The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-08-18

i nancial center has ever taken ad
i vantage. of the emergency currency
act. The fright that seized our dis
tinguished senator was unnecessary
/ and uncalled for OF course the news
papers filled their columns with
the views of our senator; this com.
ment it is true was some of it good
and some of 1t bad but the press all
talked.
Every man who understands the
working of politics knows that the
worst thing that can happen to a
public man is to have the press
| ignore him. 1t is like advertising a
patent medicine. A kick comes next
to a boost in value.
Agitator Usually Profits.
The thing that pays the largest
publicity dividends next to an attack
| upon public men of national reputa-
ton is an attack upon large corpora
tions. In the main they are helpless
creatures. There is little or no indi-
yidualIty in most of them. Some oil
them have been badly managed by
| unwise officers and practically the
whole lot is helpless. The politician
puts them together in bag and then
proceeds to kick it. Many of these
corporations, as we all know. repre-.
sent great wealth and an attack up
on them gives publicity at once to the
man who does it. Then. too, it makes
the man who does it, appear like the
poor mans friend and, of course,
there is political dividend in that.
The poor man has SO many proffers
OF friendship during political seasons
when he has something to give in re-
turn. Unfortunately, he does not al.
ways recognize his real friends and
benefactors. If he will permit him
| self to make an unprecedented review
of his experiences in life, he will not
recall that he ever got a dollar di.
| rectly or indirectly, from a political
agitator
Every days work he has had has
| been given him by some one who has
! had the genius to produce something
and convert that something into mon
ey with which his wages were paid.
Political agitation Of the kind that is
going on in this country now has
never produced anything except Of
| fees for the agitators and poverty for
the wage worker.
Oucstion Others, Honesfv
| Another feature of the Wisconsin
| system of politics which we learned
] to understand here and which has
| been introduced by the insurgents in
Washington, Is to attack the motives
OF every man who stands in the way
of their political progress.
| Men in congress may not under
stand this. bur the system was so
| completely tried out here and with
such success that We need not feel
in the, least surprised to see it used
| by the same people In Washington.
Observing men will appreciate the
I statement when / say that within the
last ten years every man in this state
who has had the courage to stand in
the way of the political progress of
| the reform propaganda that has oper-
ated in Wisconsin. was promptly dub
bed a public enemy. His motives
were represented as selfish and his
/ efforts were said to be in the interest
of special interests or corporations.
Our schemes are good, our motives
/ pure, and no patriot can thrive with
out Them was their song here and it
is their song in washington now.
Sock Party's Offices.
That is precisely what the insur-
gents are doing In Washington
They have a substitute for every i'm
! portant piece of legislation that is Of
fered. Their projects are, as a mat.
ter of necessity, uniformly defeated.
They bring them home to their con.
stituents and present them with a
1 large crouch about how badly they
and the people have been treated
They can see nothing good in any
thing that was done. Everybody
from the President down, who does
not agree with them Is bad. accord.
| ing to their story. They submit to no
party leadership, but they have no
hesitancy in asking the party to
t keep them In Office
"Cannonism' and "Aldrichism" two
terms invented for political conyen-
fence, are just now the favorite points
| OF attack in the Republican party
] Joe Cannon. the congressman, is re.
sponsible to his constituents only. We
can do ourselves no good in discuss
1 ing him here.
/ Joe Cannon, the speaker, is the
creature Of the house of representa-.
tiyes. He is the presiding officer and
/ conducts the business OF that body ac.
cording to the rules which the body
/ itself provides Whatever criticism is
made of him must stand with equal
force against the majority Of the
house which elects him.
Az speaker. he is national charac-
+ ter and under the Wisconsin system
IT is regarded go6d business to attack
/ him.