of Mr. Roosovolt's rc-clectlon. Ho says that these
Wall street magnates, who have opposed Mr.
Roosevelt, "do not know just what to base their
antagonism upon." He adds that while some of
these people New Into a rago when the Northern
Securities coso was ordered, in their calmer mo
ments thoy havo been compelled to admit this
was not such a revolutionary and radical action
as thoy at first thought it." A great many people
in this country havo been it a loss to understand
just what basis Wall street had for any opposition
to Mr. Roosevelt
Mr. Wollman further says, "I am credibly in
formed that the hostility to the president in Wall
etreot is not as extensive or as bitter as it has
boon represented." A groat many people have had
the samo impression.
Mr. Wollman tolls ub that "even the Rocke
fellers aro coming round to take a more rational
view of tho president's character and policy, and
that at least one of tho Rockefellers 1b disposed
to bo moro than fair and go so far as to bo dis
tinctly friendly."
Thou this wonderfully frank republican corre
spondent says, "Those persons who imagine that
Mr. Roosevelt is not a pretty good politician may
soon havo occasion to revise thoir judgment,' In
order to show what a good politician Mr. Roose
velt is, Mr. Wollman adds:
"It requires genius of a hi&h order to
carry on a little crusado against Wall street
and through it gain immense popularity with
tho masses of tho peoplo as tho foo of tho
trusts, and then to turn round and gain tho
approval, and possibly tho help, of a consider
able sharp of Wall street itself."
This is a very frank statement, indeed. It
admits just what many democrats havo said, that
Mr. Roosevelt's "little crusado ugainst Wail
street" was begun in the hopo that through it Mr.
Roosovolt might "gain immense popularity with
tho masses of tho peoplo as tho foe of the trusts,"
Mr. Roosovolt all tho time intending to "turn
round and gain tho approval, and possibly the
help, of a considerable share of Wall street
itsolf."
The Walter Wollman dispatch here referred
to should bo reproduced in every newspaper
throughout tho United States. It will materially
aid tho American peoplo in placing a proper esti
mate upon tho words of the present occupant of
tho White house, which words, according to his
own statement, aro of little value because they
aro not "backed up by deeds."
Oppose Popular Government
If tho corporation bulletins which circulate as
daily papers koop on they will convince, even the
blindest that tho real objection to the Kansas
City platform is not that it contains a silver
plank, but that it contains a plea for popular gov
ernment. The Commoner has already pointed out
that tho reorganizes, while pretending opposition
to 1G to 1 only, aro really against tho greenbacks
and in favor of overything demanded by Wall
street. Thoy also favor imperialism and have no
intention of interfering with tho trusts, but it Is
not often that they are indiscreet enough to ad
mit their secret opposition t0 popular government.
The Nashville American has carried its bold
ness so far as to castigate Mr. Bryan for as
serting the right of the people to havetvhat thov
want in government In his Nashville speech Mi
Bryan said: "The peoplo have a right to have
KfT1' They haVG a risM to havo a
high tariff if thoy want it and to rais it until thoy
get tired of it, and then they havo a right to
lower it Thoy havo a right to have thf go d
standard or the double standard. The have a
right to havo tho trusts if they want them or La
kill them if they, desire to do so." The American
quoting this, says: .an,
In his spoech at tho Tabernacle Saturdav
night, Mr. Bryan said:
"The people have tho right to have what
th0& 1P$- They lmvo a rIeht to have the
tariff if they want it and raiso it until it is so
n gh P& WilJ tIro of ifc then they have
the right to lower it They have the right
to have the sold standard, or the double
standard. Thoy have the right to have the
desire' Want thm' r kIU them-If they
This is tho usual plea of the demagogue
tho man who Is attempting to curry favor with
tho masses, the man who wishes to ride into
public favor and when onco there 'to stay
voK. yCd UP by th Clttmor of many
XJi Is tlxo samo sPGeoJi that was mado tn
tho Roman populace 1,900 vears ago it
has boon made over since, hn overv counfrv
Almost, by tfctf Jseokor for public favor. 1 1 fg ;
The Commoner.
not the speech of tho student or thinker or the
man who unselfishly loves his lellowmon ana
would attempt, by his advice, to better their
condition. It is the harangue of the fiatteiei,
not the counsel of the true friend.
Who and what are the "people" of whom
Mr. Bryan speaks so glibly? One would think,
from tho way in which he uses the term, that
it is the mass men, women and children to
whom ho would refer any question, and if they
want what is proposed they can have it, if
the majority of them so hold.
Bismarck's objection to a democracy was
that it was "like a household ruled by the
children." It is such a household as Mr.
Bryan, seemingly, from the loose manner in
which ho uses the term "people," would havo
this government He would not place tho
counsel, the advice or the opinion of the ma
tured, the educated and wise above that of the
ignorant, the unenlightened the unrestrained.
He would, it does not seem, place any value
upon enlightenment and education.
This is a harsh rebuke and would be keenly
felt but for tho fact that the paragraph quoted
from Mr. Bryan's speech contains no original sen
timents. It is only a paraphrasing of what has
been said by Jefferson, Jackson and every other
public man with democratic instincts. It ought to
be a revelation to the rank and file of the party to
have this would-bo leader of democratic thought
seriously quoting Bismarck's argument against
democracy.
The editor of the American wants a govern
ment of tho "matured, the educated and the
wise" and it is fair to assume that he considers
himself as answering to that description at least
he would not suggest a suffrage qualification that
would exclude himself and yet whose rights
would be safe in a government in which men of
his opinion had absolute control? All the evils
that afflict the body politic today grow out of tho
.fact that such men have too much influence in
shaping legislation. They are the champions
of that theory of government which turns organ
ized society over to exploiters and then counte
nances the debauching of elections to secute a
continuance of governmental favors. The pro
blems of government are not so difficult that they
must be left to experts; they involve moral prin
ciples upon which the masses are competent to
decide. Tho manufacturers claim to be "matured,
educated and wise," but when they make tariff
laws they sacrifice both consumers and employes
to their own interests. The money changers claim
to be "matured, educated and wise, but if put in
charge of the temple, they would again convert it
into a den of thieves. The trust magnates claim
to be "matured, educated and wise," but who
would make them custodians of the people's right?
The employers aro "matured, educated and wipe "
according to the American's definition, but who
would trust them to make laws ior the wage
earners? The American believes in an aristocracy not
in a democracy and it would be an aristocracy
in which wealth rather than intelligence or virtue
would control.
It attempts to defend its position by citing
the suffrage qualifications of the south, but it does
the southern peoplo injustice in assuming that
these amendments prove a lack of faith in the
principles of democracy. It is the race question
that gives rise to those amendments. They rec
ognize that the black man has been governed bv
prejudice against the white and have sought to
protect themselves against that prejudice but
there is not a state in the south that would ado t
an educational qualification if the race question
were eliminated. The trouble with papers
that represent tho reorganizes is that they do
not trust the people, but, on the contrary would
first deceive them and then betray thorn
"Ideal Republicanism."
Congressman Cousins of Iowa delivers an
address at Chicago recently on AbJahamLincoln '
S?a?f say that Mr Cousins ei?:
ogized Lincoln as "the greatest republican that
ever lived," and "the ideal of republicanism"
Let us see about that. uimd.
tho tact" that iS'kfDeSnT?,1,'1
acpenaence are mot wUh sneTXbUcan
pockets or, inflammatory Appeal Jt P
passions.and their jrW,
: VOLUME 4, KUMBER .
republican, orator orvtlfe republican orcan nt ,
day does not address to the people's pockeU0,
erable picayune arguments," it induleo n ,
flammatory appeal to their passions and th''
prejudices. . auu lheir
Mr. Lincoln pleaded for a government tw
should express "the highest spirit of juX an
liberty." The republican leader of today IS
for a government that will express the vorv ,
verse of this. . y
Mr. Lincoln pleaded for the express proviso
of our national constitution. Tho republican leX
of today pleads that the constitution be iunZ
whenever it suits the republican program to ig.
Mr. Lincoln declared that the people shout
never entrust to any hands but their own S
preservation and perpetuity of their own libeities
and Institutions. The position of the republican
leader of today is well defined in the pompous dec
laration of the coal barons to the effect that God
has designated certain men to act as His trustees
for the control of the wealth and. the government
of the country.
Mr. Lincoln pleaded for "an open field and a
fair chance for industry, enterprise am' intelll
gence, that every individual may have equal priv
ileges in the race of life with, all its desirable hu.
man aspirations and he said that "it is for this
the struggle should bo maintained, that we may
not lose our birthrights." The republican leader
of today, protesting against the proposition of the
socialist to suspend the operation of what the re
publican calls natural law, closes his eves to the
'fact that the Rockefellers, the Carnegles and the
Morgans have actually suspended the operation of
natural laws and upholds these trust magnates in
.the destruction of "the oppn field," in the oblit
eration of "the fair chance" for Industry, enter
prise and intelligence.
Mr. Cousins, nor no other republican leader,
dare quote from the speeches and the letters of
Abraham Lincoln in support of the claim that Lin
coln represented the ideal of present-day repub
licanism. Look, for instance, at the republican na
tional platform for 1900, wherein it is promised
for the Filipinos that "the largest measure of self
government consistent with their welfare, and our
duties shall be secured to them by law." And
then look at the speech delivered by Abraham
Lincoln July 10, 1858, in the city of Chicago, where
in Mr. Lincoln said: "Those arguments that aro
mado, that the inferior race aie to be treated with
as much allowance as they are capable of enjoying,
that as much is to be done for them as their con-
flitinn -win nllnw n.ni 'n. ii
-- A i ww wuu,u ore muao urijuiueuio;
I hey aro the arguments that kings have made
for enslaving the peoplo in all ages of the world.
You will find that all the arguments in favor of
king-craft were"of this class; they always bestrode
the necks of the people, not that they wanted to
do it, but because the people were better off for
being ridden. That is their argument. . . . Turn
it whatever way you willwhether it come lrom
the mouth of a king as an excuse for enslaving the
people of his country, or "rom the mouth of men
or one race as a reason for enslaving tho men of
another race, it is all the same old serpent."
JJJ
Railroad Bornds and Farm
Mortgages,
Secretary Shaw has permitted the acceptance,
LSe,clir y for government deposits in the na
ii r bMnksi of a11 bonds whlch the savings bank
wv f , State of New York Permits the savings
nonf invest in' As a reault, the secretary ac
SmI I morteage railroad bonds of companies
32J i l paId divI(lends on their stocks for a
period of ten years.
trnrin1,1 b remembered that tho Aldrich bill in
S n i?1the senate provided for the acceptance
"1 dibonflJ' The AI(li'ich MH dW not pass,
'n? i d recoIved small encouragement outside
miiw i icircles; and yet Secretary Shaw has
himself demonstte that he is a law unto
coo Jt1 a11 S,treet "1 does not approve of
ni cS y X. 8 actIon this respect. The Jour
Rrinys,4 ai lt would not be inclined to enter
wS?f obj(ctIon this werebut a temporary ex-
Tonrnn V ? t() 8erYG PWCOdent 1 U
2? tak,es th Pas to say that it has no in
2n o 'cas"nS. discredit upon railroad bonds
wnich constitute some of the best securities that
Si ZTa Ppe8tB;" but we find that the Jour
rnnvnnir8.the,l08lcal result of the acceptance of
S?mda lTaBt n explains that in the light of
t ?Py, Sh.Vs action "the farmers of the coun
try may legitimately claim that if the government
ifnt,iF , i18 m0DGV on railroad bonds, lt should
not discriminate .against thqir mortgage."
' lna.t wnd4seem,to bo. very natural; and yet,
M
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t;v"
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