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I JANUARY 22, 1909
The Commoner.
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whom ho could more justly criticise. The dis
interested -observer can hardly escape from the
conclusion that in the Tillman case the presi
innf hnahppn ntraJninir at a cnat while in other
t cases camels have been swallowed without a
grimace.
iv vv 5
BUYING A CONGRESSMAN
A Joplin (Mo.) paper gives the following bit
of history, showing how the republican loaders
purchase congressmen and pay for the same with
legislation:
"Colonel Greeg said that while in Washington
he saw Speaker Cannon and informed him that
if SOUtllWeSt lVllHbUUll JUUU UUUU lil IU1U uuiutjo
asked for by Mr. Cannon on his recent tour of
this section. 'I told-him that we had heeded his
auvice ana uaa eieuteu. u mpuuuuuu uuubi coo
man to show that in reality we desired protec
tion in this part of the state on zinc ore. I
told him that his speech was. largely responsible
for the vote, not only for Morgan, but for Taft.
I told him it was the vote.of Jasper .county that .
had thrown the electoral vote ofvMissouri in the
republican column, and also I said that if the
election had been close and Missouri had been
the deciding state, certainly Mr. Taft would have
been deeply indebted to Mr. Cannon for his -election.
Mr. Cannon advised me that it would
not be good policy to. go before the ways and
means committee again.. He said, we had. made
a good showing and that the justice of our cause
had been felt.' "
Here is the evidence that tariff rates were
to be effected by the election of a' republican
congressman. According to the reported inter
view Speaker Cannon's speech made such an
impression oh the people of Jasper county that
they elected the republican congressman and
helped to give the stat ofe MissourktOv Mr. .Taft. f
Those interested in the tariff on zinc ore then
went to Washington and demanded the fulfill
ment of the pledge. Missouri is' a large state
and this year tho vote was very close. In a
close election the electoral vote of a state like
Missouri might decide the result, and the vote
of a county like Jasper might decide the vote of
the' state. Thus the promise of a tariff law
for the benefit of ah industry in one county
might decide a presidential election. Congress,
is sometimes close, and the promise of a tariff
for a particular industry in a particular section
icrt dafni-mino fho iVionflnn of ft congressman.
anil Mm the nolitical comnlexion of congress.
r The political complexion of congress also de-
- termines the speakership contest, ana bpeaicer
r.nnnnn mav not have been unmindful of his
own political interests in offering to help make
the tariff schedules conform to tne election re-
E turns in that county.
nvv n frfttiAin.t.ion the rennhHcan leaders have
been in the habit of offering to make the tariff
laws suit particular communities. Wherever the
it.fi.Hff scheduled could be used to win votes, they.
Tinvp been usetL and while these republican lead-
j?ers have beeirmrchasing congressmen and elec
LHnrni vntPR in some sections with lecislatlon.
Sthey have been defending the tariff system on
'V-L ii i.1 Am1n -Ia Vi r AifiA-no tirtinro "ifrtfiY'CJ
m t 1- Jl 3- J T. .. 1.1. . a .-vt a 4-4 lltnnf
R could not De aeueiveu vy tiiu uruimoc ui wucu
benefits. If the man who pays the tariff was as
sensitive to the tax imposed by a tariff law as
io mnn in wTin crfn the direct benefit of the
tax, it would be impossible for the republican
party to maintain its hold upon tne omce, dul
as4 Jong as the average voter votes the tjicket
without asking any questions, while those espe
cially interested make a business out of pdlitics,
the exploitation of the public by the privileged
classes will go on,
5 cr W C?
REPUBLICANS CRITICIZE THE PRESIDENT
As the time for the presidents . retirement
from the White House approaches, the repub
lican papers begin to criticise Mr. Roosevelt
quite freely. The Kansas City Journal, which
was a very enthusiastic supporter of Mr. Taft
published the following editorial criticism of tho
president:
LINCOLN AND'ROOSEVELT
Upon one occasion Mr. Lincoln, walking down
the street in Springfield, observed a little girl
sitting on a doorstep ' "weeping bitterly. ' He
stopped and inquired what the trouble was, It
seemed that the little girl had been going on a
Bhort railroad journey 'to visit her grandmother.
Her trunk was packed and she was all ready,
but the express wagon had not come. The t;rain
was almost due; it was too late to gdt an' ex
press wagon, and so the journey must be given
up, "Never mind," said Mr. Lincoln, "I can
handle that trunk all right. Come on, we can
make it." Tho trunk went up on Congressman
Lincoln's back, and tho two arrived at the sta
tion out of breath, but in time for the little girl
to catch the train. From "Anecdotes of
Lincoln."
Tho Chicago Tribune contains tho following
telegram:
"Washington, D. C, December 31. Carolton
B. Hazard, a wealthy Virginian who lives on a
thirty-acre tract near Rock Crook park, whoro
his young daughter takes daily rides, has sent
tho following letter to the president:
" 'Theodore Roosevelt. Dear Sir: My little
daughter, Martha, fourteen years old, came homo
about two weeks ago from a horseback ride cry
ing, and stated that she had been accosted by
you while riding in Rock Creek park. She in
forms me that sho unexpectedly came upon your
party and guard, and, not wishing to pass you,
she simply rode slowly back of you until sho
should come to the road that would lead her
toward home, whereupon you turned on -her and'
asked her if she did not think she had followed
you long enough, and ordered- her to take a side
road, which would have led her away from home.
She refused to do this, and promptly told you
she would take tho other road, which led toward
her home, and did so. Did you expect m littlo
daughter to dismount upon meeting you? I can
not comprehend how a gentleman could accost
young girls unprotected on a public road with,
fits, of anger. As for my little girl, she shall
take her rides as usual, and if sho should be
so unfortunate as to meet you again I feel con
fident that this communication from me will be -sufficient
to assure her safety' hereafter.
" 'CARELTON B. HAZARD.' '
In forwarding this letter Mr. Hazard ad
dressed it to Mr. Roosevelt as an'individual and
not as president of tho United States though
we don't see what difference it makes how he
addressed it. All individuals are not presidents",
though all presidents have the misfortune to be
individuals. Mr. Hazard and his daughter will,
of. course, have tho sympathy of all who learn
of the occurrence, though he is not wholly free
of blame. He should have known (and by this
time does) that any young lady riding unat
, tended in or near Washington is liable at any
moment to meet people who are drunk or other
wise not in their right minds, or who are suffer-
ing,from blgheaditla, or who are bullies or gen
erally ill-mannered, Kansas City Journal - n
If republican papers say this now, what will
they say when the 'president is no longer clothed
with executive authority?
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THE FIRST PLEDGE REDEEMED
The Nebraska legislature has started out well.
It has commenced by redeeming one of the
pledges the first it has had time to redeem
of the national platform. Tho convention at
Denver pointed out that tho rule of the speaker
in the national house of representatives had
overthrown popular government in that body
and reduced the members to a position of servi
tude to the speaker, While, for many reasons,
the tyranny has not been carried as far in state
legislatures as it has at Washington, still the
principle Is the same, and the democratic legis
lature of Nebraska ha6 acted wisely in strip
ping the speaker of the power to obligate mem
bers to him through committee appointments.
The democratic caucus elected a speaker, and
then proceeded to appoint a committee to act
with the speaker in the selection of the house
committees. This committee made up a list and
submitted it to the democratic caucus for ratifi
cation, the republicans having been permitted
to name the republican members of the com
mittees. The caucus endorsed the action of the
committee, and the speaker went through the
formality of announcing the appointments.
: While the caucus endorsed- the-, action of the
committee, practically without opposition, still
it was important that the caucus should have
had the final word, because the very fact that
the caucus had power to ratify or reject put a
restraint upon the committee on committees and
compelled It to act with wisdom.
The Nebraska legislature has been organized
according to a democratic plan. The speaker will
perform the duties properly belonging to his
office, and the. members of the various commit
tees will be free to represent their constituents
and to give expression to their individual con
science and judgment. This is as it ought to
be, and it Is to be hoped that the legislatures
in the various democratic states will in like
manner conform to the doctrine "promulgated
in our national platform. Tho legislator occu
pies a responsible position; he ought to be free
to voice the opinions of his constituents and to
guard their interests. It is not fair to compel him
to submit to tho yoke of a speaker, for a speakor
may, under tho old plan, uso committee appoint
ments to compel obedienco. Our government Is
not a government of one man, it is a government
of the people, by tho people and for tho peoplo,
and this principle should bo presorved in all of
its departments.
Tho Nebraska legislature is to bo congratu
lated upon Us Initial stop; it is looking in the
right direction and Is now in position to march'
forward.
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SENATOR LAFOLLETTE'S PAPER
Thp Commoner has received tho first copy
of Mr. LaFollette's paper LaFolletto's Weekly
Magazine. Tho following letter addressod by
Mr. Bryan to Senator LaFollotto outlines tho
position that The Commoner will take toward
the new magazine:
"Senator Robert M. LaFollotto, Madison, Wis.
My Dear Mr. LaFolletto: I am just in receipt
of tho first number of your paper and hasten
to congratulate you upon its appearance anxUltiL, .
promise. I am heartily glad that you ha.en-
tored the journalistic field. The fact that we
do not agree upon all questions is not' so ma
terial, for those who think for thomselresv are "
likely to differ. If we all seemed to think alike;
it would be evidence that we did not think
at all.
"We are greatly in need of journals published
with a purpose and giving expression to tho
conscience and judgment of a porson whoso
identity is known. Nearly all our great dailies
have become business enterprises oporating
through corporate forms. The owner of tho
stock is seldom known, and the editor still less.
I wish wo had a number of papers like yours
with a national circulation, and still others with
state circulations. There con not be too much
publicity. Out of discussion comes truth; only
error seeks tho cover of darkness. Strength to
your arm! If you can purge tho republican
party of its corruptions, improve its tone and
elevate its ideal, you will render a public Ber--vice.
If your efforts .fall and 'the corp6rato In
fluences that have dbmlnated, and continue tcT ,
dominate it, your1 frarty successfully resists tho
efforts of tho reform element in that party, our
party will bo inspired to greater effort to win
that reform element. You may help us, there- ,
fore, as well ns your own party; but insofar '
aB ypu promote any worthy cause, you will help '
your country, and that is more important than
that you should help any party.
"I shall be glad to co-operato with you as far
as I can, and where we are compelled to dis
agree, I shall still be glad to have the opposite
side as ably and as honestly stated as it will ,
be in your paper. t
"Very truly yours,
x "W. J. BRYAN'
W 1rl t5 i&
GEORGE IVES ,...
Mr. Bryan's attention has been called to the'
death of Mr. Georgo Ives, at Dunkirk, N. Y.
Mr. Ives died since tho election at the ago of
105 years. The local paper, speaking of him,
said: "He was a strict vegetarian and
during his latter years ascribed his long life, -health,
and happy old age to his frugal habits of
life and outdoor activity. He was an active and
enthusiastic democrat and at the last election
voted for William Jennings Bryan, having taken
a keen interest in the campaign."
The Commoner extends Its sympathy to tho
friends of George Ives.
SPEAKING ABOUT DIRT
Senator Foraker, in a speech delivered In-
the senate, charged that the sum of $15,000
had been wrongfully diverted from the three mil
lion dollar emergency war fund of 1899 and used ;
for th6 employment of private detectives in the-'
Brownsville investigation. Ho placed the re
sponsibility of this alleged misappropriation
upon the head of the outgoing republican ad
ministration and upon the head of the incoming
republican administration. Senator Foraker is
a republican. It would seem, therefore, that
these republican leaders outgoing and Incom
ing would do well to devote some of their
energies toward sweeping the dirt from their
' own doorsteps.
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A GOOD PLAN
A reader of The Commoner writes that he
is undertaking to increase The Commoner's ad
vertising by bringing It to the attention of , ad
vertisers and asking them why their advertise
ments, are not found in The Commoner. It is
a good plan and the readers of The Commoner
can assist tho paper by thus bringing it to tho
attention of advertisers,
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