a
dollar If thoy had Intended to raiso prices and
lowor tho purchasing power of the dollar imme
diately afterwards?
In tho second place, the republicans called ua
ropudiators because wo promised to increase tho
volumo of monoy and raise prices. Thoy charged
that a riso in prices would cheapen tho dollar and
that a choapor dollar would enable pcoplo to re
pudiate thoir dobts by paying thorn with less pur
chasing power than thoy borrowed. Is it fair to
assumo that tho republicans would have called us
ropudiators if they had thomsolves intended to do
tho very thing that wo promised to do? In 1890
the republicans not only said that wo had enough
money, but thoy said that It did not matter
Whothor wo had much or little provided It was all
good. Thoy now boast that wo have flvo hundred
- millions of monoy in circulation more than wo
had In 1896, and thoy claim credit for tho im
provomont In industrial conditions caused by tho
Increase in circulation. This increase in tho cir
culation can bo attributed, first, to the European
famine in '97 which onablod us to soil an unusually
largo amount of bread-stuffs at highor prices than
provallcd for somo years. Tho republicans did not
bring tho larger crop, neithor did they cause tho
famine in Europe, therefore thoy cannot claim
credit for that portion of tho increased circulation
derived from this source. A part of tho increase
camo from tho coinago of tho soignoirago in tho
treasury, and this was not recommended by tho
republican administration nor desired by tho re
publican leaders, but was forced upon tho repub
licans by tho silver men in the senate.
The moslt important factor in tho increased
circulation was tho increased production of gold,
largely duo to tho discovery of gold in tho Klon
dike. The republicans cannot claim credit for tho
discovery, and therefore cannot claim credit Jfor
the results that followed. There is ono factor In
tho Incroaso for which tho republican party is
responsible, namely, tho increase in tho national
bank circulation, but this increase was not duo to
tho desiro of tho republican party to Increase tho
circulation, for it was trying to retire the green
backs at tho same time that it increased tho bank
circulation, and only increased the latter be
cause tho national banks desired to secure tho
profit on a larger issue of their notes.
The republicans cannot claim credit for such ,
improvement in tho industrial conditions as was
caused by' the war which took many mon out of
tho labor market, by creating a demand for gov
ernment supplies, and by mortgaging tho future
for monoy to spend in tho present, because they
claim that they were forced into the Spanish war
by tho democrats, and they deny that they have
desired to continue tho Philippine war merely
for tho purpose of havimg war.
Tho analysis of the claims of the republican
party will show that they have no policies which
are calculated to bring a permanent prosperity
to the masses of tho peoplo, but that tho time of
their leaders is divided between appropriating to
tho party the benefits that come from our form
of government, from our natural resources and
from the industry of the peoplo between appro
priating these blessings to the benefit of the. party
and tho distribution of favors to tho influential
' members of society.
While ordinary citizens accumulate slowly
by hard labor and In spite of unjust taxes and an un
fair financial system, and In spite of tho private
monopolies which aro springing up all over tho
- land, tho beneficiaries of republican legislation
grow rich by loaps and bounds through their power
to collect tribute from the masses.
The republican policies are supported by con
tradictory arguments. Tho republican leaders tell
the wool-growers that a tariff on wool will ralso
the prlco of tho wool, while they tell the consum
ers of woolen goods that a tariff on woolen goods
will lower tho prlco of tho goods.
' They tell tho people that free coinago would
double tho profit of tho mlno owner by making fif
ty cents worth of sliver worth a dollar, and thoy
Warn the depositor that tho metal would not be
increased in value by tuo law, but that the miner
would only convert fifty cents' worth of silver into
a fifty-cent dollar and not make any profit at all.
They promise to destroy tho trusts, and thon ar
gue that a trust Is a natural development of tho
times, necessary to the prosperity of tho country
and to tho extension of our foroign commerce, but
they promise that thov will -nrntent tim t0,i
from it
No one can listen to a ronuhHrnTi nnnor'.v, v.nf
atterapts to cover all tho issues without noting tho
lumuer oi limes in wnicii the speaker answers
lis own arguments. Ono is rominflfirl nf thi nfnrv
kf the man who traveled in tho mountains by a
Liu mat was so crooicea tnat no orton "met hlm-
coming back." And yet take away tho pros-
The Commoner.
perity argument from tho republican party and it
has nothing.
When industrial conditions become normal and
republican, policies begin to bear fruit, that party
will bo defenseless and its leaders unable to givo
a reason for their bnd faith in tho party's omnip
otence and omnlscence.
Exchanging Compliments.
Day by day the true inwardness of Speaker
Henderson's withdrawal is being more clearly re
vealed. In an interviow given out at Atlantic .City,
N. J., tho speaker is reported as saying that Gov
ernor Cummins wants to use free trade to hit tho
trusts, and that he is opposed to free trade. Gov
ernor Cummins doubts the correctness of tho inter
view, but says that if true it exhibits a petulency
duo to tho discovery that ho (the speaker) is out
of harmony with his constituents. Governor Cum
mins concludes:
"Every republican in the state of Iowa
who is interested in the subject knows that I
never directly or indirectly advocated free
trade as a remedy for the so-called trusts.
What tho platform says, and what I have tried
at. various times to say, is this: 'That a
monopoly, whether established by a trust,
partnersnip or individual, is not entitled to
tho benefit of tariff duties; and that if this
were tho law it would have some effect in pre
venting the creation of monopolies.' It is not
necessary to the business of the country that
monopolies shall exist, and ambitious men
should be informed that they cannot have both
monopolies and the tariff. You can bo sure
they will choose the course most profitable to
them. If my friend Henderson cannot under
stand the difference between the proposition
I have just stated and the proposition that free
trade is tho remedy for trusts he has not
greatly profited by his twenty years in con
gress." Tho first round seems to be a draw and it is . "
to be hoped that it will be fought to a finish. Tho
republican' leaders know that thoy must oppose all
tariff reduction or face the demolition of tho whole
system. The various tariff schedules cannot stand
on their own merits; they must "hang together .
or hang separately." The contest between tho high
and low tariff republicans will be an interesting
one and the democrats will be glad to encourage
both sides with words of sympathy and con
dolence. Inexcusable Mendacity.
Tho Missouri State Republican, published at
St Louis, in its issue of October 3 says:
Bryan receives ?5,000 from the state demo
cratic campaign fund for speaking in Missouri.
It is, apparently, a purely commercial propo
sition w.ith him. He must know, for it has
been published far and wide, that the men
in actual control of the Missouri democracy
have declared against tho issue which he
himself raised and which is tho only possible
excuse for his continuance 6n the political
stage. In accepting pay for advocating his
"principles" Bryan descends to the level of a
common entertainer, in a line with Marshall
P. Wilder or any other vaudeville "star."
The Republican is the official organ of the re
publican state committee and this charge is repro
duced in order that tho readers of The Commoner
may know the desperate and mendacious means
resorted to by the republican leaders.
Now as to the facts: Upon invitation of the
democratic state committee Mr. Bryan delivered
twenty speeches in Missouri. The subject of com
pensation was never mentioned. The committee
never offered and Mr. Bryan never asked for any
compensation. During the trip through Missouri
ho was asked to send in a statement of his ex
penses and ho replied that ho was interested in
the campaign and preferred to contribute his ex
penses to tho campaign fund.- When he reached
homo, however, .o found a letter from the com
mittee saymg that the committee would not con
sent to his paying his traveling expenses and en
closing a check for two hundred dollars with a
request that he inform the committee if that did
not cover his outlay Mr. Bryan returned tho-,
check, saying that his expenses did not exceed
one hundred dollars and again asked that tho
amount bo considered a contribution to the cam-'
paign fund. Now these are tho facts
Vol. a, No. 3 9.
and thoy could have been secured from either the
committee or i.r. Jbryan. Why did tho Republi
can publish this deliberate and inexcusable false
hood? And why will legs prominent republican
papers repeat the falsehood? There can be but one
reason. It is natural that a republican should use
the best argument ho has on hand and a resort to
misrepresentation and prevarication is positive
proof that the republicans aro n-t prepared to
meet the arguments presented ,b7 tho democrats.
The sources of Mr. Bryan's income are well
known. There is nothing secret about his business
affairs. Ho does not object to exceptional scrutiny
but why don't the republicans investigate tho in
comes of republican officials and candidates and
the sources from which they are obtained? Why
doesn't the Missouri republican committee report
on Mr. Kerens' income and tho sources thereof?
Mr. Bryan's income is derived from his lec
tures and his pen, and ho had time enough left to
devote nearly two months of this year to campaign
speeches and for these speeches he not only re
ceives no pay, but for the most part he pays his
own expenses and does not ride on passes either.
Ho is interested in the reforms which he advo
cates and is glad to aid the men who are fighting
for these reforms. During the past six years ho
has given more than nineteen thousand dollars to
various campaign committees, besides devoting a
considerable portion of each year to political
speeches delivered without compensation in differ
ent parts of the country. If republican papers de
sired to be fair they would compute the amount
which Mr. Bryan might make if the time devoted
to -political speeches were .devoted to lecturing,
and then consider that sum a cash contribution to
politics, but instead of that they try to lessen
the force of his speeches by accusing him of mak
ing money out of campaign work.
Mr. Bryan only receives pay for speeches when
he lectures or when for business reasons money
is raised by merchants to cover the expenses of a
. picnic, fair, carnival or something of that nature.
Democrats need not fear to denounce as false in
toto such charges as that quoted above whenever
and wherever they appear.
JJJ
Equality Before the Law.
The republican papers are indignant because
Mr.Bryan said in a recent -speech:"'-' " '
"There is a criminal law against the forma
tion of a trust as well as against selling liquor
without license, but wnile the administration
prosecutes the man who sells a gallon of whisky
without license it makes no effort to enforce the
criminal law against the millionaires who con
Bpire against the entire country. One trust mag
nate with stripes on behind prison bars will do
more to kill the trusts than all the speeches the
president has made."
What are the republican papers mad about?
Do they deny t- s fact or tho conclusion drawn
' from it? In the enforcement of the law the presi
dent discriminates between the poor and the rich.
Do the republican papers object to the discrimina
tion or to its being .pointed out?' The president
favors publicity,' which by itself means nothing,
and a constitutional amendment, which, if good,
could not be adopted for several years; why does
he not try "equality before the law" and treat the
violators of anti-trust laws as he treats lesser
criminals?
JJJ
A Candid Confession.
The Omaha Bee is a republican paper. Its
editor is Edward Rosewater, one of the shrewdest
"politicians and one of the best newspaper mon
in tho vest. In a recent issue of the Bee, com
menting upon an article that appeared in Tho
Commoner, Mr. Rosewater said:
William Jennings Bryan's latest trust
remedy has somegood ingredients, but his
proposition to squelch the coal barons and sup
press the trusts by calling a special 'session
of congress is about as senseless as the propo
sition to settle the coal miners' strike by tho
Detroit conference. BRYAN CERTAINLY
MUST KNOW THAT THE SENATE AS AT
PRESENT CONSTITUTED WILT, ENACT NO
LAW THAT WOULD CURTAIL THE PRIV
ILEGES OR CONFLICT WITH THE INTER
ESTS OP THE COAL BARONS AND GIANT
CORPORATIONS COMMONLY CALLED
TRUSTS. An extra session of congress would,
, therefore, simply" be a waste of money and
energy.
It is interesting tq observe that this republican
paper admits that Mr, Bryan's suggestions have
"some good ingredients' and it is also interesting
(Continued on Page 5.)
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