MAT 14, 1901
The Commoner.
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CCURI?NT
TIB SPRINGFIELD (Mass.) Republican says:
"With the payment of over $2,000,000 to
the United States government on account of
frauds on the customs revenue, the American
Sugar Refining company now turns to face a
suit by New York City to recover $500,000
alleged to be due for -water stolen from the city's
mains. It was found some years ago that sev
eral water pipes ran into one of the trust's re
fineries, which were not metered, one of them
being a ten-Inchpipe. The company has offered
to settle for $74,000, but the city declines to
consider any settlement under $250,000. As in
the case of the customs frauds, the high officers
of the company deny any knowledge, yet it does
not appear in either case that the thievery bene
fited any one except the company. There is
obviously rascality in the management some
where, and it is in order for the company to
assist the government in locating it through
criminal prosecutions. Otherwise the country
will conclude that some of our trusts are no
better than highway robbers among the people
and sneak thieves around the public treasury."
THE NEW YORK World of May 4 printed the
following: "The first aerial message ever
transmitted between Chicago and New York was
received late Sunday night at the station of. the
United Wireless Telegraph company, on top
of the Waldorf-Astoria. The message was from
O. C. Galbraith, general manager of the com
pany, to the home office, and was as follows:
'Frdm Chicago, 111., to C. Marshall, New' York.
Can use Goodrich one Shoemaker set, one KW,
with United Receiving set. Ship tomorrow.
C. C. Galbraith.' The message came in 'strong,'
In the parlance Of wireless operators, and was
received by S. W: Hance, night operator at the
Waldorf-Astoria station. Ever since wireless
telegraphy has been established on a commercial
basis scientists have questioned the possibility
of transmitting aerial messages over land for
long distances. The transmission of this mes
sage and the conversation held between the
operators at each end of the 'line proves that
the scientists have been wrong in their figuring.
The Chicago station is on top of the Auditorium
'Annex."
n OVERNOR Shallenberger of Nebraska, Issued
JC a formal proclamation designating Sunday,
May 9, as "Mothers Day." Governor Shallen
' berger's proclamation follows: "Several years
ago Miss Anna S. Jarvls of Philadelphia con
ceived the idea of designating a day upon which
there should be, in' every part of the world, a
simultaneous observance of the love and rever
ence which men and women owe to their moth
ers. In the language of the gentle author,
'Mothers day is the one holiday the whole world
can observe as one nation. The new holiday is
to be observed by men, women and children
wearing a white flower which will make heart
speak to heart throughout the world, will light
the flame of brotherhood and make the occasion
not only a sentimental observance but, as far
as possible, clothe it with the sancify a'nd dyna
mic power that comes from organized effort.'
By general agreement and by concerted action
in various sections the second Sunday in May,
1908, was .observed as 'Mothers Day.' In Ne
braska the day was so generally observed and
with such satisfactory results that J have been
asked to aid the effort to extend the scope of
the organized celebration of thia day by giving
to it the sanction of the governor's proclamation.
I gladly comply wltb. this request. The idea of
mothers day is? not idle sentimentalism. It has
well been called 'the highest representative o
the purest bit of practical sentiment that has
over taken hold on the. nearts of men.' An or
ganized tribute to the mother's love resolves It
self into an organized tribute to the mother's
law, and recognition o? the mother's law means
love for country, for comrades and for God. In
recognition', therefore, of this pure sentiment, I,
Ashton C. Shallenberger, governor of the state
of Nebraskao, hereby aeslgjiatk .and set5 apart
Sunday, May 19,,$ same, to berTcnowjLjas
Mothers Da', and ask ,,tha,t aji Nebras
kansTwnen, (wmen, andj childnrrhally upon
this designated day, wear a whito flower. I do
further recommen'd that on this new holiday the
sick and afflicted bo visited by their more fortu
nate fellows; that flowers bo sent to thoso who
rarely receive such tokens, to the poor in hos
pitals and to the sinning In prisons; that fruit
and other gifts to cheer bo sont to asylums for
orphans, to old people's homos and to hospitals
for the sick or the insane. Recommending that
this day bje so observed as to make It of practical
service to mankind and to give it a permanent
place in the list of Nebraska holidays, I do here
by affix my signature as chief executive of the
state.'' 1.
EEPRESENTATIVE Murphy, republican of
Missouri, Introduced a resolution calling
for an Investigation of Federal Judges John F.
Philips and Smith McPhorson. In his resolu
tion Mr. Murphy accuses Judges Philips and
McPherson of being unduly friendly to the rail
roads and with having taken fishing trips with
railroad attorneys. The two judges have Issued
statements in which they vigorously deny the
charges. Frank Hagerman, leading counsel for
the railroads in the Missouri rate cases, also
sent a telegram to Attorney General Wlcker
sham defending the twd judges. On May 6
Representative Murphy made a1 long statement
in the house regarding his resolution of in
quiry. He complained because Mr. Hagerman,
the railroad lawyer, had In his telegram to the
attorney general denounced the charges In the
Murphy resolution as "an outrageous tissue of
misrepresentation by on;e who has no knowledge
of the fact." Mr. Murphy then notified the
members of the ' judiciary committee that he
would,at once, formulate charges of impeach
ment against the two jjiidges.
THE UNITED States .supreme court,, rendered
a decision May 3 In which it practically de
stroyed the Hepburn railroad rate law. Refer
ring to the Hepburn law and this particular de
cision the Washington correspondent for the
New York "World says: "The law was designed
to destroy the monopoly enjoyed by the anthra
cite coa carrying roads, owners, directly or
through subsidiary corporations, of the greater
part $ lhe eastern Pennsylvania coal fields. It
forbade interstate roads from carrying commo
dities manufactured, mined or produced directly
or indirectly by them, which meant, If enforced,
that he railroads must surrender, absolutely,
all proprietary interest In the mines. The Idea
was to destroy discrimination against individual
miners and provide for fair competition. The
law was one of far reaching interest, one of
the most important ever passed at Washington,
bearing not only upon the future cost to the
public of a necessary of lifet but Involving also
an essential prohibition as to the asserted con
stitutional rights of common carriers. The value
of the railroads, w represented by their securi
ties held by many hands, was at stake as the
law passed to the courts for the test of legality.
The United State circuit court of the eastern
district of Pennsylvania, sitting at Philadelphia,
declared, on September 10 last, the law to be
confiscatory and unconstitutional. The prob
lem went to the federal supreme court one
month later, and was argued in January last.
Meanwhile, the railroad and financial world has
been anxiously waiting & decision. The crux
of the decision of today lies In this paragraph
of the document: 'It has been decided inthis
court that ownership of stock In a corporation
does not make the owner of the stock the legal
owner of the property of the corporation. It
does not give him a legal standing as respects
Interest in the property of the corporation, in
which he holds the stock.' While the opinion
of the lower court Is reversed and the law pro
nounced constitutional, it is held that railroads
have a right to own any or all of the stock in
a subsidiary corporation that mines and sells
coaj, Th, railroad company may transport, this
produ,c In Interstate commerce, if it has parted
with, the ownership in good faith before begin
ning the process of haujjng. The imposition
of. discriminatory freight rates Is .prohibited, but
. nothini&.saidconcoing-jtlie. furnishing of cars
or side trackage to competitors. The first con
struction placed upon the commodity clauso is
completely reversed by the supremo court, Tho
intention of tho provision was to roquiro all rail
roads to Absolutely dlvorco themselves from all
business other than that of common carriers.
Under tho conclusion of tho court, tho Pennsyl
vania, Reading and Now York Central, owners
of all tho stock in their subsidiary companies
operating coal mines, are clearly within their
constitutional rights, and are permitted to trans
port the product, provided it is sold to bona fl'do
purchasers boforo the transportation begins. Tho
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western and the
Lehigh Valloy, which own tho coal mines" In.
their individual right, must not transport coal
beyond the limit of tho state where mined. In
ordor to meet tho opinion, they must reorganize
and turn tho coal mines over to holding com
panies after which tho product may be handled,
after being nold to purchasers. Tho decision
Is a sweeping triumph for tho railroads. Tho
more fact that the constitutionality of tho act is
uphold Is more than offset by tho construction
put upon tho intent of congress. The opinion of
tho court lacked unanimity only by tho dissent
of Justice Harlan upon ono point. Ho contends
that tho act prohibits any railroad transporting
articlos or commodities If, at the time, it. legally
or equitably owns stock in the producing cor
poration." THE SCOPE and effect of tho supreme court's
commodity clause decision Is described by
the Now York World in this way: ;"Tho opinion
was entirely favorable to the railroads; Tho
supremo court, in effect, holds that tho Penn
sylvania, Reading and New York Central rail
roads, owning stock in corporations that control
coal riiines, aro well within their constitutional
rights. They aro permitted to transport this
product through interstate commorco. Tho
Lackawanna and tho Lbhigh ValJoy, which own
coal mines dlrdctly and operate them, aro for
bidden to transport the coal beyond the con
fines of the state where the product is produced.
It is declared that' no' railroad must prescribe
discriminatory rtfte3, but must give tho .same
charges to other operators as aro furnished to
coal handled from tho mines they own. . , The
decision tlrus' iiblnts 6ut the" method iby which
any railroad may continue to mine and soil c6al.
The only essential point Is that a company must
bo organized to perform the actual ,work of
mining, although tho railroad may 'dvn tho
stock of the holding1 company."
THE TAFT administration Is no more Inclined
to take on tho Roosevelt enmities than It
is to carry out tho Roosevelt policies. Tho Wash
ington correspondent for tho New York World
says: "When tho Tafts wont into the White
House society whispered among its own little
circle its curiosity to know just what Mrs.' Taft
would do about recognizing thoso who were not
in favor at tho Whito House during tho Roose
velt regime. It was not long before society
found out that Mrs. Taft proposed to be as level
headed about that as about looking after her
household affairs, for almost tho, first distin
guished guests to be received by the president
and his wife were Mr. and Mrs. Bellamy Storer.
Tho Storers had been persona non grata since
the time when Mr. Roosevelt had been placed
in an embarrassing position at Rome through
Mrs. Storer's supposed activities In behalf of
Archbishop Ireland for a cardlnalship. When
they came to Washington and called at the
White House society stood aghast not because
it was not all fight, 'but because it was so unexpected."
Commenting on tho banquet tendered Judge
Dickinson by tho Iroquois club of Chicago after
his appointment to the cabinet, a republican
organ said it was a case of "extremes meeting"
a democratic club banqueting a' democrat who
vhas ben appointed a secretary in a republican
presidents cabinet To which Louis J?. fPost
.of Chicago retorted that it was just Hkor "ex
tremeafimeettng," in the case of .a dog biting its
own t&r It iwa the extremes of tho same dog.
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