Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-10-30
TRACTION OVER CAPITALIZATION A NATIONAL ISSUE

Then there was the $260,0O0 fuliJ raised ,
by Mr. Hartman. largely from men
who were interested in the local street
railways. and turned over TO Mr.. Cor
nelius y. Bliss. treasurer of the Repub-
lean national committee, and by him
TO the present secretary of the treas
ury, George B. Cortelyou. Much of
the money raised by Mr.. Hartman
came from life insurance companies.
some from the street railways.
II national political committees are
going to be permitted to raise cam
paign funds in enormous figures from
the street railways of any city. it be-
comes Immediately apparent that these
corporations are interfering in national
affairs and therefore subject to nation
nj attention. Nobody believes that the
United States government should in
terfere with the collapse of the various
traction companies, in New York But
if Whitney on the bygone Democrat
ic side, or n Quigg on the present Re
publican side. or Il Hartman. or Il Cor
telyou. or Il Ryan. or Il Bliss can use the
treasures of these companies to pro-
cure funds TO dehauch the electoral
machinery of state or nation 1t is about
time that either state or nation took
cogniZance of what is doing. When
the investigation now being made by
The public service commission of New
York is finished. there will be many
great financial and political regulations
| ruined. There may not be perfectly
clear and plain path toward the ending
! of such evils suggested, but enough
will have been done to show that a
wider system OF national and state
! publicity for all contributions made by
| a corporation for political purposes
will do much to finally correct this
| abuse.
City and Country Newspapers.
A New York newspaper, the World,
Is very much distressed or possibly
| very indignant because, according to
its assertion, Mr.. Bryan said at Rich
1 mond that 1.-The great metropolitan
dailies are controlled by the trusts
and their columns are open to the
| highest bidder" The Worlds quota
ton is not accurate. l heard Mr.. Bry-
ans speech ank recall that he said
as he has telegraphed to the World
'many great metropolitan dailieS.'
Nobody who knows anything of either
New York or Chicago journalism will
question the justice of the statement
so qualified. The World, which show
ed the utmost irritation about it. has
npl- in, of n
trusts. 1t has fought hard and wei
against the insurance infamies. the
Hartman methods of finance and the
Metropolitan Traction. But, after all
when an antimonopOly and antitrus
candidate appears in either the Dem
ocratic or the Republican party we dc
not find the World enthusiastic Of
even friendly. For Mr. Bryan it ha:
nothing but ridicule and malice; fo
President Roosevelt, who has don,
much and tried to do more. nothin:
but hostility for Senator La Toilette
who on the Republican side is EN-
phatically antitrust. the World ha:
little except silence or a semioccasiona
sneer,
: Now, what Mr.. Bryan really said a
Richmond was of more Importance IL
the part not quoted by the metropol
itan papers than that which they at
tack. He said that the fight for rea
popular government. for the represen
t tation of the people in both the stat,
: and the national government, must b.
!, and would be taken up by the coup
try papers. He believed that the coun
try press was free from the influence
/. which affect. sometimes insensibiy
many great metropolitan papers. TIL
country editor. it is safe to say. doe
] not live in Paris and edit his New
York newspaper alternately fror
!, Monte Carlo and from his yacht. II
> does not hold the most honorable pos
t ton of ambassador to England or t
!. st. Petersburg and conduct his Ney