Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1902-03-03
SHORT TALKS
Brief Comment on Political and Other
Matters of Public Interest.

Brief Comment on Political and Other
Matters of Public Interest.
When we attempt to tell the little
brown men that we are so deeply in
terested in their welfare that we are
spending millions of dollars to shoot
our love into them they will credit us
with being the worst gang of double
jointed hypocrites that ever walked
the earth, and when we add to this
that other stupid invention that Provi-
dence is assisting us to do them up
they will wonder what sort of heather
god we worship.
The ruling of the postofiice depart
ment in refusing Mr.. Bryan's Common
er the regular mailing privileges is too
contemplate to be properly character
lied The alleged reason for refusing
sample copies of the Commoner to go
at regular pound rates is that Mr..
Bryan is interested in what his paper
teaches. When Charles Emory Smith
berates Quay, Penrose and the gang
week after week in the Philadelphia
Press has he any interest in what he
breaches or is he doing it without mo-
tive purpose or interest? This idiotic
ruling, if carried out, would shut out
any paper whose writers had any con-
science. To say that the editor of any
paper is not interested in the success
of the doctrines he may advocate is to
denounce him as a hypocrite or fool.
This silly attempt to work hardship
on Mr.. Bryan will react on those weak
enough to engage in so contemplate
a scheme.
Judge Shiras, of the United States
court is about to retire to private life,
where in the opinion of many he
ought, for the good of the country, to
have remained His sudden flop on the
income tax ought to condemn him for
all time. He betrayed the cause of
the common people into the hands of
the plutocrats against his convictions
of right judgment and duty there is no
room to doubt; what the means that
brought him about were can be easily
| conjectured. His conversion was ac-
complished between twilight and dawn
| and he never made the plea that an
angel of light had appeared to him in
a dream and enlightened his darkened
understanding. The angel that came,
no doubt, belonged to the other class.
1t is safe to say that Shiras will not
die in an almshouse, though better
men than he have done so. Men
would respect the courts if the courts
would let them.
Roosevelt in his message to con-
gress declares that "in the case of
Cuba there are weighty reasons of
morality and of national interest why
the policy of reciprocity should be
held to have a peculiar application and
| most earnestly ask your attention to
the vital need of providing for sub
stantial reduction in the tariff duties
on Cuban imports into the United
States" So there is after all moral
question involved in the tariff is there?
One would almost conclude from the
blind alteration shown the tariff
fetch by the Republican leaders that
esteem selfishness and inordinate
greed on the part of the few coupled
with a determination to bleed the
many for their enrichment are highly
moral attributes. The tariff is at the
very best an evidence of the narrowest
kind of selfishness, and total disre-
gard for the rights of others. 1t is an
absolute command to do unto others
what we do not want them to do to
us. Whenever Russia, Germany,
France or any other country imposes
a trade restriction against any of our
products, our protected vampires set up
a howl and clamor for open free trade
doors on the part of others, while we
exact tribute, like the pirates of the
Mediterranean, on every dollar that we
get our hands on. The tariff is said
to have derived its name from the
pirates of Tarifa, who exacted trib-
ute from every vessel entering or leav-
ing the Mediterranean. The Moorish
pirates long ago met their just des-
erts, but their wicked robberies are
still practiced under the sanction OF
law and in the name of protection.
The United States senate is likely to
still further thwart the will of the
great majority of the American peo-
pie by refusing to submit a PROPOSE
ton to amend the constitution so as