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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1914)
'imr II - v The Commoner 'APRIL, 1914 3 "' 1 Beware of the Special Interests THE CANAL TOLLS VOTK NOW AND THEN As the time approaches for the selection of candidates the voters should beware of the spe cial interests. Reform is making headway, but the victory has not been won everywhere, and even where it is won it is not complete. Special privilege is still contesting every inch of ground. The fight is on in every state and in the nation as well. Governors are to be chosen in many of the commonwealths and legislators, congress men and senators are tobe selected. Any one of them may on a close vote become a 'deciding factor. There are four special interests that need watching. First, the railroads, for they have a pecuniary interest in opposing effective regula tion, whether it is attempted through the enact ment of new legislation or through the enforce ment of laws which now exist. The voters should see that men selected are not under obligations to the railroads, for every official who deals with the special interests is in the attitude of a judge or juror. He can not be im partial if, either by general bias or because of some particular relation, he is connected with 'those in charge of the railroads. Second, the trusts, they die hard. Some of them are showing a disposition to conform to the new public opinion but others are still stubborn and are contending for "regulation" with the expectation of controlling the regu lators. Third, the money power, it is still potent. Its claws have. been drawn by the new currency law, but it is still obsessed with the idea that busi ness exists for It and therefore should be con trolled by it. Beware of the aspirant who puts the dollar above the man. ' Fourth, the liquor interests. These wage their contests on the lowest level and are most power ful because of their ability to debauch those whom they control. No man is in a position to discharge his duties as he ought to who takes orders from them, and they can generally con trol those to whom they give office. The saloon is a nuisance; even its defenders can not say more in its behalf than it is a necessary nuisance. It ought to be dealt with as a nuisance and not as a thing to be respected or feared. It is a horrible indictment against a community to say of it that it is not free to act on the liquor; ques tion as it pleases that its officials can beliulllod and intimidated by those who set man traps for young men and conspire against morality. There is scarcely a representative in any stato legisla ture who does not havo to deal constantly with the liquor question. How can a representative of the brewery or distillery or saloon act with fairness or impartiality? Every member of con gress, every senator, every executive, has thift question constantly before him; how can he be true to his conscience and to the public if he owes his elevation to those who despoil our citizenship and degrade our civilization? As the citizen must decide this question at the polls, so the member of the party must de cide it at the primary. Let every member, of every party make it a matter of conscience. The democrat has special reason to insist upon a high standard of individual virtue and inde pendence; our party is on trial throughout the nation; it is bending to its great task with splendid energy and high purpose. Lot not its hopes be frustrated by subserviency to the spe cial interests that in one form or another prey upon the public. Only that which is good en dures. Let the party lay the foundation for permanent success by showing that it can be trusted to measure up to its responsibilities. W. J. BRYAN. SOME COMPARISONS The speeches of republican congressmen from the western districts indicate that they propose to make their appeal next November pr support for the grand old party on the ground that the democratic taTiff .bill has been a severe blow to the agricultural interests of the nation. Now the only blow that a farmer or any other business man can feel is with respect to prices. Here are some comparisons, based upon market quota tions in Chicago, the last day of March in the yeafs 1913 and 1914: 1914 1913 May wheat ..-..; 91 7-8 90 May corn ....... 67 6-8 53 1-8 May oats ..... 39 33 May pork 20.80 .20.52 May lard - 10.45 11.10 May ribs 11.05 11.17 On the two days compared cattle were selling on the Chicago market at slightly higher prices in 1914 than they were in 1913, while hogs were Belling slightly lower. When any republican talks about how the democratic tariff is injur ing the farmer, pull these figures on him. The attempt of the opponents of President Wilson's canal toll policy, to take a few words of the democratic platform adopted at Baltimore out of their environment and then give to those words a meaning directly opposite to that which would be drawn from another part of the plat form dealing with the same general subject, re minds one of the preacher who took for hia text "Top-knot come down," and used it as the basis for a sermon in denunciation of the cus tom, then prevailing among the ladies, of wear ing the hair in a knot on the top of the head. His congregation was amazed to find upon con sulting their Bibles that the entire sentence read, "Let he that is on the house-top not come 'down." The effort to identify the tolls question with the Venezuela incident is embarrased somewhat by the fact that ex-Secretary Olney, who wrote the Venezuela message, stands with President Wilson on the tolls question. The disturbance which the ship subsidy prop-, bsitlon has stirred up suggests a query: A little democracy? injected into the republican party, split it wide open. Can a little republicanism split the democratic party? THE MORE THE BETTER The treasury board upon which rested the re sponsibility of dividing the country into districts, went to the full limit of the law and recommend ed twelve regional banks, the maximum, instead of eight, the minimum. They acted wisely. The big financiers wanted as few banks as possible because monopoly has become with many of them an instinct. But there is no reason why there should not be a sufficient number of banks to satisfy the needs of the several communities. It is likely that as time goes on new banking districts will be carved out rather than that any of these will be consolidated. A STRONG FORCE FOR PEACE The supreme council of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of Free Masonry, southern jurisdic tion of the United States, at its last regular meeting, unanimously concurred in the recom mendation made by Grand Commander Richard son in behalf of the peace plan which is now being adopted by the nations, providing for in vestigation in all cases. THE PEACE PLAN PROGRESSES A year has not yet passed since the peace plan was proposed and fourteen treaties have already been signed. Six more will be signed within a short time and then more than one-half of the population of the world will be bound to the United States by treaties which will prevent war between our own and any of these nations until after investigation of the cause. Tlio Voto In 1014 Total membership houso 432 Total voting 410 For repeal 247 Against repeal ... .162 Majority 85 Democrats for re peal 220 Democrats against repeal 52 Republicans for re peal 23 Republicans against repeal 93 Republicans voting "presont" l Progressives for re peal 3 Progressives against repeal L. 17 Independents for re peal 1 Not voting Democrats . ... ! 16 Republicans ... 6 Since the constitutionalist army in Mexico has been winning battle after battle and steadily forging its way towards the capital, less criticism is heard from those Americans who were quite sure that the administration's Mexican policy watt a mistake. The president's decision to raise the embargo on arms made it possible for Villa to make his triumphal march southward. Common laborers to the number of 220,000 pa"ssed through the inswinging gates of New York during the four months ending with Feb ruary 28th. Several editors have suggested that it would be worth while to discover who induced this number of men to come to America during the dull season for unskilled workers. And it would. Tho Voto In 1012 Total membership house 39? Total voting ,....275 For tolls exomp-. tion 147 Against tolls exemp tion ,...128 Majority 19 Democrats for ex- t eruption .: 70 Democrats against exemption ..... 87 Republicans for ex emption 76 Republicans against exemption 41, Democrats voting "present" $ Republicans voting "present" , 6 1 ot voting Domocrats .63 Republicans ... 44 Independents . . 1 Socialist 1 .it Hero is tho provision in tho Hay-Pauncefote treaty which President Wilson believes makes it incumbent upon tho United States to repeal the tolls exemption clause in the Panama canal act: "Tho canal shall bo free and open, in time of war as in time of peace, to the. vessels of com merce and war of all nations ON TERMS OF ENTIRE EQUALITY so that there shall be NO DISCRIMINATION AGAINST ANY NATION, or its citizens or subjects in respect to the condi tions o. charges of traffic or otherwise." It re quires no finely trained mind to learn therefrom that when the United States charges tho vessels of commerce of other nations and permits free passage of certain vessels of commerce of its own it is not keeping the canal open to all na tions on terms of entire equality. Republican congressmen are embracing every opportunity presented to got in a speech on the tariff, if they happen to bo from tho agricultural districts. If the opportunity does not present itself they make it by submitting a few remarks under the general heading of "tho stato of tho union." They possess tho delusion that tho im portation of beef from Argentina, sufficient In a year to supply one small section of the country for a day, is having an effect upon tho price the farmer gets for his cattle. A look at tho market reports would effect a complete cure. They say that the imported corn is robbing tho American farmer, who is getting 14 cents more a bushel now than he did a year ago. The financial magnates find It difficult to learn r. lesson no matter how often it is re peated. The poverty stories of the railroads and their discharge of men just prior to the submis sion to the interstate commerce commission of the demand for an increase in rates,, is but a repe tition of tho old methods employed by big bus!-' ness to influence government. Net earnings are less than they were a year ago, but more than they were two years ago. Yet two years ago, when the railroads had no case pending before the commission, no largo number of men were laid off. After declaring for weeks that a three cent fare would spell ruin for the corporation, the street car company of Toledo has agreed to per mit a full and fair trial of the new tariff. It will be remembered that the railroads, in oppos ing the two cent a' mile rate, declared that it meant bankruptcy. Yet every report now being filed with the interstate commerce-commission shows Increased passenger receipts, even where a decrease in freight collections is noted. The surest way to insure democratic succesi in the coming campaign is for the party in every state to make the fight on the record of the na tional administration. It la the strongest asset of the party today, and the candidate who is not willing to put hia fate to this test will never get beyond a primary campaign. Outside of the youths unfamiliar with war but who are attracted by its glamour, the de mand for armed intervention has simmered down to the fellows who are too old to bo accepted as volunteers and those who are so badly crippled that they could not be drafted. j
