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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 1912)
'T'pwpwjViV'f' v" nt ,1. The Commoner. VOBTJME 12, NUMBER dir wa 'K fl HTO w SHIT ' . lJr;S . xr Sea Girt, N. J., Oct. 19, 1912. To the Voters of America: I am glad to have an opportunity to state very simply and directly why I am seeking to bo elected president of the United States. I feel very deeply that this is not. an ambition a man should entertain for his own sake.' . He must seok to serve a cause, and must know very clearly what cause it is he is seeking to serve. The cause I am enlisted in lies very plain to my view: The government of the United States, as now bound by the policies which have become characteristic of republican administra tion in recent years, is not free to serve the whole people impartially, and it ought to be set free. It has been tied up, whether deliberately or merely by unintentional development, w'ith particular interests, which have Used 'their power, both to control the government and to control the indusfrial development of the coun try. It must be freed from such entanglements and alliances. Until it is freed, it can not serve the people as a whole. Until it is freed, it can not undertake any program of social and economic betterment, but must be checked and thwarted at every turn by its patrons and masters. In practically every speech that I make, I put at the front of what I have to say the question of tho tariff and the question of the trusts, but not because of any thought of party strategy, because I believe the solution of these questions to lie at the very heart of the bigger question, whether the government shall be free or not. The ' government is not free because it has grafted special favors to particular classes by moans of the tariff. The men. to whom thes,o special favors have been granted have formed great combinations by which to control enter prise and determine ; the, prices of .cornnjodities.' T,hey could 'not have 'done thiB had it 'not1, been for the tariff. No party, therefore, which does riot propose to take away these special favors find prevent monopoly absolutely in tho markets of the country sees even "so iuuch as 'the most ele mentary part of tho method by which the gov ernment is to be set free. The control to which tariff legislation has led, both in the field of politics and in the field of business, is what has produced the most odious feature of our present political situation, namely, the absolute domination of powerful bosses. Bosses can not exist without business alliances. With them politics is hardly dis tinguishable from business. Bosses maintain their control because they are allied with 'men who ,wish their assistance in order to get con tracts, in order to obtain special legislative ad vantages, in order to prevent reforms which will interfere with monopoly or With their enjoy ment of special exemptions. Merely as political leaders, not backed by money, hot supported by securely intrenched special interests, "bosses would be entirely manageable and comparatively powerless. By freeing the- government, there fore, we at the same time break the power of the boss. He trades, lie does not govern. He arranges, he does not lead. He sets the stage for what the people are to do; he does not act as their agent or servant, but as their, director. For. him the-real business of. politics Is done under cover. "The same means" that will set tlie government free from the influences which now constantly control it would set industry, free. The enter prise and initiative of all Americans would be substituted for the enterprise and initiative of a small gr6up of them. Economic democracy would take the place of monopoly and selfish management. American industry would have a new buoyancy of hope, a new energy, a new variety. With the restoration of freedom would come the restoration of (opportunity. Moreover, an administration would at last be set up in Washington, and a legislative regime, under which real programs of , social ,better mqnt .could be undertaken as they can not now. The !govetjimeint.mgntt be. serviceable for many thihs,,Tt''miht.'asBist In, a hundred 'ways to safeguard the lives and the health and promote the" comfort and the' happiness, of the people; but it can' do these things only if its actions be dis interested, only if they respond to public opinion only 'if those who lead government Bee the country as a whole, feel a deep thrill of intimate sympathy with every class and every interest in "it, knowliow to hold an even hand and listen to men of every sort and quality and origin, in taking counsel what is to be done. Interest must not fight against interest. . There must be a com mon understanding and a free action all to gether. The reason that I feel justified in appealing to the voters of this country ' to support the democratic party at this critical juncture in Us affairs Is that the leaders of neither of the other parties propose to attack tho problem of a free government at its heart. Neither proposes to make a fundamental change in the policy of the government with regard to tariff duties. It is with both of them in respect of the tariff merely a question of more or less, merely a question of lopping off a little here and amending a little there; while with the democrats it is a ques tion of principle. Their object is to cut every special favor out, and cut it out just as fast as it can be cut out without upsetting the business processes of the country. Neither does either of the other parties propose seriously to disturb the supremacy of the trusts. Their only remedy is to acceptthe trusts and regulate them, not withstanding the fact that most of the trusts are so constructed' as to insure high prices, because they are not based upon efficiency but upon mo nopoly. ' Their success lies in control. The com petition of more efficient competitors, not loaded down by the debts created when the combina tions were made, would embarrass and conquer them. The trusts want the protection of the government, and are likely to get it if either the republican or the so-called "progressive" party prevails. ' Surely this is a cause. Surely the questions of the pending election, loolced at from this point of view, rise into' a cause. They are not merely the- debates of a casual' party contest. They are the Issues of life and death to agnation which must be free in order to bet strong. " What wili. patriotic men do? WOODROW WILSON. ROOSEVELT VS. PACIFIC COAST Extracts from President Roosevelt's message of December 4, 1906: "I recommend to the congress that an act be passed specifically providing for the naturaliza tion of Japanese who come here intending to become American citizens. "One of the great embarrassments attending the performance of our international obligations is the fact that the statutes of the United States are entirely inadequate. They fail to give to the national government sufficiently ample power through United States courts and by the use of the army and navy to protect aliens In the rights secured to them under solemn treaties which are the law of the land. I therefore earnestly recommend that the criminal and civil statutes of the United States be so amended and added to as to enable the president acting for the United States government which is re sponsible in our national relations to enforce the rights of aliens under treaties. Even as the law now is something can be done under the federal government toward this end and in the matter now before me affecting tho Japanese everything that it is in my power to do will bo done mid all of the forces, military and civil of - the United States which I may lawfully employ will bo so employed." Extract from President Roosevelt's message as shown by the Congressional Record, Vol. 41, part 1, page 491. December 18, 1906: "I authorized and directed Secretary Metcalf to state that if there was failure to protect per sons and property, then the cntiro power of the federal government within the limits of the con stitution would be used promptly and vigorously to force tho observance of our treaty and tho supreme law of the land, which treaty guaran teed to Japanese residents free and. perfect pro tection; and to this end everything in my power would bo done, and all tho forces of tho United States, both civil and military, which I could lawfully employ would bo employed." GOVERNOR WILSON ON A CAMPAIGN YARN Governor Wilson has issued the following statement which will be of general interest: "My attention has been called to the statement that I .have become a member of the Knights of Columbus. This is, of course, not true. I have not been asked to join the order, either as a regular or as an honorary member and am not eligible because I am not a Catholic. I must warn my friends everywhere that statements of this kind are all campaign inventions, devised to serve a special purpose. This particular state ment has been circulated in selected quarters to create the impression that I am seeking to identify myself politically with the great Catholic body. In other quarters all sorts of stories are being set afloat to prove that. I am hostile to the Catholics. It is a very petty and ridiculous business. If all these fabrications could be brought together they would make very amusing reading. They would leave a very flat taste in tho mouth for they would entirely neutralize one another and -prove that I was nothing and everything. I am a normal man, following ray own natural course of thought, playing no favor ites and trying to treat every creed and class with impartiality and respect." Tiv TOnnoovoH Av1ilAnt.lv thinks thdt ho .'is th .Mobcb to load the people out of bondage, puUhet has mistaken the call. He has mistaken a steel trust furnace for a "burning "bush" it was not the Lord's voico, but Perkins1 that he heard. THE CAMPAIGN CLOSED 'We are within one week of the election and, so far as outward appearance goes the democratic party has gained continuously since the Balti more convention. Governor Wilson has shown remarkable judgment in the 'advice he has given as to organization work and in his speeches. He has more than justified the expectations of his friends. Governor Marshall has added to his reputation as a campaigner and rendered great assistance on the stump. Governor Wilson has focused attention upon jtwo issues, the tariff issue and the trust issue,, both of which empha size the importance of taking the government out of the hands of thoBe who use it to secure privileges and favors. The polls all show that Mr. Wilson has extraordinary strength In the r .colleges, and his support among laboring men ! lias ' inorAftRAil Jin thA rnnnrd nf Via -nnWi-'! govejnpr has become known. At this time no one can say-with any cer ,Ytatnty hich wing' of the republican party , has the. most -feathers on .it . At first it seemed as if Mr. Roosevelt might lead, but there has been a strengthening of the Taft lines during the last month. The deplorable attack upon Mr. Roose velt temporarily checked the Taft fight, but tho wound is healing rapidly and the effect of the murderous attempt will be less than it would have been had it come nearer the election or had it been more serious. The disclosures as to the campaign funds has weakened both Mr. Taft and Mr. Roosevelt for they throw light upon the revolting system by which tho predatory interests have sought to control the government through secret contri butions. The panic argument has not frightened the voters as much as the republican leaders ex pected it to. This is due in part to the fact that the scare haB been worn threadbare by use in four previous campaigns and partly because a voter can not, even if frightened, hope to defeat Mr. Wilson with either of the republican candi dates. . , I see no reason to reduce the estimate wnica I made at the close of the Baltimore convention, namely, that Mr. WilBon will have a Pl"""1. of 2,000,000 votes. It is more likely to ue greater than that, than less. MR. ROOSEVELT RECOVERING The Commoner congratulates Colonel nf' velt and the country on his rapid recovery aim welcomes him back to the arena of politics iu which he has for so long been so picturesque figure. Health to him. May no harm befall. NOT FROM ABRAHAM The Southern Lumberman prints the f110: ing: Roosevelt gays he got most of the best o his policies from Lincoln. Many thought J meant President Lincoln, when all the wan he was just referring to Lincoln, Neb. Mr. Taft is weaker than Mr. Roosevelt in some states and In others Mr. Roosevelt is the weaKei. The weaker faction should help Mr. Wilson at feat the other faction. , " -4-1 9 : l.J"7 ' A Mr. Ryan 8ay that hov would have i Butoacribeo to help nominate any one EXCEPT MR. BR. Thanks a,wfulljv ' j j'jftVff ; - XX ' 'JMM 1 I 1 1 i' ' 'l . y , l . ylH xi K. .!':.,(.. :g8;WAy,i& lli.,-