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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1916)
30 VOL. 16, NO. 4 The Commoner v fcrt ) izors' movomont, told what the purpose of this movement was. Hero Is what is said: ''Those domocrats who opposo Bryan and who advftcato the reconstruction of democracy with Bryanism expunged, aro about to carry that issue into the south and west. One of the principal battlegrounds will bo in the state of Nebraska, whoro Mr. Bryan still retains, nominally at least, tho control of the machinery of his party. "It is proposed to crush Mr. Bryan's influence in his own stnto and to prevent at all costs his control of tho Nebraska delegation to the next democratic national convention. "Mr. Hill's is tho executivo m'nd in the flchemo of reorganization. For more than a year that skillful politician has been building up an anti-Bryan, conservative, sound money machlno in tho democratic party of the cast to bo used as tho nucleus of tho general reorgan ization movomont planned for next year." PROCLAIMED BRYAN'S POLITICAL DEATH Tho reorganize were prepared to lake full charge of tho party in 1904. They had pro claimed Bryan's political death, and awaited only tho assembling of tho national convention of that year to inter him so deep that there could bo no resurrection. Ono of tho first men in Nebraska to glvo his endorsement to tho pro gram of tho reorganizers, at least so far as tak ing control of the party and formulating its pol icies was concerned, was Gilbert M. Hitchcock, now sonator. I am not guessing at this. I was toid. early in 1901 or tho fall of 1900 by Sen ator Hitchcock personally, that he approved tho general plan of tho reorganizers, and I heard him declare that tho success of the democratic party nationally depended upon the carrying out of tho plans of tho reorganizers under the lead ership of Sonator Hill of New York. I do not know that at that, time tho purpose to repudiate or crush Bryan had been publicly announced, but tho purpose to repudiate what had been tho party s attitude on important questions in tho campaigns of 1896 and 1900. had boon stated. From that time on Sonator Hitchcock was ap parently in ftill sympathy and accord with the plans and purposes of tho reorganizers. Ho was lor Parkor and in accord with tho views of the riion who dominated tho national convention at at. Louis In 1904, and so far as ho gave sup port or assistant at all ho gavo it to that ele ment prior to and during tho national conven tion. This was not true of his newspaper. While it did not criticizo tho reorganizers. and no word against them appeared in its columns during !fnSrrC!nn?r Pcoding tho national conven tion of 1904, in tho contest in Nebraska, the pnner In a general way supported Bryan and his followers. THE CONTEST IN 1912 nifJ!?' f CiUrse tl,oro wus no Question of conservative and progressive so far as Nebraska was concorned, as the democrats wero practically unanimous for tho nomination of Bryan The next opportunity to divido along progressive and lnnZ:atV0 lhle8 80 far as na issue? an politics wero concerned, was in 1912. In that contest three distinguished domocrats were can didates at tho primaries in Nebraska. Champ Clark recognized for years as a progressive Woodrow Wilson who, as governor of Now Jersey, had been strikingly so, and Governor Harmon of Ohio, whoso record, in tho opinion of progressive domocrats had been conservative on vital questions and who. measured bv associa t on and political affiliation, did not belong to the progressive wing of tho party. Ho hart been,elected governor in 1908, by a coalition of tho liquor and other special interests In Ohio who threw their support to him for governor and to Taft for president. This resulted in the stoto going republican on tho national ticket, ami democratic so far as tho head of tho state ticket was concorned. Mr. Brvan took tho nn Clark and Wilson wore both progress! ves n and EST and l wereSmnari es' and that the nomination of e.'ther would put tho special interest influences in control of tho party. LUO Tho issue was presented in the campaign, be tween conservative and progressive, and Senator Hitchcock and his newspaper sunnorted Harmon appealing to tho democrats of this staro to ?v to the nation that Harmon was the kind o a ?S?0wwbrn8lCa WftS in favor of nominating and that Harmon was sufficiently procr wit th World-Herald and its mvnor S 0? Hitchcock was elected as a delegate at large to tho. national convention. This state was progressive if the vote meant anything, as each Clark and Wilson received more votes than did Harmon. It turned out later that Harmon's campaign had been largely financed by tho forces, represented in tho na tional convention by Ryan, Belmont and that class. Tho first contest in tho convention was whether tho temporary chairman should be a progressive, or a reactionary. If there was in tho convention, or in tho party in the nation, a democrat of prominence outside of Ryan, Bel mont and Murphy, who could be pointed to with unerring certainty as a conservative, that man was Alton B. Parker of New York. The reac tionary forces in tho convention, feeling that they had full control, determined to show to the world from tho first meeting, that Bryan was beaten, that his influence repre anting progress ive democracy was. at a low ebb, and that no regard was to be paid to the so-called pro gressive domocrats either in the convention or in tho nation. Parker was put forth as tho man to sound tho keynote of democracy for tho cam paign of 1912, as temporary chairman of the convention. Bryan challenged the right of the reactionaries to select the temporary chairman, or to voice the will of tho democracy of the country. To make the fight it became necessary for him to become a candidate for temporary chairman of tho convention. This involved the issue squarely as to whether the democratic party, speaking through its national convention would proclaim by its temporary chairman, that it stood for the things tli f Bryan had advocated for twenty years, voiced bv the man who had been three times tho candidate of his party for president, or whether it would declaro that it had repudiated progressive principles and that tho convention was to bo dominated by Ryan, Belmont, Murphv and their followers. On this momentous question Senator Hitchcock and his two followers in the Nebraska delegation voted against Rryan and for Parker. He voted with tho forces that stood for Parker and against Bryan and Wilson and the progressives in that convention, just as ho stood with tho forces that nominated Parker and dominated the St. Louis convention in 1904. PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRACY TRIUMPHS Let it be kept in mind that when the question whether a progressive or a reactionary should be chosen as temporary chairman, Bryan de manded that a progressive be selected, and in vited tho candidates for the presidential nomin ation to join with hra in tho demand: that Woodrow Wilson alone endorsed Bryan's posi t on stood by him in that contest, and side by side Bryan and Wilson battled against the forces of reaction and greed in the contest for tem porary chairman, and they and their friends and followers fought the good fight, for ten davs, which finally resulted in Woodrow WUson's nom ination, tho triumph of progressive democracy, a"ihJ nilet(l throw of those wlth whom Senator Hitchcock had worked and voted. Now It may be that those forces whose first' choice was Harmon with whom my opponent stood in that convention, represented progressiva m-in cinles ami Wilson and Bryan cfid not uncer tainly did not stand for the same things. I too was a member of that convention, a delegate at large and throughout the convention stood with Bryan, aided and supported him from 'the hour tho convention opened until it adjourned When I became a candidate for delegate at large, I announced that I would aid him in any kind of a fight ho might make for a progressive candidate and platform. I voted for Bryan fo? temporary chairman, and my opponent voted aga nst him. From the thirteenth ballot on vl til ho was nominated. I voted for Woodrow Wil-, son for the democratic nomination, and mv op ponent voted against him. I announced when I became a candidate for delegate at large that I was in favor of the nomination of Wilson Mv onnonent announced that he was. in favor of Harmon and he did all ho could to secure Harmon's endorsement in this state. In the nn7 w n at Baltire, I ned up with. Brvan and Wilson and their followers. Mv opponent lined up with the supnorters of Harmon.ed by Murphy, Ryan and Belmont. True, ho voted for Champ Clark, while I, after the thirteenth ballot voted for Wilson. When it became an parent that the reactionary element in To con vention had niprto Clark its candidate, I voted for Woodrow W'lson. who0 nomination was se cured without the aid of Wall street fi In announcing mv candidacy for 'delegate at lareo to the national convention in 1912 TsaiuV oMwSe!ecled as delesate I shall endeavored aid W. J. Bryan in whatever manner So may see fit to lead tho fight for a progressive plat form and candidate." In another statement published over my sig nature during the primary campaign of 1912 t said: "Tho one campaign In sixteen years when the democratic party repudiated Mr. Bryan's judg ment and accepted the adyice of those who agreed with Hitchcock, as to who should be chosen as the standard bearer of the party, Ne braska went republican eighty thousand strong We are this year, as in 1904, invited to reject the judgment of Bryan and accept that of Hitch cock. The attempt on tho part of Hitchcock and the World-Herald to shift the issue from that of a vindictive warfare against Bryan, in the in terest of Harmon and big business, to tho cr" that Bryan is trying to destroy the primary and defy tho will of tho people, won't succeed. Tho contest here is whether democrats favor a pr gressivo candidate and platform, and a deleg -tion that will fight for them, or "whether tho aro willing that the representatives of big bus nes3 shall again write the platform and nomin ate the candidate as they did in 1904, when Mr. Hitchcock's views wero fully carried' out by the national convention of that year.". THE FIGHT TO CARRY OUT PLEDGES Congress was called together in special ses sion by President Wilson in the early part of 1913 to carry out the pledges of the Sa'timore platform with reference to tariff and banking and currency. When the tariff bill had been passed, it was the judgment of the ' President and a majority of the democrats in congress that tho banking and currency" question should bo taken up at once. A few" democrats and the republicans were opposed tp doing anything on that subject at tho special " sessjbn. Senator Hitchcock took this view.' He announced that he was in favor of congress "adjourning, without undertaking to pass a banking and currency law. and that that question ougt not to be dealt with until the next session,, of congress,' Con gress went ahead,' however, and', a Janking and currency bill was missed' in the house bv a prac tically unanimous vote of1 the democratic mem bers, and went to the sWate'W consideration. If the democrats of Nebra'ska"wilT read the 'cur rency bill introduced by Mr. Hitchcock himself, they will find that he favored the igsue of bank notes in connection with the reserve; system the Wall street Ideainstead of government notes, as provided in the administration bill as it passed, thus showing that lie agreed with the big bankers, and not with the democratic posi tion. Senator Hitchcock vas a member of the banking and currency committee of the senate. Before the committee he insisted upon numerous amendments to the house bill to which the dem ocratic members of the committee would not Smf'i He, en(lea7,ored t0 have the committee S ii"iie hAUi?e bIn so as t0 Provide tor a cen Z A1Lof the Publican members of llL Sm.itte? il s-.eems' ioined th him. Sen ? i?hco?kcla,xned that the Baltimore plat- did Jot, denounce the central bank prin- ine ,mnwi?StaT' tlle Wor-Herald, in a lead Hi t? ?, ial 0n November 10, 1913,, referring to the Baltimore platform, said: b THE CENTRAL BANK IDEA JZZ :fxaraple; th Platform did not declare o-cSdCffi " Jt d gainst the central bn-b,nf0r fhe establishment of a , 1 ' WhlCh fs quite mother, thing." carTtorel'd1, had not read or dId not bankin ,i G Baltiraore Platform covering the In to?wmn JSPr?n,cy feature' l d0' not kD0W LVandrt0ral Wa8 Pushed as the bank ing fonowiw P f thG Baltlmo Plaorm estaMfshSfJ?6 so"called Aldrich bill for the establishment of a central bank ' thBRuTmn86, 0ted 16 not tllG language of c al procSdfLPJatm as lt aea f ffi" authoritv If ? mthe convention published by llrlJs as'oTowsT f C?nvention' estSsZpnrGihe s-ca"edAldrich bill or the estaousninent of a central bank." Senate? mtohUblIshe(1 September 29, 1913, course 3nrl ?0k 8 Paper' ln defending his ?eferenCeqto i ?omniittee' Particularly with Sdcffi?vwndfelV ?. rePrtInS -the banking ana currency bill from the committee, said: - andwtttJl Ua WW" immediately from tw tchanee, appears to come largely from those who have not taken the troublf to ip- -! . ' -M-..ftWii