,.y"r-
The Comtnonet.
VOLUME 9, NUMBER 17
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Before and After Election Day
BEFORE TUB ELECTION
Editorial In Tho Commoner, Juno 20, ID 08,
n few days aftor tho republican national con
vention: Tho republican platform doaln with tho tariff
quoHllon In a way that cIoboh tho door of hope to
tho tariff reformer. It authorlzcn "a revision of
tho tariff by a Hpccial hcbsIoii of con:roHB to bo
hold Immediately following tho Inauguration of tho
next prfiident." RovIhIoii doco not necessarily
mean reduction. In fact, Secretary Taft has him
self mild that ho thought some of tho schedules
wero too high and others too low. Thoro Is noth
ing in tho ropublJcan platform to glvo any assur
ance that tho average tariff will not bo higher
aftor revision than before. An attompt 1b mado to
lay down tho prlnclplo upon which tho rovlslon will
bo condtictcd, but tho principle is not a now one, it
is moroly a rostatement of tho prlnclplo upon
which the presont high duties wore established.
When has tho republican party asked for moro
than "tho difforonco between tho coBt of produc
tion at homo and abroad?" That Is all that It has
asked for for ten or fifteen yoarB, and yet whilo
it only askod for that it has built up prohibitory
duties. Tho now platform not only asks for a
tariff sulllclent to recover tho difforonco in cost of
production at home and i.broad, but it also asks
for "a reasonable profit to jvmorlcan industries."
If, on tho protonso that thoy wero. giving us a
tariff only sufficient to covor tho difforonco in cost
of production, tho republicans mako it high enough
to covor tho entire cost of labor twlco over, how
much moro will thoy add to satisfy this now do
mand for "reasonable profit to American indus
tries?" Tho troublo is that thoy start out with
tho proposition that wo must liavo a protoctlvo
tariff and then thoy ask tho manufacturers how
much thoy need and, as tho manufacturers accom
pany tho answor with a campaign contribution,
tho ordinary taxpayer gots littlo consideration.
Tlio government has boon mado a prlvato assot by
tho protectod intorosts and thoy liavo capitalized
their ability to control tho law making power.
Tho fat has boon fried out of tho beneficiaries of
tho high tariff and tho bonoflclaries havo then
boon given a chance to recoup themselves out of
tho pockets of tho people Public opinion has been
corrupted by tho studious circulation of tho idea
that tho taxing power can bo farmed out to a com
paratively small fraction of tho population and
tho rest of tho population mUst pay constant trib
ute to tho few.
The platform as written Is Indubitablo proof than
tho republican party does not oxpoct to givo tho
country any real reform. Tho platform is, in fact,
ii contract, signed and scaled, between tho repub
lican party and tho exploiting intorosts, guaran
teeing that nothing shall bo dono to freo tho peo
nlo from graft and oxtortion; It is an admission
that tho money to carry on tho campaign is to bo
drawn from tho "systom" and that means that tho
system will bo In control aftor tho election. Tho
systom is run on business principles and when
It puts up Its money to carry an oloctlon, it is sura
to bo quite caroful about tho security taken.
AFTER TIIE ELECTION . ,
From an editorial In the Chicago Record
Herald (republican) April 24, 1909:
In tho courso of tho tariff dobato on Thursday,
when somo western senators showed they "were not
tied to Mr. Aldrich's apron strings, tho Hhodo
Island sonator demanded: "Whero (ltd tho repub
lican party mako tho statement that It would
rovlso tho tariff downward?" It Is a mighty good
thing for thoso who pleaded that tho tariff bo
revised by its friends that this utterance was not
launched prior to Novombor, 1908. If it had been
Mr. Aldrich's committee on financo would now bo
dealing with a bill bearing tho name of some es
teemed democratic representative.
Mr. Aldrich is no fool, no matter what ho may
think of tho oaflshness of tho great American
public in putting up with humbug statesmanship,
lie knows that tho demand for tariff revision
throughout tho country was a demand to bo ro
lioved of excessivo burdens. Tho millions of oner
ously taxed consumers wore not so simplo minded
that they did not know what was wanted. The
sentiment that mado rovlslon imperatlvo did not
contemplate an excuse for increasing existing bur
dons and adding to tho profits of overprotect'od
captains of eastern manufacturing Industry. And
yet tho republican leader of the United States scn
ato insolently Indicates a purposo to seize tho
excuse.
Downward rovlslon was part of tho announced
program when William II. Taft mado his speech
accepting tho republican nomination for tho presi
dency on July 28 last. "Tho tariff in a number
of schedules," ho declared, "exceeds tho difforonco
bctwoon tho cost of production of articles abroad
and at homo, Including a reasonable profit to tho
American producer. Tho excess over that diffor
onco serves no useful purpose, but offers a tempta
tion to thoso who would monopolize tho produc
tion and the sale of such articles in this country
to profit by tho oxcossivo rate."
Who was moro qualified to speak to tho nation
for tho republican party than tho man nominated
by it for president? And it was under just such
understanding as this statement, gave that tho
country returned a republican congress to sup
port tho policy of tho republican president. Mr.
Aldrich may bo convinced that party platforms aro
things to straddle, but ho is not a supreme court
to intorprot for tho people their own under
standing of promises mado to them.
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The Explanation
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nTi!04iroloWlnB !? renrod?ced from an editorial written by Henry Watterson entitled "Peace
Uonal elftt'lOOS? P LU,SVille Courier"J a few days Vior to the
wPZlyp?wti?agf0f have made theIr Pea"c with the system
we! Harrlman to Corey, every chieftain Sf wealTh and predatory
am I Sliopmnn Si ? , ", mtiMn? common cause with the dishonest, Is well content with Taft
S? wot? Tort" to thenanv h?annd lmpIy the ?ld, .rdeP of special Priv"e to the fXimioBlttona
it stood, a gray wolf lording T over to and aS J?eflant as ever
gray wolves, Sherman and Sheldon W nKwi p!rdlng, ?ver the house- and two
ticket. Should any thoughtful LnJif i i ? a.Cl.c ?,QorQ eiving tone and effect to the
balk of his duty before such a layo t? ' " PatrltiC American sllould any honest man
BRANDENBURG AND ITIS REPUBLICAN
SPONSORS '
Readers of The Commoner will remember that
during the presidential campaign republican
newspapers made much of a letter said to have
been written by tho late Grover Cleveland. In
this letter it was made to appear that Mr. Cleve
land denounced Mr. Bryan and eulogized Mr.
Taft. 1 ho republican national committea sent
tli s letter broadcast and republican newspapers
printed profound editorials relating to it. Henry
Watterson charged that the letter was bogus
and he sot on foot an investigation which re
sulted in showing the fact that the letter was a
forgery. Brandenburg was indicted and re
leased on $16,000 bail. He jumped his bond
and for some time his whereabouts were un
known. Recently, however, ho was arrestee in
San Francisco and it developed that on his way
through St Louis he kidnapped tho little son
of James Cabanee of. St. Louis. The boy was
returned to his father and Brandenburg is now
fighting proceedings instituted for the purpose
of returning him to New York for trial
It is worthy of note that, although the letter
which was used by the republican candidates
to advantage, prior to election day, was vouched
; hf & number of republican In d so
called independent newspapers, not one of those
papers has apologized to its readers for its part
in this disgraceful affair.
"BY ITS FRIENDS"
nJile American PPle who trusted the repub
! Ca.S I?arty and ylded to the appeal "let the
tariff be revised by its friends," are learning
something to their advantage from national?
ital dispatches of the present day. Will the
people ever learn that a political party tlAt
derives -its" campaign funds from epeclal ntereats"
Crests?0 dePended UPn t0 8Grve the pub ?
MOTHER'S DAY WILL BE OBSERVED MAY 9
Sunday, May 9, will be observed in varioug
portions of the country as "Mother's Day." The
plan is that on this day every man and boy shall
wear a white flower in memory of his mother.
The Houston (Texas) Post is urging the people,
of Houston to observe this day and Judd Morti
mer Lewis has written for the Post this beauti
ful poem: '."'
TOR MOTHER'S DAY
Who'll wear a rose for Mother's Day;
A half oped rose and white
Plucked "in the morning while the dew
That gathered over night
To kiss its petals like a gem
In its pure heart appears,
As pure and sweet as mother love,
As rare as mother's tears?
Who for a Mother's Day will wear.
A blossom pure and white
Above his heart, wear it from dawn
Until the shades of night
Come in upon the perfumed breeze
And wrap the world and him
As sofetly as the mother-love J
Wrapped him in days grown dim? ...
A white rose just to honor her
Whose love was purer far
That any gem the world has known.
Than snow-white roses are;
A white rose for the mother-love
That knows nor stop nor stay,
That up the heights or in the depths
Goes with him all the way.
For Mother's Day who'll wear a rose?.
Who will not! To uplift
The thoughts of all the world one dayj
To the most precious gift ":
God ever, ever gave the world;
A pure, white, thornless rose
For the best thing the world shall see
Till heaven's gates unclose.
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MOTHERHOOD
Fredericksburg is not a large city and yet it
is rich in incidents of great historic value. Here
the women of America have reared a monument
to Mary, the mother of Washington. I am glad
to stand on this spot; I am glad to feel the in
fluences which surround her grave. In a cam
paign, especially in a campaign like this, there
is much of bitterness, and sometimes of abuse
spoken against the candidates for public office,
but, my friends, there is one character, the moth
er a candidate for the affections of all man
kind against whom no true man ever uttered a:
word of abuse. There is one name, mother,
which is never found upon the tongue of the
slanderer in her presence all criticism is
silenced. The painter has, with his brush, trans
ferred the landscape to the canvas with such
fidelity that the trees and grasses seem almost
real; he has even made the face of a maiden
seem instinct with life, out there is one picture
so beautiful that no painter has ever been able
to perfectly reproduce it, and that is the picture
Str.iS1!6 mother holding in her arms her babe.
Within the shadow of this monument, reared to
the memory of her who in her "love and loyalty
represents the mother of each one of us, I bow
In humble reverence to motherhood. (From
speech delivered by W. J. Bryan at Fredericks
burg, Va., during campaign of 1896.)
"ASK THE MOTHER"
Ask the mother who holds in her arms her
boy, what her ideal is concerning him and she
will tell you that she desires that his heart
2SL?e S, PU? that U could be laid "Pon a
S!?vTn UA? l&e a stain; that hIs ambition
lv6 S h0ly that lt could be whispered in au
?welft ear; and at hIs Hfe may be so clean
that his mother, his sister, his wife, his child
ac? wlfhndn Tr? lits every bought and
act without a blush. But ask her if nhn win
require this perfection in her son before Ine
'W1 lH W,n him' and 8he m Answer
hlfwf d .She can; that she wi foow
ller VLmth a daIy prayer' that ln what
wi?h IS. nG 1wanders her blessing will abide
bono hiS; Tand lAial when he dies she'll hope,
JM?,bPelttllllt the world will be beter
fLrtfins "7? (From address entitled
nSJnf ,nndwellvepe? by - J' BryaT1 at Gommence
June r lfoT) ' N6braska Stat University,
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