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The Cdmmoiir
VOL. 15, NO. 5
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Up.
The Republican
Candidate
'.Tho republican papers arc giving an increas
ing amount of space to the discussion of tho
.availability of republican candidates. It is a
difficult situation wlrich tho G. 0. P. leaders have
to meet and it is interesting to note tho diligence
with which they seek somepne who can promise
t sucqess. They would gladly givo a largo reward
' for an "in hoc signo vinces." Just now they
,aro carefully weighing tho relatlvo popularity
of candidates but so far they have found apoth
ecary scales sufficient. Tho trouble with tho re
' publican party is that it is divided not in the
iniddld as it was in 1912, but still divided to such
! an extent that agreement upon a satisfactory
candida.to is a matter of great difficulty. Among
those Who still call theniselves republicans there
are two1 elements tho standpatters and the pro
gressives. The progressives might be still fur
' ther divided into NOMINAL and real progres
sives; A nominal progressive may be defined as
a republican who is in favor of any progressive
pojicy that tho republican party will stand for,
but is for the republican pariy whether it stands
toi; any progressive policies or not. The stand
' jitters have taken the measure of the nomiiial
progressives and will make little effort to, sugar
, .'66at tho pill which is to be administered. The
, ial progressives those who put principle flrst
and refuse to follow any "party that is not pro
gressive can not take kindly in fact can not
takeat all to the plan which the republican
leaders, are formulating. The real progressive
. ,,ls pleased with President Wilson, and prefers
, .iiisidnid of democracy to standpat republicanism.
V r,t Np.,one who is half awake can be ignorant of
i' the .fact that the republican party, as an organ
Jzatjion, is still the party of plutocracy. If it is
. .successful In regaining control of the govern
ment, it will go back to a tariff higher than the
. ,pnft which existed before the democratic party
,.,camo in; If entrusted with power It will, at the
,.rear)iest,oppQr,tunity, turn ttho entire federal ,re-
servo system oVqr to the wall street magnates
. t.a" very easy maUer for a president elected by
.Tall street and obedient, to Wall street. If the
republican party is returned to .povjer the trusts
will again be invited to spread a Belshazzar's
feast" at the expense of the public. The leaders
of the republican party" are Bourbon to the back
' bone they never learn. They have neither- tlie
" desire nor the capacity for reform; they are
chained to their idols. '
"'7 Already the old slogans aro being repeated,
' "chief among Which is "business." While this
" id 'the Intoxication that brought the republican
' 'pkrty to the verge of delirium tremens, the hold
,'pf the hahit is still 'unbroken. As in 1896, it
will be necessary for the democratic party to call
attention to the gross misconception the repub
' licari leaders have of the definition of a "business
man." It will be necessary to appeal again to
,the pride of the producers of the country and to.
call upon them to assert their right to be count
ed ' among the business men of the land. A
"business man's candidate," according to stand
pat republican leaders, is a man -whose sym-
' pathies are with the whales and against the rest
of the fish, who, as president, would run the
government "wide open," that is, for the benefit
"of -big exploiters. None other need apply at the
" RooWPenrose-Gannon- headquarters.
W. J. BRYAN.
law, although there aro other provisions, such
as the prphibition of the employment of minord
or women; the sale of liquor to minors or to
drunkards, etc.
The legislature has taken a step in the right
direction. The new law is not only good in itself
but it will make easier the next step which can
not long' be delayed, namely, the entire prohibi
tion of the manufacture and sale of liquor in the
state.
Lloyd George is authority -for the statement
that many English workmen loVe their beer bet
ter than they do their country, and refuse tp
come to the support "df England in her hour of
need by abjuring the use of that which prevents
them from turning out adequate supplies of 'mu
nitions of wan Before Americans' grow indig
nant over this attitude of these English work
ers, however, they should take note of the fact
that in every city and state where the question
of prohibition is an issue practically every de
fender of the saloon can be counted upon to
abandon party leaders whom he has patriotically
followed for years, and a party that represents
every other principle in which he believes when
the command tp desert is given by John Barley
corn. Those who place booze above everything
else as a campaign issue can not fairly call un
patriotic the British navy yard workman who re
fuses to. abandon booze long enough to repel an
invader.
Big Business which is also in Big Politics is
licking its chops expectantly. It has been read
ing the interviews and editorials in the. metro
politan papers for the last two months tfrom
sapient gentlemen who insist that a strong wave
of reaction has set in, and that the voters of the
nation are impatiently waiting for the oppor
tunity to reinstall the old system of government
based on the idea that the only way to get pros
perity is to heap It in the laps jof.the few and
blissfully hope that they will hand it down to
the many. There is a rude awakening in store
for those foolish and greedy ones whp imagine
that the. educational process which has been
going on in. this country for some years- has not
resulted in imbedding a higher -grade of wisdom
ithan-that in. .the minds-of ithe voters. t';'
'i'ii '
v, ; A STRINGENT LIQUOR liAW IN FLORIDA
. On . another page will be found a copy of .the
vlaw recently enacted in Florida placing severe
.-restrictions upon the sale of liquor in that state.
. It will bo noticed; ... ,
. First; That intoxicating liquor can only be
old.in sealed packages;
Second: That the dealer shall not himself
drink, consume, or give away any intoxicating
liquor, and that he shall not permit any om-
' employee or purchased to drink, consume or give
away any intoxicating liquor on tho premises;
Third: That the liquor shall not be sold be
fore 7 o'clock in the morning or after 6 o'clock
In tho evening;
Fourth: That no chairs shall be allowed in a
place where liquor is sold; that no music or
other attractions shall be permitte' there, and
-that no blinds or curtains shall obscure the in
ferior of the saldon, day or night; and
Fifth: That no goods shall be sold on credit.
These are tho principal features of the new
The .cpmplain.t. is .frequently .made, that it is
impossible to secure the adoption of new chart
ers lor cities and new constitutions for states,
but it is not difficult to explain why this is true.
Most of the men who draw these documents are
taken from the business and professional classes
where distrust of ..the ability of the people to
govern themselves is always manifest in some
form or anotlier. 'And having constructed new
hobbles, for the people, they expect the people to
gratefully don them and look pleasant about it.
As illustrating how deliberate arcthe mental
processes of some men supposed to be masters
of intellect,. it might be ppinted out that Former
wayal Secretary Meyer came to the front with
a denunciation, of Secretary Daniels and held
him as responsible for the loss of a submarine
in the harbor of Honolulu before the boat was
raised and it was possible to know what caused
the accident. Lest it be supposed that there may
have been some other reason for the criticism,
it may be stated that Mr. Meyer is a republican.
The New York World which has not been dis
tinguished for its advocacy of woman suffrage,
undertook to settle the question of whether wo
men really, wanted the ballot. Its poll showed
that 77 per cent did. This settled it for the
editor of the World, but it is a safo wager that
the next timo a ,group takes up the discussion
tho sarao number of positive-minded gentlemen
who know women do not want the vote will be
on hand to urgo that as an objection.
The. heaviest bombardment of the Dardanelles
was on the same day that thek cross-examination
of Colonel Roosevelt ivas at its height. The fact
that the people of the United States were not
aware of this at the time is not a matter that
calls for any criticism of the cannon of the allied
fleets. They were doing their best against un
usual and extraordinary competition.
At a repent meeting of the Lincoln bar asso
ciation one of the talented orators of the even
ing spoke on the subject: "The Lawyer; Is He a
Knave or a Gentleman?" The point was wheth
er the training and practice of the law made him
one pr the other. 'Like the tariff question, this
largely involves a' question of where we cet tha
raw material from. b e
The Question of
Compensation
Now that the liquor interests are threatened
- with the annihilatipn of, .their business we hear
again th.e argument that they should be compen
sated for any loss they may suffer as a result of
laws, prohibiting the manufacture and sale of
liquor. If this came in the, form of a proposi
tion, submitted by the liquor interests in return
for the voluntary abandonment of their business
if would be mpre worthy of consideration, but
it is not presented as a basis of agreement and
an offer to buy them out woiild not change the
attitude pf the representatives of the liquor in
terests. If they could by any means force the
adoption of a provision compelling the public to
compensate" those driven, out of business they
would, fight prohibition just the same, and such
concessions to them, being manifestly unjust,
would' simply alienate the friends of prohibition
without winning support from its enemies.
And why should the matter ef compensation
be considered? Is any liquor dealer ignorant of
the character of the business? Does he not
knpw that the liquor business is in a class by
itself? Is he not compelled to secure a license
before he can open his place of business, and has
he not observed the tendency toward increasing
taxes upon his business? Is he not required
to observe laws forbidding the sale of liquor to
drunkards and to minors? Does he not have to
give -bond for the payment of damages caused?
Is he not liable to suit at ,the, hands of those who
are injured by his business? Does he not see
daily the ruin, that liquor causes and does he
not, therefore, engage in:the business with a full
knowledge of the harm that it works to his
feljow men? Being under no .compulsion to go
iinto. the business, and being free to retire from
it at any time, he can not ask immunity from
the effects of legislation which the evils incident
to his business compel.
If any attempt were- made to collect from so
ciety a sum sufficient to. compensate the brewer,
'the distiller or the saloon-keeper for loss due to
the enactment of prohibitory laws a multitude
, of voices would answer "NO I" The public has
already paid an enormous: penalty for permitting
the business to exist so long.- Why should so
ciety insure the liquor dealer against loss when
the liquor dealer has been so indifferent to the
loss that he inflicts upon society, individually
and as a whole?. How many husbands have been
converted into brutes by the use of liquor? Do
those who sell the stuff offer to restore the hus
bands whom they have ruined? How many
homes have been made desolate? Have those
who caused this desolatipn had any thought of
making restoration? Hpw many young men
have, been dragged down to destruction by rum?
Do the "brewers, the distillers and the saloon
keepers offer to compensate the mothers for the
loss of sons could they do so1 even if they de
sired? What is a young man worth? What price
can be put iipon the possibilities of a human life
or upon an immortal soul?
Have the liquor dealers any intention of re
pairing -the -wrong they have done to government
and to our institutions by the methods they
have employed to prolong their reign of law
lessness? .
He who comes into a court of equity must
come with clean hands look. at the hands of
those who handle alcohol! Is it necessary to
purchase the burglar's kit of tools before put
tinglim oht of husiness. It would 'be scarcely
less absurct to talk of allowing the saloon to
run until the people are ready to tax themselves
to make good this investment in sin and crime.
From the time a majority of the members or
congress Vo'ted for national prohibition the sa
loon business has been an outlaw it was a
criminal before. Those who have invested in it
can get out of it as best they can and as soon as
they' can. Such loss as thehusiness may suffer
will fali heaviest on those who are either too
blind to see the trend of public sentiment, or too
indifferent to heed the signs of the times.
' ' W. J. BRYAN.
There are . still a few critics of the Mexican
policy of the administration. They are larff'J
confined to those men who see no contradiction
in their opposition to armed intervention ana
their demand that the lives of Americans wno
remain within the borders of war-torn Mexico
bo adequately protected.
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