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14
The Commoner.
VOLUME 4, NUMBER 23.
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product or commodity by a private in
dividual sanctioned oy law aoes not
oxlst In the United States, as Mr. Bry
an well knows. But tlie moat mis
chievous of Mr. Bryan's recommenda
tions Is that for an elective ledcral
judiciary to servo for a brief term of
years. To plant a partisan en each
judicial bench in the United States to
carry out the partisan purpose of
those who olected him would he to de
prive the judiciary of an independence,
and to convert politics into law. To
judicial anarchy there could be no
shorter road. The independence of. the
federal judiciary is one of the great
bulwarks of the people, it should
be sacredly guarded from dictation
either from above or below.
"Mr. Bryan's treatment of tho finan
cial issue is characteristic. He reaf
firms his belief in what ho calls bi
metallism, which is in reality silver
monometallism and maintains that
the time will come whon the people
will reject the gold standard, but that
this period will not arrive while times
are. good. This -is an aaml&slon that
frc8 silver is an issue for hard times
only, as indeed it is, for periods of
business depression arc most favorable
to tho growth and spread of the de
lusion that more pieces are the same
thing 'as more money, rn brier, Mr.
Bryan gives notice that he Is with
Parker for the campaign only; that if
Parker is elected he will agitate for
the success of his program. This will
be an embarrassment for a worldly
man like Judge Parker from which
he can easily be saved by tho election
of President Roosevelt. The democrats
appear to be endeavoring to get to
gether by the novel methods of getting
further apart."
. The Philadelphia Evening Bulletin
says:
"Defeat never silences Bryan. He
has, moreover, somo consolation in
knowing that although he was techni
cally beaten in St. Louis, he carried
off a large measure of the honors of
tho fight and that his sturdy bearing
commanded tho admiration of many
delegates who were bound both by
their convictions ana thoir instructions
to vote against him.
"Hence there is nothing surprising
in tho fact that ho lias just issued a
new pronounciamonto which outlines
tho chief issues on which he thinks
tho democracy should base its fight for
the future. The money question, he
admits, 'is for tho present in abey
ance,' though he Is not willing to ad
mit that tho gold standard is irre
vocably established.' He insists that
the radical elements of democracy
shall not surrender their arms because
of the reverse they nav3 experienced.
"Rather, he declares, 'hey should go
. forward unhesitatingly in the work
of strengthening within the paity
ranks those forces which demand such
innovations as public ownership of
railroads, tho incorporation of the tel
egraph system in the postoifice depart
ment, the enactment of an income tax,
and tho election by the people ot fed
eral judges, Including, presumably,
those of tho supremo court.
"This is a fairly comprehensive pro
grain. Bryan insists that he means to
give real support to the Parker-Davis
ticket, but it is evident that he wishes
it distinctly to be understood that he
is looking forward to the future be
yond 1904, and that he realizes that ho
is still in a position to make a great
deal of trouble for tho elements which
Gen. Chas. Dick,
Ohio's famous Congressman, writes:
"Ther; is no remedy so efficient foy
headache as Dr. Miles' Anti-Pain Pills
Ouro and prevent. Bold and guaranteed bj
all druggists. No opiates. Non-laxatlv
Kever sold in bulk. 5 doses 25 cents.
Pr, KQLxg MxDicr Co., Elkhart, Ind
are at present dominant in his party."
The Brooklyn Citizen says: .
"Mr. Bryan has, it appears by an
article published this morning, made
up his mind that tho great Work before
him is to organize what ho calls tho
radical democracy, as distinguished
from the democrats who, not being
radical, aro disposed to trust to the
operation of familiar democratic prin-'
clples for the productron o good gov
ernment. But the great wdrk is not
to be pushed in the present campaign.
Mr. Bryan being content to support
the candidacy of Judge rarrcer, on "the
ground that it will, If successful, elim-.
inate the evils of imperialism, on the
one hand, and negro rura in the south!
on the other. '
"It Is to be noticed, also, that for
the present Mr. Bryan, while holding
firmly to the abstract doctrine of bi
metallism, Is convinced that the mon
ey .question is in a state of coma, be-,
cause of the abundance or gold, soi
that he has no serious grievance to
urgo on acount of the refusal of the
democratic nominee to countenance
any implied dlspositon to revive the
quarrel of the standards. The main!
thing, however, is Mr, Bryan's peicop-J
tion that there is a fundamental dis
tinction between conservative . demo
crats and radicals, and that the latter
are both unorganized and much in
need of a leader. What the gentle
man from Nebraska means by a radi
cal democrat is Indicated by the sub
jects to which he intends to commit
his followers, namely, government
ownership of railroads anatelegraph
lines, an income tax, and war upon
everything in the nature ort a monop
oly, with a program or free trade
thrown in.
"That this is radical enough, for
most any person who doe's' not feel
ready to join the socialists will hardly
be denied, and just as little will be
denied that the democratic party as it
stands today is not a promising or
ganization for any holder of such be
liefs to be identified with. The demo
cratic party is as unlikely to be con
verted to these propositions as that it
will one of these fine days conclude to
substitute Carl Marx for Thomas Jef
ferson as its patron saint."
ident tho party passed an income tax
bill. It became a law, but was sub
sequently declared unconstitutional by
the supreme court on a close .vote
after a second hearing. Mr. "Bran,
in adyocating an amendment to tho
constitution, is simply seeking to car
ry out an old democratic policy which
had been adopted before he became
influential in the party's affairs. He
seems to have been warranted in ,the
belief that It was good democratic
medicine. Then we hear that he is
crazy and stark mad and demagogic
because he puts forward l' certain
schemes of state ownership of rail
"roads. Yet two years ago the chief
engineer of the 'safe and sane' Parker
movement, David B. Hill and ,the
whole; democratic party ofthe' gteal
conservative empire state; 'declared
for the public" ownership and opera
tion of the anthracite coal "mines. Mr.
Bryan has proposed nothing crazier
and more demagogic ttian"$hafc. The
New York pot can not Call the Ne
braska kettle black. ?-
"Mr. Bryan has views about the
power and tenure or federal' judges
which the 'sane and safe' do not, like.
They are nevertheless democratic: If.
the 'sane and safe' win study a little
history they will find that Thomas
Jefferson, Andrew Jackson and. Mar
tin Van Buren held strikingly, similar'
Views of the federal judiciary. The:
trouble with the 'safe and sane is
that half of them don't know, what
democracy is. What they want is a
party as near like the republican as
possible, except that it shall declare
against particular republican policies'
which they oppose. As Mr. Dooley re
marks, the :true democratic policies
are in the attic, 'policies that have
faded, or punctured a tire or broke a
mainspring or been run over by a
band wagon,' and 'safe and sane' taste
is to leave them, there and wear th&
cast-off dud iv th' raypublicans.' The
fiVMiTl TirlfTi TW 15tTrriri to 4-Viof Vtr nyr"
fers his own clothes."
The New York Tribune says:
"Of course the 'safe ana sane demo
crats who, by tricks of silence and
evasion, have brought their party to
choose, what it supposed to be a King
Log only to find itself buncoed under
the domination of King Stork are bit
ter toward Mr. Bryan. Naturally, they
see nothing but treason and mischief
making in his frank statement of prin
ciples. It is not heroic in him to tell
what he believes. He ought to sup-"
press his views. The duty to put aside
his convictions and bow to the bunco
of the party is deeply impressed upon
the conscience of those democrats who
felt under no obligation to abide by
the action of the parry wnen it was
overwhelmingly committed to his
views. Mr. Bryan's think may be
wrong and his policies dangerous, but
just why he is so despicable because
he stands by them manfully .wo do
not understand. Neither do we see
the crime which he commits in criti
cising the democratic platform, though
supporting Judge Parker. Are not
Judge Parker's particular friends do
ing tho same? Did not the conserva
tive democrats who voted for Mr. Bry
an in 1896 and 1900 Cfo the same?
"And what is there so terrible from
a democratic point of view in Mr
Bryan's new declaration of princi
ples? We learn that the income tax
is 'a dose of poison' which he wishes
to administer to the party. What a
wicked man! Where could he have
learned such deviltry? Why, from
the democratic party of Grover Cleve
land. When Mr. Cleveland was pres-
Mr. Bryan's Attitude.
Political parties aro only machines
and aro good or bad according as they
are run. The democratic party during
the campaigns of 18SC and 1900 was
managed by W. J. Bryan and tfiis
friends. During these years it was a
great machine used in scattering the
seeds of populism and reform over the
nation. It is now in the hands of David
B. Hill and others of his ilk, to be used
in the service of- trusts and plutocracy.
Bryan, for the purpose of again getting
control of this great political machine
and using it in the interest of reform,
remains in the party and says he will
vote for Parker, but takes nothing
back of what he has said. He con
demns Parker as unfit for the office of
president and declares ins intention to
lead a movement to bring the demo
cratic party back again into the serv
ice of the people. He declares the
democratic machine Is now in the
hands of the trusts, but he hopes not
to remain there. EeveryDOdy should
read Bryan's statement. It appeared
last week as tho first article in tho
Commoner and is wortn preserving as
a political pointer. Mr. Bryan here
gives four reasons why he intends to
vote for Parker, but the most import
ant and all-controling reason is not
mentioned but should be clearly un
derstood by his friends. Bryan has
great ability and with it a correspond
ingvamount of responsibility. In order
fpr him to use his ability to advan
tage ho must connect on with the great
political machinery that is running
Srfvn?try- T? leavo the democratic
party at present would be in a larco
measure suicidal. It would be like a
wff1- Wh dUrInff two campaigns
2 Preme command, but because
not continued at tho head of the army
nllihs tho nrmv nrwl n ...u. .
tho welfare of his country "" War for
By remaining in the democrats
partyjtwill be much easier for Bryan
to come again into controling leader
ship than it would be ror hhn to
gauize a new party and bring it intn
power, 'The democratic party with
Mr. Bryan as leader is just as goo
(a pllUca; machine ds a new party
o equal size' q.ula be, but Bryan
could not organize-a new party and
"bring it into power. No man would
be -able todo 'this under present cir
cumstances. -'
Mr. Bryan is-' fitted by nature to bo
va great political leader, and it is his
duty to reiriain jvhere leadership i3
within his reach, as now led the
democratic "party is in the service of
plutocracy andgreea, but if lead by
Uiry'an, as it probably will be in 1908
it would be furned the other way and
made' to servo, the best interests of
5the c6'untryV-Cedar Rapids, Neb
6utloolc (Iri4.). ' '
' ' ' .' ' ' -V -; .
-V" . .. Krugcr. ?v
.V'ltts not ah event; .it's -.only a piece
6l news ' flaldj Talleyrand, when he
was infdrmedj;pf the. death of Na
polepn. " Similarly, the death" of Paul
:Kruger at . thisvtime is only a piece of
news. - T!i' -
'The grim- 61a nero rang; ago finished
his battlwith. the red-necks as he
has now finished it witli death. The
little republic that his indomitable
spirit called into being has been ob
literated froni the map. 'The million
aire mine-owning "helots" have been
freed" at a tremendous cost in blood
and. treasure from the yoke of tho
hqted Dutch oligarchy. They who sor
rowed so deeply over tne wrongs of
the poor Kaffir under Dutch rule have
been rewarded for their -weeping sym
pathy by permission,, to, .employ Chi
nese coolie labor in their mines on
terms that amount to definite slavery.
And now the foremost figure in
this comedy of fraud and tragedy of
freedom has followed his great en
emy, Cecil Rhodes, into peace.
Few men have been more gererous
ly praised or more brutally abused
than this taciturn Calvinistlc burgh
er, witf'the .muscles of steel, the heart
of oak,ltlie courage of a lion and the
faith of a martyr, rno threw down
the gage of battle to the mightiest
empire the sun has ever shown upon.
The very key to Kruger's unbend
ing character was revealed in that
message to Tho World in which ho
declared: "The republics are deter
mined that if they must belong to
England, a price will be paid which
will stagger humanity."
And he kept his word. The price
did stagger humanity, and Great Brit
ain has not yet recovered tho nilitary
prestige that withered under the fire
of tho Boer rifles. Iter army was sud
denly stripped of its trappings and ex
hibited to all her enemies as a lata
painted to look like iron, while the
war resulted in- economic and fiscal
disturbances which will remain to
harass British statesmanship for
many a year. The-mischievous Cham
berlin propaganda is part of the price
that England is still Paying for the
privilege of stifling the republics. Tne
bills are likely to keep coming in for
a generation, while the Importation
of Chinese coolies into South Africa
promises to make a new race problem
more potent for mischief than any
that has gone before.
The law of compensation Is lnex
orable, and had the broken old ox w
fully appreciated all the evil, actual
and potential, that has come to Great
Britain with that war of extcrinina
tion, tho scarred and stiffen ng finger
In the. final moments of & u"
have marked the twelfth chapter
Romans In his well-beloved Biwe.
'Vengeance Is mine; I will repw
saith the Lord." Inter-Ocean.
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