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The Commoner.
: WILLIAM J. BRYAN, J3DITOR AND PUBLISHER.
Vol. 4t No. 43
Lincoln, Nebraska, November 11, 1904.
Whbit Number 199
Democracy vs. Plutocracy
Tlio democratic party has met with an over
whelming defeat in the national election. As yet
the returns are not sufficiently complete to permit
analysis, and it is Impossible to say whether the
result is due to an actual increase in the number
of republican votes or to a falling off in the demo
cratic vote. This phase of the subject will be dealt
with next week when the returns are all In. The
questions for consideration at this time are. what
lesson does the election teach? and. what of the
future? The defeat of Judge Parker should not
bo considered a personal one. He did as well as
he could under the circumstances; he was the
victim of unfavorable conditions and of a mistaken
party policy. He grow in popularity as the cam
paign progressed,' and expressed himself mora
and more strongly upon the trust question but
could not overcome the heavy odds against him.
The so-called- conservative democrats charged the
defeats of 1896 and 1900 to the party's position on
the money question and insisted that a victory
could be won by dropping the coinage question
entirely. The convention accepted this theory, and
the platform made no reference to the money
question, but Judge Parker felt that it was his
duty to announce his personal adherence to the
gold standard. His gold telegram, as it was called,
while embarrassing to the democrats of the west
.and south, was cjplauded by the eastern press.
He had the cordial endorsement of Mr. Cleveland,
who certified that the party had returned to "safe
ty and sanityr" he had the support of the demo
cratic papers which bolted in 1896,. and he also
had the aid of nearly all of those who were promi
nent in the campaig-s of 1896 and 1900, and yet
his defeat is apparently greater .aan the party
suffered in either of those years.
It is unquestionable also that Judge Parker's
defeat was not local but general the returns from
the eastern states being as disappointing as the
returns from the west. The reorganizes were in
complete control of the party; they planned the
campaign and carried it on according to lueir own"
views, and the verdict against their plan -is a
unanimous one. Surely silver can not be blamed
for this defeat, for the campaign was run on a
gold basis; neither can the defeat be charged to
emphatic condemnation of the trusts, for the
trusts were not assailed as vigorously this year
as they were our years ago It is evident that
the campaign did not turn upon the question of
imperialism, and it is not fair to consider the re
Bult as a personal victory for the president, al
though his administration was .the subject of
criticism, 'x-e result was due to the fact that the
democratic party attempted to bo conservative in
the presence of conditions which demand radical
remedies. It sounded a partial retreat when it
should have ordered a charge all along the line.
In 1896 the lino was drawn, for the first time
during the present generation, between plutocracy
The Election's Lesson
and democracy, and the party's stand on the otdo
of democracy alienated a largo number of
plutocratic democrat who, in the nature of
things, can not be expected to return, and
it drew to itself a large number of earnest
advocates of reform whose attachment to theso
reforms is much strongor than attachment to any
party name. The republican party occupied the
conservative position. That is, it defends those
who, having secured unfair advantages through
class legislation, insist that they shall not bo
disturbed no matter how oppressive their exac
tions may become. The democratic party can not
hope to compete successfully with the republican
party for this support. To win the support of the
plutocratic element of the country the party would
have to become more plutocratic than the repub
lican party and It could not do this without los
ing several tlmeg as many voters as that course
would win. The democratic party has nothing to
gain by catering to organized and predatory
wealth. It must not only do without such support
but it can strengthen itself by inviting the open
and emphatic opposition of these elements. The
campaign just closed shows that It is as inexpe
dient from the standpoint of policy as it is wrong
from the standpoint of principle to attempt any
conciliation of the industrial and financial despots
who are gradually getting control of all the
avenues of wealth. The democratic party, if it
hopes to win success, must take the side of the
plain, common people. The Commoner has for
two years pointed out the futilty of any attempt
to compromise with wrong or to patch up a peace
with the great corporations which are now ex
ploiting the public, but the southern democrats
were so alarmed by the race issue that they lis
tened, rather roluctantly be it said to their credit,
to the promises of success held out by those who
had contributed to the defeat of the party in the
two preceedlng campaigns. The experiment has
been a costly one. and it is not likely to be re
peated during the present generation. The eastern
democrats were also deceived. They were led to
believe that the magnates and monopolists who
coerced the voters in 1896 and supplied an enor
mous campaign fund in both 1896 and 1900 would
help the democratic party if our party would only
be less radical. The corporation press aided in
this deception, and even the republican papers pro
' fessed an unselfish desire to help build up the
democratic party. The election has opened the
eyes of the hundreds cf thousands of honest and
well-meaning democrats who a few months ago
favored tne reorganization of the party. These
' men now see that they must either go into the
republican party or join with the democrats of
the west and south in making the democratic party
a positive, aggressive and progressive reform or
ganization. There is no middle ground.
Mr. Bryan did what he could to prevent the
reorganization of tho democratic party; when he
failed in tills ho did what ho could to aid Parker
and Davis in order to secure such reforms and
thero were somo vital ones promised by their
election. Low that tho campaign lo over he will
both through Tho Commoner and by personal ef
fort assist those who desire to put tho democratic
army onco more upon a fighting basis; ho will
assist In organizing for tho campaign of 1908. It '
does not matter so much who tho nominee may
be. During tho next three years circumstances
may bring into tho arena somo man especially
fitted to carry tho standard. It will be timo enougn
to discuss a candidate when we aro near enough
to tho campaign to measure tho relative avail
ability of those worthy to bo considered, but we
ought to begin now to lay our plans for the next
national campaign and to form tho line of battle,
Tho party must coritlnuo to protest against a
largo army and against a largo navy, and to stand
for the independence of tho Filipinos, for imper
ialism adds tho menaco of militarism to tho cor
rupting influenco of commercialism, and yet ex
perience shows that however righteous the party's
position on this subject, tho issuo docs not arouse
tho people as they aro aroused by a question which
touches thou Immediately and individually. Tho
injustice done to the Filipinos Is not resented as
it should be or as wo resent a wrong to ourselves,
and tho costliness of Imperialism is hidden by the
statistics and by our indirect system of taxation.
While tho party must maintain its position on
this subject, it can not present UIs as tho only
issue.
The party must also maintain its position on
tho tariff question. No answer has been mado to
the democratic indictment against the high tar
iff, and yet, here too, the burden of the tariff sys
tem is concealed by tho method in which the tax
is collected. It can not bo made the sole issue
in a campaign.
The party must renew its demand for an Ji
come tax, to bo secured through a constitutional
amendment, in order that wealth may be made to
pay its share of the expenses of tho government.
Today we are collecting practically all of our fed
eral revenue from taxes upon consumption and
theso bear heaviest upon the poor and light upoa
the rich.
The party must maintain its position in favor
of bimetallism. It can not surrender Its demana
for the use of both gold and silver as the standard
money of the country, but the question must re
main in abeyance until conditions so change as
to bring the public again face to face with falling
prices and a rising dollar. This, therefore, can not
be made tho controlling issue of the contest upon
which we are entering.
The trust question presents the most acute
phase of the contest between democracy and plu
tocracy, so far as economic Issues are concerned.
The president virtually admits that the trusts coa
tributed to his campaign fund, but he denies that
(Continued on page. 4.)
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