NEWS WORTH REMEMBERING
News Worth Remembering IF THE story told by Representative Charles A. White of the Illinois General Assembly is true, then the recent scandals in Pittsburg and New York state and those of San...
...He says he told Lee O'Neill Browne, Democratic leader of the assembly, of his condition, and when Browne approached him on the night of May 24 with the question, "Can you vote for a Republican...
...Lenroot's amendment providing for an appeal to the Supreme Court from an injunction which restrains an order of the Interstate Commerce Commission was lost by a vote of 135 to 134...
...The deadlock was broken and the legislature settled down to other work, passing bills for which the corporations and other interests paid and killing those bills which would benefit the people but which were not backed by corruption funds, says the White statement...
...When votes are needed for the passage of such legislation, they can be secured by the payment of sufficient money into the "jackpot" and when the session is ended the money is divided among those who have proved faithful to their "friends...
...Hathaway, who was appointed an enumerator, states that he lost his position when he refused to circulate a petition m behalf of Senator Burrows' candidacy...
...some denied that they had received money from Wilson...
...Then, White states, Browne asked him if he could vote for Lorimer for Senator and when White answered that he could and would Browne cautioned 'him to "keep under his hat" what they had discussed, checked off his name on a list which he took from his pocket, and said that "I am damn suspicious of that place above here they call Joliet" (meaning or referring to the Northern Illinois State penitentiary located at Joliet...
...Some of the men who were interviewed seemed to have forgotten details of their visit to St...
...Political Miscellany Assessments made by the internal revenue bureau on account of the corporation tax up to May 1 aggregate $23,954,-536...
...On a vote in Committee of the Whole in the House, the Hubbard amendment of the law striking out the provision for a commerce court was defeated by a tie vote of 140 to 140...
...The convention proved to be a stormy affair...
...What action the commission will take on the increases is not known...
...He said that he was "an old-fashioned protectionist...
...At one time, a small sized riot broke out and a fist fight took place...
...The draft was printed, Gaynor said, with the date line omitted, it had in reality been issued as payment of an obligation incurred by the previous administration, but the date line, he stated, had evidently been cut out of the newspaper plate...
...The attorney general of the state may also take a hand in the probe...
...According to the statement, he, White, a Democrat, was in financial straits about the time that the deadlock was broken...
...By exceedingly close votes, the amendments taking from the President the power to appoint the members of the commerce court and giving it to the justices of the Supreme court, were passed, as was the Madison amendment cutting down the provision for a sixty-day suspension of an order of the Interstate Commerce Commission to seven days...
...Perhaps the most important amendment passed was the Madden provision for the physical valuation of railways...
...The Iowa Senator said that there were forces in both great parties working for Special Interests but that he would strive to bring the Republican party back to the control and service of the great mass of citizens of the nation...
...Professor Paul Reinsch of the University of Wisconsin will be the exchange professor for 1911, lecturing on international law...
...Taggart was unable to secure the nomination for himself, he expressed great satisfaction at the endorsement of Mr...
...Louis, why they went there at all...
...The attack was made by Mayor Gaynor, who said that Hearst, in one of his New York papers, had printed last month the facsimile of a draft on the city treasury for $48,000 with headlines and an article attributing the draft and the expenditure to Mayor Gaynor, stating that he had fixed the award and amount and had paid it...
...The legislature met in the spring of 1909 and proceeded to take joint ballots for the selection of a United States Senator...
...Here White's statement ends...
...Crop Damage Overestimated The recent storm which swept the middle west and south did much damage to fruit and other crops, but not to the extent that was at first reported...
...Kansas reports that one-third of the winter wheat sown has been killed and the outlook for the remainder of the crop is not exceptionally good.—Secretary Wilson in a New York address stated that the fertile lands of the Mississippi Valley are being rapidly depleted, as have those of the East, by unwise tillage, and predicted that the abandoned farms of the East will soon be reclaimed.—On May 1 "a strike of farmers" went into effect in the country around Boston...
...It is charged that this has been a common practice throughout the state...
...Insurgents were divided on this amendment, some voting with the Democrats to prevent the authorization of a commerce court and some voting in favor of the special tribunal...
...Senator Hopkins was a candidate at the primary and received the endorsement of the Republican voters of the state...
...The convention adopted a platform denouncing the tariff law, ship subsidies, the indiscriminate use of the injunction power, and the extravagance of the Republican administration of the nation, and expressed itself in favor of an income tax, direct election of United States Senators, the conservation of natural resources, the strengthening of child labor laws, and local option...
...In former years it has been the occasion of the laying down of work by hundreds of thousands of workingmen, but although labor and capital are having disagreements throughout the country, May 1 saw the inauguration of no great strike...
...The Taggart plan for a democratic primary to endorse the party candidate for Senator was defeated, Marshall forces claiming that such a primary, held without the supervision of the law, would be easily controlled by Taggart's machine...
...They vary from 16 to 23 per cent.—Attorney General Denman, in a report filed with the legislature of Ohio, charges that fourteen railroads have united to maintain an illegal combination to keep up coal rates in Ohio, and says that coal is transported for their own use at rates 25 per cent, lower than those charged the general public,—The Cudahy, Schwartzchild and Sulzberger, Swift, and Armour packing companies have been indicted by a grand jury of Savannah on the charge that they sold meat at less than cost for the purpose of putting out of business a competing company, and that they combined to arbitrarily fix the price of beef...
...Kern Endorsed The Democratic state convention held in Indianapolis last week endorsed John W. Kern as the candidate of the party for United States Senator to succeed Albert J, Beveridge...
...He explains the selling of his vote by saying that he took the course he did in the hope of securing direct evidence of the corruption which was going on at Springfield...
...May day, generally regarded as the first day in the industrial year, passed off quietly in the United States...
...The Elgin Butter Board will fight the Lodge bill limiting the length of time which butter may be stored and requiring the marking of all stored goods with the date of their entrance into storage...
...He declared his intention to vote for what he considered right regardless of party lines...
...Vice President, J. J. McDonald of Centuria...
...The galleries were crowded and it seemed as though there was a feeling of suspense before the roll was called...
...The judiciary committee of the New York Senate has refused to report a bill providing for woman suffrage...
...A deadlock ensued...
...And accordingly it did "come off on the first ballot," for on that ballot Lorimer was elected to the United States Senate...
...The investigators' reports were published and make interesting reading...
...The Cummins' amendment, requiring approval by the interstate commerce commission of all traffic agreements, was lost, however, by a vote of 35 to 29, eleven Republican progressives voting for it...
...Much of the cotton acreage of the south will have to be replanted, however...
...Senator Dolli-ver made the last statement when charged by Democrats with "coquetting" with their party...
...White's statement was made to the Chicago Tribune, and its publication was the most startling piece of news that has transpired within many months...
...He spoke of the prevalence of this kind of join nalum and predicted a return to the type of newspaper, printing only the facts—the real news free from coloration...
...President Taft, when interviewed at Buffalo on April 30, stated that he believes the government should have the right to levy an income tax in time of necessity...
...Many soothing syrups for babies are listed as containing opium, mor-phin, chloroform, and other injurious drugs, and medicated soft drinks containing caffein and coco leaf and kola nut products are condemned, as are consumption, catarrh, and asthma "cures," which, containing habit forming drugs, seem to give relief but in reality lower vitality and assist the progress of the disease...
...News Notes On April 13 the German imperial unearned increment tax 1t>ill was published...
...The bill abolishes all taxes of this class now imposed by municipalities and substitutes a general tax, the revenues from which are divided into three parts, forty per cent, returning to the municipalities, ten per cent, going to the states, and fifty per cent, being retained by the imperial government...
...Shortly before the ballot was taken, says White, Browne came to him and said: "This comes off on the first ballot...
...Trust Activities On May 1, western trunk line railroads filed with the interstate commerce commission notice of advances in rates to take effect June 1 on goods, classed as commodities, shipped to and between Missouri and Mississippi River points...
...Victory and Defeat for Progressives Never, since the railroad rate bill has been introduced into Congress, has it been subjected to such severe attacks as were made upon it last week...
...Producers of milk withheld some 27,000 cans from shipment, pursuant to an agreement not to deliver until those who supply the - consumers of Boston agree to pay more for the milk than they have in the past...
...Gaynor Denounces Hearst The type of journalism originated and most ably exemplified by William R. Hearst was severely arraigned last week at a joint banquet of the Associated Press and the American Newspaper Publishers' Association...
...The Tribune's men also verified White's story to the extent that they found that Wilson had occupied a room on July 15 at the Southern Hotel in St...
...one said: "It's nobody's business if I received money or didn't," while another said that he had cast his ballot for Lorimer on the assurance that he would receive a postmastership in payment of the political debt contracted...
...Secretary and Treasurer, Q. J. Jones, of Freeport...
...This was passed by a vote of 130 to 67...
...The grand jury had been called to investigate charges that over $200,000 of the Chicago and Western Indiana railroad's money had been spent in securing votes for the passage of a bill favorable to its interests...
...Louis White declared that he met a number of other Democrats who also had "business" with Wilson, and Borne of whom voiced their dissatisfaction with the sum which they received, believing it to be too small...
...The "jackpot" as understood by Illinois practical politicians, White explains, is the sum collected to secure the passage of bills desired by special interests...
...Louis on the 25th of April again defended the Payne-Aldrich tariff law, and justified the rates by pointing to the general prosperity which he claims has prevailed since the 'passage of the act...
...Senator Clapp replied to Attorney General Wickersham's Chicago speech, Senator Bristow spoke of the disproportionate railroad rates for short and long hauls, and Senator La Follette described the efforts which have been made by great corporations and their heads to secure annulment of the Sherman antitrust law, and their triumph in securing this in the provisions of the pending rail bill...
...In St...
...The Tribune, to corroborate the story told by White, sent out investigators to interview the men whom White stated he had met when on his trip to St...
...The recent appointment of Governor Hughes, who opposes such a measure and the defeat by the New York legislature of a resolution endorsing income taxation prompted the ascertainment of the President's views...
...The purpose of the League is the spreading of information upon the principles and progress of the Initiative and Referendum, and of the results which have flowed from its adoption, to the end that a constitutional amendment permitting the use of these measures be submitted to the voters of the state...
...The breaking of this deadlock was effected on May 26 by the election of William Lorimer, Republican, with 55 Republican and 53 Democratic votes out of 202 votes cast...
...he replied "Yes, I can vote for anything...
...Hearst by his business manager, who was present...
...During the week, Senator Dolliver made two notable speeches, protesting against the rail bill, which he said would give to two men control of the transportation lines and great industries of the country...
...On the 26th, amid intense excitement, the Illinois legislature met to take a joint ballot for United States Senator...
...The executive committee consists of the officers and A. A. Shillander of Madison, chairman, J. J. Ruble of Platteville, I. J. Hewitt of Madison, and Lawrence Bahr of Spring Valley...
...Railroads and mine operators are in dispute with employees who demand higher .wages, and the building trades are also disturbed in several places...
...The selection of Kern is not regarded as a victory for the progressive Democrats...
...A bulletin issued on April 30 by the Department of Agriculture, prepared under the direction of Dr...
...At the dedication of the home of the International Union of American Republics in Washington on April 26, President Taft, Andrew Carnegie, Senator Root, and many other notables spoke for peace among the South American Republics and arbitration for the settlement of all international disputes...
...Factions headed by Governor Marshall and Thomas Taggart engaged in sharp encounters...
...The vote in Committee of the Whole proved so close that it is evident that the margin by which it is passed or defeated by the House will be narrow...
...What action Senator Lorimer will take is problematical at the time when this is written...
...Although Mr...
...It is probable that the lords will soon reject the measures passed by the House of Commons, limiting their power, and in June or July general elections may be ordered...
...Vice President Sherman in a speech at St...
...The submission of such an amendment passed the state senate last session, 21 to 8, but was voted down, 45 to 29, in the assembly...
...State Attorney John E. Wayman of Chicago was given a statement by White of the same nature as that which appeared in the Tribune, and states that he will make every effort to secure convictions if White's story is found to be true, with the aid of the special grand jury which was called but a few days prior to the disclosure...
...The result of the fight on it was substantial victory in the House and defeat in the Senate for Progressives...
...News Notes The legislature of Rhode Island in the closing days of the session passed a resolution opposing the imposition of the federal income tax...
...The officers are: President, C. H. Talbot, of Madison...
...In Europe there was little trouble on the day which in former years has been marked by great riots and bloodshed in conflicts between the military and discontented workingmen...
...The statement relates that after returning from a trip which he made to Tennessee during the summer, White was called to St...
...News Worth Remembering IF THE story told by Representative Charles A. White of the Illinois General Assembly is true, then the recent scandals in Pittsburg and New York state and those of San Francisco and Chicago, sink into insignificance beside corruption flourishing in Illinois...
...Governor Deneen will watch events and is likely to call a special session of the legislature to investigate the charges made against certain of its own members...
...board of trade, that enumerators have been required to circulate petitions for the reelection of United States Senator Burrows...
...Louis and that he had met the other men named by White...
...Japan has promulgated a new law relating to the right of foreigners to own land in that country...
...It provides that foreigners domiciled or residents in Japan and registered there may enjoy the right of ownership in land, provided that in the countries to which they belong such a right is extended to Japanese residents...
...That is White's explanation of the "jackpot...
...The provisions of the rail bill at present permit the making of traffic agreements between railroads, limiting competition, and in this way striking a vital blow at the anti-trust law...
...The other diners refused to listen to a defense of Mr...
...There was a "roll call" in both houses...
...Wiley and Secretary Wilson, contains a "blacklist" of harmful patent medicines and soft drinks...
...The law is applicable to foreigners from countries designated by imperial edict...
...Louis...
...The judiciary committee of the House of Representatives has decided to recommend the appointment of a commission, consisting of two members appointed by the House, two by the Senate, and two by the President, to investigate the feas-ability of a national law providing compensation for workingmen injured or killed as a result of their employment...
...The League is made up of members of all political parties...
...Students' Referendum League An organization for the advancement cf the Initiative and Referendum in Wisconsin, state and locally, was recently ret on foot among- the students of the University...
...Kern...
...Louis on July 15 by a telegram from Robert E. Wilson, another democratic member of the assembly and there paid $900 as his share of the "jackpot," by Wilson, acting for Browne who was sick...
...Representative White's statement in the Tribune purports to be an explanation of the way in which the present senator's election was brought about...
...At several great centers immense meetings were held, but no disorder occurred...
...A clause in the Quebec timber regulations, recently adopted, by providing that all timber cut on crown lands after May 1 must be manufactured in Canada into pulp or paper or boards or other articles of commerce and merchandise, prevents the exportation of pulp wood to the United States...
...The amount collected so far is $132,433...
...When the legislature adjourned, White says that he was afraid to go home to face his constituents but instead met Browne in Chicago and received the balance of the $1,000 which he had been promised for his vote for Lorimer...
...A primary election was held in Illinois in the autumn of 1908 for the purpose of securing an expression from the people as to their choice for United States Senator to succeed Senator Hopkins...
...White states that on the day following he had several talks with Browne, who assured him that he would receive $1,000 for his vote, and he claims that he talked with other Democratic members of the legislature about the deal, and they freely admitted having sold their votes to Browne...
...Accusations have been made to the director of the census by Charles Hathaway, formerly secretary of the Grand Rapids (Mich...
...Not only was the type scored, but the exemplar was characterized as a man who was "simply bent on cutting throats" in order to remove obstacles in the path leading toward political office...
...now don't forget...
...On April 28 the House of Lords passed the Lloyd-George budget and on the 29th, a year after its introduction in the House of Commons, the king gave his assent to the measure, which has caused so much discussion...
...The Roosevelt professor at the University of Berlin for 1911 will be Alfonso Schmidt of the University of Virginia, who will lecture oh "The American Literature of the Nineteenth Century," with a special retrospect of the lives and times of Franklin and Jefferson...
...Wilson said, according to White's statement, that if the governor had not vetoed certain measures, which had been passed by the legislature, the sum would have been much larger, for if they had become law the "jackpot" would have been greatly swelled by those who desired the legislation...
...The main contest, however, was over the candidate for United States Senator, and between the forces standing for reform in the Democratic party and the machine element headed by Taggart...
...Browne had already given him part of the sum, when he needed the money, says White, and at the time of the Chicago meeting promised to give him his share of the "jackpot" about the middle of July...
Vol. 2 • May 1910 • No. 18
