tnssy'"'" "
r 11
The Commoner
JULY;,' 1915
I
Dodging as Usual
The Omalia Beo of July 1st contained the fol
lowing editorial:
"The significant feature to us of Mr. Bryan's
home-coming speech at Lincoln is the palpable
effort to arouse anew the old sectional issue orig
inally embodied in his arraignment of the east
nearly twenty years ago as 'the enemy's country.'
At that time, of course, Mr. Bryan was preach
ing his free silver crusade which appealed to the
debtor parts of the country, and made the cred
itors believe that it meant debt scaling and re
pudiation. The east then, more than now, con
tained the creditor states, and when Mr. Bryan
set out for the citadel of the so-called money
power he referred to it as an expedition into
'tho enemy's country.'
"And now in his appeal to the people for his
peace propaganda, Mr. Bryan depicts the Alle
ghanies as the dividing line separating the in
tolerant and prejudiced east from the open
minded wealth producers of the Mississippi val
ley and tho west, in tho evident belief that he
can rally public sentiment hero by holding up
another bogey man from whose rapacity the peo
ple must protect themselves. Instead of dwelling
on the unity of .the nation, and the common in
terest of the entire people for the maintenance
of peace, the covert suggestion sticks out that
the peace-lovers are to be found west of the Al
leghanies, and that the states east of the moun
tains aro inhabited by selfish money-grabbers
who want war in order to fatten upon it.
"We do not believe the pursuit of world peace
is helped by injecting such a sectional issue.
There may bo a difference of opinion as to the
best methods, as Mr. Bryan admits there is be
tween himself and President Wilson, but we do
not believe that there is any 'enemy's country'
on the peace map of the United States."
Apologies are due to the Bee; Mr. Bryan would
have used language that would have included the
Bee among the newspapers that exhibit partisan
ship and intolerance if he had spoken of the presa
of the whole country, but he was only speaking
of the newspapers of one section, and did not
think it necessary to specifically mention those
newspapers, scattered throughout the country,
whose editors adjust their opinions to the views
of the eastern papers mentioned, and, in their
feeble way, imitate their errors and shortcom
ings. The Bee's editorial illustrates one of the
tricks of the plutocratic press; it seeks to divert
attention from particular offenders by pretending
to believe that the criticism is aimed at all the
people of one section of the country. The Bee
fully understands that Mr. Bryan was speaking,
not of the people of the east, but of certain news
papers published in the east. He not only speci
fied a particular element but was careful to
single out a portion of the eastern press from
the rest of the press; but the Bee, copying its
eastern models, attempts to make it appear that
the criticism was directed not only against all
the papers published in the east, but against all
the people living in the east. This is an old
evasion as old as sin and is better understood
by the public than those editors think, who make
it their business to defend the special interests.
Only a PORTION of the eastern press ' affects
a foreign accent." the rest of the eastern press
are as much disgusted as the remainder of the
country with sychopants, who, in order to court
attentions when abroad, dishonor their country
when at home. . .
As to the masses in the east, they are not only
not included in Mr. Bryan's criticism, but they
are deserving of all praise for the intelligence
which they show in ignoring instructions given
by tho newspapers to which Mr. Bryan referred.
It is really remarkable that so largo an clement
of the peoplo of tho east havo remained loyal to
democratic ideals and policies in spito of all the
efforts of tho plutocratic portion of the eastgrn
press to misrepresent issues and to bolittlo those
who represent progressive ideals. Tho EAST
if we take the peoplo into consideration is not
an enemy to the ideas of tho west and south, as
shown by the fact that progressive ideas havo
been repeatedly adopted when once the vot-rs
have had an opportunity to express themselves
upon them.
A brief review of the past few years will suf
fice to illustrate what is meant. Did not tho
plutocratic portion of the eastern press denounce
the income tax as the sum of all villiantcs? And
yet did not tho people of tho oast favor an in
como tax when they had a chance to voto upon
it? It took a long time for the west and south to
secure the submission of the measure of justice
to tho people, but, when it was submitted, the
peoplo, without regard to section, favored it.
Did not the people of the east favor tho elec
tion of senators by the peoplo when they had a
chance to voto upon it? And yet it took twenty
ono years for the people of the west and south
to so overcomo' tho misrepresentations and abuse
of that portion of tho eastern preBS which repre
sents tho big corporations.
It was only a few months ago that tho pluto
cratic element of the eastern press was denounc
ing the currency law then before congress; it
was predicting diro disaster if tho government
issued tho paper money provided for in the bill,
or appointed the directors of tho federal reserve
bank. But the senators and members from the
west and south, under the leadership of the pres
ident, passed the law and now we find that the
law is entirely acceptable to the PEOPLE of the
east and helpful to the bankers of every sec
tion. So with the trust question. The faithful jour
nalistic watchdogs who guard the door of every
criminal trust and bark viciously whonever an
attack is made upon a vested wrong these have
mado day and night hideous with their noise
every time any effective legislation has been at
tempted, but, when success has been achieved in
spite of them, tho people for whom they assumed
to speak supported tho measures and shared in
tho benefits conferred.
So today it is tho same old gang engage in
the same old business and employing tho same
old tactics the only difference is as to tho par
ticular cause which they support. The builders
of battleships and the manufacturers of muni
tions grow fat on the policy that "prepares O"
war," and they will grow fatter still if they can
carry preparedness to the point of provoking an
international conflict. To point out theso facts
to the public may arouse criticism from tho Bee,
but the Bee speaks for the reactionary who Uos
lost out, and not for the progressive Who hit
triumphed. W. J. BRYAN.
The 3,485,000 voters who cast their ballots for
Mr. Taft in 1912 are all perfectly willing to for
give the 4,110,000 who voted for Roosevelt, but
only on condition that the 4,110,000 come back
and support things that the 3,485,000 stood fc
and believe in and which the 4,110,000 refused
to stand for and did not believe in in 1912.
Which shows just how easy a task the republican
pacifists havo on hand.
Some folks acted as though they were sur
prised when a referendum taken by the United
States chamber of commerce showed a vote of
four to one in favor of direct ship subsidies. They
are probably the same persons who would act
astonished if the beet sugar factory owners voted
solidly in favor of a tariff on sugar.
Again or Yet?
A story is told of a husband or wife, no matter
which, who wns scolding the other when the
latter went to sleep, and was still scolding when
tho abused member of the family awoke. This led
to the Inquiry, "Are you scolding again or y)t?"
Mr. Bryan Ib reminded of this story as ho
reads a continuation of the abuse which he has
received from the plutocratic press for moro
than twenty years. One can become accustomed
even to abuse so accustomed that It Is expected
and discounted in advance. After tho election
of 189G, the New York Tribune dlsmlBSod Mr.
Bryan an follows:
NEW YORK TRIBUNE EDITORIAL
"Tho thing was conceived in Iniquity and was
brought forth In sin. It had Its origin In a ma
licious conspiracy agaliiBt tho honor and Integ
rity of tho nation. It gained such monstrous
growth as it enjoyed from an nsaldlous culturo
of tho basest passions of the least worthy mem
bers of tho community. It has been defeated
and destroyed because right Is right and God Is
God. Its nominal head was worthy of tho causu.
Nominal, because the wretched, rattlopatcd boy,
posing In vapid vanity and mouthing resounding
rottenness, was not the real leader of that lcaguo
of hell. He was only a puppet In the blood-imbued
hands of , the anarchist, and ,
tho revolutionist, and other desperadoes of that
stripe. But he-was a willing puppet, Bryan was,
willing and eager. Not one of hio masters was
moro apt than he at lies and forgeries and blas
phemies and all the nameless iniquities of that
campaign against tho Ten Commandments. Ho
goes down witli the cause, and must abide with
it in tho history of infamy. Ho had less prov
ocation than Benedict Arnold, lesn Intellectual
force than Aaron Burr, less manliness and cour
ago than Jefferson Davis. Ho was tho rival of
them all In deliberate wickedness and treason
to the republic. His name belongs with theirs,
neither the most brilliant nor tho most hatt ful
In tho list. Good riddance to It all, to conspir
acy and conspirators, and to tho foul menace of
repudiation and anarchy against tho honor and
life of tho republic."
Even Mr. Watterson, so well known rfor kind
ness and gentleness, allowed himself to srt& in a
burst of passion: s
LOUISVILLE COURIER-JOURNAL EDITORIAL
"Mr. William J. Bryan has come to Kentucky,
and Kentucklans have taken his measure. Hi' is
a boy orator. He Is a dlshonesc dodger. Ho Is
a daiing adventurer He Is a political fakir. Ho
Is r.ot of tho material of which the peoplo v,t
tho United States have ever mado a president,
nor Is ho even of the material of- which any
party has ever before made a candidate."
These are but samples of the refinement and ,
self-restraint which have characterized Mr.
Bryan's critics during two decades. Is it any
wonder that their language has as little weight
with Mr. Bryan as it docs with tho public?
W. J. BRYAN.
If the ballot was confined to the consumer only
or the producer only the republican argument
manufacturers who have started in to supply
tho demand for next year's campaign would have
a happier task. No greater anguish of mind Is
conceivable than that which follows the discov
ery that literature intended to prove that tho
price of foodstuffs is higher under a democratic
administration lands in the hands of the man
who produces the foodstuff, unless it might be
that which follows the realization that a prom
ise that a reinstatement of the republican party
will Inaugurate an era of better prices accident
ally falls into the hands of the man who docs
the paying of the prices.
All those who believe that ALL differences between
nations should be settled by arbitration should write or wire
the President.