Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 24, 1913)
cwpf'? wjs&mw!y-!$rvgQ7 & The Commoner. TOLUME 13, NUMBER 3 tcA w fc The Commoner. ISSUED WEEKLY ICntored at tho PoBto'fflco at Lincoln, Nobranka, on nccond-cInflH matter. Wiixiam J. llllVAN Killlnrnnil 1'rnprlfitor JticiiAJii) L. Mi'rcAi.KK Aioclnti- rdllor Ciiaiii.wi W. JIItYAK I'titilMicr Kdltnrlnl Itootn mill JJiiHlnciw Olllrc. JM-3J0 Huulli 12th Htrcnt Oho Ycnr 91.00 Mix Mouth no In Clubn of Flvo or more, por year, , ,7f Three Month B KImkIc Copy B Hainplo CoplcB Free. Foreign Post, r2c Extra. NIJIINCHII'TIONS can bo ncnt direct to Tho Com moner. Thoy can also he Hent through nownpapera which have atlvortlacd a clubbing' rate, or through local agentn, where Btib-agontH liavo been ap pointed. All renilttanceH should bo Hent by post ofneo money order, oxpresB order, or by bank draft on Now York or Chicago. Do not send Individual thockH, stamps or money. OilANCJM oir AUIJHICSS Subftcrlbcrfl rcqueHtlng a change of addreaw niH.st give old an well an now MldreHB. ADVlCltTlSlNt Rntt-B will bo furnished upon application. AddrcsB nil communications to THE COMMONER, Lincoln. Neb. half holiday (Sundays In addition) for workers in factories and stows, seats for salesgirls, good ventilation, sarely elevators and guarded ma chinery; no night work for women or young people, no employment of boys or girls without pay, cash payment of wages, etc. Sweat shops liavo been practically abolished by thorough in spection, labeling of goods, prohibition of night work, lines for every violation, etc. 25). Jt alms to abolish the contractor system in public works and substitutes direct employ ment undor co-oporativo conditions, whereby wages have been increased, quality of work im proved, coHt of construction diminished and in dustry and character developed. HO. It purchases estates in or near the cities and towns, divides them up for workers' homes and makes advances to the workmen to help thorn build their homes, aiming to destroy the Blums and tenements, which still exist to some ox tent. 31. It has turned back tho tide of population from the cities to the country and aims to do ao still more. 32. Annuities are eivnn to tho nsod poor, so they can live at homo in their declining years secure from want. Justice is given instead of charity. Political corruption is almost unknown now. 33. The government leases land for 5 per Tnlln i,a ,vn!uo ycarly t0 settlers and loans $350 to each family that want to start farms. 34. All land improvements are exempt Mortgages are deducted in estimating taxes and assessed to the lender. Estates less than $2 500 arc exempt. The old, widows and orphans who receive less than $1,000 yearly are exempt The graduated land tax begins when the improved value roaches $25,000. Absentee owners pay 20 per cent moro. Government has the right to buy any property at owner's assessed value 35. The graduated income tax begins with those making over $1,700 yearly (with $250 allowed for insurance premiums. It has chocked monopoly, decreased desire for large fortunes and created a far moro Christian spirit among the people. There are no great million aires and no paupers in New Zealand now There is also a graduated inheritance tax and man? other reforms too numerous to mention bonenVdS 1S C0UClU8iV Vid0nCe of United n ,, States Per capita circulation $ 34 59 Per capita bank deposits. . 4523 Averago deposit account.. 40044 New Zealand $ 4S.G3 133. OS 497.73 ,. i "ii.,: . u.nt vuiiiut WUUIlll l.SlO.nn 1 firrr- nn ino above is taken largely from "Th o of New Zealand," published by D?C pVi"? 1520 Chestnut street, Philadelphia. ' TayIor It Is not necessary to say moro Philadelphia aLLIAM 'ARD. 00$)00000 fS fiiilicnfilinita mi.- n commenced with tho first issue of tho ffl paper should renew their subscriptions a iwy to avoid tlio possibility of missing an issue of tho paper. " x 0000 A LEADER UNAFRAID . Following is a special dispatch to the New York World: Trenton, N. J Jan I5- "eB1 dent-elect Wilson said today with reference to his recent speeches: i "I stand pat," adding later, "I have given no consideration to the reports of Wall street dissatisfaction with my remarks." There was a good deal of panic talk about the state house during the day that might be characterized as "amused comment." Senator-elect Ollio James of Kentucky and Senator Thomas P. Gore of Oklahoma don t think there is going to he any panic. But if there is, Mr. James thinks he knows what will happen. Directly after he had conferred with the governor, though he made it plain that he was not divulging what had been discussed, he nnnounced flatly that in the case of panic the democrats in congress would appoint an investi gating committee which would learn who was responsible and deal with that individual. Ever since the governor made his speech in Chicago letters and telegrams have been pour ing in upon him. A great number of these have contained denunciations, while scores have counselled less outspoken utterances. There were no fewer than 3,000 letters await ing Governor Wilson on his return from Chicago. He has not seen all of these and there is no way of knowing how many of them referred to tho speech, either in laudatory or other terms. After the Trenton speech last Monday another extremely large batch of mail was received. John W. Williams of New York City is not personally known to Governor Wilson, so far as the governor can recall. Nevertheless Mr. Williams took it upon himself to send the governor the following telegram: "Don't bo such a fool. Use your brains and keep your mouth shut. Don't be a silly ass and make the whole country ashamed of you." Governor Wilson himself made this telegram public and in doing so he said: "I want this made public because I want tho country to know that I get that sort of criti cism from New York and I want the country to know that the telegram was transmitted by the Postal Telegraph company." At the time this was all the governor would say except, "I stand pat." When asked later in tho day about tho effect his recent speeches have had, he said: "I have given no considera Hoti to tho matter." But Joseph Tumulty, the governor's secretary, made a statement early in the day which re flected tho governor's views, for Mr. Tumulty showed it to him before issuing it for publica tion. The statement read: "Attempts are being made to make an issue of Governor Wilson's speech at Chicago. This is nothing less than amusing. Governor Wil son's attitude on business and its relation to the government, as expressed in his several speeches since election, is, as any well informed person in the country would testify, exactly the same as his attitude before IiIb nomination and before his election. "Every word that Gove.rnor Wilson has. uttered is in complete harmony with the prin ciples to which he has strictly adhered through out his public career. "If there is any surprise at this attitude it can be manifested only by those who fail to realize that the country had elected to the presidency an honest and fearless man who means exactly what he says." The president-elect had three callers of na tional Importance today. They were Senator elect James. Senator Gore and Senator Stone of Missouri. Senator Stone, whp is known for the information he does not disclose, was with the governor about fifteen minutes. The others talked to him about ninety minutes each. LIMITING SHIPMENTS OP LIQUOR Tho Shepard-Kenyon bill, now pending in congress, having for its purpose the discontinu ance of shipments of liquor from "wet" Sto "dry" states, will have a merry time hefnii h gteonto the statute books, if It evretfthere in& constitutionality of the unde'rta ktaj" lUM to ho tested, even if the proponents of tht measure should win a victory Th? h?Le A. Ule,reaaon is obvious. They call it no triotic. The people must have liquor tw can never get along without it nl hey and distillers say J, attat sWwK Those who cherish the same ideals and labor for a common cause are bound together by ties that are stronger than ties of blood. question. It is not that they care to serve the people, nay verily. They would rather not, but the public craving is such that it must he satis fied to ward off universal madness. Further more, to stop interstate shipments of liquor, from "wet" into "dry" territory, would be an other hindrance, and render the falsity of the statement the more palpable, that there is more liquor consumed and more drunkenness in com munities where the saloon is not, than in com munities where it is. Three types of people are opposing the passage of the bill, viz., the brewers, distillers and tho politicians who depend upon the brewers and distillers, and their distributaries, the saloons, for electoral support. The saloonists are main ly interested for the reason that, should a "dry" wave hit their community, they might want to run a "blind-tiger" and without a' source of supply, that might be rather inconvenient. Saloonists are always anxious., when out of business, to have as much liquor consumed, and as much drunkenness as possible, so they can have it to point to in evidence 6f prohibition's failure. If the democrats in congress have any sense of moral justice, they will do their best to pass the Shepard-Kenyon bill. Their philosophy of state rights, and encouragement to the largest possible measure of local self-government, im poses upon them the duty of securing to those rights, and such government the largest pos sible measure of protection from imposition from other states. And the progressives in congress, adherents of the "new nationalism," have an equally bounden duty to perform in the same direction. If it is the duty of the brotherhood of states to Interfere where state inertia or local self-government is "inefficient, it is equally bounden to protect state activity, and local self-government, in every degree of effi ciency attained. The democrats and progressives in congress can convert the Shepard-Kenyon bill into law if they will. There are enough of them there on the ground. The failure of the undertaking will be theirs. It defies the moral sensibilities of any man to give good reasons why a com munity, striving to get rid of an evil; an evil that is evil only, and evil continually, should be hampered in the attempt by the laxity of an interstate commerce law, affording to other states the right of imposition. South Bend (Ind.) Enquirer. NO MONEY TRUST; BUT There is no money trust in Wall street; but The First National bank, whose president, George F. Baker, testified before the Pujo com mittee, had a capital stock of $500,000 when, he took hold of it in 1874. inAnJL caPital stock was increased to ?l 0,00 0,0 00 by the simple process of declaring a stock dividend of $9,500,000. In addition there remained a surplus of $3,415,000. In 1902 the bank paid 20 per cent dividends on thi3 new capitalization; in 1903 it paid 20 lel CntoU? 1904 U paId 20 Per cent; In 1905 it paid 26 per cent; in 1906 it paid 26 per cent; in 1907 it paid 32 per cent; in 1908, tho year following the Roosevelt panic, it paid 12 G Rer Cf?t;oin 1909 H Paid 28 Per cent; in 1910 it paid 28 per cent; in 1911 it paid 38 per cent; in 1912 1 it .paid 33 per cent. Between 1902 and 1911 the total dividends amounted to $22,600,000, or more than i double the capital stock which in turn is twenty times tho original capital stock. w'iBak0Pi.iBin? believer in publicity, and SSi ! muf lnformation which a congres fi omm.lttee Beems Powerless to demand mi IS eminent gentlemen who make millions th ?Tnub2?1?ng charters granted to them by en? in tateB Boyemment. Therefore, tho country will never know in detail how the SKEffi- f thQ FirSt Natioa BonMhL,8TnS miDey trU8t' but what testimony ? ?e,orf eloquent than these figures of ?SaXSl0l0d 1div,idends declared by the bank SnPfJlia!ly the representative f Wall street and trust methods?- New York World. V