The Commoner.
10
Vol. a, No. a&
m
WHETHER COfinON OR NOT.
The FIr.
(Tho following poem was road at
tuo raising of a flag ovor tlio North
Sldo Christian church, Omaha, Nob.,
on July C, 1901)
S' ' HurrahJi
'Aloft tho flag floats frco,
'A blazo of color for oyes to soo;'
t Its strlpos of crimson and purest white
'And glorious stars break on our sight!
Blood of patriots gladly shod
, To paint its gleaming strlpos of rod;
Broad stripes washed white with wo-
men's tears
Through bittor nights of war's sad
years;
Star field torn out of heaven's bluo
Hurrah! '
,Tho old flag floats in vlow.
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 alono can make a flag.
Its gleaming folds must hold to sight
Truth, Honor, Justice, Power, Right
A living flamethat men who gropo
In- galling chains may soo and hope;
And seeing, gladly shall proclaim,
"Hurrah!
It floats in Freedom's namo!" t
.With martial strains and songs of
praiso
This emblem of tho froo wo ralso.
Hurrah!
Its folds reflect tho sun!
They shine with vlct'rles nobly won!
It tolls of men who dared to dio
To keop its waving folds on high!
And floating thoro this legend tolls:
"Keop mo alono whoro honor dwells;
And whether on tho land or sea,
Keop mo tho banner of tho fr.eo."
And so wo raiso this banner bright.
Hurrah!
"Old Glory" greots our sight!, .,..;
Hurrah! .
Saluto tho emblem grand! -1
Tho emblem of our glorious land!'
May it 'ore stand for truth and right
Unstained by lust of gain and might.
God grant this flag shall over bo
Tho banner of tho bravo and froo!
Savo ono, no banner floats in view
Above tho old Rod, Whito and Blue
Praiso God!
And all with ono accord
Bow 'neath tho banner of our Lord.
Hurrah!
Twin flags wo raiso this day!
Two flags, and both shall float away!
And carry lovo and hopo and peaco
, Till wars' alarms forover cease,
And nesting birds shall sing their
notes
Prom out tho unused cannons' throats;
Till men with honost, joyful cheers
Make pruning hooks of warrior speara;
Till swords shall gleaming plowshares
yield
To turn tho soil of peaceful field.
Hurrah!
That glad day dawns to vlow
In gleaming tints Red, Whito and
, Bluo.
r ,
A FABLE CONCERNING A PEOPLE
WHO WELCOMED THEIR DE-
LIVERERS IN MANNER SOME
; WHAT PREMATURE.
It came to pass that a Certain Peo
ple were delivered from the Exac
tions of a King by a lot of Uniformed
Gents bearing aloft a Starry Flag.
"Ah, yon, have come to give us the
Blessing"s of Liberty!" exclaimed the
Certain People.
"That's What," remarked tho chief
Uniformed Gent. "You aro now citi
zens of my Country, and in my Coun
try Every Man is a King."
WboreuDon tho. Certain Peoplo Re-
jolcod and wore Exceeding Glad, and
procooded to- Engago in Business with
Much Zeal.
Aftor Tolling for Some Months tho
Cdrtain Peoplo had Goods to-Sell and
botliought Themselves of -the Country
from Whonco .camo tho Uniformed
Gonts.
"Ah," said they, "wo will Barter and
Trade with our Fellow Cltlzons."
But when Thoy would Barter with
Their Follow Citizens tho Fellow Citi
zens remarked in Loud Voices:
"Not on your Tin Types. You must
Cough up tho Dough, meaning tho
Tariff Duties."
"But aro wo not Ono Peoplo?" asked
tho Astonished Certain People.
"Not on your Tintype!" jeored 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 aro not In
clined to Give up a Good Thing."
Moral: Ho who Welcomes a Deliv
erer Prematurely Is Remote from His
Montal Baso. , ., ,
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 the People of a
Certain Province Chose a Loarhed At
torney to look aftor their Interests in
tho Halls' of Congress. No sooner was
ho It than tho Lawyer began 'Accept
ing Retainers from the Enemies of tho
Peoplo, whereat tho Peoplo Murmured
and Said Things.
"Whyforo Murmurest Thou?" asked
tho Lawyer. That is to say, this is tho
Pollto Way of putting tho Question ho
asked. What tho Lawyer did say was,
"What is a Aching of you? You make
mo Tired." , ,.
"You aro not Serving us, but are
Serving our Enemies and Oppressors,"'
roplled tho People.
"Nay, not so," exclaimed tho Law
yer. "I represont you as Your Senator,
whilo I appear for your Oppressors
Merely as an Attorney."
"But it is Written that no Man can
Servo two Masters," said the Peoplo.
The Lawyer spent a Few Minutes in
uttering Hoarse Hoots of Derision and
then Spieled:
"Stuff and Nonsense. . D.o you not
observe that I am Doing it?"
"But where do We come In?" asked
the People.
"Ah, you did not Employ mo to An
swer Fool Questions," said tho Lawyer,
Moral: Tho Fox offered to Guard
tho Farmer's Poultry. But tho Farmer
was not a Chump.
THE FABLE CONCERNING THE
MAN WHO WAS SORRY HE DID
NOT REMAIN DEAD FOR ALL
TIME.
Onco upon a Time a Man of Ability
performed Some Stunts in tho Inter
ests of a Feeblo People. After Putting
them on their Feet tho Man of Abil
ity gave tho People some Sage Advice
and then Passed into tho Great Beyond,
An HundredYears foil over tho
Prociplco of Time and tho Man of
Ability camo Back from tho Great
Boyond and was Astonished to Find
that aftor Following his Sago Advico
with Great Profit for Many Years tho
Pooplo woro about to Pass it Up and
Take tho Advico of Nowor men.
"What, has not my Advico proved
Profitable?" asked tho Man of Ability.
"Yes."
"Have you not Followed it and Be
come It among tho Nations of the
Earth?"
"Yes." ' ' "
"Then why do you, shake it now?"
Thon tho People gathered and Spake
in Concort, saying: -
"Aw, go Chaso Yourself. Them Fel
lers Advisin' us Now aro Experts In
Makin' Coin an' wo want to Git our
Sharq. Wo ain't got no More Time for
Dead Men. It's Coin we're After, not
Honor."
Then tho Man of Ability Gladly re
turned to tho Great Beyond.
Moral: When you aro Dead you are
Well Off.
Two Men.
Ho wont his way through all the years
Bestowing smiles where'er he could;
He dried the stricken widow's tears,
And gave the orphan clothes an I
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 .tho telegraph-Gave-tOithe
worldr-a paragraph.. ,
He waded to his knees" in gbro
And filled the land with blood and
tears;
He battened on tho weak and poor
And profited by force 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 whilo ho lived, with wild acclaim
Tho papers magnified his name.
Sfi.
The Point of View.
"You told me Wraggsloy was un
prejudiced. Why, he is tho rankest
partisan I ever met."
"Partisan, nothing! Why Wraggs
loy 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-
Sp'iso
Flies.
That is very' short, very good and
very true. But here -is ono that is
shorter, even if it is notbetter an-3
truer: -
V,? '
v ' -ft :
Do? ' --'',,
We
Agree. .
him all kinds of bad. names becauso hitf
verdict in" ' (
"0, that's true; but ho and I did not '
agree then."
wM
'.
f
.
A Here.
Little Johnnie had a cracker
Filled chock full of dynamite ;. "
Tho f uso ho lit and held a bit x ,.
Poor Johnnie is an awful sight, -
He lost two fingers and a thumb,
His face Is full of powder-
But he's a hero 'mongst his chums,-V
And no boy could be prouder. v "" -,.
Brain Leaks. ., v- V
The easier it comes the shorter ita.k
stay. V
Men who sleep on their rights should1
not grumble when they awaken..
Tho real Christian does not have to ' t
tell it in order to have it known. .
A sucker is born every minute and
tho supply of bait never gives out.
We sympathize with tho man wlio .
stubs hid toe on a nail, but we laugh
at him if he stubs his toe tho secondf
time on tho same nail. -
Will M. Maupln. :t
Imperialism Unmasked.
Confidence in their ability to do
what they please with the Philippines
has betrayed tho 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 aJ
few weeks ago. From denial of tho
facts they were, first , forced into ex-
;cus"e .and -.explanation by.the. evidence ;
wrung from Secretary Roots reluct-,
ant hand. Now they applaud and
glorify tho worst instruments of tho
war department's criminal policy.
Representative Landis, of Indiana, -in
the closing hours of the Philippine
debate, flung into the faces of those
who hold that Providencehas not im
posed upon the United States tho 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 .o '
Samar. " . '
Better this frank brutality, ,thls
laudation of the utter hellishness of
war, this exultation of the devil's own '
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
sponsibilities which in tho Providence
of God have been cast upon us."
Mr. Landis makes plain to all what
imperialism really means, and thus
renders a service to tho cause of hu
manity. Knowing the Philippine in
vasion for what it is, the American
peoplo can have no excuse for failure
to deal with it according to American' 4
principles and traditions. Philadel-f
phla North American (rep.). '' v -
The Difference.
"I toll you, that man Blewoy is a
great man. When ho speaks the world
should listen. His remarks are -worthy
of attention. What ho said about"
"But a month or two ago you called.
He Will That. . -.
OUio James mado a big hit before
the Nebraska democratic convention.
Ho went to Nebraska upon an invita
tion from the democratic committee
of that state. James will also make -his
presence and influence folt in. tho
national house of representatives. "
jOwensburg (Ky.) Messenger.
,.jt.
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