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The Commoner
Voir; 22, NO. 9
ft
Beveridge Reac
tionary Indiana-, always politically Interesting, Is giv
ing us an innovation this year. Ex-Senator
Bovorldgo, who In days past posed as a progres
sive, is now appearing In the role of premier re
actionary. The Now York Times has discovered
in Senator .Beveridge the. Moses for which- predatory-
wealth has been searching. It quotes him
as saying that business has been clogged by un
scientific efforts at restraint and that these laws,
having been put upon the statute books, hav
not heen repealed because of "the self'shness
and cowardice of politicians, the audacity and
bUiff ol demagogues and the political torpor and
timidity of business men themselves." The
Times Lays that it can only echo Mr. Boveridge's
declaration that "the time has come to clean
house" and that "we cannot have the prosperity
wo ought to have until this job is done."
It will astonish the progressives of Indiana to
leant-that Senator Beveridge regards himself as
called to rescue the nation from "the legislative
dead hand on the industrial and business activi
ties of tho American peoplQ." Big 'business has
needed some bold man of ability to defend the
croed of the greedy, and with willingness to do
it. Only a few men have enough (confidence in
themselves to think that justice will cower be
fore their glance and that the masses will sink
away under their whip. Mr. Beveridge belongs
to that very small class (it is fortunate for the
country that tho class is small) whose members
cannot conceive of opposition and would not
brook it If they could conceive of it. Ho seems
to think that big business needs a political en
gineer who has the courage to ignore grade
crossings and speed laws.
Ho has always been Hamiltouian in his views;
ho thinks that society is suspended from the top
and that, if tho government will only take care
of the rich, the rich can bo trusted to take care
of the poor. Pie would interpret the story of
Lazarus and Dives to mean that Lazarus was
lucky to have a Dives near so he could get the
crumhs that fell from the table.
And now he wants j,ho repeal of laws that re
strain business thd .anti-trust law is chief
among tho few that we have. His logic seems
to be: Why should tho trusts be interfered with?
"Why should a little business concern object to
being squeezed out or bankrupted by overgrown
corporations? Then there is the anti-option law
why should enterprising gamblers on the mar
ket be restrained from juggling with the farm
er's prices? And why should the packers be
regulated? Can they not be trusted to fix tho
prices on the farmer's meat products? Why any
of thjs "dead hand legislation" that aims at
guarding the God-made man from aggressions at
tho hands of man-made giants called corpora
tions? The farmers and laborers of Indiana had bet
ter investigate Mr. Beveridge's tinsel progressiv
ism' before they give him a six years' term at
Washington. His views seem to have undergone
a complete change since he began to study Chief
Justice Marshall. When he goes to Washington
if he ever does he will make Senator Watson
look like a progressive by comparison.
Fortunately, the Democrats of Indiana have in
ex-Governor Ralston a man whose sympathies
are with the people of Indiana and in whom the
masses can find a representative.
' . W. J. BRYAN.
GUESSING RUN VJLD
Just to illustrate how wildly a man can guess
when he gets the idea that be' has brute blood
in his veins, the following letter just received
is submitted to the readers of The Commoner.
Tho name and tho personal part are withheld:
"We are told in Genesis 2:7 'And the Lord
God formed man of the dust of the ground, and
breathed Into his nostrils the breath of life; and
man became a living soul.'
"Now the question at once arises as to the
meaning of the word 'dust.' The ordinary inter
pretation appears to satisfy most persons but in
this case, from tho importance of the pbinU,at
issue, it is well to consider it more carefully., On
doing this wo find that the word 'dust' is used'
again in the ensuing chapter. On condemning
the serpent God says in verse 14, 'Upon thy
belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat -all
. the days of thy life.'
"Again considering tho subject carefully for
the reason above stated, we find that the ordi
nary interpretation is absolutely inadequate as
a serpent could not subsist upon dust as we
term it; snakes being known as carnivorous sub
sisting entirely on lower forms of life such ad
live in the dust or on the ground such as frogs,
insects, etc., or anything alive inhabiting the
dust. The meaning of the inspired narrative
thus takes on a new aspect its significance being
indubitable and unmistakable. In our haste
we have been accusing the narrative of assum
ing an unnecessary difficulty in the creation of
man namely, forming him out of actual dust or
"inanimate matter" a meaning which even sci
ence does not assume at present to be possible
or at least probable.
"The Bible does not, of course, say positively
that dust consists of insects or other life but if
we interpret the word in the light of moderti
zoology, as we have the right, it certainly places
thev burden of proof on the other side; i. o. on
those that claim, unnecessarily we believe, that
man was created from actual dust as we under
stand the term."
Henry Ford has given public notice that on
Septembor 16th he will close his immense auto
mobile manufacturing plants because tho coal
operators, taking advantage of the artificial
scarcity produced hy the strike of miners, have
attempted to hold him up for seven million dol
lars on his next year's coal bill. Mr. Ford will
have the sympathy of every householder in tho
land, coupled with a regret that they are in not
in a .position to fight tho profiteers in the same
Inanner.
THINGS INEXCUSABLE
'Cyiolence is inexcusable; no one can justify it
The, laboring man who resorts to violence in anv
form, is the enemy of his class. But while we
insist on obedience to tho law we must not over
look other inexcusable acts. Turning the armv
qver to tho railroad executives is also inexcua
able, tfhe army belongs to the government and
should only be used to carry ojit the decrees of
the government.
MICHAEL COLLINS, MARTYR
Michael Collins had already ascended to the
top rank of great Irishmen by his fearless and in
telligent devotion to Ireland's "welfare. HIb-'
assassination lifts him into the ranks of the Irish
immortals and gives world-wide importance to'
the lesson that comes with his death. "The blood
of the martyrs is the seed of the church" is an
old phrase and is as true as it is old. Sacrifice
is the final test of love and the tragedy of death
is the argument that surpasses all others in 'ef
fectiveness. The example of one who lives for
a truth exerts a very large influence a life is
much more potent than mere words, but death
is more potent than life.
Collins was a powerful factor in the triumph
of Ireland's aspirations for home rule-but he will
do more in his death than he could "have done
in his life. The shedding of his blood will arouse
the friends of Ireland to new activity and it will
shame into submission those who are responsi
ble for the assassination.
"Without the shedding of blood there is no re
mission," is Bible doctrine and its seems almost
as true in the world at large. Wrong seems on
the point of victory when death startles the
world someone's blood arouses the determina
tion that puts an end to the wrong and carries
reform to success. An enemy is thus made to
serve a righteous cause; wrath defeats itself.
Michael Collins has accomplished even more than
he had in mind; his services aid a world instead
of a nation.
A press dispatch under a Springfield, Illinois
date, carries the news that the coal oper
ators have decided to raise the price of coal
one 'ollar and twenty-five cents a ton. The mine
workers come back with a statement that this
is pure profiteering. The miners get no increase
in wages and there is no other increase In costs
it is-just greed taking advantage of an oppor
tunity. The time will come when the govern
ment will feel it its duty to restrain such hich
way robbery as it now restrains the use of a gun
by the highway man on the roadside. These
polite highway men operate on a large scale and
"hold up the public" for millions. Why should
not the government act now?
A poll of Boone county, Iowa, farmers 'was
taken the other day on the ship subsidy ques
tion. The vote, as reported, was 615 against to
1 for. The accuracy of the poll can be roadilv
assumed. That is about the proportion the peo
ple at largo would give if they had a chance to
express their opinions. Ce t0
Whose Army Is It?
The people of tho United States may scon have
to deal with a very important question, namely
to whom does the army of the United States be
long? We are supporting over one hundred
thousand men and tho chief reason for them
seems to be for use in labor troubles. The forts
have been withdrawn from the frontier to the
neighborhood of cities. No loyal citizen will ob
ject to the use of the military arm of the gov
ernment to enforce law and suppress lawless
ness, but who is to decide when tho army is
needed or the purpose for which it is needed?
If railroad companies or coal companies fall
out with their employees so that public business
is interrupted, has either side to the dispute a
right to decide upon Its course, regardless of the
opinion of the other and regardless of public
welfare and then summon the army to carry 6ut
private opinions? -If the employers decide that
the employees are unreasonable in their de
mands, can the employers use the army to carry
out their private decision? If, on the other
hand, the employees decide that the employers
demands are unreasonable, can they call upon
the army to enforce their demands and what
they have decided is just? Is it not the duty of
the . government to. decide in such cases? The
army is not a bantl of mercerfaries to be em
ployed in carrying out the personal views of
either employers or employees; it is the arm of
the government to bje used for the support of the
government in the enforcing of its decrees. The
army belongs to. the people and the people speak
through the government what right has any
man, whether employer or employee, to demand
the use of this instrument of the government for
private purposes?
It used to be customary for men engaged in
what is called "big business" to answer requests
for arbitration by saying that there, was nothing
to arbitrate. They claimed that they were at
tending to their own business and had a right
to attend to it as they pleased. But is a man
really attending to nothing but his own business
when he attempts to fix the conditions under
which thousands and tens of thousands shall
live? Granted that a man has a right to decide
things that affect HIMSELF ONLY, but what
right has he to decide arbitrarily matters that af
fect the lives of a- multitude?
As long as employers and employees agree the
public pays little attention to wage scales and
time contracts, but when they cannot agree the
government becomes an interested party because
it speaks for the people when it speaks with the
army. It must speak for the WHOLE people and
do what the whole people want done, not that"
which may bo desired by a group of employers or
employees.
The present strikes have brought great hard
ship upon the public, but they will have been
worth something if they bring the American peo
ple to a realization of the fact that the army be
longs to the government and can only be used by
the government for the enforcing of that which
the government thinks ought to be enforced.
W. J. BRYAN.
Representative Fordney, whose name is at
tached to the highest tariff bill ever passed by
the house, is to retire at the end of his term.
Our own guess is that he will feel tho need of the
addition to his income that conies from drawing
a congressman's" salary if the tariff bill passes in
its present form.
A CORRECTION
In a recent issue of The Commoner I quoted
what a Chicago newspaper reported Rev. John H.
Williamson, Law Enforcement Officer of Chicago,
had stated in regard to education among the
criminals at Joliet. The paper quoted him as
saying that five out ol six of all the criminals
had a college training. When the figures were
disputed I wrote to Mr. Williamson and received
a letter Tfom him saying that the newspaper re
port was inaccurate. What he really said was
that of the. FIVE criminals selected from among
the prisoners for examination by a committee oi
the Bar Association FOUR out of the five had a
college or high-school training. Mr, Williamson
accompanied the committee. I am glad to mane
the correction.
Tho facts as he states them are warning
enough. A successful criminal must have an ed
ucation; no uneducated criminal can do much in
the way of forgery, embezzlement, or swindling
Tho figures show that moral' development is nec
H essary to restrain the increased power thai: cofes
s with intellectual development. W. J.' BRIAN.
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