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The Commoner.
VOLUME 8, NUMBER 15
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A CONFERENCE of tho governors of nil tho
states, cabinet ofllcials, justices of the su
premo court and leading members of congress
lias been called by tbo president for the White
House, May 10. Tbo president lias Invited, as
special guests oif tbat occasion, James J. Hill,
Clrovor Cleveland, John Mitchell, Andrew Car
noglo and William J. Bryan.
A WAGE REDUCTION averaging ton per cent
has gono Into olfect in tho cotton cloth,
yarn and throad mills in New England and New
York slnlo, employing a total of 48,500 opera
tives. A Now York dispatch to tho Chicago
Inter Ocean says: "Sinco tho beginning of tho
gonoral wage reduction movement in March tho
pay of 158,500 mill hands in tho northern states
has been cut. Of this number 144,000 aro em
ployed by New England mills and 9,500 in New
York state factories. Tho wage cut became effec
tive today in mills in Now Bedford, employing
22,000 operatives; Lawrence, 1,500; Methuen,
500; Adams, 500; J. & P. Coats, Limited,
thread mills, Pawtucket and Central FaHs, R. I.,
2,500; Utica Steam and Mohawk Valley (N. Y.)
mills; Shenandoah, Onoita Knitting company,
Utica, N. Y., 9,000 hands."
ALFRED O. CROZIER of Wilmington, Del.,
, appearod recently before the house com
mittee on banking and currency and declared
that he had unearthed the secret scheme for a
compromise on tho Aldrlch currency bill. Ac
cording to tho Associated Press report Mr.
Crozior intimated plainly that the members of
the currency commission and the American
Bankers' Association did not act fairly with tho
committee in opposing tho Aldrich bill. While
opposing the bill "on principle," ho said tho
members of that commission agreed to it because
the emergency currency was to bear six per
cent intorost and aro ready to support it now if
the interest is reduced to three per cent.
AT THE SAME committee meeting Mr. Cro
zior said: "Last evening our distin
guished friends had a conference. Today they
are having another with the wicked promoters
of tho wicked Aldrich and Vreeland bills.
What for? They aro agreeing on a compromise.
On what basis? Just a simple little amendment
reducing tbo tax to threo per cent, and somo
other changes." He said that this conference
was only hold after it was stated that the hear
ings of tho banking and currency commission
had been closed. "If this committee had not
honored mo with this opportunity to speak at
this postscript to- tho public hearing," said Mr.
Crozior, "and if ono of the distinguished bank
ors who addressed you yesterday had not mis
taken mo last evening for one of their fraternity
and unreservedly told mo" tho whole program tho
trick would havo boon turned quickly and sud
denly. Tho business interests of the country
might never have known that thoy had been
sold out by their banking partners and even
this committee might not in time havo become
aware that tho great men who appeared here
against tho bill openly were in fact favoring it
privately. Tho Aldrich bill is a gambling game
from start to finish, brought here by gamblers
and promoted by gamblers for gambling purposes."
MR. CROZIER told the committee that ho
know that the lato financial stringency had
boon brought on deliberately by Wall Street Ho
Baid: "It was told in Wall Street that 'such
a measure as tho Aldrich bill would be before
congress and that a panic would precede it "
Mr. Prince, a member of the committee, sug-.
gested that this charge was a very serious ono
and ought not to be made on opinion, but on
actual facts. Mr. Crozier replied that if a com
mittee was appointed ho would furnish a list
of witnesses to the counsel by whom this charee
can bo proved. As evidence of the conspiracy
to bring on a panic Mr. Crozior said a prominent
financier told the president of the New York
Now Haven & Hartford Railroad company that
it was to bo brought on before the meeting of
congress, and on that information tho railroad
borrowed $30,000,000. Urged to tell who the
financier predicting a panic was, Mr. Crozier
said ho did not like to give his name at this
time, but would give it to the chairman of the
committee congress might appoint to ascertain
tho causes of the recent financial crisis.
o
AN ASSOCIATED Press dispatch from Wash
ington follows: "The currency commit
tee of the American Bankers Association held
'a conference with Representative Vreeland to
day in relation to his bill to provide for an
emergency curroncy. The committee indicated
several amendments to the bill which they said
would make it satisfactory to them. An agree
ment was reached to reduce from $10,000,000
to $5,000,000 the aggregate amount of capital
required to permit national banks to form vol
untary clearing house associations to hold com
mercial paper to be used in addition to bonds
as security for emergency currency. The rea
son given by the bankers for desiring this re
duction was tho necessity of having such asso
ciations cover a smaller section of the country,
which they claimed would result in greater fa
cility in the scrutiny of security,. The bankers
also desired to reduce from six to four per cent
the initial rate of interest to be charged, and
it is likely that a compromise will be made on
five per cent. No encouragement was given to
their proposition to allow the assets of the
banks to bo accepted for one-half of the issue
of emergency currency. The Vreeland bill will
be considered by a republican caucus of the
house probably next Tuesday evening."
O
THE HOUSE committee on banking and cur
rency, in session April 17, voted unani
mously to table the Aldrich currency bill. A
Washington dispatch carried by the Associated
Press says: "It also was decided to give a hear
ing tomorrow to Representative Vreeland of
New York, who recently introduced a financial
bill which is looked upon as a substitute for the
Aldrich measure. The discussion in committee
was brief. The only point debated was as to
whether or not the committee should make a for
mal report giving its reasons to the house for
its unfavorable action, and the conclusion finally
was reached that no reasons should be given.
Consequently the committee's report will be a
mere statement of tho action of the committee.
Of tho nineteen members of the committee, thir
teen were present at today's meeting. They
were Messrs. Prince of Illinois, McMorran of
Michigan, Waldo of New York, Hayes, Califor
nia, Durey of Now York, Lewis of Georgia, Pujo
of Louisiania, piass of Virginia, Gillespie of
Texas, Crawford of North Carolina, McHenry of
Pennsylvania, Weeks of Massachusetts and
Chairman Fowler. The Vreeland bill introduced
in the house last week as a substitute for the
Aldrich bill and which, it is understood, is to be
considered at a republican caucus to be held next
week, was not considered at today's meeting of
the committee.. It was decided, however, to
give a hearing tomorrow to Representative Vree
land. The bill introduced yesterday by Chair
man Fowler, providing for a currency commis
sion, also will be considered at the meeting of
the committee tomorrow. The commission idea
apparently has many friends in the committee."
SENATOR FORAKER of Ohio addressed the
senate in defense of tho negro soldiers
who were discharged by tho president because
of tho Brownsville affair. The galleries were
viiuwucu wiiu i uinusuiuauves or the negro race
Senator Foraker spoke for three hours An
Associated Press dispatch, referring to his ad
dress, says: "The senator reviewed the various
Incidents and orders that led up to the discharge
of tho men without honor. Most of the .wit
nesses against the soldiers, he said, testified
four different times. 'Conceding for the sake of
JS1?0!1!1 Jhatt the witnesses undertook to testify
truthfully said Foraker, 'the flimsy and unre
liable character of the whole of it is fairly In
dicated by the testimony of the four principal
so-called 'eye witnesses.' Without their testi
mony there is no creditable evidence whatever
to support the charge that the first shots were
fired from the barracks or from any place within
the reservation, or that there was any jumping
over the wall by anybody. Witbout the testi
mony of these four witnesses the testimony of
the officers and the men of the battalion that
the shooting commenced at some point outside
the reservation, stands practically uncontradict
ed. The evidence shows that the soldiers fre
quented the saloons but very little, and that
they never made any complaint to their officers
or anybody else on account of their being de
barred by some of the saloons of Brownsville
from drinking at the -same bar with white
people.' The character of the soldiers, he said,
was good, which should greatly strengthen the
presumption of innocence. All had expressed
themselves under oath, and in no case was there
any contradiction in their testimony. All their
officers, he added, believed their statements
were true. While the colored soldier could not
secure extra ammunition, the citizens of Browns
ville, he said, had in their possession an abun
dance of the kind of ammunition with which
the soldiers had been supplied, every cartridge
of which they had accounted for on the day fol
lowing the affray. Senator Foraker concluded
with a very complimentary reference to the col
ored soldiers. 'They are,' he said, 'typical rep
resentatives of a race that ever has been loyal
to America and American institutions; a race
that has never raised a hostile hand against
our country's flag; a race that lias contributed
to the nation tens of thousands of brave defend
ers, not one of whom has ever turned traitor
or faltered in his fidelity. They ask no favors
because they are negroes, but only for justice
because they are men.' "
IN A RECENT issue the Chicago Tribune
(rep.) said: "An anti-Bryan campaign
with enough strength behind it to make it ser
ious to the Nebraskan's chances of nomination,
has been started in New York. A conference,
attended by several prominent western demo
crats, and by many from eastern and southern
states, was held there, reaching both an end
and a decision Friday. The names of the men
at the conference are being kept secret. Those
present not only do not care to havo their own
names made public, but wish to 'protect' others
in the conclave. The heaviest representations
were from tho south and the east."
-r-
THE DUBUQUE (Iowa) Telegraph-Herald
(dem.), referring to the Tribune's state
ment, says: "The report is wholly credible.
Discerning friends of Mr. Bryan know that he
is farther from the nomination at Denver than
the mass of the people suspect. There is now
being waged against him in the south a cam
paign backed by inexhaustible resources in an
effort to deprive him of the votes of the south
ern .states. When it is realized that two-thirds
of the votes in convention are necessary to
nominate, it will be realized that the olightest
break in the solidity of the south for Bryan may
keep him out of a two-thirds majority. The
situation is fraught with menace to him."
REPRODUCING these articles from the Chi
cago Tribune and the Dubuque Telegraph
Herald, the Fort Worth (Texas) Record says:l
'That such efforts should be made in the south
is surprising, for it is known of all men that
the democracy of the south was never more
solid with respect to any Issue or any man than'
it is today with respect to Mr, Bryan's nomina
tion. In Texas it is safe to say that not ten
per cent of the democratic voters consider any
other name, and we gather from democratic
newspapers that the Bryan sentiment In other
southern states is quite as strong. Circum
stances have cured such division as there was
among southorn democrats in 1896, and the
defeat of Judge Parker in 1904 completely dem
onstrated the unwisdom of nominating another
conservative. Moreover, all that is popular in.
Roosevelt's administration and there if
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