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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 1920)
o '"A) ..""", fr. The Gommone VOI20, !N0. 8 .'' - w X V dorged by Republican loaders ''in the Senate and House. . , t - y. . . On the labor question,, both 'apeak strongly for the wage earrtor, but tho tone of Governor Cox's utterances on this subject' will probably please tho wage earners more thantho tone of tho sena tor's remarks, but neither of them spoke with sufficient (lefinitenoss In behalf of. the general public. Both hope that strikes may be avoided, but they touch sparingly upon tho subject. In it not time for some party to espouse the uau&o ot tho public? Take the coal striko last fall, for instance; tho number of mine workers and tho number of stockholders in mining companies tould not together equal a million persona, and, counting flvo to a family, not more than five ntiliions of our peopk wore directly interested on oithor side, and yet it looked for a time ao if ninety-five millions would have to freeze whilo live millions fought out their differences. Hqw can tho public know which side is. to bla,rao un loss it can have an investigation r and an im--partial ascertainment of the facts? On the subject of profiteering there is littlo ' difference between the positions taken by the two candidates, just as there is little difference in the positions taken in tho two platforms. Governor Cox is a littlo more 'emphatic than "Senator Harding in his denunciation of profiteer ing just as the Ddmocratic platform is a little moro emphatic than the Republican platform, but neither presents a remedy. Tho public is oxpocted. to exercise faiCh, oach partisan relying upon his own party to do the things-necessary . although both parties have lacked either the In telligence to devise a sufficient remedy or the courage to announce It. Both have gone be yond their platforms to advocate a repeal of the excess pro'Its tax but they do not seem as much.' concerned about the excess profits as abouj the, tax on them. . On the railroad question there is a difference as to the troatment of tlie railroads during the war, but agreement as to treatment' now. Sena tor Harding condemns the .government's man agement of. railroads during the war, while Governor Cox defends the government ndmiu?.f ... Istratlon of railroads.. ;But; there, is nothing; ,ii'i' tho language employed by either that. - wouid frighten tho most greedy railway magnate or give confldonce to one who is anxious that the yights of the patrons of the roads shall be jealously guarded. . On the subject of Mexico Governor Co uses . languago calculated to please those who oppose, intervention whilo Senator Harding employs a larger number of words with less deflnitoness as to purpose. He says, "It would be simple to have a plain and neighborly understanding with Mexico," but he does not make plain or understandable the policy that he has In mind. On tho liquor question there is little real dif ference between the positions taken by the two candidates. They are both strong on law en forcement. Senator Harding considers it "un thinkable to evade the law" while Governor Cox spurns tho very idea that a president would violate his oath, of office by failure tp enforce the law. Governor Cox declares that "It would seem quito unnecessary for any candidate for tho presidency to say that he dogs not intend to violate his oath of office," adding, "anyone who is false to that oath, is more unworthy than the law violator himself." But whilo Senator Hard- . ing wants it distinctly understood that he will enforce the law 'while rt is a law, he holds out to the wets an alluring hope, when he says, "Modification or repeal is the right of a free people whenever the deliberate and intelligent public sentiment demands."' Governor Cox is equally considerate of the sensibilities of the wets and injeots a ray of hope into this part of his .. speech by suggesting, that "the legislative ' branch of government is subject to the rulo of the majority," A little plater on ho throws in-, another morsel of oncouragemont, -seemingly without hy connection With the subjects1 that' envelope iW He says, -''Morals cannot easily be produced by statute" a beautiful and euphoni ous half .truth which has probably been used more by 'the liquor traffic-than any other, one phrase. The friends of the saloon construe it to mean that prohibition is a failure. What .they mean is that tho wets should get. busy and elect , a wot congress. , k .., .-. ThOre is an interesting discussjon between the two candidates in wlvich each, avoids meeting tho argument -of tho ofher. Mr. -Harding eulogizes party government as distinguished from the au tocratic power of the Jndividual;tGpvernor Cox virtuously disclaims any suc$ worship of a party- and commends tho independence of the executive in following out his idea of duty. Neither one presents tho real issue at this time, namely, whother the presumption lies with the major ity or with the minority. Tho peace of the world has been hold up" for a year hecause neither side could secure two-thirds of the Senate. The Senate voted by eighteen majority in favor of ratification with certain reservations agreed up on. Is tho presumption, under our form of gov ernment, with the majority that favored rati fication or with tho minority that opposed rati fication? If with the minority then obstruction was justified; if with tho majority, .by what leading DemocrateHn every one of the 103,000 election precincts In the country. They under took to classify all these Democrats according to tha quantity of their earthly possessions, thlr incomes and the degree' of their susceptibility to appeals for .money. It was, intended to be, and; it' would have been, an efficient permanent systPm for collecting campaign funds from year to yeaiv "Tho scheme was started. and kept going for a year or two, Fully half of a million dollars was; Invested in it. Then the persons who were in power in the party organization disapproved it and the whole investment, -was scrapped. That argument can postponement of ratification bo ;ieft the party "Without funds and without any defended? There is ono Interesting contrast that can bo drawn botweon the tw6 speeches Senator Hard ing wants to go "back to normal"; Governor Cox wants to go forward. The former regards the war as a distraction and seeks to restore the conditions that previously existed. .Governor Cox urges a forward movement to meet new con ditions, and responsibilities. I have left for the last subject which both candidates put first, namely, the Treaty. Both,' consider this tho paramount issue, and both are hopeful. Bach contends that the solution lies In the triumph of his party. Senator Harding calls upon the country to trust tle Republican party to conclude peace, and- then safeguard the peace of the future hy an associationof the na tions, but he does not outline the pla,ns upon which this can he secured or estimate the time that it may require. Governor Cox endorses tho Democratic plat- macmrtery tor bringing in collections. From that time until the present the Democrats have kept going by calling meeting of their rich friends once in every so often and beguiling the generous into giving' or pledging money. Tho net of it is that the Democratic national com mittee begins the campaign with nothing in 'the treasury and With a deficit of something over $100,000,- and with considerably more due and . ayerduo, to Wealthy Democrats' who advanced money to tide things over." ' "" Is Mr. Sullivan's statement true, that the Democratic national, committee has collected one-half million dollars since the 1916 campaign and is now $100,000 in debt?. - It the statement is even -approximately true, the Democratic committee should publish a de railed financial statement for the .enlightenment of the rank and file of the party, showing how ' much money and from whom it was collected, how much and to whom it -was paid, and how much-money there. isnow, if any, in the hands form und praises the League of Nations as framed at Paris and now accepted by nearly, all , of thd national committee. the nations. Governor Cox's plan is certainly., much more definite than Senator Harding's, but he, like the senator romOhio, falls hack' on faith when, lie speaks of the future. He thinks, that a Democratic victory would Settle the mat- ter. Both are too Well acquainted with politics; to ignore the fact that neither party cart hope to secure twothird of the Senate as a result DEMOCRATIC PLATFORMS . . DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM 1863 ,-.' "The Democratic, party, in National Conven tion assembled, reposing its tust in the intelli . gence, patriotism, and discriminating -justice of the people, standing upon the Constitution as H 'i: Il.n. . ' ..-...... - -- VJ w-n..-w. .,.. .-l, J,-,-... OI W? ?T"7 .anWQtn.'0V,w-m ,FWQi"e.U-..the foundation. -and limitation of .the . ppwprs of acquainted with partisan politicsto hae much 'he Government, andjthearanteWf the liber. 0?nJfc :cen "her party accepting thev result, aies.bf thecitizen, and.recognfrtag tfie, questions of the election as a mandate. Too many issues of kIova- mi sAaRion m haVinir been settled enter into the campaign to make the defeated party accept the election as a mandate on any particular issue. If we are to have a referen dum, why not an agreement between the parties to accept the result as binding? Will Senator Harding pledge tho Republican senators to ac cept and carry out the Democratic policy on the. Treaty question if Governor Cox wins? Will Governor Cox pledge the Democratic senators to. accept and carry but the Republican policy if Senator Harding wins? If such ah agreement can be, made "between the leaders, with the en dorsement of the senators, a referendum will mean-something. "Otherwise, what assurance have we that we will be any nearer to a set tlement of the question after the' .election than we are now? What we really need is a, change in tlie Con stitution so that a majority. can ratify. Wo -have '-shamed our nation before the world; we have blocked the world's road to peace; we have suspended pressing domestic questions all because we are not willing to trust the funda mental principle of democracy, namely, the right of the majority to rule. And now the campaign promises to result in a further deadlock. Ifv dennocracyjs worth commending to Europe, is it not worth trusting in this' country? And what is democracy except the right of tho major-, ity to rule? Democracy gives tho presumption to tho majority; if the presumption is not with the majority, then where shall we stop short of arbitrary power? w. J. BRYAN. 'INTERESTING IF TRUE" The 'following, is taken from Mark Sullivan's political letter of August 8, 1920, and is copy-, righted by the Associated Press: ,.... "In the first place, the Democrats started the 1916 campaign with a considerable deficit, and it took them some months to collect enough money to overcome that. Then the Democratic ! chairman embarked on a moqt ambitious scheme of money collecting. They hired throe floors in a business block at Washington, and they in stalled a plant not unlike the head office of a big corporation. They had clerical help by the score. They had a dozen printing presses and over 100 electric typewriters. They undertook to make card index of the twenty or thirty 'TV ."' - , of slavery and secession as. haying been settled for all time t6 come by the waror the. voluntary action of the Southern Statesln' constitutional contention, assembled, and nearer to .be renewed or reagitated, do, with the return of peace, de mand:," DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM 1873 "2.' We pledge ourselves to maintain the Union of these. States, emancipation, and en franchisement, and to oppose any reopening of the questions settled by the Thirteenth, Four teenth and Fifteenth1 Amendments to the Con stitution." DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM 1876 "For the Democracy of the whole, country we do here reaffirm our faith, in the permanence of the Federal" Union, our" devotion to the Consti tution of the United States, with-its junendments universally accepted as a final settlement of the controversies that engendered ciyil war, and do here record our steadfast confidence in the per petuity of Republican self-government. ( DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM 19 2 0 Silent on 18th Amendment. .- MORE OR IjESS PERSONAIi 'The worst break: made in the prohibition na tional convention was the doubt publicly ex pressed by one of the delegates, as to the "aii thority" ot Charles W. Bryan"- to speak for his "brother. The two Bryans are one when it comes to political thinking. The newspaper men of Lirtcoln have learned through a. period of twenty-five years that o,, hint "' from Brother Charles is as goPd as a nod from William. It is a very close partnership, with sympathy and un derstanding o make -it indissoluble.: Nebraska State Journal, Lincdln. V''- 'V , THE ONLY REMEDY The Prohibition platform is th&ohly one con taining a remtedy for the Senate deadlock which has shamed us before the world, and blocked the path to peace. It says: "We stand for a constitutional amendment providing tho treaties of poace shall he ratified by a majority of both houses." Why not? AT MAJORITY can take the country into wart Why n of allow a major ity to conclude! peace,? , , - ..". tf?' if V I -' aO .A I