ny 'W"T?;;wW'ffr"5fW'-r rntfgrris
The Commoner.
ISSUED WEEKLY
Entorcd at tlio PoHtofllco nt Lincoln, Nobraaka,
t Docond-claHH inuttor.
Vjf.MAM J. IlltYAN
junior mm rrnprioior
UCHAJtl) It. IXkwki.vk
ahsoujuiu senior
C'JIAJtl.ltt Wt Miiyan
I'ubllMior
Killlnrlnl IIooiiih nml HiihIhchh
Ollko, 3VU-330 Houth 12th Street
9ho Year f 1.00
fix MoiiUin CO
in ChlbB of IfMvu or
more, per year. . .75
Thrrn lUmiiliN 2J
SIiikIc Copy 05
flamplo CoplcH Froo.
Foreign Pout. C2o Extra,
fil.rilrtCHU"ri().S ran bo Ront direct to Tho Com-
Inoiior. Tlu-y can iiIho bo Hont throiiKh nownpapora
iVhtoh have advcrtlHod a clubbing rate, or through
0cal ugcnlft, whtM'u Hiib-iigantH havo boon ap-
uMiueu. am riMniitaucoH hiiouiu uo hoiu uy ijuhi-
lftlnn lnnmiu rnli .ivnunuu ix.im. . lur Itnnlr rlrnft
m Now York or Chicago. Do not Hond Individual
JlieolCH, fitaiupH or money.
HHlVFAVAliS Tho dato on your wrnppcr shows
J' ho tlmo to which your Hubscrlptlon Is paid. Thus
January in, 'in means mat payment lias neon ro
:clvcd to and Inelinllni llin tint Ihhiio of January.
11913. Two wcoIch aro rcmiiruri nftor moncv has
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mn tirrrtl
U&" .Wft.QU.
CIIANGI3 OIi1 AflimMKN SiihHnrlhni'fl roouoBtlnir
fv chango of address must glvo old as v.oll as now
uuresu.
: ADVICIt'l'IVilVr: Union will 1m fitinlRtiol imnn
ippllcatlon.
Address all communications to
THE COMMONER, Lincoln. Nob.
Woro oxpondod In trying to see that our laws
Were OnforCOd thoro would bn a morn whnlo-
Ijiaino resnet for our courts and ofllclals, and
;rnno woum unninisn. a murderer is usually
!t coward, and whllo ho has no foar of imnHftnn.
uiont, would quake at tho thought of tho ropo.
j i win uo romeniborcu that tho would-be
flUll'doror of Colonel RnnnovnU fnlinwnri
Uftjprough several statos to Bhoot him In a state
Jffhero ho know thoro was no capital punish-
pont. And again, no man will deny that a
iipan nas tno right to kill In solf-dofonso, and
feting in solf-defonso.
1 I am not in POHseSBlon Of Hin Infn vnonvAa nf
the Arizona nonitentlarv. hut T dn imnw fimf
only a few years ago the actual timo of a life-
;cimars Benionco in the territory was then 8
years. I think it may be loss latnlv. in tim
i"P0n" WllOrO OUO Of tho Hfn Hninrn frnm Mnl.
Copa said recently. "Wo aro imviuir n rinvii ne
h good time."
Some governors in llbornHnnr nrhninnic. nintm
.ho nrominn of flbrlnr wMnli a ninn,) L j.i.
'morolflll. for thnv nhnll nlitnl..' ,.. u ti
Ibe quito natural for them to crave tho raercv of
lwu uui tuuy mo vury unmercirui to the public
iwhon thoy liberate criminals, and we aro
pxiaiu uy uomg unmorcirui to the many put
Ithomsolvos in tho box with Mia nrTvi0,.Mr,,i tn
litead of tho merciful.
HOW many Of tllO loXVOP olnnn nf rm UInnM
la Arizona havo any foar of tho law, as it is
administered todav? Thov onm nnf f , .
f reward of good living, and thoy have no fear
. iiuniHiiiin?ni. xnoy might land in tho pen,
but thoro thoy would only he taught that tho
courts were very unjust that thoy did not do
wrvo what thoy wore getting, and that tho con
ditions of society made it incumbent on them
t Btoal Or kill. An a- mnn xohn lo v.
'baorvation of things in general, I think I can
. , u cloua Batnormg on tho horizon that
Will broak forth In motlncr nf inatino. i.
Ireakors, In a way that promises effectiveness
iriu umpuiuu.
Tho man that says that wmltni nnnieiimnni
SoS not deter tho murderer must look airain
!",w """ ""twia w. iuu past, bovorai states In
the union have tried to do away with it, and
;havo beon forced by tho increase of murders
;to go back to it. Italy, Spain and Prance have
all had a trial at It, and all havo been forced
so auopt n again, in ono stato crime increased
J50 per cent after abolishing capital punish-
Hanle, and many more passages of scripturo to
,,uow max. no mat sneaaetu man's blood by
;man shall his blood be shod,," if only the truth
la wanted.
It Is WOll for US to look forwnrrl tn . 1,
??? t5G,?rld 8ha11 riso t0 tho Bublimo height
fof the fulfillment of Christ's teaching of lovinir
r "oi u.o vjuiHuavoH, 10 piay and work
iBtuwujr mi mat uays uawning; but it is also
The Commoner.
quito as important that wo do not forget that
wo aro yet on earth and havo to deal with
things as thoy are today; not let tho idea of
Arizona's progressivencss force us to progress
backward by turning backward tho hands on
tho dial of time. If our public officials should
all uso their bcBt efforts toward the enforce
ment of tho laws thoy were elected to execute,
instead of tho making of new laws and forcing
their own ideas upon tho people, overriding the
laws they swore to enforce, wo would have a
right to expect better results. We may call
criminals unfortunate, we all know that environ
ment plays an "important part in shaping our
lives but tho truth still holds good that we are
tho architects of our own lives.
In my opinion, the first work of the next
legislature should he to do away with parole and
pardoning power; let no man havo the power to
thwart tho power of judge and jury, and
through them the people, as did the governor
of Arkansas a few days ago liberate nearly four
hundred criminals upon tho people in one day.
As soon as such law was passed the veto power
of tho governor should be curtailed or entirely
done away with; it is too much one man power.
Now that tho slogan has gone forth, let tho
people rule, why give one man power to keep
tho people from ruling? This one man power
is not in tho keeping with the spirit of the age.
You say what would be done in case new evi
dence is found? Let the case bo re-tried before
a court and twelve men.
This power is a relic of the past, and has
always been abused, the people always getting
tho worst of it. If the power is to go back to
tho people, let every citizen, regardless of color
or sex, understand that it is their solemn duty
to see that the laws are executed, and not set
aside by the officials who have sworn to execute
them.
Lot mo illustrate. Suppose the people by a
referendum voto enact a law and at the same
timo elect a man known to be opposed to that
law, to enforce it. In other words, suppose a
community votes dry, then elect a saloon keeper
to enforce the law. The rule of the people is
right. It is the right principle of democratic
government. The veto power of president or
governor is tho one man power. Tho pardon
ing power is greater than the voice of the
peoplo as expressed by all the courts. Let us do
away with both and let the people rule.
Mr. Bryan has done the country an invalu
able service in his continual advocacy of the
rule of the people. His next duty is to in
struct them in law enforcements.
Tho wisest utterance of President Wilson was
when ho said that if every man in the United
Statos would read one chapter of the Bible each
day and. strive to follow its teachings most of
the .trouble of the nation would disappear or
words to that effect.
I close with a quotation from tho Editorial
Review, from the pen of the bishop of Albany,
Bishop Doane, and let mo add, that of all the
states in this union, the abolition of capital
punishment in Arizona would be most danger
ous. Divided from a people who aro making
murder and crime a profession only by an
imaginary line, it would be an invitation to
Mexican murderers to como to Arizona, where
their breed of unfortunates will be welcomed.
Bishop Doano said:
Genesis IX, 5-6 plainly sanctions tho death
penalty for murder. "And surely your blood of
your lives will I require; at tho hand of every
boast will I require it and at the hand of every
man's brothor will I require the life of man.
who Bheddeth man's blood, by man shall his
blood, be shed, for in tho image of God made He
man."
It is a somewhat curious confirmation of the
position that in tho four states where capital
punishment has been abolished, murders have
steadily increased. In Michigan, Iowa, Colo
rado and Rhode Island, the legislatures restored
tho death penalty after a short timo, owing to
the marked Increase of crimes of Violence. In
Michigan this increase was as high as twenty-
?8?2llaSdreid87PGeritCOnt' and in Iowa bet
1872 and 1876 it was very rapid. In New
York stato it was restored, and a voluminoua
fffl?Jtt0th0,,Wnture set forth ttHSSE
tions that called to a reverting to the death
penalty Abroad, tho abolition has been fol
lowed by increased crime. In Switzerland
Austria and othor European countries the tem
P?wtfce readoption of the earlier
i Is' u Amy PInIon' childish to confute tho
raiiacy that tho commandments, "Thou ahau
not kill" and "Thou shalt do no murder" con
tradict the old Mosaic law. I really think it
VOLUME 13, NUMBER 14
is time wo contented ourselves with the fact
that, whatever theories we may have, where
there is a single plain revelation of God's Taw,
we may be absolutely certain to find - no con
tradictions of it in any other portion of tho
Bible, and that only harm can como from our
disregard of it. If a person attempts to tako
away my life, I have, doubtless, a right to pro
tect myself, and if I can not secure myself but
by taking the life of my assailant, I have tho
right to take it. If men had the right to form
society for mutual benefit and security, they
had the right to punish other persons who
would overthrow it.
There is nothing more plainly taught In the
Bible than capital punishment. Moses' said that
"The murderer shall die." Christ did not con
tradict that law in a single word or act, but
taught that the "wages of sin is death." It is
certain that Solomon had three murderers
executed during the building of the temple, and
it seems to me that, with these facts beforo us,
tho man who would do away with capital
punishment must consider himself a greater
man than Moses, a' wiser man than Solomon, and
a better man than Christ. He must have read
history with his best eye closed.- "Thou shalt
not kill" certainly does not mean that a mur
derer shall not bo executed.
A POPULAR MOVE
Everywhere President Wilson's "six-power
loan order" is accepted by the rank and file of
the American people. The "Springfield (Mass.)
Republican prints the following editorial:
"One can at least admire Huntington Wilson's
stubborn fidelity to the 'six-power loan' after it
had been repudiated not only by the government
but virtually by the New York bankers and out
spokenly by the New York Tribune. The Tribune
is an opposition paper, if there is one today in
the country. Criticism of -the president's posi
tion regarding the loan might have been ex
pected from so consistent a supporter of the
Taft administration. Yet the Tribune said
recently:
" 'The American people will uphold President
Wilson in refusing to continue the government's
support of further participation by American
bankers. Public opinion has greatly changed
since the plan of American participation was
adopted. The partnership has become irksome
because the political character of the enterprise
became apparent when powers that would have
to borrow the money which they proposed to
lend insisted upon being admitted among the
international group of lenders. Then, too, the
resentment of China against the terms which
the international syndicate demanded has tended
to make the people of this country reluctant to
s .n Y1. the enerprise, especially as tho
efforts of China to establish popular government
have deepened the sympathy felt here for her.'
The popularity of the president's attitude
on tho loan question could receive no stronger
testimonial than that. It Is, apparently, the late
assistant secretary of state against the American
people. If, now, the president finds it possible
MfnanLformalecognitlon t0 tne Chinese re
public, the country will greet the act with ap
proval practically unanimous."
FRIENDS
Ralph Waldo Emerson: I awoke this morn
ng with devout thanksgiving tor my frlS
lhG Hd, and ihe new' Sha11 I not call God the
hisarffts? WWh?Ha,ly Bh,rth himself tone in
and wt "i m n!?f S0Clety' X embe solitude,
tlm IfL l ,nV grateful as not to see
om 1 to ml7nd the nWe-minded, as
irom timo to time they pass my Kate Whn
hears me, who understands me becomes mine
a possession for all time. Nor is nature fift
poor but she gives me this joy several times'
and thus we weave social thread! ofoVown
a new web of relations; and as many thoughts
bDy lUnTbynstfndStr iatG a? "
creation andioi.11 a n!W world of own
on a tradmonnrv l,nf r BZn and pilgrims
to me unsouebt S?,?- My frlends nave como
to me UnS0Ugut- The ereat God gave them
CHINA'S GRATITUDE
Bon?eaSton tafS? eff,ect of President WH-
thradlinhisVaUoSndent Stand taken
titSietneieKdter8 o "dollar diplomacy" are en-
4
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