The Nevada County picayune., 1908-08-13

~ oetion Lo, as 10 make that party powerless ,; o "Iihg 10 the country any material ra- i'ei rom the present tariff burdens
 why No Railroad LesisIation7
 For ten years the Interstate co,,,,,o.. CoihHhsslon has been asking for an On lai cement of its powers that if ,nipbt prevent rebateS and discriminations hut r iNcPupilCah senate and a Repuhlican hou8e of representatives were unmovad ns ilS eh'featies. In 1900 the Republican 5"uonal convention was urged to indorse ttn Ie,'Iahd Tor railway legislation, but ,Ls PlaNorm was silent on the subiact Even in 1904 the convention ,,a,, r,, piedSe to remedy these abuses When tue president finally asked for Legislation he are" his Inspiration from three Demo cFauc national platforms and he received more cordial support from the Democrats thah rom the Republicans The Repub1i S o"iiS III the senate deliberately defeated several amendments offered bv Senator LaFolette and supported by the Demo crats- amendments embodying legislation dSked ny the Interstate Commerce Com mission. One of these amendments au- thorZed the ascertanment of the val ue of railroads. This amendment was not ohiy dtieated by the senate. but it was oNttWheimluglE rejected by the recent Republican national convention and tbe
 
 cue his party from the disastrous results of this act by expressing himself. in a qualIhed way, in favor of ascertaining the value of the railroads.
 NIT Taft complains of the over-issue of stocks and bonds of railroads. for the unlawful enriehing of directors and for the purpose of concentrating the control of the railroads under one man. agement' and the complaint is we'll founded But, with a president to point out the eVll and a Republican congress to correct 1t, we find nothing done for the protee ton of the public Why? My honorable opponent has. by his confess sion, relieved me of the necessity of fur nishing proof; he admits the condition and he can not avoid the logical conclusion that must be drawn from the admission Publicity as to Campaign Contribu-
 tions.
 An effort has been made to secure legis- lation requiring publicity as to campaign contributions and expenditures; but the Republican leaders, even in the face of an indignant public refused to consent to law which would compel honesty in elections When the matter was brought up in the recent Republican national convention, the plank was repudated by vote of SS0 to 94. Here, too. Mir Taft has been driven to apologize for his con- vention and to declare himself In favor of publicity law; and yet, if you will read what he says upon this subject, you will find that his promise falls far short of the requirements of the situation. He says.
 '1f l am elected president, I shall urge upon congress with every hope of suc- cess. that a law be passed requiring the filing. in federal office. of a statement of the contributions received by com mittees and candidates in elections for members of congress. and in such other elections as are consttutionally within the control of congress-"
 How can the people hope to rule. if they are not able to learn until after the cleo tion what the predatory interests are do- ing? The Democratic party meets the issne honestly and eourageously. It says: We pledge the Democratic party to the enactment of law prohibiting any corporation from contributing to cam paign fund. and any individual from con tributing an amount above a reasonable maximum. and providing for the publi- cation. before election, of all such con- trihutions above reasonable minimum" The Democratic national committee inn meliately proceeded to interpret and ap- ply this plank. announcing that no con tributions would be received from cor porations. that no individual would be al- lowed 10 (OntIibule more llldI sluVou. anu that all contributions above Sl00 would be made public before the election-those received before October 15 to be made public on or before that day. those re- ceived afterward to be made public on the day when received. and no such con- tributions to be accepted within three days of the election. The expenditures arc to be published after the election Here is a plan which Is complete and effective.
 Popular Election of Senators.
 Next to the corrupt use of money the present method of electing United States senators is most responsible for the ob- struction of reforms. For 100 years after the adoption of the constitution, the de- mand for the popular election of senators, while finding increased expression, dld not become a dominant sentiment. A constitutional amendment had from time to time been suggested and the matter had been more or less discussed in few of the states but the movement had not reached a point where 1t manifested IT. self through congressional action In the Fiftv-second congress, however. reso- lution was reported from house com roittee proposing the necessary constitu- tional amendment, and this resolution passed the house of representatives by n vote which was practically unanimous. Tn inc Fiftv-third congress similar res oI,tion was reported to. and adopted by inc house of representatives. Both the I,ifty-sccond and Fifty-third congresses were pemocratic The Republicans gained control of the house as result Of the election of 1894 and in the Fifty-fourth congress the proposition died in commit toe As time went on, however, the sem timent grew among the people. until 1t forced a Republican congress to follow tho example set by the Democrats, and ,her another and another Republican congress acted favorably. State after stotc has indorsed this reform, until near ly tvo-thirds of the states have recorded themselves in its favor. The united ctates senate however. impudently and arrneantly obstructs the passage Of the roeolition. notwithstanding the fact that tI,e voters of the United States, by an overwhelming majority, demand 1t. And tb,s refusal is the more significant when 1T is remembered that number or sem ators owe their elections to great corpor- oto interests. Three Democratic naton- al nlatforms-the platforms of 1900 1904 ard specifically call for change In tba constitution which will put the eiec- tion of senators in the hands Of the Vo- ters and the proposition has been ln- dorsed by a number Of the smaller par