at home."
REFERRING TO Editor Lafe Young the Cum
mins statement says: "He is perhaps the
most offensive standpatter and corporation man
in the state, not merely because he has been
a bitter factionalism and has repeatedly bolted
the ticket, but because of the common belief
whether well founded Is another matter that
ho is a purchasable quantity and essentiallv dis
honest In his political methods. HeKm
vacillating. JHis support of the progressive
movement was literally purchased a few ylars
him rich"' antag0nism to movement Lade
ERVIN WARDMAN, editor of the New York
UticaY (onPkftdellyTed an SJS
uuca, n. Y., on tho evening of March 27 in
which ho charges that the administration 5
using federal employes in every section of the
country. Mr. Wardman says: "We are struck
with horror aa the details are uncovered of a
compact between Mr. Tuft's manager d the"
high financier of Wall Street, wheloby his Mn-
didacy is underwritten by those very 'undesirable
citizens' against whom so riproaring a war has
been waged' for seven years, to land the residu
ary legatee in the White House. Mr. Roosevelt
denied that he has the federal machine under
his orders to force the nomination of Mr. Taft
or anyone. I, for one, say let us not show tho
disrespect to his high office tp impugn his declar
ation concerning this prostitution of federal
offices. Let us take him at his word if you
please. But the facts remain, whether it be by
his command or against his desire and injunc
tion, the federal machine is exerting all the
power of the United States government to com
pel the republican voters to make the
nomination of Mr. Taft, whether they
want him or not. You will find a collector of
the port, or internal revenue officer or a land
agent or a postmaster, or some other holder of
a government office in charge of the Taft can
vass In every state north and south, east or
west. You will find the Taft delegations held
by and composed of these federal office-holders.
When Mr. Roosevelt says that he is not doing
this, what's the use of doubting him. We need
not blame Mr. Taft. Sufficient is the evil of
the fact, whoever inspires the fact the indis
putable fact an attempt, arrogantly conceived
and desperately prosecuted, to establish a White
House dynasty by the decree of the federal ma
chine. And this I say, this striving to take out
of the hands of the American people the selec
tion of the candidates for whom they may vote,
is a thing that strikes at the elemental princi
ples' of our whole system of government."
THE ALDRfCH currency .bJU. passed the sen
ate March 26 by a vote of 42 to 16. Pre
vious to the vote on the Aldrich bill a vote was
taken on the Bailey substitute, authorizing the
government instead of the national banks to
issue the emergency circulation for which the
bill provides. The vote on the substitute-stood
. 42 to 13 and this vote was an entirely partisan
one, forty-two votes being all republicans, even
Senator LaFollette voting with his party associates.
AS THE ALDRICH currency bill passed the
senate it provides for not more than
$500,000,000 of emergency currency to be issued
to national banks upon the deposit by them of
state, county and municipal bonds, to be ap
proved by the secretary of the treasury. The
currency is to be issued with a view to securing
an equitable distribution of the currency over
the United States and in accordance with tho
unimpaired capital and surplus of banks in each
state. Banks are to pay for this emergency
circulation one-half of one per cent a month
during the first four months it is circulated, and
afterwards three-quarters of one per cent a
month. The bill provides that no banks shall
pay less than one per cent on government funds
deposited with them. As amended, the bill car
ries an important change in banking laws relat
ing to bank reserves. This amendment pro
vides that of the fifteen per cent reserve required
to be kept by the banks not in reserve cities,
four-fifths of this is to be kept in the vaults
of the banks and of that amount one-third can
be in the form of securities of the kind required.
By another amendment the period during which
half of one per cent interest is to be cha-ged,
was changed from six to four months after' which
three-fourths of one per cent is to be charged
until redeemed.
-O
REFERRING TO the proceedings on the cur
rency measure the Associated Press re
port says: 4At the instance of Mr. LaFollette an
amendment was adopted prohibiting any national
bank from investing its funds in stocks or other
securities of a corporation, the officers or di
rectors of which are officers or directors of tho
bank and providing a penalty of imprisonment
or from one to five yeaTs. In accepting this
amendment Mr. Aldrich stated that he had not
time, to consider the amendment fully, but was
to sympathy with its general purpose. He said
it could be perfected in conference. The propos-
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