Jwo i3, 1902
The Commoner.
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THE WEEKLY PRESS FORUM
Darlington (Wis.) Democrat: We
wonder who the "traitor" was who
hauled down the flag in Cuba Tuesuay.
Sidney (la.) Herald: While lifting
Cuba out of the dirt of imperialism, we
are piling it onto the Filipinos.
Marysville (Kas.) Advocate-Democrat:
The man who says the Filipinos
are not ready for self-government
means that he would deny that boon
as long as he can.
Plankington (S. D.) Herald: ."If you
want the fort, come and take it," is
the message which Nebraska demo
crats are sending to the gold bugs,
alias "reorganizes."
Grand Island (Neb.) Democrat: One
of the most pitiable plights we have
ever seen is a preacher trying to show
how God's hand is guiding our work
in both Cuba and the Philippines.
Phoenix (Ariz.) Democrat: If the
president will substitute a bill to re
peal the meat taxes for Knox's bill to
restrain the meat trust there will be
Bpmething doing in an awful hurry In
every packing house between the
oceans.
Fostoria (0.) Democrat: The Wash
ington Post considers the -exodus of
Americans to tour Europe as an evi
dence that we. still have a surplus.
Unfortunately the people who create
the surplus, do" not get to do the
touring.
Goshen (N. Y.) Independent Repub
lican: The stories of outrages In the
Philippines by men who disgrace the
army uniform are conspicuous by their
absence in the press dispatches at this
time. This mav lndientn t.hnf n re
form has been inaugurated. It may
also indicate that the press censor is
getting in his work.
Buffalo (Mo.) Record: The United
States government acted with com
mendable promptness in donating to
the relief of the survivors of the dis
aster of the French West Indies. We
only wish the same sympathy and
love for humanity would work a
speedy conclusion of the disaster and
havoc now being caused in the Phil
ippines. Blandinsville (111.) Star-Gazetto:
No, my son, neither President Roose
velt nor the republican party were to
blame for the volcanic eruption which
destroyed St.. Pierre and Its 30,000 in
habitants last week-, nor have either
claimed it. All that the republicans
claim is the production of bountilful
crops, the sunshine, earth, the full
ness thereof and a few other things. v
Perry (O..T.) Sentinel: After ages
of struggle for freedom, Cuba Is a re
public at last. The next fight for the
democrats to close is to secure similar
freedom for all the Philippine islands.
. Forsythe (Ga.) Advertiser: The
present congress will cost the country
more than a billion dollars, being the
most expensive congress that the coun
try has ever "had. Between the ex
travagance of the higher officials and
the corruption of the lower ones, the
republican party seems to be in a
bad row of stumps.
David City (Neb.) Press: The Sut
ton Register mentions a Swede farmer
who has recently returned from the
land of his birth. While absent his
political faith received considerable of
a jar. He found McCormack harvest
ers, of the class that sell for $125 here
at home, selling for $62, less than half,
over there. Wire nails, costing $4.00
here, also cost $2.75 over there. He
is now convinced there is a steel trust,
which prevents competition at home
and is protected from outside compe
tition by a prohibitive tariff.- , '
Stanton (Neb.) Register: When the
fuslonists had charge of the affairs of
Nebraska, a large school apportion
ment was heralded by republicans as
prosperity. Now a larger apportion
ment is all credited. up to the good
work of the state officers. The repub
licans are great on grabbing at straws
to help themselves out of queer pre
dicaments. Charlestown (Ind.) Democrat: A
republican exchange has an extended
account of the increase of the number
of workingmen at increased wages and
decrease in price of staples and on
the same page gives an acount of a
strike for more wages and on still
another pace "roasts" tha hoof trnat-
Lfor padding prices and making illegal
contracts, aucn is republican incon
sistency. Glasgow (Ky.) Times: In nominat
ing Ollie James, the democrats of the
first congressional district have doie
the right thing in the right place and
to the right man. Ollio James Is one
of the brightest, ablest and truest of
the younger men called to public life
in Kentucky. He will make a con.
Lgressman of whom the First district
will be proud, and a record second to
that of none of the illustrious sons of
the Gibraltar district who havo pre
ceded him. Congressman James, good
man and true, democrat faithful and
fighting, large of brain, heart and
body, may your shadow never grow
less!
Rich Hill (Mo.) Enterprise: The
men who bolted the democratic party
in 1896 and 1900 and went over to the
republican party on the plea that, they
could not tolerate bimetallism, are to
day among the most conspicuous ad
vocates of imperialism, of trusts and
of all other Iniquitous republican
products. The men who are most con
spicuous in the effort to reorganize
the democratic party today, pretending
that their antagonism is confined to
the question of bimetallism, are In
conspicuous in the demand for justice
for the Boers, in opposition to Imper
ialism, in antagonism to trusts, and
in condemnation of republican schemes
generally.
Chicago Public: The attitude of the
republican press towards the demo
cratic party is well worthy of note, it
is so eminently friendly to democratic
leaders whose fidelity is under suspic
ion. Mr. Lamqnt, for instance, Is re
garded by the republican press as one
of the men whose nomination by the
democrats would save that party from
political ruin. Why republicans should
want the democratic party1 to escape
political ruin is not quite clear, yet
they are really extremely solicitous.
Mr. Cleveland would be acceptable to
them for this purpose, but as he Is
not regarded as available they fall
back upon Mr. Lamont, the creature
of Whitney whom Mr. Cleveland took
into the cabinet and launched upon
the ways to a speedy fortune of mil
lionaire dimensions. Along with Mr.
Lamont as the republican choice for
the democratic nomination comes Mr.
Olney, another product of Cleveland's
notoriously disastrous administration.
And then there are Gorman and Hill.
Any of these gentlemen would be
highly acceptable to the republicans as
the democratic candidate for the presi
dency. Let him who doubts It read
the republican papers. But why do re
publicans turn to them and bog the
democrats to nominate one of them?
Is it because their pecuniary interests,
their social connections, and their
general environment make them as
good plutocrats as the republicans
could find in their own party? Or is It
Vinnaiiaa iYtafT wnillfl hfi fiRSV t.O llPftt. fit.
the" election?
SOME EXCHANGE INTERVIEWS
The Filipinos are to be given
the constitution In broken doses.
Nashville (Tenn.) News.
Greatly diluted, of course, with wa
tor. Irrlgato their constitutions so
they may be able to benevolently as
similate brokon doses of our constitution.
Senor Buencamlno gavo the
house committee on Insular af
fairs some cogent reasons why tho
Filipinos should not bo left to
themselves at the present time
Philadelphia Public Ledger.
Something over an hundred years
ago certain Americans gave what some
English statesman urged as cogent
reasons why tho Americans should not
be left alone at that time. They were
on the British pay roll.
The size of the republican state
platform adopted at the convention
in Cleveland leads peoplo to won
der how Congressman Dick ever
smuggled it through from Wash- -lngton.
It's a wonder the railroads
did njt insist that ho send it by
freight'. Youngstown (O.) Vindi
cator. As railroads carry freight by weight
and not by bulk it is very likely they
did not think it worth while to waste
time making out a way bilh
Tho Hon. Frank Thompson,
who has been elected chairman of
the state democratic executive
committee, is a small man phy
sically, but his democracy is said
to be of giant proportions. Mem
phis Morning Star.
That's a better combination than a
splendid physique, and an atrophied
democracy. The democratic party
should beware of democrats who are
always ready to leave their principles
In tho republican vestibule.
Great Britain's chief heritage of
the war is debt and tho loss of the
esteem of liberty-loving peoplo.
Boston Traveler.
That's a hard blow at the Ameri
cans who commend sending a special
envoy to the coronation of Great Brit
ain's king. If what the Traveler says
is true such people do not love liberty.
And if debt and tho loss of the esteem
of liberty-loving peoplo is Great Brit
ain's heritage of the war, what shall
be our heritage of the war against a
people who are struggling for liberty?
Colonel Lambert Tree, another
of the gentlemen who went fishing
in 1896, is now megaphoning fresh
advice to the national democracy.
But he is only a chestnut tree.
Phoenix (Ariz.) Democrat.
And with one accord, which Is in
itself very suspicious, tho administra
tion organs are telling tho national
democracy that its hopes of success lie
in accepting the advice of recalcitrant
democrats. Wonderful what interest
the republican organs take in tho
views of the reorganlzers.
The fact that republican sena
tors have taken up southern lynch
ings In an effort to offset tho wa
ter cure charges of the democrats,
is pretty strong evidence of the
terrible nature of the tortures in
the Philippines. Columbus (O.)
Press.
It Is also pretty good evidence that
tho republican leaders are determined
to keep up their usual tactics of de
fending theJr course by shouting,
"You're another!" The fact that Jt
our own "race problem" la ample rea-
son why w should not annex another
and greater race problem. But blind
ed by commercial greed and lust of
power this seems nevor to havo
dawned upon the minds of tho imper
ialists, j
Tho Tennesso democrats who
indorsed tho Kansas City platform
might spend some time prollt
ably in studying tho returns of
tho last presidential election.
Birmingham (Ala.) News.
They seem to havo studied tho re
sults of tho last presidential election,
which is much moro to tho purpose
Men inspired by right are never dis
mayed by advorso results.
Tho south didn't exactly like
President Roosovolfs comparisons
between tho lynchings in this
country and tho cruelties In the
Philippines. But It Is not believed
the approval of tho south was
particularly counted upon by tho
presidont in that connection.
Sioux City (la.) Journal.
Certainly not. In order to show his
dislike for tho prejudices of tho south
the president appealed to tho prejudlco
of a certain class in the north. In tho
estimation of tho average republican
the war is either over or still going
on just as it will best suit his cam
paign puvtfoses. .
Any policy with respect to tho
tariff on which Senators Aldrich,
Spooner, Piatt and Allison agree
with President Roosevelt, will bo
accepted by the industrial Inter
ests of tho country as perfectly
safe. Milwaukee Evening Wis
consin. To bo sure, and for tho simple rea
son that tho senators named will read
ily agree to anything In tho way of
tariff that tho "industrial Interests"
as represented by tho trusts and cor
porations may prepare. But will tho
gentlemen agree on something that
tho general interests of the country,
agree upon as being just and fair?
The gentlemen who took offense
at the president's reference to
lynchings are perhaps too sensi
tive. The president may have had
in mind Colorado, Ohio and Il
linois, and not Texas. And besides,
it should be remembered In ex
tenuation that the administration
is all-fired hard up for an excuse
for its brutality. Springfield (111.)
State Register.
While admitting failure to solve a
great problem at homo It requires
great nerve to claim ability to solve
an even greater problem 10,000 miIo3
from home. But failure to suppress
brutality at home Is, as suggested, a
very poor defense for brutality abroad.
Senator Spooner Is gloriously
right In his position (on the Phil
ippine question) and the voters
will back him up. Milwaukee
Sentinel.
Then Abraham Lincoln was wrung.
Lincoln said: "You will find that all
the arguments in favor of kingcraft
were of this class thov alwavR lm-
strode the necks of the people; not
that they wanted to do it, but because
the people were better off for being
ridden." That Is the Spooner posi
tion. He and his imperialistic col
leagues insist that the Filipinos are
better off for being ridden. If tho es
teemed Sentinel has forgotten who
Abraham Lincoln was it should read
up a little on history which reading
would be fatal to the Sentinel's, posi
tion on tho Philippine question.
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