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PAGE TWO Public Opinion Throughout the Union BAILEY AND STANDARD OIL STILL A LIVE ISSUE IN TEXAS Since the legislative investigation of Senator Bailey last spring oppo sition to him appears to have greatly |inareased. Vigorous discussion has brought home to the people of Texas the fact that Bailey’s connection with Standard Oil has destroyed his use. fulness as a public servant and has placed for the first time a southern man in the ranks of the trust owned senators. Organizations have been formed throughout the state for the purpose of electing a majority of “anti- Bailey” men to the next legislature to put into effect a resolution which wall be introduced calling for the res ignation of Bailey from the United States senate. Bailey still has a con siderable following.. He controls the state democratic executive commit tee and can set in motion the organ ized party machinery. Both the pres ent governor and Senator Culberson are mysteriously silent on the Bailey subject. If they are against him they seem to be afraid to say so: and this indicates that Bailey’s political strength has not been entirely broken. On the other hand, the “anti- Bailey” faction is trying to enlight en tho voters and bring them to an understanding of the perfidy of Bailey’s conduct —to make them un derstand that “a grafter is a traitor to his country in a time of peace.” Hon. Wm. A. Cocke, representative from Bexar county, who made the charges that.led to the legislative in vestigation of Bailey, is writing a book entitled: “Senator Bailey’s Political Life and Character,” which will contain, it is said, some interest ing facts regarding Bailey’s earlier career and his later affiliations with Standard Oil. What may be considered the most audacious of the many bald acts of this transcendent demagogue was per petrated recently at a banquet in Dallas, Texas, given in honor of Gov ernor Campbell. After a good deal of disagreement as to whether or not Bailey be invited to speak, he was invited but was given the harmless subject: “The Paramount Issue of 1896.” To the astonishment of ev ery one, Bailey prefaced his speech with the charge that the attorney gen eral of Texas was derelict in his duty in allowing a branch of Standard Oil to continue to operate in Texas. He asserted that the attorney general had been moved to prosecute the Wa ters-Pierce Oil Co. branch of the Standard and obtain a judgment of ouster against same solely for the purpose of discrediting him (Bailey). The speaker then offered to furnish the attorney general the necessary ev idence on which to base a suit if the attorney general would promise to proceed at once to do so. The facts in the case are: The Corsicana Oil Co., operating in Texas, has long been supposed to be a branch Bailey, learning that the attorney general bus for months been collect* WATSON’S WEEKLY JEFEBRSONIAN. ing evidence for the purpose of insti tuting legal proceedings. Now. Mr. Bailey, learning that the attorney general had just returned from New Tork, where he had been getting evi dence from the case of the Standard on trial there, for the purpose of prosecuting the Corsicana Oil Co., made this astounding announcement so that he might lay a predicate for claiming that he had forced the attor ney general to proceed against Stand ard Oil. That this was his intention is borne out by a speech he made two days later in which he said, “1 have lashed the attorney general into do ing his duty. ’ ’ To Bailey’s evident chagrin, the attorney general very promptly ac cepted his tender of evidence and called upon him to furnish the same. Bailey hastened to reply that he was not personally qualified as a witness; but he cited a part of the testimony of H. Clay Pierce, which was devel oped in the St. Louis hearing List summer. For Bailey, who says he i«* a lawyer, to make the assertion that the testimony he named would mate rially aid the state is absurd in the extreme. However, the attorney gen eral does not seem to be satisfied that Bailey is not personally qualified as a witness in Standard Oil matters, as he says he shall summon him to appear in such capacity whether he likes it or not. If Bailey is put on the witness stand and compelled to answer questions there will no doubt be some interesting developments. STANLEY BOYKIN. Fort Worth, Texas, Nov. 3. TOM WATSON COMPLAINS— JUSTLY SO. Why lags Georgia behind? The regular session of our Legislature did not give the people what had been promised them. The anti-lobbying bill met an ignominious disaster, The attempt to break up the illegal- con nection between the Central and tho Southern came to grief. No effort was made to cut down passenger rates to 2 cents per mile. The other South ern states cither have the 2 cent rate already, or are after it. Some South era states have it. Some Western states have it. Why shouldn’t Geor gia have it?—Watson’s Jeffersonian. It is worthy of remark that “pro hibitionists ” as a whole, are degener ate politicians, seeking to build up their own political fortunes. Public duty is discarded by them for “personal policy.”- Policy is only another word for “ dishonest v.” The late session of the legislature of Georgia, a majority of them were a gang of “prohibition politicians.” This is in evidence: they neglected the most vital matters of important legislation and devoted their time, and their energies, to building up a ‘ 1 prohibition-political-machine. ’ ’ Was ithis not the first instance in the his tory of Gecrgia that a woman was in vited to address the legislature of that state? Again is the lesson pre sentad, for the thoughtful mind to consider, that, where “effeminacy pre vails” degeneracy is the accompani- ment. This is the evidence all along the line of all history! The man who shuts both eyes and ears to the les sons of history and refuses to con sider the lessons of history, and goes on and on in his risky speculation, supported by no substantial founda tion. and in order to promote his fool designs he cultivates rotten politics and “political petticoats,” is totally unfit for a legislator; he ought to be washing dishes with his peers. “Why lags Georgia behind?” asks Tom Watson. It is because Georgia is losing character. “ Rooseveltism, Watsonism, Tillmanism” was not in the majority of her last legislature. If That last legislature of Georgia was a representative body of that state, then Georgia is becoming “ef feminate” and that virtuous spirit which repudiated the Yankee school inarm forty odd years ago, right after the war, who was sent into their midst to civilize (?) them, is either dead, or is dying. That valorous spirit of David Crockett, “Be sure you’re right, then go ahead,” did not animate the last session of the state of Georgia.—From the Patriarch, Seattle, Wash. SUBSIDY VS. EQUALITY. By A. R. McCook. (This article, which appeared origi nally in the Chicago Examiner and later in Post’s Public, of Chicago, is so very strong and true that it is re produced in the Jeffersonian. The anther, formerly principal of the Elma , 10., schools, is now super intendent at Shell Rock. He was the Democratic nominee for State superin tendent of lowa in 1903, and the fol lowing year was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention and was secretary of the delegation. At present 'he is secretary of the lowa Democratic Club, which is an organ ization of the radical Democrats of that State.) Like the “tainted money” contro versy, Mr. Carnegie’s gift of $lO,- 000,000 in steel trust bonds as a fund for college professors who have out lived their days of usefulness, is ex citing much adverse criticism and al so some that is favorable. It is unnecessary for the present to question Mr. Carnegie’s motives, but what of the influence and ultimate consequence of these annuities? Next to Rockefeller, Mr. Carnegie is the greatest benficiery of the trust system. There is already too much trust and corporation domination in the educational work of our colleges and universities, and the influence of prospective annuities will hardly in crease the professors’ opposition to these industrial monsters. Rather may we not expect them to invent new excuses and apologies for mo nopoly’s greed and avarice. The argument is made that teach ers are underpaid, and that conse quently the pension is deserved. Teachers are underpaid, but the rem edy should be an increase of salary . rather than a pension—at least until the aged common laborer is provided for in some way; and then the gov* ernment, and not individuals who have accumulated millions as a result of unjust laws, should grant the pen sions. With an equitable industrial sys tem there would be no Rockefellers and Carnegies who, like parasites, fat ten at the expense of less fortunate members of society. Better than this system of unequal distribution which breeds financial princes and paupers, would be the strict enforcement of the cardinal principle of Democracy—“ Equal rights to all, special privileges to none.” This, while preventing the accumulation of colossal fortunes by our “captains of industry,” would give to the private in the ranks of the industrial army a just proportion of his production. Between socialism and monopoly there is a happy mean, and when it is reached all will be rewarded in proportion to what they do fur so ciety. When fair play and equality become universal, tho problems of “tainted money,” pensions and mo nopolistic charity will disappear. Democracy’s great mission to the world is to abolish subsidies and se cure equality of opportunity for all. ALPHARETTA LOCAL UNION NO. 1307. Alpharetta, Ga., Nov. 5, 1907. Whereas, The price of cotton should be made amid the cotton fields of the South, and not by a few men a thousand miles away; and, Whereas, The cotton growers toil and sweat to support in luxury the useless and damnable aggregation of gamblers cf the stripe of Theodore Price in New York, where they have long since ceased to handle spot cot ton in ary considerable quantity, and that the unspinnable sort, and de liveries have become few and far be tween. Therefore, be it Resolved, That we are opposed to the existence of these fraudulent cot ton exchanges of New York, and con demn the high-handed gamblers who operate them for their own benefit, and to the great hurt of the cotton growers; and Resolved further, That every cot ton grower in the cotton belt insist that his congressman shall support and work for the passage of a bill to prevent gambling exchanges from dealing in futures, and to allow them to buy and sell only spot cotton. Resolved further, That these reso lutions be spread on the minutes of this local, and that copies be sent to Tigs Alpharetta Free Press, The Un ion News, The Jeffersonian and The Atlanta Georgian for publication. N. H. BROADWEIL, President cf Alpharetta Local Union of the Farmers’ Co-operative and Educaticnal Union of America. j Tom Watson is going at Governor Smith for all he is worth for going back on the reform pledges. I tell you, the “Laird of mountain top” won’t stand any shenanigan where he is made use of the way he claim* Governor Smith used him in order to bo governor.—Rochelle Era, .