Part 25

The fact that the congressmen of both old parties are almost a unit for the railroad rate bill now pending in Congress, should be enough to satisfy any reasonable man that the people can get their rights only through a new party. The bill is a miserable pretense engineered by railroad tools in Congress, and its object is to make the people believe they are going to get relief through the old parties.—_Chillicothe (Mo.) World._

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Gov. Magoon testifies that men may be put to death in the Panama Canal zone without trial. It seems to be easier to put them to death than to put them to work.—_Athens (Ill.) Free Press._

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The time has come when we need men that stand for something. The day is past when our forefathers stood for truth, honor, principle; and all that was right must be called into play again or this republic will be but an iridescent dream.—_Marion (Ala.) Democrat._

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A writer in a recent issue of a so-called farm paper says the reason boys go to towns and cities to live is because they long for a life in which they will be independent of every one else on earth. Then why in thunder do they go to the cities to find it? A man might as well dig out gopher holes expecting to find wolves as to go to the cities to find an independent life. The place to find that is on the farm. Here we are our own boss, and if any one else does not like the way we do, we are in a position to tell him to go to—with no danger of losing our job.—_Irrigon (Ore.) Irrigator._

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It now looks like Marion Butler is arranging to take charge of the Republican Party in North Carolina. We make no prediction about what will be or what will not be done. Those who know his past record will hesitate before surrendering entirely to a man who is so thoroughly repudiated by all classes in this state.—_Asheboro (N. C.) Courier._

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The Chicago Tribune asks: “Granting that it will take seven years to construct the Panama canal, have the seven years begun yet?” That is rather a hard question, not knowing the personality of the timekeeper. However, there is one thing in connection with the scheme that we are all well aware of—the big salaries of the political constructors have begun, all right.—_Farmington Valley Herald, Hartford, Conn._

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According to the _Pantagraph_, Senator Cullom should be re-elected because he stayed in Washington after the session of Congress of last winter and did work that he was drawing a salary of $5,000 a year to do. The statement that his present illness was brought on by overwork seems preposterous. Who ever heard of a United States Senator overworking, unless it was to keep himself in office? From present indications, it seems that the people of the state are willing to give Mr. Cullom a rest from his overwork.—_Colfax (Ill.) Press._

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John A. McCall, late head of a giant life insurance company, is dead, and, as far as mortal knows, is at rest for the first time for months. This erstwhile gentleman and master of high finance was “weighed in the balance and found wanting.” The weighing was done by fellow citizens, which made remorse all the more keen. Rapid decline followed and McCall, broken-hearted, deserted and despised, is gone. His fate should be an example to others who are tempted to do wrong. A half dozen other luminaries of New York, who were caught dead to rights in the insurance frauds, are fast following in McCall’s wake, and are even now all but ostracized by social and business associates. The weight of the common verdict against them is bearing heavily upon their shoulders, streaking their hair and furrowing their faces. Their sins are finding them out.—_Washington (Ill.) Register._

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Old political systems are being broken up by the heat of public common sense and non-partisan movements. The independent American citizen and voter is going to make himself felt, by gosh!—_Mt. Vernon (Ind.) Unafraid._

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John A. McCall has departed to the great bar of all time. There is no doubt but that shame and humiliation killed this proud, self-made man.

Wrong-doing is bound to bring its death sentence to all lives, rich or poor.—_Milford Centre (O.) Ohioan._

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“Some day, we pray to God, there will come a House which will hold tight the purse-strings, and, on some measure of right, say to our lords: ‘Pass the bill or get no money. We will go to the country on this issue.’ And then we will have achieved what the English House of Commons won in 1832, and our Senate will become the perfunctory body the House of Lords ever since has been.”—_St. Louis Dispatch._

That sounds like it came from way up in the amen corner, and is likely to have many hearty responses.—_Salem (Va.) Times-Register._

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Mr. Rogers, of the Standard Oil Trust, is the last man in the world who should show contempt for the law. The law which is brought about through class legislation has enabled him to become a millionaire by robbing the public, and it is through respect for the law that an enraged public permits him to hold his ill-gotten gains.—_Rolla (Mo.) Sharp Shooter._

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Well, the railroad rate bill has passed the House, with only seven negative votes—all Republicans. But in the Senate is where the tug-of-war comes.—_Malad (Ida.) People’s Advocate._

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Pure food is once more an issue in both houses of Congress, and the bill bids fair to be defeated in the Senate, which numbers among its members not a few who have interests in groceries, fisheries, packing and canning houses that will be unfavorably affected by pure food legislation. The clause most necessary to the effectiveness of the bill, the one providing that all packages shall be labeled to show exactly the contents of the package whether medicine, food or beverage, and which enables the purchaser at least to know with what and when he is poisoning himself, is the very clause that seems in greatest danger of defeat.—_Adams (N. Dak.) Budget._

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And now the assertion comes forth that a large white goat in a New York town by the name of Rockefeller, while the family heads were bowed in sorrow, climbed upon the porch and devoured the wreath of flowers which hung on the door. But, pshaw! that is only characteristic of the name—swiping all in sight.—_Wrens (Ga.) Reporter._

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It is probable that when the Hepburn railway rate bill gets back to the lower house of Congress that it and its author will scarcely have a bowing acquaintance.—_Glenwood (Mo.) Phonograph._

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The fight in Congress over the railway rate bill seems to center on court review of the orders of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Now the courts have the right under the Constitution to review all orders of the commission or they have not. Therefore why should the fight be over this feature of the bill unless the railroads believe that the courts have had this authority if denied in the measure, we are unable to comprehend. On the first blush we should say that the courts, if asked, would have this right, for they have claimed the right to review almost any and every thing till the Democratic Party was forced to denounce “government by injunction.” Still, the railroads occupy a peculiar position toward the people of the country.

The stockholders in a railroad corporation have not the same rights the stockholders have in nearly every other corporate body.

The railroads have been permitted to condemn our land for their use, but in so doing they incurred certain responsibilities to the public that are imposed on no other corporation.

It would therefore seem but just that if railroads can force us to part with our real estate, surely we, the people, have a right to say that these roads shall be managed just as the people through their representatives in Congress desire, and unless such regulations are confiscatory the courts shall have no say.—_Tarboro (N. C.) Southern._

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Having resigned from seventy corporations, Senator Depew must be awful lonesome when the directors meet and make a noise like declaring a dividend.—_Schaghticoke (N. Y.) Sun._

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Here is what we found in Sunday’s _Constitution_ about the Governor’s race.

One article about Hoke Smith and Tom Watson brands them as assassins of Democracy. In another place is the following complimentary clipping about Estill: “The weekly papers are giving Colonel John H. Estill the squarest kind of a deal. The Savannahian is the man to watch and his following seems to be growing rapidly in all quarters of the state.”

And on the same page is another clipping from the _Tifton Gazette_, in which Estill, Judge Russell and Mr. Howell are spoken of as men of the most sterling integrity, distinguished ability and unflinching honor, and either of them would do Georgia credit in the gubernatorial chair.

Is it a wonder that the common people believe that Clark Howell, Estill and Judge Russell are in a combination to beat Hoke Smith?—_Lawrenceville (Ga.) Gwinnett Journal._

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The old adage “competition is the life of trade” has been transformed to “combination is the life of trade” to suit the condition of the times.—_Oakland (Md.) Journal._

“Wall Street Is Playing with Fire” is the startling head line in a local paper. There is no need for alarm, though. Wall Street has plenty of water to put out any fire.—_Almond (N. Y.) Gleaner._

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The great copper war which for years has been waged between Heinze and the Amalgamated has been ended by what is practically a merger of the opposing interests. This fight between stock gamblers for the control of immense properties has for years divided the people of Montana into bitter factions, has disorganized politics, corrupted judges and legislatures and had a baneful effect upon all the people of the state. Now that the contending forces have made peace the public will probably be the more thoroughly fleeced.—_Warren (Minn.) Sheaf._

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Precedent has been found which shows that Henry H. Rogers could have been legally made to testify. We have been of that opinion all the time, but it is only another instance where the sword of Justice and the law has proved insufficient when met by the shield and armor of gold.—_Santa Anna (Tex.) News._

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Congress has decided to investigate the coal and oil trusts. A nice summer’s job is here cut out for somebody. It is hoped there will be no Garfield business about the investigation. The miserable failure Commissioner Garfield made of that Beef Trust investigation should be enough to disgust even a Roosevelt.—_Seaford (Del.) News._

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According to a statement issued by the Bureau of Statistics last Saturday with reference to the number and value of farm animals in the United States, there are more cows than any other one domestic animal. But the horse, while next to the lowest in number, is more valuable. The mules rank lowest in number and the sheep lowest in value. The report shows that the total value of all the farm animals to be nearly $4,000,000,000.—_Hamilton (Tex.) Herald._

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The United States Senate, by a vote of 38 to 27, has passed the shipping subsidy bill. The bill appropriates $200,000,000 of the taxpayers’ money for the American merchant marine. What a lovely gift! Voting the people’s money to boost a class of wealthy business men. What a lovely principle!—_Veblen (S. Dak.) Advance._

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While a lot of fellows have been sent to jail for stealing loaves of bread, hams, shoes and such, none of the big insurance thieves have even been indicted. Justice is not only blind, but she is deaf as a post, dumb as an oyster, and she couldn’t smell a fertilizer factory at ten feet.—_Pennsboro (W. Va.) News._

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To judge from the Standard Oil witnesses in the New York investigation, we shall no doubt hear a demand for the Government to be ruled for contempt in wanting to know too much.—_Parco City (Okla.) Democrat._

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John A. McCall, ex-president of the New York Life Insurance Company, who confessed that he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars belonging to widows and orphans and used the money as a corruption fund to help elect McKinley and Roosevelt presidents of the United States, is dead and gone,—we don’t know where, but if we were dead too, we wouldn’t hunt him up.—_Granville (Ia.) Gazette._

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Members of the lower house are chuckling over the predicament one of their colleagues finds himself in. It seems the unsophisticated private secretary of this especial representative forwarded to Washington by mail three parts of a sectional bookcase, using his employer’s postal frank. The bookcases contained private books, and one of them is said to have concealed a miscellaneous collection of kitchen utensils intended for the owner’s home there. The entire collection was “unfrankable” and the local postmaster has called on the representative to pay postage on his property to the amount of $72. The name of the representative is being kept secret, but that doesn’t soothe his feelings to any great extent.—_Bowlder (S. Dak.) Pioneer._

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President Roosevelt and Secretary Taft are said to favor a lock canal. If reports are true, that’s the matter with the project now. It’s locked with red tape and departmental interferences.—_Clifton (Tenn.) Mirror._

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Governor Pattison of Ohio signed the Freiner two-cent fare bill which was accepted by the Senate and it is now a law. It will not go into effect, however, until thirty days have elapsed. The law provides that two cents shall be the maximum rate charged in Ohio for transporting passengers on the railroads of Ohio for all distances in excess of five miles.—_Winfield (La.) Comrade._

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The Senate has passed the corrupt subsidy bill granting $20,000,000 a year to the steel trust infant industry so that our merchant marine can compete with that of other nations. Isn’t that satisfactory evidence that U. S. senators should be elected by direct vote of the people? Remove the tariff and our ship builders can “compete” without a subsidy.—_Alva (Okla.) Renfrew’s Record._

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There’s one consolation to the poor man when he thinks of John D. Rockefeller being the richest man in the world; he knows that the devil won’t let him bring a cent of it to hell with him.—_St Louis (Mo.) National Rip Saw._

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It is just as true today as it ever was that the safest and most honorable way for a man to secure a competence is to do it little by little, taking a lifetime for the work. The haste to be rich and make money fast is the economic curse of America today. Every man wants to draw a prize in the business lottery and it is seldom indeed that he is content with small savings and safe investments.—_Headland (Ala.) Post._

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Managers of the Hepburn Rate Bill contemplate providing it with a set of puncture-proof tires when it starts its round of the Senate.—_Alma (Neb.) Record._

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The United States Senate passed a “Ship Subsidy Bill” the other day in just three minutes. Anything that has “Subsidy” (the proper word is graft) to it gets through just as soon as some member makes plain the amount of graft in the measure.—_Smith Crater (Kan.) Messenger._

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It is being told that a Kansas man, accompanied by his little son, visited the Senate while in Washington last week and the boy was particularly interested in Edward Everett Hale, a magnificent looking old man. His father told him that he was the chaplain. “Oh, he prays for the Senate, doesn’t he?” asked the boy. “No,” replied the father, “he gets up and takes a look at the Senate and prays for the country.”—_Enid (Okla.) Echo._

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The Ohio legislature has passed a law making a uniform rate of two cents a mile on all railroads in that state. The railroads on the other hand have decided to cut off all forms of transportation except the two cent fare. This includes reduced transportation for conventions, 1,000-mile books, all charity business, round trip rates, and clergymen’s rates.—_Stewartville (Minn.) Times._

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Leslie Shaw, Secretary of the Treasury, says that we have the best banking system on earth. Still in the past few months failures in five national banks have footed up to almost $7,000,000. Now if these banks had had out a flood of asset currency, backed only by the assets of the banks, and no doubt they would have had, the Government would probably have lost as large a sum, and all of this would have had to come out of the people for the benefit of the speculators.—_Lansing (Mich.) Capital City Democrat._

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The end of old Steve Elkins, the blocks-of-five-election buyer, he, who, with the aid of his father-in-law, Gassaway Davis, got control of most of the coal mines and railroads of West Virginia, is in sight. The extortions of the coal trust and railroad combine that Elkins organized have become so unbearable that the Republican governor of that state has appealed to Senator Tillman to secure an investigation. The Republicans of the Senate dare not deny it. When the truth comes out that will be the end of Elkins, for which all the people will give thanks unto God.—_Omaha (Neb.) Investigator._

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They don’t seem to be doing much digging on that great canal, but they manage to bury a considerable amount of money there.—_Cresson (Tex.) Courier._

_The Best_

She (_indignantly_)—Stop, sir! You shall not kiss me again! How rude you are! Don’t you know any better?

He (_cheerily_)—I haven’t kissed every girl in town, it is true, but as far as I have gone I certainly don’t know any better.

FROM FEBRUARY 8 TO MARCH 8, 1906

_Home News_

February 8.—John A. McCall, former President of the New York Life Insurance Co., is seriously ill at Lakewood, N. J.

Richard A. McCurdy, former President of the Mutual Life Insurance Co., plans to leave the United States and make his home in Paris.

The New York Life Insurance Company’s “house cleaning” committee reveal that Judge Andrew Hamilton has received $1,347,382 from that company since 1892. This is $283,383 in excess of the total payments disclosed by the Armstrong Committee. The committee recommends legal action against John A. McCall for the recovery of the amount.

Senator La Follette, of Wisconsin, introduces a bill in the Senate making it an offense for any Government officer, official or employee to accept a railroad pass or franking privilege over telegraph lines.

By a vote of 346 to 7 the House of Representatives passes the Hepburn railroad rate regulation bill just as it came from the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, and declared by Chairman Hepburn to be exactly in accordance with recommendations of President Roosevelt on the subject.

The House of Representatives passes the General Pension bill for the year ending June 30, 1907. The bill appropriates $140,245,000. Congressman Gardner, of Michigan, declares that when the last pensioner on account of the Civil War has disappeared from the rolls, $12,000,000,000 will have been expended.

February 9.—The Illinois coal operators decide to refuse the demands of the United Mine Workers for an increase in wages.

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives passes a resolution directing the attorney general of that state to ascertain whether any railroad companies in Pennsylvania are engaged in the mining of coal, and if so, to proceed against them.

By reducing the rate of railroad fares to two cents a mile, it is estimated that the people of Ohio will be saved $4,000,000 a year, or a sum equal to almost all the taxes paid for the support of the state government.

The Senate Committee takes under consideration the Hepburn railroad rate bill.

The taking of testimony against Senator Reed Smoot, the Mormon, ends. Senator Smoot’s counsel will introduce testimony in his defense.

The House of Representatives passes 429 pension bills. The Judiciary Committee of the House begins an investigation to ascertain whether or not Congress has the power for Federal control of insurance.

Secretary Taft appears before the Senate Committee on the Philippines and says the United States will probably suffer no reduction in tariff income under the Philippine tariff bill passed by the House of Representatives.

Secretary Root proposes to reorganize the State Department and put it on a business basis.

Charles E. Magoon, governor of the Panama Canal Zone, appears before the Senate Committee on Interoceanic Canals. He declares the sanitary conditions good, the Supreme Court of Panama capable and impartial, and advises the coinage of silver money for use on the Isthmus.

The differences between President Dolan, of the United Mine Workers of the Pittsburg district, and the delegates to the convention are taken to the courts.

February 11.—Samuel Glasgow, manager of a milling company of Spokane, Washington, claims to have received Chinese papers from his representative in China, claiming that a recent speech of William J. Bryan to Chinese merchants had been used to stir up renewed antipathy to American goods.

John Mitchell, President of the United Mine Workers, reaches New York City to confer with the mine operators on the new scale of wages demanded by the miners.

President Baer, of the Reading Railroad, states that the Pennsylvania Legislature has not the power to interfere with the vested rights of coal-carrying railroads.

February 12.—The Senate passes the resolution introduced by Senator Tillman which directs the Interstate Commission to investigate the alleged discrimination by railroad companies in the matter of the transportation of coal and other commodities; as to whether the railroad companies own stock in coal companies or in other commodities carried by them; whether any of the railroad officers are interested in such commodities; whether there is any monopolizing combination or trust in which the railroads are interested, and whether any of the railroad companies control the output of coal or fix its price. The Commission also is directed to investigate the system of car distribution, and whether there is discrimination against shippers either in the matter of the distribution of cars or otherwise.

Senator Lodge, of Massachusetts, makes a speech in the Senate favoring a revision by the courts of all rates made by the Commission. This would practically kill the effectiveness of the Hepburn bill.