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DECEMBER MUYSL
thefe would be" no such thing as restriction of
Immigration.
According to tho bureau of statistics, the
value of Imports into tho United States from
Russia during the present calendar year will
amount to $14,000,000 principally in hides,
skins and wool. The value of export from the
United States to Russia during the year is
SSJvw&Snn !24'000'00, showing a balance of
$10,000,000 in favor of the United States.
Russia also buys much American cotton in Lon
don, , and with this included tho total
value of American goods sent into the empire
iAlsHmatd at $35000,000, a balance of $21,
000,000 in favor of the United States. The
American exports are . principally manufactures
of agricultural machinery and cotton.
President Taft's announcement first in a
letter to 'the foreign relations committee and
then, in a message to the senate that ho had
taken upon himself the responsibility of notify
ing Russia of the abrogation of the treaty, did
not come as a surprise. It was learned last ,
night that he had taken stops to terminate the
. pact, and in Associated Press dispatches it was
stated that the senate expected to hear today
that, he had sent notification t6 the Russian
government through American Ambassador
Guild at St. Petersburg. It also was stated that
the notification had been couched in the politest
diplomatic language and that the date of the
termination of the treaty had been fixed for
January 1, 1913.
All of these facts became public soon after
' . ,theJfdreign relations committee met at 11 a. m.
, i '.The committee was in session for nearly three
hours, but the only points discussed were
whether the house should be considered in the
v: V . matter, and whether the senate should act in
: v- ''. Pen session rather than behind closed doors
' , A1" , -as customary when dealing with foreign affairs.
'-'. l'tf" ' ' It was decided to recoernizn thn hnuan hv
'making tho resolution ratifying the president's
action a joint one, and it further was decided
. -to debate"" the matter in the open. Senator
Heyhurn later in the senate protested against
this decision, declaring the matter should be
taken "Up in executive session.
'"Senator LodtTA TYffirmVorl the rocnlnftnn Whlnh
the committee, approved aricl it .followed the
't&t :ofthe Dr-esidentf.Wfo 'tAr iWin in th
r diplonia,cy ' of its expression. There was no
suggestion of a violation of '.treaty pledges in
; - the resolution, as in the house, document. Sena
tor Hitchcock reserved the right to oppose the
:;; Lodge resolution in the senate, and later intro-
duced a substitute. which followed the 'form , of .
'- tne suizer resolution, with -the declaration, or
JiV-V violation of treaty pledges by the Russian
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government.
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W&Bs- -Senator juuiherson said tonight tnat he could
sw-i.-r. nof vonfi'irft n. nrnrHnHnn na to how far tho
fttn J" democrats of the 'senate would go jn their
opposition to tne .uouge resolution or any otner
resolution approving the action of the president
' in talcing the matter out of the hands of con
gress, following the adoption of the Sulzer
". resolution in tho house;
"There is a feeling among the democrats," he
..i' --., . . . - .a- - ... i. i a. i- . x i a -.
Pss'i Uhurtder. I tninn tne country ougnt to ue uiuue
, acquainted witn tne racts.
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Tmmra SERVICE PENSION
'J0&t?' The action of the democratic -house in pass
ing a "dollar-a-day" pension Dili is oeing inauo
-the .object of wide-spread attack by political
ft
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The Commoner.
' ' SHALL THE PEOPLE RULE '
PASS IT ALONG
The democratic precinct club organization
work Is now proceeding in an encouraging way.
Every Commoner reader ought to help in this
work. The headquarters of this movement has
prepared a pledge to which it asks the signa
tures and address of all democrats who want to
keep the democratic party true to its great mis
sion. Tho Commoner prints herewith a copy
of this pledge and asks every reader to clip
tho samo and forward it to Senator Robort L.
Owen, chairman Federation Democratic Proclnct
clubs, Washington, D. C. Tho headquarters will
Bond out on request printed copies of this
pledge Hero It is:
i i, Anf mnnf lomnArnUft hlnnrfor. on the
national scale, since the election of 1910," and
a-i'cowardly surrender by the democrats to the
pension, machine." It is a" "vicious measure"
and an "unblushing raid on the treasury," ac- ,
cording to the Post. The Chicago Tribune, the
leading republican organ of tho middle west,
' ays it has "always been a friend of the old
soldier" but declares it "can not stand for tho
measure." Like the Post, it brands, the service
pension bill as "a raid on tho national treasury
' and 'demands that, if it passes the senate, it be
vetoed by President Taft.
" We can hardly believe that these expressions
v reflect any considerable public sentiment. It is
-almost forty-seven years since the war ended.
... the boy of; twenty, who volunteered in 1802,11
he still Uvea is now an old man of seventy, lo
:'draw .his dollar a day pension he must have
'served at least a year as a soldier, and have a
' present income less than .OOO a year.
-It -must take an extraordinary vivid magina-
tipn to see "wasteful extravagance 'in thus pay-
4n $30 a month pension, after fifty years, to
.poor .old men of seventy years and oyer who in
"Shall the People Rule? is tho
Overwhelming Issue" Democratic
National Platform, 1008.
PLEDGE
The Presidency In 1012. Let Us
Organize
I believe in The Rule of the People, and the party and tho legal mcclmnlHm to make It effec
tive; an Honest Registration and Election Laws, a thorough going Corrupt Practices Act and
in the Election of Senators by tho direct voto of tho people.
I favor the election of party committeemen and of party delegates to tho Democratic National
Convention of MEN who are KNOWN to favor the Pcoplo's Rulo Program as abovo Indicated and
the progressive principles of tho Jeffersonlan Democracy.
It is of tho utmost importance to the masses of tho pcoplo that a man bo nominated aB candi
date for the presidency who Is Democratic from Principle, who Is Identified with the Progrcjudvo
Movement to bring tho government closer to tho people and make It rospouBlvo to tho peoples'
will and one who is Courageous Enough to lead a fight for such principles.
I will endeavor to attend all Caucuses, Conventions mid Primary1 Elections of tho party and
will assist in organizing a Democratic Precinct Club in my proclnct as a part of tho National
Federation pf Democrat Precinct Clubs. and will assist In making effective tho principles abovo
set forth in seeing that tho Democrats are rogiste'red and attend tho primaries and elections.
Name.
P. O,
County R. P. D,
NOTE If you favor the above principles and desire to see them onactod Into law kindly sign
this slip and mail it to R. L. Owen, Chairman Federation Democratic Precinct Clubs, Washing
ton, D. C.
(SEE OTHER SIDE)
On the reverse side of this pledge the following appears:
fV
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t r
,r
AN APPEAL
Tho time for action" is at hand and we appeal to progressive democrats to im
mediately write for. copies of tho constitution, by-laws, organization blanks and
literature for use in organizing precinct clubs that will affiliate with tho State and
National Federation of Democratic Precinct "Clubs in an effort and determination
to have the Democratic platform declare for progressive principles and to nominate
candidates who are In sympathy with and who will wage a fight in behalf of the
principles set forth in the platform. Address
THE FEDERATION OF DEMOCRATIC PRECINCT CLUBS
Bliss Building, Washington, D. C.
health to serve their country on tho field of
battle for $13 a month!
Our national government is lavish, even
wasteful, in its general expenditures. Senator
Aldrich, when chairman of the senate finance
committee, said it wasted at least $300,000,000
a .year that could be saved by a business-like
administration of Its affairs. The cost of tho
seryice pension will be an average of perhaps
$40,000,000 a year for a very few years. In
a little while the last veteran of the great war
for freedom and nationalism will have gone to
his long rest. In the meantime, if President
Taft and his aids will institute that business
like administration of which Senator Aldrich
spoke there will be no occasion to use the veto
on tho soldiers pensions. They can save enough
to nay those pensions fivo times over every year,
and still have $100,000,000 left out of the sav
ings alone! . . .
Under the circumstances, we fancy the presi
dent will think twice before using the veto.
Omaha World-Herald.
THE LAST STRAW
According to a Washington dispatch, the tariff
board will report that the middleman, not the
tariff is to blame for the increased cost of liv
ing 'in other words, tho board will solemnly
find that there are.no trusts brought into being
by the tariff to take advantage of practical
monopolies afforded, and that the whole trouble
is caused by tho middlemen who sell .to con
sumers tho goods they buy from the manufac-
If such, a report is made, it will be to Mr.
Taft's back as that last straw was to. tho camel,
for he vetoed all tariff reduction measures on
the ground that the tariff board was the only
authoritative body, and that its findings must
not be anticipated or interfered with. Denver
News.
TIES PSYCHOLOGY OP A CORPORATION
LAWYER
Fow corporation lawyers in the United States
haVe been more serviceable' to their clients or
reaped a larger reward from their practice than
Samuel Untermyer. Yet Mr. Bryan is almost
conservative in his views on that trust" ques
tion, the corporation question and the "money
power" when compared with Mr. Untermyer,
whoso opinions are set forth in an interview
cabled from Paris and printed in the World
this morning.
Mr. Untermyer's radical theories do not seem
to have interfered, however, with the practice
of his profession.. If he is sincere ho is a
very Remarkable man. If he is not sincere he
Is still more remarkable, New York World.
J, F. Fassett, San Francisco, Cal. I wish yoa
would let me say through the columns of The
Commoner, to tho C,500,000 voters who havp
three times "fought a good fight," and as we
had hoped "finished tho course" and as we
know "kept the faith," that all signs point to
the necessity of again buckling on our armor
and giylng the special interests another fight.
-But, voters, in the name of God, who can we
trust to-lead us? ,
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