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The Commoner,
WILLIAM J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR
VOL. II, NO. 4
Lincoln, Nebraska, February 3, 1911
Whole Number 524
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New Jersey Turns Toward the Light
New Jersey, commonly called the mother of
trusts, turned her face toward the light when
ahe elected James B. Martino to the United
(States senate.
Mr. Martine Is one of America's stalwart
..democrats. For years he has battled In New
fersey and against great odds for democratic'
)rinciples. He Is a man of real ability and
Ijpublic interests will be safe so far as he is
joncerned.
y. But beyond the importance of electing to pub-
llic office such men as Martine a great principle
Iwas at stake in the New Jersey senatorial con
gest. Popular government itself was on trial.
artine had submitted his name to the demo-
iratic primary and had received a majority of
the votes cast at that primary. James Smith,
ir., supported by the special interests sought
persuade the legislature to refuse to elect
r. Martine, but Governor-elect Wilson demand
ed that the members of the legislature do their
luty in the light of the results of the primary
ilection. Wilson and Martine fought shoulder
to shoulder and the result was one of the most
iqtable victories for popular government yet
worded in the political history of any state.
f,It required great courage on Governor W1I-
m's part to take tne course he adopted in New
Jersey. He was reminded that Mr. Smith and
tho influences he represented had helped elect
Governor Wilson. Nor was he permitted to for
get that certain newspapers and periodicals that
are very close to special Interests were even then
urging Governor Wilson's nomination to tho
highest office within the people's gift.
But Governor Wilson held resolutely to his
course and from every section of the country
the thanks of men in all political parties aro
given to the New Jersey governor for the good
work ho has accomplished.
Undoubtedly Governor Wilson knows more
about practical politics today than he did when
James Smith, Jr., and other New Jersey cor
poratlonists gave him the gubernatorial nomina-
tion and held before his eyes the tempting hope
N for the presidency. Ho knows now that many
crimes are committed in the name of conserva
tism and that these special intorests often use
good men to accomplish their bad purpose. Ho
knows now that the way to preserve popular
government in America is to keep tho govern
ment close to the people and keep special in
terests away from the machinery of government.
If Governor Wilson had known in 1896 what
he- knows today he would have fought shoulder
to shoulder with the democrats of that year,
rather than with tho Palmer and Buckner forces
that wero working as aides to tho republican
party.
In tho name of every lover of popular gov
ernment The Commoner thanks Governor Wilson
for his patriotic efforts. It congratulates New
Jorsoy upon having sent to tho United States
senate such a man as James B. Martino and it
expresses tho hopo that from now on the fine
effort of which New Jersey's governor is so
capable may be given on tho side of thoso demo
crats who Insist that tho way to win a demo
cratic victory worth having Is to keep the party
free from corporation influences and to wrlto
Its platforms in harmony with tho heartbeats
of tho people who bellovo In ""equal rights to
all and special privileges to none."
Tho first contest will come In tho effort of
tho special interests to control tho democratic
national convention of 1912. Lot us hopo that
In that great contest Governor Wilson will bo
found speaking tho samo languago ho spoko dur
ing tho New Jersey senatorial contest and fight
ing tho samo battle for the upbuilding of a
democratic party that shall bo free from tho
domination of special interests and of real ser
vice in the effort to perpetuate popular govern
ment in America.
degressive Republicans
The declaration of principles issued 'by" the
irogfessiy'o .republicans ought to serve as a note
warning to those who would have thedemo-
ratic party reverse itself and take its position
?on tne very ground, wnere tne repuDncan
irty is now tottering. The republican party
as been so well disciplined and has been so
lenallv successful so far as office victories are
p :. xi. t ,l r, ,.,;.i
jncerneu mat it requires coiisiueramo courage
r one who has been ranked as a loyal repub-
Ican to rebel against his party's program. In
meir declaration these progressive republicans
iy:
'Popular government In America has been
iwarted and progressive legislation, strangled
y the special Interests which control caucuses,
lelegates, conventions and party organizations
ind through control of the machinery of govern
ment dictate nominations and platforms, elect
iidniinistrations, legislatures, representatives in
songress and united States senators and control
cabinet officers.
"Under existing conditions legislation in tho
mblic interest has been baffled and defeated.
?his is evidenced by the long struggle to secure
taws, but partially effective, for the control of
railway rates and services, the revision of the
iriff in the interest of the producer and con-
CONTENTS
NEW JERSEY TURNS TOWARD THE .
LIGHT
PROGRESSIVE REPUBLICANS
THE DENVER PLATFORM
JUDGES SALARIES
JUDGE WILLIAMS OF OKLAHOMA SUS
TAINED THE "PASSING OF BRYAN" A REJECT
ED MANUSCRIPT
SMILE THAT WON'T COME OFF
SUGGESTED LEGISLATION, BY SENATOR
FRANCIS G. NEWLANDS
CURRENT TOPICS
HOME DEPARTMENT
DEMOCRATIC NEWSPAPERS ON PLUTO
CRATIC ORGANIZATION
WHETHER COMMON OR NOT
WASHINGTON NEWS ,
NEWS OF THE WEEK : '
Burner, statutes dealing with trusts and combin
ations based onspjyyodj economic, principles,, as
""applied 8"M"69eni industrial and commercial
conditions, a wise, comprehensive an impartial
reconstruction of th'e banking and monetary
laws, the conservation of coal, oil, gas, timber,
water powers and other natural resources be
longing to tho people and for tho enactment of
all legislation solely for the common good.
"Just In proportion as popular government
has in certain, states superseded the delegate
convention system and the people have as
sumed" control of the machinery of government,
has government become responsive to the popu
lar will and progressive legislation been
secured."
The reforms for which they intend to fight
are practically the reforms for which democrats
have battled for, lo, these many years. Is it
not strange, then that at the very moment when
there are on every hand signs that thoughtful
republicans are turning toward democratic doc
trine it is seriously proposed that democrats
surrender their party into the control of the
very influences that have wrecked tho republi
can party the very Influences against which
LaFollette and his followers are contending?
JDoes anyone believe that it would be "good
"politics" for the democratic party to surrender
its, principles and abandon its high purpose at
the very moment when those principles are be
coming popular with the rank and file of all
parties?
Surely the reorganizes of 1912, like tho re-,
organizers of 1904, are' proposing to lead the
democratic party Into a ditch.
WHAT NEXT?
Will the National Bankers' Association, at its
next meeting, denounce the bank guaranty sys
tem as it did just before tho election of 1908?
Or will it read the handwriting on the wall and
prepare for a national guaranty system? Every
certificate of deposit ought to be as good as a
government bond and the bankers ought to
have been the first to advocate the plan. Had
they joined In this effort two years ago they
would not now be worrying about tho postal
savings banks. With guaranteed banks postal
savings banks would be unnecessary.
THE SLEEPER AWAICGS
"You're a liar," said the colonel; and then
they knew that,, consciousness had returned.
Louis F. Post's Tho Public.
The-rBenver: Platform
In former issues reference has been made to
tho planks on Cannonism and tho tariff; below
will be found tho plank on the trusts:
"A private monopoly is Indefonsiblo and In
tolerable; we therefore favor tho vigorous en
forcement of tho criminal law against all guilty
trust magnates and officials and demand the en
actment of such additional legislation as may
be necessary to make it Impossible for a private
monopoly to exist in the United States. Among
the national remedies, we hereby specify three:
First, a law preventing a duplication of direc
tors among competing corporations; second, a
license system which will, without abridging the
right of each state to create corporations, or its
right to regulate as it will foreign corporations
doing business within its limits, make it neces
sary for a manufacturing or trading corporation
engaged in interstate commerce to take out a
federal license before it shall be permitted to
control as much as twenty per cent of the pro
duct in which it deals, the license to protect tho
public from watered stock and to prohibit the
control by such corporation of more than fifty
per cent of the total amount of any product con
sumed in tho United States, and, third, a law
compelling such licensed corporations to sell to
all purchasers in all parts of the country on tho
same terms, after making due allowance for cost
of transportation."
This plank has the unique distinction of be
"ing the first to attack the principle of private
monopoly. Other parties have denounced the
ABUSES of monopolies and demanded the en
forcement of the criminal law but this plank,
substantially the same in this respect in three
democratic platforms, 1900, 1904 and 1908,
declares a private monopoly to be "Indefensible
and Intolerable." The law distinguishes be
tween domestic animals and. those which aro
ferocious by nature; the former can run at largo
unless shown to bo dangerous, while those
FEROCIOUS BY NATURE aro assumed to be
dangerous. The same distinction exists between
ordinary corporations, regulated by competition,
and monopolies that have destroyed competition.
The ordinary corporation Is ASSUMED to be
harmless; it can run at large unless shown to be
dangerous. But the trust is FEROCIOUS BY
NATURE; it should be PRESUMED to bo
dangerous. We do not wait until a lion kills
some one before wo Insist upon its being caged;
no more should we wait until we can provo
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