The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-12-11

William Jennings Bryan.
| ton upon the hours Of labor Is as inn
pOrtant within the tropics as in the
temperate zone. But in speaking Of
| the labor question he cannot forbedf
| to strike q few blows at those who ne
| describes as agitators, demagogues,
| etc. He seems very much afraid OF
"violent class hatred against all men.
! Of wealth. ''hysterical excitement, in
/ flaming the brutal passions Of man
| kind He feels called upon to warn
| the country against the sinister dem
| ogu and foolish Missionaries, pun
| veyors. sensational slanderers. etc
| Wen. the public will overlook the fact
that he employs language quite rs
| abusive n extreme as anyone else II
he viii only continue to borrow
| planks from the Democratic party and
| urge them upOn the country. But ne
| may find it difficult to persuade his
! ''COOl-headed" and sane Republican
! associates to apply the necessary rem
| adies. SO far there has been no plum
(! der Of the rich in this country, but q
4 great deal Of plumber Of The poor, and
/ the principal merit that the President
| possesses is that while he uses a great
| deal Of language to castigate those
| who point out the encroaehment Of or
| gained wealth, he is contributing q
| little toward remedial legislation in
4 spite of the fact that he has to work
I with the very men he d~enounces and
| las his plans thwarted by the ones for
1 whom he apologies.
He is right again in what he says
about the employers liability. Why
| should all the risks of employment
| be thrown upon the employe when he
has no right to select his colaborers
on the subject of arbitration the
President ha taken q very commend
able position, although 1T is not 81 new
position. One of the most popular
| acts Of his administration was the set
tlement of the coal strike. and every
one Who desires peace and good will
between employers and employees must
admit that such peace and good will
are only possible under a system of
| compulsory investigation of differ
| enceS. The editor Of The COmmOner
has prominently pointed out hat a
| compulsory INVESTIGATION at the re-
quest of either party by an impartial
tribunal would settle almost every dis
pute. The COmnODer urged the crea-
ton of such a board at the time of
the anthracite coal strike. and it is a
qualification to find q President ready
to espOuSe and carry on his reform.
He deserves the support of Congress,
and if he succeeds in the creation Of
this board, he will be responsible for a
great reform to which he can look
back with increased qualification as
the years go by.
The President recommends the
withdrawal of the coal lands from
entry and sale. This is a gigantic steI.
toward government ownership, but it
is justified not only by the fact that
these lands are much more valuable
than farming lands but by the fact
that the GOA lands are being monop-
olized and the public held Up. The
men who have spent SO much time
~denOuncing government ownership OF
| railroads will now hoVn q ahannp ~
give that subject a little rest and turl
their guns upon the proposition that
the government should permanently
own the Goa lands.
The packing houses come in fol
some attention, and the President re-
news his recommendation in regard
to putting the date on the label ana
charging cost of inspection to packers.
He is right on both of these propose
lions
It is interesting to note that the
President adopts the argument which
Democrats use against the abuses that
have grown up under mdividualism.
He points out, as Democrats have
that socialism has grown because the
rights of the individual have been en-
crOached upon If the friends of in
dividualism are wise, they will listen
to the warning and proceed to pro-
tect Individual opportunity by sucE
legislation as will prevent the over
bIIoN u ltldl effort DIV cor IoIdlt
combination. In ordinary industry
competition can be restricted. In the
matter of railroads there are so many
elements of monopoly that mere reg
ulatiOn, however desirable, is not like
ly to prove sufficient, and the PreSi-
dents recommendation that railroads
be allowed to pool is an exceedingly
dangerous one under present cOndi-
tons. 1t is conceivable that the regu-
lation of railroads might be made Sc
strict and effective that pooling agree
mentS made with the consent of the
+ Interstate Commerce Commission
might be rendered harmless, but the
supervision will have to be more strict
: than it is now before such agreements
can be safely permitted.
The Presidents discussion of the
, trust question can hardly be satisfac-
} tory to those who have carefully
studied the subject. He is so anxiou,
not to disturb what he would call gooG
combinations of capital that h5
/ shrinks from the legislation necessary
: to prevent those admitted to be bad
although he comes nearer than II
: any previous document to admitting
D that a private monopoly is bad. H in
' ~cidentally ugges a national license
+ law as a possible method. This ma
2 tiOnal license law is the Democrat,
: plan suggested in the Kansas CIT,
: platform of 1900 and afterwards rec
commended by Mr.. Garfield. the hea'
Of the bureau of corporations. II
g presents a real and effective remedy
; but the President only mentions /
c as one of the things to be CONSIDERS
II and does not dwell upon it. He doe
not deal with the trust question VII
n earneStneSs that the conditions re
o quire, but he does so much better ina
n most of the Republican leaders ina
e the public ma we'll feel grateful TO
$ the encouragement which he gives !.
the antitrust movement. The Tres
s. dent gives a half-hearted endOrsefnen
d Of the asset currency plan. although Il
IS does not specifically ask for a law pro
l. viding for it. He also gives Whal
lie equivalent to an endorse ment OF tn
y ship subsidy program, and suggest
that if the public is not ready TO Ell
l. ter upon the wholesale subsidy