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The Commoner.
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VOLUME 8, NUMBER. 52
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CURB8NT TOPICS
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WILL M. MAUPIN, who lias been actively
connoctod with The Commoner since it
wus first established, has been appointed by Gov
ernor Shallenberger to be labor commissioner
for the state of Nebraska. Mr. Maupin has for
years been a faithful champion of democratic
principles and ho has been an ardent worker
for the causo of organizod labor. His appoint
ment by Governor Shallonberger was a recog
nition of organized labor, although Mr. Maupin
was cordially supported by democratic news
paper editors generally and by many men promi
nent as workers in the democratic ranks. Com
moner readers who havo como to know Mr.
Maupin well through his charming verse and
bright story, will be glad to know of his good
fortune and they will bo glad to know, too, that
they will not bo denied tho pleasure of reading
"Whether Common or Not." Mr. Maupin will
continue to contribute to The Commoner that
intorosting department.
JOSEPH TELLER, nr New York working man,
makes contribution to prosperity literature
in a letter addressed to tho New York World.
The letter follows: "Christmas was tho first
1 iinefor mo to see a "broad Une. The talk of.
'pe'aco btf'oarth and good will to men' is pre
posterous. ' How can there bo peace and a bread
line afthe same time? How can there be peace
when thousands of men must humiliate them-
selves and stay in line for hoiirs to procure a
miserablo lunch? How can there bo peace' vhen
you see women with infants in their arms, wait-'
irig many hours that they may got some food
for themselves and little ones? How can; there
be peace when every man in the bread line rep
resents a broken home, an aching heart, the
Jonging of children for their fathers and innu
merable weeping mothers of these men in line?
No peace will reign on earth until poverty is
abolished and every man celebrates Christmas
and other "holidays at his own table, ,pur-(
rounded, by his 'beloved ones, and riot In the
bread line."
A SPECIAL dispatch from Rome printed in
tho New York Herald says: "Archbishop :
Ireland and Bishop Scannell; of Omaha, have";
been received in private audience by the holy
father, to whom they gave an account of ttfe
state of their dioceses, at the same time present
ing their congratulations and those ' of their
diocesans on the occasion of the pope's jubilee.
They will remain in Rome at least until the
end of January. The Herald correspondent is
in a position to say that never before were the
chances of Archbishop Ireland's becoming the
pocond Amorlcan cardinal so strong as they are
today. The president-elect is a warm "personal
friend of tho archbishop, and this fact is1 now
urged by tho admirers of Mgr. Ireland as an
additional reason for giving him a seat in the
senate of the church, and if the president-elect
will express a desire to havo this honor be-
stowed on the archbishop of St. Paul the ap
pointment is as good as certain."
FAR-REACHING effects of Italy's great
earthquake are indicated by a writer in
the New York World, who says: "It will be
years before tho Italian coast recovers from Mon
day's catastrophe. The rebuilding of San Fran
cisco can have no parallel there. In the Amer
ican city material destruction was tremendous,
but there wan little loss of life. Tho real city
2-Tts men remained, their faith in its future
grounded both in sentiment and conviction. But
In many an Italian town half tho people are
dead, while for tho rest it is a placo of eyil
memories and poor prospects. Villages will re
cover more Blowly than cities. Messina, and
Reggio cfan Jtfl bo "kltled Thair "position in
the pajh of commerce requires rebuilding,
thona Messina will continue to lose in relative
importance to Catoia-lin'd Palermo. Qreat mod
ern "ship?, uroro"" often go through the straits
vithouL-ftopping for repairs or trans-shipping
cargo 'than dd the buffeted little sailing craft
ojf-old days; and Messina has behind it no such
lmbutary country as the plain of Catania, or
tho Jshell of gold' which smiles oh Palermo;
but Messina' will bo again Messina. There are
villages in the earthquake zone which will hard
ly survive. Of many of them, until tho panic,
almost all the able-bodied men were In the
United States. If these people must build up
from the bare earth their ruined fortunes, it is
as easy to do so in America as to stay by the
haunted sites of their old homes. Relatives
in tho new world will hold out help with lavish
hands. Nor should Americans of other races
bo backward in this. Economic conditions will
aid in depopulating the region. For years the
condition of Sicily and Calabra has been a prob
lem of. statesmanship, California has hurt tho
fruit industry, the crude processes of sulphur
mining afford only the scantiest wage, and tho
barrenness of the grain lands of the Interior
is a continuing evil from the time of Cicero.
Nothing but money sent from America has made
life possible in many families. The brief min
istry of Sonnino, Italy's ablest statesman in all
but tact, set the railroad problem on the way
to solution and planned tax and industrial re
lief for the south, but had time to accomplish
little. The debate of such proposals as a gov
ernment bounty on denatured alcohol distilled
from unsold lemons and grapes show how keen'
is the crisis, even without earthquake. Unless
the living are too few to swell the Hosts, an in
crease in Italian Immigration may be expected.
If the newcomers are to herd In bur cities, wait
ing for the resumption of construction work' at
. full tide, much suffering may still await them.''
But there is room for all who may be helped to
a foothold upon the land, which none know bet
ter how to cultivate."
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F -ROM- MR,,- BRYANS,;( jecen.U address, at..:
Uniontown.,- Pa., the Omaha., W$dTHeraid,,
prints this .extract: "The great curse of this, .
country today is the corporate influence that conn
trols the party organization , For. a quarter, of ,
a century tho great corporate, interests of this
country have dominated this land through tho,
republican party and In this., last campaign, the .
largest single influence against ns wjis the in-,
fluencq of -thogreat corporations... I was ,,de-, ,
foated, gentlemen, but might. haye .won.had,,.,
I been wllJlngt.Q nur.cha.se a - victory. aBthQ.re-,,
publican party purchased a. victory, I wfts . de
feated by influences that no republican can re
fer to without blushing. A few days after the
election Mr. .Brown, an officer of the New York .
Central railway have any of you ever heard
of him? Mr. Brown, according to a, newspaper,
said that he had just sent out 'a hundred tele
grams, placing orders for $31,000,000 worth of
goods that had been held up and were contin
gent on Mr. Taft's election. One man repre
senting one company ordering $31,000,000
worth of purchases, contingent upon the election
of n republican candidate! Suppose that one
man had divided the orders among half a dozen
doubtful states, It would amount to $5,000,000
in orders for each doubtful state; and suppose
he had divided these orders among a few large
factories in each of those close states. Do you
not suppose it would exert a tremendous in
fluence? These corporations that had these con
tingent orders, would they not immediately be
come interested in the election and would they
not toll employes how to vote? And were not
orders placed for the very purpose of 'coercing
employes? Would anyone doubt that this tre
mendous powor in the hands of one man might
turn tho tide in this state? In the state of Mis
souri we lost by less than 5,000 votes. Con
sider that 2,500 votes turned from one side to
the other would be sufficient to turn the elec
toral vote in our favor. I had an interview
With a" republican there, in which he said that
he had heard a speech from Mr. Cannon down
hoi$ and tb$t Mr, Cannon had said that if they
would show their influence by electing a repub
lican congressman from that district, he would
get them a tariff on zinc and that, influenced by
Mr. Cannon jtatoment, they had helped to
carry Missouri For the republican ticket. A
-promise, by tho speaker, of a tariff if they
would carry the district was so potent that it
was sufficient to elect a congressman, and there
by turn the state. If that can be done by a
speaker's promise, if it may turn the vote of a
people in a district, what may be done by men
like Mr. Brown, representing great corpora
tions, who places $31,000,000 vorth in orders
contingent on republican success that ho may
coerce men into voting the republican ticket?
And, if that can be done by the New York Cen
tral, what about the Pennsylvania? What about
the Erie? What about the Baltimore & Ohio?
What about the Wabash? What about tho
Santa Fe and the Rock Island, the Union Pa
cific and the Northern Pacific? Why, my, friends,
you can take a few of these men arid count
them on the fingers of your tvo hands, and if
they all act like Mr. Brown they can bring
enough influence to bear to coerce and change
hundreds of thousands of votes in those close
states. I say to you, my friends, in all sincerity,
I would rather remain a private citizen than be
president and be backed by an influence like
that which elected Mr. Taft. I am told that
more than one hundred republicans honor us
by their presence tonight. I want to say a word
to these republicans. I am not soliciting their
votes. I can make my living. I can leave my
children all I need to leave them. I tell these
republicans that I am fighting for their children
when I am trying to make this great country a
people's government. I ask these republicans
whether they dare stand before their God and
boast of their part in the victory that throws
the greater part of the wealth to 'one person
and places the fetters, more and inore on the
struggling masses of this country? Do they
think they have reason to be proud of their
party? I am proud of mine. I have made my
fight and I am not ashamed of it. I would not
today trade places with Mr. Roosevelt. In'ttie
thick of that fight he dragged down the high
position of president and made It a football Of
American politics. I would not trade positions
with Mr. Taft. I would rather-be a private citizen-with
a record of having fought for what
I fought 'for than be president and be tied as
he is-tied to these interests which, -gaveim
his election." - " "
REFERRING TO1' the-; proposition that fth'
president's salary be increased to $10'0'00
S. S. W. Hammers of Gettysburg, Periri-1
sylvania, writes to the Philadelphia North
American to say: "We recently noticed in
your paper that the president's salary was to
be raised to tho enormous sum of $100,000 an
nually. This we call outrageous. It costs the
people of this country over a million dollars to
elect their president. The salaries of all public
officials of this government should today be re
duced at least one-half. We have hundreds of
hard-working men in Adams county today 'who
are working in the lumber mills who are get
ting $1 a" day, and must pay 50 .cents a day
for boarding, leaving them 50 cents per day to
support large families. At the same time the
trusts are making millions upon the necessaries
of life. The poor, hard-working men must help
keep these sap suckers. It is true we have labor
unions, but we see the members of these unions
on every street corner. We ask them why they
are not employed. Their answer is, shop shut
up, no work. They can make their prices, but
not the work. Speaking of the laboring class,
we must deduct about half their time for. bad
weather. The state is full of hard-working men
who make about $75 yearly, and keep large
families, and orir president can not live on
$4,000 and over monthly. Now talk of giving
him over $8,p00 monthly. Outrageous!"
A PECULIAR Christmas story is given to tho
New York World by its St. Louis corre
spondent in this way: "A Christmas tree, orna
mented as for children's festival, stands on
the grave of Mrs. Martha Adeline Rolling in
Concordia Lutheran Cemetery. Over the tree
and covering the entire burial plot is a canopy
of holly and evergreen supportod-by frame work
like that of a tent. On the tree are thirty-three
electric lights green, red, amber and white
the number equalling the years of Mrs. Rolling's
life. The headstone bears twelve lamps, corre
sponding to the number of years of her married
life. On the grave in green and red letters,"
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