The Southern Mercury. (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 23, No. 15, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 9, 1903 Page: 4 of 8
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THE SOUTHERN MERCURY.
■'V
WEEKLY.
Dallas. Texas.
Published every Thursday. Subscription
price |1 per year In advance.
MILTON PARK. ...Managing Editor.
' Entered at the Dallas. Texas postof-
fiee as mail matter of the second class.
Receipts for moneys given by the Man-
aging Editor only will be recognl 'd.
Main office: 213-215 Commerce St. (cor-
ner Lamar, Gaston Building). Dallas,
Tcxaa.
TIMES HAVE CHANGED.
"I notice from your bit; ail," said a
Southern Mercury reporter U> a rep-
resentative of the Itock Island Sys-
tem the other day, "that times have
changed."
"Yes." was the reply, "We have been
ablo to perfect arrangements that
will please your people, I am sure. Our
fast train, that for a number of years
has left Fort Worth at :30 p. m. with
through sleeper and chair cars to Chi-
cago, will, commencing April 5th,
leave at 9 o'clock p. m. This leaves
mo; o of a margin for all connections
and is a shortening of the schedule
thirty minutes, < time is made up
between Kcrt Worth and Kansas
City."
"Our morning train will continue to
leave at 8:30 a. m. and carries chair
car and sleeper to Kansas City, where
direct connection is made l'or Chi-
cago."
"By leaving Dallas at G:20 a. m. you
arrive at Fort Worth at 7:45 a. m.,
in time to connect with our morning
train, or for evening connection you
should leave at 6:50 p. m., reaching
Fort Worth at 7:55 p. m.
"We have been constantly Improv-
ing our service, equipment and road-
bed, so we now have a royal line in-
deed."
"Will you have low rates this sum-
mer?" was asked.
"Yes, wc are pioneers in that and
we intend to maintain our reputation.
We have some very attractive rates
now, as you will notice from our ad-
vertisement."
"You have a fine town here—wish
I could meet all your p pio person-
ally, but here's my train. Toll them
to write us at Fort Worth about their
trip and wo will give fuli details.
Good-ttje."
foreclosures, and the like?" "Besides," (vanla boys may legally work In tbe
say they, "there is much reason for j breakers at twelve, and actually they
THE TIGHTENING OF THE COIL8
| . OF SLAVERY.
In mo# ages the working farmer
has been' the dupe and prey of the
rest of mankind No why force and
now by caj'olery, as social customs
and political Institutions change, ho
has been made to produce the food
by which the race lives, and the share
of his product which he has been per-
mitted tq keep for himself has always
been pitifully ismall.
Under a military autocracy his ex-
ploitation was inevitable. There Is
no reason for it now, for tho lives
and well-beintf of the rest of man-
kind are in his bands: were the work-
ing farmers organized as the manufac-
turers and the* skilled artisans are
organized, and oould they lay by for
themselves a year's necessities, they
could, starve tho ;race Into submission
to their demandsi But the thing Is
not to be; nor. Indeed, is any marked
change to their axlvaut.age likely to
happen, for, so far as current tenden-
cies point, the future Is to repeat the
• ipst.
In our day and in our land both
force and cajolery conspire to keep
the fai'mer securely In his traces. He
cannot break through tli-o cordon
which the trust? and the railroads
put about him; and even If he could
he would not, since the influences
showered upon him are specifically
directed to the end of keeping him
passive and contented. Our statis-
ticians assure him ol" ltis prosperity;
our politicians and otir moulders of
opinion warn him of tine "pernicious
influence" of unions like the Farmers'
Altiance, and preach to him the com-
forting doctrine that by "raising more
corn and less politics" he will ulti-
mately work out a bliiisful salvation.
SometlmeB he must bum his corn for
fuel; often he cannot sell his grain
for the cost of production, even
thouh many thousands of persons in
the great cities may be hungering for
It; frequently ho cannot afford to
send his children to Bchnol, and In a
steadily increasing number of casus
be Is forced to abandon luis farm and
become a tenant or a wanderer. Ho
is puzzled, no doubt, by those things;
but they are all carefully and neatly
explained to him from the writings
and preachment of profound schol-
ars, as "natural' and "Inevitable" phe-
nomena. His ethical sense mnv be
somewhat disturbed by the cxplanap
tlons, but he learns that it Is useless
to protest, and he thereupon acqui-
esces.
A careful study of the lato census
reports will give no little light on this
vexing problem and convince the fair-
minded that combination and concen-
tration of effort by the capitalistic
forces of our country is one of the
prime factors In producing this
condition. The constant decrease
of home owners, and the Increase of
tenantry, marks a decline In our civi-
lization, which la fraught with serious
evil.
Though the Southern Stales general-
ly show the greatest proportion of ten-
ants, the greatest percentage of In-
crease is found lta the Northern and
Western Slates.
This remarkable growth of tenantry
would be considered, In any other than
our own complacent days, as an alarm-
ing, even an appallng fact. So blithe-
ly and for so long a time have the
changes been rung upon the alleged
fact of Independent ownership that ev-
erybody, including professors of politi-
cal economy, assumes its truth. But
even when its baselessness is clearly
shown we shall hear little of an alarm-
ist nature from our publicists and
teachers. Rather It may be expected
that their pronouncements will chango
with the changing times, and that we
■hall soon bear reiterated gratulations
on the development of tenantry. T* -y
stronlzingly ask, "Is not the hui i
satisfaction in the fact that, having no
land to mortgage, the tenant will not
be led into wildly prodigal habits of
life by a too ready recourse to the
money-lender.'
Considering the growth of tenantry,
the flocking of rural residents into the
cities, and the frequent abandonment
of farms in several sections of the
country, the unsophisticated onlooker
may naturally wonder at the talcs of
agricultural prosperity which from
time to time appear in the metropoli-
tan moldcrs of thought—the big dallies
and magazines. The present wheat
crop will sell, they say, for 60
cents, making the net value $580,-
100.000—a rather curious result,
and magazines. The wheat crop will
sell for 60 centB, making tho net value
$580,100,000—a rather curious result,
by tho way, not obtainable by any of
the ordinary processes of mathematics.
The corn crop is to bring $776,985,300,
and tho remaining crops follow, with
large values attached.
But reduced to individual earnings,
values of farm products (according to
the census, products other than those
fed to live stock) reveal a rather
meager diffusion of prosperity. Of the
5,739,637 farms in the United States,
1,319,856 are listed In the census as
hay and grain farms, for the reason
that hay and grain comprise 40 per
cent of their total products. The num-
ber of miscellaneous farms Is 1,059,416,
with an average acreage of 106.8, and
a product value of $4 12. Live-stock
farms number 1,564,714, with an aver-
age acreage of 22.9 and a product value
of $3.47. Thus the average productive
yield of 70 per cent of all the farms
and 80 per cent of all the farm land
In the nation ranges from $3.47 to $1.77
per acre. But let no one suppose that
all thlR munificent sum goes to tho
farmer. He pays 43 cents per acre lor
labor and nearly 7 cents per acre for
fertilizers. Tho net Incomo is thus
$3.97 per acre.
The size of farms Is Increasing,
though actual agriculture is probably
confined to smaller holdings. Tho
average was 136.5 acres In 1S90; it i.i
now 146.6 acres. The tendency varies
in different pnrts of the country. The
relation of size of farm to kind >f ten-
ure is, however, the main point, and
here ono discovers matter for reflec-
tion. Farms operated by cash tenants
have 102.7 acres apiece, by owners
134.1, by managers 1514.3.
Tho changing status of tho farmer—
a chango which involves his ultimate
reduction to a sixteenth-century level
—even where apparent ownership is
retained, is determined in other quar-
ters. He is the joint tenant of the
farm implement. trustA, of the new har-
vester trust, of tho produce trusts
which fix the valuo of his products, of
the railroad trusts which fix the rate
of transportation to the market, and In
the arid West of the water trusts.
Thus, oven though he boasts the pos-
session of a title-deed to his land, the
holding Is in reality at. the mercy of
several superiors; and the tithes which
he pays, though less formally levied
and exacted than were the reilevances
of the mediaeval peasant, aro as many
and well-night, as burdensome. And
ho must pay or go; for there is no re-
mission from his superiors, as in olden
days, on account, of drouth, floods or
other providential occurrences.
With the decline of th'o potty trades,
the growth of the combinations, and
the concentration In fewer hands of
the machinery of production, the sub-
ordination of the wago-carner becomes
more certain and moro fixed. If ever
ho were a free agent—In tho sense and
often go to work at from seven to
nine. These are automatic slate-pick
ers which can do this work successful
ly, but the flesh-and-blood child ma-
chines are cheaper. They earn Ave
cents an hour—sometimes as much
as ten
Little girls work in wire mills for |3
to $3.50 a week In the midst of un
guarded machinery watching for a
chanco to snatch a fluttering lock of
hair or corner of a skirt.
An anthracite miner who lost his
leg In a mine accident has a daughter
fifteen years old working all day In
a silk mill for $2.10 a week, and an
other of thirteen working for $1.0.
Many Southern States have no le-
gal age limits whatever for child labor.
Children six years old are employed
in cotton mills in the capital of 8outb
Carolina.
Labor organizations generally favor
a minimum limit of sixteen years, with
educational restrictions
Farmer Shaw sarcastically says: "To
make the present political trust that
rules Texas more thoroughly organ
ized, Governor Danham might ask tho
special session of the twenty-eighth
legislature to pass a law that no man
shall hereafter be a member of the
legislature if a graduate from the law
department of the University can be
found to run against him; that no man
shall be nominated for Congress who
has not been a member of tho legisla-
ture; and that tho congressional dele-
gation shall nominate the governor,
United States senators, and write all
platforms.
Whether in earnest or In Jest, these
are about the facts—and have been the
democratic rule of action for several
years. The old-time requirements for
positions of honor and trust in Texas
no longer prevail. Farmer Bill belongs
to the "hay-seed" class, which the
democracy "as she Is" has no use for
except at. election time.
Tho Mercury Is pleased to note that
the legislature refused to make that
$200,000 apropriation for a Texas ex-
hibit at. the St. Louis exhibition. We
are not opposed to that, exhibition, or
any exhibition, but. we feel that Is
nothing but right that those who danco
should pay the fiddler. Tho money In
our State treasury belongs to the tax-
payers of tho State, and was accumu-
lated for the legitimate expenses of
government, and not for exploiters and
schemers. Not one tax-payer In a hun-
dred in tho State would be benefited
in any way by this expenditure. If the
bankers, cattlo kings, land magnates
and other citizens desire to indulge in
such expenditures, well and good—If
they foot, the bills; but they should not
be permitted to strut and splurge and
mako their grand displays at the ex-
pense of the Texas tax-payers.
financial agent of something less than
$100,000. Just what tho exact amount
is has not been determined—but pa-
pers for the arrest of the defaulter
are In the sheriff's hands. The Mer-
cury is not surprised. If a fair, honest
and complete overhauling of the books
In all the other departments of the
8tate could be had, wo believe results
would shake tho State from center to
circumference. Peculation, fraud and
corruption are sure results of long and
undisturbed rule of any party of fac-
The Austin Statesman rejoices in the
fact that the legislature refused to lis-
ten to the "bellowlngs" of Kx-Gov. Hogg
—but has not one word of criticism for
their truculence and subserviency to
every interest of the capitalistic ele-
ment which composed the "third
house." Hogg's "bellowings" will yet
be heard and heeded too, by the horny-
handed voters all over Texas before
another legislature is selected, and
the fellows who turned a deaf ear to
the entreaties of the people will not
appear on the next legislative roll.
Though tho legislature refused to
make the desired appropriation for an
exhibit of the resources of Texas at
the World's Fair, the project will not
be abandoned. The commission which
meets to-morrow in this city will de-
vise a plan for raising the necessary
funds by private contributions. There
are enough men of wealth and promi-
nence to raise $500,000, if need be for
this worthy object. If thoBO who will
bo benefitted most by the movement
will do their duty, tho work will bo
done quickly. There is no reason why
the State should bear this expense
anyway.
to the degree that any ono In human
society can be freo—the day Is passed.
IIow we can bring parents and teach-
ers Into closer relations with each oth-
er, and tho beneficial results of such
alliance, are the points in a paper on
Childhood, by Mrs. Theodore W. Bir-
ney In tho May Delineator. It. is cer-
tain that until parents and teachers
como better acquainted an improye-
ment In the condition of home and
school will not result. Co-operation
between parent and teacher may take
tho forms of unions or clubs; and
where such effective means of bring-
ing them together are employed, the
needs of children may be discussed to
advantage. The article includes a list
of questions regarding food, clothing,
care of skin, exercise, sleep, etc., in
their relation to the child, about which
parents and teachers may concern
themselves in joint conference.
Representatives Talbot, of Wise, and
Napier, of Wood, have rendered good
service to the public in securing the
enactment of a law providing that all
sales of real estate under execution
shall hereafter be published in some
newspaper in the country, where the
real estate is situated. The land sharks
and exploiters will not bo able to ply
their trade so easily as heretofore.
The governor has signed the bill.
B ^ i t
The many friends of Hon. Lee M.
Callaway throughout the State will re-
gret to learn of his death on Tuesday
last, at his residence in "Oak Cliff,"
Dallas, after a short illness of typhoid
pneumonia. Mr. Callaway was In the
prime of life and vigorous manhood,
and had won no little distinction in
his chosen profession—the law—by his
assiduity and keen legal perception.
He leaves a devoted wife and seven
children to lament his untimely de-
mise.
tory, thence into Oklahoma. Return
dates are being asked for him in Ar-
kansas.
Eugene V. Debs addressed a big
meeting in Cincinnati on March 28th
on behalf of the Socialist municipal
ticket. He scored the "reform" ticket,
headed by M. E. Ingalls, president of
the Big Four Railroad, who is famous
for his utterance that "$1.12 a day is
enough for any workingman to live
on." Debs pointed out that the issue
in the campaign was not a local one
and that, "It Is precisely the condition
that such a paltry wage produces that
generates the misery, the vice and
crime that Mr. Ingalls so piously pro-
tests against, and so patriotically pro-
poses to stamp out if entrusted with
political power. If the working class
of Cincinnati will take this $1.12 stand-
ard approved by Mr. Ingalls and com-
pare it with the wage standard of the
railroad president, and then take a
photograph of the habitation of the
$1.12 serf and ono of the railroad pres-
ident's palace, they will see at a
glance what is the real Issue of this
campaign, and they will conclude that
they can not afford to forge tho fet-
ters more securely by casting their
votes for Mr. Ingalls, of the Big Four
corporation, on election day."
Notwithstanding the fact that a de-
coy "labor" ticket has been placed in
the field, the Socialists have a good
chance to carry Butte, Montana, at
the coming municipal election. Wal-
ter Thomas Mills is campaigning
there, and writes, "We are having tho
warmest kind of a time up here. No
hall will hold tho people. It really
looks as if we had a fighting chance
to win, but the comrades are making
a campaign on a straight out fight for
Socialism, regardless of Immediate re-
sults. No one Is asked to vote our
ticket for any other reason that as a
vote for the whole program of the
Socialists."
west must make the platform and lead
the light."—Geo. E. Todd, Jefferson,
Texas.
Territorial Secretary Sweet, of Okla-
homa. is working hard to convince the
membership of the value of the dues
paying system, and while he says the
work is harder than digging post
holes, he is confident that he will
succeed.
Through agencies constantly augment-
ing and extending, ho Is "cabln'd,
crlbb'd, confln'd. bound In," to a nar-
rowing circle of possible efforts. Di-
vorced from the land and from tho
tools of production, ho can live only
by accepting such, wages and condi-
tions as are offered him; add tho
terms are always such that tho kernel
of his product goes to some other man,
while tho husks and the tares remain
his own portion. But whether corpora-
tion. or partnership, or individual, em-
ploys the laborer's services, bis status
Is practically the same. Trade-unions
and other labor societies tend to modi-
fy that dependence; aud occasionally
social legislation, when It runs the
fierce gantlet, of the courts, exerts a
further modification. But It Is coming
to be recognized that there Is a limit
beyond which tho labor societies can
exert no Influence. In addition to all
this there Is a collective pressure
brought, to bear upon the working-
man's wages and a collective antagon-
ism maintained against his unions—a
growing movement In tho direction of
holding him for the term of his profit
ablo service to the company or corpora
Hon by which ho is employed, and a
judicial tendency to change his status,
as an economically free agent, and ren
der him unable to do what he wills, or
to protect himself from all injustice—
Extract from "Our Benevolent Feudal
ism," by W. J. Ghent.
Until labor Is recognized by capital
as a living moral ontlty with natural
rights in the equity produced by both,
Instead of as merely a dead commod-
ity, phose price, llko that of the com
modlty It produces, Is subject only to
the law of supply and demand, there
will and ought to be no permanent
peaoe.
Such Is tho blinding tyranny of cus-
tom and environment that, far from
our moral ronslbllltles being shocked
at the spectacle of an emjjloyer Book-
ing to pay less to his labon than an
Rproxlmate to the value It. prodpeos,
we regard It. as natural qnd reasonable
thaf he fchould endeavor to keep at a
minimum the wages of his labor Irre-
spective of Its return to him. We see
nothing Inherently Immoral In all this.
What are the accumulated millions
of the Carnegles, Rockefellers, etc.,
but, broadly speaking, simply the accu-
mulated difference between what their
hired labor earned for thorn and what
they paid for It?
Labor is not blind to this fact and
has come to regdtd the so-called cap-
tains of Industry as simply ruthless
gigantic Industrial freebooters.
Injustice, as Carlisle tells us, is sim-
ply untlruth In action, and, like lying,
will assuredly in time work out its own
undoing.
Admiral Dewey In a private conver-
sation some two weeks ago remarked
that "the recent Caribbean manoeuv-
ers of our navy were an object-lesson In
American naval strength more to the
German Emperor than than to any one
else. Tlic United Slates Navy is the
most effective fighting force In the
world."
The statement, having reached tho
ears of tho German Minister, at Wash-
ington, was construed as a reflection
on the German Navy, and an explana-
tion was sought, for the unnecessary re-
mark.
Dewey, with that characteristic can-
dor, which he always exhibits, repeat-
ed the remarks and said they were
nothing but plain facts and required
no explanation or apollgy. The at-
tempt to cause him to retract or mod-
ify his words was a flat failure.
The hard times in Europe are driv-
ing the poor people by the thousands
to the United States. Every ship that
arrives is loaded to the guards with
immigrants. It looks as if the year
1903 would break all previous records
for Immigration Into the United States.
Last year we took In, roughly speak-
ing, 750,000 Immigrants at all the ports
of the United States. Of these 451,637
entered the port of New York, an aver-
age of more than 1200 a day in the
year.
Two constitutional amendments, at
least, will be submitted to the people
for ratification at the State election in
November next. year. One providing
an increase in the appropriations for
Confederate pensions from $250,000 to
$500,000, and another providing for the
Incorporation of State banks. The con-
stitution tinkers always have a lot. of
work mapped out. and will not be slow
to present the merits of supposed re-
forms.
If the grand juries throughout Texas
will give their best efforts to the en-
forcement of the laws on our statute
books, Texas will show a marked ad-
vante in her social and political de-
velopement. Our need is not for more
laws, but a strict enforcement of those
wo have.
Tho Treasury Department at Wash-
ington has wired the banks along our
Mexican border, fixing the exchange
value of Mexican dollars at 38c for the
quarter ending July 1. This Is the
lowest valuation ever made for that
much coined stiver.
The Board of Aldermen of the City
of New York have adopted a resolu-
tion urging the immediate passage by
tho legislature of a bill permitting
Greater New York to construct and
operate a lighting plant commensurate
to the needs of the city.
The great economy of manincipal
ownership as shown by Detroit and
Chicago Is attracting attention all over
the country, and ere long city owner-
ship of public utilities will be the rule
in nil up-to-date cities. Dallas has
need to consider work along this line.
The people aro growing weary of cor-
poration rule.
Grover Cleveland and President
Roosevelt are to be the special guests
of David B. Francis, the President of
the St. Louis Exposition. If Booker
Washington and Mark Hanna were in-
ch ,mI, the political make-up would be
complete.
"1
im
patronl
tenant'i
Seventeen hundred and fifty thous-
and children between the ages of ten
' and fifteen -are employed In the mines
• security greater, and his trou- J and factories of thO United States,
lew? Need he worry over taxes,1 in the anthracite region of Penney!-
Though the Booklovers Magazine Is
ono of the latest ventures in monthly
publications, it stands without, a supe-
rior In literary excellence and mechan-
ical execution. The April number, just
received, makes a specialty of railway
development and gives nn excellent
and authoritative review of railway
consolidation from 1896 to tho present.
A series of five comprehensive maps
Illustrates the systems which make up
the ponderous aggregation of Amorl
can transportation, and gives at a
glance a clear idea of the situation as
It Is to-day. The admirable tinted por-
traits of the Big Four, Gould. HUI, Cas-
satt and Hutlngton add much to the at
tractlveness of this number. Get a copy
of the April number and you will be de-
lighted.
Tho lawless element In Texas—tho
gamblers and whisky dealers—are dls
posed to fight for every Inch of ground
tho law dispossesses them of. An
heuser-Busch has made a losing fight
to set aside the will of the people of
Grayson and Jefferson Counties.,
though he had tho little giant, george
dark, of Waco, to plead his cause.
And now the gamblers are appealing
to the courts to kill the anti-pool room
statue enacted by the recent leglsla
ture.
I it
A "look at tho book" down at the
Rusk penitentiary discloses a shortage
in tho accounts of the tote assistant
The Indiana State Convention will
be held on Saturday and Sunday,
April 25-26, in Indianapolis. State
Secretary O'Neal writes: "We expect
the largest State Convention ever held
and will perfect plans for continuous
agitation for the coming summer."
O'Neal also makes the suggestion "that
party members who are also'trade un-
ionists, watch their trade Journals for
the names of isolated Socialists and
forward them to the national office."
Many Socialists in isolated places
may be "discovered" in this way as
they iftually give expression to their
convictions through their trade jour-
nals. The suggestion is a good one,
and comrades are requested to act
upon It.
John Collins, who did valuable work
for the Socialist party in the Anthra-
cite region of Pennsylvania during the
big strike of last year, is there again
Collins reports that the field is as
fertile as ever, and that the work
of last year shows permanent results.
Colorado State Committee granted
charters to six new locals on March
^-6th, and the State Secretary organ-
ized another at Sterling on the 29th
of March with 23 members. Mrs. Ida
Crouch, Hazlett, State Organizer, is
having an interesting time in Cunni-
son County.
STILL BELIEVES THE OLD DOC-
TRINE.
Hon. Wm. V. Allen, ex-United States
Senator from Nebraska, in a recent
letter to the editor of the Nebraska
Independent, declares his abiding
faith in Populism and the principles
upon which It is founded, as the fol-
lowing extract unequivocally indi-
cates. Says Mr. Allen:
"I have faith in the populist party;
faith in its principles; faith in its
continued existence, and faith that It
will grow and under its present or
some other acceptable name ultimate-
ly be triumphant in the United States.
I have not the slightest notion of de-
serting its standard or of permitting
the organization to go down if I can
prevent such a disaster. I admire
many things in scientific socialism.
The socialism of Marx and Bellamy
would be of infinite benefit to man-
kind, bftt it is a thousand years in ad-
vance of the age, and men must be re-
fashioned before it can be successful-
ly adopted. We must deal with men
as they are and not as we would like
them to be, and on one or two vital
principles of government upon which
all can agree we should unite the re-
form forces into a compact organiza-
tion by which through party discipline
and by force of numbers we may be
able to reform the government and
bring it back to the old time purity
and simplicity of tho fathers of the
republic. Any policy that falls short
of accomplishing this desirable end.
is short-sighted and unworthy of con-
sideration."
There aro thousands in Texas and
all over the South and West who are
of the same mind as Mr. Allen. While
many of us havo differed greatly from
him as to the best plan to secure suc-
cess, and in the heat of campaign
indulged in harsh and unwarranted
criticism of those who could not see
as we did, wc; heartily endorse his
present position and cherish the hope
that reformers of all kinds may
yet get together in a compact organ-
ization.
l
The strike at the Waco woolen mills
has ended, and the old hands are all at
work again. The managers made sat-
isfactory concessions to the strikers. ^
SOCIALIST NOTES.
The National Secretary has initi-
ated a referendum of the Alabama Lo-
cals for a State convention to form a
State organization. Tho convention
will probably be hold in May.
Local charters were granted during
the week to Hock Springs, Wyoming,
Tucson, Ariz., l'atton, Ala., and Coats,
Arkansas.
Comrade Robert B. Ringler, of Read-
ing, Pa., writes: "Things arc moving
here. Wc have 180 members In tho
local. Polled 1149 votes In the mu-
nicipal election; 249 in spring of 1902."
"The U union Sentinel," official organ
of the Federated Trades Council, 1b
edited by Socialists.
State Secretary Holman, of Minne-
sota, writes enthusiastically of Com-
rade Carl D. Thompson's agitation In
that State. Hnlls in Minneapolis and
St. Paul are too small to hold the
crowds, and for three days Hammond
was In the hands of the Socialists.
Thompson has a total of 67 dates to
fill In Minnesota, and Secretary Hol-
man Bays, "Great good will result from
this tour, and you may expect to hear
great things from Mlnnesotta from
now on."
The Fair gotten up by the Socialists
and Trades Unions of New Tork City
to help 8well tho fund for a dally pa-
per, to be known as the "Dally Globe,"
opened on March 28th with a tremen-
dous crowd. It Is expected that near-
ly $20,000 will be realised from th«
fair, which lasted eight days.
John C. Chase begins hla tour of
Texas on April 7th, and will spend
nearly the entire month In thia State,
coins from here to the Indian Terrl-
"After reading the protest of Com- !
rade McNail in the last issue of the i
Mercury and the note from Mr. Ash- I
berry, I am constrained to say keep !
on pushing the Mercury to the front. I
McNair Is another New Yorker who 1
has probably been "wintering" his
vote for several elections past, but has
come to tho conclusion that it will be
better to help a "live" party than to
everlastingly bemoan the death of one
now dead. Another correspondent in
your issue of March 26 seems to think
a good paying place should be made
for Mr. Bryan and his followers in case
ho falls to capture the d. o. p. He
favors calling a convention to prevent
the live workers In the proletalre from
getting in the front, and then the old
Omaha principles may be burled in
defeat again. I honor the grit of you
Southern and Western fellows, but I
am not unmindful of the work done
and being done by other sections of
the country for relief, radical and im-
mediate. I have no dirt to throw, but
want every man to study the situation
and lay aside prejudice and hate and
make an honest, intelligent, manly
fight for the right."—Irven Shoemaker,
Cuyahoga, N. Y.
. . i
"The Intelligent voters can easily
see that all this efTort to belittle Popu-
lism and to scare the people by boost-
ing Socialism Is but a trick of the old
party managers to check the growth
of reform and keep one or the other of
the old parties In power. The Omaha
demands, supplemented by the initia-
tive and referendum. Is good enough
for any one who believes In a Just gov-
ernment economically administered. I
am 71 years old and a Pop from prin-
ciple. Shall never vote for any candi-
date who does not reflect my views.
Populism la growing stronger among
the masses every day. This twaddle
about tariff, expansion and the negro
Is only to divert the people from the
real Issue."—J. A. Gulnn, Fairy, Texas.
"I have Just read the Mercury of
April 2. Yes. the "Regeneration of the
Michigan Democracy"—glorious re-
generation that, with the cloven-foot
hidden In hypocrisy! What Is behind
^11 of thlB? An efTort to stop the
growth of the Socialist party? See that
party go as the Populist and other re-
form parties did before It—wrecked by
a treacherous Democratic party. Would
you like to see the demagogues where
they have always been? Instance their
treachery In the late Missouri legisla-
ture on tho referendum. Though forced
to submit a constitutional amendment
to a vote of the people, they so emas-
culated It that it Is almost Impractical.
No, we can't trust them! ! am for di-
rect legislation, with all It means."—H.
B. Asbury, Augusta, Ky.
"Keep on teaching the old doctrine:
Dlreot Legislation, Government Owner-
ship of public utilities. Government
money Issued direct, 960 per capita.
These principles ought to win such a
following as would carry the country.
The South ain't in It now. The North-
Oil has been struck near Vlnlta, I. T.
Capt. John S. Hammer of Ada, I. T.,
is dead.
Martial law has been declared In
Nicaragua.
President Diaz has opened the Mex-
ican congress.
The street car strike at Tacoma,
Washington, has been settled.
Chas. Thome was indicted at Guth-
rie, I. T., on a charge of bigamy.
Much interest has been excited in
army circles by the McClain gun.
A general strike Is on in Chicago
and 5000 men are cwt of employment.
The Early hotel of Chickasha was
burned at a loss of $20,000. Insurance
$3000.
A general strike of building trades
in AVestchester county, New York, in-
volves about 2000 men.
Count Elliott Seborowskl of New
York was killed In an automobile
race near Nice, France.
Strikes are now on in Shamokln,
Pa.; Pittsburg, Pa.; Terra Haute,
Ind.; Wheeling, W. Va.; Cincinnati,
Ohio: Sharon, Fa.; Oswego, N. Y.;
Indianapolis, Ind.; Denver, Colo.;
Greenwich, Conn.; Saratoga, N. Y.;
Milwaukee, Wis.
A brother of Mile. Emma Louret
was wounded in a duel fought with M.
Marcel-Prevost, the novelist, at
Neuilly, France. Mile. Louret fired
two shot from a revolver Monday at
M. Prevost. Her brother later sent
his second to M. Prevost.
The Isthmian Canal Commission
has appointed a subcommittee to
visit Colombia for the purpose of
making a personal inspection of the
route of the proposed Panama canal,
with a view to completing the trans-
fer of the canal property to the Unit-
ed States, when the final details for
such transfer have been completed.
The subcommittee is composed of
Rear Admiral Walker, Brig. Gen. Pe-
ter C. Haines, U. S. A., and Prof. Burr,
all members of the present commis-
sion.
Kansas has declared a cattle quaran-
tine.
The emperor of Germany is at Co-
penhagen.
Four persons were killed In riots In
Monterey, Mexico.
Safeblowers operated at Cotton Plant,
Arkansas, and secured $6.
The most powerful datto In Jolo has
promised to etase hostilities.
The sultan has dispatched troops to
the scene of tbe Albanian outbreak.
A. A. Winslow of Indiana has been
appointed secretary at Guatemala.
Minister Bowen and the Spanish min-
ister have signed the Venezuela-Span-
ish protocol.
Federal authorities have taken steps
to stop depredations on timber in. the
Indian Territory.
The president has suggested Senator
Beveridge an his running mate In the
campaign of 1904.
The Typographical union of Atlanta,
Ga., has been enjoined from Interfer-
ing with non-union printers.
Two persons were killed and ten or
more Injured In a tire in a tenement
house In New York last night.
The situation in Santo Domingo Is
extremely critical. In a battle Wednes-
day 100 men were killed or wounded.
The Southern Pacific oil tank near
Sherwood, I.a„ collapsed yesterday un-
der pressure of 65,000 gallons of oil.
United States Senator Clark and
Congressman Brundige of Arkansas
engaged in a fist fight at Little Rock.
Ben and James Hughes have been ar-
rested at Cordell, O. T., for the alleged
murder of Lute Houston last Novem-
ber.
In a battle In Samoliland the natives
were defeated by the British, the for-
mer losing twenty-seven killed and
wounded.
The Venezuelan congress authorizes
President Castro to fulfill protocol ob-
ligations without giving them legal
sanction.
The London Times has published a
message from New York, sent by th?
wireless telegraph company across the
Atlantic.
Two armed guards have been fined at
Shreveport for carrying concealed
wenpons. They were In the service of
the railroads in order to protect prop-
erty from strikers.
The National Bank' of Mexico has a
capital of $20,000,000 paid up and some
$f.000.000 surplus. Its gross profits for
the past year were $5,851,556 for the
principal bank and its branches. Its
board of directors has declared a divi-
dend of U per cent, paid 15 per cent
on founders' bonds and given $264,000 as
compensation to the members of the
board of directors.
The union employes of the New or
leans Railways company have submit*
ted new demands for unequivocal rec-
ognition of the Amalgamated Associa-
tion of Street Railway Employes. 2oC
per hour for platform service, nine
hours to constitute a day's work. The
proposed agreement contains twenty-
one section. It is the regulation form
of the carmen's national agreement.
Frank Ray was probably fatally shot
at Caddo, I. T.
The battleship Illinois will be re-
paired at New Orleans.
Many people are leaving Honduras
because of the revolution.
The steamer John J. Hill Is thought
to have been burned at sea.
An explosion of gas occurred in the
coal mine at Wilkesbarre, Pa., without
fatal results.
Indictments have been returned
against seven alleged "bucket shops"
in Chicago.
Baron Speck von Sternberg was
dined last night by the Hartford
Yacht club.
Tho German press Is not pleased
with President Roosevelt's speech on
the Monroe doctrine.
A political riot in Monterey, Mexico,
caused the death of eight persons and
injury to twenty others.
Bulgarian bands and Turkish troops
of the Ohkrida district fought a battle
and the dead and wounded number
1000.
Walter N. Dimmock has been ad-
judged guilty of having stolen $30,000
from the United States at San Fran-
Jobv Dyer, the self-appointed lead-
er ci the Yaqul Indians was captured
by Mexican troops in the state of So-
nora and shot.
The steamer Albion River ran on a
rock In Bodega Bay. The passengers
were rescued by the federal life sav-
ing crew at Port Reyes.
Seven Lad rones were killed and
twelve wounded near Idan, province of
Cavite. The United States troops re-
port no casualties In their ranks.
Two guards in the employ of the
: Kansas City Southern railway beat up
a switchman at Shreveport and other
switchmen refuse to work unless the
guards are discharged.
The Indian Territory Telephone
company has consented to join in the
telephone merger which was brought
up at Muskogee a few days ago and
the deal has now been closed, which
merges all of the telephones of the
Indian Territory, Oklahoma and
Northern Texas and the entire control
passes Into the hands of the North
American Telephone company, which
is an independent line. The lines con-
solidated are the line in Oklahoma
along the Santa Fe, Rock Island and
Frisco railroads and the lines on the
Frisco and Katy railroads In the In-
dian Territory. The property affected
by this merger is estimated to be
worth $5,000,000.
George H. Guest committed suicide
at Kansas City.
Important local elections are to be
held to-day in Ohio.
Opposition to the canal treaty is de-
veloping in Colombia.
Much enthusiasm has been aroused
by King Edward's visit to Lisbon.
Shoe cutters at Haverhill, Mass., are
to receive an Increase In wages.
A motorman who forced his car into
a parade In Chicago was shot by Ital-
ians.
Edward S. Armstrong was stabbed
to death by George Feathers near
Knoxville, Tenn.
The general opinion Is that Mexico
lias about adjusted itself to lower the
level of silver.
A safeblower was killed at Penn
Yan, New York, while operating In the
store of Flecde & Forhee.
The Russian consul at Mitrovltza
died of wounds received by being shot
in the back by an Albanian sentry.
Henry Hunter Smith, a wealthy cot-
ton broker of Atlanta, Ga., is dead at
Philadelphia at the age of sixty-two
years.
Charles Blakey (the "Cowboy Pian-
ist") and Roy Winchester were killed
by James McKenny near Kingman,
Arizona.
The American Academy of Political
and Social Science will hold its an-
nual meeting Friday and Saturday in
Philadelphia.
The Germc.n Crown 'Prince Is re-
ported betroihed to Duchess Ceclle,
sister of Grand Duke of Mechlenburg-
Schwerln.
Reports that the United States is
Increasing the Asiatic squadron be-
cause of the alarming situation in
China are received with surprise in
Pekin.
Regulations to govern the appoint-
ment of unclassified laborers In the
civil service system have been adopt-
ed by four departments of the federal
government.
The immense storage house of the
Birmingham Fertilizer company, In
East Birmingham, Ala., said to be op-
crated in the interest of the Virginia-
Carolina Chemical company, was com-
pletely destroyed by fire, the loss being
estimated at $225,000.
The store of the Henry Rose Mercan-
tile company of Shreveport, La., was
destroyed by fire, which originated in
the rear of the store. The loss on
stock Is estimated at $18,000 and on
the building at $6000. The flames
damaged the stock of the Woodfin
Furniture company to the amount of
about $5000. The stock of the Star
Bottling Works suffered a loss of
$3000. The Insurance on the destroy-
ed property amounted to $65,008.
The boll weevil has made Its appear-
ance in Cuba.
Lon Stewart was shot to death at
South McAlester I. T.
Fleischmann Is elected mayor of Cin-
cinnati by a large plurality.
Two hundred Kansas colonists will
settle In San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
Prof. W. F. Bonham fell under a
train at Platter, I. T., and lost a foot.
A gigantic coal corporation controlled
by labor organizations is in existence
in Arkansas.
John Turner, colored, was lynched at
Warren, Ark., for attempted criminal
assault.
German officials think that the Bal-
kan troubles will lead to new European
alliances.
The state of Indiana has dedicated
monuments to its regiments on the bat-
tlefield of Shiloh.
The loss of six children In six montha
caused Mrs. Crum of Dewey county,
Oklahoma to commit suicide.
A gigantic scandal has been unearth-
ed In the salaries division of the post-
office department of the United StateSL
Very Rev. Mgr. F. C. Rooker. secre-
tary of the apostolic delegation at
Washington, has been appointed bishon
of Neuva Caceres, Philippine Islands.
i
V
| Claude Baer was seriously stabhed
by a negro at Denlson.
mkiiiMi
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Park, Milton. The Southern Mercury. (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 23, No. 15, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 9, 1903, newspaper, April 9, 1903; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth185993/m1/4/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .