Jasper County Democrat, Volume 4, Number 52, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 April 1902 — POLITICS OF THE DAY [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

POLITICS OF THE DAY

The Flag and Trade. Mr. Frye is fond of using metaphor In support of his subsidy bill. He compares the captain of a merchant vessel to a commercial drummer. He says: "Suppose there is a merchant in the city. Would you dream that that merchant for a moment would think of hiring the commercial agent of a rival house to find markets for his goods? Is there a Senator who doubts that an American ship, commanded by intelligent. active, earnest, interested American officers, is a better instrument for the distribution of our products abroad and for the finding of those markets than a German ship, officered by Germans, Germany being the dangerous rival of the United States of America in all this business for the next twen-ty-five years?” Now a sea captain has about as much resemblance to a commercial agent as a railroad conductor has. He has nothing to do with the cargo of his ship but bring it to its destination. German officers and seamen are not vitally Interested in the nationality of tiie goods in the hold of their vessels. The German owners of German ships are after profits. They are not in business for'the purpose of flying the German flag over German ships carrying German goods only. Just now these owners would be only too happy to carry American goods anywhere on the face of the earth at very low rates. Many ships can’t get cargoes and are leaving our shores in ballast, or tying up in port. The Hamburg-American Line has just completed arrangements for a line from New York to the Levant for the very purpose of carrying American products to eastern Mediterranean ports and bringing back the products of the Orient. The protectionists in Germany have raised a great howl because of this unpatriotic action on the part of a German steamship company. The officials of the company very pertinently replied that they could not prevent Americans from exporting their products, and the company intended to get its share of the American trade with the East. The company shows good common sense and is therefore very offensive to the patriotic protectionists of Germany who so pine for great foreign commerce, but insist that foreign goods shall be excluded by protective tariffs. Messrs. Frye, Hanna and their followers talk as If a German steamship line carried only German goods. In fact, Germany, England, France, Italy, Norway and all the other countries ambitious of being or becoming sea powers are engaged in a fierce rivalry for the business of carrying our commerce. Facilities for shipping were never so good as now.

Hancock’s Words Come True. Poor Gen. Hancock was much ridiculed for calling the tariff question a local issue, but the whole tendency has been since—as, indeed. It w’as to not a little degree before —to sustain his statement. Pennsylvania had begun demonstration in this way, and it has created Quay and practically destroyed the Democratic party in the State, Louisiana has taken the tariff so much to heart as a local matter that It has made one of her great lawyers an imperialist on the bench of the United States Supreme Court. ’ But the local tendency of the Northwest was in another /irectlon; it favored a low tariff uutil beet sugar was put into the scales tlic,"e and carried tiie locality over to protection in its extremest form. And yet there are those who deny that the tariff is a local question!—Boston Herald.

Funston Grow* Orientally Despotic. Gen. Fred Funston, who for a few dare-devil exploits against the Filipino “children” is now placed well on ills way to the lieutenant generalship of the United States army, wants to shut everybody up who disagrees with bls policy of criminal aggression. The position of Gen. Fred is that everybody must keep still forever on this subject. We see how beautifully orientalized he has become. He already thinks and talks in terms of a military despotism reaching out from the Philippines over tiie whole American people with gag law’ as the first and last order of the day. We wonder If such as he really suppose their somewhat threatening talk can have the slightest effect in ending free discussion and expression of opinion in these United States.— Springfield, Mass., Republican. The Permanent I«*ue. It Is for the people to answer at the polls whether they prefer Republicanism and robbery or Democracy and a Just revision of the tariff that will harm no honest American industry and spoliate no honest American citizen or home. Here we have the pivotal and paramount Issue on which the Democratic party should make Its appeal to American voters in every Congressional district between this dny and the ides of the coming November!—Atlanta Constitution. A Change Widely Favored. Senator Hoar evidently does not at all appreciate the condition of public sentiment on the question of changing the method of electing Senators. He sneered at the recent action of the House of Representatives In passing unanimously the resolution for a constitutional amendment as "half a joke” and Intimated that all the signs of popular support represent only the activity

of “some one man or some few men somewhere.” The truth is that the feeling in favor of the change has been growing steadily among intelligent and thoughtful men during the last dozen years until a great many who at first opposed the innovation have come to favor It.—New York Evening Post. Leason for the Jingoes. After the Civil War the United States was without an army or navy of any formldabiUty for a generation and it was never more secure than during that period. It was far freer from foreign complications than it has been since its armament on land and sea has been greatly developed. This is a valuable historical lesson which the jingo shouters would obscure if they could, not because they are at all anxious to fight, but because the more appropriations for military and naval purposes the more patronage, the more fat contracts and the more stealings. Avarice is at the back and bottom of the war sentiment In this country.—Troy Press. ’ ’ Taxpayers Being Ridden to Death.’’. The Fifty-seventh Congress is teaching us a lesson that is too expensive not to be thoughtfully studied. The $2,000,000,000 expenditure of the people’s ifioney will break all American records for extravagance. On top of this will come the voting away of nearly $200,000,000 of the people’s money in subsidies to enable certain ship owners “to carry on their private business for their own private gain to a better advantage.” The time has' come for American taxpayers to call a halt. They are being ridden to death in the interest of the syndicates.—St. Louis Republic. The Pnblic Will Have No Benefit. The payment of subsidies to vessels, whether they carry cargoes or not, is a gratuity of no use to the public. The payment, of subsidies will not have the effect of reducing freight rates a particle. The Frye bill allows subsidies to vessels regardless of their ages. An old, obsolete type steamer may get a subsidy. If the Senate thinks this kind of business is popular it is likely to discover that it Is possible for its judgment to make a miscalculation.—Minneapolis Journal.

Should Be Retired at Once. Capt. Hull, the representative from the Des Moines, lowa, congressional district, publicly pledges himself to retire absolutely from politics If his constituents will give to him one more term. Thereafter be would devote himself to his extensive business Interests. Inasmuch as the Congressman's chief business venture is the Philippine Investment Company, it would be well If he were to be retired at once.—Springfield Republican. A Plea for Fishing Bounties. Fish are said to be a great brain food. If this be true, Congress ought to increase the bounty to fishermen and fishing vessels, and so encourage the fisheries as to make It possible for each Senator to live upon a fish diet during his term of office. By this means perhaps a little intelligence and common sense might be Injected into legislation, so that shipping subsidies and protective tariffs would be wiped off the statute books. Sinister Americans in Cuba. stories come from Havana of planters being forced to sell out to American capitalists and of the agents of the latter boasting that they are “working” Congress so as to delay relief for Cuba and still further depress real estate in the island. It is not necessary to credit all these tales, yet they undoubtedly represent to the Cubans a | very sinister side of the American occupation.—New Y’ork Evening Post. Will Accelerate Philanthropy. If the ship subsidy grab wins out in Congress the good Mr. Rockefeller, who will be one of the chief beneficiaries of this raid on the public treasury, will be able to endow several more colleges and churches. The steel trust will also be benefited and the benignant Mr. Carnegie, who makes a dissipation of philanthropy, will devote himself to tiie creation of libraries with an accelerated passion.--Kansas City Star. Reciprocity that Hanna Favors. Of course Hanna knows his business. He also knows the business of the big ship owners. If the subsidy grab becomes a law the beneficiaries can well afford to drop $1,000,000 in the hat when Hanna passes it around for another campaign corruption fund. That’s the kind of reciprocity Senator Hanna can stand for.—Toledo Bee. Many “Traitora” in the Country. Among the "traitors” whom Funston would have hanged are Wayne McVeagh, Senator Edmunds, George S. Boutwell, the presidents and professors of most of the great universities, the loading educators, lawyers, clergymen and statesmen of nearly every State in the Union.—Philadelphia North American. Worse than an Oligarchy. One western editor declares that the committee on rules of the House of Representatives Is fln oligarchy. It’s worse than that; it’s a cinch.—Washington Post. There are some kind of men who cannot pass their time alone; they are the dalle of occupied people.—Donald.