" V" ?.'""WJT "Hw4 -ijs Jj7""!p-
The Commoner
VOL. 22, NO. &
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as much nid to progressive Republicanism as
Senator Hitchcock cah. PROGRESSIVE RE
PUBLICANS ARE COMPELLED TO JOIN
WITH THE REACTIONARIES IN THE. ORGAN
IZATION OF THE SENATE. THEY DID SO IN
THE PRESENT SENATE, THEY MUST DO SO
IN THE NEXT. The reactionary Republicans
are in the majority and the low Republican pro
gressives, if the Republicans control the Senate,
will aid in putting all tho machinery of the Sen
ate in tho hands of the reactionary leaders.
AFTER PROGRESSIVE REPUBLICANS HAVE
SECURELY TIED-THEIR OWN HANDS BY
INSTALLING A ' 'REACTIONARY MACHINE
theycari'lnakc OCCASIONAL (protests against
tho pdlicy'of tho Republican party as the re
actionaries outline it: But the progressives can
liot do anything EXCEPT WHEN THEY ACT
WITH THE DEMOCRATS, The -Progressive Re
publicans would bo hopeless and helpless in the
Senate but for the largo Democratic minority
which furnishes the bulk of the vote whenever
tho plans of the reactionaries arc thwarted. If
Nebraska wants progressive legislation, Senator
Hitchcock can do more to secure it than a Re
publican senator could possibly do.
Republican papers profess to be shocked at a
reunion in the Democratic ranks, but they have
novcr been interested enough to aid the Demo
crats in the past when they were initiating re
forms that tho country afterwards addptedN. They
'applaud division In the Domdcfatic party and be
moan cooperation among Democrats, but they
never aided the Democratic party or Democratic
loaders when the fight was on and when their
' 'aid might have shortened the period of agita
tion and hastened reforms. They will not de
ceivo the public now any more than they have
in the past. The reaction against the Republi
can administration WHICH ALL THESE PAP
ERS SUPPORTED proves anew that the
Ddmocratid party is the only party to which the
podple can look for relief from tho PREDATORY
INTERESTS THAT WORK THROUGH THE
REPUBLICAN ORGANIZATION.
1 W. J. BRYAN.
' THE NEBRASKA DEMOCRATIC TICKET
The Democrats of Nebraska have placed in
nomination one of tho strongest tickets In its
history. Mr. Mullin, the nominee for lieutenant
governor, is a successful farmer in Boone county
whoso standing In tho state is indicated by his
victory over several very excellent men. Mr. Pool,
for secretary of state, had four years of experi
ence in that office. Mr. Hall, for state treasurer,
was in charge of the state's finances for a simi
lar period and was responsible for many Of the
reforms in that office. Mr. Ayres, railroad com
missioner, had four years' experience as a deputy
under Auditor Smith, an outstanding member o
the state administration. Grant L. Shumway,
for auditor, was for two years land commission
er, and like Mr. Pool and Mr. Hall, gave very
efficient service. Mr. Warrington, for land com
missioner, is a successful editor in Custer coun
ty and a man of business training. "Mr. Mc
Donald, for attorney general, is one of the bril
liant young lawyers of western Nebraska, a sec-
tion seldom represented on Republican tickets.
The Democrats offer trained men with records of
public service in the interest of the common
people.
NEWBERRYISM IN NEBRASKA
Two rich men competed for the Republican
nomination for governor of Nebraska. Their
advertising appeared in practically every paper
in the state, and of the large dailies they werO
very liberal patrons. On thousands of telephone
poles their pictures and advertising matter ap
peared. They had men in various parts of the
state doing "political work" in their interest,
and thousands of letters were sent out by mail!
Tho winner was a north Nebraska banker, and so
liberal were the spcndings of both of them that
he" pulled in ahead by only a few hundred votes
He will undoubtedly be as liberal in his expendi
tures for the election. Will Nebraskans stand
for Newberryism in their state? -
It looks now as if tho three-mile limit would
he moved back for a distance of eighteen miles
That is all right. Any move in that direction fa
good; ljut why fix any limit and permit rum run
ners to lay at anchor beyond? Wo should have
a law authorizing tho sinking of any liquor laden
vessel anywhere, on the high seas if it is sailing
toward- our shores engaged in conspiracies
against our Constitution and our laws. The wnt
claim, all the open seas for their outlaw busing
but tup claim will not be conceded by anv oMi
ized nation. J w,,y Clv11
.v
Seniority Among
Employes
Seniority seems to be the bone of contention
a very large bone for the employe and a
very small cue for the employers, unless the
real purpose of the latter fs to destroy organiza
tion among laborers. Seniority means a good
deal to the working man if he has a right to use
it .but it is worse than worthless to him if it
measures the power of the employer tov coerce
him into submission to any terms that tho em
ployer may see fit to impose. Seniority brings
with it the opportunity for a man to have a home
on no other basis can he be sure of a prema.
nent dwelling place and an environment such as
a family man has a right to enjoy.
Seniority means the right to be the last man -discharged
and the first one reinstated when
employment fluctuates. The employer determines
how many men he will discharge a"nd how many
men he will employ. If the rule of seniority is
destroyed the employe is helpless and must do
whatever the employer says. Without the rule
of seniority his right to strike becomes an empty
thing. If leaving work (as the only means of
onforcing what the employe believes to be
right) forfeits his relative position his senior
ity rights when he goes back, his home may
have to be sacrificed and all local friendship
severed unless he accepts a position of serfdom
and enters into involuntary servitude. The fact
that the employers have refused to accept the
President's proposition, rejecting all terms be
cause they want to destroy seniority rights of
the strikers, strongly suggests that their real
purpose is not to conserve the interests of the
railroads but to destroy the labor organizations
the wage-earners only security against cor
porate oppression.
When a railroad company employs tens of
thousands and can lay off any person at will, it
is not attending a business really its own it is
fixing the. conditions under which thousands live.
Civilization is impossible if the multitude must
each day look up to a few employers and peti
tion; .Give us this day our daily bread, with the
alternative of starvation unless the employe
surrenders all rights.
The answer of the railroad heads gave Presi
dent Harding an opportunity to call the public
attention to the arrogance of big business. If he
had given them a definite time in which to
manifest their interest in the public's welfare
with the alternative of temporary public opera
tion of such roads as continued to ignore the
public's interests in this strike, the obstinate
railroad managers would have soon learned the
quasi public character of the railroads a char
acter which railroad magnates always under
stand when the railroad wants to exercise the
government's right of eminent domain but sel
dom recognize tft any other time.
W. J. BRYAN.
THE REED VICTORY
Senator Reed's renomination in Missouri
makes the election of a Democratic senator
doubtful m that state. Regardless of the merits
of the contest between him and Ex-Secretary
Long the fight became so bitter and so nersonii
that neither was able to unite tne Democrat
forces against the Republican party. The sit
uation may have been such that no other solu
tion was possible, but it is unfortunate in an!
tional crisis like this that the personal element
should crowd out larger considerations The
primary vote shows that neither candidate reprS
sented much more than half the party, whill the
minority Just less than a majority was vio
lently opposed .to the majority. ThT par ty
as a whole, is much more interested in nroteo?
ing the country from the predatory interesL th
use the Republican party for SoiaJion nur
A (GREAT MACHINIST DEAD
The death of AlexanderGraham Bell will ion i
to a survey of tho service he has rendered to tl
world as the inventor of the telephone Ho in
so to speak, converted the world into a' whisnl
ing gallery. His invention was one of the croS"
est that has been made and illustrates the nn"
sibilities of service. If fcne tells an audience tint
it is possible for a human being to earn five h n
dred million dollars supposed to be the laref
sum that any American has yet collected-Ah
audience looks skeptical: But: when one conahl
ers the .measureless service, rendered by a mult
tude who have brought the forces of nature-l
steam, electricity, water, and, air within the con '
trol of man, o,r unloosed and organized the moril
forces of 'soc,iety(, it becomes evident that no fie
ures with which man is acquainted can fully
measure the value of the- service rendered
But those who render the greatest service
never collect the full-amount earned. Those who
earn fabulous sums are so busy earning that thev
have not time to collect; while those who col
lect fabulous sums are so busy collecting that
they have not time to earn what they draw from
society. If enormous service was always linked
to enormous incomes there would be no com
plaint of injustice, for injustice is simply a sys
tem under which a few are permitted to collect
from society more than they earn and, when a
few collect more than they earn, that which re
mains in the common store is not sufficient to en
able all the rest to collect all that they earn,
Bell's service, like the service of other great
benefactors, is incalculable a new estimate will
have to be made each year for countless years to
come. "An epoch in history begins," it has been
said, "when God lets loose a thinker in the
world." That id true, whether it is a thought
that stirs others to action or a thought expressed
in a machine.
All the forces of nature and in society have
been here from the beginning but machinery is
needed to enable man to utilize these forces. The
wind has swept the earth from time immemorial
but it was only known as a destructive force till
man invented machinery to utilize its strength;
the water tumbled down the mountain side use
less in its fall till man invented the water wheel;
and so electricity flashed from the skies, feared
as a destroying power until man invented ma
chines for its use. Now, like a beast of burden,
it brings light and heat from the sun and carries
our messages around the earth. Great is the
machine, and great are those whom God has
made His ambassadors to reveal the secrets of
His universe and devise the machines by which
the unseen forces can be utilized.
' Government is but a machine for the utiliza
tion of patriotism, just as the church is but a
machine for collecting and expressing the reli
gious sentiment that controls the hearts of men.
Alexander Graham Bell was one of God's ambas
sadors he devised a great machine which elimi
nates distance and makes each man the neighbor
oi every other man.
W. J. BRYAN.
On another page will bo found a report of th
German American National Conference, In which
they denounce prohibition as hypocrisy and da
mand wine and beer. Their resolution is not so
important as their endorsement of candM
They pledged their support to Beveridgo in inS?'
ana, Brookhart in Iowa, Frazier n NorJh S
koto, La Follette in Wisconsin, Prance in Marvl
land, and Reed in Missouri. Before the cnZ
paign is over these men will be Paying- GoT
save me from ray friends. e b0(I?
RELIEF IN SIGHT
On another page will be found a London dis
patch which will give encouragement to the drys.
Our government has laid before the government
of Great Britain a complaint against smuggling
that has the Bahamas and the Bermudas for a
base. Cooperation of the British government is
asked for the prevention of the use of the British
flag for the protection of rum-runners. The reply
cannot be otherwise than favorable. No nation
can afford to lend its flag to conspiracies against
the laws of a friendly nation.
This is the beginning of the end of smuggling.
Mexico and Cuba will also be asked to cooperate.
The requests ought to have been made long ago,
but the government was probably waiting until
it secured enough evidence to silence 'any opposi
tion that might be made by the wets.,
THE TARIFF QUESTION
Even the most sanguine Democrats are sur
prised at the revolt among Republican senators
against the boldness of the exploitation that is
being attempted. It will not be necessary for
Democrats to frame an indictment of the Re
publican tariff bill, they can malce up the indict
ment from the speeches made by the Republi
cans. No group of highwaymen ever robbed
more shamelessly than the tariff barons are at
tempting to rob now. If you dpubt it, read the
speeches that Republicans are making, fiomo
against one schedule, and some against another.
They plunderbund know that the night is shori
and it WAnts to get all the. .public has before
daylight .which is scheduled to appear on tne
twenty-second of November.
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