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The Commoner
VOL. 20, NO. 6
i
ft
The Reactionary in Politics
Thoro Is ft natural lino running through poli
tico, as well ao through socioty in general, separ
ating tho conservative from the radical. The
division is duo in part, but not entirely, to differ
ence in information. Two people equally well
informed, may take opposite views of a subject
because of what may bo called a constitutional
tendency. These two forces contribute, oach its
part, to tho welfare of socioty. If it wero not
for tho conservative the radical would go too
fast; if it woro not for the radical the conserva
tive would not go at all. In so far as tho con
servative Blmply compels deliberation, ho per
forms a real service, and, when conscientious
and not influenced by ulterior motives, ho gradu
ally yields to public opinion, basod upon intel
ligent discussion.
But while tho conservative can be tolerated
bocauso of tho eloment of caution that ho con
tributes, tho reactionary belongs to a very dif
ferent class. Tho conservative accepts progress
when It becomos an accomplished fact and uses
that which has been acquired when he contests
somo-now stop in advance. Tho reactionary, on
tho other hand, is usually the secret agent of a
public onomy and, thorefore, less candid in giv
ing roasons for his course. An honest oonserva
tivo points out tho dangers as ho sees them and
utters a warning as conscientiously as a radical
pleads for a change. But tho reactionary, con
scious of his inability to defend his position by
open argument, resorts to subterfuge and false
pretense. Tho progressive forces of society have
nothing to fear from honest conservatism; on
tho contrary they welcome its challenge and meet
its inquiries in tho spirit in which they are pre
sented. But tho reactionary,' working in the dark and
actuated by motives he can neither disclose nor
defend, is tho real foe whom tho reformer has to
foar and against whom he must continually light.
Tho conflict between tho unorganized masses,
who ask only justice and are content with the
frocognition of tholr rights, and tho predatory
interests, rages in every land, and nowXare moro
bittorly than in the United States. Tho stake
is bigger hero because the wealth which is with
in tlho roach of avarice hero surpasses the drea'ms
ot tho plutocratB of other lands, and the very in
telligence of our people becomes the avenue
through which misrepresentation can be spread
when great newspapers are brought to tho sup
port of schemes of exploitation.
Tho corporation, a real invention in commerce,
and an apostle of Democracy when properly em
ployed, has become tho means-through which
greed dops tho major part of its mischief. A cor
poration pormits a large number of people to
cooperate undor conditions much moro favorable
than any partnership can offer, and when proper
ly managed, furnishes to the masses a means ot
sharing in great industries and enterprises. But
tho corporation, liko every other ,good thing, is
liable to bo abused, and it has been grossly
abusod in the United States. A few designing
men can, when they ootain control of a corpora
tion, turn a well-intended instrumentality entire
ly away from its proper course and use it for the
enrichment of those who are in a position to di
rect its energies. When onco a controlling in
terest is secured tho rights of the minority stock
holders are sometimes ignored and the valuable
privileges which accompany tho management of
a corporation are turned to tho pecuniary aa
vantage of those in charge.
Passing over tho period during which the
trusts reached their maximum development, lot
us consider tho change that followed the elec
tion of 1912. When President Wilson entered
tho White House he had a Senate and House in
.sympathy with him, and the Democratic party
., mado a record along the line of economic reform
without a parallel in our history. It lowered the
tariff; it enacted a currency law that has proven
' to bo tho best in the world; ft gave the farmers
relief through a Farm Loan Law; it created a
Foderal trade commission and began a war
against tho' trusts. It distinguished between la
bor and merchandise and gave to tho wage earner
protection from government by injunction and
also gavo an eight-hour day. All of these steps
in advance wore contested by the big corpora
tions The tariff barons fought the tariff law;
the financiers waged a fierce fight agf.inst the
currency law; the trusts. bitterly opposed leglsla-
tion aimed at them and all combined to resist the
eight-hour day.
In the campaign of 1916, the predatory inter
ests made a united attack upon the Democratic
party and, but for tho women's rote in tho west,
would have succeeded in overthrowing tho party.
And it should bo remembered that the election in
tho west was won, not upon economic grounds,
but because tho President had resisted tho ef
forts made to force him into the European war
and into war with Mexico. Ho received so largo
a support in. the suffrage states as to be elected
by a small majorty in the electoral college in
spite of tho east. An inspection of the returns
of that election leaves no doubt as to the com
pleteness of tho political organization formed by
tho moneyed interests of the country. ' K
Then came our entry into the war when, as a
war necessity, the government took over tho
railroads, the telegraph lines and the telephones.
This angered the monopolists beyond measure.
While they had to confess the inability of private
management to meet the exigencies of tho war,
they saw at onco that they had to meet the is
sue between private monopoly and government
ownership. From that moment the fight was
on in earnest, and government ownership was
the point of attack. With the railroads, tho tele
graph linos and the telephones under the man
agement of persons opposed to government
ownership (It being impossible under tho cir
cumstances to substitute new men for those in
charge), tho experiment had to be tried under
the most unfavorable conditions. The fact that
those in immediate control were out of sym
pathy with the policy of government ownership
would have been enough to paralyze the experi
ment, but to the lack of sympathy was added
an active effort to demonstrate the failure of
govornment ownership, and every newspaper,
controlled or owned by monopolies, local or na-.
tional, teemed with criticism.
Tho Republican victory in the congressional
campaign of 1918 was due primarily to the
aggressiveness of these predatory interests rallied
by tho promise of the Republican leaders, and
tho Congress elected in 1918 has so far lived up
to the highest expectatons of those who desire
to return the government to the control of the
big interests.
We are now approaching the campaign of 1920
where the case is to be tried out beforo the peo
ple not fairly, by an open honest statement of
issues, but by evasion, misrepresentation and
subterfuge. No party dares openly to espouse
the policy of the big financial magnates who de
mand nothing less than the absolute control ,of
the federal government in every branch that the
power of private monopoly may be. complete.
They want the President because his veto would
throw upon them the necessity of having two
thirds of both Houses a preponderance they
cannot hope to secure. They also want a presi
dent who will turn the federal reserve system
over to Wall street and put friends of the rail
roads on the Inter-State Commerce commission
and the Supreme Bench. They want a senate
ttiat can prevent any interference with the ambi
tions of monopolies, profiteers and exploiters,
and a House of Representatives subservient to
the demands of the favor-seeking corporations.
They will try to control both parties, write both
platforms and nominate both candidates; then
they will bo able to throw tho Democratic party
on tho ash-pile and give the Republican party a
majority largo enough to encourage it recklessly
to obey the instructions from Wall street.
The talk of a "business man's candidate" is
only a premonitory symptom of the non-partisan
movement now on foot non-partisan, because
big business has no politics. Its patriotism is tho
"patriotism of peir and its God is Mammon. Its
arrogance and insolence do more to breed an
archy and stir up discontent than all tho utter
ances of those who profess to be anarchists.
Tho reactionary movement has its headquart
ers in the Republican party; it is now in the sad
dle in both Senate and House. But the Demo
cratic party is honey-combed with secret sup
porters of the reactionary movement. If the Re
publicans have a close vote and lose a few of the
progressives in their party, they are not without
liope,- for they count upon getting enough re
cruits from tho Democratic party to make up
for their losses. The reactionary is in politics
today as he has not boon in years; he has money
jrithout limit and newspapers galore. His utaw
in control, of tho government of tho rich?
tion in the world. Nothing but an arouS
electorate can save tho country from an ,,
exampled era of exploitation. If the rank nV,I
file of the Republican party can be awakened
time to prevent the nomination of a reactionary
every patriot will have reason to rejoice ltthl
conscience of the Republican party does not a
sert itself at tho convention tho responsibility
thrown upon tho Democratic party will be era
indeed. It might bo to its political advantage
to carry tho standard of reform against a Re
publican reactionary, but the only safe plan is for
the ftfends of progress in both parties to control
their respective conventions, then, no matter
which party wins, the country will bo safe, if
either party champions tho reactionary move
ment no prophet can foretell tho result. If both
parties are captured by the reactionaries the un
certainties will be multiplied. It behooves every
lover of his country to work from now until the
conventions meet to expose the schemes of the
reactionaries in both parties and to prevent their
consummation. W. J. BRYAN.
' COX'S MARCH TOWARD THE GRAVE
The number of vptes cast for Governor James
M. Cox of Ohio at the primary elections in that
state,. Including the 1920 primary, follows.
August, 1914 (For Governor) 138,021
August, 191G (For Governor) 130,583
August, 1918, (For Governor) 133,435
May, 1920 (Presidential Preference) .. 85,838
The number of votes
of statewide prohibition
for the years 1914, 1915
follows:
Yes
1914 604,177
1915 484,969
1917 622,590
1918 463,654
1919 496,786
cast on the submission
to tho voters of Ohio
1017 1I110 .lin.n
, j., J. , XiAO, UUU XJLV,
No
588,329
540,377
623,727
437,895
454,933
Majority
Wot, 84,152
Wet, 55,408
Wet, 1,137.
Dry, 25,759
Dry, 41,853
On the proposition for defining intoxicating
liquor to mean not to exceed 2.75 per cent al
coholic content, submitted to the voters of Ohio
in 1919, the vote was 504,688 against and 474;
907. for a dry majority of 29,781, or against
2.75 per cent beer as initiated by the Home Itulo
Association.
Shall Governor Cox bo allowed to head his
party in his march toward the grave?
THJBOWEN RESOLUTION
Senator Owen of -Oklahoma introduced tho fol
lowing joint resolution to amend Article V of the
Constitution of tho United States, in the United
States Senate, March 22, 1920:
"Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives-of
tho United States of America in
Congress assembled, (two-thirds of each Houbo
concurring therein), That in pursuance of Articlo
V of the Constitution of tho United States tho
following amendment to the Constitution be, and
hereby is, proposed to tho States, to become
valid as a part of tho Constitution when ratified
by tho legislatures of tho several States as pro
vided by tho Constitution:
ARTICLE.
"Tho President shall hayo power, by and with
the advice of the Senate to frame treaties and,
with tho consent of the Senate, a majority of the
Senators present concurring, to conclude tho
same." t
This proposed amendment should bo adopted.
SALOON FOES DISSATISFIED
The "law and order" plank of the Republican
national platform adopted, at Chicago does not
mention prohibition and does not rofer to tne
Volstead enforcement act. It merely declares
for impartial enforcement of all laws. In com
menting on the action of the convention, P. a.
Baker, general superintendent of tho Anti-aa-soon
league of America, said:
"Wo wero assured by Senator Smoot and other
mombors of tho resolutions committee up uni
and even after the committee adjourned touay
that thoro was reference in the platform to u
Volstead aqt as ono of tho party achievements
and a statement declaring for the enforcement
of tho law. Millions of voters will demann w
know who is responsible for this oniisslon.
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