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I he Commoner
SEPTEMBER, 1911
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If the price of agricultural products is affected by the tariff, as re
publican speakers and writers have claimed, then every farmer in the1,
United States should vote the democratic ticket this fall.
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JAMES D. PHELAN
James D, Phelan, of San Francisco, has been
nominated by the democratic party of California
for -the United States senate. California, many
years ago, sent a democratic senator to Washing
ton in the person of Stephen M. White, who won
considerable distinction, and after his retirement
the legislature gave to Mr. Phelan its compli
mentary voto in 1899.
Mr. Phelan has been an active and aggressive
supporter of democratic principles and candi
dates, and was especially prominent in his early
advocacy or. the nomination of Wpodrow Wilson.
California is normally republican, but the
president's policies and achievements have ap
pealed to the patriotic instincts of all voters and
the nomination of Mr. Phelan gives to tbe people
of California an opportunity to select a United
States senator who is in entire accord with the
policies of President Wilson. Mr. Phelan's own
record of achievement in securing progressive
reforms entitles him to the support of democrats
and independent progressive voters who approve
of the policies of tbe present national adminis
tration. Mr. Phelanhas served, three terms as mayor
pf San Francisco. His activities as mayor at-,
tracted national attention on account ofhis over
throw of the corrupt political bossess'and the
securing by him of a number of progressive re
forms. He successfully "inaugurated a, new char
ter 'for4 the city, which made public ownership of
public utilises, its cornerstone and by reason of
his Vorcttie 'city fcowt owns an extensive system
of street rallijpads, and successfully operates
them. " ' '
His ability, integrity, and public spiritedness
have been many times recognized by his selec
tion to places of honor and trust, such as pres
ident of the relief and Red Cross committee after
the disaster in San Francisco in 1906, California
commissioner to the world's fair at Chicago, re
gent of the University of California, and his
prominent part in the prosecution for municipal
bribery in 1907. His democracy and humanit
arianism are broad and he has believed from his
earliest years in a government of the people and
for the people.
Ex-Mayor Phelan has -every necessary qualifi
cation to make a successful public servant, and
his election would not only strengthen the ad
ministration forces in the United States senate,
but he would be of great service to the state
which he would worthily represent.
W. J. BRYAN.
NEBRASKA'S STRONG TICKET
The Nebraska democracy selected from its
many candidates at .the recent primaries a strong
state and congressional ticket. The state ticket
is composed of men who are well known through
out the state, and the records they have made, as
public servants, and. their well known qualifica
tions for, the -positions to. which they aspire
should insure their election in November.
Congressmen Maguire,, Lobeck, and Stephens
have been renominated in their respective dis
tricts. Rhodes, Shallenberger, and Taylor nom
inated in, the other three districts, give to Ne
braska a democratic congressional ticket that
ought to appeal ,to all democratic and all inde-r
pendent progressive votersr The three demo
cratic congressmen from Nebraska gave their
active support to all of, the administration bills
and policies, and the entire democratic congres
sional ticket, if elected this year, will give to
President Wilson six, congressmen from Nebras
ka who will, not only uphold the democratic
measures already enacted, but will assist Preslr
den.t.WUsonc in carrying out the remainder of the
administration program. If the splendid record
of achievement by , tbe national administration
meets the approval of the people of Nebraska,
they should support the men at the polls who
not only helped make the record, but who are
needed to maintain the advanced position taken
by President Wilson.
The Nebraska democratic state and congres
sional tickets are published on another page of
this issue.
THE NEW ATTORNEY GENERAL
Following is a' brief biographical sketch of
Thomas Watt Gregory, recently appointed attorney-general
by President Wilson:
Thomas Watt Gregory was born November G,
1861, in the little village of Crawfordsvllle, in
Lowndes county, state of Mississippi, a few
mileB from the Alabama line. His father was
Dr. Francis Robert Gregory, who was born in
Mecklenburg county, Virginia, and educated at
Emery and Henry college in southwestern Vir
ginia. Dr. Gregory was a physician, also entered
the Confederate army as a captain, served in
the 35th Mississippi, and died shortly after the
battle of Corinth. His mothe. was Mary Corner
lia Watt, of Columbia, South Carolina. Both
families were of English, Scotch and Irish blood.
The subject of this sketch, being left at a
tender ago as the only child of a widow, grew
up in the family of his maternal grandfather,
Major Thomas Watt, who was a planter of prom
inence in Oktibbeha county, Mississippi.
At the close of the war, Major Watt sold his
large plantation and moved to Starkville, Missis
sippi, and lived there a' few years, and then pur
chased a plantation in what is niw Clay county,
Mississippi. A few years later he sold this plan
tation and moved to the town of West Point,
where young Gregory grew to manhood. Ho at
tended the village school, participated in the vil
lage sports, learned to swim in the Tombigbeo
river, hunted and fished along the banks of its
tributaries, and grew up living an outdoor life,
of which he fias always been extremely fond. Ho
belonged to the village debating society, and
took an active part in its proceedings. At the
age of fifteen he went to a boarding school at
Culleoka, in Maury county, Tennessee, and there
prepared for college. In 1881 ho entered the
southwestern Presbyterian university at Clarks
ville, Tennessee, and finished the course in 1883,
being the first student ever graduated from that
Institution In two years, winning the orator's
medal and other honors. The following year he
was a special student at the University of Vir
ginia, where he won the Jefferson debators'
medal. In the fall of 1884, he went west and
located at Austin, Texas, graduating from the
University of Texas law department in 1885, and
beginning the practice of law In Austin in the
fall of the same year. Up to 1900 he practiced
alone, when he formed a partnership with R. L.
Batts under the firm name of Gregory and Batts,
and in 1908 Judge W. L. Brooks retired from
the bench and entered the firm, and the firm
name became Gregory, Batts and Brooks. Ho
was a regent of the University of Texas for eight
years, and declined the appointment of assist
ant attorney-general of Texas In 1892, and ap
pointment to the state bench in 1896. He was
one of the trustee's of the Austin Presbyterian
theological seminary, and has taken an active
interest in educational and church affairs. He
was married to Miss Julia Nalle, of Austin, on
February 22, 1893, and has four children: Jane
Gregory, aged twenty, who graduated last spring
from the University of Texas; T. W. Gregory,
Jr., now seventeen years old and preparing for
college t Lawrencevllle, New Jersey; Nalle
Gregory, fifteen years old, nojr a student at
Shenandoah military academy, Winchester, Vir
ginia; and Cornelia Gregory, aged seven.
Mr. Gregory has never been a candidate for
any office, but has taken an active interest in
almost all the political contests which have taken
place in Texas during the last thirty years. He
was a delegate to the national democratic con
vention in St. Louis in 1904, and represented
his state in committee on credentials. He was
a delegate from the state at largo to tho Baltl-
more Convention, and was one' of Its vlcc-presl-'
deiits: ' He has always maintained' that the du-
tics of a private citizen are as onerous as those
of tho public servant, and that the duty of -actively
participating in the discussion of political
questions and in attempting their solution can
not bo properly 'avoided by any man. His life
has been that of a lawyer and he is known as
such. Tho 'firm of Gregory and Batts was es
pecially employed by the state of Texas to pros
ecute Us groat suit against the Waters-Pierce
oil company, a part of the Standard Oil trust,
and recovered a judgment forfeiting tho right of
this corporation to do business in Texas, wind
ing up its affuirs through the instrumentality of
a state receiver, selling out its entire plant and
rendering a judgment for penalties In favor of
the state for a little less than $2,000,000. This
judgment for penaltios Is believed to be the
largest ever sustained in the United States or
perhaps elsewhere, was collected and tho money
paid into tho treasury of the state after the case
had been affirmed by the nuprome court of tho
United States. By utilizing this fund the state
tax for the following year was reduced to about
five cents on tho hundred dollars. The firm rep
resented the state in various other suits brought
to enforce tho state anti-trust law, and is one of
the best known In the entire southwest.
Mr. Gregory was a vory ardent supporter o$
Woodrow Wilson, and actively supported him In
thd organization of his forces in the state of
Texas and in the long drawn out contest at Bal
timore. Shortly after tho Inauguration, Mr, Gregory
was offered tho position of special qounsel to tho
government and put in charge of the New Eng-r
land transportation problem; and for the last
sixteen months has devoted himself to the affairs
of tho New York, New Haven and Hartford rail
road company, resulting In a settlement of that
controversy without suit and to the satisfaction
of the attorney general and the president.
J. E. Kelley, a director of the Farmers' Co
operative association of South Dakota, recently
made an Investigation of tho charge that the Ar
gentina corn that came to this country under the
present tariff law had pushed dowu tho price of
that cereal for last year's crop. Ho gives as the
result of his inquiry that the slump in prices
was due to the American grain gamblers and
speculators. The figures ho cites show that
under the normal conditions that existed pre
vious to the war the spread in price between
Now York and Liverpool was 10 cents a bushel,
whereas until the last of the crop got out of
the hands of the farmers, the difference was al
most 20 cents. From November 25 last until
May 15, when tho great bulk of tho crop wa
handled, corn was at practically the same prico
at Liverpool, whereas the price rose In this coun
try 10 .cents a bushel as the corn came off tho
farms. Intelligent farmers will accept this proof
rather than the unattested statements of repub
licans who are claiming the tariff was at fault.
Tho object of a high tariff, as frankly stated
by Its supporters, is to bar foreign made goods
from sale in this country and to permit Amer
ican manufacturers to supply the entire demand.
As the price which an American who buys a
foreign-made article must pay consists of Its cost
In the markets abroad plus the tariff, the higher
the tariff the higher the price. As this article
comes in competition with similar goods made
here, the price at which It sells determines tho
price at which the home-made article sells, un
less there is sufficient competition among' home
manufacturers to control the price. American
industry is so highly organized now that there
is little competition among American manufac
turers. Hence a high tariff means a high price.
Just remember thlg when some republican canv
paign orator comes around asking your support
for his propaganda of raising the tariff.
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