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AUGUST, 1917"
The Commoner
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THE ROLL OF HONOR
On August 1, the United States Senate adopted the joint re 1
t0 the constitution of the United States, and giving the states tho right toVo'cldowin ! naUon-w,dfl Prohibition amendment
Following ip list of senators who, on nnal roll call, voted for the submission u 7fmn Whethor tho cou -hould go "to
various states: submission of the amendment for action by the legislatures of The
DRMOPPATQ I
DEMOCRATS
ASHURST
RANKHEAD
BECKHAM
CHAMBERLAIN
FLETCHER
GORE
HOLLIS
JONES (New Mcx.)
KENDRIOK
KING
KIRBY
McKELLAR
MARTIN
MYERS
NEWLANDS
OVERMAN
OWEN
PITTMAN
RANSDELIi
ROBINSON
SAULSBURY
SHAPROTH
SHEPPARD
SHIELDS
SIMMONS
Welcome, Mr. Taf t
Having, I believe, been upon the Chautauqua
platform longer than any other man in public
life, it falls to my lot to extend a welcome to
former President Taft, who is making an ex
tended Chautauqua tour through the central
west.
He has a message to deliver and he is finding
tho Chautauqua audience worth speaking to.
With an ex-president, the present vice-president
and speaker of the national house of represent
atives (when they have leisure) among the Chau
tauqua attractions," it will be hard for the metro
politan press to class the Chautauqua any long
er with the circus. These papers will have to
cease reviling the great educational movement
which, starting a generation ago on Chautauqua
Lake, has spread to over, six thousand commun
ities. The ex-president may find it inconvenient to
snatch a lunch at depot restaurants and to
change cars at all times of the day and night,
but the pleasures outweigh the hardships...
Would that more of our public men would
avail themselves of the Chautauqua platform as
a means of communing with the masses.
W. J. BRYAN.
THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN
It is always a sad spectacle to see a great man
fall from his high estate. Ex-PreBident Taft
has always borne a good reputation. He has
been dignified, honorable and circumspect in his
daily walk and conversation. Politically he has
always been lined up with a party that would
not stand close inspection, but otherwise he has
been above reproach. The fact of having been
president for four years of the greatest nation
m the world made him great i: he had no other
Qualifications. But, alas, this one-time great
statesman and world-figure has ignominiously,
and I may say perpendicularly, fallen from
grace in fact he iias fanen from all graces,
jar do it from me to be the first to expose him.
w fain havo kPt nis disgrace a secret,
re, traEedy of his humiliating conduct is
, w eflnS Published broadcast and like all ca
X2u I es must De met witn courage and heroic
Si . This seemB t0 De an aee when the
anr i S wedded to calamity. Trpuble and dis
appointment like war, float in the atmosphere.
iniifb ? as (harItable as the circumstances will
usury, breaking the news gently but firmly, for
thift? 8S to lonser attempt to hide the fact
to tV -Psident, William H. Taft, has taken
liviH cl!autau(iua platform. He is actually de
it TnnV ures and for money, too. Think of
win w reader- Henceforth and forever he
trained Ta,ss?ciated n the public mind with the
He win ' tne necromancers and the yodlers.
thev nLapPDewr on the same Platform from which
this mS and for tho. same .purpose. But
level of wnii worst' He is descending?- to the
Ul wmiam Jennings Bryan who has so per-
SMITH (Ariz.)
SMITH (Ga.)
SMITH (S. O.)
STONE
SWANSON
THOMPSON
TRAMMELL
VARDAMAN
WALSH
WILLIAMS
WOLCOTT 80
BORAH
BRADY
COLT
CUMMINS
CURTIS
FERNALD
FRELINGIIUYSEN
GRONNA
HALE
HARDING
Total for 05.
Total 'against 20.
Not voting 11.
REPUBLICANS
JOHNSON (Cal.)
JONES (Wash.)
KELLOGG
KENYON
KNOX
LA FOLLKTTE
M'CUMBER
M'NAIiY
NELSON
NEW
NORRIS
PAGE
POINDEXTKR
SHERMAN
SMITH (Midi.)
SMOOT
STERLING
SUTHERLAND
WATSON 20
sistently and ruthlessley sacrificed honor, dig
nity and fame by lecturing to tho rabble of dis
reputables who attend Chautauqua assemblies
My dear Mr. Taft, how could you do so?
"Oh, that a dream so sweet, so long enjoyed,
should be so sadly, cruelly destroyed." Clay
Center, Kansas, Economist.
BAER WANTS UNITED STATES OUTLINE OF
WAR PLANS
Following is a press diapatch from WaBh
ton, D. C: An open demand that the United
States immediately declare its war aims was
made by John M. Baer, of North Dakota, who
qualified as a representative in congress in suc
cession to the late Henry T. Helgeson. Elected
on the platform of tho national non-partisan
league, Baer, after taking the oath of office issued
a statement reviewing tho reasons for his elec
tion. "My constituents," Mr. Baer declared, "in
common with the people of this nation, are
ready and willing to pour out blood and treas
ure without limit in order to defend and pre
serve our country. They do not lack in loyalty
and willingness to support tho government in
waging war to make the world safe for democ
racy. Patriotism, however, can not be stirred
in a war for the destruction of German autocracy
in Europe if it is begun by the suppression of
democracy in America.
"President Wilson well exemplified tho tem
per of the American people when he said: 'Once
more we shall make good with our lives and
fortunes the great faith to which we were born.'
Congress already has pledged the lives of the
men of this nation, and that without first secur
ing their consent, but still refuses to conscript
the private fortunes to defray the cost of the
war. To conscript men, and at tho same time
allow monopolistic corporations to profit upon
the world's misery, is undemocratic and repug
nant to American ideals of liberty and justice.
It is a monstrous injustice to ask the survivors
of bloody fields to come home and pay the money
cost of war. It is equally unjust to permit lob
byists to oppose tho conscription of wealth with
out let or hindrance while making it unlawful
for a mother to oppose tho conscription of tho
life of her son.
"Germany holds conquered territory in
France, Belgium and the Balkans equal in area
to her own European territory prior to the war.
Germany can not be allowed to hold theso peo
ple in subjection, nor to make this profit as a
result of the murderous assault upon the peaco
of the world by the imperialists of the European
nations But while we are fighting to destroy
German imperialism shall we fight to support
British imperialism? Already as a result of tho
ww BngTand holdB in Africa a million square
Vi nf fprritow After an imperial council had
SSS Srid recently by the British and Colonial
been held recently . the premier
SOTS wfS C&S Britain would not
rAainnui8h its hold upon this territory.
r6"Pres?deni Wilson w ttat we are in accord
with the alms of our allies and that their alms
are in accord with ours. If that bo true then
are we not fighting for imperialism and not for
democracy? While engaged in righteous war
aast German ImPerIali8m why should tho
Un ted States aid England or any other country
in their imperialistic designs? Let us drag theBe
questions out before tho whole world and Bottlo
them before the bar of world opinion. If the
Gorman people and government are now willing
to settle this war on tho basis of tho demands of
our government we should no longer continue to
war. Wo can not know that wo are not Bonding
our young, strong, capable men to dlo in tha
trenches, not for democracy but tor imporasm,
unless tho thing for which thoy fight bo explicit
ly sp3cifled. Shall wo dony to tho patriotic
young men, tho flower of tho nation, who go to
suffer and to dlo in foreign lands tho reasons for
.which they die?"
When Mr. Bryan said that if America word
assailed a million men would leap to arms, tho
war-mad organs of opinion hooted at tho Idea,
No alien enemy has yet act foot on American
soil as a member of an expedition of attack, but
from April 6th, the time when tho President and
congress declared a stato of war existed botweon
the United States and Germany, until July lGtb,
558,000 men had voluntarily entered tho mil
itary and naval service of the country. This
means that at least a million mon offered their
services. This occurred in tho face of tho fact
that it was known that tho selective draft was
coming, by which thousands of those who
volunteered would have escaped service. Taken
in connection with tho fact that 4,000,000 in
dividuals bought Liberty Bonds does not indi
cate that devotion to country Is dead.
The New York World has been almost hys
terical in defending the liquor interests from any
restrictions on tho part of congress during tha
progress of tho war. It talks of "professional
prohibitionists" and of "professional upllfters
who get large salaries annoying legislators," and
otherwise spouts just like tho Imported orators
that drop into western states when a prohibition
campaign is on. Yet tho New York World in
sists that it is a democratic newspaper.
Some of tho debaters who insist that the test
of a man's patriotism is whether what ho does
or says is agreeable or distasteful to tho kaiser
refuse to apply it when it comes to passing on
whether the manufacture of boozo should be
prohibited during tho period of the war.
! imp i - i
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The shadow of prohibition is upon the land.
The passage by the senate of the resolution that
submits the amendment to a vote of the legis
lature of each state is the biggest victory th
cause of temperance has won in many years.
A thirst for knowledge will very soon supplant
that which has given support to the most eof
rupting influence in the country s ;
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