The Commoner
' WILLIAfl J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
.'
Vol. 2. No.
Lincoln, Nebraska, May 23, 1902.
Whole No. 70.
Mothers Have
Earned a Rest.
As summer approaches preparation should be
made for a summer vacation. It is a matter of re
gret that so many are not able to take such a vaca
tion, and a matter of still deeper regret that the
vacation, when taken, often goes to the member of
the family who least needs it, while those who
have best earned it, have no relief from the daily
routine of life.
As a rule, the wife needs a vacation more
than the husband, for her life is more monotonous
and is less relieved by social intercourse. The
wife who does her own work, in whole or in part,
finds work to occupy her time from the rising hour
to the hour of retirement, and it is of a character
that wears upon her by constant and unvarying
repetition. The wife of the laborer, the country
merchant, the professional man of moderate
means, and even more, the wife of the farmer
these need more change and rest than they usual
ly secure.
While The Commoner is published primarily
for the discussion of' questions affecting govern-
.-rvment,, .sociology, and political economy, it seeks
to' serve the interests of the family, InovoyyUse
way, and it urges Uppn its readers the importance
of a reasonable summer vacation, while it is en
deavoring to secure conditions that will permit an
increasing proportion to enjoy the luxury of re
freshing rest, it reminds its readers that even un
der present conditions many shorten their lives
by working' more continuously than is absolutely
necessary. A summer vacation need not entail a
great amount of expenditure. A short period, even
a week, of absolute relief from the daily round of
daily work and care is like an oasis. It not only
Strengthens a person for a longer service, but"
makes the service more pleasant. ' It usually would
require but a little sacrifice on the part of the hus
band and children to enabla the wife and mother
to secure this respite. Sons and daughters often,
throw away every year in useless expenditure
enough money to pay for the mother's outing, and
certainly they would find more pleasure in seeing
her freshened and invigorated than they can find
in spending the sum upon themselves. In return
for the great care that the mother gives and the
constant sacrifice that she makes from the time
the child is born until it reaches the grave, she
ought to be able to count upon a consideration
that is too often withheld. This would be a good
year to inaugurate the change.
Boys and girls, too try it and see how much
happiness you will get out of a little sacrifice made
for mother's sake.
JJJ
. Hysteria.
Colonel Woodruff, counsel for General Smith,
declared that the court-martial proceedings against
Smith were called "in deference to noisy public'
Be'ntiment, fostered for unknown and ignoble pur
poses until hysteria was produced." '
That is the characteristic.republican answer.
Every protest that is made, against inhuman
ity, every appeal in behalf of good principles, ev
ery .criticism of dishonest methods, every -con-
. -J
demnation of torture-r-all these things are the ro
sult of "hysteria!"
The only self-possessed, sensible people in tho
world today, the only people whose opinions are
entitled to weight, are those who unhesitatingly
take their stand beside class Interests, wno up
hold Impositions practiced by the strong upon tho
weak, who commend the trust system as the es
sential element of progress and prosperity, who
approve tho killing of boys over ten years of ago
and the order to transform a territory into a
howling wilderness, who commend torture as a
means to force men to betray their comrades in
arms!
All others are "hysterical."
JJJ
The President
And the King.
TRY THE AMERICAN WAY
Jacob Schurman, formerly president of the
Philippine commission, in an article in the Inde
pendent, says:
"What, I ask, do you want in the Philip
pines? More particularly, why in any part' of
Luzon and the Visayan islands are you making
a howling wilderness and killing children over
"ten years of ago? It will be said that these
are the unhappy incidents of war, which is al
ways a- stern affair, very different from the
holiday-making into which civilians would
turn it. Be it so. Why, then, are we making,
war? Here are 0,500,000 fellow Christians of
nil. in I ir.T'AQ1llg,'t11l1liMllfll-..J.At -- - A sto no
uuie muuuij" wiiuanau unvroir iu naiu 10 . .. ,. . . 7 .. , , iv: ,
highlycivnisdaBtitWjthepeopI sovereignty in me nanus ot uiuir
l-traraud South America. What do we want of sovereign nis uueesmun uuuuwius u ujullui w.
In a speech delivered at the banquet given to
Whitelaw Reid at New York on tho evening of
May 14, Senator Chauncoy M. Dcpow undertook
to justify tho appointment of a special delegation
to represent tho United States at the coronation
ceremonies of King Edward VII.
Senator Depew seemed to bo particularly de
sirous of providing an answer to tho claim that
inasmuch as the British ambassador, regularly sta
tioned at Washington, was tho only representative
which the king of England had at the inaugural
ceromonles of the president of tho United Staten,
the American ambassador, rogularly stationed at
King Edward's court, provided sufficient represen
tation for the United States at tho crowning of a
king. In other words, it was held that repre
sentation that would suffice for a monarchy at the
inaugural ceremonies of a president would sufilco
for a republic at the coronation ceremonies of a
king.
Evidently in reply to this suggestion, Senator
Depew said: t.Aj.LiJi
'iSo long as the' people ofotrfer countries
them? We have never told them.
"Thank God, there is a more excellent
way. Drop coercion and try conciliation.
Give the Filipinos -what they want, not what
' you think is good for them. Regard them not
as Sioux or Apache Indians, but as Christian
ized and civilized brown men, raniclng with
the Japanese."
"The Chicago Record-Herald recently demand
ed that the Moros in the Philippines be conciliated;
but if any republican paper has insisted upon conr
ciliation for the Christian Filipinos, we have failed
to observe it.
Mr. Schurman's suggestion is directly In line
with the Kansas City platform which promised
an immediate declaration of the nation's purpose
to give Filipinos, first, a stable form of govern
ment; second, independence; and, third, protec
tion from outside interference such as has been
given for nearly a century to the republics of
Central and South America.
And why Is not this the proper plan? Why is
it not the part of wisdom to substitute concilia
tion for brutality? Why is it not the part which
a civilized people should play in their dealings
with their fellow beings?
American citizens who have become restless
under this policy of imperialism have been told to
depend upon the republican party for a wise solu
tion of the problem; and the Filipinos have been
asked to depend upon the generosity of the repub
lican party to give them "all the liberty they are
capable of enjoying."
But the Filipinos want independence and it is
to the interests of this country, both in the dis
charge of its duty In the presence of the principles
uppn which it was founded and in accordance with
practical considerations, that this government
make an explicit pledge to the Filipinos that wo
will treat them as we promised to treat the Cu
bans. Mr. Schurman is correct when he says "thero
is, a more excellent way" of dealing with these
people than under the policy which we have
adopted. It is the American way; and this gov
ernment cannot hope' to be relieved of its em
barrassments until it solves the Philippine problem
along American lines, in accordance with the sug
gestion made by Mr. Schurman and in harmony,
with the pledges made by the democrats in the
Kansas City platform.
national and international significance. Tho
people of the United States took the sover
eignty of their king to themselves. The presl
. dent is only their agent, checked by congress
and the supreme court. The inauguration of a
president, therefore, marks no change of sov
ereignty." In other words, in Mr. Depew's view, the In
auguration of a president Is an insignificant af
fair compared with the crowning of a king.
Now, as a matter of fact, tho powers of the
king of England are insignificant compared with
the powers of tho president. In truth, tho
king of England long ago ceased to bo anything
but a figurehead, something before which the
English people could bow and scrape a living
thing in the presence of which they could pay
tribute to the monarchical notion.
While King Edward will be formally crowned
on June 26, it is true that for more than a year ho
has been king. When Queen Victoria died and tho
office passed to her son, there was not the slightest
change in the policies of the British government.
A change in the policies of the British govern
ment takes place when the ministry is changed.
One king could die every week and another king
take his place and the only disturbance it would
create would be the rustle and bustle of the flun
kies to pay tribute at the feet of tho new found
royalty.
Common politeness Is necessary hetween civ
ilized governments and the democrat will claim
that this essential is fully complied with when his
government Is represented at tho coronation cere
monies of the king by similar representation which
the king has at the Inaugural ceremonies of our
president; and the democrat will protest against
any extraordinary representation which might
place this government in the attitude of being
over-zealous to pay homage to a system of govern
ment that is essentially hostile to our own system
of government
iSut when a republican like Senator Depew