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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (May 28, 1909)
Tiyf The Commoner. 6 L-"' BbK i Republican Party in Full Retreat Tlio following editorial appeared In The Com tnonor Immediately after tho republican national convention of 1908: Tho republicans who attended tho national convention as spectators and joined in the dem onstration in favor of President Roosevelt and Senator LaFolletto must have felt indignant as they watched tho panic stricken delegates run ning over each other in their effort to get away from tho LaFolletto reforms, some of which liad been endorsed by tho president himself. Congressman Cooper, of Wisconsin, representing the LaFolletto men," brought in a minority re port signed by himself alone. Fifty-two mem bers of tho committee signed the majority re port, and one signed tho minority report. Tho republican party will find tho ratio of fifty-two to one a very embarrassing one to deal with in the coming campaign. Mr. Cooper's report con tained a declaration in favor of publicity as to campaign funds. It was lost by a vote of 880 to 94, more than nine to one, and yet tho presi dent has been advocating legislation in favor of publicity as to campaign contributions, and Sec retary Taft wroto a letter to Mr. Burrows advo cating tho passage of a publicity bill. How fortunate it was that Secretary Taft's letter -was Anally discovered and published! Senator Bur rows, tho man to whom the Taft letter was ad dressed, was tho temporary chairman of the convention, and tho convention over which ho presided turned down the publicity plank by a vote of nino to one! Who will deny that, on this subject, the republican party is retreating? Another plank of tho LaFolIette platform au thorized tho ascertaining of the value of the railroads. This plank was lost by a vote of 917 to G3 nearly flftoen to one and yet President Roosevelt has advocated this very proposition. Hero is a retreat on tho railroad question. Tho injunction plank adopted by the repub lican convention Is a retreat from the position taken by tho president and from the position taken by Secretary Taft in his speeches, although nolther of them wont as far a3 they ought to havo gone in their effort to prevent what Is known as government by injunction. Here is tho third retreat. The president has advocated the Income tax no a means of preventing swollen fortunes and of equalizing the burdens of government. Tho . republican platform is silent on tho subject. Was the prosidont right in tho position he took? If so, then the convention was wrong in not en dorsing him. Will the republican voters follow tho president in this just domand, or will they follow the republican organization in rotreating from it? Tho prosidont advqeatod an inheritance tax, tout tho republican convention is silent on that subject. Was tho president ahead of the repub lican party in advocating this reform, or has" tho republican party receded from tho president's position? Did tho president givo a false alarm retreat? qUCBton' or hns tlle Partr sounded a Jin th,G PresI(lent's message to congress last spilng he presented an indictment against -tho fo11 f?,rmed ,amone tne Sreat lawbreakers to prevent the enforcement of the law and to evade the punishments provided by law The platform adopted by tho republican convention contains, no intimation of danger. If there i any conspiracies, the convention did not see them. If there are any .combinations, it had not hoard of them. If there are any dangers ahead, it was unconscious of them. Was the president mistaken when he issued his defiance ?wrMn? rpublican managers deceived when they think, that an aroused public will calmlv contemplate tho encroachments of i rodatorv wealth? This is retreat number six proaatory The convention, by vote of 8G6 to 114 more than seven to one voted down tho nlAnir fn favor of the popular election of United Spates senators. It is true that the president and Sec SlTat ave never advocated the JopSlw election of senators. Thov soom m titlT publican It has been endorsed by nlaVTy two thirds of tho states, of the. union, and there ?ta probably not a state in (ho union in wl ?ch ? would not be endorsed af a popular election! nrwl vnf In nnltn nf fhfi TfiP.ord madO in tho hOUSO of representatives and by the vaTious states, this reform is rejected by a seven to ono vote in a republican national convention. Hero are seven propositions upon which the republican party, in national convention as sembled, has retreated from the position taken by that party in congress or from the position taken by the president. What have Roosevelt republicans to say? The president has awak ened a spirit of reform within his party. Ho has at least revealed to tho world that there aro reformers in the republican party. Can that spirit now bo quelled by a standpat con vention? Millions of republicans have enlisted at the president's call to arms and are ready to march forward. Will they furl their banners and turn back merely because tho president ac quiesces in the sounding of a retreat? ARE THE RETAILERS THE EXTORTIONISTS? Republican senators in discussing the tariff insinuated that tho abnormal increase in prices was due to the retailers. Senator Hale of Maine seemed to dwell particularly on this point. Senator Gore of Oklahoma, defended the re tailer, saying: "Mr. President, this body, it seems, has con verted itself into a grand jury and has returned an indictment against the retailers and the middlemen of the country. The manufacturers, the trusts, and the monopolies are undertaking to hold up the middlemen and the retailers as a shield to protect themselves against the wrath of outraged consumers. I am not the chosen defender of tho retailers of this country, but In their behalf I desire here and now to enter a plea of 'not guilty.' "Tt seems that the senior senator from Maine (Mr. Hale) has constituted himself the foreman of this grand jury which has returned this wholesale indictment against millions of honest and deserving American citizens. Now, let us examine whether that indictment be true or be falso. Take the consumer, take the ordinary citizen. How stands the count with him? Be gin, sir, with the hat upon his head. Take the Stetson or Knox hats, and, for aught I know, other varieties, and the retailer has to sell those hats to the consumer at a fixed price, which is dictated by the manufacturer. The retailer has no choice and has no discretion. Take the shoes upon his feet, and every standard pair of shoes in the United States is sole to the retailer upon the express condition that he will sell it to the consumer at a fixed price. Is the retailer re sponsible In that case? Nay, sir. Take the clothing upon his back. The same thing holds true. Suppose ho wears a suit made by a cor ttfin Now York firm. The retailer purchases that suit upon tho express condition that he must sell it to the consumer at a fixed price; and if he varies from that price but by the breadth of a farthing, he does so at his peril and runs the risk of forfeiting other business from the same concern. "These conditions do not only apply to cloth ing, but to many other articles, even to articles of food which are sold to' the retailer on the express condition that, ho shall sell them to the consumer at a fixed price, and he dare not vary from the price which is prescribed to him. So some brands of soap and other groceries are sold to retailers. Yet the responsibility for the high prices is charged to the retailer, who is bound hand and foot. It has applied to farm ing Implements, and the effort xwas made to ex- tond it to various kinds of hardware, but with the weight of hardware the scheme broke down You may say the retailer averages a nroflt ?xnf?m,33,t0 3Lper cent' -Admit that he does. ' What, sir, does that cover? That is gross profit and not net profit. What does it include' It includes tho rent. The building Is often worth from one-fourth to three-fourths the entire val uation of his stock. Not only that, but it in cludes the cost of transportation of the goods It includes insurance upon the building and . stock. It includes taxes upon both. It includes losses from .breakage, remnants, and, bad ac counts. It includes the' wages paid to all his clerks. It includes compensation to. the mer chant fpr his time, and after, rthaMt:' includes ' compensation upon the capital inyested: The cotton and woolen Tnanufacturers of tho VOLUME 9, NUMBER 2f state of Massachusetts havo declared dividends of 66 per cent on their entire investment. How, will the senator from Maine explain and justify these enormous, these exorbitant, and these ex tortionate dividends?" At this point Senator Gore was interrupted by Senator Smoot of Utah. "Will the senator give the names," queried Senator Smoot, "of a number of woolen manufacturers who have de clared a dividend of 66 per cent?" Senator Gore: "The Troy. Cotton & Woolen Manufactory in 1907 declared a dividend of 67 JnnoSt ?f Acushnett Cotton Manufacturing SSSSJ 2JeX Bedford Mass., the same year iJ SivAdend of 66 P cent, and the Dartmouth Cotton Manufactory, of New Bed- 66rper cent6 alS declared a dividend of JZr ?w0t,: 'I 8hould like t0 ask the ITU dividend was payable in cash or was it a- stock dividend?" tnS0Moir GJe: UIt was in cash; and in order ;nJ SUch ?norm dividends in he future If tLrf 1Vei t0 ,double thelr caPital stock! SX beoany ther inluiry, I shall yield." Senator Smoot did not arise. Senator Gore, continuing: "Sir this is n. ttSS; shan; inted by the mnufacturo the inference that the retailer is robbing the SSSirS; DriVen t0 desPation, ta order to defend themselves against their outrages and hvrdnt0 S?ield themselves, they indict aSd Sate qj? rxetaI1 dealers of the United and ae thl'may Can not sit here in sileo and see the millions of retailers in this country S52dv8tSS?,!f8t0 bGar aw the BtaeTtK Titt!tenand monopolies in this country." lllt Mfr- Gre asked consideration of a reso lution instructing the committee on finance to obtain by investigation the import prices of va L?flanrlclf of general and ordinary consump- of such i?ill th wholesale and retail prices nw articles w?en used in this country. The thl rifnVne re,soLution is to determine whether the retailers of the country are practicing ex- to tho In m?Vlng tne solution be reffrred ronrrLmmittee on finace Mr- Hale said it ?? Z?d n?ne thority upon that commit tee and could only embarrass it. Senator Gore declared that the retail dealers had been held up before the country as practicing extortion iwS8 anJed t0 have e facts to dSermine whether that was true, "if the retail men aro robbers' he said, "they should be held up to the wrath and execration of their coun rymen " Mr. Gore said he had Investigated and found that utl Prs referred to by Senator Scott as sell nearhflf !Sale J ninety cent a dozen, re- sidraUon of the rMt&g untn On Monday Mr. Gore's resolution was con sidered The Associated Press says: Seeking to have the resolution adopted Mr Gore said he wished to have statements con! cerning the extortionate prices of retl dealers fully probed so that the country Sfght know res! G thG respon3lbllit:' tor fhe hfgh prfS Senator Carter pointed cut that in doinc this work the finance committee would Veceslarilv cover the same ground which the proposeTtoriff commission would cover Mr CnvtJl Ja impassioned appeal feTa bSnSSke pr'oceeT 2i ?W17 5tas' ho said, "some senator arises in his place here to defend the count!? merchant from a charirp timf -h country made' No charge" oertortUV'Sd Md ever been lodged against the retailer ' Suggesting a select committee inw adopted a rule ihntSli i S the committee 'Tliey," iaid air. Bailbyarl' htTl best, and I am not willing toL!5l !Ugh .5? being worse than they iro" " With response to an-apneal from tSS , ,, j!lally' In tors to coSt To haSlon'SH0 SGna; by a ante of 50 .to PitI&& an(1 ,mittee ; on. MjiU9 ;and 'WllellEetlngoltiJi' rd ' Ref erfenceo hat 3&7hf& -?? ?cra ' " tic-ally billed flieSyWfl - wMMiiSwB tH!i'"J3ino'u.ij'