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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 12, 1909)
10 TVT nTrwiTgyyri8jMF' ' - pw- t"wra fT The Commoner. 10 VOLUME 9, NUMBER 44 T Letters From the People ; William Loith, Vandyno, Wis. In ,Tho Comuionor of September 10 in the current topics is a Lexington, Ky., dispatch to the Chicago Record Ilorald concerning former Governor William S. Taylor. Was former Gov ernor Taylor in prison or a fugitive from justice? If a fugitive from jus tice why was ho not apprehended? When did the governor of one state obtain the right to pardon a man in another and by what authority? (Mr. Taylor was never imprisoned but fled to Indiana where he was protectod from extradition by a re publican governor. Ho was finally pardoned by the republican governor of Kentucky. Editor.) James J. Hlpsley, Avoca, la. I en close a clipping from the Des. Moines Register and Leader. I thintt it de serves a place in your paper. I con sider it one of the very best articles on the tariff I have seen. I have known the writer, Mr. Leach, who has always been a republican, for twenty-five years: Free Hides Des Moines Register and Leader: Avoca, la. To the Editor: Noticing a number of pieces written in regard to free hides, here is one. I have been in the meat business here for twenty years. Never bought but one carcass of beef of the packers in my life and that out of curiosity. Why, if free cotton wijl make cheaper clothing, if free lumber will build cheaper houses, if free iron will make cheaper nails, wire, etc., why not free hides make cheaper boots, shoes, harness, otcs Will not the same arg ument apply ''to one -as 'well . as the other? ' Who would be foolish enough to say it would not? If duty free goods of any description "will make cheaper prices for an ar ticle why will not the hides proposi tion work all right? Here is one reason why it would not be noticed. Every tannery, every manufacturer, every boot and shoe firm and har ness shop is loaded up with high priced hides and leather. It will take time to work this off; also there are so many different grades of leath er worked up in boots, shoes, har ness, etc., and everyone nowadays wanting the best on earth, It might not be noticed as much as it really is. Another reason why free hideB is all right is there are a great many more buyers of boots, shoes, har ness, etc., than there are sellers of hides. I am one wlio will.be a loser; also the packers. Plow is the farmer or cattle seller proposition as to loss? Why does a sheep feeder always, when he can, shear his sheep before sending them to market? Why not let the wool go with the sheep? He will tell you he can get more for his wool from a wool buyer than the packer would pay. There is no one I know of so easily skinned at pres ent as the farmer, excepting the fel low who is trying to do the skinning. The farmer would keep his hides if he could the same as he keeps his wool. I have alwavs boucht all the cattle I needed in my business to kill. I have bought and shipped cat tle. The price of hides as to the farmer never entered the deal In either case. I almost know all butchers are alike in this respect. I have bought cattle for 2 cents on foot. Beef cost 4 cents. Sold the hide for 3 cents. I have bought cat tle for 4 and 5 cents and sold hides for 4 cents. In fact I have sold hides for all kinds of prices. This is called the butcher's rake off, and tho farmer is not taken into consid eration any more than the farmer takes you into consideration when he sells you corn and keeps the cobs and sells them for $2.50 per load, or loads up his cattle with grass and water and wants to sell it for cattle prices. If there would be no benefits derived from free hides there would be no benefit derived from free any thing. I do riot blame the western senators for voting against It, be cause most all farmers think they are' beat out of just that much. When,' in fact, they are benefited by it, Yours respectfully, ' H. E. LEACH. Guaranteed for 15 Years No More Roof Exoense Dr. John M. Fulton, Audubon, la. The republicans are publishing throtigh their subsidized press what great things Mr. Roosevelt will do when he gets homo from his lion hunt. They have been busy at this; predicting for the past seven years, but with all his "trust busting" pro clivities not a single trust was Mbusted" nor a malefactor landed in jail. He did nothing that could be construed as ''progressive." 'He' did not even appoint a progressive to office when he had the opportunity. His appointment of Taft to carry out "my policies" now puts him in the position of a physician, who, upon being called to attend a patient had other duties that compelled him to refuse the call. In such an emer gency he recommended another physician whom he claimed would carry out the same kind of treatment as he would himself if he were there. But the patient finds out to his great grief that the physician sent was incompetent; that he did hot try to carry out the - treatment of the family physician and thereby the health of the patient was lrrepair ably injured. Where would the pa tient place the blame? Mr. Roose velt is in the place of the family physician. The patient is the public anxiously waiting for a revision of the tariff downward as was promised last fall, and other needed reforms. Well we remember the republican campaign cry last fall, "After Elec tion." Mr. Roosevelt will not be nearly so popular when he gets home to find out that the man he recom mended to carry out "my policies" has not "made gdod" and the blame will be laid at ' hjs dopr. Jf it had not been for the promise t1a.ai was made that Taft would enrry out the promises made in the Chicago plat form and part of them known as "my policies," Taft would have, never been elected. When you use Dlckelman Extra your roof troubles are over." ur 15year cuaranty stamped on every roll and civen to you in black and white protects you absolutely. It simply means that you will have no more roof expense no more roof troubles for at least lh Vfnr nftnr tJin Aain x,nti nnuloo ti. M.wa iui at likely you will never have to roof the same building again. DICKELMAN EXTRA Galvanized Metal Roofing We euarnntpn it fnr-TK vnnrc huf Irnnw if mill laet n,u i.i i- We know that nnr rnnfini Tvlitrh wnc nnf nr tr vnn. . ., .imi f- ... condthonanCL should last 25 years longer. We do not simply tell you or -promise you our roofing will last for 15 yearswe guarantee It. Ask vour dealer nhnnt DICKELMAN EXTRA. If he doesn't sell it, write us at once for sample and ourvaluable roofing book sent prepaid. Know why ve can grmranfte oar roofine 2,years whue others make vague promises that mean nothing. The secret of the durability of Dlckelman Extra liesvin. the wonderful system of galvanizing and the high quality of the materials used. The metal sheet we use for a base is made by a special process which leaves it tough yet Dliable ally 'JMjMPra a part of the finished sheet. This prevents it from crackine-1 .scaung wearing or rusting off. The Dlckelman Manufacturing Co. 73 Gormley fit, .FOREST. OHIO W ... I. ,tt Send Now for Sample , Get tw Ifiek ad sanple, to yes caa test It to know for yoanelf iU ta per! writy. W. H. T. Wakefield, Mound City, Kan. The article by S. D Bailey on page 3 of your issue of the 10th inst., voices the views of many dem ocrats. This note of despondency is to be deplored, though .it is not with out cause. Ever a Jeffersonian dem ocrat and always an ardent support er of Mr. Bryan, yet for years I have had little hope of democratic success at the polls nor of any considerable benefit to the common people a& a result of such success. This lack of hope is because the party has seldom, and upon the most- important issue never taken an independent and logi cal position of its own and adhered to it long enough to attract the peo ple. By the "most Important Issue" I mean the tariff question, or the question of national taxation as a whole. The democratic policy of a "tariff for revenue only" is illogical and indefensible. Considered as a method of taxation It ignores both benefits received in return for the tax and ability to pay it, making it In fact a head tax upon men, women and children, the expenditure of which inures almost solely to the al ready wealthy classes and of their political satraps. It is not a tax on property nor on special privilege, but upon labor and production for tho benefit of property and special privi lege, hence is distinctly class legisla tion. As a challenge to the protec tive idea it fails because if Is but a smaller chip from the same block with a natural tendency to rapid growth. A tariff for revenue only is as protective to its extent as if avowedly for protection and no clear line can possibly be drawn between tho two systems. We now produce so cheaply that -a tariff sufficient to Taise any considerable revenue will furnish sufficient protection fn v elude foreign goods and enable tho trusts to continue their extortions Can- one imagine a congress engaged in framing a revenue tariff in which there 'will not be a secret, subtle corrupting influence exerted to raise tho rates to a protective basis? Tho plea of necessity for more revenue would always be a sufficient excuse for those congressmen whose cam paigns had ben secretly financed by the ones profiting by higher duties. A tariff of any kind is a restriction of natural freedom incompatible with American ideas of equal rights for all, special privileges to none, a re striction inherited from the mon archies of Europe of 150 years ago. I know that a portion of the demo cratic party favors an income tax, but pnly. as supplementary to .a tariff tax, hence do not propose to abandon th,a tariff as the chief source of na tional revenues. While an income and an inheritance tax are desirable to reduce overgrown fortunes, or w.ould be if they could be made to "stay put," the trouble is that they can be largely evaded or shifted to others, in higher prices as tariff taxes are. The only sound principle of tax ation is, tjie reciprocity tax, which means the payment to organized so ciety (nation, state, etc.) of the val ue of jthe social or economic privilege received from society, such as fran chises, the right to the exclusive use and possession of valuable lands, mines and water powers. All econo mists agree that this is the only tax which can not ,be evaded nor shifted that stays put that it takes noth ing , from "labor" which labor has produced, these being socially pro ducqd values, hence public property, yet are the values wjiich now go to nake millionaires Such a system of taxation - would give an economic basis of rdejnocracy, without which democracy has e.yer .been' the. basis of aristocracy everywhere and the dem ocracy that does not destroy it is certain to be destroyed by it. Our franchise values alone would easily raise all our necessary national rev enue, or, if all public utilities were owned by the public and gave servico at cost,, only 50 to 60 per cent of the" rental values of land, exclusive 6 improvements, would raise all our national, state and local revenues. This would abolish the taxation now paid by labor on all (it eats, drinks and' wears, from the (cradle to tho grave, and by rendering it less profit able to hold land Idle and more profitable to put it to its best use would double opportunities for em ployment, raise wages,, cheapen pro duction and cost of, living, destroy trusts ,and monopolies. These are thq fundamental issues' between de- - I, i . , . ii ii - - mm WORD AND WORKS Word and Works, now eighteen years old,, has achieved a splendid roputation among American magazines. The monthly weather forecasts by Rev. Irl R. Hicks are now, as they always have boon, the leading feature of this popu lar 'magazine. But fn addition to Rev. Hicks'- monthly weather forecasts Word and Works contains, a variety or interesting matter in its numerous de partments. ' ' '! HICK'S' AliMAN'XO " Tho 17th annual edition of this popu larr almanao is moro (interesting and mor.e valuable, than ever before. The 1910' almanac contains Hot only tho wddther predictions of Mr. Hicks but valuable original astronomical mattor and. imuch other practical mattor. Wo have made arrangements by which vo are able to malco a llboral combination offer of Tho Commoner to gether with Word and Works and tho Hicks' Almanac for 1910. the Commoner $1.00 , 'Hicks' Almanac ...;....., .00 Wo.rd anq Works .,.,. .,. . 1.00 i .! 92.30 OPtfr a limited time' we. fire going to o(fprj;both papers and .the,. almanac to Commoner readors at a .total cost ot fl.16," This is a bargain In reading matter.) Show It to your friends and advise them to subscribe at ongo. Send all 'subscriptions to" The Com moner, Lincoln, Neb. ' - a ji -ii I V ' ,. !'-. W wfr-fcfjfcldt