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PAGE TWO Public Opinion Throughout the Union CHRISTIAN INJUNCTION AGAINST SOCIALISM. An effort to make the teachings of Christ and the Bible sustain the tenets of Socialism was expressed in the form of a series called “Antiso cialistic Don’ts,” quoted in our issue for March 30. The author, Mr. T. H. B. Bodenhamer, has succeeded in call ing out an antagonist in Mr. John Douglas Gordon, who also goes to the Scriptures to prove the falsity of the Socialist propaganda. His series of Christian injunctions are printed in The Catholic Standard and Times (Philadelphia), from which we quote: “If you stand with Christ against Socialism, follow his example of sub mission at all times to lawfully con stituted authority. “If you stand with Christ against So cialism, quit crying out against rank in authority, for he always likened his rule to a kingdom, promised that his apostles should ‘sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel’; also recall the degrees in the heaven ly kingdom—of angels and archangels, cherubim and seraphim, etc. “If you stand with Christ against Socialism, take to heart the parable of ‘the lord of the vineyard,’ who said to those who complained because, al though they had borne the heat of a whole day’s work, they received the same pay as those who worked but a few hours in the evening, ‘Did I not bargain with you for a penny? “If you stand with Christ against Socialism, obev injunction of St. Paul, ‘Exhort servants to be obedient unto their masters, and to please them well in all things, not answering again.’ “If you stand with Christ against Socialism, be loyal to rulers and su periors, temporal and spiritual, for St. Paul doth thus exhort Titus, ‘Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work.’ “If you stand with Christ against Socialism, take not away the rich man’s wealth, for since all that we have comes from God, if he deem it proper he shall deprive him of his wealth in his own good way. If you stand with Christ against Socialism, remember to ‘seek ye there fore first the kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things’ (i. e., temporal necessities) ‘shall be added unto you.’ “If you stand with Christ against Socialism, do not be deceived by those who would have you believe that all war is wicked. The whole Bible, from Genesis to the Apocalypse, upholds and encourages war in a just cause.’’ —Literary Digest. TWO-GENT RAILROAD FARES. In view of the announcement that a demand for a fare of two cents a mile on all the railroads in Louisiana is to be made an active issue before the State Legislature at its next ses sion, it is interesting to note the ac tion in that direction which has been taken by other states. So far they are as follows: Pennsylvania —Two-cent bill passed by the house only. Ohio —Two-cent law enacted last year. West Virginia—Two-cent bill passed. North Carolina Two-and-a-quarter cent bill passed. Alabama Two-and-a-half-cent bill passed. Arkansas —Two-cent bill passed. Kansas—Two-cent bill passed. WATSON’S WEEKLY JEFFERSONIAN. Nebraska —Two-cent bill passed. North Dakota —Two-and-a-half-cent bill passed. South Dakota—Railroad Commission authorized to order two-and-a-half-cent rate. Indiana —Two-cent bill passed. Illinois —Two-cent bill passed the House. lowa —Two-cent bill passed apply ing only to roads earning $4,000 a year gross per mile. Minnesota —Two-cent bill now - pend ing. Wisconsin —Rate of two-and-a-half cents fixed by Railroad Commission. Texas —Two-cent bill killed. It will be observed that more Re publican than Democratic states have reduced railroad fares, so that there is nothing partisan in the movement against the railroads. It seems to be the result of a general popular feeling against those corporations.—The Daily Picayune. THE QUANTITY OF MONEY AND PRICES. The day when trade instinct alone would pilot the business craft to suc cess harbor has passed and keen watchfulness of the world’s trade channels as illumed by the economic and other shoal lights, is the today requisite to the safety of the business barque. This and other countries have had what is termed great prosperity and are reaping its fruits. We have seen the value of commodities rise and thq compensation of labor enhance. In analyzing the causes, crop reports have been dissected and special con ditions peculiar to the several indus tries pointed out, that prosperity’s probable continuance might be fore casted. The special conditions pecu liar to the leather market and indus try have been quite thoroughly set forth. But it is plain that the rise in prices has proceeded from some cause common to all countries and commodities and is not con fined to special cases. And that cause is without doubt the great augmentation of the quantity of the world’s money through the enor mous increase in the production of gold; not alone through the discover ies of new gold, but by new processes of ore reduction. The annual production of gold in creased from $95,392,000 in 1883 to $404,649,000 in 1906. and the increase in 1906 over 1905 was $22,400,000. In addition to the portion of this in crease in gold that has swelled the volume of money in the United States, there was the enormous augmentation of “credit money”—bank notes —which in the ten years from 1895 to 1905. amounted to $328,031,787, and has since been materially increased. That commodities rise or fall in price in proportion to the increase or diminution of money, is now accepted as an incontrovertible fact. Other conditions being equal: Dou ble the volume of money; you double the value of products. Divide the volume of money; you divide the val ue of products. Under the monetary system in force in this and most other countries, the volume of basic money is dependent upon the capricious output of the mines and is not fixed by human agen cy according to the requirements of the trade of the nations. Therefore, the volume of gold production be comes an important factor in the gauging of prices and prosperity. As reports from authoritative sources are generally agreed that no decrease in gold production is immi nent, the sources to look for contrac tion are financial legislation and bank note manipulation. The vociferous and persistent wail for an. “Elastic Currency” emanates from quarters oc cupied by those otherwise engaged than in trade, in its true sense. And while the apparent purpose and al leged necessity for “Elasticity” is for expansion to meet the demands of trade, all of the proposed “Elastic Currency” measures are provided with most ample provisions for contraction, to be operated by those whose inter ests might be benfited by curtailing the volume of money and thereby en hancing its purchasing power.—The Glovers Review (Protectionist Organ), “Who is ‘Fingy’ Conners?” asks a neighbors who has just read that Fin gy Conners has called a conference of New York democrats to select a candidate for president. Mr. Con nors is the gentlemanly chairman of the New York democratic executive committee. A bit of insight as to who and what Mr. Conners is may be ob tained from a knowledge of the fact that he it was who said: “Yes, 1 like peas, but I can’t eat ’em; they will roll off me knife.” Still New York democracy has some good points and may in certain contingencies devel op some vitality.—Chattanooga Times. It was very kind of 11. Clay Pierce to suddenly agree to come to Texas and answer the indictment pending against him, after exhausting many of the legal technicalities to avoid do ing so. And President Pierce has nothing to fear in Texas if he is guilt less of the charges made against him. The people of this state believe in the same justice for millionaires that is administered to cotton choppers. If Pierce can prove his innocence while the state is trying to prove his guilt, lie will be able to pass through the ordeal entirely unscathed. —Fort Worth Telegram. In this little ruction between Mr. Thomas E. Watson and Mr. Marion Butler the sympathies of North Caro lina Democrats will of course lean to Mr. Watson. They do not love Mr. Butler and besides, wasn’t Mr. Watson one of our men in 1896? Didn’t we all —that is to say nearly all —vote for him for Vice President that year? Os course we did, and we cannot afford to go back on him this early. It would be no excuse to say that that was thirteen years ago and that we went back on Mr. Grover Cleveland in less than four. The statute of limita tions does not run in either of these cases, in fact, unless Mr. Watson and Mr. Cleveland had changed their principles since we voted for them, which neither of them has done. — Charlotte Daily Observer. BRITISH CIVILIZATION IN INDIA. The horrified attention of the whole world is likely soon to be centered upon India, where steadily, week by week, the plague spreads and the death lists pile up. In the last six weeks the record ed deaths in all India from this ter rible affliction have reached 451,000, and if this ratio remain until the end of the year the total will approximate 3,900,000. Plague began in India in 1897 with a total of a little more than 2,000 deaths. Since then every year, with one exception, has shown an appalling increase, and the disease originally confined to Bombay has been carried to every part of the peninsula. Bubonic plague is purely a matter of bad sanitation and bad government. It can be suppressed wherever com petent government makes an earnest effort on radical lines to suppress it. That it should have spread through India in this awful fashion until it has reached proportions that threaten the country with depopulation is the last indictment of Great Britain’s mon strous mismanagement of her tri' She has ruled India merely to extract from it all possible revenue and trib ute, and the inevitable results of her greediness and selfishness appear in perennial famine and terrible pesti lence. Our British friends have much to say about the misgovernment of Amer ican cities. No doubt we have done ill enough; but the worst of our achievements in any part of the world shines like a halo beside the best achievement of 150 years of British rule in India. Not in any spirit of vaunting we may well enough compare the Amer ican war against yellow fever in Ha vana with Bombay or Cawnpore under British management. THE CASE OF ABRAHAM RUEF. The sudden ending of Abraham Ruef’s trial in San Francisco, pre cipitated by Ruef’s plea of guilty, after a stubborn legal battle in his behalf, teaches a moral as simple as a nur sery tale, and as old as civilization. Rues had sinned against fellow men who had esteemed and honored him. Not only did his sins find him out, but they crushed him on the return swing of the pendulum. He had burdened his conscience with wrongdoing until, it broke under the weight of accu mulated infamies, and forced him to throw himself upon the mercy of out raged law. Thus ends the career of a man who might have been, with his talent, tact aggressiveness and genius for organ ization, a power for good in the world. But power misused has left him a moral and mental bankrupt, a physical wreck, with a spirit broken beyond the hope of repair, and fit only for his well deserved punishment. The lesson of Ruef’s experience should sink deep into the natures of men who play politics for money’s sake. Public honor and public es teem are worth more in the long run than all the fortunes accumulated by all the grafters of the world. Rues realizes the truth of the saying now; but he has learned the lesson only after the law had demanded the sac rifice of his freedom because of his repeated offenses against the law. Ruef’s experience must ever be the wrongdoer’s, and his pitiable and al most nauseating confession in court is the confession which conscience, wounded and sickened by long famil iarity with wrong, must ever exact from men who offend against the prin ciples of decency ana right living.— Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The continual recurrence of rail way accidents but serves as an addi tional reminder that too much railway money is being used in the payment of big dividends to boost the stock mar ket, and too little for the improvement of physical properties.-