Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1908-09-09

mAlelA ctorsn, BY seoundrels Of the
most perfect type, who violated every
law, human and divine, in the prose
cution of their dark schemes, who
mercilessly robbed the public separ.
ately and collectively, yet, we were
never able to drive this knowledge
home to the understanding of the
mass of republican voters until the
impetuous Roosevelt became inocu-
lated with the virus of democratic
truth and strenuously proceeded 10
maui his followers irto a receptive
mood of mind. AS a political educa.
tor. Roosevelt stands in class by
himself. He alone was able to reach
the understanding of the great mass
OF republican voters. Not by virtue
OF revealing to them any new truth
or lmparting any original information,
but by reason of being president, the
official head Of his party, he had both
the courage and the wisdom to preach
to his followers sermon after sermon
from texts taken from the political
bible of William ]. Bryan. While
they would refuse to believe BRYAN
when he told them the truth, the
same republicans would cheer Ropse.
welt when he repeated what BRYAN
mad said before. Truths at second
hand had the power to charm when
hurled from the lofty pinnacle of the
White House. But we are not at all
Jealous. we salute the president of the
United States and thank him most
graclously for having performed for
his countrys good. SO valuable a ser
vice as to constitute new epocb In
our nations history. The widespread
liberalism. the direct result of the
presidents crusade in the right direc.
ton. promises to be the main factor
In rescuing the country from the
strangling embrace of the "frenzied
financiers".
None Need Fear Except the Criminal.
1t is not the honest business man
or corporation we would modest. we
promise immunity from embarrassing
regulations to all honest business.
we seek to inaugurate no policy of
confiscation. But against the thieves
who steal whole provinces at time,
who fitch. as 1t were, in the dead of
night, the natural wealth belonging 10
all OF our people, the heritage from
the Creator. the eminent rascals who
buy and sell legislation. who defame
and desecrate the Judiciary by putting
their hireings upon the public, who
practice fraud and deception upon a
colossal scale upon the bench. selling
spurious securities, creating fictitious
values, thus putting perpetual mort.
cages upon the labor of all the future,
the pirates who have no mercy on
their victims. who perjure themselves
in the courts and masquerade as
Christians in the temple, against this
entire outfit of undesirable citizens
the democratic party will wage an
open and everlasting war. Not alone
will we prosecute and fine to the limit
of the law the law breaking corpora
tions, but we will prosecute criminal.
ly the active managers of these great
trusts, decorate them with the striped
uniform of the convicted criminal and
lock them in felon's cell. If the
small criminal deserve the stigma of
a penttentiary sentence, the big crimi-
nal deserves 1t the more. The dis
grace of verdict Of guilty followed
by penitentiary sentence would pos
sess more curative power than all the
picturesque bugle calls and spectacu-
lar noise and clatter thatJcharacter-
ICES civil suits against law breaking
corporations.
The Importance Of Accurate knowI.
edge.
In seeking to accomplish any mr.
pose In whatever field of human en-.
deavor an essential prerequisite is
the knowledge and information neces.
sary to go to work intelligently. The
nature OF the object to be accomplish
ed should be learned, the difficulties
to be overcome should be ascertain.
ed, measurements, as nearly as pos
slble, should be taken. The problem
II our railroad transportation is Ger.
ainly not an easy problem to solve
All reasonable men will confess tina;
it is complex. To deal effectively with
his transportation question all the
information possible should be had
There is little danger of getting toe
much light on this subject, but a
great deal of danger of not getting
enough. 1t is agreed by all, except
railroad managers themselves, that
these great arteries of commerce
should be strictly regulated by law
the primary purpose of which is the
protection of the public against the
brutal purpose that "the public be
damned. The power to fix rates
from time to time, 1t is conceded
must be lodged somewhere else than
in the traffic managers. Therefore. for
either the interstate commerce com
mission or other similar body to fly
rates just to the public and not unius;
to the railroad companies, certainly
requires some definite knowledge as
to the values of these roads. 1t seems
to me there can be nothing more nat
ural than the desire to obtain this
knowledge and nothing more irration
al than to proceed to fix rates in d
hap-hazard, ignorant way. AS we'll try
to navigate a ship without compass
Gov. Cummins states that from the
best source of information available
the estimated aggregate capitalization
OF the roads Is sixteen billions of dol
lars. Again he states that nine bill
lions is the true value while the re
naming seven billions is fictitious
Is water. Now why not empower a
competent board to ascertain as near
ly as possible the physical value Of
this immense property so that in the
fixing of rates the blunder of making
an unjust one may be avoided? II the
railroads are not oyercapitalized Their
the rates should be SO adjusted as tc
yield an annual revenue that would
pay operating expenses. maintain the
properties in good condition and pay
reasonable dividencs on stocks and 0
fair rate Of interest on bonds. But II
almost fifty per cent of this sixteen
billions has no existence, is water
then the actual value only, the nine
billions should govern in the fixing Of
rates. II railroads. are permitted te
earn reasonable returns upon the &C
tual value of their property no one is
hurt. no one has right to complain
but If dividends and interest is to be
earned upon seven billions of water
bed.
Weak Spots in Our Polltleatsystem
Many voters throughout the state
will no doubt remember thatsI have
called frequent attention to what has
! always appeared to me to ha Ia veal