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The Commoner
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VOLUME1 lf6r NUMBER 41
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inclination for vice;- for (thei tlio noiso of the
shop and tlio studyjbf tho profession have greater
charms thanvhauaU of infamy"? to them, plan
ning usefulness is far dearer than contemplating
crime.
There is another incentive to action, the neces
sity xf setting an example worthy of imitation.
Wo aro so bound together in the relationship
f"iifo, that each one exerts an influence upon
thoso about.himliindfJs:in turn affected by their
actions. Nor is this influence ended by tho con
flriee of the tomb. History is mado up of tho
words and deeds of men, and some are good,
Borne are bad influences. There must be action
jind this must ho directed by an honest heart.
Wo havo seen that labor is necessary for tho.
preservation of life, and that it also brings-happiness.
Wo havo seen, that as the healthy body
requires tho exercise of every limb, so tho pros
porous commonwealth demands that every one
shall aid ill its support. But there is one greater
than the body, greater than the commonwealth,
even He, who holds in His hands the destinies
of nations, who created Man and knows his
wants, "placed him in tlio garden to dress and
keep it." When for disobedience, the gates of
tho garden were closed against him, a like de
cree went forth, "in tho sweat of thy face shalt
thou eat bread." From smoking Sinai carife a
' command which Cannot be misunderstood, "Six
, days "shalt thou labor."
Creeds may differ and yet each proves its
position by- tho Bible, but upon this subject there
is no room for doubt. The dignity as well as the
necessity of labor pervades every pago of Holy
Writ. Throughout the old Testament and the
new, this principle is everywhere taught, "He
that will not work, shall not eat."
Years, centuries and ages have. passed away;
race after race have come and gone; nations
and empires have risen, flourished, and fallen,
yet changes are still taking place; all. about us
is still moving forward and we must keep abreast
with the onward march of time, we must employ
every talent and quicken every energy or yield
our places to others more willing to toil than
ourselves. Cities havo been built; magnificent
structures speak of the power of man; moving
palaces plough the ocean; the iron horse speeds
over the prairies, hills and valleys; nations and
continents converse through whispering wires;
colleges and universities of learning are scat
tered throughout the land; wise men are rising
to take the lead in law, in science and in the
ministry; but the work is not yet done, perfec
tion has not yet been reached. An infinity of
the unknown lies before us. It is open to all who
desiro the rewards of diligence, and to every one
comes tho command, "Go ye also into the vine
yard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye
receive."
MR. ROOSEVELT-IN MISSOURI
Ex-President Roosevelt's speech in Missouri
exhibits him in about as Ibad a light as possible.
He quoted some nameless correspondent who
slandered tho democratic party in the state, and
appealed to tho voters to vote the republican
ticket. No state in the union has had a. better
state government than Missouri and no repub
lican state goveiuiment has approached the dem
ocratic administrations in efficiency, honesty and
economy. No republican state is represented in
Washington by a congressional delegation which
deserved to be mentioned in comparison with
Missouri's democratic congressmen.
It is doubtful if in any other western state
tho standpatters have such, complete control of
the republican organization and yet in spite of
this fact, Mr. Roosevelt made a partisan appeal,
such as might have been expected from a ward
boss. One of the chief features of tho new
nationalism seems to be bitter opposition to any
body who calls himself a democrat, and blind
support of any one who calls himself a repub
lican, whether he is insurgent or standpatter.
JOHN A. DIX
people of New York state. Ho was always
quiot and unassuming in appearance, his placid
face, however, possessing that quiet self-contained
pose indicating strong reserve power; his
influence with his fellow students was in the
ascendent from tho start, his kind, lovable dis
position endearing him to all. He was incapable
of doing a mean or dishonest act, and in class
politics always stood for clean, honorable meth
ods. As he has been very successful in business
since leaving college and stands very high in
the commercial world, and through the inde
pendent manner in which the nomination' came
to him, exempt from bossism, the people of his
state will, by his election, be assured of a strong
business administration."
PINCHOT VS. ROOSEVELT
In' a newspaper interview given at Nashville,
Tenn., October 2, Gifford Pinchot said: "Tho
people of the west and the Mississippi valley
believe in protection, but they are not greatly
interested in' defense of tariff based on its al
leged virtues as a revenue producer. It is no
.-justification of the tariff to say that it pays.
This government is not reduced to the necessity
of raising its revenue by schedules which rob
the people. The essential fact about the tariff,
as the people see it where I have been, is that
it is unjust, a moral wrong, written by the ser
vants of special privilege for the benefit of their
masters, and intended not to help the small man
make a living, but help the big man make an
exorbitant profit, No amount "of statistics will
conceal, or modify that fact, or make many
schedules of the Payne-Aldrich tariff honest."
The Roosevelt platform adopted by the New
York republicans at Saratoga says". "The Payne
tariff law reduced the average rate on all duties
eleven per cent. By increasing thd duties on
some luxuries and arts, not of ordinary use,
making, however, no increase on any common
food product, It turned a national deficit into
surplus. Under its first year of operation the
value of imports free of duty was the greatest
in our history, $100,000,000, and the average
rate of duty was less than under the Wilson
law. Under that democratic law, its great re
ductions of duty have not stopped industry nor
deprived labor of any part of its hire. It gives
free trade with the Philippine islands and it
establishes a customs court. Its maximum and
minimum rates give us for the first time equality
in our foreign trade."
Can it be possible that Mr. Roosevelt has not
carefully studied the lessons given him by Gif
ford Pinchot and other republican insurgents?
Speaking of the democratic nominee for gov
ernor of Now York, O. J. Collman, a business
man of Lincoln, Neb., said:
"I was glad to see that my old college friend,
John A. Dix, was nominated for governor of the
state of New York on tho democratic ticket, and
while I am and always have been a republican,
I can not refrain from expressing my pleasure
at this recognition by a great party of those
qualifications in a candidate that are only found
in tho truly great men." While at Cornell Uni
versity I was for several years intimately asso
ciated with Mr. Dix, and was even at that time
Impressed with those strong characteristics,
-which havo since impressed themselves on the
BACK A LONG WAYS
At Crawfordsvillp, Ind., Mr. Roosovelt said:
"I feel as if I were taking part in a republican
campaign half a century ago then the republi
can, party won because it appealed to the people
on straight, clean-cut principles." That is go
ing back a' long ways. Can this be considered
that in recent campaigns including his own
the republican party has won on some other
ground? Possibly it oweB its recent successes to
the influence of the corporations In politics, and
yet Mr. Roosevelt and Mr. Beveridge were just
as enthusiastically for the republican ticket then
as now.
POPULAR GOVERNMENT SPREADS
On October 3 the first session of China's sen
ate convened. Forward, march! is the com
mand, and China has heard it and taken a step
in advance. The provincial assemblies have al
ready been established and according to the pro
gram the national parliament will open about
1915. China moves deliberately, but she
MOVES, and she moves us all other nations
do, toward democratic ideals.
ARE TOO PATIENT
The word impatient appears twice in the new
nationalism. It does nbt "accurately describe the
situation. The people are very patient, as is
shown by the fact that they have tolerated
abuses as long as they have, and the leaders
as stewards, if that word is tp be substituted,
ought to be patient with the people if the people
do not rush frantically toward the surrender of
local self-government.
Tho American Homestead, a monthly farm
journal of national scope, will he sent to all
Commoner subscribers, without additional' cost,
who renew their subscriptions during tho month
of October, when accompanied by this notice.
Practical Tariff Talks
In his defense of the tariff Mr. Payne takes
occasion to eulogize the sugar schedule; declar
ing it to afford perfect protection to tho Ameri
can grower and to give. the consumer as cheap
sugar as he can. get. in. anbst of. the markets of
the world. The sugar schedule, to the unin
itiated, is a puzzling one,, with its combination
of color and jpolariscope test, its scale of duties
based on sucrose content, its differential, and
the like. The discussions in the committee on
ways and means and in congress disclosed many
members una"ble to follow all of its windings.
Therefore, it is not difficult to believe that the
schedule is full of jokers, and they aTe all in
tended to benefit the refiner, not the grower
or tho consumer, The schedules were made by
the friends of the refiners, and they knew what
they we're' doing. A thorough discussion of the
sugar schedule would take too much space, but
here iff one joker: The average duty paid on
raw sugars imported into this country we im
port the major portion of the sugar refined and
Consumed at tho time the Dingley law was
.passed was $1.68 per hundred pounds. Un
der the new law all refined sugar imported pays
$1.90 per-hundred. This" is high enough to bo
prohibitive, and the American market is abso
lutely dominated by the sugar trust,nxing prices
not only to growers of cane sugar but to the
men who retail it. The difference between the
two figures given 2 aents is called a dif
ferential. It has two, purposes. One is to pro
tect the refiner because o higher cost of labor
and the other to make good to him the 6 or 7
per cent lost by. shrinkage in refining.
The real color of all sugar is white. The
process of refining consists entirely of putting
it through or over boneblack, which removes
impurities and whitens" It. Each white crystal
is covered with a pellicle of molasses, which
gives it color, and the refining merely removes
this. The labor cost s small. Under the old
law the differential was 26: cents, and after
deducting the loss caused by refining, the actual
protection given the refiner was approximately
12 cents, an eighth of a cent a pound, or
about 20 per cent of the entire cost of getting
sugar ready for the market. The term raw
sugar-means, in the trade, sugar of 96 per cent
purity. It costs half a cent per pound of sugar
refined to buy enough raw sugar of 96 test to
make 100 pounds of refined and to refine it,
put it in barrels and ship it. This is the claim
made by the refiners. The testimony before
edngress was conflicting. Sugar of 96 test, but
unrefined, could be sold for about 75 cents a
hundred less than is paid for refined sugar. Tho
trust makes use of what is known as the Dutch
standard. Its only purpose is to force the sugar
that would go direct to the trade through its
refineries, where a- toll of 75 cents to 90 cents
a hundred pounds Js taken. The cost of refin
ing is from 25 to 65 cents, depending upon
whose word is accepted.
The differential really serves the trust as an
other pry at the public pocketbook. When tho
Dingley bill was passed, as stated, all imported
sugar, save that from Hawaii, which came in
free, paid $1.68 per hundred duty. Later we
acquired Porto Rico, and the "sugar from there
conies in free. We also gave at the same time
20 per cent off on Cuban sugar and 25 per cent
off on imports from the Phjlinpines. Instead,
therefore, of all of it 'paying duty as when the
Dingley bijl was passed only a third paid full
duty within a short time thereafter. This has
had the effect of increasing the differential. The
average duty paid on importations in 1908 from
the countries that paid tho full duty in 1898
was $1.27 per hundred pounds. The tariff. dif
ferential was fixed ,on the basis of previous im
portations at $1.68. Meanwhile the duty on
refined sugar remained the same, $1.95. So the
differential was actually increased from 26.j
cents to 67.3 cents. Under the new tariff the
real differential, or protection is but 5 cents
less 62.3 cents instead of 21.5 cents. Instead
also of taxing Philippine sugar it was put on
the free list, which still further helps the trust
in the sense that it still further lengthens the
gulf between the average duty paid on importa
tions and the duty fixed on Yefined sugar in
creased the differential. C. Q. D.
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