Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1909-07-02

gOt q law vi IuC otosutC DOOho Al ASVO
to meet this very case. 1t declared
that it should be unlawful for any
railroad to transport commodities pro-
duced by it, or under its authority,
"or which it may own in whole or
in part, or in which it may have any
direct or indirect."
The words seem rather plain, but
the Court has held that the railroad
has no interest direct or indirect in
the coal, even though it owns the com
pany that owns the coal.
We are having a hard time in regu-
lating the railroads. When a law is
constitutional it does not mean any,
thing, and long before a case is de-
cided, the damage is done. Would it
not be wise for congress to forbid
interstate commerce to any railroad
that does not take out a federal char
ter, and live up to its provisions7
Our railway franchises should be on
the same footing with dog licenses.
If the dog is not vicious, the owner is
allowed to renew the license each
year.
Uncle Sam has decided to keep
house scientifically. Hitherto he has
kept his money loose in his trous-
ers pocket and whenever a bill came
in he took out few millions and
paid it, not even waiting for the
change. Some people said this was
extravagant, but Uncle Sam has such
bullying pockets that you could not
make him careful.
Just now the old gentleman is hard
pressed for ready cash, and he has
turned his attention to economical
housekeeping. Henceforth congress
and the president are to get together
and agree on the bills. The senate
has created a Committee on Expend-
ltures to guard against extravaganza
IN appropriations, and the president
has appointed Buget Committee,
composed of the Secretary of the
Treasury and two other Cabinet mem
bers, whose work is to supervise all
estimates of government expense.
Hereafter the Director of the Mint,
and the Marine Hospital, and the
fourth-class postmaster in Bear Creek
will not send in separate estimates
and leave it to congress to do what it
will with each request, but the ad-
mlnistratiOn as a whole, will put its
stamp of approval upon all proposed
expenditures of all departments. This
is good plan. There should be econ
omy in spending billion a year, but
not cheese-paring.
What is populism, anyway A few
weeks ago a New YOrak newspaper
denounced Governor Hughes's direct
nomination bill as "a flower of the
populistic fancy" Speaker Cannon
during the attempt to revise the
house rules referred scathingly to
that movement as populistic. A
Southern democrat, the other day
bitterly assailed William Jennings
Bryan as a populist for his belief in
: Government ownership of railroads
Do these uses of the word show pre-.
cisely what populism is? Not at all
: Populism, whatever it is, or is not
has been abroad in the land for a
long time. Railroad rate regulation
was populistic, insurance legislation
was populistie, and the income tax
, law was very bad case of it, indeed
, Whenever, in the name of profits
, three or four gentlemen with bank ac.
, counts like dirrigible balloons and
faces like asphalt pavements gather
, together over frugal eighty-seven dol.
lar dinners to protest against popular
, legislation, the word populism has a
very busy evening.
We think we have the secret at last
: Populism is not a political belief, mol
religion, nor a disease, nor a break
fast food. 1t is an epithet.
In the progress Of the country to-
ward a broader and deeper democ-
racy, men will propose laws for d.
rect nominations, for initiative and
referendum, for recall, for control
and ownership of public utilities. If
these proposals interfere with your
happiness or your plans, and argu-
ment is distasteful to your refined ma
ture, you need not despair. You can
call these schemes populistic. There
is always chance that somewhere,
with some doddering, simple soul,
that 1t will pass as argument.
When the senate in its great act of
making juggling performance look
like surgical operation, came to the
lead schedule in the tariff bill, a most
perplexing thing happened. Senator
LaFollette refused to vote on the
ground that he owned stock in lead
mines in Wisconsin. He didn't think
it was right, he said, to vote on a
question in which he was financially
interested. He thinks one should not
let ones voting hand know what
ones coupon hand doeth.
If you have ever made a bad
"break" in large room full of peo-
pie, YOU can imagine the embarrassing