The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923, November 13, 1903, Page 2, Image 2

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to decldo whether or not the twelfth section can
heroaftor bo hold operative as establishing a.
trust; ho sayB that tho construction of the will la
'not In question at tho tlmo of tho probate. Tho
'court, In effect, declaros that tho bequest would
have boon good If It had boon made direct as Mr.
Bonnott suggostod, but that under tho- decisions
the lettor cannot bo probated in tho absence of
proof showing that it was actually In existenco at
tho momont whon the will was executed. If tho
boquost "falls, it wllL not bo tho fault of Mr. Ben
nett, but my fault, nd this point will bedeter
mined by tho higher court although my attorneys
havo not yet decided in what form the question
will be raised. I am much better pleased with
tho decision than I would havo been If the court
had decided for me on tho legal point and against
mo on tho moral questions involved. His decision
on tho question of undue influenco J& full, em
phatic and all that could bo desired; it is a com
plete answer to all tho insinuations of the un
friendly papers.
JJJ
The Chronicle Praises Bolters.
The Chicago Ohroniclo of November 5 pub
lishes tho following ns its leading editorial:
v While the. republicans gained a great vlc
: tory in Ohio on Tuesday and are justly en
1; titled to boast thereof, it is to bo remarked
"that they owe tho greater part of their vast"
. "pluralities to democrats..
Tho result in Ohio as well as in some
pth,er places show that democrats are doing
rfc good deal of independent and intelligent
voting.
Democrats might have been defeated in
any case in Ohio this year, but the crushing
rebuke administered to Tom Johnson could
not have, boon brought about except with, the
. assistance of tens of thousands of democratic
,(, votes. Felicitations therefore should be exr
,-. i tended, to the formidable body of good citi
r znSjWhp laid aside partisanship while they
, porfonned a genuine public service.
L. . Tom Johnson's election in Ohio would
have keen the signal for a radical movement
..upon. the next democratic convention in com
, parison with which the. one which led to Mr.
, Bryan's elevation would havo appeared; in
;. significant. He is more different kinds of. a
. radical and' a demagogue than any other man
of equal prominence in tho United States.
Nothing was required to set all the revolu
tionists, .socialists and cranlts in America agog
with, a fanatical purpose to use the sadly de
" moralized democratic organization in his in
terest but a triumph of some sort that could
, "lie urged upon expediency men in the demo
cratic "party as proof that he would be elected
to the presidency if made the regular nominee.
From this uproar of demagogy, folly,
disgrace and disaster the thousands of staunch
Ohio democrats who assisted in the defeat of
Mri Johnson havo 'delivered the party. His
political career is probably ended. It has
been marked with an extraordinary amount of
conceit,, an unfailing; hostility to many demo
crats and democratic principles and a dema
gogy which has no parallel in the political
history of the republic.
' On of the richest men in the world, Tom
Johnson has made his little mark upon poli
tics as an Implacable foe of rich men. A
democrat of principle and character who
chanced to be a man of position or wealth
was more obnoxious to him than any ordinary
republican, and all the socialists, visionaries,
malcontents and revolutionists of whatever
origin were readily taken to his arms.
In defeating him in such a manner as to .
make sure that he will stay defeated the con-
servative desaocrats of Ohio have saved their
party and country from a more pestiferous
Infliction than Mr. Bryan ever was and have
done much to compel reason and circumspec
tion on the part of democratic leaders next
year.
1 .'. In the face of such an Impressive reasser
tion of democratic antipathy to mere dema-
gogues and radicals it Is hardly possible that
further adventures in that direction will be
undertaken very soon.
. Attention Is called to thlB editorial for three
reasons: First, the republican owner of this re
publican paper praises the democrats who voted
against Tom Johnson. The Chronicle calls such
men4 "independent" and "Intelligent" and con
gratulates this "formidable body of good citizens
w"ho laid aside partisanship while they performed
a, genuine intblic service." It will-bo remembered
Hhat Mr: Jolinson, while Indorsing the Kansas
The Commoner.
"City platform as a whole, declared last year that
ho differed from the party leaders on the silver:
question and it will also be remembered that this"
year ho favored the nomination of a candidate .feu
tho United States sonato who supported Pajmer;
and Buckrier in 1896, and yet tho Chronicle re
joices over Johnson's defeat and commends those
democrats who contributed to It Why? Because
Tom Johnson is in favor "of a government ad
ministered according to the Jeffersonian -maxim,
"Equal rights to all" and .special, privileges to
none." Ho is an Incorruptible patriot and a friend
of the people and that Is sufficient to call' down
upon him the, hatred and abuse of every organ .
of plutocracy,
In the second place, attention is called to it to
show that in tho opinion of the Chronicle's owner
there is. some one who is actually worse than Mr.
Bryan. In comparison with Mr. Johnson's success
'Mr. Bryan's elevation would have appeared in
significant!" In defeating Johnson "the conserva
tive democrats have saved their party and country
from a more pestiferous infliction than Mr. Bryan
ever was!" Possibly Mayor Tom will, by at
tracting the Chronicle's venom, relieve Mr. Bryan
of some of the attention he has been receiving
at the hands of the Chronicle.
But the third and most important reason for
referring to the Chronicle editorial is to point
out the misrepresentations to which that paper
resorts and tuo injustice which it does to Mr.
Johnson. It says that'Mr. Johnson "has made
his' little mark upon politics as an implacable foe
of rich men' Nothing Could bo farther from tho
truth. Johnson has never said or done anything
'against any man merely because the man was
rich, but he has denounced dishonest methods of
accumulating riches and he has denounced the
officials who haVe permitted corporate wealth to
escape taxation. Mr. Johnson favored home rule
is there anything undemocratic about that? He
favored a just distribution of the burden of taxa
tion is, there anything, undemocratic about-that?
Ho favored a two-cent passenger fare for the .poor
who travel little as well ns,for those who can buy
a 1,000-mile book is there anything undemo
cratic about that? There was r nothing ijif Mr.
Johnson's platform or speeches that could, offend
a believer in democratic principles. Tho fact that
the Chronicle rejoices over Johnson's defeat., and
indorses the action of. those, who helped to reVelect
Hahna shows hOw destitute the paper is of any
thing that deserves to be" tailed democratic.
Mr. Johnson is not dead, neither Ar6 the re
forms for which he has feo bravely contended.
The Chronicle's attack' will strengthen rather than
weaken Tom Johnson '-
Jlsi&i
VtfLHME 3, NUMBER
i
JJJ
.Tf
SA
A Rise in Silver
iV,'
The Portland Orqgpnian has,, the following to
say in regard to a probable flse'in silver:
n -.1
"But the operation o natural laws alone
. will bring abo.ut the rise. Silver cannot prof
itably be produced as a cheap by-product. The
low. price, destroyed silver mining as such in
almost every country in the world except
.Mexico. There is always a certain demand for
silver in tho arts aB well as for subsidiary
coinage. The continued shortage of the supr '
ply will sooner or later ho felt and when the
demand comes within sight of j the supply mere
men and governments may arbitrarily say it
shall go no higher, but nature's law will have
its way and tho price will' go np just the
same.
Tho trouble with the Oregonian is that it ap
parently falls to comprehend the fact that a de
mand created by legislation has the same effect
upon the price of silver as a demand arising from
any other source. The demand for silver to be
used in Philippine coinage was a demand created
by the government. If a demand for a limited
amount of silver would raise the price a few
cents, would .not the free coinage of sliver have
a far greater effect? ,In buying for Philippine
coinage the government went into the market and
hid for silver with other competitors, but under
free coinage the government offers to coin into
legal tender money all the silver brought to the
mint. Why would any one sell silver for less
than $1.29 so long as the government will coin it
into money at that price? The fact that Mexico
has not been able to maintain tho parity Is not a
conclusive argument against free coinage in this
country, because the Uned States is far greater
in population and in commercial strength. The
international bimotalllst recognizes that the
United States could do something, but insists that
the assistance of other nations would be required
to maintain the parity: The advocate of the gold
standard, on the other hand, seems blind to the
1 i.'.., 'S73BF"1" ' 1 ' '
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effect thaf th irAva..i. ,.. . .
price of tb nrprr" ?emand fca upon ft.
ard advocates gq 'so far'as t 2? f f
nations in the world could not i,v rS1-?11 th
metalllsm, increase the price ?of silv t5 P
monetizing gold decrease tho price of tw by de -Tho
absurdity of such a statement oS ?etf '
recognized by' any ono who coSlderJ to bo
at all, but it is no more absurd Ptifni e maltcr
other positions taken by the 1? of tho
gold standard. y advcates of the
JJJ
Violated McKinley's Rule.
The Roosevelt administration formally ,
ognized the independence of Panama wXy.Jec
days after the revolt had talte ?Xe and b22
the Fanama government had reaffy lit T
semblance of form. Indeed the coverLnnf ,tho
independence UuTJUnmiSSSlSS.
nized, had not, at the time of the formal re oS
tion, chosen its officials. wogni-
m Hr' p0581 may find it difficult to justify
his prompt action on this line with Americin n
one of his messages to congress suggests a course
iytltl at Var,aDCe Wlth a
-k
dependence of Cuba, and quoting in support of
that position from one of the messages delivered
' b resident Jackson, said: "These are the words
?, ffiVesolJ,te and Patriotic Jackson;" and Mr.
McKinley added that--
"They are evidences' that the United
States, in addition to the test Imposed by public
law as the condition of the recognition of inde
pendence by a neutral state" (towit: that the
revolted state shall 'constitute in fact a body
politic, having a government in substance
as well as In name, possessed Of the elements
"of stability,' and forming de facto 'if left to it
self, a state among the nations reasonably
capable bf discharging the duties of a state')
has imposed for its own governance in dealing
with cases like these the further condition
that recognition of independent statehood is
. KOT DUB TP.A REVOLTED DEPENDENCY
UNTIL THE DANGER OF ITS BEING SUB
JUGATED BY THE PARENT STATE HAS
ENTIRELY PASSED AWAY."
It must be clear to eyery one that in his pre
mature recognition of the Panama government,
Mr. Roosevelt did not comply with international
!aw; ho did not recognize a state that constituted
In fact a body politic, having a government in suh
stance as well as in name; he did not recognize a
government concerning which it would be reason
able to helieve that if left to itself, it would ho
capable of discharging the duties of a state. On
the contrary he distinctly arid emphatically vio
lated the rule which Mr. McKinley laid down. Ho
recognized ra revolted dependency" and he gavo
formal recognition to that "revolted dependency"
before "the danger of its being again subjugated
by the parent state" had "entirely passed away.'
It "may well T)e believed,, therefore, that by
reason of this bit of strenuoslty demonstrated at
the very beginning of a congressional session, and
at a moment when there are powerful influences,
even within the republican, party, seeking to find
good grounds for fault with Mr. Roosevelt, tho
president has assumed a responsibility which
many other men aspiring to political honor would
have sought to avoid.
JJJ
Clubs Organized.
Jeffersonian Democratic club', Seneca Falls,
N. Y.; Hon. C. C. Johnson, president; Dr. J. &.
Purdy, secretary. x
Joe Folk club of University of Missouri. Co
lumbia, Mo. ,
Hearst Democratic club,. Tyler, Tex.; mem
bership, 500 Hon. H. B. Marsh, president; H. u
Cooke, secretary. , ..
Crisfield Democratic club, Crlsfield Kas.,
membership, 16; E. M. Padget, president; L. u
Wilson, secretary.
JJJ -.
Mrs. Emma Booth-Tucker.
The cause of humanity has suffered a severe
loss in the death of Mrs. Emma Booth-Tucer.
DeVoted to the uplifting of fallen humanity, tnw
good woman gave her time and her talents v, iui
out reserve, and the effects of her work are w
nigh universal. The example of- her unseltisn u
votion to: her ' fellows will endure througn u
years.
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