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WA ISON'S LDIIOX IALS
WATSON’S WEEKLY JEFFERSONIAN teyTQg
• A Newspaper Devoted to the Advocacy of the Jeffersonian Theory of Government, '
published by SUBSCRIPTION PRICE: SI.OO PER YEAR
THOS. E. WATSON and J. D. WATSON, Advertising Rates Furnished on Application.
M/ Editors and Proprietors If J
WJr Tkmflk Court Building, Atlanta, Ga.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1907.
The Paper Tirust.
I hope Mr. Roosevelt won’t bust the Paper
Trust any more.
In "Don Quixote” we read of the man who
was whipping the hired boy, all nice and reg
ular, when the Don came riding along, in
search of adventures. Hearing the lad’s
howls, the Don dashed up, saw what was go
ing on, and pitched into the man, in good
knightly fashion. Os course, the boy rejoiced
to see his cruel master brought to book by
the irresistible Don Quixote —who was armed
with a long lance, the remote but direct an
cestor of the Big Stick.
But the Don couldn’t stop there always;
the Don had to proceed on his way, in search
of more adventures.
So.
Well, as soon as the Don was good gone
—out of sight and out of hearing—the cruel
man grinned a broad grin, tied the boy to the
tree again, and belabored him harder than
ever. Selah.
Now, that is precisely what the Big Sticte
has done for us victims of the Paper Trust.
A year or so ago, our strenuous President
busted the Paper Trust, and went on his way
to say and do other things—“My Dear Bel
lamy,” “My Dear Maria,” “Undesirable Cit
izens,” “Nature Fakers,” “You’re a liar,”
“Taft’s my man,” etc.
In the meantime, the Paper Trust waited
until the Big Stick was furiously battling
somewhere else, and then it tied us up to the
tree, as it were, and began to lay it on to us,
again, harder than ever.
And why do we have to submit to the out
rageous exactions of the Paper Trust?
Because our blessed Tariff will not allow
wood pulp to come from Canada and give us
cheaper paper.
The vast forests of Canada, and of Central
and South America, are right at our doors.
Relief is there, in sight. Yet we must suffer
from the ravenous demands of the Paper
Trust, because there is a law which practically
denies to us the privilege of getting wood pulp
from abroad.
Quinine used to sell at $3 per ounce, $4
per ounce, and even $5 per ounce. Why?
Because the Tariff enabled a few firms to form
a Monopoly and compel the people to pay
ungodly prices. Quinine now sells at 25c
per ounce.
Why?
Because it was put on the Free List, and we
could buy from abroad.
Put Wood Pulp on the Free List and the
Paper Trust will fall—never to rise again.
That’s the only way to Bust a Trust.
The Free List is a Big Stick which, like
lightning, will never have to hit in the same
place a second time.
MUM
When?
The Hearst papers are making a big todo
because Hughes’ Utility Board, in New York,
hasn’t done anything. Much was expected of
this Bioard, and practically nothing has been
accomplished.
The Hearst papers must cultivate patience.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day.” Give the Com-
missioners time. Two or three more genera
tions will pass along pretty soon, and the re
forms which the people want will arrive “ul
timately.”
Here, in Georgia, we have been waiting on
our Railroad Commission only thirty years,
and our patience is good for at least 30 more.
True, we got tired of having only three Com
missioners at $3,000 each, and we have chang
ed the law so that we have five Commission
ers at $5,000 each. Thus we added sixteen
thousand dollars a year to the expense.
As to reforms, we haven’t got any. Appar
ently, we don’t need any. Last summer it
did seem, for a time at least, that we needed
quite a few. Don’t need ’em now.
The Railroad Commissioners are happy, be
cause they get big salaries and have a good,
easy time. The corporations are happy, be
cause they are doing pretty much as they
please.
The Atlanta Journal has ceased to be rad
ical and is nursing a spirit of philosophic calm.
The Augusta Herald no longer pesters Uncle
Jake about the awful condition of the Georgia
Railroad, and throws cold water on further
progress by reminding us that “Rome wasn’t
built ip a day.”
Both the Herald and the Journal, however,
are quite confident that the promises made to
the people last year will be kept, some time or
other.
“Which,” as Mr. Pecksniff would say, “is
also quite consoling.”
H H H
The Ocala Platform,
We demand the abolition of National
Banks.
We demand that the Government shall es
tablish sub-treasuries or depositories in The
several states, which shall loan money direct
to the people at a low rate of interest not to
exceed two per cent per annum, on non-perish
able farm products, and also upon real estate,
with proper limitations upon the quantity of
land and amount of money.
We demand that the amount of the circulat
ing medium be speedily increased to not less
than SSO per capita.
That we demand that Congress shall pass
such laws as will effectually prevent the deal
ing in futures of all agricultural and mechani
cal productions; providing a system
of procedure in trials that will secure the
prompt conviction, and imposing such penal
ties as shall secure the most perfect compli
ance with the law.
We condemn the Silver Bill recently passed
by Congress, and demand in lieu thereof the
free and unlimited coinage of Silver.
. We demand the passage of laws prohibiting
alien ownership of land, and that Congress
take prompt action to devise some plan to
obtain all lands now owned by aliens and for
eign syndicates; and that all lands now held
by Railroads and other Corporations in excess
of such as is actually used and needed by them
be reclaimed by the Government, and held
for actual settlers only.
Believing in the doctrine of equal rights to
all and special privileges to none, we demand:
a. That our National Legislation shall be
so framed in the future as not to build up one
industry at the expense of another.
b. We further demand a removal of the ex
isting heavy Tariff Tax from the necessities
of life, that the poor of our land must have.
c. We further demand a just and equitable
system of graduated tax on Incomes.
d. We believe that the money of the coun
try should be kept as much as possible in the
hands of the people, and hence we demand
that all National and State revenue shall be
limited to the necessary expenses of the gov
ernment economically and honestly adminis
tered.
We demand the most rigid, honest and just
State and National Government control and
supervision of the means of public communi
cation and transportation, and if this control
and supervision does not remove the abuse
now existing, we demand the Government
ownership of such means of communication
and transportation.
We demand that the Congress of the United
States submit an amendfhent to the Constitu
tion providing for thrWection of United States
Senators by direct vote of the people of each
State.
H M H
Municipal Ownership.
In The Investigator, Brother Tibbles says:
“The city of Berlin under municipal owner
ship has a surplus in "its treasury while New
York under private ownership or manage
ment of all its public utilities, has to issue
bonds carrying almost usurious interest to pay
its running expenses. Berlin’s surplus is de
rived from its gas works, owned and operated
by the city of Berlin, which has proved enor
mously profitable, although the quality of the
gas turned out is excellent, and it is sold to the
consumers at a muett cheaper price than the
average price in the larger cities of America.
The employes of the municipal gas works are
well paid, entitled to a pension after twenty
five years’ service and are all insured against
accidents by the city.”
Yes, Berlin is run in the interest of all the
citizens of Berlin—share and share alike—
while New York is run by a few big men like
Belmont, Ryan, Morgan, Rogers, Stillman,
Harriman, Gould, and William Rockefeller.
The result of the control of New York by
these big men is that they monopolize the
Public Utilities for their own benefit, while
their tools—Murphy, McClellan, Quigg, Sul
livan & Co.—loot the city treasury and mort
gage the future of the city with bonds.
Just as the Republican machine in Phila
delphia loots the treasury and lets the corpora
tions loot the people, so the Democratic ma
chine rules and robs New York.
And the key to the situation, in both cities,
is the combination between the saloon-keep
ers and the leading Catholics.
h w «
Honor Roll.
Here follow a few more of the names of the
good friends who have been helping me build
up the Circulation of the two Jeffersonians:
J. E. Hannah, Wrens, Ga.
W. M. Formby, Lewisville, Ark.
A. C. Shuford, Newton, N. Q
J. J. Gordy, Richland, Ga. uiJUidi