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GEORGE W. BERGE, EDITOR AND PUBLISHER
Volume 18
Lincoln, Nebraska, December 28; 1905
Number 32
Staunch Defender of the
National
Honor
.., , . . ? , v .... - .-:!--
jjestro
fed
by
Mis
Kind
; Is it not possible,; jn, the light of recent events, to conclude,
with a fair chance, of being correct; that Providence is wroth .'with;
the professional defenders of the national, honor? "Thick as the
leaves in Vallambrosa,'? they are falling; Head the roll call of dis
honor: Hyde,' McCall, MeCurdy, Bliss, Piatt,' Depew, ;'Harriihah,'.
Odell, Paul Morton,"BankeV. Biglow,' Perkins, Morgan, Corey, Frick,
Kogers, Rockefeller, and many of lesser fame. And now the name
of John R. Walsh has been affixed to the list John R. AYalsh,
staunchest of all the western defenders, he who mightily cast .many
a shining lance at Bryan and Altgeld, and other "socialists," "an
archists," "repudiators" and "spawn of Satan."
John R. Walsh was not a politician by, profession. lie was a
politician only inasmuch as he found the occupations of politician .
and financier inseperable under modern conditions.-: He struck all
r his blows front behind the scenes, but his arm , was a power . in the
Wus6 .d!:Vationiai''Wor.,: The Chicago Chronicle, wa Jiis mega
phone.; It always upheld the sanctity of the money power. It wore
the mask of democracy, but when the necessity arase, it threw off the
mask. "Roosevelt was about to be 'elected. The Walsh banks were
: shaking and so' the Chronicle became republican. Founded in 1895
to combat the "financial heresies" that frightened Walsh and the
money, kings he worshipped, it was never popular arid was always '
run at1 a financial loss. In two things,' however, it was ' consistent. '
It was a defender of every financial scheme designed to enrich the
bankers) and was a rabid and nagging opponent of trades imions.
' Behind every position, it-took, consistent or inconsistent, was John
R. Walsh and his greed. , . '
And now, behold the irony of fate. The wolves that he ran with
have devoured him. He who fought.thcir battles while he was fight-
ing his own, has been pulled' down by the crying pack at his first
sign of faltering in the chase.
The particular offense which brought ruin to Banker Walsh was
loaning, inoney to himself. It was" not his money ; it was money
belonging to the people. But he handled the money, amounting to
many millions, and he loaned it to himself and spent it on private
enterprises of a speculative character.
This was a great crime, but what Walsh did others did. Some
of them are now in the penitentiary, but many of them still preside
over great banking institution in Chicago and New York. Let
not the people be deluded by, the comforting hallucination that all
the thieves have been smoked but because a few bankers have been
sent to jail. The temptation that, proved .too strong for Walsh, has
caused other bankers to fall. They have not yet been found out
because bank examinations are defective. Bank examinations, it is
true, -are belter than insurance ' examinations, but there are many
loopholes through which the bankers wriggle to prey upon depositors.
The banking laws 'should be amended so as to define exactly what
kinds of Joans can be made.- ;The law should be so extended that
it will bo impossible, for a banker to loan inoney to himself by round
about. methods as a present.- J ; j .-;---:;. .
; Poor John R. Walsh did not last long enough to take advantage
of Shaw's asset currency scheme. Doubtless he looked forward-long-.
ihglymL6 the day when he would be able to issue money unsecured by
twnds deposited with the government. What a killing he might have
made. Say that he issued $5,000,000 in asset currency. Then ho
might have failed as fortunately as the man who burns his store to
get the insurance. The honest bankers would be compelled to bear
his losses, for, according to the Shaw plan, each banker would pay
six per cent on the asset currency issued so as to provide a fund to
secure the notes pi failed banks. It would place a premium on dis
honesty The bankers are practically all in favor of the plan. Do
all of them intend to fail after inflating the currency according to
the Shaw system? " ,
Another Campaign of Education
Chicago needs an awakening such as shook the sleepy Quakers
from their beds and moved them to take drastic action pgamst graft-
ing eouncilmeu. In Chicago's councihnanic body there is an im
pudent, high-handed majority of grafters opposing Mayor Dunne's
every step toward municipal ownership. This opposition has now
taken the form of petty persecution. For the first time in Chicago'.-
history the council has refused to confirm a mayoral appointment.
The only newspaper which has consistently denounced the miscon
duct of "the councilmen, who are defying the expressed will of the
people obtained by a referendum vote, is the Chicago Fxaminer,
owned by Mr.. Hearst. The other iunvpaers openly support the ,
public service corporations which are demanding extension of their
franchises. t .
The Hamilton club, an arHfocratin organization recruited
from the republican party,' has just declared in fuvor f extending
the frutichU'. The Chicago Tribune, although m-ording a judicial
ai t, solemnly St ttte that the club tuok : tliU Mcp after hearing the
rpiestioii fully explained by thru eoinu'ilmeii Ulonging to the ma
jority faction.
The Chjeago councilmeu an more catitimt than their corrupt
brethern of Philadelphia. TJiey are, it is true, preparing to sell out
the city to private interests as did the Philadelphia grafters, but they
. are moving toward their object with less arrogance. The great
, danger is that the people of Chicago will, lie misled into believing
that municipal ownership is not worth obtaining after. all.. The
subsidized newspapers aro pounding at this idea with ruthless er
histence. They point triumphantly to the fact that the democrats,
who promised the people immediate municipal ownership, nave failed
to achieve their object, and that the republicans, who promised mu
nicipal ownendiip as soon as it could lie obtained fairly and legally,
adopted the-correct position. In this way they seek to discredit
'Mayor Dunne, who has len unable to accomplish as much as his
optimism tafuro election led him to U-lieve ho could accomplish.
Having scored ;thw point, the ncw!pujvrs thrive to convince
the public that municipal ownership is undesirable. They make tho
hfartling, leeue untrue, statement that municipal ownership is not
w much of a success as ha Urn asserted bv it defenders in this
country. In contradiction to ho "new light ' on the nubject is tho
government pamphlet giving the reMrU of our consuls abroad re
L'ardinir municiisal ownership in Kngland and on the continent. Omi
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