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The Commoner,
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iUo statute Is directed against a corporation, it
is expected that it will bo testod by disobedience.
The newspapers which hold the labor leaders
up to public condemnation because they violated
a1 judicial order think It ontiroly proper that
the great corporations shall await a judicial
construction of a statute beforo obeying It. It
is novor suggested by such papers that a- cor
poration Is doing anything disreputable when It
disputes tho constitutionality of a law and vio
lates tho law In order to secure a decision upon
that point. Why should the labor leaders bo
treated moro harshly than the heads of cor
porations? -'Not only do tho managers of corporations
tqst tho constitutionality of law by disobedience,
but public officials constantly do so. A case in
point is recalled. About twenty-one years ago
tho city council of Lincoln, Nebraska, was in
vestigating charges mado against a police magis
trate. Tho attorneys for the police magistrate
socured a temporary suspension of the investi
gation and before the investigation was re
sumed, secured from Judge Brewer, then on
tho circuit bench of the United States, an order
restraining tho city council from tho removal of
the offending official. Tho restraining order was
niado returnable at a date about two months
away. If tho council had followed the advice
now .being given to Mr, Gompors and his asso
ciates it would havo awaited for two months
and then, If tho temporary Injunction had been
made permanent, it would have taken an appeal,
and posBlbly by the time the magistrate's term
expired, or a fow years aftorwards, a final de
cision could havo been socured. But the mayor
nid council, believing that Judge Brewer was
Miffirtoring with the constitutional right of the
city, authorities, prooeodod to violate tho- in
junction by continung tho investigation and re
moving the official. They were cited before
Judge Brewor for contempt, and because of tho
prominence of the defendants, a 'fine of $'600' was
imposed on all but two 'of them who, for spe
cial reasons, were fined only, $50,, The .de
fendants, with one exception, refused to pay
tho flues and went to jail, while their attorney
presented the matter" to the United States su
premo court. The courto decided that Judge
Brewer exceeded his authority in issuing the
order; that tho order was void; and that tho
defendants acte'd within their rights in refusing
to "obey tho order. Tho defendants were, there
fore, discharged. The one councilman who, be
cause of. ill health paid his -fine rather than go
; tolaall, recently recovered the fine by an act
of congress.
' ' This case is reported in the United States
Court Reports, "ex parte:' itvthe matter 'or! An
drow J.iSawyor, et al. petitioners;0. volume 12'4,
There are many qther cases that might be
qited, but hero is one involving a"'cbhstitutibnal
right. If public officials are justified in deliber
ately violating an injunction In order to test
its constitutionality, hy should Mr. Gompers,
Mr. Mtclioll and. Mr. Morrlnnn ln nnn,istm.,wi
S&feprtlng to the same method of testing the
frvirlv U1 a 'training order which,
tho opinion of the defendants, violated t)ie
wiiunuiiui nuuia 01 tnemseives and the large
body of men for whom they acted?
If the supremo court sustains the position
taken by Justice Wright, it becomes the law of
tho land until the decision of the court is re
versed or until congress enforces the guarantees
of tho constitution.
ThiB case also shows the imperative neces
sity for legislation which will give trial by iurv
in cases of Indirect contempt.
Is it not time for a congressional limitation
of. the power of tho court in matters of tempor
ary injunction? Is it not time for legislation
along tho linos of the democratic platform" It
seems impossible to arouse the public to tho
need of a reform until someone has suffered!
Every step in advance has behind it the suffer
ing of some for others. Mr. Gomners Mr
Mitchell and Mr. Morrison are to be SmenSed
rather than condemned that they are willing
K ?Vif, by,tlJ0,r suffGrin&. they can securl
tp their follow laborers protection from the in
creasing injustice which comes from the arbi
trary issuance of injunctions. The president
has already pointed out in his messages that the
-writ of injunction has been abused, and he has
warned congress that those abuses, if not cor
rected, will lead to a revolt against even the
legitimate use, of the powers of the equity
court. Tho republican national platform, while
seeming to admit the need of remedial legisla
tion, employed, deceptive language, and tho adop-
tlon of vtthat platform was hailed .during thoi
campaign as a triumph for. tho corporations in
their contest against their employes. It will
be remembered that Mr. Van Cleve, who is back
of tho stovo company's prosecution of the labor
leaders, issued campaign documents appealing
to tho business men to support the republican
ticket because tho republican convention re
jected the petitions of tho labor organizations.
It will be but pootic justice if the prosecution
which Mr. Van Cleave has started results in' the
very legislation which he opposes, and yet this
Is not only tho natural result, but it is a result
tp be desired.
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THE DOCTRINE OP MONARCHY
The November number of Everybody's
Magazine contains an article by Mrs. Eleanor
Franklin Egan, entitled "America's Record in
the Philippines." It begins with tho following
endorsement from President-elect Taft: "I have
read tho following article of Mrs. Egan's with
a great deal of pleasure, and fully concur in
its statement. It is well worth the perusal of
every one Interested in one of the most inter
esting experiments in national altruism ever
undertaken,"
Mrs. Egan says, "Briefly stated, the Amer
ican policy with regard to tho Philippine Islands
is to govern them for tho benefit and welfare
and the uplifting of their people, gradually ex
tending to them, as they shall prove them
selves fit to exercise it, a greater and greater
measure of self-government."
This is a statement that ought to bo easily
understood, and as it is endorsed by the president-elect,
it may be accepted as expressing the
administration's views on tho subject. Tho
policy is "to govern them (the Philippine Isl
ands) for the benefit and welfare and the up
lifting of their people." This is a plain state
ment of tho monarchical theory pf government.
The czar could not 'have presented the theory
more bluntly. According to the Declaration of
Independence the government derives its just
powers from the consent of tho governed. Un
til Imperialism, took hold upon imaginations
of tho republican leaders, no .American ever
thought of defending any other theory of gov
ernment. But every condition req'uires a theory
to explain it and th0 only theory that will ex
plain imperialism wis the , monarchical theory
the theory that government rests upon force.-,
The theory of a republic is. that the government
Is made by the people for themselves; the mon
archical theory is that the government is a
thing separate and apart, from the people a
thing- which may be thrown over tho people as
a net is thrown over a bird, According to this
theory a government may properly be adminis
tered over a weak people by a stronger people,'
and as there, must be some excuse, the excuse
always is that endorsed by Mr. Taft, namely,
it is "for the benefit and welfare and the up-'
lifting of the people." The dominant govern
ment, however, is to decide what is for the
benefit and welfare and uplifting of the people,
and if the people who are to bo benefited and
uplifted object, they must be suppressed by
force.
It is not necessary to Inquire whether we
can benefit the Filipinos by governing them
without their consent. . The first question is
whether we can afford to give the lie to our
theory of government and paralyze our influ
ence as a teacher of the doctrine of self-government.
Tho republican position Is that the
Filipinos are unfit for self-government; this
is the theory that Spain adopted when she fast
ened her colonial government upon them; it is
the theory that England followed when she en
deavored to continue her colonial government
in the United States, and it is the theory upon
which India is now governed by a viceroy and
a council, in the choosing of which the Indians
!avG voico' The demcratic theory is that
the Filipinos are now capable of self-government
and that our stay there should not be for
the purpose of developing in them a capacitv
for self-government, but to help them to estab
lish a republican form of government, the gov
ernment to be then turned over to them Pn '
parity for self government is not easily defined"
it is a matter of degree, like self rest mint K'
individuals exercise more ae ?Sat?a?nt th?5
others, and some people are ablo to provide f0r
themselves a bettor government than others are
But the- doctrine that some a fif or " '
government and others unfit th?o L L ,
trine of .kings, for those foam ', 1 T
of the capacitv for self-Kovernmni7 "l0"0"
be in a position to" m'aTOeT o a KdT
the exercise of a force wnorinv tL "y
that can ba-brough gainst Them W frCG'
If it were necessary to consider a means
VOLUME 8, NUMBER 51
of benefiting the Filipinos, it might be easilyi
shown that w could render them better service
after recognizing their rights than we can be
fore that our example as a teacher of Ameri
can principles would be of moro service to thein
than any service that we can render by a de
nial of tho principles upon which our govern
ment is founded. But for the present let tho
readers of The Commoner meditate upon tho
doctrine of imperialism briefly stated in the
passage above quoted, namely, that the new
American policy is to govern people without
their consent and tax them without representa
tion "for the benefit and welfare and the up
lifting" of the people thus governed and taxed.
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TAINTED EDITORIALS"
Senator Carter, of Montana, presented in
the senate a few days ago some specimens of
the literature prepared by the Bankers' associa
tion to be used against the postal savings bank
bill. He called attention to the fact that this
literature was being sent to local bankers with
the request that it be inserted in the local pa
pers, and those sending it out took the pre
caution to ask that the instructions sent with
the literature should be removed before it was
delivered to the press. Here is a deliberate
attempt to manufacture opinion antagonistic to
the postal savings bank, and those who are back
of the movement are unfair enough to seek
to make the arguments appear as if of local
origin. It is bad enough to have a great central
bureau supplying ammunition for a fight against
the people, but what shall we say when these
eminently respectable men resort to deception
and seek to give- to their arguments a weight
to which they are not entitled? What shall
we say, too, of the local papers that are willing
to print as editorial matter the stuff furnished
by those who are back of "this crusade.
The republican platform demanded the pos
tal savings bank, and the democratic platform
endorsed the postal savings bailli conditionally,
that is, if the guaranteed bank could not be
secured. More than ninety - per cent of the
voters have supported the republican platform
or the democratic platform, and, a large ma
jority of the people 'can be counted as favor
ing greater security to the depositor, and yet
the Bankers' association does hot hesitate to
resist this demand and to begin a fight to de
feat the verdict in favor of the postal sayings
bank. If the average voter, knew how much
of tainted news he reads and how many tainted
editorials are accepted as genuine, we would
have no difficulty in securing' remedial legisla
tion, but the press has not yet 'awakened to its
duty to the public. "
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EX-SECRETARY SHAW AliARMED
Sp.eaking before the alumni of DickinsoR
college at New York recently, Ex-Secretary
Shaw is reported to have appealed to the col
lege men to save the country from socialism.
According to the press dispatches he said: "I
am alarmed at the trend toward socialism in
this country today. If there is any power in
this country to stem the tide, it ought to be
the trained minds of the college men."
Mr. Shaw may well dwell upon the danger3
of socialism for few have done more to encour
age socialism than he. He is n standpatter of
the most pronounced type, one of the most obsti
nate opponents of reform. If Mr. Shaw's advice
were followed in political and economic matters
we would have a still greater growth in socialis
tic sentiment. An increasing number would,
out of desperation, consent to any kind of a
change in the hope of securing relief. But
fortunately Mr. Shaw represents a waning senti
ment. Abuses continue until public attention
is focused upon them and then remedial legis
lation follows. The republican party under
such leadership as Mr. Shaw has permitted
abuses to develop until they have brought odium
upon Individualism, but the correction of those
abuses will relieve individualism of the blame
which it now unjustly bears arid thus limit the
growth of socialism, The trained minds of the
collego men can best help to stem the tide of
socialism by helping to take the government
out of the hands of the predatory interests ana
make it responsive to the will of the whole
people. "Equal rights to all .and special privi
leges to pone" applied to all .departments or
the government, is the only thing that win
remove the causes which hav.e developed a1 so
cialistic sentiment.
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