The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1912-02-08
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.

L
the republican nomination handicap.
At least this is the way it looks to
me today, and l have tried to view
the situation, if possible, without
prejudice.
| base my prediction on the theory
that special privilege, as represented
| by Aldrich, PenrOse, Smoot, Lodge,
Crane, Guggenheim, j. Pierpont Nor
gan, John d. Rockefeller, Andrew
Carnegie, and the tariff trusts, still
dominate the republican machine
And it must never be forgotten that
the republican machine, and not the
republican voters, rules national
republican conventions and names
presidential candidates.
The republican machine, is is
true, is badly damaged, but l think,
however, it is still powerful enough,
backed as it is by the millions or
special privilege, to control one more
national convention. After that it
will go on the scrap heap, and men
freer of corporate influences will be
in control of the party.
The only deduction that the reader
may draw from the foregoing is that
Mr. Taft is to be nominated, not be-
cause the people desire his renOmin-
alton. but because the big interests
Cesre his nomination; not because
Mr. Taft has earned denomination
by representing the interests of the
common people of the country, but
because he has earned a renomina-
ton by representing the interests of
special privilege.
There seems to be an increasing
talk about Roosevelt, but l do not
think the machine politicians will
permit his nomination. If Roosevelt
should be nominated, however I be-
lieve he would be defeated. 1t was
during his administration that the
present abnormally high cost of liv-
ing was piled up, largely because of
the system of excessive protection
Roosevelt is an Aldrich-Sm oot-Pen-
rose republican on the tariff ques-
ton, SO far as anyone knows. But if
he should come out on the progress
sive side of the issue, it would only
make him less desirable to the re-
publican machine, and his nominal
ton would be even less probable
than now.
Robert Nj. LaFollette, the one
man mentioned in connection with
the republican nomination on whom
the people can put their finger
On every public question of the day,
cannot be nominated, in my opinion,
the reason being, only, that the peo-
pic cannot vote on presidential
nominees.
Any day, of course, may bring de-
Velopments to change the positions
of the men on the political checker
board, but the above is the situation
as it appears to your correspondent
at this writing.
Mr.. Cannon Gets Information.
Uncle Joe Cannon, High Protec-
ton joe wanted to know, when the
democratic metal bill was before the
house, why such articles as sewing
machines were placed on the free
list. Chairman Underwood, of the
democratic Ways and Means COM
mittee, courteously supplied the ex-
speaker with the desired Informal
ton
I'VE have placed these articles on
the free list for the benefit of the
American people, said Mr.. Under
wood. 1.-The uncontested testimony
shows that sewing machines are be-
in this country from $23 to $45 a
machine, and yet are being laid
down, freight paid, in the Orient
for $S.75, yet the gentleman from
Illinois would ask this congress, in
the name of the manufacturers of the
United States, to retain a prohibitive
tax on sewing machines and otherl like
articles in order that we might trade
for terms in foreign markets for the
benefit of men who have already
made millions out of the American
people. But l say to him when we
barter in trade in the real necessi-
ties of the American people, we are
bartering and trading in the life
blood of poverty.
I'VE are not ashamed to go to the
American people and say that when
an article is manufactured in this
country so cheaply that it can COM
pete in all the markets of the world,
we are willing to place it on the
free list for the benefit of our own
people,"
A Protected Industry.
Sixty-tive per cent of the workers
in the United States Steel corpora
tons plants at Pittsburg earn less
than the actual cost of subsistence,
according to calculations made be-
fore the Stanley steel trust investi-
eating committee by Louis D., Bran
deis, "the peoples lawyer
"The average wage of IS per cent
of the employees of the workers in
the steel plants of Pittsburgh" he
said, sis ~ cents an hour. The
Associated Charities of that city, by
careful investigation, has figured it
out that the cost of bare existence of
a family of husband and wife and
three children in Pittsburg is $768
year. BY working IL hours a day,
365 days a year, this 65 per cent of
the workers, at the end of their
years labor, will have earned just
$1.5O less than this sum.
These horrible conditions are the
result of the use of the great power
and wealth of this trust to prevent
its employees from joining organiza-
tons. The condition of labor in this
industry is nothing less than slavery.