B&fytvNm v
The Commoner
WILLIAM J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR
"
VOL 17, NO. 7
Lincoln, Nebraska, July, 1917
Whole Number 699
We Must Win
Those who, before the United States entered
tlio war, thought it better to remain neutral and
postpone until after the war the settlement of
differences with belligerent nations, will have no
difficulty in recognizing the change in the situa
tion caused by our own nation's entrance into
the war. Had we remained neutral we might
have been able to act as mediator and thus ren
dered an important service to the world. In
entering the war, however, we surrendered that
opportunity and incurred the enmity of the cen
tral powers.. A new situation, therefore, con
fronts us. We must not only protect ourselves
from those who are now our enemies, but we
must find an opportunity for world service in
aiding to arrange a permanent peace, built on
justice, liberty and democracy.
WE MUST WIN. Defeat is inconceivable it
would be indescribably unfortunate if it were
possible. We can not allow any foreign nation
to determine the destiny of the United States
especially a nation committed,. as Germany is, to
arbitrary government and militarism.
Neither can we afford to have our allies over
come that would bring upon us the disasters of
defeat or the burden of carrying on the war
alone.
We are in the war by the action of congress
the only body authorized to take the nation into
war. The quickest way to peace is to go straight
through, supporting the government in all it
undertakes, no matter how long the war lasts
or how much it costs.
WE MUST WIN.
Any discord or division, after the government
has acted, would prolong the war and increase
its cost in money and-men. W. J. BRYAN.
COAL AND IRON PHOPITS
On another page will be found a very force
ful letter written by a prominent and patriotic
citizen of Washington, D. C, on the coal and
iron graft. The figures are appalling. The
situation demands attention at once. The na
tion can not afford to allow the men in charge
of these two- great industries to hold up both
the goverLment and the public. Something
must be done. The government should either
fix a reasonable price or take over enough of
these plants to control the price.
The Washington letter deserves careful con
sideration. ' '
TUB GOOD SAMARITAN
Any one acquainted with the interest rates
charged the Span'sh-speaking republics can not
hut recall the parable of the Good Samaritan.
They certainly have fallen among thieves. Now
is the time for the United States to be neighbor
to them. To underwrite their 'bonds- would be
even better than pouring oil and wine on their
bounds.
0
000000
THE NATION'S PRAYER
(By Jcsiah Gilbert Holland.)
God give us men! A .imo like this de
mands Strong minds, great hearts, true faith
and ready hands.
Men whom the lust of office does not
kill;
Men whom the spoils of office can not
buy;
Men who possess opinions and a will;
Men who have honor, and who will
not lie;
Men who can btand before a demagogue
And scorn his treacherous flatteries
without winking.
Tall, men, sun-crowned, who live above
the fog
In public duty and in private think
ing! o
A REFLECTION ON GERMAN-AMERICANS
Those who ' are; suggesting that German
Americans called into our army should be ac
corded different treatment from those who trace
their ancestry to other lands do injustice to this
large element of our population. The Gorman
American is a part of our nation; this is his
HOME1, and he must share the destiny of his
fellow Americans. If he is in sympathy with
American institutions he can have no sympathy
with the autocratic methods or the imperialistic
aims of the German government. He can not
afford to separate himself from his neighbors.
Brother fought brother in the civil war; rela
tive must, if necessary, fight relative in the
present war.
IS WHISKEY MORE PRECIOUS THAN MEN?
Those who insist that the government can
not commandeer whiskey, put the poison above
those whom it destroys. The government com
mandeers men, why not whiskey?
Harvard college has gone dry see account of
dry commencement on another page.
CONTENTS
WE MUST WIN
BEER VS. WHISKEY
WHAT PARTNERSHIP MEANS
WHY NOT LOAN TO MEXICO?
THE KENTUCKY CONTEST
THE PRESIDENT'S FLAG DAY ADDRESS
QTTPPESS OP THE LIBERTY LOAN
CONSERVING THE FOOD SUPPLY
PRESIDENT WILSON ON PROFITS AND
11 PATRIOTISM
KING ALBERT'S LETTER TO PRESI-
Kiwix DENT WILSON
COAL IRON AND STEEL PROFITS
THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC
HOME DEPARTMENT
. Beer vs. Whiskey
(Publishod in Congrcssiernl Rocord.)
The effort to separato beer nnil wlno from
distilled liquors, so aa to continue their salo and
use under laws prohibiting whiskey and othor
beverages containing a largo per cent of alcohol,
is supported by arguments which are, to a cer
tain extent, plausible, but the movement would
not bo a serious one if it rested upon argument
alone. The real forco behind this proposal lloa,
first, in the financial and political Inluencc of
the brewers and, second, in the appetite of tho
drinkers. Those pecuniarily interested In tho
manufacture of boor or in tho making of wlno
quite naturally contend that they nro less
harmful than stronger drinks, and those who
aro fond of their boor or wine echo tho argu
ment, but it is not likely to convince the disin
terested. It may be worth while, howover, to
lay before the general public the objections to
the hoor unci wlno propaganda in order iliaCvroJl '
meaning voters may not be deceivod.
The first objection is based upon the fact .that
a surrender to the brewers and wine makers
would compel the temperance forces of tho coun
try to give up tho fundamental proposition upon
which their entire fight is built; viz: That al
cohol is a poison and that, because alcohol is a
poison, alcoholic beverages are harmful.
To draw a distinction between whiskey, for
instance, which contains a high percentage of
alcohol, and wine and beer which contain a lower
percentage of alcohol, would be like trying to
fix a line between moderate drinking and im
moderate drinking.
No words have yet been coined which can fir
the point at which the use of liquor becomes ex
cessive. Tho Une moves forward as tho habit
grows it recedes like tho horizon until it is
lost in the black night of intoxication. Failure
would, in like manner, overtake any effort to fix
a line between harmless and harmful alcoholic
drinks. It is impossible to classify drinks ac
cording to the .percentage of alcohol which they
contain; they must be classified as alcoholic and
non-alcoholic, because it is the alcohol in the
drink that makes it objectionable.
Alcohol is harmful, first, because of tho im
mediate injury which It does, and, second, be
cause of the appetite which It creates. Scientific
experiments have been carried so far as to leave
no doubt of the injury which alcohol does to
both the physical and intellectual man. Bev
erages that contain but a small percentage of al
cohol will unsteady the nerves and impair tho
productive value of the drinker, no matter what
his occupation may be. They will lessen the ac
curacy of his aim at target practice; they will
increase the number of his mistakes at type-setting;
they will confuse his thought and enfcebl
his hand. Tho use of beer and wine increase
accidents in industry and decreases the expect-
M
m
Aimji, jfaaAmm f