ft
The Commoner.
10
Vol. a, No. a5
p.
' w$HW-r Ti?T7"4in'Wf fr.i'PpiHPiiiWP
WHETHER COflHON OR NOT.
The Flfljr.
(Tho following poem was road at
So raising of a flag ovor tlio North
Sido Christian church, Omaha, Nob.,
pn July C, 1901)
f ' HurrahP v. '
'Aloft the flag floats free,
'A blaze of color for oyes to boo;'
4 Its stripes of crimson and purest white
'And glorious stars break on our sight!
Blood of patriots gladly shed
, To paint its gleaming stripes of red;
Broad stripes washed whito with wo-
men's tears
Through bitfcor nights of war's sad
years;
Star flold torn out of heaven's blue
Hurrah! Tho old flag floats In viow.
But Is this flag all wo raise, on high
,To blond its colors with cloud and
sky?
A few bright colors? A painted rag?
Nay! Not thoso alone can make a flag.
Its gleaming folds must hold to sight
Truth, Honor, Justice, Power, Right
A living flame that mon who gropo
In- galling chains may bog and hopo;
And seeing, gladly shall proclaim,
"Hurrah!
It floats in Freedom's namo!"
.With martial strains and songs of.
praiso
This emblem of tho free wo raise.
Hurrah!
Its folds reflect tho sun!
Thoy shine with vict'rles nobly won!.
It tells of men who dared to die
To koop its waving folds on high!
And floating there this legend tolls:
"Keep mo alone where honor dwells;
And whether on tho land or sea,
Keep mo tho banner of tho froo."
And so wo raise this banner bright,
Hurrah!
"Old Glory" greets our sight!, .t;
Hurrah!
m
Saluto tho omblom grand! "I
Tho omblom of our glorious land!'
May it ero stand for truth and right
Unstained by lust of gain and might.
God grant this flag shall over Do
Tho banner of tho bravo and free!
Save one, no banner floats in viow
Abovo tho old Red, White and Blue
Praise God!
And all with ono accord
Bow 'neath tho banner of our Lord.
Hurrah!
Twin flags wo raise this day'.
Two flags, and both shall float away!
And carry lovo and hopo and peace
, Till wars' alarms forever ceaso,
And nesting birds shall sing their
notes
From out tho unused cannons' throats;
Till men with honost, joyful cheers
Make pruning hooks of warrior spear3;
Till swords shall gleaming plowshares
yield
To turn tho soil of peaceful field.
Hurrah!
That glad day dawns to viow
In gleaming tints Red, White and
, Bluo.
r ., , ..
a fable concerning a people
who Welcomed their de
v liverers in manner some
; what premature.
It came to pass that a Certain Peo
ple were delivere& from tho Exac
tions of a King by a lot of Uniformed
Gents bearing aloft a Starry Flag.
"Ah, yoii. havo come to give us tho
Blessings of Liberty!" exclaimed the
Certain People.
"That's What," remarked tho chief
Uniformed Gent. "You are now citi
zens of my Country, and in my Coun
try Every Man is a King."
WherpuDpn the; Certain Peonle Re-
joicod and wero Exceeding Glad, and
procooded to Engage in Business with
Much Zeal.
After Tolling for Somo Months tho
Cdrtain People had Goods to Sell and
bothought Themselves of tho Country
from Whonco .cam tho Uniformed
Gents.
"Ah," said they, "wo will Barter and
Trade with pur Fellow Cltizons."
But when Thoy would Barter with
Their Fellow Citizens the Fellow Clti
zons remarked in Loud Voices:
"Not on your Tin Types. You must
Cough up tho Dough, meaning tho
Tariff Duties."
"But are wo not One People?" asked
tho Astonished Certain People.
"Not on your Tintype!" jeered the
Parties Questioned,
"But you told us-that It was Even
So."
"Of course, but that was for Cam
paign Purposes only. This is a Busi
ness Proposition and wo are not In
clined to Give up a Good Thing."
Moral: Ho who Welcomes a Deliv
erer Prematurely Is Rombto from His
Montal Baso, r . . .. kJ
A FABLE WHICH SHOWS CONCLU
SIVELY THAT IT WAS AN OLD
FOGY WHO SAID THAT MEN
SERVE BUT ONE MASTER.
It came to pass that tho People of a
Certain Province Choso a Learned At
torney to look after tliolr Interests in
tho Halls' of Congress. No sooner was
ho It than the Lawyer began 'Accept
ing Retainers from the Enemies of tho
People, whereat the People Murmured
and Said Things.
"Whyforo Murmurcst Thou?" asked
tho Lawyer. That is to say, this Is the
Polite Way of putting the Question ho
asked. What tho Lawyer did say was,
"What is a Aching of you? You make
mo Tired." ( . ,.
"You. aro not .Sorvlng us, but we
Serving our Enemies and Oppressors,"
roplied tho People.
- "Nay, not so," exclaimed the Law
yer. "I represent you as Your Senator,
while I appear for your Oppressors
Merely as an Attorney."
"But it is Written that no Man can
Servo two Masters," said the People.
Tho Lawyer spent a Few Minutes in
uttering Hoarse Hoots of Derision and
then Spieled:
"Stuff and Nonsense.,. D.o you not
observo that I am Doing it?" .
"But where do We come In?" asked
tho People.
"Ah, you did not Employ mo to An
swer Fool Questions," said the Lawyer,
Moral: Tho Fox offered to Guard
tho Farmer's Poultry. But the Farmer
was not a Chump.
THE FABLE CONCERNING THE
MAN WHO WAS SORRY HE DID
NOT REMAIN DEAD FOR ALL
TIME. '-'
Once upon a Time a Man of Ability
performed Some Stunts in the Inter
ests of a Feeblo People. After Putting
them on their Feet the Man of Abil
ity gave the People some-Sage Advice
and then Passed into the Great Beyond,
An Hundred Years fell over tho
Procipico of Time and tho Man of
Ability came Back from tho Great
Beyond and was Astonished to Find
that after Following his Sage Advice
with Great Profit for Many Years tho
People wore about "to Pass it Up and
Take tho Advico of Newor men.
"What, has not my Advico proved
Profitable ?" asked the Man of Ability.
"Yes."
"Havo you not Followed it and Be
come It among tho Nations of tho
Earth?" ... .
,"Yes.' ' ' B
"Then why do you, shako It now?"
Then tho People gathered and Spake
In Concert, saying: .
"Aw, go Chase Yourself. Them Fel
lers Advisin' us ;Npw aro Experts !n
Makin' Coin an' wo want to Git our
Share. Wo ain't got no More Time for
Dead Men. It's Coin we're After, not
Honor."
Then the -Man of Ability Gladly re
turned to the Great Beyond.
Moral: When you are Dead you aro
Well Off.
Two Men.
Ho went his way through all the years
Bestowing smiles where'er he could;
Ho dried the stricken widow's tears,,
And gave tho orphan clothes ani
food.
With warm handclasp he lifted up
The brother who fell by the way;
And with a heart that beat with lovo
He scattered good abroad each day.
And. when he died, the telegraph.
Gave r to ; the worldLa Parasraph. r,
i " .. ' ': '
He waded to his kneesf in gore
And filled the land with blood and
tears;
He battened on tho weak and poor
And profited by forco and fears.'
He sold his kindred and his friends
For gold, and fed his awful lust
Of gain by trampling human rights
Beneath his feet into the dust.
And while he lived, with wild acclaim
The papers magnified his name.
The Point of View.
"You told me Wraggsloy was un
prejudiced. Why, he is the rankest
partisan I ever met."
"Partisan, nothing! Why Wraggs
ley is as fair-minded and non-partisan
as a man can be. He and I agree per
fectly on all political questions."
Short Poems.
An esteemed contemporary offers"' this
as tho shortest poem on record:.
Wo . .
De-i
Spise
Flies.
That is very' short, very good and
very true. But here 4s ono that is
shorter, oven if it is --not-better and
truer: .,?' . ' V
We:
Agree.
-g
him all kinds of bad, names becauso hi
verdict in" .
"0, that's true; but ho and I did notj-'
agree thon."
f -
A Here. "
Little Johnnie had a cracker
Filled chock full of dynamite;
Tho fuso he lit and held a bit
Poor Johnnie Is an awful sight, y
He lost two fingers and a thumb, . :
His face is full of powder ''
But he's a hero 'mongst his churns,.
And no boy could be prouder.,,' '..?.
i '. . J, , ' :
Brain Leaks. , " - "V
The easier it comes tho shorter its.
stay. '
Men who sleep on their rights should : .
not grumble when they awaken..
The real Christian does not have to ,.
tell it in order to have it known. ?.
A sucker is born every minute and
the supply of bait never gives out.
We sympathize with the man who .. :
stubs his toe on a nail, but we laugh
at him if he stubs his toe the second '
time on tho same nail. - '.'
Will M. Maupln. '&
Imperialism Unmasked.
Confidence in their ability to do
what they please with the Philippines
has betrayed the imperialists in con- .
gress into throwing aside all pretense
of condemnation of cruelties and ex
ulting openly over the atrocities at,
which they professed to bo shocked a.-!
few weeks ago. From denial of tho
facts they were, first, forced into ex- -
Lcuse .and .explanation, by,. the. evhienco; ;
wrung from Secretary Root's reluct-
ant hand. Now. they applaud and
glorify the worst instruments of. the
war department's criminal policy. ..
Representative Landis, of Indiana,
in the closing hours of tho Philippine
debate, flung Into the faces of those
who hold that Providenco""has not im
posed upon the United States the duty
of spreading civilization with fire and
sword the exultant boast that swords
of honor will be. given to Waller, the
murderer of prisoners, and to . "Hell
Roaring Jake" Smith, the Herod ot''
Samar. . ' I
Better this frank brutality, this
laudation of the utter hellishness of
war, this exultation of the devil's own r
servants for the -worship of benevolent
assimilators, than the loathsome cant
which prates of the subjugation of the
Filipinos and the piratical exploita
tion of their country as "duties and re-
sponsibillties which in the Providence
of God have been cast upon us."
Mr. Landis makes plain to all what
imperialism really means, and thus
renders a service to the cause of hu
manity. Knowing the Philippine in-"
vasion for what it is, the American
people can have no excuse for failure
to deal with it according to American I
principles and traditions, Philadel
ptila North American . (rep.). " . v
- "
The Difference.
"I tell you, that man Blewey Is a
great man. When he speaks the world
should listen. HIb remarks are worthy
of attention. What he said about ,"
"But a montli or two ago you called.
He Will That. - .
OUlo James mado a big hit before
tho Nebraska democratic convention.
He went to Nebraska upon an invita
tion from the democratic committee
of that state. James will also make
his presence and influence felt in. the
national houso of representatives.
JOwensburg (Ky.) Messenger.
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