The Commoner.
WILLIAM J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR
Vol. 5. No. 52
Lincoln, Nebraska, January 12, 1906
Whole Number 260
CONTENTS
"Waereng on Roosevelt'I
"Me. Bryan's Lkttkus
" Andbjtw" Caen k gee's Lnru
Story op Two Resignations
"Defenders" Indeed!
A Badge op Shame
A Talk to Indiana Democrats
A Faitiifjtl Employe
Lobbyists in tiie Senate
"Washington City Letter
Comment on Current Topics
1 The Primary Pledge
News op the Week
MR. BRYAN'S LETTERS
The first of Mr. Bryan's letters will be printed
in the next issue of The Commoner; January 19.
This letter will deal with Hawaii, and will de
scribe Mr. Bryan's observations and experiences
at Honolulu.
his route, and as a result will not vjsit Australia
and New Zealand until another trip, when he
can travel more leisurely and give to those coun
tries the time their importance demands.
Beginning with the next issue The Com
moner will each week print one of Mr. Bryan's
letters." These will record his observations in
Japan, China, Korea, the Philippine Islands, India,
Egypt, Palestine, Greece, Turkey, Italy, Spain,
Switzerland, Germany, France, Norway, Denmark,
Holland and the British Isles.
A New York newspaper referring to Mr.
Bryan's journey says: "A better time for Mr.
Bryan's tour, from the standpoint of the reader,
could not possibly have been chosen. Extra
ordinary changes are in progress in nearly every
section of the old world. The oriental slumber
of centuries is broken; a new regime dominates
the Far East; the old idea as to the relative
strength and importance of European and Asiatic
nations has been rudely jolted, and Caucasian
contempt for the Mongolian has given place to
the respect which triumphant might never fails
to command. How are the new conditions to
affect the interests of the United States? How
are they affecting the Japanese, Chinese and
Koreans? It will be interesting, will it not, to
have Mr. Bryan's leisurely taken observations
answering these questions?"
An editor who has read some of these let
ters says: "They are literally as full of human
interest as an egg is full of meat; for be it re
membered, Mr. Bryan is not only one of America s
two foremost public men, but he is also a news
paper man whose keen faculties of observation
instinctively seize on and record the details con
cerning men, women and children, surroundings
and events which come within the range of every
reader's active interest."
JJJ
OPEN CONFESSION
The Chicago Inter-Ocean expresses the hope
that "William J. Bryan will also keep quiet about
the Philippines when he gets home," to which the
Springfield (Mass.) Republican retorts: "Imper
ialism naturally dreads discussion and here is
an open confession of the fact."
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"WARRING ON ROOSEVELT"
Some of Mr. Roosevelt's friends profess to be
greatly disturbed over a circular in which the pres
ident is criticised for the disaster he is alleged to
be bringing upon the republican party. "What does
President Roosevelt and his political advisers in
tend to do with the republican party? is the
chief question in this circular.
The Omaha Bee, a republican paper, refer
ring to this circular says:
Reading between the lines, the disquisi
tion on Roosevelt's relations to the republi
can paHy is manifestly an attempt to pave he
way for members of congress that are affiliat
ed with corporations to find an excuse for
skleltepping on the question of railway regu
Sand other vital issues in the advocacy
of wiicf President Roosevelt simply voices
The known sentiment of the American people.
Mr. Roosevelt's friends need not be alarmed
hv mv attacks of this character. He wil be
?,fdd by the American people who are consider
XS5 more nterested in knowing what Mr. Roose
n to?ii rio for the people than they are in
irnowin4LatrURooPsevelt intends to do with
thG 3" attacks aft'hese will not pave the way
for members of congress to "side-step" on he
for mem"f ,,i,v regulation. Criticisms of the
SSSS-Jarrasaas
by way of providing an excuse to "side-stepping"
republican members or My way 01 injuring mr.
Roosevelt's prestige in the great reforms he has
publfcly sanctioned.
Mr. Roosevelt's prestige in this respect may
be destroyed. His present-day personal popular
ity may become greatly impaired, but this will
result not from the acts of Mr. Roosevelt's ene
mies, but by the acts of Mr. Roosevelt himself.
The simple truth is that what Mr. Roosevelt's
friends have to fear more than anything else is
Mr. Roosevelt's disposition to compromise. It is
Mr. Roosevelt's tendency to yield in serious
battles for reform, giving to the opposition all
substantial results while reserving for himself
sufficient margin upon which his newspaper cham
pions may claim a victory for the public interests.
Of course it would be an approach to lese majesto
for any one to intimate, in the vernacular wh ch
Mr Roosevelt understands so welland In which
he occasionally indulges that he is "a quitter."
But in spite of all his boasted fearlessness and
independence he has, since he entered the White
House, frequently shown himself to be a mere
While the Omaha Bee is claiming that Mr.
Roosevelt is being attacked by members of his
own party because of his devotion to public In
terests, the St. Louis Globe-Democrat another
republican paper assures us that "the republican
line -is solid' and that even Senator Elkins may
be depended - upon to give support to a railway
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