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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 25, 1904)
. ...... ' I f : " ' THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL. PORTLAND. SUNDAY MOKW1NO, DKCEUBXRWkOL r I ' ... T.:, uTll-- Ly M - - ' - .-H..! 1 1 " i ' r.--1" "AZUl3lr "ftrr SPi1Cj 'If I " u'ii ' ' 7 1' j win in a if wi'V"!-1 1 iijil IK reeponee to the request of the Out look I eubmlt the following sug geatlona In regard to the lec tion and Its lnflusp.ce upon the future of the Democratic party. It l Impossible to say Jst In what proportion a number of1" i.ikMi..i to the overwhelming vic tory recently recorded m favor of the ,rii.k nartv. or. more accurately peaking, against the Democratic party, for the return will Show that tha fall m me Democratic vote was not entirely of feet by Republican gains. A multitude of opinions have been ex pressed In regard to the election and Its political effect. Some "r'bu' It to Mr Roosevelt's popularity, but this hardly accounts for W. because men In public life are rsvorea or iw cause of what they stand for rather than because of personal characteristics. As both candidates stood for the gold standard, the result cannot b construed as a victory for gold. As Judge Parker announced In his first speech that It would be almost If not quite Impossible to reform the tariff during his adminis tration because of the large Republican majority In the senate, the result cannot Is regarded as a vindication of the Re publican position on the tariff question. The trust -Issue wss not presented with sufficient deftnltenea by either side to make the election a deliberate decision of the people on the trust question. Neither can the result be regarded as a specific declaration for or against reme dial leglslstlon upon the labor question. Judge Parker did not emphasise the tabor question end Mr. Roosevelt did not rsfer to It. The fact that Mr. Doug las was elected governor In Massscru setts by the aid of the labor vote, and the further fact that Governor Pea body . MMint In Cnliirado by Hie same Influence, while both states went ne publlcsn on the national ticket, would Indicate that the labor vote Inclined toward President Roosevelt. If It showed any trend In either direction. While the Democrats endeavored to lay emphasis upon the Imperlsllstlc policy of the Re Mbllcan party, the Republicans refused to meat the Issue, and the president, instead of outlining a polcy and defend im it declared that no promise of any kind could be given at this time. It would be unfslr, therefore, to regard the election as a definite declaration of policy on the Philippine question. The roily of Compromise. While it would be difficult to regard the election as a vindication of any par ticular policy of the Republican party, or of any definite principle advocated by it. the returns did show most conclu sively the folly of trying to run a Demo cratic campaign on compromises and concessions. While the election may not show the president what the people want him to do. It does show the Demo cratic party what It ought not to do. For the past eight yeara the Democratic needle has been to a greater or leaa ex tant deflected from the fixed principle "equal rights to all and special privi leges to none" that ought to guide It. by the Influence of what la called tha fconaervatlve element of the party. As Man as the result of the election in li was known, the Democrats who were re sponslble for tha party's defeat imme diately began to give it advice. Those ?wto had themselves; vated for Palmer' aid Buckner (who polled about 130,000 votes In tha nation i began to ten the Democratic party how ta win. They de sired to so modify the Democratic plat farm as to eliminate what they called "radicalism" and "populism." As the convention of 1900 spproached. It be came evident that the organisers were not so strong among the' voters as they were in the newspapers. They failed to control the Kansas City convention. A second national defeat. however, strengthened the reorganising element, and, by appealing to the office-hunger of some and to the fears of others. It suc ceeded in controlling the 8t. Louis con vention. The campaign of 104 was con ducted on "conservative" line. The Democratic candidate announced his ad herence to the gold standard (although the platform did not refer to the money question at all), and until nearly tha close of the campaign the only vigorous attack made against the Republicans was against the policy of Imperialism. Just before the election Judge Parker charged that the Republican committee waa drawing Its sinews of war from the treasuries of the trusts, but the Large came too late to have much influence upon the election. When the vote was counted. It wss found that the Demo crats of the nation did not Indorse the conservative plsn of campaign. Not only in the western and middle states, bat even In the east the Democratic vote waa smaller thsn It was in 1000. As the so-called conservsttve Democrats have relied upon the promise of victory rather than upon any well-defined politi cal principles, the overwhelming defeat answers their only argument and leaves the Democratic party free to take up the work of reform. While those who supported tha Democratic ticket regard the defeat as an Injury to the nation, still tha radical Democrats realise that so signal a reverse removes the tempta tion that has for eight years embar rassed the party and made Its course uncertain. The party can now formu late a complete and consistent plan of campaign against the spirit of plutoc racy which runs through the policies of the Republican party. The Moral Rases of Public Questions. The Democratic party Is now In a position to consider the moral Issues presented by pending problems, and In the presentation of the moral phasee of public questions Is the strength of tho Democratic position today. Every great political question has sn economic bear ins;, and every economic question Is at foundation a moral .question. The line between right and wrong runs through very problem of government, and the final decision of the problem Is along this line. No proposition la better sup ported by history than that "righteous ness exalteth a nation." and It Is ss true of a party as It Is of a nation. In fact, no on can form an accurate Judgment upon the individual man or upon groups of men who does not accept ss his major premise that truth rests upon Justice, and Is omnipotent. Just In so far as an Individual fallows this doctrine he suc ceeds; there Is no other true measure of success. In proportion as he departs from thts doctrine he falls. For a time ha seams to prosper, his prosperity Is only apparent, for no amount of wealth or honor can compensate for the doing of an Injustice, snd history desls with men. with psrtles, and with nations, ac cording (a one inexorable law "Tha rages of sin Is death." If I ware going to coin a new proverb to fit this case. If would run like this: 'nvy not the prosperity of the evil doer, it cannot laat." Aa wall envy tha suc cess of the horsethlef after be has come Into possession of s stolen horse, and before the transgressor Is overtaken by the officers of UM law. aa to envy a man. a party, or a nation after a temporary triumph, and before IHgautabWi. Jaw baa had time to operste. When Injustice la done by a large frottp er'by Indirection. It la more dlf Icull to trace the responsibility, and nt may be more slow, but the penalty Is no less sure. The man who tranagreasss the laws of nature may es cape punishment for a year or for a decade, but the relation between cause and effect, however extended, is not broken. In the case of a nation a cen tury may elapse between the sowing of the wind and the reaping of the whirl wind, but the one follows the other. Justice and Taxation. The problems which confront the na tion today Involve moral questions, snd the welfare of the nation depends upon their Just solution. The subject of tax ation IS an ever-present one. Many opin ions may he expressed as to the amount of taxes to be raised, and as to the manner and proportion In which they shall ha collected, but no one will dlf nutc the proposition that unnecessary taxation Is unjust taxation, nor will any one attempt to defend a distribution ot taxes when that dtatrlbution Is con fessedly unjust. The only questions, then, open for consideration are How much taxation Is necesary? and. What system or systems nearest approach Jus tice? The Republican party Is more Inclined to extravagance In appropriations than the Democratic party, and two reasons may be suggested for thjs. First, the Republican party contains more rich men than the Democratic party, and as the rich spend money more freely than the poor, they naturally do not iold their public aervanta to aa atrlct an ac countability aa the Democrata do. In the second place, tha Republicans hsve for a generation taught the hereey that tariff taxation confer a benefit upon t$i country In addition to tha fenronue that It brings. When a man is thor oughly Imbued with the Idea that a tax la a blessing, he la apt, when In office, to enlarge the blessing, specially if he belongs to the claaa known aa the "tax awe I ng" claaa rather than to tha tax paying claaa. The federal revenuea today are de rived almoat entirely from taxes upon consumption, and such taxes always bear heaviest upon the poor and lightest upon the rich. Under taxss on con sumption men contribute, not In propor tion to property or income, but In pro portion to whst they eat, drink, wear and use. In other words, taxes on con sumption sre taxes upon our needs, and men's needs, being created by tha Al mighty, are much more nearly equal "than their possessions. ,Tariff taxes be ing collected Indirectly, the amount of the tax Is concealed. A less amount of injustice dona under direct taxation would arouae much more resentment and realstance than a much larger injustice done through Indirect tsxstton. It would be a reflection upon the patriot lam of the people to say that they would tnot under direct taxation contribute willingly a surricieni amount iu sup port the government. If tariff reform and sn Income tax are steps toward Justloa in taxation, aa I be lieve they are, the Democratic party ought boldly to advocate them and take advantage of the growth In the senti ment which muat ultimately support these reforms. Tha Immorality of Truata. Tha trust queatlon involvea a moral principle. Viewed from a moral stand point, what difference is there between me trust magnate woo iw vw- time upon the industrial bighwaya ana the masked robber who. with more r 1st practices larceny upon ths slds street and the country road? The private mo nopoly haa always been an outlaw. The Democratic national platform haa twice declared, "A private monopoly ie inde fensible and Intolerable." It cannot be defended by any argument baaed upon history1 or human nature, and Its ex actions will not long be willingly toler ated by any people who believe In equal rights and equal opportunities. Of course opposition to the trusts in sures opposition from the trusts; out how can a party be Judged better than by ths company It keeps? Trust mag nates will not be friendly to a party that is unfriendly to them, snd ths fact that they support a party raises a presump tion against that party. If they give liberally to the campaign fund of a party It cannot be for any other purpose thsn to reward the party for what It has done for them or to purchase some sdvsntage In the future. A trust magnate may contribute from hie own purse to ad vance the general principles of his party, but when he contributes from trust funds It must bs on the theory that the trust itself Is to be benefited, for how otherwise could he defend the donation of funds that belong hot to him but to the stockholders? If the great corpora tions help a party Into power, tha party cannot repay the corporations except at the expense of the public. Aside from the economic Injustice that the trusts are doing, they are guilty of another Immorality In that they are cor rupting politics snd debauching not only the voters who sre bought, but the rep resentatives who are led to betray their conetltuents. The Democrstlc party should sttsck the principle of private monopoly whenever and wherever ap plied. It cannot hope to succeed merely by attacking some one trust! It must attack them all. Jefferson the Poe of Monopoly. "Legislate as little as possible, and leave the rest to ths energies of a free people" thus spake Jefferson, and this language la often quoted by those who oppose legislation Intended to destroy tha truata. Such an application of his language, however, doee great Injustice to Jefferson. He was the foe of mo nopoly. So great was his opposition to the principle of monopoly that he even questioned whether the government ought to grant a patent; and while he made this sxcsptlon, he dsflnsd ths grounds upon which the exception stands, snd Insisted that sven thts Ex ception ahould be carefully guarded. No one who understands Jefferson's hostil ity to sll kinds of special privilege would be guilty of so using snythlng he ever said as an argument against any needed remedial legislation. If by legis lation corporations are permitted to be come so large as to endanger the public welfare, it will not do to plead In their behalf the restriction of legislative power. Jefferson ws opposed to what is sailed paternalism In government; he did not believe thst the people ehould be taught to depend upon the government. hut he never questioned the right or the duty or congress to employ Its delegated power to the fullest extent when neces sary for the protection of human rights and the public welfare. In his first In augural message a meeaage which haa been the standing Imorratlr platform nel-erJ. bv. o ii. .J Zr,. W "? n "d to present preservation of the general governments?. ,-, ri. , . . . ., In Its whole constitutional vigor, as the fh mor1 P""" of th tru,t "" sheet-anchor of our peace at home and safsty abroad." Ths 'whole constitu tional vigor" of the general government la needed .lust now to cope with the trust queatlon. In the diecusslon If ths principles of Jeffereon It must be re membered that we have a very differ ent situation to meet today from that which confronted Jefferson. snd we must look to the democrstlc spirit of his teachings, not merely to the letter, to learn what Jefferson would do today Laws that were sufficient for the regu lation of travel by stage are not aufff- MR. BRYAN ON DEMOCRACY In Its Issue of Nov. 11 the Outlook, commenting on the election, said: "We anticipate that with this election indi vidualistic democracy as a political power ends; that the democracy at the future will be that represented by Mr. Bryan and Mr. Watson not socialism, but a social democracy." It le for this reason that we have asked Mr. Bryan to tsll our readers what are the prin ciples of democracy, as he. understands them. This he does in this Issue. Mr. Bryan's style is characteristic of the. man. It Is the si vie of one who has thought out the problems of the hour to a conclusion, whose conclusions ' sre baaed not on political expediency but on ethical principles, and who haa therefore tha courage of his convictions, that cour age which make, htm aa ready to avow them after overwhelming; .defeat as In the hour of battle and in hope of victory. Who, for example, of his most bitter op ponents can fall to admire the spirit which In defeat dictates this paragraph: "If I ware going to coin a new proverb to fit this, case, it would run like Mils: Envy not the , prosperity pf t he jsvll doer. It cannot' last ' As well envy the success of the horse thief after he , haa come Into possession of a stolen horse, and before the transgreasor is overtaken by tha of flcera of the law, aa to envy a man, a party, or a nation after a tem porary triumph, and before Immutable law has had time to operate." There is no misunderstanding Mr. Bryan, lie doea not guard his affirma tions with so many qualifications that no -man can guess what he really affirms, nor lsave loopholes for retreat In case his doctrines fall to find adherents, nor use words lii s double sense, nor employ them to obscure his meaning, nor put on a semblance of wledom and morality by Indulgence In general platitudes He is clear, definite, peattlve, concrete. The Intelligent and honest reader can easily understand his meaning. Whether he will be' the Democratic candidate in dent for the regulation of travel by rail ; but the same spirit that would prompt legislation to protect paassngers then would prompt the protection of passen gers today, Just as the spirit .that would prohibit the beating of a man with a club would, after the introduction of firearms, prohibit ths injury of a man with powder and ball. If the defendere of the trusts are so anxious to obey ths injunction of Jefferson, let them begin by refusing to grant to corporations charters that permit the exploitation of the public. It la absurd to Invoke Jef ferson's advice against rest raining leg islation after having disregarded It In the creation of corporations. Tha Position of Parties as to Monopolies. The Republican party by ita defenae of the principle of private monopoly la hastening the consideration of the Issue presented by Socialism. The Democrats declare that all private monopollea are bad, and favor auch legislation as will restore the reign ot competition. When Republicans assert, aa aome do, that a private monopoly la the natural out growth of our economic development !. thev declaro th.t monODolles are ttenwricisil and helpful, they go more tna nalf.wa toward soclellem. Th. Socialist carries ths argument a little farther and insists thst the advantage of monopoly should accrue to the public and not to a few men. Republicans havs been in the habit of denouncing the Democrats or Socialists, and yet the Republicans themselves have done more to strengthen the Socialistic position than the Democrata have. It Is the fail ure of the party "in power to protect the public from the great consolidations of money that haa given an Impetus to So cialistic doctrines. The Democrats draw the line between what are called nat ural monopolies and ordinary industries. A city water plant, for instance. Is a nat ural monopoly, because It la Impossible to have a number of competing water systems. The same la true of lighting planta and other municipal enterprlaea. Competition Is practically imposslbls In such cases, and the Democrats, as -a rule and the rule Is becoming more snd more nearly universal favor municipal ownership and operation of these plants. Ths Democrats favor municipal owner ship, not because the principle of com petition Is bad. but because competition in the case of municipal plants is Impos sible. The Republicans, on the con trary, are now insisting that compe tition among great Industries Is a harm ful thing and that these Industries are Justified In combining to suspend com petition, although it la well known that the corporations and not the public reap the benefit that comes from controlling the market. The consolidation of the great lines of railroad Inevitably tends to force upon the public the question whether the railroads shall be controlled by the public in their own Interest, or controlled by ths ratlrosd magnates for ths exploitation of the, people. No one at all familiar with public affairs can doubt that the private ownerehlp of rail roads will cease aa soon aa the monopo listic plana of the railroad monopolists are realised, and yet the Republican party Is doing nothing to prevent the watering of stock, the creation of ficti tious capitalisation, and the consolida tion of ths railroads. If the merger case Is cited as an evidence of the In tention of the Republican party to pre vent the consolidation of railroads. It must be remembered that the case was decided by a majority of one, and that the Juatlce who east the deciding vote rested his decision upon arguments that may not apply to the next case; snd It must also be remembered that the lead ing Republican papera have advocated auch an amendment to the Sherman antl trust law aa will legalise the very thing which the merger decision Mas tempo rarily restrained. The Juatlce appointed by Prealdent Roosevelt dissented from the opinion rendered by the majority. The trusts, which havs been given un bridled licence, ere much more danger ous than the railroad merger. The peo ple have It In their power to regulate railroad rates, although their efforts have several times been nullified by th supreme court; but the lnduetrlsl combi nations are subject to no regulation whatever, and are violating the anti trust law with Impunity. The Democratic party, no longer un der the Influence of corporate wealth and no longer eubject te the dictation of those who would conciliate the preda tory classes. Is In position to make this Tha Lbor question la Politics. The tabor question presents pre-eml-nently a moral Issue. The relation be tween employer and employe le becom ing more and more etralned. and the gulf which separates them seems to be ever widening. Ths Industrial situation cannot be viewed with unconcern, and the Republican platform suggests no remedy. The right of the people, gctlng as a whole, to prohibit the employment of child labor In factories Is no longer disputed, but ths right of the stats te protect worklngmen from the evil ef 190, or even the Democratic leader in the Interim. It Is too early to prophesy But It cannot be doubted that he Is the clearest and Ablest exponent. If not Of opinions entertained, a. -least ot a inim ical spirit and purpose shared, by a very great number of American cltlsena, and eo tha representative of a political force which muat be reckoned with, and if reckoned with muat be understood A clearer statement of that spirit and pur pose the public are not likely to bet from any quarter for some time to come. His paper In this Issue, on "The Future of the Democratic Party," may fairly be regarded aa the political platform of what we have ventured to call "a Social Democracy," and ws advise those pf our readers who are Interested in the current political' life of the, nation to cut. thts article out and kdep it for 'reference, unless they are accustomed to keep tha Outlook Itself on file. In some Important respects we heartily agree with Mr. Bryan. We agree that every economic question Is at foundation a moral question, sod that the moral conalderatlons outweigh all considera tions of so-called expediency; that taxes should be levied on possessions rather than on expenditures; that a private monopoly la Indefensible and Intoler able; that vigorous legislative and exec utive action la required to regulate the trusts; that the stats haa a right and often a duty to regulate by law houra and conditions of labor; that there Is a real danger of the abuse of injunctions by the courts, especially In Industrial controversies; and that every people, at home and .abroad, in state, territory and dependency, white, brown and black, la entitled to- life, liberty, and the pursuit Of happiness. But In some very Important respects we do not agree with Mr. Bryan. Wa do not think an income tax Is either the wisest or ths most lust method of levying taxes on possessions for a tax on iaduatry Is not the same aa.a tax on property; nor that the remedy for fects of long houra la still a matter of controversy. Thoae who oppose auch legislation rest their arguments upon what they call the right of private con tract, and they assert that the govern ment cannot legally Interfere with a con tract between employer and employe. But thoae who make thla argument are strangely blind to the fact that a con tract to bs binding must be a free and voluntary contract. No contract can be properly described as free and voluntary when one party to the contract la under practical duress. If an employer were to shut an employe up In prison and starve him into signing a contract, no court would enforce the contract. It ia not necessary that an employe should be In prison to be under nn effective duress. The ties that bind the laboring man to his family, not to speak of the necessity for food for himself, surround him with Invisible walls as strong as prison walls, and often compel him to aubmlt to such terms as the employer may dictate. Nearly all the states have usury taws, which Interfere with the freedom of con tract so far aa interest la concerned. Why? Because "the borrower Is servant to the lender," and Is not In a position to make a free and voluntary contract. Even If the borrower suggests ths rate of Interest and pleada for the money aa a personal favor, the lender cannot col lect mora than the legal rata. The same arguments that are employed to defend a usury law can be employed to defend a law thst limits the hours or tanor. To say that the employer can arbitrarily dictate, terma to the employe offends against every enlightened conscience. The right to live, which Is Included by the Declaration of Independence among the Inalienable rights of man, must not be construed merely as the right to a bars existence. It must be construed ac cording to the rules that are applied to o there. It means that tha laboring man haa a right to live and to labor under auch conditions as will enable him to make a reasonable uas of his ltfe, snd also to make suitable provision for those dependent upon him. Injunction or Arbitration. And this brlnga ua to the disputes between capital and labor. How can they be settled? Not by the capitalist alone, because his selfishness may lead him to take advantage of the necessities of his employes snd exact from them too large a proportion of ths Joint prod uct of labor and capital. Neither can the queetlona In dispute be left entirely to the, employes, for they ma v be biased in their own favor, and may Insist upon terms which are unjust. Arbitration, like the court of Justice, recognises ths selfishness and the bias that are liable to exist on both sides, and substitutes an impartial board for the weighing of the evidence to be preeented. It Is not necessary that the finding of the arbitra tion board ahould be binding upon either party. As a rule, public opinion would follow the finding, and public opinion ta a very potent force In settling euch difficulties. Ths very feet that stther party could compel ths other to go be fore an arbitration board would In Itself prevent many disagreements, because neither elde would risk arbitration un less convinced that Its contsntion was just. The writ of Injunction Is now em ployed to coerce employes Into accepting the terms of employers. Ita purpose le to deprive the laboring man of trial by jury, and the Democrats havs favored, and muat still favor, legislation which will deprive the courts of ths power to thus suspend Jury trial; but a permanent arbitration board would greatly lessen the number of strikes and thus mitigate ths evils of government by Injunction. Arbitration la, therefore, an urgent need. How else can capital and tabor be brought Into harmonloua co-operation? Surely this Is a question that appeal to the consclsnce of the people. Bven more. It I a question which Involves more distinctly and directly than any other question the Christian doctrine of brotherhood. "Thou Shalt love thy neighbor as thyself Is a platform upon which all ought to be willing to stsnd. snd It pre sents the only solution of the question between those who toll snd those who employ. It presents also a rule which will solve all othr economic and socio logies! questions, for there Is not an svll now complained of that does not grow out of the violation of thla doctrine Of brotherly, love. Tha Money Question. The money question, while not so acuts as it waa a fsw years ago. can never be sntlrsly Ignored. 'The contro versy between those who advocate the gold standard and thoss who advocate bimetallism Is not so much a contest between two metals or between two monetary systems as It is a contest be tween two elements of society. Just now we sre enjoying, unexpectedly to all. the benefit of a largely Increased production of gold. and. strangely enough, the Republican party, whose leaders denied In that we needed any more metallic money, ia reaping the political benefits that have followed a DEMOCRATIC PARTY IN DEFEAT monopoly Is the re -establishment of competition a more hopeful remedy Is governmental direction snd control; nor that the use of preventive measures. by Injunction should be prohibited rather that men accused of violating Injunc tion should be given trial by Jury; nor that the bast way to Insure liberty for the Filipinos Is to sstl away and leave them Independent on the contrary, their only hope of liberty Ilea in the mainte nance of their organic connection wUh the United Statee. under Ita sovereignty. And we may add that, In our Judgment, any attempt to destroy national banks of Issue would be against the lessons of historic experience and disastrous to the Industrial well-being of all classes In ths community; any attempt to establish be metalllsm in this country without the co-operation of other countries would give us a silver monometallism, ths dis i strous effects of which would fall moet heavily on, the wage-earners; and that If It Is our duty to protect the llbertlea bnd promote the economic and, Intellect ual progress of the Filipinos abroad. It Is no less our duty to protect the liber ties and promote the economic and In tellectual progress of ths African race at home, a subject on which Mr. Bryan Is silent. We make these statements, not by way of criticism or debate, for we have not Invited Mr. Bryan to our columns for that purpose, but by wsy of defin ing more clearly In certain details the differences between the principles of Democracy as Mr. Bryan understands them and the prlnctplea of what we may call Modern Federalism as ws under stand them. In our Judgment, ths po litical Issue of the future will be one Joined between thees two schools or tendencies, and they are both authori tatively Interpreted In this issue of the Outlook Social Democracy by Mr. Will iam J. Bryan's paper, Modern by the sec ond inaugural of Preeldent Roosevelt, of which we give in another place an ab stract Interpretation. larger circulating medium. That party has attributed to its tariff legislation ths blessings that have directly and naturally followed an Increase In the amount of money. Bimetallism was not a new scheme Invented as a panacea for tha hard times; It is an old and long-established system. Gold and silver have been In use ss money for thousands of years. There havs been changes In the relative production of the precious metals more sudden and mors Important than that which we have recently witnessed, and bimetallism haa survived them all. There Is nothing In human hlatory to Justify the fsar that all of ths gold and all of tha silver now being produced or likely to be produced would give a larger volume or standard money than the world needs. The trouble is that the governments of ths-world are too largely " in the control of the creditor classes, and the creditor claaaes are much more anxious to prevent a fall in the purchasing power of the dollar than they are to prevent a rise in the pur chasing power of ths dollar. Thla so licitude Is very natural, because tha holders of fixed Investments profit when dollars rise end suffer when dollars fall. Just as ths owner of land profits when land rlaee and suffers whsn land falls in market price. If our government Is In ths control of those whose sympathise are with ths money-changar. ths money owner, and the holder of fixed Invest ments, sll of our financial legislation will tend to the coneervatlon of the interests of these classes, regardleas of the effect of euch legislation upon the public. The Democratic party cannot hope to make any progress toward other reforms aa long aa It takes the capitalistic slds of ths money queetlon. because the men who sre willing to allow the financiers to run ths treasury will, by ths same process of reasoning, permit ths trusts OIL BOOM (William E. Relley In Chicago Tribune.) IT WAS a little over SO years ago that the first natural gas well was discovered In Delgwars county, Ind Within ths lsst hslf dosen It played out. Even the moat sanguine could see nothing but darkness In the future for the "gas belt." There was little hope for eastern In diana. Gradually It must drift back Into the atmosphere from which gas had brought It. Real estate began to fall. Empty houses could be seen every where. All seemed dead and lifeless. Then came the chsngs. The entire section was aroused from lethargy. Once more the spirit which built was In flamed with life. It was Oil! Oil! OH! Men, women, children everybody took up the cry. Speculation was rife. Oil! Oil! The section was oil mad. Again money began to flow Into avsry channel. Representatives of millions of capital began to arrive In swarms. Ho tels were overcrowded. Worklngmen were eagerly sought at any price. The section was on the boom. Everything began to move; everybody began to work, to apend. and the gas belt waa again alive with industry. Manufac turera have become assured and are making preparations to adopt oil as a' rod Stores are opening and houses cannot be secured for all the desirable tenants. Real estats Is Increasing In value by Jumps. Thers Is little csuse for wonder that the people of the district arc oil mad whsn ws compsre results of ths local field with thoae of the Klondike, where thousand went to hasard life and for tune for gold. The Klondike during the first year of Ita development only sent out a trifle over $1,000,000, yet when this became known stream of humanity flocked thither. Tet the light that lured them was the glitter of only a paltry million. Compare this with th results of the oil field. There Is no dsnger, no risk of life or limb. The quality of the cruds product found here Is surpassed by that found in only a few localltlee of the world. It contains proportionate parts of all the by-products of petro leum parraffln, gasoline, naphtha and Illuminating oil. The Standard Otl com pany, the only market for the product In thla country, paya $1.01 a barrel for ths fluid. From the local field, accord ing to the statistic of the Standard OH. snd no oas doubt them, over 10.000 barrels of oil are sent out of the "field" dally. This means that over $10,000 reaches the pockets of -ths producer daily, that $$,110,000, to be conservative, reaches them yearly. This Is the situs tlon at the end of th first year of the local field's development. So fsr there have been drilled In Delaware county about $00 well Of this number not 5 per cent "went dry." All the others re producing from 10 to 20 barrels of petroleum a day. They are pumping from the earth from $11 to control buslnsss enterprises, and turn the employes over to the oontrol of the employers. , Legislation which Increases the pur chasing power of the dollar transfers to the pockets of tha holdsrs of fixed ln veetments money which belongs to the wealth-producere, and Is merely larceny under the form of the law. Mr. Bialne pointed this out with great clearnees; Mr. Carlisle, who afterwards became secretary of the treasury, called atten tion to It; and Mr. McKinley, In 11. after he had been In congress and before he became president, declared that legis lation which made "money scarcer end therefore dearer" also made "money the master and all things else the servant." The principles of monetary science have not changed, and no amount of delusion can change them. The Demo cratic party cannot afford 'to alter Its policies to suit those who will not think upon this subject, nor can it afford tor take thv elde of those whose sympathies are against tha masses. It Is natural that those who take the aide of the financiers on the question of metallic money ehould favor national banks of Issue, notwithstanding the) gross favoritism that tho government now shows thsn). It lg slso natural that thoaa who accept tha advice of tha financiers should advocats an asset cur rency, for with the payment ot the na tional debt the national bank notes must be retired unless some other basis lg found for them. The conslstsncy thst ws find In ths Individual we find also in ths party, and thoaa who favor tho gold standard when the dollar was rising very consistently favor the turning ever of the treasury department to ths banks which are now making several millions a year out of the generosity of the gov ernment money. Whenever tha admin istration gives It at a expense to the public, and we have at leaat one re oorded Instance In which political serv ice waa referred to by a bank official as a reason for the beotowmeat of such favors upon the bank. The administra tion has no moral tight to uss the gov ernment money or, the government au thority for the" pecuniary advantage of the financiers, and It canot do so with out trespassing upon the rights Of the people at targe. A Large Army and Wavy Pot Seeded. It would carry thts article beyond the specs assigned to It to discuss all of the questions which are before the public A large navy, aside from unnecessarily Increasing the burden of taxation, men aces the peace of the nation. Instead of bringing security to the nation. It is mors apt to Involve the nation in for eign complications. Tha aams spirit which Isads to the building of a large navy leade to the uae of It upon alight provocation; and thoaa who profit finan cially by the construct ion of targe navies and those who occupy life positions In taking care of targe navies, recognising their burdensomeness. will be tempted to create use for them In order to Justify their existence. It Is as reasonable to expect to promote taw and order by In creasing the number of revolvers carried In a romunlty as It Is to expect to pro mots international peace by rivalry In the building of. navies. In a little vol ume entitled "Letters Written by a Chinese Official" the author takes the Christian nations to task for profeeslng a worship of the "Prince of Peace" and at ths same time outstripping ths heathen nations In .warlike expenditures. How can wa lead the world toward peace while vying with the fighting nations In our preparations for slaughter? All the objections that can be made to a large navy can be made to a large army, while many of the arguments In favor of a large navy are entirely want ing from the defense of a large military establishment The fact that the stand ing army haa been more than doubled in the laat eight years most, sooner or later excite an effective proteat. An Increase of more than $10,000,006 a year In the expense of ths military establish ment can be justified only by urgent necessity, and no reasons havs been ad vanced In support of the Increase. If the Increase Is due to a fsar of tabor RIVALS KLONDIKE GOLD to $$0 for some one. The life of the ordinary oil well Is 1$ yeara, and there are wells in ths Pennsylvania fields which sre now pumping six and 10 bar rels a day and have been doing eo for the laat IS years. It remained for the Daniel Boone Oil company to become, like tha man whoae name It bears, "the great pioneer." Ray Munahower of Muncle was the organizer of ths company. For several months previous to June, 1908. he had "felt" that there was oil somewhere and that he could find it. After weeka of toll, however, a com pany waa formed and capitalised st $10, 000 and $1,600 worth of stock, sold. On October 10 the drill waa sunk Into ths ground and ths well that was to make the eastern Indiana field was begun. Up to this time the few wells that were operating In thla field had found the "oil sand" about 1,000 feet below the surface. This was where the "pool" was generally supposed to be. If you drilled to that point and failed to get oil you had a dry well, and must begin anew or quit. When the old driller whom the Daniel Boone engaged struck this sand there was not the remotest sign of oil. Hs had a "dry hole." He putted up hla drills, cams back to M uncle, and ad vised the directors to quit. The direc tors told him to go back and drill aome more. And back he went, with a sym-. psthlslng grin on his face for ths mis guided one who wouldn't tske advice. The digger drilled for a few more days, but after going down 100 feet far ther he decided the' directors of the com pany were cragy, and "that there wae no use." "I ain't a-goln to drill no more," he announced to them. "You could drill to China and you couldn't find oil In that spot." The dlrectdrs were almost discour aged. The "oiler" spoke like one who knew, and It seemsd aa If ths caae was hopeless. They decided, however, to try again, and the man was persuaded to drill 100 feet more. When this hundred feet waa completed the director were on the field, but there was no sign of oU. "Drill another day," aatd one of the company, "and we will release you " Out of pity ths driller consented to work another day. That night he burst into a meeting (presumsbly the last) of the company. He held up a smsll bottle of brownish substance snd with a voice cltoksd with emotion he an nounced that hs "had got It." "It's good," he said. "Th pipes are filled and you'll get 110 barrels ths first day.-" It waa oil. The digger hed struck the eend st $$7 fset below "first pay." The next morning the directors, ac companied by a "shooter." went to the scene The "go devil 1 was dropped end the next Instant a stream of oil 7$ feet high shot from ths wsll and "deep pay" troubles, the question at once arises: Why not deal with labor troubles through the department of juatlce rather than through, tha war department. If our colonial policy le urged as an excuse for the Increase, then this Increased ex ponas must be charged to Imperialism. Fifty millions for six years would amount to $300.00$;ooo, whereas the Re puMlcsn leaders contend that Imperial Ism hss cost us less than $100,000,000. As a matter oft fact, a large part of tha increase In ths expenditures of both the army and the navy should be chsrgsd to Imperialism, for without Imperialism ths Republican party would not dare to stiuifl sponsor for the Increase. The queatlon of Imperialism raises an issue that Is clearly a moral one. With out considering the expenss which Im perialism Imposes upon ths taxpayers for the benefit of a few officials and for tha benefit of a few exploiting corpora dons; without considering the Injustice always dons to helpless subjscts by a foreign guardian; without considering . the violation of our fundamental prin ciples of government inwoived by impe rial lam ; without considering ths certain reaction of our imperialistic conduct upon our national character, It la sum oiant at thla tlma to point out the fact that imperialism attacks ths most vital Christian principle namely, the propaga tion of good by sxsmpls. But two meth ods havs been employed in all tha world by those who have sought to benefit other namely, force and example. Force, when employed by a 'guardian against a ward, haa always been de fended on the ground of benevolence; but where the guardian haa been a na tion It haa always asserted the right to fix tha price to be paid by the ward. In the very beginning of our imperialis tic venture Secretary Gage announced that "philanthropy -and five per cent would go hand In hand" in the Philip pines. In his speech as permanent chair man of tha Republican national conven tion In 1900. Senator Lodge said "We make no hypocritical pretense of being Interested In ths Philippines solely on account of others. While ws regard the welfare of thoae people aa a sacred trust, we regard the welfare of the American people first We see our duty to ourselves as- well as to others. We believe In trade expansion. By every le gitimate means within ths province of government and constitution WS mean to stimulate the expansion of our trade and open new markets." It le evident, therefore, that tha em ployment of force In the Philippines Is lntsnded to promote our good as wall as ths good of the Filipinos, and who wlil say that ths hoped-for good to ourselves may not blind us to ths real welfare of the Filipinos? Tha Bible plan of prop agating good ia by example: "So llva that others seeing your good works may be constrained to glorify your Father." If thla were changed to suit imperial latlc methods, It would read: "So en force your views upon others that they will do as you want thsm to do, and thsn charge them whatever you think fair for teaching them not to resist your forcible advice." We are id our con duct denying the universality of our own theory of government. Instead of In eplrlng In the Filipinos a lova of our Ideals and our principles of government, we constantly furnish them an oppor tunity to point out ths difference be tween our profeeelona and our practices. Certainly the Philippine queetlon pre sents an opportunity for the Democratic party to address Itself with success to ths religious Instincts of the American people and to the moral perceptions of the country. The time Is ripe for an appeal to the moral sense of the nation; the time ia -ripe for the arraignment of the. pluto cratic tendenclee of the Republican party before the bar of public conscience; and the Democratic party was never In better position thsn now to make thla appeal. If adversity has taught It to rest Its csss upon arguments addressed to tha head and heart of the nation, then great good will be extracted from the grievous defeat recently suffered was found. The new field had been opened. For the first 24 hours the well pro duced 2S0 barrels of oil. Oil waa then selling at $1 a barrel. Thereafter the company waa assured success. Qutharie. who had eagerly watched every step from the time he slgnsd tha lease to the farm on which the oil was found, until oil was found, received ae his share of th first day's return about I to. He haa long since paid off the mortgage and hla Income Is almost as great as that of the governor of Indiana. PIOBOPS AT KOI OP OOKAP. From ths Baltimore Sun. It la not every man who goes to sea that can ordsr freshly laid egga ae a companion to hie breakfast bacon, but Captain Thaprlch of the German oil tank steamer Burgerraelstsr Petersen, in port, haa by a careful study of ths genus poultry been able to do so. On board he hss a flock of chickens that receive much of his attention, and as a reward for his kindness they average one doxen eggs a day from November to May. Captain Thaprtch'a fada are the breed ing of chickens and homing pigeons. The homing pigeons are carefully raised from the egg all on board, with the ex ception of two pairs to start tha family, having been hstched on the ship. An Incident of the Inetlnct of the homing pigeon wss developed on board the Bur germeister Peteraen on her present trip to Baltimore. Laat Friday, when the veeael was off Hog Island making her way to the caps, the pigeons took an exercise fly, snd all but ons returned, ('apt. J. R. Thompson, Jr., Joined tha ship at the capes to pilot her to Balti more. At $:80 p. m.. after the ship had stesmed 70 miles from ths time the bird waa missed. It cam on board. Captain Thaprlch was then in the cabin taking hla afternoon tea. He waa the first one to know that hla pet had re turned Aa the ship hss made almoat two sides of a rightangled triangle from the posi tion where the bird waa lost. It waa as sumed that It had flown across ths land, cutting off ths ship and Joining It when $0 miles Inside of the capes, having left when the steamer waa fully 40 miles up ths coast. Would Be Useful. From ths Chicago, Tribune. During the Inspection of the hoepltal corps of the Fourth Maryland regiment recently one of the members waa asked his occupation "I am a carpenter," the man replied. "Why, what can you do for th corper" Inquired the Inspector, "a the hospltsl corps of a regiment Is generally composed of pharmacists and' medical students r I I can make coffins." was the real. and It waa eminently aatlafactsiy.