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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (May 31, 1912)
w ww-"""""" T'TT-isSK-7j j;?mr i.'l i ri d I J A, M. , W'wfiiWtfTftiTBfBiiJt 1M1 m m .Thihim ,h.-.-i 3t i rc; "1 k', I a h t'i r I TK ,V K ji rf. !' V Wi. 5 The Commoner. The Big Fignt in the Republican Party Following nro Associated Pross dispatches: Washington, May 24. Tho bitterness of the fight that is to rago about the republican na tional committee when it begins consideration of tho contest cases in Chicago on Juno G was emphasized today by a statement from Repre sentative, William U. McKinley, head of tho Taft organization forces. Mr. McKinley de clared It was becoming apparent that Colonel Roosevelt and his followers will resort to every known means' to terrorizo the Chicago conven tion. "That the timo has come when tho moral stamina of tho leaders of tho republican party is to bo tested as it has not been since the civil war is certain," Mr. McKinley continued. "It is within tho powor of the national com mittee to make or break tho republican party for many years to come. The party is strong enough to withstand the shock of any attack from within or without, but no party can sur vive a compromise with principle or an aban donment of all principles." Jersey City, N. J., May 24. "I have enough delegates to renominate mo at tho Chicago con vention." That was Prosident Taft's declara tion today to a score or more republicans who mot him at the luncheon given in his honor by State Senator Freelinghuysen, of New Jersey, at Somervillo. Plainlield, N. J., May 21. In his speech here Mr. Taft said: "It is a very unwise and dan gorous thing to dapart from that wise tradition that limits a president to two terms. It is especially unwise with a man of Mr. Roosevelt's typo, with his capacity for appealing to the pub lic, his ability to arouse the elpments that are disturbing tho community, preaching the doc trine of discontent with his power and per sonality and his unsound constitutional views and with his impatience of legal restraint. "It would bo a calamity to put him in tho Whito house again. "Ho has that power of centering upon him self tho thought that he is equal to anything. It developed Saturday night in Cleveland in the statement that ho proposes to bo nominated at Chicago, and ho did not propose to have any body tako tho nomination away from him, and if they did and if they prevented his nomina tion, though he left the convention, those re maining would be bolters. And why? Because, he said, 'I am tho republican party organiza tion.' "My friends, I do not cite that by way of ridicule. I only cite it to show the character of tho man and to what ho has developed in re cent years, how little restraint he has npon his expression and upon his purpose, and I say to you in all sad conviction that were he allowed to hold a third term in violation of that wise tradition, intoxicated as ho would be with the sense of power coming from the conferring upon him of an office and an honor that has been denied to all tho most illustrious presidents of tho country, it would not be safe to have him there and under these conditions, those who love the republic must see to it that no such risk occurs to it." Camden, N. J., May 24. "We are going to beat the politicians right out in New Jersey next Tuesday," said Colonel Roosevelt at tho close of his second day's campaign in this state. "When wo got through with them in Pennsyl vania, there was not enough of them left to put in a coal scuttle, rt will be about tho same thing here." Washington, D. C, May 24. Mr. Mcl-Iarg Bald that he would have charge of all Roosevelt contests to be taken before the republican na tional committee this year, as he did four years ago for President Taft. "When the convention meets," said McHarg, "Tho Roosevelt strength will be such that we will control absolutely. Wo propose to or ganize that convention along lines that will not be at all comfortable for Senator Root to preside. That convention must have as chairman a man who is in .accord with Colonel Roosevelt's views and policies, and that means it must be some one other than Senator Root. It is obviously Impossible to have a chairman delivering a keynote speech who is out of sym pathy with Colonel Roosevelt and the progres sive cause. There is no other side to that ques tion." In discussing tho subject of the contests to be brought before the national committee, Mc Harg said there would bo at least 260 or 270 contested seats, as against 229 contested seats at tho 1908 national convention. Ho will re turn to Chicago June 3 to take up the active work of presenting contests to the committee on Juno 6. June 3, it was said tonight, will signalize the opening activities in Chicago for the final pre convention struggle between tho Taft and Roosevelt forces. On that date Taft and the Roosevelt national headquarters will be moved from Washington, D. C, to Chicago. Congress man William B. McKinley of Illinois will be in charge of the Taft headquarters, and United States Senator Dixon of Montana will direct the work of tho Roosevelt bureau. Special dispatch to tho Cincinnati Enquirer: Now York, May 22. A Washington dispatch to tho New York Times says: Senator Root today visited several of his col leagues on tho conservative side of the senate and sounded them about tho prospects of run ning a third ticket in case Colonel Roosevelt is nominated for president at Chicago. Those whom ho saw regarded tho nomination of Colonel Roosevelt as inevitable. Nothing definite was arrived at in these conferences, and Mr. Root himself did not seem certain whether the nomination of a third ticket would be advis ablo or not. Mr. Root and those with whom he talked seemed to regard it as certain that the delega tion would split in half; that Roosevelt would carry Now Jersey, and that a number of the states now nominally for Taft, such as Michi gan and Indiana, would swing loose and vote for Roosevelt. In tho apparently certain event of tho colonel's nomination the question of running a third ticket has como decidedly to tho front. There has been somo talk about nominating a sort of Palmer and Buckner ticket, with a re publican at tho head and a democrat at the foot, but tho prevailing sentiment has been in favor of running a straight republican ticket. Should this be dono there is a possibility of three republican tickets in the field, for friends of Senator La Folletto tonight said that ho would carry the fight against Roosevelt be yond tho convention and up to tho election. Whether ho does or not, the bolt by the con servatives seems imminently probable. No Taft man could bo found today who seriously ques tioned tho certainty of Roosevelt's nomination, and tho talk was all about what should bo dono after tho convention. J. PIERPONT MORGAN'S GREAT POWER News report in the New York World. Tho casual way in which the steel trust has absorbed ono of tho biggept of tho outsldo companies was revealed in tho hearing of the federal suit to dissolve the United States Steel corporation. Cool and precise in speech, Percival Roberts, jr., a member of the finance committee of the trust and formerly president of the American Bridge company, told how his company had be come a subsidiary of United States Steel cor poration. The hearing was in the custom house before Henry P. Brown, the special examiner. Judge Jacob M. Dickinson, tho former secretary of war, who is representing the government in tho investigation, asked the witness who it was that had conducted the negotiations between the steel trust and tho bridge company. "There wore no negotiations," Mr. Roberts calmly replied. "Do you mean to sit there and tell me that In a merger of this importance there was no correspondence, no negotiations between J B Morgan & Co. and the American Bridge com pany?" 'That is exactly what I mean. J. P. Morgan & Co. issued a circular to the shareholders of our company saying that they would exchange stock of the United States Steel corporation for that of the American Bridge company. All of tho Bridge stockholders who felt disposed to exchange their stock did so; those that did not didn't have to." "Do you mean to say that there were no nego- VOLUME 12, NUMBER 21 tiations preceding this proposal; no discussion about the basis of the exchange?" "Absolutely none. The Bridge company took no corporate action whatever in the matter. I was its president at the time and heard of no negotiations." "Then the first knowledge you had of the desire of the steel corporation to exchange its securities for yours was through the circular?" "No, I had had an interview with Robert Bacon of the J. P. Morgan company. At that interview he told me the United States Steel corporation was proposing to exchange its stock for that of the American Bridge company. Then he asked me if I would become a director of the steel corporation. I said I would. That was all." "Do you mean that you agreed to become a director of the steel corporation before you knew what you would get for your stock?" "I do." "Was anything said in the interview about the details of the sale?" "There was not." Judge Dickinson asked if the witness had any knowledge of a contract between the American Bridgo company and the Carnegie Steel com pany by which it had been provided that by the Carnegie company was not to build any steel bridges, viaducts, etc., for a period of ten years, in consideration of which the American Bridge company agreed to purchase from the steel company the material which it needed for the construction of bridges, elevated railroads, viaducts, etc., and that during this period tho steel company would refrain from manufactur ing or selling any bridge material. The witness admitted knowing of the contract. Judge Dick inson read it in full and had it inserted in the record. On cross-examination by the attorneys repre senting the steel interests, Mr. Roberts said that the output of the American Bridge company to day is about 33 per cent of the total output of the country, and that before tho formation of the eteel trust, the bridge company had controlled as high as 38 per cent of tho trade. Mr. Roberts was asked if there had been any pools or agreements on prices between struc tural manufacturers prior to the year 1900. He said there had been. John C. Langan, who had previously been commissioner of various steel pools, testified that it had been his duty to receive reports from members of the various pools bearing on shipments, tonnage and sales, and that from these he would send out a monthly statement to the members. "Those who shipped over their allotment," the witness explained, "had to pay into the pool, and this amount ware divided among those who fell under their allotted share. The association fixed the prices." "How long did these agreements last?" "Sometimes only till the members got out of the room." THE COST OF LIVING Figures compiled by Bradstreets show that the cost of living has advanced ten per cent the past year. When have the democrats had such an issue on which to go before the people in a national election? What does a ten per cent advance in the life cost in one year mean but an empty market basket for thousands upon thousands of American families? The tariff is doing all it can to give the democrats a live issue. The trusts are doing all they can to give the democrats a live issue. Mr. Roosevelt by his failure to enforce the Sher man law, by which failure the trusts were given enormous power to add to the life cost, has done ail he can to give the democrats a live issue. By his vetoes of the bills by which the demo cratic house sought to reduce the cost of food and clothing, Mr. Taft has done all he can to give the democrats a live issue. In their great struggle for the republican nomination, and in which neither Mr. Roosevelt nor Mr. Taft is demanding a reduction in the taxes on life necessaries but each is hurling epithet and invec- !!i, i. ,other the Present and the former titular heads of the republican party are doing w t0 gi,ve the democrats a live issue, to vlf, i efore did so many influences combine o nH ? demots an issue on which to fight a national campaign. tPiiX!ILth? Baltimore convention have the in naJ5nnSklt?I,D " 8ignificance of th emP .inlli6 Baltimore convention name a candi cvoJt t?m be a pledee against further in Journa CSt livinS? Portland (Oregon)