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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (March 13, 1908)
' T""WV The Commoner, VOLUME 8, NUMBER 9 2 w immigrant who advocates asaasslnation as a means of reforming our government. Wo welcome Oklahoma to tho sisterhood of nlatoH and heartily congratulate her upon tho auspicious beginning of a groat curoer. Wo favor Hoparato statehood for Arizona nnd Now Mexico and doinand for tho peoplo of I'orfo Wi'o tho full enjoyment of tho rights and )rlvllegeH of a territorial form of govern ment. t . .. Wo Hympalhl.o wllh the efforts put forth for tho reclamation of tho arid lands of the west and urge I he largest possible uho of Irrigation In tho development of tho country. Wo also favor (ho reclamation of swamp lands upon tho Bftino principle. We favor the preservation of the forests Hi ill remaining, and tho replanting of tho de nuded districts in all our mountain ranges, as well as tho forestatlon of the western plains. Wo believe that the Panama canal will prove of great value to our country and favor its speedy completion. We urge liberal appropriations for tho im provement and development of tho interior waterwajs, believing that such expenditures will return a large dividend in lessonod cost of trans portation. We favor a generous pension policy, both as a matter of justice to the surviving veterans and their dependents and because it. relieves tho country of the necessity of maintaining a largo standing army. Wo condemn tho experiment in imperialism as an Inoxeusablo blunder which has involved us In an enormous expense, brought us weakness Instead of strength, and la'd our nation open to the charge of abandoning the fundamental doctrine of self-government. We favor an im modlato declaration of tho nation's purposo to rocogni.o tho independence of tho Philippine Islands as soon as a stable government can be established, such independence to bo guaranteed by us as wo guarantee tho independence of Cuba, until tho neutralization of the islands can bo socured by treaty with other powers. In recog nizing tho independence of the Philippines our government, should retain such land as may bo necessary for coaling stations and naval bases. Desiring tho prevention or war, wherever possible, we believe that our nation should an nounco its determination not to use our navy for tho collection of privato debts, and its will ingness to enter into agreements with other na tions, providing for the investigation, by an im partial international tribunal, beforo any declar ation of war or commencement of hostilities, of every dispute which defies diplomatic settle ment. & J KENTUCKY'S SHAM 13 Kontuclcy is the last stato to show tho ne cessity tov tho election of senators by direct vote of tho people, and wo hav scarcely had a moro striking example of tho embezzlement of power than Kentucky has presented. Four mombers of the legislature who were elected as democrats, and by their election pledged to voto for a democratic candidate, have voted for tho republican candidate. They did it, too, under circumstances which tako away every possiblo oxcuso that they had or can offor. At iirst they excused themselves for not voting for Governor Beckham on tho ground of opposition to him personally. This excuse was not a valid ono becauso ho was nominated at a primary, and they were elected after his nomination and when their constituents had a right to expect them to voto for him. But oven tills subterfugo was taken away when Governor Beckham appeared upon tho door and withdrew his name, and left tho democrats to select a democratic candidate by caucus. Tho four doinocrats, however, refused to change their votes oven when tho reasons for objection had boon removed. They simply preferred to elect n republican rather than elect any democrat iZ tlQL eoJllcl not assumo in lvnice thVit no acceptable democrat could bo found. i i !' is " nccess"T to inquiro what thincs led thorn out of tho democratic party and info tho republican ranks. It is enough to k now that they aro embezzlers of power and w as such they have sinned as Sously ns one S?vMSlU,bj;ith0,embozxl0mentof monov? As in dividuals they had a right to change their on S on, but as the representatives of constituents t hoy had no right to convert the suffrages of tho people to their own privato use. A pHc office is a public trust and representatives of tho peoplo have no more right to maki n hL? use of tho authority conferred u Jo? then? than a person has to convert to his own use money loft him in trust. For those who aro responsible for Gover nor Bradley's election no satisfactory explana tion can bo given, and if Governor Bradley was as devoted as he ought to bo to tho principles of representative government, ho would not ac cept an ofllco secured by the betrayal of a trust. What would wo think of a candidate for tho presidency who would accept the position if it was secured by a betrayal of duty on the part of electors? Electors are voted for be cause thoy aro pledged to the candidate who heads their ticket and no language could de scribe too harshly the sin of an elector who would desert his party after an election and voto with the opposition, and the public would have contempt for a presidential candidate who would accept tho position under such circum stances. Wherein do the members of the legislature differ from electors? They were instructed at a primary and were elected with the supposi tion that they would carry out the will of the party expressed at the primary. Even if they could have claimed that their democratic con stituents preferred another democratic candi date, they could not assume that the democrats who elected them would have preferred a re publican senator. The Kentucky incident ought to strengthen the sentiment in favor of the election of sena tors by popular vote. Let tho democrats in con gress push this measure and put the republicans upon record if they rofuso to adopt so necessary and popular a reform. t tv to to to to ANARCHY Tho dastardly killing of a Catholic priest at the altar in Denver by ono who claims to be an anarchist has revived tho fear naturally ex cited by anarchy and led to a renewed discussion of it. Anarchy has no excuse for existence in tho United States. Whatever defense may be made of assassination under arbitrary govern ment where the people aro denied participation in government and the right to express them selves in regard to government, no apology can be offered for it in a country like ours where speech is free and where everyone has an oppor tunity to raise his voice against an injustice done either to himself or to others. A clear lino can be drawn between the advocacy of re forms, however sweeping, and the advocacy of murder. The taking of a human life is any where and at all times a supreme tragedy and as civilization advances, more and more respect is paid to life. Only in the case of the gravest crimes does the stato assume the right to put an end to a human life, and there aro many who insist that this extreme penalty should never be enacted. The anarchist takes into his own hands the execution of a murderous intent not against an individual, but against ono who stands in a rep resentative capacity and is clothed with tho authority of law. As the official is elected by tho people, ho is responsible to the peoplo, and as the laws fix the punishment in case he be trays his trust, no one can justify the execution of vengeance by individual decree. In dealing with anarchy two remedies are to be considered. First the direct remedy and second the indirect remedy. The direct remedv deals with the punishment of the offender and with tho prevention of the crime. The man who kills another deliberately and with malice aforethought is guilty of murder, although ho may have argued himself into tho belief tint he is serving a public purpose, and those wlio advocate tho killing of officials, share in tho guilt, however sure they may feel that they aro public beneficiaries. Assassination must ho condemned and those guilty of the assassination or of advising it, must be punished, whether the blow is aimed at an individual, a spiritual leader or a public official. racier, In our effort, however, to apply the im mediate remedy, wo must not overlook the fnn hat conditions may contribute to the false deas which lead up to assassination. While we enforce the law and protect those wimni minister the law, we must not forget tha? ft surest basis of law is the affection of the peon e and laws to bo loved must bo just. Govern' nient is a great instrumentality for good bSt it may be made an instrumentality for in w? Equality beforo the law, both In the enfold ment of the law and in the making of the S" s necessary if wo are going to make the peon e love their government. Punishment of f petty offender is wise and necessary but to escape of the large offender breedsdisconten? and incites revenge. Those are doing most to prevent anarchy who seek to make the govern ment so just that all, being beneficiaries of tho government's blessings, will seek to preserve the government for their children and their children's children; those are doing most to cultivate anarchy who either cause or defend partiality and injustice in government. No language can be too severe for the con demnation of those who would raise their hands against an official merely because he is clothed with a power given him by the people, and yet in our indignation at the acute forms of anarchy, we must not be indifferent to the sow ing of the seed from which anarchy grows. All injustice involves a denial of the claims of brotherhood, and insofar as we can compel a recognition of the claims of each individual for justice and fair treatment, we shall remove the dangers that follow in the wake of anarchy. Icfi to iy to& MISSOURI'S OPPORTUNITY The Missouri legislature has submitted the Initiative and referendum proposition to tho people, and it will be voted upon this fall. It is a democratic proposition and ought to be supported by the democratic party unanimously and by the republican party as well. A large majority of the rank and file of the republicans believe in the democratic doctrine that the gov ernment should be responsive to the will of the people. The initiative and referendum do not destroy representative government they simply perfect representative government. They do not take away from the legislators the power to legislate, but they compel legislators to respect the will of the voters in matters of legislation. Where legislators do their duty, the initiative and referendum will not be invoked; where legislators betray their trust or neglect to do their duV, the initiative and referendum are useful. The honest legislator will not object to the initiative and referendum and any objection made by dishonest legislators ought not to be heeded. Representative 'government will be better when it is purified by direct legislation. Tho initiative and referendum protect the representa tive from temptation and protect . the public from betrayal. It has already Tjcen adopted in a number of states and will be adopted in all of the states when tho people thoroughly under stand the subject. Oklahoma has set an example which Missouri can well afford to follow. If the governor has a right to veto a measure passed by both branches of the legislature, why should not the voters have a right to veto? The legislators and the governor are the servants of the voters; the voters are the masses and ought to be allowed to sit in judgment on the work of their public servants. By all means let Missouri have the advantages of the initiative and the referendum. i to to to & 90 Rf- THE PULL DINNER PAIL AGAIN A special dispatch to the Chicago Record Herald (rep.) under date of Newcastle, Pa., March 4, follows: "Adams Hainer, poor director, was con fronted by forty foreigners today, who marched to the city hall and demanded that they be sent to the poor farm to work for their meals and lodging. They had just been turned out of their boarding-houses. Most of them formerly worked at the mills as laborers. Only fifteen of the applicants were sent to the poor farm, as no more could be taken care of." "Four years more of the full dinner pail!" WHAT ABOUT IT? Mr. Harriman is now able to control the Illinois Central by a decision of a court which allows him to vote the stock of the road. Is it not about time that the railroads were pre vented from buying stock in other roads? What are the republican leaders going to do about the matter? Are they going to sit idly by and let a few men gobble up the railroad systems of the country, extinguish competition and col lect tribute at will? & & CONFISCATION The Wall Street Journal complains becauso a recently enacted law "confiscates ?34,000 of the stockholders' money each year." But that ?oUvLa markei t0 the unt of the freight payers money confiscated each year by th holders of watered stocks.