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WATSON'S EDIT ORIALS Plr. "Bryan and the "Principal Points at Issue.” The papers having reported Mr. Bryan as saying that the Tariff was not an important issue, that gentleman has given out the fol lowing statement: “I did express the opinion that the trusts, the railroads and the tariff would be the principal points at issue, but 1 did not, and would not, say that the tariff is not so impor tant as the other two issues. All are impor tant, and I would not attempt to fix their rela tive positions. They all involve the same prin ciple, and that is whether the interests of the many shall be subordinated to the few and each will deserve the most careful attention from the next Democratic convention.” So it would appear that from the Bryan point of view, the three important issues are the trusts, the railroads and the tariff. These three issues “involve the same prin ciple, and that is whether the interests of the many shall be subordinated to the few.” Very important, indeed, are these three is sues, the trusts, the railroads and the tariff. There are scores of ravenous trusts through whose agencies “the interests of the many are subordinated to the few.” The Steel Trust, alone, extorts a greater profit annually from the many, for the benefit of the few, than can be dug from the soil of the five mil lion American farmers. Such exploitation of the many by the few is, indeed, appalling! Then, there arc the railroads —managed by six groups of New York financiers —which extort from the public annual dividends upon at least six billion dollars of watered stock. To run the railroads in such away as to earn yearly revenues upon six billion dollars of mere ink and paper, representing no actual investment of money whatever, is to rob the American people of six billion dollars IN PERPETUITY! Such exploitation of the many by the few is, indeed, appalling! Then, again, the official statistics show that the tariff gives to tne ten billion dollars in vested in manufactures a yearly net revenue of two billion, eight hundred million dollars. After allowing for 8 per cent interest upon the capital invested, we have here a profit of two thousand million dollars to be divided among the six thousand manufacturing plants as a clear bonus, over and above a handsome profit on the investment. Thus the tariff enables the manufacturers to rob the American public of two thousand million of dollars every year. Such exploitation of the many by the few is, indeed, appalling! As Mr. Bryan says, these three enemies to the general welfare —the trusts, the railroads and the tariff —“all involve the same princi ple, and that is whether the interests of the many shall be subordinated to the few.” “All three involve the same principle.” So they do —but are they the only offenders? Have we no other enemies to the general welfare which “involve the same principle”? WHAT ABOUT THAT MONEY QUES TION, MR. BRYAN? Why is it that your eloquent voice is never heard, now-a-days, to thunder against that MONSTER OF SPECIAL PRIVILEGE? WATSON'S WEEKLY JEFFERSONIAN A Newspaper Devoted to the Advocacy of the Jeffersonian Theory of Government. PUBLISHED BY THOS. E. WATSON and J. D. WATSON, Editors and Proprietors Temple Court Building, Atlanta, Ga. ATLANTA; GEORGIA, THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 1907. Is the National Banking system any less a subordination of the interests of the many to the greed of a few than it was in the days of Benton, Jackson and Jefferson? Since when did the National Banking sys tem put itself outside the pale of criticism and cease to “involve the same principle” that you condemn in the trusts, the railroads and the tariff? Have you discovered any sound Demo cratic excuse for the granting to five thou sand financiers of the tremendous power, privilege and profit of exercising the money creating function of Government? Os having at all times the free use of the taxes paid by the unprivileged? Os securing for their own private benefit the interest-bearing bonds of the Government when they have in their vaults at the same time, more than twice enough money belonging to the Government to pay off those bonds? Is our Gold Standard legislation tending always to a destruction of the Greenbacks, and to the compulsory redemption of silver dollars in gold dollars, no longer so dangerous as Mr. Bryan once said it was? Did he not make the whole continent thrill with the vigor of his denunciation of those whose pur pose was to “crucify mankind upon a cross of gold”? The Money Question, it seems, has dropped out of the debate. The National Banking sys tem, which haunted the dreams of Thomas Jefferson, and which roused Benton and Jack son to a battle which shook the whole fabric of our institution, is no longer a bone of con tention. Why so? Towering above the Trusts and the Rail roads, both of which marauding combinations are absolutely dependent upon the National Banking system, looms the Special Privilege of controlling the money-supply of 85,000,000 people! Blind, blind, BLIND is the statesman who will not see what the root of the evil is. “Saul has slain his thousands, but David his tens of thousands!” In the warfare against the unprivileged many, in these Unit ed States, the few have their Saul, as well as their David —but the slaver of the tens of thousands is THE OMNIPOTENT MONEY TRUST. * it H Gen. Toombs 9 Letter. More than twenty years ago, Gen. Robert Toombs wrote for the Atlanta Constitution a powerful arraignment of the corporations— a letter which ought to be republished and carefully studied. It fits the situation as well today as it did when written. Says Gen. Toombs: “All corporations are artificial persons with special names, composed of such members and endowed with such powers and privil eges as the law prescribes. “They are of very ancient origin; they are children of civilization, grow with it, expand with it; they are generally useful, oftentimes indispensable to the rapid progress and de velopment of society; but they are always dangerous. . . While Railroad companies SUBSCRIPTION PRICE: SI.OO PER YEAR Advertising Rates Furnished on Application. Entered at Ptstoffice, Atlanta, Ga., January 11, IQO7, al tecond clan mail matter. are private corporations, mere carriers for hire, incorporated as such, they are given ex traordinary powers in order that they may better serve the public. “They are therefore engaged in a public employment affecting the public interest, and subject to legislative control. “It is therefore the duty of these corpora tions to perform all their duties as common carriers imposed upon them by law, and pay all taxes that may be legally imposed.” Gen. Toombs then dwells upon the lavish generosity of the state to the railroads in granting them charters, powers, privileges, and exemplifications from those burdens which other citizens have to bear. He points out that the railroads paid nothing to the sup port of the county administrations of the va rious counties through which the road ran although the railroads were constantly re ceiving the benefit of the roads, bridges, pub lic buildings, county officers, and protection of the laws. In other words, the corpora tions escaped these public burdens which fell upon natural persons. After showing how liberally the state had dealt with the railroads, Gen. Toombs asks: “Have the railroad corporations done their duty to the state for all the powers, privil eges, immunities and exemptions conferred upon them? “They have not. “So far from having faithfully performed their obligations, these corporations have gen erally, habitually and persistently endeavored to elude and avoid every one of their obliga tions to the public, contained in their charters, or in the general laws of the land, which were onerous to them and beneficial to the pub lic. “The better to effect these objects they have usurped numerous powers never grant ed them. “To effect these objects independent of the powers granted them, they have set up a claim to, and exercised, sovereign, imperial powers WHICH ARE NOW AND AL WAYS EAVE BEEN DENIED BY ALL FREE PEOPLE TO ANY AND ALL THEIR DEPARTMENTS OF GOVERN MENT.” Now what are some of those sovereign, im perial powers which all free peoples have de nied to their own government but which the railroads have claimed and exercised? Gen. Toombs specifies: “1. Among them, and standing at the head of all, is the surrender of the taxing power for the benefit of these monopolies, the exemption from all taxation for limited periods, and a partial and limited exemption indefinitely. “2. The great sovereign power, under the name of freight and passenger tariffs, FIXED BY THEMSELVES in defiance and con tempt of all public authority, TO APPRO PRIATE SO MUCH OF THE PORTABLE WEALTH OF THE COUNTRY as may fall into their hands for transportation, TO THEIR OWN USE as their necessities or RAPACITY may dictate. “3. To annihilate what little competition is possible, in view of the location of the sev eral roads, by combinations, poolings, RE- '[if’ B)* 4'