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The Commoner
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WILLIAM J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR ' '
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VOL 21, NO. 7
Lincoln, Nebraska, July, 1921
Whole Number 747
The-Democrats
at Work
The Democrats in the Senate and House at
"Washington are making a great record. They
It have reduced the army against the protest of
I Secretary of War Weeks; they have reduced
the navy appropriation against the protest of
Secretary of the Navy Denby and they have
aided in the passage of the Borah resolution re
questing the President to caH a conference of
the leading nations tp start disarmament. That
I Is a mighty good start. Of course they could
have done Nothing without the aid .of-Insurgent
Republicans, hut the Democrats .furnished the
largest number of votes. Nowfor the' amend
ment of the Federal Rpserve .get Uo which -attention
is called in other- editorial's) and the re
ft duction of taxes. The reactionaries want to re
lieve the big taxpayers flrst; the Democrats, in
sist on protecting ,the small taxpayersand ihe
Democrats,wUl;vhi.jrjhe Knox-Porter respVur
ttion dividedthe -Democrats, butitajuokyery.
little importance to the party; the war ;is over
and it did no harm (and but little good) to
make the formal declaration.
The reaction has set in; the Republican
majority would be several millions less if he
.vote were tafken today. W. J. BRYAN.
Let the People Answer
Shall the Federal Reserve Banks be ad
ministered for the benefit of the legitimate
business interests of the country, the prop-"
er financing of tho great agricultural and
producing interests and the betterment of
tho laboring classes, or shall they bo used
to promote the selfish interests of groups
of speculators in Wall street?
Read" John Skclton Williams' startling
arraignment of tho Federal Reserve Board
policies (on another page), and then write
your senators, and congressman to get busy
ut bitco. -
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THE LION IN THE WAY
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K Tho tnv miPfiMnn nnms lartre at WaSUinECOIl
it is the supreme question. . Now let's see ho'w
the Republican leaders can satisfy the demands
of big business. If there was pnly some way
to transfer the burden, UNSEEN, from the rich
v. to tne noor it wouia oe easy, out uie ijuui ic
looking. The farmers can not stand any more
taxes their prices are falling. The laborers can
not stand any more- taxes their wages are fall
ing. The small merchants can not stand any more
taxes- their profits are falling. If the prof
iteer can't pay his taxes, who can? - And besides,
,' the profiteer is the on,ly man who can by his
own act relieve himself.. If he stops stealing
his excess profits tax stops. W. J'. BRYAN;
THE BATTERER BATTALIONS
Recent New York newspapers contained' vary
ing descriptions of the "mammoth" Booze parade
1 '8o long advertised and and so elaborately pre-
'Pared. The advance' hotices promised an "ericfrV ' "" " w
mqus'" 'proceSsfon, variously esiimalfe'aWo,
000 to 300,000. Only 20,000 succeeded in get
ting into line only 20,000 in a city like New
York. But what's the use? The country has
gone dry; there is not even a m'rage to lure the
thirsty on. They can't get up even a good
"wake." Possibly it was well to have the parade:
it lanced the boil and let the matter out. The
saloon is a closed incident; the nation will pro
- ceed to' the next order of business.
A Terrific Indict
ment Attention is called to John Skelton Williams'
indictment of the management, or mismanage
ment, of tho Federal Reserve Bank, It will be
found in this issuo and should be' carefully read.
Immediate action Is necessary In Urte with Mr,
Williams' suggestions. The farmer, the labor
er and the bus'ness man should have representa
tion on the board their interests are vitally
affected. It is a mistake to suppose that a
banker is the only one that understands the
. banking business or the only one who can wise
ly decide banking questions. His sympathies
may blind him to the Interests of the masses,
no matter how honest he may be. Congress
should act and act at once. The Democrats
-should demand" action and force the fighting
for relief. No time ,siould be lost.
W. J. BRYAN.
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"STdP THE SQUEEZE" -Cbngress
should stop the Federal Reserve
Bank from, collecting and hoarding t the people's
money.
The-present effect JoC -the system is to'strangle
industry, force farmers into bankruptcy and
throw laboring people out of employment while
the flimncial pirates are foreclosing mortgages
and paying themselves in dollars three times
.as large as they were when the- loans were made,
How long will congress and the people stair"
for tlie. "deflation hold up?"
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CHfEF33rUSTICETAT,T ,.jl
'The appointment of ex-President Taft ,to the
chief Justiceship was to be expected. That has
been the dream of his life compared with
which his experience in the White House seemed
something of a nightmare.
His appointment will give general satisfac
tion. He is constitutionally a conservative. He was
born that way, and his early environment and
later association confirmed him in the tendency.
But no one but a conservative could? expect the
place, and he is honest and will do what he
thinks right. He has endeared himself to Demo
crats and Republicans al.ke by the way he took
his-defeat, by his patriotic course during the
war, by his devotion to peace and by his active
interest in public affairs.. The country is glad
'to see him reach his goal. W. J. BRYAN.
AMEND RESERVE BANK -LAW
Congressman Oldfield of Arkansas has intro
duced a biH that oughuto be passed at once.
On another page will be found a Washington
dispat'eh containing Mr. Oldfield's explanation of
it. It is intended, first, to prevent disoriraina-
tion against rural banks both in proportion of
money loaned and in rate of interest, and, sec
ond, to give to purchasers of Liberty Bonds an
opportunity to borrow 80 per cent of the face
value of the - bonds. Both propositions are
soundevery word it true. Read the Oldfield
statement of the provisions of the bill and then
write your congressman and senators urging
them to support it-. It snouia oe-eiwvtuu ;ut ,uum.
VY. Jc OJlAll"
PRIVATE OWNERSHIP.
We'now have PRIVATE 'ownership of rail--roads,
with higher passenger rate?, 'higher
freight rates and poorer service, but the sub
sidized papers are not complaining. The gov
ernment could not have done worse than the
managers are doing. Experience is a dear
teacher but the people are learning.
DAWES AND HIS SHEARS C
General Dawes is at work with his shears
and is likely to prove the largest asset of the
administration. He has conscience and courage
two indispensable qualifications for the posi
tion he has, accepted. His mind is clear enough
to find the u'seless jobs and his heart is hard
enough to enable him to remove the useless ot
'ficiols who are to the government what the ap
p&utiix is to the body only more expensive.
.
J THE FARMERS AWAKENING
The farmers will have a splendid .opportunity
to learn how, deceptive the benefits of the tar
iff are. Protection raises the price level of the
things they tyuybut 'is powerless to raise the
i,
THE SOLDIER'S BONUS
The Republican leaders are very anxious tc
take the tax off of excess profits tnd at the same
time Secretary Mellon complains that they hav
not enough money to give the ex-soldiers a
bonus. Why not keep the excess profits tax and'
use the proceeds to pay the ex-sorvice men?.
Those who collect MORE PROFITS THAN
THEY SHOULD might help the boys who re
leyel'of their prp'ducts.- It isr therefore,' anda-" ceived LESS PAY-THAN THEY EARNED.-juryf'iustead-
pf an ' advantage. " W. J. BRYAN.
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