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Commoner.
The
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WILLIAH J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR,
,
Vol. 3. No. 45.
Lincoln, Nebraska, Nov. s3, 1903.
Whole No. 97.
Fear Political Effect
.
During the course of the examination of Mr.
Mitchell, Mr. MacVeagh, attorney for the mine
owners, referred to the strike which was settled
just before the election of 1900 and developed the
fact that Mr. Mitchell was in telephonic communi
cation with Mr. Hanna just before the settlement
Continuing Mr. MacVeagh said:
"Mr. Bryan was again a candidate for the
presidency, and you were conscious of tho. great
apprehensions entertained by the financial interests
as to the possibility of his election?" " -
"I believe," replied Mr. Mitchell, "vthat the. fact
that an election was pending had something to do
iItli tho early settlement of the strike."
Hero is proof, brought out by tho attorney of
the mine owners, first, that the financial interests
. of the country were arrayed on the republican side
in tho campaign of 1900, and, second, that the mine
owners settled with the miners because they feared
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t cai harm to the republican party.
If Mr. MacVeagh had pursued the same line of
inquiry and asked In .regard to the present strike
he might bay e. shown that the fact that a con-
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i srrpsaionai election was nenuinK naa soraoirnDg w
do with the appoiritmerit of the board of arbitra
tion that is now conducting the "xamination. And
yet tho rank and filo of tlio republican party con
tinue to credit the president and Mr. Hanna. with
disinterested patriotism in settling strikes just be
fore the election, and the republican laboring men
and farmers continue to vote with the financial
interests that control the republican party andean
make and settle strikes and panics according to
their plea'sure. This blind faith will be shattered
some day. In tho meantime those who are aware
of the dangerous tendency ot republican policies
and methods must redouble their efforts both to
maintain the integi-ty of the democratic party
tC and to make converts among those who have had
Euch Implicit faith in republican leaders.
JJJ
Mitchell on Violence.
' Mr. Mitchell rendered a distinct service to the
cause of labor when he declared in answer to an
inquiry relative to the influence of violence upon
the success of a strike: "I should say that Its suc
cess would not be dependent upon it at alt The
very conditions alleged would reduce the chances
of winning the strike. In my judgment, violence
never contributed o the success of-a strike, be
cause it loses for those on a strike the sentiment
of the public."
- ( Mr. Mitchell is entirely right Violence hurts
the strikers infinitely more than it does the em
ployers. In fact, the employers so well under
stand the Influence which a display of violence ex
erts upon the publi? that they have been accused
of instigating the violence themselves in order to
profit by the Indignation aroused. Mr. Mitchell has
done much to strengthen the cause of labor, but
nothing that he has said has shown & clearer dis
cernment or a more just appreciation of the forces
jthat move society. v .
Cannon For Speaker.
It seems that "Uncle Joo" Cannon is to have
an easy victory in the speakership contest- Mr.
Babcock, who intended to run on his tariff roform
record, scarcely got started In the race, and Mr.
Littlofield, who trusted to his anti-trust record,
was entirely distanced.
"Unqle Joe" Ib. simply a republican; ho Is per
fectly satisfied with the republican party; ho ha
implicit faith that the. crops will bo good when
tho republican party is In power, that prjees will
bo high to those who want high prices, and low
to thoEe who want low prices, provided republi
can rule Is not disturbed. There Is nothing that
ho wants to reform, and therefore ho does not
have to worry about platforms or promises. He
Is the natural and logical candidate of those who
accept. Mr. Banna's doctrine of "let well enough
alone.". If ho is chosen speaker, as now seems
certain, we may count on the republicans adopt
ing a policy of masterly inactivity.
The Financial Situation
. That, very conservative paper, the Now York
Evening Post, quotes and .emphasizes the, warning
uttered by Comptroller Rldgeley at the bankers'
convention recently, held at "Now Orleans. The
comptroller says:
"In spite of all this we cannot disguise
thp fact that with reserves running down not
only in the reserve cities, but in all tho banks
of the country, tno situation Is serious and. re
quires close attention and careful handling."
This from a democrat would sound like a
gloomy prediction, and he would bo called a
calamity howler, but coming from a republican
prominently connected with the administration it
is merely what the republican papers call a "time
ly warning," and the Post regrets that it was not
uttered months ago. If such conditions occurred
under a democratic administration tho party In
power would bo blamed for the situation, but as it
is the republican editors attribute, it to conditions
which the party cannot control. Tho republicans
have so fallen Into the habit of claiming credit for
everything that is goofi and shirking responsibil
ity for everything unfavorable that this new In
stance will excite no surprise.
JJS
Garvin the Reformer.
'&
It seems that Dr. L. P. C. Garvin, the demo
cratic governor-elect of Rhode Island, has been
something of a reformer. He was denominated a
crank, rnd the republican papecj maae fun of his
bills, but according to the Courier-Journal he was
largely instrumental in overthrowing the landed
property qualification for foreign voters and in
changing tho constitution so as to provide for the
election of state officers by a plurality instead of a
majority. He also assisted in the passago of &
secret ballot law, a law creating bureau of in
dustrial statistics, a factoryjlnspectlo . law, a ten
hour law, and some others. The final triumph of
Mr. Garvin recalls the pithy statement of Lady
Somerset, namely, that wnen one person sees a
thing he is a fanatic; that when a number see it,
he is merely an enthusiast, and that when all see
it he is a hero.
The Political Weekly
In a recent spoech at tho quarterly dinner of
the Atlas club a club composed of Chicago ad
vertisers and advertising agents Mr. Bryan took
occasion to presont somo observations relative to
tho political nowapapor. As the readors of. The
Commoner aro olther supporters of It policy, or
intelligent republicans who are liberal enough to
desire to read democratic arguments, the sub
stance of his remarks Is given below (with some
additional suggestions which would have been out
of placo at a non-partisan dinner):
Tho dally paper in tho large cities is so huge
a business onterprlso that the owner Is seldom the.
editor. As a rulo, tho editor, or, rathor, the edi
tors of a metropolitan dally are unknown to the
'public and the paper does not, therefore, stand for
the convictions or reflect tho viows of any partic
ular person.
It Is not always known who owns a controll
ing Intorest In the stock of tho large dally, neither
Is it known what pecuniary interest the owner of
tho paper has in tho various enterprises which It
'indorses '(or falls to denounce). Tho business end
" of such a paper is so large and so lucratlye that
it Is apt to dictate the editorial policy and make
the owner timid about attacking an ovll that has
strong financial7 backing
For these roasons, arid .for tho additional rea
son that It Is necessarily local In Its circulation, the
dally paper Is likely to Incline more and more
to "independence," which in tho light of recent
events might be defined as another namo for plu
tocracy, for tho independent papers usually sup
port tho candidate backed by organized wealth.
Somo paper must take tho place of tho former po
litical dally If our people are to maintain an in
terest in public questns. Those who are busy
and cannot investigate for themsolves must have
access to the writings of those who do investigate
and who placo before the public the results ot their
Investigations, The people are like jurors; they
can decide Intelligently when they have heard the
testimony and the arguments, but the editors and
public speakers bring forth the facts and the argu- -ments
on both sides. 'The weekly paper can clr-
culate throughout tin entire nation and it is not
so large or costly but that the editorship and the
ownership can bo combined in one person. The
political weekly liicely to grow In Influence as
the daily loses its distinctively political char
acter. There Is another advantage about the politi
cal weekly, namely, that its subscription price is
so low that political opponents can afford to take it
Every patriotic and Intelligent man wants to read
both slder-of a question. The most Upright judge
cannot decide fairly until both sides have been
presented, and so a citizen, however well-meaning,
must have a chance to read the argument
presented by those opposed to his views as well as
the arguments advanced by those of his own party,
if he would be sure of his ground. It would be well
if there were more papers, like The Commoner, de
voted to the dlscucrlon of the political, economi-'. :
cal and social questions that effect national poll
tics. There. should be papers representing dif-
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