Gloucester County Democrat., 1901-08-01
NUMBER 50

the constitutions very important pFoyissoli-i;s-
tended to place and to keep the taxing power in
the hands of the peoples congress. No advocate
of executive tariff legislation has yet dared to de-
fend it constitutional grounds. Not one of
them will venture the assertion that congress can
delegate authority for such legislation to the
ecutiye department
But we are glad The Advertiser mentions trusts
in this connection There is a serious movement
foot for antitrust tariff legislation in the only
lawful way-by act of congress- 1t strikes direct
ly at the greatest combine Garth. Yet the
friends Of the Blaine scheme OF tariff tnkering
are making war upon it. Can The Advertiser ex-
plain that peculiar situation2 We know it will
not open its mouth in assertion Of the legality Of
the Blaine plan and that reticence is wise, but
we hope 1t will try to assign for the atti-
tude Of the reciprocity exploiters toward the prop
osition to deprive monopolistic combines of tariff
protection.
Press Censorship.
The Massachusetts authorities did a
thing recently which must furnish
much food for reflection to those who
reflect at ALL When General Otis es-
tablished his press censorship at Ma
Mia, it was asserted by as robust pa
triots as there are in this broad land
that it was a most dangerous and un-
American performance-a bad example
of imperial high handedness which was
likely to be initiated in this country.
Those who so asserted were denounced
as little Americans, copperheads and
traitors by Job lot of subsidized Re-
publican organs, but nevertheless what
they asserted would happen has already
happened in Massachusetts, which
claims to own the cradle of American
liberty-that is, press censorship has
been set up in the old Bay State, the
home of Samuel Adams, General War
ren, Daniel Webster, Charles Sumner
and other statesmen of renown. The
Irish World copied from the Detroit
News q picture Of the American flag
bearing such patriotic legends as, 'This
Flag Stands For Human Liberty" etc.
At the end Of the flag was pinned on
strip of white bunting on which were
printed the words, Provided the Presi-
dent and Congress So WISH" or words
to that effect, whereupon the Argus
eyed and ever patriotic officials of Mas
sachusetts prohibited the sale of that
edition of The Irish World within the
sacred precincts of the old Bay State.
1t would appear to sane men that that
was a monstrous proceeding in q coun-
try which boasts of freedom of speech
and freedom of the press. 1t is a won
der that these Massachusetts, guardians
Of the public veal did not suppress the
papers which published the dissenting
opinion Of Mr.. Justice John Marshall
Harlan Of the supreme court of the
United States In the Porto Rican case.
That was far more savage blow at
Imperialism than the cartoon in The
Irish World borrowed from the Detroit
News. But If Massachusetts can es-
tabllsh @ press censorship, why not
Rhode Island, New York and all the
rest? The strange part of it is that
there has been no editorial protest
against this press censorship in Massa.
chusetts.
If the American people can be sur
prised at anything in the way of ex-
travagance done by Republicans, they
will open their eyes in amazement
when they read the report of the COM
mittee to investigate certain matters
touching the employees of the house OF
representatives in which it is shown
that men are carried on the pay rolls
from year to year who never set foot in
Washington and who render absolutely
no labor for the money they receive.
Others are paid two or three times as
much as they earn; all this at the die
tation of Republican members of con-
gress. A day of reckoning will come.
After awhile the taxpayers will begin
to exclaim: How long? o Lord, how
longT Surely this orgy Of extrava-
gance and corruption cannot last for.
ever and forever,