PROGRESSIVE PARTY FOUNDED 847 New York stood. He closed by declaring he would no longer support New York's candidate, nor would he help nominate a man under obligations to "Morgan, Ryan, Belmont, or any other member of the privilege-seeking, favor-hunting class." This announcement angered the Clark men, but it found response among the Western and Southern delegates, who for sixteen years had battled against the class that Bryan arraigned. It checked the trend to Clark and was followed by a rise in Wilson's vote. The time was then near midnight, Saturday, June 29, and the convention adjourned to Monday. Clark, naturally much exasperated, issued a denial of the charges implied in Bryan's statement, and Bryan publicly announced that he did not doubt Clark's good intentions but distrusted the forces combining to secure his nomination. Many futile ballots were taken on Monday, July 1. It began to be feared that a deadlock was inevitable, and rumor said that Bryan would propose an adjournment with a referendum. Such a course would undoubtedly defeat the conservatives, and they relaxed their efforts. On the 46th ballot enough of them came to Wilson to secure his nomination. Thomas R. Marshall, of Indiana, was named for vice-president. The platform pledged the candidate, if elected, to one term only. A New The day after the republican convention adjourned the Roosevelt forces in Chicago met in a mass-meeting, resolved to organize a new party, and appointed a committee to carry out their purposes. The result was a national convention at Chicago, Party. August 5, 1912. Eighteen of its delegates were women, indicating the party's indorsement of woman's suffrage. There was much enthusiasm, and a touch of crusading zeal showed forth when the ten thousand delegates and their friends sang "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "Onward, Christian Soldiers." Roosevelt announced the principles of the party in a speech which won the admiration of friends and foes He demanded that government be dependent on the will of the people, that machine politics be destroyed, that women be allowed to vote, that labor be given better wages and shorter hours of work, and that social justice be secured in all the relations of government. August 7 the ticket was selected, Roosevelt for president and Hiram W. Johnson, governor of California, for vicepresident. The organization was called the "progressive party," and active efforts were made, before and after the convention, to perfect its state and local organizations. The Plat Rarely has a campaign been fought so bitterly with such a slight difference of men and principles. In comparison with old-time leaders Taft, Wilson, and Roosevelt were all liberals, although they differed in degrees of liberalism. On the tariff re- forms. publicans and progressives stood practically together, demanding lower rates on a protective basis with a view of maintaining the higher wages of American workmen. The democrats re pudiated protection and declared for a tariff for revenue only. Republicans and progressives would regulate the trusts, although the former wished to make the officials of the trusts criminally liable, while the latter asked that patents be robbed of their worst monopolistic features. The democrats opposed trusts generally, desired to regulate more effectively interstate public utilities, and to strengthen federal control of interstate commerce without weakening state control. The republicans ignored the initiative and referendum and declared against judicial recall, although they asked for an easier method than impeachment of removing bad judges. The progressives indorsed each of these three measures, and demanded a referendum for judicial decisions annulling state laws. All the parties supported conservation of natural resources, a parcels post, currency reform, and laws to prevent abuses in campaign contributions. The democrats and progressives indorsed the popular election of United States senators, a federal income tax, and the nomination of candidates in primaries. The progressives demanded woman's suffrage, an easier method of amending the constitution, registration of lobbyists, exclusion of federal officials from political activity, a department of labor, promotion of labor unions, and protection of the people from deceptive investment schemes. The Campaign. The campaign abounded in bitter attacks on Roosevelt by democrats and republicans. La Follette, who felt keenly his own repudiation, declared he was the victim of treachery. He is supposed to have given aid to the democrats. Wilson himself denounced the progressive candidate as a tool of the steel trust and as a self-seeker. Roosevelt replied with emphasis, and made many speeches in the North, West, and South. In Milwaukee, October 14, he was shot by an insane man who imagined that Roosevelt was responsible for the murder of McKinley. A serious flesh wound was the result, but an excellent constitution well preserved by temperate habits enabled him to recover rapidly. Taft conducted a quiet campaign and made few speeches. There was little hope of his election, and many republicans probably voted for Wilson to make sure of Roosevelt's defeat. The The election occurred November 5, and of the 531 electoral votes Wilson received 435, Roosevelt 88, and Taft 8. For the last-named but two states voted, Utah and Vermont. Five declared for Roosevelt-Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Washington. In California the contest was close and 11 progressive and 2 democratic electors were chosen. The popular vote was 6,290,818 for Wilson, 4,123,206 for Roosevelt, 3,484,529 for Taft, 898,296 for Debs (socialist), 207,965 for Chafin (prohibitionist), and 29,071 for Reimer (socialist-labor). The democrats carried the house of representatives by a majority of 147 over republicans and progressive republicans. CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES LEGISLATIVE PROGRESS UNDER TAFT 849 The struggle for party supremacy under Taft ought not to divert our attention from the many reform measures which he helped to carry through congress. Never has the attention of the people been more vigorously directed to matters connected with the development of good government on a democratic basis. The most important resulting phases are connected with conservation, currency reform, and political investigations. tion: I. Forest For a century the national government gave or sold its abundant natural resources on generous terms. This policy led to rapid development of the Western regions, but it afforded opportunities for overweening fortunes. Although timber and mineral Conservaclaims were legally limited in size, speculators obtained large tracts collusively, and by the close of the century Reserves. the country began to realize that a mistake had been made. The growing price of lumber, the waste of water power, and the danger that threatened through deforesting the watersheds caused alarm in the country. Roosevelt, generally willing to extend the federal power where the existing system of state relations seemed unable to deal with the situation, had his interest aroused and appointed a commission on conservation to report on the danger. It was evident to him that the national government should take natural resources under a more active control and see that they were used for the benefit of all the people. This policy did not please the people of the West, who naturally wished to see their waste places settled as rapidly as possible. Among them were influential interests who saw in the president's ideas a check on their plans for amassing wealth. By July 1, 1909, the president had issued orders withholding from settlement 194,000,000 acres, a great deal of it in the western mountains. In 1912 congress appropriated $1,000,000, and $2,000,000 a year thereafter, to purchase lands for forest reserves in the Appalachian and White mountains. Conservation also dealt with irrigation. Before 1900 private enterprises secured and developed the most obvious irrigation sites, leasing or selling water rights to the farmers concerned. Disputes 2. Irrigation. frequently occurred between the water companies and their patrons, and it was evident that here was another outcropping of the problem of monopolies. Also the protection of rivers and lakes yielding irrigation waters was an important question. Finally, great irrigation plans were made which only the government can carry out. Out of this complex situation came the national irrigation policy. The control of the companies has not yet been settled, but the government has reserved from settlement many areas which supply water, and in 1902 congress advanced $20,000,000 for this purpose, to be satisfied out of the proceeds of the sales of improved lands. Our chief known deposits of gold, silver, and copper have long since passed into private control, but the coal lands in the Far West have 3. Coal Lands. been recently reserved. The most notable instance of this nature refers to the Alaskan deposits, which are very valuable. In 1909 it became known that 33 adjacent claims for such lands of 160 acres each, made out in the names of distinct individuals, were likely to pass into the hands of a group of Colorado capitalists known as the Cunningham group. The claimants had paid the price fixed by law, $10 an acre, but it was said that the lands were worth $4,000,000. Secretary Ballinger was supposed to favor the claimants, and Pinchot's protest against them was one of the causes of the controversy with which the names of the two men were associated. As a result of the exposure the claims were eventually disallowed. One thousand other claims were pending, and after investigation by Secretary Fisher, Ballinger's successor, 750 of them were disallowed. The rest seem to have been filed in good faith, but they were held up, pending the adoption by congress of a fixed plan for the control of natural monopolies. The secretary favored government ownership with leases to corporations, and his plan had the support of ex-President Roosevelt, but at the close of 1912 no decision had been reached. This delay was received with dissatisfaction by the people of Alaska. Currency Recent years have made increasingly apparent the need of a more elastic currency. The Aldrich-Vreeland act, 1908, undertook to supply the need by allowing banks to issue additional notes on depositing approved state, county, or municipal bonds and by forming associations with joint responsibility to issue notes secured by commercial paper. The plan was not received favorably by the banks, although in 1910 a number of the proposed associations were formed under pressure of the secretary of the treasury. In the Aldrich-Vreeland act was a provision for a monetary commission, Senator Aldrich becoming chairman. It was to investigate actual conditions and to suggest a sound plan of reform. The first result was a series of reports on banking abroad and at home. An abundance of individual discussion seemed to show that the financial interests were opposed to a great central bank, although it was equally clear that there should be central control of note issues and reserves. In January, 1911, Senator Aldrich, chairman of the monetary commission, reported the scheme known as the Aldrich currency plan. It proposed the federal incorporation of a "Reserve Association" with a capital of $300,000,000 to be subscribed for drich Plan. by the national banks organized in fifteen districts, each The Al district to be subdivided into local associations. The Reserve Association was to discount commercial paper for banks and to receive and disburse the national funds. It was not to lend money to individuals. When it was established the issue of money by national banks was to CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATIONS 851 cease and the Reserve Association was to issue its own notes instead, subject to national taxation. The plan met a great deal of criticism, and in October, 1911, it was modified in some important particulars. The scheme found favor with the banks of the country, but was not received favorably by the people. It was evident that it was a privately owned central bank under a less unpopular name, and it was pointed out that by uniting all the banks and trust companies of the country in one organization it would deliver the banking function into the hands of a vast and powerful combination. If the public should at some future time wish to break the hold of this combination, the task would require an upheaval in the business world far more serious than that which accompanied the destruction of the second Bank of the United States. sional In The restless and suspicious attitude of the public toward corporations and their political influence resulted in several congressional investigations. Among them were authorized in 1910 investigations of the issue of railroad stocks and bonds, Congresand employers' liability and workmen's compensation, and vestigations. in 1912 an investigation of the so-called "money trust' and "shipping trust," and the increased cost of anthracite coal. These investigations caused much distress to business, especially the investigation aimed at the concentration of banking capital. In 1910 New Mexico and Arizona were given permission to frame constitutions and apply for statehood. A year later they presented themselves at the door of congress, but the latter had adopted the recall of judges and was refused admission. By a filibuster New Mexico's case was made to fall with that of Arizona. It was not until 1912 that both were admitted, the objectionable clause in the Arizona constitution being omitted. Of other important acts passed in Taft's administration the following may be mentioned: a law to create a commerce court (1910); a law to establish postal saving banks (1910); a “white Other Acts. slave" act (1910); an act to require publicity for campaign contributions in federal elections (1910, amended and extended in 1911, and the amount of contributions limited); a canal act, providing for administration of the canal and the canal zone and remitting the tolls to American vessels engaged in coastwise trade (1912); a pension law adding $25,000,000 annually to the appropriations (1912); a law to create a children's bureau in the department of commerce and labor (1912); an act to establish civil government in the territory of Alaska (1912); and a law creating a department of labor (1913). In 1912 a constitutional amendment for the popular election of senators was submitted to the states and ratified by them early in 1913. Such a reform had long been demanded by the states, but it was defeated by the senate itself. The passage of the amendment was due to the hard fight which under Roosevelt and Taft was directed against the obstructive power of the upper house of congress. |