The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1902-01-09
Afraid of Publicity.

Afraid of Publicity.
Senator Frye, who is one of the sem
atorial leaders of the fight for the ship
subsidy, announced some time ago
that he had worked out new sub
sidy bill" When asked for it's provis-
ions he replied: 81 am unwilling that
its features should become the shuttle
cock of journalistic comment" Why
should the bill be shielded from public
scrutiny? Why should its features be
kept in the dark? Truth and justice
do not fear the light; neither has
any good measure reason for avoiding
the public gaze. 1t is a significant
fact that the republican leaders of late
years have refused to give any consid-
cradle time for the discussion of their
pet public measures. When they want
something done they spring a bill up
on congress and hurry it through.
They failed to get the last subsidy bill
through and it was announced that it
was going to be materially changed,
but the public has had 10 chance to
! consider the changes. Publicity has
never defeated a good measure, but
bad measures have often been passed
hurridly which could never have been
passed if sufficient time had been given
or consideration and discussion.
1t is mistaken notion that the pos
tai department should produce a reve-
nue.. Its mission is to serve the people
at the smallest cost, and when the de-
partment finds the receipts equalling
the expenditures it should Immediately
better the service. 1t is undoubtedly
true, as the postmaster general claims,
that the department is the victim of
mail abuses, but it is not true that the
abuse is confined wholly to a too lib
eral construction of the second class
mail privileges. The greatest abuse
is in the letting of mail carrying con-
tracts at exorbitant figures to rail
roads and in the payment of unreason-
able rentals for mail cars. 1t costs no
more to haul an express car than it
does to haul a postal car, yet the post
office department pays from seven to
ten times more for hauling postal cars
than the express companies pay for
roads no more to carry a ton of mail
than it does to carry a ton of express,
yet the government pays from seven to
ten times more for mail hauling than
express companies pay for their ex-
press haul. Before the benefits to the
people are curtailed the eXorbitant
sums for carrying the mails should be
brought down to just and reasonable
figures.
President Roosevelt lays particular
stress upon our love of peace and our
desire to be at peace with the world.
1t will shock him to read the latest
treasury bulletin and learn that the
expenditures of the war department
for the present fiscal year exceed by
more than three millions the civil and
miscellaneous expenditures. Accord
ing to that showing the only depart
ment with greater expenditures is the
pension Office, and that includes pen
sions paid to the survivors of all our
wars. The navy department comes
fourth with an expenditure nearly
twice as large as the nations interest
During the six months from June to
November 10,1 children died in the
British concentration camps in South
Africa But any reference to the mat
ter may be construed as being un.
friendly to Great Britain.
Speaking on the Philippine question,
Congressman DeArmond said that we.
had acquired the islands in folly and
could dispose of them in wisdom. This
is an epigramatic statement of the
case and a quit claim deed to the in
habitants would dispose of the matter
in an American way.
Representative Hepburn admits that
the republican party had no intention
of allowing Cuba to become free and
Independent, but was forced to do it