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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 1908)
t , .-,T.---ir3W ffvatat- $?.-) J The Commoner. o J. 'I r 1 ii J ' 'it Ee'9C- ; u j - o R 1' J. . r. J 'J ( ,' ' !, A ' &' t W' ' rt W- If, '( IT . ,t X I "3 t H ., . r W fj fail in ambition, in energy and in both physical and "mental strength when the spur of necessity is rbmoved. This l& not always true, but it is the rule rather than the exception in the homes where great wealth has had free hand. Aside from those who are drawn to so cialism by sentimental arguments, there are those who have turned to it because personal" experience has embittered them against the pres ent system those who, feel that the struggle is hopeless under present conditions. . The republican party, by creating abuses, by falling to remedy them, and by'defendlng the principle and practices of private monopoly, has fostered and encouraged socialism not In tentionally, but actually. The democratic party is seeking to remedy the abuses that have given to the socialist his argument; It is seeking to restore and protect competition. It believes that competition is necessary to industrial pro gress, and it is trying to make thai competition, fair and just. The socialist leaders have very properly regarded the democratic party as the greatest obstacle in the way ot socialism, and that is why these leaders, werq anxious, for the defeat of the democratic ticket. This desire to got rid of the democratic party was a vqry nat ural one, although hardly a.; defensible one. However Confident the socialist mayu'j)e that worse cpnttitions will hasten ie adoption of socialism, he takes a great risk when! lie helps to make conditions worse, for lie thua'-becomes responsible for the evils that follow without beirig( certain of his ability to correct, those evils. &,te,Jiko.a man killing another on the thedr J-KjJfeW afterwards restore his Ufe, It.dSi better' td try the theory on a dead' man than become responsible, for the taking of a life, and J!1! socialist' might more wisely have joined with the democratic party tpV.bring such .rem edies as are possible. But, .taking conditions as we find them, the democratic party stands as the only logical and intelligent champion of individualism, for it not only defends individ ualism, but seeks to strengthen it by freeing it fr6m the odium that the abuses tolerated by the republican leadors have cast upon it. The democratic party can not adopt the socfallsflcrogram; it can hot accept the' remedy which socialism presents. The democratic reniedy is more nearly in accord with the plan upon whicn the Universe was constructed. The Maker of :the world might have supplied uff with food, clothing and shelter Without requiring labor on. our part, but He did not. He gave us the rich resources Of ntftufe,' and hot only commanded us to work, but arranged that our rewards-should be in proportionate bur-intelligence and our industry. Might has overturned this law irf some cases, cunning "has perverted It in others, and government has sometimes sus pended it, but it should be tliealm of the social man to restore this law and to make It operative.' Man can not adjust the rewards of "society as Impartially or as equitably as they can be ad- Justed by competition where competition is free j?a8 not the int3Higence to parcel out thd World's work by legislative act or by commis sion, nor have those in power the disinterest edness necessary to a wise distribution of the work to be done. Where competition is" impos sible, a government monopoly la necessary, but where individual competition is possible,, com petition Is better than government ownership. The republicans may boast of their victory, put they have a more formidable opponent than the democratic party to contend with. They pave the irresistible forces of society to com bat. If the republican leaders are deaf to the petitions of those who feel aggrieved by present injustice, the remonstrance will grow until the threat of punishment will compel the govern ment to give heed. Just as the populist party rew "until it compelled consideration of the abuses that led to its organization, so the socialist party will grow until it forces those at the head of the governments look Into tho wrongs that are done and to apply Remedies. A democratic victory would have 1bf ought the re forms earlior, but even a republican victory can not permanently prevent them, The socialists acting with the democrats might have hastened the reforms, but the socialists acting alone will Still exert an influence in compelling a more caref irf Consideration of the great economic ques tion that has vexed the world from the begin ning, namely, the equitable 'distribution of the joint -product of human tdil--a distribution which will give to each individual a share pro portionate to :hls contribution to the world's welfare. . -';;. CARNEGIE'S" BOMBSHELIi The "standpatters" are greatly exercised ; because, of an article relating to. the tariff writ ten by Andrew Carnegie and printed in the De cember number of 'the Century Magazine This article was entitled "My Experience with and Views Upon, tho Tariff."- In this article Mr, Carnegie reviewed tariff history and boldly de clared that conditions have changed so greatly that the tariff should now be viewed from a new standpoint. Mr. Carnegie declared that a decided ma jority of voters are now agreed: "One, That it is advisable for new coun tries to encourage capital" by protective duties when seen to -be necessary to develop new In dustries. "Two. That .after full and exhaustive trials, if success 'be not finally attained, such protection should cease, except as noted here under. JTJ ( "Three, TJiatshpflld the experiment suc ceed, and protection becomes unnecessary, and should steadily but gradually "be abolished, pro vided that the home supply of any article abso 1 lutely necessary for the: national safety shall not thereby be endangered' Following are extracts from the Carnegie article: : ' "We have already becomfe oy far the greaV - -est of all manufacturing nations. Our 'infant .industries' of the past have reached maturity, and, speaking generally, are, now quite able to protect themselves. The puling infant in the -nurse's arms that-congft&s- in 1871 nursed so tenderly will appear next year before its guar dian as the stalwart champion who has con quered in many fields, thus proving himself worthy of the protection bestowed upon him in. his youth and fully vindicating the protective Policy pursued. "While the tariff as a whole even today has ceased to be primarily beneficial as a measure of protection, it has become of vast importance from the standpoint of revenue. i "Th3ie3t ngream dealing with the tariff will probably he inclined at first to reduce duties all around,, and perhaps to abolish, some, but its' first care should be ib maintain present ' duties, and even in sOme- cases t6 increase themi upon all articles used almost exclusively by the rich and this not for protection, but for revenue; 2 d,rawn irom the workers, but from the rich. This is the first and prime duty of congress. We should not forget that government expenditures S?e jn?Leia?(; enormously In regent ypars and. that. additional revenue is required. "Its' second duty'lg to reduce duties greatly upon manufactured articles and to abolish en tirely those no longer needed ''The writer has co-operated In making sev eral reductions as steel manufacturers became able to bear reductions. Today they need no protection unless perhaps In some, new special ities unknown to the writer, because steel is now produced cheaper here than anywhere else not- withstanding the higher wages paid per 'man Not a ton of steel is produced In the world at , as small an outlay for labor as in our countrv pur coke, coal and Iron ores are much cheaner because more easily obtained and transported ' and our output per man is so much greater ow' ing chiefly to the large standardized orders ob tainable only upon our continent, the ktimIsI . teed rolling mills, machinery kept weeks uin uniform shapes without change of rolls SdTv era! other advantages. v "The day has passed when any forelen country can seriously affect our steel maniifnn turers tariff or no tariff. The repubiichas ht come the home of steel, and this is th ?L . steel It may probably be found thatther! ex ists the small manufacturer of some snecHnvTn steel which still -needs a measure SrofSrt The writer hopes, if such there' be th 5 rii? tee will give patient attention to Inch caseT It is better to err on the side of eivw ihuch rather than too little Nuppor mE I terprise of this kind should I be fttJS?m?" writer speaks only of the ordinal JSSSS ThS forms of steel as being atoT protection. He hopes there ,?? without in several new linos relnhLrJ PIonef . will be generously ivlS &?ariW & WWch inKtee should welcome snTocaIe0m' oW m i JSged" luralMlls' thread and' ' "jMH, , NUMBER i milk and fed upon the stronger food of free com petition. , It; needs, little if any more nursing" but- the change shouldrnojt be made abruptly, it Is better to err upon the safe side, if we err at all, but he is the best of protectionists who corrects all faults as they are repealed and posi tively declines to subject the nation to protec tion in any branch where it is not clearly need ed, affording protection always with the re solve that it shall be temporary.' Some of the republican papers are saying very bitter things concerning the ironmaster, but Mr. Carnegie may have the consolation of knowing that-none of them have gone farther than the Chicago Tribune did on one occasion Several years ago it was reported that Andrew &ari!?j2 had offered Pay $20,000,000 for the. Philippine Islands, provided he was permit ted to. assure the Filipinos that they would be given their independence. Commenting upon this story,, the Chicago Tribune said that the steel magnate "has tried the patience of his friends severely in some of his late bids for notoriety." It expressed the opinion that Mr. Carnegie is constantly posing, and said he has scattered libraries throughout the country, all of which are to be called for him, and every one of them la 'a contribution to the conscience fund.' " Then the Tribune said: "Mr. Carnegie made his money in a mag nificent way," out" he should 'never forget that . he made it through the undue "favoritism of the government of the United States: Owing to the discrimination practiced in his. favor by the tariff, he was enabled to amass a fortune of $200,000,000, or more, most -6'f '-Which came out of the pockets' of his Countrymen through the operation of unequal laws. Much has been said- of the benefit arising t& -the- -workingmen from the establishment of- the Carnegie works. The beneficent tariff system permitted the works to survive and flourish, but there are some peo ple who have not ''forgotten the Homestead strike, nor the outrageous manner in which the workingmen were treated at the time- by em ployers whose brutality haS seldom neen exceed ed 'to "the history of fahor agitations." r SPEAKER 'ROOSEVEIE ' Theodore Roosevelt for'" speaker ' of the - house , of representatives. That ' is1 the novel , proposition implied in. a. statement recently made by Representative Hepburn of Iowa. Mr. Hepburn says that the house of representatives need not be restricted to its own membership ,in, the election, of a speaker. He says that the house could elect Theodore Roosevelt as its speaker for the next congress instead of "IJncle Joe" Cannon, Judge Smith, of Iowa, or any other member of congress if it so desired, and it might be possible that the opponents of Can non will hit upon this novel plan. "The fact is"' said Colonel Hejpburn, "the speaker of the house is regarded 'as an officer of but little consequence by the constitution, which mentions him only in the clause providing that 'the house of representatives shall choose their speaker and other officers.' The 'other officers' chosen by the house are not members of congress, and I contend that we can as well elect a clerk or anyone outside of congress to the position of speaker. Of course; it never has r been done, but the house could do so any time it chose." Without having any reference to the possi bility of President Roosevelt being elected speaker to succeed Cannon, Colonel Hepburn declared that the power of the speaker ought to be greatly curbed by revision of the rules of the house. In fact, Colonel Hepburn long has been a vigorous assailant of the house rules which have made it possible for the speaker to assume a power second only to that of the president. The above is the substance of a dispatch from Des Moines, Iowa, printed in the Sioux City Journal, Mr. Roosevelt Is very susceptible to proposi tions having the merit of novelty.. Doubtless he would be quite willing to postpone his Afri can lion hunt for the great joy of presiding for a time over the house of representatives. And what an interesting picture would be provided ., with Theodore, Roosevelt .seated Ju ther chair of the speaker1 to.t the American 'nbud&: of Vepresent atives! . .' "r ,' "' """ By .'all means hot it be Theodore 'Rbo'sevelt for speaker.1 "Xm'wtyi" the 'dan6e?'"rLet joy to unconfined;.' 'no sleep" tilifr ihbrn" and "there'll be nfouiiftng in hot hasteVr-" J&a&AaliE, .,..(.1i.g.auifjtirtff, ,. fiRrgffiB . njjii i . A.