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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (April 22, 1910)
w. T APRIL 22, 1910 The Commoner. - GURR8NT T? I""'t?u-s wj5?j?"V' "wiwT"r WJim '' - '" iNirfi .!' -i.-JJ', &t . ORGS w "w-. . im m ' I'll1 in r,f---y ;vttvhw3. m & imJ fun,, t J?M,ia34w,wIM'lT!Mia&feiiiiiMi.ii - ,,rr. 'as "L y i-fcTrr .fnBHbBaiBr fp ji . . u'iihb Bn( a i"" m. - in lb i .tr- - w IB n n IBM 7: vip? M . t A SPECIAL ELECTION was held in Lincoln, Neb., April 11 to determine whether the city should re-admit saloons. One year ago Lincoln by a vote of 349 abolished the saloon. Then a number of saloons were established in the town of Havelock about four miles from Lincoln. During the past year the police of Lincoln have been greatly bothered by intoxicated men going from Havelock to Lincoln. The people of Have lock also grew weary of having their town made the headqarters for drunks. On April 5 an election was held in Havelock and the people of the town by a majority of eighty abolished the saloons. This victory greatly encouraged the temperance workers in Lincoln. The saloon people made a desperate fight. They held meet ings in the city auditorium bringing to Lincoln Clarence Darrow of Chicago, Mayor David E. Rose of Milwaukee, and Charles A. Towne of New York. The temperance people also held large meetings. The result of the election April 11 was 5,208 dry to 4,273 wet, giving a dry majority of 935. This was a marked gain over the dry majority of one year ago. THE LINCOLN, Nebraska Journal, referring to the contest, said: "The total vote of 9,481 was the heaviest vote ever polled in the city of Lincoln, and more than 2,000 larger than that of a year ago. The Taft-Bryan total vote in 19 OS was 9,177. The election was acknowl edged by all to have been the most strenuous ever conducted in the city on any issue. The organizations of both sides were perfected to a high degree, the drys plainly outdoing the wets in their methods and the activity of the workers. The drys used more than forty automobiles and aily number of carriages and other vehicles. The wets wfere' shbrt on automobiles, having not nearly so 'many, but using every hack, cab and carriage that was for hire in the city. The drys had a thorough organization in every polling precinct in the city. They had challengers in every polling place, each supplied with lists of those who were subject to challenge. The wets on the other hand made no pretense of an or ganization in some precincts. The wets were extremely confident Up to the noon hour. Then the scarcity of their vote in the extremely wet precincts as compared with that In the dry pre cincts alarmed them. They redoubled, their efforts during the afternoon, the result showing in the rapidly increasing vote on the wet side and the tremendous stream of applicants for cer tificates. No trouble resulted in any precinct and it was said when the polls closed that it was as orderly an election as was ever conduct ed in Lincoln, which has had the name of hold ing well-regulated elections." INDIANA DEMOCRATS held a rousing ban quet at Indianapolis on Jefferson's birthday. The Associated Press report follows: "Six hun dred democrats of Indiana entertained promi nent leaders of the party from other states at a banquet in celebration of the anniversary of the birthday of Thomas Jefferson tonight. John W. Kern, the democratic candidate for vice pres ident in the last national election, introduced the speakers, and in presenting Governor Thomas R. Marshall of Indiana, said: 'He is a man that has made good to the extent that we think he could be called to a higher position.' Responding to Mr. Kern, Governor Marshall de clared that he was a 'candidate for no office un der the sun.' 'Let the future take care of itself,' Bald Governor Marshall. 'I believe that a man that seeks by trick or scheme to be nominated for president of the United States is not fit to filL that office.' The reading of a congratula tory letter from Governor Judson Hannon of Ohio, was received with cheers and great ap plause also greeted the name of William Jen nings Bryan, when Mr. Kern read a letter from him in which Mr. Bryan said that President JFaft, in his Lincoln day address, had endorsed the quantitative theory of money.' The pro gram of speeches follows: James Hamilton Lewis of Chicago, 'The Nation's Foreign Policy;' "John J. Lentz of Ohio, 'Jefferson, the Radical;' 'Joseph W. Folk of Missouri, 'Progressive De- mocracy;' William Sulzor of New York, 'Demo cratic Opportunity;' Governor Thomas R. Mar shall of Indiana, 'Evolution and Departure from State's Rights;' Lafayette Penco of Colorado, 'The Income Tax Struggle.' " THE EDITOR of the Atchison Globe directs attention to a temperance lesson from every day life. He says: "The decision of the Cin cinnati baeeball club not to sign players who drink marks another long step in the cause of temperance; longer, perhaps, than when a state goes dry. Only a few men make up a single major league baseball team, but the influence is wider than that, wider than the whole league, or all major leagues. It is as wide as baseball, and that includes the country, particularly tho young men and boys of the country, of whom drunkards or decent citizens are made. Of course, the best ball players do not drink, but, because his season is long, the ball player is less restricted in his habits and training than any other athlete. He is allowed to eat what he likes, to smoke when off duty, and hereto fore ho has been allowed to drink. If he chose, and some good ones have, to eat, or drink, or smoke his head off, he did it, and lost his job. Booze has sent almost as many ball players to tho junk pile as old age, and has sent them a good deal quicker. But that hasn't frightened the young men who aspire to be ball players, or who aspire to other positions of trust and honor. They can drink or leave it alone. But the fact that they must leave It alone to get the position will help, and that qualification is being made in more and moro lines every day. Drinking is a fool habit, and costs a good deal more than the money paid out." FOR SEVERAL days prior to the holding of the Washington, D. C, banquet newspaper dispatches were full of predictions that Mr. Bryan's letter (printed in last week's issue of The Commoner) would not be read because some of the leaders did not agree with some of the things Mr. Bryan had written. The let ter was finally read, so the newspaper dis patches say, "to the banqueters who remained until a late hour," at 2 o'clock in tho morning. One dispatch says: "Congressman Clayton read the letter from Bryan written from San Paulo, Brazil, jto the banqueters who remained until a late hour. When he read, quoting from Bryan, 'I take it for granted that your gathering will not adjourn without tho adoption of a resolu tion urging the ratification by all the states of the income tax amendment to the federal con stitution,' Clayton asked if there was a man in tho room who opposed it, to speak now or for ever hold his peace. Representative Rufus Hardy of Texas demanded that a show of hands be called, which was done. Only one man voted in the negative, and he announced that ho did bo because the tax was unnecessary. Clayton then declared that Bryan's suggestion had been carried." The speakers at the Washington ban quet were Champ Clark, Representative Harri son of New York, Senator Shively of Indiana, and John Temple Graves of Hearst's New York American. Mr. Graves said that Mr. Hearst and his independence league would come into . the democratic party If it would become a "party of responsibility and of principle." COMMENTING ON the criticisms of Mr. Bryan's letter by certain democratic lead ers at Washington, the Denver Times prints this editorial: "It takes some ingenuity to twist William J. Bryan's Jeffersonian letter of yester day into anything of 111 nature. Naturally a man who has been the leading and best abused exponent of certain ideas of public policy, and who has gone oftener to sublime defeat than any other citizen, must feel a thrill of joy when ho observes his victorious opponents adopting his theories. And lie ought to bo permitted to call attention to the case without offending public sensibility. It Is the only way his triumph can express Itself. Taft and the republican party have the same right to adopt the ideas which Bryan expounded, as that eloquent American had to derive tho same ideas from Aristotle, Adam Smith and James B. Weaver. All de veloped truth is tho common horitago of tho raco. And tho right to make test and experi ment of policy Is an integral part of our right to ovolvo. No doubt -Mr. Bryan is amply satisfied with the general conversion of the people to many of his pronouncements, oven though somo other candidate always happens to be 'next' when authority to administer the truth is being conforrod by popular will. He is only another illustration of the groat law of average. One man theorizes and another practices. One soldier fights and falls in tho front rank, so that another may sweep on to victory. There is nothing of pain or humiliation in this to tho real philosopher or patriot. Indeed it Is tho only reward to which ho may aspire with any expectancy; for it is the almost universal rule. Mr. Bryan has a continuing mission if he will perform it with tho cheerfulness and courage which have heretofore characterized his efforts. He has every right to be a mentor to his party; and, through that party of suggestion, to in fluence In largo degree tho party of administra tion. And in this view of him, Bryan Is both useful and popular. Urging the domocracy to unified opposition to truBts and tho trust-breeding schedules of tariff; there may be a gradual conversion of tho republican machine to that gospel. And this ought to bo moro consoling than to gain tho presidency." AN "INDEPENDENT refiner" has written to the New York World an Interesting letter relating to tho "Rockefeller foundation." This letter follows: "Evon the World, which usually digs bolow tho surface for Its estimate of human actions, has words of commendation for John D. Rockefeller's new incorporation of himself for philanthropic purposes. I ask you, there fore, what word It has for me. I am one of the submerged foundation stonos upon which the Rockefeller foundation rests. Upon tho bones of my petroleum refining business and fair super structure of this loudly acclaimed work of beneficence Is built. I invested all of my own money and the money of trusting friends in the construction of a petroleum refinery upon tho Standard Oil company's publicly made assurance that it did no business in tho state in which I purposed to refine and sell oil. When the re finery was built and in working order the Stand ard Oil company, which was really in the state, by predatory methods and unfair competition drove me out of business. The entire invest ment was a loss. My own reputation for busi ness ability was ruined. I am not alone as a foundation stone of the Rockefeller foundation. There are many others. But mine is, I think, tho most newly placed stono in the gruesome pile. I am reduced to actual privation and great mental distress, while Rockefeller, whoso mon opoly first deceived mo, receives tho plaudits of the world for his great benevolence. I -sat In my pew in church yesterday and heard my pastor praiso the wonderful Christian love and charity of Rockefeller! What word has th World for me?" PUBLICITY A house committee has favorably reported the bill introduced by Representative McCall, of Massachusetts, providing for publicity of cam paign contributions. A desperate effort was made by certain repubi'can leaders to bury the measure and it mayjflfc be doubted that equally desperate efforts wilnft made to defeat it in tho senate if not in the house. The Philadelphia Evening Times, referring to McCall's measure, says: "It is to be hoped that the democrats in senate and houso are In earnest and will lose no opportunity to procure the enactment of an effective statute. They should have the help of every republican, progressive or regular, who has a sincere desire to see politics In this coun try put upon a higher plane." Failing to defeat the measure openly it will be amended so as to make it of no practical service, provided republican leaders have theli way. Democrats, however, should persistently push, this measure. :