Jasper County Democrat, Volume 6, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 September 1903 — POLITICS OF THE DAY [ARTICLE]

POLITICS OF THE DAY

Free Coal Hnrllo* the Tr«a* The New York Times recently contained an interview with Mr. George Jr. Baer, President of, the Reading in which he said that coal anincs might have to be closed soon and miners thrown out of work because of the difficulty of getting rid of coal, especially of the steam size. The Times’ report says: “He said that the plan he had inaugurated when he became President «f the Reading of making a reduction ft 50 cents a ton in April, and then advancing the prices 10 cents a month tintil the figure again reached normal tty Sept. 1 had worked very satisfactorily.** Yes, Mr. Divine-rights Baer, it does peem to have worked beautifully—for the Coal Trust. It Is, however, a little hard on a few millions of us coal consumers who now have to pay higher prices for coal than ever before, except during and after the strike of last year. The retail price of anthracite at Washington is uow $7 25 and at Chicago $7.50 a ton. Immediately following the Baer Interview, the Times contained a dispatch from Pennsylvania saying: “The Philadelphia and Reading Coal *ad Iron Company lias issued a sweeping order closing every one of its washeries that produce small sizes, and other corporations and individual operators have followed suit. It is estimated that there are 2,000,000 tons of small sizes now in Btock, for which there is little demand." The inadequate demand for anthracite coal Is said to be partly due to closed mills and to the Increased use of soft coal for Btoam purposes. But the statistics of foreign commerce for the year ending June 80, 1903, offer some additional explanation as to this oversupply of hard coal. They show that we Imported last year 3,818,189 tons of coal, or nearly 2,000,000 tons more than were Imported in any previous year, and that of this amount. 207,004 tons were anthracite. This is more than 100 times as much anthracite as was Imported In any year since the Dingley bill taxing anthracite became law. It appears, then, that free coal, while it has not compelled the hard coal trußt to lower its prices for ordinary sizes of coal (and this is not strange .•when it is considered that there Is nowhere else anthracite like ours —that Is Baer's—to take its place), especially •t interior points, has compelled it to reduce prices of Its smaller sizes used for making steam and which, therefore, compete with bituminous coal. Nearly all of this imported coal is consumed in New England and on the Pacific Coast. It does a great deal to free manufacturers in these sections from the exactions of the hard and soft coal trusts now charging us two or three.times a fair price for this bounty of nature, Possibly some mistake was made when the Almighty consigned this most valuable heritage to Mr. Baer to parcel out to the rest of •us dwellers at so much per ton. It will be observed that the excess of imports over former years (2,000,000 tons) just about measures the surplus stock of steam coal for which no market can be found, although prices have been reduced from 15 to 30 cents a ton for these sizes. How Mr. Baer must hate free eoal! But he is lying low and saying nothing, for he knows that his Republican friends in Congress put coal on the free list only for one year and that bituminous coal will be dutiable again next January. He will not agitate this coal tariff again. But will the manufacturers and the people keep quiet? B. VV. H. Republican IMsoriranlcatiott. The Republican leaders seem to be liable to agree on what legislation is necessary by the coming Congress. President Roosevelt demands that Cuban reciprocity shall be first attended to, and has declared that he will call an extraordinary session of Congress for that purpose. The Republican leaders in the Senate are opposed to reciprocity legislation, and Senators Aldrich, Platt, Depew, Hanna, Quay and Spooner have all advised the President not to call an extra session of Congress this fall, and they are known to be opposed to the President’s policy. The President has declared that such legislation shall pass, “as sure as fate," and will doubtless send a message to Congress recomnmffing it On the necessity for I Aoanclal legislation there is a like dis vision of sentiment and even those I who desire a change in the law are I'hopelessly divided on the scope of the alterations that should be made. On the trust issue, the President has deI dared for publicity, but Is very slow at putting it in practice, and a majority of the Republican leaders are for flatting well enough alone, so anti-trust legiglatlon will be at a standstill. On tariff revision the party is more nearer ts united, but a minority of Congress |4hat are being pressed by their con Bayu—.hi will ifamand that some of the tariff schedules be revised and if 1 no recognition is vouchsafed to them, fttkdan they will carry the fight late | the BepublUtn national conventkpr T~M a , '

cess, unless they Join with the Democrats, is perceptible to the veriest tyro In the political arena, and most of them are merely playing that way to fool the voters. The Tanama canal is another matter upon which the Republican politicians are at odds, their leaders In the Senate who are controlled by the transcontinental railroad are secretly opposed to any canal, others favor the Nicaragua route and in consequence nothing has been accomplished. There is, however, legislation that the Republicans unite upon with the utmost celerity. They all favor “the old flag and an appropriation” and official graft and loot for themselves and their political strikers, and they uanimously agree that the crops would not grow and hard times would result from a Democratic victory. The Republican leaders also pretend to be unanimous for the nomination of President Roosevelt, yet more than half of them are really opposed to him. The cohesive power of public plunder holds them together, but the long-headed ones like Root and Quay know that the end is near and are leaving the rat-infested ship. There is an universal unrest and even the chief of prophets, if in the flesh, could not predict what the present Republican President or the coming Republican Congress will do. Talk of Democratic disorganization and reorganization, why it is infinitesimal compared to the Republican factional disagreements. Every Democrat Is united upon opposition to trusts, upon tariff reform, upon equal taxation and upon equal rights to all and special privileges to none, nnd that Is the winning platform.

Juggled Tnveatigation. The expected has happened. Postmaster Genera! Payne has succeeded In pretty nearly squelching the postoffice scandals. Since the indictment of Machen and Beavers, it is evident that but little more will be done. There are too many Congressmen and Republican leaders mixed up in the matter, who must protect the looters, and some of them too much dread an Investigation to allow the matter to proceed. Such a competent machine politician as the Postmaster General knows that the Republican party cannot receive any more such hard knocks as It has received by the exposure of even a small part of the scandals and survive the treatment. Trusting that other matters may occupy the attention of the voters, Mr. Payne has ordered no information to be given out about tho scandals and refuses to say anything himself. Looking at the matter from a political party standpoint he may be wise, but the exposure of the scandals in other government departments persistently keeps these matters in the public eye. How President Roosevelt and the other Republican leaders must pray for something big to happen. How quickly the Beirut Incident was seized upon, but that faux pas only occupied a day or two, and the scandals are still on top. There are indications that an attempt Is to be made to take advantage of the disturbed condition at Panama as an outlet for the public mind to dwell upon. But the scandals will not down, but bob up unsuspiciously with a worse aspect for the administration. One day we hear that Diggs and Miller will not be brought to trial, the next day that Beavers snaps his fingers at the administration and dares the government officers to arrest him, anyway he is daily seen on the streets and avenues of New York, often in the company of government officials. The proceedings are becoming farcical and there is a strong impression abroad that the investigation is being juggled and the pressure from the machine has been too great for the President to withstand. PtWs Trad* Knglaad and Protected Hues la. The American Economist, the organ of our protected manufacturers, gives much space to the protectionist speeches of Hon. Joseph Chamberlain of England. "British free trade,” it says, "has resulted in a terrible burden of poverty crushing the people.” Perhaps. But no one In or out of England will assert that conditions In England have been as bad at any time since “protection” was discarded as before. Nor will any one, with a reputation to lose, assert that conditions in freetrade England are not far better than in any of the highly protected countries of Europe. Look at Russia, which has within fifteen years become, perhaps, the most highly protected country in Europe. Conditions there are wretched. The people are starving by thousands. Wages are very low—s 4 to $6 a month for men in protected mills. An article in the Washington Post of Aug. 22 says that “during the month of July 200 men were killed and 2,000 wounded during the labor disturbances In Russia," and that “the sailors and stokers of the Russian Trading and Bteam Navigation Company at Odessa, who recently struck, were receiving sttly $0 and $5 a month respectively.” Will the American Economist kinder tell os what is the matter with pro-