MAT 15, 11 0
The Commoner.
5
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"RpiiWicans in Peril Pray Cannon to
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Under tho headline "Republicans in Peril
Pray Cannon to Act . the Chicago Record
Herald in its issue of May 4, prints from
Waltor Wellman, its Washington correspondent,
a dispatch from -which tho following extracts
are taken:
"It is at last dawning dimly upon tho re
publican leaders of congress that they are in
danger of losing the next house of representa
tives, and pqrhaps the presidency as well. It is
CONCEDED THAT THE PRESENT SESSION,
.highly-" important from the political point of
view because it immediately precedes the gen
eral elections, HAS BEEN A FAILURE. Tho
.party in power has missed its opportunity to
gain the good will and approval of the country.
Something may be done, hastily and rather
desperately, in the closing hours, but it will
.not avail much in the way of restoring popular
confidence in a leadership now pretty thoroughly
.discredited.
"I have said the leaders are dimly realiz
ing the danger which confronts them. The
word was well chosen. They are just beginning
to have a vague consciousness of the truth.
Even yet they do not fully realize it. They
have PROCEEDED UPON THE THEORY that
the country is republican and THAT THE PEO
PLE WILL STAND ANYTHING. Many of them
have not even yet got their eyes opened. But
the rank and file of the republican membership
of. the house is laboring under no illusions.
THOSE WHOSE DISTRICTS ARE AT ALL DE
BATABLE ARE NOW IN SOMETHING LIKE
A PANIC. THEY HAVE HEARD FROM
HOME. They have heard of the mutterlngs of
discontent and disapproval among the people.
They know what a hard fight lies before them in
their efforts to secure re-election. They have
tried to tell Cannon, Payne, Dalzell and the
other members of the house oligarchy how
things stand. The speaker and his lieutenants
smile and smoke and tell the boys not to get
excited: they have heard such cries before; It
will all cdihe. out Tight in the end.
"The well-nigh Inexplicable attitude of
Speaker Cannon and the other leaders of the
house on the wood pulp question HAS DONE
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY MORE HARM
THAN ANYTHING ELSE THAT HAS HAP
PENED DURING RECENT YEARS. It is not
that the country cares so awful much about this
one item of pulp, Important as It is and unjust
as are the extortions of the trust. But the
people, through the actions of the leaders on
this matter, are getting their eyes opened to
the actual policy of the republican bosses when
ever the 'tariff! is involved. THE PEOPLE
WANT TARIFF REVISION. THEY EXPECT
IT. They have been demanding It a long time.
Again and again they have been told to wait till
after this campaign or that election, or for
something else. Now it has all crystallized in
what appears on the surface to be a tacit agree
ment all around that revision shall be taken up
at a special session to be called immediately
after the coming election.
"Representatives of a great industry, the
newspaper press, come to Washington and ask
the leaders to give patient hearing to their
plea for reform of a certain part of the tariff.
Instead of being met with politeness and fair
treatment they are treated most cavalierly.
They are accused of selfishness. Their wit
nesses are pilloried by the lieutenants of the
republican speaker as if they were some sort
of malefactors proposing an unlawful action in
stead of a simple reform of the tariff in the in
terest of justice. The investigation, so-called, is
not fair, impartial and thorough. It is an In
vestigation held for a purpose and that pur
pose not the. ascertainment of the truth with
a view to action, but the framing of an excuse
for non-action.
"All over the country the people are watch
ing these maneuvers. They understand them.
They are now asking: IF THE REPUBLICAN
LEADERS WILL TREAT THE NEWSPAPERS
OF THE COUNTRY IN THIS MANNER UPON
THE EVE OF A PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN,
WHAT IN HEAVEN'S NAME WILL THEY DO
TO THE REPRESENTATIVES OF OTHER IN
DUSTRIES WHO GO TO WASHINGTON SEEK
ING REFORM. AND JUSTICE AFTER THE
ELECTION IS OVER? What chance will the
'buslnesa. men and the consumers and the pro-
Act" See Chicago Record-Herald
ducers have to secure a fair hearing alone, much
less actual legislation In the way of lower du
ties? And as they consider these things, tho
people come to tho conclusion that THE RE
PUBLICAN LEADERS NOW IN THE SADDLE
ARE DETERMINED TO FOOL THE PEOPLE
AGAIN AS TO THE WPIOLE MATTER OF
REVISION. Thero will be just enough of
promise of revision In the action of congress
and Jn tho national platform to tide over the
exigencies of the campaign and after election
some excuse will bo found to broak tho promise,
or postpone it again. If the republicans are
put back In power In the lower branch CANNON
WILL AGAIN BE SPEAKER. Thero is no way
of stopping that. And with Cannon as speaker
the people are beginning to fear tariff revision
that means anything of actual reform will be
impossible.
"Thero may possibly bo some attempt at
revision, JUST ENOUGH TO MAKE A RECORD
AND A PRETENSE of redemption of Cio ante
election pledges. But it is much MOR:i3 LIKE
LY TO BE A REVISION UPWARD THAN A
REVISION DOWNWARD higher tariff duties
Instead of lower. The truth is the republican
party, not the masses of it but the men who
are sent here to act as its leaders In congress,
have become bourbons on the tariff question.
They live In the past age. They do not keep
step with the advance of public opinion. They
still think it their solemn and sacred duty to
keep alive that old co-partnership between tho
republican bosses and the eastern manufactur
ers which has made every republican tariff in
the past. The leaders of tho present believe In
repeating the practice of the past, which was to
permit associations of manufacturers in, the
eastern part of tho country to write the tariff.
And the manufacturers, accustomed to that sort
of thing and in the past paying smartly in tho
way of campaign contributions for the privilege,
have not neglected their opportunities and
would not neglect them now. Naturally they
write higher duties instead of lower. The con
sumer is not talien into account. The demands
of business to have duties adjusted to world
conditions to the end that the United States
may have a fair chance in the race for foreign
commerce are not taken into account.
"Already the warning has been sounded,
and by no less a personage than Senator Aldricih,
the high priest of high tariffism in the uppor
branch, chairman of the finance committee and
bulwark between 'the interests' and any possible
harm that may come to them through tariff
revision. Mr. Aldrich, perceiving that revision
Is a possibility that the republicans may have
to promise it in order to carry the election and
after the election may have to do a little some
thing toward making their word half-way good
has pointed out that the revenues are decreas
ing and the appropriations increasing, and if
this goes oh much longer the government will
have to raise more income by putting up the
tariff on imports. This is an old excuse. It has
been worked many times. And evidently tho
leaders of the party in power are MAKING
READY TO WORK IT AGAIN. Their attitude
is like this: 'None but stupid fools would de
mand any revision of our sacred tariff. But
if there are a lot of such fools and if we must
do something, to appease you, all right, we'll
give you revision upward. HOW WILL YOU
LIKE THAT? And perhaps after you have
been given a dose of higher duties you will
learn to keep your proper place and let us and
the eastern manufacturers run the tariff to suit
ourselves.'
"This question of tariff reform is one of
the two great issues before the American people
upon which President Roosevelt has shown no
capacity or courage. for leadership. The other
is financial reform. He is in favor of both. But
he has never made a fight for either. When
he came Into the White House one of tho first
plans he formed was to force reform of the
tariff, but as soon as he ran against the form
idable entrenchments of the stand-patters he
abandoned all serious efforts to secure action
and has never renewed them. He has been
busy in other directions and it is not probable
the people will blame him for not making a
fight which would involve him In such bitter
warfare, with the congressional leaders that
probably nothing else could have, been achieved.
Tho fact that as bravo a fighter as President
Roosevolt, thoroughly believing in tariff reform,
knowing tho iniquity of parts of tho present
system, realizing how great an obstacle it is to
tho progress of American commerce, how un
just it Is In spots to tho millions of consumers,
has nevertheless not dared to broak lances with
the defenders of It, shows how hard tho peoplo
Tvill have to cry for this reform and how hard
they will have to voto for it before they get it.
'The danger to tho republican party Is that
many of tho peoplo will come to tho conclusion
that the only way in which gonuino tariff reform
can bo achioved is by putting another party In
power. To this plight tho reactionary and In
solent leadership In congress has brought tho
republican party.
"WALTER WELLMAN." ''
BIAKING $100,000,000 WITH THE STItOIOi
OF A PEN
Tho reports current in Wall Streot for some
time that tho capitalization of tho Standard Oil
company of Now Jersey tho parent organiza
tion was soon to bo Increased from $100,000,
000 to $500,000,000 have been confirmed. Sine
his return from Bermuda H. H. Rogers, the
vico president and controlling manager of the
corporation, has been engaged with a corps of
lawyers in working out tho details of tho re
capitalization plan, which will bo announced to
the public as soon as conditions warrant.
"Steps already havo been taken," said a
man who is conversant with tho insldo workings
of Standard Oil, "to Increaso tho capitalization
In proportion to tho earnings. It is tho policy
of tho Standard Oil company to bring tho capital
of tho subsidiary and parent organizations to a
figure more in keeping with tho actual assets.
It may come next year and it may come
sooner."
In speaking of next year the Standard Oil
man used characteristic Standard Oil tactics.
The increase in tho capitalization, as a matter
of fact, is due at any time.
That tho knowledge of tho proposed in
crease has not been confined solely to the inside
Standard Oil circles is shown by tho extraordi
nary advance Standard Oil stock has made since
the panic. During the troublous days last win
ter the stock sold down to 390. Then, camo a
steady rise. In tho last month the stock has
gone up more than 100 points. It sold on the
curb today at 614.
The capital stock of tho Standard Oil Com
pany of New Jersey is divided into 1,000,000
shares, which havo a par value of $100 a share.
On the basis of price of stock today tho valuo
of Standard Oil capitalization is $014,000,000.
But when the dividends are paid they naturally
are figured by the public not upon tho market
valuation of the stock but upon the par value.
Tho net profits of tho Standard Oil company
last year were $85,000,000. This figures at
eighty-five per cent of the capital stock at par
and many enemies of the corporation have con
tended that it is, on Its face, exorbitant.
That this complaint is in a measure justlr
fled has been admitted by Mr. John D. Archbold,
the public champion of the Standard Oil com
pany, and one of its brainiest officers, In several
magazine articles of late. Mr. Archbold con
tends that the profits when figured upon the
actual investment of the corporation are not
more liberal than the profits of other great cor
porations that have been builded up by modern
business methods.
So, in a measure, the forthcoming increase
in capitalization is in deference to public senti
ment. If tho corporation had been capitalized
at $500,000,000 last year, the profits would
have been figured on a basis of seventeen per
cent.
The plan is to give each of the stockholder
of record in the present Standard Oil company
five shares for each of the shares he now holds.
Of course the price of stock will go down 'In
mathematical proportion, and on the basis of
today's market each share be worth only $123 .
Instead of $614. But the holders will get the
same actual amount of profits.
There is another consideration In the pro
posed increase In capitalization. The stock has
sold as high as $842 a share. That was in 1901.
At $842 a share or even at $500 it is beyond
the reach of the general stock trading public.
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