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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (June 18, 1909)
i --- s vp"- The Commoner. 2 h domostlc or foreign. Ho Boomed to bo littlo intorcstod In philanthropic ontorprisos. Dut possibly it is just as well that his solflsh ncss manifested itself in tho disposition of his goods. If ho had boon generous and largo hcartcd in his bequests, his will would havo boon used to give a halfway justification to tho methods which ho employed in tho accumu lation of his money; but as it is his will presents an indictment not only against him, but against .that peculiar typo of business life which ho rep rosonted a lifo in which tho soul is shriveled and tho bettor impulses stifled by business prac tices which deaden tho conscience and rob lifo of that which makes it worth living. "What sliall It profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" LOST IN WONDER Tho Chicago Record-Herald reports that James A. Patton and his associates wound up their campaign in May wheat with a profit of botweon three and a half and four millions. Our legislators are so amazed at tho successes of tho wheat corner and so lost in admiration of tho genius that could engineer it, that they will probably forget the injustice done to the public and tho demoralizing influence which speculation exorts upon those inclined toward grain gambling. How long would it be before public sentiment will cleanse the stock ex change, tho board of trado and tho chamber of commerce from tho abuses which specula tion in the necessaries of life have introduced? DEMOCRACY "Senator McEnery, of Louisiana, in making an argument for a duty on sugar says: "It is gratifying that at this session of congress wo notice a great change of opinion among demo crats who are voting for a duty on raw ma terial, although at one time raw material" was considered a cardinal principle of democracy." If Sonator McEnery will listen closely he will notice that the sound which emanates from the throats of the democrats of the rank and file when they read of this charge does not re somble rejoicing. And if the Benator happens ,to.,look in upon the.sonate a few years hence, it may not'b6 gratifying to him to notice so many new faces. - PROTECTION'S FAVORS The Reform Club (Room 314, 42-Broadway, N. Y.) has just issued a very valuable pamphlet entitled "Protection's Favors to Foreigners." It gives a concise review of the very best evidence, official and otherwise, brought out in recent years in regard to the sale of American manufactured goods abroad at a lower price than they are sold at home. The readers of The Commoner are invited to write to the Reform Club in regard to this pamphlet. Every one who desires to discuss the tariff question ought to secure a copy. INTERESTING iA ?aJ! haB been established sett Viwfav OMa called The Bank Deposit Gtonmtfjy .flswi," iho purpose of the jasper,, aw ifet mimAP ttmte, is to keep its resutera; fttffounttfifl jW fo tft progress that deposfiL &wanaiuttlv iH iwtoty&- t Commoner Is glad to ewswiKSKB tflkv Wtyftftr ato)4 to call attemfon of Ctannmr tfttaMto (to fit Those who are iaterasfafi fca tW v'fonni all ought to be sboctid Iceep &a ivKzh with the Bank Deposit Guarzntr Jfosiwal, RISING DE3IOCRAT8 The times arc propitious for tho growth of democrats Tho Issue between the "plunder bund" on the one side and tho reform element of the country on the other Is being more sharply drawn, and crises like those through J? SIT Pa1Slng develop 8tron& men- Some times the hero is a member of congress or a senator; sometimes he is a member of a state legislature; sometimes ho is a governor- but ho is made of the same material everywhere He stands for honesty in politics, for fiXty to the party and for justice to tho masses. He is un corrupted by promises and unawed by threats Ho prefers defeat in a battle for the right to a sham victory. To such a man opposition is but a stepping-stone to larger service Wo arc de veloping men at Washington. While some dem ocrats are yielding to tho temptation which the predatory interests are so well prepared to offe? and while others are giving a few protected in- terests preference over the rest of their con stituents, a number of democrats in the senate and houso are making substantial additions to their reputations by able and forceful defense of tho public interest. In the states, too, tho contests that havo arisen have tested the metal of the men and most of, them have rung true. A number of governors have been given a chance to show their moral courage by exposing tho 'sophistry and subterfuge employed by those who attempt to escape from party pledges. The cause of tho people is moving forward; even the enemies of the public are by their opposi tion making more clear the distinction between democracy and plutocracy. "The darkness brings out the stars." THE SOUTH'S "INTEREST" When Congressman Ransdall, .of Louisiana, had his tariff speech printod for distribution, he put at the top of the page, as If for a text, tho following: "The south, has a1 deep interest in tariff and Is rapidly changing its views on the subject. This is especially true of Louisi ana which has many industries which derive great benefit from tariff enactment." What Is the south's "interest" in the tariff? What percentage of her people are benefited by a high tariff? Mr. Ransdall ought to have said that the men in the south who have a personal . interest in tariff taxation are exerting an in creasing influence upon the senators and repre sentatives of the south, and that some of these representatives are rapidly changing their views on the tariff question. In Louisiana, as in other states, a small percentage of the people make money out of a high tariff, while the rest of the people bear the burden, but the few who make the money exert themselves in nom inating conventions and when congress Is in ses sion, while the average man Is scratching around to try and make enough to pay the next assess ment. It Is time that the taxpayers woke up and challenged the tax eaters to a battle royal. The south is just learning what the north has known for a' long while, namely, that a special privilege can easily be secured by the organized ,few while the unorganized many find It dlffl ,cult to protect their rights and guard their .interest. DEMOCRATIC PROGRESS . The Springfield (Mass.) Republican , says: "Texas now has a bank deposit guaranty or in surance law which is optional and allows a choice between a guaranty fund plan and a bonding company plan. Three or four days ago a dispatch was sent out that the banks were hostile to either plan, and that only one insti tution in the state had manifested a disposition to accept any such arrangement. Now comes the report that within the two or three days since the measure became a law twenty state banks have accepted its privisions, all choosing tho guaranty fund plan. This means, of course, that most or all of the other banks will also como in undor tho act. At least five states now havo somo form of deposit guaranty, or mutual insurance of deposits, in operation Texas, Ok lahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and one of the Da kotas. Thus upon so much of the issues which divided the parties In the last presidential con let Bryan is proving the winner and Taft the loxor. The latter strongly denounced the sxhtuno and presented pos'al savings banks in ctead. And nothing Is now heard of postal savings banks." KELP! HELP! HELP! The retail jewelers of the country, many of whom supported the republican ticket in the last campaign, are sending over the country the following circular: "The Payne tariff bill, if it becomes a law, will practically wipe the small jewelers out of existence, as the duty on watches will be 175 per cent, which is a tremendous increase over the former Wilson bill (25 per cent) and the Dingley bill (U2 per cent); it wnfalso mjan ruination to the Swiss watch importers and the closing up of American watch case factories not in the watch trust. Why the watch trust capi talized for over twenty milion dollars are forc ing this issue, and asking for protection (?) must be plainly seen; at the present time Waltham and Elgin watches are sold in foreSn countries from. 40 per cent to GQ per cent lis than the American retail jeweler can buy them It Js a well known fact .that a' New York retail -watch dealer on lower' Brpadway has for yMl reimported Waltham and Elgin watches S VOLUME 9, NUMBER 23; undersold this market. The association is try ing to advocate the following amendment to tho Payne tariff bill- regarding watches: " 'Watches sold in foreign countries that arg in whole or in part of American manufacture and bearing tho name and trade mark of Amer ican manufacturers, should come into the United States duty free.' "If this amendment becomes a tariff law it will enable independent dealers to buy trust watches abroad and reimport them for about one-half the present price they now pay for them. Whereby the American people within the shadow of the watch trust factories would only have to pay the price charged in London and other foreign markets. "The Hon. Henry T. Ralney produced on tho floor in congress evidence of the watch trust's methods and it was published in the Congres sional Record. The evidence he produced on several occasions stands absolutely uncontra dicted today. He has challenged the watch trust representatives in congress for years to deny his statements and none have dared reply. In view of the fact that American watches are being sold abroad ridiculously cheap, compared with prices they are sold at home, it is absurd to insert in the Payne bill these prohibitory pro visions, thereby fixing stronger than ever upon American jewelers and upon purchasers of watches in this country, the power of this in famous trust." A REPUBLICAN WARNING . The St. Albans (Vermont) Messenger, a re publican paper, gives thiswarning to its paTty:i "And the whole situation simply amounts to this, that If out of this long-continued and earn estly insistent popular demand for a states manlike revision of the tariff the republican party is to" offer the people a stone when they have asked for bread, then the elections for congress in 1910. and the i election for the presi dency in 1913 will tell in unmistakable terms how the indignant people of this country re buke the leaders that have been faithless to their interests. And the republican party can thank Aldrich and his associates for its humiliation. There need be no demagogery about such talk as this, no appeal to prejudice, no play to the galleries. If the events of, the past, seven or eight years have clearly, .demonstrated anything at all to the intelligent comprehension of the great mass of American, yoters, it is the great est obstacle to the triumphant Statesmanship and wise administration of government of the republican party has not been obstruction of political opponents from without, but the short sighted stubbornness and arrogant greed of tho 'interests' within." THEY MIGHT APOLOGIZE The Houston (Texas) Post' says: "Unfortu nately, there is no flareback process by which Mr. Taft can restore to T'tt Bryan the demo cratic votes that were filched through the Bran denburg fraud known as 'he Cleveland inter view." i But those republican and so-called indepen dent newspapers whose editors stood sponsor for the genuineness of the Brandenburg letter might at least apologize to their readers for their false statements. t. A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION The Springfield (Mass.) Republican recently said people laugh when the question is asked what is a democrat?' but what is a republican?" In its issue of .May 17 the Indianapolis News, a republican paper, reproduced the Springfield Kepublican's remark and answered the question, what is a republican," in this way: "Why, a man that lets Aldrich do his thinking." DEMOCRATIC IDEAS Who says that the republicans of Nebraska fJG o beine educated up, to the democratic Ideas? Congressma Norris is one of the lead ers among the tariff reform republicans in tho house, and Senator Brown is urging the adoption of a constitutional amendment authorizing an income tax-i-carrying out a plank in the last democratic plajtform. The world4 does move. THE WHITER HOUSE ,n"T fl?,"no Presided at the recent meet ly Fle,Uled Brethren conference at Can ton, unio. in introduninp- v nrn n,n nrm- ference troduce and tiih ixiTu tt ,Y"uae "re. is; enstiri Whiter House of Christian Effort:". l v 't. . ' i . -" -u-