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The Commoner.
6
.VOLUME 10, NUMBER U
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GOVERNOR GILLETT, of California, created
a sensation in prize lighting, circles when
ho sent a letter to the stato's attorney senoral,
U. S. Wobb, instructing him to see to it that
the Joffrlos-Johnson prize light, scheduled for
San Francisco July 4, does not comb off. in
his lotter the governor expressed his disapproval
of prizo lighting in unmeasured terms, directs
that tho aid of tho courts bo invoked to prevent
the match, and concludes with a positive order
that in caso tho plea for a restraining order
is not granted, and tho light Is hold, tho attorney
goneral shall proceed to gather ovidenco and
prosecute tho principals and those interested
In tho light for violation of the penal codo of
tho state. Tho letter declares tho supremo court
of California' has never defined a prizo fight,
and suggests an opportunity bo given to do so. "
ONE OF THE things responsible for Governor
Glllott's action was a telegram sent to
William R. Wheeler, president of tho San Fran
cisco chamber of commorco, by Representative
Bonnet of Now York on May 28. Tho telegram
was to tho effect that tho moral sontiment of
tho country was so opposed to tho fight that
unless It was prevontod there was grave danger
that congress would take unfavorable action on
tho resolution now before it, naming San Fran
cisco as the place for holding the international
celebration of tho opening of tho Panama canal.
Mr. Bonnet 1b a member of the foreign affairs
committee of tho house which has tho exposi
tion resolution under consideration. Tho con
gressional foreign affairs committeo will take
up tho resolutions of San Francisco and Now Or
leans asking for tho exposition. In view of this
fact Governor Gillett's, decision to stop tho fight
seoms to bo extremely Well turned. Maypr Mc
Carthy of San Francisco says that the prize figlit
G)lll surely take place in his town, as ho is in
favor of It and ho "Is running San Francisco."
Ho was mistaken, hawover, for the fight will be
held at Reno, Nev.
THE SALE of tjh? friar lands in the Philip
pines is kept conspicuously before the pub
lic by tho agitation of Representative Martin
of Colorado. Speaking in tuc house of repre
sentatives, Mr. Martin mado this bold state
ment: "I will resign my seat if, before any
fair-minded committeo, I can not show lh.mt
that tho present administration of tho Philip-
pine Islands 1b guilty of the grossest forms of
malfeasance In office. I know that tho sale
of tho Tala Friar estate to the executive secre
tary of the Philippine government, Mr. Frank
W. Carpenter, 1b the capBhoaf of official turpi
tude down to date. I have been trying for
several months to ascertain who got tho Tala
estate, and I am not all surprised now at the
delay in securing the information. General
Edwards, chief of tho insular bureau, must have
known that Carpenter had this estate when he
answered my first resolution of inquiry, but care
was taken not to give it out. In the report
Just received the sale of the Tala estate to
Carpenter is spoken of as a lease, tho lessee
hlnding himself to rent all the vacant land on '
tho Tala' estate and all lands now occupied
which may become vacant. The fact is, as
shown by another report in my possession, that
this was a progressive salo of the entire estate.
Carpenter getB the land as fast as tho tenants
aTo dispossessed. They will go as fast as ho
wants to take It over. Furthermore, until such
time as the final certificate of sale is executed,
Carpenter pays only six cents per aero per an
num on uncultivated land and only thirty cents
per aero on land from which ho produces a
crop that pays him a' not profit fixed in the
contract -of sale, while tho native tenants pay
$1.17 per acre, hit or miss. How does that
gtriko you as a cinch? I have a letter from a
former official of tho Philippine land office stat
ing that a- number of the officials in tho interior
department and land office bought themselves
choice locations in Bagulo, the summer capital
of the Philippines, and at choice prices. This
gummer capital was located up In the mountains
for the benefit of the Philippine commission and
other high In officialdom. A million dollars
were squandered on forty miles of wagon road to
connect Bagulo with the railroad. On August
5, 1909, the present law providing for virtual
free trade with the Philippines became effective.
It was since tho passage of that act, within
one month in fact, that tho acquirement of the
various plots of the friar lands began. These
aggressions on tho part of tho criminal trusts
of the United States marked tho beginning of
the stroke which will eventually prove the death
blow to the prospective independence of the
Philippines."
IN THE FIGHT for re-location of the Okla
homa state capital, Oklahoma City won out
by a majority of 60,000. Immediately Governor
Haskell and other state officials moved to Okla
homa City and established their headquarters
there on tho theory that the people had re
located it and that meant immediate re-location
and a dispatch from Guthrie says: "Develop
ments in the capital removal fight became more
acute at Guthrie today with the return here of
practically all state officials save Goyernor Has
kell and Secretary of State Cross. The officials
came back for tho argument on tho demurrer to
tho suit in tho district court to enjoin the re
moval of the capital. That Oklahoma has a
dual capital is no longer in doubt. Governor
Haskell and Secretary of State Cross are trans
acting official business under the original state
seal at Oklahoma City, while Assistant Secre
tary of State Leo Meyer has a duplicate seal
and Is transacting official business in Guthrie.
Tho supreme court and other departments of
state aro proceeding with their various duties
as if a capital removal election had not been
hold. The republican state committee this after
noon recognized the two capitals by filing at
both Guthrie and Oklahoma City referendum
petitions. Guards are stationed about the
Guthrio statehouso to prevent the removal of
records or other state property. Labor Com
missioner Daugherty was searched today for
state papers before leaving the city. Mayor
Farquhatson said tonight that he had given no
orders for the search and that he disapproved
the deed."
A GREAT celebration of the capital re-location
was had at Oklahoma City, June 15.
Governor Haskell addressed an immense audi
ence at State Fair park. An Associated Press
dispatch Bays: "Judge Huston is expected to
render his decision in tho demurrer to the
removal injunction tomorrow morning. Gov
ernor Haskell is to appear in the federal court
here on Friday on citation issued by Judge
Cotteral. No decisive move is expected on tho
part of Guthrie until the courts have passed on
the pending actions. Police are still on duty
about the state house today with instructions
to report at once any attempt to remove the
state records in violation of an injunction issued
by the court. Judge Huston of the district
court said he would rule on the attorney gen
. eral's demurrer to the injunction late this after
noon. In reply to Governor Haskell's demand
for an apology from Mayor Farquherson of this
city because of the action of a policeman in
examining the luggage of Labor Commissioner
Daugherty, the mayor today declared that the
city had no apology to make. The governor
declared that when the people of Oklahoma, by
an overwhelming majority, voted for the capital
location bill and by a much larger majority for
Oklahoma City as the permanent seat of gov
ernment he has no alternative than to come to
Oklahoma City to transact official business.
'There was never any merit in the claim that the
people of Oklahoma could not locate their state
capital wherever they saw fit,' Governor Haskell
said. 'The provision in the enabling act (which
required that the capital should remain at
Guthrie until 1913) was nothing more than
a suggestion to the constitutional convention,
and the constitutional convention refused to
adopt tho suggestion by a vote of more than
ten to one. Thereafter the people of the state
and the president of the United States in passing
upon the .rejection of the suggestion as em
phatically as they approved the affirmative acts
of the convention;' Governor Haskell's speech
was a feature of the statewide celebration which
was attended by people from all parts of the
state. Tho state election board hopes to an
nounce tho complete returns by tomorrow. Sixty
one counties show a majority of thirty thousand
for the location bill. Ten of the sixteen coun
ties yet to report woro favorable to the bill.
Sheriff Mahoney of Guthrie, today apologized
to the governor for the acts of inferior officers
in searching state officials and declared it was
not his intention to interfere with state officials."
FROM GUTHRIE the Associated Press sends
the following dispatch: "Closing up the
offices of the state treasurer and state auditor
today, and the consequent tying up of the finan
cial affairs of the state, marked a new phase
of the capital removal contest. Treasurer Mene
fee and Auditor Trapp say their offices will re
main closed officially until the capital removal
injunctions are determined by the courts. Not
a bill by the state is being paid and scores of
employes, chaffing urider enforced idleness, are
unable to draw a dollar. The corporation com
mission has not ceased to transact business and
tho school land department continues in opera
tion in a perfunctory way."
IN ITS ROOSEVELT symposium Collier's
Weekly prints the following letter from Mr.
Bryan: "In response to your request for a word,
I beg to say that the American people will ex
tend a very cordial welcome to ex-President
Roosevelt when he returns to the United States
after an absence of more than a year. They
appreciate what he has done in directing the
attention of Europe toward the public questions
which are of universal interest. His notable
speech at Paris made, a profound impression,
and his words are needed, in this country as
well as in Europe. Jt is now a little mor.e
than fifty years since Abraham Lincoln gave
expression to the idea that the man is more
important than the dollar; and the phrase that
he coined will not die. Mr. Roosevelt's state
ment that human rights are superior to prop
erty rights is but another way of stating the
same idea, and the truth that he stated is so
obvious that we may well be surprised that
it seemed to startle two hemispheres. However,
all truth is startling when epigrammatically ex
pressed, and it is sometimes necessary to ex
press the truth in a startling way in order to
call attention to it. But aside from the interest
that the people feel in what Mr. Roosevelt has
said abroad, they will welcome him home be
cause of the importance of the public questions
at issue in the United States. The ex-president
is a man of ideas, and he is able to give forcible
expression to them. Whether one agrees with
Mr. Roosevelt or not, one must be glad, if he
believes in free speech, to have him express his
views with characteristic clearness. Truth does
not shun discussion; it grows in the open, and
grows most vigorously where speech is free
and the opportunities for debate are broadest,
Mr. Roosevelt has evidently found renewed
strength in recreation, and political friends and
political foes alike will be pleased to see him
again in the political arejia, and they will wish
him length of days."
r OVERNMENT ownership of railroads in five
V years Is the prediction of an old time rail
road chief. A Chicago dispatch carried by the
United Press says: "E. P. Ripley, president
of the Santa Fe, predicted today In an inter
view with the United Press that within five
years the United States government would own
every line of railway within its domain. Ho
believes that the measure for government con
trol will be introduced in congress, at the Initia
tive of the government, for the purchase of all
the railway systems as an economic necessity
How much money will be required for the pur
chase, Ripley refuses even to estimate, but says -that
the present capitalization of the railway
systems Is not their total value. If the rail
roads are asked to name their price, Ripley says
they will ask more in nearly every case than
the capitalization at present. 'Within five years
certainly not more than ten years,' Baid Ripley'
'the United States government will own all th
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