Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1909-11-12

political corruption and industrial
oppression began about the time
that the republican party came into
power, that prior TO the Civil War
corruption at the capital of our ma
ton was practically unknown, and
that it was not until about the year
1870 that II became necessary to
have commission to prevent rail-
road extortion and unlawful favor
itism. | have told these same things
to the people of Oregon, with the ad-
ditional information that prior to
the Civil War the affairs of this
government were directed almost
entirely by the disciples of Thomas
Jefferson; that the present monop-
oily system which you denounce as
being infamous" was born In and
has been nurtured by the republican
party. and that John II. Reagan, OF
Texas, an ex-Confederate and south
ern democrat, was the member OF
congress who introduced the Inter-
state Commerce Bill. and that We
had a republican president and con-
gress in 1897 when, as you say, this
bill was killed.
You also speak Of the period from
1897 to 1909 as the "blackest" In
the history of our country and that
more than one thousand corpora
tions during that time went into the
trust combine. have told this also
to the people. and then have told
them that during this blacklist"
period of time we had a republican
president who claimed to be regu
lar trust buster" And | am now
telling the people that Aldrich, Can
non and their crowd are planning to
afflict the American people with this
same trust buster" another four
years.
Yes, senator, you are right in. your
fight for good government, but you
are simply wasting time II you ex-
pect by your efforts to reform the
republican party. The Aldrich and
Cannon crowd are going to control
the party in the future just as they
have done in the past; and they will
do for you just what they did for
Andrew Jackson, Horace Greeley
and others who have undertaken
party reform. Thousands who now
applaud you will march up to the
polls at the next election, like sheep
to the slaughter, and vote for Roose-
welt or some other candidate selected
by the corporations Mr., Taft was
named by Roosevelt and elected
through the influence of Wall Street
money because of his antagonism to
organized labor.
Your criticism of our present
banking system Is timely, and de-
serves more attention than 1t is like
ly to receive. When few men sit
ting in their office in New York can
command every bank cashier In the
United States to close his bank doors
we may well conclude that these
lords of finance have a little too
much power But why Is It right
for you to tell it and wrong for Mr.,
Bryan to tell it? The truth is, Mr.,
Bryan was right when he opposed
this usurpation of power in 1896,
and he is right in his opposition to
1t now. And more than that, w. j.
Bryan is the one man in this coun-
try today who Is able to wrest this
government from the control Of the
men whom you term infamous
and restore It to the people.
The present unfortunate condi-
tions will never be righted by the re-
publican party. The fundamental
principles Of the republican and
democratic parties are radically at
variance. The rpublican party as
now organized Is the legitimate cul-
minaton of the doctrine that few
men have a divine right 10 control
an other men; while the democratic
party as now organized is the out
growth of the divine doctrine that
all men are equal and that all gov
ernmental power should come from
the people. The republican party
cannot consistently remove the tyr
amy of the trusts; II would be too
much like a parent dlsinherlting his
own children. If II Is ever done, II
will he by the democratic party, and
under the leadership Of w. j. Bryan
or some other man of his ability and
sublime patriotism.
Yours resneclfully,
STEPHEN JEWELL.