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The Commoner,
VOLUME 11, NUMBER 30
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WIOKEIISHAM'S CHARGE
' Attornoy-Gonoral Wlckoi'sham flays that tho
law 'of supply and demand no longer controls;
that' FOR YEARS the prices of ALL THE
GREAT STAPLE INDUSTRIES have been
FIXED BY AGREEMENT among tho principal
producers. What an Indictment to bring against
four 'terms of republican rulef Tho administra
tions hnvo beon republican during J all thteso
years, and until March 4, last, tho''senato -and
house were In sympathy with the president.
H6w will republicans explain this neglect of tho
interests of tho peoplo? Was It duo to failure
to enforce tho laws? Or was tho law lnsufll
clont? And, If so, why did not republican presi
dents, senators and congressmen rccomrrfdnd
and pass now and sufficient laws? The demo
crats havo criticised the republican party but
it Is doubtful if any democrat has used harsher
language than Attorney-General Wlckorsham
does when ho declares that the-law -of supply
and- demand has beon suspended and that prices
aro fixed by combination. . .
SOCIALISTIC MR. WICKERSHAM - .
' In lils address boforo tho Minnesota' State
Bar- association at Duluth, Attorney-General
Wickersham outlined with approval "a course1 of
action that should bo highly satisfactory' to the
socialist party.
Tho law of supply and demand, said Mr.
Wlckorsham, no longer controls prices in the
United States. For years tho prices in all
tho great staple industries have been fixed by
agreoment among tho principal producers and
not by a normal play of free competition. There
fore, declared the attorney-gonOral of the United
States, the Interstate commerce commission,
should bo given power to fix the prices of com
modities just as it prescribes the rates td btf
chargod by tho railroads.
This Is a most remarkable assertion to come
from tho cabinet ofilcer responsible for the en
forcement of laws designed to insure the play of
free competition. It is worthy of note that Mr.
Wickersham's recommendation is" in line with
recent declarations made by the head of tho
United States Steel corporation, 3udge Gary,'
who wants tho government to step In and fix
the prices'of steel products. ' -
' '"Mr. Wickersham jumps lightly to 1 he ''con
clusion that regulation ol railroad rates by 'the
government constftiitos a- procede'ntfor the" fix
ing of prices of commodities-by -the government
There is a fundamental difference between a
public enterprise such as a railroad and private
business, supposed to be competitive. The
activities of the former can not be carried on at
all without a grant of special privileges by
government, such as franchises and the right to
invoke the power of eminent domain. On the
other hand any one ought to befree to engage
in private business.
It is not a long step from the policy of fixing
prices for commodities to the adoption of the
socialistic program of common ownership and
operation of all the means of production. In the
public utility field the alternative to effective
public control Is public ownership. But are the
American people willing to follow Mr. Wicker
sham in conceding that the same principle is
properly applicable to industries heretofore con
sidered private and competitive in their nature?
Why not try the policy of seeking to restore
the conditions that will -make competition pos
sible? This means, for one thing, taking the
control of public service agencies, like the rail
roads, out of the hands of the men who are
stifling competition in the production and sale
of commodities. It means the removal of pro
tective tariff duties from articles that are
subjects of monopoly control and the modifica
tion of patent laws that have been manipulated
in the Interest of oppressive trusts. Chicago
Daily News.
WORLDWIDE
, In England the house of lords Is expected to
save itself by consenting to the practical aboli
tion of its power to veto tho action of the com
mons. In America the senate bows to the
public demand for the popular election of its
members.
.The progress of democracy is a world move
ment. Imperial Germany and republican France
have much the same programs of governmental
activity. The "activity" is for enlarging the
rights of the plain people, and these rights aro
not the abstract eighteenth century "rights of
man." They are concrete rights to eat, to work
to bo healthy and to be safe. '
Tho Lloyd-George budget of the English
Asquith ministry was the relative counterpart of
the Kansas platform drafted by Governor Stubbs
and William Allen White. Roosevelt's Osawa
tomio speech was the same thing.
The genius of democraoy is doing very well,
thank you. It does as well, incidentally, where
there is a written constitution as where there
isn't. A written constitution, Jacking elasticity,
sometimes, of course, impedes progress im
pedes it, that is, until tho public geta-its mind
well mado up as to what it wants and then the
written constitution moans what the peoplo
want- it to mean. .
' If you don't believe that the meaning of n
written constitution changes .without a change,
of words, consider the instance following: The
supremo court of the United States held- in the
case of Munn vs. Illinois back in the '70s that
a public service corporation took its franchise
subject to any later conditions the people whp
granted it might impose. If the legislature de
manded a rate which confiscated the investment
that was unfortunate, but was a risk which the
investors had taken.
Without' any amendment of the constitution
the court deserted the Munn case and nullified
regulating statutes which did not appear to the.
court to be fair. The pendulum of constitutional
construction is now swinging back though' it
my never get back to tlfe judgment (or was it
obiter dictum) of Chief Justice Waite.
Now, the point is that an organic law which,
changes, under many influences judicial death,
judicial appointment, popular pressure, special
privilege pressure, etcis not a barrier which
democracy may not overleap. It may be dan
gerous and tedious to depend upon "construc
tion" for -the law. But, lacking a better way, it
serves.
At any evet, here is a worldwide movement
of democraoy making fairly eyen progress in
kingdoms and republics, under constitutions and
over no constitutions, and connecting up races
as remote of kin as AnglOrSaxon and Turk and
Japanese. Kansas City Star.
SENATOR BAILEY'S OPINIONS
Senator Bailey is quoted" as saying: "He
(Mr.. fcryan) has been three .times the preslden-"
tial .nominee of our party and each defeat was
more decisive than the preceding' one." Sena
tor Bailey adds that with sucharecord i't would
be only Natural that "Mr. Bryan'woujd modestly
distrust his capacity to select a successful Can
didate." '
This might be a reason why Mr. Bryan should
not be a candidate himself but, as Mr. Bryan
did not select himself, why should Mr. Bryan
leave the selection of a candidate to Senator
Bailey? What skill has the senator shown in
selecting successful candidates?
Mr. Bailey was largely instrumental in select
ing Judge Parker in 1904 and Judge Parker
polled a million and a quarter less votes than
Mr. Bryan. What is there in this record to
justify Senator Bailey in assuming to pick out
a -winning candidate now?
But that is not Senator Bailey's only failure
to select wisely. In 1908 Senator Bailey urged
the nomination of Mr. Bryan. He was elected a
delegate to Denver on a platform declaring for
Mr. Bryan and ENDORSING THE NEBRASKA
PLATFORM. It was suggested by Senator
Bailey's enemies that his real object was to
secure a personal vindication, but the senator
must, of course, insist that he acted in good
faith. Is it not at little unkind for the senator
to favor a third nomination after a second defeat
and then try to exclude Mr. Bryan from the
party councils because of three defeats?
And after guessing so badly on Mr Parker
and Mr. Bryan would it not naturally be ex
pected that Senator Bailey would "modestly dis
trust his capacity to select a successful candi-
QcIlG 4
DEMOCRACY'S TRIUMPH
The reduction of the British house of lords
to a position of secondary importance is one of
the democratic triumphs of the- century. It is
the most illustrious hereditary body on earth
but it bows to the will of the people and
acknowledges that henceforth the people of
Great Britain will speak through the elective
branches of the legislature. And this change
takes place just as the people of the United
States purge tho senate of its house-of-lords-features
by making its membership elective by
popular vote. "Let tho peoplo rule" is becom
ing more and more a world-wide slogan.
RECIPROCITY AT LAST '
The senate has ratified the reciprocity agree
ment and -we now await the, action of Canada"
The democrats deserve great credit for the
united support they gave the president. Thero
were only ten votes cast by de'm6cr,ats against
the treaty in the house and only three in the
senate. When the president .called a special
session of congress he did so because the demo
crats of the house had supported" the treatv
WITHOUT AMENDMENT in the last session. It
would have been a breach of faith to have em
barrassed the president with amendments after
he had convened the extra session. Fair deal
ing pays. By supporting the treaty in the last
session the democrats not only' secured SOME
relief from high tariff taxation, but they secured
an extra session with all that that has meant to
the democratic party and the country.
AFRAID OF PEOPLE'S RULE
"Evidently the thing to do is to turn govern
ment over to a small "minority, which is what
the advocates of direct legislation complain of
now. What they actually propose is to trans
fer government from the hands of an occasional
minority to the hands of a continuing minority,
destroy all the constitutional safeguards of
liberty, and then call it progress in the name
of tho people."
This. MUST be so, for it was printed in the
New York World, an organ that consistently
opposes any movement threatening" the domi
nance of the "continuing minority" of Wall
street over American politics.
HON. T. E. RYAN
In tho death of Hon. T. E. Ryan, democratic
national committeeman of Wisconsin, the party
loses one of its valued leaders.' Wise in council,
and active in the field, his services had earned
for him the distinction conferred upon him by his
party in selecting him national committeeman.
His place in the. organization will be hard to
fill. Mr. Ryan was more than a loyal demo
crat; he was a citizen in the-fullest sense -of
the term. He appreciated the responsibility
which accompanies 'participation'" in" a " govern
ment like ours, andlionestly endeaVordd to live"
up to those responsibilities;' The'-Commoner ex
tends sympathy to his family.
A STEP TOWARD SOCIALISM
When President Gary of tho steel trust and
Attorney-General Wickersham assume that com
petition is impossible in industry and argue in
favor of permanent private monopolies they
argue in favor of socialism. The only difference
between them and. socialists is that socialists
want government ownership while Gary and
Wickersham hold out on the delusion of regu
lation. We must return to competition if we
would avoid socialism.
THE COTTON SCHEDULE
- The cotton schedule, reported by the ways and
means committee, is all right. The raw ma
terial (cotton) is FREE and the reductions
made will bring a large measure of relief. The
farmers' free list, confers great advantage upon
the consumers also. Free hides made possible
free shoes, harness and leatherr The good work
goes on.
it
Mr. Underwood Is minted nn rjivIth thni the
country wants conerrcsa tn mi it. " Wnw rlnos he
know? Who says so? That is always the cry
of the special interests when reforms are be
gun. Why not appoint a committee to investi
gate the sources of Mr. Underwood's information?
The democrats have kept faith with the presi
dent on reciprocity they stood by him much
better than the republicans did. Now they can
proceed to reduce the tariff. Will tho president
stand by them?
Senator Bailey led only" two democrats In his
final and futile attack on reciprocity. Surely it
is mortifying to be read out of the councils of
the party by a man whose influence has dwindled
to that! '
Senator Stone deserves great credit for his
fight for reciprocity. Ho did not loso a point.
President Taft thanks the democrats for sup
port given the reciprocity1'' agreement. We ap
preciate it but the obligation" is all on our side.
He helped us to make a breach in the wall.
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