i-FV1 IT"
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JULY 3, 1908
3
retary Taft replied: "Yes, sir, It does, and It
leaves It to the commission to make a per
petual guarantee if it would. In many of tho
guarantees of England this was tho form taken."
From these' two quotations it will he seen -that
Mr. Taft was willing, when he was
governor of the Philippines, to grant a per
petual franchise to a railroad, and was willing,
after he hecame secretary of war, to authorize
the commission to make a perpetual guarantee
of income to a railroad.
Remember that the Filipinos are often de
scribed as our wards,' and that we are benovo
lently described as their guardian. Remember,
too, that our occupation of the islands is only
temporary, for our government has never an
nounced its purpose to hold the islands or to
administer the government for any particular'
time, and we are assured by prominent repub
licans that we can net yet tell what ought to be
done with the islands. Now a guardian is under
restrictions which are not applied to one who
nr.fcs foi himself. If Mr. Taft is willing
to give a perpetual franchise when he is a
guardian of the Filipinos, how long a franchise
would he be willing to give if he were acting
for the American people? If he would be will
ing to bind the Filipinos forever to a fixed-profit
on a railway enterprise, how would he be will
ing to bind the American people In corporate
matters?
How long is eternity? Does Mr. Taft
realize what it means to grant a perpetual fran
chise? If, for instance, Columbus had been
given a perpetual franchise in the United States
by Ferdinand and Isabella, when he discovered
America, that franchise would be legally run
ning yet. And yet neither Columbus nor Uie
king could have looked into the future, or have
estimated the changed conditions that the last
four centuries have brought. But eternity is
innerpir fhnn four hundred years. If Caesar had
b given to a commission the power to grant a
I perpotual franchise jin one of Rome's colonies,
fe that franchise would be legally .running yet.
r And yet eternity is longer man twenty ceuiui iea.
te jli tut? ruiej WJL ouujjvuu uuu giuuicu u.,jn5iiioi.uu.
t irancnise to one ol his iavontes, mut iruiiuuiac
would legally be running still, although the
glories of Babyloh nave been rorgotton tor
thousands or years. uut eternity wuuiu blui
bo vniirur. TiF-'Adam had had the nower that
W Mr. TnTt desired' to vest in a Phllinnirie
ik cam mission, and had trlVen to Cain a perpetual
I franchise, and guaranteed an annual income, the
descendants of Cain, so far as tne law couia
secure it, would still be drawing an income to
be paid by taxation, levied upon the rest of the
r people. .
Eternity is a long time, ana tne man wuo
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 heTpless race, must excuse himself,
either by sayltig that he would do the same
thing, if possible, to the people of the United
States, or admit that he would not accord to
the Filipinos the same measure of justice that
he would secure to Americans.
Mr. Taft has placed himself on record
in favor of giving vast ppw a to corpora
tions, and in favor of burdening a people for
ever with the taxation necessary to make an in
vestment profitable.
The trouble is that Mr. Taft looks at
public questions from the standpoint of the
men who own and operate the corporations
which need regulation, whereas reforms must
come from those who look at the question from
the standpoint of the masses of the people.
(" v tw 3&
REPUBLICAN "PROSPERITY"
The folldwing is taken from the New York
Sun, republican, issue of June 22:
A committee of residents of the University
Settlement, through Dr. Charles S. Bernheimer,
assistant head worker, issued yesterday a report
of a special investigation giving details as to
destitution in the lower East Side and discussing
the situation from the point of view of the small
dealers. These Include the grocerymen, the bak
ers, the butchers and other merchants. The re
port shows that the burden of supporting the
unemployed and their families rests upon that
class in the community which can least afford
to bear it and pays a warm tribute to the small
dealers, -who, it says, have set a heroic example
of self-denial and genuine charity in extending
the credits, with little hope that tho bills will
be paid in time to save the dealers themselves
from want.
"The unemployed," the report says, "have
The Commoner.
practically exhausted their savings, as It has
been now nearly nine months since tho general
period of unemployment for most of them set
in They are now rapidly .exhausting
their credit, which is a last resource."
There is a population of more than 300,000
people in the district known as the lower East
Side and the investigators had to limit them
selves to a small area. It was, finally decided
that they should confine their efforts to school
district No. 2, lying east of Catharine street and
the Bowery and bounded also by Grand, Orchard,
Canal and Rutgers streets and the East river.
This district contains about forty blocks, thickly
populated by Jewish, Irish and Italian races, the
Jews predominating. The report goes on:
Fifteen druggists Interviewed In the Second
school district say that within the last year their
business has fallen from one-half to one-third
of Its normal volume, which they attribute to
the hard times, people not having tho money
to purchase the medicines.. They all state that
there is less sickness among the children this
summer than there has been In the past, one
reason being that purer foods and vegetables
are sold at tho present time on the East Side
as one of the results of the campaign of the
board of health. The destitution, however, is
very marked. Many of the people today, espe
cially of the unemployed, subsist entirely on
bread and herring, and one Italian druggist on
Market street said that the Italians in the dis
tricts surrounding his store found It impossible
to buy properly pasteurized milk for their babies.
The grocers say they are compelled to give moro
credit, people buy things by the pennyworth,
and they sell the very cheapest groceries, of
which they have a much larger sale than they
ever had before. An Italian minister, associated
with the Church of the Sea and Iand, said, that
the destitution among the Italians in that dis
trict is eyen greater than among the Hebrews.
The report says that the sales In all the
groceries have greatly increased, and that the
average grocery bill for a medium-sized family
is $3 per week. There are starving children,
not In-the sense that they get nothing to eat,
but that they habitually do not get enough to
eat. -A Forsyth street grocor says. that he has
been Induced to give credit to persons he knows
can not pay, but he can not see -them go hungry.
A number, of sample accounts are given,
selected at taitdom from the books of the gro
cers of this- district. Tho two-dent entries are
.the most numerous, and entries as high as twenty-five
cents happen only on feast days. ' One
entry, by a grocer was twenty-five cents In
cash given to a man to buy a piece of meat in a
case where It was known that the family had
no funds. For economy's sake families buy no
coffee, but buy tea because they can steep It
three or four times.
A grocer in Broome street, who has been in
business for about a year, says that in the build
ing over his store, three-quarters of the people
are unemployed. He has on his books $150,
which he offered to sell for $10 in cash. A
grocer on Rutgers street, whose sales a month
ago were $450 a week, says that the sales now
amount to $300. Some are so poor as to be un
able to purchase his cheapest goods, and buy
decayed potatoes and vegetables and stale bread.
Many- instances are given to show that the fall
ing oft vin- sales-is continuing, indicating that
the poverty is increasing rather than dimin
ishing. t V V ir
THEY NEED A REMINDER
Tho defeat of Taft would bring the repub
lican ring masters to a realistic sense that there
are yet a people and a God, which they very
much need to have impressed upon their under
standing, and, believing this, we shall vote for
Bryan. Louisville Courner-Journal.
W W $ iFt
THINGS TO BE REMEMBERED"
The following editorial 'is taken from the
New York Evening Post:
If the democratic -managers wish to have
a little fun with the republicans they need otfly
dig up the speeches of prominent republicans
mna tn tho last camnaicrn. There is Senator
Dick of Ohio, for instance. In 1904 he was rub
bing it into Bryan in splendid style, because of
prophecies of bad times that had gone wrong,
and a postal card? "part of the Congressional
'Record," which Mr. Diok fathered, went through
the country, bearing among others the follow
ing "Things to Be Remembered:"
Remember 1893-1896 and the days of in
dustrial gloom.
Remember 1893-1898 and the thousands of
capable mechanics looking in .vain for work.
Remember 1893-189C and tho hundreds of
thousands of laborors walking tho streets from
sunrise to sunsot looking for tho work which
could not bo found.
Remember 1893-1896 and tho countless
number of women and children waiting, faint
with hunger for tho bread which never came.
Remember 1893-1890 and tho heartsick
ness, the worry, the unpaid and unpayablo debts,
and all the many Ills that attend tho man out of
work.
Remember 1893-1890 and tho landlord a .
waiting at the door for rent monoy, which could.
not be provided. - i
Remember 1893-1896, when tho factory u,
whistle failed to blow for nnothor day's work, i -another
day's pay. ,
Remember 1893-1896 and tho wives and-. K u
children wanting clothes.
Remember 1893-1896 and the Jiome cqni-iffrui;
forts which were wnntlng. .,"' im
Romomber 1893-1896 and the un-Amerlqau; Xiiis
soup houses and other forms of charity necessary. ;jj o
to relievo those who need no relief whon thoy.,'jq$ttn
can get work. .dhn
Change the dates to 1907-08, and a good ,fl
deal of this thundering is available for imme- rff.u
diato domocratlc use. j -f m
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FOR 25 CENTS
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FROM NOW UNTIL ELECTION
DAY THE COMMONER WILL BE SENT , .
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THE FULL DINNER PAIL
The following appeared In tho New York
World.of Juno 14, 1908: f
According to statistics compiled by the re-,
lief department of the Association for Improving
' the Condition of the Poor, the number of famlllqs
in need of charitable aid now la three tlmqa
greater than It was at this, time last year. ThOi
books of the department show that, whereas only
T,848 families needed and were. ,glvon aid on
Juno 1 last year, 4,295 families were receiving
assistance from tho association on June 1 tins
year.
To carry on this increased relief work which .
has been steadily mounting up since last Octobor,
the association has already been compelled to. .
withdraw $25,000 from its reserve fund. But?..
even this appropriation, in addition to curroat
contributions aggregating $70,944, has beona4.
found to be insufficient to continue tho workim? t
throughout the summer because of the many spe
cial calls for heavy summer relief. ; l
As a result, when the board of directors of ...
the association meets tomorrow it will be re
quested to approve an additional withdrawal of
$30,000 from the reserve fund, so that the work ,
of the relief department may not be Impeded y,
during the hot months. '..iu.U1
Robert W. Bruere, general agent of the ...
Association for Improving tho Condition of tho
Poor, said last night that dearth of employmqntr'
was largely responsible for the extra burdens
which the charitable associations will have-J ,ftf;
bear this summer. Continuing, he said: ... ttfty
"When men are out of work It means thatin
wehave to feed their families, clothe them, pay
their rent, furnish medical attendance and do
virtually everything else which the worker or
workers In a family usually attend to. Our total
cash disbursements since October 1, 1907, have
amounted to $64,855, an increase of $26,078 w.
over the same period last year. Wo estimate . )
that It will cost about $45,000 to carry on our ..
relief work during the months of July, August j
and September this year. For the same period; j
'last year we were able to give relief to all who . -applied
on an appropriation of $11,582. Any . uu
outside contributions which we may receiye this .
' summer will bo welcomed, for unless conditions...?
'improveuwe shall have to depend largely . upon
our reserve fund to carry on our work." y
' C to 5 J j m
MONOPOLY u
In. a dispatch to his newspapers William r
Allen White said: "Tho convention would not ..
have changed the platform which it believed to A .
ho innniroii from Washington if the minority had .i
offered the ten commandments." Perhaps the
ten commandments would have been particularly
objectionable in the convention of a political
party that ha3 surrendered Itself Into the keep
ing of special interests. - :
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