Evening Star Newspaper, July 5, 1924, Page 5

, trusted to La Follette Outlines Aims In Agreeing to Lead Race By the Associated Press. CLEVELAND, July 5.—The full text of Senator La Follette's message yes- terday to the conference for progres- sive political action was as follow. Statement by Robert M. La Follette. In the most momentous crisis which has confronted the nation in our time, you have called upon me to accept the leadership in a national political campaign to wrest the American government from the pred- atory interests which now control it, and to restore it to the people. = "1 realize this summons comes to me in no sense as a mere personal tribute. The American people are thoroughly awake to the real lssue with which they must deal, and recognize the failure of the two duminant parties to meet them. They know that the principles involved in the campaign are greater than any individual or any political party. It is only in so far as my public record squares with those principles and meets those issues that 1 can _be of any substantial service in the progres- sive movement. Old Parties Fallures. I conceive it to be the first duty of every political party and of every candidate to state plainly and spe- cifically to the American people the terms upon which their suffrage is invited. The Republican and Demo- cratic parties have failed in this obligation. The ves must deal’ honestly with the ple. \fter long experience in public | and painstaking consideration of Present state of public affairs, 1 convinced that the time has come a militant political movement, in- dent of the two okl party or- and responsive to the ds and sentiments of the common people. Must Press Forwa “I €hould be unwilling to ci 1 participate in any political campaign at this time which would imperil the steady advance of the progressive movement or diminish the number of true progressives, nom- elected as Republicans and Demo- 1S who are now serving the public ! the House, the Senate and in many of ate governments. The ground al- Wwon must not be abandoned. We lidate our present gains and ard, without compromise or progres: and openly for an independent nt lies in the failure ties to purge them- the influences which have r administrations repeated the Americap people. “The rank and file of the membership +of both parties is progr But through a vicious and undemocratic con- Yention system, and under the evil in- which have been permitted to at shington. both party or- Eanizations have fallen under the dom- ination and control of corrupt wealth, devoting the powers of government ex- clusively to selfish special interests. Analysis of Platforms. “An ana atforms adopted the two oid p: how that real issues have been ignored, and andidate of either party, if : vill g0 into office with no &pe- cific pledges whatsoever binding him to the people. while he will be under the most immediate necessity and obligation of serving the party bosses and pred- interests to whom he owes his nomination and upon whom, he must rely for electio by the 1 convention nfully reje plat at ted the only Pprogres for adoption and who is the frank present system interest of orga “The Democ: forced, out cal exp efforts of defender of government in the d wealth nvention was nsideration of polit- through the essives within the par s openly reac- onary ground, but the platform jopted at New York does not meet the demand the progr ive mil- 1i s of the natio ‘The fact that the resolutions committee at that convention, controlied by proven re- actionaries and trusted agents of | organized w th, accepted the plat- | form declarations on dom ¢ issues without a dissenting vote on any plank s sufficient testimony to the | acter ot the Democratic platform | e and dishonest docu- “But even if both Republican and Democratic_conventions thoroughgoing progre forms, the American people learned that neither party can keep its promises. Joth parties within the last quarter of a century hav regarded their pla forms, regard them rtact with the people of action, but as de- vices to ecatc v s and to gain political offices, with all its oppor- tunities for personal aggrandizement and private profit for those who are willing to betray a public trust. Issue of Campaign. » break the combined power of the private monopoly tem over the political and economic life of the American people is the one par mount issue of the 1924 campaign. “If the progressives will but unite with a singl e to meet this issue fearl y squarely they may rely with entire confidence upon the suport of the plain people, who are the victims of the present s tem and who have the right and the power, through the ballot, to control their own government. “The people have prool by their el sives to the Congr offices that they re ssue that confronts stand its magnitude. “They know that their government wt Washington is now, and has been for a quarter of a century, in the Bands of small but powerful groups, scting together and controlling it in Sheir own interests. Groups Dictate Prices. “Each group dictates production and prices in its own field—in iron, ©dal. oil, steel, lumber, sugar, meats, clothing—in short, in mining, manu- facturing, transportation and all im- yortant business enterprises. Through grain exchanges, elevator combina- tions and packing monopolies the narkets are manipulated and prices fiked on all products of the farm. “Within the last twenty-five years t has thus come about that these yowerful groups, through the con- trol of markets and prices, hove dou- bled and trebled the cost of sustain- ing human life—of housing, warming, vlothing and feeding the American people. Life Hara Struggle. *she American people are honest, intelligent, patriotic, Industrious and frugal. And yet in a land of untold wealth, dedicated to the principle of cqual opportunity for all, special priv- \leges to none, life has become a des- yerate struggle for the average man and woman. The millions who work on the farms, in the mines, in trans- portation, in the factories and shops and stores, with all their industry and saving, find themselves poorer at the end of the year than at the be- inning. & the mighty power which has en- abled a few to amass enormous wealth at the expense of the many now so completely controls the federal xovernment that timid and reaction- ary men in public life who cling to the old parties dare not brook its op- position. “The underlying reason. indeed, why both parties have failed to take the people’s side in the present crisis is that neither party can openly a tack the real evils which are under- mining representative government without convincing itself of treach- ery to the voters during its most re- cent tenure of office. Growth of System. “The private monopoly system has grown up only through long con- «tinued violation of the law- of the land and could not have attained its present proportions had either the Democratic or Republican party faithtully and honestly_enforced the aw and a progran ready given of progres- and 1o state ognize the real them and under- on ‘John Sherman, the clearest-visiion- & generation ago and sought to for- tify the government to meet and de- stroy it. « “Of the private monopoly system which had its beginnings in the lat- ter part of the last century, he sald: “t 1s a kingly preogative, Incon- sistent with our form of government. If anything is wrong, this is wrong. If we will not endure & King as a p.- litical power, we shbuld not endure a king over the production, transpor- tation and sale of any of the neces- sities of life. If we would not sub- mit to an emperor, we should not submit to an autocrat of trade, with power to prevent competition and to fix the price of any commodity. The remedy should be swift and sure.’ " Gave Eftective Check. “The Sherman anti-trust act of 1890, enacted by a_Republican Congress, placed in the hands of the executive department of this goverrment the most_effective weapon that the in- genuity of man could devise against the power of monopoly, while it was yet in its infancy. “But between 1598 and 1903 monop- oly was permitted to breed unchecked, to erush out individual enterprise through illegal combination, and to control basic industries, until by January 1, 1908, the capitalization of the trusts had been increased from ,000,000 in 1908 to more than 2,000,000. “In the election of 1908 the Amer- ican people were given to understand that the incoming Republican admin- istration would revise the prohibitive tarift duties, from which the monop- olies -derived much of their power. But the iniquitous Payne-Aldrich tariff bill, with its increases in taxes upon the American consumer, was written in 1909, in admitted violation of the solemn pledges of the Repub- lican party Pledge of Wilxon. “The people of the Urited States voted in 1918 that the power of mo- nopoly must be destroyed, and Presi- dent Wilson, then the candidate of the Democratic party, gave his pledge that the will-of the people should be faithfully executed. The dominant issue upon which the Democratic party sought the suffrage of the peo- vle ‘was forcibly expressed by Mr. Wilson in 1912 when he said: ‘The trusts are our masters now. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated govern- ments in the civilized world—no longer a government by conviction and the vote of the majority. but a government by the opinion and duress f small groups of dominant men. The government of the United States n recent years has not been admin- stered by the common people of the United States. The government of the United States at present is a 2 child of the special interests. s not allowed to have a will of own. Our government has been for the past few years under the con- trol ot the heads of great allied cor- porations with special interests.’ Text of Patform. “These statements from the Demo- crat candidate were accepted as true by the American peonle in the campaign of 1912, coupled with the platform pledge the Democratic party in that 3 That specific pledge reads as follows: ‘A private monopoly is inde- fensible and intolerable. = We, there- fore, favor the vigorous enforcement of the criminal as well as the civil law against trust officlals and de- mand the enactment of such addi- tional legislation as may be neces- sary to make it impossible for a private monopoly o exist in the United States.’ “From 1912 until the present time no honest or continuous effort has Leen made by a single administra- tion, either Republican or Demo- cratic, to protect the American people from the exactions of private monopoly by enforcement of the criminal_sections of the anti-trust law These sections should and must be enforced if the power of corrupt business is to be broken. Withdrew Trust Sultx, While the Democratic party went into office pledged to destroy monop- oly b civil and criminal prosecu- tions, it withdrew or compromised | even the pending civil prosecutionse against the trusts during the warf{ and left the American people at the mercy of the greatest profiteers in all history “In the last vears of the Demo- cratic administration, under the notorious regime of Attorney General Palmer, monopoly was recognized as bevond the reach of the law, while labor unions, farmers organizations and individual citizens daring to as- S€! their constitutional rights against this yrannical power ware singled out for attack and destruction. “In 1920 the people expressed their resentment at_their betrayal at the hands of the Democratic party by defeating it with the greatest popular majority ever cast against a political party in the history of this country. s Tactics of Oil Men. “But since March 1921, the American people have learned that monopoly has become as bold and ruthless in_time of peace as in time of war. The oil monopoly, after having been permitted under a Democratic administration to exact from the people enormous and un- conscionable profits. reached out for the remaining naval oil reserves of the government. It had already suc- cecded in obtaining from a Republi- can Congress and a Democratic Presi- dent control over large tracts of oil and mineral lands outside the naval oil reserves, under the guise of a leasing bill. It now resorted to the outright corruption of a member of the President's cabinet to attain its ends. It obtained the services of former members of the cabinet of the preceding Democratic administr- tion to aid it in extending its domin- ion over the natural resources of the earth. “The American people will not be convinced of the sincerity or of the capacity of the Democratic party to govern by its mere condemnation of Republican corruption. Corruption is the inevitable result of the pres- ent system of monopoly control over government. “The American people now under- stand that so long as they permit their government to remain in_the hands of the monopoly power they will be helpless to control their des- tinies either in peace or in war. Principles of Peo “Peace, liberty and economic free- dom are the great principles to which the American people are devoted. Progressives must champion these principles until they are firmly re- gstablished in the life of this coun- ‘The present condition of agricul- ture is the natural result of Demo- cratic and Republican policles, which have denied the farmer the equality to which he is fairly entitled. The Progressives have demanded repeal of the Esch-Cummins transportation act, reduction of freight, rates to substantially their pre-war levels, reformation’ of the Federal Reserve Board and the removal of artificial burdens which have been placed upon the farmer by administrations serv- :Egemonopuly, to the ruin of agricul- “The farmer does not ask tha be given special advantages. t'lixg realizes that so long as the govern- ment permits monopoly to crush out his co-operatives by cut-throat com- petition, control the prices of his products at will and curtail his credit there can be no sound, permanent prosperity for agriculture. He un- derstands that he must make com- mon cause with the wage earner, who is likewise at the mercy of monopoly, and he must make com- mon ¢ause with the consuming pub- lic, which pays monopoly its extor- tionate profits, but this is the road to prosperity for all the people, un- attainable by panaceas which leave monopoly intrenched in its present tyrannical power over credit, indus- try and the government itself. Faith in Co-operatiom. “I have long held the opinion that ed Republican statesman of his time saw the danger to the political liberty and economic freedom in this country, in the co-operative principle, as ap- plied to both marketing and credit, lies the best hope for dealing ef- fectively with monopoly. But unless the Intrenched powers which now control the economic life of this na- tion are restrained by the vigorous action of Congress and the Executive the attempts of the people to free themselves through co-operation will fail. In their uneven struggle against monopoly the people must {nsist that the government be their ally rather than, as at present, the active agent of the enemy. ° “Duty to Farmers.” “In. order permanently to relieve the farmer and to prevent the recur- rence of agricultural distress, as well as to benefit the consumer through eliminating the unjust: toll of middle- men and speculators in food prod- ucts, it Is the duty of the government to aid the farmer in the organization and development of a national co- operating marketing svetem under the control of the farmers themselves, free from interference by the gov- ernment or its agencies. The gov- ernment must recognize that agri- culture is entitled to be placed upon an equal footing with other indus- tries of the nation. “The progressive movement is the only political medium in our coun- try today which can provide govern- ment in’ the interests of all classes of the people. We are unalterably OPposed to any class government, whether it be the existing dictator- ship of plutocracy or the dictatorship of the proletariat. Both are essen- tially undemocratic and un-American. Both are destructive of private in- itiative and Individual liberty. States Supreme Issue. “With the changing phases of a thir- ty-year contest, I have been more and more impressed with the deep under- lying singleness of the issue. “The supreme issue is not raflroad control. It is not the tariff, banking or taxation. “These and other questions are but manifestations of one great struggle. “The supreme issue, involving all others, is the encroachment of the pow- erful few upon the rights of the many. This great power has come between the people and their government. We must, with statesmanship and construc- tive legislation, meet these problems, or we shall pass them on, with all the pos- sibilities of violent conflict and chaos, to_our children. “Democracy cannot live side by side in any country with the present sys- tem of control of government by pri- vate monopoly. We must choose, on the one hand, between representative government, with its guarantee of peace, liberty and economic freedom, and pros- perity for all the people, and on the other, war, tyranny and the impover- ishment of the many for the enrich- ment of the favored few. “Upon this issue 1 am ready to en- list with you to wage unceasing war- fare until the American people have been restored to the full enjoyment of their political and economic rights. “I am under no illusions as to the magnitude of the task we have marked out for ourselves. This campaign will call for sacrifice, courage and unspar- ing from every man and woman ‘engaged on the people’s side. “But so long as the progressives keep faith with the people and remain steadfastly true to the principles which are at stake we can face the vast finan- cial resources and the specious argu- ments of our opponents with full con- fidence of success. Sees False Accusations. “We start this campaign with the tremendous advantage of an old Amer- ican tradition, deeply fixed in the hearts of the people, derived from the declar- ation of independence that the great masses of men and women are en- titled to an equal chance and that they possess the right to demand equality at the hands of the govern- ment under which they live. ¥ “Every great political advance in America has come from the efforts of the common people of this country It was upon them and not upon th privileged classes of society that Jef- ferson, Jackson and Lincoln relied. We “shall be falsely accused of advocating radical and destructive policies even while we alone are fighting for the old principles upon which this government achieved greatness. Happily, we can point to great progre: ve commonwealths like Wisconsin, where prosperity has been enjoyed by busines: and labor alike, where honest taxa- tion and efficiens government has been substituted for graft and cor- ruption, while the reactionaries of both Republican and Democratic parties must share responsibility for the disastrous economic policies and shameful corruption which have marked the last five years of admin- istration of the federal government. Musxt Have Aggressive Party. “Popular government cannot long endure in this country without an aggressively progressive party. “I stand fcr an honest reallignment in American politics, the people in November will such action as will insure the crea- tion of a new party in which all pro- gressives may unite. “T would not, however, accept nom- ination or an election to the presi- ¢ if doing so meant for pro- ive Senators and Representa- tives and progressive scate govern- ments, the defeat which would in- evitably result from the placing of complete third party tickets in the field at the pesent time. “Permanent political parties have been born in this country after, and not before national campaigns, and they have come from the people, not from the proclamation of individual leaders. Organization of Party. “The organization of a national party among one hundred and ten million people scattered. over forty- eight states, is a task of much mag- nitude as to requirements of labor and the expenditures of large amounts of money. We are con- fronted with the practical difficulty that there is not sufficient time before HOTELINN F 1. Hotel Frone’ Maia BL085100 604-610 9th St. N.W. ‘Rooms Lik Just Drive It; That's All old Mirrors Made New When a mirror be- comes spotted, or misty and clouded, it is both unsightly and practically worthless. We can make that mirror like new at a small cost. : Toemdsd 1864 HIRES TURNER GLASS COMPANY its| agriculture | confident that | take | the election in November for the ef- cient organization of such a party. “If the hour is at hand for the birth of a new political party, the Am can people next November, will reg ter their will and their united power by a vote of such magnitude thnt a new political party will be inevitabl If the people in this campaign repu- diate the presidential candidates cf the Republican and Democratic pa ties—as in-the providence of God, I trust and believe they will—we shall then witness the birth of a new party and the beginning of a new era in the life of the American people. “I shall submit my name as an in- dependent progressive candldate for President, together with the names of duly qualified candidates for electors, for filing on the ballots in cvery state in the Union. MYy appeal will be spread to every class of the people and to every section of the country. “I am a candidate upon the basiy of my public record as a member of the House of Representatives, as gov- ernor of ‘Wisconsin, and as a member of the United States Senate. I shall stand upon the record exactly as it is written and shall give my support only to such progressivy principles and policies as are in barmony with “As a declaration of the program I intend to carry into effect if elected to the presidency by the votas of the people, 1 have adopted in substance, the platform submitted in a recent primary and indorsed by an over- whelming majority of the people of Wisconsin. “In the course of the campaign I shall give frank expression to my views on every political issue of recognized importance. The people have a rlsht to know the position of every candidate upon questions which are of vital moment to them. I have never avoided or evaded issues. I shall not do so now. “But 1 have sought at this time to define and to set apart from all other questions what I regard as the domi- nant issues of this hour, upon the settlement of which depends the fu- ture freedom, prosperity and happi- ness of the American people. —_— MELLON ON VACATION. Treasury Head and Daughter Sail Today for Cherbourg. NEW YORK, July 6.—Andrew W. Mellon, Secretary of the Treasury, his daughter, Miss Ailsa, and a party of friends, left for Cherbourg today on the Olympic. Mr. Mellon is going for a vacation in England and Scot- land, returning August 26. Herbert A. Cummins, until recently in charge of the British legation at Mexico City, was another passenger. j— DR. MIEKLEJOHN SCORES COLLEGE LECTURE PLAN Tells Convention of Librarians Students Should Learn by Read- ing, Not Hearing Speeches. By the Amocciated Press. SARATOGA SPRINGS, N. Y., July 5. —Arraigning the present ecture system” of education in the Ameri- can colleges as inefficient and declar- ing_a national mind ocould be cre- ated by reading, Dr. Alexander Mie- klejohn, former president of Amherst College, charged the members of the American Library Association, in convention here, with the education of people through reading. problem,” hundred million people to"think out their problem together. A people can be a democracy if it can learn to read, to get the wealth in store in the literature of the race, to weld itself together .into.a single mind. You librarians are charged with the education of the older people through reading. “The striking characteristic of the average college graduate is that he does not read books. He has read his books and has been educated. The great difficulty in our scheme of edu- cation is that we are trying to edu- cate the children of uneducated peo- ple. We are trying to teach reading to a society that does not read. Our colleges try to communicate knowl- edge by means of speech, by lectures. We have got to stop it; we have got to begin giving our instructions by reading.” THlomdward & Lothyop Beginning Monday July Clearance Sales Apparel - For Women, Misses, Juniors, Girls, Children At Generously Reduced Prices Such savings as these come only in our end-of-the-season Clearance Sales. There are styles, materials and colors to suit all types and purses. You who want to profit most will be here early to make your selections. Women’s Dresses Greatly Reduced $1950, $2950, $39:50, $49-0 to $75 ‘Women’s Coats Greatly Reduced $45, $59-50, $75 Women’s Suits Greatly Reduced $199, §25, $395, §59°, ¥95 Large Women’s Dresses Reduced $3950, $59-0, $75 - Large Women’s Coats Reduced $49-50, $6940, $95 Large Women’s Suits Reduced $4950 and $59-0 Knitted Dresses Greatly Reduced $3950, $59:50 $15 and $25 : Women’s Sweaters Greatly Reduced $195, $29%, Women’s Blouses Greatly Reduced $395 $395 and $57 Women’s Skirts Greatly Reduced $7.95’ $9.75’ $15 Trimmed Hats Greatly Reduced $3%0, $7°, » $13%0, $1850 Sports Hats Gteatly Reduced $3%0, $70, $10 Misses’ Dresses Greatly Reduced $190, $2950, §39-0, $49-0 Misses’ Coats Greatly Reduced $1950, $2950, $3950, $4950 to $75 $29-0, $39%0, $590, $75 Misses’ Suits Greatly Reduced Juniors” Dresses Greatly Reduced $15, $25, $35 Juniors’ Coats Greatly Reduced , e $22%, $35, $490 Women's Sportswear Greatly Reduced $1950, $25, Gitls” and Juniors’ Hats Greatly Reduced $2%3, $5, $7°0 Giths! Desses Greatly Reduced $67, $10, $190 Girls” Coats Greatly Reduced $1250 and $19-50 Children’s Dresses Greatly Reduced $2%5, $3%, $495. Slips and Pettitoats Greatly Reduced $495, $695, $895 Women’s Apparel Sections, Third fioor. Misses’ and Young People’s Apparel Sections, Fourth floor. Also _Beginning Monday—A Sale of Fine Quality Silks--Dress and Short Lengths- Silk Section, Second foor. *1,21% %2 and 2% Yard Large Assortments—%Remquable Reductions