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The Commoner.
VOLUME 10, NUMBER 1
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WILLIAM R. HEARST has brought suit
against tho Associated Press and a number
of nowspapors, among these, tho Louisville
Courier-Journal, on tho charge of libel in con
nection with tho publication of tho story of
Mayor Gaynor's recent attack upo.. Mr. Hearst
at a Now York banquet. Mr. Hearst announces
ho will make vigorous prosecution of all these
publications. Replying in tho Courier-Journal,
Henry Wattorson says: "It is given out that
Mr. Hearst will personally come to Kentucky to
direct and conduct tho suits against us. Wo
sincoroly hopo that this will prove to be true.
In that ovont, wo shall try to make his sojourn
lntorosting. If ho will agree to take the stand
and answer under oath certain lnterrogativ.es
which tho attorney of the Courier-Journal is pre
pared to ask. him, not only will this interest
bo augmentod, but, ' in advancq, the Courier
Journal company will agree to, pay him double
tho amount .of whatever judgment ho may
obtain."
AN ECHO of tho incomo tax fight in the New
York legislature was Heard when it was
openly charged on tho floor of tho house, that
Mitchell E. Friend had admitted that ho voted
against tho federal incomo tax amendment in
ordor to save his seat in tho house which had
boon contested by his republican opponent.
Friond hold his seat by a vote of 107 to 24 and
It was chargod that tho up-state republicans were
forced to voto for Friond because of this agree
ment. Assomblyman Murray charged that
Friend had confessed to, Minority Leader Frisbio
that ho had changed his voto on tho income tax
proposition in order to secure a favorable re
port in his contest case. Murray called upon
Friond to deny Oils charge, 'but Friond refused
to speak. It Is proposed that Friend be pro
ceeded against under the constitutional provi
sions prohibiting such agreements as Friend was
charged with having mado.
NOW THE newspaper correspondents say that
worry over politics was tho cause of King'
Edward's death. In support of this claim they
clto tho statomont which the king's physicians
published over their signature in a London news
papor. This statomont follows: "His majesty
had for some years suffered from, emphysema,
with attendant bronchial catarrh, signs of which
wore permanently present at the base of tho
lungs. On several occasions digestive disturb
ances had caused his medical attendants to
realize that his majesty no longer had tho re
serve constitutional power which had stood him
in such splendid stead after his serious opera
tion in 1902, and that any intercurrent catarrhal
or bronchitlc attack of a serious kind would
at once call upon both heart and lungs for their
fullest effort. It must here be said that those
around him know how earnestly concerned ho
was at tho present strained position of political
affairs and this fact should not bo lost sight of
in an all round consideration of tho king's
health."
BY A VOTE of 200 to 126 the house of repre
sentatives passed the railroad bill after Mr
Taft's framework of it had been materially
changed. Before tho bill was passed Representa
tive Adamson of' Georgia, senior democratic
member of the committee on interstate and
. foreign commerce, moved to recommit the bill"
i with Instructions to strike from it tho first six
paragraphs, which provide for tho establishment
of tho court of commerce. This Is President
I Taft's pet idea. Tho motion was defeated 157
J to 17G. Tho third roll call was forced on the
; passage of the bill. On this vote the Insurgents
'dropped back under tho party standard. The
(following democrats voted for tho passage of
the bill: Representatives Havens of New York'
Hughes of New Jersey, Pou, Webb, Kitchin and
PaS Q Naort c Garner, Gillespie, Rus
l sell and Smith of Texas, Jamieson of low?
( un4erVf fVirginia' and Bartlott of Nevada!
. Tho Washington correspondent for the Now York
World says: '"Tho bill as passed by the houSo
. today has had stricken from it tho two sections
to which the chief objection of the democrats
and insurgents were registered namely, tho
paragraph providing for the legalizing of traffic
agreements 'pooling and the paragraph
legalizing mergers. Of the new matter inserted
the 'long and short haul' clause Is considered by
tho insurgents as their greatest victory of the
present session of congress."
REPRESENTATIVE Adamson of Georgia who
led the democratic fight against the railroad
bill, said that the worst feature of the railroad
bill was the stock and bond provision. "Fortu
nately, however," he added, "that could not be
enforced even if the senate should leave it in.
Tho courts will knock it out. I fought that part
of the measure because of its unconstitutionality
but I am not at all alarmed at it for the very
reason that the courts would immediately pro
nounce it a violation of the constitution. Tho
democratic minority accomplished all they ex
pected. We have got rid of the pooling and
merger clauses which are the next two features
to the worst of them all. We have eliminated
the proposed control by the attorney general of
all litigation and restored that control to the in
terstate commerce commission. I would have
been glad to get rid of the commerce court but
that is really the least of the evils and one large
ly offset by other advantages that we gained.
The president says ho will not stand for our
long and short haul and physical valuation pro
visions but he can not get them out. What is
he" going to do about it?"
AN IRISHMAN, P. E. Smith by name, writes
to the New York World to pay this tribute
to the late King Edward: "The Irish through-,
out the world would normally be inclined to hear
of the death of a British monarch, as of the de
struction of the whole British nation, without a
ripple of emotion. Toward Edward VII. they
had, however, a kindlier" feeling than toward any
of his predecessors. The late king was a strong
home ruler. He greatly liked the Irish and tried
hard to gain their affection. He was much dis
tressed by his reception in Ireland the people
polite, but silent and idly Indifferent. He was
so well disposed toward the religion of the Irish
that he is supposed to have been secretly a
Catholic. But were he none of these things he
would still have remained a high-minded, gallant
and lovable gentleman. Requiescat in pace."
O
THE QUESTION of a new American cardinal
has agitated Catholic circles recently and
political circles have not been entirely undis
turbed. It seems however, that many people
are doomed to disappointment on this line A
Rome cablegram, carried by the Associated
Press, says: "It is announced that the pope has
struck off from the list of candidates for the
cardinalato, all Americans, including the arch
bishops of New York, St. Paul, Chicago and' NeV
Orleans. The chancellory of the Vatican con
firms this without volunteering an explanation.
The question of a1 new American cardinal has
been prominently discussed, but no definite de
cision has ever been reached. Those most prom
inently named as candidates have been Arch
bishop Farley of New York, Archbishop James
Edward Qulgley, Chicago; Archbishop John Ire-
l?indi0fxTSt- au1' and Arclibishop James H
Blenk, New Orleans. The Rome Tribuna has
on various occasions referred to the probabilitv
of the creation of a new American cardinal and
has named Archbishops Ireland and Farlev as
the most probable candidates."
A THRILLING flight in a balloon and a nar
XX row escape from death were had recent! v
by A. H. 'Forbes of Bridgeport, Conn and J c
Yates of New 'York. Mr. Forbes h T vice .ureal
dent of the Aero club of America and Mr. Yates
is a New York business man. This was Yates"
first trip through the air and will probably bo
his last. Tho men lost control of their balloon
and it came to earth near the town of Center
Ky. Both men were badly bruised and were
removed to a farm house where their injuries
were cared -for. Speaking to a correspondent
for the Associated Press Mr. Forbes says: "Wo
left Quincy, Illinois, at 6:55 o'clock Monday
evening. We were hoping to strike favorable
air currents from the west that, might give us
a chance at the long distance record. We were
carried in a smi-circle, passing over parts of
Illinois, Missouri and Kentucky. Tuesday we
encountered intense cold, and a severe snow
storm at an altitude of 16,000 feet. Tuesday
afternoon at an altitude of 16,000 feet we ran
into another snow storm. Shortly afterwards
we shot up to 20,600 feet. From that time on
the cold was so intense that we became be
numbed and half stupefied and gradually, lost
power to control the balloon. I can not tell what
the altitude was just before we made our final
drop but efforts to let out gas by the valve had
not succeeded in bringing us to the ground as
fast as desired. Finally I decided to use the rip
cord before we lost consciousness entirely. In
some manner as yet undiscovered, the cord did
its work entirely too well and ripped the bag
frdhi top to almost the bottom. The descent
was terrific and I judge that for the last 100
feet there was very little gas, left in the balloon,
as it fell like a stone." ,
THE IDENTITY of the actual purchasers of
the Philippine friar lands and much other
information bearing on the sale of land in the
island of Mindanao are asked of the war depart
ment in three resolutions which the house passed
recently. An Associated Press dispatch says:
"The resolutions were introduced by Representa
tive Martin of Colorado in an effort to develop
whether there is or was any connection between
the American Sugar Refining company and
Henry W. Taft, a brother of the president, ana
the sale of the lands or the arrangement for
their sale. They were ordered favorably report
ed with some changes by the Insular affairs"
committee and their passage followed a spirited
colloquy between Chairman Olmstead of the
committee and Mr. Martin. A fourth resolution
by Mr. Martin bearing on the same general
question was tabled by the house on the recom
mendation of the committee as imposing a doubt-,
ful duty on the department. The resolutions'
direct the secretary of war to ascertain by cable'
'whether the Mindoro Development company has
been authorized to do business in the Philip-'
pines.' Mr. Martin insisted that the chief of the
bureau of insular affairs had testified before the
Insular . committee the real purchasers of the
land were Horace Havemeyer and a man named
Sempf!,,who was formerly vice president of the
American Sugar Refining company, 'and' another
gentleman associated with the Havemeyers In
the sugar business.' Mr. Gersdorff, the attorney,
brought into the transaction by the firm of
Strong and Cadwallader Henry W". Taft's firm
according to Mr. Martin, testified'.before the
committee that he was the attorney who carried
the transaction through and 'that Horace Have-
SSJf, -? Welch and Semfl furnished' the
money.' " . .v ,
rnn?S.!Wyers, Particularly are greatly
rhi Sf0etd.In a aeclsIn made recently by
Sonf i hpB fSUPree COUrt ln whIch deci-
??nii ! e that Punisliment must be propor-
eWaiinSS herring to' this decision,
PresT saVs- "S!?1?,011 for the Associated
xress says. The agitation among the lecal
profession arises from tho decision of the court
last Monday for the first time in its hisW in
setting at liberty a person convicted of an offLso
because there has been inflicted upon him 'a cruel
and unusual punishment ' Tf w!f ?J r.
of Paul Weems, an official in thliLi!? the CaS
vice in the Philippines hV JL ghthouse ser"
the bill of rights ?f the island Cas came u,ner
nounced that it must eiv , S? he, court au"
man methods for causing Sres!rt to inhvL
had been used toreCt? rbtato i?" -Zt
custom of sewing a parricide IntS a lea?hrT
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