r
last breath; but ingratitude neglect, these
have been my undoing. No, no! again I cry,
they did not lcnow, they did ilot know! 1 was (
foolishly proud and tried to carry the burden
alone; my strength was not equal to tho tasic.
Well, hundreds before now, hundreds more
deserving than I, have fallen In tho struggle)
lor labor's emancipation, and thousands yet
will fall. Fallon? No! I havo just been
pushed aside. I must And another way.
Tho paragraph might indicate a pessimistic
viow of reforms, but this is not tho Impression left
by Mr. Buchanan's book. While he states tho
truth when ho complains that roformors are not
always supported as thoy ought to bo; that tno3e
whoso interests arc most neglected in government
often havo themselves to blame because of their
failuro to support thoso who labor in their in
terests, yot tho tonor of his book is hopeful, and
it tcachos a lesson that ovory reformer ought to
leurn, namely, that thoso who work for tho masyts
must work for them, as Mr. Buchanan did, not
for tho hope of roward or even for hope of imme
diate appreciation, but from a higher and nobler
motive Thoso who havo earned tho gratitude of
posterity havo, as a rule, boon men who en
joyed but littlo gratitudo during their lives. Just
in proportion as one's work is pioneer work tho
blazing of tho way for those who come after
just in that proportion must ho work alone and
find his comfort in tho consciousness that he is
doing work that is necessary and that will bring
benefit to tho world.
Ono of tho Latin poets ha3 said that man
plants trees whoso fruit ho does not expect to en
joyho plants thorn for his children and his chil
dren's children, and so reformers sow seed, cul
tivate tho soil and tend tho crop without asking
whether thoy aro to live to enjoy the fruits of
their labor. Thoy ilnd their reward in the belief
that thoy nro doing their duty, and there is no
higher roward than tho consciousness of duty
woll performed.
JJJ
Reasons for Existence.
Tho Wall Street Journal tells the capitalists
that thoy are to blame if tho democratic party
shows any tendency to radical action, and It han
dles without gloves thoso "high financiers who
havo seen lit to take tho law into their own
hands, those speculators who have pushed tho
prices of tho necessities of Jifo to excessive quota
tions; tho adventurers in finance who havo con
ducted criminal promotions and wrecked compa
nies and swindled investors; tho bankers and
corporate managers who have carried the prin
ciple of reasonable combination of capital to un
reasonable and dangerous limits." The mistake
that tho Journal makes is not in the description
of tho diseaso, but in assuming that the "radical
element of the democratic party cannot be trusLcd
to administer a remedy. No remedy can bo ex
pected from what Cleveland calls "the safe, sane,
and conservative" eement of the democratic par
ty, because ho never applies that name to any one
whoso domocracy is at all positive or well defined.
If the democratic party has any reason for ex
istence it must find that reason in its desire to
protoct the people from the very evils that the
Wall Street Journal points out.
JJJ
Not an Argument.
Some of Judge Parker's supporters are insist
ing that the democrats who believe in the Chi-
cago and Kansas City platforms ought to favor
his nomination because ho supported the demo
cratic ticket In both campaigns. Even assuming
for tho sake of argumont, that he supported the
ticket in both campaigns, that is no reason why
tho believers In those platforms should favor his
nomination. Mr. Hill claims that he supported
tho ticket in 1896, although ho did not publicly
admit it for two years afterwards. After the
campaign ho wrote a vicious magazine article at
tacking nearly every plank in the platform. WiU
any one say that the people who believe in thojo
platforms should favor Mr. Hill's nomination, not
withstanding the fact that he, if president, would
use the great influenco of his office to thwart ev
ery democratic reform? If Judge Parker sup
ported tho ticket for regularity's sako, withovt
. being in sympathy with tho platform, why should
tho people who honestly believe in democratic
principles as enunciated In thoso platforms favor
" ?lB no,minatln? Are real democrats less sinccie
in their devotion to democratic doctrine than the
bolters? Are they less concerned about the coun
try's welfare? The men who bolted are loudly
shout ng their opposition to the nomination of
any democrat who ij m sympathy with recent
The Commoner.
national platforms. Why should the friends of
those platforms shout for the nomination of a
man opposed to their political views? In other
words? why isn't a sure enough democrat .much
entitled to work for tho advancement of his prm
clples as a sham democrat is to work for the ao
vancement of his peculiar views?
Until Judge Parker declares to the contrary,
we have a right to assume from the character of
tho men and papers supporting him, that ho is
antagonistic to the vital parts of the Chicago and
Kansas City platforms.
JJJ
Attempting to Retire Silver.
Congressman Fowler has reported from the
committee of the house a bill providing for the
recolnage, without limit, of silver dollars into
subsidiary coin. Walter Wellman, in the Chi
cago Record-Herald, speaking of the bill, says:
"It is proposed to recoin 578,002,099 silver dollars
now in the treasury into fractional currency." It
is probable that the bill itself does not express
this purpose, hut that this is the real .pur
pose no one who understands the subject can
doubt. The silver dollar is an unlimited legal
tender. The fractional currency is' only a limited
legal tender. The purpose of this bill, therefore,
is to retire ?578,000,000 of legal tender money,
thereby reducing the volume of standard money
in the country. It is strange that any person,
republican or democrat, can ignore so dangerous
a proposition. The financiers are determined .o
reduce the volume of standard money to the
smallest possible limit, for they can thereby bel
ter control it.
Tho gold 'democrats are working in concert
with tho republicans on this propositon, and they
seek to avoid the money question, not because it
is dead, but because they want to do by stealth
what they dare not attempt openly.
The bjll is another confidence game, and in
line with the ilnancial measures that have ema
nated from Wall street. It ought to be vigoi
ously opposed by the democratic minority in con
gress, if it is brought up for passage, but the
chances are that it will lie over until after the
election, and then be rushed through, as much bad
legislation Is.
According to the press dispatches the bill also
repeals the law prohibiting the deposit of custom
receipts in national banks. This is intended to
increase the deposits in the favorite banks. Ilie
bill also repeals the three million-dollar limit on
bank note retirement. This is also m the inteicst
of the banks and is intended to giye them more
complete control of the volume of money. Now
under tho present law the banks altogether can
not retire more than three millions in one month.
If this limitation is removed the banks can retire
all of the money in one month if thoy like, and
re-Issue it when they please.
Every financial measure presented for con
sideration by the s republicans is in the interest
of the banks, and of the financiers, and yet there
are thousands of democrats who, receiving their
information from republican papers or still
worse, from the gold democratic dailies think
that there is no reason for mentioning .the money
question in the platform. However, there are
millions of democrats who have studied the mon
ey question and who know what the financiers
are trying to do. These -will see that the St.
Louis convention takes no backward step. . ,
Ministerial Speculators.
According to the Associated press dispatches
Judge TJtley of Rochester, "N. Y., has "been wres-'
tling with a case in' which the members of a
Rochester church sued their minister for commis
sions on stock in an old venture. In giving his
opinion the judge criticised the speculative deal m
?ian..aBi!,.0!e,of the worsschemes of deliberate
theft which had over come to his attention 'n
SitlciBing the minister he quoted tho Scripture
My house shall be called the house of prayer but
ye have made it a den of thieves." ' .
In investigating one of the "get-rich-nuick"
schemes recently exposed, it was found that a
minister had made a large profit on a small in
vestment and had become so interested in the
chance for largo gains that he induced a number
of members of his church to join him in the Tnec-
If a minister feels tempted to lead hl fin,.
Into any questionable scheme in J i,8. C 1
VOLUME 4, NUMBER
finished his sermon he Wl he so saturated win,
the idea that one's life" is measured by whii
gives not; Ty what tor gets by "what he doe, iX'
others, and .not by what others do for him 'that
the speculative 'lever will probably havo din
neared. v
7 JJJ
Cedar County, Nebraska,.
The democratic convention of Cedar county
Nebraska, was held at Hartington, recently and
the following resolution was adopted: '
"Delegates are instructed to secure the
reaffirmation, of the Kansas City platform and
the election of W. J. Bryan to the national
convention to be held at St. Louis."
The democrats of Cedar county are not m
favor of reorganization and if the democrats m
each county convention will see to it that a reso
lution indorsing tae Kansas City platform is of
fered it will he carried and there will be har
mony in the state convention. Every county and
precinct should go on record in favor of the re
affirmation of the platform and then there will
be no chance of misrepresentation.
JJJ
A Lively Corpse.
The senate committee on finance has repotted
an amendment to the sundry civil bill removing
the limitation as to the coinage of subsidiary sil
ver, but it is really only a part of the plan em
bodied in a bill, passed by the house in the last
congress, to authorize tho recolnage of all silver
dollars into subsidiary coin. Not having the cour
age to do ikt all at once, they are now doing it
by piecemeal, and yet they say the money ques
tion is dead.
JJJ
The Speciad Offer.
There is no better way of aiding in the dis
semination of democratic doctrine than in the
circulation of publications that may be depended
upon to support democratic principles. This rule,
of course, applies to all publications that support
democratic principles and oppose the aggression0,
of special interests.
Every publication that defends the people'?,
cause should be supported, and the wider the ai3
semination of such literature, the greater will ue
the chance of democratic success,
The Commoner hopes that it may be counted
among those publications that may be at all
times depended upon to defend the people's cause.
This being true every effort to increase The Com
moner'B circulation widens its sphere of influ
ence and thereby contributes to the people's cause.
In order to malce it convenient for those wno
desire to co-operate in this good work, a special
subscription offer for The Commoner has been
arranged. According to this -offer, cards, each
good for one year's subscription to The Com
moner, will be furnished in lots of five at the rate
of $3 per lot. This places the yearly subscription
rate at 60 cents.
Any one ordering the crds may sell them
for $1 each, thus earning a commission of $2 on
each lot sold, or he may aell them at the cost
price and find compensation in the fact that he
has contributed to the effort to widen The Com
moner's sphere -of influence.
These cards may be paW for -when ordered or
thoy may be ordered and remittance made after
they have been sold.
A coupon is printed below for the con
venience of those Tvho Mie willing to assist in thfl
coming "contest. '
THE COMAONERS SPECIAL OFFER
Application for Subscription Curds
5
10
15"
20
25""
100
Publinlier Commoner: J nm interested in In
creaMnpr The Commoner's .circulation, and df
pJreyou to wnrt mea supply ol subscription earn.
I ajrree to upr -my utmost ondenvor to sell trie
cnrdB, and will remit iorithematiuo rato ol60
cents each, when sold.
Natno
tMXtM I
Box, or Stre.ot No.
t
P.O.
..State ,
indicate tho number or cards wanted 'irroarjlnn' ;
DOBlto ona of tlin nuinhftnt nrlntoil on end or Wis .
If you believe the paper ie doing a icorh that merit
encouragement, fill out the above coupon and matt
to The Commoner, Lincoln, Neb.
-,.i ujiajr- fH-MitrcntoijftdilVii
wkeaij