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The Commoner
WILLIAH J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR,
Vol. 4 No. 4.
Lincoln, Nebraska, February 12, 1904.
Whole No. 160;
War Begin
Organize !
As long as the friends of the Kansas City
platform remained quiet the reorganizes prated
of harmonv, but as soon as Mr. Bryan, speaking
as he believes the sentiment of the uncorrupted
and incorruptible rank and file of the party, sug
gested that the Kansas City platform should be
l reaffirmed, a howl went up from the papers that
bolted in 1896 and that have since that time lost
no opportunity to abuse and vilify those who sup
ported the ticket.
The lack of an open plan or purpose among
the reorganizers has been made apparent, and
they have in their wrath disclosed the bunco
game which they had in preparation for the con
tention. One of the reorganizers, who has since been
suggested for vice president, says that it is de-
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keep quiet." This from one who bolted in 1896
and now represents all that is undemocratic shows
that deception is to be attempted again. The -Commoner
has frequently pointed out that reor
ganization means a return to Clevelandism, and
it now adds that he is the logical candidate in case
the reorganizers succeed in obtaining control of
the convention. If organized greed is to dominate
the democratic party, then Grover Cleveland more
H than any other person (democrat or republican)
would deserve to be the standard-Dearer. Then,
"with J. Pierpont Morgan as chairman of the na-
tlonal committee, and Rockefeller as treasurer,
u iuu jJtuty (jvuiu cAyuuu iuo uuiuiui suyuii ul tuu
New York World, the Brooklyn Eagle, the Chi
cago Chronicle and the Nashville American again.
It Is time to organize to save the party from
the designs of the plutocracy. There ought to be
a club formed in every precinct, and at once.
The convention will soon be called and the fight
must be made at the primaries where the voters
speak. Every caucus, primary and convention
should indorse the Kansas City platform, and
only those should be selected as delegates who are
willing to carry out the wishes of the voters, or,
better still, who themselves agree with the voters.
A delegate does not ant for himself he acts
for those who send him, and no one worthy to go
as a delegate will object to Instructions. If any
one objects to indorsement, compel him to present
a platform setting forlh his views, that the voters
may pass upon tho question. Democracy means
the rule of the people, and an honest expression
of the popular will must be demanded. The
enemy is' organized and it will have plenty of
money. Our appeal must be to the moral sense
which, when aroused, -is mightier than money.
Organize at once and be ready for the pri
maries. Some of the officeholders are reported
as against the Kansas City platformthey will
be for it when they find how popuTar it is.
Miles and Others.
When General Miles retired from tho head of
the army after forty years of faithful service he
was dismissed with a formal and cold-blooded
order issued by a discredited subordinate There
"was, at the time, very general criticism because
of the absence in this order of all recognition of
General Miles' distinguished services.
It was explained by tho champions of Mr.
Roosevelt that tho order issued on tho occasion
of General Miles' retirement was in Jceeping with
orders issued on similar occasions.
Subsequently, however, General Corbin, who
has had considerably more jexporlonco at a Wash
ington city desk than he has had upon tho field
of battlo, was transferred from his Capital City
post to the command of a division of tho army.
The Roosevelt administration took occasion, upon '
the mere transfer of General Corbin, to pay a
very high tribute to the services he had rendered
the American people.
Later Lieutenant General S. B. M. Young,
chief of staff, retired and instead of a formal or
der, as was issued in General Miles' case, a gen
eral order was issued at the direction of Presi
dent Roosevelt in which order an enormously high
tribute was paid to General Young.
Yet some of Mr. Roosevelt's friends seem to
seriously undertake the effort to convince tho
American people that tho snub administered by'
the Roosevelt administration to General Miles was
not deliberate.
It seems that under this administration men
like Dewey, Miles and Schley, .who have been
conspicuous in serving the American people, have
come in for deliberate snubs, while men who are
comparatively unknown are tho recipients of the
most generous praise.
- J J J
r
Where Lincoln Stood
& &
& Revolutionize through the ballot box &
& and restore the government once more to &
& the affections and Tiearts of men by male-
tt ing it express, as it was intended to d6, &
& the highest spirit of justice and liberty. J
& Let us plant ourselves on the rock of &
& the Declaration of Independence and the &
& gates of hell shall not be able to prevail &
& against us.
& Stand with anybody that stands right, &
& stand with him while he is right and part 3
with him when ho goes wrong. &
t Gold is good enough in its place. Liv-
5 ing, brave, patriotic men are better than 5
& gold. &
t I beg of you not to allow your minds &
j8 or your hearts to be diverted from the &
& support of ail necessary measures for the &
$, purpose by any miserable picayune argu- &
& ments addressed to your pockets or in- Jt
flammatory appeal made tc your passions &
& and your prejudices. &
& The resources, advantages and powers &
5 of the American people are very great, &
'& and they have consequently succeeded to s
6 equally great responsibilities, ft seems to &
& have devolved upon them to test whether &
& a government established on the principles &
& of human freedom can be maintained
& against an effort to build one upon the ex- &
& elusive foundation of human bondage. " S
S My vish is that you will do just as &
5 you think fit with your own suffrage, in S
6 the case, and not constrain any of your &
5 subordinates to other than he thinks fit
6 with his. S
5 The world Is in want, of a good def- &
6 inition of the word liberty. We all declare &
& ourselves to be for liberty; but we do not &
5 all mean the same thing. Some mean that S
a man can do as he pleases with himself &
6 and his property. With others It means &
$ that some men can do as they please with s
& other men and other men's labor. Each &
& of these things is called liberty, although &
& they are entirely different To give an 11- &
& lustration: A shepherd drives a wolf from &
& the throat of his sheep when attacked by J
& him, and the sheep, of course, thanks &
& the shepherd for the preservation of his &
& life; but the wolf denounces him as de-
& spoiling the wolf of his- liberty; especially &
& If it be a black sheep. S
& '- &
Attention !
$100 Reward!
In order to show how impossible It is for tho
opponents of tho Kansas City platform to con
struct a new platform, satisfactory oven to them
selves, Tho Commoner offers tho following re
ward: One hundred dollars (in gold, silver, or
paper, as they may choose) will bo given for a
democratic platform for 1904 covering ten sub
jects (including imperialism, trusts, money, tar
iff, and labor) upon which the Now York World,
tho Boston Herald, tho Brooklyn Eagle,
tho Richmond Tlnfos, the Chicago Chron
icle, the St. Paul Globe, tho Louisville
Courier-Journal, tho Nashville American,
the Memphis Commercial-Appeal, and tho Atlanta
Journal will agreo. If they cannot all agiee
on tho same platform, a proportionate sum will
bo given for any platform on which two or more
of tho above named papers will agreo. Tf no two
of them can agreo upon tho same platform the
sum of ten dollars will bo given to any one of
tho above named papers which will prepare and
print in its own columns such a platform, pro
vided no republican paper of equal circulation
within ten days claims such platform as a re
publican document. Five dollars extra will bo
'given to anyone of tho said papors .which will
secure a letter from either Mr. Cleveland, Mr.
Gorman or Mr. Parker indorsing all of tho plat
form proposed by it.
If these papers cannot agree upon a plat
form, how can they expect to dictate a platform
acceptable to those who voted the ticket in 1898
and 1900? If their failure to agreo is due, not to
differences of opinion, but to disinclination to
make their views known, how can they con
tend that they favor honest methods and aro
trying to appeal to honest people? The Kansas
City platform Is a clear and concise statement
of the party's position and its reaffirmation will
show that tho party is still true to tho interests
of the people and its further utterances will have
weight, but no weight can attach to the utter
ances of those who are willing to indorse any
thing that seems to be temporarily popular or
abandon anything that seems temporarily un
popular. Let these lSading papers among tho
reorganizers present their platforms or confess
either that they are hopelessly divided among
themselves or that they prefer to plot in secret. '
JJJ
The Eternal Struggle.
This Is the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's
birth. We do not doubt that republican organiza
tions throughout the country will very generally
celebrate this day because tho republican party
claims Abraham Lincoln as its patron saint, while
repudiating his principles.
Abraham Lincoln frequently had something
to say of the moral issue in politics. On one oc
casion Mr. Lincoln said: "We cannot say people
have the right to do wrong; that is the real Issue.
That is the issue that will continue In this coun
try when the poor tongues of Judge Douglas and
myself shall be silent It is the eternal struggle
between these two right and wrongthroughout
the world. They are the iwo principles that have
stood the test since the beginning of time, and
they will ever continue to struggle. The one la
the common right of humanity and the other the
divine right of kings. It is the same principle
in whatever shape it develops."
"The eternal struggle between these two prin
ciples: right and wrong," confronts the Ameri
can people today. The contest is not presented in